How to Curb the Compulsion to Compare--April 5th Meeting Recap

On April 5th, we welcomed Christy Engelhart as a guest speaker.  In this world with Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, etc. we have a window into the lives of others.  However, what we see is likely not the full picture, and comparing ourselves to others hardly ever puts us in a good state of mind.  We either feel bad about ourselves, or feel better about ourselves by putting others down.  Neither is a good situation.  Christy introduced us to three ways to help us to keep from feeling like we need to compare ourselves to others.

Step 1:  BE REALISTIC! 

- 95% of the population will never look like the body images we see in the media.
- If you try to be someone you're not, you do a disservice to yourself and others.
- Remember 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.

We can choose to love and embrace the person that we've been created to be and stop trying to be someone that we aren't!

Step 2:  BE THANKFUL!

- Studies have shown that people feel less happy after spending time on social media--you're seeing people's highlight reels--not an actual depiction of life.
- Embrace and be thankful for the things we do have--if you haven't yet, check out the book we each received for our birthdays from MOPS this year. (One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp)
- Focus on what we are good at instead of what we aren't.
- Having a spirit of thankfulness is a way to worship God...
       Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
       Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.  (Philippians 4:8)

We can choose an attitude of gratitude and to boldly embrace the special talents and personal traits that we have each been given.

Step 3:  BRING YOUR BEST!

There are always going to be others who are smarter, more talented, prettier, stronger, etc. However, you don't have to BE the best to bring YOUR best.
       For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  (Ephesians 2:10)
      And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  (Colossians 3:17)

If we are willing to bring our best to the table--however inadequate it may seem in the moment--we may be surprised at the profound impact it has on the world around us.

Click to read Christy's own blog post for more on this topic.
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Our "Silver Spoon Award" winner for the week is Shaylah Dansie! Yes, not only is she is a supermom with newborn twins, she is also now an award-winning cook.  Here is the recipe for her winning dish:

For the icing, she used:
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 butter
1+ c powdered sugar
1 1/2 ish tbsp milk
1/2 top vanilla

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Announcements:

We want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who helped with our garage sale fundraiser last weekend!  We had many members volunteer to spend time setting up, sorting, working the sale, and cleaning up at the end. We ended up raising over $1,200, making this our most profitable garage sale so far! We couldn't have made it happen without all of your hard work!