Because Fat Is Not A Feeling

Who knew that cutting hydrangeas would teach me so much.

Each snap of the shears is symbolic of the Lord's pruning. A clipping away of my sin so something beautiful can grow in its place.

(If you are just now tuning in, go back and read Mason Jars for Jesus.)

God is revealing areas in my life where I clip from the bottom - giving away my "good" but rarely my "best."

Honestly, one area I give from the bottom is right here. On this blog.

I might expose a glimpse of my heart. A few hardships. But there is more to share. I give with reservation. I expose only what I feel suitable to keep myself in good graces with you (parenting struggles, a marriage squabble, an occasional "ah ha" moment).

Paul says, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. - 2 Corinthians 12:9

Oh, I really really want the power of Christ to rest upon me. Really really. So. I must start first with my weaknesses.

Boast (kauchaomai) to glory on account of a thing

Think about that. We aren't suppose to just brag about our weaknesses. We are to glory in them. That is polar opposite of what the world promotes.

Silence is much more flattering.

But, in true Apostle Paul fashion, I am called to boast...to glory in the fact that I am eaten up with weaknesses.

Eaten up. Did someone say eat? Oh, don't get me started on food. Or body image. Those are areas I'd rather not talk about.

But out of obedience I will. Because they are areas of weakness. And God deserves the Glory.

This morning...I glory in my food & body image weakness.

Right now, I wish I could write in second person. Or write inclusively - "We all" struggle with body image. Or "we all" have food weaknesses. And yes, we may, to some degree, all have these issues. I think many of do.

But writing inclusively would make me a coward.

I have weaknesses in this area. I have for years. Am I healed? Yes.

Has the Lord brought me through it victoriously? Absolutely.

Do I always chose to abide in victory and healing? Not always.

In college, I was queen of the eating disorder. I had mastered the art of quietly throwing my head over a toilet. Even in public restrooms. I was quite skilled in vomiting so that no one knew I was gagging my lunch....dinner....dessert.

I haven't done that in a decade or more. Praise Jesus. I am so thankful.

But here I am, 33-years-old, why am I still not 100% satisfied with what I see in the mirror? Still? Why do I not see myself how the Lord views me? Beautiful? Unflawed? Created in His image?

Question: What's a girl to do?

Answer: Exercise faith.

Fat is not a feeling. Ugly is not a feeling. I know better than to say, "I feel ugly. Or today I feel fat." Feelings are not truth.

This weakness of mine boils down to the ongoing battle of me against my flesh (a.k.a the sinful nature).

Instead of saying, "I feel ugly today" I should really say, "My flesh is crawling with insecurities today."

Somedays are worse than others. Somedays I am just fine.

My mentor once said to me, "Sometimes you have to slap your flesh around and tell it what to do."

Well put. So that is exactly what I have to do. I have to speak to that mirror and tell the girl some truth.



I must tell her what the Lord thinks about her. Tell her how she was knit together in her mother's womb. Destined for good works. Created in the image of the Most High God. Tell her that she is fearfully and wonderfully made. I have to remind her that she a child of a King, redeemed and justified, righteous, sanctified, and a temple of the Holy Spirit. I have to remind her to not look to earthly things but to Jesus, who is seated at the right hand of the Father. Take off her old self, and to put on the new. She has been crucified with Christ and raised up with Him. She is created for good works....

I could go on. Do you see who we are? All of these things are not only true of me. They are true of you, too.

We are His prized possession. The apple of His eye.

His biggest hydrangea.

So when that feeling of fat comes on me...when my flesh wants to drag me down ... I tell it where to go. Literally.

I combat lies with truth.

And the lies fail every time. My flesh dies every time. It's quite fascinating, really.

This is faith. Believing in what I don't see...even if it is in the mirror.

Believing His Word, even if I don't feel it.

The assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

No matter what I feel, I choose victory. I choose faith. I choose beauty.

Have a wonderful day... beautiful friend.

It's in the eyes...

Spiritually speaking, I would say at times I feel run down. Weak. Empty. Far away. Broken. Dried up. Wandering. A little lost. Sometimes I say that I feel like a deflated balloon - limp and a bit lame.

Can you relate?

So what do we do? How do we revive? Find our way back? Piece it all back together? Re-flate, so to speak?

I'll be honest in saying that sometimes I wish someone would answer this question with something fancy. Something new. Like...drink a cup of hot tea, read John 3:16 and dance around. You'll feel much better. Or....read the book by so and so. It will really get you on track.

But no. The answer is always the same.

Read the Word. And Pray.

Every time.

Because God hasn't gone anywhere. It's always me trailing off.

This morning I was praying and really wanted to praise Him. But my words felt like they were coming up a short. My heart wasn't into it. So I literally just opened my Bible and it fell to Psalm 19.
Love love love.

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.
The statues of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
Psalm 19:7,8

The last verse struck me. The eyes. It's said that we can tell so much by a person's eyes. Well, Bobby Brown, MAC and Bare Minerals could never do for my eyes what Jesus can. I want soul-deep radiance.

Recently, I've had the great privilege of watching the Lord transform the life of a sweet friend. She once was lost and now she's found. Glory. And every time I see her...she just gets more beautiful. She was gorgeous already, but the Lord does something inexplicable to a person. And it starts in the eyes. Peace. Joy. Kindness. Love. Its always truest in the eyes. And hers are now so radiant.

The Lord's desire is to revive my soul. To make my simple mind wise. To bring joy to my heart. To give light to my eyes.

My part - remain in Him (John 15:7). It is in Him I am found -- radiant.

A Bombshell's Battle

Oh, yes I did. This plaque is impulse shopping at its finest. SO precious. I love it because it is my "pray for Joyful Java" reminder as I'm pouring my Joe. That second coffee cup is yours, by the way. ;)

O.K. Let's get started. I'm fired up today.

I have had two conversations over the past couple of days. Two very different women. Two different walks of life. One very similar problem. BODY IMAGE.

Woman one: She is precious. Just precious. A joyful, tender heart for the Lord. Girlfriend is GROUNDED. She's been walking with the Lord for years. Solid family. Awesome husband. She is filled with deep, deep joy. She knows Scripture and gets it. She's just awesome. period. Oh, did I mention she's a bombshell? A blond bombshell. A fitness bombshell. Total hottie. Lord, we all might as well just throw in the towel if she struggles with body image. She is seriously the most fit person I know. So for all purposes today, let's call her 'Bombshell'.

Woman two: College-aged cutie pie about to graduate and move on into the business world. This girl, too, is on fire for Jesus. Seriously, go fetch her some locust and honey. She is wild for Him. She knows scripture. Loves theology. Very passionate for the Lord. And cute, cute, cute. Just darling! Beautiful. Let's name her 'Cutie-Pie'.

SO WHY!? Body image? Really? These two? Well, knowing what we now know about insecurity, we shouldn't be surprised.

I would go so far as to say we ALL struggle, to some degree, with body image. We are all somewhat aware of ourselves - How we carry ourselves. What we look like in (or out) of our clothes. Our complexions. Muscle tone. Cellulite. Wrinkles. Graying hair. Hair loss. Belly fat. etc... Even if body image doesn't consume you, I'd say there is some degree of awareness. Men - you, too!

But here's the difference...for some women, like Bombshell and Cutie Pie, body image can EAT THEIR LUNCH. While for others, its not necessarily a stronghold. When Bombshell and I talked, she said, "You know it doesn't bother me all of the time. But every now and then it rears its ugly head." Well put. So true. She appears to be the most confident person you will ever meet. Confident in the Lord! But you know, the enemy doesn't want us to stay confident long. Confidence is too effective for the Gospel.

Same for Cutie-Pie. She is super involved in her church, super single and a super great catch. The enemy doesn't want her to walk confident in who God made her. The enemy needs her to be a little less secure. If she's insecure, she feels less attractive, therefore, she thinks a Christian guy wouldn't be interested. And the enemy doesn't like Christian marriages. They cramp his style.

Anyway. So I said something along these lines to both women.... "If we could only learn to really take every thought captive and make our thoughts obedient to Christ."

But my favorite question to ask the Lord these days is....What exactly does that mean? Take a thought captive? What? Tie it to a chair? Duck tape? Lasso? I want details.

Let's investigate...

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4,5

It's war. Military lingo for a warlike problem.

So, we are to use divine power to destroy our strongholds. This is referring to Ephesians 6:10-18. The Armor of God. I encourage you to read it in full, but in brief, Paul is referring to the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. Paul says to BE ALERT! Be on watch. The battle will come. Pray this over yourself. When you recognize that "old feelin'" comin' on....PRAY. Gear up. Half the battle is TAKING PREVENTIVE MEASURES.

Remember what Miss Bombshell said about her stronghold of body image "rearing its ugly head." Well, it is true. The meaning of an argument "setting itself up against the knowledge of God" literally means to raise up against. Strongholds literally raise up against God.

Strongholds oppose Truth. The Truth About You.

To take captive means to lead away. To bring it under control. To make those lies submit to the authority of Christ. The authority of His Word. To make them OBEY Him.

Paul says the key in battle is putting on the Armor of God. Being alert. Aware. Here's an example of how to pray this over yourself...

"Lord, I know my struggle is not against flesh and blood. It is not against my body. Or my image. It is against the powers of this dark world. Today, I put on the full armor of God so I'm able to stand my ground WHEN attack comes. I stand firm with the belt of truth around my waist, the breastplate of righteousness (Your righteousness!) and the gospel of peace. I hold up my shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit (Your Word!) to protect my heart and mind from the flaming arrows of the enemy. Help me be alert and to remain prayerful. In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen."

The enemy must submit.

One day, every knee will bow to the authority of the Father.
But for today, may it be our thoughts.

I urge you to, "make war with your sin."
Lasso those lies and lead them away. Captive.

Be Blessed.

Becky