So Long Insecurity, Week 2 + A GIVEAWAY!

 A nice quiet, relaxing evening.  Hours of quiet time spent before bible study tonight preparing my heart.  A peace surrounded my home and filled my soul.  Or.....not.

Chris was out of town tonight on business, so it was only me and three little munchkins.  I adore my munchkins, but tonight they were not so adorable.  The drill is, they go to bed and then the ladies come over for bible study.  At least, that is how it is suppose to happen.  Not tonight. 

Throughout the whole time with the ladies tonight in my living room, we heard little footsteps parading around upstairs.  Through the ceiling, we heard small giggles muffled in failed attempts of being discreet in their "secret" play.

Oh, what is a mother to do?  It was still a good night with the ladies.  God can work in less that perfect conditions.  God can still do heart surgery even when the environment is not sterile.

The kids are just now finally in bed.  Only 3 short hours later. Ahem.  Needless to say, there will be no Wii this Wiikend in the Molitor home.

Thankfully, my security is not defined by if my kids go to bed when they should. Oh, how thankful I am. 

Tonight (amid the frequent footsteps overhead) we discussed how to define "Insecurity"?

Fear, not secure in oneself, not secure in who you are, unsettled in a situation. 

Beth Moore's one-word description is self-sabotage.

Let's look at self-sabotage for a moment.  Do you feel like you do that in your relationships?  We discussed tonight about expectations in friendships or relationships.  Sometimes our expectations are so high that we set ourselves (and the other person) up for failure.

A few years ago, I read a wonderful book by Don Clowers titled Right and Wrong Expectations in Friendship.  People are people and they will disappoint us, they will let us down.  How we respond is what matters.  He says in this book:

         "Our best course of action is to expect nothing and to receive each response as though it were a
         gift to be enjoyed and treasured."

This approach allows us to give grace to our friends.

We all need relationships.  We can say "All I need is Jesus" and sound very spiritual.  However, as one of the ladies said tonight, "We need some love with skin on it." : ) Yes, we do!

God knows that.  He made Eve to be with Adam.  He puts the right people in our lives for us also.

However, it is false to believe people can make us secure.  There are many false assumptions (Beth calls them "False Positives") that attempt to make us believe we will be secure.  They fail as much as my kids did tonight at trying to be discreet in their "secret" play.

These false assumptions are "if only's."  You know......If only I was thinner. If only I was rich. If only I was popular. If only I were married. If only I had that job. If only I had a different career. If only I had more eduction.  If only my kids would go to bed when they were suppose to.  *sigh* ; )
If only............, then I would be secure.

No, we wouldn't.  True, some of those may help for a time, but only Jesus can give us the internal security that will carry us through the long haul.

We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.  2 Corinthians 4:7  

The excellence of the power of God lives in us!  God's security is already in us and that is why we can be secure.  It isn't based on anything outward, it is based on Christ residing in us.  I said last week that God has given us a Diamond as a symbol of His everlasting love for us.  Jesus is the treasure that lives in us. 

Crystal, a lady from the bible study, gave a great analogy tonight.  She has given me permission to share it with you.

When someone receives a gift from Tiffany's, part of the gift is the signature blue box.  The blue box is valuable because of the treasure it contains.  The recipient does not throw out the blue box because of it's worth.  We are like the blue box from Tiffany.  We hold a great treasure.  We, as vessels (or boxes), are valuable.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.  Ephesians 2:10 

He created us to perform His plan.  We are His vessels, His workmanship.   He has already equipped us.  He has already placed in us everything we need to do His will.  All we have to do is walk in it.

God has given us the gift of security.  We are the blue boxes that contain it.  I want to give you a gift today as well.  Today, you can register to win a FREE Copy of So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore.  To register, you can leave a comment, become a new follower, or leave a comment on facebook.  (You can do all three if you want!)  I will be drawing the winner on Friday and announcing the winner on Friday's post.  So, tune in then to see if you win! 

ps.  Do you like the new design?!!!