“When our questions make us doubt God’s heart, our pain can lead to bitterness and bondage. Yet in the security of our relationship with Christ, God wants us to ask the hard questions and look for answers that usher us into the depths of His redeeming love. He wants us to live in the promise that He offers hope for our future despite the pain of our past. He knows our past and our pain can actually lead us to His plans and hope for our future.”
from Chapter 4, A Confident Heart
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Our Word for the week: HOPE
(Download in a PDF or download in MSWord). Please print it and post it everywhere so you can remember that God’s love can satisfy the thirst of your soul!
HIS Word for us this week:
“May the God of hope fill [me] with all joy and peace as [I] trust in him, so that [I] may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13, NIV
Today’s Assignment:
Start or continue reading chapter 4. Remember, take your time and highlight or underline sentences that resonate in your heart.
Connecting in Community:
Let’s commit to memorize this week’s verse together! If you are in, leave a comment by clicking on “share your thoughts” and tell us how you plan to memorize it. I’m writing mine on my mirror and on a ceramic plate in my kitchen for the week.
I’m still sick today but getting better slowly. Would treasure prayers for total healing. Meeting with video editor today to finalize this week’s message so I can share it with you. I’ll be back with a question or something else to we can talk about soon. I’ll just add it to this post (but I’ll email to let you know when I do. Praying for you today!
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Kim, I am praying a lifting of the fog and gray of depression, that it would be replaced by the goodness and love and grace of Jesus, like a beam of sunshine breaking through the clouds. When you get down, think of all the women connected here, and at some time, at least one of us is thinking of you.
Renee, I pray the healing balm of Jesus would wash over your body and restore you quickly to strength and vitality. In the meantime, while He is working, know that we look forward to you being back as our leader, but we want you to do it in His time, when you are well and strong, and not fret about us.
Ch. 4 has brought me a lot of clarity, as it has forced me to examine the past, and to dig deep in some things in the present that I really didn’t want to disturb. Pg. 81 had several statements that hit me:THe premise of Jer.29, that we find His plans when we surrender ours and seek Him each day, and that doing this is a “daily journey of dependence”. You don’t know how much it helped, just seeing that in print, realizing that I am not the only one who struggles with this.
Healing to all the ill sisters out there, or those caring for ill children.
Hope is a good word for me this week because that is what I have been living on. I know I’ve written my story on your blog before but you’ve probably got so many that I’ll repeat a quick version. Eleven years ago I had a surgery that went bad. I wound up in a coma on lifesupport. Almost dying several times but God has a purpose for me and didn’t let it happen. I’ve had 16 surgeries since that first one. I just had a surgery on Oct. 7th. It didn’t heal so two weeks later I had another surgery. It didn’t heal either so I went home and had home nurses coming to the house to take care of me and I was put on a wound vac. Praise the Lord I got the wound vac taken off yesterday. It’s so nice to be off of any attached machines. My hope is after the last 4 months I can finally start living again and get away from being home bound. I’ve written the scripture on a 3 X 5″ card to carry with me to learn. I have to get my Confidence back.
Wth Jesus by your side you will get all you need. God Bless
That is an amazing story Sharon. I’m sorry that you have had to go through such a rough time but I’ll pray that you will be able to live life now and not have to rely on machines. I will pray, along with myself, that we can get our confidence back in Christ and Christ alone.
Prayers for healing Sharon.
Reading Chapter four I feel as though I am reading my own life story, yet I have not made it to that point of healing that I so long for. Renee thank you for sharing the pain of your past, praying that it will help to be a guide for the healing my heart needs.
I Pray that you feel better soon. I Write the bible verse in my notebook.
I am planning on using the index cards this week to help me memorize the verse. Also, I save any PDF pics to my ipod and look at them regularly.
I am praying for healing for you Renee and your family. God bless.
I am so thankful that God knows exactly what we need, when we need it. This study is helping me to keep my eyes focused on God for my confidence during a time when things could quickly get out of control. My husband is going to be transfered for 4 months out of state beginning in May. We have also just gotten started breeding miniature horses so just as this is beginning I find myself in the position of being completely responsible for our farm, 3 young children and all that includes. Please don’t think I am looking for sympathy because that is not the point of this post. I am actually looking forward to what God has for us during this time. My point is that I might not have had this outlook had God not placed this study at this time in my life. God’s timing is perfect!
Im praying for all to feel better soon….. Total healing… I will be writing it on post cards…. keeping one in my purse and planting others around the house and one at my desk at work….
I have been meaning to write out all the words & verses for this study since we started, but haven’t been able to find any index cards. Today I came across some flower shaped sticky notes I had so I wrote the words & verses on them and stuck them on my bathroom mirror. It is like a little word bouquet of encouragement from God! 🙂
My little guy & I have also been sick this week…praying that God’s healing hand would be on all of us who are sick right now & that He would use this time to restore us not only physically, but spiritually as well. 🙂
It is amazing how God works…not only am I hearing and learning from this bible study, but our pastor has been preaching a series on Our New Life. Guess God is really wanting me to let go of all the junk and believe I am a new creature. Would greatly appreciate some prayers, my depression has been really bad the last couple of weeks, struggling to get things done during the day. A lot going on in my personal life that needs to get resolved. Thanks and may God richly bless each of you!
Praying for you today Kim! 🙂
Praying for you Kim. One thing I encourage you to do is to be tender with yourself, just like you would w/ a hurting child. I’m learning to do that w/ myself and I just heard the other day that that IS how tender God is w/ us. It’s helping me w/ constantly being so hard on myself for things I do (whether I do it on purpose or not). So don’t beat yourself up for not dealing w/ the things in your life you feel/think you should be dealing w/ better. Hope that you are getting help w/ your depression. In God’s love, May
Thanks ladies….I really do appreciate it! I do like the idea of being tender with myself…definately will work on that. I have fought the depression for years, on 2 different meds, usually do pretty good with those, but I guess it is the winter blues and all the stuff going on. Thanks for your prayers.
Heavenly Father I know that Kim is fighting depression and I pray that You would lift this from her. Show her what she needs to let go of in her past or where she can reach out to others to “get out of herself”. Lord, there are areas that we may need to forgive when we don’t think it should be us, but Your word says that we are forgiven as we forgive others. Please help us to forgive. Remind us that unforgiveness is us taking the poison hoping someone else would suffer the consequenses. Father heal Kims heart of old wounds, fill it with Your love and tenderness for her. Let her overflow with love for others. I lift Kim up to You Father and trust that You will heal her as she lets go of the things that are creating such heaveness in her. Thank You for the work you are doing.
Kim I have suffered a very mild depression, mostly from my own pity party and I know some of the things that work for me are forgiveness and living in today. If I try to live in yesterday or tomorrow I miss what God has for me today. Remember God is always with you. Bake some cookies and give them away.
Kim: Have you looked into light therapy for winter blues? I use my light box a half hour every morning from Sept 1st through April 15th. It helps me so much. I struggled every winter for years!
Google Philips GoLite Blu.
Prayers are with you Kim you can even try what I do when I am down a nice hot bubble bath, green tea and of course ol’ faithful , at least for me, chocolate. I have also heard that chocolate is also a natural remedy for helping with depression. I know it works for me. LOL and God Bless. another one you can try is put one hand on each shoulder and squeeze tightly–this is a big hug for you from Jesus and myself–remember Jesus is walking right beside us.
Hi Kim,
Can I suggest rather than trying to get things done today that you give yourself permission to not try and get things done (what ever is not necessary anyway) and take care of yourself.
Leave those dishes in the sink and take a long bath or go for a walk, even better get a facial or massage if finances permit. but what ever you do, do it for you. The the other stuff that needs to be done will be there tomorrow.
As woman we spend all of our time looking after others and forget to take time out to look after and spoil ourselves. The most freeing thing I learned from depression is its ok not to be ok and the need to take some time out for you.
The other important thing is it’s ok to ask for help, if you have anyone who can come and help you get on top of things then it may really bless them to be able to help you right now.
I have been praying for you xox
I will most definitely memorize this verse. We all need HOPE. It is so important for us to maintain in this world while we are waiting to travel home to our Lord Jesus. God bless all of you ladies this week.
Praying for you Renee for a speedy recovery. Thank you so much for this study. I am learning to look to Jesus instead of other people. I have been looking to my husband for a long time to fulfill my expectations, but I can’t do that any longer. He can’t fill the void in my life that only Jesus can fill. I am thankful for this study because it is helping me to refocus on Jesus and to believe and to trust that He will help me through this process. It’s taken a long time to get where I am at and only Jesus is the answer.
I am needing His Hope…thankful for His faithfulness….
Enjoying the book and have gone back to do some journaling.
To memorize this weeks verse I am going to carry it with me and when I have a chance I will place a tune to it and sing. I find through music at times my memory is better. Also right now I am reading the bible and each time before I read it I ask God to help me remember what I have read as well as see it as he wishes me too. I will do that with this verse because he is with me as I am reading the bible and my memory has been sharper.
Praying that you heal completely and your immune system strengthens as the days pass.
Thank you for all you do thru Christ.
Well, I am into chapter 4 some and am allready starting to feel the need to go back or to try and jump forward (like that you were warning us about, Renee), but I know that we all must keep pressing on no matter what. One thing that stuck out at me so far was: “My husband would provide security and shelter for the little-girl-heart that was still crushed inside my adult body. Then I would have hope for my future and become the confident woman and wife that I wanted to be”…..I am so stuck in a rut on how to really release those expectations (not only in my marriage but with everything right now in my life it seems) AND how to live the way God wants me to, trusting and relying on HIM and only HIM…..
(from Pg 76) “We can trust God’s plans as we realize that His story is being written in ours. His power is perfected in the broken places we consider to be our greatest weeknesses – our most vulnerable emotions we don’t want anyone to know about.”
the word that jumped out at me was uncovering, recovering to be restored. I was told along time ago that we have to feel, deal with our feelings in order to be Healed by the Healer. I also heard that you can’t heal a thing unless you admit its there. someone said it was Jer 6: 14 in the Living Bible. this book and blog is going to help us all heal on many different levels, so we can move and face forward.. i am learning that I cant hold onto my history and reach for my destiny.
Amy – I’m with you in sharing those very same feelngs that you have expressed so well. Also stuck in a rut and all my dreams are crushed and irretrievable. Worse, I largely caused it myself through insecurity, fear and resistance. Renee’s book is a healing balm – so much rings true. It’s so hard to put into practice and I very much feel stuck in a rut as well. Lisa – yes, I like “you can’t heal a thing unless you admit it’s there”…so we can “move on and face forward” So, so , so hard to let go and turn away . Can’t yet but know I must!
The voice of rayttnaliio! Good to hear from you.
adderall…There are some interesting points in time in this article but I don�t know if I see all of them center to heart. There is some validity but I will take hold opinion until I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we want more! Added to FeedBurn…
Láithreán gréasáin an-deas. ChrÃochnaigh mé dÃreach tar éis mianach agus bhà mé ag lorg roinnt smaointe agus do láithreán gréasáin thug dom roinnt. ForbraÃodh an láithreán gréasáin ag tú?Go raibh maith agat
If you do not act as ugly American tourist and you are nice to people, and then travel anywhere is safe simmering. You can check the U.S. State Department website for travel warnings about wherever you go. Do not let the news channels put you off.
as i am finally getting around to starting chapter 4 and reading your blog notes and what it is about God also sent me this word of encouragement and it so fit!! but then that is MY GOD when I study something or endure something he doesn’t stop at just one resource for me to get it!!! he plants tons of seeds around me and they take root and eventually there will be me standing with him in a garden of love and hope and strength and forgiveness….. I pray ya’ll are getting better, we have had that winter stuff here all weekend and not been fun, but..this too shall pass…..love ya’ll and pray for our huge group learning on loving themselves enough to let God love them….
Recovery is Like an Onion
by Steve Arterburn
“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” – Galatians 5:25
Someone smarter than me said it: “Recovery is like an onion. All the layers that exist have to be peeled away.” Well, if you’re a connoisseur of onions, you know that there are different varieties. Some are really powerful and when you barely touch them they produce tears. Others are pretty sweet and they barely affect you when you chop them up.
And so it is with your peeling the layers in your healing process. Some layers will affect you more than others. But, if you realize that it’s a process, and that God is with you every step of the way, you can face the pain of your past so that you can move beyond it and heal. Also, consider this: You are in the present. You lived through the reality, whatever and whenever it was, so you can certainly live through the feelings and memories of the reality today.
Make your one desire to be made whole and to be as much like Christ as you can be. When you do, you’ll find God putting on your heart the desire and the courage to carry the message of hope and healing to those who are stuck in their pain.
Embrace the pain of the recovery and healing process. It will remind you that God is in control and you’re being held in his arms, tight and secure as He walks you through it. It’s means you’ll take some steps of faith, and that will be pleasing to God and healing to you.
“We are all broken and wounded in this world. Some choose to grow strong at the broken places.” – Harold J. Duarte-Bernhardt (1950- )
Cathi thank you for sharing that with all of us. That was really beautiful and so true. It gave me hope as I was reading it.
Wow!!! Thanks for sharing this Cathi!
Thank you for sharing this Cathi it makes a good visual and it is so true.
Thank you so much for sharing this!
Thanks for sharing this Cathi! That is such a “cool” visual about the onion. Very helpful! I’d like to get that book do you know where it can be found? You did not say it was a book i was assuming it was. Thanks again Cathi. What a blessing! 🙂
I am so Thankful for the Hope I have in God.I Know that He has plans for me to Prosper in everything I do and say.I Am So thankful that He Open doors No man can shut.Shut doors no man can open.I Pray that I continue running my race well and keep my eyes on the Prize.I am Praying for you for a quick and Speedy recovery.And For Added Strength.Thank You for being A Blessing My Friend and Sister in Christ.Keep on Shinning for Jesus.
Amen to those lovely words Betty xx
Praying for your complete healing Renee. I have had a very busy week already but tonight I will for sure be stopping to have some intentional prayer time and study time! I will be writing down this scripture on a post it note on my desk and reading it throughout the week. I will also be writing/emailing this scripture to some friends and family throughout the week. Thanks again for all you have done!
In Him, Tasha
Chapter 4 has touched me deep in my soul. and have finished reading it, and will read it again. Hope for my pain and my past. This will help me work forward to the plan that He has for my life. I pray for Healing in Renee’s body today Oh Lord…..In His mighty and precious name…AMEN.
Chapter 4 is making me do some deep thinking. I am making a timeline and remembering some painful experiences. I know I need to do this to move forward. Thank you Renee for sharing the pain of your past. Bless you and all these wonderful women for this journey we are on.
thank you. michelle
first of all praying you all get better, i am on chapter 4 now. will be reading that soon. this book i want to tell you again is so good. it has been helping me. its a blessing. thankyou.
judy.
I just love when we include the (I) in Bible verses. It makes it more personal, so we can apply it to our life. I’m sick as well. Nasty cold. Praying for your body to heal fast.
Mary, praying for your healing as well…
My sr hi youth met for prayer breakfast this morning. I used the jar illustration with them, which they loved. Then I asked them to join me in praying psalm 143:8 every morning this week. God is so good. His word is being multiplied.
Rebecca, I just read that scripture and at the end i had noticed that i had written “my prayer” on it when i had read it before thank you so much for sharing it with us i really needed it today and am going to type it out and set it before me so i read it everyday. Thanks again
Praying for you, too. My cold came back last night. This time with a fever. I thought I got over this last week! It keeps coming back. I am just resting today. Hope you are feeling better.
I have a prayer request for my mother who was told today that the breast cancer that was in remission has returned to her liver and spine.
Lord I pray for the miracle of healing that only you are capable of, that you remover her cancer so that others will be a witness to your Power and Glory, in Jesus name Amen
Donna:
Wrapping your mom in prayer!