“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” John 13:35
Love is such a universal word. Everyone understands the word love, the need to be loved, the importance to love, but not everyone takes the actions to genuinely love.
Jesus gives his disciples a command as he gets ready to exit our world and enter into his glory. He commands his disciples to love each other. (John 15:17) He knew these men would be facing an insane amount of persecution and hatred from the world. He knew the love they shared and the genuine actions of love would encourage, inspire and strengthen them.
Our world is no different than the world that existed 2,000 years ago. It is still full of negative thoughts, hatred, and persecution, so when you see one woman courageously stand up to make a difference, it inspires you. She is a woman who decides to live out love each and every day selflessly encouraging other women to realize their beauty both inside and out. A woman who encourages women to understand their worth. Their true worth in the eyes of the Lord.
Carisa Rasmussen, you are this courageous woman.
all photos by Laura Kleffman Photography
Carisa is a wife, mom, founder and owner of Clean and Lean, a personal trainer and mentor for the Miss Minnesota America Organization, a Fox 9 morning show contributor, a motivational speaker locally and nationally, and was recently nominated for MN's business woman of the year for Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine.
whoa… a lot right?!
But in all that she does, her mission is clear; to change the body from the inside out, to encourage women to love themselves the way they were created, to help them understand their value, and how beautiful, loved and treasured they are. She transforms them spiritually and physically. She creates a community of women that helps support and love one another, while being encouraged to live a healthy lifestyle. She holds a strength and character building classes that raise up women to understand their true potential. She transforms their inner beauty to match their outer beauty to where they can define themselves by their heart.
Inspiring, right?!
Here is what I love…Her business might not be Christian based or scream Jesus from the rooftops, and to be honest she doesn’t talk about Jesus. But talk with her just once one-on-one and you’ll realize God lives within every being of her, and He is using this child of His to reach so many women in an industry that can be all about one’s self. One’s body.
But, life hasn’t always been easy for Carisa. She has had her ups and downs in the journey God has her on in encouraging women and to love as He loved. Her greatest spiritual gift is serving, she gives of herself constantly but genuinely loves doing it. Because of her generosity, she has experienced being taken advantage of and used. She has stories, that my naive self didn’t know actually existed. She has gotten knocked down, even by those “closest” to her, but she courageously keeps getting back up, determined to not let the evil one conquer her. She steps out in courage and fights back with more love.
“Don’t let evil conquer you, conquer evil by doing good” Romans 12:21
Out of everything… her leadership roles in helping women find their inner beauty, her contributions to health and wellness, and perseverance in the face of adversity… Here is what I find most inspiring about Carisa. In all she does (and it’s quite a lot) Carisa (and her husband’s) main focus is to raise up their daughter to know the Lord. Molly is a large part of why Carisa does what she does. She wants Molly to understand she is loved by the Lord and her self-esteem is found in the Lord alone. Molly, like all young girls, will enter into a stage of life where self-doubt creeps in, but knowing she is rooted in His word, His love, knowing her value is not of this world, will make all the difference for her.
The true essence of Carisa’s greatness is that she lives a very ‘busy’ life… which we all love to identify with. The busier we are, the more value we find in ourselves it seems. But Carisa doesn’t carve out time just for God… God is a lens over everything that she does. So she doesn’t define herself by her busy schedule… she makes sure she defines herself by a child of Christ by serving God in everything she does.
So I thank you Carisa for being a woman who lives out God’s love in all that you do. Thank you for creating a community where others can be welcomed, inspired and strengthened. Thank you for selflessly giving of yourself so we can truly understand that we are beautiful, loved and treasured. Thank you for reminding us all that our worth is found only in the eyes of the Lord.
Thank you for transforming us from the inside out.
... and for having the most contagious laugh.
---
I've always wanted more for my shirts. I wanted them to inspire, to encourage, to bring God's word to life. So much hope can be found in this Book, yet so often we don't take the time to open it up and seek him. My hope with these scripture tanks and tees is to inspire the one who wears and the ones who see. Your fashion, your dress has the ability to say who or whose you are. Be a person of grace. Be one who lives courageously. Be the person who does more than just speaks truth... show truth. Be the stranger, the friend that is humble, gentle, patient. Be the good.
And know you are beautiful, loved, and treasured. You are His.
shop here.