***If you are stopping over from our study group, thank you for visiting! I did finally get around to doing last week's post, yesterday. You can find it here, or below. I was a bit busy... with my baby's first birthday party! I must humbly say: He is stinking adorable, is he not???
Ok, ok. on to getting real....
As I continue to dive into our study, "Behind Those Eyes" by Lisa Whittle, I see a theme arising for me, as God uses Lisa's book to drive some points home:
Lies vs. The Truth
Chapters 6 and 7 were further reminders of this theme, and further reminders of some truths I am trying to learn in my marrow and my heart... not just my head!!
For example:
Ms. Perfection is a lie.
We can never be her.... and trying to be her is robbing us of the beauty of resting in He who is perfect.
Ms. Confidence is a lie.
We can never sustain our own well-being, world, family, career, etc. etc.... and trying to be her robs us of depth in our friendships, and a rooted dependence on God alone.
Ms. Happiness is a lie.
We can never be her - not for long anyway... and we were never meant to. Trying to be her keeps us buried in an unattainable goal, and keeps our eyes off of eternity.
Ms. Spirituality is a lie.
We can never be a perfect Christian... but only by dying to self, and to our pride, and to thinking that we have the magic formula of doing things 'just-right', can we accept that it is only by Christ, through grace, that makes us worthy at all.
In Chapter Six and Seven, "Cosmetics for the Soul" and "The Feelings we Conceal", Lisa dives into the lies.
Not just the lies we believe about ourselves,
but also the lies we present to others to 'keep from being found out.'
We lie by hiding our true feelings.
We lie by buying into an image of "Mrs.-who-we-are-supposed-to-be"
Oh, and then..... we lie all over again, by trying so hard to sell it.
Lisa asks us, "How many of us are trying to conceal our feelings to cover up our broken souls?" I feel that this is the crux of what Lisa is trying to get us to see. I love what she says, "But God wants us to be real... real to others, real to ourselves, and real with Him." This is truth.
Yes, again, it may hurt to be real sometimes. It is scary. Unknown. Risky. We may get raked over the coals. We may leave our necks twisting in the wind.
But we will be living.
And if we rest in Him, and rest in what He says is the Truth about who we are....
We will be living free! FREE!!!
So, day by day, minute by minute, choice by choice....Who are we going to believe?
him?:
"...He [the devil] was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." -Romans 8:44
Or Him?
"...Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." -John 8:31-32
18 friends had a thing or two to say...:
Darlene,
Lies vs. Truth!
Remembering to focus on truth and not allowing the enemy to keep speaking the lies!
That is sure where I need to be.
Great post.
Cindy
How the enemy desires us to live a lie, to not be real.
"Yes, again, it may hurt to be real sometimes. It is scary. Unknown. Risky. We may get raked over the coals. We may leave our necks twisting in the wind.
But we will be living. "
Amen... and what joy it is to be living in Him!
Awesome post!
Great post, and you hit the nail on
the head. We are all living lives
of lies. This study hopefully, will help us to be true to ourselves.
Loved the post
June
I had to go back and look at the pictures of Christian. Gorgeous! When I look at those big, beautiful eyes, I can't help to ask myself, "Where do we get so crazy in this growing up thing?" Don't you wish we could go back to such a time of innocence and sweetness? No lies in those eyes!
Hugs,
Laura
Darlene,
Why are we so eager to swallow the lies of the devil when the truth is so liberating? Thank you for sharing.
Kristy
I like how you brought out the Lies vs. Truth. You have helped me understand this book even better. Everyone's comments really help me to see who I am a little deeper. Thank you...Connie
Darlene,
First of all Happy Birthday Christian! What a handsome family you have!
Now to your post...
"And if we rest in Him, and rest in what He says is the Truth about who we are....We will be living free! FREE!!!"
HIS truth will set us free!! I wrote in my post about the struggle I have with having a daily quiet time. The days that I wake early to have my quiet time are the days that I feel that freedom in Christ. I set my heart and mind on HIS truths and the freedom to be me in HIM just comes so easily.
blessings to you,
Kim
Hi Darlene~
Doesn't it always come down to the quesiton of:
am I going to believe a LIE...or God's TRUTH.
Great post my friend....
(the birthday party pictures are SO adorable!)
Darlene,
Wow. You recapped that beautifully. Lies damage and destroy. We need to be busy with the truth and get rid of all the lies! Even though sometimes it is scary and it hurts, it is best!
Tough stuff!
Blessings,
~Liz
Great post!
This has been quite a journey.
Happy First Birthday to your son!!!
I loved how you started this post off with showing that everything we try so hard to be is a lie and someone we can't become. I really love the way you write. Its so refreshing.
Blessings,
Lelia
Happy 1st b-day Baby! xoxo
Darlene~
I couldn't find your email...so I thought I'd leave a comment here....YES..FEEL FREE TO USE THE POEM I posted!!! Isn't it so sad...the state of our country? :-)
Yes, let's choose Him. Let's believe Him and not the great deceiver. The enemy is good at what he does...he's so sly that we don't even know it. As I state on my post, the one deceived doesn't know he's deceived.
Let's choose to believe.
And yes, your baby is stinkin' cute! :-)
Paula
Darlene,
You comments were timely. Thanks
you for being on this journey with
me. We will all reach the finish
line together.
June
I really like this study Darlene! Where can we get the book? I'm doing one right now but think that this would be a really good one to look into next. This is so true and something to really ...and the truth really does set us all free.
Ahhh....I chose Him!!
In his Graces~Pamela
Dear Darlene,
This is so true! I think when I look at your pictures that with the abudance of natural beauty you have been given - The "Accuser" of the brethern (and "sisteren" as Beth Moore says) would love to position you to be "fake".
Your beauty and the beauty of your children and your home is such a blessing from Our Father.
Satan as the "Angel of Light" in disguise loves to make sure that you never be "real" and destory the perfect picture.
But, there you are are - genuine, authetic, real, beautiful and desperately loving your FATHER.
You bless me, Dear One..:-)
Teri
Darlene,
Ok you baby is sooooo cute, and I'm so behind on reading.
I love how you sumed it up. Yes he lie, lies, lies. Why do we keep believing him. No I want to believe God and His Turth.
Thank you for your post.
In Him:
Carol
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