Obedience - Rather Than Perfection

I am continuing on in my "Behind Those Eyes" study and learning so much from it. Lisa describes many of the roles that we, as women, often play trying to impersonate the women that we want to be , or, many times, the women that we want everyone to THINK that we are!

As I began reading about the first "character" in our study, "Ms. Perfection", I must admit that I did not expect to find ME in that chapter. (That's not me!  I'm not Ms. Perfection, that's so-and-so!) But guess what -- there I was right there in the pages of that chapter, too!  I'm gonna pull in my toes and hide them under the table so that they won't get stepped on anymore!

In her book, Lisa says, "perfection is perhaps, the most common characteristic that women impersonate.  We get caught up in the trap of trying to appear perfect for others."  

We  try to appear to be the perfect wife, the perfect mother, the perfect employee, the "perfect package". The perfect package is "the woman who knows it all, sees it all, whips it up for dinner, and sells it for a profit."  I am WOMAN hear me ROAR!

What God is reminding me of through this chapter is that, first of all, I will never be perfect! In my flesh, there is no way that I will EVER be perfect!  It's not possible! I need to come to terms with the fact that my self-worth is not determined by what someone else thinks about me.  No one else is perfect, either!  They may just be a better impersonator.

My "peace comes from my relationship with Christ, not my weight, my clothing size, what car I drive, or how many church functions I attend. Peace does not come from pleasing others, but from obeying God.", says Lisa.

I must admit that, as a middle child, I have the "Peacemaker Syndrome".  I want everyone to get along and be happy with each other and I wear myself out trying to make sure that happens.

My goal needs to be OBEDIENCE, not perfection!

He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."

Luke 11:28

Truth From The Inside Out

My first "Behind Those Eyes" Bible Study Class was last Wednesday night. I bought the book and started reading the first 2 chapters, which was our assignment for the first  week. God immediately started "stepping on my toes", in Chapter 1, about  the big "A" word --AUTHENTICITY.

As I was reading the first chapter I started thinking about what the word "authenticity" really means.

   

"The quality of being authentic; genuineness."

So what does it mean to be "authentic"? 

"Genuine; real; true to one's own spirit, personality or character"

"Being exactly as appears or as claimed; not false, imitation or copied"

In regards to our Christian faith, what we mean when we use the word authentic is "to be real"; "to be honest about who we are". Real enough to say that my life isn't perfect. That I have struggles, difficulties, temptations, and, yes, even failures.  Why is that so difficult for us to do? Why is it so hard for us to just lay it all out there on the table and admit that we are really broken and weak?

One of the other definitions of authentic is "to be like the original; not copied or imitation". As a Christian, my example is Jesus Christ Himself. Being a Christian is about becoming more like the genuine; the Real One.  He is my Original! As I follow Him, I will stumble and fall along the way because of my own imperfections.  The Bible says in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Somewhere along the way we have gotten the idea that Christians don't have problems. Or, we have bought into the devil's lie that if we have enough faith we won't have any problems! I have even heard TV preachers teach this! That could not be farther from the truth!  Jesus' life certainly was not easy!  I wonder why we think that we should have it easy? 

We go to church and put on our smiling faces and our best clothes, and why do we even do that if we already have it all figured out? Why do we need to go to a place to learn, be built up and encouraged if we already have it all together?

God, through just the first few pages of this book, is challenging me to, lay it all down. To admit that I have many struggles, difficulties, hardships, failures, trials and temptations.  To admit that, "No, I am NOT perfect!"  "No, I don't have it all together!"

I guess you could sum it up by saying that He is challenging me to "GET REAL"!! 

Rather than trying to appear that we "have it all together", we need to be laying it all out on the table and sharing our burdens with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Galatians 6:2 says, "Carry each others burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ". This is one thing that has been such an encouragement to me since I joined this wonderful network of blogging friends.  The people I have "met" through blogging are a great example of what I believe God meant in this verse.  We carry each other's burdens and pray for and encourage our sisters in Christ.

With those definitions of the word "authentic" in mind, I started thinking about just how authentic I really am? Am I really "exactly as I appear or as I claim to be"? Do you know very many people that are? 

As is pointed out in the very first chapter of this study, women are "pros" at impersonating, well......other women. We are so good at "masking" what is really going on in our lives. We camouflage our weaknesses with our perfect makeup, the latest hairstyle, a new designer outfit with a new pair of shoes to match. We think if we smile big enough that no one will know that we are "dying" inside. 

As Lisa points out in her book,   "we often impersonate the women that we want to be  (or those women that we want people to THINK that we area)"    --those happy, spiritual, caring, strong, content, loving women that have everything together. You know the ones -- the ones that drive the expensive cars, live in the golf course communities, have perfect children that go to private schools, take exotic family vacations, have "Mr. Wonderful" for their husbands and, of course, are deeply spiritual.

Why do we do this? It's because we have determined that if we were to show our "real" side, if we were to be authentic, that we would not be accepted.  So we keep our "true self" hidden. And we've gotten quite good at it, haven't we?

Lisa reminds us that what we really crave is unconditional love and acceptance. We want someone to love us in spite of who we are.

There IS someone that loves each of us in spite of who we are. He loves me just like I am. He loves YOU just like you are and His name is Jesus! Let's GET REAL with Him today!

What you're after is truth from the inside out.       Psalm 51:6

Happy 6 Month Birthday, Lewis!

Lewis is our Blue Bicolor Ragdoll kitten who was born March 9, 2008 so he is 6 months old today! Below are pictures of his Mother, Cassie Lane, and Father, Ernest, so you can see where he gets his good looks!

I have included some pictures that show just how much our "little boy" has grown in just 6 short months.  We think that we might should have named him "Hoss"!  He now weighs in at over 8 pounds and he is only 6 months old!

He has the softest "rabbit" fur you can imagine. Petting him is literally like sticking your hand down inside of a bag of cotton balls!

HAPPY 6 MONTH BIRTHDAY, LEWIS!  You are the sweetest Ragdoll ever! We love you, buddy!

Sunday in the Carolinas!

"E" and Poppa dancing to The Eagles, "You Were Just Too Busy Being Fabulous", while Mimi is cooking lunch!

After some Barbecued Chicken and a good ole' Sunday afternoon nap......ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL????

You gotta have some chocolate chip cookies on a Sunday afternoon!

Even Lewis is enjoying taking it easy!

An Inexhaustible Power Source

None of us can turn on the TV or pick up a magazine without being bombarded with the message about living a "green" lifestyle.  In our home, we have really tried to make some changes to help conserve our resources. We have increased the temperature setting on our thermostat. While waiting on the water to warm up prior to getting in our shower, we capture the water and use it to water our plants. We wait until the dishwasher is completely full before running it. We also run it on the "short wash" cycle and leave the heated drying cycle turned off.  We wash clothes in cold water, rather than hot, and I hang almost all of my clothes up to dry.  We use cloth napkins. I am probably the "Queen of Recycling" in my neighborhood. I recycle EVERYTHING!!!

With oil prices reaching all time highs and with refineries in the Gulf threatened by storms this hurricane season, what we have taken for granted most of our lives and thought was inexhaustible, has now become very limited. This is one of the big issues in the upcoming Presidential election in November. There is lots of talk right now about alternative energy sources, i.e. solar energy, wind turbines, nuclear energy, hybrid cars, natural gas, etc. 

Have you noticed that the world tries to offer us many different "resources", too? Money, possessions, popularity, notoriety, position. But, these are all limited resources and ALL of these can disappear overnight.

I need to make a choice about what kind of energy will sustain me throughout my life. I have an unlimited source of power at my disposal --- I have God Himself, His Word and the Holy Spirit!  But, do I always "tap into" that power?  I know that there have been many times that I have run out of energy along the way in my Christian life. I have tried to "run my life" while I was basically flat on empty.

As we face a very pivotal election in our country in less than 60 days, I wonder does our country look like a people depending on God for the supply of energy that we need to meet our needs? What about in our marriages? Our homes? 

We need to "fill up" with God's energy! God's energy NEVER runs out!  If we know Christ, then God's energy lives in us by His Spirit!

David Jeremiah puts it this way,"Living on the basis of God's Word is like driving a car with the gas gauge that constantly registers FULL regardless of how far you drive."  Isn't that what we would all love to have?

We are searching everywhere for various energy sources, but the truth is, there is only ONE source we need and it is an inexhaustible source! I need to be living my life on the basis of God's Word!  I need to tap into His power!!

Ephesians 5:18 "But be ye filled with the Spirit."

Will The Real Me Please Stand Up

I have been looking at the above book title, Behind Those Eyes - What's Really Going On Inside The Souls of Women, for about 2 or 3 months and have almost purchased it on several occasions. I even had it in my "cart" on Barnes and Noble's website one time, but then cancelled out of the transaction without placing my order.

A few weeks ago, I saw in our church bulletin that the author of the book, Lisa Whittle, was going to be teaching the book HERSELF at our other church location.  I mentioned it to my daughter, Faith , that I had thought about going and that was the end of that.  I never saw it again in the church bulletin.

Well...this past week God brought it to my remembrance again through reading Lisa's blog, and God started nudging and prodding me to attend the class which started tonight. I had all kinds of excuses ready for Him ---I don't want to go by myself!  I won't know a soul at this location! I'll be the oldest one in the class! I don't know my way around that church!  I have to work that day and I will be tired!  You know how we are always ready with the excuses and they were all "good ones", too. After all, I had rehearsed them over and over!

When I got off from work this afternoon I headed home quickly and grabbed  a bite to eat and then headed out -- I had decided I was going to go. No sooner did I pull out of my neighborhood than I was in bumper-to-bumper traffic with seemingly no hope of making it to the class on time. I came so close to turning around and going back home because the LAST thing I wanted to do was to have to walk in a classroom LATE not knowing anyone; being the oldest in the class, yah-da-yah-da-yah-da.

I am here to tell you that I did NOT turn around and I DID make it into the class on time (despite a 40 minute drive) and after hearing just the introduction to the book and to the class tonight, I have no doubt that God wanted me in this class.

I feel so fortunate to have the author herself teaching our class. This is actually the first time she has taught the class so I know that we are in for a treat! How better to know the heart of the person that wrote the book than to hear it directly from her. Lisa is an amazing speaker and such a beautiful young woman. I am so excited about how God is going to use her over the next 5 weeks that we meet.

Please pray for Lisa, the approximately 50 ladies and myself, as we meet over the next 5 weeks that God will help us all to "get real - real with ourselves, real with one another, and real before God".  I pray that even now God would begin to clean out the secret places in my heart that keep me "cluttered", so that I will be able to hear the truth that He has for me.

You're Not Alone

This past week my sweet blogging friend, Caroline, had this beautiful post and in it she referenced the lyrics to a song that I have absolutely fallen in love with.  I have had it on mind and in my heart ever since the first time I heard it and I listen to it all the time.

This has to be one of the most beautiful and powerful songs that I have heard in awhile.  As I was listening to it today I was thinking of all the people that are facing storm damage and devastation in the Gulf (some for the second time in 3 years) and I wish every one of them could hear God speak to them through this amazing song!

ALL of us either HAVE faced "storms", ARE facing "storms", or WILL face "storms" in our lives. After reading many of your blogs, I know that you, like me, are presently facing some "storms" in your life and I just had to share this song to make sure that all of ya'll know that whatever "storm" you're facing right now  --  YOU'RE NOT ALONE!!  

I hope you find as much comfort from these lyrics as I have!