Weekly Magazine | God’s Expectations Bring Peace, Not Pressure
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Dear Friends,
Have you ever found yourself trying so hard to “do better,” “think better,” or “be better” that you end up feeling tired on the inside? You aren’t alone. We often assume that the Christian life is about muscling our way into transformation — trying to outrun our insecurities, outperform our inner critic, or out-discipline the emotional patterns we wish we didn’t have.
This week, we’re remembering a simple but freeing truth: renewal is God’s work in us and not something we manufacture by sheer effort.
Whether it’s the inner voice that tells you you’re not enough, the pressure to perform, or the temptation to focus more on the “outside of the cup” than the heart Jesus cares most about, God meets us with compassion, not condemnation. He invites us to name what we feel, bring it before Him without shame, and allow His truth to reshape our thoughts one step at a time.
This week, let’s linger with God and invite Him to gently shape our hearts in the ways only He can. As this new year unfolds, know that Just Between Us is walking alongside you—through the questions, the challenges, the joys, and the celebrations. We’re grateful for this shared journey of faith and for the gift of growing together, one step at a time.
Encouraging you in God’s truth,
The Challenge of Renewing Our Minds | Catriona Futter
Why is it so hard to change the way we think? Christian life coach Catriona Futter walks us through the power of naming our emotions, talking back to our thoughts, and inviting God’s truth into the spaces where anxiety and self-doubt try to take over.
“I Don’t Feel Good Enough” | Amber Johnson
Amber Johnson vulnerably shares how a half-marathon revealed an old lie she thought she had outrun: Your worth depends on how well you perform. She offers three biblical truths that ground our identity in God rather than achievement.
Inside the Cup | Kaitlin Laird
Through her struggle with body image, a young woman discovers that God cares more about the heart than the appearance we try to manage. She reminds us that true freedom comes not from fixing ourselves, but from aligning with God’s design for our bodies and souls.
Also:
Journey with Jesus
The Challenge of Renewing Our Minds
From Anxiety to Anchored in Truth.
By Catriona Futter
The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 12:2 that we are no longer to be conformed to the pattern of this world but be transformed by renewing our minds.
Why do we find this so hard?
Many of those that I work with describe having an inner mental critic. Some call it their chimp. Or a negative voice — it might be their own, it might be something spoken to them at an earlier stage in life. But the impact of that inner negative voice can be hugely significant: fear, anxiety, low confidence, self-doubt, people pleasing, trying to regain control. Not the path to a transformed and renewed mind.
It can be easy to believe that we are stuck here — it’s just the way I am, I’ve always been like this, this is how my family operates, these are family scripts I’m stuck with, I can’t/won’t/don’t know how to change.
And my experience is that trying to change what is going on in our minds by force of will and mental effort rarely works. We absolutely need God’s help. But we also need to understand the impact our emotions have on what is going on in our minds.
