Great Friends Make You Greater...GO AFTER GREATNESS!

Everyday I thank God for the beautiful friends that He has richly added to my life. Seriously. I am beyond privileged to be connected with such a great bunch. They are gifted, intelligent, trustworthy people that operate at the highest level of integrity, without any sort of pretense. Most importantly, as if that's not enough, they freely allow me to be who I am. Their huge hearts and wide arms embrace everything about me- my strengths, weaknesses, forth-coming attitude, etc. When I'm in their company, I know that I am undeniably amongst friends.

In the past, things were very different.  People(and cliques) that I associated with required me to be something more or less than myself; as if who I am was not shaped quite right for their mold. As a result, I habitually buried my identity and took on whatever personality was expected of me for the moment. After all, this was a "perfectly reasonable" position to take if you were looking to have successful relationships in your life. There was just one problem. I was not good at it!!! I failed miserably.  I was horrible at being something other than myself.

Well, one day I was taking my normal stroll around the bayou and God spoke to my heart and said "Did I ever tell you that you weren't good enough?" I said, "No, my Lord. You have never ever said anything like that to me. That day revolutionized my life! I immediately understood that those who were causing me to question my identity were not the ones I needed to associate with. I let go of old friends and old habits. Even more, I stopped accommodating other people's expectations and started living MY LIFE!

Reflecting back, I'd like to share some of the wisdom I gained that day. No matter what, and at all cost, stay true to yourself and stay true to God. No one knows you like you and your Creator. When you honor the Creator, you'll honor his creation and others will not easily sway you to dishonor yourself. Live your life from an honest place. Accept the good, the bad, and the ugly. Truthfully speaking, not everything you see will be good, but you'll be free to deal with it in a healthy way. Begin to see yourself as a unique, beautiful, and intelligent creature, asking God to reveal the brilliance of all that He created you to be. You were wonderfully and fearfully made!

Embrace those that honor and value you...people that cause your spirit to come alive. They consistently make you smile in good and bad times. They're not only good-natured people, they're great friends. And ultimately, great friends make you greater.

*Celebrate who you are, celebrate Your Creator, and then celebrate those who celebrate you!

 If you know someone who needs to hear this, PASS IT ON. Stay blessed.

Are You Ready to Win?

There are some wars you are going to have to be willing to fight this season, simply because you know that there is victory for many in thend. Justice has never been established without someone standing and calling it forth.

David knew someone had to be willing to "step into the ring" with Goliath to see Him defeated. WHAT DID DAVID DO? David stepped up!!! He stood up to Goliath! You cannot win if you don't step up to the opposition. In the midst of all the heckling and mocking, David determined that he would not be silent or passive. Things would not change until the fight began.

(As a side note, isn't it amazing to see how many people will rise up and unite to ridicule and mock you when you step out to do a righteous deed?!)

But David Responded!

1 Samuel 17:37 ESV
And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”

Consequently, David knew that His God would not fail Him if He took a just stand.

God will cause you to triumph, just as He did with David, if you're willing to take a righteous stand. He'll hand you the right stone or give you the right slingshot. He may even cause your enemies to flee in fear because the armies of heaven are fighting for you, but you must be willing to fight the GOOD fight.

The victory is sweet and yes, IT IS SURE; just be willing and ready to in WIN!

Transparent Reality

There is one thing that has helped me to establish healthy relationships, more than anything else. Would you like to know what it is? It's called transparent reality. This concept deeply changed my life.

Transparent reality is putting yourself in a vulnerable spotlight  so that others will see and connect with who you really are. It shows who you are- at the core of your being, not the artificial person that others see from the surface. It's purposely living life without walls.

I once was a person who could easily be classified as a perfectionist. As you know, it takes a lot of effort to be seen as "flawless". I put tons of pressure on myself to be seen as "wonder woman". I believed that I had to be everyone's hero and that required me to look good and be strong ALL THE TIME. There was no room for error. It was a perpetual lie that I lived for a long time.

Now, let's fast forward a bit.

One day, I went to a Christian women's group and the most transformational lesson I had ever heard was being taught. For the first time ever, I was introduced to the notion of being completely transparent so that I can live a life of freedom and victory. The teacher expressed that Jesus lived openly amongst men when He walked upon the earth. When He was hungry, He expressed it. When He needed help, He said so. When He needed someone to pray with Him, He said so. He was the picture of transparent reality. THIS LEVEL OF TRANSPARENCY BRINGS FREEDOM TO YOUR LIFE AND EVERYONE AROUND YOU. I had a hard time conceiving the possibility of freedom dwelling in every area of my life, but still, I wanted it. I wanted it all. I wanted freedom from people's opinions, my own self-condemnation, and every types of fear known to mankind.  I grabbed hold of this concept with every fiber of my being and I have never let go. It has changed my entire life!

Even as parents, we must begin to move into transparent reality to relate to our kids in today's society. Most of the time, they are going through circumstances we've already gone through. We must be willing to admit that we've gone through the same testings and share our past experiences if we want to see our children prosper. Transparently revealing past failures and victories to the next genereation makes a stronger community for a brighter future. They must know the good, the bad and the ugly of daily living to be effective, fruitful components of society. When life-changing testimonies are shared and life-giving words are imparted, parents become "real people" to their children and actually appear "to live on the same planet". The benefits are endless. Children begin to understand the parents and parents understand their children. Even better than that, we(parents) actually become inspiration, and even heroes to our children. They begin to understand that we aren't perfect. We are simply resilient.


I want to encourage you to move into more freedom and personal growth as you walk through life unashamedly. You will begin to see your current reality transform and prosper in a whole new way through more transparency. Be free to love. Be free to give and be free to share. You will reap great benefits!




photo by Michele Cantania