Thursday, November 12, 2015

Own Your Life Chapter 3



Sorry for the small delay in getting back into Own Your Life by Sally Clarkson, but I have been SO groggy from anesthesia that my thoughts haven't been all that clear and I was falling asleep at the drop of a hat.  So, let's jump back in together and read Chapter 3.  I may try to do another chapter later on today...we'll see how I feel.  Anyway, go grab some coffee and let's get into Chapter 3 together on Listening to New Voices and owning your true identity

I love that she met a friend that truly seemed to understand her.  I love it when God gives me people in my life like that.  I am an introvert myself so I struggle with making friends sometimes, but I love those people that I feel immediately comfortable with and there's trust there and I just seem to open up and bubble out.  I'm not that way with many people, so I liked Sally's description of how God gave her that lady to sit and talk with and that they were alike in certain ways.  My heart broke for her friend though when she said that her Mom had such a negative view of her and how she still carries that around and sees herself that way.

"I never tried to be a dreamer-idealist, that's just how I came out of the womb.  I loved embarking on adventures, meeting people, taking risks, and challenging the "accepted paths of life.  Yet my dancing, singing, laughing soul seemed to irritate my family.  I was left feeling as if I was "too much" or somehow wrong, for most people."  That quote by Sally really spoke to my heart.  I will admit that I get that way sometimes with members of my own family at times as things get really LOUD in here at times and my soul just can't handle it at times.  But, it makes me see that I need to handle it with love and grace so that I'm not leaving anyone hurt or feeling this way.

She also really spoke to me when she said that "internal critics may point fingers of accusation at our hearts and paralyze us from moving through life with freedom and emotional health."  Oh yes, how that has held true in my own life.  I won't discuss it right now, but I will say that it may have taken me 30 years to process some things that have happened in my life and I gave more than one chance and I finally had to allow myself the grace of telling myself if it happened one more time, it was okay to put a "boundary" there.  Needless to say, it happened again, and I had to give myself permission to close the door for awhile.  I pray for them, but I had to decide that I am worth it to try to move forward in this life and that I knew my heart where the other people didn't and they were trying to keep throwing me backwards in their own grief and they were too busy trying to tell me how I should be living.  So thankful to God and His guidance in those moments and He really spoke to my heart there.  If I think about it too much, I tend to still get emotional about it, but for the most part, I'm just trying to move forward the best way that I can and pray that one day they will see that I had no ill intentions and that I was just trying to make the best of things that I have been dealt.  I truly have just put it in God's hands...but that quote by Sally just really jumped out at me and spoke to my heart.

"Only God offers deep-down inner acceptance and approval.  Only His unconditional love and acceptance will satisfy our longings.  On His ways bring vibrant health."  I need to write that on all the bathroom mirrors in thsi house.  We all need to see this quote on a daily basis!

"Trying to live up to all the voices around you in this world will always leave you feeling inadequate."  I am trying to do better with this one as a people-pleaser.  I've had to really listen to my husband who is always telling me that it does not matter what others think as long as "we" are happy with how and what we are doing and that we are obeying with God calls us to do.  I am so fortunate that he truly understands and sees things and that he can speak that truth to me.  I am slowly improving, although sometimes I really do let others get the best of me.  I am enough in Christ and I need to give myself grace where I fall short.  I need Jesus every day and am so thankful that He died for me.  I am enough.  I don't need to feel guilty for not pleasing everyone at all times in every situation.

I absolutely loved this quote too "From God's point of view, you, too, are a princess.  After all, He is a king, and if you've chosen to follow Him, He has adoopted you as His daughter.  Your past is wiped away, and your future is defined by His adoption of you."  That's pretty awesome, isn't it?  Another quote I need to put on bathroom mirrors or bedroom doors.  How beautiful and a powerful reminder!

"Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.  The old life is gone; a new life has begun!  2 Corinthians 5:17

Dear God, please help us tune out the negative voices in our heads and that come from others and help us really learn to look to Your Word to speak truth into our lives and to show us how You truly see us.  We are redeemed by Jesus, forgiven, and cherished.

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