Today is My 29th Birthday

...and I wanted to do something a little different to celebrate this year.

If you're like me, you read the book of Esther with a tinge of jealousy. Obviously I'm not jealous that someone was trying to annihilate her entire people group and that she had to put her life on the line to save them, but I am jealous of a whole year of beauty treatments. What girl in her right mind wouldn't want that?! To be primped and pampered for a whole year with the sole objective of drawing to the surface every ounce of beauty buried within you.

Well, why not? Why not dedicate a year to learning new ways to bring whatever beauty God has put inside of me to the surface? Sure, I can't commit every moment of every day for the next year to looking fit for a king (and I'm sorry for my husband's sake that I can't), but I can do what I'm able and see where it takes me.

So here it is: The Esther Project. From October 15, 2011 through October 15, 2012 I will commit myself to doing what I can to look and feel as beautiful as God has made me to be.

I don't know how to do it. I don't know what it will look like. I'm not even quite sure how to articulate my goal, but I'm excited to see where this road leads me.

My plan is to separate the next year into 1 month increments with a different theme for each month. Each month I will do a bit of research and find out some secrets for the theme of that month. As I move through the year I will add things to my "beauty regimen", and in 1 year we'll assess any changes, both inside and out.

My hope is that my birthday present to myself next year will totally be worth it!

"Every woman deserves to look and feel her best, just as God created her[...] When we lose touch with our true selves, we lose touch with the spiritual nature of God's design, and His unique artistry expressed through us."
~Ginger Garrett - Beauty Secrets of the Bible