I am who God says I am

When I lived back home (in Idaho) I was going to church and we had an amazing affirmation. It is, "I am who God says I am, I can be who God says I can be, no more excuses, no more delays, I have greatness in me, in Jesus' name." Sometimes I forget that. I get so busy, I work so much, I forget me, a lot. Everything I do for the last 9 months or so has been on auto pilot. I don't taste food, I simply eat because it's habit. I don't rest, I sleep because I'm supposed to. I stopped singing. Now, I love to sing... but somehow I stopped doing it. The other day I was listening to music, realized I haven't sang my heart out in a long time, and panicked. So I turned up the tunes, opened up my diaphragm, and warbled like never before. I'm not a great singer, I'm not even close, but I was out of practice and it scared me. What if I can't get it back? I was "that" kid growing up. I never had a broken bone, never had any serious injuries, always hung on the edge of safety. I tried my hardest to blend in, I didn't speak in classes, I tried to fly under the proverbial radar. And I always failed. People notice me. When I'm quiet it's intense, until I'm comfortable, I'm quiet. I make people uncomfortable. When my peers were experimenting with cigarettes, alcohol, sex and later drugs, I was calling my mom for a ride home. When my friends were hiding from their parents I was bringing friends to church (when I could encourage them to go) I've always been different. I hang back and see what happens, I people watch instead of join in, I look everywhere for danger. I was never invisible to the Lord. He always saw me, He always heard me. Here I am with the great gift, this one life, and I keep fading into the background, afraid. I don't want to be afraid. I'm not going to be. I'm going to live life out loud. I'm going to sing, as loud as I can, I'm going to learn to play my guitar, I'm going to do the things I was afraid to before. I'm going to stand up for Christ, praise Him with everything I have, and not try to blend into the background, that's how you get lost. I am who God says I am. I can be who God says I can be. No more excuses, no more delays. I have greatness in me, in Jesus' name!
And so do you.

*The Jesus Loving Princess*

*Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Luke 6:22 *