On Facebook there are so many posts about our kids and husbands being the love of our lives and so on and so on. But apart from the God Head being the greatest loves in our lives, “WE” should be the greatest love of all. Yup, that’s right. Matthew, Mark and Luke all quote Jesus telling us to “Love our neighbors as we love ourselves.” Well, how can we meet that commandment if we don’t love and honor ourselves? We can’t! So it is time we started taking better care of ourselves…spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically.
I have found that achieving a well balanced life takes discipline, commitment and hard work. But doesn’t anything in life worth having or keeping? Even our relationship with God takes work commitment, and discipline.
The first thing we must do is agree with God that we are worth it. We have to work on killing the spirit and root of “Low Self-esteem”! How do we do that? Read our Bible and agree with what it says about us. Will it happen overnight? Nope! But it you start to fight the lies from the pit and other people’s evaluation of you with God’s truth, your mind will start to change its thinking process about whom you are.
Have you allowed food to become a “god” to you? Do you find comfort in eating? Are you a healthy weight? Do you need to lose weight and be more active? If so, don’t go all hog wild and take on a gym membership, join a paid weight loss program, or get crazy with what you’re not going to eat and throw everything out and buy foods that you are not used to eating. I say this because starting off doing these things before looking at what the real problem is, is a setup for defeat. How do we find out what the root is to being overweight? Start talking to God about how we really feel about ourselves and confess to Him that we NEED Him in order to change. If you stick to this, the Holy Spirit will help you sort through the mess.
Start out slow in making change. Take a week or two to look at how, when and what you eat. I found that when I was upset I would automatically go to the fridge or cabinet to grab something to calm my nerves. Somewhere along the way in life I had gotten into the bad habit of trying to sedate myself with food when I had an emotional upset. It took work to change that behavior. If you find this is something you do, then you can try doing a small chore when the urge. Prayer is good; because sometimes the urge would be so intense I had to pray out loud and ask Jesus for help and command my body to sit still! I also started keeping a water bottle in my bedroom and drinking water without having to go to the fridge and it really helped. This was the beginning of looking at how much I used food for other than its sole purpose of nourishment.
Exercise is something we really need to do and I say again….start out slow or in moderation. Get into the discipline of 1 or 2 days a week of walking, going to a dance class, or even a home exercise video if you don’t already belong to a gym. Don’t jump out there 5 days a week and set yourself up to fail….slow and steady.
Do not starve and deprive yourself, it won’t last long. Again, make small changes that will turn into lifestyle changes that stick. Try drinking more water and giving up sodas, even if they are diet…give them up. That alone with some form of exercise will make a big difference. But no matter what you do, stick to it because you are worth it!
We need to eke out time for ourselves on a daily bases. I know some of you have lives that are jammed packed! You take care of a household, work, go to school, and have ministry work at church, kids, husband and much more. That is all good and well, but the Bible tells us that we are to have a day of rest and most Sunday’s or whatever day you attend church services is not a day of rest for us at all. So my point is…we are not doing what God has said we are to do and that is not good.
I now live in a home where the bathtub is very shallow so I don’t take baths anymore, but my last home had a wonderful spa tub and I made it a special event to take a bath. Candlelight, music, nice beverage, bubbles and a good book or magazine always played a big part in it. Yes, I always ended up adding more hot water before I eventually had to get out. Ah, it is the little things that can really bring happiness. Music is a good way for me to unwind and relax my mind and nothing really tops a good book. Well, the Good Book does, but that’s about it…LOL!!! Going for a walk is good and helps to relax my mind and gives me time to hear myself think. I love magazines too because they keep me abreast of the latest fashions, hair products, fragrances and beauty tips. What’s something you can plan for you to do during the week to relax and nurture you?
Yesterday I looked at my hands and noticed I could really use a manicure, so if things work out I’m going to treat myself to one on Saturday morning. Ladies we need to deem ourselves worthy so that we take better care of ourselves. We must go the extra mile when it comes to self love. Our appearance really does affect how we feel about ourselves. So, start taking time to make yourself feel better about you! You don’t have to lose 50lbs before that happens, you have to love yourself today right where you are. So treat yourself to a new hair cut or color. Get a pedicure or buy a new lipstick. You are worth it!
Making time for God on a daily bases is a MUST! This is the best medicine for our emotional, mental and physical wellbeing. And for anything else we desire to achieve. If the schedule you are living by does not include private and quality time with the Lord every day, then your life is messed up and your priorities are wrong. If you have time for the internet, Facebook and TV, yet not God—it’s time to seriously rethink things. Church once a week won’t cut it….we must live a daily life of worship and obedience and without spending time in the Bible, prayer and meditation, those things are hard to achieve.
Again I caution you on jumping off the deep end and reading the Bible through in one year. I say that because it becomes a routine of how much you must read each day versus spending time reading and talking to God about what you have read. I have worked on one verse for over 3 weeks because it was life changing! God wants a relationship with us, not for us to perform, use a formula or try to stick to a schedule that often ends up being a form of bondage versus something we do out of love for Him. The best thing to do is get into a discipline of reading the Bible daily if only for 15 minutes a day. Why? Because if you can handle that everyday then you are going to learn something about God and yourself that you didn’t know before, and in time, the time you spend with Him will grow.
Small changes turn into big accomplishment with time. Most of us can handle small and will find it much easier to stick to “small” versus “huge” and overwhelming ourselves.
As you spend time learning to love yourself, you will begin to see the value and beauty in others. That comes with being able to see through the eyes of God and not ourselves. If we value what God says about us and believe it to be true then we will value all who He has made in His imagine and deemed righteous and holy.
I hope that I have encouraged you to look at your life with a touch of wisdom and not get caught up in the whirlwind of a New Year of unrealistic expectations to put on yourself.
Let your expectations be in the Lord and you will not fail or be disappointed in the least.
Love & Hugs
Ponnie
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