Hi friends! I am so excited to start this “Confident Heart” journey with you!
We have just about 3500, 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 for us!
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 others who have to share theirs — so that we can see again and again that we are not alone in this journey and struggle towards a confident heart.
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.
So, what’s my best advice?? Each time I do something new like this, I ask the Lord what I need to give up – so I can give more to Him. And this time is no different. I’m cutting back on checking emails all throughout my day (which I love to do) and saying no to some fun projects and other time-consumers so I can give more of me TO HIM and to you (for the next 10 weeks)!
Will you pray and block out at least 5 to 10 to 15 minutes every day to let HIM give you all that He has for you?! You are worth it….but more than anything…. JESUS is worth it, right? Are you ready? Here we go:
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(Day 1) Assignment
Please Read the Acknowledgements. This will just give you a peak into more of my current personal life. I think that’s an important part of building community and I’ll be asking you to share more about you later this week 🙂
Please Read Chapter 1. Please highlight verses and sentences that grab your attention or tug on your heart. What is God saying to you though this chapter? Write down what you sense God speaking to your heart in the margins of your book and/or in a journal/notebook that you’ll use throughout this study.
Let’s Connect: What sentences in Chapter 1 connect with you or resonate with your heart? What might you cut back on to make time for Him and yourself these next several weeks?
Click “Share Your Thoughts” below and do just that. {If you’re reading this via email, click here to return to my website/blog and connect with us in community.
Please Check Your Inbox: Our first Online Study Email was sent and in it I explain how our online study will work. Just want to make sure you know it’s there. If you can’t find it, here’s a link to it online.
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The sentence that most spoke to me was when you said you sensed God’s whisper saying “You can only see the shadow because you have turned away from the light. –Turn back toward the light.” Wow. That speaks so much to what I’m trying to do right now- turn toward the light!
I’m planning on giving up some social media/TV time to make more time for this study. I’m also committing to going to bed earlier/getting up earlier, so I can still stick to my Bible reading schedule.
Several things in chapter one really spoke to me. The first thing is that doubt keeps us from believing things can get better. Doubt convinces us that it’s not worth the effort. The enemy uses doubt to keep us from trusting that God can do things beyond our imagination and that through him we can do awesome things. I feel sometimes that I am not worth anything because all I am is a mom and housewife and I don’t really do anything amazing. But I don’t have to be an actress or a millionaire to be amazing. I am an amazing woman
Being a mom and a wife is amazing! They are the primary roles God has entrusted us with.
I relate to “Doubt convinces us that it’s not worth the effort” as well. Sometimes it does feel that way! I’m looking forward to gaining some insight to overcome those doubts.
heather, as rebekah said…being a momand a wife is amazing! and hard work, too! but oh-so-important as you can lead your children to Jesus and to the Father, and prepare them for lives worthy of the Kingdom! you are an amazing woman! <3
Heather, I’ll add you to my list of Mamas on here who have mentioned struggling with doubt in relation to our roles as wife and mother… I keep it on my fridge so I can pray for us all as I make meals. Being a mother is a ministry in itself!
Wow! I think I have highlighted most of chapter one! If I had to pick one thing I would say God really spoke to me in the way Renee prayed the prayer promise at the end. I love how much confidence it gives me just reading it aloud. My favorite lines are, “take me beyond believing in You to truly believing You”. And ” I will not throw away my confidence, because You say it will be richly rewarded”. I marked that verse in Hebrews in my Bible! I feel the greatness of what God is going to teach me through this study and I am so excited!
I am giving up eating lunch with my friends. I teach kindergarten and lunchtime is my only time of the day where I get adult conversation. I love my amazing co-workers and cherish their godly friendships. But, I am going to go on lunch dates during this study with my Heavenly Father who thinks I am truly amazing!!!
I thought I should say thank you Renee for writing this book. It couldn’t have come at a better, or more needed time in my life! To all of the ladies here, I will be praying for us as a group, and that the Lord will meet all of our needs 🙂 I changed my name up a little here when I remembered its meaning, so sorry about the confusion there 😛 I was just Kyrie before, but it didn’t seem appropriate. Kyrie Eleison means, Lord have mercy, and it fits what I need right now in my Christian life. As I said, I don’t like to use my actual name, as I would be afraid to open my heart like I am. I have been hurt by others too many times…
I became aware of this study halfway through the first series that you did online and was so excited when I saw that you were beginning it new in April. Then, praise God, I bought the book on sale and downloaded to my kindle. I have been so anxious to read it and rightly so. I of all people need a more confident heart! I so enjoyed the first. This is my favorite paragraph from ch. 1
” 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. Some days I do better than others, and you will too. 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.”
My goal is to be able to make this statement from my heart and mean it with all of my heart very soon.
Thanks Renee!
Swope, Renee (2011-08-01). Confident Heart, A (pp. 23-24). Baker Book Group. Kindle Edition.
I will be giving up media time and getting up early. I thank you for the post on facebook that says life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful. I was just asking God how can I live and enjoy my life when things are not going well. and he gave me my answer I can live and enjoy my life because his word says that the joy of the LORD is my strength so I don’t have to wait for things to be perfect when I look to him to give me the strength I need to live each day.
Amen, thank you for sharing. I too will be writing this down to read several times a day, for it is TRUE, because of His word, the joy of the Lord is to be my strength each day. God Bless
first of all, i thank our God for choosing to work within you in the writing of this book/study “to will and to do of His good pleasure” (as it says in philippians, chapter 2). and i thank you, renee, for being His willing servant. i pray that He will provide all that you and your family & loved ones need daily as you spend your time so freely with us.
one paragraph that resonated in my heart is, “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.” it truly is only the truth recorded in the Scriptures that can fully change my heart. and that is all that i want…quite obviously the various other methods and avenues of change that i have tried have not brought about the freedom that our Lord came to make available. so, i pray–knowing that as i desire what God has promised–to become the woman that God has created me to be.
and, like sooooo many of you sweet ladies, i will also be redeeming time during my day and setting it apart for this study which i believe God will use to purge and change and mold my heart.
i pray for each of us that our hearts and lives will be oh-so-very different in 10 weeks that no one will be able to deny the change in us; and that we will be able to share with them the love and compassion that our God has reached down and ministered to us with. <3
Thank you for your prayer, Colleen. I will join in that prayer with you! God is doing a new thing in all of us! 🙂
“You can only see the shadow because you have turned away from the light. Turn back toward the light.” This really stood out for me because I am always feeling overshadowed by doubt, or guilt, or just about anything negative. I am always wanting to run towards a light but always seem to lose Him. I want to be blinded by that light for life so I don’t have to back into that darkness of the shadow
I am going to be learning to shut off my phone and other electronics for atleast an hour a day in order to draw closer to him.
“Behold I am doing a new thing!” I have struggled with doubt and trust my whole life. I’ve been a Christian, loved God but not believed deep inside that he’s there for me, that he’ll come through for me. He’s shown himself faithful, but my heart has struggled. Now he’s called me to join a small group of local ladies going out to share God’s love with other ladies. I have little confidence in speaking to other ladies, but God has been there to touch lives. I need the confidence to step out and follow him, and not miss opportunities because I see my self as so inadaquite. (I’m not a speller, sorry). Anyway God is calling and he’s given me a testimony of his healing grace and power to share so that other ladies will be incouraged…I need his confidence to go forward! I’m excited about this study, it’s already impacting my life. I’m excited to be with you all and know I’m not alone in this struggle.
“perhaps my self-doubt was a sign I was in the wrong calling. I mean, if God calls you to do something, shouldn’t you feel confident about it?…” … “…here you ar with kids, doubting you have what it takes to be a good mom.”. Pg21. “God doesn’t want us stuck in a cycle of defeat or living in the shadows of doubt” pg 23 these were some comments I underlined.
I started reading this book from the library and then I decided to purchase it for myself and take the study. It’s really spoken to my heart about some things I’ve struggled with for a long time.
Tiffany, Amy A and I also struggle with doubts surrounding our roles as mothers. I will add you to the ‘Mama Prayer List’ on my fridge so I can pray for you as I prepare meals. You are not alone!
I am so excited about the study and I am hoping it will provide me with the confidence I need as I begin my faith-walk. In the last week I have been doubting if I have what it takes to be a follower of Jesus. As a new believer I am so overwhelmed with all there is I need to learn and need to know that I am paralyzed with doubt. I started so hopeful and now I have lost my confidence. So I am hoping this study will be the beginning of a new start for me. I am walking in grace.
Oh Jacqueline, please do not doubt that you have what it takes to be a follower of Jesus. All you need is the desire to love Jesus, to believe He died for your sins and that He loves you!!! Being a follower of Jesus is a life long process, I am still learning things and I have been a follower since I was a baby. It’s all about Him leading you to where He wants you to go. don’t be so hard on yourself. So glad you are here and that you have chosen Jesus. Welcome and know that I will be praying for your throughout the study.
Jacqueline, that’s the beautiful thing about Christ. NONE of us has what it takes (Romans 3:23, Isaiah 53:6), and that is why Christ came to earth- so that His death and resurrection could cover our shortfalls, our sin, our lacking. Jesus says we need to become like children to enter the kingdom of Heaven, He doesn’t say that we need to understand every concept in the Bible to qualify. He loves you where you are, in this moment, and promises that He will never leave you (Hebrews 13:5). You are covered by His love and grace. Welcome to the FAMILY of God- the angels in heaven rejoice over you!
hi, Everyone, Renee, i’m so excited about this study! I thank God for using you to help so many women! I thank you Renee for sharing your heart. I was in the last sesion, but joined very late, so I worked at my own pace at the archives, I even posted some comments, but I did join late, so, I didn’t get any responses. Renee, I too, check my e-mail a lot through the day. I want to see if this study will challenge me to quit the habbit of checking e-mail so much. I said in one of my last posts in the last section, that God is really using this study to challenge me to spend time with him. I do love TV a couple of hours before bed to unwind. I have my prayer time. in the last session, i really worked on getting up early to spend time with God, reading the word, praying, and reading great devotionals. I want to tell you all something amazing about myself. i’m totally blind and have an amazing computer with a speech program, I need to use key stroke commands to read a line at a time and so on and there are short cut key stroke commands. I can do everything almost that a person with a regular computer can do. The speech program reads what’s on the screnn, but I have to know the right key stroke commands. I go on the internet. There are a couple of limitations, the speech program reads word documents and not p.d.f. files, so, I can’t download the book, what helps me is a lot of people that post read some pages in some chapters and I find that helps. I get the e-mails. i’m able to read the block. I’m able to listen to videos no problem. I’m able to post comments and read comments. i would love to be able to download the book so I can read it for myself and participate in the assignments, but I do feel that I’m participating a lot, but I would love to be able to download the book, I pray for it to be in a format that I am able to download, if anyone has any ideas, please let me know. also, I was reading some comments, I didn’t get through all of them, I wanted to post a coment here before the end of the day. Like a lot of people, i am a people pleaser and have started praying for help to not be a people pleaser. I have negative people in my life and it’s hard to be around that. I pray that God will use me to encourage people, and i did notice this afternoon, things were getting better. I had such a peaceful phone conversation with my mother, she is usually not at peace with herself, and it shows in her voice and it’s hard to deal with. i’m very busy. I’m in my church choir. I’m doing a lot of things, and usually my mother is not interested especially when I talk about how I’m doing with the choir, now this afternoon, she was talking about her hobby on renorvating, she is thinking of making it more than a hobby! I’m saying thank you God! He is using me to inspire her! she is always so negative and unpeaceful, and it’s just really hard. I also to, worry a lot and feel guilty about not trusting God and I figure out things on my own and then, stress myself out, instead of trusting God. sorry, to go on so much in my first post. I’m just so excited about this study and sharing with everyone, and hearing everyone share. Thank you Renee!
The two verses that stayed with me and made an impact on me were, “But I have 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”, and “Yet, doubt and hope cannot live in our hearts at the same time.”
I can honestly say that as much as I’ve always wanted to believe that the positive verses presented were for me, I have always had doubt overcome any feeling that they could be. Somehow I have come to believe that my walk with Him is not good enough, and until it is, none of his promises will be for me. Those promises are for the missionaries, those who never fail to read their Bibles, and have memorized lots of verses, the leaders in women’s group, the list goes on. Not me, who has a hard time disciplining herself to daily read her Bible, who misses church days, doesn’t go to the women’s Bible studies, etc. I am working towards being closer to God, and honestly I feel close to Him, but at the same time not good enough. Does that make sense?
I want so much for the dizzying “what if” thoughts, “no that’s not for me”, and “I could never do that” thoughts to stop. I am paralyzed by fear, and have lost my self-esteem. I am not looking for pity when I say this, please know that. I am only being honest, so that I can perhaps overcome all of this, and maybe to help someone else who feels the same way. I want to be so confident in God I become that little light that I sung about in Sunday school as a child. I want to feel confident in the Lord, so that I can feel His confidence run through me, taking away the poor self-esteem and fear (although I know there will still be those times from time to time. I just don’t want them to define me.). I want to live the life these promises tell me He wants for me. I am just so tired… Please pray for strength for me to do this, and that through Christ I will be changed into the woman he meant me to be. Thanks! Nice to be here, and meet you all through your posts by the way 🙂
Kyrie, I feel so close and relate to you so much!! I read this book as soon as I downloaded it and I could feel a differenve inside myself but still felt so much lacking and that I was still falling so short. I have to keep telling myself that I do not have to and can not EARN God’s love!! That His love is unconditional!! But it is still so hard to believe a lot of the time, especially when I have just heard negative remarks from someone that is suppose to be close to me. And sometimes it is so easy to look at other people and feel that they do not go through any of the same feelings as I do but you have made me see that I am not alone with some of these problems! Thank you so very much. It helps me feel like the changes are going to be made as I keep putting God first and keep trying to live for Him and believe Him!!
Thanks again!!
I am adding a note here because on my 1st post I didn’t add what i would give up to spend more time with God. I had to step away an think. Since my kindle ( and book) are on my pc, I had or will have to arrange how I spend my time on line. I want to use my pc as a tool that gets me closer to God not kill time til something better comes along. When i wake up like many of you I start up my pc and check email and surf the web as I wake up. I could instead pour my coffee and log on to my kindle and read the chapters and answer the questions. If on line surfing is too tempting I can unplug the internet cord until I am done. I am also going to limit t.v time and fill those times when I turn to you tube to choosing to spend that time with God and seeking his Words instead of a You tube Video. ( 1st installment this evening) I may just make a list of times I watch you tube ( not that its bad) and schedule time with God instead. I see God getting a lot more of my time.
I am excited to do this study. I am new to Bible Studies so I am learning as I go. I did read Made to Crave and currently I am in Bible Study Fellowship so I am taking a lot in and learning new things. I was one of the lucky few that was able to get the book Free on Kindle. I am SO HAPPY I did.
What stuck with me in chapter 1 was:
“Question that get replayed over and over in my head”….I tend to do that a lot too
“This was not the first time I’d struggled with self-doubt”
“Although you’ve been miserable, at least the misery is familiar where you are now”
“Things will never change”
“Maybe, like me, you have wondered why you struggle with self-doubt”
You GO Girl! I love seeing your vigor for consuming God’s Word!!
This is 2nd time I’ve done this study. I wanted to do it again because it was hard for me to keep up with all the posting, reading, highlighting that help so much. (Adult ADD). I always wondered how some Christians can be so confident in Christ…some didn’t care at all….I was stuck somewhere in the middle. I thought it must be something you are born with…or done by Osmosis (God just gave you that quality). Now I know it is something like a learned quality. Being confidence in Christ is a learning process (and practicing) just like how you have grown from first becoming a Christian until now.
The Shadow of My Doubts, I have a choice daily, choose to see the shadow or light. “I will turn back toward the light.” Confidence will come when we ask Him for what is already part of His will. God’s will be done! “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” When we pray God’s words out loud, and hear them, the Holy Spirit engraves them on our hearts and writes them in our thoughts. We internalize God’s truth as our faith grows and we are transformed from the inside out! Thanks for all you do.
I’m so excited to get another chance to do this together online. I started at the beginning of the year but it was during the last month before I led a big women’s retreat. I had to put the book down after ch 2 at that time because I found conflict between preparing what God had been leading me in for over a year and what I was reading about love in the book. I didn’t want to allow the enemy to use what God meant for good to be a distraction to the work He would have me do so I set the book down for a month. I started it back up with a couple of ladies from the women’s conf I led and we’ve been enjoying it and challenged by it a ton! I can’t wait to join in here this time around.
I will be giving up my veg time I surf fb & email & twitter & things to make the time for this study.
The sentences that stuck out for me in ch 1 are:
“See, I am doing a new thing!”
“Over the past few years, I’ve found lasting confidence by living daily in the security of God’s promises. 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 feeling tell me.”
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who had been called according to his purpose” Rom 8:28
I read this book on an e-reader then purchased the hard copy (and read it again) as I knew I wanted to share it. Now in reading it again, I find the sentence that has touched me most is “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.” It is that reminder and assurance that I am His that gives me a confident heart.
I spend much time in preparation for several Bible studies but find that I do not always devote the necessary time to just sitting at His feet to feel His presence and to hear words He may or may not speak; therefore, I will sit with just Him as I have coffee time during devotions – with my mind only with Him.
Renee, thank you for listening to Him and following His directions for your life as your life is richly encouraging many as you continue to walk with Him.
You all of my Sisters feel His love deep in your heart and smile at His blessings.
Dear Renee,
I truly identified with your past self doubts since I have struggled with them too. I am an in a transitioning state in my life where everything is shifting, so this study will be a great help to encourage me and restore my confidence in HIM. I do know all I have been gifted with, but I just need to embrace and receive my security from HIm. My book has not arrived, so thank you for link to chapter one. I ordered at Amazon; if ordered is
not received before week 2, do you still have chapter 2 for us “late starters” to read? Thank you, Giselle from Miami