Think back with me to September 1st....okay, are you there?
Well it was on that day I told you readers (all 2 of you, okay maybe there was a few more then, I'm not sure) to "stay tuned!" And then I left you hanging...now if I were a t.v. show that I watched, I'd be mad at me. But I know you guys aren't mad because you are awesome! :)
I must confess, I had BIG plans for this entry. That night as I laid there in bed talking to Joe about my plans, I was so excited and inspired. Sadly, I then drifted off to sleep and as I said back on September 1st...my well-thought out ideas drifted off into dream land with me...none-the-less there is something I wanted to share. So here goes nothing....
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Transparency.
...what does that word make you think of?
- Back in elementary school before all teachers used powerpoints and they wrote on transparencies on overhead projectors? or...
- How transparent you want a portion of your blog background to be?? or...
- How open we are to one another as Christians?
If you picked the third option, we're thinking along the same lines!
First, many of you know that before I started this blog, I entertained the idea for literally months if not over a year. I wanted to write and share...but did I really? And if I
was going to do it, how
REAL was I going to be?
Let's face it, we live in a world where hiding behind computers and putting on a front is as easy as walking to the fridge and pouring your self a glass of
[insert beverage in your fridge here]. But I didn't want that! What's the point in starting a blog to share my life...and sharing what I WANT people to think my life is? I just didn't see the point!
Now, here is not where I'm going to say "because I want to be open and share my life here are my credit card, bank account and social security numbers," but what I am going to promise is what I like to think of as [here comes the vocab lesson]
productive transparency. Let's look at the (compound)word, I'm introducing you to in two parts...
Productive [pruh-duhk-tiv]
1. Having the power of producing; generative; creative: a productive effort.
2. Producing readily or abundantly; fertile: a productive vineyard.
1. Also, trans·par·ence. the quality or state of being transparent.
2. Something transparent, esp. a picture, design, or the like on glass or some translucent substance, made visible by light shining through from behind. ...{Special thanks to http://dictionary.reference.com/}
So, now that you think I've completely lost it...stick with me here! I'm going to pick out my favorite portions of these definitions to define my new (compound)word. First, productive in this sense means having the power of producing.... so this isn't your typical transparency? No, it's a productive transparency, duh! And just what do I mean by transparency? My favorite way of putting it is "something made visible by light shining through..."
So this is a power for producing by things being made visible due to light shining through, you ask? YES! You got it!
I want to be productive, by helping others to see the real me...who's messed up, who's stubborn, who's strong-willed, who's determined, who's saved...because I want THE LIGHT to be shining through me. The light of my Father in Heaven.
Transparency is something that has been on my heart for probably the past couple of years. It began when I was asked to participate in something called a cardboard testimony. A cardboard testimony is when people go on stage and have a piece of cardboard in their hands, holding it up to the audience sharing something that they or their life used to be....then they flip the cardboard over to reveal what their life is now, thanks to Jesus Christ.
This experience moved me. I was scared, I was somewhat ashamed, but I DID IT. I cried and Joe cried with me because we did it together as a couple. But ultimately, I was FREED. I was freed from the guilt I had been hanging on to...and why was that? Was it because for the first time in my life I realized God had forgiven me? Absolutely not, I knew that....
I was freed from my guilt because I was transparent. I had shared my struggle and I had no idea the impact it would have on both my life and the lives of others who were there. It was then I learned (err...invented) the term "productive transparency."
Why was it productive you may say? (Other than the fact that I, personally, felt freed.) It was productive because in turn people came to me asking me about how I had worked to fight that struggle in my life. And not just me, because it was both Joe and I who shared our struggle, guys came to him, too. We felt that through our being willing to be transparent, God was using us to help others who were facing the same temptations.
What a mighty God we serve. He planned for us to be a community--for us to encourage one another!
Hebrews 3:12-14
12See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 14We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.
1 Thessalonians 5;11
11Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
So, I encourage you to be PRODUCTIVELY TRANSPARENT!
