Hey Girls! Welcome to our second gathering for Siesta Summer Bible Study! I’m thrilled to be with you today! It feels so good to be back in Scripture together, doesn’t it? OK, before you go any further, remember that all comments to this post come AFTER your group views the video (or questions below) and completes the guided discussion. One representative will sign in on behalf of your entire group and using your group name, city, and number participating in this gathering. If you’re going solo, you will sign in by your name and city. Solo participants will choose several of the questions that resonate with you most and answer them succinctly in your comment. Group representatives will share the most powerful or pertinent part of your discussion.
One more thing before we get to it! I want you to be able to picture our Bible study community because it’s such a rich mix of women. My beloved coworkers, Nancy and Kmac, went through all your comments to the summer Bible study launch (a daunting task indeed so applause please!) and here is an estimate of what our wonderful, colorful class looks like. (This has been updated since I did the video embedded in this post so the following is newer and more accurate information. The video has to be done around 4 days in advance so that’s the reason for any discrepancies between numbers.)
We are made up of about…
- 4226 individuals total (whether in groups or going solo)
- 1129 groups
- 48 United States (missing Delaware and Vermont; 1 sister said she was originally from Vermont, but is now living in NY. As severely tempted as we are to count that, we won’t. At the time I did the video, we didn’t realize Delaware was missing as well so, if you’re out there, be sure and let us know! It’s all just for fun. We’re not trying to be all that, so don’t anybody go moving or anything. Grin.)
- 14 countries outside U.S. (Africa, Australia, Bahamas, 4 Canadian provinces – AB, BC, ON, SK-, China, Costa Rica, Finland, France, Italy, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the UK)
Woooohooooo! May Jesus be pleased and highly praised!
OK, everybody! It’s time to meet. If possible, watch the video but, if you’re unable to view it, here are written instructions for your gathering. All the following questions or interactives are based on your first 2 weeks (or what they’re calling “Sessions”) of homework.
The first question comes from something Kelly said no further into the study than the second paragraph of the introduction on p.6. Reread the first two paragraphs then answer the following question:
#1. Name people you’ve met and, after getting to know them, realized you’d missed them terribly before they came into your life. In others words, describe a time when you encountered people that supplied something your life was greatly missing.
(In so many ways, Siestas, you have been this to me. I can hardly picture ministry around here at LPM before you got here. You supplied so much community that I lost when I gave up my beloved Sunday School class and you broadened my world immensely through your profound diversity. I am so thankful for you.)
#2. One of the most important concepts for the study is introduced in Day One of the first week or “Session.” Turn to p.14 and review the portion mid-page. Why is it so vital to have a heart that can break? After answer the question, discuss how you filled in your columns: what breaks your heart and where you could be more tender.
#3. Turn to the conclusion of Week or Session One on p.31 and share your answers to this “personal response” (mid-page): “What has God put in your heart to do?” Don’t descend into comparison, over analysis and self-condemnation as you discuss your answers. Remember, what God has put in our hearts to do may not be timed for fulfillment until many days or even years from the birth of our passion. After you answer the question, THEN glance ahead to the “Group Discussion” question in the margin on p.40 because it coincides so well with the concept we’re discussing here. “Have you ever forced a plan or dream that, in retrospect, you realized God’s hand wasn’t on?” Boy, I have and many times! Let’s have some community here so we’ll all know that this is a common occurrence.
#4. Reflect on your answer to the question at the bottom of p.39: “So we will no longer be in disgrace.” (Some of your versions may say “shame.”) That word resonates deeply with me because I have felt disgraced and usually by my own actions or mistakes. Discuss a few ways that disgrace can result from a collapsed wall of some kind. THEN, celebrate the reality that walls can be REBUILT.
#5. Go to p.56, the opening page of Day Five in Session Two and discuss some of your answers to the question in bold print: “What rubble in your life is presently the most discouraging and exhausting?” We are not just going to share and compare our piles of rubble here but we are going to turn our discussion into intercession as we conclude our gathering. After several people share, return to Nehemiah 4:14 and read it together and let it lead you in how you pray for one another. Close out in BELIEVING-RECEIVING intercession!
Our next gathering will be on Tuesday, July 24th. Have Weeks (Sessions) 3 and 4 of your homework completed. For those who are gathering around a meal, consider making the Romaine Salad on p.88 with the blue cheese and pecans and maple vinaigrette and, since you went so healthy on the main course, how about some Billie’s Banana Pudding on p.89 for dessert??
I love you guys so much! Stay in the Word!
French Lick, IN-Brooke
This study is here for me and God has planned it once again- with perfect timing!
Someone I’ve met that has made me know I’ve been missing them? My new church family! I have years and years of journal entries begging GOD for a church family that loves us. But more IMPORTANTLY loves HIM. We now PTL have that family..and oh how I’ve missed them!
What’s my heart breaking for:This past Feb. I attended a talk about foster children and began praying about what God wants me to do for foster families in my area. I was fired up about it for awhile…my husband and I have even discussed ADOPTION! Our problem is that we look at our pile of bills and our 3 children that we are barely providing for and sigh…HOW LORD? Once again, He knows HOW! We aren’t there yet. But I can feel it starting. My HEART breaks for children who don’t have someone to love them. God is calling my family to be that someone. Whatever it takes LORD…get me there.
So sorry we are so late in adding our group!
Our group name is “Peter and Paul”
We are meeting via skype-two of us in Texas and the other in North Dakota. If it counts, the Texas folks will be in Brazil for mission work in August!
going solo, Aurora, Colorado
question 1:
the people of Gateway Christian Church, God lead me to this wonderful group of people when our old church moved some distance away. I felt at home when I walked through the doors. We have been with them for almost two years now and love them all so much. I had not realized I needed so much the fellowship, teaching and the opportunity to serve.
Question 3: Since I was little sitting outside the bathroom begging my Mom to let me in to comfort her, because she was crying, I have had a passion for those who are hurting.
My health has gotten to be increasingly challenging over the years, hindering me (I thought) from all the things that I wanted to do for God, finally in 2004, I had to give up, all the classes that I was teaching, I was very ill and house bound for many months.
Finally in January of 2004, I lay dying on the floor of my living room, (I did not know that an ulcer had exploded in my body and that the poison was killing me.) I survived the emergency surgery, hovered between life and death for several days. When I finally got home, I was weak, in pain, so confused.
Slowly, with God’s help I fought my way back to the place where I could return to church. I was so sad because I knew that I could never go back to what I used to do. People would ask me and I would have to say “No”. I was so lost, depressed.
One day I found restministries, a site for people with chronic pain and chronic illness. I joined and I found ladies that understood, who encouraged and prayed for me. All these years later, I am the leader of our group in restministries for ladies with chronic illness, pain and depression.
Marney,
Just yesterday I was talking about how I needed to find someone who could understand what it is to live with chronic illness. BAM! Here you are. God’s timing is always good.
I have heard of Rest Ministries. Can I find you there or is there a way for me to contact you directly?
I need you guys too!!! I’m dealing with chronic pain and it’s seriously my thorn in my side!!! I want to stay in contact with you ladies. What’s the best way to do this? Email?
[email protected]
I would love to pray with/for you guys!
Hi Marie
I do understand living with pain. I’m here to chat anytime you want I hope along with Marney.
Hi Marney,
My name is Irma I live in Amarillo, Tx and was touch by your comment on illness. I too suffer alot from illness and have had to give up alot of what I used to do, and I have consent pain. How do I find Rest Ministries so I can Join
Thank you so much, God has answered my prayers by sending you my way, again thank you and may God bless you for your caring heart.
g
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Arthur, Illinois; Siestas in Arthur; 2 in our group meeting online. In the first week, the “with information often comes responsibility; if we know, we might be required to do something” really hit us – we both immediately wrote that as one of the hard-hitting truths we came away with. We feel that is why so many people who go to Church come out “unfilled” – they refuse to “hear”, to “listen” to God (and the preacher) telling them something needs to be done because they don’t want to do it!
Single gal here and I have enjoyed this bible study so far. I can just feel God resonating inside me, digging out all of this sin and shame so he can build his home inside me. Even as I am writing this, I am crying because I am so happy and this is such an amazing feeling. I have been searching for a group to learn and grow with and I never thought the internet would be the place, but boy was I wrong. So here are my answers to my questions:
1) Two people who I missed were my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. My husband and I have been married for 3 years, and together for 7 and over the first couples years of dating, I met my future in laws, but we really didn’t talk. They were very liberal at that time, and I was and am very not liberal. God changed their hearts though, and molded them into great Godly people, and my brother-in-law has even gone to school to become a pastor. Little did I know back then, that these two would be the ones to help me find God again. They have been such great influences for me, and great friends. Without my mom here it has been hard for me, and it is great that God has shown me these two people that I missed and didn’t even know it.
3)I feel like God has always wanted me to be in missions. When I was younger, I went to a Christian school and loved when the missionaries came and talked about all the wonderful things God is doing for them and helping them do for others. I knew that is what he wanted me to do. Sadly, I grew up, and although my plan was to go to a christian university, and major in missions, it didn’t work out. So I went through about 5 majors and finally settled on Elementary Ed. My relationship with God during this time became stretched and I let the world speak to me and listened. I always have felt him tugging at me trying to get me back. SO this bible study has been a joy in helping me achieve that, and even though I am still majoring in elem ed, and have a long road to get my relationship with God strong, I know he still wants me to one day share his love with others all over the world, and I look forward to that day more than anything.
Ok, last one, sorry this post is so long…
4) My disgrace I have felt is from my addiction. I will not go into what is is but I feel like it is what has knocked my wall down and let the devil in. I have had this addiction since I was 14, and I have prayed many times for God to help me fight it, and break free. I have began building my wall back up only to have Satan knock part of it back down. I feel comfort knowing that God is there with me, helping me find strength to rebuild it.
Ladies, God is so amazing and he loves us all. I can’t wait to read everyones comments. Have a blessed day!
Stephanie, It was God that brought me to your post today. I only have so much time to look over others comments and it was yours I fell upon. I can so relate to your disgrace that you feel from your addiction. I too have an addiction that I have struggled with since I was 10. I can actually remember being about 4 when I began turning to “it” for my all. Of course I had no idea when I was 4 that this would be a stronghold that I would deal with in years to come. I am going to keep you in my prayers and ask God to deliver you from your addiction and in the meantime remember that you are not alone, the God of the Universe is always with us. God Bless You!!
Lorie, Isn’t it crazy how wonderful and magical God’s way is, that he leads us to one another when we need it. I needed your comment, I am so glad to not feel alone, which I often do. And the devil tries to push me to make me forget God is with me, but I have wonderful, encouraging people like you to help remind me. Thank you for helping me remember he is with me, even though I may not always feel it, and for the prayers. I will keep you in mine as well, and although we struggle with these addictions, I hope you will take comfort, as I often do when I am feeling down, that God has a purpose for everything, and he would never put on us more than we can handle. He is wonderful and amazing. Bless you, and I will pray for you.
Beth, we are from Wilmington, DE! (saw that you mentioned not having DE as a group…we ARE here!). 6 of us are in the group. Two via the web from Sheybogan, Wisconsin and Lancaster, PA, 4 from Wilmington, DE. We are the Summer Siestas and are LOVING the study. We are taking on the challenge to have compassionate hearts first for our families and then for the suffering around us. Can’t wait to see what this Summer brings, love all you Siestas out there joining us!
I write a weekly letter of inspiration/encouragement for my adult Sunday School class. 5 weeks ago, I was reading Nehemiah in my daily Bible reading and had written down 4 trademarks of the enemy to try to wear us down and wear us out as we build up God’s “walls and gates” in our lives from chapters 4 – 6. Discouragement, fear, oppression and betrayal. I wrote on one each week, with a one week break because God gave me a fresh word for one week in the middle of the series! The response has been amazing – as God really spoke to people through the book. I could not believe when I checked your site this morning and somehow missed that you were doing a study every few weeks on Nehemiah! God speaks in themes to His people through so many sources! Praising Him today for His Word!!!!!! May God bless you as you continue to minister to us through your teaching!
How/Where do you view the video that goes with the Nehemiah workbook?
Hi Vicki, you can purchase the videos on the LifeWay website here: http://www.lifeway.com/Product/Nehemiah-a-heart-that-can-break-video-sessions-M00000225
I’m sure you’ve received a response (or many) by this time, but on the off-chance that you haven’t, I wanted to make sure you knew that you download the vidoes from the Lifeway website ($2.99 each session) unless you happen to be participating in a group that purchased the leader’s kit. It took me a bit of searching the website to find the answer to the same question, so wanted to be sure to share. Hope this helps.
Debbra from Westcliffe, Colorado, solo.
Miss Beth (or anyone who can answer),
I finally purchased my book at the Lifeway Store at the LPL in Colorado Springs. I’m kind of behind, but will catch up soon! Question: there are pages for Video notes in the book. I thought we might be able to see the video on the Tuesday’s you present to us (I did not know though). Can I assume this Summer Siesta Study is without Kelly’s video?! We are to do just the homework? I’ll write later with my discussion question. Me and Jesus have to have some time together first.
PS… Beth, I broke free from a 2.5 year bitterness towards God!! THANK YOU for ministering to us at LPL-COS. Praise Jesus for FREEDOM!!!!! The weight has been lifted and my spirit is soaring once again.
Debbra…The Siesta Bible Study is done without the video sessions by Kelly. However, if you are interested, they can be downloaded from the Lifeway site for $2.99 a session. Hope that helps.
We met for the first time last night so a little behind the other groups. 3 women in the Indianapolis area, meeting at my home. Love the study! God is already working on our hearts. Thanks so much.
A warm hello from the prairies of ND! Betty M here in her morning devotion in her living room. It is a cool 70 degrees and the birds are singing! My corgi and schnauzer are playing on the floor by my feet causing me to lose focus!!!!
Question 2. It is important to have a heart that can break because it is out of broken hearts that many ministries are formed. We can all think of many great causes born out of heart break such as Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. A broken heart stirs up a passion within us that begs to be sated. Many great old hymns of the church were written out of great heartbreak such as “It Is well With My soul”.
I could be more tender towards the needs of third world countries. Those needs seem so far removed from my life I just do not feel as moved by the needs that I wish I would. I have given afew dollars to James Robison’s plea for fresh water for those people who can not even get a fresh drink of water but it does not move me to have the compassion I need to have. If I could afford a trip to one of those countries to see the needs first hand it would help.
3. What has God put on your heart to do? I have always thought it would be the ultimate service to have a ministry in front of thousands of people like you, Beth, but it appears God wants me to teach SS to preschoolers and special needs kids. I feel moved to write a book on my life experiences but do not know if it will get written or ever published but I am moved to work on it. I am happiest when I am witnessing to others on a blog site or by writing devotions etc.
The time I forced a plan without giving it much prayer was when I took a job away from home. Now most every woman works out of the home and it works out well but for me on a farm/ranch in ND it did not work well! I commuted 40 miles one way each day to work at a call center and I would come home at night to a disaster. We rural gals have all the yard work and usually huge gardens to keep up plus all the house work. It was bigger shoes than I could fill. The result? I plunged into a deep depression and spent many hours in a psych ward with anxiety issues and terrible mood swings. I took the job to discover myself which was a popular trend at the time. It did not work well for me. I am much more at peace now in God’s will.
i am enjoying this study as it is very relative to what we are going through with trying to get our rural church in a growing mode. We are reducing rubble in our old parsonage, finding people to help restore it, facing opposition in doing that. I can relate so much to Nehamiah the overwhelming task before us to get an old run down house in shape looks nealy impossible to do but if you concentrate too much on the entire project, it is. You just concentrate on a portion that you can do personally and some how the rest gets done. We have female insurance agency workers pulling up carpet and a massage therapist using a wrecking bar and hammer!!! So much like Nehamiahs project. We are not fearing for our lives, however, so do not need to stand guards around the
perimeter!
See You in Two!!!
Betty M from ND
Betty M
Well, you have one more solo Bible Study Participant! I watched the video, and realized that this is the study that I need for the summer!!!!
Just ordered the study. Can’t wait to dive in!!!
Priscilla in TN
I am doing this solo & this was my first session. I stumbled across the big sister/little sister blog yesterday by accident on fb.(I love U but, honestly due 2 a hectic schedule usually scroll right past Ur stuff). I heard about the study ya’ll were doing & thought I wouldwatch this A.M. I am answering the last question about the “rubble” that is presently most exhausting in my life. I hate 2 use the word rubble 2 describle my daughter’s medical issues, but…that is what they seem 2 me.She is a teenager & has chronic medical issues. The one we face now is daunting. We found out a few weeks ago several tumors have returned on important endocrine glands in her body.(She had one removed in 2008).We are amking several trips back 7 forth to the closest Children’s Hospital, not unusual 4 us, but different this time. She is older/understnds more/has deeper questions & a transplant will be involvedin this surgery. Please help me stay in prayer bc she is getting TIRED of all the lifetime medical issues in more ways than one! Thanks & much Love from MO.
Debi,
My heart goes out to you! I’m the one in my family with chronic medical issues, and I’ve thought many times that the only thing worse than dealing with it myself would be watching my husband or child hurt and not being able to fix it.
Remember the Lord who is great and awesome! He really is, sister. May His good hand be upon your family in this battle. I entreat Him in Jesus’ name to send you Christian sisters to stand shoulder to shoulder with you with Word-swords in their hands. And maybe some casseroles and cleaning supplies, too, when you need them.
Be of good courage, dear heart. The Lord is with you and will not forsake you. May His tender care prove very real to you today.
Christina, I tried to reply to this yesterday; somehow I don’t think it went through. Thank U so very much for responding & sharing your story with me. I am very blessed to have a great ‘Sword swinging’ support group of family & friends all over the country. Yet, it sometimes seems no one could ever understand the struggles we have no choice but to go through. Your words from the inside of a similiar situaation wear like a battery charge, for my ability to keep pressing on through this battle. Thank You…Thank You…Thank You!
Lord, we turn to You, our Jehovah-Rapha, our Healer, on behalf of Debi’s daughter. Thank You, Father, that You have given wisdom and knowledge to the doctors that serve her. We pray You will provide the comfort that only You can as she faces yet another medical situation. Lord, give her hope. Give her rest. I pray wisdom for her momma as they travel this rough journey together. Help them each to continue to daily surrender life to You. We thank You that You have a plan (Jeremiah 29:11) for this family. As that plan unfolds, we thank You that Your presence is real and personal to them. Amen.
Joyce, thanks for the heartfelt prayer! Jeremiah 29:11 is Bethany’s all time favorite verse (she clings to it; even has it stitched on her backpac). She has always had GREAT faith, things R just different this time…her heart is broken & there a lot more tears. She totally 110% believes she is healed & speaks it the entire 3 hour trip to Children’s. When we get bad news again & again her heart crumbles. Tough times~surgery is scheduled for a week from today. Friday, July 20th…continued prayers R much appreciated. Surgery is a risky one & successful transplanting of what they can salvage of these glands a must. Due, 2 the fact they R the only ones in the body that we can not function without.
Debi: how did the surgery go? I continue to pray.
Joyce, I am so glad you asked! I was wandering if there was a place to post praise reports on here. The surgery was an absolute rollar coaster for all who had gathered with us. 45 minutes in the nurse called our private waiting area & informed us her vitals were stable, then she said she would call us again in an hour with another update.That hour turned into 2 no call, 2 hours turned into 2 1/2. We finally checked the desk,we were told they had been some “issues” and the doctor would be out to talk to us soon. Mind you, for the past 2 1/2 hours everyone’s heart had been gradually move towards their throats & quite tears were starting to flow. I myself was pacing to keep from literally getting sick. When the surgeon came out to talk to us,(the top endocrine surgeon whose Mother had broken her hip the night before in New York & had opted to stay for Bethany’s surgery & delay his flight out bc the surgery was so risky he did not want anyone else to attempt it). He said, that the last scan right before the surgey did not show what the previous scans had shown. We had been going through testing & going back & forth to Nuclear Medicine for over 2 months when we were told surgery was our only option for the several tumors present. Anyway, the “issues” they were encountering during surgery were the fact that they could only find ONE tumor, they removed it & went “exploring” because they said they could be hiding & these glands were so very important is sustaining life. After, they were convinced there was only one tumor & there would be NO NEED FOR THE TRANSPLANT…some of the top surgeons & doctors stood around her bed “making sure” things were all right & that she was remaining stable. Even when the surgeon came out to talk to us he told us no one had left her bedside yet, except him to communicate with us. And, that he was returning there after our conversation. We were not allowed into recovey for a very long while & he once again pushed his flight back until later in the day to remain close. Long story made not-so-short, there was only one tumor a second gland had to be removed, but no transplant was required! The entire surgerical waiting room broke into tears & fell 2 their knees, with hugs all around for a very different outcome that the doctors had prepaired us for. Not only is Our God is greater, Not only is Our God Stronger, Not only is Our God The Great Physcian. But, He is still in the business of performing miracles!! We give Him all the praise! And, agree that all in the operating room were there by divine appointment to see His handy work up close! Thank you for all your prayers! We are blessed Bethany is still with us and we will continue to give Him the glory & lean on Him through this journey.Much Love & humble appreciation from ‘The B-Team’ in Missouri!
Glory to God! You are our Jehovah-Rapha…our Healer. We praise You for answering our prayers on Bethany’s behalf. May this miracle be a testimony to the doctors and nurses at that hospital of Your mighty power…of Your presence in our world today…of Your love for Your children. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Lord. We pray for continued improvement in Bethany’s health. May this experience strengthen her faith, deepen her trust in You. Amen. Oh, Debi, consider yourself and Bethany hugged from a sister in Christ in Colorado!
I cant get this to play~is anyone else having trouble?
never mind!!! It works, thank you Jesus!
#1 My present community of believers have become like family to me in the past 4 years. I barely remember what my life felt like before them. (I especially liked what Kelly said on p.7 about the people “who have seasoned my life in places I didn’t know were so bland.”)
#5 Astounded by God’s timing, dealing with rubble this morning, I filled in “My former self-righteous, always-the-victim status. I’ve changed but am still being seen as my former self.” God, help me clear the rubble cause I’m tired of tripping over it! Claiming Neh 4:14 for myself and each of you!
I found that so many of these questions resonated with me.
2. My heart is broken by orphans. I just strongly feel that it is a basic right of humans to have a loving family. I remember mentioning to my dad that I would like to adopt a child with a heart condition. He asked why I would do that when the child could die. At one time I would have agreed with him. However, I could only think how awful it would be to die without knowing the love of a family or the love of Christ.
The last question also resonated with me. The most exhausting rubble in my life is debt. Two adoptions in three years combined with the shaky economy and a rapidly increasing tuition bill for my kids has just made it difficult to climb out of this rubble. We have been blessed with steady jobs, so I try to remind myself that our suffering is not as hard as others, but it is certainly exhausting.
Is it too late to start?? If I am going solo, how can I get the video…is it a link to watch??
It’s not too late to start! You will just need to catch up on a couple of weeks of “homework” (in the book).
The videos that Beth does are here on the blogs – just click play on the vimeo screen at the top.
If you want to watch Kelly’s videos that go along with the study (not required), you can download them ($2.99 each) at http://www.lifeway.com/Product/Nehemiah-a-heart-that-can-break-video-sessions-M00000225
Be blessed!
Kati
Becky, Brentwood TN, Solo.
1. I read the Inro. But I can’t help but wonder if anyone is really reading all of this comments on this post, after all it’s A LOT for someone to read.
2.If we didn’t have a heart that breaks, then we wold be cold hard calloused people that cared about nothing and no one.
3.??? I’m sure I have more than once. one was…our church used to have big and i do mean big mission conferences,and at the end of the week we had a BIG dinner. each sunday School class had to cook something form whatever country you were assigned to, and we decorated for that country. being an aritist, I wasn in my eliment. My SS teacher didn’t want to do much decorating but It old her, I would do that myself and I also decorated the main theme of the evening. All that creativity and enjoyment I had doing it, and no one cared.one woman told me ‘you were stupid for dloing all that,it’s pretty, but you were stupid.” how does a person respond to that one…Thank you?
4. Disgrace and walls falling down? hummm… how many things?
5.Most discouraging and exhausting rubble would have to be once again dealing with my husband’s making me feel that my feeling, needs, wants and hurts really do not matter. His really matter and will be dealt with. We had spent time in marriage counseling a couple of yrs ago,and we were doing sooooo much better, until the past few weeks. Now there is a serious issue at our church and I do mean serious,and my feelings, hurts and needs are ignored…again.
Father, I thank You for loving us, for showing us that incredible love at Calvary. I pray that Becky will feel Your love today; that she will find amazing comfort in Your Word; that she will find her WORTH in You alone. I pray a hedge of protection around her heart. Lord, she’s shared that she’s exhausted. I pray renewal for her physically, emotionally, spiritually. I pray loving siestas in her church will embrace her and love on her…that she would feel Your love through the body of Christ. I pray You would get right in the middle of the serious issue at her church and deal with it and all the players involved. Amen.
Oshawa, ON, Canada, C4 Siestas: 7. We met before the posting was up so we opened our session with prayer and our own discussion. Out of it, we mainly discussed 3 ideas:
1) what God has placed on our hearts: what we desire and what our passions are. Out of that, we shared our struggles of finding our identity – beyond motherhood. We challenged each other to seek God first, which is the second point we discussed at length.
2) Nehemiah’s prayer in Chapter 1: 5-11: how to pray, praying and fasting for 4 months, waiting on the LORD, Yahweh, to guide our actions, and finally, acting out of obedience rather than running to our girlfriends for immediate advice.
3) Dealing with the rubble: bolting and locking the gates, working together side-by-side with our fellow sisters but also being armed and ready for (Spiritual) battle at the same time.
It’s fun to see how God moves. We didn’t know Beth’s agenda for today but it looks like we hit some of the same points!!! AND we decided we have too much to discuss biweekly so we are getting together again next week to focus on Chapter 3 on it’s own!
Lyli, Fort Lauderdale:
The 2 questions that resonated with me the most were #4 & 5. I am very thankful that God is always building in my life so that disgrace is not part of my legacy long-term. Right now, I am recovering from surgery and praying for God’s complete healing. I love that verse from Nehemiah 4 — I read it and underlined it for my Bible over 2 years ago. It’s like a battle cry for my unsaved family, who we intercede for daily. Been praying for my dad for over 30 years. I know God has thoughts of peace toward Him and claim that promise in Jesus’ name.
I am so enjoying this study.
Moscow, Idaho, Darla- I’m going solo (a little behind,but catching up.).
SonShines 6, Bryan/College Station, Texas. We would miss going deeper with groups that are joined with a common desire to find and seek God, the current Nehemiah group already falls under this even though it’s only our second meeting! Prayer partners are so vital we are ready to join them the moment we say Amen for another. When our sophmore in college shared asking personally for a passion for people who have everything formed a new tenderness in our hearts. We agreed as well a desire for tenderness for those who know Christ but are living in defeat. Interesting discussion that God in calling us to live as disciples, God chose a few to know Him well, He could have used social media in any generation, yet He chose a heart that could break, personal relationships to fulfill His plan. God’s plan for us may not always run smoothly, but it is effective when God does it, striving when it is our own plan/dream. Where ever we end up if it is not where God wanted us God will use us there, and lead us out of it. God grows us, step by step to become who He wants us to be when we humble ourselves to do what He wants us to do, go where he wants us to go. We are well equipped to handle the building up of God’s Kingdom His Temple in each of us with Ephesians 5:10-19 and we can take our stand against the devil’s schemes and build God’s Truth around us with Jesus as the cornerstone and capstone and we know because He said so we have been chosen by God to help Him build upon it. I Peter 2:4-12
Marie, going solo in Post Falls, Idaho.
1. When I went back to school, I “met” a woman named Lori in one of my online classes. Something about her discussion posts resonated with me, and it wasn’t long before we were corresponding. Now, over a year after graduating, we carry on an email conversation that is as refreshing as any I’ve had face-to-face. I’ve never had the privilege of hugging her or sharing a cup of hot chocolate, but I count her as one of my dearest friends. She challenges me to think deeply, to depend on the Lord and to try new things.
2. A heart that has the capacity for brokenness is an invitation for the Spirit to move – if we allow Him. All too often those cracks have instead led me to frustration and despair; I forget that I don’t have to “fix” everyone and everything. I just have to love as I am loved and allow that love to move me to action.
Filling in the columns left me embarrassed, for I have to confess that I am not tender toward many of the women in my “real” life, particularly those in my Bible study group. I don’t understand a consistent lack of desire to learn and grow, and there are several ladies who are content to remain in the shallow end of the theological pool. Instead of encouraging them or asking what holds them back, realizing that they answer to God and not me, I have chosen to be harsh and to distance myself from them. I know that this isn’t how the Lord wants me to be.
3. It is my desire to be a Barnabas. I want so much to encourage others, though just how that is supposed to play out in my life is fuzzy. Right now, I send out birthday cards to everyone I possibly can. I know what it’s like to be forgotten on your birthday, and I don’t want anyone to experience that kind of loneliness. I want people in my life to know that they are thought of, prayed for and that the Lord took great care in placing them on this earth at this moment in time.
Honestly, that seems like such an insignificant thing to me. A decade ago I thought I would be a famous journalist by now. (I thought that I could bring social justice to the world through great articles. Boy, did I ever try to force that!) Instead, I spend many of my days curled up in bed or on the couch, trying to figure out why God has allowed this chronic illness. How am I supposed to do anything for Him if I can’t even get up?
4. Disgrace is defined as the loss of reputation or respect as the result of a dishonorable action. In my case, disgrace has come with the contemplation of a dishonorable action and my inability to keep quiet about it. Suicide is a dark and terrible thing and I don’t want ANYONE to believe that it is the only option. There are precious few people who have been able to accept the reality of my journey with depression.
I truly marvel at the rebuilding process. I can’t lie – there are days when some very dark thoughts plague me like great stones launched from catapults, targeting the weakest places in the wall. But THERE IS A WALL! Those thoughts don’t have free reign anymore. Praise you, Jesus! Tears spring to my eyes in knowing that He has done out of His way to save me from myself.
5. Since I’m going solo, I need my Siestas to pray for me (and I’ll be glad to pray for you!) Our finances are a big ol’ pile of rubble right now. We have the kind of insurance that really serves no point, so out-of-pocket expenses for a surgery I had a couple months ago, plus an ER visit a few months before that, and the cost of counseling sessions over the last year have really eaten a hole into us. It seems pretty bleak right now, and there are days when I battle big doubts about God taking care of us.
Marie,
Oh, how I can relate to much of your post. I too have a chronic illness (as does my husband), and we too have had serious financial problems, and I have had a horribly difficult time trusting God to provide for us.
I can testify, however, that God WILL provide for you and your family. My testimony is that, a week ago while I was doing this study and talking with God about my lack of trust, He was opening up a new job opportunity for my husband. At the exact same hour that I was asking Him for help in trusting Him, He was providing above and beyond what we had been asking for. We have been praying for months for wisdom, and He absolutely displayed it.
I will be praying for you. Hang in there.
Rachel
Thank you, Rachel! I will be praying for you, too.
I will be praying for you as well, as I also have struggled with contemplating suicide for many years. I think, though, that your “inability to keep quiet about it” may, in the end, be not a source of shame, but a way that God ministers to others through your experience. You may never know who else in your circle of influence has also struggled with thoughts of suicide and who will be blessed by your transparency and honesty about your struggle and God’s victory! There is NOTHING wrong with talking about clinical depression as the illness it is. People talk about their other illnesses, for goodness sakes! I had a pastor several years ago who was struggling with depression and had chosen (with input from his doctors of course) to go on medication. He said, from the pulpit, “If I had diabetes, I would not be ashamed to admit I was taking medicine for it, so I will not be ashamed to say I’m taking medicine for depression.” He was so right (and also so brave). It is time for our society to get past the “taboo” of talking about depression. How many people have not been helped because they felt they couldn’t talk about it? So talk away, Sister! (In ways that are encouraging and uplifting, and which focus on the solutions and God’s help, of course.)
You will be in my prayers –
Kati
Isaiah 54:10 “For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My lovingkindness will not be removed from you. My covenant of peace will not be shaken, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”
Lord, I lift Marie to You today, asking that You direct her eyes this day to portions of Your Word that will encourage her heart. Father, sometimes mountains before us do move, and the hills shake. And we see our life before us as a puzzle but many of the pieces are missing and it’s hard for us to make out the picture. And then the shaking begins and what pieces we have put together get shaken onto the floor. We must begin again. We pray for courage to begin again. And again. I pray that Marie’s faith will be strenthened in these trials in her life. Place hope deep in her heart. Hope in You. Amen.
Hannah from Port Huron,MI
The things that I would like to share are:
2. It breaks my heart when children are in need. I need to be more tender toward people who are trying to do their best but I think it should be better.
3. God put it in my heart to check up on a teenager who is the sister of one of my former students. I see her here and there and ask about life and how she’s doing to let her know that she’s cared for.
I have tried to force it when a liked a guy who wasn’t right for me before I was married. I found out later that he had some difficult areas in his life that needed to be taken care of before settling down and being married.
I’m so excited,…i registered as a loner, but God has put together our group of six here in Jacksonville, FL. So you may increase your count by 5. WE had a glorious session 2 last night!!!! We are made up of ages 24 to 65….so incredibly sweet.
Stacy from Minnesota
#1 I missed terribly the kiddos from my daughters’ school. I just didn’t know how much I would care for them and love them and want God’s best for their lives. I got to have lunch with them every Friday last year, brought several into our home for Bible Study, gave them a smile and a word of encouragement. I can’t wait for school to begin so that I can see them all again.
#4 be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
Barrington Siestas, Barrington, IL – 6, We were smaller in number today but had such a great conversation about where we need to soften our hearts more and the places where we already had breakable hearts. We also really got to know one another with our discussion on our rubble. Each of us is in a different place but we can all lean on each other for support while we go through this journey. God Bless!
Jen Eliz, Harrisburg, Pa, Lone-Eagle:
Here are my answers to the questions, as I wipe the tears from my eyes. This week’s responses were a bit heartbreaking in and of themselves.
#1. I would have to say my mother-in-law, because I grew up in an non-religious home and was never able to share with my parents about my faith, because they couldn’t understand it, so I’ve never really been able to connect with my family in that way, but now with my mother-in-law, I not only have someone to share experiences and blessings with, but we attend Bible Study together and are going to a women’s conference together in August. I would also have to say my friend Anna. We had known each other for a while, but really got to connect when I lived with her the year before I got married. God was bringing me into a new season and fulfilling promises, and it was great to share those moments with her and also to build a strong friendship with her. I often struggle with friendships, and only allow people to get to know me to a point, but living with her forced me to bond with her deeper than almost all other friends, and it’s great because we still understand each other and pray for and support each other through tough times. She makes my life fuller.
#2. It’s important for your heart to break to give you an unshakable commitment to it. It comes down to sympathy versus empathy. When you just feel bad about something, you can easily dismiss it when you don’t see it, but when something affects you so much that it breaks your heart, you carry it with you always. When I filled in the columns, I was able to fill out the left side easily, with things like the homeless, orphans, people in want or need. But it was what I wrote on the right side that struck me, my own family, my mother, brother and sister. Compassion for strangers comes easily, but I struggle with my own family. Perhaps it is a bitterness stemming from their inability to accept me once I became a Christian, and the turmoil I went through because of it, but I need to work on my compassion towards my family and soften my heart towards them so it can one day break.
#3. Boy, I have and many times! Let’s have some community here so we’ll all know that this is a common occurrence.
I wrote about my desire to work with orphans, especially those in America’s foster care system who are at an age that people no longer consider them adoptable. The teens who for some reason or another are still bounced around, not knowing a steady person to love and care for them. I don’t know how that will work to fruition, but I have it in my heart to help them know the Love of Christ and people who care for them.
I think perhaps when I felt compelled to lead my former church’s youth ministry. It was a foundling church and we were suddenly faced with a group of middle/high school students with no ministry to them, and after hearing a parent speak about the lack, I felt compelled to step up, but didn’t know what I was getting myself into. It was very difficult and I lacked support, and found myself burnt out after a short while. And what bothered me most is that I felt like I could give it my all because of everything else I had going on in my life, and after a while I walked away from it, and then it collapsed. I blamed myself for its floundering, and realize now that maybe it wasn’t in God’s timing, but that my calling to work with youth is still there, but just not realized yet.
#4. After 3 years of studies I left college battling with depression, and for many years I felt the shame of it. To get so far, only to quit made me feel like a failure, especially in the eyes of my dad, who felt that college was the most important thing a person should do in life. It took another 9 years with another false start, again crumpled by financial lack, before I was blessed with a financial gift specific to completing my studies, where I was able to buckle down and get it done. I will never forget the shame I felt in failure, but then the reward when I finally did finish rebuilding that wall on my graduation day with my dad. A little piece of paper never felt so good.
#5. After my dad died, I was left having to deal directly with my mom. We’ve never had a very close relationship. I’ve always felt she was selfish and after attention in any way she could get it, and still feel that way, but my dad was my buffer, shielding me from the full-effect of my mom. Without him now, I have to deal with her and her indiscretions directly, and I struggle with it. Knowing how she treated my father and how self-centered she had been I had abandoned any chance of relating to her, because I didn’t want to deal with her, but now that my dad is gone, I am forced to attempt to rebuild a relationship with her, and it’s very hard, but also very shameful that I allowed my heart to harden so much towards her. She came to visit last week and things went pretty well, but there’s still a level of resentment I have to break down before I can restore a relationship with her.
Sorry I am a little tardy… I have a group of ladies that are meeting at First Baptist Church of Plant City Florida. So far, we have @ 15 ladies meeting on Tuesday evenings to study Nehemiah!
The first 2 chapters of this study have been helpful to me in so many areas! First off, I am in transition right now with kids growing up and out. This study helps me look into my future and see there is so much more out there for me to do and different ways I can help and nurture others. Second, I am very senstitive to others and thus can get hurt very easily. I have a tendency to shelter myself so as to minimize my exposure to being hurt. I have looked at my sensitivity as a weekness…how wrong I am! God made me with a heart that breaks so I can relate and care for others. My sensitivity is a gift, praise God!
Well said!
Question 5: the rubble that discourages me most is finances. I feel like it’s our own fault and I shouldn’t expect help from God, even though I know he loves me.
Aaron’s House Siestas, Harrisonville, MO – 9
Today was a precious day at Aaron’s House. Several of us were able to open up and share about the rubble in our lives. We interceded in a circle of prayer and lifted each other’s needs before the throne of God.
Question #4 was a great discussion. We were able to share some walls in our life that needing rebuilding or ones that needed almost constant upkeep. We are thoroughly enjoying this study.
God’s Gals; 5 of us, Granger,IN.
Great meeting today discussing how God is speaking to us through this study!
Rachel, Surprise, AZ, going solo this summer:
1. It might sound cliche, but the person I missed terribly before we met is my husband. We’ve only been married for 13 months, but it’s hard to remember how I got through the week without him. He’s my rock and challenges me constantly.
2. What breaks my heart:
* Outcasts who never realize God loves them because they’re scarred from being constantly rejected by people
* Friends mourning the loss of loved ones
* People – especially children – with disabilities who are neglected or discriminated against
* Families fighting cancer
Where could I be more tender in heart:
* Toward those whose attitude angers me
* Toward those who have made bad choices
* Toward those whose outward appearance and language scares or insults me
3. What has God put in my heart to do?
I really struggled witht his question, honestly. This study has been asking every single question I’ve been asking for the past 6 months. I’ve really struggled with what God wants for me. I did list three specific things, however:
* I have felt for three years that I should lead a Bible Study or otherwise help people learn how amazing it is to study God’s Word. The opportunities haven’t arisen yet, but I still long to teach.
* To be engaged in missions in some way
* For my mother- and father-in-law to be drawn to God and to hunger for God’s Word
Have I ever forced a plan that God’s hand wasn’t in? Yes. Partly because of my confusion about where God is leading me in terms of my career (and in other ways), I’ve pursued a few things in the past year that (thankfully!) God shut the door on pretty quickly. I’m still not sure why those doors closed, but I am 100% confident that God is the one who closed the doors. I’m also very thankful that I serve a living God who does what He promises – namely, giving wisdom to those who ask of it.
5. I’m skipping #4 on here, but #5 was also a painful question for me. Painful in a good, God way, I mean. One of the most devastating parts of my rubble is my self-esteem. Over the past 15 years or so, I have struggled with depression and a seriously low self-image and insecurity. It has been a major stumbling block for both me and my husband in our young marriage, as we both have been torn down repeatedly in the past.
This study has been hitting home every single day. I praise my great and awesome God, because He is proving to me every day that He is fighting for me, that He loves me, and that He knows exactly what I need.
I was surprised to see myself in your post with many similiarities. My heart breaks for people and families struggling with cancer, especially the elderly. I just lost my mom and Hospice was amazing. My heart breaks for those who do not have loved ones or faith in Christ to go through the journey with. I could be more compassionate to those who make wrong choices in many areas of their lives. I’m not sure what God is asking me to do but I’m praying diligently for clarity.
I was missing my new church family and more specifically, our ladies’ ministry. What a blessing they have been in my daily walk with Christ.
Like you, I struggle with self esteem and insecurity. These are the biggest pieces of rubble in my life. How can God use someone like me? This study is showing me how and that I am not alone with these feelings.
Hello from Missouri!!
Hi girls, only 2 of us here today so we are small in number but mighty in spirit!! Praise God!!
#2 we talked the most about this one. We feel it so vital to have a heart that breaks because if your heart can’t break, we become complacent. We will just accept things the way they are. We won’t reach out to the lost, or feed the hungry, or clothe the poor. We will let our lives be polluted by the world. The very things that James talks about in James 1:27.
# 5 The RUBBLE IN OUR LIVES…….. well you get the picture ladies!!
We are determined to let the Holy Spirit take control of the situations that were brought out.
Until next time ladies be in prayer for us and we will be in prayer for you!!
your sisters in Christ
Hi Siestas! Beth, I am so excited to now be doing this bible study with another siesta sister, Kim. So I am not solo but a group of two. Praise God. Today we discussed what breaks our hearts and how it helps us to be sensitive to others and that a non- judgmental heart is important.
We also shared our “rubble” or things that hinder us from what God want us to do in our lives. Nehemiah sorted through the rubble and did not let it hinder him from rebuilding the wall. We need to give God control and let Him sort through our rubble so we can be used and fulfill the purpose God has for us.
Heather J, Harrogate, TN-Solo Siesta
I am so enjoying this study, so much that I am wearing out my highlighter and posting excerpts as my Facebook status!
The question from today’s video session with Beth that resonated the most with me was question 5 reguarding rubble. it is so ironic that Beth mentioned this particular passage since it had really hit home for me when I initially read it during homework. I actually had highlighted several sentences on this page because it was not until the moment that I read them that I came to realize that I had lots of rubble. My rubble has taken the form of several issues: regret for past failures, guilt and shame for sins that have already been confessed And forgiven, body images that I have been struggling with since my early twenties, the list could go on and on. I like what Kelly says at the end of page 56 “It’s important for us to deal with our personal rubble or we may find oursellves climbing over it 30 years from now.” and “Getting rid of rubble requires that we do something.” At the top of the very next page she asks what specific actions we can take to deal with our rubble. Like so many of us, I have a lot of rubble. My first plan of action is prayer and, as Beth so sweetly put it in a recent post (smile), get my tail in the word! I also am seeking counsel with a dear older sister in Christ who I believe God placed in my path for that very reason. My prayer is by end of summer I will have greatly decreased my big old pile of rubble and in the process developed some skills that I can later pass on to other sisters in Christ. Until next time, God bless Siestas!
#2–I believe that it is vital for my heart to break so that my life is not all about Christy, but about what God wants me to do and should do for his service. I wrote down that this missionary named Katie from Kisses from Katie ( I followed long before the book came out) and her children. That is where my heart breaks. Where could I be more tender–my family (we are the most open and hardest on the ones we love) and USA homeless and hungry–rich people. I do not have much patience for people that have everything, but it really does my heart NO good to have such feelings about it. BUT–lately, the thing that I have had more of a focus on is my own children. God has given them to me as a precious gift and I get so busy with my to do list that I forget to love. My son last night when I asked him if he knows if I love him responded by saying yes, but it doesn’t always show on my face. Lord, help me to minister to my children and help them see love on my face.
#4–I believe the rubble that I have battled the most with lately is selfishness and insecurity. Wrong motives. Why do I bite my family’s heads off, what is the real reason? It can’t be a good one.
Someone has joined me this week in Tyler Texas. God really pointed out the message in #2 of letting him soften our hearts to the things that we have become cold and indifferent to and He will lead us to His work.
#3 God put in my heart from a very young age to work with children and little ones. He prepared me through the years, though I didn’t realize it was from Him.
Wonderful thought provoking lessons.
Dynamic Trio, Brownwood, Tx, 3
Just a note to say we plan to meet next Wednesday due to VBS responsibilities, etc. :). See you then. 🙂
Question one has me praising God! During a desert period a couple years back, God brought me Julie Pedersen, a mighty prayer warrior and special woman with a compassionate heart. I so wished I’d known her all my life but then I believe God’s time is always right. She encourages and challenges me to be a godly child of the Most High without judgment, without criticism and with such practical advice given with love.
christina, Plano (TX)
5) Chronic illness has long been part of my life, but just over two years ago chronic pain joined the party. During that time, a heap of other health issues have popped up and overlapped, so that no one thing is resolved before there’s something new to tackle. More than a handful of other serious crises have occurred in my family and church family in that same time.
God has been so faithful to provide and sustain. He is building endurance into me. That said, the rapid-fire intensity of the trials leaves me weary and discouraged sometimes. I don’t know how long this flare will last or if it is the new normal, but I would be grateful for prayers that I could count today’s normal as joy and praise God here.
1)The Lord has brought a faithful few true friends through the blog I started when this illness intensified. I didn’t know they were missing until they came, but they are great blessings.
Twenty years ago in one of the hardest times of my life, He brought an older woman (I had not previously known) alongside me. She took me to an Exchanged Life conference and Precept Bible Study training and created places for me to minister with her. I would never have thought to pray for such a one, but her kindness and discipleship held me up through a difficult season and still bear fruit today.
Maureen…solo, from St. Clair Shores, Michigan.
1). I can think of several, but one person who stands out is my sister-in-law Ilene. We grew up going to the same school and living within a stones throw down the street. Little would I know that this woman of faith would be praying for me (and her brother, my husband) for upward of about 15 years. She kept 3 x 5 cards; journaled constantly and was absolutely relentless on our behalf at Jesus’ feet for our salvation. When we told Ilene that we had been saved…both of us…she sent everything she had written!! From the conversations which included the phone call from her ever so hesitant sister-in-law asking where can I could get a Bible, to the 3 x 5’s that kept our names in the forefront, to the Journal entries explaining all of our little steps that she knew were drawing us that much closer to victory in Christ!!! We love her sooooooo much for interceding on our behalf…and especially because she didn’t quit!!! Our names are written in her Bible along with many others who were/are prayed fervently for by this sweet sister. Moreover, our names are written in the Lambs book of life…eraser free:o)
Oooooops!! I forgot I had entered this Bible Study w/a code name: One plus ONE!! I’ll try to remember to use it next time.
Wenatchee, WA The Marion Family, 5
Summary: We talked about ways we are currently ministering and where we can do more. Where do our hearts need to soften? How can we serve side by side using our gifts and the gifts of others through church service projects and citywide ministry.
Our hearts break for those who do not have clean water to drink and we love to support Clear Blue, a group that brings wells and water filters to those in need. We have also lost our oldest boy and still miss him so. We have sponsor children all over the world as a way to show our love to children and not focus on the grief of this loss in our family. A constant struggle.
We all appreciate having the accountability of this group. Thanks for sifting through our responses!
Debbie, Calgary Alberts
Oh my, oh my, oh my…do you SEE how many times God has written my name across the pages of this study????? 🙂 I have been journalling as I go through it and have 44 pages…This has been a gift from God! Thank you, Beth and Kelly!!!
I am going to focus on question 3 because it is one of the things God has been focusing on encouraging me in…
God has put on my heart to “supply what is lacking” by bringing the Truth of God’s word and who He is to whom ever he brings across my path and (and it seems that although I am at home most of the time that more often than not, when I go out He brings people across my path who NEED to hear His truth and about Him. Very often it is Sisters who need encouraging, reminding, refocusing, blessing….) and in whatever ways, venues he chooses. I LOVE to study God’s word, write on it and talk about God. At once time I thought I might be a “speaker” but over the years I have learned the joy of sharing without much notice. Maybe someday I will get the fun and joy of standing before a group (I’ve had a couple of general invitations to but God has used life circumstances to keep the door shut right now.) but it dosen’t matter — what matters is that as I go along the way, I let God use me to build up others in His truth. I have kind of a “thought” or “vision” of how God might like to use me in a more “specific” way (I’m being like Nehemiah right now and “saying nothing” about the specifics of what I think God might be laying on my heart — how’s that for definitive?), in fact I have a couple of “thoughts” but I am right now at the praying/waiting stage…I trust my God to do what He has in mind to do. One of the sweetest things about this study is the reaffirming of what I had “lost” in terms of vision and understanding with respect to God’s truth AND what He has for me to do and what He wants me to KNOW. (following on, dove tailing with and in a really erie way meshing with and affirming the “WALK ON” encouragement/teaching/admonition given a couple weeks ago by a delightfully sweet and wise Texan who was in our city)…. and oh my, oh my, do I know about forcing a dream or a vision that God’s hand was not on! Let me say, the evil one, flesh and the world will try to get us working on anything other than what God wants. Great thing about God though….He uses even that to teach, build, bless as we turn it over to Him and let go and get on with His plans for our life!) Bless y’all. You are a blessing to me and are in my prayers!
Piedmont,SC; Ladies of Praise,8 Attended (10 participating in the study). Summary: It was such a blessing to watch God’s Word and His love come alive in Kelly’s and Beth’s videos! Taking time to share with each other is priceless. We are believing and receiving together. Thank you, Beth and Kelly! To God be the Glory!
Mom and Me, Sidney OH
We really felt that session two, day 5 spoke to us the most about removing the rubble from our lives.
Clutter. Need to put up, give away or throw away many items and streamline my home. I feel thorn bound.
I feel lead to mentor women, especially younger women. I have been at this God given task for 11 years, every 6 months or more I ask God to reconfirm if He indeed wants me to continue doing this, because I do not wish to be comfortable where He is not present. I have learned that uncomfortable moving with Him at the helm is much better than standing still with out Him!!
Right now my “rubble” is my relationship with my father and the hole that has been left by my mother’s passing from ALS.
Praise God for Kelly and this study as it is blessing my heart, encouraging my faith and deepening my understanding!