BEAUTY.

I am still currently in 1 Peter but this morning I really focused in on chapters 2 & 3. Ya'll I found SO much that I want to share! But I want to keep it focused so I'm going fill you in on what God taught me about TRUE BEAUTY. This is more geared towards ladies but you gentleman can take note of what is true beauty in a woman in God's eyes.

1 Peter 3:3,4 "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." (TNIV)

Since I was a little girl my mom has always taught me how being beautiful on the inside is much more important than appearance. And this verse clearly states that God feels the same way.

I know this is cliche and has been talked about a multitude of times, especially with our generation. But ladies we need to be modest with our outward selves as to not make our brothers in Christ stumble. REAL beauty is God's grace, love, compassion, gentleness, understanding and forgiveness SHINING through us as the beautiful light of Christ. TRUE beauty is an attitude of humility, humbleness and submission to God.

I know we've all see the Facebook bumpersticker, but the quote is legitimate. A truly gorgeous woman is one that is so WRAPPED up in God that a boy interested must bow to her Heavenly Father first to get to her.

Now I'm not saying to not take care of your bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:19 states that your body is TEMPLE; Christ resides in you, so take care of yourself. But realize that God finds you beautiful on the outside not matter how the world tells you differently (HE CREATED YOU!), but remember that your inner self is of much greater worth to Him.

Ladies, I think this revolution is not only going to strengthen our relationship with Christ and other believers, but it's going to make us more beautiful as we begin to take every thought captive and transform our inner selves into gorgeous woman of God!

You are His beautiful baby girl; be His daughter, his child.

Love,

Kaity

MUSTARD SEED.

Matthew 17:14-20

This is what I'm wrestling through this morning. Any thoughts?

LOVE.

Our verses for the week are :

Romans 8:6 and 2 Corinthians 10:5

And our extended passage for the month is:

2 Corinthians 4

I feel like a lot of ETC TLs are in 1 Peter which is exciting! This morning I wanted to head back to 1 Peter 1 because last week it completely changed my life. Remembering the word of God and how is says prepare for action in 1 Peter 1:13, I spontaneously drove to the metroplex with Matt. You must understand that I would never just DO that. But God blessed me beautifully through that.

This morning verse 22 particularly stuck out to me. Ironically, my youth pastor talked about this verse this past sunday but it didn't HIT me until this morning. It states: "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart." TNIV

Goodness, OBEYING the truth is hard enough but how much more difficult does it become if you don't even know WHAT the truth says?! Over and over again God continues to prove to me that KNOWING scripture and truly studying it and understanding it is HUGE. Now to be completely honest, in the past reading my Bible was just going through the motions, reading a chapter just so I could check it off. Now I'm BEGGING God to captivate me with His word and hold me accountable to it! I want to CRAVE to know more!! Isn't it exciting and fascinating to learn more about Him? Isn't reading our Bible one of the best ways to do that? An opportunity to MEET with Him and further my relationship with Him, daily sits on my night stand. All I have to DO is pick it up and delve deep!

Last summer, I realized that my purpose in life has NOTHING to do with what college I attended, what my major was or what my career will be. My purpose is not who I marry, how many kids I have or what church I attend. Last summer (actually at Super Summer in Khaki school) God revealed to me that my purpose is so incredibly simple: love Him and love people. How quickly I get wrapped up in myself, and I forget to love people with a SINCERE love, deep from the heart.

Ya'll with all my heart I pray that we SEE Him today and FEEL Him. I want nothing more than that!

Love,

Kaity

SHINE.

So, honestly I didn't get much time to be in my bible this morning but it's funny how God can teach you a HUGE lesson in a SHORT time.

This morning my dad work me up early to go wash cars. I was so frustrated and put up a huge fight. I called Matt upset and venting, complaining about the whole situation. I had a long day yesterday, I work today, I leave next week for school. WHY did we have to be up at 7:30 to go wash cars when I had to be at work at 9? What about showering, eating and having my quiet time and then being able to post on here? There wasn't enough to for all of it. I had an attitude with my Dad and I literally thought about crying. Sure enough by the time I came inside, I had twenty minutes until I needed to leave for work. So I prioritized, instead of showering or eating or yelling some more at my Dad, I got into a couple of my favorite verses: Philippians 2:14-16. It might have only been a short amount but it was all I needed to hear. I love these verses because it talks about how to SHINE like stars; I WANT to shine for Jesus. However, what's the first thing it says to do to shine? "Do everything without grumbling or arguing." (TNIV)

EVERYTHING. NO COMPLAINING. Wow, punch in the gut much? What little time I've been awake this morning, I've spent it "grumbling", frustrated, and upset AND I've taken it out on 3 things I care about most: my Dad, Matt and Ears (my dog haha) I can sit here arguing and complaining (and trust me, that's what my flesh SO BADLY wants me to do as I have 7 minutes until I need to leave for work and I'm hungry and soapy and wet) OR I can take a deep breath, ask Jesus for forgiveness, go downstairs and hug my Dad and say thank you and leave for work.

I choose the latter.

Love,

Kaity

SEEK.

So, if you've read the Homepage of ETC Revolution (found in a link to the right) you know that Matt and I spontaneously made our way to the metroplex. Tuesday night we were just hanging out at Barnes and Noble; on the way home (it was MIDNIGHT) he excitedly suggested we go to Arlington, TOMORROW. As in leave in SEVEN hours. Of course, I told him he was crazy and impractical. Did this deter him? No. I'll admit to fighting the idea at first because I'm not a very "fly by the seat of your pants" kind of person, but eventually God softened my heart to the idea through what I had read that morning in 1 Peter, which just so happens to be my last post. I stressed the importance of preparing for ACTION. To GO! So I went, not knowing what was in store and begging for patience. Of course, God provided generously. The crazy trip was more worth than what I can explain in words. It's amazing how He has perfect timing for EVERYTHING. It felt RIGHT to be where we were and with the people we were with. It was refreshing to trust in something I was nervous about and then to see myself and Matt prosper. Ultimately, God is good.

An extra tid bit: God has told me to read only my bible for the next six months (unless it is related to school). You see, I'm a big reader. I enjoy it; it's my way of escape. However, if I have extra time on my hands to be pleasure reading, God wants me to DEVOTE myself to reading HIS word, HIS truth. If I have an ounce of extra time, I want to STUDY my bible, know it back and front. I want to SEEK Him with everything in me! Knowing that I'm not to touch anything but my bible and material that will help my understand my bible, Matt and I went to Mardels to bible shop. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of bibles; there was no NEED for one. But Matt is ecstatic about his new journaling bible and how it's changing his life. I wanted a part in that too. So I picked up a new TNIV wide margin bible, ready to dig deep.

And thus, we have arrived at my discoveries in the word this morning. Since it is a new bible, I wanted to start off in Jeremiah 29 because my life verse is Jeremiah 29:11. As I'm reading the letter to the exiles, I get to verse 11 and smile.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (TNIV)

Isn't that encouraging?! He has PLANS for us; we are here on Earth for a PURPOSE. He wants to grow us and give us HOPE. I have a BRIGHT FUTURE ahead of me because God has determined it.

However, somehow I always manage to forget how impacting the two follow verses are:

"Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (TNIV)

Ya'll, if you CALL on Him, He's LISTENING. He is always listening! Our powerful, almighty, HUGE God is RIGHT there. If you SEEK Him with all your heart, He's RIGHT THERE! How WONDERFUL is it to be reminded that the God we serve is not some distant God that doesn't have time or love or energy for us?! He's holding your hand through the struggles and celebrating with you in your joys.

Proverbs 3:5&6 states: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight."

Today, I am going to strive to remember to TRUST in Him, to LEAN on Him and not myself. Today I want to seek Him with my heart and submit to Him with my thoughts and actions so that I can take joy in the wonderful plans He has for me.

This is what the ETC Revolution is all about: knowing the word of God so that it might change your thoughts, thoughts to actions and actions to lives. Interested in becoming part of the movement? Email me at kaitywilson.etcrevolution@yahoo.com .

LOVE,

Kaity

ACTION.

This morning 1 Peter 1:13 immediately caught my attention. It says:

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you wen Jesus Christ is revealed."

One word in particular sticks out: ACTION.

DO SOMETHING. TAKE a STAND! GO out and BE PROACTIVE!

Prepare yourselves to take action because that is what you've been called to do! How do you prepare? Take disciplined, purposed steps in reverent fear while constantly having pure joy and hope because of the grace and LOVE of Jesus Christ.

DON'T BE IDLE ON THE SIDELINES.

So I challenge you with what I've challenged myself today, don't be lazy. Today I am going to make the EFFORT to love all those around me, to search for Jesus in everything, to have hope and joy so that others may see Christ shining through me. Today I am preparing myself for the revolution of a lifetime. TAKE ACTION.

And so it begins.

If there's one thing I've learned post Super Summer, it's that I'm ready to be an unstoppable, unshakable GODLY force. As I pondered how to be that while listening to Matt excitedly explain to me an idea God gave him, I realize quickly that the two coincide. I want to be ready to explain the hope that I have, just as 1 Peter 3:15 states we should do! I want to be able to explain with the TRUTH, God's truth. The ETC Revolution (Every Thought Captive) is a network of people joining together and committing to memorizing scripture. Email me at: kaitywilson.etcrevolution@yahoo.com for more exciting details!

Love,
Kaity