“Although it is tempting to hope that we can eliminate shame from our relational diet, it is futile to wish for this. Our hope is, rather, changing our response to it as we journey together toward God’s kingdom. . . . As such . . . we starve [shame] over time, not by avoiding it […]
“Pick what you like, then see how it grows. If that little plant dies in a week, well, then you’ve learned something. But another outcome is also possible. What if it blooms?”- Emily P. Freeman (emphasis author’s) In Chapter 20 (“Pick What You Like”) of The Next Right Thing, Emily P. Freeman observes that it’s […]
“When you tackle your character, though, things get uncomfortable. The blaming stops. The excuses get pushed to the side. And honest — painful honesty — is required. You finally have to deal with you. Which explains why it’s so much easier to keep focusing on your complaining and keep compromising your character.”- Carey Nieuwhof Carey […]
“I only find true freedom when I bring every part of my heart into the light, letting unconditional love pour water onto the destructive fires of shame and fear.”- Christa Black Gifford As Christa Black Gifford concludes Chapter 7 of Heart Made Whole, she notes the scary nature of intimacy. Especially to a human heart […]
“Shame can be silenced. Even as we wait in unwanted realities and sickness and broken relationships, unwhole and unwell, we can still silence shame.”- Ann Swindell “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured […]
“I think that many of us are so used to letting shame live as a parasite in our place of struggle that it’s hard to imagine our lives without it.”- Ann Swindell “The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law […]
“Rejection builds fences. Acceptance digs wells.”- John Ortberg “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! . . . And what we will be has not yet been made known.”- 1 John 3:1-2 John Ortberg concludes Chapter 11 of […]
Brokenness is the antidote to shame.”- Dan Allender and Tremper Longman, The Cry of the Soul (1994) “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”- Psalm 34:18 (ESV) As Sara Hagerty continues Chapter 5 of Unseen, she admits she doesn’t relish thinking of herself as vulnerable. Therefore, she explains: “Really, […]
“Every day when you encounter God . . . you face the choice of simply looking at Jesus or actually trying to see him (emphasis author’s).”- Jared C. Wilson As Jared Wilson continues Chapter 3 of The Imperfect Disciple, he advises not to “believe the portraits of Jesus you got in your sweet little Sunday […]
“Every one of us knows the shame of guilty self-awareness and the fear of exposure. But we don’t want to life in the isolation of that darkness. We long for freeing relationships with others, especially God.”- Ray Ortlund “I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise.”- […]
“Too many times we are in the dark cave of shame, crowded out by the stalagmites formed from a thousand years of sin, and we’re holding the gospel up to every narrow beam of light.”- Jared C. Wilson In Chapter 2 (“Good News for Losers”) of The Imperfect Disciple, Jared Wilson talks about the advantage […]
“When you feel surrounded by accusers with rocks in hand, you can be certain that God is not one of tem. Our good, compassionate God lavishes mercy instead of anger on all who ask.”- Bo Stern, The God Who Fights for You “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”- Romans 12:12 Susie […]