The first of many encouragements!

October’s encouragement has been decided! Y’all wanted me to write about caring and showing love towards yourself, so I guess that’s what I will attempt to do! Full disclosure, I, by no means know what I am truly talking about. However, I am going to share the ways the Lord has proven my worth to me. Learning to love yourself and be confident in your abilities is worth so much more than we could attempt to give credit towards. I’m hoping to share some truth for y’all so that maybe you’ll live just a little bit freer. ❤

Your heart is personal.

I’ve decided to structure this post a little more like a letter because I think it makes it more personal. This is a personal subject, that has potential for so much goodness. I LOVE being able to write and spread joy and love to others. Ultimately I think that is why God pushed me to this platform. So… here goes nothing. : )

Dear Listener,

I cannot begin to explain to you how loved and valued every single part of you is. Whether you believe me or not, each part of you has been hand-picked for greatness. You were made to do amazing things that bring glory to the one who created us.

1. Realize you are beautiful and unique. There is no one like you.

There truly is no one else like you. I feel like it is so easy to get caught up in trying to be like others because they are cool or pretty or whatever it may be that you want to be. This is a comparison and here is what 2 Corinthians has to say about it.

¹² We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.

2 Corinthians 10:12

We are without understanding. How many times have you met someone super cool and were kinda jealous, then you realized they are just as broken as you. The truth of the matter is that everyone is imperfect. Everyone struggles in one way or another so who are we to look at another person and deem that their personality is worthy of our desires. Each of us is a perfect blend of two people and a spirit that is completely our own. I think a problem we may not have noticed is that being different is associated with something bad. You don’t want to be different. You want to fit in and be another pretty face in the crowd.

But how are you supposed to let your light shine when you cover it up with something that’s not you?

Being introduced into the blogging community, I have been around my fair share of comparisons. It’s been a tough task to tackle closing my eyes and letting God lead my work. I know he has created me for so many amazing things, but I can’t do them without him, and it is so incredibly humbling.

2. Surround yourself with uplifting people and encouragement!

Surrounding yourself with friends is very important, but it matters what kind of friends! I’m sure all our moms told us growing up that you become the person you hang out with. Right? I’m still a kid at heart for sure, but having flown the coop I can say this is 100% true. I’ve seen it in my life and so much of it in my friends’ lives as well. The Bible even tells us so.

33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

1 Corinthians 15:33

I feel like I can’t grasp how important it is to spend time with people that don’t bring you down. When I say that I mean it every possible way you could take it.

I guess I’ll go off…

Your friends shouldn’t be dragging you out to parties if that is not something you think you think you should be doing. Additionally, your friends should not be comparing themselves to you or others all the time. Your friends shouldn’t be telling you that you are not enough; not pretty enough, smart enough, outgoing enough, spend enough (?). Your friends should be the group that you go to for full confidence and love. They should be able to lift you up and call you out on your crap out of LOVE for you. They should be an ultimate source of encouragement in your life. But on the flip side, YOU should be the friend you want.

This is an encouragement for you to seek out good people.

It is a lot more common than we think for the ones closest to us to be the ones to bring us down deepest. This is something I have focused on a lot in college. In high school, I have to say I did not hang out with the best people. The habits I realized I had fallen into with them were destructive to my health, both mental and physical. However, in college, I have made it my mission to make lasting relationships only with people that:

1. Love the Lord. and 2. Genuinely care about me.

I found this article about Biblical Truth in Friendships that I really enjoyed. It touches on the importance of community then dives into the meaning of friendship and why we were created to have it. They said it way better than I could’ve.

3. Friends are important but value your alone time.

I have learned so much in the alone time I have with the Lord. Whether you are a believer or not I think there is something for you to learn here. Some call it meditation others… idk what they might call it. But I call it Quiet Time. I try to commit at least 15 minutes of every morning to time with God. I read my Bible (if I have time) and I just sit in the presence of Him and sing worship songs. This is my reflection time. Every morning I leave my apartment a better person after this. I think being able to self reflect is such a powerful thing. Being able to recognize where you may have fallen short lately, and know you need to do better is probably one of the things that will make you most successful? Maybe? I’m not sure I’m only 19. But it’s worked for me so far.

It’s okay to fall short because there’s always light at the end of the tunnel.

My favorite thing as a believer about this process is that I can turn back to God after falling short and lean on him for assistance. There are so many instances in our life that seem too big to tackle on our own so we just don’t. We just don’t get out of that relationship even though it’s become totally toxic. We just don’t give up whatever habit might be controlling our life because we feel we’re only going to fail. Maybe it’s that we just don’t stand up to the bullies in our life because it’s freaking scary to let your voice be heard. Well, I’m here to tell you that Jesus is the best person to talk to about that and the Bible is the best place to turn for the truth. The love I have experienced recently from God and the community that he has given me is unbelievable. It has for sure helped me gain more respect and confidence in myself, which is ultimately what I want for you.

15 minutes.. 1% of your day. That’s all.

Take some time today to just reflect on the ways that you are amazing and kick butt. But also reflect on the areas of your life that you could maybe work on a little. It’s encouraged to ask the Lord for help and just pray for change. I’m rooting for you!

Love,

Lauren Massengale