Absolute.

 My internal dialogue was something like this... “I don’t look like THAAAT.” “That’s not me.” Do you see the articulation?   I wasn’t just expressing disapproval.   I didn’t just say, “I don’t like that picture of me.”   I was so embarrassed by the photos, that I was doing everything I could to discredit them .   I was dismissing concrete evidence.   I was denying reality. Caveat 1: If you’re looking at photos of yourself and your thoughts are something like, “I look ugly.” Then, you’re facing a different battle- that’s not about your weight.   Caveat 2: If you’re looking at photos of yourself and the thoughts are things like, “oh, that’s a bad angle,” or “oh, I had an awkward face”- then it’s possible that you’re just not photogenic. But if you’re saying something to convince yourself that the picture is not an accurate representation of you or your health , then please know, you’re not alone.   I’ve been there.   Also, ple...

 A while back, I read “Trust” by Dr. Henry Cloud.  He writes repeatedly about how humans are hardwired to trust.  We are built to trust others and form relationships.  The book covers a lot of ground but one of the over-arching ideas is that when you spend time with someone, the natural by-product of that time is that you begin to trust them. It does not matter much about the person’s actual conduct or character.   It also does not matter much how they treat you.   If you stick with them, you deepen your trust in them.   The books goes in depth about how this plays out in your daily life (it IS a worthwhile read), but I think we should also be very conscious of the inverse side of this equation… The people who are spending time with you, most likely trust you.  Even if there is no conversation with a trust litmus test or any other form of a DTR (Define The Relationship), they probably trust you and more significantly- your opinions.  Our ...

  “Great is the enemy of good.”   I do in principle believe that statement.   I have seen this play out.   I have come up with this elaborate Olympic high dive routine for something in my life and ended up doing a belly flop instead.   It has happened.   The statement has relevance and application and there are many tasks and areas of life where good is good enough. There have also been times when I have intentionally decided to be good, not great.   My last year of teaching was also the last year that three of my kids were going to be home.   I decided that I didn’t want to sacrifice my last year of major influence on my kids’ lives, for my classroom.   I chose to be a good teacher (not a great one). But still, great is the enemy of good, is not a statement I want to build my life around.   There are many parts of my life that I don’t want to just be “good”.   There are areas, tasks, and roles where I want to be “great”. ...

Operation Christmas Child (OCC) is a Samaritan’s Purse ministry that takes shoebox gifts to children in over 100 countries.   OCC participants fill standard sized shoe boxes with toys, toiletries, and school supplies and drop them off at local collection sites to be processed and delivered.   I am a passionate supporter of this ministry and collection week is right around the corner (November 13-20).   So, I wanted to make sure you have heard about Operation Christmas Child and give you 5 reasons to participate. #5 Fun and Easy Samaritan’s Purse has made this as easy as possible.   You can use any shoebox, select a gender/age group, fill it up, and drop it off at one of the thousands of collection sites nationwide.   You can purchase items according to your budget or even send homemade gifts.   You get to pick the gender and age group, so if you would have more fun shopping for a 2-4 year old girl and picking out tiny pink hair barrettes, go for it! ...

Many of you know I celebrated my birthday two weeks ago, but those who know me really well know I celebrate my birthday pretty much all month.   It started when I was young; my parents were divorced, so it took a while to make it around to mom, dad, both sets of grandparents, step-family, etc.   Old habits die hard.   During this time of celebration, I always take inventory of my life over the last year (goals, hopes, accomplishments, etc.).   Normal people do this on New Year’s, but my annual calendar has always revolved around my birthday and Christmas (Thanks Mom!).   I have written a few blog posts about the outward transformation that has taken place in my life over the last twelve months, but this Transformation Tuesday blog post is about the inward transformations that God has worked in my heart over the last year.   There are no incredible ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures that illustrate the change.   Only my closest circle of friends an...

This is only my fourth blog post and it has taken me a while to settle on a topic.   One of the desired themes for this blog is conviction.  The good kind of conviction that pushes myself and others to strive for better- better people, better relationships with God, better community members, better.   This kind of conviction is encouragement’s no-nonsense older brother, but at its core is still encouragement!   This post is about how God is convicting me in recent months and encouraging you to give God the opportunity to work in your heart.   I have been reading Undaunted by Christine Caine.   I usually do not get excited about “women’s books” and was only fulfilling an obligation the first time I picked it up.   But WOW, this book was so perfect for the season of life I am in.   God used this book to speak truth into my life, reinforce convictions, and encourage me to take the next steps in the things He is calling me to.   In th...