A beautiful Christian sister of mine and I taught Bible class together for a while in the Richmond area. We were tasked with teaching middle schoolers, which is not for the faint of heart. She was so amazing and wanted to teach them a verse from the Bible that would make them better people. Something impactful. Something true to all Christians. What she came up with was amazing. She selected a section of verses from Philippians chapter 2. 

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is ours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” (verses 3-7)

When I think about authenticity, I think about this verse. Putting ourselves second and looking to the interests of others. Even Jesus, who has the right to sit beside God on the throne, took on the form of a servant. Wow!

Another verse that comes to mind is Romans 12:18 “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

These verses put some serious responsibility on us as Christians. “As it depends on us” suggests that we are in control of the situation and ourselves. When we are authentically seeking Christ, shouldn’t these two verses speak to us differently? 

Authenticity is about staying true to yourself and your values. These two verses are asking us to do just that. Being so authentic that we can put others before us in ways that the world thinks is ridiculous, but that God puts value in. 

My oldest daughter, of whom I have shared so much about over the years, has decided many things over the last two years that I disagree with. She is old enough that even as her mother I have to allow her to make those mistakes separate from myself. Is it possible to disagree with someone on such a basic level and still love them? Still talk to them? Still be a part of their lives? These verses tell me yes. I think of her first. I keep the peace because it does depend on me. I tell her I love her and disagree with her life choices. I have to stay authentic to my own self and belief in God and His will. I have to stay strong and speak truth into her life and wisdom into her life. 

Being an authentic Christian is not for the faint of heart - like teaching middle schoolers. But at the end of that study with those middle schoolers we saw a change in them. They memorized the verses, even framed them! They really took them to heart and allowed God and His authentic word to enter in their lives. I pray that the same thing eventually happens with my daughter as well. When we stay true to God’s will, he will bless our efforts. It won’t always look perfect, of course, but the reward He promises is pretty amazing. 

Father, help me to be authentic to my belief in you and your word. Help us as mothers and grandmothers, aunts, and sisters to set an example of peace and love. Let us put others before ourselves in a way that shows you and your love. Be with our children as they walk through the confusion of life and allow them to remain true to themselves and you. Amen.

Authenticity.  I’m hearing this word a lot these days.  When you read it, what comes to mind?  Usually, the intended meaning is to be genuine, honest, forthright, and true-to-yourself –unapologetically so.  These are suitable uses for the word and do encompass a partial view of what authenticity means.  However, I think there is a bigger, more meaningful definition of the word that is missing in how it’s used today.
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To be authentic means to be something original to a place and/or made by a creator.  For example, the Louvre in Paris contains the painting Mona Lisa, an authentic work of art by Leonardo da Vinci.  People have reproduced it, been inspired by it, and taken their photograph with it, but there is only one authentic Mona Lisa.  Similarly, my grandfather has an authentic helmet issued by the US Army during the Korean War.  He could take it on Antiques Roadshow and valuers would classify it as authentic because it was actually made during and for the War.  Both the helmet and the painting are authentic because of where they came from and who made them.

Similarly, our most complete form of authenticity comes from God, our creator.  To be truly authentic, we must not only be true to ourselves, but more so be true to who God created us to be.  The Mona Lisa is only authentic because it was made by Da Vinci.  It cannot be authentic separate from the one who created it. We cannot be truly authentic separate from God.  Our completeness and wholeness and trueness come when Christ is in us and we are living our lives, not true to ourselves and how we want to, but true to God and how he made us to live.
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Galatians 2:20 says “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  Here Paul is saying that once we receive the Holy Spirit, it is no longer us living in our own will and being true to ourselves, but us living out God’s will by Christ’s example and being true to His Spirit residing in us.

Paul is such a great biblical example of authenticity.  Before his conversion on the road to Damascus, he (called by his Hebrew name, Saul, at that time) was living quite true to himself and his own beliefs, and unashamedly so.  He was persecuting Christians without remorse, and in fact believing he was right to do so. He was living out our current societal definition of authenticity.  However, we do not see him actually living a full authentic life until after his conversion when he receives Christ as his Savior and begins his mission to live out God’s will in his life.  Only then does Paul (now using a Gentile name in the mission field) say in Ephesians 5, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.”

This, I believe, is biblical authenticity: To live in the example of Christ, who often stated where ​he came from and Who he came from; to have our souls filled with the Holy Spirit and to unashamedly show this to the world; and, to be living in the will of God, our maker, who has purposed our lives from the very beginning, and who knows us better than we know ourselves.  

Sisters, hear me say that I know this can be hard.  We can feel comfy and cozy at home with Jesus, but stepping into the world feels dangerous and judgmental and full of temptation to stray from our authentic life in Christ.  The worldly view of authenticity, to just be yourself—any “self” is fine—without apology, is much easier.  But it isn’t fuller.  It is only as true as the length of your earthly life.  But, sis, we were made for more by the One who loves us more—much, much more.

God, my Maker and Creator, help me to live an authentic life.  Not one that relies on my own thoughts, feelings, and ideas, but one that desires to be in line with Your will and the intentions You set out for my life.  In following You, let me feel the wholeness of Your goodness for my life and satisfaction in Your purpose over me.  You are so good and in Christ, your son, my Savior, I find the perfect example of authenticity. Amen.

Sis, here's to living our fullest, authentic life!  Love, Laura

Authenticity. I feel like that word, authenticity, has been so used and abused in both good and bad ways. It has become such that when we hear it said that it’s meaning has been diminished and/or tainted. We hear you must be your authentic self, true to your heart. Meanwhile the Bible tells us that, the heart is wicked above all else.

I was curious with all of what we are experiencing nowadays so I looked up the definition of what authentic means. The original definitions says things like:

Genuine, truthful, honest, undisputed origin, being actually and exactly what is claimed.

Then, I was shocked to find the “new meaning of authentic” that it can be believed or accepted.

All throughout Psalms, Proverbs, and most of the Bible we see how important it is to live a life, not just righteous on the outside, but on the inside as well. We see over and over that God looks at the heart. He knows our plans and intentions as well as our actions. Over and over again Jesus calls out the Pharisees for their outward actions not being authentic, genuine, real.

I have to admit sometimes my outward actions are not a great testament to what is going on on the inside. Sometimes my life does not accurately reflect what is going on around me and in me. Sometimes, I push and I pull and I do and do and do and I choose not to come into His presence.
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Sometimes, I am unwilling to let go of control. Sometimes...

Let me tell you about and interaction I had with my daughter a couple weeks ago.

My daughter is on our worship team rotation about every 6 weeks. My children are young and do not drive (thank God, I’ve seen them on the power wheels and ATVs) which means that when mom and dad have to be at the church early for practice or service prep they have to come as well. Sometimes they help set things up and other times they get personal time with phones or games or friends during practices before service. They know that as soon as preservice starts that they need to put things away and that it is God’s time now. Our focus, our attention is on Him and what He wants to do. (They really are amazing to watch.)

This particular Sunday my child missed a good chunk of one of the services because “she didn’t feel like it.” At the end of service she asked if I would put her on next batch of scheduling for worship. My response to her was simple. If you can’t worship off of stage, you won’t worship on stage. This is one of our core beliefs for our team and it was not a punishment rather a simple reminder which she understood.

As the day went on, turns out this reminder was not only for her. Over the next week or so I felt the Lord reminding me over and over again of that simple statement. If you don’t worship off of stage, you won’t worship on stage. Don’t get me wrong, I had been praying and doing my duties, going through the motions. AND I knew that that was no longer enough. I had not been going to God with the struggles and hurdles that I had been experiencing. He already knew them, but I was not allowing Him the opportunity to move in those areas. I had it. I could do it. I was in control.

I was wrong.

I was coming to God with a “fake it till you make it” type of attitude. I know the scriptures. I know that God already knows. That nothing surprises Him. That He wants to be involved. He wants me to give Him my burdens and cares. And still I was not authentically worshiping Him the way He hoped I would. Our worship, our love for God is not a to do list. It’s not when things are only good or only bad. It is constant. It is growing. God doesn’t want me to wait until I have it all figured out. I think that in order for me to truly be authentically me I need to first and foremost be my genuine self with God. He is safe. He already knows everything anyways. I can trust Him and so can you.

Happy, sad, mad, or glad - He wants you! Talk to Him. Listen to Him. Let that become who you are not just in public but in the quiet place where you wait on the Lord. I promise you He will come.

The world has identified a condition coined as Imposter Syndrome.  It’s basically when an individual struggles to believe that they are deserving of the role they fill or the way they are viewed by others.  Despite education, achievements, experience or skills, those that struggle with this condition cannot internalize their identity to the degree that they ever settle into it.  There resides within them a fear or paranoia  that they will eventually be found by others to be unworthy of the role, title or position that they currently hold.  

The “answer,” it seems according to psychology experts, is that these individuals learn to stop being a perfectionist and begin to focus on their concrete expertise and accomplishments.  

As I contemplated writing on Identity this week, this syndrome came to mind. I thought gracious, who hasn’t, at some point, struggled with Imposter Syndrome as a child of God?  Which of us hasn’t looked at the evidence of our choices, our thought life, our fruit if you will, and felt that we were not worthy of the calling to which we have been called.  

Our answer is different from that which Psychology today offers, thank goodness.  We don’t settle into our identity as a Daughter of the King by focusing more upon our achievements, or our greatness.  The evidence would always be against us. We would always fall short.  There is nothing we could ever DO that would deem us worthy to be chosen as His. 

1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.  

You see, beautiful Daughter, you were CHOSEN. 

It brings my remembrance to a Facebook post I viewed recently about a little girl that was taken into an animal shelter.  The parents were allowing her to choose the four legged creature that would become the next and newest member of their family.  The little girl, perhaps 3 or 4 years old, walked by the cages of the potential adoptees.  She was drawn to and stood face to face with a puppy that was well-beyond its puppy years.  She was stinky, cowering and missing clumps of fur due to lack of care.  The little girl looked through the bars of the cage and just kept saying “Mommy, puppy needs help.”  When they took the dog outside to the “getting to know you” area, initially, it shrunk back.  Not used to being loved on or played with, it took some time for her to understand that she was with a safe person who had chosen her.  Despite her age, her stinkiness or her frail appearance, this one was the one that had been chosen.  

The post fast-forwarded later in time.  Admittedly, tears sprang forth as I viewed the current life and position of this chosen one. It was clear that the once unloved was now loved deeply.  She was cherished and treasured and cared for.  Not because of anything she had done.  It was in her most humble and vulnerable state that she had been chosen.  In this case, her role and position had been determined solely by the one who chose.  

Isn’t it funny how God will speak to your heart in the most unconventional ways?   

And so are we daughters of God.  In our most humble and vulnerable state, we were chosen by The Chooser.  
1 John 4:19 (NKJV)
We love Him because He first loved us.  

And now, our identity has been firmly established not because of how great we are, what we have done or do or how perfect we can be, but only because of the kindness, grace and mercy of The One who chose to call us His own.  In our stinkiest and most unlovely state He chose you, He chose me and He decided that He would love us as His very own.  

Ultimately, our identity in Christ is not and has never been about us at all.  

And so, cherished one, the next time the enemy of your soul works to get your eyes focused on all of the reasons you are not worthy to be a Child of God, you can delight in agreeing with him.  You, and I, are not worthy outside of Christ.  We could never do or be enough to deserve the love He has lavished upon us.  

When we struggle with Imposter Syndrome as a Daughter of the King, here’s our answer from the truth of God’s Word.

John 1:12 (ESV) 
But to all that did receive Him, who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God.  

Jesus.  He is our answer.  The only answer that we can ever give regarding why we are not imposters in our identity as a Daughter of the King.  It’s not based on us.  It’s based on Him.  Always has been, always will be.  

Pray with me….

Father, thank you for being my chooser.  Thank you for allowing me to be your daughter.  Thank you that there is nothing I could ever do or that could be done to me that can change this.  Thank you that no matter what anyone else thinks or feels about me, my identity as your daughter, your chosen treasure, your precious one, has been determined and is not able to be changed. For this, I am grateful.  When I am tempted Father to focus on those things which cause me to feel unworthy, I ask that you re-focus them upon Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith.  

Amen. 

“She wanted Jesus above all else, even above serving Him.” 


Late last night before bed, I opened up The Jesus Book. I was simply hungry to know more of Jesus. I think part of me wanted to know about Him, rightfully so, but another part of me seemed to not expect to be so directly confronted by one sentence. 


For a book that aims to make Jesus known and for the reader to love Him more, I should not have been surprised that things in the way of loving Him would need to be torn down. 


I love to serve. I really do. I love the parts of my life where I have been given the opportunity to serve. In its purest form, all service is compelled by Love and done as unto the Lord. 


This story of Mary and Martha, though. 


“As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42) 


Jesus was right there in the room and Martha was serving Him. 


Doesn't it seem right to serve the King when He enters your home? “Is there anything that you want, Lord? What do you need? I will do it!” 


What kind of King only desires one thing? What kind of King prefers a sitting at his feet over being served? 


Jesus says there is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary discovered it. And it would never be taken from her. 


We were created to love and be loved. We were created to know and to be known. 


Sometimes it's easier to do, to serve. Sometimes we are so convinced that we need to be doing something to show that we love Him. Sometimes we are convinced that we need to do something in order to be worth something. Sometimes we are deceived or fearful. I think sometimes we avoid sitting at His feet because we are afraid. 


It is hard to sit. To be still. It is hard to cease doing. But if you really think about it, it should not be difficult to do so. If we believe that Jesus is the source of everything, our worth, our salvation, our time, that he is our treasure and our reward, and if we believe that He is everything, then it should be easy to stop and to rest in that. 


If we are up and doing, it can feel more significant. We can feel more productive, like we have more worth. 


We think that Jesus needs us to be up and doing, but He doesn't need us at all. He simply desires one thing, calls one thing worth being concerned about. 


It's not too good to be true. It is counter intuitive, but it is true. It feels like not enough but Jesus says it is of the utmost importance. 


Yes, we have been commissioned. Yes, we have a call. Yes, there are works that God has prepared in advance for us to do. But first. But first. We are to discover for ourselves that one thing worth being concerned about. Then, just like Mary, it will not be taken from us. 


Lord Jesus, we stop here and now and simply rest at your feet. Lord, help us to love you. Help us to know you. Help us to adore you. Help us to want you above all else. Above all else, Lord, we long to desire you. Oh, let this be true, that one thing we desire, Lord, and only this we seek: that we may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of our lives, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple (Psalm 27:4). Lord, all that we are is found in you. All of our worth, all that you call us and have created us to be is found in you. Teach us as we sit at your feet. Teach us to live a life from your feet. Teach us to live from your rest. Teach us to live as your daughters, as your created and beloved ones. Show us to truly walk in your freedom, purchased at the highest price. Let us not squander this gift, Lord. Let all of our days be lived in light of the cross. Thank you, Jesus. It is in your precious name that we pray, amen.

I'm about to say something that is probably going to bother you, but hang tight...  ​

It has become a fad for people, most commonly millennials, to label themselves as suffering from a mental illness e.g. anxiety, depression, panic attacks, PTSD, etc. Can I just say this...if you have not been officially diagnosed by a mental health professional (i.e. a DOCTOR), you most definitely should not attribute any of those labels to yourself. I do not care how sure you are that you suffer from generalized anxiety disorder or that you are clinically depressed. If you believe you are suffering from a mental illness, please, for your wellbeing, go see a mental health professional and begin treatment, let your church family surround you in prayer and support, find a healthy hobby, stay connected to other people, take all your burdens to God as often as you feel their weight. Don't go this alone. Don't wait for things to calm down. Don't talk yourself out of it. Don't think for even one moment that you don't need help. But labeling yourself without a diagnosis only belittles those who are suffering horrific pain and increases some of the stigmas surrounding mental illness.

I have had several diagnoses over the past decade concerning my mental health. Initially, I was diagnosed as having Generalized Anxiety Disorder and severe Panic Attacks. A few years later, we added Major Depressive Disorder to the list along with Insomnia. A few months following that, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was also on my diagnosis sheet. After seeing my doctor and therapist a couple of times a week for several months and changing medication after medication trying to find something to help ease the pain of these mental illnesses, we made a sobering discovery. I wasn't depressed. I wasn't anxious. I didn't suffer from PTSD. I was Bipolar.  

I. WAS. BIPOLAR.  

Let me just tell you, coming to grips with that label was one of the scariest things I have been through in my life. If I accepted the label "bipolar", what would that say about me? What would that say about my faith? The story behind this journey and diagnosis is for another time, but tonight, I just want to share with you a truth God revealed through this time that altered my world and the course of my life.  

Our words become worlds.

I came to know that truth in some very painful ways, but I'm a better woman for it. Proverbs 18 tells us that our words have the power of life and death in them, James 3 tells us that our words determine the course of our lives and if not carefully guarded, it can start a fire that will burn our world to ash around us. 

Unfortunately, for a time in my life, I let the term "bipolar" become the focus of all my thought life and conversations with myself and a select few. It consumed me. I was speaking death over myself day and night. Because of my agreement with the enemy that I would never find balance, I would never feel free again, I would never find peace, I burned my world to the ground. I was on the brink of losing everything good in my life. The words of hopelessness I had spoken over my life had become the world in which I was living. The atmosphere inside me had become the atmosphere around me. 

Whether it is because of a very real diagnosis or the trend of a generation, we make mental illness our friend. We invite it to come to hang out with us day and night. We give it much more attention than we give the God who heals. We agree with our lack, so much so that I would dare say we revel in our lack. We wear it as a badge of honor instead of embracing the truth that we were not made to be broken. We were not created to carry a design flaw. Brokenness entered the world through agreement with Satan in the Garden of Eden. Why are we still agreeing with him?

I have been diagnosed as Bipolar. It is a mental illness I live with, but it does not define who I am. You won't hear me talking all over Facebook about the anxiety it produces, posting article after article about the debilitating depression or funny memes about the insanity of a full-blown manic episode. Why is that? Because I do NOT agree with that destiny in my life. Yes, it's so important to erase the stigma surrounding mental illness, but it is SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT to introduce hurting people to a healing God! It is so much more important to inject HOPE into a hopeless diagnosis. 

I agree with the destiny God himself laid out for me before time began. I agree with the HEALER who promises by his wounds I will be healed physically and spiritually. I agree with the God who created me for HOPE and FUTURE. I believe that death and sickness have no place in Heaven and I am a citizen of Heaven! I am a child of the Most High God. I don't have the time or the right to agree with the enemy that I am doomed to suffer, that I will always fear social situations, that answering the phone will always be a nightmare to me, that I will never overcome crippling depression, that I will always fear losing control during mania. And let me testify...those things used to rule me, but after years of work with the Lord and SO MUCH HEALING, those things aren't the facts of my life anymore! I can answer a phone without anxiety, I'm comfortable in most social situations, and depression doesn't have a firm grip on me anymore. I could go on and on about how God has healed me and delivered me from emotional and mental suffering. Am I still Bipolar? Yes. But it doesn't define me or rule my life anymore. 

MY GOD IS BIGGER THAN THAT DIAGNOSIS. Yes, He has allowed me to walk this portion of my journey, and perhaps the rest of my journey on this side of Heaven, with a diagnosis, but HE provides my stability and HE provides my hope. Instead of focusing and glorifying the pain I've carried, I will focus on and glorify the One who takes my pain and bears my burdens. He can and will heal our sickness. He can and will bring strength to our weakness.  

So friends, can we stop labeling ourselves "ANXIOUS PERSON" and instead take on the label God ascribes? Can we quit making our sickness more important than the Healer? Can we quit drawing attention to ourselves and our sufferings and instead draw all eyes toward Heaven to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine? Can we quit letting anything other that God tell us who we are?

Let's put our faith to the test and start agreeing with God. I WILL NOT live a life defined by anxiety and fear. I WILL NOT live a life defined by depression. I WILL NOT live a life defined by a diagnosis. No matter how true it may be, the TRUTH is my God supplies all my needs. His resources are endless and He has and will move Heaven and earth for me. 

If the things we say have life and death in them, I'm going to start speaking some life into my circumstances. If the words we say can burn our worlds to the ground or alter the path of our lives, I'm going to set my eyes right on Jesus, not my problems, and start agreeing with what He says about who I am. So, sister, are you with me?

I recently watched a short that was going around the gram and it was talking about how marriage is not a 50/50 pursuit. It spoke on how the idea that the load of life and love and everything in between should always be split 50/50 is a lie. This was so contrary to everything I had ever been taught and yet what the lady spoke was leaking wisdom all over the place.

Now, I don’t know if she was a Christ follower or not, but when the lady in the video spoke something connected in my head and in my heart. She spoke about how sometimes her or her spouse just have nothing left. The day, the circumstances, the experiences and expectations have just taken most or all that they had. At the end of the day they could never even try to muster up 20 let alone 50/50. And so that’s what they did…they started putting a number to it and recognizing it out loud to each other.

Sometimes the husband would come home beat up and tore down and say he has 30 or 40 and she would muster up the 70 or 60. Other times She would come home and say she has 10, he would come up with the 90. I think you get the picture.

After seeing this video I began thinking about it throughout the evening and there was such a release in my spirit. The Bible says, “Though one may be overcome, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecc 4:12. Marriage is a partnership, but what happens when one of the partners are to weak to stand?

More often than I would like to admit, I find myself frustrated and overwhelmed with all of the tasks at hand. Annoyed that all of the things that I want done are not done and instead of my honey do list getting shorter it only gets longer (my own fault).

Have you ever noticed that when you are already frustrated you notice more things that frustrate you? You come home and you see that the house is a mess. Then you start to notice the clothes all over the floor and then you notice the yard need mowed and on and on and on...Not you? Just me?

What you focus on expands. When I am busy focusing on the things that need to get done all I can see are things that should be done and aren’t which in turn only creates more frustration and irritation. I miss all of the things that have been done, and more importantly I miss the person right in front of me! I’m so concerned with what he has not done that I miss what I should be, could be doing. I miss the opportunity to love him right where he is at.

Marriage has never been about fixing your spouse despite what many people believe. Instead, it should about growing yourself. Allowing God to build and grow your character and heal you from past wounds to reveal the person you were created to be.

When I am walking out MY identity the way God intended I no longer see the flaws and annoyances, rather I see my husband the way God sees my husband. Through love and compassion. It is then that I am able to see beyond the clothes on the floor and the honey do list to the brave, courageous, strong, provider and leader that he is. It’s about making me better. It’s about being there for the person, our person. It’s about loving each other enough to lift each other up not shove each other down. When we both are striving to out love each other, that’s when we truly win.

So whether or not you decided to implement the number system or something else is up to you. I want to encourage you to find a way. Let’s get rid of the 50/50 mindset and begin to speak into your husband. Pray over your husband. Encourage your husband. We are women and we are strong. We don’t need permission to try and love our husbands better, we just find a way. It doesn’t have to be perfect. YOU, you don’t have to be perfect! And when we start to show up in a new way in our marriage watch God bless that sister! Give the Lord permission to to help you become a better wife and ask Him to reveal to you how He sees your husband and watch Him do mighty things in your marriage.

Love you Sis,