One of my favorite verses in Psalms is found in chapter 139:14 “I will praise thee for I am wonderfully and fearfully made; marvelous are thy works and that my soul knoweth right well.”(King James Version). What does this means? God requires that we praise Him for making us the way we are. This may seem backwards to some people, because praising God for the way we look will go against the grain of our many imperfections: bumpy skin, thick course hair, and gangly or overweight bodies. Praising God is required to put things into perspective. A person is more than flesh and jewelry and silicon. God thought us all beautiful before we were conceived, yet with the competition to appear “perfect” in everything especially on physical aspects, even some Christians are starting to believe maybe they have been designed imperfectly and would (if they haven’t already) gotten operations to “correct” God’s errors.
No one has the perfect body . We all have flaws but it’s up to us to improve the way we perceive ourselves- body image, that is. Let me show you some ways we could improve our body image:
1. Avoid nitpickers. Don’t hang out with people who always find fault with insignificant details. You don’t need their negative aura to ruin your day. So what if I don’t have the model body type as long as I remain sweet and honest person to others.
2. Love every bump, lump and scar. Each tells a story. I admit I don’t have the best legs and I have lots of scars especially the knee part but they’re my treasure. Every time I look at them, they remind me of how God saved us from that fateful accident. I’m glad I’m still alive!
3. Practice good posture. As long as you keep your head up and eyes looking straight while walking and you don’t stand like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, I think you’ll look good.
4. Build self-confidence. Don’t over think what others say about you. Most people become insecure when they begin paying too much attention to what they are doing and the reactions to people around them. This can make people feel more self- conscious about their actions. Just be yourself and don’t care about what other people think. Really, they are more focused on themselves than what you are doing.
5. Splurge on make-up. I’m not really into make-up but sometimes we need it not only to highlight our natural beauty but also reduces skin irritation, decreases wrinkles, provides greater sun protection, and reduces breakouts. Remember that every woman is already beautiful, and every woman can be even more beautiful if we apply make up! It’s up to you how you doll up yourself. Every woman defines her own beauty.
6. Exercise! It releases endorphins. Endorphins are the body’s natural feel good chemicals, and when they are released through exercise, your mood is boosted naturally. As well endorphins, exercise also releases adrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine. These chemicals work together to make you feel good. The best type of exercise for improving your mood is cardiovascular exercises and aerobics. This is because vigorous exercise helps to release the chemicals necessary for the mood-raising high. Just ten minutes of moderate exercise is enough to improve your mood, your vigor and also decrease fatigue. However, to obtain all the benefits from exercise, not just the mood improving aspects, you should do at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise every day.
7. Eat healthily especially breakfast. Don’t skip breakfast! Many people do because they don’t feel they need to eat breakfast, or they just don’t feel hungry first thing in the morning. Research shows that people who skip breakfast are usually fatter than those who eat a well balanced breakfast. Although you might not feel hungry first thing in the morning, if you skip breakfast you will feel extra hungry come lunch time, making you more prone to overeating for your afternoon meal. In addition, skipping breakfast makes your body think that you are starving. After all, by lunch time, you may not have eaten in almost eighteen hours. For the rest of the day after you skip breakfast, your body will store up most of the energy you get from food, instead of allowing you to burn it, in anticipation of food scarcity. Not only will this cause you to be tired during the day when your body isn’t using the food that you ate, but the extra energy stored up will result in weight gain.
8. Indulge at a beauty salon spa. Beauty salon spas are a haven for your body – a retreat from the stressful routine so that you can indulge yourself and pamper your hands, feet, skin, hair, nails and face. Give yourself to a luxurious body massage, one that will invigorate those tired muscles and fill you with a sense of radiance, relaxation and comfort.
Treat your hair to deep conditioning treatments or go in for a coloring job. Give your fingers a makeover with manicures and acrylic nails. Read up on different day salon spa treatments before you escape into these comfort zones. Come out feeling radiant and relaxed, albeit a little poorer at the end of it!
9. Dress for your body…not for J Lo’s. Lastly, but most importantly, it’s all in the mind. No amount of designer clothing and expensive styling will make you appear beautiful to others if you don’t feel it inside. Also, a smile is the perfect beauty accessory – and it does not cost a thing.
Before we part ways, here one more nugget of truth that I wanna share with you- 2 Corinthians 4:18:”The things which are seen are temporary, and the things unseen are eternal.” So true beauty is inside the shell of whom you are interacting with.
