SELF IMAGE

This blog has been in my spirit for a while now. But everything has its time when it shall produce fruit. Today we live in a society where image and reputation is everything. This can be categorized from the way we look,the house we live in and even the schools we attend. One of the things that I have realized is that this world does NOT care about no one but itself. Growing up as a teenager in a home with love and beauty from my mother and grandmother, I still struggled with my self image.
Now when I looked up the word self image in the Webster's dictionary, it is defined as one's own idea or self perception".Things can be perceived in so many ways. If I were to ask 3 students in a classroom to describe a picture painted by Michelangelo, I would get different adjectives from each student. Would any of them be wrong? NO. Why? Reason is that I asked them to describe to me what they saw, meaning what they perceive cannot be based on my answer. What I am trying to say is that we all perceive things differently.

My mom never gave me the perception that my self image was a problem. She always taught me that how I perceived myself was important. Question then is, why did I feel as though my physical shape was all wrong? I often thought to myself why is it that my friends have longer hair than I do? How come her hips are rounder than my mine or how my cousins were so much taller than I was? This my friends, was how I saw myself. In other words I thought and struggled with the fact that the way I was created was all a mistake. It even got to the point where I would starve myself and attempted to commit suicide so I won't have to worry about my looks anymore.There were other factors that came into play with my self-image. I admired artists such as Brandy, Tamia,Beyonce and Tyra for the physical appearances. The way they all dressed and how men would lust after them always amazed me. So I decided to fix this problem my way.I would have my mom take me to the salon to change my hair-style every 2 weeks, brought me new clothes and even lipsticks. To be honest after all that I still felt something wasn't right with me. That feeling that I had was all because it was not about my physical structure, but all internal. Looking like beyonce and adding weave to my hair was becoming exhausting and costly.

Years later, I came to know someone who would help me see that there was no mistake in the way I looked. JESUS.The scripture that I can first remember and never forget is Genesis 1:27-" So God created man in his own image, in the image of GOD he created Him;male and female he created them". This lead to another question.If God made me in His image then that means that I resemble him in a realm that I can not see. From the various science books of theorists and their opinions and how this world was created, they all concur that God is an awesome artist whose ways is mysterious.
Basically, as I take this time to encourage myself and have a wider view of what I should look like, I want you to sit down and look at yourself in the mirror and point out all those areas you dont like and ask why. While looking you should also realize unless you're a twin (whom by the way has differences), you are A DESIGNER'S ORIGINAL. There was absolutely no mistake in the way you look, how short or tall you are because you are made in the image of GOD. His image is radiant!!!!!!!
So what if I don't have nice hips like Beyonce, long hair like Ashanti or nice house like tyler perry, that's not the image I was meant to have. Friends learn how to wake up daily and love on yourself. TELL yourself daily no one looks like me, I am righteous,loveable,wonderful and I AM A DESIGNER'S ORIGINAL.
WHY? Because its the truth. No matter how much surgery you have, tattoos you add to your body or breast implants you have, YOU have to realize that your image must change inside first so you could be at ease with how you are on the outside. YOU ARE NO MISTAKE!!!!!!!

If you have questions on how to become confident about the way you look and feel as an individual, please email me at lornekajoseph@gmail.com

Strangers in my house

When we get a call from our family and friends that they are coming over, we usually get prepared for their arrival by either cleaning up the house, cooking a meal or even purchase some new furniture so they would be comfortable.But there are times you and I both know where we would have them come over unannounced and we're surprised because they did not give us heads up they were coming over. Even strangers do the same thing. Well, what I have noticed is that not in only in my physical house do I have unannounced guests, but in My body there are some strangers that are residing and did not even ask for permission.

I don't know about you but I like to be called when having guests. Lately I have been so busy and consumed with unnecessary things that I have not realized the way I have been speaking and acting is because strangers- which I recognize as spirits have entered my body, soul and mind that there is an effect. I know that God lives within everyone who knows him personally and nothing can harm them because when a person gives their life over to JESUS, you are covered on every angle. But there comes a time when we open the doors to foreign bacteria. One of my desires is to become a registered pharmacist and I believe that I can do it. But lately I have been entertaining a stranger called FEAR. Right now I don't see the finances to pay for school, so I have allowed the fact that people have told me they have so many loans, even the fact that I don't like loans and also because next year is near and I don't have all I need. So what do you think began to happen? I started to doubt myself at work, ask others how hard is it and question God on if He even wants me to do this?
I know he does and all of a sudden I let the opinions of myself and man alter my dream with their words. Although we write them on paper and type them on a key board, those little things we call letters, put together to make up words,are so powerful that when spoken and thought of create situations for us.

So I sat down after a long day at school and began to re-programme my mind with some truth. What is that truth you ask? That TRUTH is what God said in his word about me. Such as I am the head, not the tail, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and that HE has not given me a spirit of fear, BUT of love and a sound mind. So as I began to speak these things to myself 3 days in a row, guess who got kicked out of my house( body)-FEAR!!! It was no longer welcome and it was time for it to leave and surely it did. Every now and again it tries to sneak through my door, but I dont let it in to stay no more.But I had to breakdown and do some re-structuring of my words and actions for this to occur.

As aforementioned, some stranger(s)came over unannounced. So that was not the only stranger who came along.There was another stranger by the name of LOW SELF ESTEEM. The reason I call them strangers is because when someone comes to know light like I did, all things which are not like CHRIST is an enemy and must go!!!!
Recently I came off of a fast for a week and I wanted for my eyes to be opened to the things I do that destroys my character as a young lady. One of those things was the fact that I tried so much to please people even when I knew it was wrong- which revealed my lack of trust in GOD.I would tend to please and do things for people as to not make them upset and cease confusion, but the inner voice said to STOP IT!!!!!
God has not called you nor I to please anyone but HIM. Now don't misunderstand me, we must do our best to love one another.But If I please Him first then I will automatically please everyone else in my life. I had it all confused. So here again I had to do some re-programming in my mind just like a computer and add some new software that would kick out this stranger called LOW SELF ESTEEM. As long as we are living on this earth we cannot please everyone, especially if we are followers of CHRIST. The bible tells us that to love God we must hate evil- the way the world wants me to live. You see, the world wants you and I to stress ourselves out,get weary inside and out once we please the other party,in the end- we are unhappy by what we did. I no longer care to please people because I hurt not only myself but GOD in the end. And just think about it for a minute when I always wanted to please people, they never asked how I felt or questioned my actions- they just wanted what they wanted at the time.
After it is all said and done,these very same people forgot about me in the long run. Don't let this happen to you.

I dont know who has entered your house unannounced and has been residing there without permission. It might be poverty, lust,lies,jealousy, pain,anger, sickness or even an addiction that is taking over your life. Whatever it is find a way to get some new software(the word of God), begin to re-programme your mind on it and GET IT KICKED IMMEDIATELY. Remember things unlike God is an enemy and a stranger to you and I.
If you dont know how or where to find new software to begin re-programming your mind, you can email me at ladylorneka@gmail.com or send me a message on my blog page ladylorneka.blogspot.com and I will help you write some evictions notices to those unwanted residents in your home- which is your body!!!!