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 am not blogging for this OBS so i hope I am writing in the correct are.
I am so glad to be part of this OBS, “A confident Heart..” Reading the chapters for this week helped realize yet again, that I am no stranger to feeling as if I have to do it all on my own, also when I doubt myself and cry that i cannot do this anymore.
I know that I am loved by God and I can lean on Him. I truly believe, “All things are possible for those who believe,” but sometimes getting over that mountain or riding through the storm just seems so hard, even when I persevere.
Crystal,
I agree with you that He was calling you be in this study. He wants you to know that no matter what you do or how bad you think you’ve messed up as soon as you ask Him to forgive you He will. I, too, am looking to get a closeness with Jesus. I started going to church about a year ago and I felt this connection, this light feeling all over my body and soul. I have not been to church in about 3 or 4 months and all I can say is that I yern for that closeness again. Don’t be afraid of trying to rebuild that connection, it’s what He wants. You are a strong woman and He made you that way for His glory. You are unique and I will be praying for you and your family. Don’t let the enemy place fear in your heart, it’ll only keep you from what you want in a relationship with Jesus. GOD BLESS YOU!!!
God was really working to make sure I partook of this Bible study. I had signed up almost six months ago for the 7 Day Doubt Diet but never the actual Bible Study. I thought it would be good to do, as I was dealing with some career altering changes in my life and feeling a little less than confident in myself. I never did get around to signing up. Somehow there was a technical issue where I ended up getting included in the Bible Study sometime in April. I realized God was saying, “Hey I want you to do this Bible Study!” I bought the book and still managed to put it off until this week (the first week in June). This first chapter has really been a blessing. At first I thought, none of this applies to me, but I wasn’t being honest. It took reading the chapter twice, looking up the verses in my Bible, and really taking time with the reflection questions to see how much it does really apply to me.
The sentence that stuck out the most for me was, “He’s led me 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 definitely been in times of BELIEVING Him versus believing IN Him in my life, but it has been many many years. A major sin in my life crippled my relationship with Christ and I have been working for almost 10 years to get back to that coveted relationship with him. I have struggled with the idea that only some of the promises apply to me. My sin has made it where I can never be as close with Him as I once was. Even beyond that, my personality has always been that of a people pleaser, and there have been many comments made that have crippled me. In my own family during my strongest period of faith, my father and brother called me a prude. In my first school I taught at I was told I don’t dress in crayon box colors or looked colorful enough to be in the classroom. (I have never been one to wear makeup and I had entered the teaching profession thinking that I should dress professionally so I work suits and professional attire that was often brown, gray, or black.) I was told in my latest position that I was a great teacher but lack some sort of intuition. I feel like a failure. I felt God had called me to teach, but for the last two years, the demands became so much that it was affecting my relationship with my family, including my very sensitive and difficult child. I have left the teaching profession this year to the disappointment of many students, parents, and coworkers. My struggle with my oldest child has left my confidence crippled even in the realm of parenting. By the end of this study, I want to be like Renee and move from believing in Him to BELIEVING Him, because right now and for the last ten years, I am battling the thought that I have messed up so much that he can’t possibly mean those promises are still for me.
Sorry it is a bit long. Are there any other women that feel as broken as I do?
Hi, Crystal:
Praise God for you! I believe you can have that close personal relationship with Jesus again and maybe even closer for having gone through difficulties and moving forward and coming out on the other side. He grows us through these experiences as we cooperate with Him and the discipline He knows we need. Romans 8:28 – a familiar verse, I’m sure: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” His love for you, for us, is great and deep and all His promises say, “I am for you.” He gave the ultimate proof of that when He sent Jesus to this earth to die in our place. We have a high priest who understands our weaknesses and now ever lives to intercede for us. Praise Him!
Hebrews 4: 14-16 says, “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 7:25 says, “Therefore He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” Jesus prayed for us while He was on this earth (John 17) and continues to pray for us as He is at the right hand of Father God. He knows how to pray for us, too. To have Jesus Himself praying for us – what more could we want or need.
I, too, am struggling in the area of parenting. I have a 16 year old daughter whom I dearly love, but is difficult to relate to. I am learning that I am making this a bigger issue than it is in the scheme of things. Deep down she loves me, even if she doesn’t show it in the midst of teem changes. I know I love her deeply and unconditionally, and I can make it through the hurts and frustrations with Jesus by my side strengthening me in my inner man. I need to see the source of the behavior – humanness and physical changes taking place. I can make positive confessions over her and speak life into her/our situation. That’s what I want to learn to do.
Let’s keep looking to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, resting in His strong arms of love, seeking His way to deal with these issues we face. Let’s pray for one another. God bless you richly!
Renee what a great study! and I indentify so much with so many of you! people pleasing listening to the voices of self-doubt! God found me a great study! I’m totally blind, and have an amazing computer with speech program, and I’m so happy to be participating in this study! God is good!
so glad to be here!
Wow, there is some majorly tough stuff on this site! It makes me realize how blessed I am, but does not diminish completely the daily battle I can struggle with. So I’ll deal with the the original question, and where I’m at.
I am constantly haunted by memories from the past, the negative stuff. It gets so bad, I get to the point of doubting my salvation, and at the worst point, I thought I was evil, and also wanted to end my life. I am seeing a Christian counselor who suggested this book when I started sliding back.
I think the main thing I got from the first chapter is the need to SPEAK OUT the Bible verse, putting myself in the verse, to claim the truth as my own.
The verse that was most powerful to me in this chapter is Hebrews 10:35-36. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.
Another verse given me by my daughter is I Thes 5:9-10. My personalized version: For God has NOT destined me for wrath, but for optaining salvation through my Lord Jesus Christ, WHO DIED FOR ME, so that whether I am awake or asleep, I WILL LIVE TOGETHER WITH HIM.
Hi Lady’s this is a verse sent to me by Olive tree a great app to have on you computer but it hit home for me. Here it is. Hope you like it.
In Christ Love
God hears and God answers
Tragedy, no matter what it looks like, always stirs up a wide range of emotions. In tough circumstances, grief, confusion, and anger swirl about and as believers in Jesus it’s in these times that our foundation is revealed. When there are more questions than answers and it’s hard to see through the dense mist of pain, what lens will we choose to see the present circumstances through?
I do not normally care for the messages that are put in fortune cookies, but I do have to say that the words I found in a recent one were very encouraging to my heart and prayerfully will be to those who read them now.
So the fortune cookie message I opened lately says: “Never fear shadows. They simply mean there’s a light shining somewhere nearby.”
How perfectly these words relate to our study! When we turn away from the light that God shines through His word and we see these huge shadows of our doubts growing bigger and bigger, let us remember how close God is to us always. Praise God that He has promised to “never leave you or forsake you (Joshua 1:5)”! He is always with us, if we will just turn around to the light that He shines through His word and our Lord Jesus and place our focus and trust in the security and peace that He offers through His promises, the fears and worries that have crept in by the shadows of our doubts will be behind us and we will no longer see them.
Thank you Deana, I like this I’m going to write it down and put it where I can read it daily. In Christ Love
Hi everyone! I’m starting the study a few weeks late… I’ve had a huge licensure exam for my profession to study for that took up all my extra time, so I’m SO thankful to finally start this journey with everyone! In reading chapter one, I really liked the line emphasizing that doubt and hope can not live in our hearts at the same time. So often we have tons of mixed emotions and reactions to things, but getting to the root or core of our insecurities is key. And I love how simply but precisely Renee points out the distinction of these two opposing forces in our hearts… it’s challenged me to take a step back and question myself when I’m feeling doubt to explore where it’s coming from and shift my thought processes from doubtful to hope-filled thoughts and promises. It’s helped me realize my heart space is limited, precious, like water front property! and I need to safeguard my heart, protect it by casting out doubt, shame and insecurity, which can only be done with the truth and promises that God provides. Then I can create more space in my heart for hope to flourish. Definitely looking forward to challenging my heart to create space for hope by kicking doubt out 🙂
So far this entire chapter has been spoken to me. I have lived with self doubt, self hatred, lack of self confidence, lack of any self worth for many different reasons. I was so angry at God for so many years for all the troubles I have seen. Felling like I was nothing to him, feeling angry that when I was growing up in the church that I was told I wasn’t a believer. I have moved far away from my old life, starting fresh, I met an amazing man, I have a beautiful daughter, and found the most wonderful, supportive church filled with beautiful people, and feel like God has brought me “home” and this book is helping me realize that the devil was filling my head with these horrible thoughts, that I really am worth something to HIM. I know it is not a cure all and its going to take time, work and God’s help to fully help me understand that I am worth something but I know that there are good things to come.
I too know that the self defeating thoughts in my head are not from God. I too want to understand that I am worth something and not have it tied to my performance. I pray that I will get to the place where I KNOW that good things are to come as well!
Hi Cassandra, I to felt this way when reading this book and still do. I have done everything to fill the empty places. I’m going into my 6th month totally clean this time, but the differents is I gave my life to God and found a church that I feel right at home in. I has been an amazing this time around. God is the only man for me Keep moving forward and God will work things out for the good. In Christ Love