THIS JOY STORY
has a lesson for women, and yes, for men too. Do you think I can relate loving and wearing lipstick to growing in Christ? I can! Just read on…
YES, I LOVE WEARING LIPSTICK…
Right now I am not because I’m using a teeth whitening solution. When I’m done with that for the day my lips will be especially dry. Thank God for lipstick! I’ve been wearing lipstick since I was in my twenties. I never used to because I needed braces and didn’t want to draw attention to my crooked teeth if possible, (it wasn’t) they’re big.
When I did start applying lipstick, I discovered it did help me look more complete, more polished. I had no one to teach me about makeup so I just experimented. Now I plan my lipstick according to what I’m wearing… I have winter lipsticks, spring and summer lipsticks, and fall lipsticks! I’m styling!
My teeth have been straightened years ago (thank You Jesus!) and I am now a professional at applying my lipstick! I go through six steps to keep it on beautifully for hours! And I am one happy camper with my lipstick, my other makeup, and my hair! I love being pretty! Being pretty was a thing I never felt I was when I was shy and felt so lowly and very insignificant… Thankfully, and all glory to God, now I know better! God had planned me, made a path for me, and has always loved me:
Psalm 139:13-16
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.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Psalm 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
Beloved and crabby: I now know my worth! And yours! The blood of the Lamb! Jesus Christ has always loved us and wanted us to be His own!
John 3:16-21
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
So what do lipstick and God’s love have in common? Simple. Over time I began to notice as I get a new lipstick it has a form that doesn’t quite mesh with my very own lips… However, after me being the only one using my lipsticks, they all come to the same end. They start to form to my lips, making easier, quicker, and even moisture to apply and enjoy! Funny thing!
God revealed to me in a single lipstick a great lesson. What I do with my lipsticks, God does with me!
Selah.
As my lipsticks start to form to my lips as I apply them – so the Word does as I apply it! Simple!
Beloved (and crabby),
This is what the word anointing means to apply something (like oil) on something else. I, in a generic sense, anoint my lips with lipstick…
God anoints those who love Him with the oil of joy! This is what I plan for; this is why my ministry is called joyeternalministries!
Psalm 45:7
You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.
Did you know that God was the One who told me what to name this ministry? I didn’t want it in my name because I wanted to give Him the glory, not me. I truly would like to see every church given a name that honors Him, the Most High; not named after a location in the city, a person, any person, other than our Deity: God the Father, Son, and Spirit.
There are many ways to honor God, remember Him in all things, bless him, worship Him, and thank Him. When I pretty up and smear (becomingly!) on my lipstick, I often reflect on my Father is molding me more and more to please Him and reflect holiness!
Selah.
2 Corinthians 3:17-18
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Growing up in a home without the love for God, an invalid father, heavy financial hardships, and tremendous (sometimes dangerous) discord is always difficult. Add on to that extreme shyness, a feeling of inferiority, and some may think this girl was rejected. But God’s hand was on her and His heart was for her. Today, Ann Marie Turner has performed many great services in Jesus’ name for the love of God and man; and for herself! She has ministered in the male correctional for over ten years. Along with this website, Ann is the author of Joy Stories, Volume One and The Free Incarcerated Man. Writing about the joy of the Lord and the victory that is available for a willing soul is one of Ann’s now greatest joys! Ann’s prayer for you is to overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony. Celebrate the God of the Bible and your personal victories in Christ unceasingly! Revelation 12:11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.