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Anxiety, Salvation, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual discernment Dana Rongione Anxiety, Salvation, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual discernment Dana Rongione

Nervous About Sharing the Gospel?

Last week, I had the privilege of teaching several young children (and some of their parents) about four interesting Bible animals, explaining how God created each one with specific traits and what we can learn from these lovely creations.  The lessons were only about 20 minutes long, but I spent hours preparing for them. The animal facts or Bible verses weren't what was causing me trouble.  No, it was making sure every lesson ended with a brief introduction to, and explanation of, salvation.

I know what it means to be saved. I know what the Bible says about salvation. I know how one can be saved. But explaining it to young children can be overwhelming. I didn’t want to make it too complicated, but I also didn’t want to oversimplify it and leave them believing everyone goes to Heaven. So, I agonized over every word, and in the end, I still feel like I tripped over my tongue and did a miserable job representing the gospel.

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Spiritual Growth, Perfectionism, grace, Anxiety, Rise Up and Build, Deadly Darts of the Devil Dana Rongione Spiritual Growth, Perfectionism, grace, Anxiety, Rise Up and Build, Deadly Darts of the Devil Dana Rongione

Are You Killing Yourself Trying To Be Perfect?

I used to be the world's most dedicated perfectionist. I'm talking full-blown, no-holds-barred, sweat-through-your-shirt perfectionism. And I had Bible verses to back it up … or so I thought.

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." — Colossians 3:23

I latched onto that word heartily and ran with it. Right off a cliff. In my mind, "heartily" meant perfectly. It meant excellence at every turn, spotless execution, and absolutely zero margin for error. Good enough? Not good enough. Better than good? Still not good enough. I was the woman who proofread her grocery list. Twice.

I toiled. I panicked. I cried. I expected the same impossible standard from everyone around me, too, and trust me, they were not fans of that. I was building my whole life around a perfectionism that I had somehow convinced myself was holiness.

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