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,

Mother {Book Review}

 Mother by Kathleen Thompson Norris

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is such a refreshing read about being a stay-at-home daughter.  Something a little different compared to most of today's contemporary fiction books.

 About a girl with 7 siblings who lives in a small country town and works as a teacher. She then gets a job in a big city with a rich employer. While she is there, she listens to the "rich" peoples' conversations about how having so many children is such a burden. She, herself, starts wondering how her mother can be so content with housework, children, etc.

I loved the ending to this book!  I would recommend this to anyone looking for a refreshing read on being a stay-at-home daughter.

UN-Classy: Gossip

Gossiping is so easy to do (at least for me).  It's hard to figure out where that line is between sharing general info and gossiping.  

Gossip:Rumor or report of an intimate nature; a chatty talk-Merriam-Webster

So many times an innocent conversation turns into a full blown gossip fest (okay, maybe not that bad, but you get the idea).  I've noticed especially when sharing prayer concerns its easy to fall into gossiping.

In Titus, we read about older women setting examples for the younger women.

The older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior,not slanderers (gossipers)...Titus 2:3

In Timothy, Paul writes about the qualifications of deacons and among those is a list for their wives.

Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. I Tim. 3:11

I love this first sentence from this passage in Proverbs.  It really puts it out there and is an eye-opener.

Whoever hides hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.  In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.  The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is worth little.  The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of wisdom.  Prov. 10:18-21

We have the power to build people up with our mouths, but one ill gotten word or phrase can cause the trust to crumble away.   So many times we don't mean anything bad by our words, but the other person doesn't know this.  Better to be safe than sorry.

I've found the best way to deal with gossip is to have a close group of friends or family help you out.  Keep each other accountable and steer the conversation a different direction if you start gossiping.

I have an amazing group of friends that help keep me accountable.  During our prayer times we mention names of other friends that might need prayer, but we don't go into a lot of detail.  This helps us to stay away from the temptation of gossiping.  

Like I mentioned above, it is so hard to draw the line on what is gossip and what isn't.  Get a group of friends and help each other out.  Keep one another accountable and we'll stay classy together!

(All emphasis in above Scripture is mine.)