Self-esteem...

Alex is preaching on what it means to be created in the image of God.

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:27

He said something yesterday that really has me thinking:

"You don't need self-esteem, you need God's esteem."  

I immediately thought of myself, my daughters, my nieces, my nephews, my friends.  I'm constantly praying that my girls will find their self esteem in God vs anything else.  I have nieces that are teenagers and I just pray they won't look to a boy, friends, brand of clothing; to find their worth, to feel pretty, to feel wanted, to feel needed.  I have nephews that I pray will find their esteem in God; not in a girl, a job, or the car they drive.  The list could go on forever.

When I looked up the word self-esteem I found: Self-esteem is a disposition that a person has which represents THEIR JUDGEMENTS of THEIR OWN worthiness.

It wasn't until Alex spoke on this yesterday that I realized, self-esteem is not what I want my girls to find.  I want them to find God's esteem.  I want them to see themselves the way God sees them.  No matter the heartbreak, the bad choices, the loss of friendships, the number reflected on a scale, the many disappointments life can bring; they have a Heavenly Father who loves.  He loves so much that He sent his own Son to die.  He loves and He forgives and He restores...what a gift!!  I pray they will place their security in Him and Him alone and it will create a heart of constant praise.  I pray this for myself as well.  It doesn't matter how old we get - we won't be able to stop fighting self until we're out of here.  Until our faith becomes sight.  Sidenote: I can't wait for that day.  

I love the following scriptures and can't read them without a big 'ole smile on my face.

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Isaiah 61:10

"You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you."
Song of Solomon 4:7

"Do not let your adorning be external - the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear - but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious."
I Peter 3:3-4

"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor."
Psalm 8:3-5

We don't watch all of the princess movies, not that there's anything wrong with them, we just choose to watch other things.  This could be why Amelia walked up into a princess party dressed like Snow White and told everyone she was Tinker Bell.

More than once.

Girl can't keep all of those princesses straight.  I tried to save her by telling the other Moms that we don't watch Disney movies and then I got the "Jesus Freak" stare, so we quickly moved on to another subject.

We watch a lot of Veggie Tales. :)  You will always find a Biblical message in their movies and I love that.  Amelia has a movie called "Sweetpea Beauty" that we watch just about every day.  The same DVD includes a movie called "Snoodlerella."  The message is all about true beauty and seeing yourself the way God sees you.  It talks about what's on the inside vs the outside.  I gave my girls these little dolls for Christmas and had Proverbs 4:23 sewn on them.

Let us encourage our children to guard their hearts.

That's where it all starts, y'all.

We're born sinners.  I don't have to teach my sweet girls to do wrong.  It comes naturally.  I do pray that as soon as they understand, they'll ask God to be the Lord of their life and will guard their precious hearts from anything that doesn't reflect/honor Him.  I've had a hardened heart before...what a dangerous thing.  I never want to go back there.

"...it determines the course of your life."

That's the truth!

What's in our heart comes out in the form of words and actions.

I think letting my girls watch DVDs like these is a great start to teaching them the importance of God's esteem vs self-esteem.  I know they're young but honestly, I'm shocked at how early kids are hit with the things of this world.  How early body image issues start for children.  How early they're hit with boyfriend/girlfriend stuff.  It's insane.  I'm taking a hard look at what I'm allowing IN because input=output.  Will love and scripture and Bible stories and Veggie Tales DVDs guarantee perfect children??

I wish, but no.

I just love these two girls so much and feel a constant pull on my heart to point them to Jesus in all that we do.

Want a copy of this DVD for your little one?  Leave a comment and I'll give away a few copies on Wednesday.  All you have to do is leave a comment and either your email address or your blog address.  If your blog is private, please leave your email.

Oh how He loves you and me.  We are precious in His sight!

Love to all,

***Winners of DVDs (drawn by random.org) are the following***
Shazia at serayasunshine@gmail.org
Twondra at Tammy's Journey
Mandi at Immeasurably More Mama