How to Maintain Self Confidence

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There’s plenty out there about how to find your confidence, but once you find it, how do you maintain self confidence?

I did a quick internet browse on how to find confidence. In doing so I found that more sleep helps, finding a “power pose” and tapping into your “inner strength” can help. But what happens if your sleep fails, your power pose turns into a pouty pile and your inner strength doesn’t show up to work? Those things may help for a hot minute, but one things that will never fail, will never weaken and will never not show up – God’s Word.

God’s Word. God’s Word. God’s Word. Drill it down deep into your heart and mind and it. will. never. fail.

When I say drill it down deep I mean, think about it all the time. I wrote about being aware of what you’re thinking here. I wanted to call attention to what it is you’re thinking about. Are you meditating on your flaws? Thinking about what people have that is better than yours? If so, stop! Fill your mind with what the Word says. Why? BECAUE IT WILL NEVER FAIL YOU (tired of hearing that yet?)

To make it as easy as possible for you I found some verses on confidence for you to meditate on. They’re from the Passion translation (TPT) which I’ve been loving lately. And just so we don’t leave anything up to question I’d like to walk you through how I mediate on a verse so you can do the same.

Let’s start with this one in Psalms…

“He’s the hope that holds me and the stronghold to shelter me, the only God for me, and my great confidence.” – Psalm 91:2

Who is the hope that holds me? Jesus.

What does His hope do? It holds me.

When do you need to be held? Touchy people would say, “ALWAYS!” But for the rest of us, it’s usually when we’re not feeling our best, or we’re sad, or need encouragement.

What else does He do? He’s the stronghold to shelter me.

When do you need a shelter? When things are coming against you. When fiery darts are being aimed at your mind such as: “You’re not loved.” “You’re not good at what you do.” “You look old.” “You don’t look as good as she does.” “You’re fat so you mine as well give up looking nice.” “You’ve messed up too much, God doesn’t love you.” If literal fiery darts were being shot at you, what would you need? A shelter! God is your shelter!

He is your safe place to run to whenever you need Him. In fact, He longs for you to run to Him making Him the only God for you. It’s a declaration you can make! We can easily put other things up in the “god spot.” It really can be anyone or anything that we give our love/attention to. But by saying this, we are saying He – capital H – is the only God for me.

He is my confidence. No, I missed a word: GREAT. He is my great confidence.

All I did was pick apart the verse and think about each group of words bit by bit. Then I’ll mull it over and over in my mind till it’s automatically where my brain goes when something starts to flare up. That, my friends, is how you put your confidence in God. You mediate and ground yourself in His Word.

Here are a couple more scriptures for your collection. I find the end of this first one very interesting…

“Yes, it is so much better to trust in the Lord to save me than to put my confidence in celebrities.” – Psalm 118:9

“Fear and intimidation is a trap that holds you back. But when you place your confidence in the Lord, you will be seated in the high place.” – Proverbs 29:25

“Confidence and strength flood the hearts of the lovers of God who live in awe of him, and their devotion provides their children with a place of shelter and security.” – Proverbs 14:26

Plug your confidence chord into the only power outlet that will never loose power: God’s Word (fancy way of saying IT NEVER FAILS). If you put this in to practice and answer those self-depreciating thoughts with “No, that’s not my thought.” Then fill your mouth and mind with His Word. Because guess what? IT NEVER FAILS.

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Finding Your Confidence

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Finding your confidence in God.

There was once a good while where I made people call me “The Kite Master.”

Had I flown a lot of kites? No.

Had I flown a kite for a long time? Nope.

Had I flown anything up in the air for longer than 10 seconds within, let’s say, a month of this moment in time? Nah.

But I had the confidence for it and I succeeded. That day I flew a kite and later that year I became the owner of a kite shop.

Sorry, not an actual shop, one that goes in a Christmas village.

The point is, it’s important to find your confidence. Let’s talk about where that starts.

We have a lot of opportunities to fill our heads with other people’s lives. I just finished reading the first book in the Little House on the Prairie series and in it Laura writes how her and Mary have never seen two houses next to each other. Fast forward to today and we know intimate details about the inside of someone’s house…whom we’ve never met…across the country. Thanks to our phones and social media we have plenty of images to fill our minds. Images that are oftentimes just the highlight reel of someone’s life. But you know this, you’ve heard this along with a really quippy quote about “highlight reels” already.

You want to know where to start if your confidence has taken a hit. Or if you’re not happy with what you see in the mirror, or how to stop comparing your life/body/hair/skin/clothes to someone else’s. Or maybe you’re not comparing, you’re just wanting to love being you. The good news is, the first step is easy…

Change what you think about.

What are you meditating on? I know we use the word “meditating” a lot when it comes to Bible verses, but you can be meditating on something and it not be a scripture. I’ve caught myself meditating on negative situations with people: what happened, what I would have done differently, what I would have said to really DRIVE HOME A POINT. But it’s not doing me any good. In fact it’s doing me harm because it’s keeping me out of love.

So when it comes to yourself, what do you think about? If you’re only meditating on your flaws, what you look like in comparison to someone else, or where you have failed in life STOP! That’s not walking in love either! It’s just as much not walking in love as it is to sit around and think about how you’d like to tell off Sister Sandpaper! The Bible tells us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. How can we extend love to someone when we’ve not even worked on how we love ourselves?

“Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” -Matthew 22:37-40 (TPT)

It’s like the facemask in an airplane: you’ve got to first put the facemask on you before you can save others. So in order to fulfill the second greatest commandment, which Jesus points out is equally important as the first, we’ve got to love ourselves.

It’s unrealistic to think you’ll never look at social media again. So instead of swearing it off, take the baby step of paying attention to your thoughts when you’re on it or right after you get off it. Are they positive or negative about yourself? If they’re at all negative, put a stop to them immediately. Say, “that’s not my thought.” Then find a scripture about yourself and the area you need the biggest boost in and speak it out.

I’ll touch more on that next time. But for now, work on identifying what’s going on in your thought life and putting a stop to it.

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.” -Jeremiah 17:7

God has put it on my heart to write about this subject. Obviously it’s been a minute since I’ve posted and there is definitely some dust flying around this blog as I type. But I want to share about this because I believe it’s part of my calling. I have such a desire to see women be confident in who God made them to be. I hope you’ll check back in for more. :)

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What a Foundation Wardrobe is and Why You Need One

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While shopping for a new foundation the other day, the girl (Sarah) at Bare Minerals used a phrase that caught my attention. She said it’s good to have a, “foundation wardrobe.” I caught it in the moment and didn’t unpack it until later on…

A “Foundation Wardrobe” is when you have more than one option when it comes to foundations. Gone are the days of the same-old swipe of the same-old formula day after day after day. Now there are so many foundation options out there, that you can build a collection – wardrobe – of textures, coverage and formulas from which to choose.

And much like your clothing wardrobe, you can stand in front of it your head full of your needs for the day, and pick whichever option will most perfectly suit them. It’s exactly what I do with my foundations, I just never thought of it like that.

If you’re still skeptical, let me unpack it further…Let’s say it’s Saturday, you’re going to run errands then work around the house. You don’t want to look like a slob – you’ll inevitably run into your high school ex boyfriend if you do – but you don’t want to spend valuable time and valuable full-coverage foundation on your face. What do you do? You go to your wardrobe and swipe a stick over your face, or apply some tinted moisturizer.

Okay, now it’s Sunday morning and you are going to church then lunch with friends, then out to dinner with family – you need full, long lasting coverage. Your tinted moisturizer will slide off your face by noon and the stick coverage just isn’t enough. You need liquid foundation.

I could go on, but those are just two examples in a pool of what could be 7 (since every day is different). And if you think it’s an expensive endeavor, think again. Since you’re not heavily using one foundation over the other, they’re all going to last that much longer, which means you don’t have to refill for probably another 6-9 months if not longer.

Okay, now let’s talk about options…

Light Coverage…

Complexion Rescue by Bare Minerals (clean products free of all the chemicals that are bad for your skin and full of ingredients that are good for you).

Hydrating Foundation Stick – new product! Gives a nice finish, swipe it in a few spots on your face then blend – it blends in really nicely and is especially good for dry skin. Has SPF25 and you can use it as a concealer.

Hydrating Gel Cream – a tinted moisturizer that has a nice gel-like texture. Lightweight coverage with a nice natural sheen. Also has SPF and antioxidants that are good for your skin. Both the gel cream and the stick are in the $30 price range. It’s great for moisturizing your skin, but doesn’t have staying power.

Laura Mercier has a very popular version of the tinted moisturizer – also has SPF and vitamins that are good for your skin. This one promises 24 hour coverage and is in the $50 price range.

IT Cosmetics CC Cream – this one has the heaviest coverage of all the moisturizer options. It is a CC cream which is color correcting so if you have more you want to cover, this is a great option. Also has the SPF and is hydrating. Of all the options this won’t deposit as many vitamins and minerals on your face, but will give you good coverage.

Medium Coverage…

Sephora Compact – matte, build-able coverage. I like to have this on hand to layer over a tinted moisturizer for a quick touch up.

Bare Minerals has a version as well – theirs is vitamin and mineral infused. If your skin is on the dry side you wouldn’t want one of these to be your main foundation, but it’s so nice to have on hand to add to moisturizer. Or to use as a finishing powder to lock everything in with a little extra coverage.

Sephora Airbush – this is a great, inexpensive way to try out an airbrush look. Gives you a soft, satiny finish that blurs imperfections. Apply by sweeping back and forth across your face. For under $30 it’s a great option to have on hand.

Heavy Coverage…

Makeup Forever Water Blend – perfect option for the pool or beach. It’s going to last hang on in the water and can go on both your face and body. Has a gel-like texture and gives you a satin finish. Rings in at $43.

Bare Minerals Bare Pro Liquid Foundation – this is performance wear, meant to last 24 hours. It does hold up well on your face. I like the build-able coverage. Gives you a matte finish and is transfer resistant – which I have found to be true! Has SPF and is $34.

Right now Bare Minerals is running a sale – get this box with samples in it, a brush of your choice and then 3 other products of your choosing for $99. That’s a great way to get your foundation wardrobe started!

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Keep your Bag Spiffy & Organized

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Tired of digging around receipts and Goldfish crumbs in your old purse or diaper bag?

I tell you what gets me – being in a hurry and not being able to get what I need RIGHT when I need it.

I’m always looking for ways to help you stay spiffy and that includes your bag! Below are some beautiful fall bag options and tips on how to keep them clean and organized. All of the bags you can find around West Town Mall and the helpful tips are free ;)

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