Self-Confidence

I have to admit that for most of my life I had no confidence in myself or my abilities to make something of myself. It wasn't until I accepted the Lord into my life as my Savior did I finally realize that without confidence I was not fully serving Him as I should. I knew that this would mean I had to step out of my comfort zone, try new things, make mistakes and try again. I would need to keep trying until my confidence soared as high as the heavens.

When we are young and first learning to ride a bicycle we fall many times before we have it mastered. I remember my Dad holding on to the seat of my bike, running along behind me, then letting go. We repeated this scene until the one time he let go and I kept on peddling the bike all by myself riding down that sidewalk and not falling. I fell many times before I rode that bike alone, but I kept trying. I thank my Dad that I did because today I love bike riding. If I would have given up after falling so many times I would have missed an awful lot.

I have had many failures, and disasters, in the kitchen. I have messed up my share of recipes but I am determined to persevere. Take for example my ability to bake bread from scratch. I have thrown out more un-risen dough than I care to think about. I had decided that bread making isn't exactly my thing and that I will never be able to do it. I look at all of these bread recipes and I want so much to give them a try then the vision of my last failed attempt flashes before me and I decide to let it go, at least for now.

I want to write and publish a cookbook. I have been praying for guidance on how to begin. More than that I have been praying for the confidence to begin. Today I was guided to Hebrews 10:35 which tells us, "Do not throw away your confidence, it will be richly rewarded." Not only must we believe in our Lord Jesus, we must also believe in ourselves. Self-confidence is the first step to doing great things.

I am learning that the way to develop our confidence is to do the thing we fear the most. I am going to once again try making bread from scratch and I am starting to write my cookbook. I have set a goal for myself in that I am working on developing at least 2 new recipes a week. As I work on and perfect these recipes I will share them with all of you. Trust in the Lord and you will be able to accomplish great things. Come out of your comfort zone, set a goal big or small,
and together let's build our confidence in ourselves.

Please send me a post and let me know the goal you have set for yourself. Maybe we can all stick together and help one another to overcome our fears. We should all set the goal that 2010 will be our year to step out and accomplish something that in the past we have only dreamed of.

Have a blessed day!