Motivation?

mmm...
Ironically it has taken me three days to be motivated enough to articulate my recent rambling thoughts on motivation!

From listening to various sermons by people at Mars Hill Seattle (http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/midweek-classes). I have been motivated to think about my own motivation for life and self improvement.

Culture either pushes our motivation to self improvement to be focused on the aesthetic as though the character of a person is negligible comparable to how they look. Where as the bible tells us that "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised" and "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom".

With this in mind what motivates us I know that myself I'm so often preoccupied by how I think others perceive me. So much so that I have spent months of my life thinking about what I can do to improve myself in the eyes of the person I'm especially fond of. With no consideration to what about when they aren't there and the lasting effect of the change.

I know how I have focused so much on the development of my self confidence based on the opinion of one person that now he is taken out of the equation I'm left thinking how much of a fool I have been.

That despite knowing my worth as a daughter of the living God; that the lord loved me enough to send his son to die for my sins. That my opinion of my self as a physical being should be based on the lord having made me beautiful and not that a guy thinks I am.

Now having learn a lesson I always thought i wouldn't need to learn, I'm humbled.
I know the lord made me as he intended and that in him my image is as it should be.
That one day there will be a man of the lord, that the lord has put aside for me.
But until that day I know that my motivation to change shouldn't be focused on my appearance, or my confidence in my self worth based on my appearance.

It should be based on the improvement on my heart and character.
That my heart would reflect the love of Christ.
That my motivation would be to love the Lord more.
That the desires of my heart would be to grow in character; that I would fear the lord.

That the motivation of my heart to do so would grow with each day that I would know that my home is in his house!

Praise the lord that despite my earthly nature that his grace is so much vaster than my comprehension; that despite the limitations of my humanity i can grow to know and love him more by the overwhelming power of his name and blood by which i am saved!

Hallelujah!!