Haven’t you heard the age old phrase, “God isn’t finished with me yet!”  Why do we put so much pressure on ourselves to be like everyone else?  God has created you to be uniquely YOU!  We bloom and blossom as we walk through this journey called life.  Do it well!  We can do it well by loving and accepting ourselves.  Do you see your value?  Do you see your uniqueness?  Do you see that there is not another person in the entire world exactly like you?  Do you really GET IT that Jesus indwelled your spirit and has made you ONE with Him?  You are a very unique expression of Jesus to the people in your circle of influence.  Will you blow it at times?  Sure.  Will you make mistakes?  Of course!  Does that make the God of this universe wring His hands in worry and disgust? No!  God is a faithful Father!  Nothing takes Him by surprise and HE loves turning victims into victors, messes into messages and mistakes into growing experiences and testimonies.  HE is conforming you daily into the image of Christ in your entire personhood and HE is using you more than you know.  I think we are going to be so surprised when we get to heaven and see the things we will get rewards for.  “Well, Jesus…..I didn’t even give that act of kindness a second thought!”  “Exactly” HE will say!  “You were just allowing Me to flow through you!”

The world that we live in bombards us daily with the temptation to compare ourselves with others.  It is so true that if I compare then I will feel despair!  Yesterday I had the privledge to be with some young mothers who were discussing facebook.  One talked about the pressure of watching facebook friends put the “wonderful” things their husband does for them on their status update.  And then people begin to comment on what THEIR husband has done for them.  And then the bystanders are walking away not realizing where this next thought comes from, “Why doesn’t my husband do those things?”  “My life is so boring.”  Seriously!  We have to get a grip on understanding that every thought that comes into our mind is not our thought.  Satan is called the “Accuser of the brethren.”  That’s you and me.  He will give you a thought and then condemn you and say things like, “And you call yourself a Christian?”  And let’s get real.  If your friends posted EVERYTHING that went on they might just say, “Just gave my husband a good fussing out.”  So let’s not let the enemy get our eyes on other people (or status updates) and use his ancient tactic of envy.  There’s a solution in God’s word that tells us just what to do.  Take every thought captive to Christ.