{"id":1109,"date":"2011-07-12T05:00:28","date_gmt":"2011-07-12T09:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=1109"},"modified":"2011-07-11T21:18:13","modified_gmt":"2011-07-12T01:18:13","slug":"getting-tough-with-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/07\/getting-tough-with-me.html","title":{"rendered":"Getting tough with me"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear Math,<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not a therapist.\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Solve your own problems.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

____________________________________<\/p>\n

I’m amazed at how often I’m working against myself. \u00a0Yesterday and today, I wasted more than $20 because I had to make three trips to a neighboring town, 20 miles away. \u00a0My mission was to deliver the masters of our monthly letter,\u00a0Connecting Point<\/em>\u00a0to The Special Gathering corporate office. \u00a0<\/em>The Special Gathering is a ministry within the mentally challenged community. \u00a0Our purpose is evangelism and discipleship. \u00a0I love doing this task but I hated wasting two hours and all that money.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

To be honest, I\u00a0really<\/strong>\u00a0wanted to be angry with someone else–anyone else<\/strong>. \u00a0However, the truth was that I was the person who forgot the front sheet that I’d agreed to format. \u00a0I was the one who had not remembered to bring mailing labels with the newsletter masters.<\/p>\n

How does admitting my own faults fit into my Christian beliefs and an authentic life lived for Christ? \u00a0Yet, too often, I refuse to take the blame when I’ve failed or sin; and then I live with debilitating hidden guilt for years.<\/p>\n

We currently live in a society where the emphasis is on self-love and self-acceptance. \u00a0I’ve taught the importance of knowing the God loves us enough to die for us. \u00a0Therefore, we must love ourselves. \u00a0However, therein lies a ticklish balancing act between loving the person that God has redeemed and recognizing that I’m a person who fails and needs repentance almost every day.<\/p>\n

What is the solution? \u00a0Paul gives us some pretty good advice. \u00a0“All have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” he told us. \u00a0Yes. \u00a0We have heard this again and again; but we often equate this truth to people who are not committed to the Lord–not me. \u00a0Then we are read that if we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive our sins.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>This sounds a bit too simplistic for most of us. \u00a0Therefore, because we are dealing with our own egos, paralyzing guilt and our fallen Adamic nature, things become complicated. \u00a0When my children were smaller and I was attempting to teach them, I learned the value of loosing the guilt from my heart by repentance and receiving God’s forgiveness as a daily discipline.<\/p>\n

Even though, I seem to lose my way in my own selfishness more times than I care to think about, there is still great wisdom in remembering that Jesus loves me. \u00a0As the songwriter has said, “He would rather die, than live without me.” \u00a0These comforting words reassure me that his love extends toward me, making repentance so simple that even my own ego cannot mess it up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Math, I\u2019m not a therapist.\u00a0 Solve your own problems. ____________________________________ I’m amazed at how often I’m working against myself. \u00a0Yesterday and today, I wasted more than $20 because I had to make three trips to a neighboring town, 20 miles away. \u00a0My mission was to deliver the masters of our monthly letter,\u00a0Connecting Point\u00a0to The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20,3,40,186,49,85,12,212],"tags":[21,688,696,7,699,715,701,689,57,692,718,6,700],"class_list":["post-1109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-prayer-2","category-religion","category-repentance","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-church","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-prayer","tag-religion","tag-repentance","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nGetting tough with me - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/07\/getting-tough-with-me.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Getting tough with me - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dear Math, I\u2019m not a therapist.\u00a0 Solve your own problems. ____________________________________ I’m amazed at how often I’m working against myself. \u00a0Yesterday and today, I wasted more than $20 because I had to make three trips to a neighboring town, 20 miles away. \u00a0My mission was to deliver the masters of our monthly letter,\u00a0Connecting Point\u00a0to The…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/07\/getting-tough-with-me.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-07-12T09:00:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-07-12T01:18:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2011\/07\/images.jpg1.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. 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