Allowing Others to Love the Real You

I remember when I was interviewing for my ministry job. I was very nervous and wanting everyone to be interested in me. Trying to get a group of people to be impressed by what you bring to the table in a short period of time is very challenging. I remember answering some of the questions and I would likely guess that I tried to answer them the way they wanted to hear them, all in hopes to land a job.

Though my personality was probably not too far from what is really "me" I would likely guess some of the other parts of the weekend was filled with "putting my best foot forward." That first experience taught me some lessons to take to other interview opportunities.

Time taught me some important lessons about showing the "real" me so that people will not be getting anything different than what they see initially. The other part of the challenge in landing a job is getting a feel for the other party and hoping to see the real them.

When you go through life, you should be letting people become attached to the real you so there are no surprises if things progress in the relationship. That brings us to this week's quote...

Don't change so people will like you. Be yourself and the right people will love the real you. ~ Unknown

One thing has definitely been learned from that first time, to show the real me. I have utilized this approach in many areas, including interviews. It has caused me to leave the interview knowing that what "they get" will not be a surprise. They will be hiring the person that they interviewed.

The same goes in life. Sometimes we try to make ourselves appear as someone we are not simply to try to impress. However, this quote challenges us to let people love the real you. This will do more than one positive thing - 1) No surprises, 2) Appreciating what they receive, and 3) develops trust. When we put someone that isn't "us" to others it will likely do the opposite of those three.

Relationships do not need "surprises," lack of appreciation, or a lack of trust. Those can create a rocky relationship, long term.

Let us show the real "you" so people will love that same person!

Now it's your turn...What do people need to see in you to see the "real you" so that they can love the "real you?"

Living Up to Challenges

I really enjoy the times when I am challenged within a given project. I remember, in ministry, when I was invited to speak at a "Theme Day" for an area congregation. I would speak three times (1 Adult Bible Class, Morning Sermon, and Evening Sermon). The theme they gave me for that day was from ONE verse. This was within my first three years of ministry and they were expecting me to come up with three 20-45 minute talks over one verse? "How is that possible?" I thought. Believe me I did a lot of questioning and wondering about how to accomplish this task.

Thankfully, through prayer and study, I was able to break the verse down into three different parts and focus on those areas in each of the three talks. It was one of the most fun times I had planning something that someone else gave me. It took a lot of time but it was worth it!

Sometimes those are the types of things that are needed for us to see "what we're made of." We need to be challenged and accept the challenge instead of looking for the escape hatch. That is the easy way out in so many situations. This thought brings us to this week's quote...

Find a purpose in life so big it will challenge every capacity to be at your best. ~ David McKay

Are there things that you are seeing in front of you that seem to great? Maybe they are things that are on your "to do" list but you are struggling to know how to approach them. Maybe it is through fear, lack of confidence, lack of motivation, or any number of excuses.

I challenge you to go at what you see as a purpose in life and let the challenges bring out the best in you! When you've completed it (or as you venture through it) you can see how many positives you've experienced along the way!

Wishing you many successes!

Now it's your turn...What successes have you experienced, within this context?

Gratitude in Life

Appreciation, gratitude, and thankfulness are often things we think about when it comes to Thanksgiving. That is a time of the year when those words are very present in society. Now that we are a few months past November, maybe it is a good time for review. Reviewing will help remind us to be thankful more often.

As we think about having more gratitude or being more thankful, here is this week's quote...

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~ Melody Beattie

When you appreciate life more the problems of life seem to dissipate some. I went through a time when I didn't like my name, but then something clicked and I liked being different. It made the past much better. It brought peace to my present. It also allowed me to greatly appreciate the future. It caused me to look at myself a bit differently and to appreciate that difference.

I know we all go through situations in life where we are challenged to see ourselves as thankful for what has happened. It may not make much sense or bring peace. On top of that, there is not room for a vision.

If you are in that position, I hope there is a time when you can see the quote come to life for you. Even if it is not in the area you are stuck on but in an area in which you are not so stuck. An area that causes you to see a silver lining, which may encourage you to keep going in life.

Now it's your turn...What positives from your life do you see in the quote? Or what challenges?

Prayer: Where's the Power?

Why pray? That is a question many wrestle with...are you one of them? We feel that sometimes our prayers are just going out into existence and no further. Often we presume that a person who holds those views is a non-Christian. However, even Christians will go through this struggle sometimes.

Maybe that feeling is because we really don't believe that God exists - He might "kind of" exist, but still you're not convinced. Or the feeling comes from lack of any "answered prayers." You've prayed for certain things to happen and they just do not happen the way you want them to turnout.

Those kinds of situations can make it challenging on our faith. It takes some maturing to realize that every prayer is not going to turn out the way you desire it. Instances like that make it challenging to see any power in prayer.

As we ponder the power of prayer, here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

• Examples ~ Ponder or investigate people who have prayed for things to happen (maybe that shouldn't have happened naturally) and they did, seeming like it was a miracle. If you would look into the prayers that have had "miraculous" results, it may convince you into the power of prayer. One biblical example is about King Hezekiah (II Kings 2:1-11) where the sun goes back ten steps...only through God.
• Maturity ~ You pray in instances such as a loved one who is dying, making the final shot, improving your grades, meeting "Mr./Mrs. Right," or the storm to not harm your house and in all the cases they don't turn out the way you want them to. No power in those prayers or possible something else? To see that prayers are not going to always be affirmative takes maturity to realize that. Just because God does not answer the way you would like doesn't mean there is no power in prayer.
• Trust ~ We must trust that God will take our prayers and do with it what He deems best. Cast your cares on Him (Philippians 4:6-7). We also must trust that God's timing is perfect. We sometimes have a difficulty waiting for God to "respond" and we can become frustrated. Let Him work things out...Trust in Him! Lean not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).

There is a lot of power in prayer if we will simply open our minds and eyes to see it! May we see that as we go into our immediate future.

Have a great week!

Challenge is Set

There was a game that was played when I was a youth.  The game was quick.  The game involved a group of people with a task presented before them and they would all say "not it".  The last one to say the phrase was THE one to be assigned to do the task.  Obviously it was a task that was not desired, otherwise people wouldn't have been saying "not it". 

Throughout the month of February, there have been a series of sermons couched around the phrase "I Don't".  We looked at "I Don't Want Anyone Else", "I Don't Want to Leave You Unprotected", & "I Don't Want to Take You For Granted."  Today, we're looking at "I Don't Hear You".  Within all of these is a challenge to try to constantly live up to.  They are not "over-the-top" concepts.  They are simple and possibly, eye-opening.  Though geared toward married couples, the messages also reach out to everyone else. 

Now that you have been presented with this material, you can decide whether you are going to follow it up with "not it" or "I will".  You can hear and/or grasp these messages and see what things you can get out of them that you can use to better your relationships or you can just ignore them and bow out of any type of challenge that has been presented.

Choosing to "bow out" will be a detriment to you and those you have a relationship with.  Your spouse and you will not be as close.  Your biological family, the same; likewise, your spiritual family. 

I hope you will take time to internalize these for the betterment of your relationships and to say "I will" and strive to do what you can to live up to these challenges.  If you do stumble, don't quit, and keep working toward the goal.

Look forward to what happens when you choose to take part rather than bowing out!





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