Yes, I Actually Love My Body

Think you're fat? Don't like how short you are? Don't like your not-so-chiseled stomach? Think you're too skinny and wish you had more curves? Wish your hair were straight instead of curly, or vice-versa? Unhappy with the fact that you don't have a thigh-gap?

Is it just me, or does it seem like everybody hates something about themselves? Nearly every woman or girl is dissatisfied with her physical appearance in some way or another. Even if it's a little detail that most people wouldn't even notice. WE ourselves notice. Oh, yes we do. And then we obsess over it until self-hatred even occurs.

 

For crying out loud, isn't about time we dumped the whole mess?

 

Self-hatred is so contagious.

 

In the media, we see it non-stop. All these articles on how to supposedly improve our physique, look hotter and get more attention from the dudes. Why? Because apparently we aren't amazing enough already? Apparently so, or articles like that wouldn't exist.

 

Does this bother you at all? It should. It certainly does, with me. There are many reasons why I'm irked by the self-hatred society has encouraged women to have toward their bodies, but I'm only going to give one for now.

 

Psalm 139:14 - "I will praise Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knoweth right well."

 

Did you see that? Fearfully and wonderfully made. Not ugly, worthless, or trash. Not even a fixer-upper, or a 'needs improvement.' Do you see where it says any of these things? Me neither.

 

Bath & Body Works! A favorite!

We are created in God's own Image. How could that make us anything less than beautiful?

 Contrary to a lot of what I hear being said these days, I actually love my body. Yep, that's right. I love every inch of me. Wouldn't trade this skin for any other.

 

*GASP* She actually...is satisfied with her appearance! Is.....is that a crime? A sin? Pride? Self-conceited?

 

No, it's not a crime, and it's certainly not a sin. You can call it pride or self-conceit, but I call it gratitude and contentment.

 

For a while, as an early teen, this was hard for me to grasp. I was pretty dissatisfied with parts of my body, to be honest. When I was 12, I even thought I was fat. (I wasn't.)

I was ungrateful. I was missing the unique beauty that God had given me, and mistaking it for something less than beauty.

 

But that changed as I matured and learned more about God's plan for my life.

 

See, I realize how Christ made me to be the person I am, and not someone else. If I weren't supposed to be Leah Oxendine, I wouldn't be Leah Oxendine. He knew what He was doing when He put me on this planet. I've learned to see myself and all my flaws and appreciate everything because it's what makes me me.

 

My body is His temple. Ultimately it's only a borrowed vessel. Dare I insult my Creator by calling it ugly?

 

I love my long, soft auburn hair.

I love my turquoise-blue eyes. 

I love my long fingers.

I love my hourglass shape. (Yes, it's curvy! And yes, I'm proud of that! Another shocker? I'm getting  sick of 'curvy' being used as a plus-size only term. You don't have to be plus-sized to be naturally curvy. And naturally curvy doesn't equal plus-size.)

I love that I'm fairly muscular.

I love that I'm not skinny.

I love that I'm not fat. 

I love that I'm the weight that's normal for my body type.

 I don't wish I was anything other than what I am.

I don't think I'm fat.

I don't think I've ever been fat.

I love that I'm taller than most.

And I love that I had scoliosis, because that kept me from being too much taller than my boyfriend. (haha!)

 

Newly arranged jewelry/dressing corner.

Kinda mindblown? Not used to seeing something where the girl wasn't complaining about her appearance?

Me either. That's exactly why I decided this post needed to be written. It's about time that positive things were written about one's self-image. It's about time somebody stepped out of the mire of self-hate, and learned to live in gratitude. It's about time a girl looked in the mirror at herself and smiled because she genuinely liked what she saw. It's about time a woman saw herself in a photo and thanked her Maker for crafting her the way He did.

 

Do you have a hard time finding things to love about yourself?

 

It's about time that changed.

 

It's about time we stop hating ourselves and learn to appreciate the bodies we 've been given.

 

One simple way to do this is to stop listening to the propaganda and lies of the modern media and society. Stop caring what the pop culture 'beauty experts' are saying.  Stop looking at billboard models and thinking to yourself how you don't measure up. Stop comparing yourself to friends or celebrities. Stop looking down at the scale and being disgusted with your weight. 

 

What else can you do? Start digging into God's Word about what the definition of beauty truly is.

Start working on keeping your temple strong and healthy by feeding it real food (raw and unprocessed is always best!) and not convenience junk. Exercise at least several times a week to keep your blood circulating and your body functioning at its best. Try toning workouts to get everything firm and solid. Get outside and enjoy the great outdoors - the fresh air will clear your mind! Start surrendering your thoughts to Jesus and go to Him in prayer about your issues and struggles. Start serving others more and engaging in ministry, to get your mind off self-centeredness.

Start looking yourself in the mirror every day and thinking how gorgeous you are. Start finding things to appreciate about your appearance, even if they're small things to start out with.

 

Sparkly heels from Payless which I saw and decided were worth buying!

 Are you willing to join me in this quest to abolish self-hate? Do you have a blog of your own? If so, I invite you to write a post of your own, on what you love about yourself and why. Please comment below with the link when you're done, so I can check it out! APOC may even feature it in the future.

 

Loving your body could be a major paradigm shift, if you've always lived in frustration or dissatisfaction with yourself. It may be very hard in the beginning. You might wonder if it will ever be possible.

But don't give up. With God, all things are possible. And in this case, I know He will bless you for your efforts. Why?

 

 Because He always blesses a grateful heart.

 

Blessings,

What Makes You Think You're Modest?

 Hey girls! I've been gone for a really longgg time. I now offer my deepest apologies. :) I have some product reviews to do, but they aren't quite ready yet.

 

 So today I'm going to talk a little bit on What Makes You Think You're Modest? Ooh.

Image credit: rarelythere.blogspot.com

 No matter how you dress, there will always be someone who dresses "more modest" then you do.

You might wear short sleeves and pants, but someone else might only wear long sleeved dresses. So you may often run into the question from people who might be offended by your stand, or just curious.

 I have a pretty fun story. I just got home from my church's camp a few days ago. (I'll be going to another pretty soon.) Anyway, I have a modest swimsuit. It's called a culotte swimmer, and is rather like a wetsuit, with some water safe light fabric over top. It has sleeves, and culotte legs which are like a skirt almost with the space for your legs, but they are closed off. (I'll have to post some pics next week or something. ) Anyway, our camp has the rule that you have to be covered on your way to the pool for girl's swim time. I was working as an assistant cabin leader for the little girls. So they were all pulling on T-shirts, and wrapping towels around their waist, and I was just wearing my swimsuit, casually hanging my towel over my arm. I had made myself expect to receive a few weird stares, and questions. But the little girls were the sweetest. They did ask me about my swimsuit. I explained that I liked to have a more modest bathing suit because, not only did I swim with girls at camp, but sometimes I visit the beach with my brother-in-law's family, which includes several boys. So I didn't see the point in having a bathing suit I could only wear once a year, and have to wear T-shirts and culottes at the beach. To my surprise, the little girls were actually impressed and... jealous! "You're so lucky," one said. "You don't have to wear anything over your bathing suit!" Because of the nature of my bathing suit I didn't cover up like the girls because it wasn't necessary. :)

 But not everyone is like an eight or eleven year old girl. There will be those who might not dress the way you did who feel offended because they think you're saying they aren't modest. This will spark the question, "What makes you think you're modest?"

 I always try to avoid offending anyone. Just because I may dress a certain way, and everything because of a personal decision I've made between God and myself, doesn't mean I'm constantly judging others. Even if I don't approve of what someone is wearing, I'm not going to point it out to them because I know this will only hurt their feelings or offend them, and then I'll never be able to reach them.

 But if you do come into contact with someone who instantly judges you for dressing more "modestly" then them, just explain that you are trying to follow what the Bible says about modesty, and follow God the best you can. Don't say anything that would provide another area of attack for your jilted friend/acquaintance.

 Just pray about it to the Lord, and He will help you when dealing with the "What makes you think you're modest?" people. :)

 God bless, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

 

What IS Beautiful?

Beautiful-what is it exactly? We throw the word around and act as if we know what it is, when in reality, we have no idea. Hollywood, magazines and blogs all try to define it. The honest truth is-everyone of you girls are drop dead gorgeous! No, seriously! God made you so precious! We girls often have a hard time with this, though I can't really tell you the reason for this. We put ourselves down in our thoughts, "I'm not pretty enough." or "I'm not skinny enough." Too tall, too short  too skinny, too fat, where does it end? I honestly believe every person has something about themselves that they don't like. 

A Smile Is Your Best Accessory!

The realization that we're not perfect can be a good thing, in some cases. The Bible mentions many times how much God hates pride- 

• "Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished." Proverbs 16:5
• "One's pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor." Proverbs 29:23
• See also: Galatians 6:3, Proverbs 27:2 and James 4:6

So obviously, it's very clear that we shouldn't run around being proud of ourselves and screaming it in the streets to every person we pass! However, I don't believe we should be ashamed of our looks either. The perfect balance comes when we  realize God made us beautiful, we didn't really have anything to do with it! 

Then there's the other side-self hate. Otherwise known as; body bashing, low self esteem, ingratitude and many others. I'm not going to tell you that I'm always happy with my hair, or always happy with my body! But when the negative thoughts start coming, I have a challenge for you. I want you to look yourself straight in the eye (in the mirror of course!) and say "You don't define me, God made me beautiful." And then don't allow yourself to dwell on the negative thoughts, keep repeating it in your head and above all else, pray! Ask God to help you see yourself the way He sees you, stunning and perfect in your own way. 

You should also keep in mind that your outward beauty is only a small part of who you are! I've known people who wouldn't have been considered outwardly beautiful, but as I got to know them, they became beautiful because they had a beautiful personality, a love for Christ. On the other side of things, I've known "beautiful people" that when I got to know them, their true character came through and they became ugly to me. Not because they were, outwardly, but because their heart wasn't beautiful.    

And now I have another hard challenge for you-I want you to comment on this post and list 3 physical qualities, or character qualities that you like about yourself! I know, this can be a hard exercise, don't worry! No one is timing you! 

    

"Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." 1 Peter 3:3-4