Apocrypha: The Book of Sirach Chapter 36 vs 22-23

“The beauty of a woman cheereth  the contenance, and a man loveth nothing better.

If there be meekness, and comfort in her tongue, then is not her husband like other men.”

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“Naked”

Crudens’ Dictionary and Complete Concordance

(1) altogether unclothed, or uncovered

(2) with few clothes on,having put off the greater part of them

(3) not clothed with the righteousness of Christ

(4) destitute of all worldly goods

(5) discovered, known, made manifest

Examples in the scriptures of “naked”

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• 1Samuel 19 vs 24…And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay naked all that day and all that night. wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?
• Rev 3 vs 17…Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knoweth not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked
• Job 1 vs 20,21…Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped. And said, Naked came I out of my mothers’ womb, and naked shall I return thither; the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

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Have you come to terms with your “naked” truth? Can you handle it? Spiritually? Physically ?

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It’s late afternoon, I’m hungry and craving a greasy deli style cheeseburger with fried onions, sweet potato fries and a vanilla shake.  Its been so long since I had eaten this that I have to call up a sister for support because I can hear the food calling me and the rattling of the almond joy wrapper in my bag.  She says, “Don’t do it!!!  Just think of your health and all the work you have been putting in!  Besides don’t you want to look hot for your boo?!”  Running on a treadmill for 45 minutes is not my idea of fun and I’d rather be shopping, which is in itself a form of a workout.  But like a lot of women here I go again…burn calories burn!!!  Eating disorders, substance abuse, and various addictions including self mutilation and plastic surgery are done to cover the shame of what some see in the mirror.

Recently in my e-mail inbox and various conversations of late the subject of positive body image has come up…or the general lack thereof amongst many of our sisters.  Can I wear make up, lingerie, or heels?  Am I to skinny or am I too fat?  I didn’t lose all my pregnancy weight!  How can I make myself more attractive for my husband?  I want a husband but need to lose 20lbs first!!  The list of questions goes on and on.

Repentance, humility, grace, wisdom and  understanding of the scriptures cannot be duplicated in a bottle and applied on your face or body.  The creams, lotions, and all the perfume in the world can only cover up only so much of a demonic force.  The real you is bound to come out.  It’s the inner woman that shines through.  All the repentant women of Israel are externally beautiful and come in all shapes, sizes, and color complexions ranging from your light cream in your coffee to the deepest, darkest beautiful ebony black…it’s the inner beauty  that needs a lot of work!!!

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• Proverbs 31 vs 30-31 “Favour is decietful, and beauty vain; but a woman that feareth the Lord,  she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.”
• Apocrypha: The Book of Sirach Chapter 11 vs 2 “Commend not a man for his beauty; neither abhor a man for his outward appearance.”
• Apocrypha: Wisdom of Solomon 7 vs 7 “Wherefore I prayed and understanding was given me; I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.”

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Sisters, believe that !

Apochrypha: The Book of Sirach Chapter 26 vs 14-15 “A silent and loving woman is a gift of the Lord; and there is nothing so much worth as a mind well instucted.  A shamefaced and faithful woman is a double grace, and her continent mind cannot be valued.”

 

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When I was much younger (teen years were awful , 20’s-30s’ not so bad, 40s’ feeling good so far ) I didn’t love the real me.  I thought, I’m too skinny, too black and all the negative stereo types to go with that so today I make it a point to tell my daughter how beautiful she is and any sister that has low self esteem around me.  Share the love and reinforce the positive in each other.  Ignore the negative thoughts in your own head and especially those of negative, toxic people around you.  Fear the Most High and love yourself no matter what.  Each day is a gift from the Almighty and is a chance to renew the discovery of yourself.  Another day, another month, another year to age gracefully Lord willing.

“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth well”

– Psalms 139 vs 14

 

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• Apocrypha: The Book of Sirach Chapter 25 vs 3 “If thou hast gathered nothing in thy youth, how canst thou find anything in thine age?”
• Apocrypha: The Book of Sirach Chapter 26 vs 17 “As  the clear light is upon the holy candlestick; so is the beauty of the face in ripe age:…”

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Loving yourself and your nation has to be  re-taught because Blacks, Latinos and those of Native-Indian decent have been brainwashed for generations to hate themselves and what they look like.  Because if this, we aspire to look like the other nations and continue the cycle of self-hatred and pass down those same self doubts and fears to future generations.  Teach our boys and young men what true beauty is so they understand the condition of the women of the nation and especially our daughters to remove the toxins in their mindset.

Just recently on Facebook two of my beloved brothers got into quite a contentious discussion regarding a picture that one of them posted of a magazine layout from the October 2012 issue of Plus Model Magazine.  The one brother explained that he loved big women.  The women by todays’ standards are not supermodel thin but are beautiful none the less…belly rolls and all.  The women were only dressed with great hair, makeup, accessories and nothing else. The men were not in disagreement with the physical beauty of the women but the forum in which it was introduced.  The amount of bodily “exposure” was the cause of the debate.

My grandma used to say in the south that there was a difference between having no clothes on, being butt naked, and being naked as the day you were born.  Funny thing though about that was that acting like a hoe and dressing like a hoe was no different.  Skanky, fast and nasty were all the same.  Its the behavior that goes along with something that creates the perception.

“A man may be known by his look, and one that hath understanding by his countenance, when thou meetest him. A mans’ attire, and excesive laughter, and gait shew what he is.”

Apocrypha: The Book of Sirach Chapter 19 vs 29-30

Example….If you are breastfeeding in a public place,(especially around men) use some sort of covering so that you are not exposed for all to see…..just don’t whip out your breasts like an animal ……which is more common than we would like to think, despite the laws of the land show some decency.

“Let all things be done decently and in order”

1 Corinthians 14 vs 40

 

Last night a sister and I were discussing  self esteem and how women from other nationalities secretly admire and want to emulate the black woman, especially those of the  Caucasian nation.  These studies and fascinations of the negroid female form go back hundreds of years.  Within the 12 tribes of Israel our women are admired all around the globe.

To read more information on The Hottentot Venus please visit this link: http://hottentotapron.blogspot.com/p/hottentot-apron.html

 

If you don’t like the way you look or your husband does not find you physically or spiritually attractive you must keep in mind that only you have the ability to change you.  Change your study habits and change your eating habits.  Change your attitude.  Repent.  You must be willing to put in the work needed to make a difference without any excuses.

“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you they are spirit, and they are life.”

– John 6 vs 63

Been there, done that.  This battle isn’t easy.

So you may think,” Shamarah you don’t understand regarding the various types of  being naked”…..yes I do!

 

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After the birth of my first son I must have been home maybe three days when one of my old girlfriends had come over to cook, clean and help me out.  With my first child I was a mess!  Breast milk coming in, not sleeping and I’m starving. She made beef stew and cornbread and I was  soooo hungry that I was just devouring the meal.  I can still smell and taste the food to this day.

My husband looks down at my stomach in my old lady blue night gown and says, “when are you going to get rid of that?”  I cannot tell you in words how bad that hurt but I cried and cried and cried some more.  Oh yeah, he apologized since our friend called him out on being insensitive.  But you know what….that was the motivation I needed and mama took care of it.  As a matter of fact when our son was three months old I had a modelling assignment in Germany….thanks boo!

Picture this next scenario.  Four elder’s wives were all sitting in my bedroom in Brooklyn talking babies, weight gain and loss, cellulite and stretch marks.  The weight range between us could easily be 100 lbs soaking wet to 300lbs sucking her stomach in.  I was seriously somewhere in the middle.  My second son, baby # 3, was probably about 6 months old.  One sister gets up leaves the room and three sisters remained as we discussed exercise and weight loss goals…etc.  I have always taken pictures of myself whenever I got pregnant before and after shots.

(The body goes thru a lot of changes and the older you get the harder it is….the more weight you gain the harder it is to get off if you eat the wrong way during your pregnancy, and I was guilty of both in excess of 80lbs….don’t do it, live and learn.)

So in the midst of  discussing what I wanted to change and what I didn’t like about my body and how it has changed between three pregnancies I pull out 2 pictures…..

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(1) I was pregnant with my daughter and my big belly showing.  (2) This is a photo my husband took of me in lingerie wearing much more than a Victoria Secret ad.  I’m comparing the two photos because these pregnancies are a little less than five years apart.  We were all laughing and having a great time when one of the sisters suggested that she should do the same thing.  Although she was a grown woman she loved the photo and turned the conversation into a really sexually perverse nature.  When she was corrected she got mad.

“There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not. The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.”

– Proverbs 30 vs 18-19

The sister that left the room earlier had returned.  Because sister #3 is already upset her and sister #4 get into a disagreement about a topic in the scriptures and it gets very ugly between them.  Anger and madness have surfaced and a pleasant evening was now destroyed.

This is one of the scriptures that was pulled by a sister towards another:

“I wrote unto the church; but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them recieveth us not.”

– 3 John vs 9

Sisters, when you’re corrected in the scriptures take heed and don’t be too prideful or get mad.  No one is above correction.  Be careful that you are not seeking preeminence for yourself.

Encyclopedia  Brittanica definition of preeminence

( noun ) the quality or state of being preeminent; superiority

(synonyms ) distinction, excellency, first-rateness, superbness, supremacy, superiority

When I explained to that sister that you have to be mindful of what you say and how you talk to sisters husbands wound up having to get involved.  I was now guilty of showing naked pictures, witnesses had to be called, and all types of foolishness.   Let’s just say that half of us no longer fellowship together.

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• Apochrypha: The Book of Sirach Chapter 32 vs 12 “but sin not by proud speech…”
• Apochrapha: The Book of Sirach Chapter 26 vs 6 “But grief of heart and sorrow is a woman that is jealous over another woman, and a scourge of the tongue which communicateth with all.”

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My middle son will be ten soon Lords’ will so within that time I have had several sisters show me baby belly pictures, weight loss photos, pictures of themselves before they repented and when they did I shared this very same story.  We come from a nation where we nursed each other’s children, supported each other during childbirth, and it don’t get no closer or more real than that.  My best advice is to know your audience.  Prove a friend.

You don’t need validation from anyone but we all have to be accountable to the Heavenly Father through his son the Christ.

“If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doeth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man  may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works; shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”

– James 2 vs 15-18

Keep yourself attractive spiritually, scriptually and physically for (you) and your husband, if you have one.  Beauty first from the inside then out.

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Thats the naked truth.

 

On Shamarahs’ playlist….Just Fine by Mary J. Blidge:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXp9IN067hc

 

Interested in a movie date night that will make you laugh about how beauty is in the eye of the beholder?  Watch Shallow Hal

Trailer for Shallow Hal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMLZnY2nLcw