Christ-Esteem

The snow is lightly falling, glittering lights in every window, Christmas songs playing in every store...


I LOVE Christmas shopping (in case you couldn't tell!).

It seems, however, that before I can even think about Christmas shopping (like, in August, for example), stores are already sending out magazine after magazine through the mail, and more advertising e-mails than I can possibly handle. In s0me ways this makes Christmas shopping easier later on, because I already have a pretty good idea of what to get everyone. In other ways though, it can be annoying.


One of the things I like least about advertisements is the extent they go to to get us to buy whatever they're selling. Who hasn't seen ads with phrases such as:

"You deserve it."
"You NEED this."
"This could change your life."

The problem with all of these statements is the focus: SELF. I don't think I've ever seen an advertisement that supported contentment, giving, or being happy with who you are, where you are, and what you have. If you were content with what you had, after all, you wouldn't be buying their product.


The sad thing is that in our culture, many people do think predominately about themselves. This selfish mindset can produce all kinds of tragic consequences in people's lives. Our society desperately needs to find the cure for selfishness so we can turn our focus back toward God and other.

So what IS the cure for selfishness?

Many people will tell you it has to do with believing in YOURSELF and having SELF-esteem. In fact, these ideas are quite popular among people trying to escape the our current selfish society. But do you see the problem with these two phrases?

The problem, again, is SELF. Though popular, the core focus in this belief is still SELF.


The only true answer to a confidence issue is to stop focusing on yourself and begin focusing totally on Jesus Christ. When we find our worth in Him alone, everything else fades into the background. Thoughts about how we look and what others think of us will fade out of the picture, until all we are truly care about is learning to serve Christ better. He created us to shine as a living example of His glory, drawing other believers and unbelievers closer to Him. Suddenly, what we look like is no longer the first thing people notice about us. They will see Christ's light shining so bright in us, that nothing really matters. When we stop obsessing about ourselves and allow Christ to take complete control of our lives, we become a reflection of Him. As Princess Gloria said in an earlier post, we become like a mountain lake that reflects His glory. He is so much bigger than us, he takes up all of us so that noting else can even be seen. One of my favorite verses is something Paul says in Galatians 2:20, "For it is not longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." I would love for that to be a description of my life.

Wouldn't you?


Blessings in Christ,

Hope Chests for Your Husbands

If you recall how Princess Izori talked about these keepsakes in her post Hope Chests . In this post I am going give you some tips about what you can put in a special Hope Chest for your future husband.

First let's start with what are some of the things you have in your Hope Chest. Birthday cards? Encouraging Scriptures or uplifting poems? Pictures or notes? Maybe a precious Bible from when you were born.

You can take some of those things (not those exact things, but the same concept) and put them in the Hope Chest for your future husband. For example, instead of birthday cards to you, write letters to your husband. Put pictures of you as mementos you can later show him. Maybe a list of prayer requests you've had for him over the years. Any poems or stories you write to him or about him work too! Your favorite Scripture verses (yes, that's Scripture verses :) can be kept safely in the Hope Chest as well. If they are hand written, they will be even more special to him! Maybe you want to give him a picture you've painted, or a craft you've made for him. A Bible you've kept to give to him could go in there as well. :) Anything you wish. Maybe you want some recipes that he might like in there, or a special music box that plays a calming tune. Again, you can put whatever you want to give to him in there!

Hope Chests are just gifts that let you treasure your future spouse even more. It will be an encouragement each time you place an object in that chest, reminding you that you are waiting for only him. One thing I would like to say though; I wouldn't give away things in your Hope Chest for your future husband until he becomes your husband. Why? Because you are giving little pieces away to another person that you had planned only for your knight. Waiting to give all the gifts for him will make each one more treasured, just like your purity.

Blessings,

Poem on God's Power vs. Our Weakness

(c) Izori

What few years have we
On our road to decay?
Fine petals have we,
Gone tomorrow, here today.
Our colors are temporary
For it is humans' way.

What awe inspires He
As our own breath flies away?
The Master of eternity,
Beginning, here to stay.
One hand rests on me, the other lights the day.
That is God's way.

In Christ,

Princess Izori

The Fruits of Favoritism

Have you ever been with a group of people, and two of them in particular were very good friends with one another? Half the time, they're laughing about inside jokes that only they 'get'. Maybe they'll gradually exclude the other people in the group from their conversation, or go off somewhere else. However, those two people would be shocked if you told them that they were being exclusive!

You probably remember how you felt--unhappy, lonely, and dis-valued. But are you a culprit of exclusiveness too?

Before I go on, I'll say that this applies to siblings. However, if you have one or no siblings, you can also apply this to friends, or even parents.

Favoritism is a form of exclusiveness. Among siblings it's a common thing. Usually one of the children (in the case of our family...*guilty face*...it's the oldest) will show more attachment to one sibling and not the other. It's easy, too. They might be the closest in age, are interested in the same things, or do much of the same activities.

It gets to a point where they have almost a line of communication that only they can access--a little sign with the hand, a look, a nod of the head, etc. Eventually, the two will start showing favors to one another by maybe turning the other way when something is wrong, or automatically blaming the sibling they don't favor in fights.

Of course, the two think they're doing great because they're getting along with a sibling...or that is, one of them.

In reality, they're hurting their other siblings and causing strife. Jealously, bitterness, and detachment are the fruits of favoritism. Just look at the story of Joseph.

His father favored Joseph more than his brothers, and for that he got sold to Egypt. Of course, God was working in this for good, but that's no excuse. Yes, God can produce good out of our evil, but that doesn't mean we should do it. The nation of Egypt was saved from devastating starvation, but Jacob suffered for years with a family torn apart by the fruits of favoritism.

It's really easy to overlook favoritism if you're doing it yourself (realize that this is the voice of bitter experience...). Here's a few hints to look for:

1. You find yourself automatically siding with one sibling and against the other in a fight, even if you have a nagging feeling that it's unfair.

2. You spend more time with one sibling than another.

3. Your tone of voice towards one sibling is mostly gentle, but you find yourself speaking toward another judgmentally.

4. You get angry when your parents 'excuse' bad behavior with one sibling (although you feel like they're being merciful and loving when they do the same to another)

5. You and one sibling tend to 'gang up' on another sibling during disputes.

I've said that I am speaking from my own experience. Yes, it's true. I'm coming to realize more and more that one sibling in particular is excluded from what another sibling and I do. One reason is that the sibling I favor is more my age, and we tend to like the same movies and do many activities together. The sibling I don't favor is a lot different from me, and our ages are further apart. The warning hints that I listed above are the ones that I found when I searched my actions.

Now, here are some helping tips:

1. First off, don't stop favoring the sibling you were. If you just shift your favor to another sibling, then you still have the same problem. Favor your brothers and sisters, but favor them equally!

2. Find a special time you can spend with your unfavored sibling. Once again, continue to spend time with the sibling you favor, but try to equally include your other sibling. Have a tea party with both of them, or set up a little Bible study. Help them gain a skill, or gently encourage them in their schoolwork.

3. Always look at both sides of an argument between your two siblings. Support the side that is right, not the side of the person that you show more favors to.

4. The 'both sides' hint goes for when your parents deal with the siblings.

5. Don't gang up on either sibling. If you and one sibling have a secret communication system, why don't you include your other sibling in it, or give them a wink or a nod from time to time too.

Favoritism can tear a family apart. It happened to Joseph's family. Don't let it happen to yours.

In Christ,

Princess Izori

Reflection

Picture with me, if you will, a beautiful, breath-taking mountain. It stretches high into the sky and is the most beautiful thing you could ever see! Its color is a glorious and clear blue, and the top sparkles in the sunlight.


Down below, at the foot of the mountain, there is a lake. It has been put in that particular spot for a reason: to reflect the mountain and its splendor. However, the lake is more like a swamp, with brown grasses and bare trees growing in it. The water is murky and dirty, and the bit that can be seen through the plant overgrowth has no way of reflecting anything. How can the lake fulfill its purpose? If only there was some way to remove the ugliness from it!



So it is with us and God.


God is like the beautiful mountain. His majesty and wonder are indescribable! He is so glorious and strong.


We are like the lake, meant to reflect His beauty and glory. This, though, is impossible for us to do on our own. We are full of sin, which dirties the water and produces tangled vines and tough grasses. There is no way that Jesus can be reflected in us.


But God, Who is rich in mercy, gives us the opportunity to be redeemed, to accept Him into our hearts and lives. Once we do that, He starts the long process of cutting away the debris and clearing out the water. Bit by bit, we lose our life-dominating sin a little at a time: disobedience, rebellion, mean words, ugly and improper thoughts, evil desires, lusts, jealousy, pride, selfishness, discontentment, and the list continues.

If we let Him, we will, little by little, begin to reflect Him, drawing more attention to our King than ourselves. As He clears the lake, it looks more like the mountain than a lake because the mountain is bigger than the lake and its reflection fills the entire area of water.


Becoming a beautiful, reflecting lake is a lifelong process. The Lord knows the amount of sin that we have in our lives and, in His compassion, deals with that sin little by little, one at a time. But we have to be willing to allow God to deal with us.


That doesn't mean that we will never return to a sin once it has been conquered through Christ. However, because we can approach the Throne of Grace with confidence we can be forgiven of the sin and given the ability to move on.

Is there something that Jesus might be pruning from your life right now? Something that you won't allow Him access to deal with? You can only be transformed into a beautiful lake, a radiant reflection of His glory, if you let Him be in control.


~Princess Gloria