Can I offer a little free advice?
It's called UNDERwear for a reason. It's not supposed to show!
Ladies, it is not fashionable EVER OR UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES to show a bra strap. I don't care what color it is or how cute you think it is. If you're wearing a tank or racerback top you MUST wear a bra designed to be worn under such. That's why they make those bras. So get one or forego the tops that necessitate them!
Your spaghetti straps on your adorable top don't cover your bra straps underneath. Get a strapless bra!
Don't EVER wear a bright, dark or printed bra under a sheer or thin top! We should not be abe to see the color or print of your bra through your shirt. That's tacky.
Thong UNDERwear was not made to flaunt above your low rise pants or jeans. It was made to eliminate panty lines. If we are tryin to avoid panty liens then why in the world would we expose the panties that create the lines? No one wants to see your whale tail. I repeat. No one! And test your pants and shirt BEFORE you leave the house! If you cannot sit down without exposing your thong and half your rear end then your shirt is too short for those pants! Your crack isn't any more appealing than a fat plumbers crack! Don't flatter yourself. We don't wanna see that!
I have nothing against thongs or low rise pants. I just don't want to see your underwear as a result of you choosing to wear one or both of these items.
Disclaimer: Everyone has mishaps. I understand that sometimes you don't plan for your straps to show but a malfunction or unforseen problem occurs after leaving the house. These random incidents are NOT the subject of this blog. Accidents happen. But they should be the exception and not the rule.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
The Hostess
Can I offer a little free advice?
If you're invited to a party by someone who loves giving them....you know the kind! She gives them often and seems to go to a tremendous amount of trouble yet appears to thoroughly enjoy it! The best present you can give her is to stay and enjoy her presence.
She's planned and worked long and hard to create an atmosphere and meal or event that will delight you and she did it because she wants to sit and create memories with you over that meal and in that atmosphere. The worst thing you can do is rush off. It will disappoint her and leave her disheartened. Truly.
The highest compliment you can pay your hostess is to stay and enjoy her company. That little plague, "Sit Long. Talk Much. Laugh Often." was, no doubt, written by someone just like your hostess. She means it with all her heart. It's not just lip service for her. It's her gift to you to prepare a lovely time and place for you to do those 3 things. She had a ball preparing everything for her guests and now she just wants to sit and enjoy the fruit of her labor. Fellowship. Relationship. Conversation. Memories.
Receive her gift and relish it. Enjoy every minute and stay as long as you can. She will love that. She'll treasure those memories and think about them often with such fondness. It's why she hosts. It starts out as a creative outlet but it ends in a lifetime of reminiscence.
If she's planned dancing or games that means she's gone to a lot of trouble with music selection or game preparations. She's thorough, remember? She's put painstaking detail into every aspect of the gathering so she plans to enjoy it all.....with YOU! Don't eat and run! Talk, dance, play, celebrate! Do it all! She's framed the whole event with your pleasure and enjoyment in mind. Don't spoil her dream.
Sure, you can take pictures of her table and compliment her all you want. Ask for her recipes and gush over her beautiful home and decorations but, most of all, relax and enjoy it for a long time. You will bless her most of all with that. Sit long. Talk much. Laugh often.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Money, money, money
Apparently pastors get lots of negative feedback when they talk about money in church. I've been in church my whole life and heard more sermons on tithing by more speakers than I can count but all of them have one thing in common. They all admit that they are anticipating smart remarks or adverse reactions on the topic. I assume that this is based on past experience.
How sad.
I don't know who these critics are. Evidently they are everywhere. Every church. Every denomination. They aren't my friends or family. I must be blessed with mature, Christ-honoring Believers who actually think we ought to obey every word of The Word and I'm grateful that those are the people God has placed in my life.
But the protesters are out there and they must be bold.
Just this week my pastor taught on the principle of tithing and stewardship. He did a great job and he did, in fact, mention a time or two that he had, in the past, and was expecting again some less than thrilled sentiment on the subject matter. But while listening to his instruction I was struck afresh by the Loving-kindness and Grace of our God. Yep. During a sermon on money.
My pastor vividly pointed out, using ten $1 bills, that God gives us $10 and requires only one be given back to Him. How sweet is that! God owns it all. It's His. He allows me to have $10. He challenges and requires me to return $1 so that I can participate in His Kindgom work and be blessed by being a blessing to others. But He graciously allows me the choice. It's my decision. Free will.
THEN, as if that weren't lenient and thoughtful enough, He says, "Now go enjoy the other $9."
Doesn't that strike you as absurdly generous? I mean, it's His money. He has rights to all of it and could certainly properly demand a larger percentage than 10%. But He doesn't.
And yet people...church members, Christ-followers, Believers, people of Faith....get upset when our pastors talk about money. Maybe that's exactly God's point.
I Googled the average tax rates in the U.S. As Americans we pay anywhere from 4.35% to 9.43% on the things we purchase every day depending on where you live. I pay 8.75%. Definitely on the higher end and I don't even blink an eye. I bet you don't most days either.
Black Friday. Now there's a term that conjures up some images in our minds. Good deals. Long lines. Early morns. Millions of people stood in ridiculously long lines at ludicrous hours of the day to save money on stuff. I bet not one customer got to the cash register and walked away because the sales tax was too high on their flat screen. Nope. They knew it was coming. Figured it in with the price. Counted it. Paid it. No protesting. No verbal outcries. No boycotts. Just paid it.
Paid it to the Government, no less. Fallible, at best, men and women who squander it away as if they had a right to. But we pay it everyday with every swipe of our maxed out credit cards and don't give much thought to that percentage they will take from us and use as they see fit, sinful as they are and as despicably and shoddy as they have previously allocated these funds.
And yet we won't trust an All Loving, All Knowing, All Powerful God of the Universe that we pray to and say we Believe in with a meager 10% so "that there may be food in His house". He, in turn and unlike the Government, promises to flood us with blessing we won't even have room to contain AND protect us from being devoured by pests....if we'll take Him up on it. But most won't.
God doesn't need our money. He's God. He wants our hearts because He desires relationship with us. He wants us to reflect His heart because He knows it will make us fulfilled and full of purpose and ultimately happy. So He asks us to join Him. "I'll let you keep 90%. Just give me 10% and we'll be partners in this grand 'business' of saving people and changing the world. You'll be amazed what we can do together if you'll just obey my precepts. They're for your good. I promise. And I'll protect you. Test me. You'll see."
“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ 'In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,' says the Lord Almighty." Malachi 3:8-11
God says we're robbing Him. That's because it belongs to Him to begin with. That's made perfectly clear in Scripture over and over again but I guess that's where people start tripping. They think it's theirs in the first place and it's not. If they would embrace this elementary Truth they wouldn't be ambushing pastors over sermons on money.
But, again, there's God's point. It's not about money. It's about the heart. God could have arranged it the other way around. "Here's 10% for you. I'll take 90% for My World Changing Fund." Or any other variations. 80/20. 70/30. 50/50. But He didn't. Just 10. Only 10. "Start with 10 and see what I do! I think you'll be willing to invest more once you see the rewards." That's a pretty sweet deal. Try finding that one on Wall Street.
So, to the Givers and lovers of God's whole Counsel. The true partners in His invitation to join Him financially as an indication of their full and complete devotion and undivided heart, I say: Affirm your pastor when he approaches this topic. Encourage him and bless him for speaking the Truth. Pray for him to have boldness. Give and give again. Teach the principle to your children and their children. And expect God to bless.
And to all the pastors courageous enough to teach on tithing I say: Preach It! And don't apologize.
Finally, to the critics: Test God. He invites you to. Tithe for 6 months and see what happens. But whatever you do, stop harrassing our pastors. They answer to a much higher Authority than you. I, for one, am glad they talk about the hard stuff and are willing to stand up to bullies like you. You reveal your heart when you bellyache about a sermon on money. Grow up.
How sad.
I don't know who these critics are. Evidently they are everywhere. Every church. Every denomination. They aren't my friends or family. I must be blessed with mature, Christ-honoring Believers who actually think we ought to obey every word of The Word and I'm grateful that those are the people God has placed in my life.
But the protesters are out there and they must be bold.
Just this week my pastor taught on the principle of tithing and stewardship. He did a great job and he did, in fact, mention a time or two that he had, in the past, and was expecting again some less than thrilled sentiment on the subject matter. But while listening to his instruction I was struck afresh by the Loving-kindness and Grace of our God. Yep. During a sermon on money.
My pastor vividly pointed out, using ten $1 bills, that God gives us $10 and requires only one be given back to Him. How sweet is that! God owns it all. It's His. He allows me to have $10. He challenges and requires me to return $1 so that I can participate in His Kindgom work and be blessed by being a blessing to others. But He graciously allows me the choice. It's my decision. Free will.
THEN, as if that weren't lenient and thoughtful enough, He says, "Now go enjoy the other $9."
Doesn't that strike you as absurdly generous? I mean, it's His money. He has rights to all of it and could certainly properly demand a larger percentage than 10%. But He doesn't.
And yet people...church members, Christ-followers, Believers, people of Faith....get upset when our pastors talk about money. Maybe that's exactly God's point.
I Googled the average tax rates in the U.S. As Americans we pay anywhere from 4.35% to 9.43% on the things we purchase every day depending on where you live. I pay 8.75%. Definitely on the higher end and I don't even blink an eye. I bet you don't most days either.
Black Friday. Now there's a term that conjures up some images in our minds. Good deals. Long lines. Early morns. Millions of people stood in ridiculously long lines at ludicrous hours of the day to save money on stuff. I bet not one customer got to the cash register and walked away because the sales tax was too high on their flat screen. Nope. They knew it was coming. Figured it in with the price. Counted it. Paid it. No protesting. No verbal outcries. No boycotts. Just paid it.
Paid it to the Government, no less. Fallible, at best, men and women who squander it away as if they had a right to. But we pay it everyday with every swipe of our maxed out credit cards and don't give much thought to that percentage they will take from us and use as they see fit, sinful as they are and as despicably and shoddy as they have previously allocated these funds.
And yet we won't trust an All Loving, All Knowing, All Powerful God of the Universe that we pray to and say we Believe in with a meager 10% so "that there may be food in His house". He, in turn and unlike the Government, promises to flood us with blessing we won't even have room to contain AND protect us from being devoured by pests....if we'll take Him up on it. But most won't.
God doesn't need our money. He's God. He wants our hearts because He desires relationship with us. He wants us to reflect His heart because He knows it will make us fulfilled and full of purpose and ultimately happy. So He asks us to join Him. "I'll let you keep 90%. Just give me 10% and we'll be partners in this grand 'business' of saving people and changing the world. You'll be amazed what we can do together if you'll just obey my precepts. They're for your good. I promise. And I'll protect you. Test me. You'll see."
“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ 'In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,' says the Lord Almighty." Malachi 3:8-11
God says we're robbing Him. That's because it belongs to Him to begin with. That's made perfectly clear in Scripture over and over again but I guess that's where people start tripping. They think it's theirs in the first place and it's not. If they would embrace this elementary Truth they wouldn't be ambushing pastors over sermons on money.
But, again, there's God's point. It's not about money. It's about the heart. God could have arranged it the other way around. "Here's 10% for you. I'll take 90% for My World Changing Fund." Or any other variations. 80/20. 70/30. 50/50. But He didn't. Just 10. Only 10. "Start with 10 and see what I do! I think you'll be willing to invest more once you see the rewards." That's a pretty sweet deal. Try finding that one on Wall Street.
So, to the Givers and lovers of God's whole Counsel. The true partners in His invitation to join Him financially as an indication of their full and complete devotion and undivided heart, I say: Affirm your pastor when he approaches this topic. Encourage him and bless him for speaking the Truth. Pray for him to have boldness. Give and give again. Teach the principle to your children and their children. And expect God to bless.
And to all the pastors courageous enough to teach on tithing I say: Preach It! And don't apologize.
"Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged. 1 Chronicles 22:13
"David also said to Solomon his son, 'Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished.'" 1 Chronicles 28:20
Finally, to the critics: Test God. He invites you to. Tithe for 6 months and see what happens. But whatever you do, stop harrassing our pastors. They answer to a much higher Authority than you. I, for one, am glad they talk about the hard stuff and are willing to stand up to bullies like you. You reveal your heart when you bellyache about a sermon on money. Grow up.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Toe to Toe with my Enemy
Several months ago I abruptly left a public gathering of Believers in an emotional tizzy. Several people inquired as to my spontaneous exit. Here was my response to them. I've added some new insights the Lord has taught me more recently. I hope it is of encouragement to you.
Bottom line: The Enemy and I were already toe to toe last night before I even arrived at choir rehearsal and by the time I had heard all the wonderful praise reports and encouragement from others the devil and I were wrestling fiercely. As we started to sing his fiery darts were coming at machine gun pace and they were painful, viscous, pointed and aimed right at my most vulnerable places and I was succumbing....and fast.
When all the praise reports were being expressed I know there had to be some war-torn, battle weary souls in the room like me who were thinking, "But it doesn't always happen that way, does it?" "It sure ain't happenin' that way for me right now!"
God doesn't always move our mountains is 3 months much less 3 days! (Praise God He does work quickly on occasion and I am rejoicing with those of you who testified of His power and expedience in your lives this week. Hallelujah!)
Sometimes bondage is broken over time. Sometimes God's answer to our prayer is worse than "No"
It's, "Wait"!
Yikes! Can I get a witness?
Anyway, I knew I needed to fight back quickly, loudly and with Scripture! I was under attack! I needed to get out of that room and fight The Father of Lies with The Truth! And it couldn't wait.
I just want to encourage everyone (especially those of us still waiting on the Lord or journeying through our bondage breaking) to trust absolutely in the Presence and Love of God. His Presence is a fact. He IS with us as Believers in Christ. His Presence is unchanging but the EVIDENCE of His Presence is not. Sometimes God chooses to use less evidences of His Presence to grow us and stretch us and it can be downright painful.
That's where I find myself right now and I KNOW some of you are there with me. I've seen your prayer requests and I know you feel God may have "checked out" on you because the answer or relief has seemed slow in coming. But God doesn't always immediately quiet the storm. Often he chooses to allow the storm to rage and wants us to get to know Him on a whole new level. A level we could never get to if there was always Peace and His Presence was powerfully evident.
There are some things that only grow in the valleys and never on the mountaintops! The vegetation is completely different on the mountain top than it is in the valley and in the life of the Believer those two places serve two distinct purposes and produce totally different fruit.
God often insists on a lengthy or prolonged process of healing/deliverance/freedom because He's looking for a relationship with us. He is pursuing us! He wants the Deliverer to be more precious than the Deliverance! Many times we forget that waiting on God forces desperation for God. I don't know about you, but when I am desperate I become real willing to listen to whatever God has to say. I think that's the point! God considers the lapse of time between slavery and freedom criticial (Ouch!). He patiently waits for us to be convinced of His faithfulness. Faithfulness we are sure of. Sure of....sometimes without current, real-time evidence in our present circumstances.
God's Love and His Presence are facts and they are perfect. Satan wants us to believe that God must not love us much or He'd answer our prayers quicker or deliver us instantly. But nothing could be further from the Truth. The most faithful Believers will be entrusted with trials. (Job, David, Peter, Paul.)
The Word of God uses the phrase "unfailing love" 32 times and not once is it attributed to people. Every single use of the phrase refers to God and God alone. He loves us with an unfailing love and He's the only one who does.
He loves you and He is with you. Reject any thought to the contrary! It's a lie!
"Then Jesus returned from the Jordan full of the Holy Spirit and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness." (Luke 4:1) Did you catch that? Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Nothing about it was accidental or coincidental. It was a test. A test to see if Jesus would rely completely and totally on His Father. As Believers you and I never enter our wilderness without the Spirit. He IS with us, too. And there is nothing "off the grid" or haphazard about our entrance there. It has purpose.
"Then Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread throughout the entire vicinity." (Luke 4:14) So Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit and full of the Holy Spirit but he returned from the wilderness in the power of the Spirit. We have the opportunity to exit our wilderness experience in the power of the Spirit if we will rely on God and His Word as our sole sufficiency as Jesus did.
Wield your SWORD! God's Word is at your disposal! Use it!
That's what I was doing last night. I fought my enemy and eventually sent him scurrying having been whipped handily by the Word of God (not me). And then the Lord and I wrestled awhile over the spiritual places He has me right now. Of course, I lost that match! But ultimately I won. Once again (and for the billionth time) I yielded to His absolute but Loving authority and Presence in my life.
I may not be out of the valley but I know He is with me there and I know He loves me perfectly. I hope and pray this has been an encouragement to some of you who are with me in the growing place of the valley right now. I am praying for you and I appreciate your prayers for me. May we be found faithful and more in love with our Jesus than ever when we reach our next mountaintop.
"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith---of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire---may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." I Peter 1:6 & 7
"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions---it is by grace you have been saved." Ephesians 2:4-5
"Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." Psalm 139:7-10
Bottom line: The Enemy and I were already toe to toe last night before I even arrived at choir rehearsal and by the time I had heard all the wonderful praise reports and encouragement from others the devil and I were wrestling fiercely. As we started to sing his fiery darts were coming at machine gun pace and they were painful, viscous, pointed and aimed right at my most vulnerable places and I was succumbing....and fast.
When all the praise reports were being expressed I know there had to be some war-torn, battle weary souls in the room like me who were thinking, "But it doesn't always happen that way, does it?" "It sure ain't happenin' that way for me right now!"
God doesn't always move our mountains is 3 months much less 3 days! (Praise God He does work quickly on occasion and I am rejoicing with those of you who testified of His power and expedience in your lives this week. Hallelujah!)
Sometimes bondage is broken over time. Sometimes God's answer to our prayer is worse than "No"
It's, "Wait"!
Yikes! Can I get a witness?
Anyway, I knew I needed to fight back quickly, loudly and with Scripture! I was under attack! I needed to get out of that room and fight The Father of Lies with The Truth! And it couldn't wait.
I just want to encourage everyone (especially those of us still waiting on the Lord or journeying through our bondage breaking) to trust absolutely in the Presence and Love of God. His Presence is a fact. He IS with us as Believers in Christ. His Presence is unchanging but the EVIDENCE of His Presence is not. Sometimes God chooses to use less evidences of His Presence to grow us and stretch us and it can be downright painful.
That's where I find myself right now and I KNOW some of you are there with me. I've seen your prayer requests and I know you feel God may have "checked out" on you because the answer or relief has seemed slow in coming. But God doesn't always immediately quiet the storm. Often he chooses to allow the storm to rage and wants us to get to know Him on a whole new level. A level we could never get to if there was always Peace and His Presence was powerfully evident.
There are some things that only grow in the valleys and never on the mountaintops! The vegetation is completely different on the mountain top than it is in the valley and in the life of the Believer those two places serve two distinct purposes and produce totally different fruit.
God often insists on a lengthy or prolonged process of healing/deliverance/freedom because He's looking for a relationship with us. He is pursuing us! He wants the Deliverer to be more precious than the Deliverance! Many times we forget that waiting on God forces desperation for God. I don't know about you, but when I am desperate I become real willing to listen to whatever God has to say. I think that's the point! God considers the lapse of time between slavery and freedom criticial (Ouch!). He patiently waits for us to be convinced of His faithfulness. Faithfulness we are sure of. Sure of....sometimes without current, real-time evidence in our present circumstances.
God's Love and His Presence are facts and they are perfect. Satan wants us to believe that God must not love us much or He'd answer our prayers quicker or deliver us instantly. But nothing could be further from the Truth. The most faithful Believers will be entrusted with trials. (Job, David, Peter, Paul.)
The Word of God uses the phrase "unfailing love" 32 times and not once is it attributed to people. Every single use of the phrase refers to God and God alone. He loves us with an unfailing love and He's the only one who does.
He loves you and He is with you. Reject any thought to the contrary! It's a lie!
"Then Jesus returned from the Jordan full of the Holy Spirit and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness." (Luke 4:1) Did you catch that? Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Nothing about it was accidental or coincidental. It was a test. A test to see if Jesus would rely completely and totally on His Father. As Believers you and I never enter our wilderness without the Spirit. He IS with us, too. And there is nothing "off the grid" or haphazard about our entrance there. It has purpose.
"Then Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread throughout the entire vicinity." (Luke 4:14) So Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit and full of the Holy Spirit but he returned from the wilderness in the power of the Spirit. We have the opportunity to exit our wilderness experience in the power of the Spirit if we will rely on God and His Word as our sole sufficiency as Jesus did.
Wield your SWORD! God's Word is at your disposal! Use it!
That's what I was doing last night. I fought my enemy and eventually sent him scurrying having been whipped handily by the Word of God (not me). And then the Lord and I wrestled awhile over the spiritual places He has me right now. Of course, I lost that match! But ultimately I won. Once again (and for the billionth time) I yielded to His absolute but Loving authority and Presence in my life.
I may not be out of the valley but I know He is with me there and I know He loves me perfectly. I hope and pray this has been an encouragement to some of you who are with me in the growing place of the valley right now. I am praying for you and I appreciate your prayers for me. May we be found faithful and more in love with our Jesus than ever when we reach our next mountaintop.
"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith---of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire---may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." I Peter 1:6 & 7
"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions---it is by grace you have been saved." Ephesians 2:4-5
"Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." Psalm 139:7-10
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Pick Me! Pick Me!
Remember grade school P.E. class? On days the teacher had not prepared anything more productive to do he or she would choose two team captains for some sport--any sport-- and they would begin the process of picking a team, one... at... a... time. Back and forth they would go until all classmates were chosen. Now I wasn't very athletic in grade school so I was always picked last. Didn't matter what game it was. Didn't matter who the captain was. I was the last one chosen. It was horrible. Terribly painful. With each "pick" I would feel the sting of rejection over and over again and I knew I'd be last. They didn't want me. I couldn't kick, run, dribble, steal, slide, throw or catch. I was last. Chosen? Not!
Now this next line is gonna sound contradictory but stick with me.
I had an extremely wonderful childhood and turned out to be a teenager and adult with a great deal of confidence.
"What?" you say! "How? But you just said..."
I know.
See, in P.E. things were hard but at home things were great. I had exceptional parents. The kind of parents every little girl or boy should have. They loved me unconditionally and they told me so....often. My dad, in particular, was highly instrumental in providing me with a strong confidence in who I was. He hugged me daily. He told me he loved me every day. He spent time with me. He encouraged me. He gave me lots of "atta girls!" He told me I was beautiful. He forgave me when I was wrong. I knew my daddy would always be there for me. So, although it would hurt to be the last one chosen to play a sport I knew ultimately that my daddy would choose me on any given day and that I could run home to his open arms and he would wrap me up and make me feel like the most important person in the world.
That was then. A lifetime ago, right?
What about now? Well, even now I can still feel that painful "unchosen" jab. Oh, the grade school thing? That was nothing compared to the grown up kind of brush off. No, there are new opportunities to feel the pain of rejection as an adult. Have you felt it? A dear friend who suddenly stops returning your calls forever. A ministry leader who favors another. A boss who passes you over repeatedly for that promotion. A sibling or a spouse who choose their needs over yours. A parent who chooses alcohol or drugs over you. A child who runs away. A phone call: "I'm sorry. We are unable to use you at this time."
"And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory." Romans 8:29-31
"So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it." Colossians 3:11-13
"But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted." 1 Peter 2:8-10
Now this next line is gonna sound contradictory but stick with me.
I had an extremely wonderful childhood and turned out to be a teenager and adult with a great deal of confidence.
"What?" you say! "How? But you just said..."
I know.
See, in P.E. things were hard but at home things were great. I had exceptional parents. The kind of parents every little girl or boy should have. They loved me unconditionally and they told me so....often. My dad, in particular, was highly instrumental in providing me with a strong confidence in who I was. He hugged me daily. He told me he loved me every day. He spent time with me. He encouraged me. He gave me lots of "atta girls!" He told me I was beautiful. He forgave me when I was wrong. I knew my daddy would always be there for me. So, although it would hurt to be the last one chosen to play a sport I knew ultimately that my daddy would choose me on any given day and that I could run home to his open arms and he would wrap me up and make me feel like the most important person in the world.
That was then. A lifetime ago, right?
What about now? Well, even now I can still feel that painful "unchosen" jab. Oh, the grade school thing? That was nothing compared to the grown up kind of brush off. No, there are new opportunities to feel the pain of rejection as an adult. Have you felt it? A dear friend who suddenly stops returning your calls forever. A ministry leader who favors another. A boss who passes you over repeatedly for that promotion. A sibling or a spouse who choose their needs over yours. A parent who chooses alcohol or drugs over you. A child who runs away. A phone call: "I'm sorry. We are unable to use you at this time."
The cold shoulder. Dismissal. Elimination. Exclusion. Kick in teeth. Pass. Renunciation. Repudiation. Slap in the face. Stab in the back. Punch in the gut. The ol' thumbs down, turndown, veto.....of you.
Don't take it personally? Are you kidding? It IS personal. It's very personal.
I'm married now and live in my own house with my husband and two daughters. My daddy doesn't live with me anymore.
So what do I do now with life's rejection moments? Life's unchosen seasons?
Over the last several years I've felt that familiar burn of rejection repeatedly and it began to really devastate me. I felt valueless and unwanted deep down in my soul. I wanted to cry out, "Pick me! Pick me! Somebody! Anybody! Please pick me!" The feelings of being denied over and over again plagued me and I was losing my confidence at a rapid pace.
But recently I've been learning what I've been doing wrong in the face of this lack of approval. I forgot where to run and Who to run to.
I run home to my Daddy. My Abba Father. No matter who doesn't choose me on any given day I know of Someone who "chose me before the foundation of the world." (Ephesians 1:4)
I AM CHOSEN. Period. Chosen by the Creator of the universe! Chosen! Me! Chosen by a Holy and perfect God! Chosen by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Chosen by His Majesty, King Jesus!
I don't have to stand on a field or court or stage or at home or work or church or in friendship or any circle anywhere and wonder if I'll be picked last ever again. God Chose me. He chose me before the foundation of the world and He continues to chose me every day. He chose me before I ever chose Him.
When Satan tempts me to feel less than hand-picked I rub his scrawny little nose in this Truth: "So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? " Romans 8:30 (The Message)
Here are a few more "Chosen" verses for your battle with "Pick me, Pick me syndrome". Its the only thing that will truly cure. Run to Daddy. Run to His Word.
He Chose you!
"For you are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure."
Deuteronomy 7:5-7
Deuteronomy 7:5-7
"What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen as his inheritance."
Psalm 33:11-13
Psalm 33:11-13
"...you children of his servant Abraham, you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones."
Psalm 105:5-7
Psalm 105:5-7
"I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you."
Isaiah 41:8-10
Isaiah 41:8-10
"And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world —from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven."
Matthew 24:30-32
Matthew 24:30-32
"You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you [I have planted you], that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit may be lasting [that it may remain, abide], so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name [as presenting all that I AM], He may give it to you."
John 15:15-17
John 15:15-17
“Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth." Acts 22:13-15
"And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory." Romans 8:29-31
"So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it." Colossians 3:11-13
"But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted." 1 Peter 2:8-10
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