Dec. 16, 2025

Not Perfect

Do you ever feel like you’re falling behind, striving for an unreachable standard of perfection? In today’s episode, host Stephanie Muiña opens up about her personal journey through stress, expectations, and the ups and downs of life. Together, we’ll explore what it truly means to let go of perfection and embrace God’s grace, leaning into Ephesians 2:22 and discovering that our mission isn’t about being perfect—it’s about being built up by Him.

Join our community as we rest in God's love, share encouragement, and pray to become a dwelling place for His spirit through every imperfect moment.

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You're listening to the My Morning Devotional podcast, episode 1422.

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Today's Devo is called Not Perfect. Hey there.

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We're the Alessies, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional podcast. Good morning, everybody. I hope you're having a wonderful day today. And I just want to thank you so much for coming along with me this week. As I share my testimony, as I share what I'm going through, I. I don't want this to be heavy. I want this to, to unite us in spirit. If you are going through dark days, the Lord is with you and he's using these dark days to strengthen you and to strengthen your faith. Everything is redeemable when the hand of God is in it. So I'm going to dive into this. I'm diving into Ephesians

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22 in the ESV version, and it says in him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. You know, this season I am, you know, this season I'm, I'm stressed. I'm in the middle of tons of Christmas shopping, tons of work, family, family events, church events. It is like. And I'm sure all of you understand exactly what I'm talking about. I'm in my Dollar Tree era. I'm in my Walmart era. I just got a new house, so I cannot afford anything more than that. And you know what? I might stay there for a long time because I got a lot of Dollar Tree the other night and I would highly recommend everybody try that out if you're on a on a budget. But the pressure is definitely getting to me as a mom and a wife. My husband and I, we are going through some weird ups and downs, highs and lows. If you listen to my podcast from yesterday, you would understand what Chris and I are walking through.

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Go and check it out. But we are just having the highest of highs with our new home and the lowest of lows with a lost pregnancy.

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And I definitely feel like in some areas I'm falling behind. I'm not getting the Christmas shopping as quickly as I thought. I'm on a very, very tight budget this year. My emotions and my hormones are up and down and I am all over the place with work, trying to get it done. As fast as I can.

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But also, I gotta take things into consideration. I gotta take my time. I've gotta delegate things. And this is the season where I can feel like I'm falling behind. I get stressed, I get moody. And it's all because I have this belief that all that I'm doing isn't enough. I look at the people around me and they're able to do it. They're able to do it, but I can't. So I must not be enough, which deep down is a fault. I can't think that way. I can't think that way. Because what am I trying to do? Strive to be perfect. Because what is perfection? Wearing heels all day, Having a big meal on the table every single night that's freshly cooked and organic, Having a perfectly decorated house. I can't even house and host people because my house is a construction site.

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Because that idea of perfection no one has ever fully reached. And this is what I am coming to realize in this season of my life. The goal is not to be perfect, because life is never perfect. And the only thing that is perfect is Jesus. Jesus never changes. He's not moody, he's not superficial.

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Jesus is perfection. The definition of perfection is Jesus, not me and my actions. It's Him. And my mission in life isn't to be perfect for man's sake, but it's to be holy for God's sake. And that's why I love that. The scriptures say I am being built together, which translates, I haven't made it yet, but God is working on me.

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The truth is, guys, we were never meant to be perfect.

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We were meant to depend on his perfection. He is building us up to be his dwelling place.

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So we were meant to depend on him and then to have his spirit dwelling inside of us. And do you know what that means?

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That none of this is even about us. Life, your life, my life. It's about Him. The perfect days, the imperfect days, the days that we fall behind, the days that we're keeping up, the days that we feel like our house is perfect.

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It's not really about us. It's about Him. And he uses all of those days to build us up so that we can become a dwelling place for his spirit.

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So here's my encouragement to you today. Don't be stressed.

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Don't ever think you aren't enough. Don't compare yourself to where others are. If you are completely depending on Jesus, then you are exactly where you need to be.

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If every single day you are being built up by God, then You are soon to become a dwelling place for God, which means you are walking in his will to simply become a dwelling place for him.

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Life doesn't have to look perfect. We just have to depend on his perfection. So that's my challenge for you today. Rest in him and depend on his perfection. Let's pray.

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God, if I've ever tried to be perfect, I just stop that right now. I don't need to be perfect because I don't need to live. I want to live up to your image of holiness. Not perfection, but holiness.

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I want to live my life, God, to please you. I want to live my life to be like you. So Father, build me up today. My heart is open, my mind is open, my thoughts are open. My whole life is opened up to you, Jesus, to build me up, to become a dwelling place for your spirit. Your spirit brings life, your spirit brings unity. Your spirit brings joy, it brings peace. And Father, if I can become a dwelling place for that spirit, for your spirit, then I'm living in the will of God. And that's where I want to be. So today, God, I will walk in your will. I will become a dwelling place for your spirit. And in Jesus name we pray. Amen.

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So there you have it, your 5 minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend, leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow. We pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.