I have something really important to tell you today. Lean in close. Really let this get past your self-doubts and into those assurance-seeking places in your heart…
Yes you. The beautiful one sitting there looking at the screen.
I know it’s hard to believe sometimes, but it’s true. You fill God’s heart with absolute joy and every day you take His breath away with your smile.
Just a slight glance in His direction makes Him pause. He loves the unique way you do things. He really enjoys watching others love on you and bring out His best in you. And He’s not critical of your mistakes like you sometimes think, or waiting for you to do something productive. He simply delights in you because you are His. And that is enough.
It took me 20 years to understand and 10 more years to truly believe this was the reality of God’s love for me. The same was true for my friend Sheri Rose Shepherd who I’ve asked to be a girlfriend guest blogger with us today. Like many of you, I’ve been blessed by God’s words written through her, so today I’m giving away a copy of her book, “His Princess.“ More about that in a minute.
Sheri Rose is a woman who can relate to almost any woman’s battle. A former Mrs. United States, she grew up in a dysfunctional home and was severely overweight as a teen. As a young woman, she battled depression and an eating disorder. In spite of an English teacher telling her she was “born to lose” and a learning disorder—Dyslexia—Sheri Rose has (in God’s strength) become a Best Selling and award-winning author. Sheri Rose is also an internationally known speaker and Bible life coach.
Today, in my devotion on P31 and Crosswalk, I shared about God’s lavish love for us and how He wants us to live “loved” because we are. Then I asked Sheri Rose to share with us what she believes is the most important thing for women to know, so we can grasp the depth of God’s love for us. Here is what she said:
People often ask me, “How did you break free from your painful past and the lies and learn to embrace truth.” To be honest, I still have to fight the lies I’ve believed about myself. It seems to be the battle each woman I have met faces.
Many of us have experienced what I call “Spiritual Identity Theft.” We’ve somehow lost our confidence in who we are in Christ, and we feel worthless or wounded by someone’s words.Others of us hold in our hearts a false identity. We believe a lie about ourselves and we have allowed that lie to define us.
I understand what it is like to feel worthless and walk with a wounded heart from hurtful words. Perhaps you’re just recognizing the root of the lie you have been living in.Maybe it was hurtful words spoken to you by a father or mother, brother or sister, teacher, boyfriend or husband. Maybe it was an employer who thoughtlessly felt like dumping lies on you.
I don’t think those hurtful words are easily forgotten but I do know healing and wholeness can become reality in our lives when we learn how to embrace God’s truth.You do not have to let others’ hurtful words define you anymore. They did not give their life, as Jesus did, to prove your worth. We are Daughters of the King of Kings whether we feel like it or not.
Let me be a spiritual mentor and give you the three keys to unlocking lies and finding your true identity, I call it “a truth makeover.”
1. Know the Truth. You Are…
- Chosen By God (John 15:16)
- A New Creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)
- Holy and Pure (1 Peter 2:9)
- A Trophy of His Grace (Ephesians 2:8)
- His Princess Warrior (2 Timothy 4:7)
- His Beloved Bride (Psalm 45:11)
2. Speak The Truth…
Whenever a lie is spoken to you or a lie enters your mind, speak this Truth out loud…
“That is a lie. My worth is not in what anyone else says about me or what I feel at the moment.”
3. Fast Off Speaking Lies
Try a seven-day fast by not speaking anything negative about yourself or repeating any lies that have been spoken over you or about you. If possible, ask a friend to hold you accountable to speak only truth.
4. Read this Love Letterfrom God:
My Chosen Daughter,You are royalty even when you don’t feel like a princess. How you feel about yourself will never change the truth of who you are in Me. You are My treasure, and I have chosen you. If you ever begin to doubt your significance, just look to the cross and remember I gave my life to prove your worth. I see your heart and I know you fight to find truth. So start by recognizing who I am: the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and your Daddy in heaven. Saturate yourself in My truth and you will discover how loved and treasured you are.
Love, Your Lord who is Truth
Living Loved Give-away
- 2 Free BibleLife coaching sessions(One winner)
30 days of spiritual mentoring with Sheri Rose
You keep one session and give one away!
- Rest Assured message on CD by Renee Swope
How to Stop Worrying & Start Resting in God’s Promises
2 copies of this message on CD (one winner). You keep one and give one away!
- His Princess: Love Letters from Your King
One book by Sheri Rose Shepherd
***********************
To enter to win, click on the word “comments” below this post, and type in the white box. Sheri Rose and I would love to know your first name, your age, where you are from, who you will invite to do the Bible life-coaching sessions with you or who you’d give the extra of my message on CD to. Please be sure to sign up for email updates in my right sidebar (so you will know if you win), or leave your email in your comment so we can notify you. I’ll announce the winner next Monday, March 7th.
I am Karen from Camden, NC and I am 53 years young. What an awesome devotional and blog message. I needed to hear this today.
If I win either of the sharing prizes, I will share with my friend Lisa. She has had a very hard year. He husband and mother were diagnosed with cancer and her daughter-in-law had kidney failure and required a kidney transplant. All of this happened at the same time.
She is an incredible woman of faith but I know everyone needs encouragement.
Thanks for the opportunity. There are a couple of girlfriends I can share this with.
Hi! My name is Suzy and I am 36 years old and from Findlay, Ohio. Thank you for sharing the "truth makeover" with us…it is a piece that I am putting in my reference journal to refer back to when I need that reminder of His truth.
If I would be chosen, I will share with my friend Trisha.
Many blessings to you!
I'm Shirley, I'm 43 and live in Las Vegas. I'd share these lovely gifts with a family member.
Hi there–I am Martha, 36, and live near Seattle, in the beautiful (and wet!) Pacific NW. I would love to share the coaching/CDs with my sisters, Sarah or Ruth. They would be blessed by them for sure.
I just stumbled upon your blog and am blessed already…thank you.
Martha
I'm Sarah from Ohio in my late 20's. I would love to share with my friend K. We both struggle with beleiving God has a plan for our lives.
Dear Renee and Sheri,
I'll be 35 this week and I live in Austin, Texas. I feel like I used to sparkle. I'm not sure how that changed, but lately I've been fighting – that's how it feels – to recapture that sense of knowing my worth in Christ. I have two precious daughters, 3 1/2 and 1 1/2 years old, and it grows more obvious everyday that they are watching me and absorbing into their hearts what comes from mine. With all that I am, I am struggling to fake for them what I can't genuinely muster on my own. I try to always look pretty, dress nicely, and workout, but will they see past the "pretty" veneer to the desperate dullness underneath? My fight is for them.
If I was blessed with the package of goodies, I would share it with my friend Holley. She has a two-year-old son and just gave birth to another little prince several weeks ago. Her self-worth seems to have taken a dive since becoming a mom, as she struggles with self-doubt about nearly every decision she makes. I think that's why we're such good friends, because we have that in common!
Thank you, ladies.
With love,
Gabrielle Shannan
Kathy Chatterton age 38 from Price, Utah
This was my first time reading your blog and I was very spiritually moved and motivated. The "Love Letter" touched my heart dearly. I plan to share it with my 15 year old daughter and would love to receive additional cd's for the two of us to experience together as she becomes a young woman and prepares to leave home in just a few short years.
Thank you!
P.S. I would give the CD to my godson who has suffered with anxiety for the last 4 years and thought he was loosing his mind. Just recently he found out that he has Chiari I Malformation, a condition where brain tissue protrudes into the spinal column.
Thanks for all you do for the Kingdom of God!
Bugsmadre
I know there are no coincidences, but this is uncanny! Just last week I was consoling the birth mother of our 3-year-old adopted daughter. We first met her when she picked us out of a stack of other profiles of hopeful adoptive parents. Since then I have tried to share with her God’s truth, little by little. In last week’s conversation, I told her that she is a daughter of the King! I told her that she does not have to believe the lies that keep her making bad choices and settling for less than God's best for her. Once she knows that she is the apple of God’s eye, she won’t need the approval of anyone else, and she will be able to replace the hurtful words hurled her way with words of truth from His Word. Through her tears and words of despair, I could tell that this was the first time she had ever heard such truth, but wasn't sure she could believe it. While there are times when she allows me in, and other times where she holds me at arms length, I know that our adoption story is bigger than the baby that was conceived, and God is trying to pursue her, trying to bring beauty from ashes. Life has not been easy for her, and the lies she has believed have taken their toll. Help me to help her please. Perhaps coaching from someone else, God has sent her way, might help her to see herself from His eyes? Certainly the gift of the book would be perfectly timed!
My name is Kecia. I am 46 years old and live in southern CA. My own story is filled with years of self-doubt and feelings of unworthiness. When I was eight years old my parents divorced and after two years of trying to be the part-time father, my daddy just left. At 12, I found out that he wasn't even my birth father. He had adopted me when my birth father decided that he didn’t want to be my daddy. I internalized this double rejection (accepting the false identity you spoke about), and spent many years searching for the love I was missing. Only after escaping a five-year-long abusive relationship and then a failed marriage, I met my current husband and tried to start a family. As we suffered through six miscarriages, I believed the lie that I deserved it and had brought this misery upon us because of the bad decisions I had made in the past. God was able to use my circumstances to pierce the thick layer of lies that covered my soul and through His grace and mercy I finally saw the true face of my Savior! Nine years ago I committed my broken life to His Lordship and service. He has brought me full circle, and I have learned what it means to be adopted into the family of God! He makes everything beautiful in its time, and last October I was reunited with my adoptive daddy for the last three weeks of his life. Forgiveness reached down and restored the years the locusts had eaten.
Now after experiencing adoption from the other side, I have been given the rare opportunity to witness, up close and personal, what it looks like when unconditional love invades the heart of the birth-mother and she is empowered to endure deeper pain, willingly pay a greater cost, and run the risk of losing her reputation for the sake of another. The courageous and selfless choice this young woman made has eternal value, and I want so badly for her to experience the unconditional love of her Father in Heaven. I want her to know she is His Princess! Sheri Rose, your “truth makeover” is just what she needs right now. No one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end, but I am convinced there are no coincidences… only God incidences!
Thank you for your encouraging post; I consider it confirmation and a kiss from the King that we are on the right track. Thank you for allowing me to share our story, and I hope you will consider choosing us for this perfectly timed Living Loved Give-away.
In Him,
Bugsmadre
My name is Jill and I am 33. I live in Alaska. I would share the cd or the study with my mom who lives too far away so we could connect more. Thank you for your blog and blessings to you and yours.
Hi, my name is Christina and I am a wife and a homeschooling mother of 3. I'm 34 and I live in Little Chute Wisconsin.I would share the gifts with my friend, Laurel, who is also a homeschooling mom. She has showed me what it's like to be a godly woman. She is one of my dearest friends and the thought of spending some quality time together fellowshiping with God and one another is exciting.
Thank you for a heart-opening post. I have been in the valley for several months now dealing with pain from past abuse and mistreatment and throughout being there God is emphasizing His unconditional love for me. I have had a hard time accepting God's unconditional love as all of my life I have been loved conditionally but God is patiently delivering me from that mentality; praise Him.
I'm turning 30 this May and live in Michigan. Being in the valley right now I really believe I could benefit from some spiritual mentoring. I would give the other cd to my spiritual sister who wears so many hats; pastor's wife, mother of two under six years old, medical student, minister; I believe she could really use some time for herself that involves her being encouraged.
God bless you 🙂
Hello Lovely Ladies !! :-))
I'm Linda, 45, from Brisbane, Qld, Australia!! I would love to share this beautiful pack with a lady who was once my husbands fiance some time ago. He didn't want to continue speaking with her, however I've made a friend who is struggling, in many ways similar to myself. I believe we would both be uplifted in His name.
God bless you all, Linda xo
[email protected]
Hey Renee,
I'm 44 and live in NC. I'm new to viewing your website. But I love what I've read.
Over the past year, I've grown closer to the Lord than ever before. Mostly because I've been beginning to understand God's love for me personally. All the things I've known in my head all these years of being a Christian, I'm finally knowing in my heart. He is so amazing!
If I win the coaching or CD's, I'd share them with my new friend Sandra. We were in a Bible Study together and I know she would love to have the coaching or CD. If I win the CD, I'd also share my own copy with my friends and sisters. I love passing on what I learn to others.
Keep up the good work you are doing. It is so refreshing and uplifting to read through all that you've written. As a servant of Christ, wife, mom, homeschooler, daughter, sister, and friend, I'm thankful for a chance to breathe in the love of the Father through like-minded ladies. Now I can get back to my work with a spring in my step. Thank you and may the blessings you are bestowing on others return to you many times over!
Brenda
My name is Debbie and I am 53. I'm from Iowa originally – in AZ for the past 33 years. Should my name be picked, I would share the coaching or cd with my daughter, Colleen. My email is: [email protected]
Thank you, Debbie
You bring comfort to my heart, sister. I wish we lived closer to one another; we could bask in God's love for us together!
It is a hard concept to learn, practice, receive. To know that we are loved and then to believe it. I've messed up so many times in my life, feeling isolated from God because of my sin. I want to live better; to love better. To be so wrapped up in the heart of the Father, thus allowing him his work in me and through me.
Thanks for joining me on the road in this season. I greatly appreciate your kind words of encouragement. You are a beautiful blossom in God's kingdom!
peace~elaine
My name is Kerri and I am 40 years old. I am from Binghamton, NY. If I won the coaching and CDs, I would share them with my cousin Tracy. She and I have been going through the Made to Crave journey together. We have been encouraging one another, supporting one another and praying for one another. Thank you so much for this beautiful post and for offering the contest.
My name is Vivian and I am 60 years old and reside in VA. I would share the cd with my church friends/ladies Bible study and the book with my sister-in-law in PA who recently lost her brother and had to have her mother taken to a nursing home for 24 hour care. Thanks for sharing and encouraging me.
computer just wants to do its own thing, I wasn't done. God bless you guys richly for your ministries to encourage and pray for us. Thank you for loving Jesus and doing His Will.
Greetings in our loving Lord Jesus.
My name is Brenda Manning, I'm 32yrs old and I live in Gallup, NM. I am a native american from the Navajo tribe. All my life I've struggled with love-receiving and giving it. When I thought I was beginning to understand God's love for me, I was hurt, betrayed and abandoned all over again. God is speaking to me about depending on people's love will always fail me and that I need to start depending on His love which will NEVER fail me. Just today I have surrendered the lies of love to Him and made a decision to receive God's love for me and to live loved from this day forward. To put His truths into my heart and believe His truths about love and not put my trust in people's love anymore. If I receive the coaching or cds I will share them with the women on the Navajo reservation who are blinded by abuse of every kind from the One True Love, Jesus.
hi my name is rose and i am 46 years old and from Baltimore. i would love to win this and give the 2nd one to my daughter. thank you and may God bless you.
Hi Renee. I am 44 years old would love to share the Bible life-coaching sessions and cd with a lady from my Bible study table at church. Thanks for offering this giveaway!
Hi Renee. I am 44 years old and would love to offer this free Bible life-coaching session and extra cd to someone at our Bible Study group table who could definitely benefit from them – almost as much as I could!
Thanks for offering this giveaway.
I'm Angela, 36, and in desparate need of any reminder that God is at work for me right now. I live in ND…where it's cold!
This devotional is such a God thing for me. Just today I went and bought me a small spiral notebook so I could write verses about God's love. I have felt myself believing lies lately. I am 37 years old and live in Georgia. I would share the life coaching with my friend Malissa. Thank you!
I am 51, live in Texas, and feel I am on a roller coaster ride that will not stop. Each day I look forward to reading the devotionals I receive from Proverbs 31. I know God has something there just for me. So many times we give it to God and just keep taking it back.
To be totally honest, I would have to search my heart, ask God to help me with the decision who to share these wonderful give aways with. I know several girlfriends who are in their own trial. Each person's trial is "huge" to them as it is their own personal situation.
I thank God for women such as you who He has given the talent to share and are willing to share their hurts with others. Thank you both for being Jesus' hands and feet in this very troubled world.
Dierdre
Thank you for the encouragement today..I would share the CD and coaching with my niece, who is getting married in June. She needs to know that God loves her deeply, and she doesn't have to always be the center of everyone's attention. I truly enjoy your devotions! I am 51, and a worship leader in my church in Illinois, so I know how important it is to share with everyone that God loves them…no matter what!
Dori Cox
[email protected]
Hi Renee and Sheri… Thanks so much sharing God's Love Letter to me today. I really needed to hear it. My name is Paula. I'm 44 and I live in Wisconsin. Just recently moved here with my husband and my dad. My dad passed away last week and even though my heart and mind knows He's with the Lord now, it's so hard to realize that my dad is not here to love me like He's always been. He's been the one constant person in my life that has shown me that I am special and valued. I miss him so much.
Thanks for bringing my eyes back to our Heavenly Father Who is the One true love of my life and reminding me that I am His always.
I'm not positive who I would share the 2 week life coach thing with, I've never done anything like it so I'm not sure what it is. Part of me would love to give it to my daughter seeing how we both are aching with the passing of my dad/her poppa. Same with the CD, I think. I'm not sure if she'd be willing to try it, but I guess if it happens then I'll leave those details in His Hands too to open her heart to hear Him again and the love He has for her.
Thanks so much for your encouragement and love! God is clearly using you for building His Kingdom!
My name is Tina. I live in Ohio and will be 40 this summer. I really enjoyed this blog post. And would love to share the coaching or CDs with my close friend.
I am 51 and my name is Patricia.I live in Maryville, TN. I have been blessed with raising five beautiful children. three are grown now and married, but I still have a 17 year old and a 10 year old at home. I also have three beautiful grandchildren ages 8, 4, and 9 months. I would give the second bible coaching session to my eldest daughter who just got married November 6. She has walked with the Lord from when she was little, but I believe she would welcome this gift. She invited me to a women's luncheon at her church where I was blessed to learn about this Proverbs 31 devotional site.
My name is Karen, I am 44 and live near Kalamazoo. Your devotion, Renee, really touched a deep place within me. I needed that reminder, the fact that He loves me not because I'm doing anything for Him but simply because I am His. I'm having a hard time lately wrapping my head around the fact that He can take and interest in me, amongst the billions of people on this earth, let alone love me regardless of what I do or don't do and many other things. So I clicked on the link to your blog where I read the list of who I am in Christ. Thank you for that. Thanks to Sheri also. It was a very meaningful message for me. So, on to the giveaway: the CD I would give to my mother-in-law; she is a constant worrier. The coaching is a more difficult choice. One of my 3 oldest and dearest friends or a very special young woman I've known for her lifetime & have been very close to.
Again, many thanks for sharing the truths we so desperately need to hear.
I would invite Melanie for coaching and give the extra copy of the CD to my 14 year old son who struggles with anxiety and OCD.
My name is Bianca, I am 29, live in Virginia and I would invite my mother as I believe it would be most beneficial to us both! Thank you!
[email protected]
I would share the gifts with my friend Nancy, she has a hard time letting go of past hurts and I'm always trying to get her to see that it is ok to let go She's also going through some tough times and I try to get her to give it up to God.
My name is Brandie and I am 34 from Indiana. Amazing! That is all I can really say. Sheri and Renee you have truly turned the light on for me! Thank you! It is hard to see that you are loved, when you don't love yourself or are struggling with finding who you are. I am slowly getting there, but I deal with constant head chatter on how I could do so much better. I am a work in progress, but I am getting there! Again, thank you for this post!
Hilda Quintanilla
Southeasternmost California
37
My "God-mom"
Blessings
I will be 42 in exactly one month from today! I don't know if it is too late for the drawing or not, but since I came across this somewhat "accidently" I thought it was a good push for me to post. Your message was exactly what I needed to hear this morning and the idea of having a Bible Life Coach for a whole month sounds like exactly what I need in my life right now. About 2 months ago my husband and I got in a huge fight, and when I say huge, I mean HUGE. I said things to my husband that should have never been said and am slowly trying to put the pieces back together and earn back my husband's trust in the words I choose It has been come and go since then. I am doing my best to turn to God and be guided by Him to know what to do and who to be. Having someone coach me for a month would be such a blessing. I would share the coaching and the CDs with a good friend of mine, Karen, who has gone back to school to get her teaching degree and I know she is feeling stressed out and overwhelmed during this very exciting time in her life-these things would help her catch her breath.
Thanks for your meaningful words.
Make it a blessed day!
[email protected]
How inspiring! I would be so blessed to be the winner. I am currently 37years old and have battled with depression since i was 18. I am at a crossroads in my life and want to ensure that I am living my life as god intended it to be.
As for a friend or family member, this is something that i would need to pray about as that should be god's choice not mine.
God bless you!
Thank you for these precious thoughts in todays devotional. God bless you for them.
My name is Fannie. I am 67. I live in Kansas. I am not sure who I would give any of these to but I know God will put a special person on my heart if I should win.
My e-mail is [email protected]
(Oops…error on initial post)
Hi,
My name is Kim. I am 39 years young. I live in Atlanta, GA. If I was blessed to receive one of the gifts, I would share it with my sweet daughter in the faith. She is passionately seeking a relationship with God. And I must say, I am proud of her for desiring God more than things.
His,
Kim
Hi,
My name is Kim. I am 39 years young. I live in Atlanta, GA. If I was blessed to receive one of the gifts, I would share it with my sweet daughter in the faith. She is passionately seeking a relationship with God. And I must say, I am proud of her for desiring God more of a relationship with God.
My name is Sharon and I am 56 yrs. old. I would share these wonderful gifts with my sweet sister Laurie.
You are both such a beautiful blessing! thank you!
Hi I'm Alvesa from Victoria, Tx if I won the bible coaching I would share with my wonderful sister & if I won the Cd I would give one to my 14 year old that loves the Lord with all her heart but struggles to see who she is in God's eye.
Thanks for you ministry.
Alvesa B
Victoria, TX
[email protected]
I'm Alvesa from Victoria, Tx HOWDY…lol. I would share the bible study coaching with my sister, who just recently, by the grace of God, has had her marriage restored. If I won the cd's I would share them with my 14 year old daughter who loves the Lord with all her heart, but struggles to see who she is in the eyes of God. Thank you so much for your ministry.
Alvesa Benavides
Victoria, Tx
[email protected]
Thank you for your sweet words of truth and encouragement. I thought about the challenge to not speak negative about yourself for a week…..how heartbreaking to think I didn't know if that was possible….then I thought about how as a mom I'd feel if my girls felt that doing that challenge would be impossible. Heartbreaking….
Thank you for a wonderful picture into God's love for us and our worth to Him.
I'd share prizes with my wonderful girlfriend/sister by choice Deb — a single gal who is out in the big bad work world trying to prove her worth — how much better would her days and her stress level be to be reminded how important and worthy she is to God.