Siesta Summer Bible Study (Weeks 3 and 4) -Part 1 from LPV on Vimeo.
Siesta Summer Bible Study (Weeks 3 and 4) -Part 2 from LPV on Vimeo.
(Remember: all comments are meant to come after your gathering or your solo viewing of the video as feedback to the study. Thank you for your cooperation!)
How are my favorite fellow Bible students doing? My small group has gotten so much out of Jennifer’s study, Me, Myself and Lies. Honestly, we can’t stay within our time limit for discussion to save our lives but that’s what tells me the study is getting to us! I hope the Holy Spirit is speaking to you, too. Where on earth would we be without God and His Word? Lord, have mercy. If you’re able to stay on schedule, you should have weeks 3 and 4 of your homework completed and your group discussion will be a reflection of that material. I hope you can watch the video instructions I’ve prepared for you but, just in case you have technical difficulty, here is a list of your four interactives for today’s gathering:
(The first two are from Week 3; The second set is from Week 4.)
1. In our LPM small group discussion, we never made it past the second page of Day One without stopping for discussion. Look at the top of p.57 and note the track Jennifer gave us from emotions to thoughts to actions. Discuss its relevance and any recent examples. At the bottom of that same page, she refers to “THINKING WITH OUR FEELINGS.” Discuss this familiar female propensity as well.
2. Turn to p.65 where we studied the woman with the issue of blood. In the first full paragraph, Jennifer writes, “We often face one defining circumstance that becomes the headwater from which other issues flow.” Would some of you be willing to share what your “one defining circumstance” is and how it tends to affect a number of different areas?
OK, this is not a discussion question but I want to mention it because it was one of my very favorite things and I’ve thought about it a ton since I read it. Take a glance at p.73 where Jennifer shares the story about being stuck on a plane and the little girl near her saying to her daddy, “I spy something good.” Did that speak to you, too?
Now, from Week Four:
3. Based on p.81. where Jennifer discusses what we say to ourselves when we talk to ourselves about sin: What has been your most recurrent conviction lately and what are you doing about it? (If you’re not presently doing anything about it, admitting it to your group is a start!)
Discuss how she ties up the point on p.87 with these words: “Never let the Enemy be more aware of your weaknesses than you are.”
4. Review p.88. Do you have a framework set up in your life for consistent accountability? Do you have at least one person in your life who holds you accountable in your pursuit of God and godliness and doesn’t just help you stay comfortable in your strongholds? Look at Jennifer’s statement: “The Enemy goes after the solitary and the silent.”
Discuss the fears involved in opening up to accountability and the solutions to those fears. What holds us back? Is it time? Exposure? Fear of confidence being betrayed? Talk about fears, solutions, and the importance of taking the chance.
That should keep you busy today and smack in the middle of each other’s business!Thank you so much for participating. Study hard! See you in two weeks and we’ll finish up!
I love you so much.
Rochester, MN group checking in after our get-together last night — just four of the 11 were able to attend. Some group members are finding it hard (some even prefer to ignore them altogether!) to dig into their emotion/thought patterns; others are being convicted deeply. Our defining circumstances reflect very old hurts — we all want healing! Two of us have accountability partners and were able to share how much growth in faith those relationships have fostered — trust and time are primary factors that make accountability relationships work. I thank God for that person in my life!
I loved watching the magic unfold last night at the Tulsa Soul Siesta’s gathering. The discussion revealed the depth and beauty of our souls that only godly women are blessed with. Sharing our defining circumstance and identifying our feelings really helped us remember just how BIG our God is! Additionally, many of us have experienced firsthand how the Lord provides us with friendships as accountability partners…and have come to realize the healing power of unconditional love, patience, and acceptance those friendships may bring forth. Last but certainly not least, we were also blessed with some very, very wise ‘wife to wife’ advice that I’m quite sure most of our young wives will be testing out this week in order to get their husband’s to complete the honey do list! 🙂 Go in Peace…
Judy and I met this morning. We are finding many places our thought closet need a good cleaning. Insecurity, unworthyness, and self doubt. Thanks for keeping us in the Word this summer. Our church does not have a summer Bible Study.
Judy and Susan
Norfolk, Va
Our group was small last night for lots of different reasons, so there were only 3 of us last night, and as we have known each other for years, our conversations were a little more in-depth than what I'm comfortable sharing. However, as we talked about the 'emotion-thought-action chain' track we talked about how there have been times that when we went directly from emotion to action and skipped the thought altogether, and usually ended up with undesirable results! Sometimes the mess took quite a while to clean up. I know that may have been a little off track, but it also lead us into a discussion about accountability and how important it is to have someone you can trust to keep you honest; someone who will remind you of God's truth when you've been blinded by the enemies lies. We also talked about Ps 46:10 (Be still and know that I am God) and what it means, and how do you get still enough to hear God? One of the girls shared that her favorite phrase is 'Let go Let God' which I had never heard but liked.
This is the first time I've done a study with long-time friends, and while we're all finding it difficult on many levels, we all feel God's hand in this and are amazed at His timing!
We're looking forward to Weeks 5 & 6.
Judy in Oswego
For me, I have found someone after a long while, who was an answer to specific prayer that God would give me a close friend, in my area/town. We met and almost instantly it was like we were sisters. As I have grown these past two years, she has been with me through thick and thin. It is amazing to see how much we have been able to help each other during times of such difficulty. And rejoice with each other in the "dancing in the streets" moments (like King David danced in the street before the Lord)
I know she won't read this, but Cindy Beecher has been such a blessing. She holds me accountable and asks the hard questions. I have been able to be open with her, even when it is hard to. And I have been learning how to ask the tough questions of her. (I tend to shy away from that, being a people pleaser!!!)
Cindy is someone who I know will keep my confidence, after I have been betrayed so many times, I know the value of that. I don't like being exposed, but I know that if things are brought into the light, God will be able to help me with them. Praise God she has been able to be that open with me as well. Its a hard learning process, but I know that God honors it!
Thank you for this study, Beth. It has been a blessing more than you know!
Heather,
Solo in Mosinee, WI
there is so much to glean from this study that our group feels like we will be spending more time with these concepts, even after the official study time has ended. there are just too many good practices to enact to let them slip our memories just to stay on schedule.
that being said, we 4 from cumming, ga, were really impacted by the idea that our feelings are NOT our thoughts.
susan shared that she realized that she doesn't often acknowledge the thought that initiates the feeling, but that she skips right over the thought, concluding incorrectly that the feeling is the thought. we all agreed with her on this, and had some examples from the past 2 weeks to share to highlight this.
we are also becoming more and more aware of how crucial Scripture verse memory is to the battle! we have all experienced warfare recently, and some were wondering why God allows it. we had two conclusions to this question.
1) God isn't allowing it. We are allowing it by choosing to believe the lies in our thought closets and follow them through to negative actions with the accompanying consequences.
2) God is allowing them, because His purpose in our lives is to get us to seek Him. He lets us experience the consequences of our wrong choices in hopes that we'll admit our need for Him. He never forces His way in, though.
this hasn't been short, but the lessons are so rich that being concise in a briefing about them is almost impossible! thanks for bringing this study to our attention. we are all benefiting so greatly from it.
our friend who has struggled with bulimia has entered counseling, and we are rejoicing with her about how God brought a Christian counselor into her situation.
I'm sorry, this has absolutely nothing to do with the MM&L's study.
This has to do with the Life Today broadcast today.
Sister HOPE Moore,
Yes, you have given me, another former bottom-of-the-pit resident HOPE.
I'm banking on God giving you such a name! Or maybe one even better….
We had another GREAT time together doing this study. We discussed each question and we trusted each other to open up and share some hard things. But isn't that what it is about. I am always so guilty in sitting back and saying how I wish my life was perfect like so and so. You know when we open up and share we become real and we learn that no one is perfect except God. I like real women!!! Makes you feel normal! 🙂
Emily
Mechanicsville, VA
Our group from Gateway Community Church, a church plant that meets on a state university campus in Slippery Rock, PA, has really enjoyed going through this study together this summer. There are 14 of us from all walks, ages, experiences, backgrounds of life and it’s been a great time of connection and community building for the women of our body. Last night, we had a great discussion over Weeks 3 & 4 of our study. We spent quite a bit of time discussing our feelings and how greatly they play a role in our relationships, the value of accountability, and some of our “predominant issues” in life. It was a special time of sharing…particularly on the third item as we had a couple of women in our group open up about some deeper and more sensitive issues that they are currently working through. We look forward to continuing to clean out our thought closets as we move into Weeks 5 & 6 of study!
A little rap from the Bible Study "Babes" in Springfield, MO.
5-6-7-8: Holla!
Me, Myself, and Lies is what we folla'.
Yo, Bethie we're here
to tell ya 'bout our fears.
Satan tells us lies
and sometimes makes us cry.
We're stepping out in faith
To claim our rightful place.
Like the woman with the flo,
We need our faith to grow!
We recognized our triggers,
And we know that God is bigger.
To keep our closets from the fire,
We're kickin' out that big fat liar!
Word to the Father!!!!!
Have been going solo and am a little behind. But one thing I noticed as I have been working on week 4 – I have a way to clean out my thought closet and didn't even know it as such. When I have been bombarded by thoughts whether those brought on by emotion or injected by the enemy, it is very obvious I am under attack in some form. In those times, I will pray that God would remove any thought that is not of Him and almost instantly my mind clears completely. So it is obvious how many thoughts I have that don't come from Him.
I do have an accountability partner. She is my best friend, Jeanne. We make a point of telling each other what we need to hear, not necessarily what we want to hear.We can also pour our hearts out to each other without fear. This relationship is priceless to me.
A solo siesta..
1. As for the discussion about emotions leading to thoughts leading to actions, Jennifer’s example of waking up from a dream happened to me the day I worked that part of the study. Weird, I know. I had a dream that I was so mad at my husband for something (can’t remember what) and when I woke up I really was feeling a lingering sense of wanting to strangle him, but with no idea why?? 🙂 Which led to me being a grouch to him for no reason whatsoever. Poor guy.
I often struggle with apathy or numbness. That can so quickly lead to a thought like “I am distant from God and He doesn’t want to talk to me when I’m like this” which leads to avoiding Him. Pretty interesting. I also noticed HOW MUCH I am driven to make decisions based on my feelings. It seems I operate like this all the time.
2. I feel like I have quite a handful of defining circumstances. One is that when my family left a church when I was a child, I remember a close Aunt telling me (8 yrs old at the time) that I was evil and wasn’t allowed to play with my cousins because our family had “left the Lord’s table.” That has always haunted me and made me struggle for years to believe that the Lord Jesus has indeed saved me! (Not just her comment, but coming out of a cult-like group with some whack theology) It caused countless spiritual issues like believing the Lord feels the same way about me, angry at me. Conditional love. Also struggling with a sense of needing to prove myself to others as genuine, etc.
3. My most recurrent conviction for a little over a year now has been to be daily on my knees and face in a time of prayer to the Lord, to bring my heart to Him. I can spend hours in the study of God’s Word but for some reason, this kind of prayer and speaking out loud to Him is intimidating to me. It seems to prove what I really believe about God. It has been a long road so far of stumbling but the past week or so I have had victory in beginning the early morning first thing just talking with the God of the universe. (Wow.) It is exciting to experience the fruit of it.
3. I have two close girlfriends with whom I walk very closely spiritually. But specifically I don’t know that we hold each other accountable. I feel like we listen to what eachother shares but we don't dig very much beyond that. What holds me back from accountability is, I guess, a sense of independence. As ugly as it is, maybe I don’t really want to let the thing go so I don’t really want anyone asking me about it. Or maybe it’s because I just want the freedom to work it out on my own without any help. I think I don’t need the body when that’s exactly what I need! Also I don’t feel like I have ever seen this exemplified to me well. I still find myself wondering what accountability should look like?
Anyway, hope this isn’t too long. 🙂 This study has been so rich. Love to all the other siestas out there and thanks for sharing your hearts! God is working.
Hi Dearest Teacher,
I have a deep dark confession to admit to: My puppy dog really has eaten my homework. I feel as though I am admitting to my high school teacher an assignment that I avoid doing. She took it upon herself to help herself to my tastey "Me, Myself and Lies" book while I was tending to a brokenhearted five year old. And let me just tell you that she devoured the book in its entirety. I just stood there and cried. Then desperately tried to piece meal it together. I couldnt tell one mushy slobbed chunk from the next and anything that was written on now was a pure mess. Then a wonderful breeze came up and blew it all into the yard. So this is my end to a wonderful day teaching 5 year olds at VBS today. As a mommy of puppies I am sure you can relate. It is hard to yell at her sweet cute face. The only saving grace is that she didnt eat my NIV bible that I so love and have many notes written in. It was as though a shield of protection was around the real "WORD". 🙂 So as I try hard to find another book just keep me in your prayers. I have so enjoyed it so far. I still have several videos to watch. I love her videos that go along with the book. I will try to eventually catch up. With much love and puppy breath. Your loyal and devoted student: Patty Vandergrift of King, NC
Sola siesta
I've been convicted for quite some time now – meaning scripture has been thrown in front of me from various venues – on the power and evil of the tongue. I do have a problem with saying things I shouldn't, and have hurt people's feelings, so I'm trying to work on that – figuring out why I say the things I do, and apologize to those whose feelings I have hurt. Trying to memorize verses that will help me, but am not a good memorizer.
I don't have an accountability partner. I grew up with no friends, have never really had close friends. Solitary, silent – that's me. I have a real hard time trusting someone else. Could it me because I have said things I shouldn't have – and knowing that how can I trust that others won't also?
Well this was a tough week. We are both dealing with this stuff…hard. Meaning it is hard to deal with…AND we are taking it on and with the grace of God and each other beating our "stuff" into the submission of God's will in our lives. There were more than a few tears.
We are sooooo relating to thinking with our feelings and are so glad we have husbands who for the most part, don't. Because our lives would be utter chaos if both of us were doing the thinking with our feelings at the same time in the same household. Also, we discovered (or actually put into words for the first time) that sometimes we "act" the way we do so tht someone KNOWS how we're feeling. (Can you say DRAMA and PITY??)
One of us is dealing with the issue of perfectionism. It is pervasive. You can't accept failure from yourself, so why in the world would you be lenient with your spouse, your children, your co-workers…..Everyone, everything, all the time. And it just makes you weary and so tired of being condemning.
The other of us is dealing with discipline issues or shall we say the lack of discipline. Physical, spiritual, emotional, financial…you name it. It is a lack of control over the things we want to control and knowing that we need to give it over to God.
I could go on, as did our study for almost 3 1/2 hours for just us two.
Like I said, we're dealing with stuff, we're being vulnerable, we're keeping each other accountable, we're cheering each other on.
Man this is tough.
Melana and Heidi
Sheridan Wyoming
We met tonight (Wednesday) and had a hard time jumping into the deepest of questions at first. But the last question really caused us to consider. Do we have someone to keep us accountable? And on some levels, we could say yes. But mostly, the answer was "Not really. I want that." We discussed how we tend to have a bunch of shallow relationships and not so many deep ones. We prayed together and asked God to help us be more open. It was a good night!
BLESS Jennifer!!
Oh, dear Beth what an amazing venue you offer us through your post and studies such as Jennifer's- we need to thank Amanda more often for her "divine" inspiration that this blog would be a blessing- very seldom is there an opportunity to share our hearts without anyone judging us- life is just plain tough- I'm solo and a contemplative of sorts, so I want to share that your lessons are beyond anything I ever expected God to share with me- what a infusion of intellect, skill and heart dear sister- Lots of blessings to you and yours and please know I dearly appreciate your extraordinary ministry- how in the world do you do it?- I realize it is through the Holy Spirit, but my goodness, each lesson is fresh and a direct flow from the Holy Spirit-but I know you "plow" the soil with great effort in order to bring us the hope of our Lord- I do NOT take for granted your commitment and call- I'm privileged to be blessed by you, your precious family and staff-We may never meet on this side of heaven, but I do know you have been a part of my healing and helping me turn the pages of the book of my life, I hope to be able to share one day that my life has been redeemed in the land of the living- Lots of love!
Well well well! You don't pull any punches, do you Mama Siesta?
"G' head, confess your sins to each ah-tha"!
We meet every week and have 12 women in our group, but who shows up each week varies, due to summer schedules. We have been averaging 5 per week. This influences how freely we share…
Last week we really had a great discussion chapter 3, as we talked about our island (p. 71). We discovered that we all shared two answers: 1. I'm fat; 2. no one likes me/I'm so lonely.
What an eye-opener! We gave each other affirmation and spoke TRUTH over each other. We discussed that we must NOT let our weight issue (LIE) determine our self-worth. How can a room full of women get together and feel lonely? Ooo, that sneaky devil! We committed to showing love to each other!
This week we had some women join us for the first time. Another crazy thing, out of 7 women, FIVE forgot to bring their book!
Sin many of us deal with: bitterness. We shared about that and how to deal with it. REALLY good and practical words!
Some gems of wisdom pointed out:
"We have heard Satan's voice for so long that we often just assume it is our voice." (p.83)
"To accept lies is to reject truth." (p. 85)
"The enemy goes for the solitary and the silent." (p.88)
Doesn't that last one go hand in hand with the lie that no one likes us?!?
This study is creating an army of warrior women in our church! Lies are being exposed! Truth is being revealed! Hallelujah! What a Savior! He keeps saving us from ourselves!
Our memory verse this week is Psalm 145:18-19
(Last week was 2 Corinthians 4:18)
We LOVE you Beth and Jennifer!
Jillian
Laramie, WY
Through all this, I realized something about myself. I am an emotionally driven individual. My emotions dictate the outcome of my thoughts and actions, maybe not every time, but most.
Last week, I heard that my brother from our beaver cleaver family had been arrested for serious drug charges and I spiraled down into the dumps. I yielded to it and let my flesh feel exactly what it wanted to feel, think exactly what it wanted to think, say exactly what it wanted to say and …thus, I acted it out.
I wanted the house as dark as I could get it. I wanted nothing to do with the Light and anything else that the outside world had to offer. I didn’t feel like praying, so I didn’t. I didn’t feel like answering the phone, so I kept my headset loud. I didn’t feel like going to church, so I didn’t. It was weird.
The LORD, finally broke through my darkness after four days and began to work on me. Here’s a synopsis of what HE said, “You made the wrong choice.” He revealed what should have been my self talk, thus revealing my unbelief. I knew better.
Ro. 5:3 “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance…”
Phil. 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”
1 Pet 4:13 “But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.”
At some point, I turned on every instrument of praise in my house. Every room had ‘The Message’ blaring loud and clear. And doesn’t it say that HE inhabits the praises? Praise HIM. I snapped out of it and began to search for answers.
First answer, the wrong choice is called sin. So, I had to repent. I realized something…when I made the choices I made, I kindly escorted God off the throne and put myself on it. His thoughts, His feelings, His words and His guidance ceased to have meaning. And my thoughts, feelings, words and actions ruled the roost. I'm no theologian, but isn't that one of the ten commandments? Graven image, idolatry kind of stuff?
And, glory to God, when I picked up "Me, Myself and Lies" again—He spoke! And through a story about a little girl playing ‘I Spy’ on an airplane during a tumultuous time, I learned to play the same game in my topsy turvy life. I was challenged by Jennifer to play ‘I Spy’ of all things. It wasn’t easy. I didn’t think there was anything noble, admirable or excellent about the matter. I even had to go to the original language and study synonyms before some of the answers came to me. Here’s the results:
I spy something true because: now my family can speak openly and honestly about my brothers’ drug problem.
I spy something honorable because: my brother is a son of the KING.
I spy something right because: it is for his own good that he follow the law of the land and God.
I spy something pure because: he will be forced to detox and be free from defilement and impurities.
I spy something lovely (pleasing) because: he is alive.
I spy something of good repute (admirable, praiseworthy and appealing) because: (this one was hard) God’s reputation in His child will not go unnoticed and God’s grace in this and every situation is praiseworthy. We don’t get what we deserve.
I spy something excellent because: of my brothers’ potential under Christs’ control is enormous.
PRAISE THE LORD~SORRY IT'S SO LONG
Thank you. I lost sleep last night worrying that someone would see that post… Guess that could be an object lesson from our study huh? I let my hurt feelings get the better of me and posted out of emotion rather than wisdom. Then I let my worry carry me away rather than take captive my thoughts…. Oh how God is molding me!
Solo
1. Thinking w/ my feelings is something the Lord has been working on w/ me for several years and I am now experiencing a great measure of victory. This study is raising my awareness level even more and helping me seal up some frayed edges that still linger from time to time. I am so grateful.
2. My 'defining circumstance' is too personal to share, but praise God it is gradually defining me less and less.
3. This also is too personal to share but God & I are dealing with it. Hallelujah!
4. In childhood & as an adult, I have been deeply betrayed more than once, so this is hard for me.
Hey Beth! I'm not quite caught up to you, but needed a truth injection this morning, so I "pre-watched" your instructions for weeks 3 and 4 just as I am finishing up week 1. Just wanted to say that while I was watching I hit the button on my next cup of coffee for the morning, and sat back down in front of my screen just in time to hear your tirade ( yes that's what it was! ) about caffeine!! I don't know when I have laughed so hard, out loud, sitting alone in my house, than I did after your husband-leaving tips. And people say Bible teachers never give practical advice! Thanks for being up in my business today. Love, Ginger in Pensacola (haven't logged on before, but oh well, I'm out here nonetheless.)
From the "Me, Myself, & My Siestas" group of 25:
This lesson touch many of us very deeply. Our answers to the questions weren't simple or short, so I'll just leave some general comments here, rather than answers to all questions.
"We as humans erroneously think that our heart should be our guide and therefore we do some pretty stupid and damaging things in the name of love."
"It is so refreshing to see with this study how my feelings are controlling my actions and I am seeing how much of my “circumstances” are thus created by those same feelings!"
Fear, rejection, and procrastination were all listed this week as defining circumstances. This lesson brought them to the forefront and caused us to take action.
p. 87: “Never let the Enemy be more aware of your weaknesses than you are.”
This seemed to be a wakeup call to many of us. One Siesta said, "BAM! This one hit me right in the nose! Wow! That little stinker had me pegged on this one, but no more! The jig is UP!! I will no longer allow satan to use my weaknesses against me by seeing them come up before I do! I see it first, and that gives me the opportunity to speak truth over it! HA!"
Many of us have friends we consider our accountability partners, but one Siesta wrote something that mirrored my own personal thoughts two years ago:
"No accountability partner…scared to death to take that step…"
We're all still working at cleaning out our thought closets. So many years of piling junk in there…too bad we can't hold a garage sale to get rid of it all at once!
Solo siesta.
This has been THE hardest Bible study I've ever done. And I know it's one that I needed the most. There have been times, where I just couldn't continue because it was so hard, God is confronting my biggest secrets, fears, that have been growing in my mind. So many times I just would shove my book aside and just weep and pray before I could continue. And I need to let y'all know that God is so good and so loving. He's doing an amazing thing in me. Praise His holy name!
Jennifer wrote: "Without wisdom we act emotionally, think with our feelings, and don't recognize the truth – with catastrophic results." That has been me for many, many years. But God is changing the patterns of my thinking. And I'm so grateful to Him for that. I started praying for wisdom couple years ago, when my girls turned teenagers. And God sure has made a difference in our relationship!
Re accountability, I wish I had an accountability partner. But so far it has not worked out. Maybe I've moved too much in my life. And then there's the trust issue. It's hard for me to trust someone that I don't know well. But I'll keep praying, I'm sure God has someone in mind for me to be accountable to. But for now, I'm taking it to Jesus!
Feel very blessed,
Meggie, Winnipeg, Canada
We're deep into grandbabies and weddings in our group this summer so enjoyed passing pictures and sharing stories before getting down to business. Great discussion, tears over some our defining circumstances, many feelings of frustration at situations that don't change and the paralyzing results. We spent time looking at Scripture that spoke to God's faithfulness and our faith. Cleaning our closet is definitely work but we're rejoicing in the One who is guiding the broom. Several of us wrote down Bible study group when asked to provide an accountability partner. We're adding accountability issues along with our weekly prayer requests. We are so in love with each other we couldn't imagine choosing just one to hold us accountable. Hope it works!!
Love this study, love all of you,
Sandy for the Ames Joy group
Hey Siestas,
We had a great meeting yesterday. We focused a lot on Question 1. The thing we talked about was not what is the thought that follows the emotion, but "what is the thought that precedes the emotion?" Sometimes this thought is so fast it appears non-verbal, but often this is the cause of the negative emotion. We talked about how to stop and evaluate our thinking and page back, as it were, to the original thought that caused the negative emotion. Then, to subject THAT thought to scrutiny: Does it line up with the Word of God? Then to replace that thought, usually a lie, with a truth from the Word.
We also talked a lot about repentence and taking responsibility for our sins, but with the SURE HOPE given us in 1Jn 1:9. Also recognizing that we are ALREADY blameless in His sight, from an eternal perspective (Jude 24). This is what gives us the confidence to FACE OUR SIN and truly agree with God.
Learning to think with God's thoughts is going to set us free, AMEN?!
Also, loved Jennifer's page 90 (I think) where she lists which Scriptures she uses to counter the enemy's lies.
Ended with Casting Crowns' "The Voice of Truth." Awesome!
Looking forward to next week!
We had a great meeting this week over decaf coffee and muffins! Tonya and I are becoming more aware and "tuned in" to our thoughts. We've been working on preparing our minds for situations where we know we are tempted to think lies-our weak areas. We want to be more aware of our weaknesses than the Enemy!
I have been most convicted lately of comparing my self to others, which leads thoughts like, "I must not be good enough to have what she has" and list goes on. Also, we discussed how at times we are hesitant of being an accountability partner because it may be hard for us to confront others and possibly hurt their feelings.
Kristin and Tonya
Our group of three met last night. Two things really came out of our time together:
1) We all agreed that our emotion that got us in trouble was anger. We all felt like it reared its ugly head way too often and we took it out on our husbands and children. Each of us believe that our anger stems from our own need for perfection and not being able to control the people around us. (Makes you want to hang out with us, right?!) We all want to see God teach us how to handle our anger, so that we don't become emotionally abusive to our husbands and children. Help us, Lord!
2) The biggest thing we took away last night was our common need for accountability that we can trust. All of us said that we had trouble sustaining deep friendships with women that remained trustworthy. Also, 2 of us are in ministry and/or church staff and people tend to elevate you to a super-spiritual status that is unsustainable. We all feel lonely and long for deep connection with other women. We are all so grateful for each other now. We are a new group and are praying for each other and that God will bless our friendships and teach us how to be accountability partners.
Traci
North Carolina
Pride goeth before a fall….
I want to tell you gals something…When I started this Bible Study, I thought I could help facilitate it to encourage others in their thought life but it wasn't really necessary for me. I pretty much knew who I was in Christ Jesus and have memorized scripture that reminds me how much Jesus loves me and how I was created for God's good pleasure. I also attend Lakewood Church for Heaven's sake!! My faith gets pumped up!! I also am Director of Women's Ministry at my other church so I am constantly pouring God's truth into women to encourage them and let them see themselves as God sees them – the beautiful bride of His only Son – hand picked! I want them to know that they are forgiven, redeemed, the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus! That we are all accepted, appointed, anointed and approved for such a time as this. What I am trying to say is that I have a pretty healthy thought closet – or so I thought……
This past week really challenged me. Even last night at our group gathering the gals said, "Roxanne, you are being awfully quiet. Is everything alright?"
"Heck no it is not allright!" I thought to myself. Momma Siesta suggested that we share our sin issue with you all and that is just not pretty no matter what you do or say!! What is my most recurrent conviction??? Sheesh!!!
The Holy Spirit would not let me off the hook on this one. No way! It was too important and I am too valued by the Creator to not clean my mess up! I finally started sharing about an anger issue that I have. There, I said it again! It was easier than last night. Why? Because I have so been praying about it. I have stopped to think before I reacted and responded to the trigger points that the enemy, that roaring lion, would use to bait me. I will not be his playground for much longer in this area because God is cleaning me up! GLORY!!!
I am soooooooo happy for this study and for the new friends I have made via this blog to bring us together for Bible Study. I LOVE them! And I felt safe to share with them because I know they are faithful to pray for me as I am for them.
Right now the enemy knows where I am weak and vulnerable and he preys on that. He better look out! I am changing for the glory of God.
One of these days, I am going to wake up and get out of bed and be the kind of woman that makes the devil say, "Oh no, she's up again!"
Let it be in the name of JESUS!
Do you remember this song as a little girl??
He's still working on me to make me what I ought to be.
It took Him just a week to make the moon and stars,
The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars.
How loving and patient He must be, He's still working on me.
1. There really ought to be a sign upon my heart,
Don't judge her yet, there's an unfinished part.
But I'll be perfect just according to His plan
Fashioned by the Master's loving hands.
CHORUS:
2. In the mirror of His Word reflections that I see
Make me wonder why He never gave up on me.
He loves me as I am and helps me when I pray
Remember He's the Potter, I'm the clay.
CHORUS:
We had a very small group. Just 3 of us. We quickly came to the conclusion, the harder we try to clean out our thought closets and strive for a better way of life with the Lord, THE MORE SEVERE THE ATTACKS BY THE ENEMY HAVE BECOME ON EACH OF US! Giving up this study has crossed my mind, especially after the nasty party Satan threw about two hours before our group meeting. I was the guest of dishonor and it was UGLY. And I am so ashamed to say that I responded in an even uglier way. So much for my progress. I am not giving up! I had an epiphany that if Satan was this desperate and vicious, I must be doing something correctly and that I HAVE to hang in there. From reading "Streams in the Desert" and James 1: 2-5 I am trying to view these attacks as works designed to increase my perserverance and ultimately give blessing.
Six of us were present last night, and we had a great time of discussion. This study is helping us to open up, be vulnerable and honest in our small group.
1. We agreed that as women we tend to think with our feelings which usually end up with us feeling frustrated and hurt.
A member of our group shared her progression:
Emotion: hurt feelings
Thought: nobody likes me
Action: crying, exchange of hurtful words, escalation of emotions
If we go by our feelings and react by our feelings all the time, we decided we'd be in a funk all of the time! One of us shared that she has been trying to talk about her feelings as they occur instead of holding them in until something small and unrelated causes a large explosion of emotion. We all agreed facing our emotions and dealing with them instead of thinking with them is how we want to live.
2. None of us wanted to share a defining circumstance. Maybe we are still coming to grips with them ourselves and just weren't ready to let everyone else know.
We all were touched by the story of the little girl and her dad on the airplane. We agreed we tend to look at the negative, and all had already decided to be aware and pray the Holy Spirit makes us aware when that happens. We want to see the good!
3.The majority of us have really felt conviction over the need to muzzle our mouths! We are being convicted to watch what we are saying. We realize now we must acknowledge our weaknesses in order to be alert and stay ahead of the enemy.
4. Some of do have people we are accountable to and some of us need someone. We discussed how it makes us vulnerable to share private things with someone. Will they really keep our confidence? Are we willing to keep someone's confidence in return? Do we have time to confide in someone or do we make the time? We tended to agree that a big fear of being accountable to someone is that we don't want to hear that we may be wrong or we need to change something in our life.
The study is great, and I believe our group is really doing some cleaning out of our thought closets. All of us brought in stained and/or torn clothing from our closet to share…and we all brought great excuses of why those stained/torn things are still in our closet! With our thought closets we need to throw out the stained and torn things along with the excuses for keeping them!
Karen
Hartselle, AL
Last night we gathered and as one of our Siesta's already wrote took Beth's prompting to open up with our latest conviction. Confessing is tough stuff. But it's also cathartic. And more than that, it brings things in the Light for the Holy Spirit to do His thing. We were a small group last night, but those of us who were there were really touched. I mean REALLY touched. Thank you Father that You have each of our numbers!
Roxanne Worsham's Group
Houston Texas
We spent almost the entire time unpacking our thought closet as it relates to that defining circumstance. Two of us knew what our circumstance was and another thinks she figured it out that nioght just discussing with us. Awesome!
Jane, Jennifer and Lindy
Houston, TX
Our group was amazed at how a lot of our triggers are food related! Too much chocolate, not enough chocolate, caffeine, etc. It's probably a deeper issue there, BUT anyway. We decided that we're not going to play the blame game and let others/our emotions/food control us. We're going to let God take control!
-Kirsten for the Harrisburg, PA group
THIS IS CAROL FROM ALBUQUERQUE NM
I THOUGHT I HAD BEEN DOING MY BIBLE STUDY WITH A GROUP ON LINE BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPEN SO I GUESS IWILL GO SOLO FOR NOW.
ON PAGE 65, SOMETIMES I AM EMOTIONALY STRAINED BETWEEN MY WORK AND TAKING CARE OF AN ELDERLY PARENT AT TIMES I FEEL I AM GOING TO BUST AT THE SEAMS.
SOMETIMES I WANT TO RUN AND HIDE WHERE NOBODY CAN FIND ME. BECAUSE IT GETS OVERWHELMING AT TIMES.
SOMETIMES MY THOUGHT CLOSET IS MORE THAN I CAN BEAR IT IS A CONSTANT BATTLE SOMETIMES I AM INSECURE AROUND SOME PEOPLE AT WORK OR I AM AFRAID TO TALK TO THEM FOR FE FEAR THEY MIGHT BE MAD AT ME SO I WON'T TALK TO THEM I AVOID THEM.
I DO NOT CURRENTLY HAVE ANYBODY THAT HOLDS ME ACCOUNTABLE ON CERTAIN THINGS. BEING SINGLE IS TUFF MOST OF MY FRIENDS ARE TO BUSY.
ANYWAY THANK YOU SO MUCH SEISTA MAMA FOR HELPING THIS SEISTA WITH THIS BIBLE STUDY AND SCRIPTURE VERSE MEMORIZING SCRIPTURES THAT HAS HELP ME ALOT
CAROL ALBUQUERQUE NM
Just a second to post a few thoughts. We have 2 groups running and I am leading both. Our morning has been hit and miss by our ladies. But we met nonetheless. Our evening group will not be meeting until next Tuesday due to our VBS this week. I just couldn't ask ladies to make a choice to not participate in VBS or Bible Study.
Here were some of our thoughts:
We liked the thinking with our feelings comments. We could all relate when our monthly moodies ruled our mouths, hearts and minds.
Almost unanimously our one defining circumstance invoved something that made us look at ourselves through low self-esteem. It affects so much of our lives because we use the I feel this so this action must mean I am right. We are all diet conscious, either working on healthy eating or dieting. Satan knows what our weak points are. He will use them to find our weaknesses. Some of the ladies do have at least 1 accountability partners if you count their husband. We got into a discussion abut the importance of memorizing God's word so that we have that to combat Satan's temptations.
More with the second group next Tuesday night.
(I have to tell you Beth, you looked really good on the video.)
Ok so this is loosely tied to the study but I think you will see how it fits. So stick with me. I have been thinking about the whole thought life thing and being joyful. I was reading in an unrelated book about how we have to practice joy. Now this really caught my attention because I have been praying for joy for years. Also for years my hubby has been telling me to count my blessings when I am down or having a pity party, etc. Now I never put the two together and realized that this was practicing joy or thinking on right things. I just knew it worked. Anyway, today I was thinking about how we are not suppose to be letting the false thoughts in, only truth and I realized that when we dwell only on others criticisms of us and not what they see as our strengths(this also includes things that God say that are good about us) we are not practicing joy. We in fact are practicing the opposite. While they may have a valid point in that we need to improve in that area, they are not saying that is the sum total of who we are. My hubby says that if we are feeling guilty and it does not move us to change, which would be God at work, then it is most likely the enemy condemning us. this is because Godly guilty motivates us to change toward more God like behavior. I found this so encouraging once I put all the pieces together. While God gives us joy we need to be practicing it. Not expecting that He will do all the work and let us dwell on the things that cause us to be discontented. Now I am not saying that we should not be discontent with sin in our lives, we should and that would fall under the whole Godly guilt thing. But there is so much out there that just brings us down and that we slam ourselves with. I hope that I am making some sense here. I also hope that someone finds this concept as encouraging as I have.
Kim B. in AZ
1. I tend to get mad when I'm tired and trying to finish "mom" jobs. I go from tired, to self-pity, and if I'm not careful, a mom-style tantrum. Hard to admit that, but it's true. Happy to say that I don't go "tantrum" too often and recognize when I'm headed there. This study has helped me see the bad stuff in my thought closet and replace it with God's thoughts. I already recognized my weakness in this area and that's why I decided to memorize scripture this year with LPM.
2. My defining circumstance at the moment would have to be my son's food allergies. I don't resent the allergies and I love my son with no end. This is God's plan in our lives and that's how it is. It's all the hard work of making almost everything he eats.. and then cleaning up the kitchen. We can't use a dishwasher because my son was reacting from "contaminated" dishes and silverware from minute particles left over. Needless to say, I get physically, mentally drained from time in my kitchen (aka my "office").
3. My most recent conviction.. I'm a recovering perfectionist and I thought I should keep my kitchen "perfect"… but not at the expense of my family. A pile of dirty dishes are not as important as the time spent with my husband and 2 sons. I'm happy to say I left dishes to take my boys on a bike ride on more than one occasion this week :).
4. I struggle with having an accountability partner. My husband is a great for this role. I also realize I need a siesta as well. I'm an only child and have found this particularly difficult for me to open up enough to get an accountability partner. I'm praying on this one.
Hi Beth,
This is late but only because life is so busy right now. But not too busy to get together with my "siestas". This past week's get together was so good. We are all struggling with keeping up with our study but we are forging ahead. This past week's time together was so good for us. As a ministry team, it gives us an opportunity to get past the "business" and get to really know each other…what make us tick, what makes us who we are! It has been good and I am so grateful that God led us to this study as a team. Thank you for your ministry…we love ya!
Shawna Hakes
Williamsport, PA
I wanted to post about a wonderful idea we had for our last group meeting. I am hoping that I am not too late for this to get read by someone. When I was a middle schooler my Mema gave me a glass jar in the shape of a bear. In the jar were scriptures with little handwritten notes just for me. I had a difficult time growing up and I struggled a ton with insecurity (I still do now but God is making it better everyday). Mema gave that jar so that when I was having a hard time I could go and pull out one of those notes to be reminded of God's word and the truth I should be thinking.
Using that same idea our group each created our own jar of truths. We wrote down scriptures for each other and for ourselves so that when the enemy is at our thought closet door we will have scripture to shut him down. That truth jar my Mema gave has always been such an encouragement to me especially now that she is in heaven with Jesus.
I just thought other groups might like the idea too. It will help to replace thoughts in our closet with truth and to encourage each other.
Love you guys,
Candy Smith
Houston, TX
Sandee and Mary….
Daughter and Momma…
Folsom/North Highlands, Ca
We are loving this bible study…thank you for hosting it. I am through week four, but momma is still working on week four. We "meet" via email and go over the discussion questions.
Blessings from CA.
Two Siestas and hubbys have just conquered the ALCAN both ways! We are Mile 0 Dawson Creek, and the whole way kept true to our SSBS!
We've had great difficulty with WIFI in the Last Great Road Trip, so we are at public library and checking in for weeks 3-4 study.
We pray we will become wiser by monitoring our thoughts and checking our actions. We hope we will consistently become wiser as we actively seek God's wisdom. In our 60's we find much of what we do is habitual rather than deliberate! Time to clean out the closet…
Sometimes silence is a great argument but the woman with the issue of blood called out to Jesus. May we do the same.
You have to open up your life to interupption as we re-order our thought closets. And we decided we need to be willing to face the change and be vunerable in order to execute change. Where we have been held captive is a mystery until we have the "Me, Myself and Lies" exposed in the light of God's Word. Jennifer and Beth have done a masterful job in helping expose the lies. We know for a fact the reality of a sensitive accountability partner, and this trip on the Al Can has been used by God to do just that! Loved the tip about insecurity and caffeine being a trigger to grab lies! Thanks to "Siesta Mama" our caffeine is now limited to morning use only….
Much love,
Pam H. and Kathy C.
So Cal. bound Siestas for 2 more weeks…(It's a long way home, still)
1. emotion- feeling abandoned when my former boyfriend and i broke up thought- i MUST find out why action- calling my friends, his friends, and family demanding to know what id done, why he left?
we definitely loved each other; that was known
2. defining circumstance- divorce much earlier in my life; childhood issues that probably really influenced bad husband choice and divorce (along with his issues of lying and adultery)
3. most recurring conviction- keep trusting God to handle my life (He delights over me) and not fixate on worrying or trying to control everything myself; I have truly seen some victory in this area of my life this summer through being a part of this study and esp. the Siesta Memory Verse team this year- that's been MOST helpful!! I also can see though it is DAILY or I can begin to go right back to "stinkin thinkin."
4. My accountability partner- an older Godly woman taking me through a study of Proverbs 31, she wrote. I so appreciate her, and her loving honesty with me.
All these things are slowly bringing great changes to my life. I'm so thankful God is very patient and understanding with us.
Amanda (sol0) Olive Branch, Ms
I can't pinpoint one Defining Circumstance so I am skipping that question.
Recurrent Conviction – I am currently struggling with the conviction of being a bad, out-of-control, disorganized wife and homeschool mom. I am working on it by freeing up my schedule more and focusing on just a few important things than trying to be supermom.
I do not have an accountability partner. Since it came up to get one and started to think about who I could get and sadly I couldn't think of anyone. I have many good friends but none that I think would hold me up to a hard-high standard. I am afraid I would get too much of "That's ok, no one else expects to be like that. We all do things we shouldn't". I feel bad even saying that. They are good christian women but I think we are too comfy in the world and I want to work for something better.
April and Husband – Oldsmar, FL
2. This would be the rape that happened to me as a teenager. All or most of my bondage issues flow from that.
3. What I have been under the most conviction about lately is Acts 10:15. “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” God has really made it clear to me lately that I have not believed that I really am clean in Christ even though the appointed time has net arrived to deliver me from bondage. I feel defiled because of idolatry. The enemy knows I feel this way and is using that against me. So that is an area that the enemy has been more aware of one of my issues than I. Praise God for revealing this to me.
I'm doing the study solo but still loving it!
I am working on not "reacting" but instead "acting" based on truth.
I will use "I spy" to help maintain a clean closet.
I will replace gasoline words with water words.
Awake my soul and be WELL!
Love you mama!
I meet alone. Instead of addressing the questions, although they were great, I wanted to add a couple of my favorite quotes from these 2 weeks.
p. 58 A surplus of emotion usually precedes acting without wisdom! Amen sister!
p. 61 To fear God means we esteem His truth more highly than our feelings or perceptions of truth. WOW!
Kimberly
San Antonio
The Moyock Baptist girls met on the deck at sunset (but finished up quickly when the mosquitoes arrived). We had a great discussion of how to know if God is speaking to you and the accountability issue. Very difficult for us to release close issues to anybody but God. We also thought it would be a good idea to get an "easy up light" and a clapper to be able to turn the light on in our closet at all times we feel darkness creeping in (like a lion).
Solo-
Loved Emotion, Thought, Action
so so true. The phrase that has stuck with me here is Faith not Feelings. I've been writing it on sticky notes posting them everywhere. I'm lovin this study thanks for orginizing it and sorry I'm late in posting.
It is amazing how one comment from someone in authority leads to a thought in your thought closet (which is a lie) that can do so much damage. And for 30 years! Did the comment cause the insecurity or did my insecurity cause the comment to grow in my thought closet? Either way it has to be pulled out and destroyed and the space it was taking up filled with God's truth.