Hi! My name is Emily. My friends call me Em. God calls me Gem.
I’m a talker. A sharer. Some say I share too much. I say, God made me this way. Why? Cuz He wants me to tell the world about how good and faithful He has been to me. He also wants to remind *you that you’re not alone. Life is meant to be shared.
I’ve been thinking and dreaming about this blog for years now. Many have told me that ‘Facebook isn’t the place to write a short novel as your status’. It hasn’t been until now, though, that I have felt released to share in this broader space. I certainly do so with shallow breaths, sweaty palms, and a rapid heart rate.
Who would have thought that God would call me to incept my blogging adventure sharing about the very thing that I’d love to successfully be able to hide from the world- my personal and private war with my weight?!
I recently turned 39. I’ve battled with my self-image since puberty, but it wasn’t until I had my first (of three) child(ren) that being overweight became my new (seemingly solidified) identity. I will have struggled with being overweight now for 1/4 of my life. I’m on my way to 1/2 if I don’t start surrendering to God in this area of my life. So, here I am, feeling challenged to begin a year-long journey with the Lord, and to document it here.
I’ve felt convicted, in the last year, about my passion for sharing the gospel. How could I continue to encourage marriage partners on their death bed that they could find resurrection in Christ? How could I continue to preach freedom from drugs and alcohol? How could I continue to speak of the goodness of God to bring hope and strength to the helpless, hopeless soul? How could I continue to appeal to others about the healing power of Jesus? How could I continue to plead with those who have encountered wretched, heart wrenching experiences in life that there is a God who loves in the midst of that? How could I elicit others- family, friends, strangers- to trust in Jesus and His ability to bring complete resurrection, restoration, and re-creation to the murdered, stolen, and destroyed areas of hearts and lives, all the while being completely enslaved to my weight myself? How could I talk about the Good News and not apply it to myself? Isn’t it more powerful to share a testimony than it is to deliver a sermon?
My heart is to see the captives set free. God has the ability to do that. I am chief captive. If I am to speak and walk and entreat others to trust that God is able, so too, must I realize He is more than able, in my own life, to breathe life into me and my hopeless estate. It’s true that He wants to work through me mightily. It’s more important that He works *in me mightily first.
The thing is, progressive culture says, ‘We are not equal to our weight’. Yet, many blogs have been completely devoted to weight loss. I’d like to go against the grain. Since I am not the sum of my weight, I’ve decided that the sum of what I share here will not solely be about my weight. The measurements of Emily are more than the numbers on a scale. I’d like to share with you what God is teaching, convicting, and showing me in my life- in all areas. Aren’t we supposed to have a focus? Yes. Indeed! My focus is Christ. Not always wholly and perfectly, but it’s my aim. So, I’m beginning my blogging journey with a call from God to document a year long journey, but to do so along with all of the other things that make me, well…..me!
Want to be an eye witness to what God will do in me as I learn to trust Him and surrender in this area? Want to hear about how God is working in my life? Will you let me write a diary to your heart? Will you join me as I follow where God leads and watch Him help me gain victory in reclaiming my body for Christ? I’d be ever grateful for the encouragement and company on this hard journey. I choose to believe: With God all things are possible.
