I Love Me Some ME!!!

Originally posted on April 19, 2010...enjoy!

On Face Book a friend’s profile information begins with…I love me some Me!!! And any given day she will post it as her profile status. It seems to be her theme for life and at times she makes it a daily reminder. So, thinking about us as single (and married) women in the Body of Christ—I think all of us should have that mindset. What about it sisters? Should we be proclaiming on a daily bases that “I Love Me Some ME?! I say, “YES!”

After making the decision to write about this catchphrase, I wasn’t sure what the next step should be. So, like any up-to-date, savvy internet person (LOL!!), I did a google search. Yes, I know, so very creative. ~Smile~ Well, a slew of junk came up but what caught my eye was the “I Love Me Some Me” group Tyra Banks started back in March of this year. Click—and I was in. What I found were about 178 messages and I started to peruse through them to see what the ladies were talking about. Sad to say, “I was very disappointed.” Most of the messages had to do with loving your body or not loving your body. Message after message talked about struggling with weight and low self-esteem, and then I realized that was the theme of the group. Ooops! It was “I Love Me Some Me…Body!” Kiss all the body parts that you can and tell yourself, “I love me some me.” But there was one woman who wrote about how she had experienced some very hard times in life and at times found herself broken. And yet, she is now learning to love herself and be strong through the things she learned in those hard times. Wow!! Now you’re talking.

Loving your body for what it is definitely is part of loving yourself, but it can’t be the main focus. There are just too many things about the human body that we have no control over—parse. The average woman cannot afford massive plastic surgery, nor should we want it, but that is what our world becomes when we focus on the outward body — when we make it an idol of sorts. The main focus on our bodies should be that we take care of them the best we can. We should love ourselves enough to work on getting excess weight off, exercising, eating for health, and looking our best. But, our self love must run much deeper than our outward shell if it is to transform how we live and enjoy this life that God has given us.

Exactly what does “I love me some me,” mean? I would think it holds something different for everyone, but there are some common threads. For starters we should accept who we are. This doesn’t mean there is not room for improvement or change, but that we stop looking at what is not right or what we feel is not working and take a long look at, what is good and working for us. That we begin to believe what the Bible says about us and rebuke what the world says. Make ourselves a top priority in our lives. This does not mean we are to be selfish and self-centered, but it does mean that we nurture and care for ourselves as we do our children and others. In other words, stop putting ourselves on the back burner of life.

As I looked at myself I realized there is a combination of outward love and inward love that needs to happen to make us whole and gives balance to our lives. But a total focus on just one or the other will leave a gap. I know women who make sure a good portion of their wages are spent on their hair, nails, makeup, perfume, clothes, shoes, entertainment and shopping. Yet, they still are empty inside though outwardly they are done to the nines. On the other side, I know women who dedicate their lives to serving the Lord and neglect their outward selves and it shows in their lack of confidence around other women, because they stand out as frumpy or not well kept. As with everything in life, even in our self love we need to strive for balance.

I’m in the process of reading a cookbook, (Yes, I read cookbooks…LOL!) The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight & Eating Great by Pam Anderson. She is a renowned chef who for years struggled with her weight and self-esteem, but lost close to fifty pounds in a year and at the time she wrote this book she had already kept the weight off for five years. It is a good book and if you desire to lose weight by changing your lifestyle (not dieting) then this might be a good match for you. I purchased it used, (used like new) from a 3rd party at amazon.com and it was the best few bucks I’ve spent in awhile. One of the things she talked about was starting with working on the outside you, because that is something we can do immediately. We can start with something as simple as putting on lipstick and decent clothes if you are one who is home more. That’s me! I have days when I know I’m not going out, I tend to not care so much what I have on, and lipstick never enters the picture. But she made a valid point of starting out with little things to encourage yourself. So starting next week, I’m going to make sure I dress every day unless we have a day of heavy rains. Then I like to stay in my jammies. ~Smile~

You might be one who is a high maintenance sister, and really doesn’t need to change much on the outside, but there is not one of us who does not need work on the inside. After all, we are a work in progress.

My prayer for you my dear sisters is that you will begin each day by proclaiming, “I Love Me Some ME!” and you begin to peruse just exactly what that entails for you as an individual. I have a feeling that with our focus directed on us in a more positive light, you may find more satisfaction in your life! And as time goes on that satisfaction will turn to joy, and we won’t have so many single women in the Body of Christ who are miserable and so very joyless. I Love Me Some ME takes time, effort, and work, but you are worth it!


Love & Hugs
Ponnie

See you Monday!!

Have a great weekend loving on yourselves!!!