Seven Secrets of a Confident Woman Pt1

The first secret to being a confident woman:
Know that you are loved...

"May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God's devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it]" Eph 3:17-18 AMP

A confident woman knows that she is loved, first and foremost by her Heavenly Father. Secondly by a supportive husband and family. The really blessed woman will also have a support system of friends who stand by her.

Thankfully, God supplies any area we are lacking! Knowing He loves us is enough to give us the confidence we need. Whether it's to mother, maintain a career, step out into something new, or face something uncomfortable...the awareness of God's love and grace creates a cushion we can fall on, rest in, or spring from!

Columbus to your own soul

"Every one of us has in himself a continent of undiscovered character.

Happy is he who acts the Columbus to his own soul." J. Stevens

I don't think any of us fully realize the potential we have. I know our teachers and guidance counselors told us--mainly that we weren't living up to our potential; but that was probably because we didn't fully recognize or embrace the gifts and talents that we had.

I firmly believe and regularly confess that the power of the living God resides in me--talk about potential! Beyond discovering our own capabilities is the journey to help others discover theirs. Much like our teachers who tried to convince us, we must convince others that God can do great things in and through them. I don't know why it is so hard to see what lies within us...yet oftentimes it takes someone to look with the eyes of faith and see beyond where we are today.

Parents, spouses, teachers, supervisors, pastors...heed the example of Columbus and search out the hidden potential--the whole new world--that is living inside of those around you.

God-initiative

Taken from the powerful book, Prayers That Avail Much, this phrase jumped out at me this week:

I know You Father God, and how You work.

I steep my life in God-reality, God-initiative, and God-provisions.

I want to answer the question:

Am I living in the reality of God, following the initiative of God, and living daily in His provision?

Living in God-reality

God-reality is a good place to live.

It means being willing to face the truth of any situation...armed with the understanding that God's truth supersedes our situations. That's the challenge for Christians sometimes, isn't it? Finding balance between faith and fact. How do you deal with the imperfect and disappointing, while at the same time maintaining your belief that God has your best interest at heart? And what do you say during this time--to yourself and others?

I've seen and heard many people who struggle with this issue! We usually end up saying something goofy or hyper spiritual. I think God just wants us to be honest. Charles Capps says that we get the verse in Romans backwards--we call those things that are as though they aren't; when God told us to call those things that aren't as though they are. BIG difference! (See Rom 4:17)

Believing God's Word is not denying reality...it is accepting the God-reality of the situation. That is I don't understand what is happening right now...or why...but I know that God has it in hand and that His truth will super cede circumstances and my faith will override what appears to be fact. That is the essence of living in God-reality. Try it today!