Beauty

"The me I think I should be is at odds with the me God created me to be" John Ortberg

Who are we to decided what someone should look like?

Why do we place so much value on outward appearance?

When will we learn to be comfortable with the person that we are created to be?

Why is our self worth is based on not only how we view ourselves but how we think others see us?

Time and time again I hear I wish they were prettier, thinner, taller, stronger, cuter _________ you fill in the blank.

How can I make you see that your true value is not in what others say of you but it comes from what God says is true about you?

You are a new creature(2 Cor 5:17)

You become a child of God (John 1:12, Romans 8:15)

You are declared righteous by God (2 Cor 5:21)

All your sins are forgiven: past, present and future (Col. 2:13-14)

When our security is based on Christ we do not have to have success or anyone else's approval. 

He knows exactly who you are and in His eyes you are righteous, forgiven, pleasing, loved, etc.

Accept yourself and embrace the beauty within that God created you to be!

Failure

"The only real failure in life is the failure to try"

Why is it that even when we are given the freedom to fail the fear of failure still hangs over us?

I remember growing up not really feeling that anything I did was good enough. Over the years I would let things pass me by thinking I could never do that or what if I couldn't do it right?  I realized that my fear of failure is one of the major causes for procrastination

Until we learn to embrace failure we never get out of our comfort zone.

The pressure to be perfect leaves us feeling safe but stagnated—and not quite alive.

What if we not only accept our failure but go out of our way to fail? This is such a foreign statement that I have to stop and read it again and again until it began to make sense in my mind.

Fear of failure or disappointment has controlled many of my decisions in life without my even knowing it. I remember being asked one day, " What is your biggest fear in life?" I didn't have to hesitate long before I answered fear of failure or not measuring up. Another time I read that breaking out of your comfort zone and facing your mistakes can lead to innovation and stronger relationships.

I know that God doesn't intend for His children to live in fear. He has directed us over and over again not to fear. So again I ask Why is it that even though we are given the freedom to fail the fear of failure still hangs over us?

2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

I Live I Work, I Rest because of the Lord of the Sabbath

Great message on Sabbath tonight at church has my brain going 100mph.

Have you ever considered that the day of rest was a gift of grace that God gave us?
He designed it so the He could reflect and enjoy His goodness?

Time for refection...
REST
I had to ask myself when was the last time that you rested for a 24hr period? No TV, computer, phone, radio etc.
Unfortunately I can not think of such a time excluding the time I almost cut my toe off or was bed ridden due to vertigo. Somehow I don't think those times really count.
TIME OUT
Do I take time each day to make sure the things I do are not about me but about the creator of all things?

On a side note... how do you know if a word that sounds like it ends in er really ends in or. I have always been confused with this issue. Like the word creator which is why I am chasing this rabbit in the first place or instructor senator. It may be because I was raised in NY but I do not hear the or sound there.

One more question that God placed on my heart that I am going to wrestle with until I can truly say absolutely not Lord. Do you look at other with Pharisaical eyes?

beginning

procrastination... something I easily see in others but less concerned about my own offense. Time to change that. Today was a day designed to sleep in. Someone please tell my body that. I have been told recently that I need to find a way to reduce my stress. Not sure whether to laugh or cry about that statement. Just the thought of the process makes me stressed! So now I am on a mission to De-stress and I am taking up blogging. :)

Things that reduce my stress:
Spending time in God's word
playing with my grandchildren
enjoying the gift that God gave me in a wonderful husband
hanging out with my grown children
friends
birds chirping
squirrels eating the corn in my yard
hummingbirds (hoping they will be here this spring)
of course chocolate anything
not being dizzy!

so now today will be spent purposefully not adding any stress to my already deteriorating body. Thank God for the promise of a new glorified body some day.

Blessings!

Your longing to become all that you were meant to be is a tiny echo of God's longing to begin a new creation.