Happy Monday! It’s day 2 in the first week of our Online Study and I”m so glad you are here!
Here’s today’s message: Please click the arrow below to watch it. I share how we can make sure our lives are BLESSED and not cursed as well as some share things God’s laid on my heart for us. I also announce our key word and verse for the week!
After viewing it, be sure to read below. I’ve got an assignment and answers to many of the questions you all have sent in about the study :-).
[If you’re reading this via email, CLICK HERE to find the video on my website.]
Todays’ Assignment:
Download our Word for the Week: BLESSED (double click the word) to download your FREE printable promise and word for the week, as many times as you want. Stick it everywhere and live like it’s true, girl, cause God wants this for you!
Please read Jeremiah 17:5-8. As you read it, ask God to show You His truth in this passage as it applies to your life – and how it relates to Chapter One where I listed the lies “doubt” whispers or shouts from the sidelines. They really are curses aren’t they?
Journal your thoughts in your notebook and ask God to help you notice this week when you’re tempted to put your hope and find your confidence in the wrong things and people. Then ask Him to help you turn to Him each time for confidence and security that comes from His approval, acceptance and unconditional love.
Don’t Get Overwhelmed if you haven’t read Chapter One yet. I want you to do that first, then watch the video. If you have time answer today’s question. The rest of the week we we’ll be getting to know one another, reviewing the chapter, answering questions at the end of the chapter and discussing them here.
Connect in Community: If you feel comfortable, I’d love for you to be part of the community we’re building here! I want to pray for you. I want to hear from you. Seriously, your thoughts matter to me!! When you have time, share them and read others’. Feel free to stop back by any time. Click “share your thoughts” below this post to be part of today’s conversation.
How Our Online Study Will Work (since I know it might be confusing)
My blog/website will be the “living room” of our online study. We’ll meet here to read my posts, watch videos, find out our assignments and download free resources for the week. The primary place to share our thoughts, prayers and questions will be in the comments section under each post.
As time allows for those who want to, we’ll linger “in the foyer” on Facebook and Twitter. Some will and some won’t. It’s totally up to you! I’ll be there at least a little bit almost every day. BUT the most important gathering place will be right here on my blog.
How will you know when it’s time to connect here? I’ll notify you four different ways.
I’ll Facebook and Tweet it. I’ll send you a note through the Online Study list and include a link back to the post. And, if you’re signed up for Email Website Updates, you’ll receive the whole post in an email that day too. But you’ll need to click on a link to come back to my website to watch videos, download extras or comment and connect.
Remember this is a journey and we’re just getting started. Give yourself time to read today’s assignment and yesterday’s, memorize this week’s verse, pray it out loud and let God love on you! Click “Share Your Thoughts” to do just that!
{Remember, if you’re reading this via email, CLICK HERE to find the video and leave your comments on my website.}
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My word of focus is trust. Trust has been an issue my entire life. It began when I was a little girl, on the day that the man I was suppose to be able to trust the most stole my innocence. Now 40 years later I can see how the enemy to us all, has spoken those words of doubt to me that I read about in chapter one. Each time I listened and believed those words which were meant to destroy my self confidence, my ability to trust suffered a little more.
This morning as I read Renee’s words that said, “take time to notice this week when you’re tempted to put your hope and find your confidence in the wrong things and people”. It dawned on me how often I have turned to other people in order to gain self confidence rather than turning to God. Each time I looked to people in an attempt to find self confidence, more often than not my hope was shattered and lack of trust deepened.
I see I will need to pray earnestly and without ceasing, as every moment I can feel the enemy trying to pull me away. I so want to be enveloped by God. Trust is my issue.
Thank you Renee for bringing this Bible study to each one of us.
@ all the women noting the word Focus….thank you! I stumbled across this study by chance while in the middle of particiating (and I use that word lightly) in a David study wiith some women at my church. As I signed up for this study words of doubt already flooded my mind…..”You are just going to get partially through this study then quit. Why are you even pretending like this study will be different than the 10 other study books on the shelf that you vowed to complete, but have gone partially read” Even as I grabbed a notebook off my shelf to start journaling my thoughts on A Confident Heart I was bombarded with entries from past sutdies left undone. Although my laundry list of “undone” studies is a fact, it does not have to dictate my future performance in this and/or other studies. I guess it proves I’m in the right place as those thoughts are definitely rooted in lies & self doubt. Although the first chapter is chock full of good verses & insights from Renee, the one verse that really resonated in my heart was Isaiah 43:18-19 “Forget the former things do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing!” I am a worrier and I am an eternal realist (or what my husband calls a pessimist-LOL). I hesitate to dream of what could be because I am lacking in faith and God’s ability or desire to change me and my ways. They have been in place for 28 years now and seem set with no chance of swaying. But the verses in Isaiah remind me that I can FORGET the past and stop dwelling on the studies left undone. I have been commanded by God to do so. But not just to forget those things; to then SEE the new things HE is doing in me, for me and through me! Upon deeper examination, I can see not only old journal entires left unfinished, but I can see God working. I am so glad I date my entries. I was able to see valleys and peaks of faith and to see God answering prayers over the last year & a half. So this week, rather than FOCUSING on the past and allowing that to dictate how my future will unfold I am challenging myself to FOCUS on the new things God has in store for me. To look a little deeper, to think outside the box so I may allow myself to see him working in my life.
I have a lot of trouble in this area. I worry way too much about what people think. About how I look, decisions I make, things I do. My confidence is tied to others, I have no doubt. I pray now to the Lord that he lifts this from me. Help me focus on you Jesus. I want to be pleasing to you and no longer the world. You know me better than I know myself, “they” don’t know me at all. Please remind me what matters. My confidence is in you. Help me Jesus.
Does anyone have tips on how to not get overwhelmed in this comment/discussion section? I really want to read and participate but its SO much! Any advice from seasons studiers would be great, thanks!
Michelle, It works out best for me if I comment on what is on my heart after my praying/reading/listening on the lesson and I usually sleep on it before commenting. I do pick a few of the comments out and read but I do not have time for all of them or it would take up all my spare time in which I could be doing something else. So use it for your journey and what you are learning. Linda
Thank you Linda!
Great advice Linda! SO glad you are here Michelle and glad you asked. I’m sure others are wondering too! Great question.
Renee, I’ve been waiting for confirmation of the Jeremiah 17 scripture. Another internationally known pastor had said those verses describe what God is doing in 2012. And when someone makes a “prophetic” statement like that I always look for it to come up through other sources.
In the middle of the night God gave me a revelation that I think will prove to be a huge thing for me. He showed me a picture of a ladder leaned against a building and I was trying to climb it. Then I heard the words, “Your ladder is against the wrong building.” He told me that at the top of the building are all the people whose standards that I am trying to live up to. He told me to move my ladder to a building across the way. This biulding has Him at the top. He was reaching His hand down to help me climb the ladder. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He will give me grace and strength to live up to His standards. I was never meant to live up to the standards of another person. My challenge now is to keep a constant check on my thoughts to see where I am leaning my ladder. I am going to have to learn how to seek His standards and not be constantly trying to live up to those standards of my coworkers, friends, family etc My confidence in Him and what He is doing in me and through me..
Brenda, what a beautiful image you created. Thank you for sharing your revelation.
Wow! Its so amazing how God works in our lives! I was out for my walk yesterday and that is one of my times to walk and talk with God. Of course, we talk about some of the trouble areas in life, and as I was doing this I realized that I was not trusting God completely in this area of my life. I stopped dead in my tracks when I realized that I was trying to fix it too while telling God all about it. I need to put Jeremiah 17: 5-8 deep into my heart so I can remind myself everytime I want to fix something or trust someone else to fix something that “Cursed be man that trusteth in man.”
Hi! i too have been a people person and always trying to help and please others. for a very long time people have depended on me but when it comes to my turn there is no one to help me. i have been reading the bible but i felt empty. then in December i got the online bible study and decided to sigh up,i’m so glad i did because its my second day , Jeramiah 17:7 just touched my heart,i realized that this verse is directed to me. last two weeks have been difficult,the person i trusted broke my trust and i felt so hurt but i realized it all my fault for trusting her. i’m cursed because i did’t listen to God’s small voice.
Thank you Renee for having such a programe for people like me. yes i want to trust in God and have Godly wisdom.
I want to be blessed by trusting in the Lord. I know that my lack of confidence if from Satan. He always wants to tear me down so I won’t do things for the Lord. I want to have confidence that even when I fail it is just a way for me to grow and depend on the Lord. I don’t do well in the desert because I have my mind set on how things are suppose to be instead of relying on God to teach me how He wants things to be. I pray that by taking this study I will depend on God and have Godly confidence. Thank you for taking the time to do this study.
Jeremiah 17:7 made me realize that God alone deserves our trust, and that we are to constantly live for His approval rather than man’s attention. What matters is not what others think we ought to be but how the Lord sees us as we are and will be when He has completed His work in us.
I’ve lived in fear and self-doubt for what seemed like ages. Thank you, Renee, for being God’s instrument in helping me finally live with confidence in Him. Looking forward to experiencing more of Him in and through this study.
Just loved viewing the video message this morning. Like many others, this online study is the first that I have been involved with & hence, have nothing to compare this with. But from what I’ve experienced so far I have enjoyed the sense of community that these blogs bring & the intimacy/personal connection that Renee brings with her video message. It’s as though she is speaking directly to me & my situation.
I am grateful to be reminded today that ALL of my hope & confidence should 100% remain in the Lord, as too often I find myself placing my trust, confidence & need for acceptance in my close friends. It is then that I find that they are unable to meet my standards & bring me what I so deeply long for. I am thankful for the wonderful people in my life but I am now reminded that if I solely rely on them for my needs, I will be CURSED. Only God can ‘fill my tank’ & BLESS me & only He knows exactly what it is that I need. Thank you for this wonderful & very timely reminder!!
I thank God for you Renee, and what he is doing through you.
I seriously needed this book of encouragement in this time of my life. My catching phrase for chapter 1 is the aspect of avoiding great opportunities that have come my way because i doubted myself and thinking of the risk of rejection, but like Jere:17:7 says blessed is he who trusts in God and places his confidence in him , i have realized all this fear was cropping from trusting in myself to do everything, so if i cant it just makes me so miserable and feel so incompetent.
Thank you ladies for all the sharing, looking forward to connect to all of u as we share.
God bless you all
Winnie
Hi Everyone!
I’m nervous posting online, but here it goes…
I’m a day late with the posting regarding what words in chapter one spoke to me.
I would like to say the words that spoke to me most were ” Are you ready to take God’s hand and trust his heart?”
This painted such a vivid picture in my mind of God always standing in front of me with his hand extended to me. His heart is so full of love for me that it beats with his passion for me. When I’m tempted to put my trust in things or people this is the image I will try to picture in my mind to steer me away from the lies, whispers, and shadows.
Hi Cathy…..I love how you picture God standing in front of you holding His hand. I also picture God patting me on the head and telling me He is pleased with my journey. So….if you had not posted that, I probably wouldn’t have either. Thanks because I love it when He pats my head.
The comment you wrote Renee, that really stands out for me was….”Self doubt blocks the promise of God’s power and truth to change us from inside out so that we can live with a confident heart!!”
i have let Satan have a foothold on my heart and doubt has stopped me dead in my tracks from allowing God to change me…..from the inside out. Not anyone!!!!!
I want to be BLESSED….not CURSED!!
The word “doubt” just keeps ringing in my head! In my years on this earth I can’t think of a time where I did not doubt. Even now, I doubt I’ll finish my degree, my boss will understand my circumstances, and my place as one of the leaders at my campuses InterVarsity Christian Fellowship chapter. I am sick and tire of this doubt!!! I want to feel the peace and joy that comes from finding my confidence in the Lord!
“Wao” , am excited already for this journey of a confident heart. As i was reading chapter one i so identified with u just wanting to shrink back an not go to the conference. “fear of rejection is my battle” . i was blown away with one of your questions at the end of the chapter the earliest memory of feeling insecure or doughting myself. I was shock to recall being around five years old.
It’s funny because I really didn’t know if I needed this study, but I didn’t think I needed the 7 day Doubt Diet and it was like and arrow to the heart. I needed that and it really hit me in ways I wasn’t prepared for but I enjoyed it and signed up for this study. I feel confident a lot of times and can really take things on but I realized after reading just Chapter 1 and some of the posts from others that my confidence is shaky and it’s really self-intrusting not God-intrusting. I didn’t have an easy childhood and I know a lot of us didn’t but it was more famine that feast in our home and we had to fight for our own survival. Fighting for our own survival luckily didn’t keep me down as an adult but it made me have a very independent spirit. God has already been working with me to STOP relying on myself so much and when I pray, REALLY give it over to him. This study is one more reinforcement of him working on me in this. Once again, he knows what I need far better than I do. God Bless Renee for doing a study like this and for each one of you as you are pouring out your hearts and souls. My prayers are with each of you that the mending can begin.
Jenni….I am so sorry that you are in a dark place. I have been there so many times that I’ve lost count. It’s a scarey, hopeless feeling but God is sending you help. Through years of depressions, I have learned that God will always bring me through to a lighter place. Just hang on to the lifeline that He is holding out to you and pray. My tendency has been to withdraw because I worry about what others will think of me. I am hoping that this online study will help me to place more focus on God and less on others. I am holding out a hand of friendship and hope that we can become healthier and more confident together.
Renee, is there a way to edit our comments after we have posted them? I forgot a couple of words in my last post.
Diane – Thank you for your sweet words. I treasure them.
In reading the intro and first chapter, the first quote that spoke out to me was “Doubt and Hope can not live in our hearts at the same time”. One of the things that I’ve noticed about myself is that doubt has only crept into my life within the past 8 years or so. As a child I had so much confidence in myself, in my abilities, and I wasn’t worried about pleasing other people. I don’t know when in my life things changed. There are definitely incidents in my life that I suspect had an impact on me. I hope to start feeling confident from within and stop looking to other people for acceptance.
I know God wants me to be a part of this study. He told me to sign up, so I did. Then I ran out of time to find a book. I even went to the Christian bookstore in town and it had closed for the weekend. But God kept speaking to my heart all day. I found a version that would download to my computer through Kindle. So I read the first day today.
I have been in a dark place too. Some days I just wish God would take me to heaven. I long to be there. My life has been full of change, unpredictability and disappointment. I feel overwhelmed to hold it together. Some days it truly feels like it will never get better. I read the list of lies and I knew most of them. I try to focus on God’s truth. But I struggle with if this verse or that verse is really for me. I was glad to see that you included Is. 49:23 “Those who hope in me will not be disappointed.” I read that verse often. I hope the study will be a healing balm to my heart.
Jenni…please read my note below…I wasn’t sure how to get my message to you.
I have struggled with doubt all my life. Even after knowing Christ for thirty years I still struggle. It’s something my husband doesn’t understand. He is a newer believer and when he hears he moves. He has been encouraging me to go back to school for a couple of years now and I haven’t done it yet because I didn’t trust or have confidence in what we were both hearing from God. My heart is to encourage women and I have not been living my heart because I doubt my place in life. I’m so excited for this study because I know God is already at work telling me to let go and trust him. I can honestly say that I am afraid. Fear has been my constant companion for years and while I want to let it go I have doubt that I’ll succeed. I am taking a step of faith that I’m where God wants me to be to break the chains that hold me down.
Thank you for this study and for your prayers.