Knowing Who we are
Most of what i write about can be summed up in the category of personal growth or self love and worth. It’s continually on my heart, and when i sit down and feel inspired, it’s usually what flows from my head and hands and i almost can’t stop it as i type the words.
Today like most days, i sat down to read and journal. i’ll go quite a few days where i hardly take any notes, sometimes none except for the date at the top. But then the words i read will hit my heart and i’ll know again what i’m supposed to share with you.
In my most recent devotional that i highly recommend and i’ll share the link below to purchase, Stasi Eldredge helped me understand WHY i push self love and worth. It made sense today, it goes deeper than just working on yourself FOR yourself. To quote Stasi, “the world needs a woman who is thankful for how God made her, and enjoys who she is. Because when you like yourself, you’re free to enjoy others and in your presence people experience an invitation to become and enjoy who they are too.” Powerful. That knowing who we are enables us to live the life were born too. She goes on to say that the world doesn’t need yet another woman who despises the lovely creation that she is. God doesn’t long for another woman to reject herself, but to embrace everything about her.
Can i get an absolute amen for that? We are told as we grow up to love ourselves and then as we become women it turns into something bad if we can enjoy the beauty we have. We’re taught to almost reject compliments and in turn say something BAD about ourselves. what does this ultimately do? those words we reject from others, and then we speak allowed our faults. We believe those faults, we don’t really listen to the good we have to offer and we end up comparing to the women around us. Instead, let’s learn and teach other women and girls how to love ourselves, accept compliments (after all it IS a gift from the lips it comes from) and tell ourselves the good we have. Then in knowing what worth we have, we can enjoy the beauty of others instead of feeling jealous or looking for their faults, we’ll see their beauty.
So how do we start over if it feels too late to not only love ourselves but accept ourselves. little steps, baby girl. When you get a compliment accept it by saying thank you. Tell yourself they believe what they told you, and you should too. On days you feel more confident, remind yourself of all the things you have to offer and on days you feel not good enough it's okay to stay away from pointing out flaws in the mirror. Read self help books and journal. and maybe go on a walk to feel you accomplished something outside today. write down all the things you enjoy about yourself. and don't forget to eat some healthy food for energy and feeling good about a positive decision. That's a lot of baby steps. But you got this.
I do push self worth and self love and growth. But it’s because of not only what it can do for our hearts and lives, but what it invites other women to do the same, and that’s a place where they can be unapologetically themselves too.
Keep Shining
Shanna Star
If you're looking for a new devotional, Beautiful Now was a fabulous one! Easy to read and short for days you just don't have enough time. You can use the link below! I'm also going to include two more links to books I read that have changed my heart, easy reads, and are a few favorites. (Use those links to let me know they were helpful for you!) The links are attached to the amazon pics below!
