Love and encouragement from an imperfect mom and her fun teen daughters. We welcome you to live life with us.
When we do not realize we are being shamed, we cannot heal. We must recognize when someone is shaming us and reject the lie of their shame. But do we understand the difference between guilt and shame? I discussed that difference in my last post “God’s Generosity with Our Talents” God convicts us of sins … Read more Harms of Hidden Shame
Why is God so good to us, so generous in giving us talents? I wrote last week about differing levels of talents, in my blog “2 Talents vs. 5 Talents.” If you missed it, be sure to read it. This week I wanted to talk about God’s generosity in giving us those talents, but also … Read more God’s Generosity with Our Talents
Equally Pleasing to God The good master equally praised two good servants in the Parable of the Talents (found in Matthew 25:14-30) even though these men accomplished different things. One man was given 5 talents, and he doubled what he was given. The other man was only given 2 talents, and he doubled that too. … Read more 2 Talents vs. 5 Talents
Denying our strengths and weaknesses causes us to believe the lie that we are being humble. Yet God wants us to celebrate our strengths and confess our weaknesses (and sins) to him. Our denial can drive us to feel shameful or prideful, because we will miss God’s delight with us in our strengths and his … Read more Pride in Our Denial
Many gals do not believe they are profoundly significant, because they think this sounds arrogant. We think we sound prideful if we acknowledge our strengths and achievements, but instead we miss God’s delight in giving us these strengths to positively impact others. We underestimate our profound significance to God and to other people. We are … Read more You are Profoundly Significant
People-Pleasing and Idolizing People Do you get tripped up by people-pleasing (fearing them or putting all your trust in them)? Jeremiah 17:5-6 warns against this people pleasing. Look at verse 5b, “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord.” Relying … Read more Curse of Fearing People:
God is showing me I can have compassion for those who hurt me without surrendering my heart to further attacks. I don’t want to fall into two different but equally wrong responses to those who hurt me. I don’t want to run away, fearing or hating those who hurt me with no regard for their … Read more Comfort my Enemies?
Ripping rotten roots out of my heart, God was a master gardener, with his pruning discipline after I refused to listen to his wise counsel. Some of the bad choices, like weeds, looked so innocent at first, but they were deadly, and I needed God to yank them out of my life. Even “good” aspects … Read more God’s Discipline: Weeds come when we disobey God
In last week’s post “Seeing Myself in Proverbs: Ouch! ” I admitted that God’s discipline hurts initially but then saves me from much worse pain. I talked about the greater pain I suffered when I did not heed God’s warnings in the book of Proverbs and other Scripture. Over time I realized I am better off … Read more God’s Discipline: Good but painful Gift
As I grow in my Christian faith, God showers me with his love and disciplines my sins, often through Bible verses I read. The love is a wonderful, easy gift. The discipline is also a blessing, albeit a painful gift. God is gentle, so he does not show me every sin at the same time. … Read more Seeing Myself in Proverbs: Ouch!