Yes! On PURPOSE I pressed the “like” button on my own previous blog post, to “like” my own post! Now, before you throw rotten tomatoes at me and throw me off the internet, watching me spiral away like a free-floating astronaut, hear me out!

We agree that we are ALL dorks, right? (If not see HERE).

But being a dork is part of our superpower. Instead of the big “S” for “Superperson” on our superhero costumes, we could all have a big “D” for “Dork”. Because that dork-i-ness also contributes to our awesomeness.

We know who we are.

So we can relax!

We no longer have to spew boasts describing ever so covertly our successes, in attempts to impress people.

And this is freedom.

Maybe we didn’t find gold stars all over ourselves when we dressed this morning. Or perhaps our stars have rusted and fallen off (Does NO ONE care anymore about my gymnastics award in Grade 7??)

So we can, in our rags, pat another on the shoulder with love to encourage them, even in our brokenness.

And we can “like” ourselves too because we are just little bundles of love, dressed up in whatever old rags we could find as we wandered through life. And love is enough!

So, if you don’t have any gold stars that our culture handed out, or if you were late for the lineup for these accolades, don’t worry! The stars wouldn’t stick to our old rags anyway.

If we find we do have stars, tearing them off is still the way to true freedom. Because in the dark of night, just before we fall asleep, our esoteric anxiety startles us for a moment with “What AM I doing on planet earth??” In those moments gold stars don’t satisfy us.

All of us now stand together, either not having been given any cultural gold stars or having thrown them away because they won’t stick to the REALLY tough questions. And what’s next?

Let’s stand in a circle and … sing. Yes, sing.

We sing praises to the one who IS the standard of the world’s excellence. We look in wonder at Jesus Christ and find that as we gaze at the One who is truly excellent, our clothing changes too, from old rags to robes of radiance. He is pleased with us.

And so you should be too.

“Like” yourself.

Like your own posts.

Whenever, though, [we] turn to face God . . . we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him. The Message

Jesus, help us to see ourselves the way you see us, both in our true brokenness before we turn to you, and in our glorious attire, as we fix our eyes on Your beauty. Help us to “like” who we are becoming by Your grace, we pray. In the quiet and stillness, ask God: How do You see me? Should I like myself?

If you wonder if God likes you, and therefore if you should like yourself, read on.