WATCH: Want to hear how reading the introduction to this book impacted my life? Check out the link to the video below!
READ: The introduction to Dr. Curt Thompson’s book The Soul of Shame, p. 9-18. Before you start, ask the Lord to give you ears to hear whatever He wants to say to you through this (and it’s always a good idea to bind the enemy in Jesus’ name from interfering or trying to rob you from hearing from the Lord. You can be sure he’s NOT happy you’re about to discover a key way he tries to shut you down, hold you back and rob you!). Then be sure to underline anything that stands out to you and prayerfully take time to ponder what you’ve underlined.
CONSIDER: Genesis 1 & 2. What were people like before the Fall? Now that you know the opposite of shame is having a sense of worth, what do you think it meant when it says in Genesis 2: 25, they were naked and knew no shame? Considering a key message of shame is “i am not enough _______” or “I don’t have what it takes” what do you think their experiences, their relationship with God, their relationship with each other, their ability to work and do what they were created to do was like before they ever knew shame?
CREATE: Take time to prayerfully create a page that illustrates what the Lord’s been teaching you.
Here’s one example of what I did: Click here to see my Art Journal creation week 1
APPLICATION: Now go back to Genesis 2:25 and take some time to camp out in that verse. I like to use the format look, listen, live it out.
LOOK: Pick one key verse to focus on and write it at the top of your page
LISTEN: Ask the Lord any questions you have about the verse. And then write down any answers that come to mind! Share with Him your observations about the verse. Consider the verse from different angles. Examine individual words. What’s really being said here?
LIVE IT OUT: Ask the Lord how this verse relates to your life? What does He want to say to you specifically through it? And, most importantly, how does He want you to respond to it? Write down whatever comes to mind and come up with a plan for doing this!
CREATE AN APPLICATION PAGE: I find this helps me to further process and benefit from all we are doing here because this most of all helps me remember what the Lord wants to impress on my heart. Please note, this final page doesn’t have to be anything fancy! Even just writing down in your art journal what you intend to do in response to this week’s lesson can be huge in helping you take what you’re learning from your head to where it’s being lived out in your life! Remember the wise builder in Matthew 7! Both men heard the word. What made the wise builder wise, and resulted in a strong foundation in his life that anchored him and his house when the storms came was that he DID what he heard!
Click here to watch the Application video for week 1.
SHARE: In the introduction Dr. Thompson emphasizes the key role community plays in healing shame. I highly encourage you to find someone you can dialogue with about this course. I only wish I could actually interact with each of you face to face! So if you know someone taking this course or would like to invite a friend to do this with you, please feel free too! It will be much more impactful if you do so!
inherentlyworthy 