Freedom Friday

“Since we have been united with (Jesus) in His death, we will also be raised to life as He was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.” – Romans 6:5-7 (NLT) 

This verse + this quote = BOOM. I must not be blind to my sin, thinking that it is “not that big of a deal” because I’m not a murderer or rapist. Sin is sin is sin. There are no levels.

I need to be honest about the areas of darkness in my life. When I confess those areas to God, He’s not surprised at all. So, why do it? Simply because when I confess it to Him, light shines in the darkness, and the darkness no longer threatens to overcome me. Today I speak this truth to myself: I am no longer a slave to sin. Christ died for me…all of me…even the dark parts.

What a Disney Princess Taught Me Today

“Is there someone in your life that you can cry with when things are overwhelming?”

This is a question that one of my girlfriend’s was asked by by her counselor and, when she shared it with me, I realized that my answer to this was no. Not because I don’t have people in my life who would be there for me in my time of need….I really do. I am blessed to have friends and family members that demonstrate selfless, non-judgmental, real life love to me and my family on a regular basis.

Since this is true, I wondered to myself why I didn’t have a go to person that I could cry with.

Then, it hit me this morning….when I saw a picture of Ariel. You know….Ariel….the Disney princess. The one who looks like she may have a wardrobe malfunction at any moment.

There are not many things about this woman/girl that I can ever hold out hope to imitate. Certainly not her abs…..and, I have never owned a bikini….or even a swimsuit that I feel comfortable in, for that matter. I once felt comfortable in a full wetsuit….I think that’s why I have a love of jet-skis – it’s the only water-related activity where it’s totally normal to be fully clothed in all black. Sleek and slimming=YES.

The only thing I have tried to imitate and somewhat succeeded at is going for the cool red hair look.

(Note to my college self: just because your hair is red does NOT mean you can pull off a pixie cut.)

Anyway, back to Ariel. Now, thanks to Buzzfeed, I can show you what her hair REALLY looked like when she came up out of the water singing about her soon-to-be man:

Ah, the beach look.

So, what do a mermaid and the crying friend question have in common?

I realize that I like my life to look like the Ariel on the top. Put together, pristine, perfect….or at the very least, presentable. And I’m not just talking about my looks here.

I came to the realization that if I had a “cry it out” friend it would mean that I am not perfect and that I would have to admit that to someone else (like they don’t already know that). I have to admit that I have a reason to cry….and then I would have to share this reason (or, more likely, MULTIPLE reasons) with another human.

Vulnerable. Open. Honest.

Those are not words that have anything in common with the alliteration I listed before: put together, pristine, perfect….or at the very least, presentable.

Truth time: I don’t want to have a “cry it out” friend. I’d much rather be there for a friend as they cry it out.

Hey, I guess the first step is admitting it.

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For the full Buzzfeed “If Disney Princesses Had Realistic Hair” collection: click here.

Both/And

Ah, New Year resolutions. Time for you and 200 of your closest friends to bum rush the treadmill at the YMCA and buy up all the green vegetables at Whole Foods. Man, I’ve been there….nearly every year since I was a wee teenager. But this year, I’m trying something new.

My resolution is this: I am going to blog more.

Now, to do that, I am going to have to do other things less. Namely, binge watch Netflix shows. (Darn you, Netflix, and your thousands of time-sucking TV series.)

What am I going to blog about? Anything I want to and, more importantly, anything that is laid on my heart.

This morning, I thought about having a theme for each day. After running through a ton of options I narrowed it down to just doing a theme on Mondays (Music Mondays) and Fridays (Freedom Fridays). That leaves the other days of the week open for inspiration.

I don’t do that enough….leave room for inspiration, that is.

You see, I love to plan. I am a self-proclaimed Type A personality. But, I have come to learn over the years that not everything in life is best run by my Type A tendencies. Inspiration usually hits me when I planned to do something else entirely.

So, I’m meeting myself in the middle. (See how I’m following my own advice in my last blog post and giving myself grace? Go me!) I planned some topics and left room for others to come out of the woodwork.

I’m going to convince myself that this life is not either/or.

Welcome to 2015….the year of both/and.

Losing the battle

I am a loser. Every day of my life. I lose battles countless times a day. The battle against my anger. The battle against my pride. The battle against my self-righteous attitude. The battle against my laziness. The battle against my selfishness. And on….and on….

I know you are a loser too.

You told me yesterday that you knew you should have spoken up, but you didn’t. It’s not too late, I said. There’s still time. Speak out. God gave you that personality for a reason!

You told me last week that you try to rise above the misogynistic attitude at your church and just serve Him in spite of it but, you let your frustration out in front of your brothers and sisters in Christ the other day and it caused problems. That is normal and to be expected because you are human, I said. Apologies go a long way, even if the person you are apologizing to still has their wall up. 

You told me last month that you don’t know how to do this marriage thing now that you are parents. You resent him because you don’t think he gets how hard it is to be a mother and a professional woman. I get it. I SOOOOO get it, I said. This life thing + kids is harder than we ever thought, isn’t it? Don’t be afraid to lean into your spouse. Tell him your needs. Tell him your fears. He loves you. He cares. Even if he doesn’t respond in the way you need Him to.

You told me last year that you can’t get over the hurt in your past. It is ruining your marriage. It makes you a fearful parent. You are worth more than a life of fear and pain, I said. Not just because I say so….because He says so. You are His beloved child in whom He is well pleased. He does not see your shame. He sees the beauty that Jesus won for you when he busted out of that grave. He sees the Holy Spirit inside of you that adorns you with peace and comfort. Speak of these things to yourself when you go to bed and when you rise. Speak them out loud for all those demons and negative tapes in your head to hear.

Yes, we are all losers when you look at our lives battle by battle.

Praise God that we are not judged by our battle losses.

Satan says: “There she goes again. Another loss. See that God? She’s not really Yours.”

The Holy Spirit says: “Hold up. That is a lie. That battle loss is covered by the blood of Jesus. Your accusation is DENIED.”

Jesus says: “That’s right. I was there with her before that battle, I was there when the battle took place, and I was there when she lost the battle. At no time did I love her any less. My sacrifice is enough to cover this.”

God says: “Your accusations do not define her, Satan. She is MY daughter and I am proud to say that.”

Yes, we are losers in the battle. But PRAISE GOD that He has won the war.

“‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” – Zechariah 4:6 (NIV)