stand up.

I recently watched this video {youtube splits it into two} and it really impacted me. It's about 16 minutes long, but for me it was well worth watching.





These are some of my favorite quotes I've gleaned from her speech: 



"I've been hated since conception by so many, and loved by so many more, but most especially by God. I'm His girl. You don't mess with God's girl. I've got a sign on my forehead that says you'd better be nice to me because my Father runs the world."


"I think in our misunderstanding of the way things work, we misunderstand how beautiful suffering can be. I don’t willingly sign up for it, but when it comes we forget, we forget that God is in control and God has a way of making the most miserable thing beautiful." 


"Don’t you realize that you cannot make your own heart beat? Don’t you realize that all the power that you think you possess, you really possess none of it. It is the mercy of God that sustains you – even when you hate Him." 

"How much are you willing to take and how much are you willing to risk to speak the truth in love and graciousness and stand up and at least be willing to be hated?" 

"Men, you are made for greatness. You are made to stand up and be men... You are made to be kind and great and gracious and strong and to stand for something. Women, you are not made for abuse. You are not made to sit and not to know your worth and your value. You are made to be fought for. Forever. So now is your moment. What sort of people are you going to be?"


I bolded the quote that had the greatest impact on me personally. It made me realize that I cannot be ashamed to share my beliefs. I have to at least be willing to be hated for what I believe in. I believe that Christ was hated far more than I ever will be for the truth. How can I call myself a Christian if I'm not at least willing to share in that with Him? From now on, I'm going to speak the truth in love and graciousness. I'm going to stand up.