Hi, this is Joel in Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry.

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We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life.

Well, God bless you. It is always a joy to come into your homes. We love you and we're believing for God's very best for you and your family. We pray for you every day.

If you're ever in our area, I hope you'll come out and be a part of one of our services. These are the finest people in all of Houston. Right here at Lakewood, we'd love to have you be a part.

Thanks for tuning in today. I like to get started each week with something funny. I heard about this man that died and left his wife $20,000.

After the funeral, his wife told a friend that she was totally broke. She said, what do you mean you broke? I thought she had $20,000. She said, well, I spent $5,000 on the funeral and $15,000 on the memorial stone.

The friend said, wow, that was some stone. How big was it? She held up her finger and said, three and a half carats.

Hold up your Bible. Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do.

Today I will be taught the Word of God. I boldly confess my mind is alert. My heart is receptive. I will never be the same in Jesus' name. God bless you.

I want to talk to you today about not being critical towards yourself. So many people have a war going on on the inside. They are not really happy with who they are.

They go around thinking if I was just a little taller, if I just had a more outgoing personality, if I just had green eyes instead of these brown eyes, they are always wishing they were something different.

But if you are going to enjoy your life, you have to be happy with who God made you to be. If you don't get along with yourself, you will never get along with other people.

In the scripture says here in Ephesians 210, we are God's masterpiece. That means you are not average, you are not ordinary, you are one of a kind.

When God created you, He went to great lengths to make you exactly like He wanted. You didn't just happen to get your personality, you didn't just accidentally get your nose, your skin color, your gifts.

God on purpose designed you to be the way you are. You need to see yourself as unique, as an original, as God's very own masterpiece.

One time when I was in my early 20s, I was in India sitting on the beach watching the sun set. It was a beautiful picture. The water was so crystal clear.

As far as I could see to my left and right, it was just miles of the beach and beautiful palm trees. The sun was huge on the horizon just about to go down.

As I sat there, I thought about what a magnificent picture that was. The thought came to my mind about how God is such an incredible painter.

As I was just reflecting and thinking about my life, I heard God speak something to me. Not out loud, but right down in here. He said, Joe, you think this is a beautiful picture, do you?

I said, yes, God. I think it's magnificent. He said, well, what do you think would be my most prized painting, my most incredible creation?

I said, God, I think it would be this. This is magnificent. He said, no, it's not this. I thought about it a moment. Earlier that year, I'd been in the Rocky Mountains. That was so spectacular.

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