A Story by my wife that made me look really good..LOL

I have to share a story with you, which may or may not help you
illustrate your point.

When Frank and I first met, we would go out country-western dancing
quite a bit. He was an excellent dancer and I, well, I was clueless.
However, because I desired to be with Frank, I chose to "learn" how to
dance and followed his lead as best I could. Now, as might come as a
complete surprise to you, I happen to have a problem with wanting to
control things all the time. A controlling dancer has a hard time
following the lead dancer. Frank is a very strong lead. For a long
time, he would tell me, "don't look at your feet, follow my lead."
"Don't look down, keep your eyes on me." "Don't look past me, look at
me." He would always do slight "pressure" signals when he was going to
turn, twirl me or change our direction. If I wasn't paying attention
and waiting for his lead, I'd stumble, goof up the timing or "cause" him
to let go of my me so we both wouldn't go crashing into another couple,
etc. But, he never gave up on me. His will was far stronger than mine
and he would remind me no matter how much I wanted to or tried to lead,
he was going to win out. When I stayed in step with him, we looked
pretty good and he made me look like a fantastic dancer...though it was
really his strong lead, experience and ability that made me look good.
I was just following his lead. If I overthought it, looked elsewhere or
tried to take the lead, we'd look horrible.

And, it is kinda funny. After I got in sync with Frank, I couldn't
dance with any other guy. Frank had a good friend who would come along
with us a lot. After I seemed to be getting the gist of this dancing
thing, Frank's friend would want to cut in and whisk me around the dance
floor. It was awful. He wasn't Frank. I would muddle around the
dancefloor with this guy and try to follow his lead. I couldn't wait to
get back with Frank. We were in sync. No one else compared. Maybe it
was because I wasn't a really good dancer and Frank just was.

When Christ is leading me, it is wonderful. When I try to take
control...everything falls apart. I've learned this lesson mostly the
hard way. And, I cannot say I've mastered the desire to be in
control...but I'm very sensitive to when I want to be in control and
confess that...asking Christ to take the lead again. And you know, He
is always there, ready, willing and able to take the lead again.

She is always so good at analogies..LOL

Confidence In Christ

Charles Spurgeon said that few of us have an adequate idea of what we may become even here on earth by God's divine power and grace. We know one day we'll stand around the throne, with every pore in our being seeking a way to widen our praise. But if we just knew what He could do through us even now--with pride beat to a pulp, doubt driven out the back door, fear banished to the outfield. We can do everything through Him who gives us strength. Or were we just dreaming that?

When God purposes to do something through you, the assignment will have God-sized dimensions. This is because God wants to reveal Himself to you and to those around you. If you can do the work in your own strength, people will not come to know God. However, if God works through you to do what only He can do, you and those around you will come to know Him. Jesus said, "He who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God" (John 3:21).

When other people see you experiencing God, they are going to want to know how they, too, can experience God that way. Be prepared to point them to God. You will need to be very careful that any testimony about what God has done only gives glory to Him. Pride may cause you to want to tell your experience because it makes you feel special. That will be a continuing tension. You must avoid any sense of pride. Therefore: "He who glories, let him glory in the Lord" (1 Cor 1:31). -Henry Blackaby

Our goal is not self-confidence. It is Christ-confidence. -Charles Stanley

If you're worried about the way your words will come out or concerned about the impression you'll leave behind, give God a chance to take over. You won't have a thing to worry about.


"Suffering is NOT the worst thing that can happen to us. Disobedience to God is the worst thing"
(Tom White 1970)