“Jesus did not die on the cross just to get us out of hell and into heaven.
He died on the cross to get Himself out of heaven and into us.
It’s what we were we made for. It’s why we long for glory.”
“The truth is, we were created to reveal glory – just not our own.”
“God created us in His image to reveal His glory by giving visibility to His invisible character within us. Christ in us is the hope of the glory. (Col 1:27)”
From Chapter 11, A Confident Heart
***
It’s Your Turn:
I want you to lead this week. Well at least partly. Besides reading chapter 11 and answering the questions, I want YOU to come up with the Word of the Week and a memory verse and post them in the comments section below this post. Then I want you to use your Word of the Week and Memory Verse for YOU for this chapter.
Haven’t read the chapter yet? No biggie. Just take a few minutes to skim the chapter and come up with one. This week, make them your focus. Please please please share with us in the comment section! Tell us what you selected and why. Everyone’s may be different, but it will be so fun and interesting to see the what and why of what you picked. And, I will be posting some of them on our Confident Heart Community Facebook page this week!
I know you can do this. I’ve seen the way many of you encourage each other and pray for one another. I love that about you! Thank you for leading the way! I can’t wait to learn from you 
Just Click “share your thoughts” below this post and do just that. {And if you are reading this via email click here to share in the comments on my website!}
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My word is~~~ ADVENTURE
My verse is Isaiah 43:18-19
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”
Renee, you mentioned on pg. 205 that as we surrender our life to Jesus life will be a glorious adventure, it may not be our way, but God is always doing something new in HIs children and we should be on the lookout for what He is doing in our life and what He has prepared for us. So in every new thing happening now I look for the glorious adventure God has prepared for me ~~~ not my way but His, I try to refocus on His way and not what I think should be happening, I look for His ADVENTURE!
I love that Susan!! So tell me…what are you seeing? Any adventures big or small? I”d love to hear about them. Today my adventure was Aster’s tumbling class and looking like a mess but not caring that all the other moms had showers, makeup and were all put-togethr. I decided to reach out to them and encourage them with a smile and friendly words even if I did feel like a mess. I could tell they were kinda surprised by my friendliness. :0)
Hebrews 10:35-36 NIV
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
Fav word is persevere. The past seven years have included dealing with my youngest child’s drug addiction, four combat deployments by another child, being laid off my job and now making less than half my previous income, and a church plant. Through God’s strength and goodness and mercy i kept my eyes on Him, remembering what He has promised – eternal life with Him! At times I handled these things very poorly, but He was faithful. Our relationship is growing daily and I am blessed by His love.
You have been through so much Carolyn and I am so proud of you for persevering with the Lord. I don’t handle all my hardships just like I know Jesus would want me to but i”m so thankful for His grace and patience in the process of me becoming the woman He created me to be. I know He loves that you keep coming back to Him!! Thank you for sharing!! Praying for you friend!
Safe
Zep 3:17
The Lord your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”
Who I love that word!!
Thank you Jesus what we are SAFE in you!!
Hopeful! Hopeful that I will change, hopeful that I’ll live a confident life in Christ, hopeful that God will use my life for his glory.
Amen, I am hopeful too. One day at a time – focusing on Him, listening to His spirit, getting into His word and letting it get into you. He is the source of our hopeful!!
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. ~Rom. 15:13
I am struggling. Started off well, but I am feeling overwhelmed, defeated.read through chapter 10,started11, well get to 12 by the end of this week.I am excited for those who are experiencing confidence and peace for maybe the first time ever. I know God loves me. I know I am who He says I am.I greatly appreciate this online study. I understand the concepts but I am really having trouble processing and applying the reality. I have been a Christian since I was a child.I have enjoyed teaching Bible studies and have been blessed to see the Holy Spirit work in the lives of others.my verse for this week is Micah 6:8″,This is what the Lord asks of you ,only this ,to act justly to love tenderly and walk humbly with your God” My word for the week is “expectations”. I need to remind myself not to have bigger expectations for myself than He does!
One day at a time Machelle. i am sure the enemy wants you to feel less than you “should” be and in a place of defeat. But that is not where Jesus sees you!! Did you get to read chapters 6, 7, 8 and 9. If you read chapter 10 but not the earlier ones, I’d encourage you to go back and read those before Ch 11 and 12. I have archives and all the videos so you can do the book at your own pace this summer.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. ~Rom. 15:13
My word is “Surrender”
And my verse is Proverbs 3:5-6 ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and He will make your paths straight’
When I surrender all to my Lord, trust Him, even when it is hard, I know He will forever Love and protect me. Renee talked about the resurrection power, I believe the power of the Holy Spirit is in me. With God all things are possible.
Love your word and verse! Praying for you Karen as you surrender to HIM an allow Jesus to live His life through you. One day and promise at a time!!
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. ~Rom. 15:13
I have had two words that God has put on my heart for me this year are Renewed and Surrender. The verses in connection with these words are Romans 12:2b Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. and James 4:7a (Contemporary English Version) Surrender to God!
God has made me realize that I have a problem with wanting to control everything myself and that this springs from my lack of God-confidence. While I have tried to follow the call that God has put on my life, I have tried to do so under my own power and that has not worked well.
Those are great words and good insights – even as hard as they are to see in ourselves. I’ve been there Nancy. My fear and insecurity used to make me so controlling. But Jesus has stripped away so much control that I realize it was all an illusion and it was making me miserable to try to grasp something I never really could have. What freedom and peace that come when we renew our minds in His truth and surrender our heart, lives, circumstances, loved ones, finances, job and more to HIM!! Praying for you!
Renee, I’ve had to think about this one for a while … thanks for the extra time …. just enough for God to affirm it and confirm it through a prayer from our friend Stephanie Clayton just today about 30 minutes ago….. for me to be the woman that I want to be and to be the woman that God has called me to be, my word for Chapter 11 this go around would be FORGIVENESS! And the verse would be:
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. (Matthew 18:21-22).
Yep, I’ve got the acceptance part of my Dad and the effect of his actions and sometimes lack of actions down …. now I’m working on the forgiveness part. And it’s not easy. NO where near easy. But in order to be the woman that God has created me to be, I must practice daily forgiveness with my Dad and with the man that molested me so many years ago. When those triggers happen, and they still happen, I am called to forgive no matter what just as God forgives me no matter what ….so that would be next choice for the journey … the choice to forgive and forgive again and again.
Thanks for letting me get outside the lines of Chapter 11 this time….probably something that I should have captured this time around as I learned in Chapter 5 to live beyond the shadows of doubt
Love you ….love your heart ….love ACH! Thanks for constantly challenging me to live my life in the LIGHT and to be an extender of God’s grace to myself and to those who have hurt me.
Donna B
Thank you so much friend for pouring out your heart and being so real here. I love that about you and it’s a powerful part of the ministry God has you doing in women’s lives. Forgiveness is hard – especially when we’ve been hurt like you have. Praying for HIS healing and forgiveness to continue to bind up the broken places in your heart and set your emotions free!!!
Love and appreciate you more than words can say!
My word is RELAX. My scripture is “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it.” …1Corthians 10:13
Love your word and would love to know how it ties in with your verse. Thank you for sharing!!
My word is “SURRENDER” because that is what we have to do. We have to surrender everything…completely!
My verse is John 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me” This is my verse because once we SURRENDER to God our hearts should not be troubled because we believe in HIM for our everything.
Love it!! Thank you for sharing Anna!
My word for this week is HOPE.
As you, Renee, wrote on p. 23 in your book, “As God’s girls, we (I) need to know and believe that change is possible. We (I) need to HOPE that life can be different.” I have written this on an index card and have it on my desk…for me to see each day.
My verse(s) are actually taken from one of my favorite psalms…Psalm 25 (NIV)
“No one whose HOPE is in you will ever be put to shame…” verse 3
“Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my HOPE is in you all day long.” verses 4-5
I love the word HOPE – for so many years of my life I was not willing to hope because I was tired of being hurt and disappointed. Im so glad God is giving us the courage to HOPE in HIM and to trust Him with our hopes!!
My word for this week: SURRENDER.
My verse is Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able tot test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
I am very much one who needs to have all her ducks in a row and plan everything out far in advance. I’m learning that it’s ok if I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow but it’s taking time for my head and heart to agree on that truth. I have dealt with much anxiety and fear for the past 5 or so months. I talked to my doctor and she said I could go on medication but my husband and I are trying to get pregnant so those two options don’t mix very well. And I want to believe that God can and will heal me of this incredibly dark time! But some days I get lost in the pit of “me” and I’m constantly fighting that battle to die to myself and the things I think should happen and rely on God’s perfect timing.
I’m thankful for so many encouraging words in this book…all based on the most encouraging Book of all 🙂
My word of the week is freedom, and my verse for the week is “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1.
For me, this means freedom from fear, anxiety, and worry, and instead the freedom to live an abundant life trusting in the truth of God’s promises and His word. Freedom to choose God’s truth over fear.
My word is “birthright”. The verse I chose is Romans 8:16-17a. “the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ…”. This study has taught me that it is my birthright to be secure as a child of God and that as His heir
I am able to claim his promises for my life. They are part of my inheritance. When insecurity and fear begin to surface I pray God’s promises knowing that all His promises are yes and amen for God is not a man that He should lie. I love on page 213 where it states that “our trust in God’s promises will preach the most powerful sermon when it’s lived out in everyday life.” May my life bring glory and honor to Him.
Word for this week is “Renewed”
Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
God has “renewed” me throughout this bible study. I came as a broken woman and God has restored and renewed all that was damaged. He has healed the broken hearted and renewed my strength so that I can sour on wings like eagles. There are so many words that can express God’s loving kindness throughout this study; transformed, redeemed, restored. Thank you Renee. I hope to follow along for a second time around. Wonder what God has planned next time!
Word of the week SECURE: Verse: Let the beloved of the Lord rest SECURE in him, for he shields her all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders. Deut. 33:12
It was really hard to choose just one word because I often feel all of those Renee presented in her list. But security covers so much in our lives:
Do I feel secure (is God enough) when my husband has a tirade?
Do I feel secure when my children are unthoughtful or disobedient?
Do I feel secure in my mothering instincts?
Do I feel secure and able to do my job effectively?
And the list goes on, so Is God enough? Truly he is because he is my security and I am loved by him and I can find rest in him. What a beautiful picture: The one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.
Renee, Thank you for this study. I have the same deisre to walk away is my default mode. I was progressing very well until last week when doubts crept in again, I thought, well there you go, I’ve failed again time to give up. But as Renee says doubt will creep in and we will have struggles we just need to take them to the cross immediately and rest secure in his love and grace.
Word (more like phrase) – give up all rights…I have a right to (fill in the blank)… – Phil 2:5-11 (amp)
5 Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:]
6 Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not [c]think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped [d]or retained,
7 But stripped Himself [of all privileges and [e]rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being.
8 And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross!
9 Therefore [because He stooped so low] God has highly exalted Him and has [freely bestowed on Him the name that is above every name,
10 That in (at) the name of Jesus every knee [g]should (must) bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 And every tongue [frankly and openly] confess and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
– because I am reminded that Christ was rejected, I should not feel vengeful, bitter, or resentment when those who are my family, my husband, or friends, reject me. Trying to go to HIM first regarding my feelings instead of telling my hurts to those who have made it quite evident they do not care. I’m casting my pearls before swine, thinking that if I just let them see the hurt, tell them of the hurt, they may see what they are doing and care.. but they don’t… And I have to forgive, give them grace (easier said than done, most of the times I say it and the feelings may or may not come later). Remembering that Christ didn’t fight for His reputation or try to get others to see His view or love Him. He went to the cross for myself & them anyways and didn’t hold it against us or demand us to see it from His perspective. Because in this life – where does it say we have a right to anything… Those expectations and rights remind me that other’s have power over me, I care about their opinions and want to be loved & accepted… “All the people in this world are broken… and you can not look to a broken thing and expect it to make your heart whole” (read this yesterday from Matt Moore) and although the subject wasn’t regarding me the bottom line of his whole letter – we all want to be loved & accepted & the world is telling us that it is our right to be loved & accepted – We are but in agreement to what he said & from your book – I already am loved & accepted and if no one ever hears my opinion or cares about me God does – and yes sometimes like Melissa (more times than I would like to admit) I too struggle with – Is God enough? And in her powerful list of questions I find myself crying and humbling admitting to God, I don’t believe He is – I want Him to be, I desire Him to be, but I place those I see and hear and touch before Him. I’m sorry Father God, forgive me for chosing others – Yeilding to you Father, if I am never to feel love or acceptance from another human being may You fill all that void with Your presence – and may I have no resentment, bitterness, or anger towards any of them. In Your powerful name Lord Jesus I ask this – Amen!!
Wow! That is powerful! Well written! Borrowing your words about “no resentment, bitterness, or anger”.
My word is Redemption
Bible verse Coll 1 13-14
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us in the kingdom of the Son he loves,in whom we have redemption,the forgiveness of sins.
The Lord has really been speaking to me about forgiveness and I think he wants me to know how much he loves me and forgives me. I think that when we can accept his forgiveness and know how much he loves us that he would share his sons kingdom with us then we can be truly free and move forward in our lives…..
Blessings Renee and all the women in this study….
My Word for this week: DEEP
My verse: Ps 42.7 Deep calls unto deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. (NIV)
The cool thing is that God gave this to me Sunday night before I knew what was happening on our blog this week!!
By sitting with Him, studying and focusing on His voice in this verse, He showed me how, at one time, I would have taken this verse as God coming against me in an angry and demanding tone. But now, (this is what I wrote in my journal):
As Your Spirit (Deep) has been calling to mine (deep), the conduit between You and I has been loud because your life giving water/spirit has swept over me in waves and billows (breakers) breaking off the lies and misconceptions I have been living with concerning You, leaving them in a heap, ruined for all eternity.
Your Spirit (Deep) is still calling to mine (deep). There is more in me that needs to be eroded, cut, washed away in order that I can see You more clearly, hear You more clearly, to love You with abandon and total surrender.
🙂
My word: Surrender
My verse: Proverbs 3:5-6
‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.’
I need to daily surrender my ambitions, hopes & plans into His hands and trust Him.