Celebrate Yourself! What does that statement stir up inside you?

Do you go “YES!” inside?

Or do you balk at it going “Yeah right, are you nuts?”

Or worse yet, do you feel inclined to pick up your Bible and bash me over the head telling me how ungodly that is?

Well, I am not listening to that last one anymore.

I lived in that second one for a long time and have finally moved to that first reaction of “YES!”

I confess I have days that I feel like that second one. Days I have disappointed myself and the self-condemnation stick wants to beat me over the head.

But I don’t live there anymore.

Where do you live?

I just had my birthday the other day and I realized something.

I realized that I was becoming successful in a mindset shift I have been working on – regarding my self. I started working on becoming “comfortable in my own skin” and then shifted that to working on actually “enjoying my own company”.

I saw I was making some real progress. I celebrated.

Oh my goodness, it has taken a long time!

There was a time when I was full of self-hatred. I attacked myself to punish myself.

I didn’t feel I had the right to exist let alone celebrate who I was.

I was good at the opposite of celebrating: blaming, denouncing, reproaching, disapproving, condemning, disregarding, criticizing, neglecting, etc. Well, that attitude toward ourselves is not healthy. Most people would agree.

Change was needed!

After being “apprehended” I was able to move from self-hatred to self-tolerance but still wrestled with that “what do I do with this thing called self?”

I found it confusing that the Bible said to love others as I love myself but then I was supposed to deny and die to self. So I would go back and forth as if on a teeter-totter.

I mean teeter-totters are fun at the playground, but not on your insides. At least not for me.

Eventually, I hopped off.

I began to learn about a little word called grace. The Pursuer brought me a plethora of resources from a wide variety of which to learn. Books, music, videos, people…etc.

Life changing!

This grace painted a much different picture of the God I had previously thought was like a school hall monitor. You know, those people you could ask for directions when you needed them, but also would watch you to make sure you’re obeying the rules and will march you to the office when you don’t.

I learned that instead of expecting me to become perfect, God provided me with His perfection.

Talk about a sigh of relief. Like saying “you don’t have to report to detention anymore”

But it didn’t end there.

It’s one thing to simply be released from detention and quite a different thing to be invited to a party instead. I learned that God loves me deeper than I can fathom. Me! Little ole me sitting here typing on my computer.

And he loves you just as much right there where you are reading this.

He celebrates us.

He sings and dances over us.

And we are invited to that love fest party!!!

That is a BIG mindset shift.

What does it mean to celebrate?

A few words are: praise (esteem, cheer), honor, observe, bless, commend (notice, deliver with confidence).

I used to have difficulty celebrating myself unless I had a reason, like a birthday or an accomplishment. The celebrating was rooted in the thing, not in me. Celebrating others was easier because I used to see them as better than me.

Now I see differently. We are all the same and yet completely and uniquely different.

We deserve to be celebrated because we have inherent value to one who created us. There is only one me and there is only one you.

We are unique.

We each have things we can do, things we can say, things we can share that no one else can.

That makes us precious. Not in the cutesy kind of way but in the precious metals and precious gems kind of way. Very valuable.

I think that is worth celebrating.

What do you think?

Let me know in the comments or send me an email.

AND if you think others need to hear this please share it!

Danielle Bernock

Author, Coach, and Speaker helping men, women, and organizations EMERGE with clear vision of their value, TAKE ownership of their choices, and CHART a path to their promise, becoming Victorious Souls who Embrace The Change from survive to thrive through the power of the love of God

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