“I’m Gorgeous inside!”

As my husband and I drove to a friends house in Georgetown the other day, we noticed the for sale sign in a particular yard. We do this often as Chad is in the mortgage industry and we look to see what is for sale and by who. We have seen this type of add before… the sign read… “I’m gorgeous inside!”  as we turned the corner we saw another one that just simply read… “AWESOME!”  That was new to us and we got a good laugh. That house clearly must be just awesome!! We decided that these houses were like people wearing their signs.

“I’m gorgeous inside!’ Is probably a woman.. who has great character and life lessons and stories and is a great person but for whatever reason has let herself go… perhaps she is busy with the kids.. or hard working.. or divorced… or just defeated, you may never know that a treasure lies within.

“Awesome!” Well he is clearly a “dude”.  He is probably not as awesome as he thinks but we admire his self esteem.

Then there is “YARD OF THE MONTH!”   He or she puts all their focus on the outside, you wonder if it is all real and if they have had some “help”. You also have no idea what the inside looks like. Do they care more about the outward appearance than the inside? Perhaps the inside is such a mess, they would rather stop you before you get too deep… Hmmm?

We decided that my sign would read “work in progress, or better yet… under construction!” 🙂 And Chad’s would read , ” High miles, very reliable.”  More like a used car sign huh?

As I sit and type I look out at my yard… big as it is, there are weeds and down by the sidewalk I saw some mushrooms and super tall wierd grass. I feel compelled to put a sign out that reads.. “wait… Im gorgeous inside, it’s just been muggy and rainy and hot and we are super busy inside raising leaders of the next generation so my lawn is not a priority today, but we are good people don’t judge me by my yard!” even though it is not for sale.  Sigh!! But I digress….

Thank God we are not houses, or used cars but God ‘s creation that can be transformed from the inside out! Romans 12:2 tells us not to be ‘conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.’ So I can transform my whole self by renewing my mind? Wow what a package deal God!!  In 2 Corinthians 5 I am told that if I am ‘in Christ I am a new creation and all the old things are gone’!! Hooray and Happy Day!!! When I read 2 Corinthinas 3:18 I am encouraged that it is God doing the transforming and not me. It says to ‘stand with an unveiled face (no makeup?!) as if looking in a mirror. and behold the glory of the Lord. then I will be transformed into the same image( the image of Christ) from glory to glory. Wow… that is supernatural.

In regards to our houses, which we may fix up and  work hard decorating etc, there is no supernatural transformation from the inside out. Nothing to transform the whole shabang like perhaps Marry Poppins or Nanny McPhee could do. And furthermore there is no transformation from the outside in… “Yard of the month”  I am talkin to you. No amount of dressing up the inside or outside can help the whole vessel. Beholding the glory of the Lord on a regular basis is the only key to transformation.

Have you ever met someone who gets more attractive the more you know them? This may be a transformed person who knows God intimately. We are attracted to God in them. And vice versa. I have know some attractive people and then when you  dig deeper… not so much!!!!!

My goal in life is to be constantly transformed into the image of Christ by beholding his glory on a regular basis. I also want to transfer that ability and knowledge to my family. I want the holy spirit to live and breathe in my home so that those who visit ( or come to stay a while) will like what they see and experience. ( except when small children are naked or dirty or both!) ( oh and the mushroom and weird tall grass!)

In all seriousness, I want the sign around my neck and on my front door of my “home” to read. We are a work in progress but if you like what you see, come on in…God is here!!