Live Unashamed

I am currently reading Unashamed by Christine Caine for my Personal Bible Study.  I first became aware of Christine Caine at a Faith Conference a few years ago and I was immediately impressed by her knowledge of scripture, her blunt delivery style, her work to end sex trafficking, and I decided she was someone I would like to learn from.

While reading her book Unashamed, I started thinking about how the core message of shame is to tell us we are not good enough.  We aren't enough.  We feel shame because we think we're failures, we're not this, we're not that, and we should be ashamed.

Guilt is about what you do while Shame deals with who we are

Shame gives label such as:  loser, failure, ugly, bad mother, bad wide, fat, worthless, screw up, etc. Those are the labels of shame but the basis of shame is that: We are not enough.

This is the fundamental problem I see with so many women and it's acted out in so many different ways whether it's:

• Constantly posting pics on social media for validation and attention to prove that we are desired and worthy because we feel shame about being alone or neglected
• Secretly eating our troubles away at night and feeling shame that we just can't get it together when it comes to emotional eating
• Trying to control our eating, exercise, and weight with unhealthy methods because we feel shame about how we look whether it's self perception or negative remarks from others that cause us to feel shame.
• Self sabotaging ourselves because we feel shame that we aren't good enough so why even try to move to the next level
• The shame of feeling like nobody will ever want us so we settle for the first bum that shows us any attention even if he treats us like garbage
• The shame of feeling as if we've given up on ourselves and our lives and we are failures

I could go on but this is what shame does to people and shame forces people to go into hiding. People hide behind bravado, material items, memes, and masks.  It's so sad.  Shame is debilitating and keeps people in bondage.

Live Unashamed...

Because of this, I am on a mission to start spreading a message for people (especially women) to LIVE UNASHAMED.  I'm sharing this on my health/fitness blog as well because a lot of the reason people cannot be successful with their health and fitness goals is due to the same they feel over their struggles with emotional image, body image, and not feeling as if they are enough.

If we can get people to see that it's shame that is labelling them and get them to take up the mission to LIVE UNASHAMED, then I think more people can break free from what's holding them back and move forward.

Living Unashamed means to live boldly and unapologetically despite past mistakes, criticisms, or what people think.

Living Unashamed means living out loud.  It means being honest about your past mistakes, failures, and being truthful about who you are.  When you Live Out Loud it is hard to make you feel shame because it's already out there.  You have no pressure to live a perfect life or to hide because there's no shame.  You know who you are and you're none of those things that shame tells you that you are.

Bottom line is that you will never be successful with anything as long as you live in shame.  You cannot love yourself and you cannot love anyone else right if you are living in shame.  You must break free from shame and all that it tells you that you are.

So that's the message on my heart right now to spread to people.  It's a prophetic declaration and decree.  As Bishop Joseph Garlington taught me:

I declare it

God Establishes it

Light Comes

The Bible says Those who believe in the Lord shall NOT be put to shame (Romans 10:11)

I believe in Him.  I will NOT be put to shame or disgraced.

#Live Unashamed

To God be the Glory