I am terrible at celebrating.

Ask my husband.

I flit from thing to thing​, seldom stopping to cherish a moment or celebrate a milestone. 

Can you relate?

I’m reading a really helpful book right now called Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg. It’s been the habit book that has truly produced life change in me. I now have a morning routine that involves reading my Bible (I’m reading and re-reading both Corinthians currently), listing what I’m thankful for, journalling, physically getting on my knees to pray, and working out with Faster Way to Fat Loss. (I just started last month. So far, I’m enjoying it!). For years I struggled with morning routine, and FINALLY I’m there, thanks to the science and advice of this book.

By far, the hardest chapter of Tiny Habitsto digest was the chapter Fogg wrote about celebration. I didn’t realize this, but celebration imprints your habits! If you celebrate after you’ve done your fifth pushup, you’ll be more likely to do 5 more tomorrow. I believe his words have intersected an area of my life that Jesus wants to heal. Honestly, I’m not really sure why I don’t celebrate. Perhaps it’s because growing up, whether I did something praiseworthy or mundane, neither mattered. I spent a lot of my life trying to get people to notice me, to tell me I mattered. After awhile, I gave up. 

Why celebrate if no one else joins the party? My internal monolog sounds like, ​keep your head down. Keep working. Don’t stop. ​​Celebrating doesn’t matter; it takes up time.​

I’m tired of that achievement treadmill. For most of my childhood, I wondered why I was on this earth, other than to be harmed or completely ignored. And really? Being ignored was the hardest for me. It’s as if I didn’t matter. Even so, I had this false belief that there was some kind of magical threshold that existed. If I could just do enough achievement oriented things, someone would stop and notice. 

And when so few did, I stopped celebrating. It’s no fun to have a party alone.

And yet, I think of the life Jesus wants for me, for you. A life of abundant joy, of forward momentum, and hope. I am worthy, not because I do a bunch of things, but because I am a child of God. HE WANTS TO JOIN THIS PARTY! He, as a good Parent, wants to celebrate along with me! Celebrating fits right in with what the Spirit wants to do in our healed lives. It’s an acknowledgment of gratitude for what God has done in and through us. 

I’ve finally learned It’s not prideful to honestly celebrate a win.

Why? 

Because celebrating does three cool things:

• It slows you down enough to rest and enjoy an accomplishment, realizing your worth is not tied to that in the first place.
• It invites other people into the celebration, producing camaraderie and fellowship.
• It redirects your heart to Jesus, the One who gives you the ability in the first place. (I’m reminded of 1 Corinthians 4:7 that pointedly states, “What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?” (NLT).

All that to say, today I almost forgot about a book release! 

Yep!

This month, Into the Light: A Biblical Approach to Healing from the Past RELEASES into the world! It’s a study through the Scriptures about healing from your past as you help others heal from their pasts. It represents years of research, personal work, and prayer. It’s my first Lifeway study, and it even has accompanying videos with yours truly. Though it is based on the content of We Too, it’s not about sexual abuse, but it’s about how to work through any past issue that still holds you hostage today (like me learning to finally celebrate).

Thankfully, Lifeway helped me remember to celebrate by sending me these lovelies:

WOOT! Cue a little dance!

About Into the Light

You can study the book on your own, or you can get a leaders kit and take people through the study! Whatever you choose, I sincerely pray it helps you move from darkness to light, from hurting to whole. 

NOTE: Amazon is having a hard time stocking this title, so the links I’ve provided here are Lifeway’s and THEY ARE IN STOCK! 🙂

So will you join me? I’m choosing to celebrate the release of this study with you! Do a little cyber jig on my behalf. Or just smile a little, knowing that something that represents so much work and healing has finally pushed through the soil and exists in the light of day.