• A Confident Heart Chapter 1: Are you ready to take God’s hand and trust His heart?
• Day 1: Don’t Throw Away Your Confidence
• Day 2: Beat Up or Built Up
• Day 3: Trigger Points
• Day 4:  Sometimes Worry Makes Me Wonder 

Day 5: But I Don’t Have Anything Special to Offer
Taken in part from Chapter 8
Food for thought: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” (Ps. 139:13 NIV)  

If we were all sitting in a group together and were asked to answer the following questions, what would your “soul” reaction be.

• What do you love to do?
• If finances were unlimited and failure impossible, what would your dream be?

Did anyone feel a little panicky inside?  Would you want to hear how others answered first?  In the introduction to today’s devotion Renee described a time when she found herself in a similar situation being asked those questions. 

She said one friend wanted to be the first female President while another wanted to be in a Christian Rock Band.  It was funny when she said she listened as her friends around her described their dreams so she could get some ideas.  I love the fact that Renee is real – I bet some of us would have done the same thing.  

She didn’t have an answer to those questions, instead it mattered more what others wanted or needed her to be.  Can  you relate?  God didn’t create us for the purpose of making others happy.  Instead, he has a plan and a specific purpose for each of us. 

So, here goes I’d like to introduce you to the real me.  I used to be very hard on myself and feel that my personality was “wrong” because I wasn’t like other people.  Now, I  just laugh at myself because there is always some kind of adventure.  I lose my keys and cell phone everyday.   I don’t like details, spreadsheets, numbers, strict rules or a black and white answer.  I prefer not to rent movies or check out books from the library because chances are they will end up lost or returned late.  I have a hard time paying attention, especially with long detailed stories.  My mind is always spinning, 

At the same time I don’t get bogged down with details.  It takes a lot to make me mad.  I’m very passionate about what I believe in.  I love making other people laugh, it makes me smile all the way down to my toes.  Giving is a part of who I am.  I makes me giddy thinking about  who I can give to, what they need, how it can be an anonymous surprise.

I used to feel so bad about myself and couldn’t understand why I lose everything.  my mom always made it sound so simple.  ”If you put things where they belong you’ll never lose them.”  You think I haven’t tried that?  The problem is that in my mind nothing has to “belong” to a certain place.  

What about you, have you been hard on yourself.  Turn it around - God wants to use it for his kingdom.  Don’t get me wrong, God is still working on me in this area.  I still have more insecurities than I can count.  I have however, accepted me for me. 

Okay, so I’ve spilled my guts.  What about you, what makes you – you.  Think about something that you’ve beat yourself up about – turn it around.  It was important enough to God to include that “ingredient.”  I think about baking a cake.  Does flour taste good by itself?  Not so much.  Chocolate Cake – now that’s another story.  Love it.  When I look at Chocolate Cake, I don’t think about the disgusting flour, I think about how wonderful it tastes once all the ingredients are combined. 

Next time Satan wants to whisper doubt in your ear remind him – you are chocolate cake.  I know that sounds silly but sometimes it takes that silly kind of thinking to get rid of our toxic thoughts.

Copied below is an excerpt from the 7-Day Doubt Diet.  Renee’ s Message.
 

The truth is: you and I were not designed to be whom others expect us to be, or even want us to be. We were created to become all that God planned for us to be. 

Let’s take the challenge and go hang out with ourselves for a while.  Below I have copied questions Renee challenges us to consider.

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Doubt Diet Tip:

We all have a natural body shape. I’m shaped like a pear; always have been, always will be. Most of my life I didn’t like it. But this is the body God gave me and I’ve learned to work with it. In the same way God gives us a natural body shape physically, He also gives us a natural “body shape” spiritually, to equip us for His purpose in the body of Christ. Ask God to help you discover and love the “shape” He gave you! 

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