Pray For Her

Colossians 1:9

New Life Version (NLV)

⁹ This is why I have never stopped praying for you since I heard about you. I ask God that you may know what He wants you to do. I ask God to fill you with the wisdom and understanding the Holy Spirit gives."

In November of last year, I attended a women's retreat hosted by the women's ministry from my church.  I was in a better place in my life, after dealing with all my heartbreak and pain from my past, but I was still not completely whole. My heart looked like a big ole block of Swiss cheese. I had holes everywhere that God was trying to deal with and I just wasn't letting Him. I admit, I was prideful and didn't think I had any areas left that God needed to clean up. Boy, did he prove me wrong.

During this time in my life, the struggle to hear God was real. I would pray, read my bible and all kinds of things but I could not feel His presence and it would frustrate me. I would cry and cry and just complain that I was tired of looking for Him and talking to the stupid wall. Man, I would tell God some things I would never dare tell my Earthly father, out of the fear that he might slap me. lol

Anyways, I felt like God was so distant. I felt like he had picked up and moved and forgot to send me one of those fancy moving announcement cards with his new address. So I prayed and looked for Him and then just gave up and that cycle repeated itself for such a long time.

Then I heard about this awesome retreat my new church was having and I decided that I was going to go and that this was the weekend God was going to show up. This was it! I wasn't taking no for an answer and I was willing to do all kinds of stalker- ish things to find where God was hiding. During this time, my friend Carol was constantly checking on me, encouraging me, loving on me and praying for me. She would remind me that God wasn't far and He still wanted my heart.

Let me tell you something, appreciate the friends who pray for you! You could have a million "loyal" friends but that ONE praying friend will change your life!

Carol was in communication with me all the way up to the day of the retreat. She wanted to be sure I was coming and she was determined to just get me there.

During this retreat they covered some intense topics. It was literally a soul cleanse. My heart was just wrecked the whole weekend.

The first day of the retreat they handed us these packets to complete. This packet was about 6 pages long and asked the most personal and intimate questions ever.

I completed the package and finished after about 30 minutes. I spent the rest of my time just sitting in silence on the floor. I tried praying but God was still playing hide and seek. I was just too emotionally worn out from that packet to go seeking for Him.

Then my friend Carol walks by, sits with me on the floor and asks me if she could pray for me. I remember she was so nervous because she didn't like praying for people out loud and it was her first time praying over someone in public.

So she started to pray and she prayed for things that only my heart knew about. She prayed with authority, love, and sincerity. She prayed like she was on a mission and she very much was. She finished praying, hugged me and carried on talking to the other girls that were there.

From that moment forward, I felt God just reaching into my heart and speaking into my life more than I had ever felt months prior.

One day, I will share all the amazing things that happened that weekend.

Anyways, that weekend changed my life and heart FOREVER!!!

That weekend also changed mine and Carol's relationship forever. God knew I needed a big sister to love me and just be there to encourage me along the way. She even gave me a tiny card that said "Contact a Carol" and  I always felt that I could do just that with her. I could contact her for anything and everything.

Since that weekend, I cannot even tell you the amount of times Carol has just been such a blessing to my life. There have been days where she sends me a prayer text and it instantly changes the tone of my day. She just loves on me so much that it's really hard to not feel God's love through her. She always so positive, encouraging and uplifting. When something is bothering me or I am struggling, I text her and she prays for me.

I strongly believe that if we all had more "Carol's" in our lives, we would have less stress and more answered prayers.

I believe that Carol's love for me is very much like the love Paul had for the Christians of Colossae. Paul was so thankful for them and so eager to see their relationship with Christ flourish. He took pride in praying for them. He took pride in teaching them. He took pride in suffering for them and with them. He took pride in disciplining them. He just loved the people of Colossae so much. He wanted them to know Jesus. He wanted their lives to be fruitful and bear the many blessings of God.

Now that is one awesome friend! That is a friend EVERYONE should want on their team. That is a friend every girl should want praying for her family and her own life.

Beauties, I encourage you to be a Paul or a Carol to someone in your life. It would be awesome if you could be that kind of friend to everyone, but let's start with baby steps.

We all need that friend who is willing to cry on the floor with us when we feel like we've hit rock bottom. We need that friend who will comfort us when we feel hurt and betrayed by other friends and family around us. We need that friend who will suffer in our pain with us. We need that friend who will pray over our homes, finances, families, relationships and marriages, when times are rough and when times are joyful. We need that friend who is willing to spend their lives just giving to our life because they simply love us.

We need that friend and we also need to be THAT friend.

Here is your assignment:

- Pick a woman you love
- Ask that friend what she would like for you to pray about (trust me, if you ask they will give you tons of stuff to pray about)
-Take 5 minutes a day or MORE to pray for your friend
- Love on them, check up on them and send them a message of love throughout the week
-Sit back and watch their lives change.

I encourage you to do this for a friend. The power of sisterhood is so strong. The power of love is so strong. Let's be the kind of women who love and pray for our friends.

Jessica Torres
Founder of Beauty of Encouragement

Letter of Love

Hi Ladies,

I just want to share some things with you that have been on my heart. When I started this blog, I promised that I would be 100% transparent, real and raw with you all. The reason for this is because I want you to know that you are NOT alone. I want you to know that there are other women in this world going through the same struggles as you. I want you to know that you can overcome. I want you to know that you are capable of changing and growing.

I just cannot stop thinking about you ladies. From the moment I opened my eyes today, I have thought about you, prayed for you and spoke life into your day. You have no idea how much love God has placed in my heart for you. I was literally in tears this morning as I prayed over your lives, families, hearts and minds.  I never knew it was possible to love women that I don't even know. However, God has placed it in my heart to serve you, to love you and to encourage you.  I take honor in that responsibility.

When you are feeling alone, down, sad, discouraged, please come back to this post to be reminded that you are loved. I want you to know that someone is cheering for you, praying for you, thinking of you and spending endless hours thinking of ways to bring encouragement into your lives.

I want you to know that you are special. You were beautifully and wonderfully made. You aren't an accident. You aren't a mistake. Even if your mama had you at 16, you were still born with purpose. You are part of God's perfect plan. He paid the price for YOU! To be close to YOU. To be a father to YOU. Every breath you take is because God wants you to be here, on Earth, living! 

I want you to live your life on purpose. I don't want you to have a victim mentality. I want you to step into this day with meaning and determination. I want you to shake off all of the things that discourage you, hurt you, worry you, or cause you anxiety. I want you to conquer this day.

Before you begin your day, I want you to go somewhere quiet. I want you to just start authoritively speaking good things into your life. What kind of life do you want? Then that is what you need to speak into your day.

I realize how silly this may sound but I assure you that it works. I do this everyday and it just changes my world and perspective on things. Here is what my words look like.

"Today I will have a servants heart. I will be love to other people. Today the right doors will be opened for me. Today doors will be closed that are dangerous to my life. Today I will meet the right people. Today I will cut out the wrong people. Today I will have a positive attitude. Today I am rich in happiness, health and wealth. Today I will serve God and please Him in all I do. Today I will not be defeated in my mind. Today I will be encouraged and share it with others"

Try it! Also, please share your story with us. I look forward to learning more about the beauties reading my blog.

Have a blessed day!

P.S. I am keeping today's post very light. The rest of the week I will be going in at your heart. I will be revealing some of my past mistakes with you. You won't want to miss this. I will be releasing a video soon to prepare you for Friday's blog. I'm about to expose my past to you and rock your world.

Jessica Torres

Founder of Beauty of Encouragement

Hello There, Kate Spade

Hi Ladies,

Before we get into today's post, I want to send an extra special thank you to a few different people.

1. Thanks to all the beautiful ladies that have been reaching out to me and are currently struggling with a broken heart. I am TRULY touched and I am praying for you all. Have peace! Keep pushing through. A broken heart doesn't last forever. Trust me, I've had a few.

2. Thank you to all the men reading my blog!!! I appreciate the texts and messages of encouragement. Thanks for sharing it with the women you love.

3. Thanks to all my followers for reading my blog. Encouragement is going to spread like wildfire in 2014. Thank you for allowing me to encourage you.

Alright, encouragement is waiting for us. Let's go get it.....

During Christmas, I always try to find a really awesome gift for my best friend. She has an amazing heart and is constantly loving on people. She loves to shower people with gifts, so she's always buying something for someone. It's the perfect time for me to thank her with something special, so I like to get her something I know she is going to love.

This past Christmas, I decided I was going to gift her with something special from Kate Spade. Who doesn't love a little Kate Spade in their life?

So I started to do a little online shopping. As I'm looking through the pictures of each bracelet and attempting to find the perfect one for my best friend, I come across this amazingly simple, sleek, rose gold, sparkling bangle that I just had to get for myself. Naturally, I quickly place it in my online shopping bag. Within minutes, I start to feel immensely guilty. Now, the bangles aren't too expensive, but when you have a mortgage and bills to pay, it seems more expensive than it truly is. So, within five minutes, I talked myself out of getting this bangle. Even though I love Kate Spade and even though I love rose gold.

I know, that's just the most devastating story you've ever heard. Isn't it? I'm sure you have been there too. We all have. We want something and then guilt just comes in and makes us delete it from our shopping bag. Whomp!

So, I purchase my best friend's bracelet and move on with my day. Never mentioning anything to anyone about that bangle I fell in love with and couldn't get.

Weeks later, about a few days before Christmas, my boss tells me she has a gift for me. I didn't put much thought into it. I figured she got me some chocolates or something small to thank me for working for her and the long hours I had recently been putting in. A few minutes later, she walked in the room with a gray box decorated with this awesome grey bow and the top of the box read the word Nordstrom. I excitedly opened the box and right before my eyes was this beautiful bangle that looked identical to the one I so desperately wanted a few weeks back. I was thrilled!  I mean it's probably some Kate Spade knock off but who really cares. It all looks the same to me.

As I'm placing my hand in the box to get a better look at it, my boss gently pushes my hand out of the way and flips over the little white tag that was attached to the bangle. To my surprise it said, Kate Spade. I was sooooooo thrilled!!! THEN, with the most joyful voice she says, "I love rose gold. I hope you like it too.". I hugged her so tight, thanked her and moments later left work for the day.

I got in my car and immediately just felt overjoyed and overwhelmed by God's love. Only Him and I knew I wanted that bangle. Only Him and I knew that I really wanted to buy it but I had to spend my money wisely and on more important things. Only Him and I.

I was almost in tears as I sat in my car. I know you're probably thinking it's just a silly little bangle. It's not like my boss bought me some fancy car, or sent me on some exotic vacation. But in some way that bangle made me feel like she did. I loved that bangle. I wanted to have a nice little designer piece. I wanted to buy it for myself but I knew being responsible was more important and staying on budget was the wiser thing to do.  But here I was a few weeks later being gifted with the exact thing I desired.

Do you see how faithful God is? A silly little bangle. He made that happen. It wasn't a coincidence. It wasn't just something that my boss guessed I would want and love. It was GOD!!! HE made that happen.

He knew this tiny desire of my heart. As tiny as it was, it was still so important to Him, so He made it happen. I didn't pray about it. I didn't say, "Oh God, why can't I ever buy what I want? ". I desired it and that's it. Just a secret wish I filed way back in the filing cabinet of my heart along with the other hopes, dreams and prayers that I thought were too "tiny" or too "stupid" to give to God. That's not what He wants us to do. He doesn't want us to store them away. He wants us to hand them all over to Him.

God loves our little wishes, dreams, hopes and desires. He goes through them daily. Some He picks up, reads, memorizes and puts back, to give us at a later time. Some, He picks up and says, "Ha, she doesn't need this. I have something greater", and tosses out. Then, others he picks up, reads, and says, "Now this is good for her. She can have this. " and gives them to us in His perfect timing.

This whole bangle ordeal really spoke to my heart. I finally realized that God wanted me to share EVERY desire, EVERY wish, EVERY hope, EVERY passion, EVERY idea, EVERYTHING with Him. Even the silly, stupid, little, pointless, ideas we have. Nothing is too little and nothing is too big for God and NOTHING is unattainable for Him. Nothing.

As I write this, in the midst of the happiness it brings me again, I feel a little shame. Somewhere along the way I forgot how important it was to share my heart's desires with God and how He truly just wants to know the deepest, most hidden, secrets of my heart that I often fail to share with Him. Thankfully, He searches our hearts when we forget to give these things to Him.

If God is so willing to give me this bangle from Kate Spade, then how much more willing is He to give us the biggest desires of our hearts, that we so eagerly long for?

Beauties, God is WILLING.

HE IS WILLING to restore your marriage.

HE IS WILLING to help you forgive that man/woman who molested you as a child.

HE IS WILLING to heal you from your hurt and pain.

HE IS WILLING to cure your illness.

HE IS WILLING to free you from the bondage of drug abuse.

HE IS WILLING to fix your finances.

HE IS WILLING to forgive you for having an abortion.

HE IS WILLING to heal your heart from the pain your parent left you when they walked out of your life.

HE IS WILLING to restore your hope.

HE IS WILLING to give you peace.

HE is able and He is willing! All you have to do is ASK.

So today, I encourage you to sit alone in private and just pour your heart out to the One who made you.

Let all your worries go!

Psalm 20:4-9

Jessica Torres

Founder of Beauty of Encouragement