Embrace - come on women, let's change the world.

I'm so grateful that I went with a group of women to a screening of the movie "Embrace" last night. And I'm further grateful that I brought my teen daughter.  Because the message is so important.
This morning as I'm journaling, I'm all fired up.
So, I thought I'd share my journal entry as a post.
The movie blurb:  EMBRACE follows Taryn Brumfitt's crusade as she explores the global issue of body loathing, inspiring us to change the way we feel about ourselves and think about our bodies.
I really want all women to get this message and allow it to change them.  I want men to get this message so they can stop reducing women down to objects.
It's so devastating to think of all the wasted time and energy women have spent obsessing about their body image and beauty when we could be spending that precious energy being the world changers we were created to be.
We've been trapped, paralyzed by shame and self loathing, striving for a perfect figure that does not exist without photo editing.
In the end, I want to be remembered as someone who used her energy to love, to fight for change, to invite others to enjoy food and laughter and fun.  I don't give a crap if I'm remembered as thin, pretty, sexy.  Who cares?!
When I care for myself, I want my motivation to always be an appreciation for what my body and mind are capable of and a desire to remain strong and capable so that I can live this precious life to the full.  I'm not interested in whether someone else thinks I look good in a fricken bathing suit.  But, I'll be grateful for each day that I'm physically capable of running, biking, hiking, walking, playing sports, swimming, and doing hundreds of other daily activities that require my strength to function.  Sure, I'll be sad as I age and am unable to do some things that bring me joy and serve a purpose.  But, I hope I can resist the temptation to think of myself as being on display for anyone to judge.  No one can reduce me down to my body or my appearance unless I allow them to.
I invest in my physical and mental health so that I'm best prepared to take on the day that comes my way - ready for any opportunity. I don't care for myself in order to gain approval from shallow people who desire to judge me based on my appearance.
But, the reason I'm so fired up about this is because it's so easy to fall into the trap!  I'd like to say I never do.  But it's the air we breathe. It's the culture we are immersed in.  I'm not immune.  And that makes me really really mad!
Women have so much to offer this world.  To be reduced down to skinny or fat, pretty or ugly, is so irrelevant it makes my blood boil.
It's astonishing to think of how crafty the enemy of our souls truly is.  The deceiver.  The father of lies.
As women, we can be so distracted by the pursuit of superficial beauty that might satisfy others that we can live in perpetual dissatisfaction about ourselves.  We are blind to our true beauty, strength, power, purpose, and identity.  Even those who manage to achieve the "ideal" look can never feel like they're pretty enough, thin enough, perfect enough.
Meanwhile, the God-given beauty deep in our soul is being snuffed out.  What if we were spending our time and energy nurturing our souls and finding a purpose greater than ourselves?  Then the world would be ROCKED!  The world would change!  All that focus, time, and energy would be directed out into the hurting world and it would bring healing, reformation, and love like we've never seen.
I'm so grateful for Taryn Brumfitt who chose to use her story and her creativity and her resourcefulness to create this documentary.  I'm so inspired.
Come on women!  Let's be known, not for our looks, but for how we change the world!