Feed yourself some life today.

"Fix your thoughts on what is
true and honorable,
and right,
and pure,
and lovely,
and admirable.
Think on things that are excellent and worthy of praise." Philippians 4:8 NLT

For most of my life I spoke words of hate to myself. I would wake up in the morning and my first thoughts were put downs and words that devalued who I was. I started my day in defeat. One thought leads to another and then another and then I believe these words to be true. I live that way...I make decisions based on these thoughts...I hold back and skip opportunities. I hide from my calling.

When I came home from treatment from an eating disorder, I had to learn new ways of thinking and speaking to myself. If I wanted to get better I had to make changes and new choices. The first scripture God placed on my heart to memorize was Philippians 4:8. Every time I spoke hateful words...such as...I am fat....I am stupid...I can't do anything right...why am I even here on this earth...what's the point...I am ugly...I am disgusting...I don't deserve to be healthy (these were the things I said to myself each day)...I began to ask myself if those words were admirable or lovely or pure. And then I would chose new words...even if I didn't believe them...because words of life feed our souls with peace and joy. We need to feed our minds with truth and life. I am smart. I am a loving mother. I have worked hard. I have made mistakes, but I am not that person anymore. I am made new. Nothing can separate the love of God. I am valuable because God chose to die on the cross so that I could be free. I was created in the image of God. God has great plans for me.

True

honorable

right

pure

lovely

admirable

excellent

worthy of praise

Healthy life giving words feed our minds with the Truth.

I challenge you to memorized this scripture...the truth...a command of the Lord...and each time you begin to speak negative words to yourself...ask "is what I am saying lovely"? When we speak those negative words over ourselves we are disputing God's creation...for he created us in his image...are we saying God made a mistake? We can make mistakes, but each mistake is redeemable, restorable and forgiven...we can speak truth and life over our lives...we MUST. How can you do what God has placed you on this earth to do if you are not feeding yourself LIFE GIVING WORDS.

Feed yourself life.

Blessings,

Teresa

Our Worth Comes from God

Declaration: Our self worth and value are not determined by our body shape!

And how do I know this? Because God made this declaration in our book of promises...he gives us His word on this....1 Samuel 16:7 "Don't judge by appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

I had to look at this from 2 points of view. Someone in the midst of their eating disorder would say..."well God even says that people are judging me by my outward appearance". I know that reasoning. I have been there. I have thought those thoughts. Someone with an eating disorder is constantly comparing themselves with others. Their body shape is of upmost importance. There is a constant fear of being judged or rejected by others.

But now as I read that from the point of view of someone set free...I know that I am not searching for the world or people to judge me or qualify me. But let's face it...the world does judge us this way. The world says we should be fit, thin, "hot", toned, healthy, happy, in love and loved....The world is the complete opposite of God's truth. We have to ask ourselves "What is our eternal goal? And are we in constant pusuit of eternity or are we in constant pursuit of temperal, momentary approval?" What is our desire? That question cuts to the heart when we are talking about eating disorders in particular.

What would happen if I gave up the pursuit of my eating disorder to pursue God instead? What would happen if I chose to get dressed and ready in the morning so that I was ready for God? What if Jesus returns tonight....He definately won't care if how much I weigh...but He will care what my heart looks like. He won't care if the clothes I am wearing fit right...but He will care what my heart looks like. He won't care if my house if clean....but He will care what my heart looks like.

Today I am seeking God to see my heart and approve of what my heart looks like. My self worth no longer comes (well sometimes I admit) from the outside world...my value is not found in if people accept my outward appearance. I am the same person whether I am 92 pounds or if I am 120 pounds. Nothing about me changed except for my heart. My heart has become transformed and renewed. My body has become healthy.

I do not seek to be recognized by my looks or my body shape, but by who I am in terms of my faith and love for God.

How do we do that...How do we declare that our self worth does not come from our outward appearance when every second of our day is bombarded with images and messages that it should? How do we choose to believe God and keep our eyes and ears on Him and not this unattainable standard that the world has placed upon us?

The constant pursuit of God's Word...His truth is the only way to declare and choose. It begins with recognizing the lie and replacing it with truth. I am reading a book and in it the author Scott Reall says, "change = consistency + time + grace".

I love that. In order to change something...a way we may have always believed...takes consistent work. It takes time. It takes giving ourselves grace when it is hard. Start with one step...take on lie...replace it with truth and consistently repeat it, meditate on it, and pray about it until it becomes truth first...and then chose something else...do the same...allow God to change you....to mold and transform your heart in to the one He originally intended it to be. God yearns for you to believe Him when he says "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2:6

So today...let's declare that our value is not determined by the shape of our body, but by the shape of our heart.

Continue to pray for people battling eating disorders. They are lost and listening to lies. Pray for truth to be spoken to them and that their ears will be open to hear.

In love, Teresa

Value

I have been studying the book of Romans. Paul fascinates me so much. When I read anything he has written, I can't help but know where he came from and what he was doing prior to him becoming a Christian. His testimony demonstrates that God can use us no matter what we have done, where we have been, or how many bad decisions we have made.

Romans 2:29 "a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law, rather, it is a change of heart produced by God's Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise form God, not people."

I am not sure why I got the following word from God after I read that, but as I prepare to start talking about self worth and learning how to give my testimony I sense God is aligning my thoughts with His Word.

The first thought I got after I read that verse was something I use to say to myself all of the time. It was "I do not have any worth or value." But that statement is not true. Even in our lowest times it is not true. Even if we don't feel like we have worth, or sense it or are shown it by others, we still have it. It has always been there---no matter what----100 percent of the time---why? Because God says we were worthy of redemption through the blood of Jesus...we were (and are) worth the price Jesus paid for us to live in freedom. We are of worth. We are of value. Just as God always loves us...we are always valuable to Him. Always. Forever. Does that mean we can just go around sinning, because no matter what God will love us and see us of value. No...definitely not. But the point is God always sees us as He created us. And he created us as his masterpiece.

We have to look beyond our flesh and our mistakes and our feelings. We need to align our thoughts with those of God. Romans 4:20 "Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise...He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises." NEVER wavered. FULLY convinced. What amazing faith that is.

And I love Romans 4:17 "...and who creates things out of nothing?" Have you ever wondered how God could use you? I have. Many times. I think that I have just wasted my life making wrong decisions, by circumstances that were beyond my control, by feeling shameful and guilty, by engaging in an eating disorder...all of that...but what I think is "nothing" God can create something out of it. God can do that for anyone. If we are willing. If we believe. If we choose and take action to "praise God and not people".

We have to believe the words between the front and back cover of our bible. We can search the world our whole lives and never find the right answer until we seek it in the black and white words of our bibles....the truth...the only place we need to look. It tells us who we are. We are sinners...saved by grace...loved by God...His masterpiece...worth the price that was paid for our salvation...

Look at Paul. He was ordering believers to be killed. He was on his way with a list of believers to be killed in his hand when Jesus came down and Paul had an encounter with God...and his life changed forever. God made something out of nothing. Paul had a change of heart. Paul sought after God. God always saw him with value...even when he was in the midst of his bad decisions.

We have to believe we are of value. We have to believe that God will use each and every one of us. It might not be in a way we expect, but He will use us if we are willing.
Value....you have it.
Worth...you are worth it.

Love, Teresa

Where does our value come from?

In January I will speaking at a church on the topic of Self Worth. And what a journey it has been to be at a place where I can get up and talk about how much God values us! I am so humbled that God is allowing me to speak on his behalf.

While I have been studying and preparing God's message to this particular group of people, I have found myself asking "Where does our value come from?" Of course it is easy to say "It is from God." But really if we take the time to examine this question what do you think your list would look like? Would it include your job or position at work? Would it include the house you live in or the car you drive? Would it include the clothes you wear? Would it include the approval and acceptance of others? Would it be in raising your children or from your spouse? Would it be what you look like?

I was thinking about this yesterday a lot and having a conversation with someone. We were talking about how much people in the media get paid and how there are so many people struggling. We discussed the fact that our world puts so much value on these people that they are paid so much money, are admired and followed and talked about. We buy magazines just to catch up on what these "stars" are doing. We watch entertainment shows, interviews, and talk shows if our favorite actor/actress/performer are on there. Now I love a good movie and good music...so this isn't about that. What I am getting at is where our world puts value. Our world spends more time on watching these entertainers than on their own character, integrity or serving.

It is so easy to look for value in our world...because we are told to work hard to be successful...value in our job. We are told our children are good when they behave and perform well in activities...value from our kids. We are told that we deserve to have nice things...value in things (homes, cars, clothes). Our world is shows what they call perfect people, perfect homes, the best of things list and if we have that we have value.

I spent my life looking for my value from people and their approval and acceptance of myself. I immersed myself in an eating disorder in order to not only to punish myself, but to seek the approval of people. I put value in the way I looked and the way people saw my physical appearance. I wasn't spending time finding value in Godly character or if I had integrity.

As I study God's Word in this area I am so encouraged! I am so filled with joy and excitement that I don't need to be that people pleaser anymore. I don't have to starve and look "perfect" to be worth approval. I get to just bask in the fact that God values me. I get to saturate myself in His love because he calls me "his masterpiece". I am going to be talking about this in January...how we are "his masterpiece" and we were "bought with a high price".

God so wants us to know that He values us so much that He sent his Son to the cross to die...d-i-e. Die for us. Why? Because he values us so much that he wanted each one of us to be saved...forgiven...to live in His fullness. HE VALUES US. HE VALUES YOU!

I know that many will read that and have a hard time believing that for themselves. I know that because I use to believe it for everyone except myself. I could tell you a zillion times what the scriptures say about how much God loves you and values you, but you have to know it as truth for yourself. I had to learn how to believe it for myself. I had to accept it...to know it was meant for me as well as you. It didn't happen overnight. It took time. But it took a choice. A choice to say "God's Word is truth and if I truly love and follow God I must believe these truths for me and live them."

Practical application: Pray and ask God to reveal to you the places that you are finding value outside of Him. Write them down. Pray to put those things in their place. It is okay to have a nice house and car. It is okay to dress fashionably. But they need to have their place in your life that does not place them above the Lord. Continue to pray asking God to direct you in this area. He might ask you to give something away. He might ask you to serve in a way you hadn't thought before. He might ask you to to give up something for a period of time. If you want to share your list or your conversations with God....I would love to hear. If you need a partner in prayer, let me know.