My Identity in Christ Jesus

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Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV)

When I made Jesus Lord of my life, there are several things that became true of me. I’m no longer defined by my past. I have a new identity. My identity is in Christ. If you have given your life to Jesus, these things are true of you too. If not, please click here to read my devotion on salvation and enter into the sweetest relationship you could possibly experience.

Here is who I am in Christ Jesus…

  • I am bought by the precious blood of Jesus. (Ephesians 2:13)
  • I am redeemed. (Ephesians 1:7)
  • I am loved. (1 John 4:10)
  • I am treasured. (1 John 3:1)
  • I am cherished. (Zephaniah 3:17)
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The Christian Life isn’t a Competition

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I have fought the good and worthy and noble fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith [firmly guarding the gospel against error]. (2 Timothy 4:7, AMP)

Reflecting back on the Olympics, I see a team spirit and oneness of those who competed. How many times did you see teammates cheering on the sidelines excited that Michael Phelps earned one more medal? Or the gymnasts who cheered each other on? Or the diving athletes David Boudia and Steele Johnson who gave God the glory and shared that their identitiy is in Christ, not an Olympic medal? Read more

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay

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Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly. (Matthew 11:28-30, MSG)

It’s been a tough two and a half months, that I’m slowly starting to feel some relief from. It became overwhelming to keep up with this and everything else while still trying to enjoy motherhood through my difficult season. It was easier for me to just put this to the back burner while I faced losing my brother-in-law to cancer, trying to help my siister and her family through this difficult time, experienced kidney stones and a kidney infection, a couple popped ribs, and helping a friend through a difficult season herself. All my free time went to one of these things and left me little time to sit down and write. Or at least when I had any extra free time, I was resting in the Lord. Read more

The Monster of Success

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Oh, how I prospered! I left all my predecessors in Jerusalem far behind, left them behind in the dust. What’s more, I kept a clear head through it all. Everything I wanted I took—I never said no to myself. I gave in to every impulse, held back nothing. I sucked the marrow of pleasure out of every task—my reward to myself for a hard day’s work! Then I took a good look at everything I’d done, looked at all the sweat and hard work. But when I looked, I saw nothing but smoke. Smoke and spitting into the wind. There was nothing to any of it. Nothing. (Ecclesiastes 2:9-11, MSG)

Let me confess that I have been wrestling the monster of success. I got caught up in what doesn’t matter. I let this website, the books, and newsletters define who I am. I was asked questions from several people that sounded like this, “How many readers do you have?”, “How many books have you sold?”, “How many blog followers do you have?”, and a few others.

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Keep a Healthy Perspective

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Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest, if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)

I am enjoying this 7 week series of learning how to live a joy-filled life with you. I would love to hear how you took time to maximize your moments last week. How did you minimize your distractions and get the most out of the moments that God gave you? Please feel free to share your thoughts with me or if you need to read last week’s secret you can read Maximize your Moments. 

This week, I want to share my second secret to a joy-filled life. A joy-filled life is only possible when we keep a healthy perspective. This morning, as I went to work to clean out the dishwasher once again and unload the clean dishes I was faced with a choice. I could grumble and complain that here I am once again taking care of these dishes. The pile of dishes is unending and as long as people eat in my house (which I’m pretty sure with three boys in the house, that will not end soon) I need to remind myself how blessed we are. Those dishes remind me that God has provided for our family. We have not gone without a meal. My boys have never had to wonder if their little tummies will be filled.

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