Broken Foot

Just after we moved to Reno 11 years ago, I broke the small bone in my left foot that connects my little toe to my ankle. That break resulted in surgery and I still have two pins holding those bones together.
Well, graceful woman that I am, I managed to break the exact same bone, but this time in my right foot, the beginning of this week. At this point the foot is still too swollen to cast and the jury is out about surgery or not because of the placement of the fracture. So I'm in a splint with instructions to keep the foot elevated (thus greatly limiting computer access) and to bear no weight on it for 6 weeks.
On Wednesday we plan to take another set of x-rays and either cast or schedule surgery (depending on what the x-rays reveal about current healing) at that point.

Recovering from our Relaxation!

You know that feeling of "I need a vacation to recover from my vacation?" Well, that's pretty much how I've been feeling since Sunday night! Wow, am I ever exhausted!!!

I did get a chance to use the Random.org website last night to select winners for each prize and will be emailing contest sponsors and winners later this evening to connect you with each other. I'll be posting a winner's list by tomorrow evening. Sometimes my emails don't seem to get where they are supposed to go, so if you don't get a winner's email from me, be sure to check the winner's list announcement and email me right away if you think you have missed a notification! Any prizes that remain unclaimed by Friday may be redrawn for new winners.

In addition to the 11 gifts offered through specific drawings this past Weekend, I also drew names for about ten more of you who will be receiving emails from me offering you a copy of the small book Childless: The Hurt and the Hope, by Beth Spring. This is an older title, now out of print, but a very helpful, compact resource for anyone dealing with inferitlity. If you receive this email offer from me, you are welcome to accept it for yourself or to give me the name and address of a friend you feel it might bless and I will send it to them on your behalf.

Thank you for your patience as I recover from such a whirlwind weekend! I'm still working my way back through all the wonderful comments and feedback and will be addressing some of your individual questions in future blog posts. :)

Thank You

With this post we conclude our Virtual Spa Weekend, but I hope this will not be the last time you visit me here at InnerBeautyGirlz! I will be spending the next few days going back through all your wonderful comments, taking note of questions and suggestions you have posted to gather ideas for future posts, and will continue striving to provide you discount codes, quality beauty information, devotional reflections and additional give-aways from time to time. If you haven't done so yet, please take the time to either "follow" me using the Goggle link on the right-hand side bar, or sign up for my email list in the mailing list box also to the right.

Thank you so much for joining me, for all the great participation and comments (about 300 of them!), for helping spread the word and share the joy with friends, and for making this a memorable Weekend! Thank you also to our many amazing guest bloggers and to all the Weekend sponsors who have so generously donated gifts for our give-aways. Don't forget that any comment on any non-prize thread through our whole Weekend enters you for last Wednesday's "early-bird" prize from Gurrlie Girl Christin jewelry. :)

I will accept contest entries for about three more hours then I will be selecting and contacting prize winners over the next few days. All prize winners should be posted by about Wednesday and contest sponsors will work with you directly to get your prizes to you. If you know any young women who would enjoy similar tips designed especially for them, please pass along my Girlz and Teens Inner Beauty link at Mineralz.blogspot.com where I'm currently offering a teen beauty book give-away through this week. :)

I would like to leave you with the following thoughts from 2 Corinthians 5:14-20 in The Message:

Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.
Because of this decision we don't evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don't look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you.

- Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Perspective Beauty

A big thank you to Lisa Brewer Buffaloe for allowing me to repost a beautiful story from her blog at at LisaBuffaloe.blogspot.com as we start to wrap up Virtual Spa Weekend. For those feeling especially tender over infertility or loss, I do want to give a head's up that the following story includes an amazing encounter between a father and son, however I think it will be a blessing to most who wish to read it. It was a good reminder for me about seeing the beauty in this world through God's eyes. :)

In the book Jesus Life Coach by Laurie Beth Jones, the author lays out some interesting points.

“Psychologists have documented the fact that it is not the actual events that harm us, so much as the perception of the events. In the stunning movie Life is Beautiful a father finds himself and his young son thrown into a concentration camp in Germany during World War Two. Trying to shield his son from the horror of their situation, he tells the boy that it is all a game, and the first one who gets scared, loses. Somehow he is able to continually convince the boy that none of the cruelty they are seeing is real, but only a play that is taking place. He even predicts the ending, saying at the end of the game a big tank with smiling men is going to come into the camp and declare the winner. When indeed the tank of the Americans pulls into camp, the little boy runs leaping and yelling in joy to greet it. ‘We won! We won!’ The father’s change of perception shielded the child from immense mental and emotional harm. Jesus does the same for us. When he says that ‘every tear shall be wiped away,’ he is teaching us that somehow we are in a play that is going to have a happy ending no matter what it looks like now.” Laurie Beth Jones *

Our temporary living arrangements are in an apartment on the third floor of a huge complex. If I open our blinds, it seems a thousand eyes will peer into the window. To the left of the kitchen table where I sit and type on my laptop is a patio that overlooks the parking lot. However, if you look further you can see a beautiful mountain range. No matter where I drive around town, I can see the mountains providing a visual of Psalm 121, “I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” (Psalm 121:1-4 NIV).

Regardless of our current situations, life here on earth is temporary, and Christ followers are guaranteed a happy ending. Our Heavenly Father provides the constant and consistent love and help we need.

When you look through the window of life, what do you see? Do you focus on the parking lot or do you notice the beauty of the mountains?

With the proper perspective, life truly is beautiful.

Thank You, Father for this beautiful life.


* Jesus Life Coach, Laurie Beth Jones, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN, 2004, pp 111-112.

When Lisa says, "Regardless of our current situations, life here on earth is temporary, and Christ followers are guaranteed a happy ending," I am reminded of another quote I recently read on Jason Mitchener's website, Forward Habit. Jason writes, "So often we treat this earth like our home. We focus on our life here like it's our eternal residence. We foolishly act like a traveler spending a week in a hotel room and using his time to put up new curtains, lay down carpeting, and pain the wall." That word picture really sticks with me and reminds me to enjoy the beauty of life while remembering that "every good and perfect gift is from above" and that true beauty and value can only be found in Jesus.

Lia Sophia Bracelet

In celebration of Virtual Spa Weekend, Carissa of Lia Sophia Jewelry is offering this beautiful $48 bracelet (pictured as "D" above) to one reader of InnerBeautyGirlz. You have heard the instructions all weekend - entry is as easy as leaving a comment along with a working email address or some other valid way of contacting you and you can earn extra entries for helping spread the word and coming back and telling me how you did so. Contest entries close at midnight tonight and I'll be announcing winners by Wednesday. :)

Solomon's Beloved

One of my earliest blog posts here at InnerBeautyGirlz was this video of "Solomon's Beloved" as presented by Vond Skelton. I couldn't let Virtual Spa Weekend pass without pulling it out one more time. The script starts out a little slow, but stick with it and you will soon be laughing! If you can't view it here, watch it on uTube at Solomon’s Beloved at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEmhI8FL_ZI.

Of Solomon's Beloved Vonda writes, "She’s so much fun! (And people think we Christians can’t have fun! A lot they know!)"

(If you are reading this via email and can't view the video, be sure to drop by the Inner Beauty Blog to see this funny, can't miss skit for yourself.

Natural Nails

A simple, quick tip for Virtual Spa Weekend. If you are looking for a natural nail polish, give Piggy Paint a try. This orderless, non-toxic nail polish is marketed as "kid friendly" but looks great on my nails too. Their slogan is "natural as mud" and the ingredients list is amazingly simple.

Laurie Marcolla, owner of Piggy Paint, has offered InnerBeautyGirlz readers an exclusive discount of 20% off your entire purchase from her website, including sale items, by using code THANKYOU20L from now until 6/1/2009. Spend $25 and shipping is FREE!

Infertility and New Life

Last night Melody of Hope of my Heart Designs gave you a chance to win her SpringTime Hope bracelet. If you missed that give-away, go back and look through yesterday's Virtual Spa Weekend posts because you can still enter to win unitl midnight tonight!

Now here's a bit more of Melody's story and God's working in her heart through the grief of infertility, adoption, pregnancy and miscarriage.

We got our PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) diagnosis 3 months after we were married, and started trying to conceive immediately. We tried Clomid after a few months, but it didn’t work. I was such a wreck while on that medicine that we decided that even if we tried with medical assistance later, we would NOT use the Clomid again. We lost our health insurance though, so we stopped trying to conceive for a while.

A year later, we pursued adoption. Nine months after we started the process, our son was born six weeks early. We were allowed to be in the delivery room with his birthmother, and after a week’s stay in NICU, he came home with us. We were thrilled.

Unfortunately, something was still missing. I didn’t know what it was, but I was miserable. Two months later, I finally admitted my problem – I was lost. I never dreamed that God would use infertility and adoption to bring me to Himself, but He did. On July 10, 2004, I finally accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. Finally, that void in my life was filled!

When our oldest was two, he started praying every night, “Dear Jesus, baby please.” I’d never been pregnant and wasn’t really convinced I would ever be. After a year, we were shocked to discover that I was indeed pregnant for the first time!

After our surprise little guy was born, we wondered how God was going to continue to grow our family. Once again, our oldest son started praying for a sibling. It didn’t take as long as we thought it would, but almost as soon as I suspected I was pregnant, I realized that I would never hold that little one this side of Heaven.

Our son kept praying, and we kept hoping for another pregnancy. Two months later, we discovered that I was pregnant AGAIN! We were surprised again at God’s timing. I was much more cautious that time, trying to guard my heart. But now I’m almost 19 weeks pregnant, and so far, baby is doing quite well.

I never dreamed that God would use infertility in my life the way He did, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.

If Tomorrow Never Comes

Welcome to the final morning of our Virtual Spa Weekend. All contest remain open until midnight to night, so please help keep spreading the word today.

Last month I posted a delightful interview with Marlo Schalesky on my "InfertilityMom" blog. Marlo is the author of seven books including the wonderful resource Empty Womb, Aching Heart: Hope and Help for Those Struggling With Infertility and several fiction titles including her newest release If Tomorrow Never Comes.

For a chance to win an autographed copy of this new title, please post a comment here. You may earn additional entries by helping promote Marlo's book and linking to this blog entry from your own website or blog or telling all your friends on Twitter, Facebook, Shoutlife of other social networks to stop by as well. Each time you post about this give-away, come back here and leave another new message for an additional entry!

Win Mineral Primer

Time for a late night give away for one reader and a discount code available to all as we round out today's Virtual Spa Weekend posts. :) Leave a comment to be entered to win a sifter jar of Defense Primer from Affordable Mineral Makeup™ along with a mini baby kabuki brush for mineral makeup application. Help me spread the word by linking to this post, then come back and leave a new comment for each social network or blog you post to before midnight, May 3, and receive and additional entry for each comment. :)



There is also a 10% Affordable Mineral Makeup™ (AMM) discount available to all InnerBeautyGirlz readers, valid through Sunday, May 10, at www.InnerBeautyGirls.com. Please be sure you are ordering through my personl consultant link rather than going to the main AMM page in order for me to receive credit for your purchase. Use discount code "mothersday09" at checkout. (For my readers dealing with heartache over this coming Mother's Day, please know that you are in my prayers. {{{hugs}}} I didn't want you to miss out on the discount just because it mentioned Mother's Day, but I understand that even these little reminders can hold a sting.)



See you back bright and early tomorrow mroning for a great book give-away! :)

Water

If you ask most beauty experts their number one piece of beauty advice, you will probably hear, "Drink lots of water!" Hydration is so important to ever cell in our bodies. There really is no substitue for water as caffinated, sugary or chemical-laden (such as diet) drinks really rob our body of many of the benefits of pure water.

Sometimes it is hard to drink enough because water doesn't "taste good" to us. Slices of citrus (lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit or some combination of these) floating in your water might give it the kick you need to make it more inviting. Or for an unusual and refreshing alternative, try slicing a chilled cucumber into your water. (Don't forget to save a couple slices for a cooling puffy eye treat!)

Another common reason for not drinking enough is simple business or forgetfulness. Make a habit of drinking you 64+ daily ounces by setting a pitcher out on the counter, lining up 8 glasses as a visual reminder to count down through the day, or by setting a timer for hourly drinks.

As you hopefully have noticed by now, our Virtual Spa Weekend is as much about our souls as our bodies. Just as it is important to train ourselves to stay physically hydrated, it is equally important to make a habbit out of daily refreshing our spirits with Living Water too! What is your plan to make sure you nourish your spirt as well as your body? Please add a comment to share your ideas for getting enough water or Water, be it inviting ways to drink or "quiet time" suggestions or other tips or methods of nurturing your life, both physical and spiritual. I always love learning new ideas!

On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as[a] the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

- John 7:37-39 (New International Version)

Hope of My Heart bracelet

Melody of Hope of My Heart Designs has created a beautiful Springtime Hope bracelet for one Virtual Spa Weekend reader. It is made from solid sterling silver, Swarovski crystal, and Czech druk beads and measures 7.5 inches long. To enter this contest simply leave me a comment with some way to contact you, such as a working email address. For extra entries, promote Melody's give-away link on your own site or through social media, then come back and post a new reply with a link to each promotional outlet you have posted. :)

Melody says, "I named it Springtime Hope because the little butterfly beads remind me of the new hope we have each spring with all the new life that is beginning and growing. It is a symbol of the hope we can still have even when going through infertility."



Melody officially started Hope of My Heart Designs when their oldest was about a year old. "It really started when we were in the adoption process – I wanted a bracelet to wear while I waited. People wanted bracelets just like it, and shortly after that, my business was born. I started with infertility bracelets – my hope was that women going through infertility would have a piece of jewelry they could wear that would offer them some hope. Later, I added miscarriage bracelets, adoption bracelets, and mother’s bracelets. Now, I sell a variety of jewelry, but the vast majority of it is still infertility and miscarriage bracelets."

Check back tomorrow morning for more from Melody and the story of how God changed her life through her infertility joureny.

Something Beautiful

I am pleased to share with you, my wonderful Virtual Spa Weekenders, this guest blog reflection on beauty by Carissa, who is also generously sponsoing both a Tupperware and a Lia Sopia give-away this weekend. :)

Can you picture the most beautiful place you have ever seen? For me it would be the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. I remember the very first time I saw those grand mountains and still remember the awe I felt as I viewed the mountains from the road.

I can only imagine what heaven will look like. To say it will be 100 times grander and more magnificent just doesn't seem to be enough.

Do you think about heaven? Do you anticipate heaven? I think sometimes I forget I am just passing through earth, my home is waiting and it is beyond the most beautiful picture I have here on earth.
My earthly body will be beautifully transformed into my heavenly body and be free from any sadness, pain or hurt. What a glorious day that will be!

Carissa is a 29-year-old member of Hannah's Prayer who was diagnosed with PCOS in February, 2004 after a year of trying to conceive unsuccessfully. With the help of medical professionals she was able to conceive her first child, but that pregnancy sadly ended in miscarriage on April 22, 2004. Since that loss the Lord has blessed their home with 4 living miracles, 2 of which are naturally-conceive twins! Though she has been blessed abundantly, Carissa's heart remains soft for women living through the heartache of infertility and she also has a passion for helping home business women find sucess working from home through her Work at Home Marketplace website.

Fit Feet

I've found a lot of my beauty tips by reading books, exploring other websites, and experimenting on my own at home. One of the most fun foot care tips I've come across is from Skin Care Recipes And Remedies. I honestly haven't even tried this one yet (because I don't currently have dry, cracked feet), but there is a claim on their website that soaking your feet in pickle juice nightly will soften and repair dry cracked feet within a matter of days! Now, I don't know if they are talking dill pickles (that would be my first guess) or sweet pickles or some other kind, and I'm not sure my hubby would think pickle juice to be the best smell as we crawled into bed (LOL), but I'm eager to give this one a try this summer, if for no other reason than it means I get to eat all those pickles just to get to the juice! You can find a great selection of other natural foot care remedies from the Skin Care Recipes site here.

For a refreshing foot soak, my favorite treats are Tea Tree Essential Oil and Peppermint Essential Oil mixed in warm water. (Start with boiling water, add a about 3 drops of each essential oil, then cool until a comfortable temperature.) Tea Tree oil has many healing properties and is great at fighting fungal infections such as athlete's foot, while peppermint is very refreshing. Salt soaks can help releave swelling. Some like to use chopped parsley in foot soakes for their antibacterial effect and to help with circulation, while others find Lavender to be a very relaxing addition to a foot soak.

Did you know that you can search my blog by topic? When you read an article at www.InnerBeautyGirlz.com and like what you see or want to know more, notice the topic links at the end of the post. Click on a link of interest to pull up all the posts I have made on that topic through the entire history of my blogging here. :) For example, you have probably already seen my video devotional on feet that launched our Spa Weekend, but if you want to know if I've ever posted anything else about "feet" then click on the label for "feet" at the end of this post. :)

Agape

Rachelle, a member of Hannah's Prayer, really wanted to participate in our Virtual Spa Weekend. But as she owns a landscaping compnay in Canada, she couldn't think of anyting related to her business to offer as a prize. So she generously decided to gift a copy of the book The Way of Agape, Understanding God's Love by Nancy Missler to one InnerBeautyGirlz reader. To be entered to win this book, please leave a comment on this thread, including a working email address or other means of getting in touch with you should you win. For additional entries, please post this link to your website, blog or through social media outlets such as Twitter or Facebook, then come back and leave me a new comment with a link to each place you have helped spread the word about Rachelle's give-away.

Of The Way of Agape Rachelle writes, "The information in this book has absolutely changed my life and i hope whoever wins it will be touched just as deeply as i have been. In it Nancy tells us what God revealed to her from the Bible about how we can be cleansed vessels, allowing God's love, which is already in every believer in Christ, to flow through us continually. How we can give our hurts and bitterness to God permanently, and be filled with his unconditional love for people. We've probably all heard somebody say, 'Just give it to God.' and still wonder how we are really supposed to do that in a practical way in our lives. This book explains it well. I can't recommend it enough. It's changed my walk with Jesus, my marriage and relationships forever. I pray that for whoever receives it, it blesses their socks off!"

Healthy Makeup Application

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend exploring all the posts here at our Virtual Spa. I would like to take a moment now to put on my "mineral makeup consultant's hat" and share a few tips about makeup application and brush usage. I'll warn you upfront that this post will include some pretty unusual vidoe clips, but I hope you will learn a lot and enjoy the process. :)

After questions about how to select or apply makeup and proper color selection, the next most frequent set of questions I tend to get are about makeup brushes. I've posted a few articles about brushes in the past and wanted to build on that a bit more today. Most beauty experts recommend natural animal hair brushes for the highest quality application. Due to allergies, I personally will only use synthetic bristles. There are many great brushes available through my Affordable Mineral Makeup™ website as well as other sites. A fairly generic explanation of brush basics can be found at www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEx8Y2CIDcY.

For mineral makeup foundation application, I feel that nothing works as well as a Kabuki style brush, though some people are happy with the results they get when applying with a large, fluffy brush such as the one quickly demonstarted in this video clip.

There is an interesting video clip about Kabuki brushes that I have decided to share with you after debating back and forth quite a bit. The reason I hesitate to post it is because I cannot endore either the producer of the video nor the makeup brand he mentions in his clip. Yes, he...

This was honestly quite unsettling for me to watch the first time because I've never seen a man apply makeup (and we are InnerBeautyGIRLZ here afterall) but I'm going to go ahead and stretch myself to share it with you because the information and techniques he shares are some of the most clear and informative I've seen. So I hope you can glean the good from this video and enjoy learning about the two main styles of Kabuki brushes along with application tips and techniques for each. Check out Dome or Flat Top Kabuki? at www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ7BwLgDBek

More information on selecting makeup brushes in general, with some specific attention given to eye makeup application can be found on this clip. You may also enjoy Tips for Eyeshadow Application, again with the understanding that I am not endorsing the makeup brands promoted in the video clip.

You may wonder why I am so passionate about only using pure mineral makeup brands such as Affordable Mineral Makeup™ (AMM). Believe it or not, it is not because I am a representative for this company that I talk about it so much. On the contrary, I decided to become an AMM rep because I already strongly believed in and regularly promoted treating my skin (the largest organ of my body) with care and avoiding as much chemical exposure as possible. I have a poor immune system and a lot of allergies and chemical sensitvities and AMM is one of the purest lines I've found, free of chemical additives and fillers like Bismuth, talc, cornstarch or other ingredients that can harbor bacteria or cause allergic reactions. I am happy to promote it because it is a quality product at a price I can justify affording.

You may not struggle with the same sensitivites I face, but I still challenge you to think about what you are putting on your skin and to look for the healthiest options possible. Even many mineral makeup brands on the market are still chemically-based makeups with some added minerals in hopes of marketing to the natural makeup crowd. Simply be aware that the name "mineral" in a makeup line does not automatically make it a healthy makeup alternative. Be an informed consumer, read the ingredients lists, and be sure you know what you are putting on your face and why. Affordable Mineral Makeup™ fully discloses all of our ingredients and the purpose for each one on our website. Check out the Compact for Safe Cosmetics as a great resource to learn about the health risks of various cosmetic lines.

Just Be Yourself

Mary with UpperCase Living is offering this adorable wall decoration to one InnerBeautyGirlz reader during Virtual Spa Weekend. The words measure 9.75” x 4.25” and come in Terra Cotta (not black as shown). Just leave a comment on this thread for your first entry (please remember to leave an email address or some means of contacting you), and spread the word by linking to this post on your own blog, Twitter, Shoutlife or other social networks to earn additional entries by leaving me a new comment for each action you have taken to help promote Mary's give-away. :)

Beauty Secrets of the Bible

I have mentioned this book many times before, and the link to the author's website is in my sidebar, but given that this Virtual Spa Weekend idea was born out of the desire to provide a fun weekend for women who could not attend the Hannah's Prayer Ministries retreat in Ohio this weekend, I think Ginger Garrett and her book Beauty Secrets of the Bible deserve another spotlight today! Ginger is the keynote speaker at the Hannah's Prayer retreat and I am so sad that I am not meeting her in person right now! But I know she will be a blessing to all the ladies at the retreat and if you take the time to explore her website, her resources will be a delight to you as well. :)

May Flowers Naturals

The goal of May Flowers Naturals is to make quality, natural, non-toxic skin care affordable. Meridith offers an all natural skin care system including Head-to-Toe Honey Cleanser, Orange Mint Toner and Grapeseed Oil Moisturizer. I've been using this line for over a year now and especially love that moisturizer! One blessed Virtual Spa Weekend guest will receive all three products in travel size, just leave a comment on this thread! Earn additional entries by linking to this thread on Twitter, Facebook, other social media or your blog, then comming back with an additional comment for each place you have helped promote the May Flowers give away. :)

Be sure to visit Meridith at www.MayFlowersNaturals.com and thank her for her sponsorship of Virtaul Spa Weekend. :)

Different Kind of Makeover

I recently learned the story of Candy Wood Lindley, author of Face of Faith: Discovering a Different Kind of Makeover, through a post on Rest Ministries (chronic pain and illness encouragement ministry). I hope to share more about her story and books at some future date, but I am so moved by the little I do know of her so far that I wanted to go ahead and repost what I learned from Rest Ministries here during our Virtual Spa Weekend, even though I haven't yet had a chance to personally review her book yet. (For those dealing with inferitlity or loss, please be aware that children are briefly mentioned in this article.)

In a world obsessed with perfection of the outer appearance and makeovers of every kind, Candy discovered a different kind of makeover—one that lasts—a makeover of the heart.
Candy’s life seemed to have fallen into place. Blessed with an idyllic childhood and loving parents who doted on their precocious only child with a mind of her own, she grew up with grace and charm in the Old South of the 1950s and ’60s.
As a speech and drama major at the University of Alabama, vivacious, petite Candy channeled her boundless energy and passion to be “on stage.” Marriage, blessed with two darling children, followed … and then the diagnosis at age 30 that changed her life and her looks forever.
Her only chance at survival was a surgery so drastic that, according to her doctors, she would lose the greater portion of her face including the right eye and possibly the left, leaving her severely deformed. Candy awoke with a new face on the outside and a renewed commitment to her Lord on the inside.
On life’s stage, Candy chose to surrender to a different kind of makeover by the Master’s hands.
In her book, Face of Faith, Candy tells her amazing story—a true medical miracle—as she set out to discover who she was apart from her physical looks.
When doctors told Candy Wood Lindley that she had six months to live, she prayed that God would allow her to see her two young children grow up. That was 1982.
Candy was diagnosed with a baseball-sized tumor in the center of her head. Eight surgeries and several years later, she was left facially disfigured but determined to make the most of what she had. In 1987, she was one of twenty-five recipients of Clairol’s national “Take Charge Award,” given to women who have overcome obstacles and turned their lives around after the age of thirty.
This was awarded to her for the production of two nationally released videos, together called Let’s Face It. One dealt with makeup techniques for the facially disfigured and the other with wig and scarf applications for hair loss patients.
In 1997, she was given the Life Inspiration Award by the American Cancer Society. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons gave Candy their “Patients of Courage Award” in 2004, and she accepted the 2005 Legacy of Courage Award from Alabama’s For the Cause.
The co-author of the book is Kathi Macias, a popular speaker and prolific author. She has published twenty-two books and hundreds of articles.
Whether keyboarding her latest book, keynoting a conference, or riding on the back of her husband’s Harley, Kathi is a lady on a mission to communicate God’s vision. Her insightful words—filled with passion, humor, and soul nourishment—refresh audiences from all walks of life, and her Spanish devotionals, “Desde el Corazon del Padre” (with English translations), can be found on www.Crosswalk.com each Monday.
Her newest book, Beyond Me: Living a You-First Life in a Me-First World, was released in July 2008 from New Hope Publishers and was named “top pick” in the Christian Living category by Christian Retailing Magazine.

Beauty for Ashes

We all carry "baggage" in our lives. Maybe some childhood hurts or abuse, maybe an unhappy marriage or the longing for marriage at all when relationship just never seem to work out. For many Virtual Spa Weekend visiters it's infertility or the death of your baby. Whatever heartache you are facing, there's only one place to take your pain to have that trash transformed to treasure. Watch this powerful video...

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

- the words of Jesus, from The Message, Matthew 11:28-30

Dayspring Necklace

DaySping has generously donated a God’s Heart for You – Sterling Silver Necklace ($45 value) to our Virtual Spa Weekend! It is the number one seller on their website and it will be randomly awarded to one InnerBeautyGirlz reader who is leaves a comment on this blog by midnight Sunday. If you would like to earn additional entries for this prize, please share the link to DaySpring's promotion on your own blog or social network, then come back here and post additional comments for each way you have helped spread the word!

In God’s heart, you are…

created
I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. PSALM 139:14 NIV

chosen
The Lord has chosen you to be His treasured possession. DEUTERONOMY 14:2 NIV

celebrated
He will take great delight in you…
He will rejoice over you with singing. ZEPHANIAH 3:17 NIV

cherished
I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. JEREMIAH 31:3 NIV

Tupperware Tips

Tupperware consultant Carissa is offering one $25 Gift Certificate to the randomly selected winner from all who comment on this Virtual Spa Weekend post. Earn your entry by posting your best Tupperware or beauty tip or story and earn additional entries by sharing the link to this post on your own website, blog or social network, then coming back to leave an additional comment for every way you have helped promote Carissa's give-away. :) Entries accepted until midnight on Sunday and winner announced early next week.

Carissa's Beauty Tip is that Tupperware Modular Mates work well for organizing all your make-up and jewelry. The Ovals are the perfect bathroom size for storing all the bathroom and beauty supplies. Of her home business she says, "I started with Tupperware in 2006 first as a discount consultant and quickly realized how I could make some extra income by doing catalog parties and internet sales. Since then I have a team and a goal to become a Director and drive a new car!"

God Thinks You're Beautiful

I am delighted to welcome Holley Gerth as a guest blogger at our Virtual Spa Weekend! Holley is an award-winning writer and editorial director for DaySpring (check the first link tomorrow morning for a great give-away from DaySpring) with more than ten years of experience in the publishing industry. Her first devotional book, Rain on Me: Devotions of Hope and Encouragement for Difficult Times, is now available online and in bookstores. She’s also the author of over 2,000 cards, as well as several devotionals, articles, journals, and books. Holley is receiving a masters degree in counseling, and she’s passionate about bringing hope to the hearts of women. You’re invited to visit her online at Heart to Heart with Holley at holley.dayspring.com

Just flip through a few television channels and it’s easy to see that our culture is obsessed with beauty. Stars get plastic surgery before they grace the red carpet. Makeover shows transform lives and faces. Miss America crowns one girl the fairest of them all. From the time we are young girls we wonder how we fit into all of this fuss about beauty.

I clearly remember changing outfits at least ten times the evening before the first day of school in fourth grade. I would put one on, parade in front of my parents, and then rush back to my room to stare in the mirror. None of them seemed quite right. I was a wallflower who got few compliments.

The next morning I woke up to find a note beside my bed. It said, “The outfit looks great and so do you. Love, Dad.” I don’t even think he knew which outfit I ended up choosing. It didn’t matter. I belonged to him and that made me beautiful in his eyes no matter what I was wearing.

Our Heavenly Father feels the same way about us. He created us and regardless of what the world may try to tell us, He thinks we’re beautiful. I attended a conference taught by writer and women’s ministry leader Bekah Mulvaney. She talked about women’s search for acceptance and how she is learning to embrace God’s view of her.

Then she said something I'll never forget, “When I look in the mirror I see my imperfections. When God looks at me He probably thinks I’m adorable! After all, he made this nose, these eyes, and my heart.”

The biblical book of Song of Solomon is thought by most scholars to be a picture of Christ and His relationship with us. Over and over the lover he says words to his beloved like, “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me” (Song of Solomon 2:10).

Angela Thomas explores this more in depth through her book, Do You Think I’m Beautiful? The Question Every Woman Asks. She also shares how we can respond to our desire for beauty. She says:
“If the question, ‘Do you think I’m beautiful?’ came attached to my soul, then maybe the answer wasn’t ever meant to fully come from this world. Maybe the purpose of the question is to take me by the hand and walk me into the presence of the Creator. My soul cries out and asks me the questions meant to lead me to God. Maybe all that really matters is what He thinks of me.”

Whether we obsess about it or ignore it, we’re made to know we’re beautiful. That truth can ultimately only come from God. He’s waiting to speak to our hearts the words we’ve always longed to hear…
You are beautiful.

Chocolate!

What's a Spa Weekend, Virtual or otherwise, without chocolate???

Michelle Glassmaker at The Gourmet Cupboard has us covered! She is offering one reader of InnerBeautyGirlz an amazing gourmet gift basket filled with 2 Heavenly Chocolate Pie/Chocolate Cheesecake, 1- 5 Minute Microwave Chocolate Fudge, PawPaw's Sugar Free Chocolate Pie, Chocolate Chip Cookies, M&M Bar Mix, Sugar Free Chocolate Fudge Cookies and a White Chocolate Mousse Coffee!



Yumm-O! I'm wishing this weren't my blog so I could enter! But I'll be nice and disqualify myself so that one of you has a chance to win this mouth-watering prize. To enter just leave a comment here with a working email address or some other method to contact you when you when. (Wouldn't it be sad to find out later that you had been selected but I had to choose an alternate because I couldn't get ahold of you?)

If you would like additional chances to enter for this prize, start posting the link everywhere you can. For each post to your own blog, website or social media sites like Shoutlife, Facebook, Twitter and so forth, come back and leave an additional comment with a link to your posts and you will earn another chance at this great prize.

Michelle started selling The Gourmet Cupboard about 3 years ago. "I LOVE this company because it is a small company based in Texas and run by a Mother/Daughter team. Every mix is handmade and made AFTER you order it. Every mix is SUPER easy to make and only requires a few ingredients you proabably already have in your cupboard. I started selling The Gourmet Cupboard to try and make some extra money to pay for adoption expenses. We brought our baby girl home last July." Please visit Michelle's site to thank her for being a sponsor of Virtual Spa Weekend or to ask her your questions about this delicious company.

Welcome to Virtual Spa Weekend!

What an exciting weekend ahead of us! I pray that this Virtual Spa Weekend will be a blessing to everyone who visits and that you will be encouraged and refreshed. We have over 20 posts scheduled over the next 50 hours, including books, chocolate, jewelry, video clips, beauty tips, and lots of great give-aways! In between all that blog reading, I challenge you to find some quiet time this weekend to draw a warm bath, light some candles, grab your Bible or a good book, and curl up for some self-parmpering. I'll do my part in encouraging your "spa experience" by posting a series of give-aways, beauty tips and devotional reflections from now through Sunday afternoon. (The give-aways will all remain open for comments/entries until midnight Sunday and prize winners will be announced by Wednesday or sooner.)

Some of you already know me, so you are welcome to skip this introduction and just scroll down to my embarrasing video at the end of the post (but you might want to read the paragraph directly above it for context). ;) For those who are new to InnerBeautyGirlz, please allow me a moment to share a little about myself before we get this Weekend rolling.

My name is Jennifer (Jenni) Saake, also know around the internet (check Shoutlife, Twitter, Facebook, and a slew of message boards) as InfertilityMom. I'm 36 years old and coming up on my 17th wedding anniversary this summer. After a long infertilty journey, Rick and I are the blessed parents of 13 children, 3 of whom we are very thankful to share our daily lives with, 7 whom we will always carry in our hearts though they never officially joined our family through adoption as we had prayed they would, and 3 more who await us in Heaven after their physical deaths in my womb. Through this journey we were able to help establish Hannah's Prayer Ministires nearly 15 years ago and my first book, Hannah's Hope: Seeking God's Heart in the Midst of Infertility, Miscarriage & Adoption Loss was published by NavPress in 2005.

I have struggled with health challenges since I was about 8 years old, including Endometriosis and Fibromyalgia in my early teen years. My freshman year of college I faced the dramatic onset of CFIDS (chronic fatigue immune dysfunction syndrome), leaving me almost totally bedridden for about 2 years and facing an uphill battle ever since. My health has become progressively more fragile again over the past few years with my immune system now functioning at only about 5% and the possible diagnosis of a-typical MS on the horizon. The next book I hope to write will be about the life of Paul and his "thorn in the flesh," a book of encouragement to those living with chronic pain and illness. In the meantime I'm keeping a blog called Harvesting Hope from Heartache™, offering hope and resources for a variety of life's challenge and losses (loved ones, health, jobs, marriages, depression...)

In order to live and stay as healthy as possible, I am constantly looking to make wise choices from everything as basic as the air I breath and the water I drink to the food I eat and the cosmetic products I apply to my body. This quest has opened up an amazing world of natural beauty alternatives that I am excited to pass on to InnerBeautyGirlz readers. I am an affiliate with Mountain Rose Herbs and a consultant with both Affordable Mineral Makeup™ and Gurrlie Girl™ Christian Jewerly.

So now that you know a little bit about me, let me get the personal humilation out of the way and kick off our Weekend with this YouTube message I recorded from my bathroom just last week. This video was created specifically for the ladies of Hannah's Prayer Ministries who are gathered in Ohio this weekend for an infertility and pregnancy loss support retreat, so as you think of them I ask that you would lift them in prayer this weekend. But I pray the message of the video will give you a reason to smile, maybe even make you laugh as you see me with no makeup, unbrushed hair and sitting on the side of my tub in a bathrobe, or be an encouragement to you in whatever season of life you find yourself tonight.



Click here to tour the entire Virtual Spa Weekend (so far) or go directly to InnerBeautyGirlz.com to view all resources available through this blog. :) Even after the Weekend officially ends at midnight on Sunday, May 3, the Spa resources will remain here to offer you encouragement and information. Check back on May 6 for our Weekend give-away winner's list and subscribe or "follow" me now in order to receive future updates.