On the other hand, when I change to a growth mind-set, I don't chain my identity to my insecurity.

We can't go ahead with God to new and exciting places if we're spending too much time looking back. We must leave our past behind, draw a line in the sand, and determine to proceed forward with God.

It's not the "how to" I'm missing. It's the "want to" . . . really wanting to make changes and deciding that the results of those changes are worth the sacrifice.

We must let our identity, not our insecurity, be the first thing that walks into every situation we face—every decision we make.

Isaiah 43:18—19 reminds us, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

I've felt the heavy weight of regret and I don't want to return there.

not making a decision is actually a decision. It's the decision to stay the same. And staying the same when I know I need to change is a choice that carries consequences with it.

What happened yesterday can't be changed, but it can be forgiven. That's your miracle in the mess. The voices of condemnation, shame, and rejection can come at you, but they don't have to reside in you. That's your miracle in the mess.

I picture myself standing between two boxes. From one the stench is unbearably brutal, bellowing out dark wisps of death. And the other box is full of white lilies. Their angelic blooms are fully stretched and sending out perfume, sweet and pure. A box of bitterness. A box of grace.

I want it to be evident that I'm a girl who spends time with Jesus and that He's working on me.

Rewriting the go-to scripts is one of the most crucial steps toward permanent progress.

I was made to be set free, holy, new, loved, and confident.