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An important part of the Find Your Crown journey is learning to believe in yourself and your capabilities.
You need to believe you are capable of love so you can give and receive love. You need to believe you are capable of conquering challenges that come your way. You need to believe you are capable of accomplishing your dreams. You need to believe you are capable of overcoming insecurity and living a successful life. You ARE capable, and even if you do not believe it now, you will , and I will help guide you so you can get to that point. We are going to address the core insecurities you may be experiencing and cover ways to get to the other side of that insecurity so you can truly live the best life possible. I want to note how IMPORTANT your beliefs are. If you do not believe good things are possible for you, it WILL be hard to find those things. This isn’t about waving a magic wand and suddenly believing in love even though yesterday you didn’t. Instead, this is about unlearning lies that either were said to you or that you told yourself and replacing those lies with the truth. First things first, you’ve got to want healing- and not in a passive, “someday my prince will come’” type of way, but in a “I’m going to make this happen” type of way. So how do you go from the mentality of I hope this will happen for me to I’m going to find out how this CAN happen? First, you have to be willing to step outside of your comfort zone and be willing to knock on different doors. You’ve got to be willing to try. You may not have all the answers yet but you are willing to find out. Secondly, you’ve got to acknowledge what is going on inside you. If you know that you are doubting yourself in some area, acknowledge it. If you know that you are not believing in your future , acknowledge it. It is the willingness to acknowledge your true state of mind and your true beliefs that will be able to take you where you need to go and find the healing you need. What does this look like? If you find yourself selling yourself short, or not going for opportunities that you want to go for because you don’t feel good enough, it is time to make a change. It takes courage to go for new opportunities especially when you don’t feel the greatest about yourself or when you’ve been told over and over how you won’t amount to anything. It is time to replace that negative internal dialogue with a possibility mindset. Believe in the possibility of your dreams, believe in the possibility of love, believe in the possibility for something better. You don’t have to feel 100% confident right at this minute but begin to open your mind and heart a little each day to the things you’re dreaming of. Take a step each day towards your healing, trust God with the journey, and let Him heal your heart from the things that have hurt you.
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 Welcome to the NEW Find Your Crown stories feature:
Stories and testimonies of God's restoration of hope, identity, and purpose in the lives of believers. This is Kelly's Story: "God has continued to prove his love and faithfulness over and over again in my life. In the midst of pain and brokenness, He is present and he works all things for my good and his glory. Nothing has been wasted with God. From 12 years old to 24 years old I significantly struggled with depression, anxiety, low levels of confidence, and suicidal thoughts. And you know what? God never once left my side. These past few years he has continued to grow me and transform how I view myself. Seeing yourself through God’s eyes will change your life. Finding your crown changes your life. The most important step in the journey is spending time with God. Talk to him, be honest with him, ask him questions, and really get to know HIS character. When you know who HE IS, you will begin to trust him more. He is faithful, just, holy, forgiving, loving, slow to anger, patient, merciful, all knowing, all powerful, and so much more. He is truly an amazing God. In my own journey, I also had to look at the word of God to see what it already says about me. I am loved. I am redeemed. I am forgiven. I am an heir with Christ. I was created with purpose. And I have to remind myself of these things daily. Its similar to the concept of daily affirmations, but you base them off what the Bible already says about who you are. Say them, sing them, write them out, whatever it takes to change your thoughts and beliefs about yourself. Once you know God’s character and who he says you are, then you can learn more about your purpose and calling. Get to understand your personality, your passions, your gifts and talents, your likes and dislikes, etc. And ask God how they all connect to his plan and purpose for your life. You can walk boldly in what he created you for and called you to. Finding your crown means finding your identity in Christ. It means knowing that you are dearly loved and created with purpose. It is also a process. I am finding my crown and I hope you are too." - Kelly Alonzo Blogger & Founder of ”Breaking Silence” I went through a season of darkness where I felt forgotten by God. I was hurt, I was sad, I was furious. I was dealing with so many emotions and trying to process what I had gone through. There were thoughts in the back of my mind that I kept tucking away instead of facing them head on. I was in my most vulnerable state of mind and I was vulnerable to the lies of the enemy. The enemy loves to use our pain to taunt us and to get us to doubt the integrity of the character of God. The depth of our roots will either help us or hurt us based on what those roots are and what they are grounded in. I started believing what the enemy had to say about me. that God had forgotten me that love was not real for me that something was wrong with me. Have you ever felt like this before? The enemy loves to use the pain of heartbreak to throw us off the path God has for us. See, you may not know your future yet but the enemy does. He knows that because you are in Christ, you have something wonderful waiting for you and he doesn't want you knowing that! So he will throw in seeds of unbelief, seeds of fear, seeds of rejection, seeds of insecurity and he'll try to get us to plant those seeds so that they will grow and become our identity and what we truly believe. What we do with our pain matters. What we do with our shame matters, What we focus on matters. The seeds we sow matter. Who we listen to matters. If the enemy's voice is the loudest voice you hear- it's time to drown Him out through the Word of God and being in the presence of God! Let God's Word be the loudest in your life- not your pain. God has not forgotten about you- He has so much more ahead for you . I don't know what it is you're healing from but if you're currently in a season of processing and healing from something significant in your life you might be struggling with comparing seasons. You might be looking at the people around you and seeing the season they're in and wondering why yours doesn't look the same way. You might be wondering why something happened for them that did not happen for you. You might be wondering why what you were counting on to work out for you did not but yet it did for someone else. I want to encourage you that what you're feeling is very valid. It is incredibly painful to experience a disappointment or heartbreak or loss and struggle to see where God is in the midst of it. It gets tiring to keep celebrating others when it seems like you've been waiting on your time to come for what feels like forever. I have been in your shoes. I have been in that very place and I let it consume me at times. But what I learned is that God can handle our pain and our questions and our struggles with comparison. The only way to heal is to be honest with what we are experiencing. God wants to show you hope in the middle of what you're going through. God wants you to know that you are not in alone in this fight. God has a new day coming for you. There is light at the end of the tunnel. The tears you have sown He sees and He has joy for you to reap. Receive His love and peace for you as you keep your eyes on Him. 1 Corinthians 1:9 "But as it is written, what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived- God has prepared these things for those who love Him." Love, Emily Did this article encourage you? Please leave a comment, like, or share this article with someone who may need this word for today. God bless you! #findyourcrown Once upon a time... I used to be a woman who defined herself by her issues.
I saw myself through a lens of everything that still needed to be fixed... and because of that, I became a to-do project instead of a person with a heart, soul, and mind, loved fiercely by the King of Kings. I saw myself not as a person loved by God but I saw all the mess. I spent years trying to break through to others so that they could see the healing available in Christ and the love available to them in Him but I was in a place at one point where I could not receive it for myself. It was a extremely uncomfortable and painful way of living. My Christianity became about how can I not mess up? How can I behave so God won’t leave me? The messages I learned from childhood wounds and other events that happened in my life told me that if I did not behave perfectly or if I needed anything than someone would leave. If I had the nerve to ask for more or if I had the nerve to be vulnerable than I would be rejected. ( or at least, that's what I would tell myself) So I built up walls brick by brick in order to protect myself and in order to be “a good Christian.” I didn’t realize my wounds were impacting my faith instead of my faith allowing God to heal my wounded heart. Eventually, I became afraid of vulnerability. My mindset was so focused on what was wrong with me, I couldn't see anything that was right. I held myself back from friendships and self sabotaged in relationships because I didn't know how to believe that I was loved . I let God touch the areas that felt “safe” but I still held a little bit back because I became comfortable in my dysfunction . I identified with my issues and even though I thought that would help my growth it actually hurt it. Self awareness is a gift but condemnation is not! When your issues start becoming your identity, you start losing sight of the person God made you to be. I have been a Christian for a long time now and even though I knew the verses about God’s love and grace - I still had yet to believe it for myself. Until scripture BECOMES REALITY for you personally it DOES NOT CHANGE ANYTHING in your life. Until God’s love for you becomes reality, it’s just a nice sentiment. But when you accept God’s love for you as reality and scripture as reality it changes EVERYTHING. We've got to know the Word of God to know God better and what He truly says about us. He wants to touch your whole heart completely and heal you from every lie and every message you received growing up that was sent from the pit of hell to try to destroy you. Maybe you grew up believing you need to be perfect to loved. Maybe you grew up feeling endlessly lonely. Maybe you never got the love you needed. Maybe you did but maybe you never knew how to receive it. Maybe you are living with your wounds ruling you instead of you finding the freedom and wholeness available to you in Christ . Well, now is the time to go deeper into discovering your identity in Christ ! God is not going to leave me . I knew that on the surface. I knew on the surface I was saved by grace but I had to confront the parts of me that didn’t truly know that or believe it. What are those areas for you? What areas are hindering you from receiving God's love for you fully? The journey of finding your crown requires honesty with yourself and being willing to go to the deep places of your heart where you're hurting and where you need help. You are not defined by your issues or the areas you are growing in. If you are struggling with seeing yourself beyond those things I would encourage you to study Scripture in this area. Ask God to show you what He loves about and the strengths and gifts He has given you! Assignment: Ask God to show you what He loves about you and the strengths He has given you. Research His Word and memorize Scripture that will help you be balanced in the way you think of yourself and what you're growing in! Remember that your identity is in Christ and He calls you righteous because He lives in you. Encourage someone this week in the Lord and point out the amazing qualities you see in them! Some helpful Scriptures: Romans 8:1-2 "Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit's law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death." Romans 5:1 "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Philippians 3:12-14 Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." I hope this article encouraged you. If it did, please feel free to share or send to someone who may need this encouragement today. xoxo, Emily Two weeks ago I moved into my first apartment.
Two years ago I moved to NC from Florida. Three years ago was the last time I went on a missions trip. I am currently in a chapter of my life that is brand new for me in so many ways and I’m excited to see all that God is up to. For those of you who don't know - God first called me to the mission field when I was ten years old! God sent me on my first missions trip when I was 19. From the ages of 19-21 God sent me to different nations on mission trips as well as different ministry schools to receive training. It was an incredible time filled with life changing memories in the making as well as a lot of lessons I had to learn. I learned so many things about who God is and how much He loves us. I learned about the hospitable and resilient spirit of both Ukrainians and Russians. I fell in love for my first time (with Russia and Ukraine!) and I learned about my identity in Christ! The last three years I've been on a bit of a sabbatical from missions as God led me to North Carolina. It has been a blessing to live here in so many ways ! I have been able to attend a church that I absolutely love and I've also been growing in a hospitality career. God has been teaching me so much even HERE as I wait for Him to show me His plans for me regarding missions. It hasn't always been easy. I made mistakes hearing from God and I saw the doors close this year to opportunities I thought God was leading me to. But you know what? I have learned almost as much through those "mistakes" as I have from the times where God was clearly saying to me "Go." It's through those mistakes I learned about blooming where I'm planted. It's through those doors closing that I learned about the different doors God was opening and the fact it has to happen through HIM and not through my own making! The beginning of this year I really thought I knew where God was leading me but the truth is I was going by what He did in the past and not by what He is up to now! I am learning that God will always take care of me and He will always be with me and that the doors He's opening for other people is not Him forgetting about me. If you are currently waiting on God - no matter where it is you feel called to go- in Him you'll find your truest home. In Him, you'll find the ability to adapt to change and to the places He'll call you to. He does have amazing plans for you. He has not forgotten you. This new home He has provided for me is teaching me so much His faithfulness and graciousness and the fact that it was in the middle that He was preparing me what He has for me now as well as for whats to come. So, my friend, I know what it's like to feel restless in the middle. I know what it's like to feel hopeless. I know what it's like to feel abandoned. I have had to learn to keep leaning on God and speaking His Word over my life instead of believing what the enemy will try to say. You have purpose even here in your waiting. Don't give up. “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Luke 12:7 NKJV ““Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.” Isaiah 49:15 NKJV love, Emily #findyourcrown @findyourcrown |