When I was doing my morning devotionals the other day, God brought me to one that I knew He wanted me to share with all of you! It talks about how the Word of God can change the image that you have on the inside, which is the key to any lasting change that you hope to see on the outside!

Here’s an excerpt from the Faith to Faith devotional written by Kenneth Copeland:

According to Romans, hope is actually looking at something you can’t see. How do you do that? You do it by looking at the promises of God in the Word until with your inner eyes- the eyes of your spirit- a picture is formed.

For example, one of the hardest things I ever had to do was face the fact that the inner image I had of myself physically was overweight. It didn’t matter how hard I tried to change, it wouldn’t go away. I was always on a diet. I must have lost (and regained) hundreds of pounds over the years.

I finally had to admit that as long as my inner image of myself was fat, my outer self was going to match it. Remember, it’s faith that changes things, and without the inner image of hope, faith cannot work.

So I decided to fast for seven days. I searched my bible for every scripture I could find on food and eating and I found many.

I meditated on every one of those scriptures and prayed for seven full days. What was I doing you may ask?! I was changing the image on the inside of me concerning my weight.

It wasn’t long before the new image I had on the inside began to shine on the outside. I began to see myself as the healthy, fit person that God created me to be, and over twenty years later, I have maintained my desired weight, (which is what I believe God created me to be at!)

I will tell you however, that this is not something that can be done overnight. It takes time. Especially if the inner image you’re changing has been there for years.

But you CAN do it and God wants to partner with you! I have seen thousands of people transformed by changing the image they have on the inside of themselves with the Word of God!

Go to the Word of God today and begin to change the images inside of you. Change them from the images of despair and defeat to images of hope! Let God give you a blueprint in your heart for what you are believing for, and let your faith build on it!

(Related Scripture Reading: Romans 4: 16-21)

When I began my journey to pursue a balanced and healthy lifestyle, I knew that the first thing that I had to do was establish realistic goals for myself. I had spent so many years of my life going from one extreme to the other, and I knew it would take a well thought out plan to get to a place of true balance in my life.

I truly believe that in order to achieve any goal you must have a vision and a plan for how you are going to get there. The Bible even has something to say about this! Amos (3:7) says, “Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants.”  If God doesn’t do anything without first having a plan, then surely we are going to need one in order to achieve what we desire!

I’m going to share the steps which were inspired from the book, God Hunger (written by Desiree Ayres) that helped me tremendously in setting a plan into motion to get on a healthy road once and for all! I encourage you to not just read this post, but to take action by getting out a pen and paper and use these steps to set your own goals to get healthy today!

If you’re feeling hopeless today, and that you have set goals and failed before, today is a new day! It doesn’t matter how long you have been where you’re at, or even what you did yesterday, you only have today to start doing something! You can’t get yesterday back!  …So start heading in the direction you want your life to go TODAY!

Step 1. Begin to Imagine~ Discover Your Heart’s Desires!

There is so much power in the imagination! In fact, a vision truly is using your imagination in a positive way to dream of where you want to go. Vision is a gift from God, which allows us to dream about our greatest potential. The devil knows this so he tries to distort our visions with fear and doubt, which ultimately stops us from dreaming up the plans that God puts in our hearts. It can be dangerous if we let fear and doubt dominate our thoughts, because ultimately it means we will stop the the plan that God has put in our hearts from becoming a reality.

The first step in imagining what God has for you is to identify the vision God has given you. You can do this by simply spending time in The Word of God and praying, asking God to align your thoughts with His thoughts. As you ask God to show you what His plans are for you (in this case I’m specifically relating it to the health of our bodies, but this truly does apply in any area of our life), begin to let Him dream through you.

Sit down and begin to think: What would you do if money and time were not an object and if you could be or do anything. (Remember God is not limited by time or money!) Think in detail, what would you like to look like, how active would you be, what would your energy level be like? Remember that this is God’s dream for your life, not what the world, time or money has to say, but who did God create you to be!?!  Ask yourself: Does He want you to enjoy your body? Does He want you to have energy and be fit? Does He want you to be healthy? Of course He does! The Bible says that He came to give us LIFE and LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY! Surely a fit and healthy body is part of this abundant life!

Step 2. Write Down Your Goals!

After you have taken time to dream up what God has placed in your heart, (about who He created you to be) the next step is to write it down! I generally do this by writing down my goals in two categories, short term, and long term goals.

This helps me to take small day by day steps in the direction that I envision my life going without feeling overwhelmed. Ask God to help you with this~ remember, He already has the plan laid out for you, but He wants to work with you day by day to achieve the Master Plan for your life!

Also, dare to dream big! God is a big God and His plans are so wonderful for us, but He works with us according to our level of faith, so ask Him to help you believe for nothing but the best!

Step 3. Take Action!

I like to remember the verse “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:20) when I begin to move in the direction of my goals. What I mean by this is that you must take action (or put in the work) and be faithful in what you are trying to accomplish.

In other words, when you read your goals on the page, you must begin to think about what you can do TODAY to take a step towards that goal and then actually do it! It may not seem like a lot each day, (maybe it’s just taking the stairs and cutting out your afternoon latte) but every little step adds up!

The good news is, when you take steps towards your goal, no matter how big or small, God will join with you and bless all that you do!

Step 4. Believe it and Speak it!

Start seeing yourself accomplishing your goals.  Imagine what it will be like when you get there.  Don’t let anything or anyone discourage you or talk you out of it… Believe you can achieve it!

In the Bible, we see that the Israelites never made it to the promised land because they saw themselves as ‘small grasshoppers’ compared to the ‘giants’ that were in the promise land. What they believed about themselves is ultimately what came to pass. Ask God to give you a vision of yourself accomplishing your goals and keep it in the forefront of your mind!

In addition to envisioning yourself accomplishing your goals, it’s also important to start to speaking them out!

The top five wealthiest people in the world had one thing in common: They spoke their goals out load daily. Proverbs 18:21 says “Death and life are in the power of the tongue”. This clearly demonstrates that life-giving power is released as we speak positively about our situations!

Step 5. Stay on Course!

Maybe you have a long way to go before you achieve your desired goals. That’s why the bible reminds us to “not grow weary in our well doing, for we will reap a great reward in due season if we do not lose heart.” (Galatians 6:9).

There will be times when you will be tempted to be discouraged, and you will have to encourage yourself! After all, every great accomplishment has been achieved by holding onto a vision and choosing not to let go, regardless of the obstacles!

Continuously come back to your written goals and ask God for wisdom and re-evaluate if you need to. Remember that we can do nothing apart from Him, but if we continuously seek first “The Kingdom of God”, all things ARE possible!

What I am about to share with you is how I got completely free from a negative self-image, an unhealthy lifestyle, and how I reached (and have maintained) my desired weight.

When I began my journey to find true health, (to read more about my journey read “my story”)…I began to search what the Word of God had to say about healing and restoration. I went to the bible because ultimately I knew that, “Jesus is the Word made flesh,” (John 1:14) so anytime I want to know what Jesus thinks or has to say about an issue, I go to the Bible!

It was over the course of a year that God revealed some important truths in His word about how what we say, think, and believe about ourselves ultimately comes to pass in our lives. It was this scripture that God initially used to speak this to me: “For as a man thinks in his heart, so shall he be.” (Proverbs 23:7)

As I continued to study the Bible on this subject, God revealed many scriptures to me about who He created me to be and how I should take care of my body. I wrote these scriptures down and began to speak them out loud and meditate on them daily. When ‘the world’ would send me images, messages, and ideas about what I should look like or how I should eat/exercise…I replaced them with the Truth that God had shown me in His Word. I would even post sticky notes around my room, in my car, and at work to remind me of these truths on a consistent basis.  Because let’s face it…if the world comes at us with a million other lies every day, we must be ready to combat it with the Truth a million times a day!

Little did I know… by doing this, I was on the path to “not conforming to the patterns of this world…and I was being transformed by the renewing of my mind” (Romans 12:2) And that is exactly what happened… I was transformed! At first, I didn’t feel different, but I knew I had to “reprogram” my mind.  If it took time for the negative messages to enter, I knew I had to feed myself the Word consistently.  The transformation that was occurring was happening on the inside of me, so it wasn’t necessarily visible on the outside.  However, it didn’t take long before I began to reach my desired weight! (And this time I was able to do it without any restrictive eating, excessive exercising, fad diets, or any other ‘weight loss fad’ that this world has to offer.)  I truly believe that once my mind was “right” about my body, I was able to treat it the way God intended.

Trust me…I remember feeling like there was no possible way I could ever look or feel the way I wanted. I had tried every method that I thought would work (and some of them did, but it was only for a time…and then I would gain the weight back and would be on to trying another disordered way of losing weight.) It wasn’t until I began to renew my mind with God’s Word (by meditating on it and speaking it out…which led to me believing it) that I experienced true freedom and lasting victory in this area of my life!

The great news is… this works in EVERY area of life that you need freedom and/or restoration! As you begin to understand how God sees you, you can begin to see yourself correctly! He will help you believe that you can lose weight/reach a healthy weight… and before you know it, your body will line up with what you believe!

I think of God’s word as a seed (1Peter 1:23), and when we go to Him and ask Him to show us how to be free from a situation, He will lead us to the ’seed’ (or scriptures) that we need to plant in our heart, which is the soil. (Mark 4:1-8) It may not look like anything is happening at first, much like a seed that is planted underground, but as we water the seed by continually looking at the word, keeping it in our mouths, eyes, ears, and heart and choose to believe it – God takes care of the rest! Before you know it the harvest for what we are believing for springs up and we become just as we are believing in our heart!

Do you know why I can be so sure that this will work, in every situation, for every person!?! Because I’m talking about finding the truth in the Word of God about who God made you to be (perfect weight and all)…and when you know this truth it is guaranteed to set you free! (John 8:32) (And yes… God cares about EVERY detail in your life… even your weight!)

I pray that you will begin to ask God to give you a true revelation of what a unique, beautiful and powerful woman you really are!  When you write these truths down, begin to meditate on them, and speak them out over your life (after all, your words have the power of life and death~ Proverbs 18:21), they will change the way that you see yourself.   You will begin to believe that you can lose weight and/or live a healthy lifestyle, and it WILL become a reality for you as well!

I will leave you with this Word-Filled prayer that I pray daily that has helped me (and continues to help me) on the journey of renewing my mind!

Father, please help me to see myself as you see me. Your word says that you give me the desires of my heart as I delight myself in you. I desire to feel good about myself, so I can be confident and be a vessel of your blessing here on earth. I thank you that you are helping me to reach my perfect weight in Jesus’ name.

I thank you that you are teaching me to listen to my body, and to exercise self control in a healthy way. Help me to find an exercise that I can enjoy, and help me to do it in a healthy consistent way. Help me to enjoy healthy foods, and to eat the right portions at the right time of day.

Father, I submit myself to you, and resist the devil in every way. I resist wrong foods, and wrong ways of thinking in Jesus name.  I am kept in perfect peace in all situations, because I choose to keep my mind on you.

Lord, thank you for loving me and empowering me to succeed at reaching my goal weight! I believe that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength! In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

God loves you very much and has a wonderful plan for your life! I can guarantee that He wants each one of His children to live at a healthy weight that will allow them to feel beautiful and confident! I encourage you to find the truth about who God says you are, and live in the fullness of all He has planned for you!

I recently heard his song by Nicole Nordeman for the first time, and it really spoke to my heart. I can identify with this song in so many ways, as I’m sure so many women can. In our society there are so many standards that define what ‘beauty’ is. I believe that we must renew our minds to the truth on a daily basis to what makes us truly beautiful so we don’t fall into the deception that we must ‘look’ a certain way before we feel beautiful! As you listen to this song, I hope you let it really speak to your heart, and as you go about your day you let it replay in your mind! I hope you enjoy the song as much as I did…and let it remind you that you’re truly beautiful! xoxo Katie

“Beautiful For Me” ~By Nicole Nordeman

I’ve been asked what the one thing was that I wish I knew when I was a teenager, and do you know what it is!?! I honestly wish that I knew that I didn’t have to ‘look’ like everyone/anyone else! I wish I realized that women truly do come in ALL shapes and sizes! (For example, think about 10 women you know right now, and just think how different each one of their bodies looks…unless those women are your family members of course!)

I wish someone told me that I didn’t have to look good in clothes that long and lean models wear, and that if I found my own ’style’ then I could dress my body to look pretty darn cute (hey that can be hard being 5 foot!)

I wish someone told me that I shouldn’t compare myself to anyone else, because even when I was feeling pretty ‘good’ about myself one minute…It would all go out the window a moment later when I took one look at the ‘model’ sitting next to me.

The thing that I’ve realized now that I’m an adult is that as long as we are ‘comparing ourselves’ to anyone, we will find dis-satisfaction with what we DO have! When I started to realize this truth, and focus on the good in me, (and I mean purposely notice the things that I do love about me) I was shocked by what happened…I started to feel truly beautiful!

I have found that it doesn’t matter how many people think your beautiful, or even tell you that you are…One thing is always going to be true… Until YOU believe that you are, you will never feel it. It all begins when you stop looking/comparing yourself to others, and start focusing on the beauty in you! It really is that simple!

Also~ when I say ‘focus on the beauty’ in you I’m not just talking about physical things…or even finding beauty in what society says is beautiful, (because let’s face it, they have it screwed up!) I’m talking about the things that make you unique, because they are what make you- YOU!

I’ll give you a little example, I love the fact that I have a very compassionate heart- I feel like this makes me an excellent nurse, and I truly believe it makes me light up peoples lives! I know it sounds silly- but it really is just about finding the things that make you unique and choosing to focus on those things~ after all there could never be a more beautiful YOU!

I found this article written by Marty Copeland on her Higher Fitness Website (a Christian-based weight loss website), and it really inspired me to write this post! I thought it was extremly powerful…and thought I’d share it with all of you!

“Self Image” by Marty Copeland

It took me many years and much spiritual growth to finally understand what makes us valuable. Contrary to the voice that shouts at us from the television, from movies, billboards and magazines, and sometimes those around us, we are not how we look. Oh, the freedom in the revelation that our “body” is not our “self.”

Yes, I exercise and eat right. Yes, I know that my body is the temple of God’s Holy Spirit and that my goal is to honor God with a lifestyle of progressive health and fitness. HOWEVER, it is with a total equality of value that I balance that understanding God’s Word which says that while man looks at the outward appearance God looks at the heart (I Samuel 16:7). Oh, how freeing it is for us to know that God loves us unconditionally, no matter what we weigh or how we look!

I encourage you to meditate that scripture over and over until it becomes a reality to you. It is a revelation of God’s unconditional love for us that frees us from trying to become something unattainable. After so many years and countless attempts at seeking after a better body, how silly I felt when the blinders were lifted off and I realized that “I am not my body!”

If you are challenged with low self esteem like I was, allow yourself to be loved by God for who you are—for who He made you to be—from the inside out. When you were born again, God recreated your spirit in His image. Your heart is full of love, joy, peace, meekness, gentleness, kindness, faithfulness, endurance and self-control. Romans 8:29 says we are predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, Christ Jesus. Our reborn spirit is like God’s—with the potential and His calling to become more and more like Him.

Don’t be like I was and waste years trying to be something you cannot be. Just realize that God made your spirit, soul and your body and that He has a plan for your life. Accept yourself the way you are today, knowing that His love is unconditional and that He looks at your heart. Self acceptance is freeing. It takes the pressure off and allows our health and fitness goals to be about honoring God in our bodies, instead of trying futilely to prove, either to ourselves or others, that we are valuable because of how we look.

We must get to the place where any effort we make toward self-improvement should be a decision based in freedom and not under pressure. This is a right and privilege of any child of God. I pray that God will bless you as you progress in your understanding of who you are in Him.

There is nothing more powerful than a person who knows who they are in Christ Jesus.

I know this post doesn’t have much to do with fitness or nutrition…But I have realized one thing about both of these topics.  Our society always seems to try to motivate people to ‘eating right’  and  ‘get fit’ in order to look better.  I admit, I do feel better about how I look when I eat right and exercise, but when it really comes down to it, those two things have nothing to do with being beautiful!

Regardless of your weight, height, age, or overall appearance, has anyone ever told you that you were WONDERFULLY made!? Well…You were! The Bible says in Psalm 139:14 that you were both “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made!” Now I understand that the Bible is not exactly the ‘common’ or even ‘popular’ standard used to measure beauty…But I have found through my own personal experience that it is the ONLY way.  Why do I say this!? Because I have looked to people in the past- men, other women, even myself- to define and affirm my beauty, and it it didn’t matter what kind of validation I received, I was  always disappointed. In fact, when I looked to others (or the mirror) to tell me I was beautiful, it was then that I found myself reaping feelings of doubt, loss of self esteem, and seeds of insecurity.

However, when I chose to look to God for my validation, He provided me with constant fulfilling and lasting affirmation. If you open the Bible, you will see verse after verse of telling us how He CHOSE US, how He LOVES US, and He tells us that He has GOOD PLANS for us!  It isn’t until we understand how valuable we are to God, that our life begins to radiates true BEAUTY, (because we will start to reflect Him!)  Don’t believe me!? Take a moment to think about a woman who shines and radiates Love… A woman who is full of Joy and Peace…That woman may never appear on the cover of a magazine, but one thing is sure, even without seeing her picture, she us undeniably, stunningly beautiful.

Johnny Diaz~ “A more beautiful You!”

I heard this song on the radio a while back, and it really spoke to my heart. I find that the Lord often brings the words of this song back to my mind when I start to have moments of doubt or insecurity…And it always reminds me, that I need to remember what HE says about me (in His Word)..and that He created me wonderful and unique, and the same goes for YOU!