Coleen York

Identity Crisis: Made in Whose Image?

She stood staring at herself in the full length mirror, turning every which way, as if a different angle would produce the results she required: Perfection.

She sucked in her stomach a little bit more and made a face at the one staring back at her in the mirror. If she skipped lunch today and ran an extra two miles tonight she could probably make up for the cookie she broke down and ate ten minutes ago…

“What are you doing?” She questioned with a sigh. She knew better. She knew this obsession she had with perfection wasn’t healthy. Her parents had taught her better. She knew looks weren’t everything, but she couldn’t help but think that maybe if she looked like the “ultimate girl,” then maybe everyone else wouldn’t notice all the other areas she thought she so clearly lacked.

A few years ago that girl was me. A few years ago, I felt so mediocre in so many other areas of my life that I thought if I was just pretty enough I could make up for everything else. And for a short season, I let image control my identity.

Maybe your struggle looks a little bit different than mine. Maybe your battle is with clothes and fashion, weights and protein shakes, or even steroids. Regardless, when you believe the lie that your image is all that you are, all that you’re worth, your identity is in constant jeopardy.

Because your weight will vary from day to day. Because some days you won’t feel like working out, or won’t have time. Because with this mindset of comparisons, enough is never going to be good enough.

Your identity becomes about whether or not you look better than them, what size jeans you wear, or the circumference of your bicep. It’s an identity based on performance, on recognition, on the “Oh you look good!” comments that will come and go.

But one thing that will never come and go is the love of your Saviour.

It took the realization that God loved me enough to form me in HIS image to get me to stop my cycle of self-destruction and self-loathing. I slowly began to realize that Christ died for me before I was even born. It had nothing to do with what I looked like in a dress, how much I did or didn’t eat or how far I ran. The compliments of the crowd would oscillate, but His presence and acceptance NEVER would.

He is the only constant. When your muscles shrink and your weight fluctuates, He won’t.

I’m not saying it’s easy to change mindsets you’ve conditioned yourself to believe. Often times it’s a long battle. But Jesus died for your freedom. You have been set free! He died so that you could know Him and so that you could plant your identity in a foundation that is stable. It’s an identity of promise, hope and healing.

It’s so easy to buy into the lie that we weren’t made in God’s image at all, but that instead we need to look like the image of supermodels, celebrities, and athletes.

You were not made in THEIR image. You were made in HIS image. His glorious image that never fades, never changes, never fluctuates, never ages, and is so majestic that Moses could not look Him in the face or he would die (Exodus 12:20).

THAT is the image you were created in. THAT is the identity that He wants you to invest everything in.

He formed you. He knows you. You were created for a purpose, every detail carefully carved and sculpted with powerful, live-altering love. His fingerprints are all over you.

Instead of looking at THEM, look to HIM.

Instead of asking them who they think you are, listen to who He SAYS you are.

You are the glorious image bearer of the King of the Universe and Creator of All.

Genesis 1:27- So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God He created them; male and female he created them

Psalm 139: 13-16- For you created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.

-Coleen York

Identity Crisis: Accomplishing Who?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about identity. At one point or another we all experience something similar to identity fraud, or in some cases, theft. Unfortunately, we are usually the frauds. And it’s not really stealing if you’re giving it away freely.

Our 1^st World Culture has been screaming at us for quite some time that we need to be the ultimate everything. And if we aren’t careful, who we are can get hijacked by a myriad of factors having absolutely nothing to do with who you truly are at the core.

Fame. Relationships. Sex. Accomplishments. Education. Careers. Body Image. Salary. Toys. Twitter followers….

I want to dedicate the next few blogs to some of these identity parasites. I’m not saying that all of these are inherently bad. However, they are bad if any one of those factors is the navigating compass of your life.

I realize that being accomplished is not something negative. In fact, the apostle Paul was a very accomplished man in the eyes of the world. He was a Roman citizen, a learned and educated man, and a Pharisee. And because of this, he had a large amount of credibility when he began his ministry spreading the name of Jesus throughout the Roman Empire.

However, Paul understood something that’s so easy for us to miss at times. You are not your accomplishments.

In Philippians 3:4-8 Paul claims, “…I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!” He then goes on to outline a lengthy list of personal accomplishments but ends stating, “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him.”

In other words, don’t hang everything you are on what you do. Being a really knowledgeable Pharisee didn’t do Paul much good while he was chained in a prison cell. It didn’t get him out of jail. His faith in Christ is what freed him from imprisonment on multiple occasions. An identity hidden in Christ is the only thing that truly will set us free.

I’m not saying don’t work to the best of your ability. In fact, having Christ within us should make us want to display His excellence in every area. But what I am saying is, don’t place your value on becoming the next valedictorian, Nobel Prize Winner, or quarterback for the Seahawks. People will forget your accomplishments in time, and when your performances dry up, so too will your identity. And so the crisis begins…

However, one thing that will never be forgotten is the love and the legacy of Jesus Christ. Sow your identity in your Saviour.

Jesus’ love for you does not depend on your abilities, performances or accomplishments. He loves you for who you are, not for what you do.

-Coleen York

A Mosaic of Broken Beauty

Dusty, grimy, dirty little bits. You think to yourself as you sweep up the floor, trying to clean up the mess from the broken vase knocked from the countertop.

You sweep the shards of glass into the corner of the room and add it to the rest of the pile. Sitting down you stare at the growing mound of broken glass in different colours, shapes, and sizes. Some pieces dull, some very sharp. To you it is a memorial of things that were once beautiful but now seem rather useless.

Relationships gone wrong, mistakes you said you’d never make, fights with loved ones, morals you once held…the list could go on.

So what do you do with the pieces that seem irreparable, ugly, and worthless? Do you continue to allow them to sit in the corner of your life taking up space? Do you continue to let them be a hazard with all their sharp broken edges? Sharp enough to leave you cut, bleeding, and bruised more than once…

Today is the day you stop tip-toeing around those areas of your life. Your life, no matter what it has contained until this point, is not a pile of rubble.

God wants to make a mosaic of beauty out of all the broken pieces you’ve been carrying yet trying so desperately to ignore. Drop them into His hands.

Let The Great Artist upcycle all of your broken bits into beautiful artwork. Being broken does not make you irreparable. Being broken allows The Great Restoration Artist to arrange all of your shattered bits into a piece of artwork far more beautiful than you ever dreamed.

Mosaics can only be made with busted shards. But you have to surrender all the pieces.

Jeremiah 30:17: “For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord, because they have called you an outcast…”

You are not useless.

You are a priceless piece of artwork.

-Coleen York

Yearning to be Pursued

Yep, I’m about to do it again. I’m about to single out the single ladies. Go ahead and keep reading men. Apply it to yourself. Maybe (hopefully) learn something.

I’m about to tread on the delicate issue of perusal. So, on second thought, maybe all the men should read on.

There is something built into the heart of a woman that yearns to be pursued. She desires to be sought after. To feel like she is worth the trouble/pleasure of a man’s time and affection. That she is interesting enough, and captivating enough, to go the extra mile.

It’s exhilarating, being pursued. And, if you aren’t careful, it can become addicting. You begin jumping from guy to guy, searching for someone who will finally pull out all the stops and pursue you the way you deserve! Maybe this time you won’t be let down…Maybe…

Can I make a suggestion from someone who has been there?

It starts to matter less and less who is pursuing you when you are passionately pursing the God who crafted your beautiful feminine heart.

Think about it. You were made in the glorious image of The One Living God. You reflect parts of His heart in a way no one else ever could.

So, guess what? God desires to be pursued by you. He doesn’t need you to do it. He is enough in Himself already. But He still wants you to.

Just think about it! The God of Everything is complete in Himself. And yet, He still desires to be in an intimate relationship with you. He began pursing you long ago…

1 John 4:19 says, “We love because He first loved us.” He knows the desires of your heart better than you do. He loves you better than any person ever could. He created you to have a longing for Him. He loved you and was pursing your heart even while He was knitting you together in the womb.

The question is: are you going to answer His perusal with one of your own? He wants to fulfill you. Totally. Whether there is a man in the picture or not. And you absolutely cannot find contentment anywhere else or in anyone else until you find your sole fulfillment in HIM.

Ladies (and gentlemen) if you are thinking a relationship, or having every guy (or girl) knocking down your door is going to bring you fulfillment, you need to refocus. Only Jesus can fulfill every need and desire your heart whispers and years after. Don’t get me wrong, we were built for relationships and fellowship and these things are amazing and God-given!…But…

It is always HIM before THEM.

Jeremiah 29:11- You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.

Don’t hold back any little bit. Pursue Him with ALL of your heart. The dreams and romance God has dreamed for you are far bigger than your own. Seek HIM first.

-Coleen York

Blessed in every season.

Getting stuck in the Boat

Thinking about the potential of the future excites me. Like really excites me. I love thinking about all the different possibilities and places God may take me. I have big dreams, man! And I am passionate about them.

Most of us have dreams we are eager to see fulfilled. Most of us are working towards something we are passionate about. Whether it’s becoming a pastor and a speaker, becoming a law partner by the time you’re 30, getting married, having kids, launching your own fashion label, getting your band signed, or becoming a published author, we all have dreams, talents and passions.

But…has your dream become your agenda?

I’m going to tread carefully here, because without a doubt, God gives us specific dreams and callings, and I am a firm believer that your passions have a purpose. However, we can also get quite married to our own plans and dreams.

When we grasp so tightly to our ideas of what we think our futures should look like, we can turn our dreams into our agendas. By doing so, it becomes easier and easier to replace our agenda with the will of God. And then we’ve missed the point.

Think about it. If Simon (Peter) and Andrew had been so consumed with the idea of catching fish, and making their target fish-head goal for the day in order to be on the road to becoming THE greatest fishermen the Galilean region had ever SEEN…then they would have never ditched their nets and followed Jesus. They would have missed it. They would have missed HIM.

Sure, they may have accomplished their “dreams” and provided for their families… But they would have missed Jesus. They would have missed miracles, healings, teachings, the Resurrection, the prophecy of the Messiah fulfilled in the flesh. They would have missed truly knowing God. They would have only known their limited idea of Him.

Furthermore, God used their talent (catching fish) and turned it into something greater than Peter and Andrew could have ever foreseen. He made them fishers of MEN. Jesus used them to build the early church and make His name known. What greater honour and glory is there?

They could have stayed in the boat. They could have stuck to their agenda.

…Will you?

Matthew 4:18-20 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him

Proverbs 16:9 The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.

If You’re Honest…

“How are you?”

“Good. I’m good. How are you?”

Freeze.

How many times a day do we have these exchanges? How many times a day do you lie, or perhaps just gloss over the truth?

But, you might be thinking, no one really wants to hear about financial struggles, or the fight I had with my mum, or about how I feel like crap today because my pants fit too tight, or because I’m just struggling and I don’t even know why…That would be too much information… Right?

But what about with God? At times I wonder if society’s drive-by question and answer routine has crept into our prayer lives and into our attitudes concerning God.

God desires to know what’s going on in your life. How you’re feeling, how you’re coping, where you’re stuggling, what you’re happy about, what you feel guilty about, what you’re thankful for. It’s never too much information for Him.

I know right now you’re probably thinking, Doesn’t God already know all that stuff anyway? Why do I have to tell Him?

Because it promotes intimacy. God doesn’t want your glossed-over, ready-for-the-public answers. He doesn’t desire a relationship with your “Brave Face”.

An earthly parent may know that something is bothering their child, they may even know what that particular problem is, but it doesn’t further the relationship or put the parent in a position to offer wisdom if all the child says is “I’m good” or “It’s whatever.”

In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus tells us,“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

He wants you to come to Him with everything. He wants all of your burdens, whether you think they are logical, or important, or not. He’s waiting for you to unload your burdens upon Him so that THEN He can teach you about them.

Every emotion and feeling has a root and a cause. When we open ourselves up to the God who knows our hearts intimately and created emotions, we give Him room and permission to reveal His wisdom in each in every season we are in. In each and every emotional upheaval. In each and every bad day or good day.

Wrestle it, pray it, write it, sing it, scream it, think it out with Him. He longs for you to bring your burdens to Him so you can go through and sort it out together.

Let Him replace your burdens with His wisdom, knowledge and insight. His yoke is easy, His burden is light.

The Emergency

The radio buzzes with another emergency. Someone’s car flew off the side of a nearby highway. You pull the ambulance out of its terminal and flick on the sirens.

Right and left cars allow you to pass and you pick up speed. Your only thought at this point is that someone could be seriously hurt or dying. Though it’s not your relative, it’s someone’s relative in that car. Someone’s sister, mother, grandmother, brother, friend. It’s your JOB, your passion, to take care of them in every way you know how…

So why don’t we react this way in our ever day lives?

What I mean is why don’t we react that way for people who desperately need to hear about the saving power of Jesus and God’s grace? No, they may not be your relative or best friend. No, they may not take their last breath today. But why do we assume someone else will be the one to help or another ambulance will come?

When someone’s life is hanging in the balance, do we idly make our way to the hospital or do we rush? When someone is suffering from a broken heart do we drive by, too busy and preoccupied to stop? When someone needs food or shelter, do we assume that it’s someone else’s job to take care of them?

You’re the one in the ambulance. Don’t withhold the valuable saving-power that you possess. You’re the one who has already been saved.

Now it’s your turn.

John 21:17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.”

1 John 3:18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

Unchangable

It’s so easy to think that we’ve gone too far to be loved by God. Messed it up or stuffed it up one too many times, done something we said we’d never do. God could never use us, God could never love us. Why would a holy and perfect God want to associate Himself with me?

The Bible says that God is UNCHANGING. He was the same at the beginning of time. He was the same before there was even the concept of time. He is the same today. He will be the same tomorrow.

Furthermore, we know that God IS love. He is the embodiment. It’s WHO HE IS. Without God, love would not exist. He created it. He Himself IS love. You cannot separate the two.

So let’s look at what we know…

The Bible says:

1) God is love.

2) God is constant and He does not change.

SO, He was love yesterday. He was love when there were dinosaurs. He was love when you were born, when you cheated on that test, when you were at your darkest. He IS love right now, and He WILL BE love tomorrow when you roll out of bed… no matter what you did the night before.

Additionally, God already knew your sins. He knew what they were BEFORE you committed them, and that is why He sent His Son, JESUS, to die in your place.

Why? Because He ALREADY loved you. He loved you before you even thought about sinning. He loved you while you were sinning. He certainly loves you now.

You cannot change God. No power on heaven or on earth can. If you think your decisions in this life can change the Master of Eternity, well, you may want to reevaluate who you think you are. God is UNCHANGEABLE. Meaning, no mess up, no mistake, no sin can alter Him.

He is love. You cannot change Him. You cannot stop Him from loving you.

You will never go far enough that His love cannot redeem you.

He is unalterable, unstoppable love. For you, for me, for all of mankind.

Let Him love you. He’s waiting.

1 John 4:8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind.

God Colours

Leaps are pretty scary when you don’t know what’s waiting on the other side, how you’re actually going to get TO that other side, and honestly wouldn’t recognize the “other side” if it smacked you in the face.

Leaps are scary, but they force us to depend on God. Without an initial leap, you’ll never be able to fly and soar into all that God has called you to. When was the last time you gained momentum from sitting down?

Don’t get me wrong, sitting down is definitely the safer route. And I’ll be the first to admit that at times it seems tempting just to stay put. However, God did NOT call us to a life of “staying put.” When you live in your comfort zone there is no reason to grow, no reason to be challenged, and no reason to be stretched. And without these things we are stagnant.

God is not a God who allows us to stay where we are. It was never His plan to look at you and say, “Well good enough I suppose! They still have a lot to learn and I definitely still need to refine them in this area, but really, I think it’s good enough.”

As we sit, we shrink. We are not stretched to our full capacity. When we leap, it forces us to open ourselves up. If a box is closed, we cannot hope to see all that lies inside. When you take the lid off, the treasure can be laid bare for all to see. All the joy, hope, love, kindness, gentleness, self-control, peace, patience, faithfulness can be revealed.

God created you to reflect HIS light. Your job is to reveal the God-colours and God-flavouring to a world who desperately needs to see Him. And you aren’t going to do that sitting down.

When I was in Queensland earlier this week I kept seeing these gorgeous butterflies with wings of the brightest blue. Many tourists were captivated by them, but as one tourist desperately tried to capture the butterfly’s colours on film, I heard him softly comment, “You can only see that beautiful blue when it flies…”

Let us not forgetwhen we trust in the God that created us we begin to realize that when we leap He will teach us to fly. And He will be the wind carrying us, and He will be with us through situations we have no ability to survive on our own. Flying isn’t an ability any of us possess. But God specializes in the impossible and He promises to take us to new heights.

As you leap, you begin to trust, and as you trust, God can continue to shine the mirror of your life to reflect HIM and the true colours He has placed inside of each of His children.

Matthew 5:13-15 You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.