“So often thoughts from our past bombard our minds without us even recognizing them enough to stop them. They come in without permission or without an invite, but they leave us with a reopened wound.”
Please read the rest of my devotional about forgetting our pasts today at Encouragement Cafe and Crosswalk.
I got off the treadmill that morning and sighed. It was the first time I had run in months. “Only 20 minutes,” I said to myself, “I didn’t run for 30 minutes like I had planned. I’m so undisciplined. When will I ever become more disciplined? Why can’t I follow through on anything? I will never meet my goals.”
The thoughts came, one after the other, and spoke with such authority. They didn’t try to convince me of their truth because they spoke what I already thought about myself.
Does this describe you, too? Are you often bombarded by thoughts that you’re not enough, that your little bit of effort should be more, and that you’ll never change?
Today I’m sharing how to fight those thoughts with God’s truth at EncouragementCafe.com. Join me there to read more of my journey and some timeless truth from God’s Word.
There is no doubt in my mind that God has called me to mentor young women, especially young, single women. However, even though I know I am called, rarely do I feel qualified.
You see, I am no longer single. Now I am a married woman of six years, in my late 30’s, and I have a toddler girl. So I ask myself: Am I still qualified to speak into these women’s lives? Can I relate to them anymore? Am I relevant enough? Or “cool” enough – whatever that means?
Recently I had the privilege to share my answers to these questions in a devotional at EncouragementCafe.com. Join me there, and learn how yes, I am made to be a mentor, and regardless of where you are in your life, you are too!
Have you ever thought about mentoring a younger woman? What holds you back?
The other day I got a text message. It wasn’t the kind filled with exclamation points and emoticons but with hard periods and imperatives. And it was concerning Christmas.
The moment I read it I got a knot in my stomach. The knot stayed there for days, and now as I anticipate this week of Christmas I can’t shake the words. You see, this week I’m going to see the family member who sent me that text message. As much as I want to say my thoughts are of compassion and forgiveness and love, they’re really filled with dread. I imagine conversations I’m going to have with her. What I’m going to say if she says this or that. How I’m going to respond to the looks, sighs, and snide comments.
This isn’t the first time I’ve faced dreadful moments with family members during the holidays. And I’m certain it won’t be the last. Holidays can be messy! What I can do this week and in the future, however, is remember what I’ve learned from times before.
Today I’m sharing one of those times over at Encouragement Cafe and how we can love the unlovable by being living sacrifices. Join me there, and let’s pray for each other this week that no matter what holiday messiness we find ourselves in, we will be the hands and feet of Jesus – living sacrifices – that point others back to Him.
Merry Christmas, dear readers!!
Have you ever needed to make a decision about something – something that you wanted badly but weren’t sure if it was God’s will or not? So in your desperate attempts to hear His voice you start looking for Him everywhere. Maybe you even start manipulating circumstances so that it seems He’s speaking through them.
Well, that’s been me, too, and today I’m at Encouragement Cafe sharing this story with you – “God Speaks Through License Plates” – and talking about how to not misinterpret God’s voice.
Will you join me there? And even share with a friend?
As a child I was raised by a master organizer. An A-type personality, if you will. I remember my childhood home so well. No shoes left on the floor downstairs. Every t-shirt neatly folded and placed in its assigned drawer. Even food had its own place in the refrigerator.
Then there was my bedroom. I was fortunate to have a mom with a “shut the door” policy. Even though the rest of the house knew no junk drawers, messes, or clutter, I was allowed to keep my room how I wanted it. When I was about eight years old I remember asking for permission to mess up my neatly folded drawers of clothes. My best friend didn’t have nice and neat dresser drawers, so I didn’t want them either. “Sure,” my mom said, “but I don’t know how you’ll keep anything free of wrinkles that way.”
That was my goal – to keep my life free of wrinkles like my mom. And I wanted to just as good at it as she was. However, that wasn’t me. That was the pseudo me.
Today I am featured at Encouragement Cafe Devotions talking about When Perfectionism Steals Your Identity. Read the rest of my story there and how I am overcoming an identity stolen by perfectionism.