Thursday, March 6, 2008

No Need For Despair (give away alert)

I personally do not believe that we can really ever feel beautiful without a solid trust in God. With God we can begin to see opportunity within difficulty, not despair. Despair has defined my weight loss journey for most of my life. The extra pounds trigger feelings of anxiety, depression, panic, inferiority, and worthlessness. That in turn brings me to depair and the need to want a quick fix ... a solution to my problem.

With God, there is no need for despair. Traveling with Him means we don't need to feel any of the negative feelings I mentioned above. With Him, we can see an opportunity. An opportunity to grow stronger, allow Him to empower us, to display our faith, to learn a lesson, to become disciplined, to learn about forgiveness, and then to teach others what we've learned along the way. God can do a mighty work within us. And that's beautiful.

I'm so excited about my next give away. When I created this blog almost 2 months ago, I wanted to help others, but I also wanted to help myself. I prefer to journey with friends, not alone. I named the blog "I Am Beautiful" because I know that the Lord does see beauty when He looks at me. I want to remind myself of that when I'm not feeling it, which admittedly is a lot. That is my struggle. So imagine my excitement when last weekend I was walking through the Proverbs 31 Ministries resource room and spotted a book with this title: I'm Beautiful, Why Can't I See It? . I work at Proverbs and I have never noticed this book! I immediately grabbed it off the shelf and within an hour I had been drawn to reading it. I didn't want to put it down. I decided I wanted to share it, so I'm giving it away.

This book is by Kimberly Davidson. "If you are constantly thinking about food, dieting, exercise, and weight, or perhaps are just an 'occasional' binger or purger, this book is for you." "This effective, proven, step-by-step 13 week healing devotional study is for anyone struggling with unhealthy patterns of eating and body image issues, including eating disorders (compulsive overeating, bulimia, and/or anorexia)."

Have you ever looked in the mirror and seen "repulsive", "fat", or "stupid", even though friends tell you otherwise? I have and sometimes (actually often) I still do. I've yet to talk with a group of women where the majority of them don't feel the same way. That's why I love this book. I will be sharing insights from this book to help combat those feelings, with God's help of course. If you post a thought, comment, encouragement, your goals, or struggles on this blog anytime between today and March 20th, you are entered to win a copy. And you can be entered up to once a day. Each day you post, I'll put your name in the drawing. The more you post, the better your chances to win.

Looking forward to traveling on this beauty journey with you. No more despair ladies. Let's look at this as our time for an amazing opportunity. I am feeling beautiful already! What about you?

Beautifully Blessed,

Melissa

***Recap: Give away begins today. Post on this blog anytime between today and March 20. Your name will be entered each day you post. I'll draw the winner's name the morning of March 21st. The winner will be mailed a copy of the book I'm Beautiful, Why Can't I See It? by Kimberly Davidson, an $18.99 value. Good Luck! I can't wait to hear and gain insight from you!

7 comments:

Michelle said...

Thank you Melissa for your blog. I am learning how to love myself the way God loves me and after 31 years of not liking myself at all it is a struggle. So I am glad I found this blog. I can use all the help I can get!

Amy L Brooke said...

I would so love to win this. I struggle with self-esteem issues for a variety of reasons.

Recently, my weight has added to this issue. I've found myself ducking down isles in stores to avoid seeing people I hadn't seen in awhile! I've decided this needs to change and have been working on it.

Pink Heavenly Ministries said...

Melissa how precious of you to give a book away!!
Just this morning while teaching my preschool class I became concerned with even how they view themselves. One girl said "She does not think I'm pretty as the princess" Oh how this just breaks my heart that it breaks down now to our little ones. I quickly told them "You are beautiful and are God's princess." They all agreed. Thank goodness.
I myself struggled with beauty for a while. Rosacea set in on my skin in my mid to late 20's never had any skin problems them BAM!
It hit like a knife. Everyone always asking why my face was so red and looking like it was on fire. Thankfully, a friend introduced me to a great skincare and now I get to turn the favor and help other women feel beautiful as well!! I love to help other's feel good on the outside as well as the inside!

With blessings from the Heavens,
Rachel

Anonymous said...

Hey Melissa,
That book sound great! I may have to go get it now! I've been working out for 9 weeks now and have little to show for it. Yes, I feel better. Yes, I have more energy. Yes, I feel faster on the court. BUT NO I still can't get in my pants and NO I don't want to get on the scales because I know the defeat I will feel for working so hard with little "proof" that counts (at least to me). I know I'm to learn a lesson as I continue on and maybe your site will help me find it. It is so tough to NOT separate the inside from the out.
Thanks for your blog.
JR

Anonymous said...

Melissa,
I am so glad I found your sight and thank you for the personal things you share. I struggle so much with self esteem. The other day I was so overwhelmed with my life and dealing with me. I prayed almost the whole day. God took me to (Eph. 6:13) "After you have done everything that you can do, stand still". For me it is only the Lord that truely can change my heart and the way I see myself. One thing that I keep telling myself is "TRUST THE PROCESS". Can't wait to hear more from Lord.
God Bless,
Diane

MelissaTaylor.org said...

I can super identify with almost every comment and feeling stated on here.

Thank you so much for posting honestly and sharing your struggles, stories, and encouragement. We have to keep encouraging each other and not listen to the lies in our head that tell us we don't measure up (and that cause us to do things like "ducking down isles in stores to avoid people..."--I've done that too Amy!).

I'm glad you brought up children Rachel. I really have to watch what I say about myself. I have 3 boys and a little girl. My girl looks up to me and copies everything I do. I want her to just love herself for who God made her and not share in my struggle of feeling only as good as the number on the scales!

I honestly think you are all so beautiful. I don't even have to see you to know that. Thank you for sharing. Keep it coming!

I'll have another post up later this afternoon.

:)Smile, you are beautiful!

Jodie Wolfe said...

I sure would like to win this book. I love to read! I do struggle with self esteem issues as well.