Hi friends! I am so excited to start this “Confident Heart” journey with you!
We have almost 8000 women from around the US and the world signed up! I’ve been closing my eyes and picturing us gathering together in small groups (cause I’m a small group kinda girl). Anyhow, it’s so amazing to be here with YOU learning how we can live beyond our doubts by finding our security and confidence in the power of God’s loves and promises!
The first thing I want you to remember is: This is YOUR journey.
You’ll be reading the chapters. You will be asking and listening for God to speak to your heart. You’ll be the one who takes time to highlight sentences, promises and quotes you want to remember.
You’ll be looking for ways to apply and live what you are learning. You’ll be answering reflection questions and interacting with the group.
You’ll be doing the faith-work of not only believing in God, but really believing God.
I’ll be shepherding, leading, praying, encouraging, connecting and pacing us. I’ll be sharing more of my story – and inviting co-leaders who are helping me with the study to share theirs.
I’ll be praying for you, encouraging you, believing in you and challenging you – but you will make the heart investment and be the one who gets out pretty close to as much as you put in.
Here are a few IMPORTANT reminders:
What’s Needed: A copy of the book, a notebook, a Bible, and a ready-for-God- to-do-a-new-thing in you attitude!
When We’ll Meet: Because we’ll meet online, you can check in at your convenience any time of the day and week.
(Day 1) Assignment
Read the Acknowledgements. This will give you a peak into my current personal life and I’ll be asking you to share about yourself later this week too. 🙂
Read Chapter 1.
- If you don’t have your book yet, you can click here to read Chapter 1 .
- Highlight verses and sentences that grab your attention or tug on your heart.
- Write down what you sense God is speaking to your heart in the margins of your book or in a journal/notebook.
- If you’ve already read chapter 1, share your thoughts here. And then take time to look up the verses mentioned in the chapter prayer and answer the questions at the end of the chapter.
Connecting in Community: Click “Share Your Thoughts” below and let’s all answer this question:
What sentences in Chapter 1 resonate with your heart or speak to you in a personal way? How did you relate to my story in this chapter?
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Looking forward to connecting with all of you that seek His will and His promises. May we lift each other UP as we move forward….growing closer to His truths, and not the lies of the enemy. Praying that we all learn a little more about the heart of God and how it intertwines with our heart. Let’s be confident!
Lindsey,
Feel the fear and do it anyway is a remarkable book to read. God has amazing things for you. Trust in
the Lord with all your heart and soul. Thanks for sharing and take care Godbless 🙂
What do you think hinders you most from living with God-confidence on a consistent basis?
I wish I lived with more God-confidence in all areas of my life, but I’ll share my work issue here tonight.
I work at one of the largest universities in the world. I love it there. I love the people. BUT (and it’s a BIG BUT), no one discusses faith at any point, ever. In fact, it’s really seen as a weakness…anti-intellectual…etc. So, I hide it at work because I’m afraid of what people will think. I fear that it will hinder my success there. I’m ashamed of that. So ashamed.
I’m working to be “in the world” but not “of the world.”
Right there with you. I own my own business and always want to keep everyone happy. I dont bring up faith or religion much at work because its easier to avoid making others uncomfortable. I am ashamed that i dont talk about it for fear of judgement/criticism from others…or that i wont be able to “defend” my beliefs. Its very frustrating.
The one thing that I have already been growing in and was mentioned in Chapter 1, is not just believing in Him, but BELIEVING Him. I mean really believing Him. I have prayed often in my christian walk, Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief, and He is answering that prayer.
“You can only see the shadow because you have turned away from the light. Turn back toward the light.” This resonated with me and hit me like a ton of bricks. Before I had went through my first divorce my relationship with the Lord was ever growing, I was speaking to Him and He was speaking with me, life was great. Then I went through the first divorce and yet another divorce and here I am two divorces and lacking in confidence I once had. When I read the above sentence I to myself , that the Lord spoke to Renee, i thought “That’s it I have turned away, I mean I have my relationship with the Lord, He has gotten me where I am today, but it’s not no where like what it use to be like.” I feel Him and see Him work but because I have turned away, not reading like I should, not talking like I should, not doing what I should I am becoming consumed with self doubt. I have always been pretty confident with the Lord’s help up until now and my life decisions have caused me to doubt and try to figure out where i have went wrong and in doing so without Him which has allowed self doubt to creep in and it reek havoc. I am feeling the havoc, at home and with my extended family, at work and pretty much every where. I am looking forward to turning back to the Light and gaining my Confident Heart back that I have lost do to my past failures. So excited about this study God Bless you all and all the ladies participating may we all walk away more confident in our hearts!!!
The paragraph on page 22 “These are the voices of insecurity that cast shadows of doubt over our perspective and keep us from becoming the WOMEN we want to be – the WOMEN God created 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”. Wow! That is powerful. This totally is the truth. The voices we hear are usually not real and the voice of God is. (I have plenty of voices that prohibit me from being that beautiful WOMAN that I want to be-no I am not a mental case – just insecure thoughts that get the best of me). And as Renee wrote, this gets old.
We all need or at least I do listen to Gods voice because we are wasting our time and energy on things that are not real with those voices. God doesn’t want us to live in the shadows of doubt. If we hope in him and give those insecurities to him we win, God wins. To know that God who made each one of us different and beautiful in our own way, we need to look in the mirror and recognize how lucky and beautiful we are as a WOMAN. We need to look in that mirror and say thank you God for making a beautiful woman inside and out and walk with our heads held high and our hearts open to Gods words. Lastly as Renee writes, doubt and hope cannot live in our hearts at the same time. I choose hope! Hope through myself, other women and God.
Thank you Renee for coming into our hearts and souls. You are touching the hearts of many……….especially mine.
First let me begin by thanking you and God for this wonderful opportunity. I just happened to one my email with an adverstisiment for the book and study group and I truly believe it was God putting what I neede right in front of my face, literally.
The sentence(s) that resonate with me the most are: “As a child I doubted I was worth keeping”. I never felt that I was good enough in my parents, teachers, or anyone of importance eyes. I was compared to my brother, I was disregarded, I was made to feel insignificant and that I really didn’t matter. Another sentence that resonates is the doubt whispers “never have the confidence I need”, that no matter how hard I try it doesn’t matter. Having said that, there are sentences that filled me with hope and resonated in a positive way, the one that does it the most is “doubt and hope can’t live in our hearts at the same time”. Sometimes the simplest statements have the most power and this one does for me. Hope and doubt are fighting for space in my heart and I have to stop letting doubt win.
The most relatable part of the story for me was large looming shadow of doubt, bigger than myself.
I’m grateful for this opportunity to share in this experience with everyone and am thankful to God that I actually looked at my email that day to be able to be a part of this!
Michelle, I am so glad that God directly you to this study. God’s ways and timing are always perfect. May He guide you through this journey.
When I started reading the forward I knew that this book was for me. I am really scared and excited all at the same time. I also carry around a cup and ask everthing/everyone “will you fill me”. When those temporary fillers go away I feel so sad, angry and alone. I start to feel ashamed and just broken. When I started reading the chapter and I got to page 23 ” Perhaps you are good at hiding your doubts and no one but you knows the parazlyizing power that they have on your life”. I am parazlyed. Pralyzed by the fear that I will never be able to get out of this up and down cycle. This cycle of doubt. I feel like I pray, but deep down I know I don’t because the thoughts I am not enough, my prayers aren’t good enough, I will never change all run through my head. I’ve had this book just under a year. I only made it through two chapters on my own. I’ve been waiting for an online study FOREVER. When I read the first chapter today, I felt peace and encouragement come over me. On Page 25 Renee says “so lets pray these promises out loud again and again” I was sitting in subway and I just wanted to start praying out loud!! I knew right then and there that if I pray out loud over and over again to God with all my heart, put all my heart into this study, the self doubt will get less and less. I felt a glimer of confidence.
I pray that other ladies out there who feel broken and alone start to feel that same confidence to as they read the book. I pray that we can call come together and lift each other up and help each other remove that self doubt from out hearts and fill it with praise for God!
Hi Ladies and Renee,
I am very glad to be doing this study as well! I find myself relating to what Renee said about the fact that “doubt and hope cannot live in our hearts at the same time. We need hope that life can be different. Otherwise, doubt will win every time and our hearts will be eroded by attitudes and emotions of defeat.” I am constantly putting myself down with negative talk and, all too often, live within the realm of defeatedness and hopelessness, feeling as though my weaknesses will never get any better. I have gone through a lot in the past 5 years, from losing my mother to cancer and then having my marriage of over 28 years end in divorce. Through all of that I have struggled a ton with my weight and, because of that, how I feel that I am less of a person and viewed by others as unworthy and incompetent. Of course, most of this is probably not reallly how others view me, but how I perceive that they view me. I am hoping that through this study, I can gain confidence and more fully understand the truth of how God sees me. I am also hoping I can break this cycle of negative thoughts and attitudes about myself. The verse that I am hanging onto 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.” God can take my past and turn it into something good and new and as refreshing as streams in the desert! What a glorious promise to have!
Robin I will be praying for you! That is an amazing verse to remember. Thanks for reminding me of it.
When you talk about wanting to go home from your event and just do something totally familiar, this really struck a nerve. When I know I need to do something, I tend to go into avoidance mode. Because I have lost all confidence in myself, I have such a terrible time just stepping out and doing what I know needs to be done. Not for the first time, I have broken my husband’s trust by mishandling our finances, and letting it go so long we are in dire straits by the time I tell him about it. I am so lucky and blessed that he loves me and has no wish to leave me for what I have done, but I have to find a way to change. He thinks I do not trust him, when it is my own lack of self-worth that causes me to withdraw and hide. I need to trust God so that I can learn to trust myself and be the wife my husband deserves.
Thanks for the study Renee! I am excited about the delving into the Word of God more deeply and allowing His spirit to renew and refresh me as I pray, read and study. It is a blessing to be involved in a study with so many women of God. One of the scriptures that really stood out for me in chapter 1 was Isaiah 49:23, “Then you will know that I am the LORD. Those who hope in me will not be disappointed.” While some of the events of our lives may cause us to bend, and almost break, we can rest assured that the end result will not lead to disappointment.
As I spoke the prayer at the end of the first chapter these words truly gripped my heart, ” My confidence is in Christ and I am no longer one who shrinks back and is destroyed”. Have I been shrinking back by allowing myself to be overrun with feelings of doubt and insecurity? Have I, as a result, been destroyed because of it? Many days I have certainly felt like it. I have felt like there’s nothing left of me, just a shrivelled shell of a woman who doesn’t measure up. I have often turned away from the light and was overwhelmed with the shadows…but failing to focus on the light and trying to “fix” things on my own has never turned out all that well. Isn’t that a surprise. Haha. This chapter has been a reminder to keep my eyes fixed on my Heavenly Father. I want what He has and wants for me…and it’s high time I let that happen!
i have known for years that i have had a void in my life that i have tried to fill by the the wrong things. i am happy that i am making the first steps to repair myself. i realized that it is never to late and anything is possible if you have the right person backing you. i realized all i need is god an he is the one that has never turned his back on me but i have turned my back on him. it feels good to know my dark days are finally behind me and i am worth it. i am not alone anymore.
Carolyn I know exactly how you feel. I know that God is there but it’s like I can’t let him in. I pray that this study helps you further repair yourself.
It is easy to have a confident heart when things are going well. My ex husband left me for another woman and then my boyfriend of over a year just suddenly broke up with me, no real reason.
I am bewildered, upset and broken and feeling like I was not good enough to make them stay.
I am able to fake it when I’m at work and in front of others, but when I am alone, that is when the emotions and doubt surface.
I started the book a few weeks ago, but really didn’t dig into it until now. I want to get my confidence back and squash the fear and doubt that has invaded.
Candy,
I can relate to your situation as my husband of over 28 years also chose someone else over me. It is heartbreaking and I know I told myself, “If I had done this, or if I had lost weight, or if I had tried harder, etc.,” he would have been happier and would not have looked to another woman. The fact is that more often than not it is more about his issues than it is about what you could have done or been. Human love will fail us at times, but I know this to be true and that is that the love of God our Father, never fails and He sees us as worthy and good enough! Look at yourself through His eyes and accept His unconditional love. Believe me, I know that is easier said than done, because I have been in your shoes and I know how low the pit of despair and loneliness can go. Just don’t give up! Keep your eyes on God’s love and allow Him to fill the void in your life! He will not fail you and you will not be disappointed! Time truly does heal!
I could relate to anything you said about having doubts about myself and my abilities. I grew up in a Christian home and became a Christian at a young age. I feel like I’ve always believed IN God. I liked the part where you talked about moving from believing IN him to BELIEVING HIM. I pray I can believe he has big plans for my life and he will be there to guide me in those big plans if I only believe him.
Sara, God does have big plans for your life. I pray that you will not only be able to believe Him, but also step out and follow His leading and not let doubts and fears hold you back.
Juanita,
Thanks yes I’m obidient to God and pray
His will be done not mine. Take care 🙂
I was tempted not to post at all since 1) the group is large and I felt I’d just get lost, 2) My story is so much like so many others.
I grew up hearing things like “Are you stupid?” “You are fat and ugly’, “Don’t you know any better?”
Like so many I never felt good enough, pretty enough or worthy of respect.
I have read this book once before on my own and gifted it to a friend and bought another for myself. I am hoping to solidify the lessons, the truth that I AM good enough and worthy enough JUST AS I AM.
I have made a practice the last few years of moving through my fears and “pressing on”. On June 8-9 I will be giving A SERMON (I have become involved, despite my fears, in the lay ministry of my church). I am so hoping to truly grasp that “When I choose to dwell in the assurance of Whose I am and who I am in Him, I (will) have a confident heart” (page 23) and can get through it without crying due to nerves!! 🙂
I want to start praying His Word and truly believe it and LIVE it.
Thank you, Renee. You and Lysa are wonderful role models to me and I admire and learn from all of you at Proverbs 31!
Im so glad you posted!! And Im so proud of you too. You are more than you think!! You have more to offer than you know. And the more you walk in that truth the more God is going to show off in you. Praying for you as you walk in faith and preach that sermon. You are highly favored and the Lord is with you!!
Thank you so much, Renee. Your words mean a lot to me!
“You can only see the shadow because you have turned away from the light. Turn back toward the light.” I can take that statement that appeared in Chapter One and apply it to a situation I found myself in recently. It was almost as if God was speaking to me when I read those words. It was a great relief to read them!!
The voices of doubt in my head are so loud sometimes. I know that I should get the word of God and read it out loud, but I just can’t seem to make myself do it. I struggle with insecurity, depression, rejection issues. I know I need to renew my mind with God’s truth, but it is hard to make myself do it. I am hoping this study will help me focus on what I can do and let God do what only He can do. I have stayed at a job where I am miserable and have been afraid to leave because the fear of the unknown was worse than the misery at work. I feel like God is wanting me to move on. I am praying that He will provide another job that I will be fulfilled in and bring Him honor and glory. I have been afraid that all my mistakes and failures will keep me from doing more mission-type work. If I can’t handle the fire here, what makes me think i can handle spiritual warfare in mission work? Anyway, I am praying for God to do a complete work in me through this study. I am going to pray for focus and endurance to complete it.
Tanya your first few sentence are how I feel. When I am down, there is that voice in my head that says read the bible, pray to me but I reject God becasue I always feel so rejected. I pray that you can renew your mind with God’s truth and this study helps you know that you are AMAZING!
“The God of all hope is calling you out of the shadow of your doubts so you can live with a confident heart!” It seems as though I lost all hope when my ex-husband who I’m back together with betrayed me again just this past January. I started to feel unwanted, ugly, unworthy, you name it, I felt it even though I KNOW I am God’s daughter! Nate and I began counseling at church and to make a long story short, the counselor thought it was best for him to see Nate alone. As I continue to let God lead me, I too knew I needed help…God wants to work on me too and I needed Him more than ever. I know God has placed it in my heart to wait for Nate to receive the counseling he needs, as God works on him. Regardless of what happens with Nate and his recovery, I know that this and all times I need God. About a month ago I questioned where MY confidence was and that constant questioning was followed by constant reminders on Proverbs 31 ministries website about this book and this online study. Like Renee says, “This will be a process that happens if you are willing to have honest, soul-searching conversations with God, yourself, and a few people you trust-conversations about where you are, how you got here, and where you really long to be.”
I am so ready to stampede over with all these doubts the enemy attacks me with!!!
Juanita,
When human love fails us, it is natural to feel unwanted, unworthy, ugly, etc. My marriage of 28 years ended for the same reason of infidelity and it really does a number on how we view ourselves, even though we know in our head that we are so worthy in God’s eyes. I just said a prayer for you and I hope that God will work a miracle in your marriage and, most importantly, in you! His love never fails or forsakes us! Praise God for that!
Completely get it Juanita, my husband betrayed me too. We started counselling at church and were referred to private counselling. Counsellor decided to see us separately. We are still together but he no longer wants anything to do with God or our Church Family. Somehow all his issues are my fault. My confidence has been trashed as he continually makes me feel guilty for going to church and bible study. I guess part of our healing is learning once again to trust not only our husbands but also God as he deals with them and us
I read Redeeming Love a number of years ago and identified myself so much with the main character Angel. Never in a million years would I have thought that now I identify myself with Michael, Angel’s husband. An obedient servant of our Lord God. Being obedient to His word, His plans, His promises. God is calling on our men’s hearts as much as He calls on ours. We need to lift our men in prayer. Ultimately it is God’s free will to each of us to decide the road we take. I pray we remain obedient and continue to hear and listen to Him and to do it in love. So much harder at times but our righteousness will be honored by God. Lifting you all in prayer 🙂