Satan has no sympathy.

   I remember when we broke up. No, we didn't date five years. But those two years still feel like such a waste. He had problems, I have problems, & the illusion we shared of forever wasn't God's idea. When my view shifted from him back to God, I was able to hear the Father's longing for me.

"For I know the plans I have for you,"

declares the Lord,

 "plans to prosper you & not to harm you,

 plans to give you hope & a future.

 Then you will call to me, & I will listen to you. 

You will seek me & find me when

 you seek me with your whole heart. 

I will be found by you," declares the Lord, 

"& will bring you back from captivity."

(Jeremiah 29:11-14)

As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways,

& my thoughts than your thoughts.

(Isaiah 55:9)

Take this as your burning bush. 

{Lie One: This is God's best.}

   We were freshman girls. Full of laughter that heals & tears that crush hope, there we were- a sisterhood of outcasts, united through opinions the others had tagged to us. Though outside of being grouped as the junior varsity cheerleaders we all came from separate friends & social statuses, when we were together, all walls came down. As the six of us sat on Casey's bed that Friday night, we listened as Brittney poured her heart out & watched the illusion of a fairy tale relationship unmask itself. She cried as he blew up her phone with the calls, confessing that the boy who was on the other line was emotionally unstable, & that was the thing that kept her in his arms. He knew he had lost her heart, & would make sure she knew if she ever left him he would end his life. It would be all her fault. Torn, she stayed longer than she ought out of fear rather than love. As her fears unraveled that night, her heart wasn't the only one hurting. The little over stuffed bedroom in the old farmhouse flooded from the stock house of tears shared over our broken sister.

    God doesn't give his daughters men to treat them the way Brittney was treated. If you catch nothing else, catch this. Being physically & mentally abused isn't true love. That's not God's best. Take that in. The devil's a liar. He will never speak truth to you. Draw near to the Lord, & he'll draw near to you; hear his promises & believe them. He has plans to prosper you & not to harm you. Write it on your hand, hang it on your wall, recite it in the mirror until you know its truth. The king is enthralled by your beauty.

Daughters of kings are among your honored women...

Listen, O daughter, consider & give ear: 

Forget your people & your father's house.

The king is enthralled by your beauty;

honor him, for he is your lord.

(Psalm 45:9-11)

    I love books of the bible like Hosea & Song of Solomon. Love stories, Shakespeare's inspiration. The stories are enchanting, a portal to a fairy tale. When we choose to tell Satan we will not hear his lies, we position ourselves to hear God's voice & receive God's best for our lives. If we want to see the truth of our worth to God through a microscope, we can easily flip open our Bibles & take a look at these two books, asking God to translate His words to speak into us. Curious to know the depth of his love for us? 

[He gives]

Therefore I am now going to allure her;

I will lead her into the desert & speak tenderly to her.

There I will give her back her vineyards,

& will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.

There she will sing as in the days of her youth,

as in the day she came up out of Egypt.

"In that day," declares the Lord,

"you will call me 'my husband";

you will no longer call me 'my master'."

(Hosea 2:14-16) 

[You take]

    How much do I love you? I'm crazy about you. I made you to be mine, & I love you enough to not let you be whisked away by another love. You love it because you can see the prize of it's beauty. But have faith in my love, that there's more beauty in what you cannot see. Let my love lead by your heart, not by your sight, & I will show you how much better my plans are than your own. I don't want your obedience, nor the craftiness of your hands. I desire your heart! To be known as your lover, your groom, your everything. When you give me your heart- when you give me the whole- you will find me & be transformed. The butterflies in your stomach will set your eyes aglow, & your life will be a mere reflection of the two of us as one.

Now, with the idea that marriage was placed on earth to represent our relationship with God, you tell me: would a God who loved his bride with this furious love give you a love that didn't mirror his?

"This time is the last time."

{Lie Two: Believe everything you think.}

           Eventually, I followed through with the overplayed words. Even though it was obviously well past time to call it quits, it didn't kill the devastation. Out of the sudden tragedy, I had lost an appetite- along with many pounds. Dropping down to below 100 pounds, my extra smalls were baggy. During this time, I had recognized that I had lost weight, but the mirror fought with me, as the devil didn't have any sympathy towards my situation. Instead, he let the lies fester.

    Friday evening was prom, & I had my list of girls to who I had promised my time to style their hair for their big day. After completing the last girl, I scrambled to get myself ready to attend the Grand March, the lovely catwalk for the ladies & gentlemen, showing off how wonderful they cleaned up for the main event. Going through my closet, I grabbed an old yellow tank top. Throwing it on, I went to take a look in the mirror & almost puked at what I saw. I look fat. My best friend stood, trying to hide her amazement. A girl who was nothing more than a pile of bones, unable to eat a solid meal in weeks, & I was fat. 
    Reality is sometimes the mirror lies, & our minds aren't truthful with us. What we see & hear & think are simply the downpour of the world trickling outside the window, leaving our view quite distorted from what's really outside. Sin isn't something that randomly happens out of the blue, but something that begins far before the first action. Sins the out pour of a muddy heart, an impure mind, which is proof that not everything we think is true & lovely. So how to distinguish the lies from the truths? Know the Bible, & God's guidelines for differentiating.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

 patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness

 and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

(Galatians 5:22-23)

    The fruit of the Spirit is the characteristics of the God within us, who reigns in our bodies when we die to our own ways & dare to let him overpower our flesh desires. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, & self-control. God is truth & this is God. When the thoughts fly in, leaving you feeling like you've walked into a pit, question their value & truth. Make efforts to control your thoughts & mindset just as well as you control your words.  

 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature

 with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit,

 let us keep in step with the Spirit.

(v.24-25)

Finally, brothers and sisters, 

whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,

 whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-

 if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-

 think about such things.

(Philippians 4:8)

Baggage.
{Lie Three: I am one sinking ship.}
    So here's the aftermath, caught with the memories of all that has been, & trying to find the daylight. So after each situation, I pack my bags. Giving them a good swing, I hike them on my back to carry the load, making my way forward with each stumbling step. I'm doing really great for about the first mile. I've got myself a fresh pair of hiking boots, some Starbuck's in hand, & I am all set for some world conquering. That is until I get myself in another sticky situation & there I go- straight into the sinking sand. I get out, & then the cycle begins again. Here I am. I am the ship & with every situation I am sinking deeper & deeper carrying all the past things God rescued me from.
    I know I'm not alone. We all have had our sorts of messes & if you're a do-it-yourself person like me, you're sitting there staring at your own backpack of misfortunes. So I have a secret for you- we are free. We are not responsible for carrying our past burdens- God doesn't even want us worrying about tomorrow, let alone be turned completely around facing yesterday! Jesus asks to take our load, lightening it with each & every step.

As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

(Psalm 103:12)

     Last weeks mistakes have been made obsolete. Deleted. That's it. What mistakes? We don't have to cling to them as reminders of how awful we are. God says we are righteous, a royal priesthood, his holy nation. Walk away from the baggage claim. There's nothing there for you to take. You, my love, are a new creation. The old has passed away. The morning has come.

These are fighting words.

{So fight like a girl.}

    These are three ice cream flavors. The truth we know is that there are way more than three flavors of ice cream, as well as more than three attacks in the devils playbook. If there were only three, maybe we would master them by now. But these are my story. Some may resonate with you- maybe they'll hit home. I don't believe I am the only woman who battles with eating habits, self worth, or God's grace. But there are different seasons in life, & varieties of troubles in each. Your mission needs to be to recognize those lies. Don't let glitter pile on top to cover the hole the liar continues to dig deeper. Take a pile of index cards or your journal. Make a list of the lies you've come to believe, followed by truths to override each. Place them where you'll focus on them, so when the fog arises, you can see the light. 

    When our Abba tells us to guard our hearts because they are the wellspring of life, it's not always about love. Our hearts are our safety box, where we store all of our deepest treasures. What we allow to manifest in our hearts will determine how well we are nourished. 

We demolish arguments & every pretension that sets itself up against

the knowledge of God, & we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

(2 Corinthians 10:5)

   To you, my darling. Receive for yourself a hearty nourishment of truth & light. Be the encouragement you yourself long for. Know there are others who are praying for you & love you deeply as you are. Bon apetit.