Be You

I have a knack for making awkward situations more awkward. Not in a cool trendy, “hey, I’m a total rebel and I’m doing this on purpose because I do what I want” kind of way though. It’s more like “hey, I’m socially awkward and am hoping you will misinterpret it as unconventional quirkiness… And then think I’m cool.”

But that’s just me.

Through junior high and high school I swung back and forth on pendulum between magnifying that “quirkiness” just to be different and trying to downplay it so I’d fit in a little better. Sadly enough it usually just depended on who I was around or who I was friends with that year (my friendships pinged around faster than ADHD squirrel on 5 Hour Energy when I high school).

I didn’t put a whole lot of stock in being me. That’s not to say I compromised morally or spiritually in order to fit in, but I tweaked myself. Being me was only as good as the friends it got me. Really, it didn’t even matter if those friends were popular as long as I just had some friends.

Boiled down, I only thought who I was mattered if other people thought it did. I didn’t realize, and sometimes blatantly ignored, the intrinsic value of just being me. Gangly, bushy-haired, and semi-awkward, but still me.

It’s so easy to look at other people and want to be who they are or want what they have. I used to wish I was better or art. Or good at math. Sometimes I even wished I was shorter (usually around prom when I became over 6 feet tall in heels). And then there was the point in time when I really wished I was musical so I could be some hardcore head-banging chick and my unruly hair would finally serve a purpose…. So I dressed like I was in a band for the better part of two years, feeding into the illusion, and hoped no one asked me to even so much as play Guitar Hero (I’m hopeless at that as well).

I spent a lot of time wishing to be someone else and not very much time embracing who I was. This isn’t about comparing yourself to others, although that plays into it. This is about being you and being okay with it.

Everyone wants to be remembered, to leave their mark on this world, to make a difference and an impact. But if all your time and energy is spent trying to be someone else, it’ll never happen. God made you an original, stop striving to be a copy. Celebrate what makes you different, the quirks, the hiccups, the weird, the incredible. Rejoice in your strengths and laugh about your weaknesses. And KNOW…that God can use even your weaknesses.

God did not randomly draw your personality traits and appearance out of a grab bag. He sculpted you and formed you. He chose talents, strengths, and characteristics especially for you. He set you apart for a purpose that no one else can fulfill because no one else is you. Your personality, even the things you may see as imperfections (your “quirks”), is what makes you a unique tool in the hand of God. He can use you in specific situations and use you to minister to particular people’s hearts just because you are YOU. Even the issues you struggle through make you uniquely relatable. God wastes nothing. He has called you, He has made you, He has set you apart.

There never was and never will be another you. Don’t try to erase who you are completely by trying to change who God has made you to be. The world NEEDS you to be YOU.

Ephesians 2:10- For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.

Psalm 139:14- I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  

Coleen York is a writer, blogger, and speaker whose passion is to inspire the upcoming generation to build the foundation of their lives, relationships, and identity in Jesus Christ. Coleen has served as an editor, event planner, and a social architect and firmly believes in using every outlet possible to share how Jesus transforms lives and relationships. Coleen holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations with a background in Journalism and Media Art from Westminster College. She has also received training in Pastoral Leadership from Hillsong International Leadership College and is pursuing her Master’s degree in Pastoral Care and Counseling. 

Because You Exist

When we survey our culture and surroundings it doesn't take long to realize why so many of us struggle with our identity and value in this world. Television, popularity symbols, movies, and even just going to the supermarket or shopping mall screams at us to improve ourselves, to buy more, to be more.

We have mistakenly, and perhaps even unconsciously, placed more worth on the thing than on the person. Allow me to let you in on a secret…you are equally valuable to society and your Father in Heaven regardless of whether you sit behind the wheel of a Lamborghini or a 1980 Rabbit.

Maybe having a bunch of stuff isn’t your deal though. Usually I feel like I’m okay in that area…well at least until I get around someone who has cooler possessions than me and then I start to feel a little depressed and down on myself. But let’s say for argument’s sake you have that part beat. Perhaps you begin to feel unworthy when you look at your list of accomplishments, associations, and what you perceive as your talents.

The lies begin to creep in… “I’ll never be famous like them, I’ll never move up in the company, I’m a nobody, I have nothing to offer, They will always be better than me…”

Only one thing in this life gives us worth- Who you belong to. God has claimed you as His own and loves you unconditionally (even when you wish you could trade in your Rabbit for the BMW). You have worth because you have infinite value to Him.

Now you may say, why would God love me? I don’t do anything, I’m not good at anything, I don’t have anything He could possibly be interested in.

Have you ever seen a new mom and dad before with their tiny new baby? Infants are precious to their parents, not because they can DO anything at all. They eat, sleep, cry and poop (all really great party tricks). Actually (speaking from a lot of nanny experience) babies can be quite demanding and self-centered. They have no power, accomplishments or popularity. Although they are tiny and adorable, it is not the appearance that captivates the parent. It is because that tiny little person EXISTS. The parent loves an infant child because he or she BELONGS to THEM; and they love them with a fierce, overwhelming and unconditional love. The child is precious and regarded with the highest value simply because he or she IS.

This is an imperfect picture of our relationship with a perfect God, but the message is the same. God loves you with a consuming passion just because you are and you belong to Him. Not because of your resume, what you have, or anything you DO. Nor does this love change because of anything you may have DONE.

He loves you because you exist.

He loves you because you are His.

It is with a love so great He would pay any price for you. It is with a love that consumes His heart and never changes. He loves you the same whether you win the Nobel Prize or if you’re waiting tables to pay for college. And as your Father, His heart desires to hold you close, to protect you, direct, teach, nurture, and bless you. It gives Him JOY to be a perfect Father to you.

You have incredible worth. Not because of WHO you are, but because of WHOSE you are.

Romans 8:14-16- For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.

Galatians 4:7- Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.



Written by Coleen York

Learning to Let Go

When receiving something new, have you ever had a hard time letting go of the old? I had a pair of moccasins that I wore all through college. I loved them. They were my “sole” mate. I wore them to the beach, I wore them hiking, I wore them places I probably shouldn’t have because unlike the moccasins Native Americans made, these were fake leather and not at all weather proof. They eventually started to smell like low-tide and somehow trapped sand under the sole. At random times this sand would leak out to form a trail or force its way in between my toes making me look like a beach bum, but in a really gross way.

Although I quit wearing them, I was so afraid that I would never find another pair of moccasins as good as these, that I kept the stinking things in my closet until this past summer. Although I eventually bought a new pair of moccasins it was still hard to throw away my old ones. We had history together. But I could actually WEAR the new pair. And they didn’t make my feet smell like seaweed.

Obviously this was a really lame analogy about letting go of the old, the familiar, in order to step (quite literally) into the new. The difficulty is, God often asks us to let go of things so much larger than shoes.

In Exodus, God sends His messenger Moses, to tell the Israelites it was time to leave Egypt (where they had been living for about 400 years) and follow Him to a new land (that they had never seen). I don’t know about you, but I would have a seriously difficult time leaving home to go someplace I had never even seen before. I would have to give up my routine, my life, all for the unknown. And okay, so the Israelites didn’t have the perfect life in Egypt (they were in fact slaves who were treated brutally) but it was at least familiar and it was theirs. And what evidence did they have that the next place would actually be better? Exodus 5 tells us that after making this grand announcement, things actually got worse for the Israelites and they rejected Moses and his ideas. But God had a plan beyond what they could even imagine and the amazing feats He performed convinced Israel to follow Him away from Egypt.

Exodus records the journey that the Israelites made with God to the land He had promised them. It was not a straight shot down Highway 109 to the vacation resort land of their dreams. He repeatedly presented them with challenges which forced them to decide, “Will you release your ideas about how to do things, follow Me in faith, and receive what I have planned for you?” Repeatedly Israel said, “Yes we will,” then promptly dropped the ball to do things their own way. The result was 40 years circling the Promised Land but never going in because they lacked the faith to follow.

Now fast forward to the book of Joshua. God has selected Joshua to actually lead Israel into the land He promised them when they left Egypt. And God gave three simple steps to receiving all He had planned:

Be strong and courageous (Joshua 1: 6, 9 and 18. God repeated this so I think He means it!!)
Study His word (Joshua 1:8)
Obey what He says to do (Joshua 1:8)


It’s funny how many of us hang onto our slavery even when God is promising us something new and beautiful if we would just let go. But the truth is, not knowing what lies ahead is frightening when we can so clearly see what lies behind. Many of us cannot hope to receive our futures when we are blatantly clinging to our pasts, or find it to be more comfortable in the familiar routine of the present.

My conversations with God sometimes go like this:

God: “Coleen I am calling you to………….”

Me: “But God, You know how it has been before. There have been so many things that have hurt me and I’m afraid to mess it up. I really don’t think I can do this.”

God: “I know you can’t but I can. I don’t ask you to do anything that I can’t help you to do.”

Me: “Yes but what if …….happens ? That just scares me to death. I really don’t want to do this. Can’t You just do a miracle and fix everything? ”

God may be calling you to change something in your life, to take a stand, to move forward on a plan, or to face a painful or frightening circumstance. He is calling each of us to release all that we are and hold onto to Him and receive all He has for us. Good is not great. Better is not best. God has promised His best, if we are willing to step out of what is familiar and trust Him totally to deliver and take care of us.

Sometimes the transition is scary as all get out. We don’t know how to get to where we are going and we don’t even know what it will look like once we get there. The path may be filled with challenges. For the Israelites they didn’t know how they were going to get across a giant sea with all of Pharaoh’s army chasing them. It wasn’t until the Israelites had reached the edge of the sea that God parted the waters. Sometimes you have to get up and GO before you get to see the path.

Are you willing to release your day-to-day, your usual, and take the next step into what God has for you? What God wants to do in your life doesn’t depend on how awesome your abilities are, it’s based on how awesome HE is and your ability to follow.

The Mosaic of Broken Beauty

Dusty, grimy, dirty little bits. You think to yourself as you sweep up the floor, trying to clean up the mess from the broken vase knocked from the countertop.

You sweep the shards of glass into the corner of the room and add it to the rest of the pile. Sitting down you stare at the growing mound of broken glass in different colours, shapes, and sizes. Some pieces dull, some very sharp. To you it is a memorial of things that were once beautiful but now seem rather useless.

Relationships gone wrong, mistakes you said you’d never make, fights with loved ones, morals you once held…the list could go on.

So what do you do with the pieces that seem irreparable, ugly, and worthless? Do you continue to allow them to sit in the corner of your life taking up space? Do you continue to let them be a hazard with all their sharp broken edges? Sharp enough to leave you cut, bleeding, and bruised more than once…

Today is the day you stop tip-toeing around those areas of your life. Your life, no matter what it has contained until this point, is not a pile of rubble.

God wants to make a mosaic of beauty out of all the broken pieces you’ve been carrying yet trying so desperately to ignore. Drop them into His hands.

Let The Great Artist upcycle all of your broken bits into beautiful artwork. Being broken does not make you irreparable. Being broken allows The Great Restoration Artist to arrange all of your shattered bits into a piece of artwork far more beautiful than you ever dreamed.

Mosaics can only be made with busted shards. But you have to surrender all the pieces.

Jeremiah 30:17: “For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord, because they have called you an outcast…”

You are not useless.

You are a priceless piece of artwork.


Guest post by Coleen York
Coleen York is an ardent Jesus follower and writer (and she sometimes fancies herself a part-​​time comedienne). She is passionate about ministering to the hearts of women by showing them their true worth and identity in Christ alone. This passion led her to found She Has Worth, a website designed to reinforce the worth and beauty God has given each and every woman, regardless of her past or relationship status.

If You're Honest. . .

By Coleen York

“How are you?”

“Good. I’m good. How are you?”

Freeze.

How many times a day do we have these exchanges? How many times a day do you lie, or perhaps just gloss over the truth?

But, you might be thinking, no one really wants to hear about financial struggles, or the fight I had with my mum, or about how I feel like crap today because my pants fit too tight, or because I’m just struggling and I don’t even know why…That would be too much information… Right?

But what about with God? At times I wonder if society’s drive-by question and answer routine has crept into our prayer lives and into our attitudes concerning God.

God desires to know what’s going on in your life. How you’re feeling, how you’re coping, where you’re stuggling, what you’re happy about, what you feel guilty about, what you’re thankful for. It’s never too much information for Him.

I know right now you’re probably thinking, Doesn’t God already know all that stuff anyway? Why do I have to tell Him?

Because it promotes intimacy. God doesn’t want your glossed-over, ready-for-the-public answers. He doesn’t desire a relationship with your “Brave Face”.

An earthly parent may know that something is bothering their child, they may even know what that particular problem is, but it doesn’t further the relationship or put the parent in a position to offer wisdom if all the child says is “I’m good” or “It’s whatever.”

In Matthew  11:28-30 Jesus tells us,“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you.Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

He wants you to come to Him with everything. He wants all of your burdens, whether you think they are logical, or important, or not. He’s waiting for you to unload your burdens upon Him so that THEN He can teach you about them.

Every emotion and feeling has a root and a cause. When we open ourselves up to the God who knows our hearts intimately and created emotions, we give Him room and permission to reveal His wisdom in each in every season we are in. In each and every emotional upheaval. In each and every bad day or good day.

Wrestle it, pray it, write it, sing it, scream it, think it out with Him. He longs for you to bring your burdens to Him so you can go through and sort it out together.

Let Him replace your burdens with His wisdom, knowledge and insight. His yoke is easy, His burden is light.