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Renee Swope

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

Read An Excerpt: Chapter 1 & 2

About Our Doubts

Click here to complete my mini-survey and for a chance to win a book!You are blessings me to pieces with all your comments and surveys. I’m going to leave this up through the weekend and make some big announcements on Monday. Have a great weekend my faithful and wonderful friends!!

Welcome to those linking over from my P31 devotion. As I shared, my heart needs lots of repairs and Jesus is always there offering to do them. But sometimes it’s to doubt it’s possible. Or we doubt ourselves and our futures when our lives feel broken; our dreams shattered. For years I allowed the pain of my past to keep me from believing God had hope for my future. I let insecurities and doubts keep me from living in the assurance of God’s promises and the confidence of God’s love.

Give-away and Mini-Survey
Now I sense God calling me to help other women walk out of the shadows of their doubts and live in the confidence of who God has created and called them to be. I’m writing a book on the topic of a woman’s doubts. I know that publishers want to hear what a woman is thinking and feeling, and needing for encouragement. So, I created a mini-survey (6 questions) that will help determine the focus of each chapter.

Pretty please, would you take two minutes to complete the short survey and then come back to let me know you did. As my thanks to you, I’ll be giving away 4 autographed copies of Who Holds the Key to Your Heart? So, please take the survey and leave a comment below this post telling me you did it. I’m praying for 500+ responses!!! You can help by telling friends and sending a link. If you get others to complete it, tell me and you’ll have two chances to win. I’ll do the drawing Monday! THANK YOU so much!!!

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More encouragement for today…

When God Takes Broken and Makes it Beautiful

My dearest friend’s husband, one of my favorite pastors, had been told his position was being eliminated. She would be moving – hours away. This was the woman who had believed in me. Invested in me. Encouraged me. Prayed for me, and stood beside me as I walked through my fears and doubts to follow God’s calling to write and speak.

This was my women’s ministry leader. The one I was going to serve alongside until we both shriveled up and went to be with Jesus. This was the woman had built one of the most amazing women’s ministries in the country. And now it was broken!

My heart was broken, too. I didn’t know how to process my pain.

I thought yard work might be a good distraction for my despair. As I walked into our backyard, I noticed a rose bush the previous homeowner had planted in the center of our split rail fence. It was in full bloom, expressing her glory through the display of gorgeous pink blossoms across the center of the fence.

How did that happen? I wondered.

Although I’d never used it, I knew we had rose food in our shed so I decided to fertilize the bush to help her sustain her blossoms.

As I pulled the weeds back, clearing the way for plant food to sink into the soil, I noticed the root ball divided into four sections. Then a thought ran through my mind. Should I leave them all together, or pull them apart and place them at different posts on the fence? If I separated them and planted the sections in fertile soil at separate posts, their vines would eventually connect and create a blanket of pink draped across the whole fence.

I knelt before the blossoming beauty and pressed my hands into the dirt, trying to find the right places to separate the root ball. That’s when I felt God whisper to my heart.

Renee, do you see this plant? It’s what I see when I look at you and the women’s ministry you love. Each of you serving on the ministry team has been carefully planted in your giftedness, nurtured and encouraged through prayer, equipped through training, fertilized by opportunities to serve and you have produced fruit…fruit that will last!

But, like this plant, you have reached the fullness of My glory in your current soil. You and the rest of the team are ready to divided into separate plants so that my glory in each of you will be more fully displayed as you are uniquely and individually planted in new places of ministry.

What? Surely MaryAnn leaving wasn’t the only uprooting I was about to experience? I couldn’t bear the thought. More pruning? More breaking up of what has taken years to establish?

I had just gotten to where I was comfortable and felt courage to step and do more in ministry. I was surrounded by women who loved me. We were a team and I just couldn’t do it without them. Yet, as I imagined God’s glory like that of the rose bush being more fully displayed, my heart settled into a place that felt very right. It wasn’t my plan, but if it was for His glory, wasn’t that what I wanted? Would I trust Him to heal the brokenness and pain and bring something good from it?

That day I knelt on Holy ground in front of my rose bush and surrendered the broken dreams in my heart. Even if it meant letting go of what I loved so deeply, it would be worth it if others would see HIM more clearly. Somehow I knew that with God’s care, our vines would cross again in the Kingdom, and His beauty would be more gloriously seen in these new places where He was about to plant each of us.

That was five years ago. I honestly don’t think I’d be who I am today if God had not uprooted my plans and redefined my dreams.

It’s hard when God allows our hopes to be shattered, our hearts to be broken, our relationships to be fractured, our fears to be realized. I really doubted any good could come from such loss. I doubted that I could make it through the pain.

Like the uprooting of that rose bush some of my leaves wilted, some stems were cut back, petals fell to the ground and some branches had more thorns than blossoms for a while. It took time for me to get re-established in new soil. But God plan for His glory became evident each day that I surrendered to His power and trusted His plans more than mine.

I didn’t think I could make it but God took my doubts and created absolute dependence on Him. I pray that somehow today you see His glory more fully in me and in yourself as we depend more fully on Him, to take our broken and make something beautiful.

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If you haven’t yet, please complete my short survey and then leave a comment below so I can enter you for a chance in the give-away! My hope and prayer is to have 500 surveys for my book research. THANK YOU!!!

Comments

  2. I took the survey. Thank you for your daily encouragement. It has been a blessing since I’ve recently started with P31 ministry, and Praise God for your book.
    Michele ([email protected])

  3. Took the survey. Can hardly wait to read this book, Renee! I’m surprised at my own answers. Realizing I need to read your book more than I even originally thought.

    Keeping you on my prayer list.

  6. Hi Renee,
    I finished the survey. Your book sounds like it will have some very good help on building up self-esteem and self-worth. Thanks for your blogs and your dedication to God. I try to read your blog every day, it’s very inspirational. I will definitely read the book and spread the word of it.
    Thanks so much and God Bless you.

  7. Took the survey! Glad I’ve subscribed to P31 ministries and The Journey of My Heart. I’ve gotten some of my friends to subscribe as well after I forwarded some of the devotions to them.

    Candi C.

  9. Just letting you know that I too took the survey – and it actually made me laugh a little at how insanely perfect the timing was for me. Doubt’s had a hold on me big time over this past week, but I’m working on telling it to go away. No chance your book will be published in the next 24 hours or so, huh? 😉

    Keep up the God work, Renee!

  11. Renee, I completed the survey the other day, but I just wanted to say what an absolutely beautiful story you shared here. The way the Lord spoke so gently to your heart and prepared you for His re-planting…precious.

    I am one who sees His glory in you and am attracted by His fragrance.
    Hugs,
    Joy

  14. Finished your survey, and looking forward to your book!!! I love your blog and enjoyed meeting you at the ladies retreat in Kingsport, TN last year.

  17. Renee, that was a beautiful story about the rose bushes. It makes perfect sense, although it’s so difficult to receive. But it’s a good reminder that God knows what he’s doing, even if we’re uncomfortable in the process.

    I also completed your survey and would happily receive Lysa’s book!

    -Michelle

  19. Completed the survey and passed on to friends, because I think lots of women struggle with the effects of doubt!! Thanks for your work in this area!
    Elizabeth ([email protected])

  21. Survey complete! Can’t thank you enough for your ministry. I receive your devotions in Australia now. I believe God is leading me to women’s ministry here, but I have so many doubts! The timing of your survey is perfect. It’s given me a few things to think about….

  23. Hi Renee. I just finished your survey concerning doubt. Your devotional today was truly a blessing to me since I just prayed to the Lord last night concerning my brokenness. Isn’t it funny for me to call it my own. I guess I do that because the doubt and lack of confidence come from many, many scars that I’ve had from early childhood up through this year. Sometimes, when you’ve experienced a lot of trauma in your life you question whether or not wholeness is really possible for you. But now, today, I’ve prayed and chosen to believe and trust in Him. Salvation means wholeness and healing so I’m putting my trust and my wounded heart in my Lord’s hands. He’s all I have left and He’s enough. My e-mail address is: [email protected]. God bless you.

  25. Completed survey, good luck with the book!
    Really enjoyed your rose bush story, isn’t it wonderful when God suddenly pours His wisdom in to our thoughts through life’s daily tasks!

  27. Renee,
    I finished the survey and looking forward to this book. This is something that affects so many women. I lead a young Mom’s bible study and this is a topic they could really use. Thanks so much.
    Janice

  28. I’ve finished the survey. Interesting. I enjoy the daily devotions I receive from P31 women. Keep doing the Lord’s work!
    God Bless you and your family.

    Laura Q

  29. Renee, Just completed your survey…mmm..thinking I need to revisit Proverbs 3:5 and 6
    Thanks, Lorinda

  30. Kemi,

    I completed the survey and had pleasant and unpleasant discoveries. Pleasant, “In the depth of my soul, I am deeply assured of (and never doubt) God’s love for me.

    Unpleasant, “I doubt everything else….everything I play a part in and therefore have a possibility to mess up.”

  31. Hi Renee — I was so touched by the Proverbs 31 today, and read through your page and survey in tears — I know God wanted me to read your story. Thank you for sharing and helping strengthen the body of Christ. God bless you!

    Susan
    [email protected]

  33. Renee,

    Hi! I wanted to let you know I took your survey. I’m looking forward to your book. I think doubt is one of the most paralyzing feelings that we encounter. I know that I’ve struggled for years to have the courage to follow God’s will for my life, and I need all the help I can get. Your devotions are a great part of that help.

    Thank you!
    Jill
    [email protected]

  37. I have completed the survey that you asked for. I would love to be a winner of the book! I am new to this web site. My sister recommended it to me.

    Thank you,
    Fran Dzicek
    [email protected]

  41. I took your survey. Wow, what an eye opener and stomach clencher! Living in fear is such a daily part of who I am. Today I am choosing to believe that God is faithful, that He loves me and sees me as precious. I am also choosing to trust that no matter what this day holds, God isn’t taken by surprise and He won’t let me crash.

  43. I have completed the survey on “About Our Doubts” and I think those questions are very interesting. There were some that got me thinking. I believe your book will have a positive effect on working on my doubts

  44. I love reading the blog, looking forward to a book from you. Thanks for thinking of all of us ladies! I just completed the survey…whitney terrell

  45. Survey’s completed!
    Thank you so much for the encouragement today, it really spoke to me, cause I sure have been broken many times, all I know I just need to keep focusing on God because He has said in His Word, that “my steps are ordered by Him.” Thank you Jesus!

  46. I took the survey! 🙂

    And let me say….I LOVE what you shared about the roses! As you know, there is some uprooting going on in my life right now. What a sweet encouragement!

    Blessings, sweet Renee! You stay in my prayers!

  47. It’s done! :). I loved the post. Sometimes we just don’t get that God knows best and we need to trust him.

    ~Mimi

  49. Your survey is complete!
    Thank you for your encouragement, it encourages me to pass it along to others.

  50. Completed survey. Sometimes, I’m plagued by doubt…wrote about it on my blog yesterday.

    Write that book, Renee!