Do these jeans make me look fat?

what WAS i thinking?  even
this skinny model
looks thick!  ???

yesterday was Labor Day, with sales galore ... but i just couldn't bring myself to shop because i am not real happy with my size and shape these days ... and rather than buy new clothes that would probably be more flattering because they'd fit properly, i'm opting for the denial method when getting dressed in the morning ... i'm going to start my diet .... tomorrow!  i don't dare ask if my jeans make my behind look big - - i just might get a truthful answer!  and i've recently donated a sweater that i knit because i looked like the Michelin Man ... but then again, when you knit with BULKY yarn it's hard to expect Bulky and Flattering to EVER be found in the same sentence .. much less the same body!!! (what WAS i thinking!) .....

however, as i was reading this morning in Isaiah i think i may have found the perfect solution to my current clothing quandry .... a true and sincere approach to Life that everyone notices because it's the Perfect Fit .... when was the last time you tried Grace on for size?

Isa: 61:10    "I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God.  For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridgroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."

So,  my FIRST Point to Ponder:  when was the last time you saw an ugly bride?  There's something about that wedding day that seems to infuse everyone's perspective with a vision of loveliness, a glow of hope - you see a completed picture when she approaches.  i can't remember, in all the years of weddings i have played for, thinking 'oh dear, that dress makes her hips look big!' ... or 'really? what was she thinking - - that style doesn't flatter her at all!'  ....  NEVER!!!!  And Isaiah reminds us that when God sees us as His children He views us as His Bride ... adorned with the perfect fitting garment of salvation (who knew i'd look good in red) and wrapped with a robe of righteousness (He knew that the shade of 'righteous white' was a tone that would highlight my eyes - since they are a reflection of His now ..)

Point TWO to Ponder:  there is NO room in my wardrobe for my old way of dressing .... the color of "guilt" is not a becoming one for me!  Rom: 8:1-2 reiterates that point  "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."   Guilt from my past has a way of making my shoulders slump - - and i carry myself with a lack of confidence.  Guilt also brings out the bags under my eyes from the sleepless nights of arguing and wrestling and basically telling God that i don't believe He should and would love me because of my past!  Yea ... not a flattering color/look for sure!
Rom. 7:6  lays it out for me rather clearly .... "But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law ... so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code."

Looks like i'll be cleaning out my closet today ... no need to shop a weekend sale ....  I have been bought with a Price.... He believes that i clean up 'real good' ... when my Father sees me, He sees the tone of Grace and Forgiveness, both of which make my skin glow - - and there's nothing prettier than a woman who's eyes reflect the radiance of her heart!  Ps 139:13 says it perfectly:  He knit me together in my mother's womb!  (and i do believe He used silk and cashmere - despite the times that Satan tries to convince me that He opted for uncomplimentary Bulky yarn!)

*and the only size tag that will ever show is the one that says ....Perfect!
*and the only price tag will be marked ... BOUGHT WITH A PRICE ... PAID IN FULL!  (He didn't wait for me to go on clearance ... and He never sees me as one sitting on the 'damaged goods' rack!)