BY: MEGAN DRAKE

​Today we are bombarded from every angle with what we are supposed to be. The media and those around us tell us to be ourselves, as long as it fits into the mold that has previously been set out for us. And spoiler alert: its a cookie cutter mold. I don’t know about you, but I don’t fit into a cookie cutter mold and I am ready to have my own cutout, one made just for me.

I am exhausted. Exhausted from constantly feeling the pressure to compare on all levels. Usually it starts with one small thing and snowballs into me thinking of myself as a loser, ugly, fat, unsuccessful, boring, super single, behind the game, off track, poor, a failure and unimportant. All of these things are not true, but in my mind I can be pretty dramatic and self-sabotaging, if you can’t tell, and the snowball continues as I see what other people are doing with their lives and I see them all as beautiful, thin rockstars changing the world with their hot spouses and beautiful babies (or fiercely independent traveling the world bringing water and joy to those who have none.) In my mind, they are all at a cool level I will never be able to obtain. But, I’ve had enough. I’m tired of putting myself under this weight of comparison, of living the lie that has been weighing heavy enough to crush me. I want freedom from this never ending cycle.

God gives us freedom from the lies, and He ultimately defines us, but how do I handle the day to day combat? How do I begin to put the weight of celebration over the weight of comparison? I am convinced, by practicing the habit of shifting my lenses I will begin to learn how to see things through God’s eyes and be aware of the redemption around me. Because it is a learning process, I know I am going to fail. I know I will fall short of seeing things through The Lord’s perspective and I make a promise right now to myself that I will stand in full acceptance of God’s grace, not adding that “failure” on the list of things I’m doing wrong, to the snowballs.

I have this vision, a vision of us all standing up together to celebrate one another in the complete uniqueness God has made us each with. A vision of calling out the lies in a very distinct and direct way, replacing them and crushing them with the weight of Scripture. A vision where we are gathered around, putting our hands up and protecting on another as we each embrace who we are in Christ. Could you imagine what it would look like if we all stood up against the lies and against the comparison together and we embraced the path that has been placed before us? Taking hold of strengths we were given and getting back to our first Love. When I imagine what this looks like, I see revival. I see a generation standing up in freedom, not accepting the labels we have been assigned by others and by ourselves due to ugly comparison and start standing in the light. I see beauty redefined, I see success redefined, I see us truly becoming world changers because we have finally stopped all trying to shove ourselves in the same mold.

I’m not saying it is going to be easy, I know I will need loads of God’s abundant grace, but I’m standing up. I’m going to stop holding my life and my body up to others and instead hold it up to the One True God, who is living and moving.

We have come up with a plan to start looking at putting on new lenses as a habit and a discipline. We have decided that for one month we will be dedicated to celebration, each week we will focus on something different. Looking to God’s word to strengthen us and spur us on.  One month of asking God to take the scales from our eyes. Each week we will choose one thing we can actively do to stop holding up ourselves up to each other and start celebrating each other.

So think about what it is that sets you off into a comparison snowball. It can be different for each of us, and many things could be a contributing factor, but pick the one thing that has been reoccurring. That one thing that can change your mood, or your perspective in an instant. I will be focusing on not comparing my body with others. And celebrating how we were all made. Jordy and I will focus on different things, things that we individually, personally struggle with, because just as we were all made differently we struggle with different things.

I encourage you to start thinking of a statement that will define the goals you want for this journey. It doesn’t have to be long or eloquent, but something that states what you are going to stop doing and what you are are going to start doing with the help of our gracious Lord.

Mine is this:
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To love my body the way God made it. To stop obsessing over what I’m not and start celebrating what God has given me. Treating my body with kindness and respect because it itself is a testament to The Lord’s greatness.

So join us or follow along with us if you just want to see what this is all about! Say yes to celebration, and no to comparison and start putting celebration over comparison, as the power of celebration and joy will defeat negative comparison.  Let’s ask for restoration in seeing the uniqueness we were made with!

BY: MEGAN DRAKE

Every morning when I walk down the stairs of my apartment I look to see if the post has brought me any letters. I love getting letters and notes as well as writing them. There is something so special about sitting down and taking the time to write, to physically write, not just type on a screen, but put pen to paper. My favorite kinds of notes are encouraging ones. Ones that tell you “Hey! You got out of bed this morning, and life is hard, but you’re going to make it through.” I’m not going to lie, thinking up and praying what this post was going to be about has wrecked my brain this week. I could not for the life of me figure out what God wanted me to say to you all, and what He wanted me to hear. It has been a tough week of pieces falling apart, and I feel like I couldn’t still my heart before The Lord. Then I thought about letters and wondered what it would look like if God wrote us a love letter. What truths would it hold? Here’s what I see the Lord saying to you, & to me, this week as we fight to choose celebration:
A love letter from The Father –


My Beloved:
I know you are struggling, you are fighting to stay above the waves, but I want to tell you something… I’ve got you. Not only do I have you, but I love you more than you could imagine. I know it is hard for you to understand how deeply I care for you. I created you to be in relationship with me, so you could live freely in My love.

You have such a grand purpose, it breaks my heart when I see you down play all that I have given to you. I have made you so special, you have gifts that are meant to be used, gifts that need to be used. You have something to give that the world needs, so my darling, stop trying to change who you are and rest in Me. Because what you have is something that only you can give, where another’s shoes just wont fill – and it’s also why you need to stop trying to fill the shoes I made for others as well. Stand as you are, who you are, and let My light shine through you. I wish you would stop comparing yourself to other people, stop seeing through these skewed lenses and let me bring you clarity, for the longer you keep those lenses on, the more it steals away from the blessings I have lavished upon you and upon others.

​You don’t need to worry about how your life will work out. I’m holding onto you and I’m not letting go. I am not going to lie to you, it will bring confusion at times. And it will most likely will look different from what you thought of in your timeline, but I promise that it will be okay and that where I’m leading will be worth it. In fact, I can promise you that it will be more than okay. I know you, I know your desires, I know your heart, trust me to carry those as precious treasure. Just trust in me and watch what I’ll bring forth. I’m with you in this. You are not going to just have to survive through all that this world throws at you, but you will thrive. Hold on to me, my Beloved, and you will thrive.
Love,
Your Heavenly Father