“And all of us,
as with unveiled
face, because we
continued to
behold in the
Word of God as
in a mirror the
glory of the
Lord, are
constantly being
transfigured
into His very
own image in
ever increasing
splendor and
from one degree
of glory to
another for this
comes from the
Lord Who is the
Spirit. II
Corinthians 3:18
“And let this
mind be in you,
which was also
in Christ
Jesus.”
Philippians 2:6
“Being confident
of this very
thing, that He
who has begun a
good work in you
will complete it
until the day of
Jesus Christ”
Philippians 1:6
If you ever
think you are
not moving
spiritually,
look back in
your journal if
you have one,
read a book that
described you,
ask a trusted
friend or pray
and ask God to
reveal it to
you. I know you
will be
encouraged when
you realize how
different you
are. God usually
takes us through
life’s lessons
slowly and we
are continually
being
transformed into
His likeness.
July 24, 2001
Isn’t it funny
how God works?
He works from
the inside out,
sometimes it is
so slow and
natural we don’t
even see the
change. Other
times, He works
so fast; it’s a
miracle, a
deliverance.
I’ve experienced
both of these
ways of God in
my life. About
6-8 months after
I got saved, I
one day noticed
I didn’t swear
anymore. I don’t
know when it
happened or how
it happened, it
just did. When I
got off of drugs
and drinking it
was a genuine
deliverance in
my life. It
seemed to happen
quickly, but as
I think about
it, maybe it was
a slow process,
one I didn’t
even know was
going on inside
of me until it
manifested on
the outside.
I read a book “Tired of Trying to Measure Up” by Jeff VanVonderen a few months after I quit smoking pot. Now I’m reading it again. When I first read the book I thought the author knew me and was writing the book about me. Almost every single word was exactly me! It was the best book; it really helped me to realize what, how and why I have the personality traits and behaviors that I do.
The
book is about
Christians who
live under a
deeply ingrained
code of written
and unwritten
expectations and
rules that shame
them and drain
them. It is for
the
perfectionist,
people with low
self worth, ones
that were abused
or shamed and
the people who
were addicted to
any form of
substance that
allowed them to
escape. Mostly
it is about
shame and how it
affects us in
our opinion
about our
relationships
our behaviors
and ourselves.
It speaks about
who we are in
God’s eyes, what
He created us to
be, the freedom
God’s grace
brings and how
to recognize
what our coping
skills are and
how they do or
don’t serve us
in our
relationships.
The first time I read this book, a friend borrowed it to me. I remembered the book being so true for me that I wanted my own copy. My church had a sale in the bookstore a few weeks ago and I bought it. I started reading it for the second time. I am only on the 3rd chapter and I can already see how far I’ve come. The opinions, behaviors and characteristics the book speaks of were 98% me the first time. Now, they are still in me, but healed to the point that they rarely show up anymore. My thoughts are different, my actions are different, and it’s a miracle!