Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Chosen Perspective..

Ladies..
I have got to tell you a little bit of about
how Grateful I am to God for giving me a
new perspective on my life over the last couple
of years..
God gave me the word
Choice
one day and to some of you,,
this may sound a bit strange..
but my personality
back then could not comprehend that word..

I am what is know as a People Pleaser..
Never wanting to hurt anyones feelings,
disappoint them, and dont like saying NO
to anyone, in fear that they would be upset..
And just let me tell you....
that is a big job to fill.

I have spent the majority of my adult life
trying to make everyone elses life
go just perfect..
(ok, Im a little bit of a perfectist tooooo)
But in that, it caused such turmoil inside of me..
And I beleive the result of that has manifested
into my Colitis..
Always worried about what other
people thought, felt and needed..
And never giving one ounce of concern for myself..
So then I would get fed up, and become
rebellious..
Going from one extreme to the other..
Now not only was my actions improper, but
now I worried about what people thought of my
bad choices and actions...
(Gosh, it was a never ending battle )
~ BUT ~
Then God gave me
A NEW PERSPECTIVE.
(woooo hoooo )
A NEW OUTLOOK
he showed me that I  can
CHOOSE.

Now..
dont get me wrong
I still love to make people happy,
I enjoy seeing others enjoy their lives.
But I NO longer feel  responcible for their happiness
nor are they  for MINE..
~ Example ~
I used to depend on my husband to make me happy..
and I wouldnt go and do anything without him..
Which was a problem, because I am very outgoing and social person !!!
He enjoys being home with this family and that is all he needs...
I need people and stimulations..


I love the beach,,he hates the beach..
So for years..I just chose not to go to the beach very often
because i didnt want to go alone..
But God has shown me that I should
not put the expectations on anyone
to bring me happiness..
If I find peace and enjoyment at the beach..
Then Go !
But dont put that obligation on my husband
who doesnt enjoy it..
I enjoy being around people, so now
I have joined more womans bible studies
to get that simulations and conversation
with fellowshipping, rather
than making my husband do something
that he is less than comfortable doing..

And one last point.....
Remember those bad choice and actions I spoke
of earlier..
I allowed Satan to shame and guilt me
into wearing those Choices I made as
a label..
But God gave me Beauty for Ashes..
And showed me how I am a Concuier
and Victor.
As Lysa TerKeurst puts it
Let the Messiah take our Mess
and turn it into his Message..
God has blessed me with the
gift of gab..
and with that a gift also a drawing for
women to reach out and talk to me
about their choices in life without feeling
judged...
And I feel so blessed for that..

God has shown me that
he gives us many many Choices..
Good , Happy Choices..

John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
 I have come that they may have life,
and have it to the full.

So I Choose To:
Be
 Happy, Joyful,
Comforted and Content
Grateful, Redemed,Loving
Encouraging,Gracious
and 
Free to Be Me

(at a beach somewhere, lol )
But Loving the New Me that God has
Made..
And I am so much better for my family
and friends for it..


At the end of the day
Are you happy with your Choices
and your perspective of life?
Choose
to be free from guilt and condemation
and
Choose to be a chosen vessel
of the Lord..

12 comments:

Julie Harward said...

I so agree...after all this gift of agency and choice was given to us in our pre-mortal life by God..it is a gift dearer to us than life itself. :D

Heather's Blog-o-rama said...

HI Karen,
what a great post and so needed today. I don't know that I was a people pleaser. However, I know that I felt bad when I couldn't live up to expectations sometimes. Now that's different, because I'm more aware of my identity in Christ Jesus and that HE's the one I really need to be concerned with :) :) Oh, yes, I've also learned to say "no" when needed :) :) I could talk more about that, but I don't want to hog all the comment space here :) :) Have a great week, Karen. Thanks for the awesome encouragement today. Love and hugs from Oregon, Heather :)

. said...

Love this post Karen. The people pleaser in me still rears it's head way more often than I Like. I may not be where I want to be, but thank God I'm not where I used to be.

Brenda said...

I just found your site today...glad I did! This was a great post!

Cherie Hill said...

Just sitting here having a glass of sweet tea and being encouraged by your post! ;) It's all about choices isn't it?!? I'm reminded of the choice that Jesus made to die for me so that I might live for Him!
Love to you sister!!!!!!!!!!!
Cherie

Beth in NC said...

Praise God for choices! And praise God for your obedience to His leading.

What an encouraging post!

Bless you!
Beth

Janettessage.blogspot.com said...

Great post and thanks for sharing...I am the one who wants to stay home and my hubby is the people person...we all usually marry our opposite, which keeps us balanced.
Thanks for the reminder that it is our choice to have new eyes are not...new perspective.

Chatty Crone said...

I am almost fainted - this could be my post!

I could not agree with you more - and I am in the same EXACT place - with the same personality.

Oh my goodness.

Is the picture with the word choice yours - or can I borrow it?

Thanks.

Anonymous said...

I just can't tell you how much this blessed me. Thank you SO much for this encouragement. Blessings to you! ~Theresa

Kathy Schwanke said...

Wise words. I can relate on every level. :)
Glad that the truth sets us free from those impossible expectations on ourselves and others!!!!!

Love,
Kathy

betty said...

I came over here from Sandie's blog; I'm glad I did. I truly understand everything you wrote and I can identify with wanting to be a people pleaser myself. I am glad God gave you that word of choice (which is my word of the year this year; last year was trust). We do have the choice on how we live each day. Thanks for the reminder!

I hope you make great choices today!

betty

Sue said...

Amen Sista!! Great post!! i receive this word , in Jesus name! What a great and Awesome God we serve.
Hugs,
Sue