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.



Needed this! Thanks so much.
Needed to hear this today. I need a constant reminder that I am the mother that God chose for my daughter. I feel like a failure in that area every day.
I constantly deal with the struggle of finding fault with myself. Whether it may be with my physical apperance or comparing myself to others telling myself I am not as good as others. I was one of few in my family who did not obtain a 4 year degree in my family, and was told as a teenager that I needed to be something like my cousins. My goal was to get married and be a mother. I have such a precious Christian family and would not change what I have today, although those cousins I was compared to do not have the spirital life that I do today. Even though I know I am so loved and treasured by Christ, I continue to struggle with self worth and confidence.
Approved: Heidi talked about God being a Virtuiso it reminds me of the Song by Julie True she states over and over how God is a Paint Brush and in spite of what I and others have found in themselves to be flaws, His word states that we are created in His Image Genesis 1:27and likeness and sealed with a treasure 2 Corithians 4:7. May the Spirit of Truth enlighten our hearts of who Christ is and reveal His Love to each of us and who we are in Him!!
There are many areas…but working on it.
I wish I could see me as God sees His daughter who loves Him. I feel a sort of disconnect that I know is of my own making not His.
Mostly in my mothering
Thank you for this. I need to know this in the area of who I am and that I am worthy of good things and to be loved. Thank you again. I look forward to reading more.
I have a hard time feeling beautiful because of my weight. I look forward to seeing myself as God sees me.
Faith and Trust. I know God is who He says He is. I’m struggling with being stuck in lies of the enemy.
The book sounds great. It is so easy to fall into a trap of feeling that I am not good enough. Why, do I deserve His love. Then, I have to remembefr that He loves me for who I am.
We all need to know we have otheers that pray for us.
Good luck to all that may win this book. God bless you all.
I would like to see me as God sees me..PERIOD. I just can’t get past the flaws and self condemnation. This is exactly what I talked about today in counseling. This would be a great book and I’m looking forward to reading it.
So really need to read this book. I am 60 and my whole life I have always listened to what others said. Its hard to know your are beautiful when you have been betrayed by your husband. Its hard to know you are worthy to be loved when others have rejected you over and over. Some days I am so thankful that I know Jesus and God love me even when others seem not to.
Thank you for this awesome reminder. When I came home from work today in the middle of a converstaion with , my 12-year-old son, that he told me he had low self esteem. I listened and shared that I had experienced similar battles until I learned by reading the Word that I didn’t have to suffer from low self esteeem. He does read his Bible, but like many young Christians, he doesn’t think it’s making a difference. I told him that it’s what God says about who he is that will give him confidence as to who He is in Christ. This book would be resource that would help me trully minister to my son, and reinforce my understanding about who I also am in Christ. I need to hear it again and again. Even a few times is not enough. There’s so few books on the market like this. I am going to pray that God uses Jennifer’s book to minister to the masses. I believe her message will minister to millions, and that the Lord will make a way through to those paralyzed in this area due to the lies of the enemy. His Truth through her message will set them free from the lies they’ve believed for far too long! 🙂
I need to not worry all the time what other people think of me. I am loved, beautiful, pre-approved by God. He made me just the way I am, I am His. I need to get rid of all my insecurities.
I want to see myself as preapproved to take the next step of obedience in my life that God is calling me to and stop worrying about whether I will succeed or fail-instead trust in Him!
What an honor it is to have been adopted into Christ’s family and to be a child of God. Too often we forget that He created us just the way He wanted us to be and that He loves us and is faithful even when we are not faithful.
Thankful for your ministry and blogs…it is so important to find, believe, and accept our true identity in Jesus. He is the only One who remains constant, trustworthy and His love is unconditional. People’s feelings and thoughts are ever-changing – our God is the same yesterday, today and forever!
Thanks for your give-away offer. Thanks for the encouragement and wonderful reminder of our true identity!
I have ZERO confidence and it would be great if I could think different and know that I am pre approved
I can tell myself I am good enough but feeling it in my heart is the struggle. Being a good enough mom so my childen make Godly decisions. Being a good enough wife. And the list continues. I have to daily tell myself we are not all the same. What a boring world it would be if we were. So embrace my difference as good enough and I am what God created me to be.