When you look in the mirror, what do you see?  Or, maybe I should ask, “What do you perceive that you see?”  The difference is that we don’t always see our reflections clearly.  Too often, we look at the image staring back at us and see our mistakes, our shortcomings, our flaws, and the things that we just don’t like.  That slightly crooked nose, that blemish, those few extra pounds, or the hair that just doesn’t quite do what you want it to.  We look at the features that make us unique and beautiful with dissatisfaction.  We may not like the shape or color of our eyes, or our lips aren’t full enough, our cheeks are too puffy, or even the shade of our skin can make us unhappy.

What is that all about?  Why do we have such a difficult time accepting who we are and what we look like?  Has the fake, airbrushed society we live in caused us to be so insecure about our appearance?  Have we bought into the lie that if we don’t look like a Victoria Secret model than we might as well just crawl under a rock?  Have we placed our worth solely on our external selves and ignored who we really are?

Even though many of us have come to terms with who we are, and have learned to love the woman that God made us to be, we can still have a difficult time shaking off those negative comparisons or self-destructive thoughts.  The enemy would have it no other way!  He knows that if he can sway us to believe anything that is untrue about ourselves or about the God who created us, He can halt our effectiveness in the Kingdom of God.  What is so crazy is that we know better, but we keep buying into his malicious lies!

It is time to saturate our hearts with the truth of who we really are.  It is time that we stand up, look into the mirror, and allow ourselves to see the image that God sees.  We are His daughters, real princesses!  We were created in His image, exactly as we were meant to be. He designed our bodies and our outward appearance to be exactly as He wanted it to be, and we can learn to make the best of what He has given us.  He gave us our hearts and has made the most important part to Him as beautiful as can be.  He looks at us and is enthralled by our beauty!  It is time that we see that too!

Make it a daily habit of filling your mind with the truth of who you really are.  Here is a great start.  Print and use these Power Thoughts for Women, and watch how it changes your thinking.  You will be able to look into mirror and see your true self looking back, the very image that God Himself sees when He looks at you.

I simply must include these two songs to help you understand your true beauty.  You are beautiful exactly as you are, and don’t you forget it!

“Beautiful”, by Mercy Me

“Beautiful, Beautiful,” by Francesca Batistelli

I believe this Scripture sums it all up!  Psalms 139:13-16

This is a wonderful progression from Day 12, “Woman of Worth.”  Again, this really speaks to me about the insecurities in which I have battled most of my life.  Too often we tend to focus on our blemishes or our shortcomings, and we miss who we really are in Christ.  We need to understand that He sees us as beautiful, valuable, and His precious daughters.  We need to learn to love and accept ourselves and to see ourselves as God sees us.  Then, we will see the difference that renewed confidence will make in our lives.

No longer should feelings of low self-worth or self-loathing be entertained by God’s daughters.  That will not be a part of me anymore!  No longer are we to listen to Satan’s lies about us and to allow Him to rob us of our peace, our sense of value, or our productivity.  No more shame, fear, or hiding behind insecurity!

Internalize these truths:  “I am significant.  I am so very loved. I am beautiful.  I am accepted.  I have a purpose, and I am equipped to fulfill that purpose.”  For more Biblical affirmations to help reestablish your thinking, please print and use these Power Thoughts for Women.  When you make it a daily habit, and you internalize these truths, they can transform your life!

Make an intentional choice and to make it a habit of seeing myself the way He sees me.

Write and teach other women how to accept and love themselves and to be all that God created them to be.

Love and minister to other women.

Continue making daily affirmation in Christ a daily habit.

Not allow those old mindsets and destructive thoughts back in.

Change my stinking thinking.

Stay balanced – to love myself without being in love with myself.  To stay on an equilibrium of humility without swaying toward pride or toward lowly thinking.

“Rather than seeing the miracle God created, we see a distorted and shame-based woman who is not perfect, who is ashamed of her imperfections, and who is chronically trying to see herself differently by changing the external.”

“The merry-go-round of self-loathing is too common and is once again the thief who robs us of life.”

“If we don’t know at the core level who we are and why we are here, we will remain forever lost in the search for significance, which seems to keep us lost in self.”

“We don’t see things the way God sees them.  We look at ourselves and see our mistakes.  God looks at us and sees His purpose and the miracle of Himself in us.”

“Truth is, you can’t possibly be more loved or significant than you are at this very moment.”

“You don’t have to be doing something to be significant; significance comes from being somebody. You already are somebody – a woman created by God for His purposes.”

“When you look at the mirror today, see God’s daughter looking back at you.”

“Tell yourself these answers to life’s questions:

·         Who am I? I am God’s daughter, loved, cherished, and kept by the Good Shepherd.

·         Why am I here?  I have been created by God and for Him, to love Him and love others.

·         Where am I going?  God determines my days and the places I will live.  He is accomplishing all things in my life so that my life will conform completely to His will.”

“I am God’s work.  I have been re-created spiritually in Christ.  God has plans for my life.”