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Renee Swope

Encouraging and equipping moms to parent with God's grace and confidence.

Getting Up Again

“Failure can be hurtful but it can also be beneficial
because failure produces wisdom when we ask for it
and maturity when we learn from it.”

In my Proverbs 31 Ministries devotion today, I shared this truth and how God’s used it to teach me how to “get up again” when failure threatened to keep me down. I also shared about a fun give-away I have today but before we get to those details, I want to invite those of you who are new to my blog to sign up for my FREE “7-Day Doubt Diet” devotions in my sidebar.

These devotions are for friends like you! They include a week’s worth of encouragement and practical ways to lose the weight of self-doubt. And they’ll also give you a peek inside my book before it releases because they include some of my favorite parts of A Confident Heart.

I also wanted to give you some promises that will help us re-define our perspective! As I shared in my devotion, following Jesus is not about avoiding failures and being perfect. It’s about accepting our weaknesses and becoming more dependent on God’s perfect love and power at work in us.


In Chapter 12 of “A Confident Heart I’ve included a chart of thirty-one promises to replace our defeating doubts with God’s empowering perspective. Here are a few for you to print and carry with you when you need His help to get up again – in your heart and in your thoughts:
______________________
Perspective-Changing Promises

 

When I Say: I don’t know what to do.
God Says: I will direct your steps. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Prov. 3:5–6, NIV)

When I Say: My life is too hard.
God Says: Let Me help you. I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. (Ps. 91:15, NIV)

When I Say: I can’t do it.
God Says: Rely on My strength and you can do all that I’ve called you to do. I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me. (Phil. 4:13 AMP)

When I Say: I’m too afraid.
God Says: I have not given you a spirit of fear.For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. (2 Tim. 1:7 NLT)

When I Say: I can’t forgive myself.
God Says: I forgive you. God is faithful and reliable. If we confess our sins, he forgives them and cleanses us from everything we’ve done wrong. (1 John 1:9 GW)

______________________


I hope you’ll print and carry these with you! Why not put a copy on your mirror, in your car and in your purse? Also, I hope you’ll enter to win my “Getting Up Again” give-away (a signed advance-release copy of A Confident Heart, aGoBible®to listen to God’s Word on the go, and a copy of the 31-verse promise chart from my book.) To enter, just sign up for the doubt diet and invite a friend or two to join you!

Just like a regular diet, having someone else to pray and encourage each other is so good, especially when it comes to losing the weight of self-doubt! And, here’s an invitation you can send them via email or post on your blog or FB page:

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Invite a Friend, it’s easy!

Do you want to join me in losing the weight of discouragement and self-doubt?Renee Swope, from Proverbs 31 Ministries is offering a FREE “7-day Doubt Diet”. Just click here to enter your information in her sidebar, and you’ll receive a week’s worth of devotions from her upcoming book, A Confident Heart. Let me know so we encourage one another the week they come out.

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Enter the “Getting Up Again” give-away:
  • Sign up for the doubt diet – it’s easy to do in my sidebar.
  • Encourage a friend(s) to join you via email, FB, Twitter, etc. You can use easy invite above.
  • Click on the word “comments” below this post.
  • Let me know your name, that you’ve signed up for the Doubt Diet and invited friends.
  • To find out if you win, leave your email in your comment, sign up for email updates or follow me on Facebook. I’ll announce the winner next Monday.

The “7-Day Doubt Diet” releases June 27th. For more details click here.

A Confident Heart releases August 1. You can pre-order it here or anywhere you love to buy books. All pre-orders through Proverbs 31 Ministries will be signed by me and book proceeds go back to P31. If you have any problems ordering on our P31 site, you can call our office at 704-849-2270 and they’ll be happy to help.

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Comments

  2. Yes, how we all need to be more confident each day as God's women. Thank you for your encouragement.

  3. [email protected] I have signed up for the 7 day self doubt diet. I have invited a few friends to join me. I hope I win your giveaway. I could use some good news for a change. Thank you fro what you do.

  5. I have signed up and emailed friends re the doubt diet. I will be ordering the book in July when my budget allows. Thank you for your ministry!

  6. I am so excited about this doubt diet. I have issues with that subject on many levels. Others have confidence in me but I want that confidence from God. Anticipating reading the book.
    Prayers and blessings to you.
    [email protected]

  7. This speaks right to my heart. I am constantly second guessing in my ability to be a mother and wife that God has called me to be. Thank you for the encouragement.

    I signed up for the Doubt Diet. My email is [email protected]

  8. Hi Renee, Thanks so much for the devotionals. You have been a great blessing in the lives of many. I have signed up for the 7 day diet and I'm really excited. I've invited a lot of my friends to join me in this study. I pray they will. I'm expecting great things through this study. I'm looking forward to reading Confident Heart.
    God bless you in all that you do.
    Terry

  9. God always knows when I need to hear a devotion, I've had a rough week of insecurity, feelings of letting others down. I've allowed my own expectations of myself to be distorted. Excited about the "7 day diet of doubt", looking forward to some life applications that speak truth into my heart.
    [email protected]

  10. Hi Renee! I signed up for your 'doubt diet'. After hearing you again this past weekend, I know there is still so much I need to learn on my walk. I will be chatting this up and inviting friends to sign up too. I would love to win a copy of your book too!

    Enjoy today!
    [email protected]

  11. I can't wait to read these devotions! I signed up, and shared the invitation on my facebook. Thanks for the giveaway- it sounds wonderful!

  12. Renee, your words today were tidy well-known affirmations that I have subscribed to for years. However, when I went to print them out to keep them posted around as you suggested, I had nothing but complications in the process…technology I am very proficient in was frustrating me to tears! Then I realized I was asking myself the questions in your affirmations…and I once again bowed my head & heart to his dominion. Thank you…and I really can't wait to see you on Friday! I have shared your invite by email & on fb, and signed up for your DoubtDiet and updates. Huggs, Linda Evans

  14. I catch myself saying things like this (in my head) sometimes.
    Love the whole book idea. Awesome!

  15. I really could use this book, since I lost my job last year, I have had a lot of doubts about myself and what God wants me to do.
    Thanks, Angie
    my email is [email protected]

  16. I'm so excited for the week's worth of devotions and then your book!! It looks like a book I've needed for quite some time now. Thank you for listening to Him and writing His words for us! I shared a link on FB and will be praying that it will draw others to your site too! I'll be praying for you and for how this will work in the lives of many. Sending prayers and blessings.

    Kristina

  17. Renee,

    I am already signed up for all your stuff. Enjoy following you were ever I can find you. Am telling everyone about your Doubt Diet and book. Would sure like to win!!!

    Hugs and Prayers.

  19. I just can't wait for your book to be released, June 27th is almost here! I am amazed how God has used P31 to meet so many needs I have pushed down and felt guilty for even having…I'm a child of God how could I possibly have some of the feelings and thouhts I have??
    I have signed up for the 7 day diet. I have invited my mother, mother in law, sister, BFF & 2 co workers to join me.
    Hope I got it all in there!
    [email protected]

  20. I'm signed up for the Doubt Diet and am looking forward to it! I shared the information on FB as well – I really hope it will encourage other women to join in!!

Getting Up Again

“…though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again” Proverbs 24:16a
In the same way I don’t like failing, I also don’t like FALLING either. It’s painful, embarrassing and sometimes makes me want to quit trying. But God is teaching me about getting up again when I fall. He reminds me again and again that if I don’t, I’ll miss seeing Him and experiencing the amazing things and plans He has for my life. That almost happened last year during a ski trip with my family. I stood at the top of a mountain breathing in the beauty of God’s glory that morning, thanking Him for providing this trip for our family through a ministry event. Joshua stood beside me begging me to ski down a Colorado blue diamond slope with him I can’t even tell you how amazing it was – and how fast I was going. It was insane but seeing my very happy and daring son standing at the bottom watching and cheering me on made it worth it. That is, until I lost control and shaped my body into a human pretzel! I tried to stop but instead came crashing down into a barrier of un-groomed snow. I fell so hard my skis went flying, my neck jerked back, my head slammed into the ground, my legs were twisted and buried in a foot of snow, the wind was completely knocked out of me and I couldn’t get up! I decided that was it – no more skiing for me! I had fallen hard and it hurt – really bad – both my pride and my butt! I was too tired and I didn’t think it was worth it to risk another fall. I laid in the snow trying to breathe and figure out how to break the news to Joshua that the fun and adventure were over for me. I was calling it a day and heading for the warm lodge to get some hot chocolate. That’s when God whispered to my heart, “Renee, you will never see all that I have for you if you are not willing to get up from a painful fall and keep going.” Oooh, I hate it when He says something so poignant when I’m in pain. Yet I sensed He had something more for me. But I had to be willing to trust HIM by getting up again. So I got up, dusted myself off and started skiing again. I’m so glad I did! We had the most incredible day. You see, while I was falling God knew that JJ and Andrew were perfecting their skills and were ready to ski with us which they hadn’t done before. I got to ski with my whole family for hours and hours and see some of the most beautiful and breath-taking views I’ve ever seen. But more than that I saw God. I saw His provision and His desire for me to trust Him because He WANTS to bless me. If I had quit, I would have missed seeing God’s glory reflected in those mountains in a way I’d never seen before! I think about that day often – when I’m ready to quit. How easy it is to fall in life and get hurt and not want to get up and try again. Yet, what will we miss if we are not willing to get up, get back on our feet and trust Him by trying again? And again. If you need encouragement to get up again and keep going, I’ve got just the thing for you! Next week there’s an amazing on-line conference from the comforts of our own homes, to connect and inspire women in their walk with Christ and in all that He’s called and created them to be! If you can’t make the conference you can download the sessions as part of the registration! I’ve got FIVE FREE TICKETS to give away to A Woman Inspired On-line conference! All you have to do is leave a comment below this post with your email and you’ll be entered. I’ll announce the winners tomorrow afternoon! And even if you don’t want to win, I’d love to hear your thoughts on getting up again. I’ll be praying God whispers to your heart that He’s worth it – and so are you!
***********************************************************************************************
The ticket winners for A Woman Inspired On-line conference are…

Timestamp: 2009-04-05 02:11:35 UT – Random numbers:

2 – Chrissy 1 – Angie 7 – Jenny 4 – Lindsey 27 – Elaine

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Comments

  1. I am really challenged by your amazing sharing on “Failing Forward” and I know that as a woman, it has encouraged me to look forward at all times in the Lord to overcome tough situations in family life and work front.

  2. Even though we feel there’s no way out of our problems, God just steps right in and makes everything bearable. I’ve had a set back where my engagement was broken off this year, and this really shook me up as I found it hard to pray through the pain. But I now realise God knows what I need and He is maybe saving me from a life time of heartache.So be encouraged ladies, God has us right in the palm of his hands.

  3. Thank you again for sharing your heart with us…please pray for me as I am continually struggling with a sin that I can’t seem to get rid off. I want to stop…but struggle with. I want to be set free from this bondage! Any suggestions or advise is appreciated. God Bless!

  4. PLEASE PRAY FOR ME & MY HUSBAND, HE IS DEALING WITH AN ADDICTION, I HAVE READ, RESEARCHED, PRAYED, PRAYED AND PRAYED SOME MORE, I DON'T FEEL LIKE I CAN PRAY ANY MORE. HE NEEDS HELP BUT IS AFRAID OF LOSING HIS JOB,

  5. Thank you for reminding me that I am a work in progress. Please pray for me to get back on track with my weight. I was in a car accident in Dec. 2007 that left me with back, neck, and shoulder pain. Life got difficult and I ate and ate and ate. I was once a weight loss expert who helped others lose and maintain their weight loss goals and now I can’t fit into any of my clothes. I feel horrible and embarrassed, but it is time to get over it and move on to tackle weight loss, my 19 year old son’s pregnant girlfriend, my 16 year old daughter’s struggles and other things without overeating. Thanks again for the reminder!! Lora [email protected]

  6. I am right now writing my own devotional in my blog, and referencing yours. How amazing that P31M should select your message this morning that so matches what God is whispering to me!

    Suzi Wollman
    [email protected]

  7. Thank you for the (always) timely devotion! I would like permission to share part of it in my blog on my church’s website. Is that possible?

  8. This is encouraging to me. I’ve always been easily discouraged I think. Sometimes I do just get up from a “fall” and “go back to the lodge for hot chocolate”! (that figuratively speaking….I’ve never been on a ski slope in my life!) But it’s always a blessing and a thrill when I get up and go on and do what I know I’m supposed to do and God blesses me for it!

    Marilyn

  9. Hi Renee!

    Stopped by and saw I won a ticket to the Woman Inspired conference. I am very excited and looking forward to some MUCH NEEDED encouragement this week.

    Thank you!
    Lindsey

  10. I’m just coming back by to read this again. And I always love seeing what others have to say. How God can speak to so many at once is always so awesome to see. 🙂

    You are so right…in that it comes down to trust. Do I trust Him enough to get back up even when I really don’t want to? Do I trust His heart for me, His plans for me? My answer today is “yes.” Yes, Father, I trust You. And I don’t want to miss out on anything that You have for me.

    Thank you, again, for sharing this with all of us. I love the way God speaks to us in the normal everyday experiences of life. He is so personal, so intimate.

    Oh…and I forgot to mention…I am reading The Sacred Romance. I saw where you had recommended it to someone else, and it sounded like just what I needed to read. 🙂 It is certainly reminding me that I can indeed trust His love for me.

    Hope you are having a wonderful weekend. You are a blessing!
    🙂 K

  11. Dear Renee,

    I do need the Lord to give me the gumption to “GET BACK UP AGAIN”, at this time in my life. I am exhausted from falling down, regarding a few circumstances that hit me all at once during the past 5 months or so. I just have not been able to get back up/back on course yet. Thank you for your encouraging words and example today.

    Sincerely, Elaine : ) ([email protected])

  12. Thanks for sharing your story. I am a person who quits easily. But I have been trying to teach my son not to. It is hard to see my son struggling to gain his balance and trying not to fall while he is ice skating. It is so painful to see him fall and struggle to pick himself up. But me and my husband keep cheering him on, encouraging him to get up and to move on. I’m glad he didn’t lose his confidence, which I would have by now. But it gives me a perspective abt our Father’s heart. How his heart pains and is grieved each time He sees us fall and sees us struggling to pick ourselves up. He is watching us and is cheering each one of us to pick ourselves up and to keep trying. And He is so delighted when we overcome. Becoz through Him “we are more than conquerors”.

    Maria
    [email protected]

  13. Thanks for your honesty!! I give up easily and I need to be reminded that God has so much more in store for me, but I have to do my part also. God is using you in a mighty way. My e-mail address is [email protected]

  14. Thank you Renee for the great post. I definitely would have gone back to the Lodge. Never been much of a risk taker….. You are very brave and blessed that God whispered that to you. Great story.

    Can I say to the anon. lady battling depression to just earnestly seek Him in some long beautiful prayers. Talk to Him as if He were your best friend. Read his word every single day and ask Him to take you were you need to be. He will guide you. I battled some pretty bad depression for the last year or two and I had to do it on my own. All of my friends, even my Christians ones left me because they didn’t want to be around anybody so “negative” all the time. I needed help. God has healed me and he did it through a beautiful process involving me pouring my heart out to him on a dialy basis many times a day. He guided me and taught me and I now have that peace which surpasses all understanding and I am filled with His joy for the first time in my life. And God showed all of it to me…..

  15. Dear Renee,

    I have fallen so many times now. I’m losing hope and I feel disconnected from God. I’m just so worn out from the pain that I don’t know how to get up this time.
    I’ve always trusted God in the past, but something feels different. My oldest son has been involved with drugs for several years and I’ve been through two divorces in the last five years. On top of that, I’ve battled depression for most of my adult life. My heart is so heavy and I feel like God has left me. I know that’s not true, but I can’t seem to get up this time. Thank you for sharing your story.I needed to hear it.