FREE TO BE ME IN YOUR EYES

So thankful Lord you give me the freedom to be me, that you love me unconditionally with all my faults, that you never judge me, you always love me unconditionally no matter what, you never turn your back on me no matter what, that you constantly give me unconditional Mercy, Grace and Love, that you never give up on me, for the confidence you give me that you will always be by my side and never forsake me when others do. That you always remind me I'm worthy of being loved and accepted by others and by you most importantly. That you know my heart and character better than anyone. You are my best friend Lord in this whole world above all others. Please don't let me ever forget all these things. May I as broken as I am always be a Beautiful Broken Vessel in your eyes and a Heiress of "YOUR" light in this world. Forgive me when I am prideful, when I stumble, when I fall. Thank you for the peace that you give me that you will always catch me when I fall, pick me back up again, dust me off  and encourage me to keep going and not to give up. Thank you that you don't look at my outward appearance but that your eyes pierce my heart when you look at me and you see into the depths of my heart and that you know my heart and my true character that people don't always see. Thank you so much for loving unperfect me so perfectly. Thank you for never rejecting me and for comforting my heart when I feel misunderstood, rejected and abandoned by those I love deeply. Please give me these abilities with all those you have placed in my life. For those I have hurt in anyway please forgive me and give me favor and forgiveness in their eyes and give them Your ability to see into my heart and know me the way you do. Oh Lord that they would know how deep my love is for them and that my intentions are always good and that they know how deeply I love them with all my heart and that  I only want to see them prosperous, healthy, confident and blessed. Where the Enemy has clouded their mind or mine with his lies please reveal the truth and put a hedge of protection around us so no attack the Enemy sends to try and destroy our relationship will ever prosper, may we recognize when the Enemy tries to shred us that the battle is not between us, that we are not each other's enemies that we recognize it as a attack on us by the Enemy. May we humble ourselves immediately and take the battle to you in prayer so the strongholds the Enemy tries to put on us are broken and released. Lord, May I never forget I will always need more of Thee & less of me. I love you so much Lord.

Love your Daughter/Broken Vessel/ Heiress of the Light Vena 

Francesca Battistelli - Free To Be Me Lyrics
Artist: Francesca Battistelli
Album: My Paper Heart
Genre: Christian
At twenty years of age
I'm still looking for a dream
A war's already waged for my destiny
But You've already won the battle
And You've got great plans for me
Though I can't always see
'Cause I got a couple dents in my Fender
Got a couple rips in my jeans
Try to fit the pieces together
But perfection is my enemy
And on my own, I'm so clumsy
But on Your shoulders I can see
I'm free to be me
When I was just a girl
I thought I had it figured out
See my life would turn out right
And I'd make it here somehow
But things don't always come that easy
And sometimes I would doubt, oh
'Cause I got a couple dents in my Fender
Got a couple rips in my jeans
Try to fit the pieces together
But perfection is my enemy
And on my own, I'm so clumsy
But on Your shoulders I can see
I'm free to be me and You're free to be You
Sometimes I believe that I can do anything
Yet other times I think
I've got nothing good to bring
But You look at my heart and You tell me
That I've got all You seek, oh
And it's easy to believe even though
'Cause I got a couple dents in my Fender
Got a couple rips in my jeans
Try to fit the pieces together
But perfection is my enemy
And on my own, I'm so clumsy
But on Your shoulders I can see
I got a couple dents in my Fender
Got a couple rips in my jeans
Try to fit the pieces together
But perfection is my enemy
And on my own, I'm so clumsy
But on Your shoulders I can see
I'm free to be me and You're free to be You

Who You Are: A Message To All Women

Do You Accept Who God Made You To Be?

These two blog posts really encouraged my heart and I felt led by the Lord to re-post and share them today with all of my female family members, friends and my S.I.C.S.{Sisters-In-Christ}. My hope and Prayer is that you all will be as encouraged and blessed as I am by these blog posts.

                              

                              {HEIRESS OF THE LIGHT}

Do You Accept Who God Made You To Be?

                                                         

    APRIL 17, 2015 by KELA NELLUMS 

http://christianwifeuniversity.com/do-you-accept-who-god-made-you-to-be/

Recently I was confiding in some sister-friends about how I've started to feel about myself; my body image and the emotions that can go along with.

I’m starting to call myself beautiful.  I’m discovering who I am as a person and as God’s daughter; truly embracing that.

I’m a mom of six and a grandma.  I have hit the 40+ mark and I’m comfortable in my skin.

Can you say that about yourself as a woman? Will you allow it to sink in?

You’re beautiful! Created magnificently.  The words that I write are not just fluffy words, or meant to be just another sound of your mother telling you that “because she has to”.

It is absolutely true!

May I share with you a quote that rocked my way of thinking of myself; my body, my emotions, my past, my shortcomings?

Every woman has a beauty unique unto herself. I have seen beauty in virtually every woman I have ever met regardless of skin type, body shape, hair color, teeth whiteness, or number on the scale. Every woman is beautiful. You are beautiful. I am beautiful. Though I have recognized it in other women for as long as I can remember, I have only begun to see it in myself. Yes, I believe I am beautiful. Some days. Well, some moments. God help us all to believe it more deeply and more often. Because in the places where we don’t believe it, we continue to shame ourselves. And shame will never be an agent of change.

-Stasi Eldredge, {Becoming Myself}

I cried over those words. I saw a better me and a newness that I can’t describe.

Woman. You have worth. You ARE worth. A most prized delight.

The desire of my heart with this post is to speak directly to your soul. To draw out the beauty that’s there. Did you stuff it down? Or worse yet, did someone else stuff it down?

"So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."

  Genesis 1:27 NKJV (emphasis are mine)

There is a love song being sung over you, dear sister. Your Creator, The Almighty takes that time to lavish goodness on you.  He’s thinking of how you’ll love that unique snowflake that makes its way into your palm, or that new Spring bloom that is your absolute favorite flower, and that sand between your toes that you've waited to feel since the last time.

He gives beauty to His beauty. Yes! You!

If you’re struggling with believing how beautiful you are or even who you are, I want to direct you to Jolene’s beautiful telling of her personal story of rejection and acceptance: 

What I Want You to Know

http://joleneengle.com/want-know/

Be blessed, beautiful sister!

Kela Nellums

HEIRESS OF THE LIGHT FLOUR BOMB CHALLENGE VIDEO 4- 6-15

Today I'm posting this blog on behalf of a issue that is heavy on my heart. 

This cause is very heavy on my heart in a deep and personal way.

CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING/SLAVERY

FACTS:  "2 million children are being trafficked as sex slaves

 in the world today. "

                       "It's time to rescue them."

"I Heiress of The Light  {Aka Vena} have accepted the "FLOUR BOMB VIDEO CHALLENGE" to raise awareness and money to fight child sex slavery and trafficking and to rescue children across the world from this awful crime and to end the awful crime of child sex trafficking and exploitation." Sex slavery and exploitation is child abuse for money. This is happening right here in your backyard." 

(At least 200,000 children per year are sexually exploited in the U.S. alone. 

Source:National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)

There are two million children across the globe who are held captive and bought and sold for sex.

          SOURCE : (UNICEF)

I have donated at FlourBomb.com to stop this awful crime and to save the children. 
"I challenge all my Blog Followers/Readers, YouTube subscribers, all my Facebook Family Members, my Friends, Brethren and anyone else out there to accept my challenge for you to make a FlourBomb Video, upload it to all your social media websites and go to the FlourBomb.com website and donate within the next 24 hours from today 4-6-15." GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

http://www.flourbomb.com/

https://www.facebook.com/flourbombchallenge?fref=ts

https://ourrescue.org/

#flOURbomb  #OURrescue‬

"WATCH  MY FLOUR BOMB CHALLENGE VIDEO  BELOW"

For info on how to make your own FlourBomb Challenge Video go to
https://youtu.be/m4vAP5eqSPw

GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

Setting and Defending Your Boundaries

March 16, 2015 By Tamara Staples 

http://fibrocfssupportcenter.org/setting-and-defending-your-boundaries/

originally posted on www.desiretoheal.com 

http://desiretoheal.com/2015/03/16/setting-and-defending-your-boundaries/

{RE-POSTED WITH PERMISSION FROM TAMARA STAPLES}

You have a right to draw a line in the sand!

Setting and Defending Your Boundaries

This may not be a popular post, but please hear me out and know that I am right there with you.  I struggle daily with setting boundaries and defending those boundaries.  We all want someone to just “get” what we are going through and “understand” us when we set our limits.  I wish it were that easy! 

What I hear over and over (and experience, at times, myself) is that my spouse, friend, mother (insert noun that applies) doesn't understand my illness or doesn't believe I am really ill.  The frustration really kicks in when you expect this person or these people to “approve” of your need to rest or to not do something that they are wanting you to do.

We let other people keep us imprisoned in a tighter illness “cage” than it has to be because we are too afraid to set boundaries or tell them that we can’t do something when we know we can’t.   If they argue, if they don’t believe us or if they disagree, then we feel we have to make a choice about whether to justify our non-doing or do what they want us to do.  Doing usually seems easier in the moment.  However, in the long run you pay the price.

We let other people keep us imprisoned in a tighter illness “cage” than it has to be because we are too afraid to set boundaries or tell them that we can’t do something when we know we can’t.   If they argue, if they don’t believe us or if they disagree, then we feel we have to make a choice about whether to justify our non-doing or do what they want us to do.  Doing usually seems easier in the moment.  However, in the long run you pay the price.

Set Your Boundaries and Stand Firm

I want to propose that, at the end of the day, you are one-hundred percent responsible for you.  It is no one else’s business to decide your limits and if they don’t see your limits the way you see them, that is kind of too bad and their problem.  They are not inside your body and they are not living what you are living.  God forbid they one day might be chronically ill themselves and then they would understand, but until that happens you just have to take personal responsibility and defend your boundaries.   As scary as it is and hard as it is and as against the grain as it goes, you just have to say I. Can’t. Do. That.  And stand firm.

I’m not saying that I have it all figured out and that it doesn't bother me to set limits and stand up for those limits; it does.  I realize that it is something that I am going to have to get over or I am going stay sicker than I have to stay for the remainder of my life because I am constantly overruling my own innate sense of when I should rest.  If I don’t enforce my boundaries, I will be doomed to continue apologizing for myself because I am always going to be sick and will always be letting people down due to having to go to bed and recover from my overdoing.

Are You Your Own Worst Offender?

I am not discounting that I am my own worst offender, either.  I often place too many expectations on myself and crash and burn as I struggle to meet those expectations.  The fact is that we can’t really teach other people how to treat us until we learn to treat ourselves better, which includes honoring our own boundaries with our self.

I think an interesting exercise would be to pretend one day, all day long, that you have cancer.   How would you treat your body knowing that any chance you had of living versus dying is in conserving your energy and resources so that your body could have a chance to heal?  How would you be around other people if you knew you had a “legitimate” disease such as cancer?  How would you feel?  How would you behave?  How would others treat you?  How would you expect others to treat you?  And, how would you treat yourself?

Your Illness IS Legitimate!

Just because you don’t have cancer and you have chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, migraines or whatever illness instead, it doesn't matter.  Whatever you have is a legitimate illness!  Your body deserves your consideration.  And, obviously, you deserve understanding and consideration from those around you, but it has to start with you.

You see, when we expect other people to understand our reality from their reality, it doesn't usually work out well.  It can be like we are on totally different planes of existence.  I know that I didn't even fully understand my own reality when I first became ill.  I kept thinking that I could push myself much further than I actually could.  So, if it takes us a while to believe our own limitations when we become ill, how can we expect others to understand when they haven’t lived in a chronically ill body?

They can’t understand it!  In fact, I don’t know if you have done this, but I have done this in the year and a half since I have had chronic fatigue syndrome and have been unable to do most physical activity: I watch people do the simplest of things and am amazed.  I do this when I watch TV.  An actor is running down the street and my brain just can’t quite grasp how they can do that.  It is because I have been in this reality of chronic fatigue syndrome for a year and a half and I have forgotten my previous reality.  If I've forgotten my own reality from when I was able to do more, then how can I expect some other person to understand my reality as a sick person from their reality of health?

It is Empowering to Take Responsibility for Yourself

The bitter pill to swallow is also the most empowering thing we can do which is take total responsibility for ourselves, set our limits, set our boundaries and don’t let anyone make us feel guilty.  How long can you continue to drag your body through activities that it can’t physically do right now because you don’t want someone to be upset at you for setting your limits?

We can pass out the spoon theory to every person that we meet and in the end we stay totally frustrated because they still aren't getting it.  In the meantime, we just keep on overdoing because we are waiting for them to give us permission to take care of ourselves the way we know we need to.  The spoon theory might help someone understand for a nanosecond, but then they slip back into their reality where they truly can’t comprehend because they haven’t lived what you are living.

You wouldn't let someone break into your house while you just sit back on the sofa and watch them take all of your stuff because you are scared to offend them.  So, don’t let someone break into your body and take all of your energy while you are busy people pleasing because you don’t want to make waves.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: energy management, relationships, self-care

http://fibrocfssupportcenter.org/