1. PAY ATTENTION & PONDER:

Now that shame has entered the picture want to guess where the remedy comes from?

I so love the picture we’re given in Genesis 3 of the Lord…  When does He make His first appearance in this chapter?  And when we first see Him what is He doing?  And what are His first words in this chapter?

When God arrives He brings with Him hope!

You see we were created by Him inherently worthy.  As the Master artist who created us we have value because of who we are created by Him (if you want to explore this more I’ve added a new section called “inherently worthy” where you get to camp out in Genesis 1.  I’ve been doing that this past week – and wow!  Has it ever been impacting my life!)

Adam and Eve never once had to wonder if they were enough, if they were worthy of being loved, if they were accepted-by God or by each other.  But then the enemy comes on the scene and just like most advertisers today – to sell his product, he creates a need.  Do you realize shame that sense of I’m not enough entered the picture the moment he told Eve – “There is more” more wisdom, God’s holding out on you, it’s not enough to be who He’s created you to be, you need to be something else – like God. And you can, if you’ll just eat this fruit.  He convinced her she needed something else and as soon as she fell for it, she realized how naked, exposed, vulnerable she’d become.

Remember how Adam was formed – lifeless until God breathed into him?  From that moment on it was clear he needed something outside himself to live.  He was never intended to be enough on His own.  He was created even before the Fall to need God and to need others!

But Satan loves to get us looking in the mirror evaluating ourselves on the basis of ourselves alone and focusing on our inadequacies.  As I’ve been pondering this, this week, I’ve written on my mirror, “Created to be Enough with God and others!  Don’t evaluate yourself by yourself alone!”

I find I need that reminder often!

And I’m finding to really embrace my true worth – I’m not going to find it in myself, but by  looking where it’s come from – from the One who so wonderfully hand fashioned me!  So I decided to take a week and camp out in Genesis 1 taking time each day to consider one thing God’s revealed about who He is – how big, how powerful, how wise, and how attentive to detail…!!!  Every single day He has met me in such a powerful way!  This is doing so much more than any positive self talk.

And in our chapter this week Dr. Curt Thompson reveals why… What we pay attention to matters!  Immensely!

So this week is a bit different.  I’m going to encourage you to go to the Inherently worthy section and camp out there just like I did this past week, spending time in Genesis 1.

2.  READ:

If you’d rather start with reading this week’s chapter so you begin to understand why paying attention to who God is, is so vitally important, go ahead and read chapter 2 in the book The Soul of Shame first.

But before you do, you might want to watch the following video where I demonstrate how I used art journaling to get even more out of this critical, foundational chapter!!!

3.  Create your APPLICATION page!

Once again we come to the most important part of this course!  This truly is where the rubber meets the road!  How does the Lord want you to cooperate with what He’s doing in your life?  How does He want you responding to what He’s revealed?

I don’t know about you but whenever I feel shame it leaves me feeling totally dismantled – like I’m falling apart.  Talk about having a shaky foundation!  But just like the wise builder in Matthew 7:24-27, as I’m not just hearing what the Lord is saying during this course, but as I’m doing what He’s laying on my heart to do, I find a solid foundation is beginning to be built so when the storm of shame is now hitting, I’m not falling apart like I use to!!!  This is so exciting!    And it truly is a result of me not just learning this truth in my head but seeking to live it out day to day!

Creating an application page I find helps me be intentional in taking a first step towards doing what I’m learning.  It’s often not the only step – but it sure is providing a great jump start!

In the video below I share my application page and first intended action “step” for this week…

Now, that wasn’t all I did!  As I was giving thanks that first night the Lord reminded me of another action step He’d laid on my heart… to write on my mirror a reminder…

And I must say, creating the second application page in my journal was a huge help and reminder to actually do what the Lord laid on my heart to do!

You don’t need to do more than one application page!  But I highly recommend taking time to do at least one!  And don’t just come up with your own ideas!  Remember this is all about responding to Jesus!  He is the one growing you and transforming you!  Listen to Him!  His ideas really are life changing!