I Choose Today...

I Choose Today to Begin Receiving Who I Am in Christ

As we step into a new year, I’ve been thinking a lot about identity. We live in a culture that constantly tells us we need to figure out who we are, to build it, brand it, defend it, and prove it. We’re encouraged to craft our identity like a sculpture, shaping ourselves into something impressive, acceptable, or admired. If I’m honest, that feels exhausting. Especially if, at some point in your life, you were told, either with words or with silence, that you weren’t really worth much to begin with. Over time, I’ve come to realize something important: identity in Christ isn’t actually hard to understand. What’s hard is receiving it. That’s what I want to sit with here. Not who you should be. Not who you’re trying to become. But how we begin receiving who God already says we are, in Christ. Scripture makes it clear that our identity flows from what Jesus has done, not what we manage to do right. Because of His life, death, and resurrection, we are forgiven, redeemed, reconciled, chosen, and loved. Not because we earned it. Not because we achieved it. Simply because God chose us and made a way for us to

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I Choose Today to Renew My Mind

Transformation doesn’t begin when our circumstances change, it begins when our thinkingdoes. Our lives move in the direction of our most dominant thoughts, which is why Paul’s reminder in Romans 12:2 is so powerful: “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” So often, we focus on changing what we do before changing how we think. But the real work of transformation happens in the mind. That’s where God reshapes how we see ourselves, our situations, and even Him. I’ve learned that the enemy can’t control my life, but he can influence my thoughts, and my thoughts influence everything else. He does what he did in the garden: twist truth just enough to create doubt, shame, or fear. He uses guilt to weigh us down and comparison to keep us small. I’ll never forget walking into a women’s leadership conference filled with about a hundred women. From the moment I stepped in, I felt like an imposter. I wondered how I ended up there, surrounded by so many women who seemed smarter, stronger, and more confident than me. During worship, I bowed my head

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I Choose Today to Live from My True Identity

Who am I? Who am I that God would choose me—use me—to make a difference? Moses asked the same question: “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?” God answered, “I will be with you.” — Exodus 3:11-12a NLT That’s the answer—not who you are, but Who is with you. God has a pattern of calling ordinary, unqualified, even broken people to carry out extraordinary assignments: • Moses saw himself as a murderer and failure, but God called him deliverer. • Gideon called himself the least in his family; God called him mighty warrior.(Judges 6:12-16) • David was a shepherd boy and sinner; God called him a man after His own heart. • Abraham, the son of an idol-maker, became the father of many nations. • Rahab, a prostitute, became a rescuer and part of Christ’s lineage. • Esther, an orphan, became the deliverer of her people. • Peter, an impulsive fisherman, became the rock on which Christ built His church. • Mary, a teenage girl, was called the mother of the Messiah. It’s never about our résumé—it’s about our relationship with the One who calls us. “It is

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I Choose Today to Be a Living Stone

Sometimes the most faithful work is the kind no one ever sees. Centuries ago, when the great cathedrals of Europe were being built, the process took generations. Some craftsmen would spend their entire lives carving stones or setting foundations they’d never see completed. Many of them even carved intricate designs, hidden faces, flowers, and symbols, into stones that would be buried deep in walls, never visible again. When asked why they did it, they said, “Because God sees it.” That phrase always stirs something in me. They weren’t building for applause, they were building for the Lord. And maybe that’s where you find yourself today. You’ve been faithful in the quiet places, serving, praying, loving, forgiving, but it feels like no one notices. You’ve walked through transition, waited for clarity, or carried wounds that left you wondering, “God, where do I even fit?” But what if the in-between isn’t rejection? What if it’s construction? What if God isn’t setting you aside… but setting you in place? Peter wrote, “You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but He was chosen by God for great honor. And you are living stones

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I Choose Today to Worship—Even Here

(from Episode 18 of the I Choose Today podcast) I’ve had Isaiah 43:1–2 highlighted in my Bible for years. You’ve probably seen them before too—verses that speak to God’s presence in the hard places. “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.” They’re the kind of verses you cling to when life gets hard. But recently, it wasn’t the verses I had highlighted that stopped me. It was verse 4. “Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.” I had to just sit with that. This isn’t surface-level love. This is sacrificial love. Personal love. The kind of love that says, “I see you. I choose you. I gave everything for you.” There have been seasons where I couldn’t grasp that kind of love. Seasons when shame clouded my vision,

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