I feel like today's culture seeks at every turn to place more and more power in the hands of the individual. Bookstores are lined with shelves filled with self-help books. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and every other social media outlets turn our focus inwards, allowing us to fall more and more in love with ourselves, our thoughts, our opinions, our voices.

Give me open hands and open doors.

The thing is, dressing up, going to church, dropping a twenty in the offering plate, those things are all well and good, but that doesn't make you a Christian.

I think the biggest fear is the fear of what a life devoted to God will cost. We love our stuff, don't we? It's the fear of the thought that maybe, just maybe, a life going all in for God might mean we would have to let go of some of our stuff, our way of life, our comforts. That scares people. I know it scares me sometimes.

Any fitness expert will tell you that a strong core is the start to a strong and healthy body. The same is true with our identities. It's about strengthening our core, which requires digging past all of the surface identities that crowd our nametags and remembering that at the deepest level we are God's masterpiece. The stronger our knowledge of the core of who we are, the better we'll be able to deflect the old names and false identities that try to own us.

I walked away with a renewed passion for Scripture and I was powerfully reminded that God's Word really is a lamp to guide my feet along this journey of discovering who I am. I hope people will soak in the Scripture that I highlight throughout page after page of 'Hello, My Name Is' book.

I’m sick and tired of life with no desire. I don’t want a flame, I want a fire.