The April Challenge!!

     For those of you who don't know April is the month of Rape & Sexual Abuse Awareness! The color that represents this month of awareness in my community is teal!  I have decided to paint my nails and toes teal for the entire month of April.  I want to encourage those of you who are support of this cause or a survivor to do something bold with the color teal in this upcoming month.  I would love it if you would email me pictures of what  creative bold thing you do with the teal color and I will post it on my blog! Please send your pictures to 4hopeandhealing@gmail.com. Let's be bold together and show our support of the survivors of rape and sexual abuse.  
     In doing this I decided to research to see what this color represents. Teal is a blue green color and teal represents trustworthiness, devotion and healing.  The green in this color represents growth, healing, hope, peace, balance, self acceptance, forgiveness, and serenity. The blue in this color represents truth, wisdom, openness, devotion, heaven, eternity, loyalty and leadership. I just thought that the representation of these colors just embodies who we are as survivors and what we feel when the healing process starts and continues. I feel that teal is the perfect color to represent survivors of sexual abuse.  In doing my research of the meanings and representation of these colors I was curious to see what the bible says about a few of these attributes, and actions.  I would like to share with you some verses in the bible because for me I wouldn't be where I am today with God and God's word. 
   In the color green I am going to highlight verses from the bible that talk about GROWTH, HOPE, and HEALING.  Growth is the process of developing or maturing physically, mentally, or spiritually. Through God we can find mental and spiritual growth here are some verses I found that pertain to growth: 

 Phil 1:25- "Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith."

2 Pet 3:18- "Rather you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to Him both now and forever! Amen!"

1 Cor 2:6-7- "I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it but it was God who made it grow. It's not important who does the planting or who does the watering. What's important is that God makes the seed grow."

Hope is a confident trust with the expectation of fulfillment. God gives us hope for a better tomorrow through His love and comfort. Here are the verses I found that pertain to hope through God:

Rom 12:12- "Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble and keep on praying."

Ps. 42:5- "Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again my Savior."

Ps 119:49-50- " Remember your promise to me; it is my only hope. Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles." 

Healing is to mend, cure, make whole; to restore to health and spiritual wholeness. God is our healer he heals our wounds of our pasts and carries the pain for us. Here are the verses I found about God's healing:

Is. 57:18-19- "I have seen what they do, but I will heal them anyway! I will lead them. I will comfort those who mourn, bringing words of praise to their lips. May they have abundant peace, both near and far says the Lord who heals them."

Jer. 17:14- "O Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly healed; if you save me, I will truly be saved. My praises are for you alone."

2 Pet 2:24- "He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross sot hat we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed."

The color blue I am going to highlight verses from the bible about TRUTH, WISDOM, and LEADERSHIP. 

Truth is the property(as of a statement) of being in accord with fact or reality(natural and spiritual); sincerity in action, character, and utterance. Here are some verses about God's truth and the truth he wants us to live out in our lives.  
Zech 8:16- "But this is what you must do: Tell the truth to each other. Render verdicts in your courts that are just and lead to peace." 

Ps 25:5- "Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you. 

Ps 43:3- "Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain to the place where you live." 

Wisdom is the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise.As we follow on God's path and put our faith and hope in Him, He teaches and blesses us with His wisdom and knowledge. Here are some verses I found on wisdom:

Ps 51:6- "But you desire honesty from the womb*(the heart) teaching me wisdom even there."

Prov. 3:13- "Joyful is the person who finds wisdom for the one who gains understanding."

Col 2:3- "In Him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."

Leadership (leading, to lead) is to guide by direction or example a Leader is a person who has commanding authority or influence; chief among others. I have God as the leader in my life and as He leads me down a righteous path he instills those leadership qualities in me that I never knew I had. Here are some verses about leading: 

Ps 25:9-10- " He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them His way. The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep His covenant and obey His demands."

Ps 73:24- "You guide me with your counsel leading me to a glorious destiny."

Heb 13:7- "Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith." 

Finally for the color TEAL I am going to highlight a verse about being TRUSTWORTHY.  Trustworthy is being able to be relied on as honest or truthful. God is always trustworthy he's that best friend that you can tell anything to and you don't have to worry about Him telling all of your secrets. He is trustworthy in the fact that when you follow His lead He promises not to lead you down a path of destruction. I strive to live my life as a trustworthy person to every person that I have a relationship with. Here is a verse I found about trust and being trustworthy:

Ps 19:7- "The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple." 

I know that after reading all these fun facts and God's truths I will be wearing my teal proud for the month of April. I hope that this encourages you to do the same. Be bold with me in the month of April and please send me your photos of how you are representing TEAL for Rape & Sexual Abuse Awareness month. Please send your pictures to 4hopeandhealing@gmail.com. 

Love you all and thank you for your support for this cause! 

Comments

  1. Lisa, thank you for taking the time to research the color meaning and sharing a bit about what this awareness means. Also appreciate very much the Scripture verses you quoted. I love your creativity with using the teal colors on your nails. I guess you will be wearing a lot of open toe shoes? Blessings to you dear one.

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  2. Thank you for reading this and your appreciation of what I am trying to accomplish! HAHA Yes open toe shoes this month no matter what :) I had so much fun researching and reading all of the bible verses. I believe those meanings and scriptures totally embody Christ's love for us and what he does for us survivors! God Bless You xo

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  3. Great job on this, Lisa! It is awesome to see the work the Lord is doing through you. He has given you a voice to use for others. May the Lord continue to use and bless you!

    Cory

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