Mastering YOU Monday...who's lovin' you?

mastering life by loving ourselves
In our quest to mastering ourselves and mastering life, we must learn to master our relationships with others!  

I have come to the conclusion that issues women have with other women and people in general for that matter, can be solved immediately.  How you ask? By following these two commandments…first: love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul, second: love your neighbors as yourself. Easy peasy right…hah, if only it could be!  We sometimes trip over that last one. Why? Because many of us do just that…we love our neighbors just as we love ourselves…we DON’T!  We treat others just like we treat ourselves…we beat each other up with our mouths(like we do ourselves),
we’re cynical towards one another(like we do ourselves), we put each other down(just like we do ourselves). Why can't we ever seem to consistently love ourselves, just as He made us and just as He sees us…in our finished state?! I guess it'll be one of those conundrums that will last til the end of time....

So I ask the question...who are we to not love ourselves unconditionally…He does! As a matter of fact we were worth dying for! There may be some things He doesn’t like about us (like our attitudes, the way we treat others, etc., etc.)  but don’t get it twisted…He loves us with an everlasting love! I mean I'm sure He would like to get a return on His investment, don't cha think?

It’s not a hard math equation. LOVE begets LOVE! You’re not ever going to get me to believe that a woman who really, truly loves herself, has a problem loving others.

There are many factors that go into us not loving ourselves. One that stands out most to me is the fact that we don’t think we’re worthy of His love because we've fallen short(as if God doesn't already know). Even after we've asked forgiveness, the enemy will come in and tell us that it's not enough. LIES he tells!! We must realize once and for all that when we've been engrafted into His Kingdom...the enemy IS A NON-FACTOR IN OUR LIVES! When we begin to operate in Godly wisdom, we'll begin to see the enemy for who he really is. We give him way too much credit....quite frankly, for absolutely nothing. All of this causes condemnation and when condemnation sets in, we're not able to receive, because we're incapable of believing. When we're incapable of believing, our faith is weak and when our faith is weak, we doubt God. That's when we start thinking we're unworthy! Do you see how devious his(the enemy's) plan is? Now do you see just how awful listening to him is ladies?! My husband said something in a message one Sunday that really caught my attention. It’s that when I doubt, I’m telling God He’s incapable...not so much that He won’t DO IT, but that I don’t think He’ll actually DO IT FOR ME...WOW, revelatory right! That's why I love that man so, lol! Okay, back to my point. All of us think that way at some time or another, which by the way…doesn’t make it right! We’ll say things like, “He’ll bless her” or “He’ll give them peace, joy or whatever…but not me”. His peace, joy, favor, love or whatever we need…is available to each and every one of us! Why...because.He.already.paid.the.price.for.it! The difference between you and the next person, is the fact they BELIEVE He DID all those things for them and they walk in it! 

All these things prevent us from receiving His love, when we can't receive His love, we can't love ourselves. I'm not talking about that fake, warped self-centered love we sometimes have for ourselves, BUT that GOOD LOVE that ONLY He gives!! 

Always remember this…whatever God is offering us must be given permission by us, to enter our hearts(this includes love ladies)! Remember, He’s a perfect gentleman…so it won’t be forced on us, we must allow it in! Listen y’all, we sometimes make things harder than they actually are. The work has already been done! Jesus took care of IT ALL at the cross…we just have a hard time accepting that it’s just that easy. Let me put it this way...how many of us would accept beautiful expensive diamond jewelry as a gift from our husbands/boyfriends? We would ooh and aah, thank him, be grateful and heck, some of us may flip and do a cartwheel. Our God has given us something MORE valuable than that...His everlasting LOVE! All I'm saying is just give Him the same respect and honor by fully receiving it.....

So, let's do ourselves a BIG favor and embrace the love Jesus so freely gave us! Our encouragement comes when we embrace this fact. It's an empowering thing to know that God knows every single sin we've committed and every dark area of our lives, nevertheless, He STILL OPENLY DECLARES His love for us! In return, all He asks is that we pass it forward! His love is too good and too big to keep it to ourselves! But, we can't ever pass it on ladies, until we fully receive it first!  
Romans 8:1, Jeremiah 31:3, 1 John 4:9-11, Romans 5:8, Ephesians 2:4-5

All Rights Reserved copyright© 2012-2013 Michell Pulliam “Prowess and Pearls” by Michell Pulliam

 



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20 comments:

  1. Have to love ourselves to give love. I find that developing that personal relationship with God shows me what I need to work on and cultivate more.

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    1. So true! He's the ONLY one who's able to show us exactly what we need to do in order to take our lives to the next level! Thanks for stopping by...have a wonderful week!

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  2. Beautiful post Michell. I agree. If we don't think we're worthy of His love, then we won't love ourselves, therefore incapable of truly loving others. It's such a simple concept yet we often fail to grasp hold of it. Frankly, I'm not sure if I want to be "loved" by someone who don't even know how to love them-self. But God's love is so perfect that when we receive it...it teaches us how to love. Still learning. Thank you for this awesome reminder and encouragement.

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    1. Thanks so much Hope!! It is simple isn't it, but yet so hard to comprehend! It's definitely a faith walk to even receive something that we definitely don't deserve...His unconditional love! Thanks so much my friend for your kind words! Blessings Hope!

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  3. Because HIS love is a gift, all we have to do is receive it! It is unmerited. The enemy does not want us to accept God's grace. But, he is a deceiver who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Beautiful post!

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    1. Thanks Trinity! YES he is, isn't he? I hate him with a passion! The best defense against him is to shove it to him by fully receiving God's love! Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. Awesome, well-written post. I'm still learning to grow up and love others when they pull out in front of me in the car and then go 10 mph. I mean, sometimes the Lord has to calm me down when I'm driving. Just keeping it real, Michell. LOL! XOXO

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    1. Hahaha Meredith! I'm not mad at you girl! For I do the same thing! I just look at it as me not LIKING them at that present moment(and probably several minutes later), lol! After the Lord calms me down, the blinders have been removed from my eyes and I can go back to loving them! LOL!

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  5. Love this Michell! I think for many of us, negative thoughts and doubts about who we are, what we have done, or what we haven’t done, can cloud the image we have of ourselves and hold us back from living out loud and recognizing our distinctive personalities. The beauty of being able to celebrate and love ourselves is that it enables us to do what we can, with what we have, where we are, and just be enough! It's so much easier to spread love and encouragement when we love ourselves and stay encouraged!

    Blessings dear friend; have an amazing week!
    Denise

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    1. Well said my friend! I totally agree...when we seek to stay encouraged in the Lord and love on ourselves, it's an automatic reaction to do the same to others! Thanks so much for stopping by Denise!

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  6. Very encouraging! He that has begun a work in us shall continue........
    Go Lady Love!

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    1. Amen, YES He will!! Haha, I like that...Lady Love!! Thanks so much for stopping by...have a wonderful week! ;-)

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  7. amen, michell! i love reading your blog because you really dig in and give us words of wisdom that we can take away to do better, live better, be better. if i need a pick me up, if i'm having a bad day, i only need to come over to your blog and feel enlightened.

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  8. Awww...thanks so much Catherine for your encouraging words my friend!! So sweet of you! Blessings to you and your family!!

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  9. Michell, you hit the nail on the head with this one. When we love ourselves we are able to see the good in others and not jump to being HATERS so easily, lol! Thank you as always for your wonderful word of wisdom! It's always refreshing and you keep me on my Ps & Qs!

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    1. Hahaha Joi!! Exactly...being "haters" is so not cool, lol! I'll keep you on yours if you keep me on my fitness Ps & Qs lady! Have a good one Joi!

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  10. How did I miss reading this on Monday? Maybe it was because I was meant to read today. A day when these words are needed. We make this too hard don't we? He offers it so freely...we only need to receive and believe how deeply He loves us. "So, let's do ourselves a BIG favor and embrace the love Jesus so freely gave us!" My word for this year is embrace so these words just jumped out at me. Thank you dear friend. Loving your new FB group too!!!

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    1. Hey Beth!! Wow...God does know, doesn't He? We do make it harder than it needs to be Beth, when all we have to do is receive it! You are so welcome lady and I'm sooo glad to have you in the group my friend!!

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  11. I love coming here and getting filled up with encouragement and love!!!

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    1. Love, love love having you come here Ash! Love you girl!! :-)

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Thanks so much for dropping by...I really appreciate it! Please check back for a response to your comment, as I post all responses to comments here on the blog, not via email. Please note, as this is a Christian blog...any comment that contains offensive and/or inappropriate language will be sent to the authorities...NAH, but seriously though, they WILL BE deleted. :-) Have a great day...I call you blessed! ;-)