adorned.

adorned. what does it mean? what does it look like? adorned: to make more beautiful or attractive as women of the lord, we are adorned. and how we view it is what truly matters.
1 peter 3:3-4 states.. "do not let your adorning be external -- the braiding of hair and putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear -- but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in god's sight is very precious."
where does our adorning come from? within.
the lord has been speaking this verse to me in so many ways this past week. first by studying it with a community of women. then through a simple tweet. followed by another blogger's post and and then a in facebook status.
sometimes it's so easy for me to get caught up in outward appearances. i find myself focusing too much time on other women's style, or their ability to freely purchase new and updated items. but then i stop. and i truly think to myself 'there has got to be more.' and there is. it's not all about what we got going on externally - proverbs says beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the lord is to be praise. outward beauty is a secondary importance to the godliness of her inward beauty. it's not that we should just let it all go, but that we should redefine what our definition of beauty is. 
adorning that is hidden [from the inside] comes from a heart is imperishable. a gentle and quiet spirit. i often have to remind myself.. 'be a gentle wife, a gentle and quiet spirit' when my husband and i are in a disagreement or if i am upset. my he reminds me that having a quiet spirit doesn't mean talking quietly. [which is a good thing because girls like me with deep voices understand.. there is no such thing as quiet]. to know exactly what it means, i'm still figuring that out. but what the lord has been teaching me so far is.. a woman who doesn't start meaningless arguments but instead encourages. a woman who doesn't yell, but offers much grace. a woman who isn't prideful, but who is vulnerable with her mistakes. a woman who dies to herself daily and is fully surrendered to the lord.
i long to have a heart of imperishable beauty. a gentle and quiet spirit. and the amazing thing of it all is that i have the giver of it all standing right before me.  jesus, help me to be a wife of noble character.