The Beauty of Jesus by Colleen van Nieuwkerk

I attended Pioneer Girls from Grade Two to Grade Nine and then became a leader for the next thirteen years.

The aim of this club program was “to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ in every phase of my life, based on Colossians 1:9-10, New Living Translation, NLT, “So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.”

Songfest was a big part of our club evening, and we often sang the song, “The Beauty of Jesus.” When I consider how the concept of beauty has influenced my life, I know that some of its roots began in that clubroom as we vocalized these words:

“Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me,

All His wonderful passion and purity;

O Thou Spirit divine may I truly be Thine

Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.”

@Albert W. T. Thomas, Author,

Public Domain, hymnary.org

As I consider what the creation of beauty in my writing means, I ask myself:

Do my words give honor and glory to Jesus as the Lord of my life?

Do my words for Jesus allow me to feel His pleasure as I focus on my people and the impact they may feel as they read them?

Do my words stir up word pictures of the beauty of creation, of my life of faith and family, or how I choose to portray beauty even in hard and difficult times?

I try to remember to ask the Holy Spirit to fill me and to give me God’s words as I begin to write. Sometimes I realize I forgot and stop right where I am to say I am sorry and then to ask to be

filled.

I believe the Spirit does fill me because I am His child. However, I had an experience recently where it seemed even though my hands were on the computer keys typing, the words were flowing out on their own. It was an amazing sensation, and is the only time this has happened.

That particular article was published in a magazine, and I have had people respond to me, giving thanks for my words as they embraced my meaning. I felt God’s pleasure at that point.

I am thankful God has taught me to appreciate the beauty all around me, the beauty in the words of other writers, and the practice of deepening my own way of walking in beauty as I share my words with you and with my people.

Colleen van Nieuwkerk is GG to three sons plus 3; twelve grandchildren; and two great-grandsons. She loves to read and enjoys reading to the littles in the family as well as gifting books to them. Colleen writes curriculum for women as well as teaches and is currently writing the story in book form of how this all came about. She lives in northern Alberta and can be found online @colleenvannieuwkerk.com