Seems I’m living in a theme. Does that ever happen to you?
For the past several years the ongoing theme has been “Real.”
The “Real” theme truly started a good while back. God was calling me to just be me. No one else. I’d tried being other people. It was just way too much work. God did an amazing work in my life and gave me such a contentment at being me even with all my quirks, issues, and stuff. I was just happy to be me — a child of God.
And then God stepped it up — calling me to be more REAL with people. Umm, no thank you. I like being funny and I like being passionate about my causes. I love teaching Bible study and speaking to women’s groups. Lord, I’m pretty real. I didn’t particularly see a need to be any more REAL.
Lord, don’t you just have enough of those really REAL people. You know the ones who are always telling you a personal story and crying. Don’t you have enough of those? And Lord, you know I look like the long lost daughter of Alice Cooper when I cry. That’s just not a good thing. People don’t like Alice Cooper. See, that will put people off and I don’t want to do that.
I’m good at rationalizing stuff — at least to myself. God wasn’t buying the mascara plea, so I stepped into a journey to be more real.
Along the way I wrote a book — the one that was sadly orphaned by Thomas Nelson and is now looking for a new home — and met Lisa Whittle. Lisa is the author of Behind Those Eyes: What’s Really Going on Inside the Souls of Women, a book that is all about being REAL. Girls, that book stepped all over my toes. I hihgly recommend it even if REAL is not your current theme.
The theme continued as I dealt with the cancelation of the book — I lived out the joy of selling the book, the process of writing the book and I lived out my disappointment in a very REAL way. Just ask Lisa Whittle — she was there for me the day I got the news.
The theme continues as God sends more reminders of the power of being REAL. I started blogging with Extraordinary Women and loved the theme for 2009 — Free to Be Real.
Recently I was ask to speak at the Free To Be Me Bloggers’ Retreat – notice the theme? Free to be me… yes, that’s being Real! And the Lord is working out a message for this group. Oh, is He ever. I can hardly contain myself I’m so excited about it!
I love how the Lord brings this all together. In my quest to be the Real Me, I’ve found a verse of scripture that tells me WHO I am.
But you are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9
Don’t you just love that verse! That’s who I am — the REAL me! I’ve been called out of the darkness into His marvelous light and dont’ miss this part…. I’ve been called so that I may sing His praises! Sister, it just doesn’t get a whole lot more real than that. I belong to Christ. This is the REAL me.
So I’ll keep moving along on this path of being REAL. Another theme may come or this may be the theme of my life — REAL. I’ll take it.
What’s the theme of your life ?
In order for God to use you, you have to be broken and transparent and…real!!! I think I’m getting close to the same message as you.
I’ll check out that book…I usually need one to step all over me.
Thanks for being real, Mary. Through some painful learning about myself and how much it can bite when I am not real I have learned to be…real. The problem I have is that I know how freeing it can be to just lay it all down and I run the risk of being so real that I am afraid of scaring people away! So I pray for more wisdom to know how much disclosure of me is honoring to God…
I am thankful that you are encouraging us to be who God made us to be. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I am always excited to make friends with another Alabama blogger!
God must have sent you my way. I am the Director of Women’s Ministries at my church. I am ALWAYS looking for a speaker for one of our events!
I loved this post. I am constantly challenged to be more genuine in my relationships, my faith, and my thoughts. Sometimes my reality is a little TOO REAL, and I need to learn to give that to God, too!
Shoot me an e-mail at liannerobinson12@yahoo.com sometime and let me know what you charge, topics, etc. for a speaking engagement. I think we are already pretty well set-up for 2009, but 2010 is wide-open!
Thanks again,
Lianne
Okay…explored around your site… Love the “Drive-Thru World” topic.
Nice post, Mary! You always do nice work with your challenges to us! Love it!
Ah. Isn’t life so much easier far less complicated when we can ‘let it all hang out’ … in a Godly context that is. It’s like we can breath again.
Doing Lisa Bevere’s book, ‘nurture’ with a group of amazing women. Why does it not surprise me that that was the context of the last chapter.
First, let me suggest waterproof eye make up, it gets me through praise and worship just fine. Otherwise I’d scare everyone near me!
Discovering our true selves in Him and being confident enough to let her out is always challenging. All our lives we’ve practiced the fine art of disguise and mystery, letting out little glimpses of our true selves at a time so we don’t get hurt. God is calling women to be transparent “real” and it’s a very scary thing.
But with His help, we can all shed those masks and be confident in the girl He created.