LIVE IT OUT! — Sarah Francis Martin

I just couldn’t help coming out of my writing cave to share this awesome interview I did with my good friend Renee Fisher. The topic of forgiveness is a hot one and not always fun to talk about. But, in her new book Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me, Renee encourages us to do just that through Truth from Scripture and stories from her own experiences.

Renee was so kind to let me interview her about the topic of forgiveness…check it out…

~Renee, I’m intrigued by your book title, Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me. We often see books about forgiving others but you took it to the next level with the “forgiving ourselves” element. Can you explain?

I believe that God wants to set us free through the process of forgiveness. Often times we miss applying the same forgiveness to our own lives because we might find it’s tougher. I’m not saying it’s easy to forgive others who have hurt you, but ultimately forgiving yourself takes work because you have to reconcile the choices you made with finding freedom at the foot of the cross. The main reason I wrote “Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me” is because the person I struggled to forgive the most was me, myself, and I!

~What does forgiving yourself look like now that you are in your 30s verses your 20s? How has the decade of your 20s changed your perspective on forgiving yourself?

Forgiving myself definitely looks much different in my 20s than in my 30s. I think the BIGGEST REASON for that is I’ve learned to accept my worth in Christ: that I am loved, secure, and worth sacrificing for. I appreciate the struggles I went through in my 20s because they’ve helped soften me and make me the person I am today. 

~What is one thing we can do today that will push us forward into forgiving ourselves rather than living our past mistakes over and over again?

The reason I share my story is because I couldn’t forgive, and when I couldn’t forgive it affected not only my relationships but my own personal health as well. My eczema that I had at that time ended up spreading from my face and my feet and I ended up in Children’s Hospital with no skin in both places. It was one of the hardest battles I had to go through and it took me years to forgive myself for not giving things over to God. I might not forgive as quickly as I’d like to still, but because of the battle scares that I now have (from the time when my eczema also took the skin off my hands)–I appreciate the process. The theme that runs through “Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me” is that OVERCOMING IS POSSIBLE! Even when we struggle and make the same mistakes over and over again–God is Sovereign. He forgives. He holds no condemnation over us so neither should we. Even if He chooses to say no and not heal us in that moment–walking through the process of sanctification is such an amazing and freeing and purifying process. Definitely worth going through! So, my encouragement to someone who’s struggling right now is that God sees your pain, He can take your anger, and He is waiting for you to come to Him with open arms! Embrace Him today!

Be sure to check out her book Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me. Click HERE for a bunch of fun freebies that will encourage and lift you up!

Wow is all I can say after reading the first chapter of Becoming Myself by Stasi Eldredge.  Becoming Myself is in stores now and I highly recommend it. I am excited to share a guest post from  Stasi as she and  her team were so generous to send over some amazing words for me to share with YOU.

One of my “life verses” is Proverbs 4:23: “Above all else, guard your heart, for from it flows the wellspring of life within you.”

Above all else? Really? Wow. It still surprises me.

And it begs me to stop and ask myself the question, “Am I doing that today?” Are you?

The phrase “guard your heart” doesn’t imply watching over some dangerous, wicked thing that needs constant monitoring lest it lead you down paths straight to Hell. No. It implies nurturing and caring for your heart because that is where all true life and goodness flow from. (And through!)

For me, to guard my heart means I must practice the spiritual disciplines of silence and solitude. I must heed the voice of my True Love who beckons me to come away with him. I must quiet the inner workings of my soul and the outer clamoring of my world that I may “be still and know that I am God.”

To guard my heart means that I need to lighten up on myself and live more intentionally in the expansive grace of God’s mercy and joy. It means diving into the depths of God’s current astonishing love for me and drinking it in! Splash around in it! Stay in it! Rest. Do something fun just for fun. Enjoy. Taste.

To guard my heart entails not only noticing but lingering in the unfolding wonder of the glorious summer all around me. And letting it remind me that an endless Summer of golden ripeness is coming. It’s coming.

Guarding my heart means breathing in the truth that Jesus has accomplished everything necessary for my (and your!) certain and eternal happiness—and breathing out my doubt and fear that he has not. That I am not _____. (Fill in the blank.)

Okay, I am not enough. I’m not meant to be.

Jesus is more than enough.

I can’t do it. I’m not meant to “do it.”

Jesus has done it.

Oh, rest, my soul. Rejoice, my heart. He holds you well. He holds us all quite well. And I am, and we are then, guarded.

 Thank you, Stasi for these great words! 

Be sure to check out Stasi’s blog and book Becoming Myself! It is worth the read.