Is That Really Me?!

Is that me? Or maybe it should better be titled - you sound completely different to other people than you do when you listen to yourself. What a morning!!! Have you ever listened to yourself on the radio or TV or even taped yourself with a small recorder? Let's just say that others get to experience a whole different listening pleasure than we think!! What a hoot!!

I've told you before that I have had some awesome opportunities given to me by God through my ministry with By Design. This morning was another one of those times. We had the wonderful opportunity to have a live radio interview with a local station,WIMO AM1300, out of Winder, GA. The radio staff was very gracious to all of us. The Lord blessed the time this morning both for the station staff and us. Now, generally speaking, I have no trouble getting up in front of a group of children to teach or singing in front of a crowd of strangers - if not in close proximity or if I am separated by a great distance and a stage, but anything else is usually a little unnerving. Even though no one listening in to the station could see me, can I just tell you - I was nervous. The more I tried not to sound "southern" with my accent, the more pronounced it was. I guess a career in radio is out of the question!!

This whole thought process of sounding much different than what my interpretation of me is has got me thinking this morning. Is the "me" that I think I am really who others around me see? Or, more importantly than that, do I accurately portray the "me" that God sees? My honest answer would have to be, "no, not always." Sometimes I get so caught up in the everyday "stuff" of my life that it is like I have blinders on and they are caked over with the mud and grime of traveling down the road of daily living. Sometimes I am so busy trying to be mom and be wife and be business owner and be worship leader and whatever else is on my plate that particular day that I forget to just "be". God wants me to just "be" and let Him handle the stuff that is thrown at me ninety miles an hour. If I could just learn the lesson of not just believing in Him but believing Him, WOW, my life would change dramatically! Do you get the difference in those two statements? One is just a passive "yea, I believe that chair is big enough to hold me if I sit down in it" and the other is active present participle belief - my rear is IN the chair, and I am actively sitting in it. The first one is just lip service; the second one is active body movement. The difference is HUGE!!!! God is teaching me so much about this very thing right now! I am seeing Him work in some really neat ways that can only be explained by "it's a God thing". Now, I don't claim to have one ounce of perfection in me (though some closest to me may laugh at that statement); so, it is a constant battle of the mind for me not to get discouraged and have my doubts some days. I go back to the lip service because I think that it might be safer that day than putting my foot on the line and crossing it. But, even my most chickeny days I know that I serve a mighty God! He has promised that if I have the faith (that active belief) - He will move the mountains. He doesn't call me to use my muscles to move those heavy objects in my life. What He does call me to do is use my life lines - my Bible and my prayer time with Him.

This post took a completely different turn than where I originally thought I would take it today, but that's okay. God was writing it as fast as my fingers could type. So, my challenge for you today is this - are you going to just give God lip service with passive belief in Him? Or, will you be active in your belief?

Blessings!