I AM - Lesson 13

It has taken me awhile with the start of school, etc, but I have finally finished this weeks lesson. Lisa is starting a new session of this study next week. So if you are interested, stop by and join in.

1. Do you struggle with a sense of self-worth? How do you perceive this has affected the way you are able to 'keep your head upright'? If not, do you know someone who suffers in this area?

The first thing that came to mind was that it depends on what part of the “world” I am comparing myself to. I am fairly confident and feel worthy when I am in the academic or church world. But once I step into talking about business sense or athletic ability – I feel my worth going down.

Isn’t that strange when my worth is not because of what I do, but I have inherent worth because Jesus created me and loves me. This question is a good reminder of that. This verse came to mind:

Romans 14
7For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

9For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

2. What are you most afraid of? Does this fear affect the way you move through life? (Ex. Are you overprotective with children? Afraid to take risks?)

I am most afraid of failure. I will often not follow God’s prompting if it seems that I will fail at it. I know what I am good at and often won’t try new things if I can’t be the best. I did take a risk a couple of years ago when I became a Creative Memories consultant. It really stretched me to meet new people and share a product I loved to use. I only did it for a couple of years, but it was one of the few things I have done outside of my comfort zone.

3. What is one of the most marvelous ways God has provided a need? I can't wait to hear your stories on this one!

It is Parade of Homes time here in MN. This is where you can go drool over those new houses and dream about all the remodeling you are now going to do.

We went on this tour 11 years ago now to dream. We were in the process of looking at houses to buy and having no luck, so we went to dream one Saturday. We found a model we loved, but it still seemed out of our price range, until we talked financing. We both had finished college and were hoping that our pay would increase from student level to employed level.

We took the leap and looked for a lot to build our dream home on. I love trees – Colorado has very few. We saw the perfect lot for the perfect price – mature oak trees with some maples thrown in to add color. We know now that this was a God thing. We desired to be in a neighborhood that knew each other – ministry in your own backyard. We love living here, even with some of our quirky neighbors. God is SO GOOD!

4. Steve Brown, a Moody Broadcasting Bible Teacher, is one of the first people I ever heard teach the concept that God was not mad at me. I grew up in a denomination that led me to believe He was in a continuous state of disappointment over my failures. How about you? Though in your heart you know God says He loves you, does Satan in your mind ever try to convince you otherwise?

I think that I always knew that God loved me, I struggled with the whole forgiveness piece. How long would He forgive? Did he hold a grudge? One of my favorite verses that helps me remember the answers to these questions is

Psalm 103
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.


5. How close are you to your own Promised Land? Not at all, 1/2 way, almost there? By this I mean the place of abundant living and effectiveness here on earth, not the ultimate fulfillment in Glory! Though I hope you are going to heaven, I don't want it to be today! :)

Maybe a little past 1/2 way. I have so much! A job I love (most of the time), a husband that is devoted to me and my kids, great kids that are growing in Christ, a home that I enjoy coming home to and a great church that is following the mission to reach others for Christ. I am still searching to see where I fit in that “church”, but I am looking and exploring and doing.


Thanks for reading!