Tag Archives: Confidence

One thing you need to remove in order to live with confidence

8 Jun

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

   

  Sometime ago, a reader wrote: Dear Janet, I am so very grateful for having known about your site. Indeed, I would like to know what gives you confidence through each day. Thank you. –Rhoda My response: Dear Rhoda, Thanks for that interesting question. I’ve been asked all kinds of questions from How do you put on your make-up? to How do you write books? But no one has ever asked me what gives me confidence.

Let me tell you a story.

A few years ago, I was in California attending a writer’s conference. A friend jokingly asked, “Do you want to drive my car?” “Yes,” I said with a daring look. “Are you sure?” “No,” I said, “The question is are YOU sure you want me to drive your car?” She chuckled. “Why not?”

“Okay, here we go.”

Using my fingertips, I felt my way to the driver’s side and opened the door. With a few attempts, I found the ignition, inserted the key, started the engine, and changed gears. Her job was to give me verbal instructions. Not having any sight at all, driving a car had remained but a dream. So, there I was, a bit nervous, but with a grin I couldn’t hide. I gripped the steering wheel, pretending to be in control, I listened to my friend. “Keep it straight now, a little to the left, now to the right just a bit, not much.” A tad risky, I admit. But oh, what fun! The reason I was able to drive her car was because she was with me seated to my right on the passenger’s seat. She became my eyes. I trusted in her ability to direct me, to tell me what to do, when to turn and when to slow down.

The road of life is the same.

We’re blind to what’s next. We can’t see tomorrow or what’s around the corner or what the future holds. The uncertainty sparks worry. And worry brings on restlessness. And restlessness produces anxiety. Before we know it, we sit at the doctor’s offices learning we have ulcers. King David probably had them too. And driving the vehicle of pride, he followed his own whims, desires and cravings. The not-so-pleasant details are related in 2 Samuel 11 and 12. In his feeble kind of wisdom he made crazy decisions. He failed. He sinned and brought heartache for all. Sometimes we do the same. Like David we settled in the vehicle of pride, press the accelerator, zoom ahead only to find the cliff of disappointment. And once broken we shake our head, look at the mess and wonder what happened. But although David made a mess too, he saw the sign, “Humility, next stop.” He pulled over. He shed that destructive pride.

David came to his knees, asking God for forgiveness. The Lord did.

Once forgiven, David welcomed a new kind of confidence and declared: “I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (Psalm 16:7-8). He was confident because he trusted, not in his feelings and desires anymore, but in God’s power. He was confident not because he could take charge but because he let God direct his life. If you’re reading this, you’re probably sighted. But, God, who knows what you don’t see, offers to sit by your side, infusing confidence for the road of life. To fill you with reassurance as you take sharp corners of heartache. To give you the wisdom to avoid cliffs of destruction and to whisper the reassurance to overcome barriers.

Let’s Pray

Father, may all traces of pride be erased from my heart, from my thoughts and my approach to life. I welcome the true confidence found In You and in Your direction. In Jesus name. What do you have to remove in order to live confidently? Janet ______________________________________ Did you know I wrote a book filled with words of encouragement, uplifting thoughts and illustrations of real-life triumph to empower you? Its title, Trials of Today, Treasures for Tomorrow: Overcoming Adversities in Life. You can get it HERE. CLICK HERE for a one-minute inspirational video. Looking for a speaker for your upcoming event? A great speaker makes the difference between a so-so event and one that shines with impact. I invite you to view one of my two-minute videos HERE. Please share: Feel free to share Janet’s posts with your friends.  
Janet Eckles Perez
Some say she should be the last person to be dancing. Her life is summarized in this 3-minute video: http://bit.ly/1a8wGJR Janet Perez Eckles’ story of triumph is marked by her work as an international speaker, #1 best-selling author, radio host, personal success coach and master interpreter. Although blind since 31, her passion is to help you see the best of life. www.janetperezeckles.com  

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Rock Solid

17 Jul

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

 

I saw this on Amy Voskamp”s website Monday night. During a difficult period in my teens, I lost all confidence in myself. As I began to think on my past and what had precipitated my crisis, I realized that as I drew away from God, so my confidence fell away. Eventually I learned the only identity that mattered was my identity in Christ.

 

 

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The only way to be safe from troubles. 

21 Jan

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

 

Why did I give in?

Some years ago, my friends and I walked on the soft sand in the Cabo San Lucas beaches.

She elbowed me. “You’re going with us. C’mon, parasailing will be fun.”

I frowned. “You’re nuts. I’m not doing that,” I said. “Going up in the air with nothing underneath me? Ain’t happening.”

“You’ll love it.” She shook my arm and her voice grew with excitement. “C’mon where’s your sense of adventure?”

My sense of adventure was at home in Orlando, where it belonged—safe and secure.

With her nudging, a little tiny part of me said, “Why not…what could happen?”

I gave a long sigh. “All right, I’ll go.”

Once I was strapped in, the man placed my hands on the leather bands. “Hold on tight.”

Slowly, we were lifted up in the air and the wind lifted my hair. My friend giggled, oohed and aahed. Then she said, “Whatever you do, don’t fool with the metal hook.”

Ah! The hook. The one latch that connected the seat to the parachute. Should that hook come undone, or should I somehow open it and let the strap loose, I’d plop 30 feet into the Pacific Ocean and turn into an afternoon snack for the sharks below.

Crazy experience. But crazier is the fact that we’re also dangling above the tension of life. Almost daily we’re threatened by the teeth of anxiety that could devour our peace and bite into our confidence.

Knowing that, we should never, never undo the hook that connects us to the One who keeps us afloat. The One who sustains us above the fangs of adversity. The One who holds us beyond the reach of despair.

And when we’re safely connected to His power, we’re secure and protected from any and all dangers, threats or evil that hovers about. Nothing can touch us for “He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:15-18).

In Him all things hold together. What relief, what freedom! Not in our efforts, our performance, our image, or our crazy ways. None of that holds our life together. It’s only the connection with Him who has the power to lift us above problems, struggles, and daily battles that can keep us secure and safe.

What are you connected to these days?

Source: The only way to be safe from troubles. | Janet Perez Eckles

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