There she is...

I read this article about raising daughters...and one of the things that it mentioned is that when your daughter is a baby, you think she is the most beautiful baby in the world (this is probably true whether you have a baby boy or a baby girl...but the article was about baby girls)...

I must admit that I do agree with the article. 

I think Moriah Grace is the prettiest little girl in the world.  When she was itty, bitty, we would dance around singing "Isn't she lovely..." and I always call her "Pretty, Pretty" (which, by the way, I didn't realize I was doing this until Eli was like...um, are you calling her "pretty, pretty"?  Guilty as charged.  

Some nights I just look at her while she smiles at me, and I sing, "Could you be the most beautiful girl in the world?" 

And, well, my dear childhood friend, Kelly Marie Benda Earnheart, (who knows me better than most people) came to visit us and gave MG a shirt that read 'Future Miss America, Moriah.' 

Now, truth be told, I want all of my children to be pleased with their physical appearance...God has created them in His image, and they are beautiful... and I especially want my little girl to know that she is loved and that she is beautiful...and to hear that at home first, so that she won't look for some strange boy to tell her that about herself...but, ultimately, I want all of them to know that God looks at our hearts.  

Period.

It doesn't matter if they fit society's perception of beautiful...it doesn't matter if their mama thinks that they are the most beautiful of all time...God cares about their hearts.

So, my pretty, pretty...you are beautiful...you are of great worth and value...but not because of how you look...but because of whose you are....because of who holds you in the palm of his hand...

"Praise Him, for you are fearfully and wonderfully made...His works are wonderful...know that full well." (Psalm 139:14)..and let that truth affect your heart.