I hated feeling so uneasy and uncertain. Lost within my own heart. If only I knew what was making my emotions so wobbly. If only I could name it. Then I could figure out what to do about it. One morning, Jesus whispered it’s name in the quiet of my heart. It was doubt. It wasn’t fear. It wasn’t worry. Self-doubt was making me question everything I thought, felt and said. Naming it helped me know how to pray. Naming it led me to confessions I needed to make and promises I could claim. Naming it made me feel like I could finally stand up to it. Two summers ago, I got to visit the Farm and sit on the porch with my friend, Ann Voskamp. We talked about the power of naming things- the hard and the holy everyday grace things. How essential it is to our healing. We shared how doubt and fear had overshadowed our lives for so long, but how we both found hope and freedom once we learned to name them. Would you join us on the porch? {Be sure to turn up the volume. A tractor passes by and it gets kind of loud.} If you’re reading this via email, click here to view the video on my website.
“When you don’t have a name for something, you’re haunted by it’s shadows…But when you can name something… It loses it’s mask and you can find a strategy to deal with it.” (One Thousand Gifts)
Just days after Ann and I chatted on the porch, I received these two notes. “Renee, I just finished reading the first chapter of A Confident Heart . Thank you so much for writing a book like this and knowing exactly what it’s called that I’m going and have gone through all my life and didn’t know what it was called. ~ Sharon “I’ve always doubted myself, but like you I called mine different names. It felt so good to know and hear that I am not alone and that I can find my God-Confidence. ~ Megin
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Lord, thank you for showing us just how much we need to name that doubt, that fear, that worry – so we can find a strategy to overcome it with You! There is power in Your Name, and power in naming the things that hold us captive. Give us wisdom and insight to name them, and courage to claim and walk in the overcoming power that is ours in Christ. In Jesus Name Amen! Join Us On The Porch Slip a note in the comments below this post by clicking “Share your thoughts.” As a special gift, each of you who join Ann and my conversation will be entered for a chance win one of three copies of A Confident Heart and one copy of Ann Voskamp’s New York Times Best-Seller, One Thousand Gifts. 
Meet Us On the Porch Again This Week? Ann and I kept talking, and we’d love for you to join us on the porch again on Thursday, when we’ll share more. If you’d like a little reminder, enter your email in the box in my sidebar that says
RECEIVE EMAIL UPDATES and I’ll slip a note in your inbox when it’s posted.
I have always been a worrier. I don’t think I know how not to be one. My life is consumed with that dreadful word “worry”. No matter what the circumstance, be it family, friends, work, financial..the list is endless. I am held prisoner within myself because of worry. It changes my personality and controls my emotions. Thank you and P31!! I have ask God to forgive me of my short comings and to lead me by the still waters..I know the mighty God I serve is true and just and will supply all my needs according to his riches & glory. Praise his name and God Bless your ministry.
Thanks for the transparent look at ourselves!!! It truly helps!!!
Thank you for sharing this! I am still digesting it but very encouraged.
It is amazing how God gets your attention with every blog, discussion and youtube post! I picked up 1000 Gifts “on a whim”, but now I realize God insisted that I read this book and share it with my center of influence.
I have spent my life in the delusion that to criticize is to show intelligence and discernment. I was so wrong!
It has been chewing away at my heart and soul and driving so many good things away. I am starting to “name the gifts” and I find my heart and head transforming into such a grateful state that I hardly know myself at times!
I pray that this is contagious and I’m so excited to be using Ann’s book for our first fall bible study. It is also time to find my copy of “A Confident Heart” and look for the treasures and provide this as another stepping stone for our lives to be set free in Jesus. Thank you, ladies, for pursuing your calling!
Hello thank you both so much for sharing. I ve learnt so much.I m truly grateful. God bless yo u both.
OH I know why I get to feeling un settled, or sad… I am not trusting God
I know what I want… but instead of being patient and waiting…I just get so down and get hurt… for no reason
So as I give my doubts to God, one by one , I now try to praise God for each goodness he delivers…
He may not see to it that I get exactly what I want…but He will see that I get exactly what He knows I need…
His choice will be the better… and in trusting Him, I may be surprised : )
Two of my favorite and most life- changing books. I’ve given both away, & would love a freebe to share
Wow! Talk about God’s timing. I spent the day with one of my very best friends today. We are opposites in so many ways but our faith in God is what joins us together. We learn and grow together in faith. Fear was a huge issue today. She has lived in fear all her life in one form or another. This is something that is becoming more and more apparent as we get older. She expects the worst to happen in any and all situations. We had gone shopping when a downpour began. The rain came down so fast and hard that it caused street flooding. We were never in physical danger, yet she was paralyzed with fear. She does not want to react this way but doesn’t know how to change. I have already forwarded this email to her hoping that by doing what you have suggested in naming our fear(s) it will refocus our attention on God. Don’t we have an awesome God! His timing is perfect. Thank you so for being faithful to God’s calling in your life. We feel so alone, thinking we are the only ones that feel that way. God wants us to share and in doing so reaching out with His love to others.
On my way home today, I was crying and telling God I can’t figure this out. I don’t know what’s going on, I don’t know what it is but I need you to do something about it. Please do something in me. Now I have a name for it!! It’s the doubt I didn’t make the right decision about my marriage, the doubt that I’m not a good mom or employee, the doubt that I can get that promotion or run a half marathon. It’s self-doubt!! It has a name and I can call it by its name and put it into my Father’s hands. What a blessing!
I checked this book out from our church library in March and fell in love with it. I have since given away 6 copies to various ladies but I still don’t own it myself. I’m on number 257 in my list and am trying to get more consistent on adding to it every day. I am ready to read it again!
Remee, your video messages really inspire me. I so look forward to listening to them when i see they have been posted This message had me focused on my own things that need to be named. It is so true about the need lf naming thing so they can be dealt with and let go. watching the video caused me to think about the jealousy i have in my heart towards a terrific friend !! It took the listening to the video…..it literally hit me like a brick….that i harbor jealousy towards her. Everything comes easy for her…or it seems….she is like the perfect Barbie !!!! I have given this over to God, but would like tons of prayer. Hopefully, through God and his plan i can get over this feeling….. NOW IT HAS BEEN NAMED !!!
Thank you for sharing this conversation. Thank you Ann for the gift of your book One Thousand Gifts. The past few years I have watched my parents go through a very hard journey. My Mom has recently done the study and read the book One Thousand Gifts and she has been incredibly blessed in her journey. I look forward to reading One Thousand Gifts very soon. I have already started a blessings box with my three little girls and plan to keep it going!
I went through the Confident Heart Bible Study and have realized so many things about who I am in Christ and how much God loves me. This video made me realize that when I name those somethings positive or negative in my life, I will be set free from the bad things and the positive (gifts) show me that He is always with me in the good and the not so good things. Thank you for sharing this video.
Thank you so much for sharing your story!! Much love!!
Thank you for this ‘porch talk’. This is so true. I and many of my friends were raised to believe that if you spoke something of weakness or negative, that it was not a ‘Christian’ thing to do. It is only after reaching a point where I had to ‘name it’ or be lost in a murky mire that I verbalized the ‘negative’ in my life and claimed victory in the name of Jesus.
Since the silent birth of our second daughter at eight months into our pregnancy, I have had many people say that they do not know how I have coped. It was through complete honesty with God…telling Him the pain and confusion and anger…naming it and then dealing with it. We have since had a baby boy and throughout that pregnancy, I had to name the fear and the anxiety…and give it all to Jesus…
I did not have a name for this, but now I do. Thank you…deeply…
Wow! I so needed to read this today. Been struggling and feeling so down. Unsure just why I felt this way and to read about naming our doubts and fears. That is exactly what I needed to do. Thank you so much for your posts. God has truly used you in a special way!! Blessings!!
Thank you for the encouragement today!! Loved it.
Thank you for posting this. Very timely for me.
I ran and hid from my doubts and fears for a very long time. I wasn’t able to confront them. I was in denial. But what we don’t confront, we will never overcome.
Thank you for a bright warmth in my day!!!!!
Ladies, what you are saying is so true! 🙂 And it makes such a difference to switch our focus off
of the vague darkness, and turn to the Face of Jesus, knowing that even though it may be a while before
we know what the specific darkness is, that even in the dark, He gives comfort and peace until He chooses
to shed His light on it. What a Faithful and Mighty Abba we have!! 🙂
Love this! I never thought about like this before, but it is so true! Just being able to identify that “thing” by its name allows you to immediately turn to Jesus and the truth that He says about you! Thank you both for sharing!
That was an eye-opening message. Thanks ya’ll !
You truly cannot overcome a problem or struggle until you admit it and name it. I am going through a huge personal struggle right now. Just today at a counselling session I was told this same truth. Thank you for sharing your heart and reminding us of this victory that is ours in Christ.
So true; it it good to thank God for the gifts He gives us on a daily basis. Too often I focus on the one bad thing that is happening to me. Thank you for sharing your talk.
I’m trying. I read the book and am going to reread it but when doubt and anxiety and worthlessness have been a proven repeatedly throughout a lifetime…it’s hard to believe God wants to and will change me.
Thank you for reminding me of all the gifts that I have been given that show me that God is taking care of me. As Ann said they go by so quickly, that it is easy to forget them.
Self-doubt and low self-esteem are things I have struggled with and still struggle with. I turned 49 on June 12th, and I find I am still not feeling worthy enough of even myself. I weigh 210 pounds and at my age it is not something I am proud of. there is a lot of emotional abuse that has kept me unable to be successful in weight loss but because of my size, I don’t feel worthy even of my husband and the attention he tries to give me. thank you for helping me ‘put a name on it’ and admit that I have given up on every being worth anything to anyone, even god.
Thank you for revealing this very powerful truth!
Love this!!! When we name things, we can call them out to God and be more able to trust it to Him because we REALLY KNOW what it is we are asking! Again, thank you for sharing!
What a wonderful idea to name your blessing as well as your burdens. Thank you Renee and Ann for sharing your heart with us.
Yes! By naming a fear, concern, or issue, we take a formless anxiety and contain it in a boundary, taking power from it. We are able to pray specifically about the concern and God who hears each prayer will specifically address it. When we pray specifically, we are better able to see God’s answers to prayer!
Once, in a very difficult time for my family, I felt God say, “I will hold the hard things for you.” What a comfort! As I named those hard things, I placed them into His capable hands and knew He would take care of them for me. My Heavenly Father loves me enough to count the hairs on my head–He cares about each thing that touches my life. What a great, awesome and loving God we serve!
Thanks for the encouragement to face our fears and doubts and seek God to find restoration.
I find healing in naming hurts as well! However this struggle I have with anger continues to press at me from all sides….could you please pray that God will allow me to put a name to this in my life.
A wise counselor told me, when I was struggling with anger, that I could choose to offer the anger to the Lord to use for His glory. I did not instantly stop being angry, but I submitted it to God for His purposes. The Scriptures say to be angry but do not sin.
A Bill Gothard class on anger resolution was helpful for me also. We were encouraged to, instead of asking, “Why me?” ask “Why not me?” A wrong was done to us that shouldn’t have been, but God is still in control. He is still sovereign and loves us more than we can imagine.
God bless you and give you His peace, dear sister.
I am almost in tears after watching the video. Ann’s voice was so soothing that I think I could listen to her all day. When she said that she had to slow down or she would miss the gifts it made me wonder what gifts I may have missed in my busy/crazy life. I am going to take time to notice from now on.
The video made me remember a time that I had forgotten. Years ago I started having pain throughout my body. The pain seemed to move from one spot to the other–my shoulder, then my knee, then my elbow–and I would be in a “fog” in the mornings until noon. Then when I tried to go to sleep at night I couldn’t fall asleep for hours. Before I knew it–it was morning and the crazy mystery started all over again. The worse part of this was trying to get a diagnosis–I looked completely fine. Finally I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia–it was a relief to have a name for what was going on. I pray that anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation will find a name soon–be blessed.
I definitely believing in naming the good blessings in our lives. I have never thought about naming the not-so-good or bad things in us though. I do believe that we need to recognize and acknowledge our doubts, fears, insecurities, and whatever else that is similar. However, I don’t believe that we need to dwell on them as some people tend to do in society. Recognize and acknowledge them for what they are (doubts, fears, insecurities, etc.). Then, ask the Holy Spirit to either remove them or help you overcome them. Thanks!
Thank you for these words of hope reminding me that I am not alone with my struggles and doubts.
What do you do when the answer does not have a name I have been having medical tests for 6 months they have found back problems then the medicine caused stomach problems but now the doctors think that it is IBS but not sure so I’m at this place where I have no name for it but I have decided that I believe that God is in control and all I can do is rest in His arms and enjoy the good days and pray through the bad ones
Please keep me in your prayers
Thank you for sharing that conversation and the reminder that we need to name things, both the good and the bad. For the past several months, I have been dealing with something that I couldn’t quite articulate or understand. I have had the feeling of addiction and I couldn’t fugure out why or where it came from. I’ve heard repeatedly that I need to understand the root of my feelings and it wasn’t until today that I was willing or able to admit that my feeling of addition stems from feelings of fear. I fear hurt and disappointment and as a result I wanted to turn to something else that divert my attention. I wanted to hold onto something that would act as a cushion should fear creep in. It’s all a figment of my imagination but I now know that I can overcome….now that I’ve named it FEAR. Thank you for reminding me that it’s okay to be honest with myself. Thank you for reminding me that God is in control of the good and the bad and that I must name things so that the power of God can work in my situation. He always steps in once we are willing to give him total control and naming things are the beginning to releasing our humanistic control. Thank you again. I truly appreciate you both listening to the Holy Spirit with willing spirits and being obedient to sharing what He lays on your hearts.
This has been huge for my freedom, knowing what it is, repenting and being made FREE!
For my kids and I counting our gifts helped us overcome fear during a really difficult time. Thank you.
I just love the framing and naming of those things that we can’t put a name on. In “A Confident Heart,” you show how through GOD’S perfect word frames those doubts with HIS very words. Thanks for the encouraging the word in our hearts.
Knowing what something is, is very important. You have to know what your dealing with in order to deal with it well. Recognizing what it is that God has brought into your life as a good blessing, touches your heart. Recognizing what it is that you are struggling with really allows us to see past our problems and look towards God. One thousand gifts sounds like an amazing book of gratitude. Can’t wait to read it.
I was blessed by this chat you had Renee with Ann. Don’t we all have some of those shadows and unnamed things that pull is down and into the darkness? God is light! He doesn’t want us in the darkness. This video was very enlightening. Thanks. Bless you both in Jesus name!
Listening to the both of you on the porch somehow made me a little jealous and at the same time a feeling of reassurance from connecting with the conversation of naming that thing. I was able to not only move pass the jealous moment but look toward receiving the blessings of the Lord which will enable me to work through my fears and doubts to be the works of ministry. I thank God and his divine guidance that brought me to this posting today!
Things kept in the dark are bigger than life and naming them brings them into the light…sharing some deep wound with a trusted friend is like a huge weight lifted off the heart and Lessing the power of that “thing” that had so much power over my life. Thank you for this!
The post on FB leading to this page couldn’t have come at a better time! I am having a hard time naming my emotions, and when it was named self doubt it just seemed real. Thanks!
What a wonderful lesson on overcoming by putting a name to what we are struggling with! God is using both of you to minister to many of us in a special way.Thanks, Renee and Ann! On a side note: am working on a teaching strategy on literacy and I have come up with an adapted idea for my students to do a a little book, One hundred gifts. I don’t know where this would go but my thinking wheels are turning! Thanks so much!
I’ve just recently started getting serious about my faith and one of the first things I did was to begin to pray about the things that I cannot change. My anxiety came from a deep doubt and an inability to give up my burdens and worries. I’m still new to this, but I find that a peace comes over me when I pray about those issues and acknowledge that I cannot do anything without the help of the Lord.
Thank you both for sharing and posting this. I needed to hear this!
I have moments when I just want to cry and I don’t know why or what happened to make me feel so low. It sneaks up on me like a sneeze! I love my life and I know I am blessed but sometimes those crazy moments of tears just come flooding in and I have no idea what to call it. Seeing your video makes me want to meditate on what exactly is bringing me down in those unexpected moments…that it may have a name, and if I can figure it out, I can start to pray about God releasing it from me and rising good things up from it! Thanks so much for sharing this video and for opening my heart to the possibility of a new prayer in my life!