Where to start....

I cannot believe how fast this week has gone by. It's been a continual battle with the rice shipment, but we should hear by the end of the week if it's been approved. Please keep praying! I think the main thing I've been learning this week is where my confidence comes from (thanks Dave!). If you know me, then you know that I am my own worst critic. I have always been hard on myself, especially when it comes to not meeting my own standards. I've never really focused on what others think of me, but mainly on what I think of me. How confident I feel, and then at the slightest hint of doubt I get down on myself. It's usually not too bad but obviously something that needs to change. Maybe you find the same in yourself.
Our confidence does not come from how we feel about ourselves or the situation we're in. It does not come from how prepared we feel in a job, or if we feel we've been adequately trained. There's no way to train anyone for every situation you face in life. Think about marriage. There's no way you can ever be fully prepared to join your life with another- you have no clue exactly how your life will change or the situations you will find yourself in. Our confidence comes from the Lord. Paul writes to the Philippians about this. "[We] rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh..." We have no confidence in our flesh, in our earthly selves, in our senses and abilities. But it is in Christ that we place our confidence. We can then have confidence in ourselves when we realize that He resides within us, working through us. He can do anything and through Him we also can do anything. So if you find yourself doubting in your abilities, thinking you don't have what it takes, remember that the Son of God lives within you. In Him you can do all things. Jesus promised in John 14 that we will do greater things then He has done- the same Spirit that resides within Christ resides within us!!! Praise God that through having confidence in Him, we have confidence within ourselves. And that is a confidence that NO ONE can take away!!!!!