Joshua: 1) Joshua was written by either Joshua himself or by a scribe whom he dictated it to. 2) Takes place right after the death of Moses, when Joshua becomes the leader of Israel. The transition of leadership also marks the end of the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness and begins the conquest of the Canaanite lands (the land promised to Abraham), led by Joshua. 3) Most of the book is an account of Israel's battles with Canaanite kingdoms such as Jericho, Ai, Jerusalem, Hebron, ect. There were 31 kings defeated in total. Interestingly, in the first 5 chapters of the book Joshua is presented as a "new Moses", because of the way he leads the Israelites. He reminds the people of their covenant with God, but there are also parallels between Moses and Joshua when Joshua sends out spies to Jericho like Moses sent spies into Canaan, and when Joshua crosses the Jordan and the river stops flowing similar to how Moses partied the Red Sea. Joshua is also the one who clearly laid out which parts of the promised land would go to which tribe, finally fulfilling the promise God made to both Abraham and Moses about their descendants inhabiting the land He would give to them.

One of the biggest things I struggle with is feeling like I'm not qualified to do things that God has asked me to do, especially if I'm going into and environment where people have more experience than me. Two verses that I remind myself of are 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 "But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God." and 1 Timothy 4:12 "Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." These verses help me to remember that God uses people who are young and unqualified to bring greater glory to His name.

Forgiving the people who have hurt me allows me to reframe those memories in a way that isn't constantly hurting me, which will in turn help me to hear the voice of God with fewer distractions and negative distortions.

I think the difference between the old me and the new me is the old me was trying to do everything myself and be everything and hold my entire life together through sheer willpower but the new me, because I know who I am and who God is, I'm able to allow God to be in control and trust Him to have the plan and I can focus on being obedient in the season I'm in right now instead of frantically trying to plan my whole life out right now.

I tend to struggle with the fear of rejection and feeling like a burden in my own life. I feel like God is calling me to remember that my identity comes from Him alone, not the approval of other people but also that I don't have to prove myself as useful or worth for people to want me. I have a hard time remembering that I don't have to do anything for me to be valuable but remembering that I have value because God created me helps to combat that.