Tag Archives: insecurity

You Are More Important Than You Realize

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You Are More Important Than You Realize

You Are More Important Than You Realize 

It’s notable to mention that it is highly likely that you are more important than you realize.  I would venture to guess that your gifts and the roles that you play probably hold far more weight in the kingdom of God than you probably give them credit for.  One day when we stand before God and give an answer for how we used our gifts and fulfilled our purpose, it will be exciting to see the magnitude of our influence here on this earth.  I believe that God thinks that YOU are a pretty big deal! 😉 

You are more important than you realize. God thinks that YOU are a pretty big deal!

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As we are coming to the close of a school year, it’s a good reminder for educators, staff, students, and parents alike. I’ve mentioned it before and the same is true now…you might be making a difference in the lives of others without even realizing it.

You and your gifts are necessary

God has given each and every person here on this earth a unique set of gifts and a purpose to fulfill.  Each gift and purpose is vital to God’s plan.  In fact, the Bible uses the analogy of a body and its different parts to demonstrate this point.  Each part of the body is necessary in order for the body to function properly (as God intended), and each God-given gift, role, and purpose is necessary in order for God’s kingdom, or the “body of Christ”, to function properly.

We are the body of Christ, and just as a body has many parts, so does the body of Christ.  The parts are placed exactly where God wants them (1 Corinthians 12:18).  Our gifts are part of this body.  There are a lot of them, and they all have different functions.  They all work together as part of a whole.  Every part is necessary.  We need all of the parts, just like God needs all of our gifts.

“Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well…” Romans 12:4-6 (NLT)

It’s tempting, but unwise, to compare our gifts with those of others

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Mistakes Can Turn Into Success

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Mistakes Can Turn Into Success. Look at these examples of bad turned good…

Mistakes Can Turn Into Success:  Look at these examples of bad turned good…

In a previous post, we talked about how our failures and mistakes can contribute to some of our insecurities.  We tend to beat ourselves up for the mistakes we make.  It never ceases to amaze me though how God can take our disobedience and mistakes and turn them into something beautiful.  He can take something that I completely messed up and then turn it around to be a blessing to me and to others.  

God can take our disobedience and mistakes and turn them into something beautiful.

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Did you know there are several products and inventions that came from mistakes?  To name a few…the Slinky, Penicillin, plastic, chocolate chip cookies (thank goodness for this mistake!), potato chips, the pacemaker, silly putty, safety glass, microwave ovens, corn flakes, Post-it notes (another one of my favorites!), x-rays, superglue, popsicles, vulcanized rubber (i.e. tires), and matches.  Here’s a fun read about the 20 Most Fascinating Accidental Inventions all originating from mistakes.  I personally believe many of these mistakes turned success were probably God-inspired.  There are stories throughout the Bible of mistakes turned success too.

God turned Jonah’s mistake into a success

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Make Others Feel Taller NOT Smaller

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Make Others Feel Taller NOT Smaller! - Great post from HappyHealthyandProsperous.com

Make Others Feel Taller NOT Smaller

Most people are drawn to the type of people who make others feel taller not smaller.  People like to be around other people who make them feel better about themselves.  In general, people pull away from and don’t like to be around those who make them feel bad about themselves.  Nobody likes to be around people who are cruel, mean, and rude (especially if that’s their typical nature most of the time).  This type of behavior is a sure-fire way to cut people out of your life!  It’s like the wrong end of a magnet repelling people…pushing them away instead of drawing them in.

People are drawn to those who make them feel good about themselves.  On a side note…Did you know that’s a significant factor in why many people have affairs?  It’s not that they necessarily like the other person that much.  It’s that they like themselves better when they’re around that person.  In affairs, those other people (i.e. affair partners) make them feel better about themselves.  

People like to be around other people who make them feel better about themselves.

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Someone made me feel smaller

I have been around people who have made me feel smaller NOT taller on a number of occasions.  Several years ago, I was involved in a situation that, quite honestly, made me feel like crap.  I was around someone who felt the need to “tell me the truth” because “true friends tell the truth”.  It made me feel very badly about myself, about how I looked, and about the mistakes I made.  I honestly felt I couldn’t do anything right, and even when I tried, that too was criticized.  It had a tendency to make me dread being around this person in particular.  Have you ever felt like that?  It’s pretty miserable.  Thankfully, I’m getting better about dealing with these feelings (okay…after a few tearful moments), but the initial feelings are very real nonetheless.

After being on the receiving end of hurtful situations like this, I wanted to make sure that I’M not a person who does this to others.  I wanted to be sure I was the kind of person that will make others feel taller not smaller.  So, I compiled a list of “Do’s” and “Don’ts” of practical steps that each of us can take to make sure we are NOT the kind of person that is like the wrong end of a magnet that repels people.  (I actually compiled this list on my phone at 3:00 am in the morning after the bad experience I mentioned earlier because I couldn’t sleep due to being so hurt and angry!)

I, too, have been guilty of making others feel smaller, not taller

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Overcome Your Failures: They Do NOT Define You!

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Overcome your failures: They do NOT define you!

Overcome Your Failures: They Do NOT Define You!

Failures are a common cause of insecurity.  Sometimes these insecurities stem from a fear of failure.  Maybe it’s from previous failures, maybe even a series of them.  Occasionally they may come from failures consisting of bad decisions, wrong living, intentional or even unintentional mistakes, etc.  We occasionally have the misbelief that our failures define us.  They don’t!  Our failures can hinder us and hold us back if we let them, but they don’t have to.  We can learn to overcome them and even use them as a springboard to launch us even further into success.

Failures can teach us.

Failures can teach us.

King David’s sin and failures (adultery and murder) haunted him:  “For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.” Psalm 51:3 (NLT)  Our failures often haunt us.  In fact, the devil loves to keep us in this exact position.  Another word for it is self-condemnation.  The devil wants us to believe that we ARE a failure because we have failed.  He loves to keep us in torment over our mistakes.  He wants us to believe that we will never be enough because of what we have done.  The good news is that God says the complete opposite…

“… And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”” John 8:11 (ESV)

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:17 (NIV)

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1 (NLT)

God won’t write us off

God won’t write us off. He didn’t write David off, even though he was an adulterer and murderer.

He didn’t write Paul off, even though he was a sworn enemy of Jesus and murderer of Christians.

God won’t write YOU off, regardless of your failures!

God is omniscient (all-knowing).  He already knew Continue reading →

Overcome Insecurity From the Inside Out

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Overcome Insecurity From the Inside Out

Overcome Insecurity From the Inside Out

Recently I’ve been sharing a lot on how to overcome insecurity in both class settings and youth group. I’ve written on this topic quite a bit in the past. Dealing with insecurity and learning to overcome insecurity has been something that I’ve struggled with for a significant portion of my life, and honestly something that I still struggle with from time to time. I, myself, have to revisit these same strategies and principles as refreshers and reminders.

My goal today is to give some refreshers and also provide some helpful resources (mostly videos and posts) that can be used, saved, and revisited again later (just as I have to do occasionally).

Overcome Insecurity From the Inside Out

I think the most important thing to remember when battling insecurity is that the change must be internal. We have to overcome insecurity from the inside out. The problem lies within our hearts and within our minds and thought life. We cannot fix insecurity that resides inside of us by merely doing things on the outside. True security flows from the inside out.

“It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.” Mark 7:15 (NLT)

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.” Jeremiah 7:9-10 (NLT)

“Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out…” Psalm 139:13a (MSG)

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2 (NLT)

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)

Take Some Practical Steps to Overcome Insecurity From The Inside Out:

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Masterpiece throwback

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Masterpiece throwback

Hello friends!

I apologize for the delay in my post this week. This week I’m actually going to push an easy button, and give you a link to a post I wrote a few years ago. I have several new subscribers, so I thought I’d do a masterpiece throwback to one of my original posts that most of my newer subscribers probably have not seen yet.

This post is called You Are a Masterpiece. Even if you have already read this, we could all use a refresher about how God sees us, right!?

You Are a Masterpiece! Are you insulting your creator?

You Are a Masterpiece!

You Are a Masterpiece! Are you insulting your creator?

Additionally, here’s a video of me speaking on this same topic at a women’s conference in 2015. I spoke there to share about seeing yourself the way God sees you. My goal during this session was to help you learn about insecurities and how to start to overcome them, how to find your identity in Christ, and to give some practical steps to start to improve your self-esteem and self-talk.

P.S.  If you liked this post, you might enjoy receiving new posts delivered right to your inbox each week!  Sign up here. 

If you know anyone that could benefit from this, please pay it forward!  Share this post via the sharing links below.  “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)

God Is Our Rock

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God is our rock. Learn the characteristics of rocks that God displays and how they are helpful to us in times of need.

God Is Our Rock

“No one is holy like the LORD! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.” 1 Samuel 2:2 (NLT)

We are living in a time where so much is going on around us. It’s a world of change, unsettling events and circumstances, and things going awry all around. We face disturbing political conditions, natural disasters, crime, death, racial tensions, unstable economies, moral corruption and breakdown, and the list could go on and on. Quite honestly it’s pretty depressing. We need something steady and calm to ground us in times like these. We need a firm foundation in a shifty world.

Quite honestly the same could probably be said for many generations. I’m sure they felt much the same in biblical times as well. So, we can lean on the same principles that gave them rest and peace in unsettling times. One such principle is that God is our rock. He is strong, dependable, never shifting or changing, always there to protect and shield us from the storms of this world. 

God is our rock–strong, dependable, never changing, protecting us from the storms of this world.

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Here are some of the characteristics of rocks that help us understand how God is our rock:

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Stay Healthy—Love Yourself!

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Stay Healthy—Love Yourself! Try this exercise to show yourself some love...

Stay Healthy—Love Yourself!

Previously, when I attended a Weight Watchers meeting we talked about ways to love yourself (and NOT the Justin Bieber kind of “Love Yourself”!). We did a fun name acronym activity.  We were supposed to come up with a positive attribute or descriptive word for each letter of our first name. It was funny how so many people had such a hard time with that.  They had a hard time either coming up with words that were positive to describe themselves, or they didn’t want to say them out loud because they felt like they were being arrogant or bragging.  Our leader was trying to encourage them that this is the right time to brag and that it was actually helpful to love yourself.

I wanted to yell out, “Don’t you know that God thinks that of you and sees you that way?!”  Then I realized that I wasn’t reading mine out loud either.  Oops.  It can be hard to love yourself sometimes and then especially to show that you love yourself out loud!  We’ve been trained not to speak highly of ourselves because we may come across as cocky and arrogant.  However, I think there are two ditches.  On the one side is the ditch where we ARE arrogant and speak and think too highly of ourselves.  This is obviously wrong.

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” Romans 12:3 (NIV)

I like how the NLT translation of the verse reads though because it says “…Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us”.  It doesn’t say we can’t say or think good things about ourselves.  It just says we just need to give an honest evaluation by God’s measurement.  We need to see, think, and speak about ourselves based on how God sees us.  And guess what?  He does think we’re pretty great.  Therefore, we need to see ourselves as pretty great too! 

We need to see, think, and speak about ourselves based on how God sees us. #loveyourself

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The other ditch is Continue reading →