I know you sometimes feel ordinary but you’re not.
You are one of a kind ~ a unique and beautiful blend of all God wants you to be.
You are God’s prized possession, a valued treasure of great worth.
You may feel invisible…like you are just one of millions of others.
But God sees you.
And when God sees you, He sees someone He loves.
In Isaiah 43:4, God says, “You are precious and honored in my sight …. and I love you.”
He sees someone He knows.
David said in Psalm 139:1, “You have searched me, LORD, and you know me.” God knows you, too.
Since God knows you, has a purpose for you and loves you just the way He made you, I have no doubt He wants you to feel the same way.
He’ll do whatever it takes to help you get to a place of accepting and embracing your His heart for you so you can become the woman HE created you to be!
Here is the song I feel like God chose for you this week. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch, listen and let Him tell you just how beautiful you are! {If you are reading this via email, click here to watch it since it’s not viewable thru email.}
You really are…
Beautiful
Loved
Cherished
Chosen
Treasured
Sacred
You are His!
May God’s sweet affirmations replace all those comparisons. As you identify, understand and embrace who HE created you to be, I’m praying that, like the psalmist, you’re learning to say with confidence, “Lord, You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb, I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Ps. 139:13-14)
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To celebrate God’s heart for you — my friends at DaySpring have graciously given me 5 sets of “God’s Heart For You” giveaways to share with 5 of you!! {{so excited!!}}
To enter the “God’s Heart for You” GiveAway share your answer to one or more of the questions at the end of the chapter 8. OR if you haven’t read that far yet, share your thoughts about today’s music video or blog post. Can’t want to hear from your heart :-).
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How can God use our experiences to encourage others? For years I dealt with a rebellious child who went through so very many things. I made some miserable mistakes in trying to mother her through it all, but as God walked me through that trial, He taught me so much. He taught me, more than anything else, how to love her without expectation and without exception – unconditionally – the way he loves us. Not that I am always able to practice that as I should, but I learned how not to condemn her, but love her and how not to fight with her, but love her and how not to be disappointed in her, but to lay her down at the feet of Jesus Christ. So, that said, those experiences I had with her for so many years were horrible. Not something you want to re-live when you deal frequently with police and probation officers and court dates. But, God walked me through that and taught me so very much and now one of my closest friends is walking through similar circumstances and I have been able to encourage her and tell her what I learned and she can be better armed to fight the battle because of the lessons I learned.
This video truly did touch my heart and soul. I can’t express enough how this song made me feel so BEAUTIFUL and LOVED. Just yesterday my husband said some harse words that made me feel so ugly, unloved, and worthless. I could go on but this song just lifted my heart and soul that made me feel so beautiful, loved, and worth more than all of this. As always thank you Renee for allowing my LORD and SAVIOR to work through you for so many women like me.
Hello my sisters…I have seen these personality profiles so many times…Every time I see it i try to place myself in a different place than who I am..That’s why a couple things besides and with this I have read things that have been helpful to me..On page 137…I guess what it could be is “Comparison leaves us, insecure, confused, and discontent.” I loved the way your friend Gina “summed it up’…”Every time I complare myself with someone else, I can never measure up because I am comparing my insides with their outsides”. ” Renee, you said ” She is so right. We compare how we feel inadequate on the inside with someone who looks like they have have it all together on the outside. then we try to polish our outsides, hoping that will make us feel better on the inside, but it never does.”
This is so true and must be what I have been doing, comparing, trying to be something I am not….My Counselor told me “just be Peggy” I have such a hard time with feeling I am good enough just as I am, just the way God made me…Sooo, i read on and you wrote “You do things the way you do because it is part of your unique, God-shaped purpose.” God made me, Peggy, this way…and then “God made us with a unique, personality, God-given passions, and abilities that can help others, as well as spiritual-giftedness and life experiences that prepare and equip me for His plan and purposes.” OK Peggy, this is where you have to focus, on yourself not on what others are or where your gifts will not be!!!
Also, I love Beth Moore, she is my Spiritual Mother and her quote makes me feel special!!!
You paraphrased what she said…”IF YOU WANT TO KNOW YOUR PURPOSE, PURSUE THE HEART OF GOD AND YOU’LL HAVE A HEAD ON COLLISION WITH YOUR CALLING” Wow…I feel like that is all I have been doing for 20 years!!! I have gone to the University of Life, never having college, I have learned over again through life and many times the choices I have made have set me back…I get weary…I am grateful today for the many things I am learning through this book and other sisters lives and struggles. We are not alone in our hearts and I have to remmber that…I want to make everyone else’s life good, it is what I have done most of my life, It’s Peggy’s turn and I pray I find out where I belong and have that “Head on collision” with God….God be with you all my sisters
totally enjoyed the video reminds me of one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. and I was just reading this before I got on the computer (Psalm 139); It was very fitting for my day and reminding me I am His and God knows me inside out and since the beginning and He uses every part of our lives for his good. Yes I’m behind in the Study ,but working on catching -up,in chapter 7questions. this study has been encouraging . Please pray I remain faithful to this study and i’m not caught in the every-day busieness.
blessings in Christ
Oh, how I needed this blog post! Thank you!!
I continue to struggle through this book… each week bringing me more and more to tears as I confront my insecurities and my fears by turning to God and seeing His truth about me. God is doing a great work in my heart, and He is using you as His messenger. Thank you for being willing to be used by Him.
I love that song by Mercy Me (I love all their songs), but this one especially. It’s so simple yet so profound. I love how much God loves me. And, amazingly enough, I’ve been reading so many other things this week and even heard a sermon series on being God’s beloved, that this just ties all in so beautifully. I feel very loved.
Great song! hearing those words again remind me how just when you need to hear encouraging words God provides. He loves us!!!
Loved your post & the song. I’m printing out your post & taping it to my daughter’s mirror in the bathroom. She’s 12 & stuggling. This is exactly what we try to tell her every day. Thank you.
I’m behind so I havent read Chapter 8 yet. I am still reflecting on 7! However, I did say to the Lord one day last week that I needed to be told that I am beautiful (reading Angela Thomas’s book, Do You Think I am Beautiful?), and He has obliged. This is about the 4th time I’ve heard it & how great to hear it here!! This is the first time I’ve heard the song since I asked, He’s obliged by people in my life saying it to me! My God is good to me!
I woke up this morning to the rain. I hurried around getting myself ready for the day. Then I moved about getting everyone where they needed to be. Now sitting her at work, I opened your blog from yesterday. Yes, I am a day behind! I feel like I’m always behind. I’m always rushing around and doing things for everyone else. Then I sat quietly listening to the song “Beautiful” by MercyMe. I cried watching all the words come and go reminding me that this song was for ME! Sometimes I forget that I have value. Being a wife, mom, employee, etc … can be exhausting. I forget how to just be ME! This song reminded me that I do exist in God’s eyes as just “Erin” … not someone’s Mom, Wife or employee. Just “Erin”! Thank you so much for this. You are truly a blessing to me! Thank you for reminding me!
This blog post is exactly what a friend of mine really needs to hear. I am going to forward her the link. Why is it so very hard for us as women to believe we are beautiful to Him? My prayer for all of us today is that we will live today knowing this is absolutely true. Thanks Renee! 🙂
That song video gave me so much peace this morning when I heard it. It put my heart in the right place, no more sadness.
Thank You
I LOVE this song. When my anxiety was at its worst, my husband whispered to me one night, “Do you believe that God loves you?” I could barely whisper, “yes”, because I knew it but my heart wasn’t believing it. “But I’m such a mess…” I cried. And he reminded me, “It doesn’t matter; He loves you no matter what.” Thank you for this!
How this song has ministered to me over the last several months. God has taken me in a season wehre I wasn’t sure if I would come through, but HE proved faithful and reminds me of His love for me. I needed this song again to day as a reminder that I am beautiful in his seyes.. Thank you for your faithfulnes.
Wow. I have never posted a comment before. I loved the affirmations for myself of course but I will share them with my sisters in Christ. We have to know who we are in Christ Jesus and so often we have this identity crisis. We read the words in the Bible and say “yes” that is what Jesus is saying to me and that is who I am but then we close the Bible and began to complain of “I can never get things right. I am just a loser so on and so on”. It is like we see our reflection in the mirror (God’s word) but as soon as we turn away from the mirror we forget what we look like. I struggle daily but when we let the old feelings come in again we need to turn right back to the mirror and see our reflection in Jesus.
I have been so touched by this book and it has spoken to me right where I am. It is life changing stuff! I realize through this chapter that many times I go through my day doing what I do and not seeing that God has given me these special talents to point a lost world to Him, or to touch a life in some way that I may not even know. I am grateful that the Lord used this chapter to help me re align my heart and thoughts about my talents and abilities.
Thank you for the reminder that our heart’s desires were placed there by God! We aren’t supposed to suppress our desires to fulfill others. We can’t do it.
As I continue reading this book, I’m amazed at how God proves to me everyday his love and joy in me.
I am beautiful.
Renee, thank you for sharing this. Last January I made a Cursillo weekend, and one of the ladies on team shared this song with us, and it has held such a special place in my heart since then. As someone who was abused as a child, by a parent, I suffer from very poor self-image issues. I can’t tell you how much I love this song, and what a blessing it is every time I hear it. I have loved our book story, and I pray for all of you ladies, and offer up one of the decades of my Friday rosary for you each week.
We are truly beautiful to Him; how uplifting and what a great way to begin the day!
Hello Renee~
I have come out of my shell long enough to say…Thank you so much for sharing this video. It made me cry. What a wonderful way to begin this day; to be reminded of how much I am loved. “I am treasured; I am His.” In His eyes…I am beautiful.
Thank you for your obedience to Him in writing your book. You have made a difference in my life and in so many others. Bless you!