Check Yourself.

So I will be honest...I haven't been updating my list of good things daily. I write a few in one day to cover three or four days. Not sure if that's defeating the purpose or if it's still worthwhile. I would argue with myself that it is still worthwhile, as it challenges me to find 40 different things. However, since I am not daily updating my list, I decided to "up the anty."

This morning, I read the blog written by this talented author and focused particularly on two posts: this one and this one. (I know there are a lot of links in the previous sentence, but you should definitely check each one out!) Reading Shauna's blog posts on Lent inspired me to take a different spin on her Lenten commitment. I know it is a little late to change the game, but I figure it's better late than never, right? 

I am adding to my Lenten commitment of finding one good thing about myself for each of the 40 days that I will improve my language about myself. This can translate to: I am not going to speak words of negativity about myself to myself or others aloud. Talk about a challenge! Jake will be rejoicing when he reads this...as well as challenging me to keep my word.

Think about this seriously. How do your daily words affect your view of yourself...of others? Are your words used to uplift, encourage, and brighten? Or are they used to speak negativity, bring down, and discourage? I challenge you to check yourself and think about your words. How do you use them? How do they affect others, as well as you?

I sometimes wonder why I get so down on myself about different things. In reflecting on why I feel the way I do about myself, I realized that speaking negativity about myself for years has given those negative words power over me and I am not particularly pleased about it. Our words truly have power, particularly when spoken in my opinion. If I do not learn how to change the way I speak about myself soon, I could spend my entire life speaking negative words or thoughts and never improve how I see myself. I know God sees me as his own beautiful daughter and that my boyfriend, family, and friends all see beauty in who I am and how I look. I want to see what they see in me and appreciate the body, mind, heart, and soul the Lord has given me. 

I know it is important that I do this. The way I speak about myself influences others' feelings about themselves and me. I do not want to continue making my love feel badly that, no matter what he says, I still have moments where I do not understand what he sees in me. I do not want my children someday to feel badly about how they are made because I speak words of negativity about myself around them. This is important. Not just for me, but for those I love and surround myself with. Hopefully this will end up being a longer-than-Lent challenge. For now, I leave you with one of my absolute favorite verses...

"You're beautiful from head to toe, my dear love,
   beautiful beyond compare, absolutely flawless."

            - Song of Songs 4:7 (The Message)

With love,
Amanda