True beauty: RAVE Ministries sponsors ‘No Makeup November’

Move over, No Shave November.
A ministry associated with Churches of Christ is sponsoring No Makeup November.
Hundreds of women, young and old, are committing to 30 days of no makeup.
Becca Daniel, an adult leader with RAVE Ministries (which The Christian Chronicle featured in 2010), explained in an e-mail:

No Makeup November was a small idea that a couple of girls on our team  — Lauren King and McKenna Smith — had and they called me. I was very skeptical but felt God calling me to it. I said that if we were going to do it, we would do it right. We would take a whole month in November. And we began to think about how guys do No Shave November and thought it would be great to do that. So here we are! Lots of blogs written, hundreds of tweets about it and about 700 known women and girls of ALL ages are joining in this campaign around the country. It has exploded.

In a blog post, Jill Dasher with RAVE stressed that makeup is not the real issue:

This campaign in no way is an anti-makeup campaign, because let it be known that it is not the makeup that we are battling. Instead, it is a culture that we are trying to fight. A culture that tells our young girls, mothers, and yes, even grandmothers that they are not close to being good enough. That in order to be of worth you must be physically beautiful, that unless you are a specific size you should be cast out, that the true amount of your worth is based upon one simple yet important factor, ones physical appearance.
So for the next 30 days we will go to war. Every morning when we awake and are tempted to head straight for our makeup bags that we have hidden away in our closets we will think of our Creator. We will hear Him telling us that we are made in His image. The whispers of His Spirit will remind us of our worth and once again we will press on.

Follow the hashtag #NoMakeupNovember on Twitter.
Reader feedback: Are you participating in No Makeup November? If so, why? Please include your name, age and hometown in case we decide to quote you.

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  Bobby Ross Jr.

  November, 1 2012

  But the Lord said to Samuel, �Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.� 1 Samuel 16:7
  I know this verse is true, but even in knowing there is truth in that verse, I still struggle with insecurities over my appearance. I am participating in No Makeup November and plan to use this month to meditate on these words and focus more on how I want God to see me than how I want others to see me. I want my niece and my daughter to live their lives for God and not for others, and I want to lead by example.
  Erin Rogers
  Age 35
  Calhoun, La

  Erin Rogers

  November, 4 2012

  It will be good to have company this November! A few years back I had trouble finding make-up that I wasn’t allergic to, that I could afford. I happened to read a quote that it takes real courage for a woman to leave her face un-madeup, just the way God creates it. So I mustered the courage to begin weaning myself off of the ‘facepaint’, except for extremely rare occasions. I still sometimes use a tinted lip gloss. But as time goes by it feels more and more normal to have a natural face, than to hide behind artificial colors and cover-ups. God bless you girls, as you use your courage to look lovely as God intended! 🙂

  Delina

  November, 5 2012