Your opinion of me....is NONE of my business!

Just because others don't see your worth doesn't mean a thing. We need to remember WHO we are and WHOSE we are. I have defined myself and my worth for the past 26 years in other people when I should have been more concerned with who GOD says I am instead of who others say I am. Sometimes in our own brokenness (and we ALL are broken), we believe the situations we are in or the circumstances surrounding our lives, some beyond our control are somehow our fault. This can be from being a codependent or from our own shame. When others deflect their brokenness onto us, we sometimes "take one for the team" so to speak, to keep the peace. But sadly over time we start to define ourselves and our value in what others think of us.

I have learned a very important lesson over the past few months: "YOUR OPINION OF ME IS NONE OF MY BUSINESS."

Only God sees my motives, my intentions and my true heart. Other people only see the outwardly behavior. There will be times when others may try and manipulate you into thinking your motives are anything but pure, but don't you get off track. They are looking at you through a pair of brokenness glasses and they cannot see the truth. More often than not, they are reacting out of fear of the unknown and their past experiences. Do you know someone like this in your life? May I share a few WORDS OF CAUTION: You can't change them! Not with a Bible verse, not with a heart to heart talk, not with a CD or book, not by loving them. YOU CAN'T and WILL NOT change them. True change is a personal act of repentance that is something very personal between them and GOD. Sticking your nose in where is doesn't belong will leave you nothing but frustrated and angry.

You are not fighting the flesh but you are fighting satan and the darkness that surrounds him. So put on your armor and suit up, then get on your knees. Because that is the ONLY way you will win this battle.

It's unfortunate that our minds can be so easily manipulated by satan. Starting with just a simple thought then leading to an action or behavior. Sometimes that action or behavior once full-grown can turn into sin creating a negative lifestyle and we end up walking away from GOD. It can destroy relationships, families and marriages. But more importantly, it cuts off our precious relationship with our Father in Heaven.

We run, we hide, we blame others for the sin in our lives, we won't admit our own faults, we take no accountability or responsibility for our own actions. Eventually, it tears us up internally which results in feelings of guilt and shame. When we choose not to  deal with the REAL issues, we take the "easy way" out and place the blame on someone else.  And sadly, once this becomes your lifestyle, you actually start to believe the lie.

Do you know who the most dangerous liars are in this world? They are the one's that TRULY believe they ARE telling the truth.

Here's the good news: You CAN turn my friends. You can change direction at any time. It is a conscious choice to WANT change in your life and when you KNOW better you're expected to DO better. Don't let one single thought satan has put in your head (that was a lie to begin with),  birth into full fledged sin. Listen to the VOICE OF TRUTH!

I will leave you with this.......we want to change the people we love because we want BETTER for them. We see their struggles, hang-ups and pain and we just want to make it ALL go away. We want to run in and "save the day." But once we realize we cannot and our efforts are NOT working we surrender them fully to GOD.  They need to WANT true change for themselves. We need to firmly plant our feet on the shore and wave goodbye as our loved ones sail off on the Titanic.

If you are one of these people I want you to remember your job.

God's job is to = JUDGE
Holy Spirit's job is to = CONVICT
Our job is to = LOVE

Your blessings will be magnificent if you can show love to others especially to the ones that have hurt you. Leave the judging and convicting alone. It's NOT your job!

May you be richly BLESSED today and may you carry with you the fact that you ARE so incredibly WORTHY of everything good the LORD has waiting for you.

Blessings,

Andi ^j^