I’m excited to grow spiritually this summer, especially in the areas of “keeping a quiet heart” and in deeper freedom from any areas of comparison or insecurity. I realize that, now matter how hard we try to escape it, we breathe in the air of shame like it’s oxygen. We cannot escape it. Social media, our workplaces, and our family cultures can quickly become shame factories. There’s always a code of what success or happiness means, and if you’re not aligned, you’re not worthwhile.
There’s always more to learn about freedom from shame, even if you’re not sure what to call that feeling you have that you’re somehow not presentable in some area of your life. I think God is moving me more and more in the direction of helping set women free from shame. It will just about kill you.
I love continuing my research on shame from my graduate school days. With these above goals in mind, I’m reading The Quiet Way: A Christian Path to Inner Peace by Gerhard Tersteegen (the German religious writer from the 1700’s) and Shame Interrupted: How God Lifts the Pain of Worthlessness and Rejection by Edward T. Welch.
I’ll keep you posted on all I learn!