That Thing Called: Self-Esteem

I was so frustrated with myself after church on yesterday. My pastor was preaching on shame and he was saying that when a person is ashamed it's really hard to move forward because shame holds you captive to the past--what you've done. He said that even though many people come to Christ, they are tormented by what they've done and that torment causes shame and shame keeps them tied to their past. When God has forgiven shame will say that you are too bad to be forgiven. I keep going over and over about how I screwed myself up. I was even too ashamed to tell people that I am unemployed. So I got frustrated with myself because I wanted to go up for prayer, but my pride wouldn't let me. Also, I have some issues where I feel like I should be ashamed, especially because I've been in situations where I've hurt some people. I know God forgives and I can pray for them, but just the thought that I was used as a tool to cause a person pain is something that is not easy for me to get over. But in the end, I still have to get over it. The past is the past and I can't change it!! So, I have to let it go and know that I am forgiven and God has forgotten my sins. His word says that as far as the east is from the west, I will remove your sin if you repent and I've done that so there is no reason for me to continue to rehearse it in my mind when God has forgiven. To help me deal with it and all the other issues that I've dealt with, I've decided to write. I love to blog--I've been blogging since 2005 (I have another blog that one day I will link to this one), so I"m going to use this medium to free myself. I started a new blog called "That Thing Called." It will deal with each of the issues that I've had to deal with in my life and how I have and am overcoming them. The first entry was: That Thing Called: Self-Esteem. You can read the blog at That Thing Called...