Showing posts with label Identity in Christ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Identity in Christ. Show all posts

Monday, September 28, 2015

The Banner Doesn't Lie

In the not too far past, there was some big fight in the news.
Not like a fight at school fight, or "I don’t like your opinion fight”- It was a boxing fight. 
I don’t like boxing.
I find it rather barbaric and people really mess up their faces and noses and ears and…cognitive abilities. (Rocky fans, don’t hate on me- I still like inspirational boxing movies from time to time.)

So because this particular match was all the buzz, per the usual, it showed up in my Facebook newsfeed. 
But something really struck me as a picture of all this popped up on my screen.
The fighter was on his way out to the ring with this entourage all around him- security, fancy women, coaches, trainers and the like. And then there was this one guy standing right behind him as they were walking the path to the ring who was consistently holding above the fighters head this attention grabbing belt that declared the fighter’s title.
This guys job was to make sure that everyone knew who this fighter was. It was his accomplishment on display so everyone could see why he deserved to be in the fight.
But I bet that boxer hadn’t won every single fight he had ever been in his whole life. I bet he’s had a few scars and bumps and bruises along the way- if in the ones he did win. He probably hasn’t thrown every punch correctly and he probably missed a few blocks.
But he was still a champion.
The belt doesn’t lie. 

Now I am not a boxer- nor do I ever want to be- although I wouldn’t mind following their workout to get those killer arms.
But...I am a fighter. 
I get into the ring daily as a Jesus follower.
And I have the Holy Spirit and an entourage around me that help me stay focused and pressing into to Whom and what will train me for the fight in front of me. 
But I can’t forget about the One behind me.
He is holding His banner over me that says “Love”.
Just like the song I used to sing in church as a child:
"His Banner Over Me is Love" (linked here is a grown up Bethel Music version you will love)

What simple words that I never quite understood until now.
See, those words weren't just telling me about Jesus...they hold truth about me- my identity in Christ.

I act like Jesus is constantly shaking His head in disgust at the opportunities I have missed in the Kingdom fights, or the punches from the enemy to my life that I so stupidly welcomed instead of blocking. I act like I have to cover the bumps, bruises and scars in shame.
But that would only be what would happen if it were my accomplishments that determined whether or not He holds that banner over my head. 
But it isn’t my accomplishment…it is His.
And Jesus says, "It is finished."(John 19:30)

When I accept that He conquered death on the cross and won the complete victory for me, He holds that banner of LOVE high over my head saying, 
“THIS IS THE ONE THAT I LOVE! 
I won eternal victory for HER
This one is my beloved! 
She is VICTORIOUS!” 

And even when I mess up, that banner over me never changes. 

Just like that fighter, that truth changes the way that you walk.
Confidence becomes a part of your stride, even when personal perfection isn’t always present.
Why? Because you know your title.
You know who you are. And as a Believer, you know WHOSE you are. 

I don’t deserve a place in the fight for His Kingdom, but Grace says otherwise.
His banner of Love over me is an irrevocable title of Victory by His righteousness that cannot be removed. 
I have screwed up. I will screw up. 
But in Him I am a Love lavished, Grace given, Righteousness received champion.
The Banner doesn’t lie.

Let’s start walking to the fight like we know Who we are and Whose we are.
Let’s live out loud for Jesus in a way that it becomes the evidence that LOVE is the banner He waves over us and that transforms us and sets us apart.

His banner over you is Love. 
#SimpleTruth that can transform. 

“He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.”
Song of Solomon 2:4

Friday, February 27, 2015

Thirty-eight Special

"Noted for its accuracy and manageable recoil, the .38 Special remains the most popular revolver cartridge in the world more than a century after its introduction. It is used for target shooting, formal target competition, personal defense, and for hunting small game."- Wikipedia 
It doesn't feel old, really.
Thirty-eight feels like this inconspicuous birthday year that hovers between the culture exacerbated "mid-thirties confidence" and "forty over-the-hill irrelevance". 
Thirty-eight looks a bit like marking time when I glance its way.
A place holder of a year until the infamous ones show up.
A year in jeopardy of being stuck in what it was and paralyzed because of where it is headed.
And that is why 38 is so crucial.

Thirty-eight is special.
Thirty-eight has footprints and fingerprints that God intends to use just like 19, 25, and 32.

They're all good friends, you see- these years of my life.
They work together so seamlessly. Flowing one into the other, never overstepping each other's territory. I'm the one who tries to pit them against each other- comparing them, condemning some, praising others.
Yet here I am, just having barely aquatinted myself with this new year, so tempted to slap it with my preconceived ideas rather than embrace the character and potential that 38 brings as the clock strikes midnight. 
And just like that, 38 opens the door of opportunity and tiptoes in, inviting me to come along. 
But I get to choose: guilt or grace.
Guilt perpetuates the lies of insecurities and postponement.
Grace is what propels me through the uncertainty and into Christ's power and freedom.

Yes, thirty-eight is special.
I can see 26 and 35 are cheering her on and I see 40 waiting patiently, pregnant with her own potential.

And so, I am welcoming 38 in, and taking her by the hand and trusting where this year will lead me because it is a gift sculpted and designed by my Father.
I've got my thirty-eight special. My eyes are on the target. And we mean business.


Tweet This:
The #SimpleTruth is I choose #Grace over guilt. #eyesonthetarget 



Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Breakfast with Daddy



"I'm famous in my Father's eyes
Make no mistake
He knows my name
I'm not living for applause
I'm already so adored
It's all His stage
He knows my name"
-"He Knows My Name"
 by Franscesca Batistelli. Listen here.
(full lyrics at end of post)


He woke me up with a phone call. 
It was my daddy.
He asked what I was doing at the moment, then he told me he was taking me to breakfast.
Because that is the way my daddy loves- on purpose and without hesitation.
And I needed that kind of love that rushes in and saves me from myself and my crazy.
I was sinking in the quick sand of life and listening to lies that screamed loud to define me.
And my daddy came to get me.

It's the kind of love that reaches back to where he sees me walking and loves me in that place. 
Not because of how I am walking through it, not in spite of my walking in that place. 
No, he loves me completely separate of any place he happens to find me wandering.
He just loves me.
I am his child. 

There is no accomplishment that changes that. There is no failure that taints that. There is no thing I can do to strengthen that truth. 
It simply is.

He loves me when I see clearly, he loves me when I walk blindly towards the cliffs of life.
He loves me when I soar on the heights of who I am, he loves me when I wallow in the muck of the worst of me.
He just loves me.

He loves me...and when he sees the world spewing lies all around me, he pulls me out of those moments and I can look into his eyes and I am just his little girl, wholly and completely loved, even as I sit a mess at the breakfast table.

And so my earthly daddy showed me the truth of my Heavenly Father on a random Tuesday morning of this life. 
That I can pull up a mess to the table He spreads before me and know I am loved.
Not because of what I have or haven't done...but just simply because of this truth: I am His child.
I am adored because of that truth alone.

There is nothing I can do to make Him love me more and there is nothing I can do to make Him love me less.
He rushes in to save me from myself and my crazy, without hesitation.
My Daddy will always come to get me.
He is mighty to save.

He knows your name.
He knows you- all of you....and loves you just as you are.
Accept the invitation.
Pull up to the table.
Look into your Father's eyes.
When you see that kind of love, it changes you.
You are so adored.

Post/Tweet this #SimpleTruth today:
"There is nothing I can do to make God love me more and there is nothing I can do to make Him love me less."- @JuliePMac #SimpleTruth

"For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” 
Zephaniah 3:17 NLT

"But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine."
Isaiah 43:1 NIV

"For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children."
Romans 8:14-16 NIV

"He Knows My Name"
Spent today in a conversation
In the mirror face to face with
somebody less than perfect
I wouldn't choose me first if
I was looking for a champion
In fact I'd understand if
You picked everyone before me
But that's just not my story
True to who You are
You saw my heart
and made
Something out of nothing

[Chorus:]
I don't need my name in lights
I'm famous in my Father's eyes
Make no mistake
He knows my name
I'm not living for applause
I'm already so adored
It's all His stage
He knows my name oh, oh,
He knows my name oh, oh

I'm not meant to just stay quiet
I'm meant to be a lion
I'll roar beyond a song
With every moment that I've got
True to who You are
You saw my heart
and made
Something out of nothing

[Chorus]

He calls me chosen, free forgiven, wanted, child of the King,
His forever, held in treasure...
I am loved

I don't need my name in lights...
I'm famous in my Father's eyes...





Monday, November 10, 2014

Facing My Ugly

Life sometimes feels like a blender.
You take all these good, recognizable, individual ingredients, cram them into this container and hit the switch.
What you end up with is usually looks pretty disgusting. 
The kind of thing that evokes the question, “You’re gonna drink that?!?”. 
Yeah, life can be like that sometimes.
My life feels like that now.
My response? 
White knuckle grip something! Nail it all down! Whatever it takes to keep it all in place- yeah, do that!

I realize I need to let go.
Let go of the things I long to control, but cannot. 
But realizing I need to let go leads me to an even more uncomfortable place:
staring in the face of why I want to hold on. 
And it’s ugly.
Kind of like if you were to google spider bite images or boils or goiters or something. 
That kind of ugly.
The ugly you wish you’d never seen.
The ugly you wish you could scrub out of your mind’s eye.
But I’ve seen it now…this ugly that’s in my soul.
And so I must face it.


But unlike those horrific images that haunt behind closed eyes, looking full on at the ugly in our own soul doesn’t have to leave us scarred and scared.
When we see the worst part of ourselves magnified under the lens of the Holy Spirit, it is to bring us forgiveness and freedom.
Forgiveness for attitudes, choices, thoughts, actions, that not only hurt the heart of God, but the hearts of His created.
Freedom to leave those destructive patterns in the past and walk forward in grace.

Clarity is a fickle thing. Sometimes you long for it, beg for it, plead for it…wait for it.
And then it comes.
But the problem with clarity is that you can’t unsee what clarity reveals.
Once you see it, you have to respond.
There is no such thing as a lack of response. 
You are faced with the choice:
obedience or disobedience- cooperate with the Holy Spirit or cooperate with the enemy.
Neither is easy.
But only one gives life.

The one thing we can control is our choice of whom we will trust when life spins out of control. 
And it will.

It’s time to let go and trust that God is who He says He is- not just in everyone else’s life- but in yours, and in mine.
See. Know. Trust. Receive. Live.

God can’t bless who you pretend to be.
It’s time to face our ugly…and replace it with life giving grace.

So blend away, life.
Jesus is showing me how to enjoy the ride…even in the face of my ugly.

"And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart."
Ezekiel 36:26

"So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet."
James 4:7-10

Post or Tweet this:
"God can’t bless who you pretend to be.
It’s time to face our ugly, and replace it with life giving grace.”-@JuliePMac #SimpleTruth 
What are you holding on to?
What in life has you in the blender, dizzy from it all?
I would love to pray for you!
Comment below.



Tuesday, July 8, 2014

The Dark Days


"I don't even know where to start. Except from this emptiness I feel trying to suck me into it like a black hole. I really am trying to get out. But it pulls so intensely on me. Jealously, fear, regret, failure, despair, loneliness, anger... they scream so loudly that I cannot hear...I just want to run and hide. But I can't. I am supposed to be the one who is always ok. I am supposed to be the one who just sucks it up and deals with it...I'll eventually be ok right? Sure. And so no one notices this gaping hole in my heart and spirit that is gushing blood so rapidly that I am pale and weak with emptiness."

This is an excerpt from my journal.

I share it because I bet that, even if you don't journal, somewhere in your life there is a piece of paper with similar words and similar heart hurts written all over it.

I share it because, I bet that you not only read those words, but you felt them with me.

I share it because, I bet you've never openly shared the intimate thoughts of your "dark days" either.

I share it because the "dark days" like to stay in the dark. They breed in the dark. They thrive in that murky hidden mess of my mind and yours. 

All those things we know and have learned seem to seep out of our grasp when dark days descend.
Our grip on the reality of who Jesus is and who we are in Christ all of the sudden feel slippery and unsure.
And so we are tempted to take up residence there. 
Worn and drained from the suffocating darkness, it feels safer and easier to stake our tent, hunker down until it all just passes us by.

But the other side doesn't come to you...you have to journey to it

Sunsets and sunrises are beautiful...but there is a reason nobody ever takes a picture of the dark. 
It is an ugly place to see.
But oh my...
it can be a lovely place to hear: to hear the voice of your Savior.
The dark amplifies what we cannot see. 
So we must choose to listen to the voice that not only is calling us to the light, but IS the light.

Tuning our ear to His voice is determination to travel toward the dawn.

When the darkness wants to envelope you, remember Jesus wants to embrace you.
When the darkness wants to blind you, remember Jesus wants to bind your wounds.
When the darkness wants to silence you, remember Jesus wants to sanctify you.
When the darkness wants to isolate you, remember Jesus wants to invigorate you.
When the darkness wants to berate you, remember Jesus wants to beautify you.
When the darkness wants to frighten you, remember Jesus wants to free you.
When the darkness wants to confuse you, remember Jesus wants to comfort you.
When the darkness wants to incite you to anger, remember Jesus invites you to peace.
When the darkness wants to taunt you, remember Jesus wants to teach you.
When the darkness want to stun you, remember Jesus wants to strengthen you.
When the darkness wants to paralyze you, remember Jesus wants to promote you. 
When the darkness wants to stay, remember Jesus came to SAVE

The simple truth is, 
there is always a dawn, even to the darkest nights.
But just as there is sunrise, sunset will come. 

And when, not if, the dark descends, we have two choices:

Let the darkness chain you
or
Let Jesus change you.

I don't know about you, but I am not going to sit down in it.
I am not going to make this my permanent address.
I am walking through.
And if I must walk through it, I don't want to walk out the other side the same as I walked in! 

So how do we move forward from this place? 
Do the next thing.
Breathe. 
Praise. 
Give thanks. 
Dive into the Word.
Actively exchange truth for the lies.
Repeat.

And one day, when you open your eyes, you'll blink wildly at that glimmer on the horizon, and you'll see a sun coming up in your soul.

You may not even recognize yourself...but you will have become so intimately familiar with Jesus, The Lover of Your Soul, that you actually are thankful for the dark days...not because you loved them, but because the most amazing thing happened there: you fell further in love with Him

Don't allow your dark days to chain you.
Allow Jesus to change you.

"Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way."
James 1:2-4, The Message

"Show me the right path, O lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you."
Psalms 25:4, 5 NLT






Friday, February 28, 2014

You Know a Person with an Eating Disorder

It may not be you, but it is more than likely a struggle of someone you know. Hear their voice...


I am your daughter. I am your sister. 
I am your son. I am your brother. 
I am your best friend, girl friend, boy friend, classmate. 
I am the skinny girl. 
I am the obese guy. 
I am the one who looks like they have it all together.
I am the cheerleader, the singer, the dancer, the band nerd, the jock, the class president, the valedictorian. 
I am the sorority girl, fraternity guy.
I am the Bible study leader, the barista, the roommate, the random date, the store clerk. 
I am the teacher, the gym buddy, the soccer mom, the new mom, the working and stay at home parent, the CEO.

I am a person with an eating disorder.



I am scared and deceived and desperate...and you may never know it
I am looking at my life spiral out of control, and I feel helpless.
I am crying out for help, but in this nightmare, no words form on my lips, no sounds escape from my mouth.
I am silenced by fear.
I am paralyzed by impending judgement.
I am suffocated by misunderstanding.
I am quietly marching to the rhythm of deception and secret and appearances.
I am dying every day because I am blind and deaf to truth and identity.
I am controlling the only thing I feel like I can control.
I am chasing perfection that can never be caught.
I am harder on myself than you could ever be.
I am exhausted and alone.

I am a person with an eating disorder. 

But helping me? 
Helping me is only a breath away. It begins when you break through the deafening silence, shatter the glass walls I've built. 
Do you see me?
Do you know me?
Please. Help. Me.



It's as easy as ABC...

Be AWARE of my actions and things I may be trying to hide.
Be BOLD to reach out to me if you suspect I am trapped in this vicious, self-destructing disorder. 
Be COMMITTED to holding me accountable. 
Be DETERMINED I seek professional help. 
Be ENCOURAGING every step of the way- even when you do not understand what I say, what I think, or what I do.
Be FAITHFUL to celebrate my small goals met. It will result in my major victories. 
Be GRACE. Because I never show any to myself. I need someone to show me what it looks like to stand up after a fall. 
Be HOPE. I am in the deepest dark and I need to be reminded that the light still exists. 
Be INSPIRING, directing conversations and focus to things that carry eternal, not earthly weight.
Be JOYFUL. I am good at feigning happiness...but joy escapes me.
Be KNOWLEDGABLE about the disease, it's signs and symptoms.
Be LOOKING for the masked symptoms I am working so hard to disguise. 
Be MINDFUL of your words in relation to body image and beauty. I catalogue them all.
Be NOISY when it comes to calling out the unhealthy and unrealistic portrayals of beauty all around.
Be OPEN to having hard conversations with me. 
Be PATIENT. Remind me-and you-that my disorder didn't develop in a day, and it will not be healed in one. 
Be QUIET and let me speak my fears, struggles, and temptations without judgement.
Be RESISTANT to the temptation to assume that I simply have an issue with food or portion control.
Be SAFE by keeping all diet products and paraphernalia out of my reach while I am on the road to recovery. 
Be TOUGH when I want to escape. Remind me that it's about what I am running toward instead of what I am running from. 
Be UNWILLING for me to accept our culture's ideals. 
Be VALIANT. Don't assume someone else will come to my rescue.
Be WICKED in my eyes: TRASH THE SCALE! 
Be eXPECTING me to deceive you, especially in the beginning.
Be YOU. Don't share your perfections with me. Tell me how you overcame YOUR struggles.
Be a ZOMBIE killer! Help me lay down the stench of death and 
pick up LIFE! 

I am a person with an eating disorder...

...and by reading this, and sharing this truth...
you may have just saved my life



*************************************
Having struggled with an eating disorder for over 4 years in my late teens and early 20s, and it's ever lingering after effects and struggles even today, it's time to demystify these disorders and recognize them for the serious issue they are. 

They are hidden and hideous.
They are deceptive and devastating to mental and physical health. 
They are everywhere. 

Culture glamorizes, laughs, and scoffs at these disorders.
But they are real.

And it isn't just the teenagers, the models, the stereotypical. 
I want to give a voice to all of the those you would look at and say, "I had no idea".

I want to empower the loved ones, the concerned ones, who don't know how to go any further than the phrase, "I had no idea."

Hear their voices. 
Educate.
Inform.
Be bold.
Take action.
Rescue.

Growing in Grace and Living Simple Truth,
~Julie


Find more information on this subject, check out National Eating Disorder Awareness 




Monday, January 6, 2014

New Places. Old Baggage. Big God.


Renewal.
Transformation.
Words I am clinging to- hoping in- as I run hard after the Lord today.
I am deep in battle in the deep places.
In my mind.
Regret looms over me.
Fear of being stuck terrifies me.
Failure taunts me.
And my Enemy knows all too well every play to keep me preoccupied with things...things that are... true, yes.
But my identity? No.
No.
Again...NO!

They may be places I have been, things I have done. Things I should have done. Things I shouldn't have done.
But none of that defines me.
None of that is bigger than the ocean of God's all sufficient, redeeming Grace.
None. of. it.

It is excess baggage that I have to leave behind.


So what am I doing?
I am saying over and over what my spirit knows is TRUE, but my head doesn't want to so easily believe.
I'm throwing out lies(what feels like every second) and clumsily clamoring after, digging for TRUTH with which to replace it.
Readjusting my feet on the Rock.
He hasn't moved. And He won't.
I've got to stop being enticed to jump off, jump over into dangerous places my easily-influenced-by-the-enemy-flesh-focused-mind wants to take me.

I have to choose to revisit only this:
While I was an enemy, Christ so wanted a now and eternal relationship with me that He took my life condemning burden as His own and dealt with that debt with finality and completion.

Because when I revisit that truth...that my God knows ALL the junk, all the filth of who I was and who I am and even who I will be...and loves me still...yes, when I revisit this, what else matters?

If the very worst I can imagine was true, is true or comes true?
It still doesn't change God's perfect love for me.
Still. doesn't. change. it.

So I take one step forward and then the next.
Not because of my ability, my inability, my successes, my failures, my position, their approval, my significance, my insignificance, my gains, my losses, the cheers, the jeers, the accolades, the accusations, the ideals, the imaginations...no.

I breathe deep His grace.
I lock onto His gaze.
And I move forward in the rhythm of His heartbeat...His love.

And somewhere along the way, I will find this mind renewed, transformed.
God glory seeping through these cracks and brokenness called my life.

Feelings cannot drive a life, only threaten to wreck it.
Faith is what takes me forward, delivers me to the anointed places my feet long to walk.
Eyes, mind, heart, emotions, life...on Him.
He has won this war already.
And I choose to Be Still and Know it.

I hope you will, too.

~Julie

Friday, September 20, 2013

A Thick Chick Gets Schooled

Yes, I homeschool...but sometimes I get schooled by my kids.

Sunday morning, rushed and scattered as I attempt to get myself and everyone else out the door, I stopped for my "I stay awake and others stay alive" cup of coffee. 
My 12 year old son, Jonathan, came and stood beside me, checking out my ear with his laser pointer. Why, you ask? Because he had apparently "never looked in an ear with this thing before". 
Once bored with that(a staggering 10 seconds later), he said, 
"Alright Mama, get ready for laser surgery."
Playing along, I quickly retorted, "Oooohhh good. Make sure you get right here and right here.", gesturing towards my hips and rear.
He looked at me with such a truly sad, rather appalled and angry expression, and released this arrow of truth to my spirit:

"Mama, 
why are you being so mean to yourself?"

I didn't honestly know how to respond.
His words left me convicted and speechless.
Mostly because I didn't have a valid answer.
There is no good reason.
I make daily choices to live an active, healthy lifestyle, to be strong and fit. 
But this other...well...these are just things I have always said...cloaking my own deep seeded dissatisfaction and self loathe in humor of some sort.
But...no one has ever really called me out on it in this way- until now.

And I am quite certain I am not alone.

So I will do for you what my 12 year old did for me:
Why are YOU being so mean to yourself?

Sadly, if you're like me, you've become desensitized to your own self criticism- 
barely even hearing the condemnation that comes out of your mouth, makes its home in your thought life...and as a result strikes dangerous blows to your soul. 

It isn't harmless, humorous, or humble.
It's hateful.

There is nothing wrong with striving towards excellence in all that you are or all that you do: family, education, health, fitness, job, and the list goes on...
But there is everything wrong with abusing God's most valued creation in the attempt to get there: you.

You're valuable not because of all that you were, are, or could be. 
No, you are valuable because HE has determined your worth! 
Striving to be better is futile. Striving to know Jesus? Empowering! 

Because here is the amazing part:
He knows you best...and He still loves you the most.

Hard to comprehend? I know.
Hard to believe? I know.
Hard to let go of old patterns? Heck yeah, I know! 

But can you imagine with me for a moment, your Heavenly Father looking with such adoration at His created one, as Love holds your face in His hands, and with piercing simplicity says, 
"Why? Why are you being so mean to yourself?"

So...I grab grace yet again, asking Him to take all of me and replace it with all of Him...believing....believing that regardless of the image staring back at me in my mirror this truth remains:
what I may see as a nothing, God created for a something.

Regardless of where you are, or even where you aren't: stop being mean to yourself.
Choose His perspective.
Your Creator makes no mistakes...let Him sculpt the Masterpiece. 

"Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; 
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something."
Psalm 139:13-16 MSG

#stopbeingmean
#grace 
#Psalm139