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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I think what really hit me was
“You can only see the shadow because you have turned away from the light. Turn back toward the light.”
I think that was so powerful and I have re-read that same statement over and over. When we turn away from the light of God, we focus more on ourselves instead of Him. It isn’t about me, it is how I can use my gifts and talents to benefit the Body of Christ.
So needed this!!
Thank you Renee for putting together this online Bible Study! I have A LOT of self doubt and actually have no clue when it started? As far back as I can remember I have always considered myself “backwards”. Why? I really can’t say, but I have a boat load of memories and insecurities! Do you personally or anyone else who’s reading this, REMEMBER how and when your self doubt crept in, and do you think it really matters “how” it happened, as long as you recognize it as “doubt” and deal with it according to God’s Word? Is asking the question “why do I have self doubt” actually an insecurity? I just started chapter two and look forward to reading more of your responses and getting to know everyone here! 🙂
Renee,
I want to thank you for this bible study, i was going to drive 2 hours 1 way to attend a two hour bible study. My resolution this year was also to draw closer to God and really grasp the meaning of bible verses. I admire people who can just quote Bible verses and tell you what it means. I want to have confidence when I talk to others about the Bible and tell myself “I can do this”, “Things will change”, My Life is going to get better” and “I will have the confidence I need”. Looking forward to this study. Thanks.
Finally got started today, lots of silent tears and thoughts of giving up already. I will push past the doubts and continue.
Wow…this is EXACTLY what I need right now. I have struggled my whole life with self doubt, insecurity and no confidence. I find myself unemployed in this struggling economy and my insecurities are bigger than ever. I just finished chapter 1 and Isaiah 43:19, “See, I am doing a new thing” gives me hope and eased my aching heart just a bit. I am very excited about this journey with so many wonderful women around the world. Thanks Renee!
This is crazy. You never know how much you have in common with so many people in the world until you join something like this. I am CONFIDENT that God has great things in store for those who love Him!!!! I have been so quiet about my fears and doubts and it has had such a negative effect on my relationships. I know God wants us free of this! Thank you Renee for opening this study up and making it easy for people who can’t make a small group or have a hard time opening up, This is a great platform to enhance that insecurity and ease into opening up in small groups with people God has placed to walk along side us.
thank you, thank you, thank you!
I am excited about this journey!!!
There are a lot of things that spoke to me in Chapter 1. “Doubt convinces us that it’s not worth the effort” was the first. There have been so many times that I’ve given up on something because I feel this way. I have tried to lose weight so many times throughout the past eight years, and doubt always convinces me that my efforts are not good enough, so why bother. Because of this, I reached a weight higher than I ever thought I would, and it makes me feel so ashamed. I’ve recently started losing weight again, and every day I struggle with thoughts of insecurity about it. I think this Bible study is exactly what I need to let go of my self-doubt and let God work through me.
I also really liked the part that said to go beyond believing in Him to actually believing Him. I’ve never thought of it that way, but I know there is more to a relationship with God than just believing in Him. I want my relationship with Him to grow stronger and steadier. I put God on the back burner a lot instead of letting Him into every part of my day.
That’s something I’m working on, and I really feel like this study is going to make such a tremendous difference in my relationship with the Lord. I can’t wait to keep going and see what’s in store!
I am so thankful for this study! I have been feeling really down lately and this is just what God knew I needed! I especially enjoyed answering the questions at the end of chapter 1 and really thinking about them. Jeremiah 17:7 (actually most of Jer. 17) really spoke to my heart and where I have been lately…living like a shrub in the desert & not being a tree planted by the riverbank. I want to be the tree that is abundantly fruitful and not feeling parched and wind blown. Thank you again!
What spoke to me was…”As God’s girls, we need to know & believe that change is possible. We need to hope that life can be different. Otherwise, doubt will win every time and our hearts will be eroded by attitudes and emotions of defeat-but it is not supposed to be this way.”
Changing the way I think is hard. That insecure, self doubting voice likes to butt in and tell me how worthless I am. I have allow God to step in and tell me truths about myself. I have to believe that He did not make a mistake by making me who I am. I have to remember Who’s I am and that He is the only one that I need to make me feel special.
Thank you so much for this study!!
I am a people pleaser. I love the acceptance of others, crave it, work for it because I cannot accept myself. I have spent most of my life doubting everything about myself, even as I became an Olympic swimmer, have achieved most of my personal and professional goals and am happy with my life. I always find myself wondering how and why? How did I get here and why am I here because surely I am not what everyone perceives me to be. I think that all women suffer from a feeling of self doubt, because we are typically raised to be “servants” to our families, jobs, dreams, etc.
I recently moved to a new school as an administrator from another school where I was miserable… and even then, was scared to leave, doubting my abilities, as moving to different grade levels was out of my comfort zone. When I got to my new assignment, I was amazed that people had prayed for someone like me to come to their school. And I wondered why? I “accidentally” interrupted a group of teachers who were praying and became part of their group. Since my arrival at my new school, I have been privileged to experience the power of prayer, witness a REAL, TRUE miracle and be the recipient of prayerful healing.
Having been raised a strict Catholic and subsequently fallling away from the church and God, I found myself looking for Him again. I know that He brought me to this place, where I would be surrounded with women and men who were God’s faithful and through their help, prayers and now this study, I would be able to renew my relationship with God. I have always known He was there, but I never felt His presence. I look forward to this journey with thousands of other women who also doubt their abilities, who have insecurities just like me. I want to believe God, not just believe in Him. Even now, I doubt that He could love me…. I doubt my willingness to learn more about God and accept Him into my heart. By taking this journey, with the support of my online ‘classmates’ and the support of the faithful women around me, I am confident that I will gain the confidence I need to be the person others think I am and to be the person God wants me to be. I yearn for His acceptance and it’s only with my confidence that I will be able to believe that He loves me.
What really spoke to me is that I am not alone in doubting and lacking self confidence. There are so many times I feel alone in my own doubts and that I am not good enough. My own doubts and lack of confidence have held me back from many activities as well and I get caught up in the vicious cycle of not only doubting myself but also the being so hard on myself because I feel like a failure. I am so grateful for this study, and I am looking forward to becoming the confident girl God’s has always seen!!!
Renee,
My story is similar to yours. I have spent many years of my life making unhealthy choices trying to find the love of my Dad. I would “do anything for a hug”. Trying to fill that empty black hole with anything that would make me feel loved; and, it didn’t work. Just knowing that God’s promises are mine will hopefully give me the courage to stop listening to Satan’s lies!!!
As I begin reading this book I am excited for the truths God can reveal through others’ experiences, but I am hoping that this isn’t just the same ole talk. I know what God’s word says about Him being here for us and for us to cast our worries on Him (I’ve been reciting those verses for years) but it’s so much easier said than done. I am praying so hard that this book will finally aid me in gaining the confidence I need to be who God intended when He placed me in the roles of my life. I am incredibly blessed between my husband, 6 month old daughter, family, friends, church family, and job but constantly doubt my worth and need something more than just words to help me change.
Like many of you, I, too, felt “spoken to” by the words on page 22. “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.” I have also struggled with feeling like I am not as connected to God as I had been. I am realizing that I need to do ” the most important thing first: spend time digging deep into the heart of God so we can learn to depend on His heart toward us.” (Page 24). I pray this study will bring us all to the place God wants us to be…in relationship with Him, with a confident heart.
The words from Ch 1 that really resonated the most for me and inspired me the most were “…let His Word change the way you think, which will determine the way you feel and eventually transform the way you live.” This has been a truth I have been working at applying to my life daily for about a year and a half now. How and what we think totally creates our reality, and keeping God’s truth in our thoughts keeps our reality focused on Him and His love for us and His plans for us.
What really stood out to me was to pray out loud, ” faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (NASB), so let’s pray these promises out loud again and again.” I am someone who only prayed when I needed something, but never took the time each day to pray, and to pray out loud to God for all that he has given me and to pray for him to help me become who he wants me to be. I feel the more I learn to pray out loud and speak with God, I will feel the imprint on my heart and will begin to be transformed from the inside out.
Another thing that I really thought about while reading this first chapter and reading some of the posts on here, it is easy to hold onto things that have been said to us, hurts that have been created, and mistakes we have made. We tend to measure our self worth by others and what other people say and by our concerns for what other people will think or say of us, but something I need to remind myself of on a daily basis to help me overcome my MANY insecurities is the fact that it only matters how I am seen by GOD, it only matters how I am loved by GOD, and that I am living the best life I can for him.
AMEN!!!!
I am making a big adjustment from a career woman to a stay at home mom with my 4 month old daughter. I am hoping that this book will help me to gain confidence in myself so that I can be a good mother and start figuring out the purpose that God has with the rest of my life. Right now I am struggling with a lot of confidence issues such as breastfeeding with family members give me dirty looks and I am terrified that I will unwittingly continue the abusive tendencies that my mother had when I was growing up. I guess the only answer is following choosing to “…dwell in the assurances of Whose I am and who I am in him.”
This first chapter reminded me that too many times I have agreed with the whispers of doubt. I have let it take control of my life for far too long. Renee reminded me that I am His child and He doesn’t want me to be stuck in a cycle of defeat or living in the shadows of doubt. The Bible verse Renee uses to remind us of this hope we have in Him comes from Isaiah 49:23, “Then you will know that I am the LORD. Those who hope in me will not be disappointed.” The God of hope is calling me out of this shadow of doubt and I’m ready to let Him in so I can live with a confident heart!!
Should we begin reading Chapter 2 now? Or wait for an email? Sorry, just not sure how this all works. I posted yesterday but I don’t see my post on the page now.
Today’s post was just posted around 1pm EST. We’ll start into chapter 2 now. You can find that post here: http://reneeswope.com/2013/04/week-2-to-be-known-is-to-be-loved-2/
This Online Study is absolutely perfect for me and I am so thankful my friend forwarded me the information for me to be a part of this.
Self-doubt, a lack of self-confidence is something I have struggled with and still struggle with for quite a long time. I’m 33 and can say it’s been a hard thing to let go. I’ve been married to a wonderful Christian man for 10.5 years now and have 2 kids. I have a successful home business, but I struggle. I.HAVE.A.TON.OF.SELF-DOUBT!!! I’ve struggled with that since I was a teenager and have added depression to that since my husband and I went through times of struggles almost leading to divorce and then when our son was born it was hard hitting post-pardum. Our son is now 6.5 and our daughter is 4 and the self-doubt, depression and lack of self-confidence is something I just can’t release fully to Him. I am praying this book will truly help me gain that confident heart I desire so much. Thank you Renee for writing this book and for having this online study. It’s nice to see others going through the same thing and knowing I’m not alone (not that I want to see anyone going through the same thing, but…you know what I mean.) I’ve struggled with this for so long it’s kind of like I don’t know myself any different. I’m scared to see what is under this self-doubt but I’m ready to really let it go, FOR.GOOD!!