If you came over from Incourage, I’m so glad you are here. We are in week #3 of a study called The Mom I Want to Be: Rising Above your Past to Give Your Kids a Great Future. Today’s post on “Do It Afraid” goes hand in hand with what we are learning together. I am so glad you are here with us today!  ~ Suzie

 

wish

How do you change your perspective?

You grow a new groove.

My friend, the one I talked about in the last post, she’s growing a new groove. When she does something different — different from the old patterns, different from the old thinking, different from the way it’s always been — we celebrate that because it’s a big deal!

When you fall into a trap of negativity, it’s hard to climb out.

We think, act, respond in familiar ways. That creates a sort of a groove in our brain. Everything filters through and down that “groove.”

Let’s say that your teenager talks back.

If you do what your mama did, then you might react in anger. You might hit or say words that are hurtful. You might use labels that mark your child’s heart.

That’s familiar. 

It’s not good. It’s not what you want to do. But you fall into that old groove.

Or you try to do differently and when it’s really, really hard (and it will be at first), you beat yourself up because others make it look easy.  That guilt and condemnation is familiar. It’s your go-to, the old pattern.

That’s familiar.

 

renew

Romans 12:2 is a promise for you.

Those patterns aren’t forever patterns. We can be transformed.

 trans·form verb

  1. make a thorough or dramatic change in the form, appearance, or character of.

We are not stuck in the familiar. We don’t have to do what anybody else did. Or what anybody else does.

We don’t have to accept guilt or condemnation when we’re trying hard.

Just yesterday my friend shared one new “groove,” something new that she tried. It didn’t work out like she thought, so she was a little down.

Instead, we stopped for a moment and celebrated that she courageously took a step out of the familiar. She didn’t accept the old pattern. It was a huge step of faith, and it was worth throwing our hands in the air and thanking God.

Growing a new groove isn’t an overnight process.

Transforming your thinking is a promise, however. That means you aren’t in this alone.

trust

Where is God leading you? Is it out of the familiar into transformation?

Are you ready to grow a new groove?

Suzie

 

Today’s Study

momiwanttobe1Read Romans 12:2 

The NLT version reads like this: Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Name one area where you want to grow a new groove. 

Make that a prayer and write it in your journal. 

For the next 21 days, celebrate each step forward, even if it doesn’t work out the way you think it should.

Q: Is it possible to think in a new way? How might this impact you as a woman, and as a mom?

Q: Note that the latter part of this verse says, “you will learn to know God’s will for you.”

When I read this, three words come to mind for my own life: free; joy-filled; strong. What three words might describe God’s best for you?