How does God See Me?

John 1:12

I am a child of God

1 Peter 2:9

I am a part of a royal lineage

Romans 8:35-39

I am loved by God and nothing can separate me from His love

I am a conqueror

Ephesians 1:4

I am chosen by God

Colossians 2:13-14

I am forgiven and my sin/debt has been paid in full

Philippians 4:13

I am strengthened for all tasks to which God calls me

John 14:16

I have the Holy Spirit in me

Romans 5:1

I have peace with God through Jesus

Hebrew 13:5

I am never alone; God will not leave me

Romans 5:1

I am justified

Romans 8:1

I am free from condemnation

2 Corinthians 1:21-22

I am established, anointed, sealed by God

Philippians 1:6

I am confident that God will complete a good work in me

John 4:24

I am a truth worshiper

2 Corinthians 5:17

I am a new creation!

Mark 16:17-18

I have the ability to perform miracles

Ephesians 3:12

I have the ability to approach God with freedom and confidence

Ephesians 1:11-12

I am blessed, chosen, adopted, accepted, redeemed, and forgiven

Colossians 1:13

I am delivered from dark powers

Hebrews 13:6

I am safe

1 Peter 5:10

I am strong

Song of Solomon 4:10

I am beautiful

1 Peter 2:24

I am healed

What other identity promises can we claim?

“I believe in Christ, like I believe in the sun- Not because I can see it, but by it I can see everything else.” -CS Lewis

As a little exercise, look up these verses and take some quiet time to pray and ask God what He wants to reveal to you about yourself. Write down 10 or so things that He loves about you. Then do the same with the ways He would use to describe you. You will be surprised at what He tells you compared to how you actually feel.

This week, I sent a video out to the members of my business (I own a fitness club) and told them they just had to watch it. While I'm normally against any sort of forward or stupid youtube video, I felt pretty overwhelmed with the emotion of this one. So while this has nothing to do with our identity in Christ, it makes a very valid point about perspective and how often, the way we see ourselves is not our true identity:

Dove Real Beauty Sketches

more on this later...

The Makings of a Plan

So I'm sure you are all waiting on pins and needles wondering what in the world I'm going to attempt on Monday. Well...without all the details, they will definitely be coming soon, month one will focus on FOOD.

I chose food as my first endeavor for a few reasons:
1. Curves just put out a new program in partnership with the Cleveland Clinic to help women have the strength, and ALL the tools they need to combat the obesity epidemic. My members, my mom, and myself have been wildly successful on the program. I have a club of 320 members who are completely changing their lives, and not just incorporating exercise into their lifestyle. EXCITING! You just watch, I truly believe that we have positioned ourselves to be pioneers and envisionaries in this industry in ways that no other company has; but that is beside the point. So, as a certified coach, I teach my members ways to actually be healthier...not just telling them to diet to lose weight...food and how our bodies respond to what we feed them, is ALWAYS at the forefront of my mind.
2. I have eliminated almost all high fructose corn syrup from my diet, I eat relatively organic and mostly unprocessed foods, but I still struggle with excess. Buying too much of this or that and then letting it sit in my fridge until it expires because who wants to eat the same big tub of greek yogurt all week when there are so many other choices. Limiting my choices will help to reduce my waste AND my bottom line...and maybe even my waist and bottom as well (I have never used the word bottom before in my life HA)
3. Eating out. Americans have such a weird sense of community around food. Almost all cultures gather around food, but few gather FOR food. There's a difference between enjoying an amazing meal and great conversations with your friends, and not knowing how else to commune with your friends unless it's around food or drink. I experience both, but needless to say, I spend too much money on going out to lunch, dinner, coffee...a snack in the middle of the day... None of those things are necessary to have any kind of relationship with me, so why do we feel so obligated to gather soley around food?

I laugh when people talk about eating to live and living to eat, but really, as clique as it is, it's a legitimate concept. Why do you think "they" say it's so important to eat dinner as a family as opposed to separate or in front of the tv? It's because the aspect of being together solidifies our existance as relational beings. We give our attention to those relationships and food becomes the point of nourishment. When we're sitting in front of the tv or computer, it becomes about what do I want to eat right now that will satisfy whatever emotions I'm feeling...had we been present with our families, we would have nourished that primal relational desire we simply cannot quench by texting and tweeting.

Americans focus too much on food; or at least they take for granted the abundance that we have here. I'll admit, I'm an absolute foodie. I would rather cook to relax than take a bubble bath. So that is why I know this first topic is going to be baptism by fire for me, but where my allegiance with food lies will change as I let God and His Word become the food to nourish me.

Psalm 107:9
God satisfies the thirsty and the hungry he fills with good things.