Accepting the Package

This message isn't leaving me, so I'm going to post it here and at The Surrendered Scribe.

There is so much blessing in my life I am frustrated that I'm tripping up on such a superficial thing. My calling and it is certainly in active mode these days, is to encourage people to believe God to be big and realize how amazing they are to Him. My online ministry is to exhort readers to surrender and give up the things that hold us back from everything God called us to be.

So when I yet again winced at my picture, I struggled. I still am.

But here is the picture God is giving me. The doorbell rings and it is a delivery person. If I'd sign on the line, I receive a package worth so much that a price tag can't even be defined. And I say thanks, but no thanks.

The package is worth more than Donald Trump, a thousand tropical vacations, the best mocha every day of my life, all your favorite things in the entire world.

You walk away and refject the gift. A gift worth more than you could even describe. A present so delicately hand crafted there is not another like it in the universe.

Who in there right mind would reject such a package?

Well I do nearly every day when I look in the mirror and hate what I see.

How about you?

My story is that I've always struggled with how I look on the outside. I was overweight growing up and kids were cruel. When I look at pictures of me in college I regret that I never liked what I saw, because I'd love to look that way again. Can you covet yourself from 20 years ago, because I do!As a young adult I rejected the package and honestly, the giver, because the severe case of polycystic ovaries made me feel less than a woman. As the years progressed add infertility, multiple surgeries (with scars), injections that are bruised. In the last year or so my hormones turned like an hour glass and I watched everything go south, literally! Moods, weight, body parts...yikes.

Accept the package? I stamped it "Return to Sender."

I'd love to tell you I am so over that but I'm not. Yet. I hate that with all the writing favor that has come about lately, I spend hours, days, weeks...wishing I still fit in my jeans from two years ago. Heck, six months ago would be nice too. I don't celebrate the victories along the way even in that area---great workouts, improvement in moods and side effects, and more energy. Nope, I want that package to look amazing.

The problem? Every package is. When we reject the package and basically return to sender with sighs of disgust as we look in the mirror, envy when we look at others, and every other thing I have a habit of doing---I might as well be turning my back on God. He is not ashamed of any package He creates, or delivers. He delights in every single one of us from the new wrinkles, sagging chest, and extra weight. It is a cause to forego wellness? No, we're still called to be good stewards. But we're also meant to accept the package.

You.

Just as you are.

If you struggle with this, I hope this visual of the package encourages you. I'm working on it, too!

Have you visited Christian Women Take Root? The Narrow Gate Invites girls are not only involved in the social networking site with fantastic groups to join but the main site called Take Root and Write. Open House and regular columns are going on this week, check it all out. We'll see you there...and hey---if you have a blog, Take Root has a blog roll. Give your blog some exposure and be associated with a quality Christian site!

Julie Arduini is a surrendered writer with her own blog, http://thesurrenderedscribe.blogspot.com/. A graduate of the Christian Writers Guild, she blogs for the Christian Writers Forum Sundays as the mommy blogger. She is active with FaithWriters and has several writings ready to publish in different books and anthologies in 2008-09.

To get to know her better, read her interview by Lynda Schab at:http://www.faithreaders.com/featured-author-details.php?id=33%20

To contact Julie, please use the e mail provided in our profile.

Accepting the Gift

heartlight.org

Our daughter is four and no matter what her day is about, no matter what you might be talking about, she is going to bring it back to one thing: her birthday. She started planning her fifth birthday on her literal fourth birthday. She loves all aspects of the birthdays, especially receiving presents.

This year I've read a lot about the poverty spirit. In Bible study at the Y we're reading Superatural Ways of Royalty: Discovering Your Rights and Privileges of Being a Son or Daughter of God by Kris Valloton and Bill Johnson. On my personal blog I share my thoughts Mondays on Joy Chickonoski's Becoming Lovers: The Journey from Disciple of Christ to Bride of Christ. In essence, I'm reading and believing that the poverty is a lifestyle that robs you or God's best. It works in false humility. God wants to bless His people. Does it mean we should all pray for a new Lexus or second home in the Hamptons? No, but this book showed me I've been living in poverty.

I'm rejecting gifts.

When I reject gifts, I'm ultimately rejecting the Giver.

I'll be transparent enough to share that my lack of accepting good things went as deep as regifting. It wasn't because I owed someone else a gift and had that one on hand, it was more that I would receive such nice things I felt uncomfortable receiving them. I felt unworthy. I treated beautiful things that were given with love as a hot potato. I couldn't get rid of them fast enough.

The truth is, I am unworthy, we all are. What we forget is grace took care of that on the Cross. When we get a promotion, when someone gives us something, when we have the opportunity to do, see and experience things that are a result of God's blessing, it's okay to receive. In fact, embrace the gift.

Too often we view God as a task master who withholds. That's what the devil (I prefer to call him the defeated one) would like you to believe. Your Heavenly Father wants you to feel like a princess because you are His and He loves you. He wants to love on you and lavish on you in many ways. And for me, some of those ways He loves on me is through others.

I believe we are entering a season where the prayers we've prayed for a long time are about to come to pass. I think we are going to see loved ones enter into a relationship of faith in Christ that we wondered if it would ever take place, there will be healings, returns of prodigals, a complete turn around in thinking and choices among the hurting, and an abundant time of blessings and provision that will go against every news report you read.

I don't want to miss out on that by passing any gifts that have my name on to someone else. It's time I seize the blessings God is giving. I may not turn into my daughter with a list a mile long of what she'd like, but I should take a cue from her when I do receive something--whether a tangible gift or an experience God designed just for me.

I should say thank you.

And accept it.

No re gifting!

Julie Arduini is a surrendered writer with her own blog, http://thesurrenderedscribe.blogspot.com/. A graduate of the Christian Writers Guild, she blogs for the Christian Writers Forum Sundays as the mommy blogger and is the Forum's book club facilitator. She is active with FaithWriters and has several writings ready to publish in different books and anthologies in 2008-09. Julie was chosen as the March 2008 FaithReaders.com author of the month. To get to know her better, read her interview by Linda Schab at: http://www.faithreaders.com/featured-author-details.php?id=33%20To contact Julie, please contact her at the e mail address provided in the profile. It's her birthday today and she plans to enjoy the day!