Tag: keys to overcoming perfectionism

A Grace that Sees

Published by Leslie Newman Identity 18 comments
Sometimes we feel unseen and the truth of how we feel inside is hidden from others. But there is a grace that sees and a grace that understands. It comes straight from the heart of God. Join me here today as we begin a series of discussions that will take a look at the depth of the love that God has for us.

I see you.

• I see you when you wear a bright smile, but you feel a strain of sadness inside.
• I see you when your life is full of good things, but you feel empty.
• I see you when your activities paint a picture of confidence, but insecurity fills you inside.
• I see you when you feel like you never measure up and when you feel invisible and inadequate.

These things are hidden in the fast pace of your everyday life. Sometimes you can ignore them because you always keep going. You always keep giving. You always keep doing more.

But other times, it wells up and you feel overwhelmed. It leaves you feeling utterly exhausted.

Yet, in the midst of all of that, there are truths that you know.

• You know that God is kind and merciful and full of love.
• You know the Bible contains the truth, and you believe what it says.
• You love Jesus, and you know God as your Father. Most importantly, you know that because of all Jesus has done for you there is forgiveness and new life.

But sometimes it’s hard to feel the security those things should to bring you. To understand this sort of love deep down inside takes something you just haven’t quite been able to grab on to yet.

I see these things because I’ve been there, too. Even in a life surrounded by people that loved and cared for me, a life full of good things and God’s provisions, I still felt all of the things I just described to you.

So I want you to know I see you, and grace does too.

And because of His grace, there are answers for you.

Read more of this post by clicking below!

Click Here to Read More!

How to Strengthen Your Prayer Life Through Grace

Published by Leslie Newman Prayer 39 comments
Are you putting too much pressure on yourself? Remember GRACE and receive it to bring strength into your prayer life. His strength is made perfect in our weakness!

Grace has always seemed like a gentle thing to me. A soft something that settles down in the heart unnoticed at first, but there, nevertheless. And we feel it’s peace. The thing is, I’m not good at grace. I might be good at giving grace to others, but when it comes to receiving it for myself, that’s a whole different story.

I think we all probably struggle with being harder on ourselves than we are on others, but for some of us, it is magnified, especially if we struggle with perfectionism.

If you struggle with perfectionism one of the things that you may be doing is putting entirely too much pressure on yourself. It’s a vicious cycle because perfectionism tells you that you are never good enough. And that’s the total opposite of what grace says.

Grace would tell you that you are enough, because of Who God is. He created you and He loves you. All of you. Just the way you are.

If you listen to perfectionism and the voice inside your head that says you are not good enough, you are in for a rough journey. It’s a path that leaves no room for receiving God’s grace.

Satan doesn’t mind us traveling this road though, and this is because he wants us discouraged and defeated in all areas of our lives.

He especially wants to defeat us in our prayer lives. Prayer is where the battles are fought and won. And Satan is always the looser. This means that he will do everything he can to discourage us and keep us from praying. Often, these discouragements will come through negative thought processes.

One of these negative thought patterns involves the tendency to be way too hard on ourselves which creates a whole lot of unnecessary pressure in our lives.

Think about the things we say to ourselves sometimes. We would probably never say these things about other people, but we might constantly repeat them to ourselves.

• “I skipped my prayer time today. God will be disappointed in me.”
• “My prayers seem too simple. I’m not really smart enough.”
• “I don’t really understand the Bible. Who am I to be talking to God?”
• “My life is so chaotic. I’m a mess. God wants someone who has it more together.”
• “I’ve done some pretty bad things. There’s no way God can accept me because of the things I’ve done.

This list could go on and on, couldn’t it?

But there is an answer for this. Read to find out more! {FREE PRINTABLE!}

Click Here to Read More!

When Being Still is Uncomfortable, A Different Perspective

Published by Leslie Newman Quiet Time 27 comments
When Being Still is Uncomfortable, A Different Perspective

I sat there on my back porch. It was quiet and soft and misty on a peaceful morning in the country. But I was so uncomfortable. I was fidgety and distracted, thinking of all the things I needed to do that day. I couldn’t believe I was having such a hard time being still after all this time.

I had made a commitment this particular week. Each day I was going to work on consistently spending a few minutes in complete stillness and quiet, away from all distractions, just being with God. Although I was consistently studying His word and praying, I found that being completely still before Him was very difficult for me. If you struggle with stillness, too, click to read more. We’ll talk about busyness, being still, and renewal of the mind.

Click Here to Read More!

What God Thinks About You Changes Everything!

Published by Leslie Newman Identity 27 comments

What we think about ourselves is so very important! It is absolutely essential that we realize the truth about who we are. And because of that, the enemy is going to try to feed us lies and attack us in many different ways to mislead us about our identity, value and worth. But friends, we are so very, very loved and valuable to God. If we can get that truth deep into our hearts where we can begin to believe it, that changes everything! Read more to find out how He feels about YOU! {Free Printables!}

Click Here to Read More!

Do You Need to Re-Define? Thinking from a Truth Perspective

Published by Leslie Newman Identity 17 comments
Identity is a very important thing to understand, but it can be elusive and difficult to figure out. We know we need to be getting our identity from Christ, but what does that really mean?

Identity is a very important thing to understand, but it can be elusive and difficult to figure out. If we’ve been with Jesus very long, or if we’ve listened to our pastors and other wise mentors, we know we need to be getting our identity from Christ, but what does that really mean? And if we figure that part out, then how do we get that knowledge from our head to our heart?

Click Here to Read More!