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)
Discover more from Renee Swope
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I’m pre-approved by God is just what I needed to hear today with where I’m at on my healing journey. After surviving a evil system.
I need to remember I am loved and preapproved in all areas of my life.
Thank you for the positive reminder that we all are beautiful, pre-approved, and accepted by God. However, my whole life I have struggled with never feeling accepted, beautiful, or part of the popular crowd that seems never ending even as an adult. I would rather follow God than be part of the popular crowd that doesn’t, but still never manage to feel adequate or good enough to do anything or to be accepted by others. I really have been battling this lately. My feelings of inadequacy led me down a horrible road of drugs years ago in order to cope, but I have been clean for almost 10 years but it haunts me. No matter how hard I pray or tell myself how much God loves me, it doesn”t sink in. I hope this book may help, thank you for offering it even if I don’t get selected to win it. Bless you and your ministries
Thanks Renee for the touching so many lives. it made me smile as the message entered my heart, “I am preapproved by God” WOW…
Hi Renee,
We’re just finishing up your Confident Hearts study. Perhaps this would be a next good one? Would LOVE your thoughts for a smallish 4-5 gal group. Thanks; we’ve just loved your devotional.
Peace friend,
Bridget
IN MY ROLE AS A WIFE
I was not raised with my brothers and sisters (9 of us altogether) and I always felt like I didn’t really have any valute. (I also was told that.) I am still learning that I do have value and I am not a throwaway but rather a daughter of God and I do have a family (church). I still have to remind myself of these things. I downloaded the book and devotional of Confident Heart and am taking the course again myself this time. It has really helped me. Thank you so much for making me feel like I am a part of God’s kingdom and that I really am pre-approved by God.
.
I could pick from many areas but my lifelong struggle is with my weight and how I feel about my body. It was passed down to me and my biggest prayer is that I don’t pass negative self image patterns to my children and especially my sweet daughter. I wAnt her to know and in want to know for myself that I am deeply loved, she is deeply loved no matter our size. God has made us beautiful on the inside and out but he is most concerned with our hearts and who we are to the world. That’s my prayer for my family.
Blessed to be pre approved! Some days so hard to wrap that around my mind and to just live in His love and grace for me. I just want more Jesus!
Thanks for the reminder we are pre approved. At the moment I need this as we sit in the emergency room. Our daughters feeding tube came out We are waiting and feeling guilty … Again. So great to remember God loves us no matter what
Enough?
When I was younger I never was concerned about what others thought. I was determined, focused, and pushing toward doing for God. I was so sure I could be a perfect Christian and made an agreement to that end. Then one day I realized that I was doing for God and was terrified that I was not perfect for God, my parents or any other believer that I wanted to think I was THE BEST. God has been working at ripping out the weeds and sin and idols that have grown in my heart. It is hard and I struggle with anxiety and depression in the midst. I know God is able and I am cooperating with Him in the learning. This is hard work, but very rewarding to be clean before God. I read the Forward to this book and I would love to have a copy to study.
Thank you for the reminder of how God sees us! I feel I fall short in so many ways, but, I need to remember, I’m pre-approved!
Where is the stamp and ink pad to stamp it on our hands. To show that a great price has been paid for us all.
Oh wow! I have been struggling with depression for the last couple of years and with this winter being so long it just got worse! I finally opened up to the ladies of our church, after not going since before Christmas, on our ladies FB page about my struggles, opening up to them in a way I never thought possible! After my sharing I was contacted personally by another church sister that she too is struggling but had not shared with anyone either. Then today I found out 2 more church sisters are struggling! I hate asking prayer for myself!! But by opening up and making myself vulnerable it seems to be a much needed opening up which I can see now was what God has been wanting me to do for sometime! Thanks to Proverbs31 Ministries for all the encouragement I receive daily and am able to share with my sisters at church!
Blessings!
Veda
Weight! Definitely weight!! Other things also but weight is #!. I just don’t feel beautiful or confident these days but I am working on it… Thank you for reminding me that God loves me just as I am.
Thanks Renee – Proverbs 31 always has the most amazing topics!
Like the majority of women, I have issues feeling “God approved” when I look at myself naked in the mirror. In my heart I know that what’s on the inside matters more than the outside, but I still do not feel worthy of God’s (or anyone’s love) when I feel so weak that I cannot convince myself to work out and/or stick to a more nutritious meal plan.
Thank you Renee! What at timely topic! God has been leading me through a process of recognizing areas in my life where I am bowing down to idols and instead need to look up to my Heavenly Father as my source. I want to stand up straight, connected to My Creator, not bent over serving the world as a master. Am very interested in the book you are recommending, “Love Idol: Letting Go of Approval and Seeing Yourself through God’s Eyes.” Thanks for letting us know about it :-).
I like being pre-apporoved.
I struggle with accepting God’s unconditional love for me. I need to saturate my mind with God’s truths about His love for me instead of allowing the old tapes from childhood that play in my head that anything I attempted was never good enough. I strived for perfection to please in all things and never seemed to achieve the mark. This effected my self-esteem greatly and instilled in me a fear of failure, rarely wanting to venture out of my comfort zone for fear of not measuring up, being humiliated or exposed as inadequate. I pray with God’s help I will be victorious and overcome these inadequate feelings and see myself as God sees me, fearfully and wonderfully made, beautiful, loved, cherished, treasured and usable for His kingdom work.
As I scroll down to get to the place where I can leave my comment, it strikes me just how many of us there are,who have believed the lie that Satan whispered to us somewhere in our life that we were ‘less than’…..thank you for reminding us all of the truth that we all are pre-approved, chosen, are loved extravagantly, and all that we need to do is believe and live in this truth!