Bondage to Unforgiveness.... of ourselves.

This is a little something that God is sharing with me and teaching me through this journey of Breaking Free!

Is it not true that we as woman have the ability to hold back forgiveness from ourselves more than anyone else in our lives?  We somehow feel that we don’t deserve to be forgiven but most of us are quite willing to forgive others.  Why is this so hard for us?  Why do we let Satan grab ahold of us and keep us bound to our sins as if we will never recover from them.  What would happen if we actually let God forgive us and actually forgave ourselves?  Yes, I said let God forgive us…  When we aren’t able to forgive ourselves aren’t we holding back from God's forgiveness with the thoughts that “oh no we can’t forgive this… I will never get over this… What I have done is too terrible to forgive myself for.”  We need to stop believing these lies and let God heal us!  You know what will happen when we let go of holding on to our sins and start forgiving ourselves…  We might actually heal and God will get to use us in ways we could never imagine while in our bondage.  I don’t know about you but I’m going to start forgiving myself and giving myself the same grace that I extend so readily to everyone else

Oaks of righteousness

In our class this past Wednesday, Brenda shared this passage & we talked a bit about the mighty oak tree. Later I sent this photo to Brenda since it came to mind in our discussion. Doesn't this give a great visual to the passage? Definitely this tree could "display His splendor." Tim & I went on a hunt to find this "Angel Oak" sprawling out on one of the lowland islands along Charleston, SC. (The photo is small but if you look really close, Tim is standing in the middle of the base of the tree.)

Isaiah 61:1-3

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.

From someone who knows about hurts~

"Sometimes God allows what he hates...to accomplish what he loves." from "The God I Love" by Joni Eareckson Tada.

Nearly 1/2 way done....

Hi ladies....how you doing? We've been going through some difficult lessons these past few weeks. Are you holding on? What's the biggest lie you've replaced with Truth?  Have you been able to share what you're learning with anyone? Please do share....