A few years back, right before Memorial Day, I felt the same old issues rise up in me. The same battle…the same struggle as all the years before.

It’s the struggle of wanting to be fully present with your kids, yet being distracted by your own body image issues. It’s  the pull on your heart to fully soak up each moment with them, yet wanting to stay hidden under your coverup on a chair at the side of the pool. It’s looking at the women around you and sizing up your worth based on your comparison to how they look or act or achieve or earn.

I get it.  I struggle with it.
AND YET I REFUSE TO STAY THERE.

The Lord gave me words to declare out loud, over my own heart, and I put them together into a Manifesto.
The definition of the word Manifesto: “a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer”.

So I wrote it. And I declared it.
And it helped me find some freedom.

So this year, I’m claiming it again. Before we launch into Memorial Day weekend, and another Summer with our kids, I am declaring that I WILL NOT MISS it this Summer. I WILL REFUSE to be distracted, discouraged, or defeated by things that don’t matter. I’m declaring it, and I’m praying that YOU are bold and brave enough to do so, too.

I hope you will read it, share it, and to declare it over your own life.

It’s time for things to change, friends. We will no longer be those who are so consumed with the way that we look that we miss the moments with our families. NO MORE. NO LONGER.

The SUMMER MANIFESTO FOR MOMMAS:

I will refuse to be more concerned over the way I look in a bathing suit than the fun I can have with my family.

I will celebrate the gift of working legs instead of worrying about the amount of cellulite they may hold.

I will GET IN THE POOL when my kids ask instead of hiding beneath my cover-up.

I will show my daughter that a FREE woman isn’t valued based on her physical appearance.

I will show my son that his Momma is BRAVE enough to be AUTHENTICALLY HERSELF in a world that keeps screaming at her to be more, do more, have more, and to shrink smaller and smaller.

I will celebrate the moments I am given FREELY and FULLY instead of being worried over what may be bulging, jiggling, or hanging over my waistband.

I will SEIZE THE DAY knowing that eating ice cream cones with my kids may not be the “healthiest” choice, but it may very well be the RIGHT one in certain moments.

I will LIVE as the LOVED daughter that I am and will cling to the truth that I am fully known and fully loved and that it’s not dependent on anything I could ever do on my own, anyway.

I will CALL OUT THE GOOD in the women around me.

I WILL BUILD UP.

I WILL CELEBRATE.

I will CHEER ON THOSE who are also bravely pursuing freedom even while baring all of their self-perceived flaws to others.

I will REFUSE to let the way I THINK I look in a bathing suit or a pair of shorts to keep me from fully enjoying the gift of time with my family.

I will DECLARE that I am ALREADY ACCEPTED, ALREADY LOVED, and ALREADY ENOUGH because of JESUS.

I will BELIEVE (and repeat to myself!) that my kids care far more about a Momma that is willing to play with them having fun than if I have six-pack abs.

I will stop staring at my phone so much and will look UP at the beauty right in front of my face.

I will stop striving and hustling to earn my worth.

I will let myself off of the hook.

I will remove my mask and live FREE. Flawed but FREE.

I WILL ENJOY these days and these fleeting moments.

——–

Mommas-
DECLARE IT. SHARE IT. OWN IT. LIVE IT.

If you’d like a PDF file so that you can print this truth and post it around your home, you can pick the version you prefer and click to print. A huge thank you to my friend and Tribe member LISA for creating these for us!

Option 1:  Click HERE                                   Option 2: Click HERE                           Option 3: Click HERE

To watch the video, click HERE.