A Confident Heart: How to Stop Doubting Yourself and Live in the Security of God’s Promises [Paperback]

Renee Swope (Author), Lysa TerKeurst (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2011

Often the biggest obstacle to living out our faith is our own doubt--about our worth, our abilities, our relationship with God, and situations in our lives. A Confident Heart gives voice to the questions, doubts, struggles, and hopes so many women have. Author Renee Swope shows us how to identify, overcome, and learn from our self-doubts so that we can live confidently in God's assurance, truth, and grace. Perfect for women's small groups or individuals, A Confident Heart is an authentic, insight-filled and encouraging message for any woman who wants to exchange defeating thought patterns with biblical truth that will transform the way she thinks, feels, and lives.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Step out of the shadows of self-doubt to live with a confident heart
Ever feel like you're not good enough, smart enough, or valuable enough? Renee Swope understands. Even with a great family, a successful career, and a thriving ministry, she still struggled with self-doubt. Sharing her own personal story, Renee shows you how to rely on the power of God's promises to find the security you need and the confidence you long for!

• Exchange fear-filled thinking with faith-filled believing
• Fail forward when life or sin sets you back
• Embrace your God-given purpose, passion, and personality
• See beyond who you are to who you are becoming in Christ

Powerful Scripture-based prayers are at the end of each chapter, along with Bible study questions and a chart with thirty-one promises to replace our most common self-doubts. Foreword by Lysa TerKeurst.

Endorsements

"I'm so excited about Renee's book. She's walked this journey and gives us the gift of truths she's discovered that will sweep away self-doubt and usher in the godly confidence we've been longing for our whole lives!"-- Lysa TerKeurst, New York Times Best-selling Author and President of Proverbs 31 Ministries

"You'll never be the same after you read this book!"--Sheri Rose Shepherd, bestselling author of His Princess and His Princess Bride

"I felt like A Confident Heart was written specifically for me. Renee's depth, wisdom, and willingness to be real while sharing the real of Jesus blessed me beyond measure!"--Abby Rike, Biggest Loser, Season 8; author of Working It Out

"A Confident Heart is a captivating, story-driven book that provides real solutions to the real doubts and fears we all face."--Jennifer Rothschild, author of Me, Myself & Lies

Renee Swope is a popular national conference speaker, P31 radio show co-host, and executive director with Proverbs 31 Ministries. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and three children. Connect with Renee at ReneeSwope.com.

About the Author

Renee Swope is a popular national women's conference speaker, radio show co-host, and the executive director of radio and devotions at Proverbs 31 Ministries. She's also a contributing author to three additional books, including a Gold Medallion finalist and a People's Choice Award finalist, as well as several online and print magazines. Renee is featured writer for Encouragement for Today online devotions that currently touch over 450,000 lives each day across the world. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and three children.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Revell (August 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800719603
• ISBN-13: 978-0800719609
• Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 5.5 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (438 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,621 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #20 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Theology

More About the Author

Renee Swope is a national women's conference speaker and co-host of Proverbs 31 Ministries' international radio program where she connects daily with thousands of women from all ages and stages of life. Like having coffee with a friend and mentor, Renee's authentic style and soul-stirring messages draw women closer to the heart of God and each other.

Through her written and spoken words, Renee shares from a heart that has been transformed by the power of God's love and grace. Weaving in personal stories and spiritual life lessons, Renee's topics speak to the challenges women face, the heartaches and joys they share. Sprinkled with humor and saturated with Truth, Renee's messages are filled with Biblical insights that are powerful and life-applications that are practical as she seeks to help women:

Identify paralyzing self-doubts and replace them with transforming truths

Discern God's voice and recognize His direction in their daily decisions

Let go of past pain and take hold of their promised identity and security in Christ
Turn worry into worship by shifting their focus from "what if" towards "what is"

Transform fear-filled thinking into faith-filled believing by actively trusting God's promises in their everyday lives and relationships

Renee lives with her family in North Carolina where she also serves as an Executive Director with Proverbs 31 Ministries. She is a writer for Encouragement for Today devotions and a contributing author to God's Purpose for Every Woman, Leading Women to the Heart of God and The Reason We Speak.

Invite Renee to speak at your next women's event! Your audience will be challenged as women and encouraged as children of God!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It was like God was right there with me... molding my heart! July 21, 2011

By Catherine Carroll

Format:Paperback

Length: 0:33 Mins

I feel like someone finally jumped in my head, and my heart and painted over my insecurities with God's word. "A Confident Heart" allowed God to peel the onion of my insecurity one layer at a time, addressing things I never even dreamed were impacting my confidence, like fear and worry. This is one of the books that I will pick up year after year to remind me of the power I have even in my most broken and hollow moments. ~Catherine C

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars like words from a friend July 20, 2011

By emily freeman

Format:Paperback

Renee Swope knows what she's talking about. In A Confident Heart, Renee shares the truth about living free from doubt with beauty, vulnerability, and grace. Reading this book, I don't feel like someone is preaching to me. Instead, it's like Renee and I are sitting together in her cozy living room and I'm nodding my head with every word she says.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Finds You Where You Are, But Doesn't Leave You There September 6, 2011

By keptfree

Format:Paperback

Are you tired of living with your fear-filled thinking, self-doubts, and your own negative-feedback? Then I encourage you to read A Confident Heart: How to Stop Doubting Yourself and Live in the Security of God's Promises by Renee Swope. Through ample examples of her experiences and struggles in these areas, she leads us to see ourselves in Christ instead of in failure.

Each chapter portrays a valuable principle along with examples of Renee's struggles. The chapters end with Scripture-based prayer leading us to recovery and health. Included in each chapter, is a list of pointed questions that make us search our deepest thoughts and feelings on the covered topic.

Not living in confidence, causes us to pretend we are something we are not, because we think that is what others expect of us. I was struck by Renee's insight on this:

"Pretending leads to hiding and isolation. What we need is someone who will pursue us and accept us even though we're flawed. Yet most of us doubt anyone would ever stick with us if we let them get too close. So we put up walls and hide our struggles, even from God, hoping, we'll convince Him and everyone else that we're fine. Eventually, though, we find ourselves in the shadows of doubt, convinced that we aren't worth knowing or pursuing. Slowly we begin to believe we have to be perfect to be loved and accepted." p. 32

Renee points out this in regards to the conversation between Jesus and the woman at the well, "He helped her... see that each broken relationship (with past husbands) had convinced her she was not worth staying for."

How many of us have broken relationships with family and old friends?... Those broken relationships often set us up for the next failed relationship which only continues to reinforce our lack of self-worth.

The solution? Renee says, "We were made for love that isn't measured by our last accomplishment but marked by God's measureless grace." (p. 62)

She recognizes that, "When you have been wounded, the risk of getting hurt again seems more costly, and perhaps even more likely, doesn't it?" p. 72

Many of us will have to remind ourselves of Renee`s perspective on family when we become entangled in a web of self-doubts that we have born for years. "We'll also need to realize our family of origin does not define our identity.....Whether we had a great family or not, our hearts will only find lasting confidence when we find our identity as children of God." (p. 90)

Learn more about Renee and her ministry at [...].

I received a copy of A Confident Heart from Revell/Baker Publishing. Read more ›

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I Highly Recommend This Book October 10, 2011

By Kay

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

An outstanding book for anyone, especially those with self-esteem and self-worth "issues". I could identify with Renee from the first chapter. Definitely a book I will read over again. The study questions are probing and help you evaluate your own life and experiences. Renee helps the reader to see herself through God's lens, not the warped lens we are so accustomed to using (our own). Reading the book is good, putting it into practice and taking a hard look at your own life is better. I definitely recommend this book!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I think she had access to my heart while she was writing... October 11, 2011

By Lee Merrill

Format:Paperback

I first met Renee Swope in an elevator at my first She Speaks Conference.

If I remember correctly, I was bolting up to my hotel room to touch up my lipstick before a publisher appointment.

I was struck by her sweet smile and the hint of mischief in her eyes. Later in the weekend, she shared a stirring message about living beyond the shadow of doubt.

I'm not one who remembers message topics years later, but I remember that one because it spoke straight to the desperate need of my heart.

I heard Renee's message just as I was embarking on a terrible, horrible, beautiful, life-changing quest for wholeness.

The last few years have been a bumpy road of milestones and setbacks. I've been so low I wanted to die and as steady as an elephant's back.

Recently, I read Renee's beautiful book, A Confident Heart.

As I absorbed each page, I felt like it was a chronicle of all the lessons I've learned over these years of healing. Chapter-after-chapter, I found myself nodding in agreement with Renee's hard-won wisdom and perspective.

Using her own experiences, Renee takes her readers from the shadow of self-doubt to the sunshine of security in Christ.

Doubts seem true in the shadow.

I can't do this. Things will never change. My life will never get any better. Change is too hard.

Renee wrestled with all those doubts and more until she came to realize that "doubt and hope cannot live in our hearts at the same time."

Renee explains that it's ok not to be perfect because we serve a God who is. His love won't fail even when we do.

We don't have to pretend to have it all together. Guess what? No one else has it together either!...

However, it's not easy to be honest about our doubts and insecurities. "We fear that if people know we doubt ourselves, they'll start doubting us too." Those of us who struggle with insecurity tend to be expert pretenders, but eventually, we just can't do it anymore. And that's just where God wants us.

He wants us raw, restless, and real.

Like the Samaritan woman Renee affectionately calls "Sam", the only way God can "satisfy the thirst of [our] soul [is] to help [us] see it."

Only Christ can quench the thirst we have for true love and acceptance. Once we quit trying to fill our well with counterfeit water, God is free to pour into us from His limitless supply.

God guarantees us a hope-filled future no matter how hopeless our past seems.

He finds a way to make every painful experience from the past into something beautiful, useful, and redeemable.

We must let God rewrite our stories.

Renee writes, "The Holy Spirit showed me I needed to remake my memories by seeing how Jesus had been there all along, and then replace the lies my wounds had led me to believe with new truths He was teaching me through Scripture."

Like Sam (and Renee), we can allow God to make our mess into His message.

There's only one way to live beyond the shadow of our doubts. We must change our focus from self to God. "Turning leads to transforming...and transforming leads to believing as God's thoughts [about us] become our Truth."
Turning away from self
Turning away from doubt
Turning away from darkness
Turning toward God
Turning toward Truth
Turning toward Light
When doubt whispers "I'm not good enough," we must remember that we get our "good enough" from God, not our own efforts.

When doubt whispers "I'm such a failure," we can take hope in the truth that our failures don't have the final say; Jesus does.

When doubt whispers "I don't have anything special to offer," we can be assured that we have unique abilities gifted to us from God Himself.

When doubt whispers "I can't stop worrying," we can rest in the strong arms of God's powerful promises.

When doubt whispers "I can't follow God consistently," we can let God's "grace cover our guilt" and turn us from "wimps to warriors."

We can live beyond the shadow of doubt! The more we know our God, the more we will trust Him, believe Him, and obey Him.

Sister, if you are drowning in doubt, fear, and insecurity, you don't have to live like that any more. Jesus wants to make you well. He is able! He did it for "Sam." He did it for Renee Swope. He did it for me.

Renee's beautiful book, A Confident Heart: How to Stop Doubting Yourself and live in the Security of God's Promises, is a tool God can use to lovingly guide you to assurance, peace, and security.

Not only does the book contain strong, biblical teaching, Renee provides a wealth of practical resources to help you along the way.

My favorite is a listing of the names of God. I will be using that list in my prayer life, lots.

She also provides information about the personality types and the spiritual gifts to help readers understand how they are made and how they are gifted by the Holy Spirit.

The entire book is chock-full of life-giving Scripture readers can cling to and share with others.

I encourage you to pick up copies of A Confident Heart for yourself and someone you love. It would make a wonderful small group study. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing January 20, 2012

By SJL

Format:Paperback

The beauty of this book is that you do not have to be a "Jesus Freak" (altho I am) to have it speak to your heart AND your head. Altho, I am just , in the first chapter during the "A Confident Heart" Study with Renee Swope thru Proverbs 31 Ministry, I am already hearing and living it's message.