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Why Knowing Who You Are Matters in the Bigger Picture

Something stirred deep in my belly as I stared at those notes…

Authenticity.  Vulnerability.  Community.

Jesus2

3 simple words that carry so much life and freedom.

And fear.

We fear exposure and rejection so fiercely, we’re willing to avoid it altogether.

What does it actually mean to be authentic?  

Why do we struggle so desperately with allowing ourselves to be seen?  To be vulnerable?

And how does this effect our ability to connect with others and honestly experience community life?

When our identity is wounded, often at a much younger age than we realize, shame tightens its grip on our souls and slowly our ability to be authentic or vulnerable in community is crippled.

We wear masks and we hide.  It’s been our M.O. since the beginning of time.  In the same way brokenness and shame drove Adam and Eve into hiding, we allow our awareness of our own brokenness to secure masks over our own messy humanness.

“Somewhere along the journey we believe the lie that who or what we are is inherently broken…”, I had scribbled in my notes, “…and we learn to cover that deep sense of inadequacy – and the shame that accompanies it – with a performance”.

And it’s in this hiding that we lose our ability to be who we were created to be, where we were created to be it, and alongside those we were created to be with.

 

We rob the world of the gift we were uniquely created to offer

because we believe we’re too broken and inadequate to offer it.

Jesus6

And the whole world feels the loss.

I knew as I prepared for this event that something needed to be different.  I needed a visual that could communicate the importance of stepping into one’s true identity, and how crucial that brave step is to embracing one’s place in the bigger picture.

 

I wanted to capture the beauty and profound human ache to be a part of something bigger.  

As I swept paint on paper, He emerged.

Jesus1

 

Never with the intention of remaining unbroken, for His purpose was to be shattered and then made whole again.

Jesus2

And this is where we come in.

In a mingling of vulnerability and passion, a creative blending of courage and purpose.

Unique and mysterious.    

Colorful and incomplete.

As we allow Him to dip our lives in the paint of His grace, He creates for the world a mosaic of His goodness.

Through us.

Jesus4

As the first session came to a close, I asked the women to write one of their favorite things about the way God had made them on their tile.  It was as hard a task as I imagined it would be.

Had I asked for 10 things they disliked about themselves, it would have been easy.  For we are expert fault-finders.  And this is exactly the problem.

As they wrote their words on these mysteriously colored tiles, I was struck by how God’s fingerprints were emerging in the details.

As the 84 pieces were carefully reassembled, His intricate involvement in the small things was evident.

One woman appreciated her ability to “see the world through rose colored glasses“…written on a portion of His eye.

Another noted her “good memory”…her tile landing above the eyes on His forehead.

Another’s sense of humor, by His mouth.

An ability to love others without judgement…scribbled on the shawl that covered Him.

Jesus5

 

Precious ones, if we’re willing to step out of fear and out of shame…if we’re willing to embrace who we were created to be, imperfect as we are…we will find ourselves free to step into authentic community, uniquely positioned to do life bravely and wholeheartedly together.

When we embrace our place in the body, we help paint a picture of the Savior to a hurting, broken world.

Jesus3

You’re right there, friend.

In the mosaic of His grace.  Own it.

Related posts:

  1. What Really Matters
  2. Can You Take My Picture?
  3. Redeemed : A Story of Broken Made Beautiful
  4. The Other Conversation Christians Should Be Having About Fifty Shades
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Grace, Love, Redemption, Speaking

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Simply Bloom exists to empower women to embrace their stories, live out their passion with purpose, and leave a legacy of love.
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Hello there! I'm Joy. Speaker, designer, author & coach, and creator of the #weROARproject. Welcome to Simply Bloom Co., where passion & purpose collide.

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I am regularly overwhelmed by the kindness of God I am regularly overwhelmed by the 
kindness of God in the small + simple.

Things like twinkle lights + Christmas jazz,
scraping out the peanut butter fudge pot
all by myself while sitting on the counter,
and walking around the corner to find my
loin fruit snuggled up together over tea.

They may fight like cats + dogs at times,
but their bond is deep and true and sweet.
Happy release day, @dralisoncook 💛 Written at Happy release day, @dralisoncook 💛

Written at the intersection 
of faith and psychology, 
this book is yet another 
soul-nourishing,
heart-healing, 
boundary-fortifying 
gift from Alison Cook
(if you’ve had a heart-to-heart
with me in the past two years,
you know how much I loved 
‘Boundaries for the Soul’). 

As an enneagram 2 who was raised 
in the church, this book was a timely
and liberating read. Pure balm for the 
weary, recovering-people-pleaser soul. 

I am beyond grateful for the wisdom, 
compassion + experience that Alison 
brings to all she shares (and it was
such an honor to be on her launch 
team for this beautiful new book).

Need a survival guide for your growth
and healing journey? Here you go! ✌🏼

#thebestofyou #thebestofyoubook #womenoffaith #healthyboundaries #healthyyou #healingjourney
Find yourself a tribe of people who will, togethe Find yourself a tribe of people who will, 
together, spend a beautiful Saturday
morning pulling this workout off:

• 20 mile run
• 340 tire flips
• 2,000 air squats
• 1,000 pull ups
• 1,500 box jumps
• 2,200 pull ups
• 600 devil press
• 3,300 sit ups

Brutal. Amazing. 
Exhausted.
So grateful for these two - their friendship, enco So grateful for these two - their friendship,
encouragement and wise counsel over the
past decade of being our pastoral couple
has been such a gift to our family 💛

Congrats on your retirement, dear friends!!
“Over the years, I have come to realize that t “Over the years, 
I have come to realize that 
the greatest trap in our life is not 
success, popularity, or power, 
but self-rejection.”
 :: Henri Nouwen

Somewhere along the journey of 
life, we start to believe the lie that - 
despite being made in the very image 
of a good and beautiful God - who we 
are is inherently bad and broken, and 
we learn to cover that deep sense 
of inadequacy (and the shame that 
accompanies it) with performance.

Because our visceral 
human response to 
‘bad + broken’ is 
‘reject + conceal’.

We think it’s the rejection of others
that cuts us to the core, but the truth
is…most of us walk around wounded 
by a constant and unrelenting sense 
of self-rejection and self-loathing.

Want to know why we feverishly seek 
out the approval and validation of others?
Why we desperately want others to like us?

Because we’re out of touch with our
inherent value and worth, and we’re
not sure that we even like ourselves.

We resent our weakness,
and abandon ourselves.

/ / /

But this good + beautiful God of ours…
He is drawn to our weakness like a
moth to a flame, swooping in to
bring strength and grace.

Paul writes in Corinthians 12:9 that 
he learned to delight in his weakness 
because it was when he was week that
“His strength is perfected in me”. 

Or, as the Passion Translation so 
stunningly puts it, “my weakness 
becomes a portal to God’s power”.

Precious ones, we can shun our tender
still-in-process places, pretend to have 
it all together, and hustle for our worth…
OR we can drop the masks, offer kindness 
and curiosity to our hurting, broken parts,
and learn to live fully seen and known.

But we can’t have both.

And yes, it’s scary.

Today may we choose
…grace over perfectionism
…curiosity over shame
…acceptance over rejection
…gentleness over judgement
…wholeness over pretense

You are loved.
And they’re off! Alathea is in 10th grade and A And they’re off!

Alathea is in 10th grade and
Aiden is heading into 8th grade.

Here’s to a year full of grace,
discovery, friendship + growth 🙌🏼
"Faith isn't the ability to believe long + far i "Faith isn't the ability 
to believe long + far 
into the misty future. 
It's simply taking God 
at His Word + taking 
the next step."

:: Joni Eareckson Tada
Day 15 | Beach Day + Travel Prep We fly out late Day 15 | Beach Day + Travel Prep

We fly out late tomorrow evening so today
has been a lazy day of laundry, laying in the
sun, a petshop visit (where Aiden fell in love 
with a cute rat + I discovered zebra finches), 
an impromptu stop for bubble tea + stuffed crepes [oh my word, were these delicious!!],
shopping [I found the best, comfiest - Joe
would argue ‘ugliest’ - romper at the thrift
store that I can’t wait to wear on our long
journey home], and Aiden is currently off
doing his thing: fishing right from the pier.
Our view from the lodge last night ✨ Our view from the lodge last night ✨
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