Changing the Toilet Paper Roll (Beth B)

I have some pet peeves; finding the empty milk carton in the fridge or sitting down to the toilet paper roll with only the last single sheet still attached. If any of you live with others, you know what I'm talking about! Normally when these things happen, I say some unkind things under my breath and then deal with the inconvenience. In a strange way, I can feel validated as "the only one who does anything around here". I can even relate these tales to my female friends and then we can all commiserate about our awesomeness. Without us, "nothing would ever get done!"
The problem (I've discovered) with this mindset is that it is a complete and dangerous falsehood. No one wants to admit it, but our loved ones would survive without us. I'm not saying that they wouldn't miss us nor that their lives would be different if we weren't there. They would, however, be able to survive.  Instead our griping has a different effect; we are degrading our families while boosting our egos. If we are honest, there are probably a list of things that "wouldn't get done" if our spouses didn't do them. In my family, that would be reconciling the checkbook. If I stop and think about it, missing receipts are as annoying to Ken as the empty toilet paper roll is to me.
So I am choosing to look at inconveniences, like the empty milk carton, with a joy, knowing that someone still needs me.

..... encouraging our little girls. (Beth P)

I think we all can agree this is a difficult culture for our little girls to grow up in and feel secure about how they look on the outside. And I know you cannot really separate that from who they are on the inside, but I don't think little girls understand that until they are older.
I want to tell you about how you can help them in a way that we often forget. We can start TELLING the little girls in our lives what we think about how they look.  I am not saying to gush over how pretty they are to the point that they think it is all that is valuable about them.  BUT I have to say, that we don't realize the impact our words as adult women can have on a little girl dealing with insecurity.
I still remember the exact moment and place that a woman I looked up to told me I was beautiful.  I was actually shocked. I was a chunky little sixth grade girl. She was my teacher. She cupped my cubby cheeks in her hands and said with all her heart, "you're beautiful!" It didn't matter that she was a very large woman, she had a heart to match her size and she was beautiful to me.

I did not feel pretty.  I didn't know I was beautiful.  I didn't hate myself,  I just didn't know I could be seen as beautiful.  (Yes, I knew that my mother saw me that way but it is different when it's your moma!)

Oprah tells a similar story of the moment someone, a teacher, I think, told her she was "pretty as a speckled pup".  It was a big moment in her young life. 

YOU can create a special moment in the life of a little girl who just doesn't know that she can be beautiful.  YOU can even go further and tell her that it comes from the inside out. You can cup her chubby cheeks and tell her that she is very very special and why.  She may skip away seemingly un-phased.  But know that she might remember that moment, the moment she found out she could be beautiful.  

....wearing fuzzy socks.

BETH P writing:

It's negative 25 {wind-chill} outside as I write this post. I am wearing my warmest coziest attire possible for today.  My thickest fuzziest socks are on inside my tall sweater boots; as well, I am wearing my thick Under Armor sweat pants and sweatshirt (over Cuddl Duds, of course). AND, if you know me, there is also a fuzzy scarf double wrapped around my neck. Then last but not least, there is a space heater set to "HIGH" about 12 inches from my chair.  I. AM. COZY.

I think this level of cozy might be what God means when He says in John 15:9b "Abide in my love".  

I am reading a book called, "Christ in the Chaos" by Kimm Crandall.  This verse from John is the the verse God brought to mind for the author when chaos was surrounding her heart and all the negative self-labeling thoughts were overcoming her. 

We have all been there.  We all go there regularly.  That place where we are filling our minds with negative labels of ourselves.  It is dark and sad and lonely, so we go to Facebook, Target, texting or some other means to find a way out of this feeling.  But God says "abide in my love". Why do we make it so hard? He wants to wrap us up in His never-ending, unconditional, warm LOVE. 

Another great point in this book, the author also talks about the flip side, the moments where we are celebrating our "awesome mom-ness", as she calls it. Those moments where we are sure our kids are feeling loved and secure all based on what a good job we did that day as a mom.  Even in those moments we are self-labeling and need to stop and "abide in His love". 

BUT THAT'S HARD! We need to swallow that pride and admit the source of all things beautiful about us... our Creator.

I know! Good stuff, huh?!?

THIS is where, when we know Christ as Savior we can rely on the Holy Spirit He has sent to reside in our hearts to prompt us.  Pray that He prompts you, to abide.  To grab the fuzzy socks and sweat pants of His love and abide.  When we do that.... we are filled up, refueled, comforted, sometimes BLOWN AWAY by His unwavering, unending, unchanging, unmovable love. We must embrace the labels HE wants to give us: 

forgiven, 

loved, 

righteous, 

holy, 

blameless, 

clean, 

acceptable, 

precious, 

daughter, 

perfect, (our heart in His eyes has been made perfect - not me as a person)

free. 

Embrace it.  Abide in it. Wear it like fuzzy socks and thick sweat pants on a FREEZING COLD day. 

Preach the gospel to yourself today.  "...your sin today cannot change what Christ did on the cross." (p32 of Christ in the Chaos by Kimm Crandall). 

From Kimm's 10 year old daughter:

GOD - the most awesome and cool being in the universe

LOVES - thinks you're the coolest thing on earth, even though it doesn't feel like it

YOU - an awesomely loved sinner

Don't stop... seeing yourself as God sees you.

BETH P writing:

I have forever struggled with being a people-pleaser. I was painfully shy as a child and sensitive to the feelings of others.  I remember thinking that if I just kept quiet and was nice to people, they might like me and I wouldn't have to feel the sting of their rejection.  Rejection hurts when you are little; as an adult, I still find myself trying to ease the sting of rejection when I see it coming.
Even in my faith, I know that what I believe based in the Bible is offensive to people. I also see why I am viewed that way. But the thing is, I cannot deny what I now know to be true.
I am not defined by what I do, or how I look, or by my last Facebook status.  My bumps and mistakes in life do not diminish my value to God.
Y'all, I am someone God loves. HE LOVES ME!
And the even crazier part, that love never, ever, ever changes.
And God went so far as to prove it.
(Yep, this is the part where I bring up Jesus.) 
You probably know already.  If you ever looked up John 3:16, you know.

God sent His Son to die for me.

But why? Why sacrifice for us? For ME!? for you!

Love.  And a purpose.

He has a purpose for you and for me on this earth that He is longing for us to {get over ourselves and our insecurity} and fulfill.

Kinda makes me wince a little.  Why am I so worried about being liked? Why so insecure? All that matters is what He thinks of me.

My value to Him....

it never changes.

Never.

God, the Almighty, longs for me.  For you.

He knows you are valuable.  He wants to use you.  He wants to use me.

What would my life look like if I refused to waiver in my confidence in Christ? What could He use  me to do?

I believe He could use me to encourage others in their faith in Jesus Christ. I believe He could use me to love women when they are hurting.
I believe He could even use me to make people laugh.

So here we are.  The start of a new blog. Me and..... my friend, Beth B.

She has a hard time seeing her self as God sees her too. *smile*

She and I have a goal.

She and I long to encourage YOU! (Watch out, we have already started praying for you.) 

These two Beths are starting a "Don't Stop..." blog. It is just to open the door to our relationship with you! We want you to feel free to contact us for prayer and support privately too! THAT is exciting to us! We want to lift you up in prayer! We're here for ya' man! *smile*

So, if you want to follow us "Like" us on our Facebook page, sign up for email alerts, or just stop by and read. 

We will try our best to leave you encouraged.  We might stink at it. I guess you could even leave comments to let us know if we stink at it and you think we ought to move on. 

Good thing our bumps in life don't define us.  ;)