Inner Beauty: The Key to Self-WorthA. R. Silverberry

Entertaining Angels, by Emerald Barnes

As a psychologist, I’m a strong believer in basing our self-worth on an inner compass, not on the external images, expectations, beliefs, messages, and relativistic mores of society. When I saw that my author friend, Emerald Barnes, had written a novel exploring just this issue, I jumped at the chance of having her join us for a guest post. Her bio and a synopsis of the novel, Entertaining Angels, can be found below. But first, here’s Emerald’s post!

Inner Beauty: The Key to Self-Worth!

By Emerald Barnes

Inner beauty is letting your beautiful personality shine through and making you beautiful on the outside. But, can you have inner beauty if you doubt your physical beauty? I think you can, but I don’t think you shine as much as you do when you see just how beautiful you are.

But it’s hard to feel beautiful when magazines and bullies make you feel ugly. I remember being teased and made fun of for my weight. It still happens, I’m sad to say, but it was much worse on me when I was in junior high and high school. Do you know how hard it is to grow up hearing that you’re fat and ugly? It causes you to breakdown emotionally and feel ugly. So if this is going on inside of you, you can’t have that inner beauty that shines through. Sure, you can be as sweet as the day is long, but people can tell when you don’t have the confidence that we should be carrying around. Most people who aren’t confident in themselves are timid and shy. We don’t let people in, and we don’t trust people.

It’s important to realize that you are loved. What those bullies say, it doesn’t matter. Most of the time, they’re only making fun of you because they’re trying to bring others down to make themselves feel better. So don’t let them hurt you.

Remember, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL! Inside and out. I want people to realize this. What happens when you start realizing it? Your image of you changes, and you feel better. When you understand that your opinion matters more than what the world says about you, you’re happier. When you recognize that God loves you no matter what you do, joy shines through.

I don’t want people to wait as long as I did to come to the realization that I’m a beautiful young woman. I’m not trying to sound conceited, and I still have my doubts. But, it’s important to know that just because I look one way when society wants me to look another doesn’t mean I need to give up completely. If I want to look differently, that’s my prerogative, but don’t judge me. You don’t know my struggles, and I don’t know yours. We all have to realize this. Inner beauty doesn’t come through when people are continuously putting others down. Let others shine because you, yourself, shine.

About Entertaining Angels:

Madison Andrews can’t face her reflection in the mirror. All she sees is a big, fat nobody. Yet, deep inside she longs for something more, something that’s not skin deep.

Along comes Zach, the new guy in school. He’s smoking hot and totally out of her league. She somehow catches his eye, and he makes her feel beautiful for once. But just as she gets close to Zach, her nerdy best friend, Chase, won’t let Madison doubt her true beauty, no matter how many meals she skips.

Even as Madison begins to realize that she is more than what she thinks, darker forces are at work, darker than the lies and mocking from her peers, stopping her from amounting to her full potential. Can Madison find true happiness in her own skin?

Entertaining Angels is about one girl finding out just how beautiful she is and how much she is loved. She thinks she’s nothing. She thinks that no one could ever love her, but she learns just how much she is loved.

Are you a book reviewer? If so, please sign up for an ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) of Entertaining Angels here.

About Emerald Barnes:

Emerald Barnes graduated with a B.A. in English with an emphasis on Creative Writing at Mississippi University for Women. She resides in a small town in Mississippi and has the accent to prove it.

She mainly writes suspense/thrillers in the YA genre, but she dabbles in other genres and her books are enjoyed by all ages! She’s constantly working on new novels and has more ideas than she knows what to do with. She blogs, which takes up more of her time than she anticipates but loves it so very much! She’s also a volunteer at the World Literary Cafe, which is amazing, and she is a crazy grammar Nazi who proofreads novels!

She’s an auntie to three beautiful nieces and two handsome nephews who take up the other half of her time, but she couldn’t imagine spending her time in any other way!

She’s a Whovian, a little bit of a nerd, a reader, a writer, and a family-oriented person. God is number One in her life, and she thanks Him continuously for His love and favor.

Connect with Emerald:

Google +

Emerald’s other books:

Piercing Through the Darkness

Read Me Dead