Just like when I first read Ed Welch’s When People are Big and God is Small, I was tempted to power through the manuscript for his forthcoming book, Shame Interrupted: How God Lifts the Pain of Worthlessness and Rejection, as a sort of quick intellectual exercise. Three line endorsement written? Check! Evaluated for potential inclusion on my event resource table? Check! Ready to recommend it to others because it will be SO helpful to THEM? Check check! But then (just like years ago re: “When People are Big and God is Small”), I was sorely convicted that I needed to slow down and read it carefully for me. Myself. The…

I’ve received such a gift! New Growth Press/CCEF just emailed me the manuscript for Ed Welch’s newest book, Shame Interrupted: How God Lifts the Pain of Worthlessness and Rejection. I can’t wait to dig into it this weekend. Then, I may have the privilege of being included on its list of endorsers. But even if they don’t use my endorsement, what a joy it is to have this advanced sneak-peak! Fred and I have literally been praying for Dr. Welch specifically about this book for years now. I’m so excited that it is done and will be available soon. (You can pre-order now, but it won’t be available until April…

Throughout this last week, I’ve had a number of really awful things I’ve done in the past just JUMP on me. I’ve physically cringed (and sometimes cried out a silent, “I can’t believe I did that!”) when I’ve thought of what I’ve done. So I thought it was a good time to review Ed Welch’s article and try to lay hold of these truths that I really do claim to believe: Feeling Guilty? Who Doesn’t?    

Oh, what a joy it was to me to serve these dear, beloved women this weekend in Utah! A true privilege and I did my best to serve well—but of course I lost my train of thought more than once. (Is that an over-40 thing? A tired momma thing? Or have I always done that / is it just a Tara thing? Hmmmm ….) One of the teaching points I wish I had stuck closer to my speaker notes on and taught better was how important it is to understand the differences between justification and sanctification. So just to refresh myself, and also to serve any of my new friends…

Hmmmmmmmm … I’m not sure I can honorably post this since I’m simultaneously writing a paper check to our dance instructor, while entering it in Quicken, filling an order, juggling some challenging issues related to our co-op day tomorrow (since I still have a fever—ergh), checking my seats on all 20+ of my upcoming flights, and listening to a discussion on writing well … all while feeling guilty for not doing more for Fred and the girls. Zowie. I’m convicted. This article is a good reminder and it has some great practical ideas too: Productivity and Quality Downtime Go Hand in Hand   Hope you are resting from your labors…

God is giving me a great gift these days—the gift of time with family and friends, serving, learning, growing together. In the last three days alone, I’ve had the amazing privilege of laughing, crying, SPEAKING BIBLICAL TRUTH, and praying with three other women who also can be tempted to believe shame-based LIES about themselves (just like me). Each conversation has been different, but there have been similar themes: 1. Not being perfect. (At homemaking, spiritual disciplines, parenting, finances, physical disciplines, etc.) 2. Crushing despair. (“I’m such a failure!!”) 3. Instinctual resolve to DO BETTER. BE BETTER. FIX IT. (I just have to read one more book on child-rearing. I just…

CCEF’s Latest Enewsletter contained a link to a fantastic article by David Powlison on personal liturgies. Dr. Powlison writes: “When I counsel with people who struggle with deep feelings of shame, guilt, and regret, I sometimes suggest that they design a personalized liturgy. In what follows, I walk through the example of a woman who has had an abortion, and all that led up to that choice, and all that follows in someone whose conscience is alive. But you can tailor it to whatever struggle you or another person needs to deal with. Where is your struggle? God welcomes all who are weary with sin.”   A Personal Liturgy of…

FindingGrace has a sweet gospel-soaked post that I  encourage you to read: Making Mistakes  

I really enjoyed this post over at Christ is Deeper Still: When Opposed and Reviled It’s only one paragraph–but it’s definitely worth the read.  

I can’t remember if we included it or not–but I sure hope that we have Isaiah 62 in our chapter on “shame” (in Peacemaking Women). I was re-reading it again this weekend, praying it for myself, for our church, for The Church, for a friend–and I was struck by just how much this passage of scripture emphasizes the aspects of the gospel that speak directly to our temptation to ungodly shame: – A new name that the Lord bestows. – A crown of beauty, glorious. – No longer Forsaken and Desolate because now? The Lord’s Delight is in Her. – Sought Out. A City No Longer Forsaken. I don’t know…