Who am I...Really?

When I started thinking about starting a large facebook mom group I realized a few things. I have the tendency to be a hypocrite. If everyone is agreeing about something I'm not one to rock the boat. I hate confrontation and arguing and so I'd just nod my head and agree and move on.

But if I am going to step out in faith and be the leader that I feel God calling me to be, then I need to be the same person day in and day out. No matter if I'm posting in my group, talking to a mom I bump into at the store, having a play date with my best friend or having lunch with my mom.

If I am going to home school then I need to stand firm in that, and if someone doesn't like it that's ok. But it's my calling and I'm sticking to it.

If I am going to breastfeed and donate my milk then I need to do that even if I get the side eye for nursing uncovered in public.

If I am going to encourage women to share their stories live on Facebook then I need to share mine too. I need be aware that anything I say online can be shown to anyone. I better just be legit, and own who I am as a messed up sinner in need of grace.

Am I always going to be perfectly on point with what I say to every person? No, but I can decide to represent myself and Jesus Christ in a way that is pleasing to him.

Before I can figure out who I am I need to first figure out who I am in Christ...

His word tells me all kinds of things that I am. I just need to choose to embody those truths and to represent myself as someone who stands in these promises.

In Christ I am

Born again (1 Peter 1:23)

Set apart (Jeremiah 1:5)

Chosen (1 Peter 2:9) (Deuteronomy 7:6)

Redeemed (Deuteronomy 15:15) (Nehemiah 1:10) (Psalm 77:15)

Forgiven (Psalm 32:1) (Matthew 6:12) (Matthew 26:28)

A new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Made in God's image (Genesis 1:26-27)

A masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10)

Loved (John 3:16) (1 John 4:16)

A Conqueror (Romans 8:37)

Fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)

Clothed in righteousness (Isaiah 61:10) (Job 29:14)

Equipped (2 Timothy 3:17)

Rooted in faith (Colossians 2:6-7)

Flourishing (Psalm 92:13)

Saved by grace though faith (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Not ruled by fear (1 John 4:18) (Joshua 1:9)

I'm a sinner who Christ died for. I have a mission to reach the lost. I have a home in heaven waiting for me. I will inherit eternal life.

When you firmly believe and know this about yourself so many things of this world don't seem to matter anymore. I can have the confidence to stand behind my convictions and to share Biblical truths because of who I am in Christ.

So some things I definitely know about me in this season:

- I may not be breastfeeding anymore but I will forever stand behind it and support any woman who is doing it weather that is pumping, donating, for 3 months or 3 years.

- I will wear my son until he doesn't let me anymore. It's part of how I parent and we both love it.

- I miss dance. I LOVED ballet and I would love to do it again somehow.

- I will always be reading something weather that is a book, a blog, my Bible. I often have at least 3 books going at once and about 5 tabs up on my computer of other things I want to read. I plan to instill the love of reading into my son, and I think I already have :)

- Marriage is not a fairy tale, it's two people CHOOSING for better for worse, till death EVERY SINGLE DAY. There's not a "right person" or "the one" it's when the two of you decide to make it work. God gives us free will to choose our relationships.

-Sex is for marriage only. Being sexually abused and trying to overcome that in my marriage I FULLY KNOW why God created it to only be part of marriage.

-Marriage should be between a man and a woman. Anything outside of that is sin. I won't hate you if you're outside of that. I will love you because that's what Jesus did. But I won't condone your sin or stand up for your sin. Love the sinner, hate the sin. I will also look at the plank in my own eye before pointing out the speck in yours. Many Christians forget that and blame and shame. Not this one :)

-I believe my biblical place is being in my home and home schooling my son. My husband's biblical place is to work. I have no trouble being in biblical submission to him, and the more I am in that submission the stronger our marriage grows.

-I fully know God wants me on social media sharing His word. Facebook is such a MEAN place and God clearly said to me be positive there, encourage people there, share His truth there. And that's what I will continue to do until he calls me home.

-I can never and will never own a gun. The thought of killing anyone just makes me sick to my stomach. Even if that person had a gun held to me or my family I just couldn't do it. Every person is a sinner in need of grace. Somewhere in this society we have lost the fact that people are people with hearts and a SOUL and if someone does something we don't like or scares us the answer is to belittle them or kill them! What about LOVE them! How have we lost that as a society?

-I just can't with little kids anymore. I lost my patience somewhere. If I ever have to go back to work it will not be to run a daycare. I honestly wish I would have went to school for writing. I really feel that's my true calling and that children came "easy" to me so I just went that route. Writing is HARD for me and I love it and I plan to keep writing!

-Holy yoga is one of the best things to happen to me! I meet God on that mat every single evening that I go. If you've never tried it GO sometime.

-I can't be too busy. If I have two days back to back with no down time I am such a GROUCH. I also know that I need to be in my Bible every single day! (and you should too) When God calls his word the bread of life it's SO true. I feel so run down and grouchy when my heart isn't right with God and I can tell that about myself now and I HUNGER for his word more than anything now. I pray everyone finds that somehow.

-Along with that I have embodied minimalism and the less I have the better I feel! It's such a freeing thing!

-God wants me to grow. He wants me out of my comfort zone living for his glory. I don't even know what my next step is but I know that it isn't meant to be easy and I'm totally ok with that.

Who are you? Have you ever stopped to think about it? Start with who you are in Christ and let those promises sink into your soul!

What do you love to do? What is hard for you? What scares you? stop being afraid and go DO IT!

"If you don't stand for something, you might fall for anything"- The Introduction, Thousand Foot Krutch