With Confidence.....Make sure to finish your sentence!

I've been busy….exhibiting confidence…. 

The semester has begun, and I am teaching a couple of ministry and Education classes at Baptist Bible College. I remember back in September when I was approached about teaching these classes…My response was...Me? Is there a ‘curriculum’ the previous teacher used? NO? You mean I have to develop the course as well? ME? Are you sure? Swallow…gulp..swallow.

Well, I am doing it... and enjoying it…and am comfortable with it….

So let’s go back to our initial CONFIDENCE post. Our emphasis was on the main definition of confidence…“The feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something, -a firm trust.”

As a result of this early study on the word confidence, I have now become very conscientious about not using the word confidence in the following manner:

I have confidence!

     He played with confidence. 

          She taught with confidence.

Here’s my thought:

Remember in school when our teachers emphasized not ending a sentence with a preposition? I remember whenever I asked my mom where something was at, (sidenote: You wouldn’t believe the ‘argument’ I had with spellcheck to keep this sentence!) she always responded…'behind the at'. A preposition should always be used in a prepositional phrase—which means a preposition should never end a sentence. 

For example, 'Who are you writing this to?'….should be worded, “to whom are you writing?”

What are you looking for?…could be better written as, “Are you looking for anything in particular?”

I am sure you remember all going through all that in your high school or college English classes! Sometimes the sentence sounds strange when writing it correctly!

In much the same way, I have decided that it is also improper to end a sentence with the word confidence. Since confidence is based on a trust placed in someone or something, that someone or something should follow the word confidence in your sentence.

The salesperson should state, “I have confidence in this wonderful product!”

As mentioned in previous posts, the athlete should state, “I have confidence in my teammates!”

     ….He was confident in his training.

         ….She was confident in her research.

OR …I am confident in the One who has given me the abilities and talents to do what He has planned for me… 

As a result, there should be no more…

You want ME to….? Are you sure? Swallow…gulp..swallow.

I am confident of this very thing…He that has begun a good work in me will perform it until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).  He has prepared me to perform His plan….Wow!~ the confidence that should  exude  from that thought!

With confidence, (in the One who has….)

Debbie

Confident Examples (Confidence Part 2)

Last week I introduced my Word of the Year. The word I have chosen to study in-depth and apply to my life this year. The word I want to grow by in 2014. The word? CONFIDENCE

As mentioned in last week’s blog, I quickly discovered that confidence has nothing to do with ‘increasing’  or strengthening my abilities—according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary,  the first definition of confidence is  “The feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something, -a firm trust”. My confidence is determined by how much I trust, rely on, and believe Someone else!

This thought quickly led to Philippians 1:6, which has become my theme verse for this year of confidence building. The first stage of this journey is to develop and strengthen my trust and belief in what God has planned for my life~~~not to develop and strengthen my abilities and talents.

…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Throughout this past week, I have been listening for examples of the word confidence. Here are some of the phrases I heard:

A confident quarterback

A confident coach

A confident consumer

So, just what makes these people confident? Their own abilities? 

While listening to the sports’ commentator who was speaking of the confident quarterback, I noticed a very interesting statement….which goes hand in hand with the above definition.

The quarterback was confident in his offensive line. He trusted, relied on, and believed in those five guys who lined up beside him. As long as he could depend on them, he felt comfortable throwing the ball down the field. He also had confidence in his receivers. He trusted, relied on, and depended on their capable hands to catch the ball.  There was no mention of his great arm or his magnificent accuracy.

I got to thinking about the other two examples.

A confident coach believes in his players.

A confident consumer believes in a product.

Later, a victorious football player talked about team confidence…that believed in, relied on, and depended on…. each other.

So, what allows a committed-follower of Christ to become a confident teacher, leader, writer, parent, pastor’s wife, student, and the list goes on…?

It all centers around Who we believe, Who we rely upon, and Who we depend on to guide us, lead us, prepare us, use us…..

Being confident of this very thing….

Debbie

2014 Word of the Year

Welcome to a new and promising year~2014!

2013 brought a lot of changes and challenges-some exciting, some tough. I knew God was pressing me to step out and exercise some of the talents and abilities He has given me that I have kept  hidden away in fear and uncertainty.

If you have been following LightThoughts from day one, you will recall that I even started this in fear and trembling!

This fall, the ladies at church participated in Priscilla Shirer's study of Gideon~(Main theme: CONFIDENCE). It was such a blessing, and I made some small strides forward as God pushed hard!

Then, one day last week a friend mentioned her word of the year for 2013 and discussed how much she grew from her in-depth study of that particular word. At that point I decided I was going to have a word of the year for 2014. And, that word was going to be CONFIDENCE. 

I determined that confidence is what I need to fulfill God’s plan for my life, and I am going to study the word at length and follow it through Scripture. 

Step one: Check out the definition in Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Right from the start, my heart was pricked, and I could see the direction this would be going.

The number one definition of CONFIDENCE has nothing to do with self-assurance or how one feels about her own abilities or qualities. The number one definition is based on a firm trust---in someone or something else!

Confidence is: 

“The feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something, -a firm trust.”

Before I can even begin to form some kind of self-assurance in myself, I must first fully rely on the Person who is asking me to ‘perform.’ I know that...but do I really, REALLY believe it?

As I reached this point, I came across one of Beth Moore’s Bible Studies, Believing God, where she emphasizes…It’s not whether you believe IN God, what matters is…Do you believe God? Talk about all the pieces fitting together!

So I begin this year of CONFIDENCE with Philippians 1:6~

                …being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Here is where my confidence begins….having full confidence/a firm trust in the One who guides my steps. It is based on who I am in Him. Once I fully believe (really really believe) Him, then I can work on the other definitions of my word of the year!

Follow along! I will share what I discover as I go along this journey!

Looking forward to when “I think I can” becomes “I know I can”!

Happy New Year!

Debbie