The shame of a wounded conscience is a trap.  It’s a lie that tries to convince us that hopelessly defective: “I am what I am. I cannot change. I am hopeless.”

Shame is the deep feeling of guilt, sadness, and hopelessness that we experience when we become convinced that our shadows, scars and scandals doom us.  That past failures, bad habits or poor appearance has made a permanent scar on our self-worth.

Moses’ self-worth was wounded.  God chose Moses to be a hero, but Moses protested, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me?”

I appreciated the insights in the two articles this week by Doug Fields and Matt McGill called How Thankfulness Changes Our Hearts.

Here’s my take on their EIGHT WAYS thankfulness and gratitude can transform our heart from the inside out.

1. THANKFULNESS RE-FOCUSES MY PERSPECTIVE

It’s easy to complain and point out problems, no one ever grumbles their way into a better attitude. Fortunately thankfulness can shift our focus to the blessings we’ve received from God. No matter how bad things get…

2. THANKFULNESS INCREASES MY HUMILITY

A couple years ago we had some homeless mice take residence in our home.  After they mocked us mercilessly we sought to trap them.  We assumed we caused one’s demise as the house filled with a nasty odor.  We checked our traps and set about to use our sniffers to find the body but to no avail.

A few stinking days slowly passed and after a while we could smell the dead mouse no more.

Last week we smelled a “dead mouse” again.  A search turned up nothing.  Each visitor was warned vociferously about entering our stinky house.  Graciously they persevered and enjoyed our company despite the odors.

It’s funny when I hear family and friends sing the jingles of commercials.

I never pay attention to commercials, but I remember from my childhood as clear as if I saw it today: “You’re in good hands with Allstate.”

Allstate Insurance Company has a brilliant, memorable slogan.  I’m sure “You’re in good hands with Allstate” attracted many customers.  Whether or not they keep them is up to the agents and customer service, but the marketing department got it right.

Wouldn’t you like to believe and trust God with that same confidence?  “You’re in good hands with God.”

Barack Obama wins. Tiger Woods cheats. Tim Tebow loses.

These three men are, like us, people.  They have friends and a family. They have hopes and dreams. They win and they lose, they succeed and fail. Why do we care about them. Why do we track their lives? Why did their names appear on virtually every news portal every day this week?

Why, because they are “celebrities.”

Fame

As a society one of our biggest problems is that we create “celebrities.” Celebrities, people whose lives and accomplishments we follow. We attribute celebrity status to and esteem them because of their success in their chosen field. Athletes become icons, actors become idols, musicians become magnified.