Today I had an amazing experience in my Pastoral Ministry class. Instead of having a lecture, we as a class read the entire book of 1 Peter. It's only 5 chapters long, so it didn't take forever, but I have never read a group of passages and felt so moved by the words. For those of you who have never read all of 1 Peter, I encourage you to. Don't read it fast and without regard to what Peter is saying. Read it slowly, and read it out loud. Read it in a few different translations. We read it in the Message paraphrase and it absolutely blew me away.

It's amazing to think that Peter wrote this as a letter to people who were exiled to all the corners of the earth. It's amazing how those words were applied to them and can still be applied to us in our day. My favorite part of this whole book (well, ok there are a few but I will only share one)

1 Peter 3:1-6

1-4The same goes for you wives: Be good wives to your husbands, responsive to their needs. There are husbands who, indifferent as they are to any words about God, will be captivated by your life of holy beauty. What matters is not your outer appearance—the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes—but your inner disposition.

^4-6Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. The holy women of old were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their husbands. Sarah, for instance, taking care of Abraham, would address him as "my dear husband." You'll be true daughters of Sarah if you do the same, unanxious and unintimidated.

I love that one day, when I am married, the Word says that a man will be captivated by my life of holy beauty. This world gives off an impression of what husbands and wives should be, and I gotta tell you, sometimes I'm not impressed. I don't always look forward to being a wife if the worlds vision of what a wife should be, holds true. The portion that I put in bold is my favorite. I won't have to worry about what I look like. If I'm too fat or too skinny, or too short or tall... I won't have to wear pretty jewelry, or make sure that my hair is colored the perfect shade, and I have the perfect cut when I leave the salon. What will matter is my inner disposition. And that is something that even now, I work on. I want God to take hold of me and make me who he wants, that way one day a man will be captivated and it won't be because of what I've done, but because of what God has done in me.

I don't mean to say that I won't care what I look like and dress like a slob and never shower... but it kind of takes the pressure off a little, don't you think? As long as I work to be exactly what God has called me to be.

This entire book is amazing. If ever you are having a bad day or you just need encouraging... read it.. take every word in. Stop every once in a while and just let the words sink into your soul. I promise you'll be amazed once again of how great our God is and with how much he loves you.

After you read, come back here and tell me what you thought. What passages stood out to you? What scriptures gave you goosebumbs? Cause I know there's a few that gave me some!

I love all of you and for those of you in California, I'm looking forward to spending time with you starting next week!!!

Jess