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.}
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Thanks for the encouraging words today. I struggle with God’s call on my life. He has given me a vision of being a speaker and author someday down the road, bur I constantly obsess over how I can get there. Right now he has called me to be a wife, mom, and homeschool my children, while I just write in my journals and blog almost as a hobby. This was encouraging to me as it gave me my daily reminder I need to not worry and to trust Him.
I have to admit that it was only 2 years ago that I truly discovered that I struggled with RAD based on all the research I did for a few months. Thanks to a dear friend & mentor I’ve begun that healing process, but it takes time to let go of all the hurt one experiences in their life. Through the grace of God I’ve been learning to surrender them over to Him & to receive the peace that He has to offer.
I think the Devil knows when we want to go deeper in our relationship for there’s always been obstacles in the past months every time I desired to take this study. Last time it was no book. This time it’s moving, school, work, & job hunting. I’ve found myself struggling to keep up with it, but I am not giving up this time.
God bless your ministry!
You are all so brave to share your stories, there are so many hurts that need to be healed. So often we look fine on the outside but underneath are buried all the hurts and emotional turmoil of our past. As I was cleaning my stove yesterday I noticed a parallel to my emotions. After polishing the top it looked shiny and perfect but as I bend down to view it from a horizontal view I could see a white film and I know that when this film is left the minute the burner is turned on that film turns to a yucky brown film.
That film parallels to our emotions. When the heat is turned up in our lives our outside facade quickly deteriorates leaving us with feelings of insecurity, self doubt and even anger at our circumstances. How do we get rid of that “film” (replaying of negative thoughts) forever?
By daily bringing it to the foot of the cross and “humbling ourselves and casting our cares upon him who loves us.” He is the only one who can put on the final “polish” and take us from whining (despairing about our circumstances) to “shining” through the light of his Glory.
Praying for you all in light of your circumstances.
Thank you for your words Lynn
I love how you were able to see the paralel of stove top to our emotions!!
A dear friend reminded me this week of doing every thing onto the Lord, even cleaning! See how he can use us and enlighten us while doing housework!!!! Awesome
And thank you for the reminder of bringing ourselves to the foot of the cross daily!
What an awesome study community this is – PRAISE GOD!
Thanks also to Renee for letting HIM use her to minister to us
Blessings
Karen
Just like you said, the Holy Spirit did bring to mind something from my past that is affecting my todays. Now, I know what I am struggling with. Thank you.
The Lord is is using you to help heal and restore his children. Thank you. Reading and listening to this
today was God. I know and love God with all my heart but have been going through a hard time lately. I’ve beeen dealing with loss of family members, health issues, and severe PTSD .I’m hoping to be abe able to get your book and join study thank you again.
Thank you for sharing with us. The pain of disapppointments from the past have led me to do things my way instead of letting go and let God. thank you that i recognised that God a has plan to prosper me and not to harm me. the plans to give me hope. Lord i am searching you with all my heart, i surrender all my disappointments to you.
Thank you for this message. I get stuck in my past so often, not really being encouraged as I grew up, not believing I could do anything great. Pray for me that I can break free from past failures to have the future God wants me to have. Thanks
One of my favorite verse is Jeremiah 29:11. Powerful video message. I’ve got to learn how to let go of the pain of my past. I’m glad that he has plans for my future. I am going through a healing process of being let down by a pastor and having to get used to a new pastor. So needed this study.
Thanks for a great reminder! Just went through a painful divorce last year, in the healing stage. A great reminder.
Thank you for sharing this encouraging words through your video. It really blesses me and my heart.
The hope I have is only found in Jesus. The healing and redemption from my past is only thrught the Truth of God’s word when I let Him speak to me.
Today I pray that God will continue speaking to me and that His power enable me to seek Him rvery moment.
Thank you amd God bless you!
WOW! I was looking on Renee’s own website and found an awesome free download Praying for My Husband from Head to Toe…IT was just what the “Doctor” (Jesus) ordered as to how to pray, because there have been some hurts in my heart and this is just what I needed to read. Goes along with a lot of others comments too.
I printed that prayer and gave to my husband for Valentines Day. He said it meant more than all the cards I could have purchased. When we are praying positive statements, we don’t have time to dwell on the negative. Marriage isn’t the easiest relationship. We been married 27 yrs. I was twice widowed with 5 children from the 1st marriage. I wondered why God sent such a good christian man to me. I (we) are so blessed to have Christ in our marriage.
Thanks for the encouragement, I love the Jer. 29:11 promise, and I loved focusing on the promise that comes after….that He will listen to us, that He will be found by us, and that He will set us free! So amazing. This weeks study is really opening my eyes to seek Him moment by moment, turning everything over to Him. One of the things in my past, that I have put on my timeline is losing my hearing at 6 years old, from meningitis. Growing up, I was very bitter, jealous, and asked “why?”. I struggled feeling that I belonged…..I have a cochlear implant that allows me to hear, but it is not perfect, and I didn’t fit in with the deaf world either, because of my implant. I was depressed most of thru college. Thankfully, that all changed when I found God after college.
Your Prov 31 message today was just what I needed – going thru a challenging time with my soon to be 5 year old daughter,….and I know I need to be “full of grace” all the time, so often I am not. It is so helpful to know I’m not the only one out there!!!!!!! And helps me to be focused, and prayerful to change, realizing I am still going to mess up from time to time, and thankful for His grace the !!!
Jackie,
I so identify with you. I started losing my hearing probally when i was around 5. My hearing loss is now severe to profound.
I had a difficult childhood with the hearing loss and other issues-i always felt different than the other kids. I wear hearing aids.
God has shown me few things about my past. I’ve always had a bit of hope and faith. Just wanted to let you know-i relate to having a hearing loss starting so young
Great message!!! I really needed it. Thank you for all you do for us through your ministry.
Boy God must really want me to look at my past… I am taking a leadership class at church and one of the things the teacher wanted us to do is to make a time line of our past to present. There has been alot of hurt. When i was very young my parents divorced too but I was determine not to let my kids go through what I did. I love my husband. We have been married for 27 yrs. Not only the hurt from the divorce but also from family members passing away. With every child I had a death in our family. Yes it is a process to look back and see all that God has brought me through it is a joy to know that God has always been in control of my life even through the hurts. Thanks for your words of encouragement.
Thank you, Renee, for reminding me that it’s a process as we heal from our hurts. Every once in a while something I thought I had dealt with creeps its ugly head, and the hurts feel like they just happened, but each time Jesus is there as my Comforter as I look to Him.
As a side note, so many of our verses add that line “as I trust in Him.” It’s an important reminder that we have to place our trust in Him and that it is a choice.
wow this messege really spoke to me i have a hard time dealing with my pain from my past i dont want to go through counsling i went through counsling since childhood i would have to say i have tried to pray away the pain as you mentioned in the video . ive taken many support classes but quit them cause the pain was to hard to deal with
Renee,
My mom forwarded an email to me with a link to your page. Thank you for doing what you do. Your video message was exactly what I needed to hear today. I too have a past filled with failed relationships, drug addiction, health issues, anger and resentment. I turned away from God for many years because I was so hurt and angry & felt like He wasn’t answering – much less listening to my prayers. Now I know that wasn’t the case- God was actually softening my heart and leading me back to Him. This year I was led to a church where I fit & have joined a weekly Bible study group. At 33, I’ve gone back to school and am preparing myself to hopefully become a nurse, wife & mother. I’m single, and health issues will prevent me from physically having a child, but I have hope that God will lead me to the right man and we can adopt children. Thank you for your words of hope and inspiration- I’m looking forward to reading your book!
God spoke to me through your message and through chapter four Renee by revealing to me that I was still hurting and wanting that fairytale marriage, just as happened in your marriage ten years ago. My parents divorced when I was five. One day we were at my mom’s parents house, my grandparents, where as a kid I had sleepovers quite a bit. On this day though things would change in my life forever. My mom called me privately into the guest bedroom at my grandparent’s home, and told me that she and daddy were getting a divorce, and that although they loved my baby sister and me, they didn’t love each other anymore. She then told me that we wouldn’t ever be going back to the house I grew up in, or my school. I didn’t get to say good-bye to anyone, or my old house. Everything had been moved up to my grandparents house, where we would all now be living. I remember feeling as if the room was spinning, and then I ran from the room and threw up in the restroom. Not too long after that we moved again, this time out of state, and I didn’t want to move then either. However once we got there and settled in with my aunt, I didn’t want to leave, but just short of a year later we moved back to my grandparent’s home. And a few years after that to another new town when my mom remarried, and then three months later divorced (the man had mental issues and had decided he didn’t like having children in his life). So we were back again at my grandparents until I was twelve, and then she married my step-dad, who was very good to us, and I loved. It seemed life had settled down, I was starting to relax into a regular, settled life. Then, sadly, my grandparents lost their home, and they moved in with us. The three bedroom, two bath house was crowded, and the adults all argued constantly for space, and about who exactly was raising my sister and me. So once again life became unstable.
My desire for stability led me to move out of state with my now husband after only knowing him a short time. I had desire for him, and he made me feel safe when I stayed at his home, so moving away with him seemed like I would finally have stability. Well, it was a horrible solution. We fought all the time, I threatened to leave multiple times, and although we really cared about each other it was very hard, and I hated the feeling of living together. I felt dirty and sinful. I wasn’t raised to think that way, in fact quite the opposite. However after attending church as a teen I learned a different way of living, and had just come back to the Lord after experimenting with new ageism, when I met and moved away from home with my now husband. After a few years we got married, and I had come to love my husband. After taking a deep look at our marriage last year in therapy it came to me that I had lust for my husband, wanted him to be my everything, but before we married, I didn’t love him yet. I had used him to escape, and to fill myself up with all of the affection, and love he gave me. I felt horrible. I never consciously thought if it that way, but looking back, it was true 🙁 Our marriage was great for years, but after having a child I focused on our child, and made raising our child my everything. My child was now my fill up. I saw that just recently while reading Renee’s book. Now after looking back on everything, I am seeing all of the places I looked for filling up, and in my time line of life, where my need for those fill ups happened.
Just before reading this book my husband and I saw Fireproof, and we made a commitment through the Lord to stay in our marriage, no matter what. I am fighting for my marriage, looking to let God fill me up, and not expecting my husband to do it all, or my daughter. God is the only one who can do it, and it isn’t fair to expect anyone else to do that. I also learned that I was looking for friends who would be my fill up, and it was just too much pressure on them. I think that most people could feel that needy quality in me, and it scared them away, or I got the people who exploited my needy, fill up needs, and used me to fill themselves up. Either way it wasn’t healthy, and I am seeing that now. From now on I will pray daily for God to be my fill up, no one else, and I have learned I have to be very aware of it daily. I can easily revert to looking to others to fill me up, and I don’t want to go there again! I think all of the relationships in my life will improve now, slowly, but they will. I am learning more than I ever thought I could through a Bible study. I know God brought me here, and to this knowledge, and I will be praying He will continue the work He has started in me, and that I can help others with the knowledge I am gaining too. Although all of this is very hard work, and I stumble, I look forward to learning more with each chapter. Thank you for this book and God’s work in you as you minister to us all. And thank you to all of the ladies on here you share their stories, and encourage, and pray for me. God bless you all!
Thank you for this book , right now I ask for prayer’s, chapter 4 is a struggle for me, because they tell me I have .P.T.S. so remembering is a real struggle for me. I know I am going through this study for a reason. I’m sure thing will become clear with Gods help.
Thanks for your prayers.
Susie I will be praying for you. I don’t have P.T.S, but I have anxiety/panic disorder, in addition to my depression, so I know some of the feelings you go through 🙁 I know how much it hurts, and how much of a struggle it is, how it affects everything in your life. I know I don’t have the same triggers, as your disorder was caused by a traumatic event, and mine, well, I think it was as a result of stress, and of a childhood that wasn’t stable. However, we both suffer :(. I have for had my anxiety for more years than I care to say, and depression for almost ten years, but with the help of therapy, medication (again please ladies, no comments on the issue of medication or therapy and please. It is hurtful to me some of the things I have heard from others in the Christian arena on the issue. Thanks for understanding everyone!), and now Renee’s book and God’s help, I am slowly starting to understand more. I have even seen an improvement in my depression! So I have faith you will see some results too. (((HUGS)))
Hi Renee, I pickedup my book again and am happy I didn’t quit like I wanted to two days ago. Your video and encouragment were spot on. Pages 74-79 were just what I was ready to understand with God’s help. Growing up without a father led me to self sufficiency and I was always very proud that I could do things on my own. I can’t identify when it started but I will. I’m 62. By the grace of God I became a christian Oct 13,2003…my husband walked the aisle two months later. I started going to Celebrate Recovery a few months later and began to see that my self sufficiently was stopping me from relying on God. I can see how doing a timeline will help. Like you said, I can do it a little at a time. I’m working on not being perfect and doing everything right. I know there is still a lot of processing to do but that’s ok now. I’ll let God take the lead and do it in His time. I think God led me to this study to help me on my journey to become closer to Him…….He is the Father to the fatherless.