Guest Post: The Fabulous Jenifer Jones

Hey there! Earlier this summer I took some photos of one of my beautiful sisters and asked her to write a blog post for me. Seeing as how she's a writer (quite an amazing one at that) I knew she would come up with something wonderful. Not to mention she is breathtakingly beautiful :) Enjoy!

Hi everyone! I’m Katie’s sister, Jenifer, and she’s letting me take over her corner of the internet today.

I know many of you readers are also bloggers yourselves. I’ve peeked at some of your fashion blogs over the years, and let me tell you, you are gorgeous! Fashion blogs are wonderful because they showcase the many shapes, sizes, looks, and of course, style of such a wide array of fashionable ladies. For example, I think you can tell that Katie and I are a bit different when it comes to fashion. She’s a lovely vintage princess, while I tend to look for simple, classic pieces that are easy for me to throw on. I think diversity is beautiful, so I love seeing the hundreds of ways you beauties dress yourselves.

Of course, even the most confident fashionista can have a day where she looks in the mirror and frowns at her reflection. I’ve been there! For most of my life, I thought I was ugly. Not in an “I’m going to say I’m ugly so people give me compliments” sort of way, but a genuine “I look in the mirror and see nothing good about myself and have accepted the fact that I am unattractive and fat” sort of way. This, of course, was a complete LIE. And although it was just a lie, I allowed it to shape a lot of my personality and the decisions I made.

Recently, as some of you may know, I went on a year-long mission trip that changed my life. Over the course of eleven months, God showed me TRUTH. He showed me that I am beautiful, that I am loved and wanted and that I belong. This is true for each and every person reading this as well! You are so very beautiful and so very loved!

So what’s a girl to do when a bad hair day causes a few lies to sneak in? Here are a couple of things that help me:

1. Surround yourself with a community of positive friends. I’m so very very blessed to call some of the greatest gals in the world my friends. When I was on my trip, the women I lived with, worked with, spent almost every minute of every day with, were so encouraging. If I would say something negative about myself they would immediately let me know that it was a lie. Sometimes one of my friends would make me stand in front of a mirror and call myself beautiful. That was so hard for me at first! But after a while the truth started to replace the lies. Being reminded constantly that I was beautiful helped me see the truth and better understand my identity.

Good friends can also help you explore new styles. See the shorts I’m wearing in these pictures? I would have never bought these for myself, because I didn’t have the confidence in my body to show, what I thought at the time, was a lot of skin. But they encouraged me that my body was shaped just right for shorts like these, and I discovered a new look for myself. I feel beautiful in this outfit.

I love reading the comments you leave for each other on your blogs. In a world where many women feel pressure to compete against each other, you choose to be encouraging and lift each other up instead. That’s so amazing and inspiring!

2. Katie and I are Christians, as you probably have figured out. For me, the very best way to ensure I remember my identity is to abide in my Heavenly Father through reading His Word daily, praying, and surrounding myself with other Christians who can help remind me who I belong to. I need my daily dose of TRUTH!

Remember ladies, the truth is that you are beautiful. You were created with such purpose! And these things are true whether you choose to believe them or not. My prayer for you is that you fully embrace the TRUTH and find your identity in who the Lord says you are.

I love seeing the confidence and uniqueness many of you display in your own blogs! Keep on being such an inspiration!

For more of my story, please visit my World Race blog. Especially be sure to check out the blogs I wrote about my journey to beautiful.

And if you enjoy spoken word, please check out mynew website as well!

For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13-14