I love to say I’m in shape… cause round is a shape 🙂  Get it? I’m round… Okay, what kind of Dad joke is that?

I’m just kiddin with you.  So let me explain what this beach body thing is all about.

I just returned from a dream trip.  My wife and I got to do a “bucket list” type of trip.  We went to L.A. to see U2, Joshua Tree 30th anniversary tour at the Rose Bowl.  Wow.  It was amazing.  A once in a lifetime sort of deal.

Being able to do this was such a blessing.  I’m so grateful we could. The concert was amazing, but so were our accommodations.  We stayed in Hermosa Beach.  It was awesome.

Our hotel was right on the boardwalk.  I could sit on my deck, and watch the beach, and the water.  It was right in front of me.  The salt was in the air, and the waves were in my ears. It was awesome.

While it was a trip of a lifetime, something stuck out to me.  The thousands of people walking by me seemingly every second, tried to present themselves as perfect.  Their identity seemed to be more about how others perceived them, then about how they felt themselves.

Ok, I admit, perhaps I’m reading into it a bit.  But, under the toned beach bodies, it was as if I could see despair.  As I watched people interact with each other, they looked great on the outside, but you could see the desperate need for love in their words and actions.

Their bodies were beach ready, but their hearts looked like they were alone and in the desert.

Get your heart beach ready

While I’m not a heath care professional, or a personal body builder trainer, I have plenty experience getting hearts ready for the beach. 🙂 So how can you worry less about your beach body, and have peace with who you are,  on the beach and off.

Here are a few steps to get you heart, beach ready.

  1. Focus on Jesus, not on your abs. That’s right.  I’m not joking.  How dumb are we that we get so consumed on how we look.  Jesus didn’t die for you because you are good looking.  He died for you because He already saw you as perfect.  So please, focus on Jesus, not on what other people think.
  2. Have a new thought. That is what repenting is.  Repenting simply means that you recognize that you were thinking wrong, and you want to change it.  I repent all the time.  It looks like this.  Mmmmmm, that chocolate will make me feel so comforted.  Well guess what, it didn’t, and now I feel stupid.  I repent of the thought that I had that suggests that food is my savior.  Jesus is, so I need to get comfort from Him.
  3. Ask Jesus for help.  Honestly, He is the only one that can help you through this.  I can encourage you, and I hope I do, but it’s about Jesus, not Dr. Brad or the school of identity.  Jesus will never turn you away, so I encourage you to go on the Jesus diet.

Hey, I’m not naive.  I know that I still look at myself often and wonder why I don’t look more like some other guy, but it’s so harmful and usually not helpful at all.  I want you to take care of your body, and all other aspects of your life.  But we must put first things first.  Jesus is first, then our body will always be ready for what He asks.