Who is the Authentic You?

June 22, 2018 / Dale Wilsher / Authenticity & Struggle /

Authenticity is a hot topic these days.

Why?

Because it’s hard to find.

Authenticity is often buried under Instagram filters, push-up bras, and plastic smiles. It’s lost in unexpressed feelings and unspoken thoughts. It’s obscured by our good girl efforts to be nice and polite. It’s distorted by the pressure every woman feels to have it all together.

And yet most of us would say that we long for more authenticity in our lives. In my survey of moms with young kids, 94% said they wanted to be more authentic. That’s a lot. These women long to be free to share what is true about themselves without pretense, performance or perfection.

This is the humility of authenticity. It’s a vulnerable acknowledgement of what is real in your life right now. It’s what I call your little “t” truth. … Read the rest

authenticity, christian, God, humility, Jesus, mom, nobility, unique

Good News When You Are Not Ready for Christmas

December 23, 2016 / Dale Wilsher / Christmas /

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.
Time is running out.

So the big question is:

Have you completed everything on your Christmas to-do list?

Most years for me, the answer is “almost” and then I run around like crazy trying to tie up all the loose ends to make sure the Christmas spirit is palpable at my house. Some years I make it but then I am completely exhausted. Other years, like the last few, I don’t quite get everything done and end up feeling, shall we say, incomplete.

And I worry that I’m letting my children down by not doing enough to celebrate the season. I worry that I’m letting God down by not glorifying Him enough. I even feel like I’m letting the sweet baby Jesus down because there is always more I could do to herald His coming.… Read the rest

christmas, Good News, incomplete, Jesus, not ready, rushed

Jesus in Disguise

December 19, 2016 / Dale Wilsher / Christmas /

There is a man at my church, a very nice man, who doesn’t recognize me half the time. It’s become a bit comical because I know him pretty well. I know his lovely wife. I know his kids too. And whenever I don’t wear makeup to church, he walks right past me as if I’m in disguise. I’ll say “Hi!” and he’ll look at me like I’m a stranger until I remind him of my first name.

There are two reasons for this, I think:

He doesn’t recognize me because I don’t fit his expectations. When people get older, bigger, smaller or made over or under, in my case, they no longer match the mental picture we have of them.
He might have Prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness. If that’s really a thing. But since it’s on the internet, it must be real, right?

… Read the rest

Advent, christmas, disguise, Jesus, recognize, Simeon

Expose Yourself

March 14, 2016 / DaleWilsher / Authenticity & Struggle /

Expose Yourself. But not like this. That might get you a few months in county jail and who has time for that?

When I say to expose yourself, I’m not talking about indecent exposure but relational exposure, revealing your authentic self to God and others. It’s something we don’t often do because its dangerous out there. People judge you, reject you, pity you or try to fix you. Ugh! Authentic living is hard so why risk it? Because…

Your Exposure Will Determine Your Experience.

The degree to which we come out of hiding and expose our true selves will determine our level of intimacy with God and others. If we want a deeply authentic life with God and deep authentic relationships with people (to hear more on this download the MP3 of Real Grace for Real Friends at http://daleskram.com/product/real-grace-real-friends/), we will need to deepen our level of exposure. … Read the rest

authenticity, christian, God, Jesus

When You Draw the Short Straw in Life

April 9, 2015 / DaleWilsher / Authenticity & Struggle /

I have had some hard things happen in my life: I’ve lived with people who struggled with addiction. If you’ve been there, you know how comprehensive that problem can be. I’ve suffered a miscarriage at 20 weeks, halfway through a pregnancy, losing the only son I’ve ever known. I’ve lived through very lean years and significant financial loss. I’ve experienced the daily struggles of a hard marriage that eventually ended in divorce. I’ve made it through court hearings and custody battles. I’m dealing with teenage angst times four. And, praise God, we’ve all survived more than one attempted suicide in our family.

And while your life probably looks different than mine, I’m guessing that you’ve had some hard stuff happen too.

During many of my life struggles I’ve compared myself to the happy people I knew who grew up in Christian homes, had good marriages, obedient kids and successful jobs, who didn’t really seem to really suffer much or struggle financially or relationally.… Read the rest

authenticity, christian woman, ife, Jesus, struggles, vulnerability