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Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Book Review: A Confident Heart by Renee Swope - Revell Blog Tour

                             

About the book:
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.  

My Rating:  5 Stars



My Review:
Have you ever read a book where you felt like the author must have crawled inside your mind, and read your thoughts? That's exactly the feeling that I had as I read this book. How does she know me so well? I could relate to so many of the things that Renee shared and felt. We all know the feelings of fear and worry that stem from self-doubt, but we know through our relationship with Christ, that we don't have to live in that place. When we are in Christ, we no longer have to live in bondage.

Renee has taken her life's circumstances and her "mess" and used it to bring glory to God through her ministry. She writes from a place of wisdom, insight, and biblical knowledge -- she shows that she is living proof that God can take our ashes and turn it into something beautiful. As a woman with a "mess" of my own, I find it very encouraging to know that I am not alone in my struggles. I don't have to stay down when I fail, I can rise up again (Proverbs 24:16). " . . . being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6) I am a work in progress, and praise the Lord . . . He's not finished with me yet!

Through her inspiring book, Renee gives us practical answers and solutions to what we can do to overcome our fears and doubts. She also reminds us that we won't have a confident heart just because it's possible, we will have to take action. She tells us that we have to get intentional about turning to God's thoughts toward us, every day. I especially appreciate how at the end of each chapter she has a scripture-based prayer that leads us to "Praying God's Promises." She also invites us to go deeper by providing helpful reflection and study questions.

By stepping out of the shadow of our doubts and living in God's truth and His promises, we can live with A Confident Heart. I highly recommend this book, and I thank Renee for being so honest and transparent in sharing her story with us.

**Thank you to Revell for providing me with a copy to review in exchange for my honest opinion.**

**Available August 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.**

7 comments:

  1. Thank you Michelle for taking time to read and write a review of my book! I'm honored that you would do that and it's nice to meet you through it!! I was touched by your insights of the book. Your review is well written and it's obvious you really put your heart into doing it. Blessings!

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  2. Oh, thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and comment, Renee! Your kind words mean so much to me. : )

    Blessings to you!

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  3. Hi! I saw your post about your review over at Renee's. :) I am reviewing her book, too, and SO loved it! I stuck a quick link to your review in over at my blog. I don't know how much more traffic I will actually get about the review...I have had it up since Sunday. But still, thought I could maybe direct some gals over here.

    Oh, and your blog is so beautiful. :) I love the little birds right there beside me while I am commenting.

    BLESSINGS,
    Kimberly :)

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  4. Just stumbled upon your beautiful blog and am now enjoying/following it. Drop by my place sometime: hutt-writevoice.blogspot.com

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  5. Hi Kimberly and Linda! You've made my day! Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving such sweet comments! I truly appreciate it!

    Kimberly - I've had quite a bit of traffic here for this review, so thank you for sharing my link. :D

    I will definitely be visiting both of your blogs. It's so nice to meet both of you! And if you're interested in digital scrapbooking, or think that you might be, I'm hosting a fun giveaway that ends on Tuesday evening.

    Sweet Blessings,
    Michelle

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  6. This book touches my heart. Why is it, as women, self-doubt seems to loom over us? Those verses are ones I have on my little index cards:) Great review Michelle.

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  7. Thank you, Susan! Renee has truly written a wonderful book -- very inspiring! I love how she's so honest and real, too. She's so easy to relate to, because the things that she's gone through, I go through, too. The mistakes she's made, and the places where she's "slipped," -- those type of things have happened to me. It's comforting to know that other women share in the same types of things.

    Then there's Jesus. As long as we're intentional in seeking God, and praying His will, we can have the hope of A Confident Heart. Renee's book has been such a blessing!

    Also, I agree it's a great idea to put the verses from Chapter 12 on index cards (I haven't yet, but I will!).

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