The Belt of Truth.

It happened.

The reason I was afraid to write my OneWord2011 post became reality and the fear I felt over publicly declaring the word "Warrior" over myself for 2011 took shape.

Doubt leading to defeat.

I finally wrote my OneWord post on Thursday; I was excited to move forward! Friday came - and it was awful. I felt utterly defeated. Everything in my emotional and spiritual self felt unable to cope with some new life circumstances, sudden sadness, and an increasing awareness of my own insecurities.

I felt like the exact opposite of a Warrior.

And it was through this experience on Friday that I have, once again, become increasingly aware of the fact that I have an enemy.

A few days in retrospect, it is obvious that instantly after I declared my intention to become a more focused and equipped warrior for the Kingdom of Heaven, the kingdom of darkness sent a little more attack my way, saying...

"Scare her off this journey before she builds up strength in Him. Hit her when she's unsuspecting and weak."

It was in this day-long battle that I realized the major importance of the weapon of Truth. Just as Ephesians 6:14 says,

"Stand, therefore, having girded your waist with Truth...."

Though it took me until the very end of that day to obtain any joy, I was able to at least be aware throughout the day that I was experiencing an inundation of lies and emotions. Therefore, I searched for truth and asked for God's strength to not let myself dwell in the lies.

So I am learning this:

A strong warrior must know the tactics of their enemy. And they must know what weapons to use as their defense.

I know that our King has given His warriors many weapons with which to fight, but currently, He is teaching this warrior-in-training the importance of

The Belt of Truth.