for what do you want to be known?

i read this prayer on my uncle's blog the other day and it got me thinking... what DO i want to be known for? 

"Lord, as I grow older, I would like to be known as
available rather than a hard-worker;
compassionate more than competent;
content not driven;
generous instead of rich;
gentle over being powerful;
good listener over being a great communicator;
loving vs. quick or bright;
reliable not famous;
sacrificial instead of successful;
self-controlled rather than exciting;
thoughtful more than gifted.
I want to be a foot washer.
Amen."

i love this prayer. and these truly are things i want to be known as. besides these traits, i want to be known for being a woman of my word, an amazing lover, and a woman who submits with honor. here is an excerpt from an email that my friend, Elizabeth, sent me recently...

"love is but a SMALL part of marriage. at least emotional love anyway. what marriage requires is much deeper. much stronger. much more selfless. much more confident. much more secure. much more stable. much more dependable. and... WAY more full of grace than any emotional love can give. and until one can experience more than emotional love, no marriage will work.

it's hard, because most of us, when we hear a sermon or read God's word, we want to change, but we don't want to go through the process it takes to get there. for instance, i want to lose my baby weight, but i don't want to walk every day like i need to, in order to lose the weight. i read something this week that reminds me of this. it basically said that 'though we all applaud the thought of transformation, most of us don't appreciate the process that gets us there. To be transformed means we have to change, and change too often hurts. But as Paul W. Powell writes, God is more concerned about our character than our comfort. His goal is not to pamper us physically but to perfect us spiritually.'

Unfortunately, it is often easier to talk about obedience than to do anything about it. We'll dissect and analyze God's truth, debate it, and philosophize about it - anything but actually let it affect our lives."

i am someone who gets excited about change. i get hyped up after a sermon or after reading a motivational book but i am not always a big fan of the process it takes... and since i am such an all-or-nothing kind of person, if i can't do things perfectly, i give up quickly and completely. this frustrates me to no end. from exercise to diet to relationships... i want to be someone who says what she means and means what says. why is this so hard? i have been trying not to beat myself up about this but instead, searching God's Word to see what He says about words, about love, and about submission.

Matthew 12:36 "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

Luke 6:46 "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? 47I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. 48He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."

Ephesians 5:5 "For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7Therefore do not be partners with them."

1 John 3:18 "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence."

Genesis 29:20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.

Deuteronomy 10:12 And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? He requires you to fear him, to live according to his will, to love and worship him with all your heart and soul.

Psalm 32:10 Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him.

Psalm 85:10 Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.  

Psalm 103:8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

Proverbs 3:11-12 My child, don't ignore it when the LORD disciplines you, and don't be discouraged when he corrects you. For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

Proverbs 20:6 Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?

Proverbs 21:21 He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.

Matthew 5:44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you...

Luke 7:47 "Her sins--and they are many--have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love."

John 15:12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

1 Corinthinas 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails.

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control.

Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to the disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me."

Ephesians 5:21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

Mark 8:34-35 If any of you wants to be my follower...you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life. 

What about you?
For what do you want to be known?