I think…I could turn anything around and make it fashion related. It’s the same way with my faith; I can make ANYTHING about my Jesus (many can attest to that lol).

I grew up in a God-fearing household and as I grew, I knew there was one thing I was definitely passionate about: fashion. I remember receiving a sketchpad and an arrangement of pencils from my art teacher as a gift. I would draw my prom dress, skirts, jeans, and just any apparel. I said I was designing my own line. I’m more into the styling thing now, which is one of the points of this blog. Now that I gave you all a brief background, let’s wrap this up, shall we? Basically, I just really really really really like dressing up. Like. Really.

In the Spring semester of my freshman year of college, I felt uneasy. When I say uneasy, I mean that I wasn’t satisfied. With what? YOU tell me. I was handling my schoolwork well (I love school work), my best friends are the loves of my lives…So, yeah. I don’t know, guys. And, I’m not in touch with my “feelings”, so that doesn’t help either *rolls eyes*. But, that’s another story.

I was just…empty. I feel like I was going through life, doing what I had to do but not necessarily what I NEEDED to do. You see, I realized I was focused, but my eyes were in the wrong direction. My heart was speaking to me, yet my ears were deaf to its thunderous message.

I decided, “Hm, let me listen to some inspirational messages.” I live on campus so most times I am being fed from the In Touch Ministries app on my phone. While scrolling through Charles Stanley’s sermons, I stopped at “Dressed for Battle”. I pressed “play” and sat back on my bed, waiting.

Here’s what I got:

Because most don’t recognize how vulnerable they are to attacks, they experience defeat. Don’t comprehend why you keep failing at something you thought you had victory over? Wondering why your weakness is even a weakness? Can’t understand why it comes back to life with a whole new vengeance?

You’re not dressed for the attacks. Day to day, you unknowingly tread the battlefield defenseless! You make it easy for the bad guys to attack. How can you expect victory when you’re not adorned in armor? (See what I did there? 🙂 That’s my blog and Instagram name if you didn’t notice haha)

Ephesians 6:13, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints…”

Ephesian 6 says to intentionally and carefully and persistently “put on the full armor of God”. Just like how you fully cloth yourself (I hope), you are to protect your spirit. The “helmet of salvation” is to protect your mind from discouraging or filthy thoughts. You see, the war wages in our minds first. Our thoughts are what puts us in our feelings, yes? They make us act on our feelings.

Speaking of feelings…To not catch any, we must strap on the “breastplate of righteousness”. In other words, we need this to guard our emotions in order to answer from the truth we embrace in our minds. Don’t let life strangle you with fear, temptations, or anything negative at all! Stanley explains, “If you allow your feelings to carry you wherever they lead, you will be utterly defeated in your Christian life.”

Next, let’s put on our belts! The Bible calls it the “belt of truth” and we need this fastened on tight. Belts hold you up, right? Well, with our truth, we know we are grounded and so we are not swayed to the enemy’s schemes. We see past the lies. The Bible gives us a whole new vision.

It’s time for the shoes. These “sandals of peace” are for you to walk in peace brought forth from the Holy Spirit. Your footprints will be marks of tranquility. Pray to be planted so deep into the soil, that not even disaster could uproot you.

The shield of faith also protects you in combat. Believe that you are safe in the Father’s arms. Know that He will not give you more than you can bear. Trust that the arrows, daggers, swords or whatever that are being charged at you, will bend at the strength of your shield.

Lastly, grasp the Bible. It is the “sword of the Spirit”. Meditate on it. Study its map of the battlefield. Learn of each and every attack. Master its techniques. Only then will you be able to fight the tactics of the enemy.  Only then will you be victorious. God has equipped us with our armor. It’s up to us to realize the worth of each and every single piece.

My name isn’t “adorned in AMOUR (love)” lol. It is “adorned in armor”. It reminds me that I have victory over anything that flies my way. It reminds me that I am protected and loved even when I am feeling my lowest. It reminds me that there is more to this flesh – that the material life isn’t the only life. So, as I dress every morning, I keep in mind that it’s not just my body that needs adornment. My spirit needs it, too. YOUR spirit needs it. Go on, everyone. Dress to kill 😉