When I get dressed in the morning, I usually put workout clothes on, for two reasons:

– I figure, if I’m wearing them, I’ll be continually reminded as to why.
– They’re easy and expandable.

A few days ago, as I walked out of my closet, my 5-year-old daughter looked at me and proclaimed, “You’re not wearing that, are you?! You look askusting!”

Was she right? Do I really look “askusting”? I kind of felt that way, I guess. The reality was — I hadn’t gotten as much time to take walks now that the kids were home from school.

Then, at dinner last night, all of a sudden she came over and rubbed my belly.

“You’ve got a baby in there. . .  See?” She pointed down at my belly.

I looked down and saw the baby bump, with no baby inside.

I look horrible these days. I see the growing lines. I can’t hide the hips. I feel the way “the dryer is shrinking my jeans.” Even my 5-year old can see it.

After these innocent comments, I kept on looking at myself. Do you do the same? What do you see when you look at yourself? The lines? The hips? The nose? The too big ___? The hatred towards ___?

It’s easy for me to tell you, “No. You’re beautiful”. Yet, it’s hard to receive when it’s yourself, isn’t it?

But, I don’t think it really matters what we tell each other — or how much we try to affirm each other. TV tells us how we should be. People, like my daughter, stay stuff. The scale speaks. The advertisements remind us we are not enough. One thousand voices overcome one.

But, all the voices can never overcome the One voice that matters most. If we can choose to hear Him above all else, we will find freedom. If we can see our self through His eyes, before resorting to our own critical eye, we’ll find life.

God sees differently:

God puts our inner heart far above our outer beauty.
“For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:7)

Jesus came not to judge us, but to save us from (self-)condemnation.
God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. (Jo. 3:17)

We are growing more and more into the beauty of Christ.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (2 Cor. 4:16)

While the world gives matter to looks, God sees in us: the righteousness of Christ, His holiness, children of God, a new creation, daughters, a holy priesthood, saints, chosen people.

We look beautiful in His eyes.

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Recently a friend replied to me via voice-memo text about one of her dreams. She said, “I have no idea if I could do something that big. Because of this, I just feel like giving up and not doing that small next-thing to get there.”

I thought about what she said. She saw the end-goal as her breakthrough. But, with love, I challenged her to see her small next-step goal, accomplished, as the real breakthrough. Then, to just keep moving her feet with these “little things”.

I believe it is “faithful movement” God loves to see. Obedience is breakthrough. If we do what He asks, one day He’ll take us “there” — or wherever we’re meant to be.

His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’ (Mt. 25:21)

What small thing is God calling you to do? To follow up on? To see through? No matter how minute.

When I was younger, I was never the swim-team champion. Hardly. Nor did I ever given swim lessons to kids, or anyone for that matter, before. But, one day, I just decided I wanted to be a swim instructor. I’d been trained as a lifeguard. Why not, I figured.

So, without any prior instruction on teaching kids, I got out a library book and booked my first lesson with a 5-year old. It wasn’t a couple months later, the kid was swimming.

I didn’t think much about “what I couldn’t do”, I just moved ahead with what I felt “called to do.” Here, God saw it through.

What would you do if your limitations were no limit?

Sometimes, we have to throw our self up in the air, like the toss of a coin, and just trust-God to catch us and see-forth what He is calling us to do. With surrender, we say, “I don’t know how, God, but you do.”

That’s all it takes.

What do you dream of? Why not do one very small thing to that end? Why not invest-in today what you dream-of for tomorrow?

Do with God today the beginnings of a thing, you feel greatly called to unleash tomorrow.

**Without a doubt, I feel led to say — there is at least one of you, I believe, that needs to take this as a message from God and to move out, swiftly and definitively. If you feel God has been knocking at the door of your heart and trying to get you to move — then, move. Don’t delay. See it through. Trust by faith. Faith cannot see, but faith pleases God. Like Moses, Noah and Abraham, relied on it, it sees through great things. It has an assurance about what it cannot see and goes anyway. This is your moment. Step out.

He will not let your foot slip.

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After having my baby girl, I  was so excited. I dressed her up in the cutest girlie outfit I had and was prepared — to show her off. Eager and happy, we pranced off to church, my new package in tow. I sat in the row smiling, and waiting for people to come and see her cute little face. That is, until no one came over. No one said anything to me. They didn’t walk over. They didn’t ooh and ahh. They didn’t even give much regard to me as I struggled to carry her little baby car seat out the door with her in it. I felt invisible. Unseen. Rejected.

If your heart feels strongly, like mine, even small hurts – hurt. They make you feel alone.

And if you’re alive, people-hurts are not isolated incidences.

Lately, an incident pricked my heart. It wanted to pull me back into frustration at them. Yet, all I could hear God whisper, was, “Kelly, look at me, not them.”

Look at me:

• protecting you.
• guiding you.
• teaching you.
• showing you.
• preparing you.
• readying you.
• leading you new places.
• taking care of you.

Don’t look at them and how you perceive they are:

• rejecting you
• denying you
• abandoning you
• hurting you

We should all do the same. Look at Him and not “them” (the offenders, the issue, the mean ones, the oppressors, the retaliators, the cause of our pain, the abusers).

Because, when we decide people are:

• blocking us
• (eternally) causing harm to us
• doing things unto us
• leaving us behind, hurting us, not wanting us, or
• punishing us. . .

. . . we lose. We lose control over our emotions. We lose attention on God. We lose mindshare that could’ve been directed to prayer, praise, and a greater purpose. We misplace devotion.

This is always our loss, not theirs.

Beyond this, we never know if:

• they even realize what they were doing.
• we misunderstood what happened.
• there were 500 other things at play that we never considered
• God wanted us to learn more than He wanted us to immediately get our way.
• God is setting something up – greater than we expect or realize.
• God wants us to get a view into a part of our heart, we’d otherwise be blind to.

People do not make us, shape us or grow us, Christ does.

He rules. He is always in charge.

With this, we can forgive “them” and look back to Him.

We can ask:

1. God what are you doing?
2. What are you teaching me?
3. Why did this happen and what do you want me to know?

We can learn, grow, understand, forgive, hope again, and be filled with fresh faith. This is our way, always. Don’t give up.

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Cor. 4:17-18)

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I know you all know me as the girl who wrote the book, Fear Fighting: Awakening Courage to Overcome Your Fears. With this, almost undoubtedly, I should have this ‘fear-thing’ wrapped-up and conquered by now, right? I should be the one who’s figured out “fear” and who comes to you with remedies and bullet points galore. A whole arsenal of things to make you radically and instantly courageous.

Truth is: I do have the ability to come to you with some of those things, but I am also still very much a work-in-progress.

Aren’t we all?

Friends, growth is a process. Sometimes it is slow — and, on the amazing occasion, it is radically fast. Either way, just because you see you still need to grow — or because you need God’s grace, doesn’t mean you are failing.

The breakthrough of yesterday is often proceeded by God removing another layer.  Or bringing you to a deeper level, in Him. It may happen days, months, or years later. This “situation” doesn’t mean you are doing a “bad job”. It just means God is at work.

You are growing, grace upon grace.

“For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” (Jo. 1:16)

Lately, I’ve had some freak-out moments, like:

• What if I don’t do what God wants me to do in life and I somehow “miss it”?
• What if God doesn’t keep me safe?
• What I am not good enough for you, God?

Grace comes to questions or doubts like these without condemnation, but with truth:

“But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” (2 Thess. 3:3)

“For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good pleasure.” (Phil. 2:13)

“My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” (Jo. 10:29)

Grace always speaks a better word. There is no shame in the process of growing — or in hearing, understanding, and in doing something new. These all point to increased faith. These are all part of the story of an activated, heartfelt believer.

God does the good work; we show up and submit to it. God saves; we look up and trust. God has the best plan; we come into alignment with it. We are in-process, but we are in good hands. These hands form and fashion like Jesus, more and more.

“So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” (2 Cor. 3:18)

Be encouraged.

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Have you ever been shocked when reading God’s Word?

Boy, was I when I read what Paul wrote to Timothy. . .

“Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples. I threw them out and handed them over to Satan so they might learn not to blaspheme God.”
(1 Tim. 1:18-19)

What has your conscience been trying to tell you? What is God calling out for you to pay attention to?

For the longest time, when my husband saw an opportunity for improvement in my life, and he would tell me about it, I would react defensively.

For example, he’d say, “You can take care of yourself, Kelly and not always say ‘yes’ to the kids.” I’d answer, “I do take care of myself! Don’t say that!”

My heart was hardened. And, it became a habit. The more he shared, the more I resented it — and Him. I began to tune him out.

Likewise, the reality is — the harder our hearts become, the harder it is to: hear God, to understand Him, to go where He is directing us, or to get answers to our “what should we do?” questions. . .

I love how my NLT bible commentary puts it, writing, “Treasure your faith in Christ more than anything else and do what you know is right. Every time you deliberately ignore your conscience you are hardening your heart. Over a period of time, your capacity to tell right from wrong will diminish.”

When we diminish our conscience, we diminish our ability to hear and understand God’s direction and leading.

The capacity to let go of what is wrong is vital so that God can lead us to what is right. Just think, what parent can bring their kid to a playground of joy, when they are clinging to their bedpost saying, “No. I am fine where I am. I don’t want what you have for me.”?

Today, what would it look like for you to lay down your defenses, strategies, excuses, burdens, excuses, rationalizations and fears? What would it look like for you to see the hard to see spots, the ‘it-feels-like-too-much’ realities or the ‘things-need-to-change’ opportunities to find new life? To really consider the words someone has been trying to get you to hear?

It may feel awkward to let go of your flesh, but it’s here where you get powerfully led by His Spirit.

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