Sharing Paradise

Beauty is skin deep. This is coming from someone who values a great outfit, great hair and a face with makeup on it. I love my designer bags, shoes and clothing. With that said, none of that means anything if you are not beautiful on the inside. Women can be more beautiful on the inside by being uplifting and encouraging to other women. Yep, I am talking about the high school attitudes, jealousy and competition that unfortunately still occur as an adult.

There is nothing more beautiful about a woman who can give a good compliment. There is always something to compliment. Hair, makeup, clothing, shoes, attributes and talents. EVEN if someone is looking completely busted you can at least compliment their smile or pedicure. If you cannot think of anything at all... keep your mouth shut.

"If you can't say something nice... don't say nothing at all" - Little Thumper

When a woman speaks negative comments to another woman on her appearance it is UGLY my friends. There is nothing that screams, "I AM INSECURE" than pointing out someone else's flaws. When you compliment another woman, it does not make you look less than her. It makes you look confident and proud of who you are.

Unfortunately, I have experienced this multiple times being pregnant with our second child. My stomach got big, fast! For some reason some women thought it was okay to tell me how "huge" I was or even worse, ask if I was carrying twins. Even better, comparing my body to another pregnant woman's body. EVEN BETTER? Let's do this in front of about 10 people. While being pregnant I have felt the most insecure I have in my life. My body has changed drastically, my hormones are all over the place and none of my clothes fit. In my most vulnerable times all I needed was a good compliment. In my most insecure moments, I needed to be lifted up. The last thing that I wanted to do while pregnant is give some skinny girl a compliment. But guess what? When I did, I felt better about myself. I saw how it made her feel and I felt better about myself.

A gift you can give this New Year is giving people the gift of confidence. Being a mommy in paradise also means you can give the gift of paradise to others. Think about your words and how you can uplift and inspire someone else. Compliments about the outward appearance are always welcome but remember compliments about someones heart and attitude are more important.

Rather than competing with each other, let's lift each other up. Just because someone is gorgeous or they seem to have it all together does not mean they are hurting on the inside. You can change someone's life just by speaking life and beauty into their life. You cannot fix yourself by breaking someone else.

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. Hebrews 3:13