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Funny Friday: Before They Retire

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Funny Friday: Before They Retire

Funny Friday: Before They Retire

My kids say some pretty funny things sometimes–especially my daughter (she’s 7).  We’ve started keeping track of the funny or cute things they say by writing them down and putting them in a jar.  Then we read them on New Year’s Eve and get several laughs as we recap the funny things said over the year.  I’ll share some of their funnies on Funny Friday from time to time.  This week my daughter came across some movie passes that we had not used yet.  She said:

“We need to use those movie things before they retire!”

She makes me smile! 🙂 Have a wonderful and safe Labor Day Weekend!  And be sure to use up any movie passes before they retire!

“Children are a blessing and a gift from the Lord.” Psalm 127:3 (CEV)

By the way...if you have any Funny Friday ideas that you would like to share or funny things your kids have said/done, please send them on to me and you might just see them on a Funny Friday post sometime!

 

How to Feel More Secure About Your Appearance

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How to Feel More Secure About Your Appearance

One of the 9 common causes of insecurity that we previously discussed was feeling insecure due to appearances.  This is an issue for BOTH men and women alike.  It only takes a few commercials or print advertisements to figure this one out.  A majority of them are marketing our appearance—clothing, hair, accessories, makeup, fitness/body image.  I shared how this one was a major issue for me too after my Miss Oklahoma pageant experiences and dealing with some infidelity in many of my relationships growing up.  I always felt like I could never measure up to those “other girls” or to the “ideal body image”—like I would never be as pretty or as fit.

Most of us already know that our appearance is not something that should make us feel insecure, but the reality is that it does.  So how do we overcome this?  Below are some mentalities that will help…

Ways to feel more secure about your appearance:

Know that you’re not alone (the majority of people are conscious about their appearance—dating back thousands of years).  Apparently this is also an issue that crosses the ages.  Image and appearance were important to the “women of old” too.

“Bezalel made the bronze washbasin and its bronze stand from bronze mirrors donated by the women who served at the entrance of the Tabernacle.”  Exodus 38:8 (NLT)

I found this verse interesting because if there were mirrors, then obviously people cared about what they looked like.

“Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.” 1 Peter 3:3-4 (NLT)

Clothe yourselves w/beauty that comes from w/in, the UNFADING beauty of a gentle & quiet spirit.

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If they had to be told NOT to be concerned about outward appearance, then evidently it was an issue.  In a weird way, this was somewhat comforting to me to know that it’s not just a modern problem.  It would seem the devil struck people of all times with issues of insecurity—especially in appearance. Continue reading →

Funny Friday: Master of Hide-and-Seek

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Funny Friday: Master of Hide-and-Seek!

My daughter…Master of Hide-and-Seek! 🙂

“Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 23:23-24 (ESV)

Funny Friday: Unique Rabbit

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Funny Friday: Unique Rabbit

How do you catch a unique rabbit?

Happy Funny Friday!  Since I was talking about being “unique” earlier this week, I thought I would share one of my favorite jokes my dad used to tell me when I was a little girl.  Embrace your uniqueness!  Enjoy! 🙂

3 Mindsets to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

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3 Mindsets You Need to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

3 Mindsets to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

Previously we talked about the common causes of insecurity.  Today, I’d like to share 3 mindsets that I personally use to overcome comparisons (an ongoing problem I deal with).  Comparing yourself to others is probably one of the most common causes of insecurity.  Even Jesus’ disciples compared themselves to each other.

“Then his disciples began arguing about which of them was the greatest.” Luke 9:46 (NLT) 

There’s always an opportunity to compare ourselves to others.  There’s always somebody “better” in one way or another.  I have caught myself comparing my house to a friend’s when I’ve attended a Bunco night or a bible study or envying a friend’s job because she was able to travel whereas I wasn’t able to.  I’ve even compared my gifts and talents to someone else’s because I didn’t think I was as talented as they were.  The truth behind it though was that I was using poor standards of measurement.  I measured myself against other people.  It’s an easy trap to fall into.

I have found that if I adjusted my thinking in three different areas, it was much easier to stop comparing myself to others.  The areas where I had to adjust my thinking were:

  • Using other people as my standard of measurement
  • Comparing unequally and taking the “unseen” into account
  • Realizing uniqueness in each individual and that each person plays different roles

Mindset #1 to stop comparing yourself to others: Don’t use other people as your standard of measurement.

Continue reading →

Funny Friday: Strawberry Salad

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Funny Friday Strawberry Salad

This Funny Friday post comes courtesy of my good (and very funny) friend, Michelle Clifton. 🙂

Expectations…Have you ever been let down because what you expected wasn’t what you got? I don’t consider a fourth of a strawberry a salad, but by the end of dinner I was glad I hadn’t filled up on bread and lettuce because the steak was huge and amazing! Sometimes we are disappointed because we didn’t get what we wanted or when it showed up, well, we were less than impressed.  Now anytime something doesn’t go as planned, I look for the possible silver lining in the situation.

Set a goal…If you don’t get what you want, look for the silver lining in it.  The more you do it, the more natural it will become.  Next thing you know, you will no longer be focusing on the disappointment but on the possibilities.

~ Michelle

“So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.” Hebrews 10:35-36 (NLT)

9 Common Causes of Insecurity

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Most people deal with insecurity in one form or another. Read about the 9 common causes of insecurity and see examples of each in scripture.

9 Common Causes of Insecurity

The last couple of weeks we’ve been talking some about self-worth and self-image (see the posts here and here).  Those of us who have negative pictures of ourselves deal with INSECURITY.  Actually, I would venture to say that most people deal with insecurity in one form or another.  This is also not just an issue that women deal with (notice most of the examples in the scriptures below are from insecure men). 

Insecurity is not a gender-specific issue. #insecurity

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Insecurity is not a gender-specific issue.  I’ve learned that even though men and women may be insecure for different reasons, the root causes and overcoming them are the same.  I’ve also discovered that there are 9 common causes of insecurity (there are definitely more, but these are the most common).

9 Common Causes of Insecurity:

  1. Comparing yourself to others 
  2. Appearances and imperfections (external or internal)
  3. Acceptance by others (i.e. fitting in, other’s opinions, etc.)
  4. Feeling unloved or unwanted
  5. Not measuring up to the standards of others (culture/society, media, etc.)
  6. Fear
  7. Failure (fear of OR previous failures, bad decisions, wrong living, etc.)
  8. Tragic incident or circumstances (death, abuse, infidelity, etc.)
  9. Getting significance in wrong things (job, gifts/talents, spouse, children, appearance, material possessions) 

Examples in scripture: Continue reading →