Treasured

Malachi 3:17- "On the day when I act," says the Lord Almighty, "they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him."

        In this verse, Malachi quotes God. God says, "On the day when I act." This phrase is referring to Christ's coming earth for our salvation. In a way, the previous phrase can be replaced with, "On the day when Christ comes, they will be my treasured possession..." We know that Christ has already come to earth and sacrificed His life for us. Therefore, when we accept Jesus's gift of salvation we become treasured in the eyes of the Lord. Isn't that amazing?! The creator of the universe sees us as treasure and as valuable! Some translations have the word "jewels" in place of treasure.Not only does God view us as treasured, He does this thing I like to call the "Great Exchange" I was at a conference and it was described like this: Jesus took ALL of our sins and in exchange He gave us His perfection! When that happens, we become perfect in God's eyes. We become TREASURED!
        Matthew 6:21 says, "Where your treasure is, your heart will be also." If God considers us His treasure, then His heart is on us. We are where God's heart is! God's love is on us! I think that is amazing! NEVER forget that you are loved by an amazing God.This is always a verse I turn to when I'm questioning my value or worth. For it clearly states that God considers us as TREASURED and that is something we should always rejoice and praise Him for! If you want to read more about what defines your worth and your value, we wrote an article on it a few months ago. You can check it out HERE

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Brown Sugar Peppermint Lip Scrub

Hey guys! It's Maddie again! Ashley is currently in Hawaii so I'm writing this post instead. This post is on a peppermint brown sugar lip scrub. Its perfect for the upcoming holiday season! It's super easy, cheap, and works amazing! 

Ingredients: 

•3 Tablespoons of coconut oil

•4 Tablespoons of brown sugar

•2 Tablespoons of honey

•4 Drops of essential peppermint oil. 

Directions:

1. Combine all of these ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly. 

2. Place scrub into a small container. You can find these at almost any store in the travel section or on Amazon. 

That's it! Don't worry if it appears runny at first. Almost all DIY beauty products need to settle and sit before its to the normal consistency. Hope you enjoy the lip scrub!

How to use a lip scrub:

First, apply the scrub to your lips with your finger. Next, rub gently to exfoliate (for better results use a new toothbrush to exfoliate). Let it sit for a minute or two to moisturize lips. Finally, take a wet washcloth to remove the lip scrub. It's seriously that easy! 

~Don't forget to follow us on Instagram @maddieandashleybeauty. ! 

Favorite Beauty Products

Hey guys! Today's blog post is going to be on my (Maddie's) recent drug store beauty favorites. Hope you enjoy!

Beauty Favorites:

The first item is lipstick. It is by Loreal Paris® in the shade, "Nature's Blush" number code "840". This is by far my favorite lipstick EVER! I use it almost every day and it is so amazing. This lipstick is perfect for any season of the year. In the spring/summer months, a thin layer looks super adorable and fun. In the autumn/winter months, a medium/thick coat of this looks stunning and gorgeous! 

The "Full Lash Bloom" mascara by Mabelline® lengthens, darkens, and gives the appearance of full, lush lashes. It separates the lashes, which I love, so that the mascara doesn't clump as easily.

Third, is this Revlon® eyeshadow palette. The title of it is "02 Coffee Bean". I put the use of each of the shadows on the picture above. I use the bottom eyeshadow with an angled detail brush to fill in my eyebrows. It is very inexpensive, but very high quality!

Last but certainly not least, is this fragrance mist. Ashley and I both purchased this at Bath & Body Works over the summer. I'm pretty sure neither one of us have used any other perfume all summer long! It has an amazing smell that is not overbearing. {For any people who watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Ashley and I fangirled and laughed so hard over the name of this perfume in the mall.} We both got the travel size so that we can throw it in our purse whenever we need it.

{This post was not sponsored or paid for in any way. All opinions were my own and 100% truthful}

Hope you enjoyed today's post! Don't forget to check us out on Instagram (we recently hit 110 followers! Yay!) and on Pinterest! Love ya! ~Maddie 

Don't Follow Your Heart

"Follow your heart" 

We have all heard that phrase many times. We see it all over Pinterest and Instagram; we are constantly surrounded by people telling us to "Follow our heart". If I could only give someone one piece of advice, it would be: "DON'T FOLLOW YOUR HEART!"  Let's look at the first of many scripture verses in this post:  Jeremiah 17:9- "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"  Notice it says 'the heart is deceitful'. Our hearts can betray us. Our hearts are emotional, we need wisdom as well.

      As Christians, we shouldn't be following our heart, we should be following the convictions of the Holy Spirit.  1 Chronicles 16:11 says,  “Search for the LORD and for his strength; continually seek him.”

1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;”  This is saying that we do not belong to ourselves, therefore we should be following God's heart, not our own. For God has more wisdom than anyone can imagine.     

     Most teenagers hate depending on people. They don't like the idea of not being able to do things themselves (me included!) They want to be independent and make their own decisions. Read this quote by John Bevere, "When we invite the Holy Spirit into our decision making processes, He will ALWAYS bear witness through the peace of Christ Jesus."  While the overall first impression of following our heart sounds okay, it's not. Here's the tough truth: When you follow your own heart, it's saying that your priorities and what you want in life is higher than God's priorities and His will for you. Ouch. That kinda stings, but we often do just that, often without meaning to! Continuing off of that, By following our heart, we are turning against God and living a life self-focused instead of Christ-focused.

     Psalm 37:4 says, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Now this is not saying that God is a Genie and will grant you any wish you want. No, this verse is saying that if we truly delight in the Lord, what we will want is what God desires and wants for our lives. Remember, God wouldn't withhold something good from your life unless there is something better waiting for you.

     John 16:13 has a great message, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”

When you place your trust in God, the Holy Spirit will guide you and help you with discernment and wisdom. 

     I know this post is getting long and I'm almost done. I feel very strongly on the topic of fully surrendering yourself to God and His wisdom so I want to help others the best I can. William Booth said this, "The greatness of a man's power is in the measure of his surrender." Acts 1:8 says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When we live by the convictions of the Holy Spirit and strive to do the will of God, IT WILL SHOW! Acts 1:8 stated that when we have the Holy Spirit we will be witnesses to the people around us. And as followers of Christ (not our own hearts and desires) being examples and living a life as a testimony to God is something we should all strive to do. Your life is your ministry. Thanks so much for reading this post! Remember that while we see only a part of a simple sketch of our lives, God sees a mural full of paint and color. He knows what's best, lean on Him and trust Him with everything. -Maddie