Pageants

Today I went with my sister to the Miss Walker County/Jasper woodlands pageant (if I messed up the name I'm sorry) but if you don't know, let me be the first to tell you that I am not a pageant person. Never have been, and probably never will be. I simply went to support my sister, who by the way, won the title of Miss Jasper Woodlands.

 But the reason I am posting this is not to brag about my sister, it is because as I was sitting there I was thinking about the girls there that have competed in just about every pageant they were allowed in since they were babies. There was even an 18 month (year and a half) old baby there who was led around by her mother!! I'm not saying that all of this is necessarily wrong, but to the girls who are in these pageants, have you checked your mind set lately? Or more importantly the moms that have instilled pageantry into their daughters have you?? Some pageant girls are raised in such a way, or have become on their own, daughters of the pageant life (yes, I did just make that up). For some it is an idol, for some it is their way of judging how beautiful or worthy they are... but... that's not right.... Now PLEASE don't misunderstand me, I know that there are plenty of girls who do it just for fun, but for some it means far more than it should. For some it determines whether or not they are beautiful, worthy, socially acceptable or just plain good enough. If they don't get a crown... they are unworthy, unloved, and a disappointment. 

This is for those girls: The pageant is NOT what determines all of these. Whether or not you have a sash that says you are, God says you are His daughter and that makes you a princess. There is a crown in heaven for you if you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior. Your Father is the one who determines your worth and beauty, and I have great news. At your very best AND your very worst, you are worthy, acceptable, loved, beautiful, and yes you ARE good enough. What you wear does not determine that. The judges that you walked in front of do not determine that. The crown that your receive from other human beings, does not determine that. How much make up you wear, who you hang out with, what club you belong to, or who you date does NOT determine these things. Our Father in heaven determines all these things and you have royal blood of the purest form in your veins if you know Jesus. 

To the mothers and maybe even fathers who have encouraged and/or instilled this thought process: May God forgive you for it but may He also convict your heart to know that it is the wrong mind set to have. May you come to know Him as your savior and as the one who determines all of these things. And may He help you to teach your daughters that they ARE daughters of the King. 

To the girls who participated in the pageant today and won, congratulations. To those who did not, don't let mere humans determine who you are or how you see yourself because you are a beautiful daughter of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. No pageant can change that.

Hope every one has a wonderful night full of sweet dreams and rest in Jesus!!! =)

Oh and by the way, I said none of these things as a sister of someone who has been in and won all the pageants because she hasn't. In fact I think she has been in one other pageant besides this one and it was the 8th grade and she didn't win. Just thought I would go ahead and clarify. 

I love you all in Jesus!!! Goodnight! :)