Hello and welcome to Beauty – a no-frills, no-nonsense podcast about all things beauty. True beauty. God’s beauty. I am your host and Lemongrass Spa consultant, Deanna Kohlhofer. Thanks for tuning in to this very first podcast episode. I say this is no-frills because, I really have no idea what I am doing…maybe someday I will figure out how to add music and make this sound better – and maybe not. It all remains to be seen… For now, this is what I have for you, and I hope you will enjoy it.

The idea behind this podcast is to share my own journey with you. For any of you listening who know me, you know I can’t keep things to myself. If I learn something, I just have to share it – and I thought this was a really great opportunity to share a few of my favorite things with you. In this Beauty podcast, I will share something I am learning from God, and I will share a product I love from Lemongrass. The emphasis is on what I am learning – not Lemongrass, but I do love this stuff. I wanted a creative outlet to share, and this is what I came up with.

So, let’s dive in with our first episode.

We are going to look at Psalm 55 today. I was going to read it to you, but I am not always the best reader in the room, so press pause, grab your Bible, and read Psalm 55. I will also include it in the transcript at the bottom.

Hopefully you noticed that David is earnestly praying for relief here. He is in distress and begging God to hear his prayer and give him relief. Remember, David was known to be bold and brave and courageous, but at this moment, his heart is failing him. He is not a strong shepherd boy. He is not a brave warrior. His heart is in pain, so much that he just wanted to run away from it all, but notice what he said in verse 6 – I would fly away and be at rest.” Have you ever been in this place of angst like David was and just so overwhelmed that you needed to get away and rest? Be quiet? Find peace? That is exactly what we need to do sometimes. More on that in a second…

V 9-15 continue with David’s complaint about his enemy and his heart was filled with sadness and grief because his enemy is revealed as a friend. He felt as if he had been deceived. He prays that God would disperse his enemies like he did with the Tower of Babel. And he prayed that God would destroy his enemies. And then he says, in verse 16, “As for me, I will call upon God and the Lord shall save me…”

David gives us a great example to follow in perseverance of prayer. He finds comfort in calling out to God expectantly, knowing God will save him – not because of his prayers, but because of his heart. That is a key element. I can ask for God to deal with my enemies – but if I ask out of a vengeful spirit or with a hateful heart, God will not deliver me, and he will not give me peace.

David concludes with this – “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” So here is David, in the midst of great turmoil physically and emotionally, and that boldness comes back to him without ever fleeing from the problem like he wanted to at the very beginning of this psalm. That is what makes this beautiful.

I can imagine that most of us have been in a place of despair. Maybe you are in that place right now. Maybe you find yourself confused. Filled with anxiety. Doubting something. Fearful of something. Remember, David was not immediately freed of his situation, and neither will you be, but when you cast your cares on the Lord, he will sustain you – just as he did David. Commit your situation to prayer and boldly seek God’s help…and then rest in his strength. Allow him to support you when you are weary. Allow him to infuse you with grace and truth so that you can withstand the enemy you are facing – but in his power and strength, not your own.

You might be wondering what this psalm has to do with beauty. I chose it because it portrays a different kind of beauty. It portrays the beauty I am hoping to convey on this podcast – an inward beauty of trust and faith. We see in this example of David how he was stressed and fearful. Things were out of his control, and he did not see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know we can all relate with that feeling. It heightens our anxiety. We worry. We snap at our family and friends. We ignore our co-workers. We have an extra-large glass of wine at the end of the day. We overindulge in things that bring us comfort - but those things do not bring us peace. They bring out the ugly in us. Our worst character traits. They bring out our anger and our pride.

Instead, when we are in the situations where we just want to fly away to find rest – that is exactly what we need to do. We need to find rest in God, and we do that by crying out to him. When we trust him to handle the situations of our life, we will exude beauty. People will notice something radiant about us when we cast our cares on the Lord.

Let’s pray –

God, you are good and gracious and all-powerful and oh how we praise you! Lord, sometimes we find ourselves in the place of David – facing an enemy; filled with worry and fear; wanting to just run away from everything. God, come alongside us in those times of frustration and confusion. Help us to actively seek you and boldly claim your victory. Hear our cries for help – day and night, just as David taught, and rescue us in the battle. Amen.

Okay guys, at the end of each little episode, I will highlight something from Lemongrass Spa that I think you need to know about – and today that is our Mandarin Orange Whipped Body Butter.

In Psalm 55, David says his enemy’s talk is smooth as butter and his words are more soothing than oil. Well, this body butter will be no enemy… It is silky smooth shea butter whipped with mandarin orange certified organic essential oil blend and vitamin e oil. The scent is like a blend of mandarin orange and lime mixed with a creamy vanilla. It is a thicker lotion, and it is excellent for rejuvenating your skin.

A little goes a long way, so this 4-ounce jar will last a bit. Body butter can provide much-needed moisture and protection to your sensitive and dry skin – especially in the winter months, but it is also soothing on sun-kissed skin so stock up.

Our Mandarin Orange whipped body butter is on sale for $19 and only available in February. At that price point, they also make great gifts – so grab one for you and a friend. You won’t regret it…

D 😊

Click here to order Mandarin Orange Whipped Body Butter – Product B5412

Click here to read Psalm 55.