I've tossed around the word authentic a lot lately — I want to be authentic. I want authenticity in my friendships.  I want an authentic ministry.

It hit me last night…. what do I mean?  What am I saying?  Am I just tossing around a word that sounds good.  And yes, I've done a lot of that in my past.

Authentic means real, true, not a fake.  But truly, what does that mean?

How do I live authentic?

Does it mean I have to tell you ALL about me?  Oh, for your sake, I hope not.  It's 65 parts boring and the rest you don't want to know about.

To be authentic, I have to trust that God is God and He alone rules my heart and my life.  I have to keep my eyes on Him, the author and finisher of my faith.

To be authentic, I have to live life daily in the way the Lord has laid out for me.  This means I don't manipulate situations to my benefit or enjoyment.  This means that some days are just stinking HARD.  It also means God has a plan for my life each and EVERY day of it.

To be authentic, I have to trust God's plan for my life and accept the sins of my past.  I have to look to God to use all things (even the yucky, icky stuff) for His great GLORY.

To be authentic, I CANNOT look to people to increase my position, my standing, my popularity — as an authentic girl I will trust God to bring the right people into my life and I will trust God's plan for my life.

To live an authentic life, I have to grasp that God's plan for my life is much greater than my plan and I have to walk in that plan even when it is FAR different than what I'd thought.

To live an authentic life, I will serve where God places my feet and I will rejoice in the knowledge that He is God.

I'm truly blessed to be where I am today.  I'm stunned that God would allow me to minister to His girls through gIRL: Girlfriends in Real Life and through speaking.  I don't understand why He gives me this, but I accept His incredible grace and pray that all I do will glorify Him.

What you believe it means to be authentic?