Chapter 10: How to Help Others Develop a Healthy Body Image

Christian women who have a healthy body image can be a beacon to others by their influence in the way they talk about, treat, and honor their bodies

This chapter focused on the influence that mothers have on their children. Mothers have incredible influence over their children. Because of this mothers need to be intentional about the way they speak to their children. All children must hear these messages about their bodies...

1. They are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)
All children need to know that their parents approve of their appearance. Talk about your own body in positive ways. Children hear everything you say and they will pick up on negative and positive messages. Teach children that they don't have to look a certain way to believe that their body is fearfully and wonderfully made.

2. Teach them that God knows their body flaws
Children should learn to trust God with their hurts, including pain about physical appearance. Parents need to accept their own flaws in order to teach children to accept theirs. It is damaging if we try to fix our children's body flaws by helping them attain beauty by the worlds standards, rather than looking to God's standards.

3. Teach children that their bodies are a temple of God
God lives in our bodies which makes them very special. Children must learn to honor God and their bodies by not criticizing and rejecting their own flesh and how they were crafted by God.

Your example speaks louder than your words
What example are you setting for others around you?

Being a Voice of Reason to others:
God wants to bring you spiritual freedom from body hate. When we experience body hate, we exist without a sense of God's favor. When you allow body hate to rule in your life, you are not living the life that God has intended for you. God can heal the damage your body hate has done to your life. God can bring strength for you to battle comments and pressures from others. God can comfort your broken heart. Your true beauty is found in being in the image of God. He desires for you to be glad and experience life to the fullest. He desires for you to put off body hate so that you can love yourself, love others and life a full life. And when you experience God's grace for yourself, then you are able to encourage, pray for, and love other women as you are loved by God.