S8 E49: Identity | SHE IS Awakening Seasonal Journal | WINTER - Week 11

Happy New Week, friends, and welcome to March.

When I was looking over the focus for this week in the Winter Seasonal Journal,

I realized that I touched on this theme in the last episode that came out on March 1st.

So if you haven't listened to that episode, I highly encourage you to take a

listen as it will be an an addition to this Sunday episode.

And speaking of Sunday episodes, I mentioned a few weeks ago that starting with

the season of spring this year, which is in a few weeks from now.

The Sunday episodes that follow along with the seasonal journal will have their own podcast home.

And we will share the links so that you can subscribe to that podcast,

as well as the links for the spring journal in the show notes as they become

available in the next few days.

Okay, So the title for the weekly focus for this week is Identity.

And our identity, it's such a core foundation in how we walk through life.

And we will struggle in this area and it will affect our life in great ways.

When our foundation is weak and it's off balance, when our identity is unstable, so is our foundation.

And our identity is formed by those closest to us as we are growing up.

Yet our ultimate identity is found in Christ.

As we grow and mature in our relationship with God and in our life experiences,

experiences most of us will realize at

some point that our identity has been

shaped by the thoughts and the opinions of

those that might not

actually align with the plans and purposes that

God has for us and this is one of

the four reasons that I am so

committed and passionate to talking about

out and encouraging you to get

still and to connect with your creator because you need to hear the Spirit of

God speak to your spirit to strengthen your soul and spirit to image God in

the way that he purposed from the start.

Now, I used to think that there was just one special plan and purpose for my life.

And like so many of you listening, I agonized at times praying to God not to miss it.

When I now realize that God has given all of us these foundational rules of

life, and at the top of that list is to love God with all of our heart and with

all of our soul and and all of our mind.

And the second thing is to love our neighbor as yourself.

And I love how the message Bible reads, it says, love the Lord your God with

all of your passion and prayer and intelligence, and love others as well as you love yourself.

So when I am living life in rhythm and practice, in alignment with these two

important instructions given by Jesus in scripture, scripture,

this is the foundation of our life.

And how that looks and is walked out can look different in different seasons.

And what I found is that we tend to focus more on the expression than the foundation.

When the expression will always fall short, when the foundation is off and unstable.

Your identity is that you are created in the image of the one who created all that is.

And he called this creation good, which includes you and I.

And at the same time, God has invited us to co-labor with him in bringing forth

the kingdom of God into the world.

What a purpose and what a plan and this is who you are at the core this is your

identity a child of God loved and adored and chosen and purposed for good and not evil.

And experiencing winter seasons

in life can sometimes cause us to question or to doubt these truths.

We question God's faithfulness and His love towards us.

And when we are not receiving God's love and experiencing belonging that He

can only give to us, and we're not connecting with God,

we will attempt to fill our longings and emptiness from the relationships that are around us.

And as life-giving as these relationships can be, they can never speak to and

strengthen the depths of our spirit and our soul.

Psalm 41 11 says, You know me inside and out. You hold me together.

You never fail to stand me tall in your presence so I can look you in the eye.

There is nothing more powerful than when the God of the universe that knows

you inside and out speaks to you and you in turn receive his love,

and his words towards you.

It changes you when in turn changes all of those around you.

Here are some prompts that I would love to invite you to think about and to process this week.

Where are you finding your identity?

Are you what people perceive you to be or who God says you are?

How can you be more intentional in allowing God to strengthen your identity in Him?

You are loved, beautiful one. And I'm praying that you have a wonderful week

knowing who you are in Christ.