Grace for the Good Girl

So I know I said I was going to start the devotional posts with the Overwhelmed: Winning the War Against Worry by Perry Noble. But I decided to actually start on a previous devotional I have done called Grace for the Good Girl by Emily P. Freeman. It is an amazing devotional so I wanted to share it with you guys. How this is going to work is I will make a post for each Chapter. Summarize what was talked about in that chapter and if the devotional has questions at the end of the chapter I will post those and my answers. I also have some activities that I created for this specific devotional from when I was leading a women's group and we covered this book.
Part One: The Hiding

The first couple of pages of the book are Emily opening up about her journey. She talks about her childhood and how games we play as children cross over into our adult lives and hinder us more than help us. I love the last paragraph of this opening. It says:

"I believe women need to talk about the ways we hide, the longing to be known, the fear in the knowing. Beyond that, I believe in the life-giving power of story, in the beauty of vulnerability, and in the strength that is found in weakness. In order to explore the truth, we have to put words and images on those ingrained beliefs we have about God and what he expects of us. We have to expose the invisible expectations and desires we know are there but may not have words for yet. Let me give you the words. Let me offer my stories and the stories of women close to me. Perhaps they are your stories as well."

Chapter One: are you a good girl in hiding?

At the beginning of every chapter Emily quotes an author or scripture. This chapter is:

"God hath given you one face, and you make yourselves another." - William Shakespeare, Hamlet

The first part of this chapter Emily talks about halloween and wearing masks. She says "I loved wearing that mask. It had a sparkly crown painted on top of long, wavy, bright yellow hair. It was lovely. But behind the mask, it was hot. And uncomfortable. And stinky. As much as I wanted to be Barbie, the truth was that I couldn't wait to take the mask off so I could breathe again."

Lets talk about that real quick. Have you ever felt that way? Like the persona that you are clinging to is slowly killing you. Or becoming so prominent that you start to forget who you are.

She talks about hiding behind the "I'm okay" or "I'm fine". You know those don't you? If you are a woman you have used those 3 words numerous times when you are hurting but don't want someone to see that. Those 3 small words are a very powerful shield for us. It allows us to hide behind a persona that we are strong and that we could never be weak.

The "good girl" in us tries so hard to gain acceptance of others. We want to please them, impress them, and so much more. We fear rejection so much that we bend our personality to fit what we think they want us to be. Emily says something really powerful on page 19. She says "Fear drives. But Love leads."

She writes a section called her Sometimes Truth. Here are some examples of her sometimes truths.

1. I would rather read People magazine than the Bible
2. I judge people who would rather read People magazine than the Bible
3. I am more insecure than I would ever admit
4. The weight of expectation is heavy and often unbearable
5. Comparison is a constant companion
6. I have unexplained anxiety
7. I am not the mom I thought I would be
8. I don't quite measure up
9. I cry in the shower

I want y'all to write 9 of your own sometimes truths. Then I want you to write a list of 9 things that you know about yourself to ring true all the time.

In closing out this chapter I am in love with her last paragraph. It says:

"I was made to be distinctly someone, and so were you. In the mind of God, in his vision for the world, in his idea for the universe, he made you to go in it. He had in mind a particular you. A true you. An authentic, accurate expression of himself. A woman who is more than just a watered-down version of good. Do you know her? Or do you know only her mask? This good girl has plenty of masks to tell you about. Unlike my oversized Barbie mask, these masks feel risky to take off."

Can you identify your brand of good girl? In what areas have you been tempted to depend on yourself?

What does life look like for you when you are being driven by fear? 

Do you agree that the best part of hiding is being found? Why or Why not?

Well thats it for chapter one. I hope y'all like the devotional post. I am really excited about who it might reach. Please share to anyone you know who might struggle with this and invite them to join in! If you have any questions or prayer requests shoot me an email or enter it in on my contact form! And don't forget to subscribe. :)

- Erin Nicole