My Body – Priceless
Introduction
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body” (1 Corin. 6:19, 20).
Decorations
Place assorted sized mirrors around the room to reflect light. Place pictures taken of various sized models from magazines and put them on the tables.
Program Ideas
- Provide facial scrub or masks that the women can try to make their skin glow.
- Have a cosmetologist demonstrate simple makeovers for the women.
- Go to the mall and have a beauty product representative make-over one of the women.
- Dove soap has several videos on YouTube that show the way we view our body image. Choose a couple to share with the women and then discuss their reactions.
- Play clips from YouTube regarding body image and the dialog that many women play in their heads.
- If you have a thrift store, select outfits from the store for the women to try on. For a laugh, chose some outlandish clothes.
- Invite a clothing stylist to come and discuss what to wear for each body type or use an app that allows the women to try on clothing virtually. Zyler.com or Virtual Dressing Room are two of the many apps that work that way.
- Make life sized paper dolls, illustrating that we are all unique. Have the women lie down on butcher paper and draw around their image. Add facial features and clothes.
- Decorate a hand mirror.
- The following songs on YouTube are about the concept of positive body image.
“Perfectly Loved” by Rachel Lampa featuring Toby Mac
“If Only She Knew” by Micah Tyler
- Watch the Hallmark movie, “Romance in Style,” which is about positive body image. It is available on Amazon Prime.
My Body – Priceless
The title, “My Body—Priceless” reminds me of the Mastercard commercials where they describe a scenario and then say “Priceless.” First Corinthians 6:19, 20, describes the concept of being priceless in a completely different way. “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, (talk about priceless) who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.” In other words, your body belongs to God, and no matter what size you are God loves you just the way you are.
We are not all the same size and shape and that’s ok. How and when did society decide that one size is the model for everyone? God created us and saw us in the innermost part of our mothers, even before we were born, and saw fit to love us anyway. Read Psalms 139:13-18.
Coco Chanel said, “Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.” While the basic premise may be true, I would change it slightly to say, “Beauty begins the moment you decide to see yourself as God sees you—as His precious princess.” The price Jesus paid for us is too steep for us to ignore or treat ourselves badly because we think that we aren’t beautiful.
There have been so many changes to thoughts surrounding “Body Image.” Even Mattel the maker of the Barbie doll started making more shapely dolls… http://www.history.com/news/barbie-through-the-ages. So, even the toy makers realized that the classic “model” isn’t relatable to many women or young girls. In addition, commercials for women whether for clothing or under garments, are being done with a variety of female shapes rather than the Barbie doll shape.
True Beauty comes from inside you, when you focus on the Holy Spirit and how He is directing you. Realizing that your body has within it the Holy Spirit – Jesus’ own spirit – is the beginning of true beauty.
Prayer
Precious Heavenly Father, help us as Christian women to be conscious of who bought us, Your Son, Jesus. Help us to accept the image that You have of us as Your precious princesses. May You always be near us, encouraging us, and ridding us of our negative self-talk. Help us to believe that we are beautiful. In Your precious and holy name, Amen.
