What if this week, every time we look in the mirror and think … “Uggh, I need to ______ {lose weight, do something about these wrinkles, get rid of those dark circles under my eyes, etc.} you say this out loud:
“He calls me Beautiful.”
Because it’s true. He does!
What if we surrounded our hearts with truth seekers and truth-speakers, who told us these truths again and again? Friends who point us back to the One who calls us Beloved, Known and Valuable.
This week I’m honored to be joining a community of women that do just that, everyday. Speaking courage, truth and Hope into the hearts of women around the world through their words, blog posts, community groups and more. Oh how I’d love for you to join (me) there as I join the contributing writers team of:
Perhaps (in)courage is a place you already know? Or maybe it’s a community waiting for you? I’ll be sharing more in the weeks to come. But I hope you’ll hop on over this week, and find out more about (in)courage, see me with bed-head (in my favorite place on earth), and meet the other new writers here. BUT BEFORE YOU GO be sure to ENTER TO WIN (Sorry, the giveaway is over, but would still love to hear from you)!
To celebrate the (in)courage-ment, and the fact that this week will be different because we’re going to tell ourselves the truth every time we look in the mirror… I’m giving away Love Idol: Letting Go of Your Need for Approval and Seeing Yourself through God’s Eyes, by my friend Jennifer Dukes Lee. Jennifer is also a newbie (in)courage writer along with several others and me who joined the (in)courage team today!
Jennifer wrote “Love Idol” for women like us—who’ve had “enough of the not-enoughs.” This book is her journey toward freedom from the approval-seeking-cycle where she invites us to a place where we can lay down every mirror, every tally sheet, every report card — everything that tells us we aren’t (____) enough.
ENTER TO WIN by leaving a comment sharing one area of your life where you would love to see yourself as God sees you: loved and pre approved. (Sorry, the giveaway is over, but would still love to hear from you)
How true this is – to remind ourselves of it everyday and the women around us. But not only the women in our lives but the young women as well – my 13 year old daughter needs this reminder everyday as well. God’s vision is more important than all others – how I wish someone had told me this so many years ago. Thank you for this and all your words of wisdom.
I would love to see myself as God sees me as being worthy; worthy of His love and grace. Sometmes it is difficult to remember that He does believe in me and that I am worth it. But, I look at all that He has given me and continues to give me and it helps to remind me. My self worth is wrapped up in God’s love, His kindness, His forgiveness, and His sacrifice of His Son so that I may live for a greater end. I thank God each and every day for all He has done and continues to do to help make me a stronger more confindent woman!
I know this is in my head. I believe it in my heart for all others. I try to convince others of this as much as possible. How do we make our own hearts believe it for ourselves? If I could do that, I think I could do anything.
Its Great to know that in spite of How I view myself or what others see, God’s Vision of who iam in Him reveals His Love, patience in the area of procrastination. I have been irritated that my writting has not been consistent. God has approved me , acknowledge that he has already made a way for me and I need not ever give up.
Thank you for this post. I am having trouble choosing just one area. The last six years have been a rough road for me and is hard to look in the mirror and see anything about myself that reflects how God sees me. I am coping, but I don’t feel that there is anything that I am doing really well at. Mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, teacher, co-worker — there are so many “hats” that I am trying to juggle right now, while trying to get some health issues under control. It is hard to let go of the person I used to be and allow myself to not only accept who I am today, but to embrace her and love her the way I know that I should. I find myself often comparing myself to the me of years ago –saying things like “I was a better ______ before I got ill”, “I could do _________ better before I got ill”, etc. I am a work in progress, and every day I am grateful beyond measure that He will never give up on me no matter how tempted I may be to give up on myself. I think tomorrow morning I will start the day by looking in the mirror, smiling, and saying “I am pre-approved!”
I just love that we are pre-approved! Just need to get my heart in line with what my head knows to be true and see myself how God sees me!
I would like to see myself in the sufficiency that God has provided instead of the lack the enemy tries to get me to focus on. If I remind myself that I truly am valuable to God, then I will realize that there’s nothing God will not provide for me. It reminds me of the reference in Matthew 6:25-26: 25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Yes, I am valuable enough to God for him to supply all of my needs!
Today was one of those days when I got up (slowly) and moved (painfully) to my knees, asking that God work His mercy and grace thru me that I might be a more acceptable person. That I might not dwell on the extra pounds, graying hair and achy body that follows me around daily. That I might stay focused on my loving Father and share Him with just one person today. Now that I am reminded that I am preapproved, it adds confirmation to my daily walk. He loves me any way shape or form and He will love you too if you let Him! Blessing for another day closer to His kingdom! Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.
I would like to believe that God is really using me. I always feel like He uses others, but not me. I have such a burning in my heart to do more, but need to learn that he is happy with me and what I am doing right now for Him.
I am “pre-approved”. Thank You, Jesus! I need to be reminded that He sees me through the eyes of love and acceptance. God sees Jesus in me! Amen and Amen!
I am struggling right now with self esteem. I’ve always had a little issue with self esteem but it’s gotten
worse since I lost my job. I am starting to think that I can’t do anything right. It’s not a good feeling.
Boy, did I need to hear this! Such a struggle for me……..How I wish I could
rest in this fact!!! I have never measured up! Grew up with 3 sister’s who always
had the “advantage” over me…..better student, better personality, more friends, better
child, no matter what it was, they always seemed to excel where I always struggled!
Still feel as if God surely loves them more than he loves me!!!
I love the idea of this blog. I am a writer and I struggle with a low self image. I am so happy to be a part of this.
Wow, what a powerful message. I am so good at encouraging and uplifting others but so quick to put myself down. I can relate to so much of what everyone wrote. When I leave my house I feel good about myself, but then I see someone and think her outfit is cuter, her hair looks better, ooh her nails her done and mine aren’t, why didn’t I workout before I left for the day. I feel guilty if I eat something bad, I worry about my kids, my husband, did I do enough, did I encourage enough, and then I start planning for the next day. I never think about God loving me more than I love myself or my sweet family. I think it will be amazing if I can commit and actually tell myself this every time I look in the mirror. I have so much to be thankful and appreciative for – it is a shame that I let Satan steal my happiness by buying into his lies. Thank you for the message. So inspiring!
Worthy to stand before other women and share with them the LOVE of Jesus. To let them know they are not alone, that they are wonderfully and fearfully made!!!
Oh and my one area would be my self image! I would love to see myself as God sees me for once.
I have a sign on my mirror in my bathroom: “You are Chosen!” Every morning I flip flop into the bathroom with cup of coffee in hand and then, as I take a sip of that coffee, my eyes catch that sign. My heart picks up tempo, a smile crosses my face, and it’s then I am reminded…He loves me…He has chosen me. My day couldn’t begin any better. Thank you for all of the other warm reminders. I am nowhere near beautiful…but your words make me feel beautiful. I am pre-approved…how great is that…no need to fill out an application, or wait for acceptance; I am already proven. And loved. And chosen. Renee, you do great work. I love the emails that I receive and I always look forward to them. And I always receive a blessing. Thank you for your faithfulness. (P.S. I did not write this to win a book, you can pass that on to someone else…I just wanted to let you know the part you played in my day today. God Bless.)
There are so many areas in my life where I’d love to see me, the way He sees me. I’ve struggled most of my life, and have just recently really come to terms with having a relationship with God. I need to hear, see, feel, His love, forever.
Definitely enjoy positive words that reaffirm truth!
I would love to see how God sees my beauty and talents. To have him speak to me and tell me what he thinks about me. To feel his arms around me. The struggles have gone on so long. I need his healing. Deeply.
God does speak to you about how He sees you ……the Bible. In Ephesians He tells you that you are His Masterpiece. There are soooooooooo many times He tells you how wonderful. There is a wonderful list of all these statements from God in a book by Josh McDowell called See Yourself as God Sees You. I understand fully your struggle but He can change that ! Just listen to Him. He changed me from seeing me as a mistake to now seeing me as a Masterpiece. And He wants to and will do the same for you, His Masterpiece.
I want to see myself as a daughter of the King not as what my past keeps telling me I am.
I’ll have to work on changing what I say to the image I see in the mirror and to my self-loathing heart, to say it so much that it will finally change my default mode of self-condemnation to seeing my identity in Jesus.
I’m so grateful you are one of the women joining (In)courage’s group of writers, Renee. God led me to it towards the end of last year, and it is an Elim in the wilderness of this world, a place to refresh our souls with hope and courage.
Love this reminder of this truth that is often hard to keep in my heart.
I struggle with feeling like I am a good mother and wife. I compare myself to others and feel so inadequate. This is a great message! Thank you for sharing!
wow! I thank God for this wonderful encouragement. I often feel and think negatively about who I am and never stop comparing myself to other women around me. I just need to think positively the way my God created me in his own image saying, I am his child no matter how I look, rich or poor! God bless this ministry
Weight…yep I said it. I lost over 25 lbs. and gained it and more back. Tend to stay away from mirrors and pictures which is ironic since I am a photographer mom. I would love to receive this book.
I am a recovering alcoholic. I wasted 10 years of my life drinking to self medicate myself through my depression . I know God loves me and forgives me, but I have such regret. 🙁
I have been struggling with my worth. As a child and now as an adult. It is so strange how “things” creep into our minds and zap us of our beauty….looks, weight, education, being a good wife, even our worth as a mother and grandmother. Thank you for reminding me to try and look through God’s eyes.
The more I study the Bible and learn about God’s unfailing love, grace, mercy, the more sure that I am loved just as I am, with my strengths and my many weaknesses. Instead of being a timid person not feeling worthwhile so often, now I am much bolder at times and can reach out to others, encouraging them. I am an overcomer through Christ Jesus who loves me unconditionally.
I am working on this very thing in my life! My husband pointed out to me that I was envious of others & of course it made me mad at first. After I thought about it though he is right, not to the point that I do not want others to be blessed but I was evaluating my worth by their blessings & not measuring up in my eyes. I have been praying to be filled with God & let that be enough, to count my blessings & not the blessings of others, to find my worth in Him:-)
Thank you for the reminder that I am pre-approved! I needed that especially today! This is a constant struggle for me to see myself as God sees me. I constantly put myself down every minute of every day. it’s hard to see the beautiful, approved, loving, good mom, good wife, good friend, etc side of me when all I think about are the negatives. Thank you for this!!!
I have hit rock bottom. I would love to see myself thru God’s eyes. Thank you.
There is so much about me I question. My weight, my looks, my abilities. I already wonder how other people see me and usually think the worst.
I think one area of my life that I would like to see myself as God does is that I am good enough. So often I don’t feel good enough because with health issues I can’t do everything everyone else seems to do and I am not a super energetic person so I lack the energy to keep up with everything like others do and my husband seems to remind me often that I don’t measure up although those words don’t directly come out of his mouth but the words spoken definitely let me know. I know God made me and this is me and in His eyes I am loved unconditionally.
love that concept- never heard it put that way before
thank you for the reminder, God has chosen me and pre approved me for his kingdom. I need to live that everyday
Wow, how about every area! I recently have been working on feeling more worthy and beautiful as I am my own worst critic. Would love to win the book but thank you either way!
Honestly, I need to see myself as God sees me in every area of my life! This book sounds amazing!
I would like to see myself as God sees me in everyday life and be able to smile without worrying and wondering what I didn’t do or did do and if I am where and what I am suppose to be.
To See Myself as GOD sees me, To Love Myself as GOD Loves me:)
Need to learn to not always worry so much about what others think of me and know that I am preapproved in Gods eyes 🙂
There are so many areas in which I want to see myself through God’s eyes. I definitely long to see myself physically through His eyes. As I approach 40 and my body is changing…wrinkles appearing, pounds showing up…I am very hard on myself and trying to remind myself that I am not supposed to look like I am still 18. And that it is okay, I want people to love me whether I am a size 6 or a size 16 because that would mean they are seeing through to my heart and loving the important parts of me. I need to see as He does and only worry about His approval and ideals of me…not the opinions and thoughts of others. As an imperfect human that is very hard, but I long to love myself the way I love Jesus and the way I love others. Thank you for doing this giveaway…what a blessing! I think this book would help me SO much! God bless!
I so needed this just now. I’ve had a busy week so far and it’s going to get busier as mom & I plan for our vacation to Germany in May. I seem to lose sight of myself and what’s important when I get so busy. Thank you!
I want to see myself as preapproved for many reasons, but one of them is performance-based value. I’ve always struggled with basing my worth on my job, my volunteering, or other things I “go go go” doing every day. I would love to read this book!! 🙂
Accepted just the way I am. I think deep down I feel I need to change to have others and God love me even though I know that’s not the case.
Daily struggle with feeling loved and chosen BUT God is so faithful to his daughter…. when he hugs me daily and reassures me that HE is with me every minute of the day…..i am not alone….and HE carries me in the palm of HIS hand!! Thank you Lord!!
Loved, known valuable and pre-approved – that sounds so wonderful! Thank you for your message today and for reminding me that I am enough because God’s love is enough. I’ve never thought of myself as a good enough daughter, wife, mother, friend or employee and so many of my life circumstances have caused me to doubt whether I can ever be good enough, but the good news is that I don’t have to do anything to be good enough for God. I struggle to keep my focus on what the Lord says about me and not let the world cause me to doubt. Thank you for this message – it brings renewal and hope.
Thank you for this beautiful truth. I know this in my head but I know that I need to get it in my heart. Sometimes that just seems a little more difficult. Thank you for the reminder.
Thank you for the reminder that I am preapproved. As a rebellious teenager I was told I would never have anything or amount to anything. Somehow that stick with me most of my life and I don’t think it has truly ever been removed. I know I am loved but it’s always in the back if my mind am I really this enough. I too as the previous lady said have a few pounds to lose and when I look in the mirror don’t line who I see. Thank you for the words and reminder may they stay in my heart and soul day and night !!
I am not sure that I can pick just one area. Like so many women, I tend to see myself differently than those around me do. I find myself wondering if I am good enough as a mother or wife. I feel fat and frumpy simply because of a few pounds while those around me keep telling me that I do NOT need to worry about those few pounds. At school, I attend workshops with other teachers who have fewer years of experience in the classroom, yet I feel inadequate and somehow a disappointment to my students.
It isn’t ALL of the time, of course. There are those glimmering, shimmering moments when a parent tells me how much I have helped their child, when a colleague commends me for some activity or unit and asks for help, when my daughter says, “You know I love you, don’t you?”, or when my sweet husband lets me know that I am still beautiful to him. I simply need to remember more often that I truly am ENOUGH in God’s eyes…. and that is more important than how anyone else sees me.
Chosen. Redeemed. Loved. Cherished. Enough. And Pre-approved indeed! I remember the first time I met you. It was in a book-signing line at The Relevant Conference. And to be honest, I’d never heard of Renee Swope or Proverbs 31 ministries. And to be totally honest, I really only stood in the line to get a free copy of your book! (Sometimes being clueless is a helpful thing 🙂 But you know what I found? A humble sister in Christ who had a big smile and a welcoming heart…who treated this new girl like she was the most important person in the room. And then, to top it off, after I figured out who you actually were, YOU visited my tiny blog that next month and left a comment…a comment for ME! { sigh} YOU, Miss Renee, live Jesus gospel. Real and true. And you shine the love of Christ with beauty and radiance. And I can not be more thrilled for your wisdom, and elegance, and grace to be a part of (in)courage. No guilt, my friend. God knows, and THIS is from Him. I am celebrating with you tonight my friend, cake and all!! xoxo
Thank you for the reminder that I have been pre approved 🙂
Vicki
I love the title “pre-approved”. What a wonderful reminder that we are all loved with an everlasting love. I’ve shared several copies of a “Confident Heart” and feel sure this book will be another of my favorites.
God has redeemed me from any bad things that I may have been through in my past even before coming to know His my own Lord and Personal Savior. I ♥ just how He can redeem me f…rom anything that Imay have previously done before.”What if this week, every time we look in the mirror and think … “Uggh, I need to ______ {lose weight, do something about these wrinkles, get rid of those dark circles under my eyes, etc.} you say this out loud:
“He calls me Beautiful.”
Because it’s true. He does!
You are chosen. Treasured. Redeemed. Loved. Cherished. Enough. You are Pre-Approved!!
What if we surrounded our hearts with truth seekers and truth-speakers, who told us these truths again and again? Friends who point us back to the One who calls us Beloved, Known and Valuable”Renee Swope
I ♥ this incredible thought tonight. God sees me as a valuable person in everything that I may do throughoutmy life. What I’m not really good at means absolutely nothing to God, even if other people around me may think that I’m supposed to be good at just about everything I try to do. “Enough chosen children dearly loved treasured FREE redeemed whole Lord cherished pre-approved beloved valuable.” Ultimately, what this quote is saying is that we’re God’s chosen ones, and He has pre-approved our purchace before the devil even had a chance to collect us for his own distructive purposes. Though I’m not certain I got the quote worded correctly because of having difficulty reading it. I ♥ knowing that I am redeemed from whatever sins I may have done.
Knowing how God sees me and seeing me as God sees me are hard to see in the same light. But beleiving is what he tells me makes it so much more beleivable.
sounds like a wonderful book!
One area of my life that I’d love to see myself as God sees me is in my parenting. In today’s society there is such a tug-o-war that goes on. There’s this lure to be successful and accomplish things in the work force and yet this desire to be home with your children, pouring into them, and taking care of your family/home the way that I believe God intended. There’s this guilt for me that accompanies my position as a professional in the work-force. I desire to be the best mom that I can be and yet at times I’m discouraged, tired, and stressed by the multiple demands and competing obligations of work and home. I desire to see myself as forgiven for my short comings and mistakes, granted mercy and grace each day. I desire to feel loved unconditionally by a God who created the universe and has numbered my days. I desire to be the mother that God has created me to be.