Practicing Beauty.

Like most writers, I find great satisfaction in good quotes. I carry them like I would a garden in my pocket, with two flowers in particular holding special significance to me. The first is the dying words of Russian author Leo Tolsty: “The truth…I love much…” and the second is by George Eliot, “It seems we can never give up longing and wishing while we are alive. There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger for them.” My affections have always been for truth and beauty. Certainly idealistic as a girl, it now emerges in the resolve to bring this duet into the darkest of places and in the most abandoned of hearts.

I would like to introduce you to a woman who has chosen to run into Water with these two elements in her hands. If you could see her run as I have, you would bear witness to how gracefully she grabs women with her, inviting them to experience, through strong health and pure beauty, a grand celebration of their God-bestowed glory. She is a woman who, with such exquisite ease, can transform a room or a face into that which goes beyond mere appearance but reaches into something in us so much deeper. Chapter 12 (Practicing Beauty: Intentional Submission) of my book alludes to this when I discuss that “how we use our bodies is an integral part of how we develop our souls. Women who have chosen to immerse themselves into Christ do not lose the desire to feel and be beautiful in their femininity. On the contrary, we should be leaders in this area!”

Kim, a mother of three, is the executive district manager of Arbonne in East Bay, California. Arbonne is a global brand with a network of Independent Consultants in four major international markets. Carrying a host of health and beauty supplies, Arbonne premium skin care products are formulated in Switzerland and made in the US. Botanically based, without dyes, fragrances or mineral oils I can attest to the fact that these products are amazing. When I have a bit of personal money, I gravitate towards books and art supplies but since I began using a few of Arbonne skin products they have been added to my list of special essentials (and they last months!).

What excites me is not only does Kim seek to bring these products to women and enable them to start their own home-based business based on an easy-to-follow business plan, but she cares for women globally. Recently she formed a partnership with World Hope International specifically with their Adelphe ́Program. This is a sponsorship program connecting women in the US with women in rural Cambodia for the purpose of fighting extreme poverty and sex trafficking and sharing the love of Jesus Christ. Adelphé empowers women in rural Cambodia and their villages through providing access to the following services: Health – access to clean water and sanitation facilities, mobile clinics Agriculture – seed loans, animal multiplication, irrigation and/or water harvesting. Education – public awareness of trafficking, health and hygiene training business planning and budgeting training.

Kim hopes to raise awareness for Adelphé with her clients and other women who want to join her team. The goal is to raise up sister sponsors for these precious women in Cambodia so they might care for their families. For $32 a month you can provide a woman in Cambodia with the tools and resources needed to escape extreme poverty. Kim dreams of growing this partnership between Arbonne and Adelphé to the point where vitamins can be donated through buyers like you, as well as other products.

Kim launched this advocacy recently in her California home, with the director of Adelphé, Heather Beatty, flying in to meet Kim as well as present the ministry. What an amazing example of how we as women, as mothers, can be intentional and intelligent in surrendering to Christ as he grows us into what He has intended we become, while connecting with the global world!

Right now, Kim is running a special in which 35% of all sales through her website (click here) January 20 – February 28 will be donated to help the 15,000 children World Hope International has enrolled in their programs that previously existed before the quake.