Come over here and be amazing, like me!

So it happened again.

I had a moment where I thought, “Wow! EVEN I didn’t know that! I’d better write that down!”

You see, I’ve been attending church for a LONG time, so there isn’t much I don’t already know!

Join people in over fifty countries who read this to gain valuable life wisdom! (Or maybe they’re just laughing at me? . . . Whatever!)

Actually, the full truth is that there are many things I ONCE knew but then forgot, and had to be taught again, which is slightly different (technically speaking). And in fact, this is where most of my “new” information seems to come from as I’ve gotten a bit older.

For example, when I was a teenager, I proudly announced, “God, I surrender all that I have to You!”

A couple of decades later, I confessed to a mentor that I was having trouble surrendering everything to God. “It’s a lot easier to give God everything when you don’t have anything to give,” was her unperturbed quip. (Her comment was slightly insensitive, don’t you think?)

But she was older than me, so she had a lot more experience with knowing stuff, not applying it, forgetting it, and then trying to relearn it again.

And the same thing happened in church recently. Of course, I know ALL that stuff! But then the speaker that day asked us what it seemed God was nudging us to do, before our immediate response to God of: “Nah!”

That speaker then insulted me by insinuating that fear holds us back from stepping into the adventure Jesus leads us on.

Please! But after I got mad at that speaker, I later realized he was right. (Don’t tell my husband. That’s our most consistent “Marriage Pattern” too, but I prefer not to admit the latter half of that first sentence, so our stable “Power Balance” doesn’t get disrupted.)

The speaker then described the following fears that often hold us back from spiritual authenticity:

1. Fear of Rejection – People may laugh at or ignore me!

Author’s Spiritual Reflection And Wisdom: Ha! I would never be afraid of that! I was voted the best dressed in my red-neck high school, after all! I obviously have style and a certain “coolness” which I take GREAT PAINS and often feel compelled (for some reason?) to humbly hint at when I am with others!

2. Fear of Inadequacy – I might not know enough or be anointed enough!

Author’s Spiritual Reflection And Wisdom: I feel very spiritual and EVEN connected to God in the morning after I pray! However, if my kids or anyone else shows up in my life, then I always seem to be yelling at them against my (spiritual) will! That proves that it’s OTHERS, not ME, that make me behave badly.

I would be a great Christian if it wasn’t for all the people.

Adrian Plass in The Sacred Diary Of Adrian Plass Aged 37 3/4

(Author’s Comment: Exactly!)

3. Fear of Hostility – People could oppose me or harm me!

Author’s Spiritual Reflection And Wisdom: Yes! For example, I didn’t tell you my exact address. (Besides the fact that you don’t care) I heard there was a mean person on the internet once! And also, why DO more Christians feel “called” to Hawaii more often than to the Democratic Republic of Congo? Well, we won’t know the answers to ALL of life’s riddles!

4. Fear of Failure – What if no one responds?

Author’s Spiritual Reflection And Wisdom: Yes! The dreaded fate of not many “Likes” as we project our egos on the internet! Terrifying! Good thing that I know that “I am deeply loved exactly as I am, eternally, by God’s grace.” Actually, I’m trying to relearn (or perhaps to learn?) this truth, which has been helping me recently to drastically cut back on self-medication through excess chocolate consumption at one sitting, but that is another story for another time.

Hey! I can’t share ALL my wisdom at once! As mentioned at the beginning of this article, I’ve been going to church a LONG TIME, so OBVIOUSLY I know a lot of stuff!

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

As the song below asks, “Why are you so afraid to fail?” can you (Just for a moment, and not aloud if that’s impossible) admit to God that fear MAY just be holding you back a teensy bit, too, friend? And then, as she sings, “Why are you so afraid to lose if all the love you ever dreamed of already belongs to you?” what do you sense God whispering to your heart?

Christ has set us free to live a free life

The Message

Thanks for liking me! I like you too! – Proven HERE, HERE, and HERE! Let’s journey together!