{1} issue
L I V E LOV E | RO M A N S 1 2 | R E C E I V E G R AC E
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philosophy believe in miracles
hey you… yes, you. stop being so unhappy with yourself. you were created in God’s image. stop wishing you looked like someone else or wishing people liked you as much as they like someone else, stop trying to get attention from those who hurt you, stop hating your body, your face, your personality, your quirks, love them, without those things you wouldn’t be you, and why would you want to be anyone else? be confident with who you are. smile it will draw people in, if anyone hates on you because you are happy with yourself, say my happiness will not depend on others anymore. i’m happy because i love who i am, i love my flaws, i love my imperfections, they make me, and ‘me’ is pretty amazing.
ON THE COVER �In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.�
Romans 12:6-8
Model MOMOE MURRAY Photographer QIAO QIAO JADE Make-Up Artist NANETTE BRIGGS
JANUARY
content
EVERY ISSUE
- FROM THE EDITOR - BY YOU. . . - FACT OR FICTION - THE WALK
in her words…
-THE DREAM CENTERgiving back in the
City of Angels A RENEWED FAITH I WANT A LOVE LIKE THAT TRENDS
JUMPSTART 2013 THE GUIDE
-
FINDING YOUR CENTER GET INSPIRED COLORS THAT WORK 5 UNDER 50
HEALTH
putting faith back into fashion
from the EDITOR
S
o many times you hear and read
things focusing that Proverbs 31 is such an example of how women should live. I’ve looked to it myself, and seen it shows powerful insight into how a woman should handle herself there are some parts that may never apply to me. Now while I don’t disagree that these verses hold truth or have the ability to carry out powerful teachable moments. Not every woman may be meant to get married, desire to carry children, or to sit quietly behind the scenes. So it leaves the question, where do the modern day, career seeking, God fearing passionate women who want nothing more than to follow Christ look for example? I believe Romans 12 to be a great start.
… a few of my favorite things
Living a life of love can be challenging, so many times we are combatting major struggles of life like deaths or illnesses. But I’ve found that sometimes it’s the little thorns that can pack a larger blow in ways we don’t understand at the time. Being the women who raises the bar rather than waiting for someone else to do it for you takes courage. Have you ever told a lie that at the time you believed to be harmless only to later find out has affected the way a person you respected may forever perceive you? Have you ever grab the last of something and in pure laziness not replaced it? Only to affect the person who came along later, causing them to run late while replacing your time? Have you ever just plainly taken the low road of a situation, maybe running to the first person you see, telling them all about whatever situation just happened to you that was so appalling furthering the domino effect of negativity instead of trying to repair the situation in love? Throughout my life I have learned, in not the gentlest of ways that “love must be sincere”, and that when you do “cling to what it good” things start to mellow out. While the everyday tests of life still come, embracing the attitude of love can change any situation. So my challenge for you this month is to “not repay evil for evil, do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” “If your enemy is hungry feed them; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink”, and finally “do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” –Romans 12:9-21
eliza
Eliza Beerbower, Editor in Chief eliza@magazine-grace.com
Photography | Hair & Makeup: Jessica Frieling | Model: Marissa DuBois
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. psalms 63:3
If someone were to ask me, “Why him?” I would answer, simply, “he has always accepted me.” Every time I have fallen short, every time I have broken trust, every time I have run away or hidden my face - he has forgiven me, he has trusted me anyway, he has found me, and he has always, always accepted me. And he always stays with me. God has taught me so much about Himself through the way he cares for me. Tonight, through tears, I shook my head and said, “This is me. I am a mess. I would understand if you walked away.” And him, though hurt, he just smiled and said, “I forgive you. I accept you. You are so beautiful to me.” Grace is uncomfortable. But I’m thankful that God lets me experience it in such - 525 project meaningful and permeating ways.
the GUIDE three best known names in China: Jesus Christ, Madonna, Teddy Roosevelt a leach has 18 brains
ondontophobia is the fear of bread a snail can sleep for 3 years
the average golf ball has 336 dimples
fact or fiction
visit magazine-grace.com to find out which statements are fact or fiction
the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog uses every letter in the english language
The most money ever paid for a cow in an auction was $4.6 million The #146 can be found on the back of a $5- bill in the bushes at the base of the Lincoln Memorial
china has more people who speak english than the united states the flinstones was the first 30 minute cartoon to be aired during prime time
the GUIDE MONEY
L
ets face it saving money can be rough sometimes. We’ve seen it in movies and read articles all the time… freeze your credit cards, hide your $20 bills, only spend fives. The list goes on and on when it comes to the crazy advice that works for some and fails for most. The bottom line is that savings takes discipline. This technic is definitely not fail proof, but its also one of the more easier formulas for putting away a little extra something for a rainy day, a well deserved vacation, or even better a charity or mission organization.
the 52 WEEK SAVINGS plan Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week
$1 = $1 $2 = $3 $3 = $6 $4 = $10 $5 = $15 $6 = $21 $7 = $28 $8 = $36 $9 = $45 $10 = $55 $11 = $66 $12 = $78 $13 = $91
Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week
$14 = $105 $15 = $120 $16 = $136 $17 = $153 $18 = $171 $19 = $190 $20 = $210 $21 = $231 $22 = $253 $23 = $276 $24 = $300 $25 = $325 $26 = $351
Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week
$27 = $378 $28 = $406 $29 = $435 $30 = $465 $31 = $496 $32 = $528 $33 = $561 $34 = $595 $35 = $630 $36 = $666 $37 = $703 $38 = $741 $39 = $780
Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week
$40 = $820 $41 = $861 $42 = $903 $43 = $946 $44 = $990 $45 = $1,035 $46 = $1,081 $47 = $1,128 $48 = $1,176 $49 = $1,125 $50 = $1,275 $51 = $1,326 $52
$1,378
the GUIDE Located in the heart of LA in the old Queen of Angels hospital, the Dream Center began back in 1994 with Pastor Matthew Barnett as the lead. The DC is a modern day well, created to help the community by “finding a need and filling it”, beginning with residential recovery programs, safe houses for sex trafficking victims, and a shelter for homeless families. Over the years it has grown adding a mobile food bank, offers medical care, and educates those whose interests lie in furthering the kingdom through missions & ministry. While DC has many who darken the doors of their mission, everyday looking for a helping hand up the story of Alisha is different. She is a women of strength, courage and most of all, an amazing reminder that God’s plans are always greater than ours can ever begin to be. . .
giving back in the
CITY OF ANGELS
the GUIDE As a student in the Dream Center Leadership School. Alisha entered the 9 month ministry training program in September taking a leap of faith, trusting God would carry her through and provide more than she could need to attend. But her walk with Christ began far before that. As a child Alisha grew up being raised by teenage parents whose bad relationship and abusive ways from her father poured deeply into her upbringing. Despite this, her mom always made church a priority in Alisha’s life.
By the age of three, her parents had divorced but through the rebuilding of a new family and step-father’s support and structure, love reentered, but the scars from her early childhood always remained. Hanging with the wrong crowd led to a strong sexual addiction to the point of Alisha finally giving up on Alisha. Completely broken and empty with nothing left to live for, God intervened,. Placing mentors to help her through, she began her fight back to her relationship with God. In April of last year, Alisha’s best friend, was doing her own leadership program at DC. Deciding to check out the facilities , Alisha unknowingly arrived during the weekend of Sneek Peek ( a special weekend designed to give an in-depth look at life as a student) with no intention to join The Movement, in her words. “It just wasn’t logical”
At that point, she had just graduated from cosmetology school, acquired $10,000 in student loans ,but God quickly convicted her to open her heart to the opportunities she was being introduced to. As Alisha explained, “The sermon that night was about seeking wisdom and discernment, and I felt like the pastor was speaking directly to me. After the sermon I went to pray and being kind of a brat testing God I said “ God if this is where you want me, send someone to pray for me”. Two seconds later an older man came up to me and prayed over me. I was shocked and wanted to say just kidding I didn’t mean it God. But he had other plans. I started to panic this was not logical, I had my student loans , just moved out of my parents home, I had bills and didn’t need another tuition. As soon as my mind panicked God hushed me and said “If I sent you I’ll take care of you“. The whole rest of the weekend he kept saying to me “I want you to myself. I want you here to myself”. I made the decision to listen and applied for The Movement and have never looked back.”
the GUIDE
the GUIDE
“ I know I can't do anything with out my Father in heaven. His relationship, His word and His presence. Having gone through everything I've gone through, I want to start a ministry someday for teenage girls. Based all around the idea that we are daughters of the King. Princesses. To deal with real issues that girls go through and just really instill what it means to be a woman of God. I believe that beauty & confidence really go hand in hand and both come when you've found your identity in Christ. Knowing the God of the universe died for you and you are fearfully and wonderfully made for a divine and distinct purpose. ”
ALISHA AVIL A Photographer : Everardo Keeme | Model : Alisha Avila
the GUIDE
Caitlin Crosby of MTV’s The Hard Times of RJ Berger, began her journey of paying it forward with the intention of helping the homeless who were looking for opportunities to transition out of their current living situation by engraving recycled keys that are now sold all around the world. With over 50 pages of stories told, the connections The Giving Keys are creating are beyond phenomenal.
www.thegivingkeys.com
the giving keys
the GUIDE
Head over to our Facebook page www.facebook.com/ magazine.grace. - to tell us what word you would select to have engraved on your key.
The giving keys
the GUIDE WHILE NOT EVERYONE IS GOING TO HAVE A STOP IN YOUR TRACKS, LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE LIKE ALISHSA’S OR BEGIN A COMPANY, LIKE CAITLIN, THAT IMPACTS OTHERS. THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO SLOW DOWN, QUIET YOURSELF AND REALLY EXPERIENCE GOD, AND TRULY SEEK HIS WILL WITH THE INTENTION OF DOING GREAT THINGS.
Our ideal bookshelf
each month we are going to introduce you to what’s trending, what’s on our shelves here at {grace} and what we believe should be on yours…
books
START AT THE SOURCE – WHILE THERE ARE SO MANY GREAT RESOURCES OUT TODAY ON THE INTERNET & IN BOOKSTORES. TAKING 30 MINUTES A DAY TO READ THE BIBLE WILL BE LIFE CHANGING. THE BIBLE IS A LIVING WORD- MEANING THAT EVEN THOUGH IT WAS WRITTEN 1000’S OF YEARS AGO IT STILL APPLIES TO US TODAY. PRAYER & MEDITATION – THESE TYPES OF WORDS CAN TEND TO BE SCARY SOMETIMES. QUESTIONS LIKE “IS GOD LISTENING” “HOW DO YOU EVEN BEGIN TO MEDITATE” CAN BEGIN TO CREATE DOUBT. GOD WANTS US TO TALK TO HIM, HE LOVES US ENOUGH TO CONNECT OUR HEARTS TO HIM. IN SPEAKING TO HIM & STOPPING OURSELVES LONG ENOUGH TO SAY “LORD I’M READY TO HEAR YOUR PLAN FOR MY LIFE” WE BEGIN A FORM OF WORSHIP. I BELIEVE ONE OF THE GREATEST JOYS GOD LIKES HEARING FROM US IS, “LORD, I’M SEEKING YOU TODAY, SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO STOP ME IN MY TRACKS OF LIFE DOWN THE ROAD.” BEGIN JOURNALING – THERE HAS TO BE A REASON WHY EVERY SELF-HELP, HOW TO BOOK OR ARTICLE SUGGESTS JOURNALING. KEEPING ONE FORCES YOU TO ORGANIZE YOUR THOUGHTS, SET YOUR INTENTIONS, AND CHRONICLE THE DIRECTION GOD IS TAKING YOU IN YOUR LIFE AS YOU BEGIN FOLLOWING HIM.
music podcasts John Piper
The Internet Monk
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the # Â g r a c e t r e n d s
LIGHT THE WORLD
WINTER
the TRENDS
in her words. . . How has Christ shown himself to you in your life?
Photographer : Tami Simmons | Model : Amy Bree
Well this is actually a very easy
question for me, I lost both my parents very, very young. I was molested and beaten by the closest people in my life. I was angry and full of hate for a very very long time. A lot of people have said, Amy with everything you have been thru in life, how do you even believe? Well its simple! I'm still here!! I am in my right mind and I have three healthy beautiful children that he covers under his strength everyday. I have the ability to work, love, smell, see, feel, and yes even cry. I know without Christ and his strength I would never make it thru a single day. Yes I have been thru what many believe is more than my share of heartache and pain, but I am stronger on the other side of all that. I was on a path of destruction, Christ broke me down, showed and is still showing me everyday just how much he is control and I will never lose sight of that again.
the TRENDS Â
Daily, I am driven by the humbling respect of being giving another chance to do better, every time I open my eyes. To provide for my family, and ask in prayer that I can guide my children away from mistakes that I have made in my life. If I had the chance I would help young individuals that aren't quite sure what their purpose in His path is. To be there for anyone that feels they have no one and let them know they aren't alone.
Photographer : Tami Simmons | Model : Amy Bree
What drives you & how do you as an individual want to impact the world?
the TRENDS
Photographer : Tami Simmons | Model : Amy Bree
What does feeling beautiful & confident mean to you? The feeling of beauty and confidence… that's exactly what it is. Do you feel beautiful when you look in the mirror? Or do you only feel confident that your beautiful if your makeup is just right? ALL FALSE. For a long time I never saw the beauty in myself. But I stopped looking in a mirror for it, and it was right there. Beauty to me is seeing someone in need and reaching out. Noticing the tears one is trying to hold back and sincerely asking if that person is okay. Beauty is in laughter, in children, in the blue sky as your driving to work. And to be confident is knowing what you are truly ready to sacrifice and commit to helping anyone you are not looking for acknowledgement or reward. Beauty and confidence to me is to step out of your body and really see yourself from the inside out. I know many very beautiful and confident people, and those whether pretty or not, are the ones I know Christ has placed in my life as angels.
LET IT SHINE
2013
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the WALK
jumpstart By: Melodie Anne Coffman Everyone has those pesky New Year’s goals – you know the ones. Lose weight. Exercise more. Fit into those skinny jeans. Sure it’s great to have a life-‐changing goal at the end, but if you focus on the big picture every day, you’ll miss all of the little milestones you’re hitting along the way. You’ll wind up right back in your old routine in a matter of weeks, feeling guilty. Instead of zeroing in on that one big weight-‐loss or Litness goal, start incorporating little good habits into your daily life. If you keep up with it, that big target will happen naturally, with minimal extra effort.
2013
Get Up and Move Exercise has to be a part of your daily routine. It helps stabilize your weight, makes you happy and gives you more energy. Between working 10 hours at the ofLice, taking your evening classes and Linding time for your signiLicant other, it’s hard enough to Lind time to shower, let alone exercise. Don’t always think of exercise as a 1-‐hour trip to the gym every day. Small increments are equally important. Rather than emailing your co-‐worker down the hall, get up and walk to her ofLice.
Make yourself stand up and walk in place while you’re listening in on a long conference call. Taking stairs instead of the elevator is always helpful, start slow though. If you’re up on the 15th Lloor, take the elevator to Lloor 14 and walk up one Llight of stairs. By making an effort to increase your overall steps throughout the day, you can burn between 120 and 180 calories in 30 minutes of extra walking. And when you do have some down time, head to the gym for some weight training.
the WALK Get More Fiber You hear it in just about every commercial: Get more Liber. Already you know that Liber helps keep you regular. It also helps with satiety. High-‐Liber foods – think fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole-‐ grains – force food to sit in your stomach for a longer period of time. Once Liber reaches your intestinal tract, it slows the digestion of everything behind it. Some Libers even bulk up when they come into contact with Lluid, giving you even more of a full feeling. As a mid-‐ morning pick-‐me-‐up have some nuts and dried fruit, baby carrots with hummus or a peanut butter sandwich on multi-‐grain bread.
These Librous snacks will tide you over until lunch, so you’re less likely to run to the vending machine. Aim to get 14 grams of Liber for every 1,000 calories in your diet, as suggested by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010. If you’re on a stringent 1,500-‐calorie per day diet, you’ll need 21 grams of Liber each day. Drink a Lot of Water Of course it’s naturally calorie-‐free, but it’s also a Liller. Water adds bulk to your belly, making you feel full, without adding any sort of calories to your diet. Before you sit down to eat, make yourself drink two 8-‐ounce glasses of water. You’ll wind up consuming between 75 to 90 fewer calories from that particular meal, according to research presented at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in 2010. That may not sound like a lot, although research participants who did this, lost an average of 5 more pounds during the 12-‐week study than those who didn’t drink the extra water. If water bores you, spruce it up with fresh basil leaves, mint sprigs and slices of lemons, limes or oranges.
Don’t Focus on Numbers Don’t be terriLied of your scale. Sometimes the numbers aren’t always telling the truth. Remember that muscle weighs more than fat and if that number goes up a little or doesn’t budge at all for days, you’re most likely gaining muscle from all of your exercise efforts. Rather than staring blankly at the scale, try on that pair of jeans that were a little tight last month. Odds are, they’ll Lit better. It’s always more beneLicial to see how your goals are coming along based on how your clothes feel, rather than focusing too much on a number.
the WALK
I think us women feel great when we feel sexy and sould not keep if behind closed door, if it makes us happy.
ashley
Sexy is conLidence: It is owning your essence. I think as long as it is something you are exuding honestly, all is well.
amy
So many times sexy is a term as Christians that either gets overlooked or misunderstood. Is it ok for a Christian woman to feel sexy, to be sexy, or is that considered taboo and what makes a woman sexy?
in your words
“I think women can look and feel sexy with out it being "sexual" because modesty is actually quite becoming and how we feel about ourselves dictates how we carry ourselves, how we treat people and how others treat us.”
melody
I think feeling sexy is an attribute women should carry with them, looking sexual needs to be reserved for behind closed doors. I think you can feel sexy without Llaunting your body.
jen
Join us in the conversation head over to Facebook to tell us what you think.
the WALK
faith renewed By: Melody Hawks
Have you ever been off track? I
mean really off track. The kind of off track that people in your life might have thought, “Wow, who are you?” or “this isn’t the person I used know.” You were living your life, doing your best to improve where you can and then all of a sudden you look in the mirror and realize, this is not who I intended to be. It’s a gradual process and doesn’t happen over night. One compromise after another lands you in a place that you would have probably never jumped right into but none the less, there you are. When we Lind ourselves in this place and we look around and feel like God has just given up on us or feel that He is no longer guiding or directing our path, that He has left us. I have come to realize, it’s not God who moved away, it’s me and what I really need is a new faith.
the WALK Not a new religion. Not a turn from my beliefs that I’ve always held to. Maybe a better way to put it is a restored faith. If you have ever accepted Jesus as your savior, you’ve probably experienced the joy in your heart of having eternal assurance. For me it was a relief that I am no longer doomed to an eternity apart from God and then the joy of knowing that the Creator of the universe cares for, loves and even protects a little speck like me. But those emotions don’t stay with me forever. I’ve gotten off track before. It’s those times when I need my faith restored. In Psalm 50, King David asks of God the Father to “Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation” in other words, “bring me back to that place in my heart when I Lirst felt the joy of knowing you” we tend to want to go back to the place we were before but when we go back to where we were, we have to be mindful not to make the same bad choices or compromises that we did before, in-‐fact not only do we need to be restored, we need to be renewed.
Either way, as you go, your mind will be renewed. You will develop a new thought process and God will start pointing out things here and there to focus on or change. So we can be yielded to the renewing but it is God who transforms us.
In Romans 12 Paul urges us to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” This transformation and renewal are concepts that we should consider. This transformation is something only God can do. It’s not something we can do ourselves; however, we have to be yielded or willing to be transformed by renewing our minds. Taking in that which is good is a good start. Begin to read The Word. If you aren’t a good reader there are places on the internet where the bible can be read to you and you can follow along. Don’t know where to start? You can start at Genesis but if you are a new Christian or just wanting to know more about who Christ is, a good start is the Gospel of John.
The Bible says in II Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new. God, through the blood of Jesus Christ can make things new for you. This might mean new friendships, new relationships, a new way of thinking, the possibilities are endless. You see, the truth is, people have a hard time grasping the thought that forgiveness in Christ means that our short comings are cast as far as the east is from the west and that our past can stay right where it is… in the past. So, if you are off track or were, know that where you are isn’t where you are required to stay. God doesn’t give up on us. In fact, he loves us with an unfailing love. If you think you don’t deserve that kind of love you’re right. None of us do. That’s the miracle of
{grace}
the WALK
Thank you
With the world of technology developing the way it is, the era of a handwritten notes is becoming obsolete. What person doesn’t love getting mail? Taking the extra 10 minutes out of your day to handwrite a thank you will leave an impression beyond anything an email or text message can begin to do.
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or on the web @ www.magazine-grace.com