Graduates – the World is Your Oyster!

You did it, Grads, and we’re so proud of you! I know it’s not a laughing matter because the pain is real, but this guy amused me with his sentiments about the graduation situation. The other photo here is of a virtual graduation where robots were used to represent the graduates. Can this be the Twilight Zone?

I've sent off dosh-loaded graduation cards to some of my beloved family members because -- well, there won't be graduations-as-usual. I’ve been entertained by the way some of you moms and dads are making sure your graduates are being applauded – signs in yards, drive-bys, photos, and expressions of love and support on social media. Congrats to all of you -- graduates AND parents! It's a great feat to have made it to this Rite of Passage even though all those 12 years (and more) have ended abruptly in a lack-luster way of celebrating you. But, the celebration isn’t the goal – the accomplishments, perseverance, tenacity, fortitude is what matters. So, well done! What a memory you'll tell your kids about one day!

Of course, you were supposed to have had a BIG graduation party to kick-start your accomplishments. But, instead, you’ve already been introduced to the world of complexities and challenges. In the commencement speeches, you were supposed to have heard “the world is your oyster” as you embark on your adult life. Everything is open to you like the metaphor of an oyster that there’s a chance it has a pearl in it. I’m believing that you will find MANY pearls!

Here’s some GOOD NEWS -- you’ve gained a head start on conquering. You’ve acquired a great start on mental toughness and being a winner and winners never quit and quitters never win. Go forth into this world declaring that “if God is for me, no one (or thing) can be against me!" (Romans 8:31) Run your race. You’re in it to win it – regardless of the way your graduation looked. I pray that all of you graduates pursue God's will first and foremost -- being a God-pursuer. Because as a God-pursurer, you'll land right where God intends you to land.

To all Graduates and Dreamers – “Before you ever came into being, God called your name. He formed you with love and intricately designed every part of who you would become. You truly are made "in an amazing and wonderful way" (Psalm 139:14). You are here because God looked out over all of time and space and chose you for this generation right here -- right now! There will never be another you or another opportunity to do what only you are chosen to complete.

So, go out there in boldness knowing that you don't have to be like anyone else. You are chosen for one life — yours. And the wonderful news? Whatever God chooses for you to do, He has equipped you for it. Being chosen means that success is simply obedience and trusting God will do the rest. Being chosen means that you have God as your partner every step of the way. We'll be cheering you on every step too! The best is yet to be for you and we can't wait to see it unfold. Now show off that life by making it the best life it could ever be for God, others and YOU!

Truth-Filled Temple Talk

As I sat waiting for my doctor to come in the room yesterday, I sucked my tummy in and thought “Yep – still carrying my baby boy on this tummy!” I was in for my annual physical and blaming my son for the extra inches. How silly of me! Back in my day we weren’t as prone to exercising after the baby’s birth as women are today. I see you slim, trim mamas who jump into the gym as soon as you get your doctor’s clearance “All systems GO!” Ours were something like: “You had a baby -- you deserve those extra inches with you!” But, for a lifetime??

A flashback of me before my baby boy filled my mind. I was so skinny that I was called “Bean Pole”. I took Weight-On tablets with the desire to catch up with the others my age who had "blossomed" much faster than I did. But, oh my -- everything changed with the birth of one innocent baby boy.

Over the years I struggled with a poor body image. Here I was, a Jesus-loving girl thinking those negative thoughts. The truth is, God saw and sees me very differently and even tells me who I am: His daughter, the apple of His eye, a pearl of great price. Here’s my wake-up moment: When we are poor-mouthing our bodies or the way we look, we are speaking disparagingly about “our temple”. The apostle Paul spoke intentionally when he used the word temple. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” 1 Corinthians 6:19. Just think of it – our bodies are temples that carry the very Spirit of God.

That’s mind-boggling. Truly, I pray for a filter that keeps me grateful for this skin I’m in. Paul knew temples -- there were plenty to compare to in Corinth with their domed ceilings, majestic columns, exquisite woodwork overlaid with gold and silver. (BTW, this photo is St. Paul's Cathedral in Rome that mildly compares, I'm sure, to those Corinth temples.) Wow! We are those temples of the Holy Spirit. That is true for you, me and Christ followers everywhere.

Whether we feel like a temple or not, it is still God’s truth to us. In Christ, when we ask for forgiveness, we become a clean, pure temple — no matter what impure, unimaginable things we’ve done. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross and His mighty resurrection, we can obliterate the trash-filled thoughts from our past and redecorate our mind with God’s truth. So now I’m careful about my “temple” talk. No more “trash” talk or “smack” talk about this temple God gave me.

No matter the size, age or agility, our temples are sacred, good and holy and have infinite value. God is incredibly interested in what we do with them, and how we treasure them. It’s time we ask God to give us truth-filled temple talk.

Psalm 139:14, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Grads -- Your Future is So Bright, You Need Shades

I have been enamored by all the graduation photos of all who are celebrating this momentous time of the year! Congratulations to all of you -- children AND parents. It's a great feat to have made it to this Rite of Passage that took a village to see it through. I know. I've been there too.

Graduation Day is so exciting! The ceremony is filled with speeches about pursuing your dreams, trusting yourself, taking risks and embracing change. Graduates get to celebrate the past and look forward to the future. This year, my granddaughter graduated from high school. I’m so proud of her. Right along with those who celebrated their child being the valedictorian of their class, I celebrated that my granddaughter was the valedictorian of her class – she was home-schooled. I have a great, great nephew and many family friends who are also graduating.

Whether they are getting ready to go to college, pursuing lofty goals and dreams or are sashaying into the next season of their lives, they all have expectations of how their lives are going to go. They've pictured it in their heads. Some pictures are of traveling the world or pursuing a dream job. Some pictures are of a white picket fence with four beautiful, well-behaved children and an always-loving husband or wife, and some see themselves owning a Fortune 500 company by the time they turn 25. And, there is absolutely nothing wrong with pursuing their dreams, but as those of us older, wiser folks know, those dreams may be absolutely opposite of what God's plans are for their lives and so we pray that all of these wonderful graduates pursue God's will first and foremost -- to be God-pursuers.

To all Graduates and Dreamers – keep these words in mind – “Before you ever came into being, God called your name. He formed you with love and intricately designed part of who you would become. You truly are made "in an amazing and wonderful way" (Psalm 139:14). Your journey on this path is not by coincidence. You are here because God looked out over all of history and chose you for a particular time and purpose. You could have entered the world a hundred years ago or a thousand years from now. But you are in this generation, this time, and there will never be another you or another opportunity to do what only you are chosen to complete. So go out there in boldness knowing that you don't have to be like anyone else. You don't have to do what any other person has done. You are chosen for one life — yours. And the wonderful news? Whatever God chooses for you to do, He will equip you. Being chosen means you will be given all you need. Being chosen means that success is simply obedience and trusting God will do the rest. Being chosen means that you have a great big God as your partner every step of the way. Those who love you will be cheering you on every step too! The best is yet to be for you and we can't wait to see it unfold.

Dreamers and Graduates -- you are chosen for one life - yours. God gave it to you. Now show off that life by making it the best life it could ever be for God, others and YOU!

Safeguard Your Identity

When I heard Lauren Daigle’s new song yesterday morning as I was taking my granddaughter to work, I knew it was my inspiration for today’s post. The song's words describe how we see and think about ourselves and, oftentimes -- it's not a pretty sight. It's also how we think others define us. We determine that our identity is that part of us that others know us by and or the image we show to the world. Sometimes our identity is known by the amount of money we have in our bank account or our credit card. After all, identity theft is rampant – and someone out there desires our identity because they think theirs stinks...or lacks.

The fact is that our identity is all about God coming and rewriting on our heart the words the world might have said that is against us – those words that say we’re not enough and lies that tell us we’ll never measure up. God comes and replaces those lies with His Truth that we are loved, we’re strong because of Him, we’re held, we’re able and He’s a God who is willing to meet us in the middle of all times, of all things. He’s called us saints. It’s all about what He says versus what the world says.”

We can start by saturating our minds with the truth of God’s Word. It’s filled with reminders of His unconditional love for us. He says “You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). He says that “Nothing can separate you from His love” (Romans 8:35). It’s time to stop letting the enemy steal our identity. We are God’s masterpiece. It’s time to believe it!

May Lauren’s words help you rethink how valuable you are – how worthy of God’s love you are – how precious you are in God’s sight and how much He longs relationship with you each and every day…..each and every hour! You were hand-picked by the great harvester to be His one and only. Listen to the words of this song and may they bring you to a place of confidence, self-respect, joy, approval and the knowledge that you are beautiful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Pa4DUz4CDU

“You Say” by Lauren Daigle
I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough
Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up
Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low?
Remind me once again just who I am, because I need to know

[Chorus]
You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
You say I am held when I am falling short
When I don’t belong, oh You say that I am Yours
And I believe, oh I believe
What You say of me
I believe

[Verse 2]
The only thing that matters now is everything You think of me
In You, I find my worth, in You I find my identity, o-ooh

[Verse 3]
Taking all I have and now I'm laying it at Your feet
You have every failure God, and You'll have every victory, o-ooh

Oh I believe, yes I believe
What You say of me
Oh I believe

Graduates -- Oh the Places You Will Go!

I have thoroughly enjoyed all the graduate photos and accolades that you moms and dads, friends and family members have been posting. No question -- Graduation Day is exciting, sweet and, oftentimes, combined with fear and trepidation about what the future holds. "Where are they going? What are they going to do? Where am I going? What am I going to do? Will they be okay? Will I be okay?" It's a wonderful time of realizing dreams and goals were accomplished and it's also an uneasy time of wondering about what the future holds.

No doubt, these graduations bring joys and the immense feeling of accomplishment AND a “Whew! We did it!” said by those who made a huge investment of their time and treasure into this big day. That long-lasting commencement ceremony is over, along with the speeches about pursuing your dreams, trusting yourself, taking risks and embracing change. For many graduates, well, the future is bright and exciting and nothing short of fantastic. For, others, it may be a stretch and a process of figuring out what to do with all this acquired knowledge along with the apparent responsibilities that loom up ahead.

Whether or not we realize it, we all have expectations of how our lives are going to go. We have pictured it time and time again in our heads. Some picture traveling the world while pursuing their dream job. Some picture a white picket fence with four beautiful, well-behaved children and an always-loving husband or wife, while others see themselves owning a Fortune 500 company by the time they turn 25. And, there is absolutely nothing wrong with pursuing dreams, but first and foremost we must know the importance of including God's plans in our plans.

Here’s the best case scenario for these wonderful and accomplished graduates AND you and me. Jeremiah 1:5 & Psalm 139:14 says “Before you ever came into being, God called your name. He formed you with love and intricately designed part of who you would become. You truly are made in an amazing and wonderful way". The fact is none of us are on this path by coincidence. We are here because God looked out over all of history and chose you and me for a particular time and purpose. We could have entered the world a hundred years ago or a thousand years from now. But we are in this generation, this time, and there will never be another you and me or another opportunity to do what only you and I are chosen to complete.

So, to all you Graduates – here’s my prayer and thoughts for you….”Go out there in boldness knowing that you don't have to be like anyone else. You don't have to do what any other person has done. You are CHOSEN for one life — yours. And the wonderful news? Whatever God CHOOSES for you to do, He will equip you. Being CHOSEN means you will be given all you need. Being CHOSEN means that success is simply obedience and trusting God will do the rest. Being CHOSEN means that you have a great big God as your partner every step of the way. Those who love you will be cheering you on every step, too! The best is yet to be for you and we can't wait to see it unfold.

“Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go!

You Are Fabulous!

I love baby photos like this! We can put some great captions to them. And the caption I put on this one...FABULOUS is the way God sees YOU! Own it, Baby! Fabulous means extraordinary, tremendous, phenomenal, remarkable, exceptional. You are ALL THAT and even more! You are a handcrafted one-of-a-kind original made by the Master Designer and Creator. I love it when I hear my children talking to their children like that. Maybe they didn't get the home run or the A+ on their test -- but they hear that they are FABULOUS, remarkable, and exceptional from their Mom and Dad AND their Nana!!

And, just in case you didn't "make the grade" or "get the big deal or the promotion" and if you don't like what you see in the mirror -- there is really only one opinion that matters.....and if God sees you FABULOUS & AMAZING ....then you are FABULOUS & AMAZING!

We ARE FABULOUS because God says we are -- “PERIOD.” When we get that, there is nothing, no nothing, that should EVER change our mind or sway our thinking otherwise. God wants us to see ourselves through His eyes, and through His perspective.

I love this verse.....Psalm 139:14 "I praise YOU because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; YOUR works are wonderful. I know that full well." This verse is a reminder that our duty is to praise God for what He has made. Each and every one of us is a wonderful work of art. Yes, He thinks we're beautiful. Just the way we are. We are not defined by our wrinkles, our gray hair, our muffin top tummies, our husband, our job, our age, our ethnicity or our kids. We are exactly as we should be, FABULOUS because the One who made us in His image is FABULOUS!

Isn't it so great that we bear a striking resemblance to our CREATOR and DAD?? In case you need reinforcement to start this day, please let me remind you....YOU ARE FABULOUS!