Kylie: God has used her words in a huge way in my life. He showed me that what I was doing in my career was causing her and many other little girls to feel insecure and not worthy. He showed me that the type of role model I was being was causing girls a lot of pressure and was promoting the standard of beauty that the media has set. He opened my eyes to all of these things and began to work in my heart over time! Now I want girls to know that everything they see in magazines is just an illusion and an impossible standard of beauty for anyone, and that they don't have to feel the pressures that the media puts on them. This is one of my biggest reasons for writing I'm No Angel.
COB: Something that strikes me about your story and so encourages me, is that once God started showing you that He was calling you to a higher standard of life purity, and to be an example for the girls in your life, you obeyed. You chose to stop modeling in lingerie and participating in provocative photo shoots. You walked away from a multi-million-dollar opportunity, only to be criticized and called crazy by so many people! But you obeyed God's voice anyway! How difficult was it to actually follow through with what God was showing you?
Kylie: It was surprisingly easier than I thought it would be. I had such an amazing peace about the decision. One that I had never felt before about my career. It was the kind of peace I had in my heart when I married Mike. Like I knew 100% that it was God's plan for me and that it was right.
COB: One of our favorite verses is Titus 2:2-5 which says, "Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."
This verse describes the big sister role, and how we as Christians are called to live before our little sisters in Christ - as a role model. How fulfilling is it to be able to speak into young girls' lives and share your story? Do you get joy and fulfillment from doing that?
Kylie: It is so fulfilling. More fulfilling than all of the modeling jobs or money and fame that the modeling world gave me. I get so much joy out of sharing my heart with girls, and seeing how God uses my experiences and what I have gone through to impact them! I'm so thankful that this is the path He has for my life and that He is using me in this way!
COB: What advice do you have for girls who might not be in the modeling industry, or be on a big stage before fans and followers, but still want to be a good role model for their little sisters in Christ?
Kylie: God can use you in so many wonderful ways to be a good role model! It doesn't matter if you have a bunch of followers or a big platform. I encourage you to pray to God that He opens up doors for you where you can be a light and a good example, and that He brings girls into your life who you can encourage and show love to!
Why do you think it's important for young women to have a standard of modesty? Obviously we're not going to go to school wearing lingerie, or pose in our underwear for photo-shoots.... but what about short shorts, and low-cut tops? Do those "not-so-harmful" pieces of clothing have an effect on the guys in our lives?
They will definitely have an effect on the guys in your lives... And it will be a negative one. By dressing immodest we are displaying our bodies as a temptation for our brothers in Christ, and we are also not showing people Christ in the way that we dress. The bible says to honor God in the way we dress, and we really should examine our hearts to see why we are wearing the things we do. Is it to get attention from guys? Or to honor God? This is why I think it is important to have a standard of modesty!
What advice would you offer your young cousin, or any other girl who came up to you with tears streaming down her face saying, "I hate myself. I want to be pretty. I don't like who I am."? How can a girl truly believe that she is beautiful and be comfortable with who she is?
My message to girls is that God made you the way you are, and He looks at the beauty of the heart! He thinks you are beautifully made, it's better to focus on that than on what others think of you here on earth, because we will spend eternity with him VS a short period of time with the people who reject us here on earth. Here we are told that we need to change in order to be beautiful, but in Christ we find that he accepts and loves us with all of our flaws and everything the world would call ugly. When you start seeing yourself the way God sees you and not the way society tells you are, you will truly feel beautiful.
#DidYouKnow
The prayers of Kylie's husband were used to change her heart. While she was modeling
for Victoria's Secret, Mike petetioned the
Lord in prayer, on behalf of his girl.
"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16
Just think...your future husband might be praying for you too!