Don't Be Fake

Ellie is hilarious to us. Her mannerisms, expressions, and quick wits crack us up constantly. It is refreshing to see boldness unhindered by self-consciousness in her. We delight in Ellie. JT is a quiet comic and will reenact something he did if realized it made you laugh. If you’ve seen JT walk, you know there’s actually a 40 year old man in his body. He has a fierce determination in whatever he does. We delight in JT.
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Every once in awhile Ellie will mimic JT’s cute baby mannerisms hoping to elicit the same loving or laughing response from us. We usually respond to her efforts with “Ellie, you are not JT and JT is not you. We only laugh and/or praise you when you are being you, not when you’re trying to be like JT.” We delight only in their authenticity. We’ve seen who they are at their core because we’ve been with them from the beginning. Their distinct personalities have been uncrippled by insecurity and self doubt. They are wholly themselves. We discipline them to refine their character and then we delight in them, so much!
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God created a uniqueness in each of us that was designed with a purpose in mind. When we embrace his refinement and hold fast to who he created us to be as individuals, we are better able to locate and live out our purpose. When are living out our purpose, blessings are abundant. Don’t be so distracted by someone else’s blessings that you lose who you are to mimick them, in an attempt to get what they have. Trying to copy someone else’s gifts and purpose is foolish and wasteful of your own. Be who you were created to be and use it for God’s purpose. Only then will you gain more than you ever imagined from the One who delights in His original works, not cheap replicas.
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Romans 12:4-6 “So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.“