How Rejection Manifests

In my last post, Rejection Exposed, I gave examples of possible door points for a spirit of rejection to come in and begin to lie to us.

In this post, I would like to show just how a spirit of rejection might manifest in a person’s life.  I am not suggesting that each and every one of the following automatically means one has a spirit of rejection.  I am merely giving you suggestions that you can take to the Lord and have Him give you revelation on areas of your heart that might need His healing touch.

Ways in which a spirit of rejection manifests:

• puts man’s acceptance above God’s
• has us searching for love
• never allows us to be who God created us to be
• causes us to need to be recognized
• doesn’t let us receive love from God or others
• reminds us of the shame and guilt from the past
• keeps us striving and never able to rest
• steals our joy
• it retaliates when evil is done to it
• gives a sense of being unwanted
• gives a sense of being unworthy, never good enough
• makes us need others to love us, but convinces us they don’t
• causes us to withdraw, to write people off
• determines our value by whether someone else accepts us or not
• #1 defense mechanism is to withdraw
• has us always looking for a meaningful identity
• makes us feel as though it is always our fault
• causes us to feel the need to bear burdens that are not ours to bear

The above are certainly not the only ways in which rejection manifests, but it is a good starting point.

“Father God, we desire freedom from the enemy.  We desire to become all you created us to be.  If there is any area in our lives that need Your healing touch, please reveal it to us.  Give us discernment as we seek wholeness and healing.  Give us eyes to see the schemes of the enemy, and to not blame others.  In Jesus Name”

The first step to wholeness and freedom is recognition.  Once we have recognized rejection’s work in our lives, then what?  In the next post, Lord willing, I will share, “How To Be Free From Rejection”

Rejection Exposed

You have probably experienced it, right?  Not being picked.  Actually being rejected.  It comes in many ways; rejection. 

Maybe . . .

. . . you were the girl holding up the wall at the roller rink on Friday night after all the other girls got picked for ‘boys choice’.

. . . you desperately wanted to be a cheerleader and each attempt only met with, ‘sorry, you didn’t make the squad.’

. . . you can remember the breeze from the ‘popular’ girl’s hair as they whip their head around and give you a cold shoulder because you’re not ‘cool’ enough.

. . . you were dumped by the guy you ‘loved’ so much and gave yourself to, heart and . . . body.

. . . you practically ‘sold’ your soul and your body to just be loved, to be desired, to be chosen . . . just this once.

. . . your mama left your daddy, and you wondered what could be so wrong with me that a mama would leave her children.

. . . in fourth grade your teacher told you your handwriting was awful in front of the whole class.  She might have been trying to inspire, but the enemy whispered, you’re not good enough.

. . . you were told to ‘lose a few pounds’ and I’ll go out with you.( and you were the farthest thing from overweight!)

. . . you were called awful, cruel names in grade school.

. . . on more than one occasion you were a ‘little girl in a grown up body’ longing to be loved and accepted only to be brought home without a word and never to be called again.

. . . you were a ‘surprise’ to your parents.  Maybe they didn’t ‘want’ you.

. . . you never, ever were as good as your sister or brother.  Your parents made no bones about the fact that they thought your sibling was wonderful and you, well, frankly, you were not.

. . . your parents want a boy.

. . . you were given up for adoption.

Perhaps the above stories look like a fairy tale compared to your story, or maybe the ‘rejections’ you received paled in comparison and you feel stupid for even struggling with thoughts of unworthiness.

The point is not to determine how badly we were rejected.  I write about this to get us to recognize that we have been rejected and that it is a plot of the enemy to keep you from ever accepting and realizing the love that Father God has for us.

The above circumstances and many others like them were ‘doorpoints’ for a spirit of rejection to come in and torment you and keep you separated from the love of God.  You see, we will never be able to walk in the freedom and joy that God has for us if we have a spirit of rejection.  This evil spirit will never, ever, allow you to receive your daughtership.  You will miss out on the confidence of knowing that we are cherished, chosen and loved daughters of God.

Next time, Lord willing, “How Rejection Manifests”

An Exciting Give-Away!

I am so excited to be able to give away THREE, yes, THREE sets of some wonderful e-books!

I have a very dear friend whose uber-talented daughter, Julia, has written three e-books on making jewelry.

“Julia is a professional jewelry designer and also provides custom jewelry orders. She has done bridal jewelry and other specialty projects and she loves being challenged to create ever better jewelry designs.”

I am so blessed and honored that she is generously giving away THREE sets of three ‘How to Create’ e-books. That means that three very blessed women will receive each of the following e-books: How To Create, Beautiful Beaded Bracelets, Easy, Yet Exquisite Earrings and Noticeably Noteworthy Necklaces! This is a $23.97 value!

I have reviewed Julia’s books, and let me tell you they are so awesome! I knew she was talented, so I suspected they would be good, but had no idea just how professional and well done they would be. The attention she gives to detail is amazing.

The e-books are full of how-to pictures and easy to understand descriptions. Julia tells and shows you what you will need and where to find it. She also gives you other variations for each of the pieces of jewelry at the end of the book. I love this! I am so good at ‘copying’ someone, but then I am stuck for how to change it up a bit. Not a problem with Julia’s ‘How To Create’ e-book series.

Can you tell I think these are awesome?! What a wonderful project to do over the summer with your children or by yourself. The children and I have made our own earrings and bracelets over the years but could never achieve that ‘professional’ look. That won’t be a problem anymore!

The jewelry you create will make beautiful gifts. You will be making professional looking jewelry at a fraction of the cost.

I really want to spread the word about these e-books not only because they are awesome, but also because I am so impressed with Julia’s heart to be a Proverbs 31 woman in any way she can. She quietly serves her family at home and certainly does ‘NOT eat the bread of idleness’. Would you do me a favor and please join me in letting others know about this sweet, young and talented woman.

For an opportunity to win a set of these ‘How To Create’ e-books, please write a post on your blog about the give-away with a link to this post. (It can be just a short mention of the give-away.)

Come back here and let me know you have posted.

Extra entries available for each Twitter and Facebook mention. (come back and let me know you did)

I will draw three winners on Tuesday, July 5, 2011 @ Noon!

Thank you so much for taking part in this Exciting Give-Away and helping me share the word about an exceptional young lady whose heart is turned towards God and family.

Required Listening!!

Okay, now I can’t really ‘make’ you listen to anything, but, I am strongly suggesting that if my posts on performance, guilt and shame, Drivenness, Never Good Enough Syndrome, as well as really needing to know that you are Chosen.Holy.Loved, spoke to you in any way shape or form, that you listen to the following message.  (my dear editor and husband is having a cow about now )

This message is so important to those of us who struggle, at all, in these areas.  It is a message of Grace.  I would say, that over the years I have whole heartedly agreed with this message, but the way I lived my life was diametrically opposed to it.

Please take the time to listen and come back and comment.  It is more than wonderful for the children to listen to it.  We have listened to this more than once!

You follow this link and download the Truefaced Message.

And while you’re at it, this song was brought to my attention by a sweet sister in Christ who knew I would LOVE it. She was right.

I Am New by Jason Gray (his story is one amazing story of grace!)

So, there you go, listen to the above two treasures and call me in the morning!  Love you all.

Giving Them What They Need

They just need love. We all do, really. I think our greatest need is to know and experience the love of God. To know in our very core how deep His love is for us. To know He actually chose each one of us to be here at this time, in this place, to be His very own.

To read the ‘rest of the story’, come visit over here today.

Super Cool Garden Project

I discovered this idea on Pinterest and set out to find a pallet. You can go to the original post, How To Turn a Pallet Into a Garden, she gives far better details than I ever could.

I am very pleased with how this turned out. I do wish I had started it earlier, I wanted to have more herbs in it and my local garden store was sold out by the time I put it together. I did dig up some thyme and marjoram out of my own garden to put in there.

I have lettuce, Swiss chard, alyssum (white and purple), dusty miller (it was the only other kind of flower on the five dollar a flat wagon), basil, marjoram, thyme, a few fillers here and there and viola!

Isn’t it so clever??

Let me remind those of you who have commented that I am ‘so creative’, that while I do have possibly a teeny bit of God given creativity, most of it is copied from other people, and I am okay with that.

PS: This is Brian, and I would like to point out that Michelle is currently battling the enemy and his lies.(note the previous paragraph)  As you woman know, she is extremely creative and wonderfully talented in many areas.

A Catch Up Of Many Projects!

Yeah!  I actually remembered a ‘before’ picture!  Here is a ‘before’ picture of our plain and boring mantle.  It has been like this for years. Why?  Lack of inspiration, I guess.

Well, I got inspired!  Here it is now!  The black mirror was a $3 ugly brass garage sale find that I spray painted glossy black.  The tray on the left was a Goodwill find for $2 that had ugly tiles glued to the bottom.  I removed them and had my boys cut me a piece of thin wood that I sprayed with chalkboard paint.  Love it!

The books are antique books I already had.  The super sweet birds nest was compliments of my step dad, eggs and all.  The black and white ‘Blessings’ sign was a $2 garage sale treasure.  The white and green tin was originally an ugly brass that I picked up for 50 cents.  I sprayed it Heirloom White and dry brushed it with my favorite green, stuffed in some hydrangeas I had and, viola!

Another wonderful idea I discovered was this under-the-sink stroke of brilliance!  I have been nosing around a website called “Pinterest” and getting all kinds of ideas. I have always been bugged by the spray bottles falling down under the sink.  Someone recommended a tension rod to hang them from.  I just so happened to have a rod that was the perfect size.  It cracks me up how the simplest things make me happy.

This is another project I have been working on.  My quiet time table.  Sorry, no ‘before’ picture, just an ‘in the middle of’ picture. It was a nice enough table, but I wanted something more fun.

So, I sanded it.  Painted it with my favorite green.  The same color I used for my headboard.  Then I ‘crackled’ it and applied a top coat of creamy white.  I then sanded it in spots to remove chunks of paint here and there.  The more I took off, the more I loved it.  Next step was wiping it with a glaze mixed with some brown paint and wiping it off.  I finished with several coats of a spray clear coat.  I love it!

Some people don’t ‘love’ the antiqued and distressed look, but I do.  I wouldn’t want every piece of furniture like this, but this is perfect.

Here it is in its rightful place, next to my quiet time chair.

Sneak peak!  I got this table at Goodwill for $15.  It was love at first sight.  I called Brian for permission to buy it, anything over $10 I like to check with him.  I can get carried away with this passion.   Being a furniture lover, he said yes!  Wait until you see what I have planned for this!

Hope you enjoyed this lengthy post on what I have been working on lately.

Never Good Enough Syndrome

Here is what I observe. Most, if not all of the women I am in relationship with or minister to have hearts to please and honor God in all they do. They are not the type of Christian who shows up on Sunday morning for church and then lives like the world the rest of the week.

Nope, they are sold out for Christ. In fact, their lives are marked by an earnest and obvious pursuit to seek, obey, and honor Him in all they do.

Do you know what else I observe? They never feel like they do it good enough. They never measure up. They strive and work to do more, be better, pray harder. They desire to please God so much, but never really feel like they do please Him.

I can relate. “Hi, my name is Michelle. I am a recovering performance based, striving and never measuring up, crazy in love with a God I thought I could somehow please if I could just get it right, Christian.”

Here is the deal, though. I already am good enough. You see, I was chosen while I was dead in my sins to be a child of God! While I was completely NOT doing it right, he picked me to be His own. He made me holy and blameless in His sight. I am complete in Him. I am covered with the robe of righteousness.

Sounds good enough, don’t you think? When I read through the Word of God and see who God says I am – who I really am – aren’t I living in some serious unbelief when I live my life from such a place of striving? Isn’t performance, the never good enough syndrome, really unbelief? When I live from this place, aren’t I saying, “I don’t believe You, God?” (um, ouch!)

We need to recognize that this belief system is from the pit of hell. The accuser of the brethren desires to keep us chasing our tail always trying

SO.HARD.TO.GET.IT.RIGHT

but never able to arrive at that place of feeling ‘good enough’.

The fact that we fall down and sin everyday has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that, in Him, we already are good enough! He made us good enough.

I don’t care how many people the enemy used over the years to whisper – you are not worth it – you are not good enough. They were and are all lies.

You, my sister are worth it. You are indeed good enough! It is not me you need to believe, though, it is your Heavenly Father who loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for you.

Repeat after me. “I am worthy because Christ made me worthy.” “I am Chosen. I am Holy. I am Loved.” “I am loved with and everlasting love.” “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” “ He made me on purpose knowing every mistake I’d make, and He still chose me and loves me because it is NOT based on what I do, but who I am in Christ!”

Need I go on? If you struggle with this and just can’t seem to grasp this concept, please email me for prayer or to answer any questions you might have. I have certainly not mastered this, but I love sharing what I am learning.

I Guess I Just Need Reminders!

In the kitchen . . .

In the living room . . .

In the bathroom . . .

And around my neck . . .

You can read here for a reminder of why these three words are so important to me right now.

How To Harvest Basil

With Summer nearly upon us, I thought it would be helpful to repost this very popular post on How to Harvest Basil. It is one of my posts that receive the most hits. Enjoy.

In this post I have a few photos trying to show how I harvest basil. I also have a video explaining the process. This Perfect Pesto recipe is what I use.

I plant tons of basil plants each year because we LOVE Pesto! Pesto Pizza, Pesto Pasta, Pesto Focaccia . . . Oh my!




I have found if I keep the basil plants harvested frequently it keeps them from getting 'leggy' and also from going to seed. I get a drastic reduction in basil if I just let the plant go. Just about every week or as often as I need it, I go through all my plants and pick all the leaves I can.





It might be hard to tell in the picture, but my scissors are just about the snip the stem right at the base of a newer set of leaves. Can you see them?



It is so easy to do. Find a 'leaf cluster' and follow the stem down. You are looking for where the leaves branch out and are starting a whole other set of leaves. I try to go as far down the plant as I can to keep it stocky and bushy. Don't ever clip the stem where there is no other set of new leaves, it will stop producing. Your goal is bushy with lots of new leaf sets growing.


Here is another shot of the base of the stem with the new leaves on either side.

Have you discovered the delightful taste of basil? Do you grow basil? What do you use it for?

Cheap and Easy “Chalkboard” Labels

 

1. Go here to download the chalkboard font called, “Eraser”
2. Open the zip folder with the font and double-click the font file
3. When the font file opens, click “Install” This will install the font in your system
4. Open Microsoft Excel
5. Type each label you want in a column of cells
6. Select all the cells with your labels in them
7. Change the font to “Eraser”
8. Change the font to the size desired
9. You will need to adjust the cell size to fit the text
10. Change the fill color to black
11. Change the font color to white
12. Print the selection

13.  Cut out each “label” and tape to your item to be labeled. 

I use 3M Packing Tape for just about everything!  If I am labeling a jar I just tape the ‘label’ to the jar.  If I am taping it to a basket or going to attach it with a ribbon, I ‘laminate’ the label with my packing tape and then attach it.  Does that makes sense?

One tip to save on printer ink is to only make the label the size you need.  You don’t want to print up a lot of extra black!

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.  I will submit your questions to my wonderful ‘tech support’, the one who did this wonderful post for me!  Thanks Josh.

Another Crafty Treasure!

I found these two pieces at our local thrift shop. 

A bowl with a pedestal base.

 

A platter.

I used a two part epoxy glue.

One can of Krylon Ivy Leaf Green spray paint.

and

Voila!

I love it!  It is so pretty!  I must admit my newest passion just might be spray paint.  I love this stuff.  So much better than it was years ago.  So easy to use. 

June Garden Tour

I thought it would be a good idea to post a video of our gardens this summer. I plan to do this the first Saturday of the month for the rest of the summer.

Maybe I will include some tips, recipes or just some odd things that might be going on that particular Saturday. Kind of a ‘day in the life of’ type of thing. I hope you enjoy it. If you ever have questions about how we do things or what we do, please feel free to ask.

Saturdays are always ‘work’ days around here. Brian and I typically start the day with a ‘latte meeting’ to plan the day and make the to-do list for everyone. It is usually pretty extensive. Everybody has many chores to do, and we all work together the whole day.

These videos start right out the back slider and take you through the back yard to the gardens. Sorry about the wind noise a couple of times, I’ll try to fix that next time. I’m not a professional, you know, I just play one on TV.

Look What I Got!!

The Lord has been doing such a healing in my heart lately.  He continues to go deeper, healing areas I didn’t even know were still there.

Three words have been key in this healing.  They have been muddling around in my heart and mind for weeks.  I wholeheartedly believe that if we really, really had a grasp  these three words, and understood the meaning behind them to our very cores . . . the truth of these words literally demolish many, if not all, of the fundamental lies of the enemy.

Do you want to know what they are?

Chosen . . . Holy . . . Loved

Knowing that I have been chosen before the foundation of time by my Father tears down the lies of rejection.  Understanding that I am chosen, I mean really understanding, is healing balm over every wound of rejection over the years.

Grasping the fact that I have been ‘set apart’ and am holy and blameless before Him shuts the mouth of the accuser of the brethren, Satan.  When I really grasp this concept his lies of my unworthiness and wretchedness meet with a deaf ear.

Nothing has been more clear to me in the past year that THE biggest need of all human beings is to be loved.  To know that we are loved and cherished.  I have seen the love of God heal and deliver.  I have seen the love of God cast out fear.  Love heals. We try to fill up this need for love with many things.  Our souls long for love, acceptance, to be cherished.  The love of a good man is wonderful.  The love of our children blesses our hearts.  But nothing, NOTHING will ever fill our need to be loved, but the love of our Father through His Son, Jesus Christ.

So, Chosen, Holy, Loved. 

See the significance of three little words with huge meanings?

Don’t you just love it??!! I adore it.

This is the necklace I had made by a sweet, sweet woman, named Lora.  I highly suggest you check out her wonderful Etsy shop.   

Be forewarned, if you are anything like me, you might just want one of everything she makes!  For those of you who loved Ann’s book, One Thousand Gifts, you might love this necklace, as I did.  I almost bought it, but I am glad I waited, this is the one my Father wanted for me!

Lora worked with me to make this necklace just how I wanted it.  I told her what I was thinking and she made it happen and I had it in my anxious hands in a week!

Lord willing, I hope to expound on how deeply these three words have affected me.  The Lord also has brought a book across my path that is ministering these truths to me.  I haven’t finished it yet, when I do, I will post a review of it.

You, my sister, have been chosen by the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.  He picked you!!  He made you holy and blameless before Him.  He looks at you through the blood of Christ.  All your shame and unworthiness is gone as far as He is concerned.  And, sister, you are dearly loved with an everlasting love.  Let these words sink in and heal.  You are Chosen, Holy and Loved!

Book Winners Announced!

Thank you to everyone who joined in. 

The winners of the book Shepherding A Child’s Heart, by Tedd Tripp are . . .

Jenn, from a Country Girl’s Ramblings

and

Rebecca from, Chicken Scratching's

Congratulations! 

Email me with your address so I can get them out on Monday!