Happy New Year!  Have you made any New Year’s resolutions?  The new year gives us a  new beginning and a fresh opportunity to make changes in our habits and activities. Many resolve to go to the gym, get organized, or drop a dress size. New Year’s resolutions define what we plan to do in the new year but they don’t address something that I believe is more important: what we BELIEVE about ourselves.

What we believe about ourselves drives our behavior. 

Many people believe the worst about themselves.

We think…
I will never be good enough.
I’m not talented and creative like my friends.  
I’m a horrible mother! I’m ruining my children!
I’m not married yet because I’m not attractive enough.
God is going to use my friends in a great way but I will never be important.
I’m a failure just like my father said I was…

While resolutions can affect your behavior, personal declarations affect how you think about yourself.  Personal declarations are something that you say – out loud – that define who you are.  They represent your hopes, goals, dreams and who you are at your core.  Personal declarations replace the lies of who we believe we are with the truth.

When I sat down to write my personal declarations, I wanted to write five or six. Before I knew it, I had over 25. I have a lot of areas where I am believing lies about myself. I have many areas of insecurity, doubt, and fear that I needed to speak God’s truth into.

As I wrote them, honestly, I cried. Here are some examples of my declarations:

The joy of the Lord gives me the strength to be vulnerable.
I am a courageous woman who does not fear confrontation.
My identity in Christ keeps my emotions stable when others do not approve of me.
God has given me a bubbly, cheerful personality that brings life and joy to others.
I am an amazing mother and a more than adequate wife to Brian.
I have something to offer the next generation of women.
I am an articulate speaker that carries God’s message of hope to struggling women.
My honestly about what a mess I am is a breath of fresh air to struggling women.
In His time, God will satisfy the longing in my heart for heaven.
Panic attacks do not define me, but are a temporary circumstance that I am patiently overcoming.
I am not the black sheep of the family.

I want to make clear that these are not prideful statements that I am saying about myself. My declarations are things that I want to believe about myself. They don’t describe who I feel that I am now, but who I want to be. I want to courageously embrace confrontation. I want to not feel like I am the black sheep of the family.  I want to make peace with my personality.

My declarations speak God’s truth to my spirit, soul, and body.  This renews my mind as I focus on who I am in Christ.

So now it’s your turn. Here are some questions to get you started in writing your declarations, courtesy of the Craig Groeshel Leadership Podcast:

1) Where am you most vulnerable? Speak faith and light into your weak spots
2) Where are you the strongest? We want to know our gifts, our passions, our talents, our strengths, and we want to build upon those. Where are you most effective?
3) What do you value the most? Daily declare your values.
4) What motivates you and creates movement? A verse, a saying, or emotion.

As we move into 2019, take some time to write some personal declaration statements that you can use to replace the negative thinking that influences and hinders your life with spiritual truths that can set you free.   And instead of believing lies about yourself, take some time to speak the truth about who you are.

I would love to read the personal declarations you come up with!  Email me at Lisa@CelebratingWeakness.com.

Sharing is caring. If this post encouraged you, will you share it on Facebook so that it could bless your friends,too? Thanks for helping me to reach more struggling women with encouragement, hope, and grace.