So welcome back! If you missed the first part of my thought process on working out and body image then CLICK HERE!

Okay, lets continue on starting with one of my favorite verses in the Bible....

5. Psalm 45:11

Let the king be enthralled by your beauty, honor him, for he is your lord.

So simple and straightforward, yet so much important stuff packed into that sentence. First let me clarify that this verse is written by a man talking to a new bride, but like verse #4, it is a parallel of how God loves us. So do what this verse says, Honor Jesus because He is your Lord! But also you are so beautiful! Your King, Jesus, sees your beauty and is captivated by you and how much He loves you. Let us be captivated by Him, and honor Him.

6. Philippians 1:20

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body.

Let's change gears here and talk about shame for a sec. It is so easy to feel ashamed about your body or at least part of it, but let that not be so! In this verse Paul is discussing how he has suffered for Christ, but it speaks so much truth about our bodies. I pray I will not be ashamed of my body, but instead I want to use it as a vessel to share how great God is. It takes great self-confidence to exalt yourself, but let us have courage to do so to exalt Christ in how we love ourselves.

7. Matthew 15:11, 17-18

What goes int someone's mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.

Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.

It is my prayer that I am more concerned about the words flowing from my mouth instead of what I am putting into my mouth. By no means does this mean it is okay to eat junk as long as you are speaking kind words, this means be more focused on your heart and what is flowing from it through your words instead of being so consumed with counting calories that you have no room in your mind for "things above".

8. 1 Thessalonians 1:4

For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you.

Y'all! I love this! First, Christ chose and continues to choose you! That is amazing in and of itself. We are apart of God's family and he handpicked you to be who you are. Second, I absolutely love how the author stops mid-sentence to tell the reader, "Hey, wait, sweet sisters! You are loved by God!". I love how it is like mid-thought that he just remembers this great truth and had to add it in before he finished his thought process. AND he specifically says sister. It is not super often that the Bible directing speaks to women, so I feel like these are such special truths that God wanted to make sure us girls knew He loves us and chose us.

9. Ecclesiastes 3:11-13

He has made everything beautiful in its time....no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink and find satisfaction in their toil - this is the gift of God.

These verses are some of my favorite, when I first read them I couldn't help but smile! There is a lot of great tid bits in these verses, so let's start with the first part. God only makes beautiful things, this includes you. God has a great plan for your beautiful life that you could not even dream up how great it will be! I love the next part, the best thing in life is to be happy and do good! Work hard and then enjoy your life with eating because it is a gift from God that you are able to work and blessed with food. This reminds me that there is a time to workout and eat right, but there is also a time to relax and enjoy some good carbs and cake!

10. 1 Peter 3:3-6

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment... rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight...For this is the way women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves....you are (Sarah wife of Abraham) daughters, if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

It is so much more important to have a God-fearing and kind spirit than having a perfect beach bod. We need to see and follow in the footsteps of the strong Godly women in the Bible and in my life by focusing more on my heart than on my outer appearance. The last, almost forgotten part of this verse is so important! It is crucial that we do not give way to the fear of the Devil's lies about ourselves and our bodies. You are beautiful. You are chosen. You have a purpose. You are worth it. You are loved. You are accepted.

These verses really spoke to my heart and reminded me of my worth in Christ, and I hope they did the same for you. Living a healthy life is very important and taking care of your body through working out, eating right, and looking good is a good thing, but it is all for nothing if your heart is turned against God in doing so. So instead of working out for impressing others and looking hot in that bikini, work out to be healthy and to be ready for whatever God has planned for you. In a world full of workouts...don't forget to work on your relationship with the creator of your body.