{"id":3044,"date":"2015-09-20T09:00:58","date_gmt":"2015-09-20T14:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=3044"},"modified":"2015-08-10T17:07:32","modified_gmt":"2015-08-10T22:07:32","slug":"choose-to-feel-accepted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=3044","title":{"rendered":"Choose to Feel Accepted"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Year of Choices…<\/em><\/p>\n

By Barbara Dahlgren from Barbara\u2019s Banter at\u00a0www.barbdahlgren.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Accepted\"<\/a>We live in a world of rejection.\u00a0 All of us have experienced it in one way or another.\u00a0 Maybe as a shy boy you were turned down for a date.\u00a0 Maybe you applied but didn\u2019t get the scholarship for college.\u00a0 Maybe you interviewed but didn\u2019t get the job.\u00a0 Maybe you got the job but the company president laughed at your re-org idea.\u00a0 Maybe your dad walked out on your family.\u00a0 Maybe your mom constantly berated you.\u00a0 Maybe you were always the last one chosen for the team.\u00a0 Even worse, maybe they wouldn\u2019t even let you play on the team.\u00a0 We can go through life pretty much feeling like losers.<\/p>\n

Rejection is nothing new.\u00a0 Jesus was rejected \u2013 by those in his hometown (Matthew 13:54-58), by many of his disciples (John 6:66), and by those he came to save (Isaiah 53:3).\u00a0 God was rejected.\u00a0 After everything God had done for the Israelites they wanted to be ruled by a king instead of Him (1 Samuel 10:19).<\/p>\n

Enough rejection can lead to disorders like unwarranted fear, feelings of inferiority, anxiety or depression.\u00a0 Rejection can make us feel unwanted, unappreciated, and unloved.\u00a0 It can even lead to perceived rejection in other areas of our lives.\u00a0 In other words, we think people are rejecting us when they aren\u2019t.\u00a0 This perception becomes our reality \u2013 if we think we\u2019re losers, we act like losers.<\/p>\n

Consider this\u2026 God created us for acceptance not rejection.\u00a0 That\u2019s why He will never reject us.\u00a0 We might reject God, but He won\u2019t reject us.<\/p>\n

God accepts us. (Acts 10:34, 35)\u00a0 Jesus loves us so much He died for us before we even acknowledged Him. (Romans 5:8)\u00a0 He came not to condemn us but to save us.\u00a0 (John 3:17)\u00a0 He will never leave or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)\u00a0 All we have to do is embrace God and he embraces us.<\/p>\n

\"You<\/a><\/p>\n

We cannot afford to base our self worth on the opinions of others, our perceived ideas of what we think others feel about us, or even our misconceptions about ourselves.\u00a0 How God sees us is more important than how others see us or even how we might see ourselves.\u00a0 Our self worth should be based on how God sees us.\u00a0 And God thinks we\u2019re pretty special!!!!<\/p>\n

Suggestions for practicing this choice\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n