Welcome back to the Womens Bible Cafe™ as we review week three from Lies Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. This week we focused on lies women believe about themselves.
(image: Unsplash)
Nancy DeMoss writes “What we believe about ourselves determines how we live.” By now you realize that if you believe you are a victim- of your past, of a relationship, or poor health- then you will live your life like a victim.
Using imagery, I want you to visualize yourself wearing the princess crown God created for you as His daughter. Imagine you have removed the crown… you’re looking at the inside etchings and you eyes fall on beautifully written words. Do you see the word “victim” written inside your crown? Are you a cancer victim, a sexual abuse victim, a victim of past abortion, a victim of an affair…or are you a Daughter of the King? We don’t want to minimize your pain and downplay your experience, as healing is very important for you. However you might need a reminder of who you are in Christ. With Christ in you…how can you ever see yourself as a victim.
God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 1 Cor 1:30 NLT
When we live in our past and condemn ourselves for having an alcoholic parent, a neglectful father, a mentally ill relative or another challenging relationship… we are believing lies about who we are and not living in Christ.
When we choose to be in relationships where we feel rejected, shamed, unempowered and helpless… we are believing lies about who we are and not living in Christ.
When we exhaust ourselves trying to do everything and be everything as daughters, mothers, girlfriends, sisters and wives….we are believing lies about who we are and not living in Christ.
When we look in a mirror and see an aged woman, overweight body and unattractive features…we are believing lies about who we are and not living in Christ. As I review the list of lies I see a common factor within: all the lies stem from what we read in magazines, watch on television and feed our minds. When our focus is on the things of the flesh, we miss seeing the things of Christ.
Examine your heart and see if there are any distortions that do not belong. When Christ sees you…what does he see?
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. Galatians 3:26-27 NIV
To be a victim is to blame Satan when we fall into temptation. To be a princess is to acknowledge our mistakes (sin), ask forgiveness and receive grace from our Father God.
“Once we have received His love, we will not have to compare ourselves to others; we will not focus on “self” at all. Instead, we will become channels of His love to others,” writes Nancy DeMoss.
Imagine yourself putting the crown back on your head and this time imagine what God would say to you. And then reflect Jesus to others by the beauty of your heart.
Assignment For the Next Week
- Pray for the women who are doing this study with you.
- Read Chapter Four in your book and companion guide.
- Look at the list of Key Resources on page 269 for topics addressed in this book
- Check in with your Small Group Leader
Have a great week…stay on track with your reading and may you grow in truth!
God is good…always!
My crown has “Let go and let God” engraved on it. God would tell me that it is ok to let go of my past mistakes and to continue to do better through my belief in his word.
The lie I most connected to was the one on beauty. I think I may worry too much about my appearance – I feel I need to eat so carefully and when I don’t (which I frequently do on weekends and such) I feel guilt over not following/staying on plan. I weigh myself daily and sometimes the number I see can dictate my mood for the day. I’ve been praying about this issue a lot, so I hope the Holy Spirit continues to work in me and help me to be a better Christian woman.
Q1 – My crown would say – Always remember that you are My child and you are as I am, the greatest Love of all – then that would just about summarize everything else about me that’s worthy of Him.
Q2 – I have usually suffered as a result of trying to please others. Too many instances to describe here – some forgotten, some not.
Q3 – Lies 8 and 12. talk about aha moments. I always thought I didn’t love myself enough but I knew God loves me. I had to wrap my brain around the flipside and saying I do love myself but I have not accepted God’s love for me. Wow – still working on it. And #12, well I was coming to believe that “God gave us life to live more abundantly” so why should we have longings? We are entitled as His children to have what we want as long as it brings Him glory. Well I see now that we will always long for something and that the meaning of that is that we long for that which would unite our souls with Him.
Exactly Dawn!!…in reference to loving your self..I thought long and hard on that one too..You summked it up as wrapping our bgrains around the flipside…yes, I too am working on that as well…
My crown would say, “stand fast”. That’s all I can do right now.
Thankfully, the Lord taught me early on in my marriage that my husband could not fulfill all my needs, only He can. When a man and a woman puts God first in a marriage, that frees them to complete each other.
1.there is nothing you can do to make me love you more or love you less.
I cling to that. Remind my self of that. Find comfort n that. And motivation in that.
Thank you Lord for your grace.
The engraving in my crown would say “Trust in me my daughter with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge me your loving Father and I will direct your path.” I have made some bad choices over the years by choosing to go to the Lord with only certain things in my life, not waiting and walking away from seeking the truth. Only when I started to become obedient in those tough areas and trust God with what his word said is when I started to experience the freedom and confidence in Him. Not without rebellion have I experienced that God’s word is there for my own good.
The inside of my crown would simply say “I love you, my daugther”.
Thoughts about this week’s lesson:
1. Proverbs 31 really hit home for me this week. I turned 40 this year, and while I still feel young and vibrant, when I look in the mirror I see an old woman beginning to emerge. Instead of smooth, firm skin, I see wrinkles from a lifetime of laughter, coupled with worry. I was a competetive athlete until I was 25, so I have always been bigger and stronger than most women. But strong, athletic girls were not fashionable when I was growing up. I work out several times a week and I am still very strong. Since our society places more value on women who are frail, in my opinion, I’ve learned to stay away from negative people, stop reading fashion magazines, and to turn off the t.v. But the feeling of inadequacy still manages to creep back in. Reading Proverbs 31 this week, I feel more beautiful now than ever. Thank you, Lord, for giving me the blueprint of a beautiful woman in Proverbs 31.
My crown would say “Always remember I love you and you are precious to me”
I often gt caught up in my past and start to forget that God took me out of that place and has set me free. I see where I have been and where I am now. I had a pastor that said “I see you in the future and you look much better than you look right now” I believe that is what God is doing for me!
I don’t have a clue at what my crown would say…. most days I feel like a peasant not a princess! 🙂
I think every lie spoke to me in equal parts; I am an insecure victim who knows my heart better than anyone and feel that I deserve what everyone else is getting but me! I want to let all that go I want to be free from that weight and torture I do to myself. I want that day I can wake up and enjoy everything in front of me and not feel like I am less of a person if I don’t accomplish a certain amount of stuff or look a certain way. I want to be able to be free to sit down and truely enjoy the greatest gift from heaven my child!
Q1) The engraving on my crown would say “To my daughter, remember nothing can separate you from my love”
Romans 8: 35-39
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NIV)
Q3) The lie I struggled with most was “beauty”….for a long time I consider myself to be very ugly because I didn’t fit into the image of “beauty” shown on TV and in the magazines. I remember as a child BEGGING my parents to let lme have plastic surgery to change who I was and become someone beauty. My mom looked at me and said “you’re beautiful because God made you and he don’t make no junk! If you can’t see that, it doesn’t matter what you do, you’ll never truly be happy. You’ve got to learn to love yourself and you can only do that by loving God”. I never really got it until I developed a close personal relationship with God.
To borrow a line from one of Whitney Houston’s song “learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all”…it’s a very freeing wonderful feeling to know that I’m loved.
The greatest gift I ever had Come from God, and I call him Dad!
~ Anonymous
I have always said that I don’t care what people say or think about me and the truth of the matter is that I actually did care. I always wanted to succeed, excel, and be seen. However, the only person that matters is God and that is who I should seek to please. The world is not my God so what’s pleasing to the world may contradict what is pleasing to God. Seek God first in everything you do!
Question 3
The lie: physical beauty matters more than inner beauty.
I have been in the beauty industry for over 20 years, working as a hairdresser. Surrounded by outer beauty. Its tricky not to get caught up in that idea. I am fortunate enough to have the desire to focus inward. Along with my daily walk with the lord and my self help studies, I have a physical yoga practice that not only helps me on the outside building strength but my practice deals more with the importance of whats going on inside. My hope is that I will continue to be REAL. And availible to others.
I think the one thing I have struggled with most of my life is physical beauty. My mother would always say beauty is only skin deep and my grandmother wwould say beauty is as beauty does. But is didn’t seem to matter in my younger years. Then 10 years ago Christ came into my life and everything has changed.
Today if I was to take my crown of and read it I believe it would say Joanna you are my precious daughter whom I love and cherish. I am so glad that Jesus Christ reigns over my life.
I only have enough time and energy to contribute an answer to number two this week … Those are some deep questions!
I think that being addicted to the approval of others has shaped my life so differently from that of a life lived in the full security of God’s will. I have compromised, over and over again, just in the effort to gain a certain stand in someone else’s eyes — and oftentimes, my efforts even go unnoticed! All that I have tried to prove to these particular others throughout has been in vain, and has only led to a further confusion of what they actually think of me.
Moreover, aiming to work for someone particular’s approval is exhausting because once I’ve “established” myself as a certain way to them, it is only the beginning — I have to continue to prove that I am who I’ve portrayed I am, even if that’s not really naturally who I am or even worse, if it’s not who God wants me to be.
Anyway, these lies about SELF that Nancy brought up this week are so important because understanding them for what they really are can free us from these insecurities.
So many of the lies have me. But the lie that I have my right and that physical beauty matters top my list.
I Believe He would say ” You my daughter are an heir to the King, your are loved and cherished. And inside the crown would read.. You are loved with an everlasting love.
As for how has the longing for acceptance and approval shaped my past choices, I have made some life altering choices in my past, in order to avoid conflict in my life, much to my regret.
I think the biggest lie for me is that I can’t continue on my journey of Christianity. Those negative thoughts keep coming up and I keep rebuking satan in the name of Jesus. I feel like I have an Angel on one shoulder and satan on the other. I continue to read the bible everyday and go to church twice a week. I find that listening to nothing but Christian music helps quite a bit.
We all have the free will to continue the journey. You’re taking the right steps to feed your faith…praying you are not tempted to stray from the path God has laid before you.
2. The longing for human acceptance causes me to not stand up for myself. I can think of instances all the way back to elementary school when I didn’t want to stand up for myself because that might cause someone to not like me. I still keep quiet today, even in my job, when I shouldn’t and I would like to not worry about what other people think of me and only worry about what God thinks of me.
3. I think the lie that has held the most importance to me is that I can’t help the way that I am. Not so much with external actions, but with the internal motivation in everyday life. It was so eye opening to realize that not only am I responsible for making choices according to God’s will but that if I am really struggling with something, I can change with God’s help. In the past, I struggled so much to fix what I thought were weaknesses on my part rather than offering them up to God. It was very liberating to realize that I don’t have to do that anymore.
Tara, yes, I too struggle with fixing what my weaknesses are, by journaling , to come to conclusions or reading this self help book or that one and even by asking my friends their take on the subject. i will remembe to offer them up to God because in all my efforts to fix what is wrong, on my own, I fall flat on my face each and every time. I will raise up my concerns and heart matters to the Lord.
1. I believe God would say to us “I am here, beside you, do you not see me?” Walk in my path and you will have troubles no more. If you stray, fear not, for I am a forgiving God and a loving God. I will guide you back but you must have eyes to see and ears to hear. If you know me, you can find me.”
I have made choices in the past solely for the purpose of pleasing others, including all the way back to high school when I would purposely make bad grades to make my boyfriend accepting of me because he didn’t want to have a “nerd” for a girlfriend. Unfortunately, I also turned against friends and family and was not a happy, God-pleasing person. The pattern continued for more than 10 years – trying to become someone I wasn’t so that I would be “loved” and cared for by a person who clearly did not respect me. I believed I was worthless. If only I had the maturity to know the difference between love and control. I am in a very loving marriage now and trust with all my heart that this is the person God intended me to love for my entire lifetime.
After being abandoned by both of my biological parents, human acceptance was such an addiction to my life for the longest time. I had to excel at everything I did and failure was not an option because I thought if I failed I wouldn’t be liked/loved. I had a hard time with building lasting relationships. Unlike some women who latch on, I pushed away because I couldn’t accept myself and I thought God couldn’t accept me since my parents obviously couldn’t. WOW…..this study among other studies I’ve done and my daily Bible reading has been such an eye opening experience. Thank You, Jesus!!!!
I can’t imagine what God would say to me when i put the crown on that He has made just for me. I love the visual, and just the LOVE that i feel when i consider this moment someday, that no matter how much i have fallen from His path for me , He is there ready, waiting for me, ready to put the crown on my head since He is my God and i confess my sins to Him and believe in His son, Jesus, who died for my sins. It reminds me of an earthly “perfect” father (since i know this chapter commented that many people have trouble with this visual). But, for me, it reminds me of my dad when i walked down the aisle, and he lifted my veil for me to marry my husband- In his eyes, no matter how i ended up as a woman, he accepted me for who i was, for who i chose to marry and He was glad to call me his daughter.
I am constantly wanting to please others…especially at work. However, I often find myself feeling not good enough.
My lie is also the one about outer beauty rather than inner beauty..I often question how my husband can say that I am beautifu if its pitch black in our bedroom or he tells me when I am just sitting on the couch…He’s not talking about my outer beauty but my inner beauty. He can see if far more readily than I can…sometimes I think about what it would be like if I were blind…(not that I want to be) but maybe then I could really comprehend the inner beauty of people. I have to remind myself that its more important to cultivate my inner beauty than to look “perfect” on the outside. I must also remember to instill that in my teenage daughter as well. So, here’s to learing how to see and appreciate the inner beauty of people…
In looking back over my life (the only daughter between two brothers), I can say that I have always been a people pleaser – and the cost has been tremendous. It went from parents to husband, and has played a huge part in friendships. And then an ugly friend moved in to be it’s sidekick – good ol passive-aggressive. In spite of it all, God has graced my life with some ‘real’ friends, and they have helped me see God’s Truth when I couldn’t and are helping me stay accountable & not accept the lies any longer.
1. My crown should say Let go and Let God, as I have a hard time of letting anyone control me, or should I say try and control my life. It has always been my way or no way at all. I have so many issues with trust, and belonging in my life. I always have felt worthless in anything I do. I just need to remember I am a daughter of a King, and I am loved.
When someone violates our trust, we create protective walls to keep from getting hurt again. At the same time we are keeping away the hurt, we are also keeping ourselves from trusting God. The Breaking Free bible study explains this in great detail and you’ll learn to take down those walls. It took many years to build the walls…it will take time and effort to chip them away like a prisoner in a cell.
Thanks Christine as always you cheer me on in this journey.
Sue Alice, one of my sins was verbatim of your, “my way or no way”. Thank you for sharing. It’s so good not to feel alone and know that others are struggling with the same issues and overcoming them!
Thanks Lynn,
That is one of my biggest problems. I am glad I could help you. Blessing to you. REMEMBER you are NOT ALONE……you are a daughter of a KING…..you are loved.
Sorry, I forgot to say one thing, I am doing both studies and they are really bringing out issuses for me, and I am having a hard time with them, but some things need to be brought out in the open, if we are to live a life as a Daughter of a King.
2. My mother has been married 7 to 8 times… maybe more… I have lost count but I could not have a healthy relationship with friend or boyfriends. I would cling to anyone that took on a mother role, and that always ended in a disaster 🙁 I never wanted to get married because I didnt want to get a divorce. But it took me time to relize that I needed to change my ways of thinking. Today I have very healthy relationships, great friends and I have been married for 20 years. I have been blessed with not holding on to the lies of my past.
3. the lies that I think about is the beauty. If I could lose weight. 🙁 I really need to work on this lie but that is because I am not happy with myself.
Longing for acceptance is a struggle for me….mostly with my mother in law. Her comments make me feel unworthy of being married to her son. Four years of marriage (8 years together) and I thought it would get better. I need to realize that my value is not determined by her and my marriage is wonderful!!
Q1–Forgiven would be on my crown
Q2–I am a people pleaser and it used to be hard to stand up for me and take care of myself. Sometimes it’s still hard for me to not give in to what others want. I am getting better though.
Q3–the ones that most stand out are lies 10 and 12. I’ve made a lot of bad choices based on a feeling of entitlement. Feeling like I had the right to fill every want and desire I had. I lacked self control and it got me nothing but stress. I’m now deeply in debt, and 20 lbs overweight.
I feel like God has been telling me this is the year is a year of renewal. A year of second chances. I desperately need disciple in my life and discovered it doesn’t just happen. It isn’t easy to do and I’ve recently discovered that you don’t necessarily have to want to do make the changes. 1 Cor 10:23 Everything is permissable, but not everything is beneficial.
Andi, thanks for the 1Cor citation! I struggle from the same lies and that verse will become one of my mantras,
1. Believing the truth will set you free.
2. I would let people take advantage of me, allowed them to make comments about myself and be critical of everything. I let them hurt my soul, and I picked unhealthy relationships because I had low self-image. I am starting to set boundaries and protect my soul that God has given me.
3. I’m not worth anything. I am a people pleaser and trying to overcome it with God’s help. Instead, I want to be a God pleaser.
4. Countering Lies with the Truth – Page 87
Live for an Audience of One….and use vertical thinking (look UP) rather than horizontal thinking (looking at people instead of God) I learned this in the book Faith Dare by Debbie Alsdorf and I’ve let go of what people think about me.
Thank you and I will get a copy of this book!
I got a copy of the book “Faith Dare” by Debbie Alsdorf and have started reading the beginning chapters. It is wonderful just the book I need. I believe it is going to change me!
It changed my vision. 🙂
1. Ephesians 5:1-2. To paraphrase, I am God’s dearly loved child
2. As long as I can remember, I have been addicted to seeking the approval of others.
3. Lies #7, I’m not worth anything
What words are engraved inside your crown?
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. You will soar on wings like eagles; you will run and not grow weary, you will walk and not be faint. You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Love this!!! I’m copying it into my journal to read over and over again.
1. God would say you are loved.
3. The lie that has the most importance to me is the one about having rights. I am the type of person that likes to yield my rights but a lot of times I feel pressured by others to fight. I struggle with that lie a lot and it makes me sad.
4. What stood out for me in this chapter was the lie about having rights. That one really hit home for me.
1. He would say welcome home, what took you so long.
2. It has left me feeling rejected and alone because I don’t like being around alot of people due to cruel remarks in the past and present.
4. This weeks lesson has helped me beyond belief. I have to stop believing lies and see myself as God see me.
God is good!
The lie that I most struggle with is that I keep claiming my rights. I think I do this constantly and want to be free from this lie. Yielding my rights will set me free!! I always thought I had to accept that life isn’t fair but really my problem is I was believing a lie.
2. How has the longing for human acceptance – being addicted to the approval of others- shaped your past choices in life?
We went on a short family vacation this week. No church. No work. No Cub Scouts. No PTA. No Awana. Nothing but family time and starting/catching up on this Bible Study. Which meant a lot of thinking. A lot of the things I do – I do to prove that I am a good mother. A good working mother. I am lucky that I have a flexible schedule and I am able to work at home one day a week, but I also overcommit myself to try and prove that I am just as good as mothers who do stay at home. Volunteering in the classroom. PTA President. Assistant Cub Scout Leader.
I can’t do it all anymore. Before my mom died, she lived with us. It was easy to leave my 4 year old with her for a hour or two on my work at home day, so I could get stuff done at school. Now I can’t do that. J comes with me everywhere. And she doesn’t like spending all morning at school. My mom’s death has made me a better parent in that way. Before she died, it crossed my mind a time or two – that I was spending so much time doing things for my kids – that I wasn’t actually spending time with my kids. Now I am.
Now I want to focus on this study and my kids and stop doing things to make myself look betters to people who I shouldn’t being trying to accept me.
I’d love for balloons and confetti to fall from the sky for you Melissa….because this is a huge turnaround. 🙂 Live for an Audience of One and do what is pleasing in His eyes. Vertical thinking- look Up.
Books you would enjoy reading:
Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver
She Did What She Could by Elisa Morgan
The Invisible Woman by Nicole Johnson
Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominquez
THIS IS JUST A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO ARE STILL IN THE STUDY AND THOSE CATCHING UP WITH US.
Have blessed week in the the Lord. Keep up the good work.
1. “You are the apple of My eye” is what would be engraved on my crown.
1. Thank you God that I am your child and not a victim or afraid. I am your beautiful child. Amen
We are all children of God, by His grace mercilessly forgiven and loved no matter what
1. Daughter, as you put on this crown remember that beauty comes from within. Reflect my love in all you say and do – a more beautiful sight I will never see.
2. The desire to be accepted by others has played a huge part in my life. I am a shy rather introverted person due to this. When I was younger there were times when I’d be talking in a group and people would just talk right over me as if they never heard me. This has made me reluctant to speak in group situations. I also hesitate to speak in a group unless I’m sure that my every word won’t be picked apart. It is not that I want people to agree with me all the time. I just don’t want to be put on trial for having a differing opinion. I find that I am a pleaser. I want to make people happy and not disappoint. So, I sometimes end up saying ‘yes’ to something that my heart is really not in or that I don’t have time for. It really is okay to say ‘No’. No does not equal rejection.
Start focusing on who you are…and find strength in this. You are a daughter of the King….his children are filled with the Spirit and Christ in you. Let nobody steal this identity from you. Walk in knowledge. Find scripture to remind yourself of this.
1. Imagine yourself putting the crown back on your head and this time imagine what God would say to you. Post a comment below and share what you think the Lord would say to His daughter. What words are engraved inside your crown?
I think God would tell me that he created me to do his will and that I have been enabled to carry to completion what he intended me to do. He would remind me that I don’t have to be strong because He is strong through me. He would tell me to stand up and deliver. He would remind me that I am his daughter and that he loves me more than anyone in this life and the life after. He probably would tell me that I don’t have to fear because no matter what I face in this life, HE IS MY SHIELD. Thank you God!!!!
2. How has the longing for human acceptance- being addicted to the approval of others- shaped your past choices in life?
I recently read a book about addiction to approval and I hadn’t realized until I read it that I AM ADDICTED TO APPROVAL. I was actually astonished, Lol. I have tried so hard to obtain the approval of others that I have realized that I have developed multiple personalities. I behave a different way with each of the people I know just so that I can fit in their worlds. I am in the search for the real me.
Many people are creating “multiple social personalities.” They have one personality on Facebook, another on LinkedIn and another on Twitter. I think they do this to relate and communicate with their followers or not offend them. We need to be authentic daughters of the King and filter our words through Christ.
1) I think he would say that he was glad that I have chosen to become closer to him. I think the words in my crown would be “I wanted you here”.
2) The way society is you can’t help but make choices based on what others think. I am not so worried about that now but as a teenager/ young adult it affected EVERYTHING. You so desperately want to be accepted that you almost forget who you are and make decision based on what is acceptable. It affected what clothes I wore, how I did my hair, guys I dated, car I drove, etc. Looking back I now realize why it took so long to figure who I was. So glad I am past that and am now trying to teach my kids to be themselves. True friends accept you for what you are – not what you drive, wear, etc.
Which of the lies revealed on page 87 has the most importance for you? Why?
That “I have my rights”- This really stood out to me. It is something that I see in my job, my marriage, my church etc…All areas of my life I have felt violated of my “rights” (for whatever reason).. I have become angry when they have been violated & that has been a lot!!
This was a great lesson for me. I need to reprogram my thinking that I must yield to any rights and all my expectations. God has a plan & a purpose for me. Getting angry does not let God work (this hit me hard).
I did a study on the book of Jonah & it didn’t stand out until just now about Jonah disliking the Ninevites & how he didn’t want to minister to them. He felt he had a right to minister where he wanted to minister. Becoming so angry that he wanted to have God take his life. Wow, now that is angry and an ego!!
This makes me feel embarressed of my ego. What was I thinking???
The more I have been thinking about this it is more resentment that turns into anger. If I can “nip it” in the resentment stage then it will never turn into anger. I find it is more in my work that I have been at for 20 years this year. I also find it in our construction company. They are things that have been esculating through the years. I can’t think of anything in my childhood that would stem from this. It all goes back to ” I did this for you & I should be compensated & rewarded, meaning I should have rights”….
Thanks for the comment!! This was a good lesson for me!
I am behind in the study but catching up. Christine said ” you realize that if you believe you are a victim- of your past, of a relationship, or poor health, for example- then you will live your life like a victim”.
I never thought of myself as a victim of my poor health – but now I realize that i have been living as a victim. Thanks for mentioning that. I used to live as a victim of my past then but i got help and was able to get past that.
If I God gave a crown it would say “Well done Ruth”
I also wanted to add that the lies Ive believed most is I’m not worth anything and I can’t help the way I am, both because of abuse I suffered when i was younger.
We can rise up above anything, such as poor marriages, poor health, past sins, etc. When we make these our identity instead of seeing ourselves as the Daughter of the King, we wear the victim crown. Keep your royal crown polished and care for it….the Lord loves His daughters ans sons. 🙂
4. Share your thoughts about this week’s lesson. What caught my eye this week was on page 69 was the poem. It is true in what it is saying. I enjoyed it, it is true we need to let go of our cares. In addition, on page 86, the chart is very helpful; it tells you the lies with the truth.
The lie that has the most importance for me this week is under the, “I have my rights” sub-heading. I have been a very vocal advocate for myself and others and didn’t realize that some of that “advocacy” can be destructive, and lead to a level of entitlement….
I enjoyed this week’s chapter. I’m amazed at all these lies that have hidden themselves in different areas of my life. So glad to be learning the Truth and having the Scripture there for proof…
The inside of my crown would read:
“Heiress”
Romans 8:16-18
The lie that had the most importance for me was #12 (I should not have to live with unfulfilled longings.) I have had this notion that my husband should be doing more to make me happy. It was very refreshing to see THE TRUTH that contradicts that lie. I needed to read that!