The Flame Within

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

What Does It Mean To Love Ourselves?

This afternoon, my little girl and I went shopping at Target. We both LOVE Target! As we walked to the car, her little tired eyes began to get the best of her. I gently buckled her in her seat. At this point, I usually buckle her and tell her what a good girl she was in the store, kiss her cheek, and look her big blue eyes, and tell her “I love her!” I suppose, she’s figured out my routine… Before, I could say anything, she say’s, “I love me!” You can imagine how cute she was hugging her baby doll, and saying, “I Love me!”

A few thoughts came to me, as I got in the car and headed home.

1.) How happy and proud I am that my little girl loves herself! More than anything, I want her to grow up knowing she is deeply loved, by God, me, daddy, and her three brothers. I want her to love herself!

2.) Why do I never say, “I love me!”, to myself? Okay… So if I ran around saying, “I love me!”, people would think I was nuts. However, God loves me! So, I should love myself.

Me being Mrs. Analytical, I began pondering and praying… “Lord, why is it that the words, “I love me”, sound utterly ridiculous? God didn’t give me any profound wisdom, but I thought to myself, “This sounds like a good question for my blogger friends!”

Friends,

What do you think about telling ourselves, “I Love me!” Do you think it is okay to tell ourselves we “actually” love ourselves? If not, Why? Is it a process of our spiritual walks, learning what it means to love ourselves? Maybe it’s hard to really love ourselves, because we all REALY know our innards the true state of our heart? Is it possible that we are too hard on ourselves?

For today’s blog… I want to hear from you! What do you think? I would really appreciate your input, I think God can teach us a lot through an open forum about… “What does it mean to love ourselves?”

What do you think?

Blessings,

Crystal

Crystal Ridlon

February 3, 2014

Uncategorized

7 responses to “What Does It Mean To Love Ourselves?”

Candy S

February 3, 2014 at 9:02 pm

Well Crystal, first I must say that you took my idea for my next post, but from a little different perspective. I believe that we must love ourselves first before we can truly love anyone else (except God, of course). I have found that there are a number of people who don’t love themselves and wonder why others don’t love them as much as they would like to be loved. Personally, it took me a long time to love me and now, God has shown me a whole new world. Sorry I rambled a bit, but hopefully, it makes sense. 😀

Reply
1. crystal780205
  
  February 3, 2014 at 9:54 pm
  
  Candy, Thanks for your response! I hate when I have an idea and another blogger uses it before I can get around to it! Ha! You certainly didn’t ramble, at all! Your comment was profound and I whole-heartedly agree with your assessment! It is true, that we must love ourselves before we can adequately love another. God is the author of “true” Agape love. Without this Agape love, we are without love. Thus, in order to love ourselves and others, we must first know the love of God! I too, am in the process of learning to love myself. God is showing me, that it is okay to love ourselves! I am so glad to hear that you are capable of loving “you”! Blessings, Crystal
  
  Reply
January

February 3, 2014 at 9:16 pm

Crystal, What a great condition! First, I think we have to truly love God to learn to love ourselves! In addition, we have to be conscientious about how much of the “world” we allow in our homes….media, TV, awards shows all think they have found the true definition of beauty. However, the “word” says God knows what beauty is and he loves us more than anyone else! Once we learn to accept and understand this love, we can then say “I love me, the way God made me!”

Reply
1. crystal780205
  
  February 3, 2014 at 9:59 pm
  
  January, Thank you for replying! I agree, we must love God to learn to love ourselves! I think the “condition” to loving ourselves and others is in truly KNOWING God’s love. Once we understand the depth of His love, we can then love. You make a fantastic point about allowing the world into our home. We all deal with this constant struggle of comparing ourselves to the air-brushed models of the tabloids, and certainly we can never match up. Also, I think comparing ourselves to other moms in our communities, churches, and “most definitely” Facebook. I appreciated your thought out question. By the way, I love the way God made you, too! Blessings, Crystal
  
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Slowly Making Peace With the Face In the Mirror | Coffee with a Shot of Faith

February 6, 2014 at 12:33 pm

[…] The issue of self-love and peace with our flaws, is not a new one. A newfound friend and fellow blogger, even posed the same question on her site this week. […]

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Candi

February 9, 2014 at 9:56 pm

I think it starts way before love. Most women have to learn not to hate themselves. Then, it is a bit like dating. You slowly start to like yourself. Then comes love. Then, you reach a point where you are satisfied with yourself. You like being with you. You can be with you and no one else, and be okay.

My Dad told me,

“To find happily ever after, you need two things. You have to meet the right person, and you have to be the right person.” So many of us start loving others before we learn to love ourselves.

Reply
1. crystal780205
  
  February 10, 2014 at 4:18 am
  
  Candi, I love your comment! Such wisdom! I love the quote from your father, he sounds like a wise man! You are so right, loving ourselves is a process, just like falling in love. Thank you for your insightful comment! Blessings, Crystal
  
  Reply