It’s Red Hot Faith LAUNCH WEEK! Woo Hoo! Every day this week I’ll be hosting different giveaways, specials, sneak peeks, & more! Peek here and here for previous giveaways — it’s not too late to enter! Join us for the week filled of red-hot fun!
Hey Friends –
High school was not kind to me.
Although there a few fun memories – cheering for the freshmen basketball team, our zany psychology class, late-afternoon lunch runs with my good buddy Chuck –
I’m glad I never have to go back to those four agonizing years again.
Ever.
Mostly my adolescent days were filled with intense loneliness, rejection, straining to fit in, and a bottomless longing to be acknowledged and accepted.
Am I the only one?
I’ll never forget the day I thought I finally was on my way to recognition.
A fellow classmate shared she saw something written about me in the girl’s bathroom.
Really?
Me?!
I ran to the south side of the building as quickly as my clog-wearing feet would take me. I couldn’t wait to read what someone had taken the time to share publicly and proudly about me!
I pulled open the heavy wooden door and scanned the chipped bathroom stall’s exterior. Then I spotted the seven words that would shape my life for the next two decades…
“Cindy Stille is a fat red cow.”
And on that dreadful day those seven words attached to me like a sticky, descriptive name tag.
As the years went on, I may have appeared happy and self-confident on the outside. But beneath the cheery smile and bubbly personality, was an insecure and injured young woman meticulously attempting to cover up the pain, and striving to protect herself from ever being hurt or teased…again.
I wonder if you can relate? What labels have attached to you?
- Not good enough.
- Clumsy.
- Stupid.
- Good for nothing.
- Lazy.
- Ugly.
- Fat.
- Not wanted.
“Labels are awful. They imprison us in categories that are hard to escape. Those labels start out as little threads of self-dissatisfaction but ultimately weave together into a straitjacket of self-condemnation“. – Lysa Terkeurst
Thankfully in 1996 I met Jesus (recap here). He says I am….
- Accepted.
- Beautiful – regardless of the size of my pants.
- Chosen.
- Dearly Loved.
- Enough.
And sweet friend, you are too!
In Christ, we have new, Truth-filled, life-giving labels to wear.
That’s why in Red Hot Faith we spend Session 6 talking about the nametags we wear.
Here’s a “sneak peek” —
Friend, what label are you wearing today?
May we all “think about what we are thinking about” and make sure we are walking about in TRUTH. On this day, I’m choosing to put on CALLED.
How about you? Please share what label of Truth YOU are putting on!
And if this is an area you struggle with (like me!) — I have a special giveaway for you! Check back tomorrow and we’ll start renewing our mind with red-hot Truth — A to Z style!
Thanks for stopping by *She Sparkles*! May your day be filled with lots of laughter, love and life-giving labels!
Sweet blessings-
