Book Spotlight: Hello, Beautiful: Seeing Yourself through God’s Eyes of Love

DO YOU...

     Wish you had a different body, face, or personality?

     Feel less than adequate compared to others?

     Wonder why God created you?

     Often criticize your choices and decisions?

     Long to see yourself through God’s eyes of love?

     Want to live confidently in spite of your shortcomings?

     Realize how valuable you are?

In Hello, Beautiful, Jeanette Levellie and Beth Gormong lead women on a hopeful journey to find lasting beauty in the eye of the beholder: God. This inspirational gift book contains 40 stories based on some of the authors’ most vulnerable moments, highlighting how God redeemed the pain and taught them how to love themselves. Each chapter of this 40-day soul makeover begins with a Bible verse describing God’s view of us, His precious creation. Chapters end with a special feature, a journaling prompt giving readers the opportunity to apply the principles.

Hello, Beautiful is designed specifically for women who feel the familiar internal pressure to perform without the satisfaction of hearing “Well done.” We find it too easy to think and speak hurtful words about ourselves while building up other’s self-esteem. Hello, Beautiful strives to point out those lies, and replace them with the Truth. Learn the secrets of seeing yourself through love’s viewpoint and shake off feelings of inadequacy. Finally find the courage to look in the mirror and say, “Hello, Beautiful!”

Beth, a former editor, and recovering perfectionist is learning to speak as kindly to herself as she does to others. Recently fired from her job as a full-time mother by her college-age daughters, Beth is discovering God’s definition of her is broader than her own limited perspective. She wants to share the nuggets of truth God has taught her about His love for her and for other women.

Jeanette is an award-winning author and sought-after speaker who enjoys sharing her funny flaws and hard-earned lessons to encourage people from all walks of life. She’s published hundreds of newspaper columns, articles, greeting card verses, and poems. Jeanette is full of wisdom for discouraged and broken women. Hello, Beautiful is her 5th book.

This book is available at Amazon.com  Hello, Beautiful

An Interview with Jesus’ Mother

http://historyswomen.com

Quiet Spirit: Hello. Today we have with us Jesus’ mother, Mary. She has quite a story to share with us. Welcome, Mary. Thank you for coming to Following My King. Would you please share some of these tender memories with our readers?

Mary: I would be glad to. What would you like me to share?

Q. S.: Anything you feel led to.

M.: As I stood and watched my son and Savior as He struggled to carry his cross, that instrument of torture, along the road, I revisited the scenes of His life.

Q. S.: Can you please give us some background about the marriage customs among the Hebrew people at the time of your betrothal?

M.: As a young girl from a poor family, I was pledged to Joseph, a local carpenter. He was learning his trade from his father, as he would teach our future sons if God would bless us in that way. There were three steps to marriage for Hebrew young couples. First, the parents met and discussed the possibility of a union. Then the couple became “pledged”, the only way a pledging could end was through the death of one of the couple or through a divorce. The final step was the marriage ceremony.

Q.S.: You received a very special visit from the angel Gabriel? How did that make you feel? How did you react?

M.: An angel brought me a message that changed all our plans. It brought pain, ridicule, and rejection by my peers, I might have lost my beloved Joseph. I wasn’t certain that I could follow God and do that. However, I chose to obey God. Do you understand that? I chose to obey God.

Q.S.: How did Joseph react to this news.

M.: At first, Joseph was bewildered by what I told him. When word got around to the community, we lost friends and he lost some business. But the angel went to him and told him that what I had told him was true. My baby was conceived by God. He took me into his home as his wife and assisted me as he could.

Q.S.: What happened after your son was born?

M.: Some shepherds came to the stable where we stayed. I sat quietly and listened to them jubilantly tell the story of how they heard of the birth of my son. They told me of the angel and then the angel host and their message. One of those angels must have been the one who carried the message to me and told Joseph that he was to continue with our pledging. These lowly workers were thrilled to know that they saw angels from God. All I could do was sit, listen, ponder their words, and record them in my heart.

Q.S.: When Joseph took you and your baby to the temple, what happened?

M.: When Joseph took me and baby Jesus for the purification rite, Simeon, a man devoted to God, met us in the Temple When Simeon asked to hold the baby, he praised God. He told God he was ready to go to heaven in peace because he had been allowed to see our babe. Simeon called our baby Jesus God’s salvation for His people.

As we departed the Temple with Jesus, Simeon gave us a blessing and said; “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul, too.” Could this be what he meant?

Q.S.: Do you have anything else you would like to share with our readers?

M.: As I stood there at the foot of the cross, watching my son as He breathed his last breaths, He entrusted my care to John, the only one of His followers who was loyal to Him through His ministry and through the trial and tribulation my son suffered. I have always remembered this wonderful act of love my son did for me.

Q.S.: Thank you, Mary, for stopping in and sharing these personal thoughts with us.

M.: You are welcome. Thank you for inviting me.