Author: hcfwomen

I have seen countless movies where the female character has some kind of life plan. When she is going to get married, when she will move up in her career, or when she will have kids. There is a scene in the TV show Friends, where Rachel Green is talking about when she wants to have kids then calculates backwards that she would need to get engaged within the next 3 months in order for her plan to work out. Life rarely goes as planned. If you’re a planner like me, you don’t enjoy when life doesn’t work out as planned.

Going into college, I had quite the plan of what my life would look like. I wanted to graduate in 4 years and be married shortly after. That part of my plan did work out, so I figured I could continue to call the shots. I quickly completed my masters degree and had a plan of when I would be promoted out of the classroom to an administrator job. This did not go as I had planned. I had a plan of when we would have kids and how I would birth them into the world. This didn’t go as planned either.

It took me several years of my plans not working out to figure out that I am not in control. While I thought my plans were good, they weren’t God’s plans. Letting go of control is hard. Especially for this planner.

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:9

For me, the first thing I needed to work on was being thankful in all circumstances in order to bloom where I was planted. Things weren’t going according to my plans, but there was still plenty to be thankful for. I started a gratitude journal and would begin each day with writing down 5 things I was thankful for. I would also write down the desires of my heart, because God places things on our hearts as well.

Next, I started a consistent quiet time and prayer time. I could only let go of control once I trusted Him and believed, “all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28. I needed to discover God’s purpose for my life and seek it daily. This has led me on a path I would have never planned myself. Mostly because it is hard, but it has also brought great joy.

Blooming where you are planted sounds cliche at times, but more than that it can be difficult. It can be easy to sit and pout when things don’t go my way. I have learned to allow myself time to be disappointed, because I’m human. However, I don’t allow myself to stay there. The best way for me to move from a place of disappointment is to talk to a friend. Trying to move past the hurt alone is much harder. Saying the disappointing things out loud to someone lifts a weight off my shoulders. Reaching out for words of truth when I don’t feel like doing the work has been the most helpful.

Look for the good in each day, whether it’s big or small. Sometimes it’s my children making me laugh uncontrollably. Dinner turning out better than expected. A text from a friend asking to get coffee. Something good happening for someone else. A sunny day where the wind isn’t blowing uncontrollably.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-12

We want to thank Chelsea Criswell for sharing this post.

When I hear the word “bloom” I think about my front porch flower bed. Where springtime brings new blooms, new beginnings, and a new enjoyment for my family. My front porch is one of my favorite places to sit and enjoy my morning coffee, read and study my Bible, or just hangout with Larry and Nala (my fur baby) in the evening as the sun sets and stars appear.

As I studied about “Bloom where you are planted”, I discovered it’s a phrase that you cannot find exactly in the Bible. But, there are many references to the thought of “bloom where you are planted”.

Genesis 1:28… God told Adam and Eve to bloom where they were planted. “Be fruitful and increase in number…”

Genesis 50:20…Joseph bloomed where he was planted, and God turned it around for his good. “…you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done…”

1 Corinthians 7:17 God wants us to bloom where He has planted us, even if it is hard.  “Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned them, just as God has called them.”

God calls all of us to “bloom” where He has planted us. So, why are we sometimes not happy to bloom where God has planted us? Does He really have a plan for my life where I am right now? Why can’t I be more like ______ ?(fill in your blank) She seems to have it all together!

I believe sometimes we struggle to bloom where we are planted because we compare our lives to others. After hearing Pastor Anthony teach on an “orphan spirit”, a feeling of lack.  I feel like comparison is an orphan spirit.  “If I only had what Betty Sue had”, then I would be happy! Sound familiar? With all the social media at our fingertips today, and seeing all the “perfect” posts with the “perfect” family.  If our identity is not rooted in Christ, then we may have a sense of lack and struggle with comparison.  Our comparison can overtake our thoughts, minds and actions! Then we are unable to bloom where God has planted us.

As I was studying for this blog I found a story that I want to share…

“An ancient legend tells of a king who walked into his garden one day to find almost everything withered and dying. After speaking to an oak near the gate, the king learned that he was troubled because he was not tall and beautiful like the pine. The pine overheard their conversation and added that she, too, was upset, for she could not bear delicious fruit like the pear tree. The pear tree heard his name and began to complain that he did not have the lovely odor of the spruce. And so it went throughout the entire garden.

Near the very edge of the garden grew a little daisy. As the king approached, he noticed her bright little face, full of life. “Well, little flower,” said the monarch, “I’m glad to find that there is at least one happy face in my garden.”

“Oh king,” she said, “I know I’m little, and not many people notice me, but one day I realized that if you planted me here, you must have had a good reason. So, your majesty, I’ve determined to be the best little flower I can be!”

Our King has planted a beautiful garden. Not one of us is greater than the next. It is His perfection.

We must come to a place where we trust that God has a reason for creating us the way He has and has planted us in just the place he desired. Comparing ourselves with one another will only make us wither. When we become satisfied with His creation (that is us), that’s when we’ll find true happiness”.. and we will shine. Let’s give God all our disappointments and be determined to be the best that we can be for Him!”

God has a perfect plan for your life, embrace where you are in your life right now and as a daughter of the King you can bloom where He has planted you, by choosing to be content and trusting God’s plan for your future.

We want to thank Bambi Lutrick for sharing this post.

Have you ever felt in your life that you were truly content? Living the life you had always dreamed of, strived for, and prayed over. THE life. That was me. Or so I thought.

In July of 2020, when the rest of the world was panicking and scrambling in the middle of the pandemic, I remember being so grateful for the time to slow down and for the life that was mine. After a long battle with infertility, I had just given birth to our second child, our family of four was HEALTHY, we had spent more time together than normal, my part time job was providing just the right balance of work, adult interaction (if you know, you know 😉), and time at home with my babies…I was living the life of true contentment.

Fast forward a few weeks, my husband and I were sitting in a Sunday morning church service, and I remember very vividly, a vision being brought forth to my mind and placed on my heart. Picture this with me. A place of “beauty” that is different than women have ever experienced before. A place where young girls and the wisest of women could walk through the doors, feeling embraced by other women, loved on, and empowered. A place where young ladies could be taught the lesson of basic skincare, but also where and WHO their true beauty comes from. Where the hunt for the perfect cosmetic item turns into the most beautiful conversation of a true Proverbs 31 woman and what that looks like in today’s society. (Proverbs 31:25 She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.”)  Where finding the perfect skincare regimen can be customized just for you all while feeling the presence of Jesus in a world that is definitely lacking. Can you see it? I sure could! The idea seemed so beautiful and appealing, but I was content, remember?

 The vision kept being brought forth to the forefront of my mind, on repeat. I’d wake up in the middle of several sleepless nights with this vision in mind, think of it daily when my mind should’ve been focused on what was physically in front of me, and so on and so forth. It was made VERY clear that God was speaking and trying to get me to listen! After a few weeks of battling to shove the vision to the back of my mind, I finally spoke it aloud to my husband, who quickly responded with something like, “Beckah, I believe it’s time to jump.” Although, somewhat excited for what could become a reality, I was honestly secretly hoping he’d talk it down.  Quite the opposite was occurring, and after much prayer, we both came to the realization that God was making a way for me to open my own business.

We continued to pray over what this might look like. “God, I am willing. But show me YOUR heart. Help me to draw boundaries to protect my time for my family, help me to find the right kind of help that glorifies YOUR goal of this business. Help the wrong doors to close, and the right doors to open. Help me to guide this business to be done YOUR way and to glorify YOU above all else.”  You get the gist, right?

Fast forward to the Fall of 2021. We had bought a building and were in the midst of pushing to finish a remodel to prepare to open, were trying to bring in the best inventory, attempting to get the business side of things rolling, and honestly, I was STRUGGLING. I remember the thirtieth, yes THIRTIETH, cosmetic line that had declined my attempt to pick up their line, and the days the remodeling bills came in and were significantly higher than expected due to the post-pandemic shipping crisis. And since we’ve opened there have been several days wondering “Why did I do this?!” And just today, I was feeling the Mom guilt of bringing my daughter to work with me instead of on a fun Spring Break trip. But…. through it all, even on the worst days, I have seen more of God’s goodness, provision and GROWTH than I would have ever received by living in my own personal contentment.

In those early days of struggle, I had friends rally around me and my family and pray “peace and open doors” over my business, for the “pieces of Betty Faye to align through divine intervention.” Claiming that “fear and uncertainties be demolished through the authority of Jesus”. Friends declaring that “God’s plan for Betty Faye will not be stopped” and praying a spirit of hope over me. I was being transformed by God’s plan. My fears of “what if I can’t” were being replaced with “I’ll show you the way.” My argument of “I’m already tired” was encouraged by “I will be your rest and your strength.” My thoughts of “I don’t know what I am doing” were trumped by “I will advise you and watch over you. Psalms 32:8” —GROWTH occurred for me when I quit with the pushback and allowed God’s plan to manifest in my life over my idea of what my life should look like. His Growth>my contentment. My life, my business, God use it to further your Kingdom. Then, now & always. My story, YOUR glory.

We want to thank Beckah Hunt for sharing this post.

“You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in Your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”  Psalm 139:16

Have you ever thought about how your life has fallen into place, or how it would have been so different with the change of just one decision or another?  I have thought a lot about that over the years.  As an adopted child often does, I had wondered often about my birth parents, what they were like, what the circumstances were behind my adoption, and things like that.  I wasn’t unhappy or mistreated in my adopted family – I just wondered… but by adoptive mother never wanted to discuss it, which only added to my curiosity.

When I had my own children, and the internet came along, I began to go into some of the sites where people were searching for their birth families.  I had very little information to share, so I did what I could, and then forgot about it.  One day at work, I got a phone call from a lady who worked in Austin, who said she had seen my request come across one of the websites.  She said she was unable to give me any specific information, but that my birth mother had already passed away, she had 3 other children who lived in Texas, and I should not smoke, since my maternal grandfather had had lung cancer.

I figured that would be the end of what I would ever know, so I closed the book on that area of my life in my mind.

A couple of years later, I got an email from someone who said that if I gave her my birth certificate number, she felt she could get me information about my birth mother.  I did so, and later, she sent me the name of my birth mother’s sister, along with her address.

I wrote the lady a letter, explaining what I could, and I said that if she didn’t want to talk about this, I understood.  I included my phone number, and she called back!  We talked for a long time, and then she sent me a letter and pictures of my birth mom and the man she thought was my birth father.  The story behind my birth family was very different than the house I grew up in.  Two of my birth brothers had been in prison for drugs or alcohol, and my younger birth sister had lost her children because of her own drug abuse.  My birth mom had been in an abusive relationship, and she had given up 2 or 3 other children for adoption, besides keeping the three she raised. 

What struck me was how my life would have been so very different had my birth mom opted to keep me.  The world I grew up in was safe, predictable, and loving.  My birth family seemed to have had many trials.  It just amazes me to think about that, and I ask, “Why did God choose for me to grow up in a different environment?”  Maybe He knew I couldn’t have survived.  All I know is – He has a plan.

Think about your own life.  Think about all the decisions we make, both big and small:  who we will marry, when to have children, where to live, what job to take.  Even the little decisions we make every day about where we will go and what we will do during our day impacts so many other people!  It boggles my mind! 

Of all the decisions, one we absolutely must make is to place our lives in His hands – no matter if our past decisions have been good or bad, or if we have had our lives determined by circumstances out of our control, “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.”  (Romans 8:28).  We all have a story that will bring Him glory if we give it to Him.

We want to thank Sheri Warren for sharing this post.

When you look back at the chapters of your life, do you want to read the book again or slam the cover and never open it?  When I look back on my story, the beginning is rosy, the middle gets rough, and the climax is devastating. However, the ending, or rather the continuation, of my story is full of joy, faith, and hope.

Like most people I know, I grew up going to church, and I worked at the youth camp in Floydada for several summers. I loved all the social interaction, but as things do, life changed. I was abused by someone who was supposed to love me. Suddenly the bright bubbly girl I was, was gone! I was no longer outgoing, I began to dress and act differently, because dolling up would gain the kind of attention I did not want. I acted out a lot, did not do well in school, and God became an afterthought.

While in college, I began to come out of my shell, meeting new kinds of people, but I also found new ways to cope with what had happened to me. I quickly found out if you are the girl with the drugs, everyone wants to be your friend, so that’s what I became. The funny pothead that just wants to have a good time, all while making horrible decisions. Eventually, I had to move back home because of these decisions. I got clean and began to take care of myself, and that’s when I met my husband.

Chris and I fell in love fast and were not ready for the road ahead of us. Long story short, by our third year of marriage we were facing a wife with a drug addiction, infidelity, and the death of our first son. I told you the climax was devastating.

Here comes the good part: after all the hurting comes His perfect healing. Our son’s death brought me back to God, we began going to church and sought out a Christian marriage counselor and really worked on the trauma we both had in our lives. Soon life got a little brighter, and then we found out we were pregnant with our second son Connor, who is funny and bright and loves Jesus! I am still a work in progress, but I know my Father loves me, and what happened to me does not define how I see myself anymore or how God sees me. God made me funny, kind, tender hearted, and someone took that from me, but God gave it all back to me when I surrendered and put my faith in Him!

Psalm 139 : 14 – I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made!

We want to thank Randi Cason for sharing this post.

I love God’s timing.  The irony of me being asked to write about “Her Story, His Glory” in the month of April is not lost on me.  You see, my real story began in April 2014.  That’s when, after hitting rock bottom, I discovered God’s true grace and mercy.

I have shared in previous blogs that in April 2014 I had to admit the worst thing I have ever done.  At least, in my eyes, it’s the worst.  I had to admit to my husband, daughters, family, and friends that I was a fraud.  I claimed to be a good person, but in reality I was living a lie.  I had engaged in adultery.  All while I was going to church and serving God.  Luke 8:17 says, “For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.”  When my sin was brought out into the open, I lost everything.  But God…like He always does, brought grace and mercy into my life.  And for the first time, I finally understood and accepted it fully.

I had accepted Christ as my Savior at the age of 13.  Shortly after that I discovered Romans 8:28:  “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.”  It became my favorite verse.  I just didn’t totally believe it for me.   I did my best to live a life that reflected His saving my life – I was active in my church, went to all the church retreats I could, taught Sunday school and Vacation Bible school, etc.  But the enemy kept his attacks coming.  Somewhere in my mind, I thought if those attacks kept coming something was wrong with me.  I thought apparently I was doing something wrong, and maybe, just maybe, God only loved me sometimes.  Oh the lies I believed.  At some point in my life I just gave up.  I fell into a life of sin.  I looked for validation through social media and I believed if people “liked” a post, or I had tons of “friends,” then I was really valuable.  Again, oh the lies I believed.  But God…

After I told Don what I had done, he was devastated.  He packed my bags and took me to my mother.  He! Was! Done!  Our daughters came home  to be with Don.  Our youngest daughter came to my mother’s to share her anger, grief, loss, and did I mention her anger?  She rightfully blasted me.  Our oldest daughter waited.  She is a licensed therapist and knew she needed to process her thoughts before seeing me.  That delay probably saved my life because I had decided that I didn’t deserve to live.  But God….His grace and mercy showed up in a huge way. When Becky did come to see me, she brought the children’s book “Love You Forever.”  At the end of the book it says, “I love you forever.  I like you for always.  As long as I’m living my mother you’ll be.”  That began a healing process in my heart.  And less than 24 hours after Don had kicked me out, he came and gathered up my stuff and brought me home.  God had given him a heart of forgiveness.  He said he thought of me as a wounded soldier on a battlefield, and you never leave the wounded behind.  As we worked on healing our marriage, we did a lot of talking. He shared how broken he was that first night and how he thought he was going to die that night.  When he shared this with me I was dumbfounded.  How could someone who was hurt so bad still come back for me?  Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this:While we were still sinners Christ died for us.”  He came back for us and continues to do that daily. 

In the past 10 years, I have grown more than I ever have in my life.  I have finally learned that although those attacks continue to come, I am not fighting alone.  I have a Father in heaven who watches over me, a Brother in Jesus who fights with me, and a Spirit who tells me daily that I am worthy of all this love.  Genesis 50:20:  “You intended to harm me, But God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done.”

We want to thank Hope Warren for sharing this post.

In our household, sports account for a large amount of our time spent together as a family. If we are not outside shooting hoops, throwing a football, or kicking a soccer ball, we are at the YMCA, or taking our boys to their favorite gym for practice. Marek, our oldest son, and I spend a good portion of our date nights going to basketball lessons and then to his favorite restaurant for dinner. Marek is an athlete at heart and spends most of his time working to become the best competitor he can be. In the fall of 2023, Marek broke his femur at 10 years old, in his first football game of the season. You can imagine the roller coaster of emotions that our family felt.

For a mother, seeing your child in pain is one of the most agonizing experiences. The initial shock and fear can easily give way to a flood of negative thoughts—doubt, guilt, and despair. Questions like “Could I have prevented this?” or “Why did this happen to my child?” torment your mind. Yet, amidst the chaos of emotions, there lies an opportunity for growth and strength. If I have learned anything through this experience, it is the fact that the way we choose to respond to adversity not only impacts us, but also those around us.

I was determined after Marek’s injury for there to be purpose in our pain. This recovery is long, and it is not over yet, so I remind Marek often that because we choose to worship the one true God and trust in Him, He promises to work everything together for our good. In the early weeks, there were days and nights I found myself giving Marek pep talks about God’s faithfulness and reminding him that there is purpose in our pain. “You can do hard things” has always been a phrase I have used with the boys. I would later find myself texting friends with questions such as, “There is a purpose in this, right?” or “This will get better, right?” It is unbearable as a mother to watch your child cry practice after practice because they are in a wheelchair, watching their teammates participate in the one activity that they love more than anything. On the other side, it is the most profound experience as a mother to watch your child continually show up for his team day after day, encouraging them and cheering them on, knowing he could have quit when his season ended. We had a choice: we could be a victim of our circumstances, or we could choose joy and believe that God is bigger than any trial in this life.

The older I get, the more I look back at painful moments in my life and think, “God is so faithful, and I see now how He used that situation for good.” A few weeks ago, during Life Group, my prayer request was that Marek would finally be released to do the things he loves most. I shared how this had impacted him emotionally and how I just wanted him to get his wish, to be released for a few months before he must undergo surgery again. It was not until I shared this that a friend expressed how inspiring it had been to watch our journey from a distance and see how positive and resilient we had been. She then stated, “maybe the lesson isn’t for Marek, maybe it is for someone else.”  My mind was blown. In that moment I realized the power behind overcoming negative thoughts. God can use the way we manage life’s most difficult moments to draw others closer to Him. Life is hard and messy, and in those moments it can be so easy to want to quit or go straight to negativity, but God is good, and if we choose to focus on gratitude and perseverance during times of difficulty, that translates into helping others believe they can do the same because nothing is impossible with God. 

One scripture that resonates deeply in such moments, a scripture I have hidden deep in my heart, is James 1:2-3: “When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.”

We want to thank Cassie Mogg for sharing this post.

When I was first asked to write about overcoming negative thoughts, my initial thought was, “I have no business writing about this!” I had negative thoughts about writing about negative thoughts! And then my next thought was, “I appreciate authentic people who are willing to talk about things they struggle with.” The Holy Spirit moves when we’re vulnerable.

I’ve walked through some dark seasons of negative thoughts in my life. As I was processing through those, I realized that almost every negative thought I’ve entertained is rooted in a lie about my identity, instead of the actual problem. It was because I didn’t believe I was worthy or good enough. The root was always my identity.

When my identity is found in anything other than Christ, negative thoughts ensue.

If my identity is found in my husband or my children or my job instead of Jesus, when issues arise, I believe I’m not a good enough wife or mom or employee. When my identity is found in my ability to protect myself, and situations arise where I feel attacked, I tell myself I’m not strong enough. When my identity is found in a person, and that person does me wrong, I tell myself surely, surely, surely, it’s me. It’s something I did wrong.

How do I know that it’s an attack on my identity? Because my negative thoughts are overwhelmingly about me not being good enough. You can fill in your blank. Our inner beliefs can become twisted by pain, disapproval, or other people’s words.

Our brains can trick us into unhealthy patterns of thinking. A thought becomes a seed. Then it becomes a lie I believe. That lie then becomes my first response to situations, and it turns into a habitual, instinctive negative thought pattern. Isn’t it so interesting that our first response to situations is usually negative and often unrealistic? Faulty perceptions will lead to faulty beliefs. On the other hand, true perceptions will lead to true beliefs. Our faulty perceptions automatically change as we fix our thoughts on the Truth—Jesus (Hebrews 3:1).

Your “root” may look different than mine. I think the most important piece of overcoming negative thoughts is figuring out where you’re leaving the door open for the enemy to sneak in. The enemy attacks the moment we take our identity off of Jesus and put it anywhere else.

God commands us to take our thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5). It’s not a suggestion. He commands us to do this because He knew that we would allow negative circumstances and worldly views to cloud our thinking. And because He loves us so much, He gives us tools and instructions in his Word that He wants us to use. When we trust the Lord, and allow his truths to fill our thoughts, He will transform our minds (Romans 12:2).

If my identity is rooted in Christ, Holy Spirit truth will ensue.

The Father loves us so much He made a way for us to overcome. The Bible says, “This is how God showed his love among us; He sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10). He sent His son to take it all away. He sent His son to remind us that WE ARE WORTH IT. It’s all because of mercy we’re able to overcome. We can’t earn “good enough.”

When we figure out that something is a lie, we need to replace that lie with the truth of God’s word. The truth combats lies. The truth combats negative thoughts. The truth sets us free (John 8:31-32)!

I encourage you to fall in love with the Word, prayer, and worship. Spiritual disciplines are like balm to the wounds in our souls. Truthfully, negative thoughts don’t go away forever. The same ones sometimes still come up. New ones will come up too. We are human. Crucify them every day. Don’t pretend to have it altogether. Scripture tells us that by Jesus’ blood and by being vulnerable, HE overcomes for us.

“They conquered him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony… “ Revelation 12:11

We want to thank JuLea Bouma for sharing this post.

I love what the Lord has shown me about overcoming negative thoughts. It is all so clear now.

First of all, we are the only of God’s creation that have been given “free choice.” Sounds easy, doesn’t it? I believe that we can choose how we feel about every situation. I love to say this when I am asked, “How are you?” My reply is, “I have been great ever since I found out I have a choice.”

It is an issue of the soul: the mind, will, and emotion. The soul is the pivot point where we choose life or death. How are we going to feel and react? The Bible tells us, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7). How we think about ourselves and our situation makes all the difference.

3 John 1:2 says, “Dear friend, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul.”

So, with these two scriptures in mind, where do negative thoughts come from? We know that they don’t come from Father God. He would never talk to us and say the negative things that come into our heads. The enemy (devil) can only dangle bait in hopes that we will “bite the bait” and develop those thoughts.

2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “We tear down arguments and every arrogant obstacle that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey Christ.” If it was impossible to do that, Paul would not have told us to do it.

We overcome negative thoughts by recognizing where they came from and taking them captive. James 4:7 tells us, “So submit to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Resist him and keep our thoughts on Jesus, and these negative thoughts will fly through and out of our minds. We have the choice and the ability to capture them; judge them as to their origin; and either dwell on them and develop them, often times to their worst-case scenario, or choose instead to think on the blessings and the attributes of Papa.

I love the words of that old hymn.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus.

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of His Glory and Grace.

We want to thank Di Ziegler for sharing this post.

Today I had a conversation with a “friend.” I invited her into my house and started having a very familiar conversation. I told her about a situation that I was dealing with at work. She told me that someone would do a better job at my position than me. Then I started talking to her about writing my blog, and she said that no one would probably read it because what did I have to offer? After all, other women had it all together, not me. I don’t have a perfect house, a perfect family, or a perfect life. Later, I told her about my boys and what they were doing with their lives. She told me that I had made lots of mistakes as a mother, and she couldn’t believe that my boys had turned out so great. She also told me that I was fat, wrinkled, and gray headed. How could my husband still be in love with me? I looked her square in the eye and believed every word she was telling me. After all, we have had these conversations many times over the years.

That’s a friend?

You might be asking yourself, what kind of friend would say that? How dare she say all of that about you? Did you slap her? Why did you stay there and take it?

The problem is that I invited this friend into my life years ago and continue to invite her over all the time. My friend’s name is ME.

Have you ever had those kinds of conversations with yourself? Has there ever been a time when you look in the mirror and talk down to yourself by saying, “Wow, you’ve added a few pounds lately!” or “Gosh, that meal you cooked for your family could’ve been much better if…” or “Why does ____________ seem to have it all together, and I can’t even get to work on time?” I think, as women, we are all guilty of this at one time or another. We have got to STOP doing this to ourselves!

Instead of talking down to yourself, try to build yourself up by speaking life over yourself (Proverbs 18:21). As a woman, you are always building others up. Do yourself a favor and build YOU up! You deserve to be loved by yourself! Look in that mirror and say to yourself, “I am enough just the way God made me!” or “I am great at what I do.” You might even say, “I am beautiful!” Consider listing all of your strengths – trust me, you have many, many strengths. Be bold and brag a little on yourself! Then the hard part: BELIEVE WHAT YOU TOLD YOURSELF!

What the Bible says about You:

Maybe there is a reason you continue to talk down to yourself. You might have been criticized by a parent, a spouse, or a friend your entire life. Don’t believe those lies anymore. God made you just the way you are for a reason. The Bible clearly states,

You are perfect just the way you are: Psalms 139: 1,16, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

God put you in the job you are in and has BIG plans for you: Jeremiah 29:11, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

God says you are precious: Proverbs 31:10-11, 28, “She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.” “Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.”

We have all heard the saying that a friend loves at all times. Women are the greatest friends. We are there for each other. Our friends listen to us when we are sad and build us up when we need encouragement. Why, then, don’t we do that for ourselves? Be a better friend to yourself!

Next time you catch yourself talking down to yourself, kick “your friend” to the curb, speak life over yourself, meditate on God’s word, and BELIEVE the TRUTH about who God says you are! You, my dear woman, are a blessing and a gift to those around you!

We want to thank Vickie Young for sharing this post.