Self-Esteem, Week 2
5 comments
![](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://rethinkchurch.org/article/self-esteem-week-2&media=http://rethinkchurch.org/sites/default/files/article-inpage-image/sleef_esteem.jpg&description=Self-Esteem%2C+Week+2.++ ",Hope is everything ... find hope breaking through in my life in the life-giving relationships that I have.", -Rachel Harvey
Is your self-esteem formed from the outside in or the inside out? Got your answer? Now ask a friend. Text, twitter, or call someone and ask them.
How dothese lyrics impact (shape) your answer?
Think about the way society dictates who we should be. Consider the marketing messages your hear and TV shows you watch. How are those messages like or unlike the messages Rachel heard in this video [view].
To see and experience the true beauty of the journey to hope, we need to cast away the viewpoint of others and look at ourselves through the eyes of our Creator. To see yourself through those eyes, read Psalm 139. Now, use these journal pages to reflect on what youve just read.
What would it take for you to see yourself in a new way and allow hope to break through in the unexpected areas of your life? Write one thing on a sticky note and post it somewhere youll see it often. Commit to doing what youve written on the note.
More: Journey To Hope
Missed last week? No problem. ► Week 1, Relationships | Home
Meet Laura and Brian, series co-hosts ► view video
Series introduction with Laura and Brian ► watch video
No training wheels required ► read
You may also like: get free Bible | Like Us | "Pin It")
"Hope is everything ... find hope breaking through in my life in the life-giving relationships that I have." -Rachel Harvey
Is your self-esteem formed from the outside in or the inside out? Got your answer? Now ask a friend. Text, twitter, or call someone and ask them.
How do these lyrics impact (shape) your answer?
Think about the way society dictates who we should be. Consider the marketing messages your hear and TV shows you watch. How are those messages like or unlike the messages Rachel heard in this video [view].
To see and experience the true beauty of the journey to hope, we need to cast away the viewpoint of others and look at ourselves through the eyes of our Creator. To see yourself through those eyes, read Psalm 139. Now, use these journal pages to reflect on what you've just read.
What would it take for you to see yourself in a new way and allow hope to break through in the unexpected areas of your life? Write one thing on a sticky note and post it somewhere you'll see it often. Commit to doing what you've written on the note.
More: Journey To Hope
• Missed last week? No problem. ► Week 1, Relationships | Home
• Meet Laura and Brian, series co-hosts ► view video
• Series introduction with Laura and Brian ► watch video
• No training wheels required ► read
You may also like: get free Bible | Like Us 
| 
Originally Posted: Jan 11, 2012
Comments
I think I am learning to define myself by both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. I'm learning more and more to look within myself and to find those that support me in a positive way. I wasn't always this way and I at times still struggle to be this way. I still have a hard time looking in the mirror, but every day it gets a little easier. The Psalm in this discussion definitely helps. It kind of boggled my mind to look at it from God's perspective. He made me this way and made me this way for a reason. I'm beautiful in his eyes just as he is in mine.
My answer to the first question - My self esteem is both inside-out and outside-in. This made me think of the theme to The Greatest American Hero, and I blogged about it here
http://wp.me/plb5b-x5
I grew up in a small town and never seemed to fit into the "molds" I was supposed to. I could navigate the cliques that every high school seems to have, but I never felt like I truly belonged. Some of this had to do with understanding who I really was (and am). When we decide to let others define who we should be based on how we look on the outside or even the gifts and talents we have been given, we might begin to walk down a road that leads to feeling lost. With the help of new friends and a church family who loved me just the way that I was, I began to discover my true self and I could feel more and more comfortable in my own skin.
I wonder how many of us go through this same sort of journey and who has helped you to find yourself?
I shared some of my story in the video interview but wanted to comment a little more. In my story I shared about being the only student of color in my elementary school classes and it taking my mom advocating me for to receive better treatment. When that was happening I was blessed to go home to a family that loved me and a church family that taught me that I was a beautiful child of God...and they did it through all those Sunday School songs like "Jesus Loves Me", "Deep and Wide" and "If I Were a Butterfly". When I questioned who I was and whether or not I had worth as a child those songs where the echo in my mind and heart that told me that I was loved and worthy of sharing that love.
While those Sunday School songs echo in my head I'm also thankful for my campus ministry in college and my campus minister, Rev. Jan Bye at Shippensburg University, who gave me the time, space and resources to explore both my faith and identity. She encouraged me to ask questions and live into the responses knowing that how I responded as a first year student hopefully would be different from how I responded as a senior. These experiences grew my faith in both deep and wide ways. On my journey I've had many teachers and many un-teachers...I'm thankful for both in my life.
Who has taught or un-taught you something about yourself?
Growing up, who did you let define who you were? When did you realize you were more than what they said?