Beautiful, Courageous You

Tag Archives: courageous step


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Apprehended by a Spiritual Force

Hope

Lately it’s been on my heart to share an excerpt from my book, may you be encouraged that no matter how tough life gets there is ALWAYS Hope… always x

Overwhelmed with fear and alone I found myself calling on God, my God the God I had abandoned, the God I didn’t need. All the while I had been trying to do life my way, He was there waiting for me to come running back into His arms, all of my effort and strength was gone all I had left was to surrender to the hope that I once knew. Hope in God was buried deep within my spirit, early years of Sunday school had planted seeds of hope that somehow, someway there was a divine meaning to my life. As I turned my thoughts back to God, I cried out to the unseen, somehow I knew He was in the room with me as a profound peace swept over my being.

My broken heart carried a pain so deep that I could hardly breathe, still in grief from my father’s death, in shock from the promiscuity of *Jake and now I lay waiting, hoping for a miracle… the survival of my twin babies. Somehow that night my hurt collided with the healing power of Jesus, I felt simultaneously weak but strong. The apostle Paul tells of the strength he found in Christ “It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.” 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (MSG)

Letting Christ take over is hard for most of us, for me there was no other choice I had reached rock bottom with no options but to surrender my will to His. Often in a sorrowful situation we shout accusations at God and then turn and walk away, I have learned by my past to not shout at God but instead it is best that we stop and listen.

Amid the calamity, a monitor strapped around my stomach, intravenous drip and observations by the nurse every hour, I managed to drift into a peaceful sleep a peace which truly surpassed my understanding. I awoke early to the gentle nudge of the obstetrician on duty, before I could clear the sleep from my eyes he began, “good morning, we are making plans for you to be taken to a larger hospital that specialises in pre-term labour, it is the safest place to be should your twins decide to come early”.  Within the hour I was in the ambulance and being taken to Rockhampton hospital, alone and uncertain of how the following days would unfold the long drive in the ambulance ushered in the opportunity for my thoughts to begin to race and before long my peace had turned to dread.

Immediately upon arrival I was taken for an ultrasound to check on the twins, a cold stone-faced radiologist performed the ultrasound without a word spoken to me. All I recall is thinking “God where are you in all this, it’s all my fault this is my punishment for turning away from you”, why would He want to answer my prayers?  I was convinced that God was angry with me. Finally, the radiologist broke his silence; “we can’t do anything for you, one baby is very sick and will possibly die in the next couple of days and then the other will have a chance of survival, you need to be taken to Brisbane”. His words were like missiles flying off his tongue and straight into my heart, no warmth or empathy just very matter of fact.  The hours went by very slowly that day, as I lay and wait for the next report on when and how I would be leaving, the same incomprehensible peace washed over me.

*name changed for privacy 😉


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A Note to self:

be yourself

Often people will ask me what is the significance of my cover design (book yet to be finished). For me, the cover had to be intriguing and have meaning, it was important that the imagery would somehow speak to women young and old in an encouraging tone that says ‘ lift up your weary head, let hope arise and be strengthened by the true knowledge that you are beautiful and courageous’.

The crumpled note being pinned to the wall represents a return to believing the truth about yourself, and consequently a return to happiness. Crumpling of the note is symbolic of what we do with our self belief as life wears us down. As a toddler the words of beauty and courage are written on our hearts we believe we truly are the centre of the universe, our beauty is affirmed by doting adults and we are fearless (except the odd monster under the bed tends to be a bit scary). My little 3 year old little girl believes without doubt she is pretty and perfect in every way, no fear of being too fat or too thin, no fear of what other people think etc… she is free to be a beautiful, courageous little girl.

Sadly, over the years what we believe about ourselves, becomes distorted and fashioned by the influences around us, and this is when we ‘crumple the note’, so to speak, and throw it in the waste paper basket. We gradually lose our 3yo perspective of how amazing, “fearfully and wonderfully made” we truly are. From an early age seeds of doubt and fear take root in our minds as we become aware of judgement from others, cave into peer pressure, and aspire to be just like the false images of airbrushed models. Doubt and fear grow like relentless weeds suffocating all that is true about the beautiful, courageous you. May your journey through this blog (and the book) encourage you to go back to the crumpled note, a note that speaks of your true identity and worth, write out the TRUTH, stick it up on the wall and believe it.

May 2014 be the year that you pursue the real you, the amazing you, the ‘cannot be replaced’ you with reckless abandon. X


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Take Up Your Position & Stand Firm!

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“You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.'” 2 Chronicles 20:17


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Masters of the Masquerade

The most courageous decision I have ever made was the moment when I decided to take off my masks… my social mask, my school-mum mask, my corporate trainer mask, my church mask and every other ‘face’ that was not the real me.

Max Lucado, in his book Six Hours One Friday, describes our desperate desire to disguise our true -self…

“We are masters of the masquerade. Cars are driven to make a statement. Jeans are purchased to portray an image. Accents are acquired to hide a heritage. Names are dropped. Weights are lifted. Yarns are spun. Toys are purchased. Achievements are professed”.

In the depths of despair I had no energy for playing charades,  the blessing of this desperate place was that the real me, the amazing strong woman I was created to be, was finally allowed to come out of hiding… it was literally a case of being strong enough to show my weakness. For most of my life the real me was hidden behind a painted smile, I believe we all spend our time wearing costumed faces. The fear of rejection, fear to be ourselves pervades out thoughts until the real self is forgotten. May I encourage you to remove your masks, silence the fear and step into the freedom to be you. You do ‘you’ perfectly!created to stand out


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Super Sweet Blog Award

What a lovely surprise and thank you so much,  Ellie from New Creation Ministries for the unexpected nomination of Super Sweet Blogger Award!  Ellie is a wealth of inspiration and encouragement check her out at;http://newcreationsministries.wordpress.com

Cupcake4

So as expected, I am to follow all the simple rules for this  award and with that goes the pleasure of nominating 13 other sweet bloggers.

Rules for this Blog Award:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.

2. Answer five ‘Super Sweet’ questions, listed below.

3. Include the Super Sweet Blogging Award Icon in your blog post.  (simple, copy image above)

4. Nominate a baker’s dozen, so cute (!) 13 other deserving bloggers.

5. Notify your Super Sweet nominees on their blog.

My Five Super Sweet Questions for this Award:  (You Answer the Same One’s)

1. Cookies or Cake?

Cookies… with a cuppa

2. Chocolate or Vanilla?

Chocolate… very dark 🙂

3. Favorite Sweet Treat?

Dark Lindt chocolate ball… or ‘balls’

4. When Do You Crave Sweet Things The Most?

Once the kids are in bed… peace & quite = treaty time!

5. Sweet Nick Name?

Ducky… my blonde hair as a kid, teamed with wearing yellow made me look like a little duck (apparently)

Here are my nominees:

http://rogertharpe.wordpress.com/

http://prayerworkscafe.org/

http://godthang.wordpress.com/

http://homemakingwithheart.com/

http://pureglory.net/

http://foodaddiction2freedom.com/

http://unshakablehope.wordpress.com/

http://faith1stministries.com/

http://dianereedwiter.wordpress.com/

http://shareaverse.wordpress.com/

http://healthnutmumblog.wordpress.com/

http://iprodigaldaughter.wordpress.com/

http://www.hikingphoto.com/


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Win the Battle against Negative thoughts

new thinking

The biblical term for thoughts which are negative is referred to as a stronghold, an area in which we are held in bondage (in prison) due to a certain way of thinking . For example a daily negative thought pattern for me, when suffering depression, would run like this: “life is not worth living, I am worthless and I will never be happy again”. This train of thought would play over and over in my mind keeping me oppressed, depressed and in bondage, a prisoner held captive by my thoughts.

You may be experiencing this battle with a negative thought life right at this moment, maybe you have strongholds in your mind, scripts you have been playing for years and you’re not even sure how they got there. Let me encourage you, God is on your side He will not forsake you.

There is a war going on and your mind is the battlefield but here’s the thing, as Satan attempts to build strongholds in your mind rest assured we have all the weapons we need to tear down the strongholds. Strongholds in the mind are, in essence, deceptive lies and false beliefs. The Bible has promised you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32). I believe what Jesus was saying is that the truth (God’s word) is our primary weapon for tearing down strongholds. Consider it this way, the opposite to a lie is truth, therefore the more time you spend immersed in truth (reading the Bible, hearing Biblical teaching) the light of God is shed upon the darkness, the lies in your mind.

Without question the truth will dispel the darkness, that my friend, is the power of God’s word! Take a simple example of walking into a dark room, we switch the light on and the dark is gone instantly, light and dark cannot coexist and so it is with truth and a lie so go ahead ‘switch some lights on’ disempower Satan’s ability to influence your thoughts. X


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I Forgive Him… I Forgive Him NOT!

SteadfastForgiveness… undeserved, unearned, you might say:  ‘well no one understands what they did to me, what was said about me’. From the Gospels’ accounts,  Jesus had every reason to be bitter, angry and unforgiving. Amidst brutal circumstances, He said, “Forgive them…”  betrayed, falsely accused, whipped, beaten and spat on he was then nailed to a cross by them.  As the crowd continued to taunt and curse him and His life slowly fading away He did not seek justice or vengeance.

Forgiveness, or I like to call it ‘absorbing the debt’,  refusing to make them pay for what they did, I believe, is the hardest and most courageous step towards healing and complete peace. On the subject of forgiveness Timothy Keller explains how by wanting to make the perpetrators suffer for what they have done will not give you peace “Cycles of reaction and retaliation can go on for years. Evil has been done to you – yes. But when you try to get payment through revenge the evil does not disappear. Instead it spreads, and it spreads most tragically of all into you and your own character”.

 It was only a few months ago when I sat in prayer and asked God, “Why am I not completely peaceful and why have you not given me joy like you promise in your word?, I am not moving from this chair until you heal me… completely!” I waited for an answer and started to reflect on all the steps I had taken towards getting well, countless counselling sessions, prayer, exercise, etc. As my mind wandered (still waiting for God to answer) I recalled the most hurtful moments of my past and thanked God for healing me from the emotional pain. Upon examining my feelings I realised the memories still affected me, not in a hurtful, saddening manner as they had for so many years. What was rising up in my spirit was anger, bitterness and  unforgiveness.

Needless to say, God had answered my demanding prayer by showing me that my final healing was to be found in letting go of the unforgiveness I held so tightly. Holding onto unforgiveness seemed to be my last chance at vengeance and justice to those that had wronged me. They didn’t deserve my forgiveness!

Crazy thing about a ‘payback’ mindset is the paying back seldom affects those who have wronged you. The unforgiving heart doesn’t heal, in fact bitterness and anger controlled me more and more as the years went by. Ask yourself, how does your holding onto unforgiveness work to hurt the other person? Does it really make you feel peace, joy…  a sense of true happiness?

The issue isn’t whether the person who hurt you deserves to be forgiven, forgiveness is a gift you give yourself.  In my experience the hurting one is the unforgiving soul, much like a snake bite if you were to be bitten (hurt by someone) the snake takes off into the bush and your left with the venom (un forgiveness) do you get the picture? The snake isn’t concerned about how much venom you have pumping through your veins, he’s gone about his life as if not much has changed. On the other hand if the anti-venom (forgiveness) is not administered to the victim of a snake bite her health will deteriorate rapidly and possibly become fatal.

The importance of forgiveness toward others is a matter which must be addressed if we are to experience peace, joy and happiness. Just as your spirit and soul will flourish when you offer forgiveness, so to your physical being will begin complete healing. Go ahead… just like the Psalmist cried out “Create in me a pure heart…” allow God to purify your heart towards others and in the words of our Saviour “Forgive them”. X