Everyday Imperfect

  We are “breaking perfect” together this week. We’ve already tackled making idols of the opinion of others and even started to tackle the fear of failure . Last week, I mentioned learning that fear of failure is not from the Lord - and if we use what He has already given us, we can trust that HE will direct the outcome. There’s a little bit more about this fear that we need to dig into, however. Here’s a bit of hard truth to admit: I was afraid that MY EFFORTS would fail, because they wouldn’t be good enough. I WAS RIGHT. My efforts alone always failed. They were never good enough, and honestly, they never will be. The only way my efforts, “perfect” or not, would be enough would be when they are done in surrender to the Father. My “perfect” efforts would still always fall short. But HE never fails. 2nd Corinthians 12:9-11 (Amplified Bible): 9  but He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you [My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough—always available—regardles...

  We are smack in the middle of tearing down the glass walls of perfectionism, first dealing with the realization that perfectionism can be an indication of putting too much emphasis on other people’s opinions of me and what I accomplish - in other words, seeking approval from man more than God. Today, we will be tackling another cause of perfectionism - FEAR. I would be lying if I told you that one of the biggest causes for my perfectionism wasn’t fear. Oh fear was definitely there. You probably are familiar with it, too… the fear of failure. This fear would cause great delay and paralysis with whatever I put my hands to - whether it was attempting a project for work or church, or even trying to build an extra income for my little family. I would look at it every which way, analyzing and projecting and planning… trying this or redefining that. Then, I would FINALLY actually start doing the work. It was slow going sometimes because I had to make sure every.single.aspect. was no les...

We are diving into finding freedom from perfectionism - or as I’ve called it, “Breaking Perfect”. As I’ve learned to give up the chains of perfectionism in my personal and professional life, I had to dig deep and find out why it matters so much that the things I do or put my name to are “perfect”. (Now, remember, I’m not talking about doing things with excellence…I’m talking about being so consumed with leaving no room for mistakes that it doesn’t get done.) At this point in my life, I know myself well enough (thanks to the Lord, and to countless personality quizzes and tests) that I know there’s a big part of me that still looks for acceptance and validation from others. It doesn’t matter who the “others” are. I want them to like me and say I did a good job, and never have a bad thing to say about me. As a grown woman, that can be a tricky trait to deal with. As a pastor’s wife, it can be downright detrimental. My mind knows that I will never be everything to everyone. There will neve...

  Something I’ve learned about myself over the years is that my perfectionism can be a good thing…but if I’m being honest, I’d really consider it a “bad” thing most days. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m the firstborn, or because of other parts of my personality, but I do know that there is a big part of me that struggles to make everything I do absolutely perfect - or as close as I can get it. And yes, when I say “struggle”, I mean there have been struggles my perfectionism has caused. Now, just to be clear, I’m not talking about doing things with excellence. (I had a Bible College professor who once said Christians should be the best workers in their workplace, simply because they represent Christ, and I totally agree!) I’m not talking about doing what we do as well as we can. I’m talking about the false belief that everything we do has to be done SO well - and so perfect - that no one could ever find fault with it. That every aspect of it has to be so good that no one else could...

        A couple weeks ago, we had a special service at our church.  Usually, the kids would go into their own class or kids church, but my husband felt strongly about allowing the usual kids leaders time to be with the other adults for this special service, so guess who was volunteered to be with the kids?      Actually, I'm not even sure if my husband volunteered me, or if I volunteered myself, or if it was just understood that I would do it... it just happened, and I was totally ok with it.       At least until the day before the midweek service.  I knew what I'd be teaching on, I had my outline, my game, an activity, a back-up activity in case I needed it, AND a song to start out with.  But despite all that, I started getting soooooo anxious about it.     It has been YEARS since I've taught littles at church.  I was a youth leader by myself for a while about ten years ago....before that I taught a Sunday...

 Last week, we learned about how the enemy can come at you so much with little sideshows and distractions that you start to question and doubt and loose our focus.  Well, this week I have three big weapons to help you do what will be the most effective way to conquer those distractions! Replace your thoughts with the truth of WHO HE IS, which is what the busy-ness of those sideshows tries to distract us from:   YOU ARE THE CHRIST!! Now when I say "replace your thoughts", that's really a concept you'll find in the Bible.... the "renewing of your mind" concept!! (but that's full subject for another day) So how do we turn from the distraction so that we can start again to FOCUS ON THE TRUTH: God’s already given us 3 weapons to combat distraction : Weapon #1: THE WORD   Christ himself used this weapon when Satan came to tempt and distract him from his fasting & praying.  When you have these things coming against you -trying to distract you from your TRUT...