If You've Carried A Watermelon...

When I think about insecurity, I can't help but be reminded of Jennifer Grey's character, 'Baby,' from Dirty Dancing. You can see it all over her face that she desperately wants to say something impressive. However, what comes out is... "I carried a watermelon."

I wish I could say that I've never been in Baby's shoes... but just yesterday I let insecurity get the best of me and said something brilliant like "I carried a watermelon." I was left pondering how easily I let myself be tossed by the wave of insecurity. I think it comes down to who is determining our worth. If, even for a moment, we take the job of determining our worth and value out of the hands of God- we immediately feel insecure. When we start looking to someone else for security- something they ultimately cannot provide, we feel shaken. Since the opinions of others are fickle, our worth found in people is on unstable ground.

There is someone that can make you feel secure. In fact, He embodies the definition of secure: safe, dependable, trustworthy, guaranteed and certain. When we put our security in God, we can stand on His secure foundation and know that He determines our worth. So, so what if you've 'carried a watermelon' lately... God's love for you is so deep and so wide that it cannot be grasped. In Psalm 16 David writes, 'Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.' His opinion of you pales in comparison to your greatest admirer.

I am not sure if this blog was for anyone else or not. It could just be me working something out through a blog. But, if nothing else... I can cross off another item from my bucket list- to use my FAVORITE movie of all time as an illustration for a biblical principle... Hahaha... Just kidding... sort of.

Just remember, if God is for you, then NOBODY puts baby in the corner!

Sorry, I couldn't help it. I will quit while I'm ahead. ;)

Wake-Up-Call

A few years back, Jeremy and I implemented a plan to reinstate weekend sleep- we take turns on who gets up with the kids and switch off on who gets Saturday as well. When it's your day to sleep in, you can feel an excitement that starts the night before!!! This morning, it was my turn to get up with the kids. We put them to bed late and I hoped they would sleep late but I had a little anxiety- fearing they would wake before the rooster crowed. Sure enough... I heard loud and louder exit their room before 7 am.

I kept my eyes closed to try and pretend like it wasn't happening. Much to my dismay, I opened my eyes and Brody was standing before me waiting for my eyes to open. As soon as they did, he said, "I berry love you, Mommy." He said it as if he had waited all night to tell me. I scooped him up and reciprocated his 'berry' love. I bounced right out of the bedroom to make homemade sweet potato pancakes- all for 5 little words.

The bible says that the tongue has the power of life and death. We choose whether to build someone up or tear them down. Proverbs 12:25 reads, "Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up." A simple, kind word costs you nothing, and yet you can use it to make a person's day. The power of words is always on the tip of your tongue.

Overflow

The start to 2011 has been tumultuous for us. My disclaimer in saying this is that I was voted "Most Spirited" when I was a cheerleader and have the plaque to prove it! I tend to be an optimist- the glass is just half full for me- you get the idea. Anyway, the first 14 days of this year have proved to be the most challenging days of my lifetime thus far. I will not attempt to even go in to all the happenings of this year, but I will say we have felt kicked while we were already down... and this is all while feeling closer to God than ever. It's almost as though we can feel the painful growth we are experiencing during these trials.

The other night, I had a dream that one of the toilets in our house overflowed. In my dream, I could not contain the water that was flowing out. Now, while a toilet overflowing is usually not a pleasant thought, the word I kept hearing in my head the next day was: overflow.

As I studied the word the next day I found a verse in Psalm 65:11:

You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance.

I believe God is going to crown this year with His bounty and there will be an overflow of blessings. Later that day, I came upon the song that is playing and was encouraged to know that God can Turn it Around! If 2011 has shaken you in someway, remember that there is a God who can turn it around and crown the year with His bounty!