Today is another day where I can’t just write what I want to say – I need to “show and tell” you. In today’s short video message below I share how God walked me through a process of looking back with courage – so I could move forward with hope. He helped me identify things I didn’t even know were affecting me and gently led my heart on a journey towards freedom – showing me how to of let go of the pain from my yesterdays so I could live with confident hope in my todays… and tomorrows.
{Are you a note-taker? If so, I created “Video Message Notes” in a PDF format here or in a MSWord doc here, just for you. Even included key verses and blanks to fill in.} 🙂
Today’s Giveaway:
I’m giving away 3 Confident Heart gift packs for 3 of you. Each one includes a copy of my book, A Confident Heart {for you or a friend?}, my “Rest Assured” message on CD and a Starbucks gift card!
Let’s Connect {and how to enter today’s drawing}:
I’d love to hear how God speaks to you through today’s video message… and this is an easy way to enter today’s giveaway too. Just click “share your thoughts” right below this post and do just that. I’ll be here reading and praying over each of you and your stories. {Also, I know the timelines I encourage you to create might sound overwhelming or scary, so I recorded a little video message to talk/walk you through that process – If you’d like to hear more click here to watch it after you share your thoughts below.}
For More Daily Encouragement join my Confident Heart Facebook page.
Receive My Posts in Your Inbox
If you aren’t already a subscriber, sign up in my right sidebar where it says “Receive Email Updates” — and you won’t miss a thing! I’ve got more giveaways, short video messages and lots of encouraging posts I’m working on for the coming weeks.
Discover more from Renee Swope
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Your message is so true and a truth I’ve recently experienced. My son was killed in a car accident at the age of 19 and his death changed my life. My soul was pierced and I no longer knew who I was without my child. God set me on a journey of discovery that included examining the relationship I had with my own mother which had always been troubled. God allowed me to remember the hurts, recognize how those hurts had affected me, accept my mother’s imperfections, forgive and love her and in doing this, forgive and love myself. Because I stepped out of the shadow of bitterness and hurt and into the light of God’s truth and grace, my mother and I are close and our relationship is healed. I’ve let go of the lies Satan whispers in the dark shadows that I’m not loved, not good enough, not worthwhile, will never be successful. God shows me His truth and gives me the courage to face the darkness of my hurts in order to walk with Him in the joy of His light and the hope of a future He has intended for me.
This is wonderful. I have always had low self esteem. I always struggled in school and never felt good enough to do better. I am working on it day by day and I will be 34. I have an 8 year old son and he has bad speech delay andi am trying to help him as i read your book.along with helping myself. The Lord is amazing .
Your post has encouraged me to go to the library and check out this book. I’m so in this place you describe and I want to be able to move on. I know it’s possible because that’s what God promises, I just don’t know how! Thanks for sharing.
Renee- Thank you for the devotional. I have been working through trusting God with the issues I had growing up and the even bigger ones that surfaced 2 years ago. I had a father, but he was not a loving one. He was an overbearing, controlling person who could never tell me he was proud of me. I spent all my school years trying to please him. For example, I graduated in the top 10% of my graduating class and often made straight A’s. His comment was always, “well, you could have made an A+, or you could have placed higher”. When my mother was dying, he was intolerable. Afterwards he served me with a legal document to prevent me from having a memorial for her. I could have stayed angry, but I gave it to God, and he gave me peace. I can’t say it was easy, and I did go to a very low place as my heart was breaking, but God showed me Psalm 34:118 – The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. He showed me this after I cried for 3 days and 2 nights. I then felt peace and began to heal. I am still working on it, but I know with God I can. I want to read your book.
Thank you for sharing your hope … I am a recent widow and am stuck in my grief but your words “keep us from experiencing all that God has for our tomorrows” so applies as I wonder what God has in store for my today and tomorrows … and what purpose He has in this journey. I have struggled with my past and the hurt and fear from relationships and the isolation and I know that is not God’s plan but it “feels” easier to run away from it. Thank you for your ministry.
Lorraine, I’m sorry for your Loss. I won’t tell you that I know your grief, but I do understand what it’s like to be a widow. I was widowed when I was 27 with 5 small children to raise. I remarried, but that husband was also killed. I was in my late 30’s. Now as I look back, I know I have survived by the Grace of God. Stay close to God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Virginia
as soon as i read your post on Proverbs 31 tears filled my eyes. I am currently in a womens group that focus on healing from our past. I have been so scared of looking into my past out of fear that i migh just fall apart of what i find. I have been so numb to my feeling for many years that alowing myself to feel is very scary. i know that coming accross your website is no coincident. God has a plan and the time to face my fears is now. God is such a gentle God that he has been working with me throught these last couple of years to prepare me for today. I will be subscribing to your email and know that i am not alone as i face into this journey.
I read the daily Proverbs 31 message and watched the video. It is truly amazing how God works with the people of His kingdom to give me the words that I need. I had a conversation with a friend of mine yesterday about our fears, wants, promises not met yet and peace. I too felt that my past had hindered me from the outcome of I things that I want in life. I haven’t always been peaceful at waiting for God. I thought if I could “control” or “help” God out in different situations in my life, I would get what I wanted. However, every time that I did that, I could never get the result I was looking for. Like you said, I was disappointed and hurt because it didn’t work out in my favor.
So many of the things in my life that I had to let go of; my divorce, men, partying, depression, anger, and abandonment. Every now and again, satan has tried to seep into my mind that I am not where I would like to be. But that just isn’t true. The things that I have asked for in life, I have received and not in the form of what I wanted it to be. I asked for a family, and God had blessed me with a wonderful church & “church parents” who love me unconditionally. I asked for peace from my nightmares & singleness. God put activities from church, cooking for many people, and volunteering. I had asked for love to fill my loneliness, and I have to tell you that I have received so much love in the many forms that God could ever show me. I realized something, that I am not alone, that I am loved by Jesus and to keep moving forward with His plan.
I wanted to share apart of my quiet time with you this morning, as I feel led to do so, This morning at about 3:30 am my spirit began singing praises to God. I drempt I was in a cafe around Christmas time and was singing – Although I do not remember all of the words when I woke up these were the words that stayed with me and I thought they were timely for our study. The words were ” You know all of my wants, you know all of my needs. i may not get all of my wants but i do get all of my needs. And what I need is Jesus. Feeling His blood wash over me cleansing me of my sins. Then refreshing me with His living water. Jesus died for my sins and brought me salvation. All I need is Jesus … Jesus… Jesus…”
And after that I awoke. I knew then that it was the Holy spirit speaking on my behalf and immediately prayed as i laid in bed. Thanking God for sending Jesus and the Holy Spirit so i could know Him better and be with Him. I just felt I wanted to share this with my sisters (in Christ)
Hope your day is blessed…
Debi
I thank you for posting this Mrs. Swope because I believe that it will help me to get down to the root of what’s been going on with me. Thank you!
I just read CH 4 and I will honestly say…I am sorry to say it..I haven’t heard the call. I wasn’t a bad kid growing up but I did get into my share of trouble. Boy trouble that is. My husband and I have not been to church in a while. We come from two different religious background and we are trying to find our common ground. I know this is bad and hopefully we will find something soon…I wonder if this is my problem with a lot of other stuff. I do enjoy bible studies….so what is my problem
I’d love to hear how God speaks to you through today’s video message:
I love Jer. 29:11! That is a verse I pray over children. However, God’s plans include everything that has happened in my life! Everything can be used for my highest good. Thank you for the chance to read your book.
Renee, as I listened today to your video, I realized being the eldest girl of six, I didn’t get the attention and love I needed as a child. Also I saw things happening outside my home in other families that we as a family did not do and I felt left out and different. We never did daddy ~daughter dances, never did the school open house, or other school activities done with parents, they were too tired from work or too busy with the younger siblings. So as I listened to you speak, I realized I too was seeking to make up for these things in my husband and my two children, and my life. My husband does not fit the role I wanted my husband to be, I wanted a suit and tie and he is blue jeans and a sweatshirt guy. He is not what I wanted a husband to be and it caused conflict and to this day does still. But after listening to you and realizing I was wanting him to be what I didn’t have as a child I think working through some of these issues may be easier now. But I do see my daughter wanting my husband to be a certain type of dad to her now that she is 34 and I kind of commend her for speaking up and saying to my husband, “Dad, lets go for a walk” and make an effort to spend time with him~~~~~~~~thank you for sharing with us.
Hi Renee, We too have been thru many struggles over the past few years(16) to be exact. From the loss of both sets of parents, a very rebellious child, the same child suffering from cancer, the loss of jobs and many major financial issues. I just cannot list it all. I am at that point in my life where we have had to make so many changes even career changes that I am scared of and hope I have made the right choice. Your message spoke to me letting me know that the changes, difficulties and pain have all led to this point in my life-a hope for the future. That it was in God’s plan all along. Please pray for us that I have made the right choice, that it is all going to fall in place, and pray for me to have the confidence to move forward and to step out of my comfort zone. Thank you!
As I read Ch. 4, two things in particular stood out to me. First, I can relate to feeling God’s call for me to share my story of true freedom from an eating disorder through Christ’s strength. In fact, it is what led me to attend and eventually become a She Speaks “Graduate”. I went to the conference every year seeking support, equipping, and encouragement to write, speak, and lead others by sharing my story. I have been blessed to share my story in front of a small church groups as well as 275+ crowd and regularly write devotions for those who struggle with eating disorders and negative body/self image. However, it is my daily conversations with those around me, those I meet through volunteer work or chance encounters that can only be God-designed, where I feel like God is saying…”This is what you are here for…” At SheSpeaks conferences, I would leave ready to go stand on the mountain top in front of anyone, publish articles and books…shout my hope to the world…Instead, God has asked me to crawl into the quiet places, the dark, lonely, cavernous prisons wherein many of those around me live. To sit where they are, and whisper about the hope and the comfort that God has given me…and let them know God has it waiting for them too.
It is interesting that this has been the way my ministry has manifested itself. At my first SheSpeaks Conference, I was in the prayer room. I noticed a woman from my Speaking Group near me praying. As I left, she came running out of the prayer room, “I need to tell you something…meet me later,” she said. Now I had only met this woman once during our first break out session, I couldn’t even remember her name! Throughout the entire weekend we would have brief encounters, but because of the busy schedule and the fact that I was staying in a different hotel, we did not get a chance to talk. Everytime she saw me she would say, “Don’t forget…i need to tell you something.” On the last day of the conference, I was leaving early to drive back to Florida. As I walked quietly out of the room of 600+ women and headed to the parking lot, I heard her…”Wait!Wait! Don’t leave!!” She happened to have seen me leaving and didn’t want to miss telling me, “When I was praying next to you in the prayer room that first night, God told me to tell you that you were going “undercover” in you ministry…We could not figure out what this meant…but I did not forget this. Now as I work, not only with women who have eating disorders, but also in the fitness industry, I often find myself sharing God’s truth, not overtly in a “mountain top” kind of way, but in a discreet, quiet way…almost “undercover” I guess you could say!!
I am so thankful that SheSpeaks prepared me for the many different ways God has asked me to share my story…and I am blessed to do so, even if it means “setting one more captive free” at a time 🙂
This is my first Bible/book study and I haven’t commented much on these blog posts, but chapter 4 gave me that extra “oomph” I needed to “right a wrong” with someone from my past from about 12 years ago.
I was the one that needed forgiveness – forgiveness from her, from God, from myself.
Without going into full detail, I did/said something to… let’s just call her “K”… that was/is completely out of my character. I hadn’t spoken to “K” since “that night” 12 years ago, but this past Tuesday I told her I was sorry, truly sorry, for what I did. I think she was pretty shocked (and so was I)! She acknowledged that it was a long time ago, that my apology meant a lot to her and that it took courage for me to apologize.
She accepted my apology!
“K” and I are not all of a sudden instant best friends and I may not even ever speak to her again, but I don’t think I would’ve had the courage to confront my shame and embarrassment before reading this chapter (or this book) – my heart is a little more free and on it’s way to being confident!
Apologizing to “K” is just a baby step, but it’s a step.
I’m in my twenties and still trying to figure out what God’s plan is for me? All I want is for Him to use simple me – however, whatever, whenever, wherever that may be! Jeremiah 29:11-13 gives me comfort!
I, too, grew up without a dad – wouldn’t know him if I passed him on the street. I still have WAY bigger issues to deal with (y’all are so BRAVE! I haven’t had the courage to share anything from my past except what I just typed) and my journey of asking for forgiveness, forgiving those that have hurt me and finding the strength to forgive myself is far from over, but I am no longer afraid of my future or of my past because “God promises hope for my future despite the pain of my past!”
A quote I recently came across:
“Down on my knees that’s where I learned to stand, Lord, I can’t even walk without you holding my hand!”
Thanks Renee!
God woke me with a revelation of an event from my past that I always knew and have shared, but today, he showed me how that has impacted my life and I am so very grateful. There is always more healing and deeper layers of it. May God bless each one of us who is reading this book.
One more thing Renee, I too like many of the women have been awaken by God at 3 or 4 am and was prompted/led to open your book. God is truly amazing and I pray that I can help bring healing to hurting men and women.
Renee,
Good morning! I started reading Chapter 4 and things started coming to me from my past and I closed myself off. Thankfully God started showing me what was happening to me. I called my Christian counselor and she along with the Holy Spirit helped me process that God was healing me and trying to get me to a place of heart knowledge instead of just head knowledge. Also, I realzed that knowing the truth and appropriating it correctly is not always easy. However, with God All things are possible to she that believes! I had to keep telling myself I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me. I am so thankful to God and you for your ministry. Keep bringing healing to hurting women Renee. Keep teaching us how to forgive, how to let go and how to trust God confidantly. We need you and I love you for your honesty and your maskless life!
I woke up at 4am with a heavy heart to watch your video and I thank you for sharing I cried through the whole thing. I am holding my family back, and I’m afraid it might be to late for me to keep my family together my husband abandoned us and the killer is he’s in afganistan so I can’t talk to him but I have learned that it doesn’t matter cause I must get right with God again and his plan and I must accept that no matter how many tears he must wipe. This is a hard one for me but just what I needed. I’m so afraid to leave my home because of an ex domestic abuser and God doesn’t want me to be in fear he wants me to trust he has me and he wants all of me. I hoped that makes sense a lot of abandonment issues obviously. Thanks for your guidance.
Aly,
I married to get away from an abusive relationship with my high school sweet heart. I wanted out of my hometown and I chose the fastest way out. It wasnt the right thing to do but fear can motivate us when we dont trust God. Something I had to come to grips with and be honest with God and myself about. Aly trust God to keep you safe. Read and meditate on Psalms 91:. God keeps me everytime I go back to my home town. I havent seen the high school sweet heart in over 20 years. When I am on the plane I pray and I rest in God. I pray God’s will for your marriage, that your husband will hear from God in Afganistan be obeident as well as be protected over there and that no danger will come nigh you or your husband. God heals and restores allow Him to restore you that is the best gift we can give our families. I will keep you and your family in my prayers. August Rose
I agree with you today… I’ve always struggled with past failures and issues that I probably should have done differently and perhaps the outcome would have been different… It’s very hard to bring them to surface because you think you have forgotten them or you are over them and the pain of re-living the whole thing again just terrifies me… Recently I had to deal with a comeback dealing of anxiety attacks… I battled anxiety for a few months and God healed me of this… I will forever be grateful but recently I started to feel the onset of anxiety and it freaked me out… all of sudden I started to doubt that perhaps God didn’t heal me and I was struggling again…. After praying and bringing this whole thing again before the feet of Jesus He once again reassured me of His love and the peace of mind that calms my anxious heart…. It’s a healing rain that showers me and lets me know…. no matter what I have in the past… I can confront it I can face it and with Christ there is really nothing I can’t overcome…. Thanks for the sweet reminder…. Bless you!!