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We are Daughters: Our Identity Rescued

07.26.2016 by Erin Thompson //

Perspective_Issue GuestI always felt like the fat girl. Like King Kong amid the skyline of New York City, I imagined myself gigantic in comparison to my other high school friends. Prom only heightened the issue. As I posed for group photos, I would try to tuck myself behind the other girls. I did my best to suck in and shrink down.

In my twenties, I looked back at those group photos. Guess what? I looked just like all the other girls. I was not nine feet tall and five feet wide. This moment of revelation proved that how I saw myself was not reality. I had a false sense of self.

Questions began stirring in my soul, and I began a personal journey. What is true? How does God see me? Who am I to him? Am I beautiful? Does my life have worth? Am I accepted? Am I secure? Am I a failure? What has happened to my identity? Did it get lost or was it stolen? If so, how could what was taken from me be restored?

So that is where the journey began—the journey to rescue my identity in Christ and recover my value as a daughter of the King.

I cannot expound on all that God has transformed in my identity, but the central theme is experiencing the reality that I am a child of God.

His daughter.

His.

We might sing of it in church or think a thought in our heads. But do we know—not just with our head but with all of our heart—that we belong to the Maker of the universe and the Master-craftsman of our souls.

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12)

The right.

The right!

The right to become children of God was given to us upon believing and receiving God’s forgiveness and leadership in our lives.

Has something distracted us from that right?

Maybe an emotion or an experience. Maybe a sin or a situation.

If we have asked Jesus to be our Savior and our King, no emotion or experience, sin or situation, is capable of removing that right given to us. For nothing is more powerful than his Spirit sealed within us by his shed blood.

But beyond the right to be God’s child, we receive a Father.

“And I will by your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters,” says the Lord Almighty. (2 Corinthians 6:18)

Sadly, the mention of the “F” word up there might surface pain, regret, fear, anger, or anxiety for you. And your picture of God as a good Father could be blurred by the shadow of an earthly example. I am so sorry. I pray that healing and hope, protection and provision, would be yours in the days and months to come.

But when my vision is blurry and my emotions hazy, I try to seek the light of Truth to reveal the true picture.

Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you…
because you are precious to me.
You are honored, and I love you. (Isaiah 43:1-2, 4)

For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. (Psalm 56:8, emphasis mine)

Read these verses again. Slowly. Let each word sink into your soul and start to shed light on the type of Dad God desires to be to You.

Protecting.

Providing.

Present.

Powerful.

Passionate.

Yours.

You are his, and he is yours.

You have a Dad.

We have a Dad. Our good, loving, present Father. It is our right to be his!

 

Father, take the broken and rebuild it. Take the separated and renew it. Take the pilfered and replace it. Rescue our identity. Restore our value. Lead us out of the darkness of doubt into the light that you are our good, present, loving Father.

~Love, Your Daughters

 

Guest Signature Erin T

Categories // Guest Perspectives, Life, Perspective Tags // Body image, Daughters, Daughters study, Erin Nicole Thompson, God, Identity, Perspective

How Has God Changed Your Perspective About Yourself?

05.24.2016 by Kellyann Harmon //

Today we are privileged to share our friend Kellyann Harmon’s words. She writes with vulnerability as she explores how God changed her perspective about herself, her dreams, and what a life with Jesus looks like as He leads us out of the wilderness to the river that quenches all thirst.

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. “Isaiah 42:19

Perspective May GuestLife. One thing I know. Ever changing. Never predictable.

Second thing I know. Jesus. Life giving. Constant companion. DNA shaper.

He is the DNA shaper who changed my perspective about myself.

When I was a little girl I loved to play dolls. I imagined myself as Chrissy, nurturing mom to her precious baby doll daughters. I have always been a day dreamer. At eight I dreamt of being a famous singer. I belted each song played from the turntable to my audience of pinup fans like Shawn Cassidy.

When I was sixteen I dreamt I would finally meet HER! The beautiful mystery mother who would look like me, embrace me, and tell me she’s sorry for leaving.

At eighteen I dreamt of leaving my factory job in the little hick town, certain to have adventures living in the big city.  When I was married I dreamt of returning to that hick town and raising my daughters in the sunshine of the country pastures –daughter’s golden hair flying with freedom and abandon.

I’d also dream of how to make my parents see my accomplishments. I’d dream of them coming to visit me and my family in my suburban home. I’d dream of how I’d be a better wife, so my prince would come home from work to visit me, not yell at me. I’d dream of how to be a better mommy for my daughters, so they wouldn’t get yelled at by the prince.  I’d dream of not being afraid of my life.

We all have shattered dreams. Sometimes dreams need to shatter for the air to get in and breathe new life into us. That is where I was in March of 2007 when the dream was over, and I walked out of Prince Charming’s life with an order of protection, two scared daughters, and no money or plan, placed into a hidden home for our safety. I don’t remember Chrissy having this dream for her perfect family of plastic baby doll love. Chrissy didn’t know she’d need grace to get her through.

Grace saved me. It handed me a job with animals, and a coworker who suggested I talk with God again.  I accepted Jesus into my heart as an 11-year-old girl. I left Him with the other pile of dreams in my little hick home town when I started to see Him as mean and condemning instead of who He is: grace-filled and loving.

Losing sight of God and His grace can happen when circumstances keep hurting us. But somewhere deep in the heart of man I believe we know we are not meant for this pain. Something greater than us is there for us.  As infants we reach our arms up to parents for help, love, and support. We trust they will meet our needs. Yet we are also spiritual beings who desire to believe that when we raise our arms there is a Heavenly Parent who picks us up, wipes our tears, and gives us hope for a future. My Savior does that time and again for me. I have been re-parented through grace.

As a survivor of domestic violence, it took me a long time to understand that there is work on my end too. While my abuse was real, it doesn’t give me a reason to remain a victim. God has no weak or powerless sons and daughters. Once adopted into His family, He forges us with strength. I had to move my feet towards Him and do my part for Him to do His. Fear was in my DNA. And it didn’t start with Prince Charming. It started at age 5, with my first fallen experience of man. My fleshly DNA was made up of fear, hopelessness, powerlessness, and anger.

My little girl dreaming a way to escape harsh realities.

But then God. God knew my name. He is El-Roi the God who sees. He knew me inside out. He knit me together in my mother’s womb. He held my life in his hands and gave me a hope for my future. His love felt safe and irresistible, not contingent on His mood or my pleasing Him.

He adopted me into His spiritual family as I was and parented me through grace. Through one friend, He afforded me Christian counseling for trauma healing. Through another believer He taught me about Daddy-daughter time. Through another friend, I learned how God’s forgiveness and consistency in His word could change a life.  Through other believers, He met my financial need, brought protection from my abuser, and I was taught how to talk with God through prayer. Yet another showed me how to move in the Spirit and stood with me as I learned to stand in God’s strength and power.

My flesh family was broken, in need of God’s saving grace too. My spiritual family helped fill my relational need for intimacy and connection. They were tangible evidence God was holding me in His love when I reached up my arms in surrender. Looking back, I can see how God raised me new with His righteous family.

My DNA began changing. I was drinking in Jesus’ love. The result?

Seasoned faith replaced fear as I saw God’s faithfulness to meet my needs.

Courage replaced fear as I grew into new shoes that stepped out in faith.

Wisdom replaced emotional decisions.

Trust in God replaced hopelessness.

Knowledge of His identity and how to have a relationship with Him reminded me I was not alone.

Endurance through long suffering and hardship helped me grow strong.

Mercy for the lost birthed as God showed me His.

Forgiveness for the offenders grew because my future depends on it.

Love for Him, myself, and others became the strong foundation God built upon.

Loyalty to His cause and truths deepened because I am grateful and want to reveal His glory.

Peace replaced the storm.

Strength for me has come through bent knees and lips of praise, not earthly policemen, lawyers, or judges.

God’s parenting changed my perspective about me. He showed me I am able, because He is able. The strands of DNA He has woven together have helped me hold tight to Him and all the dreams He has for me and my future.

When we allow God permission to adopt us into His family, he doesn’t leave us looking like the mess we come in as. As we trust Him more and give Him permission to be Lord of our life, our DNA  changes. We start to look less like our earthly family and more like our Heavenly Father. We look more like Jesus in as much as we give Him access.  New dreams emerge that look more like His true purpose for our lives as we desire to be the person He created us to be.  Today I sing, not to an audience of pinup teen idols, but with the angels as I proclaim God’s grace and majesty singing to Him. Some dreams were just meant to be.

As for me, I will always have hope. I will praise Him forever and ever! Psalm 71:14

How has God changed your perspective about yourself through trials? Join the conversation here or on our Facebook page.

Guest Signature Kellyann

Categories // Faith, Guest Perspectives, Life Tags // Child of God, Domestic Violence, Dreams, Grace, Isaiah 42:19, Jesus, Kellyann Harmon, Parent, Perspective, Psalm 71:14, Strength

The Beauty and Work of Friendship

04.26.2016 by Kim Findlay //

Today we’re excited to introduce the winner of our first contest through Facets of Faith – Gloria Cooley. Gloria is a gifted writer & speaker, friend, wife, and mom of 2 littles. Read on to learn how a necklace, a backpack, and a little girl helped her see the beauty of friendship.

4

Recently, my seven-year-old daughter wanted to buy a necklace. Not just any necklace but a “best friends” one. You know, the kind that has a heart or puzzle piece or some other object divided into two parts with “Best” written on one piece and “Friend” on the other? She brought the necklace over to me with great enthusiasm and asked if she could use her money to buy it. My gut reaction was “NO” but thankfully I hesitated before answering.  I asked her with whom she would like to share the necklace. She really did not have a specific friend in mind and quickly listed a few names of girls at school. A short conversation ensued as we talked about what friendship and a best friend looks like. After a few minutes my daughter named a girl who truly is a good friend to her. We talked about why it might be nice to share this necklace with her. The purchase was made and my girl left the store with the joy of childhood friendship on her face and a plan of how to gift her friend with this necklace.

Friendship. If only it were as simple as purchasing an inexpensive necklace and gifting it to another with a pinky promise of being friends for life; however, developing and maintaining friendships is not always that easy.

C.S Lewis spoke of friendship in this way – “The friendship is not a reward for our discriminating and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each of us the beauties of others.”

God, the Creator, is at work revealing the beauty of others and Himself through the gift of friendship. It takes work on our part to acknowledge that beauty and respond. Some friendships develop naturally over shared neighborhoods, activities, and churches. Other friendships are a little more unlikely.  These friendships develop despite geographic location, shared interests, and ethnicity.

Some of my favorite childhood books included stories of unlikely friendships or better yet what I like to refer to as God ordained friendships. Wilbur and Charlotte (Charlotte’s Web), Tod and Copper (Fox and the Hound), Pooh and Piglet (Winnie the Pooh), Mowgli and Baloo (The Jungle Book), Anne Shirley and Diana Berry (Anne of Green Gables), David and Jonathan (1 Samuel), the list could go on and on. Each of these friendships was unique and comprised of two unlikely individuals whose paths crossed and a friendship was formed.

Over the years, I myself have had a number of friendships that could only be God ordained and most certainly used to reveal His beauty. One such friendship developed across an ocean and a generation. We were the unlikeliest of friends: me, a college student from Florida, serving as a missionary in Hawaii, she a church secretary, wife and mother from Georgia. There was no reason our paths should ever cross, but God knew otherwise.

God used this unlikely friendship to teach each of us about Himself and reveal to us the beauty of the other. As Anne Shirley would say, it was “positively providential” that she and I would meet. Through a crazy series of events including a young college student from Georgia, a stolen backpack, a gift of help, a visit to Maui, a seminar at a conference for Sunday school teachers and later a trip to Georgia, this unlikely friendship began to blossom.

This friendship spanned miles and years filled with much laughter, joy and sorrow. We did not see the beauty of this friendship from the start and there have been times over the past 18 years that we have lost sight of the beauty God intended to reveal, but ultimately this friendship has been a picture of our Creator. A beautiful picture of what it means to share life with another. To encourage, uplift, admonish, teach and rebuke when needed.

The beauty of this friendship is not because of the two, flawed individuals involved but by the grace of God and our willingness to look past the surface and trust what God intended for our friendship. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship.”

As I think back to the joy on my daughter’s face as she purchased that necklace I can only pray that she will experience a number of friendships that will point her to God, reveal her inner beauty and allow her to return the same.

Guest Post Sig

Categories // Friendship, Guest Perspectives Tags // beauty, friends, Friendship, Gloria Cooley, guest

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