The Ultimate Gift

We know we said we would only be posting once a month, but we just couldn't let time pass without at Easter post!! So with no further ado, here it is! 

Each year we hear a lot about 'The REAL meaning of Easter'. We all know what Easter is about. It's an amazing time when we get together and celebrate the death and resurrection of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. I think that's definitely a great reason to celebrate! So instead of taking you through the Easter story and telling you all exactly what went down some two-thousand years ago, I'm going to ask you all one question: How are YOU going to celebrate? 

Now I don't mean celebrate as is throwing a party and giving presents. I mean celebrate as in rejoicing and giving thanks to Christ. Are you going to go to the Easter Service at your church? Watch the Passion? Send up a quick prayer of thanks and get on with your day? Maybe eat some chocolate bunnies? While these things are great ways to remind us of what Christ did and are consistent with how Easter is typically celebrated, how sincere are we? It all means nothing if we don't mean it. 

Do we realise the full magnitude of what He did for us? How He rescued us from an eternity of damnation and the weight that should carry in our hearts? Do we fully understand the ultimate sacrifice and how different our lives would be without it? We would have no Hope. Jesus literally saved us and I know too many times I've taken that for granted. Where would you be today without Christ? Are you truly grateful for the price He paid? He gave us an alternative to sin and punishment. I know I am EXTREMELY and undeservingly, forever grateful for His mercy. Jesus didn't hang on the cross asking God to take away the pain, instead He said: "Father, forgive them. They know not what they do." He was begging and pleading on our behalf, to the point of death. But then He conquered it, that's how powerful, magnificent and amazing our God is. 

Let this Easter be a time of unconditional praise and worship to The One Who Saves as we turn the focus of this holiday back to our Redeemer and Father. 

So I ask again: How are you going to celebrate this Easter? 

God bless, 

~ Taleisha & Meggie 

Are you loving God?

Sometimes religion can burn us out and drain us of energy. We get to the point when we are just going through the motions and doing different things to 'be obedient' and 'to serve God' when in our hearts all we feel is tired, used up, and unmotivated.
I have been like this in the past. You sign up to help out at church, you try to serve in every ministry, you feel great for awhile, and then the aching weariness hits. You keep on doing it, going through the motions, with no heart- and after awhile you burn out. Your obedience has become a religion, and there is no love for God behind it.
I even found this happen when I tried to spend hours each day in devotions with God. It became a to do list that I went through each morning, just to get on with the day.

Its not meant to be like that.

Are you doing things for the Lord because you want too? Are you being obedient because you love Him?

I know that there are times in our walk when we need to be obedient even when we don't feel like doing it. But what I am saying is, take a look at your heart and make sure you are not burning yourself out. Maybe you are doing too much of one thing. Maybe you are expecting too much of yourself. Maybe your simply not getting enough sleep.

 

Matthew 22:37  Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 

 

We were meant to do things for the Lord because we love Him. Not because we feel we have too. Not because we think we should. We were meant to serve out of love and adoration for our Father in Heaven.

 

Take a step back, take a look at your life. Are you loving God?

 

 

 

~ Meggie

Attention UE Lovers!!

Hi all! We hope you've had a fantastic week. 

Meggie and I have news, and it may be hard for some of you to take ;) Now that we're both graduated from high school, Meggie and I have chosen to further our studies. Meggie is now juggling work and University as well as all her other responsibilities, and I am now studying full-time at TAFE. This means we won't have as much time to dedicate to Unfading Elegance. 

We appreciate the love, support and encouragement you've all given us over the years. Now you're probably thinking we're going to stop the UE blog. Well, we are very glad to say that's not true, but our posts will be reduced to one post a month, instead of once a week. But so you all don't have to wonder when the next entry is coming out, we can tell you that we will be posting in the FIRST week of every month. So you can still look forward to what we have to share! 

We are sorry for this, but know you will all understand. Meggie and I are very excited as this is a new chapter in our lives. But we also have to realise we now have more responsibilities. Thank you so much for every thing over the past years. You will still be hearing from us! Don't forget you can still  ask questions and email us at: unfadingelegance(at)gmail(dot)com(dot)au!! We look forward to hearing from you. 

Keep an eye out for our next post in the first week of April :) 

Much love and God bless, 

~ Meggie and Taleisha 

Extending Love (Being God's Hands And Feet)

In a world full of 7 billion people, how is it that so many people live their lives feeling unloved? As Christian's we are called to a life of love. The Bible says; the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbour as yourself (Mark 12:35), to abide in faith, hope and love but the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13), love each other deeply for love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8), love comes from God and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God (1 John 4:7), there is no fear in love (1 John 4:18). "I love everyone!" You may say. But it's easier said than done.

My pastor on Sunday made a good point that we can love others, but only so much. I'm sure we've all reached a point where we love this person, but hate that one. It's conditional love. This isn't the love of Christ. The Word says that God is love. His love is agape and unconditional. So in order for us to love unconditionally, we have to have God. If we don't have God then we can't love like God loves us - with our entire beings.

When we invite Love into our hearts, the restraints are broken and there are no limits. Now that this Love is dwelling in is we are able to love each and every individual, regardless of their sins and our previous beliefs about them. If we can't forgive someone, how can we love them. If we can't forgive, how can we possible expect to be forgiven? In all of life's questions, God is the answer. Sometimes we forget that. We forget to call on Him when we stumble or are tempted. But our Father is the answer to everything.

God didn't die just for me. He died for all the sinners. The Bible often speaks of Christ's love for each of His children. If we want to live an abundant life, we need to welcome God inside us so we can radiate the unconditional love that comes through Him.

Love them anyway.

I Love You Anyway by Holly Starr is a lovely song about the love of God. Click the link to have a  listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrF0-8TY7U4&list=PL45DF8A3624D11E2E

God bless,

~ Taleisha 

An Amazing Woman Of God

A while ago I stumbled across something my Mum and Dad wrote to me in a birthday card. One tiny line kept repeating over in my head.
They said:

“...you’re maturing into an amazing young woman of God!... ”

But am I? Am I an amazing woman of God? Am I truly trying to become a woman of God? Not just by going to church regularly, but by digging deep into His Word and seeking Him, not only because I should, but because I hunger for an intimate relationship with my Father? Often it's difficult to hear directly from God. But a question I've had to ask myself is: "Am I looking in the right place?" 


... An amazing woman of God? Me? 

When I think of what an amazing woman of God looks like, I imagine someone who sincerely tries to please Him and not man, someone who is constantly in communication with Him because He's genuinely her best friend, someone who seeks time in the day just to soak in His presence, someone who knows what God wants her to do so she does it with fearlessly. She is someone of continual growth who yearns to know His heart and be used in His glorious plan.  

When I look at myself and my life, I find it hard to see that ‘amazing woman of God’. In fact I feel like the complete opposite sometimes. I feel like there is a candle in me that just wants to burn bright. This candle is God. I know I have Him in me. But sometimes it's hard to make a flame. I can't find the matches. Where are the matches? Am I looking in the right place? God's Word is the right place. Through meditating on the Bible we can light the candle and be ignited into something incredible.

I believe this 'amazing woman of God' is inside me, but it's up to me to bring her out and let her reach her full potential. What kind of things are holding her back? Is it lack of trust? Lack of confidence? Is she scared of being judged? Is it guilt? Shame? Hurt? Fear? Whatever it may be, God has the power to take away those things, to uncover the beauty within. In Him all things are made good. So when we first seek Him, this amazing woman of God can come out of hiding.

You have an amazing woman of God in you too. And maybe it's time to let her shine! Let God strip back the chains that are binding her, and let her be all that God made her to be.

"My chains are gone. I've been set free!" 

- Chris Tomlin 

God bless you, sisters!

~ Taleisha 

Seeing What God Sees

When you look at the girl hiding behind her hair, with the glasses and braces and out of fashion clothing, what do you see? When you see that girl in the mini skirt and low cut top flirting with guys, what do you see? In our modern world today, it can be so easy to judge. 

Ever heard the phrase, "Don't judge a book by it's cover"? Even as a Christian it can be a struggle to refrain from making quick judgments about someone and forming your own (and not always correct) opinion about someone, without even knowing much about them. We can't only look skin deep. There is so much more to a person than what's on the outside.

So what does God see? I'm not God, but I'm sure that when He looks at those girls He sees someone who is so dearly loved. Someone who, if they only knew how much He loved them, would start to love them self. He sees His daughter, His love, His joy.

We need to learn to see behind what is right before us, but learn to see deeper and past the mask that people put on. Maybe they're hurting and don't know how to disguise the pain. Maybe they struggle with self worth and feel insignificant. Maybe the world as they know it is crashing down around them and they're trying to put on their 'brave face'.

Don't be quick to judge but be quick to look past what we physically see. We need to remember that we don't know their story. We don't know what they're dealing with or have gone through. But what we do know is that God loves them so. And as part of the Body Of Christ, it's our duty, and hopefully our joy, to love them as well and to show them how much they are cherished. Imagine how you would feel if a person came up to you and told you how much you are loved. Wouldn't that be enough to make you at least smile, or maybe even your day? Even the smallest acts of kindness can speak volumes! 

Love is something we can all share with no cost or sacrifice. So why not share it to those who need it most? The Bible says that love is demonstrative. Our love for God is shown by the degree we show love to others. "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." - 1 John 4:11 (Also see: Matthew 25:40, 1 John 3:23) Love is active - an act of will, not an obligation. (See: 1 John 3:17) Love is responsive. We are able to love because we have been and are loved by God. This love causes us to respond lovingly to others. (1 John 4:19) 

Let me encourage you all this week, to put a smile on someone's face by telling them how much they are worth, not only in our eyes but in the Father's. I will do the same. If it is you reading this that needs to know how important you are and how loved you are, then here are a few songs to encourage you:

Nobody Ever Told You by Carrie Underwood (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO3pzvuQ-wc)

Gold by Britt Nicole (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9PjrtcHJPo)

God bless!!

~ Taleisha 

You Are Not A Failure

A few months ago I was at church and we had a guest speaker. I can't remember his name but he came to preach about failures. Something he proved he knew a lot about. He had been through so much and so many times felt like he had let down the people he cared about. But over a period of years God was teaching him that 'just because you have a failure, doesn't mean you are a failure'.

Failing is not something I'm unfamiliar with. Many times I have disappointed my parents, siblings, friends, myself and most definitely God. I'm not going to go into specifics, but I can honestly tell you that in those times I felt like I was a failure, like I had hit rock bottom and didn't deserve to be forgiven. When I heard this man speak (I wish I could remember his name!) it was right after a time when I had really let my parents, my best friend, myself and God down all at the same time. I was definitely not feeling very good about myself. But when I heard him preach, it was like he was speaking straight to me and telling me that I had failed (ouch), but that didn't mean I was a failure.

There is something else I learned from him. His message taught me that even though I messed up, God was still there waiting to pick me up again and help me continue along rough road ahead. But just because He was going to walk this with me, didn't mean my actions were free from consequences. That was probably the lowest point in my life. I apologised to those I needed to and God has continued to be the constant comfort I need. Our God is a god of endless second chances and new beginnings. And for that I am so thankful. Repenting to those I love and had hurt was no easy feat but I have never been more grateful for the love and forgiveness of all those involved.

Failure doesn't need to define us. Instead we can learn from it, get back on our feet and continue living a life where forgiveness is only one apology away. Don't forget that God is the ultimate Comforter and NOTHING is too big for Him! Everything we do should bring honour and glory to God.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1:9 

God bless,

~ Taleisha