This past weekend I spoke at Covenant Pines Bible Camp in McGregor, Minnesota. Over one hundred women gathered there to spend time with God and with one another. The worship was led by Andrea Lupino and was out of this world! Her leadership and passion set the stage for a power-filled time in God's presence. In fact, if you are in need of worship leader for your upcoming event, contact Andrea at: andrealupino@gmail.com; you won't be disappointed.

We talked about many things this weekend; our character and Christ-likeness, our vision and our hope; the way we treat other women, and how we see ourselves.

At one point I referred to the Song of Songs where Solomon tells the Shulamite woman to come out from behind the rock because, he said, "Your voice is sweet and you are lovely." Jesus says the same thing to us. We all hide behind our rocks of performance, perfection, insecurity, busy-ness, you name it. And in doing so we deprive the world of being blessed by God's presence in our lives. We also miss out on all of the ways God wants to reveal Himself in and through us.

I told the ladies to turn to their neighbor and say, "My voice is sweet!" And I had them turn to their other neighbor and say, "And I am lovely!"

They giggled and laughed as they said these uncomfortable words to one another. I'm sure you are shifting in your seat at the thought of saying such a thing out loud. And yet we must.

Until we identify ourselves as someone whom God deeply loves and celebrates, we will never fully grasp what it means to be His.

I dare you, put your hand over your heart today and declare, "Thank you Jesus. I don't have to hide behind anything. In fact I'll come out from behind the rock because I believe You when You say that my voice is sweet and I am lovely!"