One of my favorite movies from childhood is Mary Poppins.  Do you remember the scene when Mary Poppins reaches down deep into her bottomless bag and pulls out her measuring tape? She wants to see how the Banks children measure up. Michael is ‘extremely stubborn and suspicious.” Jane is “rather inclined to giggle and doesn’t put things away.” When the children ask Mary how she measures up, Mary finds, as she expected, she is ‘practically perfect in every way.’

I have to admit, most days in my life are far from practically perfect in any way shape or form. Can any of you relate?

Those times when we feel insignificant because of life’s let downs. We didn’t get the job we interviewed for or we didn’t get an interview at all. Because of ‘rule’ changes, we are told we are no longer qualified to teach a class we’ve been teaching for 18 years. We aren’t allowed to visit because of someone else being there. Or, when no one liked our Facebook post or our Twitter post or our Instagram post. 🙄

If you are anything like me, I’d say we oscillate between feelings of disappointment and feelings of failure. We begin to think negatively and even say negative thoughts out loud.  “I’m not qualified enough, good enough, creative enough, knowledgeable enough. What is wrong with me? I’m such a loser.”

Let me reassure you right now, those negative thoughts are all lies from the enemy! We need to capture such thoughts and lift ourselves up by speaking life! We must speak truth.

Let’s always remember that we are who God says we are, NOT who the world says we are. So, who exactly are we according to God?

I’ve created Bible ABC cards to remind myself of who God says we are. It helps me focus on truth and not the lies of the enemy. I’ve listed a few of these promises below…

We are…

Accepted: Romans 15:7 reads “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you…”

Blessed: Ephesians 1:3 promises “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.”

Children of God: 1 John 3:1 states “See what great love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are.”

Forgiven: Ephesians 4/32 assures “Be kind and tender-hearted to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

Healed: Isaiah 53:5 declares “…by His wounds we are healed.”

Protected: 2 Thessalonians 3:3 proclaims “But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.”

Valued: Luke 12:7 affirms “And the very hairs on your head are numbered. So don’t be afraid, you are more valuable to God than a flock of sparrows.”  

The next time life hands us disappointments and tries to make us think negatively about ourselves, let’s capture those thoughts and replace them with God’s truth! We ARE who God says we are.

(If you’d like a deck of the Bible ABC cards, please let me know in the comments. I’ll do my best to send you one 😊).

Stay Calm & Capture Your Thoughts!
Profs Dr. Wendy & Dr. V.