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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First I want to thank you for doing this study. There are so many of us out there that are struggling with our walk with God especially in these difficult times. I really loved the statement that you made where you stated that DOUBT and HOPE cannot live in our hearts at the same time. I know that change is possible, but now I know that if there is dobut in my mind, that I need to STOP before I allow it to go on for so long and know that with God I have hope to succeed in whatever I am doubting. I love Isaiah 49:23. At this time of my life I need direction in which way He wants me to go. Recently I have quit my job to take care of my elderly mom and doubt always creeps in to let me know that maybe I made the wrong decision, especially when I don’t see my mother getting better. I look forward to the rest of the study. I believe that it is no coincidence that this study has come my way. Thank you Renee.
Thank you Renee for this study. My self doubt started as a child, when I was teased by my body image. I have a great life but always felt I could have done so much more, if only I didn’t carry around this backpack of self doubt: I am not pretty enough, smart enough,skinny enough. It wasn’t until I met my husband, that I felt I was worth so much more. Mom told me I was beautiful and can achieve whatever I set my mind to. But I never believed what my mom said because I thought that is what mom’s are suppose to say. Now I find myself saying those same words to my sons because I love them unconditionally and I believe in them the same way God’s love is for me. I have become more confident, but every now and then a weight of self doubt will be put upon me when I feel I not respected by others, or loved by others. That’s when I am leaning more for human acceptance then a more Godly acceptance. You see God knows who I am, my strengths, my weakness and knows when I am about to mess up, but yet he still loves me for you I am. I don’t have to prove myself to him. He loves and respects me for who I am. I am sure he wishes I would learn how love and respect myself. That brought tears to my eyes typing this. Thanks again.
I too have struggled with this since childhood. I am slowly learning that I don’t need the acceptance of this world, but it is still hard in this day and time. Glad to know I am not alone, and neither are you : )
The very first sentence in the foreword made me cry. I went back to my childhood in my mind were I longed for my Dad to pick me up, swing me around and tell me I was special. My Dad was not very loving growing up and this struck me hard when I read it. I always wanted to just hear him say “I love You” and it was just not something he did. I have had abuse in my life as a child and I resented my Mom and Dad but with God’s help forgiving was not as hard as I thought it would be. It is hard to forget the things that happened but I will not let it ruin my life. My Dad got very sick about 8 years ago and I had to help take care of him. I know now God was mending my relationship with him so it would be easier for me later in life. My Dad died 4 years ago from brain caner at the age of 54. If I had not had God in my life I would have never been able to make some lasting memories with my Dad to take the place of the bad ones. I have a reallly hard weekend this weekend, with Easter. I have cried for 3 days. My family was always so close and this is the first year I didn’t see my sisters or my Mom on Easter. Please say a prayer for me to take all this book in and learn what I need to. I know my self-doubt and lack of confidence comes from my past and I am ready to face it head on.
Everyone have a blessed day.
Thank you for sharing so honestly. Your experience is heart breaking, but God is clearly using it for good in your life. You are a very strong child of God, may He continue to grow you and bless you. I’ll keep you in my prayers.
I have read this book before, but felt called to go through this Bible study. I struggle with confidence daily as a mom. Am I really doing a good job? Why do the little things get to me? I am hoping that following this study and reading other women’s stories will show me that I am doing a great job! Thank you so much for this book and for this study.
Renee thanks for sharing what God has placed in your heart with us. I truly believe that as women of God its important to have that confidence and assurance that God has this. Having a confident Heart will help us all serve God in a more powerful way. Jeremiah 17:7 states, But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. Trusting in God we can never go wrong. He is stronger than any of our insecurities. Going through this study we allow me to be a much stronger women against the enemy because of my confidence.
As I had begun this study with some dance moms at my daughters studio, I soon found that I was not alone in my fears of doubt. In a studio where there are pretty moms, skinny moms, stay home moms ect the group that I studied with relized that many of these doubts translated back to their own child hoods (mine too) and that these are doubts that we are passing along to our own children. We are trying to measure ourselves up and our children up to be what God has not made us to be nor how we want to be. We laughed and we cried as we begun our journey in chapter one of your book. We are so excited and pray we can bring in other dance moms to share in our journey of fixing our self doubt and trusting the Lord. Please pray for our group as we also hope to bring in some non believers too.
Satan does not want me to do this study. he keeps distracting me. Pray that I can focus!
Father guide CJ and keep her focused on her pursuit of You and encourage her to put her trust and hope in You. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen
What resonated the most was the father issue..as much add i loved my dad he was never able to love back. He is gone now but i mid him dearly and i too struggle with doubt and insecurity. Have been reviewing this book in abooka study at my church. Its an amazing book and such a blessing!
I have always struggled with self doubt. As a child, my parents always made me feel as if I was unable to do anything right. To this day, I still have horrible self doubt problems. I have recently become a member of an amazing church and can already see God working in my life. However, I still have MANY issues of my life, from the past, that are always creeping up and making me doubt myself. I am so looking forward to taking the time to participate in this online study. I think the first thing that stood out to me in Chapter 1 was the line that said, “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 do NOT want to block the promises from God. I know that I need to work on this issue to be able to confidentally take the next step in my Christian walk with God. Praise be to God for bringing me to this book and to this study course.
I can relate so well to being told I can’t do anything right from a young age. But it’s encouraging to see God’s many blessings in your life, and yes, He has wonderful promises for you! God can break the cycle of self-criticism and self-doubt, and I pray that you’l continue to walk confidently in freedom!
Denise, I understand exactly what you are saying. I have recently started at a new church and they have helped me to realise that God loves me in spite of me. I have had similar problems with never feeling good enough for my parents and its time that that self doubt was stopped, tamed. I don’t want to block the power of God to change me. I want to say “bring it”!!
What sentences in Chapter 1 resonate with your heart or speak to you in a personal way?
A- In this season of my life I found several sentences that spoke to me personally…
`doubt and hope cannot live in our hearts at the same time` (p. 23)
`when I choose to dwell in the assurance of Whose I am and who I am in Him, I have a confident heart.`
(p. 24)
`embrace the reality of His measureless grace, unconditional love, and redeeming hope` (p. 24)
`We will find our heart’s confidence in Christ as we learn how to rely on the power of His promises in our everyday lives.` (p. 25)
Coming from a divorced family I vowed never to do that to my children. My parents divorce left me feeling abandoned and unloved. Just the child who was bad and needed to be beat and do all the chores. My marriage of 33 years is struggling. I keep telling myself that God can make everything new, but I just don’t think it for myself. God healed my Mom of lung cancer, this past month. No medications just prayer. So I know he can do it. But my insecurities says others not me. We lost a child to cancer 30 years ago. God was with me the whole time. He kept giving me different Scriptures each day. He also gave me dreams of what was going to happen the next day so I was prepared. But that was then, it doesn’t seem to be now. Depression the past two years are the norm for me know. Each day trying to stay focused on other things. Im eager to read this book and do the study to get the confidence I need in Christ, so I can live for him again. Hopefully become a happy person again.
I also have such low self esteem, for so many years, don’t know how to get out of this cycle, I’m hoping this study will get me more confident in my self.
” ‘You’re not worth staying for’ was a lie, but it became the truth through which I filtered my worth in all of my relationships.” “What we need is someone who will pursue us and accept us even though we’re flawed.” My hope & prayer is that thru this Study, I will allow the head knowledge to move down and penetrate the very core of my being; to know that I can have a confident heart, despite all my flaws. To know there is Somebody who is pursuing me, flaws and all.
I am really excited about this study. So much of my life I have allowed myself to live in the shadows of my self doubt and let the fact that I have failed so much in my life that things will never be different. I have to admit when I picked the book up at the store I almost talked myself out of it and doing this study all together because “I am not ever going to change” But that is the thing, I can’t change on my own, through God’s Power I can be changed. I have great hope that He will break these strongholds that have allowed me live like a turtle in my shell all of my life. I struggle with my weight and am in the process of losing weight and have felt that once I get down to my goal weight I would be so much happier but it still is not going to fill that void that only God can.
I wish you all good luck in this study and pray that God removes our shadow of doubt. Have a blessed day!
Thank you so much for writing this book. I am a new Christian. God has always been in my life but I never read the bible, out of fear. Fear that I would discover something I had done would be unforgivable. Fear has ruined my life. I live in constant fear of life, what does the future hold? can I keep my children safe? will I be safe? I can’t even listen to the new without almost having a panic attack. Will my marriage last? Fear, depression and anxiety have run my life for over 12 years. They have turned me into a tired, irritated, on edge mother and wife. I want to know God and KNOW that no matter what comes against me I have the strength to get through it and that I can overcome my fears and live a blessed life with confidence.
Thank you for sharing! I pray that God will show you the depths of His love and provide comfort for your fears. I can say that He is willing to forgive anything and everything, past, present, and even future. Yes, He even knows our future mistakes and failings, and forgives them. I pray that you’ll be able to lean upon the Lord and let him take your burdens. We can’t control anything or anyone in this life (not even our own emotions), but He is in control and He always has our best interest at heart. God bless!
Jessica, I am a new Christian myself and am filled with major self doubt. I have been battling clinical depression for the past 12 years and have just come out of another episode. I am constantly searching for answers and help with my problem. When I saw this bible study it really spoke to me. With being a new Christian I am hoping that I may finally find some peace through Gods word and with the help of other Christians. I am tired of being a miserable person and I know my family has had more than their fill of it also. I pray that this bible study helps us!
Anything you wrote about doubt are places where my mind has been. Childhood circumstances taught me to protect everyone and I have carried that into my life all of these years. There was a breakthrough about 1 month ago and Jesus has been graciously revealing so much to me. There is a long journey ahead as I learn to trust My Jesus and, living in Him, allowing Him to change my life to trust my own husband and children. I am looking forward to this time together. I am amazed that there are about 8,000 women joining in here. Amen!
Debbie, your words could have been written by me, including the recent “breakthrough”. I am looking forward to continuing the journey to more fully trusting in and believing the Lord.
What first caught my eye was in the Forward where you were talking about looking to people and things to FILL you. If I’m honest I have a tendency to do this as well. I like to be able to see and touch someone or something and even though I know God is there and I pray alot, He isn’t able to be touched. I also thought about one of the questions at the end of the chapter where it says Has insecurity kept you from doing something? Yes, many times. It’s part of what’s keeping me from going back to work right now. I have been at home for so long now I’m afraid sometimes to go back to work because I’m not sure I could do it well or fit in. These are things I’m working on in myself.
From one Pam to another–I hear ya! Read the part about trying to get people to fill you up, and I immediately thought, “Ooo…..guilty on that one!” The insecurity thing pertains to me too…..I’ll have to think about that one more, actually. It’s kind of sneaky, ya know?
The wheels are already turning in our heads……has to be a good sign. 🙂
Insecurity keeps us and me from doing a lot of things. I know some of it comes from childhood and then we get hurt or put down as adults and sometimes without us knowing it, it is like another knife being jabbed in our heart. We don’t realize the effects sometimes until later. Our mind is a powerful tool and the enemy knows just how to use it against us. After so long it becomes almost impossible to change.
One of the words I highlighted was… Perseverance … So, stick with it!!! :). The other thing I highlighted was this … “You can only see the shadow because you have turned away from the light. Turn back toward the light”. So to me that is a great reminder to live in the light of God’s Word. Great is His faithfulness!
Becky, what a wonderful reminder to us all to live in the light of God’s word.
I have to choose. Choose to dwell in the assurance of Whose I am and who I belong to. Choose to embrace the reality of His measureless grace, unconditional love, and redeeming hope.
It is so much easier to believe the bad as much as I want to believe the good to believe His Word for me not just for others. To believe I am not a mistake. To choose to believe His grace is sufficient for even me. To choose to believe I am worth getting to know. To choose to stop hiding and start living. To choose to believe I can do all things through Him who strengthens even me. To choose to believe I do matter, I matter to Him, my creator, the lover of my soul, my redeemer. My hope is in Him.
Lord please help me with my unbelief!
Self-doubt is crippling for me most of the time.. I am so tired of feeling unworthy and being afraid of rejection. I have a wonderful husband and two beautiful daughters who shower me with love and yet I still live in the shadow sometimes. My parents, though loving, created most if my doubt and fear of rejection. Growing up I felt the need to do everything perfectly and when I didn’t, I felt the crushing power of failure. Now as an adult I still cannot openly discuss things with my parents because they take everything personally and are nearly always negative. Isaiah 49:23 spoke to me today as well as the sentence about hope and doubt. As I was reading this morning, I too heard the voice of doubt saying “why do you think this is going to help this time?” I am tired of feeling defeated as a daughter of God, wife, mother, friend, etc. I know God doesn’t expect perfection but I want to be confident and BELIEVE I can be who God wants me to be.