The boxes are filling up as I pack up our home of the last 18 years. There are so many memories to look back on, and the echoes of times past fill my heart. I open the door to my utility closet and see the visible reminder of my children’s growth: the measurements on the wall. The memory of each child inflating their chest to be 1/4 of an inch taller than the others.
Did you have a measuring wall in your home when you were growing up?
I remember watching my baby brother outgrow me. Although our height was completely out of my control, it was the feeling of being looked down on or not measuring up that was not confined to the lines on the wall. Those lines were used and continue to be used in many aspects of my life.
I have to admit that I use those lines not only in my own life, but I use them to estimate how others are measuring up, too. And like my kids inflating their chests to get to that next line, I sometimes find myself inflating my ego trying to measure up.
When I saw the measuring cup on the cover of Shannon Popkin’s new book, Comparison Girl, Lesson’s on Me Free Living In A Measure Up World, I knew I needed to not only read it, but share her message with you!
Shannon’s approach to comparing like Jesus is one that she calls ‘upside down’. She says, ‘I’m not here to prove that I am more or have more, I’m here to share what I’ve been given.’
She brings to light a beautiful visual with a measuring cup and talks about how the lines are irrelevant when we focus on the spout and pouring out what God has given each of us.
There are two questions that you can ask yourself next time you are discouraged by the lines:
- What can I give?
- How can I serve?
Listen in as Shannon and I share our own stories of trying to measure up.
Let Me Know
What gifts has God filled your cup with and how can you pour those out on others?
I would love to get to know you and the gifts God has given you. Please take a moment to think about what you enjoy doing to serve. Then click reply and share your thoughts. I would love to pray over you and the areas in which you serve.
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Find more information about Our Guest
Shannon Popkin
Shannon Popkin is a writer, speaker, and Bible teacher who loves pointing others to the truth of God’s Word. She combines her gifts for humor and storytelling with her passion for Jesus. She regularly speaks at Christian women’s events and retreats, encouraging women of all ages to put their hope in God.
Shannon is also a regular contributor for the Revive Our Hearts True Woman and Leader Connection blogs. Her writing and speaking has been featured on FamilyLife Today, Proverbs 31 and other sites. She is the author of several books, including Control Girl: Lessons on Surrendering Your Burden of Control from Seven Women in the Bible, Influence: Building a Platform That Elevates Jesus (Not Me), and Comparison Girl: Lessons from Jesus on Me-Free Living in a Measure-Up World.
Shannon and her husband, Ken, have been married for more than twenty years and live in West Michigan with their three children.
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