Anyone else walk by the mirror and think, “ohhh I wish I change this?!” I have a long list of my attributes that I wish I could trade out, such as my nose, my ears, my eyes, my hair, my gut, my skin, my legs...just to name a few. No one wants to admit it but for many of us, its a painful truth.
Growing up, I was shy but friendly. As a pre-teen girl, the insecurity was compounded when severe cystic acne began, keeping me out of school for days at a time depending on the flare up or treatment days, (oh, and don't forget...with braces). I hated seeing myself in the mirror, and never let people take my picture.
I spent hours in front of the mirror every morning before school, tears in my eyes and anger in my heart, trying to mask my full self, so I could feel normal enough to go in public. I was terrified to cry or sweat in fear the make up or hair would shift out of position.
While I didn’t want to be starred at, on a deeper heart level, I believed if my appearance was less than, they would see me as less than. And who doesn’t wish they were popular in middle school, even though you knew you didn’t really wanna be, but dreamed you could be!?
This is where the Great Cover Up began…dressing up the outward to compensate and distract from the mess underneath. Home was the only place I felt safe and relaxed. No wonder I am such a home-body!
I am thankful for the words of Samuel: 1 Samuel 16:7
“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."
It’s been a long journey of healing to no longer be consumed by the need to hide my mess or prove my value. In fact, it fuels my encouragement ministry.
Here are some ways you can comfort and encourage your friend who you see struggling with this too…
- Speak to her heart: “I see you,” “Your heart is so strong/beautiful,” “God Loves You!”
- Scoot close and sit next to her and let her feel seen and still safe
- Look her in the eyes when she’s talking
One of my favorite things now is the ability to hug without fear. No fear of being closely seen or touched, and no fear of make up accidentally wiped off! What freedom and joy!
God has fearfully and wonderfully made us and is looking at the beauty of our hearts. The King of the Universe, the Creator of all things, knitted us together with intricate and Divine details and we are precious in His sight.
Who needs your safe hug today?
If today's encouragement hugged your HEART today, let me know in the comments or meet me over
in my Facebook Sisterhood Community! Feel free to share this blog with a friend who needs a heart hug too!
This is how YOU get to hug my HEART back!
Heart Hugs and Blessings,
Michele
Most High. This two simple words, Most High, almost escaped me of their power and meaning. I am so glad God didn't allow that.
Over the past year, I have been studying the Psalms for the names of God. Each time I came across a description of Who He was, I'd write it down. What a beautiful page to read at the end of my study time.
After writing them close to a hundred times in my journal, I was becoming numb to them..."Here they are again...(writing)...Most....H-i-g-h. My brain read “yada yada.”
God
LORD
Maker
Almighty
God of Jacob
my Refuge
my Portion
God of heaven
Lord of lords
God of gods
Mighty One
The Lord is God
God of my salvation
Holy One
God my King
Father of the fatherless
Protector of widows
God...Most...High
Most...High
While I didn't want to write it down, I couldn't not write it down. It didn't make sense to me why I needed to write the same one sooooo many times, until now. I get it. God clearly wanted me to know Who was Most High. So, I looked up the definitions.
According to Webster's Dictionary:
most: greatest in amount or degree; to the greatest extent; extremely; very
high: far above ground, sea level, or another point of reference; extending above the normal or average level; great, or greater than normal, in quantity, size or intensity; morally or culturally superior
Wow. The God I seek to know is the God, Most-High. He is far above my point of reference, greater in quantity and intensity than all else, and He is superior. He is extremely God. He is superior to the greatest extent! This is my God! He is above all!
May we remember Who we are seeking after and Who we call LORD our God. He is High above our circumstances. He is Higher than the battle we are fighting. He is Most capable. God, is Most High.
Two simple words to describe the Greatest Power and Authority over all the heavens and the earth. No one and no thing is above Him. He's the Highest. He's the Most.
God, thank You for pressing these words into my spirit. When I feel strong, I praise You for giving me the Most power to conquer what comes against me.
When I feel weak, I praise You for rescuing me from the pit and taking me Higher.
Forgive me for the times I minimize Your Greatness, You are God Most High, my Salvation, my Refuge and my Strength.
God, You are Higher than any other. I trust You to protect and provide for me all that I need. Who else is as great as You!
I praise Your name and am thankful for Your intense Love. I know You Love me More.
Help me love You back the same.
Help Your children remember to never become numb to You.
Forgive us for making You too familiar, common, or small, bringing You down to our human point of reference, for You are to the greatest extent, Most High. Amen.
"Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.
Psalm 47
If today's encouragement hugged your HEART today, let me know in the comments or meet me over
in my Facebook Sisterhood Community! Feel free to share this blog with a friend who needs a heart hug too!
This is how YOU get to hug my HEART back!
Heart Hugs and Blessings,
Michele
Feeling overwhelmed? Here we are at the beginning of a brand new year and the world is shooting out the gate, but does anyone else feel like they are still putting their shoes on? No worries, I will wait for you to tie your laces....
As an Introvert who has struggled with a lifetime of anxiety and insecurity, the comparison trap is an easy one the enemy tosses out there! Do you ever feel defeated that your pace in life feels much slower than everyone else? I sure have and the overwhelm comes from the hustle to try and catch up!
This feeling of overwhelm is a result of looking too far ahead and not seeing where the energy or ability will come from. Depending on your personality and life experiences, you will feel yourself charged and ready to go, or feel frozen, stuck to your seat, unable to get up, at all. I get that! In my 50 years on this earth, I have felt both!
I lived too many years looking way out infront of me and way behind me, rarely beside me. One day God tapped me on my shoulder and said, Hey, look to your side. I saw entire teams of people lacing up their shoes too, stretching in preparation. I wasn't left behind after all.
My encouragement to you is this...take time to look beside you! Here's why:
- Your heart realizes you are not alone (even though you always have Jesus near)
- You stay present in the current moment, season, emotion, task at hand
- Preparation happens in the present
Too many of us are living lives in defeat because we have excused ourselves from the proverbial race seeing everyone strides ahead of where we are, allowing the enemy to whisper in our hearts, You won't ever catch up! And that's okay! Who said we were supposed to catch up!? Let those who have gone before you become iron sharpening mentors, a cloud of cheering witnesses in your race. And those beside you, the locking of arms to walk alongside you as lifters when you grow weary. We need Beside You Sisters.
While there is a time and place to walk in solitude just as Jesus did, you were absolutely created for community. Sisterhood is an key ingredient to a life of strength, endurance and peace. And last thing, look behind you. As you see how far you've come, be blessed knowing you are a cheering witness to those looking forward towards you!
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our affliction,
with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 ESV
If today's encouragement hugged your HEART today, let me know in the comments or meet me over
in my Facebook Sisterhood Community! Feel free to share this blog with a friend who needs a heart hug too!
This is how YOU get to hug my HEART back!
Heart Hugs and Blessings,
Michele
We live in a world where our culture is training our hearts and minds to become reaction and defensive, rather than hopeful and possible. Anxiety and busyness seem to be the new norms and as Christ Followers, we are struggling to fight against this and it's exhausting to be met with unrealistic expectations of hustle to achieve and believe. There is not a place you can go in person or online where you won't come up against a debate, challenge, news alert of tragedy or massive hurt. It feels like the entire world is suffocating and our air is shrinking with it. The only place of refuge and strength is the place our soul rests, in prayer. God knew this world would be challenging, no wonder He instructs us to seek first His Kingdom and never forsake gathering together. We need each other in the Body.
What a weird place we find ourselves in, looking back how far we have come, forward at unimaginable virtual worlds, we aren't even sure are safe as we sit bewildered in the now, of fear and doubt, and yet still, the desire for peace, knowing greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world but our minds wonder how it's possible. Our souls feel anxious, in the prosperity of panic, depleted of peace.
What's sad is our children are stuck in the middle between our training them up in the way they should go and the worlds' reality of hopelessness. Our kids feel clueless and confused. I can't blame them, so are most of us adults!
This world of pressure and expectations, void of peace, leads us into anxious decision making and busyness. As parents, as church members, how much more diligent and zealous we must then be to shine our light and lead with love in a world so desperate for it. Our prayer time is the real battleground.
Friends, we are set apart for such a time as these! It takes great strength to resist following the crowds of hustle and expectations to keep-up with the presumed norm! We won't conform to what the world whispers is the best way and instead choose to be in it as we seek first the Kingdom agenda and life we have been called to. The Way is our Way.
So what does our peaceful "pushing back" look like?
It looks like leading with consistent love, peace, grace, mercy. It looks like honoring and respecting those around us regardless of agreement. It means asking, praying and waiting for God's direction before we move. Pushing back against the norm means we stand alone in some places, understanding we stand winthin an army in Heavenly Places.
We have the choice to choose panic or peace, chaos or Christ. We wake up every day with the choice to be consumed by all the negative things and allow fear to take root, or we choose faith, hope and love which produces life and leads us towards blessings and Our Father’s heart.
When we wait on God's direction and provision, we shall be renewed...because He is faithful, steadfast, a Promise Keeper, Able, Mighty King, Ruler over All, All Knowing, Just, Prince of Peace, the Great I Am. He holds everything together when it looks like it's falling apart, including you!
Let's Go in Peace.
"but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31
Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:1, 6-9
If today's encouragement hugged your HEART today, let me know in the comments or meet me over
in my Facebook Sisterhood Community! Feel free to share this blog with a friend who needs a heart hug too!
This is how YOU get to hug my HEART back!
Heart Hugs and Blessings,
Michele
Our lives are an intricate balance of burdens carried and burdens lifted as we strive to both give and receive in this world, working together for a common good in humility, honor, submitting ourselves to the cause of Christ over our agenda and purpose.
There is a season for everything and our response to those seasons are crucial to the Kingdom of Grace. We a;; carry burdens and have the opportunity to impose them on another but also seeking a prayerful partnership to carry them to the set of Jesus. The imposed burdens we place on others destroys relationships if not confronted. Our sin hurts those around us whether we see it or not, or want to admit it or not. Can we ask for help in sharing our burden? Yes! Ask! God places people in our lives to walk alongside you for such a time as this. The problem comes when when our selfishness and pride keeps us from admitting we are burdening those around us, and causing hurt.
Equally, we will never fully realize how impactful our blessings can be to the ones we serve and love on in the Name of Jesus. May we continually strive to live humbly, serving and loving our Lord first, above all others, confessing our sins to one another that the King of Glory reign in our lives, lifting every burden.
May we set aside our pride and consider how our actions (burdens and blessings) affect others. These simple choices change our world.
Here’s what that can look like:
Burdens Unaware:
Something so simple as the one who took the last square of toilet paper and didn't replace it, or left the milk out all day, or forgot to turn off the hose or bring in the wet towel from the car, ask them. It mattered. It does.
For the one addicted to drugs or alcohol and doesn't think their spouse is impacted, ask them. It does.
For the husband who says his pornography doesn't impact his wife or family, ask them. It does.
For the one who chooses self and assumes others will pick up the slack and not think twice about it, ask them. It does.
For the one who demands their way as the way it has to be, ask them. It does.
For the one who ignores, yells and curses, ask them. It does.
For the one burdened with guilt, shame, fear, insecurity, ask them. It does.
The burden we bear and the burden we cause, affect those around us even when we don't think it does.
Inside Blessings:
For the one who bless their spouse with loving care, consideration and help, ask them. It does.
For the kids who's parent help them and pray for them, ask them. It does.
For the neighbor ill, you've blessed with a meal or yard help, ask them, it does.
For the friend receiving our prayers, encouragement and support, ask them. It does.
For the person who dropped all their items, and you helped, ask them. It does.
For the ones we honor and salute their sacrifice, ask them. It does.
For the hurting friend who we simply hug or share a laugh or cup of coffee with, ask them. It matters.
For the one hungry and we feed them, ask them. It does.
For the hopeless one reminded they have Hope in a Savior, ask them. It does.
For the ones in authority, in military, law, co-workers and church, we take time to honor, ask them. It does.
For the one who realized they once were lost, but now have been found, ask them. It does.
For the one afflicted in the flesh, but consoled by The Healer, ask them. It does.
For the ones we shared our testimony with, restoring faith, ask them. It mattered.
The blessings we give and the ones we receive, carry an eternal weight of glory we cannot imagine this side of Heaven.
Do our actions matter? Yes they do.
For the one caught up in sin, yes, it is hurting you and yes, it is hurting those around you. Ask them. It does. But praise God Almighty, His blood is thick and fresh enough to cover all your sins and cast them far off, to mend your broken places and restore you to the plans and purpose He has created you for.
For you walking alongside another, bearing the burden of another, bless your heart for the love you are showing in Jesus' Name. May He continue to grant you renewed energy, compassion and empathy for them. He is faithful to sustain you in your care for them.
Be careful though, you do not bear more than you ought and get in the way of what God may be doing in their life. Us Encouragers and Peace Makers have a tendency to enable. You will end up hurting yourself in the process and healing will take longer for the both of you, extending the burden further to others.
For the one with the thorn in your flesh, remember for everything there is a season and God's grace will be enough to sustain you during this down time. Be willing to allow others to minister to you or on your behalf as hard as that might be. Check your pride and stubbornness at the door and come rest.
"So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
2 Corinthians 12:8-10
If today's encouragement hugged your HEART today, let me know in the comments or meet me over
in my Facebook Sisterhood Community! Feel free to share this blog with a friend who needs a heart hug too!
This is how YOU get to hug my HEART back!
Heart Hugs and Blessings,
Michele
