Be Who You Already Are

Rebekah Lyons newest book is called "You Are Free-Be who you already are". Rebekah's book is calling women to become who they've already been designed to be. She talks about the struggles women face as they seek to live a life of meaning today. Rebekah also gets vulnerable and honest about her own battle to overcome anxiety, depression and consumer impulses. She challenges women to discover and boldly pursue the specific purpose God has for them in life.

When we let go of trying to be someone else and quit the striving, the perfectionism and the chasing after approval from other people, we find freedom. When we stop trying to please everyone and focus on only pleasing God. Complete freedom awaits us in this place, it's a place of vitality. A place where we feel full of life, full of spirit, full of passion.

What's up with the attitude?

Yesterday I was reading in the book of Job and it reminded me of how self-destructive my bad attitude can be. Every time I see someone with a bad attitude on reality TV, on the news or in a restaurant I don't like what I see. A bad attitude is ugly, rude and ungrateful. When I work with kids I don't respond well to a bad attitude, so why do I think God is okay with my bad attitude? It's easy to make up excuses and pretend like it's okay to have an attitude because I have a bad day, because I'm stressed or because someone offended me. Still, I'm aware that my own attitude is my own responsibility. When kids are rude to their parents everyone suffers. The parents get tired and irritated and the kids will loose some privileges for that day as a result of their actions. I'm thinking that it's a bit the same with us and God. I know God loves me and wants to bless my life but he can't respond with blessing when my attitude is negative, ungrateful and discontent. I am in control of my own thoughts and the words I choose to let out of my mouth. My words can either be words of complaint or words that praise God.


Job is a man in the Bible who had all the reasons to complain about his life. Job was suffering and facing tremendous pain and darkness in his life, but instead of crying out to God for help in humility he chose to complain and accuse God. Job's friends tried to give him some advice but none of them spoke wisdom into Job's life. In the end a man much younger than Job was courageous enough to speak up and he spoke wisdom and truth into Job's life. The young man's name was Elihu. Elihu wasn't afraid to point out that instead of praising God and choosing to revere him Job was complaining, being self-righteous, focusing on his own glory and what other people thought of him. Job was also showing that he didn't trust God and even took it as far as to accuse God of being wrong and unjust. My conclusion from reading through chapters 29-42 in the book of Job is that God takes a bad attitude very seriously. Here's a few of the words that the young man Elihu spoke to Job:


"Far be it from God to do evil,
from the Almighty to do wrong.
He repays everyone for what they have done;
he brings on them what their conduct deserves."
Job 34:10-11

"Is he not the One who says to kings, 'You are worthless,'
and to nobles, 'You are wicked,' who shows no partiality
to princes and does not favor the rich over the poor,
for they are all the work of his hands?"
Job 34:18-19

"God is mighty, but despises no one;
he is mighty, and firm in his purpose."
Job 36:5

"But if people are bound in chains,
held fast by cords of affliction,
he tells them what they have done-
that they have sinned arrogantly.
He makes them listen to correction
and commands them to repent of 
their evil.
If they obey and serve him,
they will spend the rest of their days
in prosperity
and their years in contentment."
Job 36:8-11

"The Almighty is beyond our reach and
exalted in power;
in his justice and great righteousness,
he does not oppress.
Therefore, people revere him,
for does he not have regard for all the
wise in heart?"
Job 37:23-24


The book of Job ends with God speaking to Job out of the storm. Job listens and repents from his sins, he realizes that he has been self-righteous, complaining and falsely accusing God. After Job prays for his friends God restores his fortunes and gives him twice as much as he had before. God then blesses the later part of Job's life even more than he blessed the earlier part of his life. Reading the book of Job reminds me to be intentional about checking my own attitude every week. It's so easy for me to slip into a bad attitude when I'm tired, stressed or having a bad day. It helps when I remember that God is always present, he sees everything I do and my life can either be honoring to God or dishonoring to God. Adjusting my attitude is my responsibility. I don't respond well when other people are ungrateful, complain and accuse me, neither will God respond well to me treating him that way. Every new day I have the power to choose to express gratitude, joy and praise to God, instead of spewing out complaints and negativity.


It's astonishing what a huge difference a change of attitude can make in my life. I had a moment two weeks ago when I received some bad news, instead of complaining about it I decided to thank God for how great he is. I prayed for God to intervene in my circumstances and decided to restrain myself from spiraling down the path of negativity and worry. A few days later I received some great news and was happy to see that my new approach had made a difference. God watches every move I make, who am I to complain when everything good in my life comes from him? He is my provider of all good things and I will choose to praise him always!

He's a chain breaker

We’ve all searched for the light of day in the dead of night

We’ve all found ourselves worn out from the same old fight

We’ve all run to things we know just ain’t right

And there’s a better life

There’s a better life

If you’ve got pain

He’s a pain taker

If you feel lost

He’s a way maker

If you need freedom or saving

He’s a prison-shaking Savior

If you’ve got chains

He’s a chain breaker

The Gift of Great Service

We are all gifted in different areas. No matter what your gift is I encourage you to put it to use, it will change lives. No human is more important than another, together we change the world. God calls each one of us to be servants, to serve others in love just as Jesus did. It's a great gift to others to serve them with excellence. Putting your gifts to use is practicing generosity.


On Saturday morning I woke up with pain in my neck. I have been sleeping on the same pillow for the last five years and on Saturday my neck was letting me know that I needed to buy a new pillow NOW! I was annoyed that I had to squeeze in a visit to Sleep Country on my Saturday morning since I had a birthday party to organize. Once I arrived at the store my mood completely changed, I was met by an older man who served me with excellence and gave me all the advice I needed to pick the perfect new pillow for my aching neck. We laughed and joked and afterwards I returned home with a new luxurious pillow and a feeling of gratitude for the great service I had received. This morning I didn't really want to get out of bed because my new pillow is super comfortable and sleeping on it feels like a taste of heaven to me. My point is this: whatever you do, do it with excellence! No matter what your gifting is and no matter what job you have, decide to serve people with excellence.


When we commit to giving our best to other people we change people's lives. We love our neighbor when we commit to serving others with excellence, no matter if our client is wealthy or poor. Every time the barista serves me an excellent latte at the coffee shop he/she makes my day. Every time the nurse at the hospital gives me excellent care she makes a huge difference to my week. Every time a stranger gives me a compliment in the street it puts a smile on my face and reminds me of how kind and awesome Canadians are.


Words can not describe how big the difference is between when somebody treats you as an object versus giving you their best effort. I've had doctor's visits that have made me cry because the doctor clearly didn't care about my situation and only saw me as a case number. I've had other doctor's visits that have helped me tremendously, not only because I was given great medical advice but also because I was treated like a human-being, not as an object or case. Whatever you do, do it with excellence and you will change many people's lives in the process. As you change people's lives you also change the world in a positive direction at the same time.

Drugs, Prison & Second Chances

Michael Carroll talks about how from a young age he was carrying around a lot of guilt and shame in life. The trauma that he and his sister went through as children caused Michael to become a very angry young man. He started smoking weed as a teenager and was looking for different ways to numb the pain in his life. At age 16 he became very rebellious, moved away from home and started selling drugs with his friends. Michael eventually got sent to prison which became a turning point in his life, in prison he surrendered his life completely to the Lord and started reading a Bible and getting to know God. Today Michael is serving in ministry and is passionate about sharing a message of hope and deliverance to other people who come from different broken situations.

FEARLESS

"GOD met me more than halfway, he freed me from my anxious fears." 

Psalm 34:4 (MSG)

Nothing to Prove

The level of happiness has gone down among women over the last few decades. We are stressed, tired, and struggle to feel good enough. We carry many different roles in life; daughter, sister, wife, mom, business owner, leader etc. Today, maybe more than ever, the expectations on women are heavy. Social media can add even more pressure and expectations to live up to. We have grown up in a society that teaches us that to be somebody you have to "make something out of yourself". We learn early on that we have to prove our own worth if we want to receive praise from others.


God has a completely different view of us, He tells us we are of great worth because we were made by Him. An expensive piece of art is valuable because of how famous the artist is, our maker is the most famous artist in the whole universe. We are all His masterpieces. When we understand who we are in Christ we can stop trying to prove our worth. We finally understand how precious we are to God, not because of what we do but because of who we are. It's freeing to see yourself from God's perspective. We are all important to him, we don't need titles or social status to be loved by God. God loves the woman in prison equally much as he loves the successful business woman. Our performance is not what gives us our worth as a human-being, although that is exactly what our society tells us every day.


If we try to control everything in life and strive for perfection we will end up exhausted. We are not able to live perfect lives, even if we tried. Our failures and shortcomings are a constant reminder of our need for God. We are not perfect but God is. God is the one who will fill in the blanks in our lives when we underperform or fail. If we live like we are God we will constantly be exhausted, anxious and overwhelmed. If you let God be God you are free to be you.


I am not enough. I make mistakes all the time. I fail and underperform, but then I get back up and try again. I refuse to let my failures define me because I know God has grace available for each one of my mistakes. His forgiveness and grace for me is new every day. I'm free to live a passionate life serving him without any fear of failure. When I fail God is fully able to use even my biggest mistake towards making something beautiful in the end. I'm not the one who will change the world, God is. I'm just a tool in the hands of the King of the universe. All I need to do is focus on doing my small part and watch God do the big part.