I really liked this chapter in this book by Holley Gerth and wanted to share it! It reminds us that we don’t have to be alone. She explains how women need to be connected with others.
Please excuse the messy flow and enjoy the read!
And that’s true- God promises to
You’re Already Amazing – Holley Gerth
I just love her books! Look her up on Amazon…..
“To share your weakness is to make yourself vulnerable: to make yourself vulnerable is to show your strength“ – Chriss Jami
Being vulnerable is not about always showing all of our glamour. It is about showing the parts of us that we keep locked up that are not so glamorous. I think we feel that if we show the parts of us that we keep locked up, we risk being judged and even rejected. We don’t think anybody else could understand us, so we stay behind our walls. We see vulnerability as a sign of weakness but it actually takes so much strength to show weakness.
” What happens when people open their hearts?…They get better.”
– Haruki Murakami
God asks us to pour our hearts out to him. When we do this he will expose our hearts, not to punish us but to heal us. True joy, comes from sacrificing ourselves for others, this requires vulnerability. We need to empty ourselves out to others while trusting God will fill us back up. We need to stop seeing others as our “competition” but more as our brothers and sisters of God who have the same needs and fears as we do. Don’t forget, God allowed Jesus to die on the cross for us. If he didn’t scorn the shame of the cross then we should not be ashamed of being vulnerable. Humility and vulnerability are so very hard to let show, but so necessary to have true JOY!
“What makes you vulnerable makes you beautiful” – Brene Brown
We are vulnerable on all sides, in and out, up and down, past, present, and future. We fear vulnerability. It takes a great deal of living to discover that, actually, vulnerability comes to us more as friend than as enemy. Vulnerability may be the greatest strength we have. Vulnerability bonds us to one another and makes us a community in league with life. Because we need one another, we live looking for good in others, without which we ourselves can not survive, will not grow, can not become what we ourselves have the potential to be. [Change in our lives and in our communities cannot happen without this]. Vulnerability is the gift given to us to enable us to embed ourselves in the universe. We are born dependent and spend the rest of our lives coming to wholeness. It is a delicate and dangerous process, requiring and untold amount of support and an amazing degree of forgiveness as we stumble and grope our way from one new part of life to another. Vulnerability, in fact, is the one hallmark of life which, try as we might, we can not cure. Vulnerability, therefore is clearly part of the spiritual process, clearly part of the human endeavor. -Joan Chittister
Today I am thankful for so many things but most of all I am thankful for God’s grace. I don’t think I have ever paid attention to God’s grace like I have lately… The fact that I am studying grace has a lot to do with it I’m sure, but I will say, not everything I study tugs at me like this has. I have not been seeing many ” squirrels” during this study!
God has got my attention.“The cross is the lightning rod of grace that short-circuits God’s wrath to Christ so that only the light of His love remains for believers.” ~ A. W. Tozer
I have been able to fill some of that spot in my heart that holds guilt and feeling unworthy with God’s grace. I can’t say I don’t or won’t still feel guilty or unworthy, I think that is impossible. I am just saying I feel God working in my heart in this area.
“Grace, then, is grace,–that is to say, it is sovereign, it is free, it is sure, it is unconditional, and it is everlasting.” ~ Alexander Whyte
The best part about accepting grace is….you have a strong urge to give grace. Although, I do try to give grace and mercy, I slip and fall at times. I was thinking about the verse “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you.” I think, how hard it is to do this especially if that “other” never treats you with the grace and mercy you have shown them?? My first instinct sometimes is to ” give them a taste of their own medicine” Sadly I have reacted on this thought, ummm, more than once. The problem is, this reaction only gives temporary relief, as quick as you get “relief”, you are filled with regret and the anguish of hurting someone else. I find this is much worse than the initial feeling of hurt you had in the first place. It is a “lose lose” situation. This is not how God wants us to react. He has given us grace and is constantly giving us mercy and wants us to do the same for others. A “win win” situation!
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled” – Hebrews 12:15
Being human and a sinner, I will at times throughout my life feel guilt, anger and resentment . I will hurt people’s feelings and get my feelings hurt. I will say the wrong things. React the wrong way. I AM IMPERFECT. I am so glad God loves his imperfect children and uses his imperfect children for his glory.. I am so thankful that he allows my heart to feel conviction. I am so thankful… For his perfect unconditional GRACE!
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. -Hebrews 4:16
Why do we think we have to be perfect to be loved and accepted? It says in Romans 15:7, Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. If we did this then people would not be afraid to approach us and reveal their true selves. If we didn’t walk around with “I am perfect” written across our face then we would be so much more approachable. Who wants to be around perfect people anyway…?
YOU CAN STOP HIDING NOW…
” Facing others without covering my physical blemishes is actually more terrifying than going out into the world without a shower or makeup, far more offensive than body odor are my fears, malicious thoughts, insecurities, shame and pride.” – Beyond the Masquerade
YOU CAN STOP HIDING NOW
While we strive to make ourselves approachable .We also secretly long for someone to catch a glimpse of our true selves and exclaim. “you can stop hiding now- I really do love you just as you are!” –Gods Heart For You
YOU CAN STOP HIDING NOW
Real friends tell you when you have something in your teeth. They love you enough to speak the truth, and Jesus is our most faithful friend of all. He sees deep within our hearts and tells us when something is stuck there that doesn’t belong. His correction always come with GRACE, not condemnation. When we open our hearts and let God speak to us we discover we’re truly know and loved in a way we never thought possible. The acceptance we long for is already ours if we only dare to embrace it… You Are Accepted! – Gods Heart For You
YOU CAN STOP HIDING NOW
” The Lord constantly looks at us with eyes of love. His scars bring healing and even beauty to our own” GHFY. Read that again and again, let it absorb. ” Oh, beloved. You are beautiful” Those are the words we want to have spoken to our hearts.
You are
WELCOMED
LOVED
HELD
CHERISHED
Just as you are…
Maddy…
“Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” -James 4:14
Procrastination… This is something we all do! We procrastinate grocery shopping, cleaning, running errands, finishing projects, doing laundry (laundry.. my all-time personal favorite procrastination amongst many). Disposable clothes would be awesome! Sadly we also procrastinate loving and making time for people. The dirty dishes will wait, the unwashed laundry will not be sad. The errands never end. People on the other hand, don’t always wait. They feel sadness. And… their lives here on earth do end. We get so comfortable in our procrastinating lives. We put off dreams and relationships even though we know we are not promised tomorrow.
“Tomorrow, you promise yourself, things will be different, yet, tomorrow is too often a repetition of today. And you disappoint yourself again and again.”
― James T. McCay
I like this little clip from Phil Stuts
THE PRICE OF COMFORT
“Whatever a person’s comfort zone, they pay a huge price for staying inside it. It’s a shrunken world where ideas, opportunities, and new relationships can easily pass us by. Worst of all, procrastinators squander the most precious asset a human can have: time.
Our time on earth is limited. Every moment is an opportunity we’ll never have again. Procrastinators act as if they had all the time in the world. But deep down, they know they’re wasting parts of their life. The trouble is, most of us don’t know how to free ourselves. That’s why, in the words of Henry David Thoreau, most people “live lives of quiet desperation and die with their song unsung.”
We want you to sing your song before you die.
-Phil Stuts
I pray that I will sing ( even if I can’t carry a tune in a bucket)!
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” -Psalm 90:12
“Lord, Thank you that I am enough because you are enough.”
Have you ever thought, I am not enough? Fill in the blank. I feel like I am not ?? enough.
I’ve thought it. I am not good enough, smart enough, talented enough…and so on.
In God’s eyes, we are enough because he is enough. When we give out lives to Christ, we become new creations( 2 Corinthians 5:17). We also gain access to all he has to offer and have everything we need for life and Godliness. – Gods Heart for You
We feel as if we have to strive for love and acceptance. Yet God invites us to come to him and believe that no matter what the world may try to tell us, no matter which lies have wounded our hearts, no matter how inadequate we may feel at times, we are enough. You are enough- Gods Heart for You
Know this:
– Gods Heart for You
” For those of us who serve Christ, Freedom means being able to give and receive love. It means embracing and passing it on to others. It means following God’s path and purpose for our lives rather than being held captive by fear” – God’s heart for you
It doesn’t sound so hard, to submit to Gods love and the love of others, then in return, pay if forward. It is very tough, more so for some than others. We keep ourselves in bondage. We may be in a “hard time” but at least it is familiar and seems “oddly comfortable”. God did not create us to keep ourselves in bondage and he does not want our hearts to be restless. He wants us free to love and be loved.
“We move from prison camp to His house, where he gives us the hope, peace, and joy we need” – Gods heart for you
” God understands your fear. He doesn’t condemn you for it or tell you to snap out of it. Instead he takes you by the hand and speaks to your heart words of courage, love and grace. Lean in and listen to his voice until its louder than fear.” – Opening the door to your God- Sized dream
A heart warming little quote:
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