We are...His

So a little fact about me: I LOVE thrift store shopping. I'm not ashamed to admit I'm actually an addict. My day is made when I can spend a couple hours browsing aisles of shelves stocked with random treasures sold cheap. Heaven on Earth. 

I've definitely developed a love of thrift stores and garage sales from my Mom. She knows how to find the deals! I love that it is a hobby we can do together. We're like kids in a candy shop. I'm thankful that she has shown me how to make treasures from trash too. That's my favorite part about finding something old. How can I give it a new purpose? Where can I find a place for it? It's the little things that make life special.

A couple of weeks ago, Mom found this chalkboard at a thrift store.

We love the frame and the size of it. We plan on painting more chalkboard paint over the words, but as it was sitting in the storage room I thought about the words again. "We are".

We are ___________(fill in the blank). We are constantly labeling ourselves or letting others label us.

I am...

unloved

ashamed

lonely

hopeless

scared

lost

unworthy 

weak

not enough

Fill in the blank with whatever. We've all felt it before. But Christ has changed all of that! Therefore, if anyone is IN Christ, he is a NEW creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ~2 Corinthians 5:17

We no longer have to live bound by the labels. Past or present. They don't define us. That is not our identity. When we are IN Christ, we are NEW. Forever changed. Forever loved. Forever not our own.

I love the little ways God shows me I am His. When I’m not feeling ________enough (whatever it happens to be at that moment), He is teaching me to trust that He IS enough. His grace is enough. I desire to wake up knowing who I am IN Christ so I can walk through my day label free. I am alive IN Christ. The labels disappear. Grace walked out like it’s meant to be. Completely covered. He alone defines me.

May we never stop seeking the heart of God to discover who He is and what He calls us. We are His.

Dive into your true identity. You are loved friends!

Just the beginning...

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. Ps. 63:3

Hello there. I'm Regina. So it's been one of those winters-the blizzard of 2014. Inches upon inches of snow, freeeeezing temperatures and all 8 calamity school days used up..and counting. Not to mention delays. I've lost count. With all these days being cooped up in the house, I've had lots of think time about this new year and cozy reflections on years past. The Lord has been so faithful this past year and I've loved counting all His gifts to me. (To be explained later) 

Blogging has always been an interest of mine because I would rather put my thoughts down on paper than to speak off the top of my head. I've been so encouraged by some blogs I've read too. I'm always amazed at how God can use other peoples' stories to touch me. Me in my circumstances. Me in my little world. But isn't that just how He works? He works beautifully in hearts, transforming, molding, shaping, pruning, refining to be made new. Whole and new. Not so we can keep it to ourselves. Not to boast in what we've done. No, to show His power, His strength, His glory. That's what it's about. It's amazing to think that He takes ordinary and makes extraordinary. Life stories. Real stories. Day-to-day, little, nothing special, mundane moments and brings glory to Himself. Amazing.

That's what I want my life story to be about. His story. My life is part of the greatest story ever. About my Father in Heaven. I will fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the JOY that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame and is set at the right hand of the throne of God. ~Heb. 12:2

His story on my heart.

This phrase has stuck out to me after hearing Francesca Battistelli's new song "Write Your Story". This song has blessed me. Like an anthem, I want to play it over and over in my mind. The chorus is this: 

"I'm an empty page

I'm an open book

Write Your story on my heart

Come on and make Your mark

Author of my hope

Maker of the stars

Let me be Your work of art

Won't You write Your story on my heart

Write Your story, write Your story

Come on and write Your story, write Your story

Won't You write Your story on my heart"

So with this new year, I want to start a new chapter. I know my life is not my own. God is God and I am not. If blogging about trials, joys, God moments, and day to day living as a child of God can bring God glory, then I want Him to write on. Write through me. I pray that the stories He puts on my heart blesses others the way I've been blessed.

"I want my history

To be Your legacy

Go ahead and show this world

What You've done in me

And when the music fades

I want my life to say

I let You write your story, write Your story

Write Your story, write Your story"- Francesca Battistelli

Be blessed, friends!