This Getting Real Stuff Is For You

When you read my blog about getting real with yourself, with God and with those around you, do you actually think about it beyond the time that you read my post?  Do you find yourself being more open to others about the life you have?  I'm not talking about "venting your spleen" like Tommy Nelson would say, but I'm talking about really listening to your friends hurts, stories, celebrations and finding ways to relate to them because you are consistantly viewing the world around you through the lense of what is true....Truth.  Are you getting better at reaching out to others and relating to them and their circumstances because you are learning how to be REAL with yourself and the Almighty God (and you're not learning how because of me and my blog, but because of your fellowship with the Living God through reading the Bible and prayer)?  I might not be making sense, but I'm going to hope you are following me.

Women who call ourselves Christian--We are to be women who live to a higher standard than the rest of the women on this planet.  We are to be women of love, women of peace, women of hope, women of encouragement/exhortation, women of strength, women of wisdom, women of gentleness, women of creativity, women of excellence.....to be like Christ lived and treated others.  If we go through life ignoring who we are made to be, we can't help others around us very well.  If we pretend to be strong when we are still very weak because we aren't trusting in God, the fake strength we've "mustered" up will wither much quicker than if we come to God as a weak vessel and ask Him to make us strong in His might and not our own.  Then, that strong woman we wanted or needed to be will be there for those we intended it for, but instead of a human and broken version of strength, we will have an on-going supply of God's strength.

One thing I struggle with recently is being negative. It's funny, though, because so many times I don't see it as a negative attitude. I see it as.....well, this IS the way things ARE.  So I am going to view THIS situation just the way IT really is.  haha!  My husband and friends continue to lovingly remind me if I view the situation as a disaster, then that is what it is. But if I view it differently, that it has potential to be restored and made better, then there is a great chance that something good will come of the situation.  For some reason, recently, even that way of thinking just seems dishonest to me. HAHAHA!  For instance, If the glass is empty, THAT GLASS IS EMPTY.  HAHA!  It's strange because I used to be the poster child for the Pollyanna attitude.  I call it the Pollyanna attitude because of the classic movie Pollyanna starring Hayley Mills.  In the story, this little girl Pollyanna was always looking on the bright side of everything.  People in her community were fascinated by her positivity AND at the same time very annoyed by it.  They couldn't see good in things like she did.  Well, when I was a young girl, I saw the world very much the same way.  I loved the movie Pollyanna because I, too, felt like I was sent to this earth to help others see the good in things....the good in people, situations, circumstances and troubles.  Lately, that has faded and I am sad that it isn't present as much as it was in the past. However, it has been very interesting seeing the world through a different lense. 

For some reason, I think my cautiousness to being the Miss Positivity everyday, all the time comes from well....life. life happens.  Life gets crazy....crazy busy. Being a mom is stressful and time consuming. It is very easy to be distracted and put somewhere down on the list of my priorities my faith in God, my devotion to knowing His Word more deeply, my trust in His guidance/wisdom and His provision.  And funny enough, being a mom should tell me right there that I should have my faith in God, my devotion to knowing His Word more deeply and my trust in His guidance/wisdom and His provision on the VERY TOP OF MY LIST OF THINGS TO DO EACH DAY.  It is already abundantly clear to me and my husband....and probably even my two year old son that without a supernatural Help, I cannot do this whole parenting thing very well AT ALL.  haha!   So why does the most amazing, powerful, life-bringing thing---Person get bumped off the "Most Important Person I Should Be Getting to Know Right Now" list? 

There are many answers to that question.  The one that I know right off the bat is: our loving God and King Jesus has an arch enemy--Satan and that Enemy will stop at nothing to make sure God's people find something better to do with their day and their time than spend it in prayer or in study of God's Truth.  The enemy knows God is all-powerful and that He changes lives.....that He makes all things new.  So, the enemy doesn't want us to tap into that.  God's Word warns us many times about being aware of the enemy's schemes and avoiding them by being acquainted with the Holy God and His Word. We are warned throughout God's Word that the enemy's only goal is to steal, kill and destroy all those made by the Almighty God. The enemy wants to mess up all that God has made.  And for those of us who have trusted in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, making us children of the Most High God, the enemy hates us even more. So, simple distractions that keep me from God's Holy Word.....that keep me from really digging into the Truth, from spending quality time praying and listening to God and reading His Word; those simple distractions can be the work of the enemy to stop me from being all that God made me to be in Christ Jesus.

SO, in conclusion, we are loved by the Most High God.  If we know Him as our Heavenly Father and believe Jesus Christ is the way to be in fellowship with the Father, we are able to see the good in anything. We are able to do so simply because God has taken our selfish, sinful selfs and redeemed us....cleansed us from guilt and shame... and given us citizenship in the family of God. He gives us the power to see the good in anything.  We must ask for His view of every situation and not look at the world through our human eyes. When we are real with ourselves about WHO it is who loves us, WHO it is who died for us on a cross and rose from the grave victorious over death, WHO it is who saved us from eternal damnation and gave us eternal life, WHO it is who brings life to all things that are dead, sets captives free, makes the blind see, heals the brokenhearted, restores hope to the crushed in spirit. THEN we can be women who can daily look for the good in the things around us KNOWING God makes all things new in His time.  We can live in the reality of our circumstances whether they be great or grim or just ho-hum but know throughout that length of time that God is our hope, our Rock, our Mighty Fortress, our Deliverer, our King, our Guide, our Healer, and our Savior and so much more.

Please pray for me to dig deeper into knowing God and His Holy Word in the midst of me learning what it is to be a good and godly parent.  Please pray that I don't let my son's schedule become so important that I block out my time with God and His Word.  I need the Lord. I desire to be a woman of Truth even in the days of playing peek-a-boo and hide and go seek with my toddler son.  We need the Lord.  I am praying for all of you as well, that you would all change your world simply because you chose to let God change you from the inside out.

Get real, woman!  Shine like the stars.  Be bold to know God more. And I choose to do the same.
Blessings!

p.s.- This blog has been viewed more than 1800 times since August of 2011.  That's pretty neat!  There have been pageviews from Russia, Latvia, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, England, Germany, Turkey, Uganda and the United States of America. If you would like to share your story with me why you read my blog each month, i'd be happy to post it as a blog post so as to inspire others.  E-mail it to me at: bjhooray@yahoo.com     Be blessed.  Jesus loves you!