Top Her Couture

For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. (Matt. 13:15) "And I would heal them." That's a different offer from: "And I would forgive them." It's a different offer from: "And I will give them a place in heaven." No, Jesus is offering healing to us. Look at what he does to people who are broken. How does he handle them? The blind are able to see like a hawk. The deaf are able to hear a pin drop. The lame do hurdles. The corroding skin of the leper is cleansed and made new. The woman with the issue of blood stops hemorrhaging. The paralyzed servant hops out of bed. They are, every last one of them, healed. Now follow this closely: everything Jesus did was to illustrate what he was trying to say . Here-look at this-this is what I'm offering ...

True strength does not come out of bravado. Until we are broken, our life will be self-centered, self-reliant; our strength will be our own. So long as you think you are really something in and of yourself, what will you need God for? I don't trust a man who hasn't suffered; I don't let a man get close to me who hasn't faced his wound. Think of the posers you know-are they the kind of man you would call at 2:00 A.M., when life is collapsing around you? Not me. I don't want clichés; I want deep, soulful truth, and that only comes when a man has walked the road I've been talking about. As Frederick Buechner says, To do for yourself the best that you have it in you to do-to grit your teeth and clench your fists in order to survive the world at its harshest and worst-is, by that very act, to be unable to let something be done for you and in you that is more wonderful still. The trouble with steeling yourself against the harshness of reality is that the same steel ...

August 28th, 2011 was a very dirty day in the lives of The Gym Miss Fits & Mayhem.  Headed up by gym mom, Erica Cobb and Owner/Trainer, Chris Williamson , the team made it out to Colorado Offroad Extreme [C.O.R.E.] early in the morning.  All who attended: Chris Williamson, Erica Cobb, Jasmin Sanchez, Cortney Romero, Ashley Dennis, Jackie Morris, Lana Hofman, Crystal Bragazzi, Crystal McClure, Natalie Little, Kelly Duman, Alyssian Vissat, Karl Biermann, Frank Duru, Matt Horton, Kim Hall, Adrianne Martinez, and of course Brett Seeley.  It was a fun and creative way to support team comradery as well as lighten the pressure of Nationals just a week out.  The camoflauge and black outfits were hardly visible by the end; not a clean body left! Special thank you to C.O.R.E. staff and Colin for the use of his offroad buggy.  He is an extremely talented driver and wish him the best from all The Gym.

Your sin has been dealt with. Your Father has removed it from you "as far as the east is from the west" (Ps. 103:12). Your sins have been washed away (1 Cor. 6:11). When God looks at you he does not see your sin. He has not one condemning thought toward you (Rom. 8:1). But that's not all. You have a new heart. That's the promise of the new covenant: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws" (Ezek. 36:26 -27). There's a reason that it's called good news. Too many Christians today are living back in the old covenant. They've had Jeremiah 17:9 drilled into them and they walk around believing my heart is deceitfully wicked. Not anymore it's not. Read the rest of the book. In Jeremiah 31:33, God announces the cure for all that: "I will put my law in their ...

Yes, dear friends, we are already God's children, and we can't even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. (1 John 3:2 NLT) We have an expression that we use to describe someone who's out of sorts, who's not acting like the person we know her to be: "She's just not herself today." It's a marvelous, gracious phrase, for in a very real way, no one is quite himself today. There is more to us than we have seen. I know my wife is a goddess. I know she is more beautiful than she imagines. I have seen it slip out, seen moments of her glory. Suddenly, her beauty shines through, as though a veil has been lifted. All of us have moments like this, glimpses of our true creation. They come unexpectedly and then fade again. Life for the most part keeps our glory hidden, cloaked by sin, or sorrow, or merely weariness. When I see an old woman, doubled over with a...

Denial is a favorite method of coping for many Christians. But not with Jesus. He wants truth in the inmost being, and to get it there he's got to take us into our inmost being. One way he'll do this is by bringing up an old memory. You'll be driving down the road and suddenly remember something from your childhood. Or maybe you'll have a dream about a long-forgotten person, event, or place. However he brings it up, go with him there. He has something to say to you. The lessons that have been laid down in pain can be accessed only in pain. Christ must open the wound, not just bandage it over. Sometimes he'll take us there by having an event repeat itself years later, only with new characters in the current situation. We find ourselves overlooked for a job, just as we were overlooked by our parents. Or we experience fear again, just as we felt those lonely nights in our room upstairs. These are all invitations to go with him into the deep waters of the heart, unc...

It has taken four years to make the decision to compete in a bikini competition.   Now, this is not just any bikini competition.   You know the ones where you get some girl shaking her stuff, wearing next to nothing, and being less than lady-like.   No, this competition takes class, poise, confidence, and strategic planning. Earlier this year, I decided I would compete.   I wanted to step out of the box as Colorado only offers National Physique Committee (NPC) competitions.   Now, this competition is as good as any other division, but I wanted to see how I would do out of my element.   I researched some other divisions and decided upon Fitness Universe.   What drew me to this particular one was you can also be a little more creative as you take stage twice-once in sportswear that exudes your personality, character, or interests and then your bikini.   I have been a performer since I was little and this was perfect for who I am. Fitness Univer...