Ever wonder why perfection eludes you or why you continue repeating the same unwanted behavior again & again? Do your friends ever tire of giving you the same advice, only to discover you did not put it into practice? Maybe it’s time to look in the same mirror your friends see you through? Join Dawn today as she elaborates on what might be keeping you from moving forward in your life.
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“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” ~Albert Einstein
Show Notes:
1. There are at least two frames of thought from which you can view perfection.
- No one experiences perfection right here on earth. Only Christ is perfect; and you will be perfect when you get to heaven.
- You are called to continue to grow and change during your walk with Christ. This is not possible if you are already perfect.
Prov 26:12; Rom 3:23; Mark 10:18; Phil 2:2-8; James 3:2; James 1:4
2. Consider how to practice for progress by looking at your personal story in it’s present, past and future.
3. Present~ this is where you have the opportunity to look at your current situation.
Consider what your body is saying and what your brain is thinking. As much as possible, name as much as you are aware of during the chaos.
Lam 3:40; Ps 4:4; Rom 12:3; Gal 5:16-17
4. Past~ this is where you have the opportunity to look to your past for similarities and familiar patterns that mimic your current experience of pain/disruption/chaos.
This information may help to inform your current reality. As well, you may recall behaviors from your childhood which were actually good, protective, and helpful to you, when you were a child. We have a tendency to return to the familiar, simply because it feels safe. Most of the time, this is not a healthy option for living and relating.
Neural pathways are developed during your childhood are reinforced with a lifetime of experiences. Making changes to these pathways will take hard work~ a battle of sorts, to become more of who God created you to be. After doing the work of naming feelings and thoughts in the present and seeing how childhood patterns and behaviors are repeated, you will then need to practice rewiring your neural pathways in order to move forward.
In order to help shape a new direction for your life, these learned behaviors will need to be transformed and matured.
What acquired and protective tools and behaviors from childhood do you need to tweak now as an adult?
Rom 12:3; 1 Cor 13:11
5. Future~ this is where you have the opportunity to choose who and how you want to be now in your life (as much as is possible in your own strength).
Are you grounded? Do you desire to be present and offer all of yourself to your community, even if it is chaotic? Do you want to be a solid, wise woman moving, living, and breathing from a grounded place?
Changing your behaviors of familiarity will help you create your future.
This is NOT for Sissies! It takes practice…practice…practice…
It is during this aspect of your practice for progress that lies will most likely enter the scene of your life ~ (example: ‘this grounding thing is too big and out of reach for me to attain’). These lies may influence you to run or escape a situation. God desires health for you and wants you to be complete and full in who He created you to be. Certainly, He is there by your side, every step of the way. You can release these lies with practice and prayer, asking God to remind you of the truth.
While practicing new behaviors to shape the woman you desire to be, there will be times of frustration and failure.
In your weakness, God’s strength is revealed.
2 Cor 12:9; I Cor 13:10-12; Ps 18:30; 1 John 1:8-10; Phil 1:6; Phil 3:12-14; 1 John 4:1-3; John 10:10; Gal 4:19; 2 Cor 13:3-5; Is 43:2
In Conclusion~
Step back for a moment and practice being the woman He is calling you to be. This is not about practicing for perfection, but rather practicing to become who it is God has created you to be. Ask yourself, would you rather spend your energy maintaining your current situation or in active participation of becoming fully you.
God is walking with you, beside you. He is walking with you as you work out your salvation to become more Christlike. Be encouraged in your strengths and your unique and creative abilities. Be courageous to name the broken places in your life and be okay with them as you move into the glory God has for you.
James 1:4; Is 43:2; Phil 1:6; 2 Cor 3:18