Before I release you into a word-filled world, to go and conquer and speak and love and change the atmosphere of every place you step, there’s one more girl we need to talk about. You.
In the last ten years, my capacity to love others has grown exponentially. My ability to appreciate other people and speak life and love into their hearts is greater than ever. I have more friends who love me and more opportunities to talk about Jesus and His love than ever before.
You want to know why?
Because I love me.
Stick with me, I’m not being a nutso. (Though, if you don’t think I’m a little loony after reading all this, then I am great at tricking you.)
My first book, Perfectly Unique, spends a lot of pages telling you this story. The story of how I used to hate me, and I said so—to myself and to others from time to time—and how God saved me from that mind-set and those words. He has changed my mind and heart.
I’m not saying I’m the president of my own fan club or that I am perfect and without flaws. But I am saying that God didn’t make a mistake when He made me. I have learned to appreciate all that He has made, and that includes little ol’ Annie. And the more I grew to love and appreciate how God made me, I began to see unique opportunities (perfectly unique opportunities?) and one-of-a-kind ways that God wanted me to move and act in the world. As I grew to love and know myself better, I better saw my place on this planet. I plugged into those things that make me feel alive. And, as I told you before, I’m having a great time.
I never knew it mattered how I talked to myself. But sister, it does. Oh man, it does.
This section deserves to be read differently. Take your Bible, your journal, and this book and go sit in a comfy place in your house. Maybe put on your slippers and sit under the warmth of your favorite blanket. Set aside some time, maybe on a Saturday, to really dig into this.
It will change everything.