I believe that motherhood has the capacity to bring you and bond you to your people. That’s how it worked for Jessie and I. We attended the same small college and yet it was the birth of Jessie’s first that really allowed us to create a deep and meaningful friendship.

Jessie is driven by her deep love and relationship with the Lord. She’s filled by the Holy Spirit and reflects that in her friendships, her marriage and her motherhood. In my opinion, she embodies exactly what it means to allow your creativity to flow out of your femininity.

I hope you enjoy hearing about beauty from her perspective as much as I did.

What is beauty to you? 

Beauty is the inherent radiance given to us from stepping fully into womanhood and embracing the femininity that was divinely woven into us from the beginning of time. It is confidence regardless of external feelings or circumstances. It is a depth beyond what the eyes can fully capture, and a light encompassed by fragile, vulnerable hearts. It is walking unashamedly and simultaneously undeservingly in the grace that washes over us each day. It is agreeing with truth and being able to recognize lies as phony and feeble in its midst. It is taking a stand against anything threatening to overtake you or your family and standing firm in the abundant life that Christ died for us to have. Beauty is far more than what we have come to understand and believe. It is a battle that has been fought and won on our behalf, and an identity that we must step into and defend every step of the way.

When did you start embracing this kind of beauty and why? 

I began embracing this kind of beauty when I began to understand true femininity and genuinely saw the fruit of embracing the calling on my life fully. When I can step into what I was created for, I can experience the fullness of grace and life and peace made abundantly for me. I believe I have always had a sense of this kind of beauty, but I would say I have fully embraced womanhood and biblical femininity when I became a wife and a mother. When I found out I was pregnant with a baby girl, I felt such a high calling to define and embrace being a woman. I knew that a child’s biggest influence in their life is their same gender parent, and I wanted to do the best that I possibly could. I began only speaking life over my body and my physical appearance and did away with negative speech in my life. I began dressing in a way that reflected modesty and biblical femininity. I started speaking with more kindness and grace and have been working on tampering down the harshness my voice can entail. I want to reflect a beauty that is far beyond skin deep. I want my confidence in who I was created to be in Christ shine through every action, word, and decision I must make as a mother and a wife. 

What makes you feel the most beautiful?

I feel the most beautiful when I am pursuing health in all areas of my life: bridling my tongue, not allowing my feelings to dictate my day, choosing to see others through the lens of Christ, avoiding assumptions and negative interpretations of others, nurturing and encouraging the ones the Lord has placed in my life, adorning myself in clothes that dignify my body, embracing authenticity and vulnerability, giving without the expectation to receive, serving others and going “all out” in relationships with people I care about, staying consistent with my intentions, and embracing an honest adoration for all of the things the Lord loves. When I am consistent in devotion, I feel fulfilled. When I follow my convictions and embrace the narrow paths in life, I feel most lovely.

Beauty Products you can’t get enough of:

I recently decided I was going to stop getting my nails done, that I was going to stop using heat on my hair, and that I would no longer dye my hair blonde. I am on a journey to return to the natural beauty the Lord gave to me. I have been on a journey of healing my skin from a life-long battle with acne and have learned and embraced how to do my makeup well for the first time in my life. I love using Face Reality for all of their skin care products. I love Merit Beauty for all their makeup products. I use Rosemary Oil on my hair and have been working on healing it from being fried and dyed for all my life. I have been loving Armra Colostrum for my hair, skin, and nails as well. 

Beauty philosophy:

Beauty is enveloped in every being because we are created in the image of God. Beauty is enveloped in every woman because He created us for femininity and to cultivate and awaken beauty in ourselves and those around us. Working with our hands and choosing our words wisely, we get to create beauty everywhere that we walk. We get to plant flowers with our words and paint pictures with our hands and display a beauty to a world entrapped in confusion and darkness. Beauty is reflected in our heart posture, and it is the evidence of the discipline to see the good and golden and godly where most have settled for discontentment. It is active, and moving, and breathing. It’s a choice. A choice that your daughters will inherent the repercussions of. A choice that generations to come with ravish in the intentionality of. A choice that could change you and everything that you immerse yourself in, daily.  

Thank you, Jessie, for your input and wisdom! You can find Jessie on Instagram sharing her thoughts on motherhood or you can listen to her podcast, The Motherhood Collective Co.