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.
Oh my goodness! What a powerful tool this is. It is a way to help me focus on how to pray. It helps me grab on to something rather than sitting in the junk. Thank you so much for this video. It will change on how I attack the enemy right back!
Winnie Morehead
“I know how loved I am when I name the gifts. Because things go so fast, I miss the gifts… If I can slow down to name them, I see that I’m oved in the midst of a crazy-whirlwind kind of life.” So good and so true!!! “One Thousand Gifts” has really challenged me to stop and thank God for the everyday little things that God brings into my busy life. How he holds and sustains me through it all.
I agree, naming both the good AND the bad and then turning it back to Christ can be so freeing and healing. Thank you so much to you ladies for your ministries and for sharing your insight! I have been abundantly blessed by both of you!!!
This conversation was very encouraging to me! Thanks for sharing:)
Name it!!! WOW! It is necessary to know your adversary in order to create a plan to overcome it. GOOD STUFF!! I think we know this, but it is neccessary to hear it from time to time. Thank you!!
thank you so much for “naming it”!!
I am so thankful for the opportunity to share in your conversation. Naming both the good gifts and negative trials in my life changed my perspective. God is good and I am blessed because my good gifts always out weighs the negative trials. Thank you for giving yourself to the Lord and sharing your heart with so many of us that struggle with the same problems. It’s when I hear others talk about what they fight with that helps me to understand that we all face the same things and we can get strength from one another to push further then we ever thought or imagined. Thank You!!
Both of these books have been used by God in my life to bring about some radical change for the better!! I pray that my life can someday be used to bless others as much as you ladies have blessed mine! And I haven’t finished either book yet! I’m still in the process of reading both! Thank you for being faithful to God’s call on your lives…
I loved the way you were talking on the porch together as if no one else was watching. I also loved that Ann confessed that she still has fears–it shows she’s human, and makes it easier to relate to her. What a great teaching time! Thank you both for sharing!
Rene i love you and Ann! I look forward to both your emails daily and can’t wait to see the next porch video. Ann has such a poetic way with her thoughts, and you are so positive and inspiring, empowering women to love themselves as imperfect as we are, it is a joy to see your unique personalities interact! Thank you for blessing us with your conversations. Good is good!
This couldn’t come at a better time. Going through a tough time after the death of my Dad. Countingy blessings comes hard right now. It is starting to get easier to remember the good times with my dad but my heart aches so much. So much has changed since he died. But there is always a light in dark times. And that Light is Jesus!!
Been wanting to read 1000 Gifts for a while. Guess it might be time to do it!
what a couple of dear, dear ladies – thank you for posting this and I want to get both books –
Without prompting my grand daughter who is 8 yrs old named hers today (3 no less) – and then we prayed a simple prayer asking The Lord to help her make choices that will honor Him. WOW !! !! !!
This makes so much sense….you cannot fight a battle without knowing who or what the enemy is. Thank you.
Wow, naming it really brings out more repressed doubt that helps you deal with what’s there. It’s less scary when you have it in front of you rather than that shadow following us.
Thanks for sharing your words.
Am so blessed and thankful to hear about naming things. All my life there are so many things I need God’s name because of the endless struggles despite I know Jesus Name has power. I love the prayer you had and praying things will be clearer now as I name them.
Thank you for sharing your life….
So often when struggling with life, I have cried out “what is going on?” This conversation has helped me to stop and reflect and name what is going on. Naming has helped me create a first step in resolution. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for this message. It is truly humbling and sent chills when I realized that begin specific to God(even though he already knows)was a freedom within itself. Dealing with family addictions, major health issues, loss of two jobs and major incomes, loss of health insurance are things I have been dealing with over the past year. I pulled away from everything and everyone, overwhelmed with all of this, when it was in fact fear, doubt and feeling that somehow I just deserved the pain. Thank you <3
In this season of my life, as I continue to strip away all the masks I’ve worn, I can very much appreciate your conversation! Naming (and removing) the gunk is on ongoing process! Praising God comes very easy for me but the more I become real, the more real my worship becomes! I encourage those struggling with identity issues to allow God to remove the masks, clean out the cobwebs and be who God has made you to be regardless of life around you. I have always been too concerned about what others thought of me, not any more! You can take my God loving self or not! I use to stuff my emotions – not anymore! If you walk away from me because of not liking who I really am, it will hurt my feelings, feelings that I am now learning to freely admit – not to allow them to control me or to wallow in them – but by naming them and allowing them to be recognized and dealt with, freeing me from the need to stuff them, freeing me from the need of masks. God bless you!
I did not realize that I should put a name to my fears or that I can change my thought process by naming my fears. I have the name of “not good enough” or “measuring myself to others” and always feel inferior which holds me back in both of my current businesses. I am praying now that I see myself as good enough because I do know that Jesus sees me that way. Thanks for sharing your findings.
Jesus, is truly the Name above all Names! We are able to name our fears, insecurities, joys, blessings, etc. because of Him. Everything we do is in Him and there is nothing we go through that he hasn’t been through already. This was a wonderful “front porch” discussion….keep up the good work GIGs, we love you!
thank you very much for the encouraging video. Just the other night I was thinking along the same lines, except that I am not courageous enough to find out what’s causing my fear, but I was praying for God to reveal the solution to it (is that cheating? 🙂 I suspect I know what’s causing it, I just don’t want for my suspicion to be confirmed).
I liked the visual that Ann mentioned of the circle of gifts -in Christ-thru Christ-back to Chist…so neat! And by the way, her voice is soo soft and soothing…you two make a great team together.
Thank you for sharing together. I so needed to listen to this. I have been feeling overwhelmed lately. One of the things intimidating me has been that I am going to lead a women’s discussion of “A Confident Heart” next month. I need this truth, but I don’t yet live it. Your conversation reminded me that I don’t have to perfectly live something I am teaching. I am sharing with sisters on a journey, not leading the way. Christ is our Leader.
Thank you so much for the conversation. I am listening to all of the conversations that you are having with Ann Voskamp. I am being totally blessed. Being willing to have the intimacy with God where He will expose the demon that is binding me up will show me the path that I need to take to walk in His freedom. It is always God. He wants to come close to show the specific things that need to be addressed when there is pain. Maybe it is fear, of what will happen. Maybe it is doubt that He will show up because of what happened in the past. Maybe it is a past issue of forgiveness. God is here and will love me in the way I need.
Thank you for sharing this moment.
Just need to share something that I have a hard time with using the phone due some mechanical issues with the phone and with myself. Honestly, I’m a little scared to tell this story due to fear of rejection but I want to share this so maybe where I’m coming from they will understand. I’ve only shared this with probably two people. One of them understood; the other one just say we went our own ways. But I know there’s a lesson in all of this and it’s the hardest thing I’m working through.
A couple of years ago, I had a cell phone that had some mechanical issues and I guess you can say I had the same issues. 🙂 I had some mentor church friends and one of them would ask we would like to invite you to have some food. I had that gut feeling that one of them that didn’t want me to attend but being naive I ignored it and with them. Did this many times and even started drinking alcohol with them.
I admire one of these friends because she was single/older and than she got married which still gives me hope but I donot know it’s in God’s plan. This older friend mentor me but I also know she had a lot of changes and I was getting to dependent on her and walked over the boundaries (maybe it’s part of being an only child) I’m not making that an excuse well maybe just a little. In addition, I was trying to help her stepdaughter who was living with me at that time free of charge. Well, it just didn’t work out. Well one day my cell phone would just keep on calling the stepdaughter Mom all the time that one night I had a police officer visit me and said you’re going to be cited for phone harrassement but I tried to explain that it wasn’t my phone and thankfully when the officer was there and I was talking the phone rang that number and yes that number was deleted but I know he didn’t tell that to the other lady but I loved the officer face. However, that point I was scared that I had a nervous breakdown that night on top of it the next day I went to the Church to play piano and I guess the Priest saw me and talked to the director that we were okay (she said no and I don’t want her to play the piano) so the stepdaughter told me if I played the piano the priest will call the police. That did it I stopped going to church for almost a year. I tried a couple of times but would just cry on my way there. One day I made it to the parking lot but couldn’t make it inside the Church.
It took me along time to trust anyone in the ministry but two years ago I found one that I told my story and even today even though we are very busy she still calls me even when she comes home from a long trip and understand my new way of living.
Also, as I was praying I know it wasnt all my fault but I was partly to blame due boundaries and I know lately I have failed with that e-mailing some people too much but I’m afraid if I would call them. They will say I’m sorry I don’t have time for you which I do understand with family, jobs, vacations, illness etc and somedays and there are truly honest which I’m thankful but it does sting. I know I’m guilty of doing the same things
A couple of times I have open this up to some friends that totally understood what I am working on this part with the strenght of God.
I give thanks to God for teaching this lesson to me and I’m so thankful for the friends who are in the ministry even when I act like jerk. The actions that they do just amaze me when I act like a fool (at least in my eyes) they still pray for you when they can’t be there or help you out when you run out of gas, or treat you to ice cream since they see you behind you in the drive thru, and help you out when you locked yourself out your house or church or car even when they have plans to go somewhere else they go out of their way.
How blind that I couldn’t see this kind of love. I know I am loved and accepted by God no matter how crumble I get. It’s a new day everyday and I’m glad that I have God walking side by side or even better in my heart and I know His love will never fail.
Shannon, you are not an only child! Being of Christ makes you a daughter, a princess, of the King and entitles you to sisterhood with all of us!
I love that we can put a name to something. That I can change my thought process by naming my fear. I have the name of “not good enough” and that holds me back. I am praying now that I see myself as good enough because I do know that Jesus sees me that way. Thanks for sharing.
What a beautiful soul Ann is. Thank you both for this wonderful message:)
It’s has been such a blessing to me to see OTHER women name what’s haunting them. For many years, my pride kept me from naming my insecurity and self-doubt. I thought it was expected of me to be strong and confident and that I would be letting others down if I admitted my weakness. Now I truly see that God’s power is perfected in my weakness and His grace is sufficient for me! Thank you! May God continue to richly bless your ministries!
thank you for the drawing. It is wonderful to hear from two of my favorite spiritual teachers!
Blessings!
We have a 8 ft long banner on the wall of our dining room that says “I will give thanks to the Lord” at the top and we listing our gifts as a family! We even have friends who come over and add to the list! It has been such a wonderful thing for our family and a conversation starter about Christ and His love over and over!
I’m naming hoarding and clutter in my life. I have named anger in years past, Today I am naming hoarding. I searched out an interview where she reminded me that when I’m in the darkness, God is right there with me. He is covering me so that when I come out of the darkness he removes His hand that I may see Him. Thank you for this lesson. You have given me a different view of where I am at today, in this valley.
Thank you so much for inviting us all to this conversation. I have struggled terribly with health anxiety. I will have panic attacks and slip into depressions, all because of terrible worry that I will lose my health. I watche this video and really prayed and contemplated what I needed to name. I came away that in reality it isn’t the loss of health I fear, but the fear of leaving my young children with no one to care for them. I feel like I need to pray for wisdom to make proper plans in case something awful were to happen, but more so, pray to let go and realize the children and I are in the hands of our loving God.
I’ve had a light bulb moment here- watching this video really made me realize why God has told me to call things by name- so HE can enter in & fix them!
Thank you for sharing this – my resistance to name things is gone- now I know what God was really telling me- I just had to hear it- thank you for being His voice.
Just wanted to let you know that what you have said is so dead on! After reading Renee’s book, A Confident Heart” several times I came to realize naming fear was the beginning to healing my heart. God has done so much to bless me through your openess and honesty.
I would love to start to name gifts and name thing instead of not understanding.. There is power .. and I like how she said naming the dark things bring them into the light which is the Light of Jesus … how powerful.
Thank you for help in naming the things I doubt and replacing those doubts with the things I’m thankful for.
Thank you so much for sharing. This really struck home with me.
A friend shared this very thought with me last year. It is life changing. Want to continue internalizing this.
I was blessed by this video of your conversation. It felt safe to explore my thoughts and feelings of the worry and stress that at times overshadow and overwhelm my life. I love the idea of naming the good and bad. to identify what the blessing is and know what the problem is. I started a new job recently and had been living in fear of failure. the scripture Ann quoted was awesome, Perfect love casts out fear – 1 John 4:18. That touched my heart immediately and I drew strength from it. What a loving and caring God we serve.
I had never thought of naming my doubt or fear and that it would make it real so I could deal with it. Thanks for that insight. I love your book and the study you did on here. I will be doing it again with Melissa Taylor’s group later this year. You Proverbs 31 women give us so much good advice and visuals to help us in our walk. I have been writing my doubts on paper and throwing them in the trash like you showed us on one of the videos. What a freeing exercise that is!! I also have been writing my concerns down and found an awesome table top cross at Hobby Lobby. Now I can take those concerns and lay them at the foot of the cross, another awesome tip on one of your videos. I need those kind of visual aides to help me get it deep in my heart and head, so thank you for just being you and helping us women to find ways to get closer to our Lord and find our confidence in Him only!!!!! You are a blessing Renee!! ♥
This really blessed me. I now see how naming things make such a huge difference. Thanks!!
The two ‘friends’ I needed most at this moment to listen to – thank you Renee and Ann so much for sharing yourselves with us. I’d love to meet on the “front porch” every week with you just to listen and talk about The Lord! You both are bringing The Word of God into practical, everyday moments, “the kitchen sink” of our lives. God bless you both! Sincerely, T
My soul is weary and my body is tired. But, these words have brought me refreshment. And for the first I don’t feel like I’m alone in these emotions. Thank you Jesus for the working of your Holy Spirit.
I have always heard of “counting our blessings” and the benefit of looking at the good things around us. It lifts our spirits, re-focuses our outlook, and changes our attitude. But I had not quite thought about the power of naming even the hard things. It serves a different purpose: to shine light on a hidden enemy. We can overcome self-doubt when we view ourselves through the lens of Christ- how He loves us, despite how we feel. Recognizing both the gifts and the false-beliefs is a powerful thing. Thank you for your words!
I love this! Naming the good and the bad is so very helpful. Naming the bad helps me to notice where things are coming from and not put my hurt and frustration on myself or others and not make the situation personal, but naming the good keeps me grounded and reminds me all the time that the good always outweighs the bad not matter how it seems. Thank you ladies so mich for sharing this with us. I know that I definitely needed it!
Just an hour before I read this I was talking with someone about this very thing-always doubting myself. I didn’t call it that-I didn’t have a name for it. But now I do-thank you thank you thank you for sharing! I feel hopeful-doubt will not rule me any more.
I remember when I used to teach school how scary it was at the beginning of term when faced with 34 teenagers you didn’t know. They felt so safe to misbehave before the teacher knew their names. My first priority then was to learn their names as quickly as possible so they had to pay attention to me when I spoke. This is the same principle as Renee is talking about in the blog. When we know the name of what is bothering us we have authority over it and it has to pay attention when we speak! Wow! WOw! WOW!
Renee and Ann, thank you so much for your openness and sincerity! Yes, naming things that bother and tug at your heart can be difficult. Sometimes I’m reluctant to do that because I do not always want to recognize that certain things are there. But it IS truly liberating and very, very helpful! Thank you so much!