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Renee Swope

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

Read An Excerpt: Chapter 1 & 2

You’re One of a Kind

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 may feel invisible … like you’re just one of millions of others.

But there’s no comparison. God sees you friend.

And when God sees you, He sees someone He loves.

Listen as He whispers…”You are precious and honored in my sight …. and I love you.” Is 43:4

He also sees someone He knows.

“You have searched me, LORD, and you know me.” Ps 139:1

Since God knows you, has a purpose for you and loves the way He made you, I’m confident He wants you to feel the same way. Watch, listen and let Him sing these truths over your heart today. {And if you’re reading this in email, click here to watch it online.}

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 can learn 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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 Want to find out more about who God created you to be?
Here’s a link to a FREE Spiritual Gifts Assessment  to see what your gifts are!

It’s FREE for everyone!

***

Today’s GiveAway:  I’m giving away  5 copies of the personality assessment that I talk about in my book A Confident Heart, In chapter 8, I share an in-depth section about personalities and how our unique traits play a key role in our God-given purpose. Today’s giveaway is called Wired That Way Personality Profile and includes a time-tested profile with definitions, instructions to eliminate confusion, a detailed explanation of your scores, and a handy team-building chart that shows how the different Personalities interact.

Enter to win: Share a little bit about what God is speaking to your heart or showing you today through my P31 devotion, this blog post and/or music video. Can’t want to hear from your heart. Simply click “share your thoughts” below. {And if you’re reading this in email, click here.}

Read my Encouragement for Today devotion The Comparison Trap.

Comments

  2. Right now I am struggling with figuring out what God wants me to do. I want a calling…I’m discouraged. I could use that giveaway book right now!

  3. Favorite part of the devotion was that we’ll never measure up with others, as we’re comparing our INsides, with their OUTsides. Reading Confident Heart right now!

  4. I loved the “complete don’t compete” phrase as well as “Every time we compare ourselves with someone else, we can never measure up because we’re comparing our insides with their outsides.” By you sharing when you started to compare yourself to others, I also reflected on when I began comparing myself with other girls. It probably started in 5th or 6th grade and got worse as I got older. I would gaze at some girl I thought was cool and pretty and totally forget about myself. I only saw my insecurities measured against the beautiful image set before me. In a sense, I lost myself and didn’t keep my mind open to who God had created me to be in my personality. Competing is pride speaking and completing is humility speaking. Which voice do I want to listen to?

  5. Hi Renee,

    I just want you to know that God is wonderful! He absolutely knew that I needed to hear from you today. I just started reading the Proverbs 31 devotions this past Monday, and so far every one of them has spoken to me, but none as much as yours did today. You see, unfortunately, I am going through a separation. Every decision that I try to make concerning this situation and what I think is best for my son and me, I have family members who want to convince me that I am wrong, and not only are these decisions wrong, but they feel the need to point out every faulty decision they feel I have made in my life. These people are supposed to be my support team, but by the end of yesterday, they had me believing that they could make right decisions but I could not and never could. I spent yesterday feeling like a total failure as a person because I didn’t think about things the way they did. Your devotion this morning helped me realize that God made me just as I am and He doesn’t see my life and heart for him as a failure!

  6. I do have trouble with comparing myself to others and even comparing my children. I make myself feel inadequate and unworthy or not equal to others. Thank you for your studies and book. It really speaks to my heart and helps my to not feel so stressed or worried. The verses are always so perfect for what is going on in my life.

  7. Thank you Renee! I appreciate your devotional and your book too(not to mention the reminder of how God sees me in the video). I thought I was doing better with the comparison game, but evidently not. Everyone around me seems to be able to see God’s purpose for my life, but I still can’t see the giftings he has for me. I plan to take your spiritual personality test and hope to win the one you are offering today. I need to embrace who God has made to be and not what He hasn’t made me to be. Have a blessed day! You have blessed me!

  8. God is encouraging me to rediscover and accept who I am in Him. A crisis happened in my life back in December that has made me question who I am as a woman, wife, sister, daughter and friend. With that I have felt lost in who I am to be and what I should be doing in my life. I did not like the person I became and needed to change. The past six months have been tough, but healing as the Lord continues to slowly guide me in the way I should have been going all along. In that I am rediscovering who I am in Him and coming to accept and love that person again as well as changing with Him where I can and need to. I’ve come a long ways, but still have a long ways to go. Yet with God all things are possible and in the end I’ve come to know and accept I am not a mistake, but I am His.

  9. It seems that God has been trying to burn HIs message of unconditional love and acceptance of me in my heart. SInce being laid off a year ago, I have struggled to find why me, what did I do, and comparing myself with so many others. At the same time my daily reflections, the scripture that I keep getting led to tells me to let go of my fears, to accept that God lovingly created me for a purpose and that if I put myself in his Loving arms, all will be revealed. So many times I pray for greater direction in God’s purpose for me but then He tells me..in My time. When things don.t happen, my fears and doubts creep in – this reflection today reminded my that I am fearfully and wonderfully made…and loved…and have purpose! I must turn my fears into faith and trust He who made me..and holds me in the palm of HIs hand. I rest in HIs loving arms until He sets me forth where His plan leads me so that I can be of greatest service to Him and my fellow beings.

  10. The bible tells us that it is not wise to compare ourselves amongst ourselves. As Christian women we often find ourselves comparing ourselves. Complaining and trying to be like our sisters in Christ. We are Designers Original created by our Father to be who and how God fashioned us to be. The only person we should Imitate is our heavenly Father. This helped me to see that ” I am fearfully and wonderfully made “. It’s a blessing to know that God has a purpose for my life and he wants to fulfill in me the destiny he has laid out for me. Today I will no longer imitate the life or characteristics of anyone else. I am who God created me to be and he has Greatness prepared for my destiny.

  11. Thank you for this post today. It’s not a surprise to me how God’s timing works. For a long time I’ve been praying, waiting, yearning for something “more” to come into my life. I didn’t know if that would be in the form of a different job, children (my husband and I have been dealing with infertility and miscarriages), volunteering, or *dread!!* learning to be content in my circumstances. Lately I’ve been reading about personalities and spiritual gifts, hoping to learn more about my natural passions and leanings. I even met with my counselor to talk over these things just two days ago. I was thankful for this reminder to stop comparing, as I am often jealous of the women in my life who seem to “have it all…” children, jobs they love, etc. I read an inspiring quote this morning on Pinterest right after I read this devotional. It said this: “Sometimes God doesn’t give you what you think you want. Not because you don’t deserve it, but because you deserve more.” I’m excited to fill out this assessment and continue on in this journey. To God be the glory!

  12. For the first time in my life I have become comfortable in my own skin. I have always struggled with body image, but have come to learn I am made just the way God wanted me to be. This comes at a perfect time as I recently found out Internet struggles my husband has been having . In the past it would’ve crushed me into a million pieces, – you can’t possibly compete with those women. But I have an unexplainable peace somehow. And it’s got to be Christ in me- on my own I would be a wreck. Yes, I am hurt, but not destroyed. Don’t like it, but living thru it and stronger because of it.

  13. This was just what I needed today, Renee. I attended She Speaks last year and knew God wanted me to write. Fear of comparison kept me from pursuing it. But He kept reminding to just be me. The me He created and crafted. So…I did it and am growing closer to Him through the experience. Thanks for being an encourager to God’s girls!

  14. Reading this blog today is a great reminder to me that the Lord has wired me in a certain way with different talents and abilities that I can celebrate and use for His glory. So many times I compare myself with people who are very different from me because I am envious of their giftings. My prayer is that God will continue to guide and direct me in the way He wants me to live for Him, and that I wouldn’t compare myself to others.

  15. Renee,
    Thank you for sending me today’s devotional. which was so reassuring and inspiring. I have been comparing myself to others and not measuring. But even worse, for the last few years, I’ve spent a good deal of time comparing my old self (before marriage and divorce) to my new self and coming up short. Your post, and the beautiful video and images of Jesus embracing a child, remind me that I am loved just as I am and still have unique gifts to offer. I am on a wait list for your book, The Confident Heart, at my local library and can’t wait to get started reading it and completing the exercises you speak of in your blog. Thank you for sharing your gifts of connection and communication and inspiring with his Word!
    Mary

  16. I’m writing this without having read any of the other comments above but I’ll do that later. Today’s devotion rings loud in my head. My problem is I’m 57 years old and still feel so alone. I’m married, have 3 grown sons (none married), in a loving and caring church (30 miles away at my husband’s request) and worked 13 yrs (teacher) at a job I’m ready to quit. I know I have many talents but wonder if I still know who I am.
    So I ‘m spending the summer listening, watching and waiting to see what I’m suppose to learn about me and my place. I have several girlfriends and we stay in touch dispute the miles between out homes. I’ve prayed for years for a special girl friend but none yet. And then I remember Jesus is my best friend.

    I’ve recommended the Proverbs 31 devotion by email to several friends.

  17. Thank you for your post. The quote “We’ve got to stop comparing our insides with others’ outsides” will be going up as my Facebook status in just a minute here! I think my husband & I are both really bad about doing this & I KNOW it has trickled down to a couple of my 4 kids. We’ve both read some on personality traits & spiritual gifts, but it would be good to get another perspective, at this different point in our lives, when we’re both feeling really down on ourselves. Hoping to win the book! Thanks so much for the opportunity to possibly win it!

  18. This week I’ve had time alone….an unusual change in my normal/chaotic life as a mother of three young boys ages, 4, 5, and 8. I’m a full-time teacher, full-time grad student, wife, mother, daughter, sister, etc. In my business I often forget that “I am made for so much more than all of this.” I am guilty of running from place to place, event to event, and striving to always do more. Thanks for the awesome reminder that God loves me…no matter what, even when I am just exactly who He created me to be without striving for more!

  19. This is an amazing devotion. It follows right along the same lines as the study I am doing right now called “Girl Perfect” by Jennifer Strickland. These are amazing truths and I am so excited to claim them for myself and share them with my daughter.

  20. Hi Renee, Thank you for your devotional today on the Comparison Trap. When I saw that in my Inbox, I knew that God had sent that for me to read. Comparison is something I struggle with and have been praying about. I base my self worth on what I have in comparison to others, if I am fatter or skinner than that girl, and so on. I recently had some new neighbors move in and within a month they have done some fabulous updates to their home! I have been using my comparion skills in thinking, well, “I have lived in my house for almost 2 years and they have done more to their home than me.” Sounds trivial as I write it, but it’s a comparison tactic I use to value my self worth. Well, “I don’t have as much or my home is not as nice as theirs.” Sounds silly talking about houses, but I do this is many aspects of my life including my appearance. It stings a bit, but is so true, that with the Comparison Trap we are comparing our insides with what someone has on the outside. With God’s continued grace, I am working on stopping this vicious cycle.

  21. I have been praying so I would know my spiritual gift!!! Cant wait to take the assessment!!! All you gals at P31 keep me encouraged and focused!! Thanks you!!!

  22. I have a hard time with FB, I look at all my friends that I went to HS and college with and I see their families and how they look so perfect and how they are doing things in their lives by serving the Lord in “fun things”o like speaking at womens conferences, singing and making gospel albums or traveling all over the country and being the perfect everything. I look at my life and think wow I wish I could be like that or my life be like that, but you know the Lord is showing me everyday that I am who I am and you know what I am happy with the way the Lord put me in the body of Christ. God has blessed me with many attributes that He can use to minister in the way He wants to use me not the way I want to be used, in letting God take charge of my life I am happier and receiving the blessings that He has been waiting to give me along. Thank you for your devotion and encouraging words………………………..

    • Tracy– FB is the perfect example of viewing someone’s “outside”… Regardless of the final image and comments we post there, FB provides a one-dimensional view of someone’s life. Not many people post pics of them caught in a struggle, family crises, or their fears, doubts, or insecurities. Yet, we all have them. When you, like me, find yourself daydreaming about the “wonderful things everyone seems to be doing on Facebook”, take a step back and remember just how blessed you are, how unique God made you, and take comfort in your greatness! I have promised myself to limit my FB browsing this summer, and to get about the business of living abundantly! God bless you!

  23. I love Psalm 139 – if we could really get a hold of what God is saying to us in this passage, we would realize that God does indeed love us just the way we are, because He made us! I am 50 years old and consider myself a solid Christian woman and often remind the ladies in my church that they are God’s masterpiece, and yet I still at times compare myself! Thanks Renee for this reminder!

  24. Sometimes you don’t see your natural abilities and talents as gifts because they come naturally and come so easily to you. I know for me, this has been a difficult thing to grab ahold of but the Lord keeps seeping it into my soul through things like this devotion. Thank you so much, Renee, for your obedience. And I thank God for His faithfulness to continue to put these lessons in front of me to seep down into the depths of my soul until I take full hold of it and let Him do His perfect work…

  25. I appreciated today’s devotion. I find that I still have to be careful to not fall into the comparison trap even as a wife & mom. I want to be a godly example to my children & at peace with myself, God & others so I must pray constantly & be on alert that I don’t start comparing myself to other moms & my children & husband to others-which is easy to do but is very wrong!
    Thankful for P31 & the thought provoking devotions.
    ~Blessings~

  26. I am slowly learning that it’s ok to be me, and so what if I don’t fit into the mold that others think I should. It has taken me many years to realize that this world isn’t my home, and it’s perfectly normal that I don’t feel at home here. Besides, I’d rather be a real me – and be good at that – than to be a fake someone else and always fail miserably at that! Now, I just need to learn to discern what gifts God has given me and how He intended for me to use them.

    • =]
      Hard lessons, but great freedom!!! I pray the Spirit leads you in discovering His giftings in you!!! Be blessed!!!

  27. I am 44 soon to be 45 years old and I still can’t honestly say that I know what my gifts are. I have always been searching, listening and reading but there is still not that settled peace in my spirit. I want to fulfill my purpose but what is it. I am really struggling I hope chapter 8 in your book can really bring some clarity.

    • Dear Yvette,

      I am nearing 50 and still struggle with what gifts God has given me. Sometimes just when I think I know what they are, the circumstances of my life change and then I’m left wondering again. But it has made me realize that God gives us different strengths and different gifts at different points in our life. We may have the gift of supporting others (which might be a behind-the-scenes gift) but then suddenly we are urged to use the gift of speaking (which we never knew we had) and are in front of others. We are still using the one gift but it now seems amplified. I guess what I’m saying is that sometimes we don’t feel we have gifts but when we look closer at our lives, we can see that we use gifts every day, we just don’t always see them. Encouraging others, being a support for others, being willing to do what ever God asks us to do…those are gifts, too.

    • Yvette,
      I too will be 45 very soon. I remember someone said to me what is it that you love to do and would do it for free? When I read that question again in Chapter 8 it made me see how I need to rethink that question again and start finding what other gifts and talents I have that God has given me to use.That one question started me on a crusade to find out. I still dont know everything I would like to do but I have found out a lot in the process. Dont beat yourself up just listen to your spirit and find things that you really like to do and that are strengths for you and see where God uses those things to lead you in your process..( I also volunteered at different organizations and from that I found something I love doing. I volunteered at a battered women’s shelter and became part of their speakers beaurea. That gave me the opportunity to use my gift to speak all over Atlanta to, mayors, governors, on the radio, I have done many television interviews, I even ended up on the Montel show in New York. Each time I open my mouth to share my story and to help others I feel God’s presesence. I was scared at first but I joined speaking organizations (like Toastmasters) to fine tune my gift and the rest has been God using me and putting me in places to speak. I was once very fearful and had zero confidence. Nobody would know when I speak because its God speaking through me. I speak to thousands now. I encourage you dont give up. You are special and you do have purpose. Remember God’s plans for you are for good…Jeremiah 29:11. August Rose

  28. Our church recently went through a split. In some ways we are starting all over as many have left, even the pastor.
    I have studied spiritual gifts in the past, but just never really seemed to figure out where I fit. Recently God has been prodding me to fill my life again with activities I used to thrive on~Art, Music, Words. I feel like I need permission to do these things with so many responsibilities that take up my time. But I have slowly begun and now I know these things bring me to life.
    Our situation at church, I believe, is an opportunity for God to reveal my place of service to the body. Your post and the video was a wonderful affirmation to me of God’s perfect plan for my life. He knew me from the beginning and created me for a purpose. I am not worthless and unnecessary as that vocie so often whispers into my heart. The truth is that I am His.
    Thank you.

  29. I’m getting closer to 40 than 30, and as a single, childless, woman, it is soooo hard to avoid falling into the lie that I’ll never measure up. When I was younger, it was easy to wear the masks that everyone wanted to see, and I had quite the selection! But now, I want people to know the real me. I’m breaking the masks, slowly, painfully, but each day is freer and brighter as God continues to shape and mold me.

    • MarySue, I’m single,childless women too and I totally understanding putting the mask on because that is what I was taught when i was younger. Toughen up, stop being a cry baby when people called me names since I had a speech impariment and was called retarded, dummy, and other names. I wanted a family by now but I’m 36 and have nothing but I know God has a plan and have to wait. Waiting is hard but I know He has the best gift ever. 🙂

  30. I really never thought about “You are precious and honored in my sight …. and I love you.” Is 43:4, As a new christian I am learning so much for what God has in store for me. I am learning that I am precious and honored so I do need to quit comparing myself to others and see myself as God sees me.

  31. The biggest thing God is speaking to me about is valuing my gifts & personality no matter how small or insignificant it seems & not try to be someone else. How freeing!

  32. Thank you for your insight. I, too, grew up never feeling good enough and always trying to be like everyone else. I didn’t know Christ, and alcohol became my ‘liquid courage.’ I am so grateful to say I am almost four years sober and on a spiritual journey to discover God’s purpose for my life. I have read your book, and can identify with so much of it. I am in a couple of Bible studies, just soaking everything up. Thanks to women like you, I have guidance and direction. Thank you.

  33. God’s timing is always perfect! I was meditating on truths to share in a workshop about how other churches can initiate a ministry patterned after one we have done for over a decade. The message of not trying to be someone else or comparing ourselves with orhers applies not only to individuals but also to churches. God calls bodies of believers to unique ministries.

  34. I have struggled for years of comparing myself with other women, not ever measuring up. Now, I’m learning to embrace who God made me to be – abilities, talents, personality and all. I’m still a working progress, but I’m more confident than I have ever been. Thanks!

  35. I am in the midst of reading your “Confident Heart” book and today’s post resonates perfectly with what I am learning there. Yes, I know that only God can fill me, yet I have a hunch I somehow think he will fill me or bless me in the way He is doing so with a friend, neighbor or someone else. So, thanks to how you are helping me think and how He is working in me, I am asking Him to fill me in a way that’s just right for me both inside and out.

  36. What a revelation! Due to my insecurities, I find myself comparing a lot! I KNOW how much God loves me, but i can’t seem to break this vicious cycle. What are MY gifts? I’m not sure. I long to be pleasing to Him. I want to do what I’m called to do. But truthfully I’m not sure what that is. As a 36 year old, that is terrifying! Thank you for this devo, God is asking me to step away from my comfort zone and discover His best for me.

  37. I need the reminder to not compare myself on a daily basis. I also struggle with where God wants to use me vs. where I want to be used. Too often I gravitate towards things that people will notice. While that frustrates me, I find myself filling with pride and unable to say no to jobs that will bring me praise.

  38. Love this song! God spoke to me and said that my circumstances do not define me, he does. “I am more than the lies I have held for so long, they are nothing in the shadow of the cross.” Precisely, the lies are not me but a shadow. What a revelation.

  39. This devotion really spoke to me today. I feel that God is trying to get it through my thick skull that I am OKAY just the way he made me and I don’t have to have the same skills as someone else. He can use me as I am. I am going to take the spiritual gift test and see what mine are and then look for ways in my church, community, and work to use those talents to glorify my Father…..thank you Renee.

  40. Wow! This spoke to me. I definitely have been comparing my insides to others outsides. I am going to keep this infront of me and reread chapter 8. I have such a struggle with feeling unworthy. Thank you for your posts –

  41. Thank you for the reminder that God compares me to no-one else. He sees me and loves me and has a beautiful plan for my life. I need to move over and give Him control thankful that He is not finished with me yet. Pray for my sister TJ to know that God loves and sees her just the way she is!

  42. Thank you for your post today. It has always been so difficult for me to believe I am special in any way. I think I will always need help with this. I pray for help with this and I think God led me to you today. Thank you.

  43. I get caught in the comparison trap on a personal level, but also with my children. Personally, I can relate to what you said and I loved the quote about comparing ‘our insides with others outsides’. My biggest problem at the moment is with comparing how my 19 year old son behaves and lives with how I would love to see him live – I need to accept him as being how God made him and learn to accept the beautiful person he is. Thank you for your encouragement today.

    • This is a challenge as a mom. I so get it. But it’s oh so important. It’s made a big impact on my parenting for me to read books and pray God would give me understanding and appreciation for each of my kids’ uniqueness. Praying for you today!!

  44. Today’s devotional was a tough one for me. I struggle with the comparison trap everyday. Growing up as identical twin was a blessing…an instant best friend from day one, but it was also very difficult. We were constantly compared to each other and often treated as the same person! As an adult it has been very difficult to identify who I truly am and it was only a few weeks ago that I realized how very much this has affected my personal life and my professional one too. I ask God every day to show me and transform me into the woman he created me to be…not the one I have allowed my self to believe I am shaped by the world….thank you for today’s devotional!

    • Praying for you Beth. That must be really hard. But YOU can still be a twins and be an very unique one-of-a-kind individual. I have aunts that are identical twins and they are so much alike yet also very unique and different in their lifestyles, hobbies and family life.

  45. My husband and I were just discussing the differences in our personalities. It so important to see and understand that in others around you. You can’t compare anyone, we are each unique. Celebrate being a beautiful, wonderful Child of God.

    • Love hearing how you and your husband are discussing this too. It made a huge difference in my marriage when we went through the assessment together and started to really appreciate each other’s strengths and give grace for our weaknesses. 🙂

  46. Thank you for using the gift God gave you in such a beautiful way. I have been searching and praying for God to open my heart and eyes to His will. I am nearing my thirties 🙂 and can’t wait for what God has in store for my life!

  47. How can we forget? Why do we allow the lies of the devil to infest our minds? We certainly have a battle and we need to be reminded that we are daughters of a King! We are princesses, we have access to the kingdom of God by our beautiful Jesus! Thank you for your ministry and the beautiful work is doing in us, (women seeking the purpose in our lives)

  48. It is so true that we all are unique. My friend MJ and I just co-directed VBS. We had a lot of.challenges, but wwere able to face those challenges by acting on our own strengths to get through it. The more I pray And read the Bible, the easier it is to see God’s unique plan for each of us and see how he puts the right teams together to get His work done.

    • I love how you and your friend MJ worked together based the your different strengths. Life always works better that way and it so much more fun too. 🙂

  49. Right now, I’m a tired teacher. I see other teachers who seem more naturally gifted at organization than I am. Somehow they get more done in their 45 minutes of conference time than I do. I like reading my students work, but I’m overly sensitive about how a grade on a paper will affect them… and I sometimes have to redo a grading matrix more than once before I can live with it. In short, if my principal isn’t printing out a list of whose students made the best scores and distributing it, I am mentally comparing myself with others for whom teaching seems easier. However, this is my “regroup” season– a time when I let my mind rest and listen more intently to what the Lord wants me to hear from Him. I need His intervention and encouragement more than ever. “I don’t want to talk about You, like You’re not in the room. I want to look right at You/ Want to sing right to You.” Elijah was tired after a big battle, too… and he needed to get some rest, express his heart to God, and hear God’s still small voice that was louder than all the voices internally or externally.

    • Dear Pam (tired teacher),

      I too am a tired teacher of 31 years. After a long year, testing and teaching and everything in between, this is the time to relax, rejuvenate and take time for yourself. I think that that my hardest years were as a beginner teacher but also these last 2 years have been trying and with the new technology and new evaluation systems. Even with all of this and other things, God has never left my side, in triumphs and failures ( and then some ), He has been faithful because I have chosen to listen to Him, to seek him humbly and cry out to Him. God will always provide what you need, be it a friend, family, co-worker, church members etc. I have never given up on my God because He has and never will give up on me.
      God bless you and thank you for being part of the teachers who get tired giving their all for our students.

      • Thank you for your testimony and encouragement, Edna. I read recently ( I think in I Used to Be So Organized) that a mom was having a hard time and feeling frustrated because her baby (first son) was not growing and seemed to cry all the time. No matter how much she fed him, he was always hungry and fussy. A friend had given her a loaf of bread and some jam– and that is what she ate the first week her baby was home as she tried to get him to nurse and have enough. She wrote that she wished someone had told her that she had to eat well– a variety of good foods– for her body to be able to produce the milk that her son needed. She just wasn’t giving her body what it needed to sustain her and him. As I read that, I thought about how the Lord has been telling me that He wants me to take better care of myself by coming to Him intentionally/crying out to Him/eating good spiritual food– as well as eating good physcial food/ getting enough rest and water/ taking time to do something creative/fun, and blessing my body with movement. I am listening. Today Lamentations 3 especially encouraged me. 🙂 Thank you again, Edna. God bless you.

        • I love how you both {Edna and Pam} are encouraging one another. I love what you both shared. And Pam God’s been showing me the same thing about taking care of my “whole” self . It’s so easy to neglect the basics like healthy good, good sleep, exercise and fun. I couldn’t do life with out Jesus and His constant care of me in His quiet but persistent ways. :0)

          Praying this will be a refreshing summer for your heart, mind, body and soul!!!

      • I’m a teacher too, a school librarian. This year, more than any, I found myself working so hard to gain approval…I’m exhausted! I wanted my principal to ” see” my contributions!!! All year, I’ve battled stress and compared myself to others. The result, for me, is burnout and weight gain. This is indeed the time to rest and rejuvenate! I know God has blessed me in my work as well, even my failures. I pray we all learn to “fail forward”, and rely on God’s grace to bring us through. I also pray that He shows us to see ourselves (as women, teachers, sisters) as He does.

  50. How very true—-we compare our insides with the outsides of those around us – then fall flat on our faces. I pray that we learn to see ourselves the way God created us and intended us to be.

    • wow, I have that cd by mercy me that a sister gave me last year with that song on it
      beautiful,)
      last year I was really going through some hard times of not loving me and I always thought of myself ugle ,well not no more I’m beautiful,but i’m noticeing that i’m compare myself with someone that I wish i had her body shape…God is so awsome that i’m learning to love who i’m and how i look right now…..