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 read chapter 1 and found that what resonated most with me was the idea of doubting our calling. I am a dancer and have danced in competition and performance for many years. In the last 15-17 years I have begun to do sacred dance in prayer, praise and worship to our Lord. It has not always been met with enthusiasm and I have come to rely more on the opinions of others than what my heart hears from God. But He is so faithful and led me to a church that not only invites me to share what He is telling me, but ladies there want to learn how to praise God with their whole being including with dance. God faithfully provided me with an education in storytelling through dance and He has equipped me with all I need. Still, honestly, some days when people tell me that this is not a true gift from God, or they accuse me of showing off or even roll their eyes and say, “Oh brother,” I shrink and I hurt and I think, “Okay, I am on the wrong bus here.” Then a song comes on or a story or a scripture and boom God gives me a vision and I am up and sharing, dancing and teaching. My main problem, is I really care what others think. That erodes my confidence more than anything else.
Jer. 17:7 – not only are we to trust “in” the LORD, but to trust the LORD. I knew that in my head, but in reading it and answering the questions, it reached a heart level – because God IS trustworthy- He is in control, I don’t need to give in to fear, & I can walk confidently, knowing that He knows what is best for my heart – regardless of what I think of the situation & will bring me through whatever He brings to me.
I It’s nice to know I’m not alone, I’m tired of living an unvictorious christian life. I’m in the process of climbing out of a pit of despair. I slipped from doubting to despondency into despair with a lot of help from those who should’ve loved me the most (Christian church going family, my family of origin.) I’ve been betrayed, mocked for my weakness, told to submit when everything in me said RUN, I’ve been so angry, hurt, and rejected…this from my family. Its most difficult when Satan uses your family designed by God to try to destroy you. He’s ever so cunning isn’t he and such a counterfeit! The culmination of this is a 5 year( ongoing)struggle with my health with significant physical pain and a diagnosis( finally) of Lupus which attacked my nerves killing them slowly and terrible joint pain..resulting in a TOTAL surrender to God I might add ( take that Satan!). He broke me so he could begin something new. He kept telling me to forget the old, see I am doing a new thing. He demolished Everything so He could build a new on the Correct foundation of Jesus Chris tearing down any stronghold or thoughts that occupied my mind that where not of Him…what HE thought of me, how precious I am, how loved I am. The result is trusting in God’s sovereignty . Do we or don’t we….really believe he wants good for us in our worst night mare. See I want the true things of God not pat Sunday school answers …In pursuit of HIM. Remember in the midst of our suffering CHOSE to willfully and whole heartedly ponder the Lords goodness and PRAISE him. “They have greatly oppressed me from my youth, but they have not gained victory over me. Plowmen have plowed my back and made their furrow long. BUT the Lord IS righteous he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked Psalm 129:2-4 From my heart to yours I’m here with all of you working and praying with my sisters. ” Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble.
I have been so lost for so long and although I started Renee’s book earlier this month, I continue to put myself in a vulnerable position with a man who doesn’t love himself. Not once, but twice, and again for a third time. I have listened to God’s words which I am slowly beginning to believe, but it comes with many tears and frustrations. I said goodbye this am and was confident in my decision until the loneliness and heartache rears it’s ugly head again. I know I have done the right thing for me and for him, but it still hurts therefore I am starting over yet again. Hopefully this book, blog and study will help me. As well as my dog, Emma, who needs to be walked and loed whether I feel like it or not! 🙂
What spoke the me the most was “Yet, doubt and hope cannot live in our hearts at the same time.” It wasn’t until I read this sentence that i realized that I have been doubting that God will send the right man into my life. I definitely hope and trust that he will. But I never thought I doubted he would. Now I see that I have been doubting Him and I refuse to doubt Him any longer. 🙂
I loved the part about not only believing in God but believing Him, relying on the power of His word in my everyday life, that living like His word is truth no matter what my feelings are. THIS is where I want to be and I know it’s a day to day struggle so to speak. How great it feels on the days I can walk with God and pull this off!!!! I too loved the praying Gods word part and have done it, need to do it more. Especially love Phil 4:6-7 cause I have got to let go to Him for th e peace and the wisdom that I know only He can give. I’m looking forward to stepping even more out of the shadow of doubt and gaining a more confident heart!!!!
The paragraphs about seeing your shadow on page 21 of Chapter 1caught my attention. The part where you said your shadow of doubt had become larger than what you doubted – yourself really spoke to me. I have struggled with self-doubt and insecurity since I was a small child. I know that shadow of doubt became much bigger than who I doubted – myself. I have learned that when I doubt myself, I am really doubting God. The scriptures in Chapter 1 were just what I needed to read. I rewrote them so I can refer to them again and again. I am looking forward to the rest of this book. Chapter 1 could have been my story.
The foreword really spoke to me. As a child I longed to feel loved. As a teenager, I longed for love and attention as well. Sometimes, I resorted to not so good ways of getting that attention. I have had failures and loss along the way. I started renewing my faith in June of last year. I have not had the opportunity to read the first chapter yet but I know I am meant to do this study because when I read the foreword, I thought this is me! I am looking forward to this.
The first few paragraphs grabbed my inner spirit. Two issues named in those few paragraphs, provided clarification of some of my hesitations when working in ministry. I have great self doubt and uncertainty. This comes from spending too much time focusing on man and not enough time with God. God has major plans for me and I feel it in my spirit, but that self-doubt is so troubling. I am ready to release the weights Satan is pulling me down with and do what is in God’s will for me, according to His purpose.
Hello Reneee. I enjoyed the chapter, and felt encouraged by your godly advices and revelations God had imparted in you that you shared in this chapter.
Yes, I too suffer with doubt often. It has A lot to do with my past, but I know my redeemer will redeem my life story and write a new story in my heart beginning with a confident heart.
I am too hard on myself and most often want everything to look A OK before going on with (especially wen it come to making a decision) I have to make. And, when things don’t go the way I would expect them to go, I fall into fearing my path which leads to doubt. I am afraid of taking risks due to that. However, I have seen God come through each and every time thus blessing my soul and increasing my awareness of HIS presence with me at all times. Example: when I suffer with doubts especially with remembering the WORD of God, and If my testimony or my advice would even benefit anyone, the Lord has always come through in a mighty way reminding me a verse and a chapter in the Bible (take note, I don’t even read my Bible often), and blessing someone mightily through me.
What you wrote on Pg 22, when you said “Have you ever agreed with the whispers of doubt and found yourself living with a sense of discouragement and defeat? YES YES YES, and….I am ashamed to say it has somewhat immobilized me to move forward in live, and causing me to become fearful of the world around me.
**Yes, it is my goliath that I have to conquer, and I trust reading this book and memorizing in the verses given and praying and having an intimate conversation with my FATHER will help me overcome it**
Thanks again for doing this study. May God continue to be glorified thru you.
Tati
The sentence that spoke to me the most was on page 22. Renee 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 really need this. I’m always asking God to show me what He wants me to do, but then I doubt if I can even hear Him. I hope that this study helps me to hear God.
I long to have a confident heart! I am so very excited to see how God is going to change me during this study. You had mentioned you are a small group kind of girl….. I pray that during this study I will be able to attend a small group in my church and not feel insecure. Too many big voices telling me I am not as smart as other woman attending,not thin enough or pretty enough. The thought of attending small group makes me so nervous that it is not possible to do so. My amazing husband would love for us to join a group. It makes me sad to not be able to do this with him. All things are possible! I have open heart and hands as I begin this study with you Renee and others online.
What a blessing, reading the thoughts of so many sisters in Christ! Thank you, Jesus, for this community of believers, and for Renee’s heart to share with others what you have taught her.
There are a lot of highlighted passages in my Chapter 1, but of particular importance to me includes:’
1) pg 24, “…believing Him by relying on the power of His words and living like they are true no matter what my feelings tell me. and …when I choose to dwell in the assurance of Whose I am and who I am in Him, I have a confident heart.” and …”let His Word change the way you think, which will determine the way you feel and eventually transform the way you live (Rom. 12:2)”
I have been “walking in the valley” with the Lord for about a year following a time of spiritual drought, and He has shown me that my belief and my actions need not be, should not be, determined by my feelings. My feelings can change in a heartbeat, with a tone of voice, or a fluctuation of hormones:-) They are not to be my compass! I am learning to trust Him for meeting my needs, as He is the only one who truly can, and to believe that I am who He says that I am ~ fearfully and wonderfully made, precious, a child of the King! But to know what He says about me, and about Himself, I have to be reading the Word! So, I have been making my Bible reading a priority in my day, learning to dwell in the Word; not as duty or evidence or proof of my faith; not because “good Christians read their Bible”; but as the absolute essential food to nourish my otherwise starving soul! I can’t yet say that I read my Bible every day, but I no longer count that a failure. I count it a success that I am reading my Bible at all, and God is awakening my heart to how life-giving it is.
2) pg 25 from Romans 10:17: “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ”, so let’s pray these promises out loud again and again.”
The word of God is powerful, and spoken aloud it adds a new level of impact for me. If faith comes from “hearing”, reading God’s word aloud, speaking God’s truth to myself, and preaching the Gospel to myself will be increasing my faith, even when I can’t tell!
The sentence that really got to me was, “Although you’ve been miserable, at least misery is familiar where you are now.” I currently live in a city I hate, but God moved me here for my job. I am extremely unhappy here (don’t like the environment, place, behaviors of people, the commute), but I am too scared to leave and move back to the city I love without a job. The job hunt has materialized into nothing. So as tough as it is being here, I stay here out of fear! Fear of the unknown, fear of living by faith without a job for a while. So I stick with being miserable because of fear. A friend once said, “until you get sick and tired of being sick and tired, you will not do anything about it.” She is so right!
The doubting whispers are so true and sometimes they are not whispers, but actual people who speak into your life, loudly and constantly. Often they speak from their own personal fears and which we allow to shatter your confidence.
I love Philippians 3:12-14 and am trying to live by it daily, “Not that I have already obtained this or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (NIV)
Although I have only read chapter one of the book, I am so looking forward to the rest of the book and our online discussions. Thank you Renee for stepping out in confidence to write this book and share it with all of us!
“But I’ve found that when I choose to dwell in the assurance of Whose I am and who I am in Him, I have a confident heart.”. Love that sentence & I need to remind myself of Whose I am.
Thank you for this great study and for all the many wonderful ladies who are part of it, Praying that the Lord will richly bless each one of us and give us a confident heart. I really struggle with confidence when dealing with my own family (parents & siblings) W’e attend a different church then they do and it seems to really have put a distance between us and anything we do is wrong, I feel ‘fake’ being a Christian around them – that doesn’t really sound right but it’s like we are being judged by them…. I know in my heart that we must do all to God’s honor and glory but it’s hard when you feel like you’ve offended them but know that if you did anything any different I’d be offending God. So that part of being in front of the mirror really moved my heart. This has been a struggle I’ve had for many years. I really notice it because my husbands family is a strong Christian family, we have a real Christian church family that we are close with and that is all missing in my extended family . I know only God can fill this void in my heart but I have a hard time giving it all over… please pray that being in God’s Word, in prayer and part of this study will help over come that. Praying that whatever area each of you struggle with too that the Lord will fill that void. Thanks for ‘listening’!
The negative phrases, such as, you’ll never be good enough seem like déjà vu. I seem to hear that and others daily in my thoughts. The prayer really brings home the heart of Jesus and what I need to remember first and foremost. I am re-writing the prayer and pitting it on my fridge as a continual reminder!
What speaks to me most is on page 23, “As God’s girls, we need to know and believe that change is possible. We need to hope that life can be different.” I know that it can but sometimes it is just really hard to believe.
Tina, it is difficult to believe at times, but we must remember that with God all things are possible. Praying for you as you begin your journey.
I am not one to post comments on blogs but after reading chapter one and coming to the first question I pondered for a couple moments and began to cry. The question to answer was ‘What was your earliest memory of doubting yourself or feeling insecure?”…well I thought it was my first swimming lesson, but I heard a little voice in my heart say what about when you were about 4 and were lost in that department store? The tears began to flow, you see I was with my biological father and his new wife when I lost them in a department store. I began crying and calling for him, I couldn’t find him anywhere….a store clerk eventually found me and brought me to the cashiers desk at the front of the store. They asked my name and being 4 I had a speech impediment and couldn’t pronounce my last name correctly. I was terrified I would be left alone when the lady said the wrong name over the loudspeaker….I screamed ‘No!!!! It’s Michele Becker not Michele Buckle….’ my mouth couldn’t pronounce Becker only Buckle. I was hysterical with fear. Finally my ‘father’ came and got me. This memory triggered other memories that led to his eventual abandonment when I was 7. I was somewhat of a tomboy and when I would visit him on the weekends his wife would immediately run me a bath and tell me I was filthy-like I said I was a tomboy busy climbing trees and digging for worms in the dirt. I remember one time having a blemish on my cheek and she kept squeezing it and scrubbing my face with a washcloth-it hurt! She took me shopping to buy new clothes…since she was Scottish she bought me Scottish tartan skirts, crisp white blouses and patent navy blue shoes…beautiful but not who I was. This memory has been stifled for over 35 years but upon pondering the first question of chapter one I see I never felt good enough to be loved by my own father. I’ve always doubted peopled’s love and struggled with the fear of rejection. Praise the Lord He is my father who will never leave me nor forsake me.
I have had a desire on my heart for over a year. It seems so impossible. For me the first chapter God spoke to me. Praise God! There has been so many discouraging times throughout this year and I have asked many times for Him to take the desire away. He confirms to me to keep praying, trust, His timing, and be patient. This first chapter and the bible verses in it have been a HUGE blessing to me today! Glory to God!
Thanks Renee for this on-line bible study. Although I feel I have been healing from being a people pleaser for nearly 40 years, I still fall back into people pleasing when I don’t get into God’s word enough and trust him for all things and not rely on the world to tell me what my worth is. Being raised in an alcoholic home (my father is an alcoholic), my insecurities were huge when it came to feeling like my father loved me unconditionally. But I know now that my Heavenly Father loves me no matter what. Thanks again for sharing your book and I look forward to learning more and growing more confident through Christ. Praise his Holy Name!