Yes, this is about how I felt on Tuesday, trying to come up with my personal “tag line” before writing today’s post! All I could think was that I never should have committed to posting a follow-up note. I should have just written my nice little post on Monday and moved on to the next topic!

No, I didn’t really spend hours coming up with my tag line, but I did put a lot of thought into it. (And yes, I did actually toss several scraps of paper in the process!) I’d write down one catchy set of words, and then I’d realized that they were only that—a catchy set of words, without any relevance. I wanted them to be “quotable,” memorable, and inspirational. But what I actually needed them to be was real!

Unfortunately, I find that I face that struggle more than I would like to admit—trying hard to be perfect, speak perfectly, and write perfectly…about perfect things, of course! But here’s the amazing, and oddly freeing, thing: I can never be perfect. But it gets better—I don’t have to be! Do you know why? Because I am to live my life in the power of Christ, and He is already perfect!

Yes, being holy as God is holy is the ultimate goal (and a command from God Himself, as quoted in I Peter 1:16), but because of Christ’s holiness and His sacrificial death, I am “hidden” in Him (Colossians 3:3). I am covered by His “cloak” of righteouness (Isaiah 61:10), and that is what God sees when I come before Him—His Son, Jesus.

Seriously—how awesome is that?

So with that in mind, I was able to see the fact that my life is merely to reflect the holiness and perfection of Jesus Christ—not my own holiness (or lack thereof) or my own perfection (again, or the lack thereof). To reflect Him, I must follow Him (and learn of Him); and as I walk in His steps, I will want to serve Him and give Him my all, thereby allowing me to reflect His holiness and perfection, giving me a sincere joy that nothing else can bring! (Read it slowly; it actually makes sense!)

However, I needed to follow my own “fifteen words or less” rule, so I trimmed off the “excess” and finally came up with my personal tag line (and greatest desire):

Brenda Strohbehn, joyfully following, serving, and reflecting Christ.

What’s yours?

Please feel free to share your fifteen-words-or-less version in the comments below!

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Be sure to come back on Friday! It’s the last Friday of the month, and

our guest contributor (my sweet mom) has another great post in store!

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