♥️Gift of Encouragement for you today:

When we walk AUTHENTICALLY it means we share what we know and who we are, believing we have a gift someone else can (and wants) to receive because we know our life is not just about us!! We are created for community. We were created to love. 

Being authentic means we Gift seeds to be planted and leave the planting up to them. 

I came from a place of insecurity...I know this is hard for some of you because it used to be REALLY difficult for me too. 

I lived in the Blonde Joke Era and found it easier to just have a low bar to be sure to always hit it but on the inside, perfectionism was the drug of choice. It was suffocating me. 

I woke up every single day thinking I didn’t have value to give. I woke up thinking I wasn’t enough of a Gift. I never felt empowered with value until I realized and accepted WHO’S I was!🥰😇🙌🏻 

I KNOW it is scary to just be yourself...but know you were created with value a d purpose, with seeds only YOU have to give!!! 

🔥Challenge: Share with YOUR circle who you are and what you know!! People need THE GIFT OF YOU‼️♥️🥰

Imagine a world of Gift Givers...we’ve got the best Example🙌🏻🙋🏼‍♀️🔥

#giftgiver #lighthouse #wherefaithis

Stop Living Numb : Tips for Overcoming Overwhelm as a Christian

Life can feel hard! Yesterday was hard...today will be hard, and most likely so will many tomorrows. To be fair, God did tell us it would be. Isn't it good to know we have hope for a greater tomorrow and a peace that can be ours today? 

Ever feel like a mere robot? As if you are functioning through your days on a program?

I have.

Day by day doing just enough to get by, following the unspoken rules, trying to meet other's expectations, getting done what must, skipping meals (or eating all the cookies) then do it all again day after day. 

No real passion, no hope for change, no real connection. 

My soul was numb for years.

Did it mean I had lost love for my God, others, coffee or chocolate? No. I just felt numb, and sometimes, invisible.

Am I the only one? You neither love your life or hate it, you neither feel loved or loving. You are pretty sure you were meant for something more, but what? How can you keep it all together even though everything is falling apart inside you?! 

Who grows up as a little girl thinking one day I hope my life feels monotonous, robotic and numb?! I missed a mind that dreamed, innocent, trusting faith when steps were quicker, paths straighter, clinched jaws and fists relaxed, betrayal was quickly forgiven, the anxious mind was calmed, a place where all anticipation conquered all exhaustion. 

Where was my hope? Where was my anticipation for glory...

It's amazing how numb we become when we don't feel valued or seen. I believe God created us to live a life of Anticipating Love. 

When our heart becomes numb, we cannot rejoice, for we have no hope for healing or restoration. How do we start to feel again? 

If you find yourself feeling numb, here are some ideas to help you ignite your heart again and live in a space of grace…

• Take a break every day to do something for you. You spend all day serving others, don't forget to serve YOU! It can be as simple as going for a walk.
• Bless someone without it being part of your ministry/responsibility. 
• Read The Word daily with anticipation to fall in love with Him deeper. 
• Worship, with trust and surrender, listening and receiving.
• Speak against the lies of the enemy by speaking truth.
• Get back in touch with your hobbies and interests. You may not be able to actually reengage with it because of life, but find ways you can escape to it to some degree.
• Focus on body-mind-spirit. Strengthen your weaknesses in these areas. He is showing you these numb places so He can breathe life back into them. 
• Get accountability and practice receiving again.

Friend, It's time to ANTICIPATE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. 

Understand better Who's you are. Live in gratitude. Worship. When you realize how loved you truly are, how seen and heard you are, how cherished and purposed you are...His breath will become yours and you will no longer feel numb. It won’t be overnight but it starts today if you choose it.

Grab a trusted Sister Friend and start today moving fresh anticipation into your heart! 

"And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

 

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Colossians 3:14-17

How do you dress-up to cover-up?

Does your external self (appearance, characteristics) dictate or identify the internal self (heart, soul, mind)? If you are like me, then you would have to admit that there are times when you secretly hope that it does cuz what's happening on the inside is a hot mess but if I can just put on the perfect looking outside, then everyone will think I am "perfect" on the inside too. That was soooo me and something I still fight against.
I have a friend who is what you'd say is "Cute as a button!" She has a cute hair cut, always rightfully dressed, a cheerful smile that lights up a whole room, is physically fit, she's tan to which her blue eyes just radiate and pierce you. She really is "cute as a button." But then she says, "I have big, flat, ugly feet!"as she slides her foot back. And then she says her hair is a mess. I think to myself, "Really?!? What mirror is she looking at? What in the world is she thinking?! She is b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l, inside and out!!" I don't see her ugly flat feet or messed up hair. I see a beautiful woman who is has a heart of gold, a heart that beats for her Lord, a spirit of passion and energy, a woman with fire under her soul to love and serve God and others purely, a woman of hospitality, a devoted wife and mother. I mean really......who's looking at her feet? Well, she is. 
Thankfully for this sweet friend, her identity is not wrapped up in her outward appearance, even though it's a close match in my opinion, gorgeous in and out. There is a difference in caring about how you look which we all should care about how we present ourselves physically and materially before others as mentioned in 2 Timothy 2:8-10 "I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness--with good works." But it ought not identify us. 
For me, I have a long list of my attributes that I would have adjusted if I felt like it was okay for me to do, such as my nose, my ears, my eyes, my gut, my skin, my legs...just to name a few. Growing up as a young girl with severe cystic acne that kept me out of school for days at a time depending on the flare up or treatment days, (oh, and don't forget...with braces), my outward appearance was something I actually was shamed and embarrassed by. I would spend lots of time in front of the mirror, disgusted, trying to mask it, so I could look normal and be accepted by others. Surely if my appearance was less than, they would see me as less than. It sounds ridiculous to say that now as an adult, because I know that is not true; however, for a teen girl who already feels insecure and inadequate, having to then deal with the outward imperfections could only draw attention to my internal weaknesses and imperfections. So, I believed and here, the cover up began. I concerned myself with dressing up the outward to compensate and distract from what was underneath, which was a physical and emotional mess. I only allowed myself to be "real" at home where I was safe from the judgement of others. No wonder I was a home-body! 
I lived under that assumption for many, many years and to this day, I have to guard myself against going back to thinking those same, irrational thoughts. Our outside certainly does not define our inside. It certainly may affect me, but it certainly does not define me! 1 Samuel 16:7 reminds us that God looks at our hearts. "But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." 
There are always going to be the few Joan Rivers types that pick apart everyone. Some people are just very critical of others' intentions or looks. I am sure there is someone out there that could detail every blemish of my beautiful friend that I do not see, cuz they have judging eyes. And same for me, I could find someone to verify my imperfections. But when we seek to see as God sees, we see people's hearts, just as He does. Big nose, flat feet, pimples, scars, lumpy thighs are not what God is judging or identifying me by. 
Now, I live in freedom from that bondage of judgement and worry. My identity has been identified and found in Christ. I am not consumed by portraying my identity anymore, but rather hoping my heart portrays my identity, who I am in Christ, the real me! A bad hair day and a huge pimple on my face definitely puts a damper on my day, but it no longer rules me. I am so very thankful for friends who encourage me in being real from the inside-out. I no longer need to hear "You are pretty." I need to hear, "You are His!" and that's all that matters!!!!
Who I am in Christ is the real me, despite what I do or say. I can dress up and tell the world I am perfect or that I am a complete screw-up and both would be a lie. While I may feel that way, the truth is found in Christ: I am a new creation. I have His saving power and strength within my soul that fills in the gaps of my weaknesses. I was thought valuable enough to die for. I am redeemed and forgiven for all my sin. I may not love well, but I am loved very well! Regardless of who I say I am or what anyone else thinks I am, God sees my heart- the good, the bad and the ugly and yet He still claims me as His daughter forever. Wow! 
And bottom line...He gave His one and only Son, not to make me pretty, but so I could have a new heart and live forever and ever and ever with Him. I must be special cuz FOREVER is a loooooong time. 
The same is true for YOU!!!! You are special and worth dying for and the King of the Universe, the Creator of all things, wants to live with you for all eternity....not because you are pretty, but because your heart is His!!!! Ashes to ashes, heart to heart. 
(And for my sweet friend who thinks her feet and hair are messed up...you're wrong. You are beautiful head to toe, inside and out!!)
Thank You Lord, for Your grace is sufficient!!!!! There is none like You!!!!

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. " 

John 3:16-17