Everybody Has Duck Lips

Duk lipz. I haz thum.

I'm so sorry to subject you to this. Really, I am. 

I've come to the conclusion that everybody has duck lips. Sounds deep. I can hear philosophers flipping in their graves. Sorry Socrates. I'm running with it.

What spawned the infamous "duck lip" photos which (unfortunately) continue to drown Facebook?* It's simple: People doing what they think makes them look good, desirable. It becomes a contest to take it to the extreme. 

Oh the irony of wearing my "It's not about me" t-shirt...

"did u see my new duck lips photo?"

"sick. I bet I can stick my duck lips out frthr than u."

"not even." 

"just uploaded it."

"ur the duck lips queen."**

 Maybe your news feed isn't clogged with duck lips:

"I just ran 14 miles with ankle weights on, did 4,000 crunches, drank kale juice and haven't touched a Snickers bar in 3 three years. What have YOU done today?"

or

"I got up at 5 am, baked 6 loaves of bread, greeted my family with made-from-scratch buckwheat pancakes in the shape of flowers, after which we enjoyed a blessed time of family worship in the garden while we sang hymns and weeded. Then we washed our vegetables, swept, mopped, dusted, vacuumed, got all the laundry done and still had time to make a nutritious dinner and light the candles on the table well before hubby walked in the door."

or

"I just got employee of the year again (six years running)! *giggle* I guess I'm the best in the company. Sorry co-workers. Time to step up your game."

Duck lips. Duck lips. Duck lips.

Not resonating with you? How 'bout this:

"I'm such a good Christian. I did my quiet time, prayed over each of my children, volunteered at the local shelter, made time to mentor three kids and will spend my weekend praying and fasting. If you're not doing this, you are seriously missing out."

Duck lips.

In case you're wondering, this is "smart duck lips".

None of these are bad things (well. except for the kale juice). Pretentiously touting your accomplishments across your Facebook, Twitter, whatever (or in person) is just your brand of duck lips. 

I'm sure some people share their triumphs to keep family informed. If you don't live near the parents, this is a great way to share the daily happenings. I'm also sure they're the minority. Most of us are just looking for a way to pat ourselves on the back and hopefully get some others to applaud us as well. I know I'm guilty of it. But isn't unsolicited praise so much sweeter than that which is squeezed out of others? 

My identity, my worth, my accomplishments need to be rooted in something so much bigger than the praises of man. I serve a God who can blow their speech right out of the water with seven golden words: 

"Well done, my good and faithful servant." 

I'd rather hear those nine syllables once than hear a thousand praises for the mundane undertakings of my day. 

Setting Aside My Brand Of Duck Lips,

Cynthia

P.S. I had a heck of a time explaining to my children why exactly I was taking pictures of myself in the bathroom mirror. You're welcome.

*And we wonder why Facebook stock struggles. 

**Try to reign in your enthusiasm over my mad high school conversational skillz.

It's The Little Things That Can Make The Biggest Difference

Pleasant words are a honeycomb: sweet to the taste and health to the body.

Proverbs 16:24

Who doesn't appreciate an encouraging word? 

That's what I thought.

The problem is I'm socially challenged when it comes to accepting compliments. It goes something like this:

Nice Person: I like your hair.

Me: Oh, uh, *snort*. Yeah, I grew it myself. Um. Thank...you...

OR

Nice Person: I liked your blog post about________.

Me: Thanks.

Cue crickets chirping as Nice Person realizes I'm much funnier on paper.*

I'm not an easy person to encourage, and yet people persist in doing so. Every day someone takes the time to cheer me on, and bring a smile to my face. This forced me to consider, how often I intend to do likewise for others, but never quite get around to it. I make time for all sorts of shenanigans, but writing a quick note to a friend, or calling up someone just to say they were on my heart rarely makes the top of the list. 

I'm issuing a challenge to myself and hope you'll join me. Let's see if we can't manage to encourage at least one person every day. I'm not talking about telling your kid their art project looks nice. I'm talking about reaching out to someone whom God is prompting you to encourage. It might be someone you haven't spoken with in years. It might be awkward (it will be if they receive compliments like I do). It might not result in a Hallmark moment. But that's OK, because:

A word spoken at the right time is like gold apples on a silver tray.

Proverbs 25:11

Our pastor reminds us regularly that "It's always the right time to love", which means it's always the right time for an encouraging word.

Be A Blessing,

Cynthia

*It's true people. The jokes come a lot slower in person. Sorry to disappoint.