Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Joy in the Little Things - Day 29

What a joy it is to hear the truth of God's word!! Tonight I had the pleasure of hearing a wonderful, gifted woman of God speak on the subject of body image. Although it was aimed at high school girls, I found much encouragement in her words, or rather the words the Lord gave her to speak.

Cynthia Culver struggled with body image for almost 25 years of her life. She found freedom and healing in the truth of the word of God, and since has started her own ministry helping individuals to be grounded in truth and walking in freedom.

I will attempt to post some great points I took away from last night, but I would encourage you to listen to her Body Image Program Talks on her website at: http://www.cynthiaculver.com/bodyimageprogram.htm

Here's what I took away from tonight...

John 10:10 says, "The thief comes only to steal, kill & destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full."

Christ desires me to trust that he has wired my body so that I don't have to manage and control what it looks like, what shape I am, how much the scale tells me I weigh, and what the mirror tells me I look like. He has created me in HIS image! He has knit me together exactly as He wants me to be! The way my body functions is a gift from him! It functions fully and wholly, and I should praise Him for that gift!! HE is my creator! Only He gets to tell me who I am! Not the media, not the culture, not my friends, not my family, no one except HIM!!

Do I like me? What influences my answer to that question? What are the messages that I am getting about my body, my appearance and what makes me valuable? Here are a few that I wrote down...

- Being skinny is what it's all about
- Compare, Compare, Compare! (If only I had her (fill in the blank here) then I would be whole)
- I must be: Sexy/Tan
- I must have: Clear Skin
- I must have: Great Hair
- I must have: White Teeth
- I must be: Photogenic
- I must have: Money
- I musth have: High End Clothes & Accessories

How do I react/respond to those messages? How do I live out my response? Here's a few things I wrote down in response to those messages:

- Keep to myself
- Isolate
- Withdraw
- Emotional wreck
- people pleasing
- spend more money
- discontentment
- jealousy
- talk about it all the time
- talk about other people
- stress
- self-conscious
- obsess
- restrict eating
- over eating
- hate yourself
- become a slave to whatever will make me happy

Know that the answers above are not all what I feel, they came from a large group discussion, from regular high school girls. I have to say, I was shocked at some of them, but I do agree that this is what our culture, the media, and the enemy himself is teaching girls and women all across the US.

The final question was, What is the truth?

The truth is that there is no other freedom apart from Christ!!
The truth is that the enemy is thrilled when we compare ourselves to others!!
The truth is that he has victory when he has success over stealing our joy!!
The truth is that I was created in the image of Christ!!
The truth is that He created me exactly as he wanted me to be!!
The truth is that "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised!!"
The truth is that I am a child of the living God!!

I want to be the unique JILL that God created me to be!!

Obedience breeds peace, Disobedience breeds chaos

We should always take captive our thoughts and if they do not fall in line with God's truth, God's words & God's ways, then we should not be thinking them!!

The last thing Cynthia did was give a visual illustration that will forever be engrained in my mind. She took out a $1 bill and held it up. She then asked, "How much is this bill worth?" to which we all answered, "$1". Can we make it worth $0.50? No. Can we make it worth $1.50? No. It will always hold the value of $1. This is how Christ created us, and views us today. HE SETS OUR VALUE. There is nothing we can do, say, no action, that will EVER lower or increase our value to him!! No matter what we look like tomorrow or ten years or even fifty years from now, our value to HIM will always remain the same! HE sets our value, only HE can do that!!

I hope you were all encouraged by these truths, that the God of the universe took the time and created each one of us unique to only ourselves! He cares for us, and loves us, no matter what we look like, no matter what we say, no matter what we do!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

1 comment:

Kim said...

Very encouraging! I think she is speaking at Building Blocks next week...I am looking forward to it!