You Are Beautiful began as a song...
...a song Kendra Brown wrote to encourage a friend. Each verse revealed her true beauty in God’s sight; beautiful, not only in the physical sense, but in the spiritual truth of being lovely, joyful, royal, righteous, redeemed, pure, and a child of God. Recognizing how much we all need this truth, the idea of creating a journal for women quickly followed. This journal is a forty day journey to spend time with God and listen as He reveals the lies of the enemy, and transforms us with His truth.
Before anyone else could take the journey, Kendra knew she had to take it first:
“The past 40 days were difficult, but the beauty of God’s revealed truth was life changing. There was a spiritual battle, to be sure. Good and evil were fighting for my mind, heart and future. The enemy has used people and circumstances since I was born to destroy my self worth. He made it easy to believe the lies. I know who the Bible says I am, so why do I struggle to walk in that Truth? Who would I believe?”
The Song
that started it all
#My40DayJourney
We have an amazing opportunity to share what we have seen and heard and what we have experienced in our walk with the Lord. Please share your 40 Day Journey experience with others as an encouragement for personal growth and change. Use the #My40DayJourney to connect with other women around the globe participating in this transformative 40 day study.
Sangeetha, Minnesota
I'll be honest, I thought this 40 day journey was going to go one way, and God lovingly surprised me and unveiled so many beautiful lessons and areas of my life, that he wanted to heal.
My experience has been one that has only deepened my desire to grow closer with God. It has beautifully heightened my awareness of His presence, paying attention to His pull, taking time to intentionally be still, and put God and time in the word first. Re-framing my priorities to have the Lord be my number one in all arena's (be it relationships, family, fitness, finances, fun, etc), keeping that perspective has opened up powerful lessons in wisdom, healing wounds from my earthly father, and showing me God's heart in a way I had never experienced before.
A deep love, of a Good Good Father. I'm eager to do this journey again, and am excited to go even deeper. I'm extremely grateful for this opportunity - and the timing in which Kendra shared this with me - God's perfect timing did a wonder in my life!
Jessica, minnesota
The You are Beautiful 40-day journal provided accountability and reignited a desire to be diligent in my time with the Lord. It was a great opportunity to be vulnerable with God, and in turn, I felt heard and loved by Him in the quiet of the morning.
This journal and it’s message is saturated in Biblical truth that I need to be reminded of over and over again. Thank you, Kendra, for this ministry and sharing God’s heart for his precious daughters.
melody, minnesota
This experience has been so amazing.
The Lord revealed so many amazing truths to me that I never allowed myself to believe. It has been very healing. I know now what it truly means to be beautiful for myself, and how absolutely beautiful our Father is. His love for us is so beautiful. I also feel that I understand that a little more as well. Thank you Kendra! Such a beautiful experience.
rebecca, minnesota
When I first heard about the You Are Beautiful journal, I thought it was going to be some simple, short sentences that would fill each entry. Boy was I wrong. God had so much in store for me during this 40 day journal.
I hadn't realized that I was believing so many lies about myself, regarding all areas of my life. Journaling and listening to the the song, "You Are Beautiful" gave me the precious moments and space to write down what I was believing and then listening and responding to what my Father God IS saying about me!
I started to see myself the way He sees me, truly beautiful inside and out.
REBECCA, Dublin, Ireland
The 40 day journal for the beautiful project was very beneficial for me. It challenged me in ways I did not expect.
I came in with ideas on what I thought God would tell me through it, but He surprised me by bringing me to unexpected realizations. I haven't struggled with negative body image and my appearance much in the past couple years, but since it was a major problem for me when I was younger, I thought God would speak to my heart about this.
Within the first week of the 40 day journal, He instead spoke to me about how other women I know are struggling. He challenged me to be an encouragement to them, and to think of them before myself. He also spoke to my heart in a direct way about forgiveness. This journal provided the structure I needed to address issues in my heart I normally ignore.
God definitely worked through the 40 day journal to speak truth over me.
ELIZABETH, Minnesota
This 40 day journey was, for me, one of slowing down and sorting through the whirring, rapid-fire “voices” that have entered my heart and mind without my even noticing.
It’s crazy, when you think about it, how many messages we’re inundated with, daily, just from mainstream media. I’m used to skimming or jamming along to these media sources without even thinking twice about whether they’re building up or corroding my soul.
It was beautiful and powerful to me to spend so much time on one single song jam-packed with gospel truth. I appreciated how each day’s questions guided me to identify and uproot lies to make space for that truth.
As cheesy as it may sound, I found myself feeling fortified by the love and grace of God that he shared with me through the words of this song in a way similar to how I, as a single person, sometimes long for a lover’s affirmation to fortify me.
This deep, meditative soak in truth has left me feeling free and buoyant and longing for more.
Haley, Minnesota
My 40 day journey can be summed up in one word: questioning. During a season of busyness it reminded me to continually turn to God, and with each line in the song I turned to God with curiosity as question after question came to mind. The days didn't bring many answers, but I don't think that's what I needed this time around; I needed permission to question, to keep seeking, and to find God in a new and different way.
I can already imagine a new 40 day journey the next time around, where I might start at a different time of day or dig into God's word more, or perhaps turn to Google to see what others have shared about the revelation of that day's verse.
The 40 day journey will bring possibility and commitment to everyone who approaches it and sticks with it, but everything else can be customized to you and how you desire to worship. Try different things, explore your relationship with God, and keep returning to Him day in and day out.
Artists
Collaboration Of
Beautiful Artists
Collaboration of Beautiful Artists, also known as COBA, is the very heart of the You Are Beautiful project. Without these lovely ladies, the vision God gave me would not exist in its physical form today. Give them a little love and check out their artistic talents below!
Haley Earley
My beautiful and brilliant friend, Haley Earley, is multitalented in her creativity. Her photography is set apart by the way she captures the genuine personality of her subjects. Haley is also an incredible designer who excels in brand design, marketing and social media. Please stop by her website and check out her brilliance.
Anna Stiener
My beautiful and amazingly talented friend, Anna Steiner, has a special way of capturing God's beauty in His creation. Whether Anna is photographing nature, people or pets, she has a way of capturing special moments while ensuring her subject is at their absolute best. Please visit Anna's Facebook page and enjoy her beautiful work.
Liz Reid
My beautiful, passionate and talented friend, Liz, is a writer, an educator, an advocate, and one of the most caring people I know. Liz lives her life like Jesus...she sees and treasures all people. Please view her blog Au Courant to read her latest writings, see her upcoming scheduled readings, and learn of her ministry opportunity in Thailand.
Rebecca Rohland
My beautiful and musically gifted friend, Rebecca, has a huge heart for serving others, and is doing so now in Ireland. The arrangement of "You Are Beautiful" was created by Rebecca and wonderfully played on the recording. Please check out Rebecca's Facebook page to see how you can be a part of her most recent ministry in Ireland.
Hope Thompson
Hope is my beautiful and highly creative artistic friend, whom I've known since she was born. Hope is passionate about God and living her life for Him. Always the encourager, Hope will lift you up when you are down with her beauty and grace. Please go to Hope's Facebook page to see the way she brings scriptures to life through her artwork.
Meet Kendra
I am a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a mentor. Above all, I am a follower of Jesus Christ who is passionate about encouraging His children to walk in the freedom that He died to give us all.
Throughout my Christian journey, God has given me scriptures as if they were personally written for me; some to encourage my soul, some to convict my heart, and some to fill my mind with His knowledge. The one scripture that best describes the call and purpose of my life is Isaiah 61:1-3.
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion –
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord,
for the display of His splendor.”
The scripture refers to Jesus, anointed to bestow many glorious acts of love, restoration, revival, and renewal. If I’m going to follow Jesus, truly follow Him, would I not be about the same things?
The Lord has blessed me with a Christian husband, David, a true servant of Christ. We are parents to “our boys,” Hoppi and Hewi. We are constantly entertained by these two, and I’m always adding new photos of them to my Facebook page. David and I share a heart for the lost and hurting. God has perfectly blended our gifts together so that we can minister to people as a couple, as well as individuals. We have lived in about 12 different places in our 30 years together, and we now make Minneapolis our home.
Some of my favorite things include worship music, photography, writing, cooking, and a good movie.
Let's Connect
Whether you're interested in learning more about You Are Beautiful or eager to bring this message to a group, I'd love to connect. Fill out the information below and we'll be in touch shortly.