comparison, faith walk, freedom in Christ, grace, inner critic, Inner Critic, should, trust
Where do you turn when not enough haunts your thoughts? When inadequacy weighs you down? What is your first response?
Often, after I drag myself down with inner negative self-talk. I would hide from others, sometimes literally or figuratively. I put on the mask of “all-is-good” in my world. I didn’t want to appear weak or feel exposed.
Have you felt this, too?
My saving grace? God. He has used many individuals and resources to help me see Him as my rock, and my enough-ness. A wise friend challenged me to run my to-do list by Him before I start any tasks. Whoa! What a concept! Instead of my go-to prayer: Lord, bless this choice I am making. I was encouraged to ask Him – What would you have me do today? What do you see as priority?
I so easily get down on myself for not being enough – especially if my to-do’s and concerns aren’t in place before I even seek the Lord’s wisdom and guidance.
I’m still learning to run to the Rock first. He is greater than all my thoughts, desires, emotions, and stronger than any storms of life. I don’t have to “be enough” before I go to Him. He already is. Read that again: He already is enough even though I don’t always “feel” this truth.
My prayer for you: allow Him to show how much He loves you. Go to Him first in all things. Believe that He perfects our “not enough ” and let His “always enough” be your first response. Trust the facts of Him over the feelings of you. Speak the truth of who He is and what He can do over your negative self talk.
Use this check list:
How do I make His “always enough” my first response to my feelings of “not enough”?
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Praise Him for who He is. Repeat a verse that talks about His greatness. Acknowledging who He is helps reframe who we can be in Him.
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Pray/talk to Him. Tell Him how inadequate you feel. Sing your heart out.
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Purpose in your heart to speak truth over yourself. Pray that His truth would penetrate your feelings of “not enough” and be replaced with the truth that “He is always and forever enough” for us.
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
My 14-day devotional, Freedom from the Inner Critic, is designed to help you do exactly that. Each day brings Scripture, gentle reflection, and practical truth to counter the “not enough” voice—so you can walk in the freedom Christ offers.
[Get Your Copy Here]
christian living, faith walk, known, loved, seen, trust
Have you ever felt invisible? Forgotten. Abandoned? Like no one sees you. Or like your presence doesn’t matter? It’s a hollow feeling and a challenging set of emotions to process.
I walked into the room. A room full of tables, people, talking, and laughter, but no eye contact with me, so I made my way through the tables and conversations ready to respond. But that day it was hard – there was no eye contact. It felt like the only person who made any attempt at conversation kept looking beyond me. Maybe she was waiting for someone. I don’t think her actions were meant to make me feel less than, but that day they did. Although I walked away head held high, inside my stomach was knotted up and I felt invisible, like I didn’t belong.
Genesis 16:13 Hagar says, You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “ I have now seen the One who sees me.”
When the world leaves you feeling unseen – know that God cannot unsee what He has created.
- Hebrews 4:13 “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight…”
- Job 28:24 – “For he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.”
- Job 34:21 – “His eyes are on the ways of mortals; he sees their every step.”
- Proverbs 5:21 “For your ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all your paths.”
- Psalm 139:15-16 – “… My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body…”
- Psalm 33:18 – “But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.”
It is good to be seen by God.
We all want to be seen, known and loved. The opposite of being seen is being invisible. No one wants to feel invisible. God’s Word tells us He sees his children and I believe He does. I have had to focus on what is true rather than how I feel in a moment, it’s not easy. Why? Because feelings can change and even lie to us. My source of truth is God’s Word. I find solace in the timeless words of hope and comfort. It takes practice relying on the Holy Spirit to replace thoughts. They appear uninvited and we have to guard how long they are allowed space.
His Words of Truth:
- Psalms 119:114 it says, “You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.” He is referring to a continual effort to dwell on truth. He also says in
- Psalms 119:103: “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” The word of God is sweet; it is a refuge and a shield.
- John 17:17, Jesus said: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” There is hope when we feel invisible, forgotten and abandoned.
- Hebrews 4:12 gives this assurance, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” This helps me to discern feelings from truth.
Friend, we are not abandoned, forgotten or invisible – no matter our feelings. The God who created us sees us, knows us, and loves us always. His words offer comfort and truth to our weary souls. Hold onto truth. Write it out, then speak it over your weary thoughts. It will be sweet refreshment to your soul.
christian living, faith walk, freedom in Christ, grace, inner critic, trust
Have You Seen Yosemite Valley? It is breathtaking from any angle. From the sky, I love identifying its iconic peaks and domes. The tunnel view – that first glimpse from the road. We always stop there and take the same pictures – but they are different each time. Have you seen the view from that hairpin turn on the way up to Glacier Point? Being eye level with the top of Half Dome -feeling like I could reach out and touch it- Wowza! Remembering I stood on top of that granite dome as a 13 year old hiker. It’s a lot of awesome to absorb.
How Do We Describe the Indescribable? This is God’s majestic, creation I’m trying to portray! Think about how indescribable God is! I use statements from the Bible, because my words can never fully describe Him. And yet – this indescribable God bent down to us, to draw us to himself in relationship and love.
What Does God Want for You? This is the same God that wants to help us replace the inner critic’s lies with His truth. Truth that tells us he sees, knows and loves us. The God who creates such places for His glory and our pleasure, wants us to grow our faith by leaning in and trusting His truth. Repeating His holy Words over the thoughts that drag us down. What an awesome God He is! The God who formed the mountains is forming you into His likeness as you lean in and trust Him.
Have You Ever Considered Yourself a Masterpiece? He is the Creator and we are His created. I can no longer look at nature’s splendor without being reminded that you and I are created in God’s image, the Imago Dei. Hold that truth close when your inner critic is whispering lies of guilt and shame. You are His masterpiece!
You are not alone in the struggle to live free and silence the inner critic. Join a community of women who are learning to rewrite their inner dialogue. Get my twice-monthly Yellow Boots Insight newsletter with tools, stories and reminders you are His masterpiece. (Click on “Yellow Boots Insight” page for the link.)
christian living, control, faith walk, freedom in Christ, God first, God's Word, inner critic, restoration, should, trust
Freedom? I don’t know about you, but I often feel like I still have chains binding me to choices, relationships, behaviors, and situations. The truth is, I may still live with the consequences of those choices and situations, but I live with them as a free person. A person set free by the only One who can free anyone – Jesus Christ. That fact is a game changer.
I recently heard a pastor say this, “In Christ, God doesn’t just forgive sin; He removes its pollution.”
The pollution image stuck with me. I see pollution as having a cumulative impact. It’s not just today’s choice that changed the air quality, it’s choices made over time that make the air thick and hard to breathe. The cumulative impact of my previous choices have the potential to rob my mind of peace, but In Christ I’ve been washed, made clean, and I am no longer condemned.
I’m learning I have a tendency to dwell on the past in unhealthy ways. In a sense, I’ve created mental pollution and invited it to hang around, even though I am no longer condemned. Ugh.
Don’t misunderstand – there are plenty of past circumstances I still live with the consequences of, but how I approach them now is as one who has been set free. Christ removed the guilt, shame and condemnation on the cross. He bought my freedom, including its stain. He gave me His righteousness in return. Whew. Yes! And Amen!
He also gives me His strength to face the lingering impacts of past choices.
This is great news!
Do I live like I believe this everyday?
Not always, but by God’s grace, I’m growing in my understanding of what it looks like to live in His freedom.
Maybe your “pollution” is a wrong done to you – Christ’s freedom covers that! It doesn’t mean the all hurt and pain will disappear. But God. He loves you and gives grace to help you move forward in His freedom and grace, one small step at a time. There is no time limit. He never leaves. He is with you.
Friend, this is my encouragement for you – we get to live free, because Christ has set us free. I’m learning I can address the past through the hope of my future. I can own my stuff – the pollution I’ve created for others, as well as the pollution dumped on me – and then by God’s grace walk forward in Christ’s Freedom.
Repeat this to yourself:
He sees me – right where I am.
He knows every detail of my situation.
He loves me and He will not leave my side.
“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Cor. 3:17
Bible verses for more insight: Psalm 139:1-3, Proverbs 15:3, John 10:27, John 3:16, Romans 5:8, Ephesians 2:4, Romans 8:38, Psalm 103:11, Psalm 31:7
You are not alone in the struggle to live free and silence the inner critic. Join a community of women who are learning to rewrite their inner dialogue. Get my twice-monthly Yellow Boots Insight newsletter with tools, stories and reminders you are enough. (Click on “Yellow Boots Insight” for the link.)
christian living, faith walk, God first, God's Word, grace, humility, Prayer, trust
My roses are one of the happiest things about spring. They’re not the first to bloom, but as their buds begin to form and open, I can’t wait to cut them and put them in vases around the house. At the same time, I want to leave them to enjoy, when I’m outside. Honestly, I really just want them to last forever, but withering does happen.
Friend, you’ve lived long enough to know life, like my favorite flower, is constantly changing. Isn’t it? Try as we might we can’t always have blooming roses. I wonder
- What might you be holding onto that will not last?
- Is there a burden of change weighing you down?
God Word tells us nothing of this world with last forever:
“All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” 1 Peter 1:24 ESV
But His Word does! The contrast of something withered and something remaining forever is powerful. We each have an expiration date stamped on us in invisible ink. We don’t know the day of our departure, but it is a sure thing in this earthly life, just as a rose surely withers.
The Lord who is forever is the striking difference. He is eternal. He created all things and He designed them with a beginning and an end. He set all in motion and He will one day tell it to stop, replacing it with an eternity of no fading or withering. Perfect blooms, always and forever. He invites us to share this eternity through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Wherever you are in the blooming or fading phase, have you trusted these words of hope?
“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” 1 John 5:11 ESV
Jesus Christ is the Son. He is life. He takes what has faded and withered (that would be us) and restores it – once for all, by His word. It’s not just our future hope. This truth begins now as you and I walk with Christ today, tomorrow and forever. It is a great comfort to know that although everything withers in this life, we have the hope of eternity with Christ. In full bloom, forever.
If this message stirred something hopeful in you, I invite you to join my twice-monthly newsletter, Yellow Boots Insight, where we explore truth, grace, and the kind of faith that holds steady in every season. 📩 [Sign Up Here] to grow in your walk with Jesus—and to remind your heart what truly lives forever.
christian living, faith walk, God first, grace, spirituality, trust
I love that spring comes after winter. It’s a gift that the season of new life, fresh growth and possibility, follows the season with short days and long cold nights.
The older I become, the more the shortening days in fall make me sad. I’m never ready for the seasons to change, and yet they do, with great regularity. You’d think by now I’d be used to it, but my mind fights this change each year.
I count down until December 21, and then rejoice that the shortest of the days have come and gone. It’s all more light and sunshine from here, I tell myself.
Anyone else? This challenge with the short days has me longing for spring all the more. A restlessness wells up in me and I can’t wait to see the new growth in my yard and in my life.
I think of the words in Ecclesiastes 3:1-2:
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted “
As much as I love spring, the Word reminds me that every season has purpose – even the ones I don’t like best.
There is a time for every matter under heaven. That phrase is mind blowing. I tend to think in terms of me, my family , my season and yet God who created us all, is able to think of all our seasons at once. So much so that He has given a time for every matter, for every purpose, under heaven. All things at once. Remarkable.
Your season and mine may be different, but God has ordained them both. Even both of our “not favorite” seasons have purpose.
What season are you in now my friend?
- Are you living through a heat wave of trials?
- Does it feel like you are in a very long winter of sadness and loss?
- Are you wondering if there are more storms ahead and how you’ll endure if there are?
- Perhaps an autumn of winding down to enjoy the changing colors, has you in a time of respite and stillness.
Whatever season and whatever reason, can I encourage you to lean into the strong arms of your Savior, your Abba daddy?
- He will hold you close, catching your tears.
- He will rejoice and sing over you.
- He will never leave you or forsake you.
- He will sit with you by still waters of rest.
- He comforts us and celebrates with us.
- He is God for all seasons.
I’m thankful to worship and be loved by the God of the Universe, who is everywhere present, always faithful and endlessly loving.
Whatever season you find yourself – you are not in it alone. El Roi, the God who sees, and created seasons, is right next to you. He is with you always.
As we countdown to Easter, the season we recognize Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, let’s celebrate the new life that only He can give. His dying and rising again, bought our pardon, and set us free. They remind us that this life is not all there is. We have an eternal season awaiting us in our heavenly home. Hallelujah! What a Savior!
