So excited to start this “Confident Heart” journey with you!
The first thing I want you to remember: This is YOUR journey. You’ll be reading the chapters, listening to God speak to your heart, highlighting sentences, promises and quotes you want to remember and apply. You’ll be answering reflection questions and interacting with the group.
You’ll be doing the work of believing God!
I’ll be shepherding, leading, encouraging, connecting and pacing us. I’ll be sharing my heart and more of my story…because I want you to see you are not alone and give you courage to see and share yours. I’ll be praying for you and challenging you – but you’ll only get out as much as you put in.
Today, I asked the Lord what I needed to give up – so I can give more to Him – and this study. I immediately sensed Him whispering “work.” And I knew it was Him. I love my job and I’ve been working too many late night hours after the kids go to bed. So I’m cutting back the next several weeks to consecrate more of me TO HIM and to you!
What will you cut back on to make time for Him and yourself these next several weeks? I’m really going to challenge you and give you permission to block out at least a little bit of time each day to concentrate on replacing the OLD with the NEW He has for you! Ready? Here we go:
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A Confident Heart Online Study (Day 1)
Read the Acknowledgements (I’ll explain tomorrow why I wanted you to do this).
Read Chapter 1. Please highlight verses and sentences that grab your attention or tug on your heart. What is God saying to you though this chapter? Write down what you sense God speaking to your heart in the margins of your book, or in a journal/notebook that you’ll use throughout this study.
A video message from my heart to yours is coming later tonight. I’ll post it on my website later since I’m not quite ready to post it yet. But I wanted to go ahead get this loaded so you can get started!
I’ll send an email and post on our Confident Heart Facebook page to let you know when the video is up and ready for viewing.
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GROUP CHAT: What sentences in Chapter 1 resonate with you or tug at your heart?
Click “Share Your Thoughts” below (or click here and scroll to the bottom of this post) if you’re reading this via email).
Also, please share one or two on our Confident Heart Facebook Page or on Twitter (@reneesswope) using the hashtag #AConfidentHeart.
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I was struck by many of the same thoughts as others are mentioning, but one that I truly love is when you say “We’ll learn how to live beyond theshadows of doubt by holding each of our insecurities up to the light of God’s Word.” THAT excites me. It amazes me to think that there will be so many of us reading this book and journeying along together, but that regardless of what each of our insecurities or situations are, God’s Word sheds the TRUTH and LIGHT on them all! This is what truly matters-God’s Word, and shifting our thoughts to a God Perspective!
To trust him for my justice from all that has wronged me….Salvation is calling….Out with the OLD IN with the New!!!! More of him in his word and praise to shut the mouth of my enemies…
Thank you so much Renee, for leading all of us towards accepting God’s plan for us to be confident women!
Page 24 was the stand out for me, full of good stuff.
o “Some days I do better than others and you will too.” — Reassurance!
o “Are you ready to let his Word change the way you think, which will determine the way you feel and eventually transform the way you live (Romans 12:2)?”
[Romans 12:2b is → “let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” Need to say this one over and over and over!]
o “relying on the power of his words and living like they are true no matter what my feelings tell me.”
I have hopes (scary hopes), that I will let God transform me.
Pg. 23 – ” God doesn’t want us stuck in a cycle of defeat or living in the shadows of doubt.” I spent the last two years going through a divorce where I have ended up a single mom of three children who just turned 7, 4, & 2. I have grown so much during this difficult time & am still on a journey to find out my true value & worth. This sentence stuck out to me because I am learning to make decisions on my own and to stick by those decisions. I am learning how to talk to God more & more and trust what He leads me to do. Since I don’t have a spouse to pray and discuss my decisions with, I doubt myself. I want to learn how to be solely dependent on God and to trust what he tells me and leads me to do.
It was easy for me to identify with all the insecurites from the beginning. I was adopted and found out when I was nine, I couldn’t understand how anyone could abandon a little girl and carrying on with their own life. I felt hurt, heartache, isolated, alone, deserted, and confused. At the same time there has always been a Savior there to help me sort things out and believe in him. However, I have found myself at time wonder if he REALLY love Me. It’s just plain ole me, nothing special, no one knows if I am around and won’t know when I leave. How could God care so much for me. I should be proud of whom he is and that I belong to him but yet and still he has to continue to conveince me. I am looking so forward to truly believing and finding the one and only friend that is there for me regardless. That is something I don’t have right now. Thanks Renee for talking the lead on this one. God Bless
Kristie, I like you have suffered with the insecurites that come from “rejection” in childhood. My parents divorced when I was five and my mother gave me up in exchange for the house. I did not grow up with her and it’s been 34yrs since I’ve seen her. I can feel and understand your pain. Kristie, don’t ever doubt God’s love for you. You are so worthy of His love. Your circumstances can never separate you from His love. ” Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:39
You are so special to Him. I pray that you will grow in a deeper revelation of Christ love. Seek Him, and find your confidence in Him. Also, remember you are NOT alone. I pray that through this study God will connect you with friendships that will help and encourage you in your journey.
Thank you so much for you wonderful words of encouragement. As I was reading back over this I felt ashamed of the way I feel. God supplied me with wonderful parents and very loving extended family. I have three children of my own and grandchildren that I probably suffocate from fear of losing them. My mom passed away when I was 33 and my dad when I was 39, even at that age and being grown didn’t keep me from feeling like a little orphan girl. I still go through periods of waking up in this pantic of them not being here with me. I struggle with loss and fear of being alone. So, thank you again for your sweet words. I do pray this study helps me to realize I will never be alone, and learn to face my fears with the confidence God has instilled within me. I just have to figure out how to tap into that confidence.
…..as with all the comments shared…I must say…”I am not alone”…..and ever so thankful to be apart of such a group of so many special women who desire to be closer to our Lord Jesus!
Onward to turning to Him… ” the light of the world”.
What stood out to me was how fear and doubt paralyzes us and stops us from being all that God is calling us to be. “Self-doubt blocks the promise of God’s power and truth to change us from the inside out so that we can live with a confident heart.” pg22
God is about to do a “new thing” in each and everyone of us through this study. I can sense it in my spirit. We need to stop listening to the lies and start believing God’s promises for our lives. We are loved, so loved by our God. He is calling us unto Himself. We are His Beloved, and He’s calling us to come away with Him and discover the fullness, and depth of His love. That’s where we will find our confidence…in the revelation and encounter of His love. I love you all and I’m happy to be on this journey with you!!
I’m terrified, daily. I work with two ladies who constantly put me down and criticize the way I do things. I’m not stupid and have run an entire department once with fluid know-how. Now at this job, their comments have become prophetic as my anxiety rises from being disliked/taunted and demeaned in front of other coworkers, I can’t seem to think clearly to do my job. It will be a hard journey to drown out their words and embrace/replace them with the Words of God.
Becca, I am so sorry you are going through such a hard time with your co-workers. I will pray for you. Hang in there!
I will keep you in my prayers Becca – I have been right where you are and know exactly how you feel.
Im praying for you Becca. I”m so glad you are here and God knew it was just what you needed. I have a feeling those co-workers might be jealous and threatened by you. That is no way for a person to act so it doesn’t reflect your inadequacy but their not-so-nice hearts.
Remember Jesus was falsely accused and so mistreated. You can live in the power of HIS love as you remember you are not alone. He understands and HE is with you. Do what HE did and focus on the Father’s love. Claim and pray the promises all throughout chapter One.
Tomorrow we have a free download to print and put up all around us. Also, chapter 12 has a whole chart full of truth to copy and take with you. Keep HIS word ever and always with you. Just keep speaking truth to your heart and drown out their accusations.
I’ve said a prayer for you as well as your two co-workers. Just know you’ve got a pretty big support group here!!!
Like the others, I already submitted a prayer for you. My mother is going through the same thing presently, so I have a short Psalm for you – Psalm 64. It is “on the money!” Know God is a God who SEES! In due time you will see Him work things out for your good.
“We can be confident we are praying God’s will when we pray God’s Word”…pg.25 “When we pray God’s words out loud, and hear them, the Holy Spirit engraves them on our hearts and writes them on our thoughts.”
Amen. This isn’t something we should pass over without grasping onto power of what it can do for us.
The whole Table of Contents is speaking to me, to be honest! But two things really stood out. First, as others have mentioned, is what Renee says about the lies that the world tells us: “If only I had____,I’d be so secure and fulfilled.” Even though I KNOW this is a lie, and that “the reality is, every single thing the world offers is temporary,” I fall into this trap so easily. I am a reluctant military wife and I have struggled with the long separations that come with military life. I often think “If only he were here…” “If only he could be fulfilled another way…” Even knowing they are lies doesn’t make those tapes go away! Which leads me to the second thing that really stood out, which is the distinction between believing IN God and believing God–similarly, believing “in” what the scripture says about marriage and trials and truly BELIEVING what it means and that it applies in all situations. One small word makes a big difference!
I have struggled with self doubt for as long as I can remember, and I’ve prayed asking Him to help me in this area of my life. When I received an e-mail from P31 Ministries announcing this study, and I couldn’t help but smile! I caught Him answering my prayer! 😉 Jeremiah 17:7 and Hebrews 10:35-36 really spoke to me today! I’m so excited to begin this study, and I look forward to embracing His truths! I pray for Renee as she leads us during the following weeks. May God bless her and give her wisdom and confidence each day as she ministers to us. And I pray for each of us participating in this study, that we may be open to what is presented and receive God’s truths; believing that He wants us to live with confidence!
Amen!!!
“He’s led me beyond believing in Him to believing Him by relying on the power of His words and living like they are true.”
This is a concept I struggle with, but when I read that something clicked and I get that even Satan believes in God, I need to believe what he says and stop believing my emotions.
Also,the doubt and hope can’t live in our hearts at the same time. That’s pretty powerful, I have to let one go…obviously.
I always feel like I fail at everything I do. The sentence about praying to become a mother and then doubting that I am a good mom was so true for me. I am glad I am not alone in those feelings.
I think for me the part that really resonated with my heart was the statement that “God declares things can change” and the scripture references that followed it. I had to stop at that point and really allow these verses to sink deep into my heart. I have written each of these verses down, and am going to continue to meditate on them for the next couple of days to really try and allow these truths to become real in my heart.
“… doubt and hope cannot live in our hearts at the same time.” This is what sticks out to me, because I feel one can have hope about some things and doubt about others. I am eager to learn more about what this statement means.
The unknown is scare and the miserable too familiar but familiar is comfortable – how true.
“If God calls you to do something, shouldn’t you feel confident about it?” This would seem to be the natural conclusion of the if/then statement, wouldn’t it? Therefore, is the doubt in the ability or the calling?
“I mean if God calls you to something shouldn’t you feel confident about it? Shouldn’t you want to do it? Shouldn’t self-assurance be a part of God’s equipping?” I’ve answered yes to all of these questions and steered clear of God’s direction too many times. I sense God using this study to get me to trust His spirit like I never have before. I’m so tired of doubt, and of going through the motions. I want to “rely on the power of His words.”
The sentences that stood out to me was “my doubt was distorting my thoughts and overpowering my emotions with confusion and questions. The shadow of doubt had become bigger that what I doubted–myself”.
if we totally depend on God to work in our lives, doubt would not have taken up so much space,but has we read when we turn away from the Light we are faced with the shadow of doubts.
Only God can give true confidence.
The statement in Chapter One that was life-changing for me is that I want to move “beyond believing IN Him to really BELIEVING Him by relying on the power of His Words and living like they are true no matter what my feelings tell me.” I have no doubts that I am a Christian. I have believed in him. But I have not been living like I BELIEVE Him. I am going to claim His promises for my life and not let my feelings or my circumstances control my self-confidence and joy in the Lord!
I totally agree!! It seems to simple to take out the word “in”, but truly living by believing Him is transformational.
Yes it is!!!
“Self-doubt blocks the promise of God’s power and truth to change us from the inside out so that we can live with a confident heart.” (page 22) I’m practicing blocking the self-doubt instead of God’s promises. ALSO, praying God’s Word is LIFE CHANGING!
Thank you, Renee. Love and Prayers.