August Challenge: Seventh Question (A Guest Post!)

How are you doing with the challenge? If you're new to journaling, do you like it? Is it getting you thinking, pondering, reflecting? If you've been journaling, are these questions helping you take your journaling in a new direction? I hope so.

Today we have a special guest providing the question. Renee Swope is a long-time friend and the proud author of her first book, A Confident Heart. I asked Renee to join us today and provide a question that goes along with her book. She ended up sharing a whole post about how journaling (our focus this month) contributed to the content of her new book. And she's shared some questions for you to answer as well. Be sure to read all the way to the end and find your chance to win a copy of this book. Renee, take it away!


Do you ever feel like you’re not good enough, smart enough, or valuable enough? Me too.

I used to try my best to make my feelings of inadequacy go away. I’d go somewhere like the mall, or do something like organize my closet, or eat something like ice cream… hoping I could change the way I felt. But eventually, my yucky feelings of uncertainty would come back. Over time I learned that I couldn’t change the way I felt until I changed the way I thought.

The same is true for all of us: our thoughts determine how we feel, and our feelings greatly influence how we live. In my book, A Confident Heart, I share my story of overcoming a lifetime of self-doubt by exchanging my “against me” thoughts with scripture-based God is “for me” thoughts.

As I wrote the book, I traced the process of God changing me from the inside out through decades of my personal journals. By writing down my thoughts, fears and doubts I learned to identify where my feelings were coming from and thoughts that had triggered them. Writing them down help me name them. By naming them, I then knew how to ask God to help me process and overcome them.

Through the practice of journaling I learned how to exchange the uncertainty of my circumstances and emotions with the certainty of His promises. At the end of each chapter in A Confident Heart, I have reflections questions to help women identify their most common doubts, see how they are affecting their lives and learn how to replace their insecurities with the security of God’s promises. Here are a few questions from Chapter 1:

1. What is your earliest memory of doubting yourself or feeling insecure?

2. Has insecurity ever kept you from doing something?

3. Describe how it makes you feel when doubt whispers:

I can’t do this. Things will never change. My life isn’t going to get better. It’s too hard. I might as well quit.

4. Describe what happens in your heart when you read God’s words:

“Those who hope in me will not be disappointed” (Isa. 49:23).

“See, I am doing a new thing!” (Isa. 43:19).

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).

“All things are possible to [her] who believes” (Mark 9:23 NASB)

Read the first chapter of A Confident Heart

Watch the trailer for A Confident Heart

Sign up for the 7 Day Doubt Diet, which includes a week's worth of FREE devotions from A Confident Heart.


To enter to win a copy of A Confident Heart, share a link to this post with friends via Twitter, Facebook, email or on your blog. Let us know you did by clicking on the word “comments” below. Two winners will be announced Friday. (UPDATE: I HAVE EXTENDED THE DEADLINE UNTIL MONDAY! YOU CAN STILL LEAVE A COMMENT OVER THE WEEKEND!)