Okay Girls! Lindsee here and I have chosen our 11 winners at random! If you would all email me ([email protected]) as soon as possible, that would be so helpful so we can get your books to you SOON!
Drum roll please…
Our first 10 winners of a Gideon Workbook are: (Make sure that if you are a winner, it is the correct comment number that I have posted!)
Comment #634: Amy A.
Comment #33: Beverly
Comment #111: Amy Hanson
Comment #88: Michele
Comment #777: Sharon Seagle
Comment #56: Rina
Comment #555: Lisa Ode
Comment #1: Rebecca
Comment #245: Brandi
Comment #372: Melody
Lastly, our winner of the Gideon Leader Kit is…
Comment #475: Stephanie
We are so excited for you, girls! Can’t wait to hear from you!
Hey Girls! Comments are now closed. Be looking for the names of our 11 winners within the hour! Thanks for your enthusiastic and honest replies! We’re so excited!
Greetings, Sisters! Siesta Summer Bible Study starts one week from today! We are fired up around here! I know your questions are abounding, so this post is to fill you in on all the details to get us good and ready for next Tuesday.
First off, let’s make sure that you know what you’ll need to participate: 1 LifeWay workbook by Priscilla Shirer entitled Gideon: Your Weakness. God’s Strength.That’s all there is to it!
We’ve been getting lots of questions about whether or not Priscilla’s video portions are required in our summer Bible study. The answer is no but only because we try our hardest to keep our summer experience at the lowest possible cost. By all means, if you have access through a group or have the financial resources to get the session DVDs or downloads, do it! To experience the whole thing is optimum! If you’re in a small group, consider all pitching in and purchasing a set then watching them together week to week. You’ll be incredibly blessed by that investment. Priscilla’s gift of teaching is saturated with the Holy Spirit and beautifully infectious. I could sit under her instruction for hours. So, get the sessions if you can but they will not be required to participate in our summer study. All of our discussion will springboard from the workbook.
With that said, I do have one really FUN thing to do before we move further into the details. We have 10 Gideon workbooks and 1 leader kit to give away! All you need to do to qualify is leave a comment on this post and let us know how the subtitle hits you: “Your weakness. God’s strength.” We’ll keep comments open for 24 hours then do a random drawing of 11 people with those specific entries. Watch for a post Wednesday afternoon naming our winners!
Are y’all still with me?
OK, then, let me fill you in on some remaining details through a simple Q&A. If you’ve been in summer Bible study with us before, our approach will be very similar.
Who’s invited? YOU! (If you’re a girl over – let’s say – 16) And you can go solo or participate in a small group! As in past years, our highest hope is to facilitate fellowship and accountability into our Bible study experiences. If you can assemble a group of friends, co-workers, family members, acquaintances, fellow church members, Siestas in your town, a tennis team or a handful of neighbors, you’re likely to get the most out of the process. (If you’ve already participated in this study, think of leading a group through it this round.) If you can’t rally a face-to-face group, Skyping and Face Time can still provide a pretty legit way to experience community in different locations. We’re not looking to be legalistic. We just want FULL benefits. If you go solo, do your best to connect with a couple of girls on line. Scripture tells us to stir one another up in the faith and to call one another to love and good works and to bear one another’s burdens and pray for one another and remind one another of God’s faithfulness. Translation: we need each other!
What’s the Goal? Spending the summer together in the Word! A summer of authentic Bible study is the surest way to a summer of victory.
When do we meet? We will launch our Siesta Summer Bible Study on Tuesday, June 11, and “meet” 4 official times: Every OTHER Tuesday from June 11th until July 23rd. Yes, by all means, meet EACH week if your small group is able but we only ask that you check in here on the LPM blog every TWO weeks to participate in our format for discussion. As much as we’re able, we want to be big on help and small on demands. Summer schedules can make weekly gatherings much harder than usual but certainly keep it up if you can. You can also choose another day of the week besides Tuesday if necessary. We’ve found that it’s the most fun and carries the most momentum when we all do it on the same day but that’s not always possible for everyone. Be free!
Here’s the summer schedule:
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 Launch – I’ll post our 1st Mini-Session which I will either have written or videoed. In it you will receive instructions for discussion.
In the 2 weeks that follow our first Mini-Session, you will DO WEEKS ONE AND TWO OF THE HOMEWORK ON YOUR OWN. If you’re participating in Priscilla’s weekly DVD teachings, incorporate those weekly and in addition (or instead of!!) to what we’re doing here on the blog. We will let you guys work those details out on your own.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013 (2nd Mini-Session/Group Instructions)
In the two weeks that follow, DO WEEKS THREE AND FOUR OF THE HOMEWORK ON YOUR OWN.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013 (3rd Mini-Session/Group Instructions)
In the two weeks that follow, DO WEEKS FIVE AND SIX OF THE HOMEWORK ON YOUR OWN.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013 (4th Mini-Session/Conclusion) – We’ll wrap it up and it will have flown by in a whirlwind.
If a graph is easier to understand than all my compulsive wordiness, here you go:
Where should you meet if you’re participating in a small group? Wherever you are most comfortable. Do what works for your group. You might meet in a different house each week so no one has to keep her house clean all summer. We’ve had some siesta groups meet in restaurants and coffee shops. Find your groove and stick to it!
So, here’s what you do:
1. Get your workbooks! Our good friends at LifeWay have promised to have plenty of them for us, but you won’t want to wait until the last minute. You can find them online on LifeWay’s web site. Here is a link where you can order the member book. And, if you’re going for the optional DVD sessions week to week, here’s where you can download the videos taught by Priscilla. They’ll be fabulous.
2. Sign up on the blog on our official Launch Day- Tuesday, June 11. For the first time, we’re going to ask that everyone participating sign up individually rather than a leader chiming in on behalf of the whole group. We think this will be less confusing and will give us a better idea of how many are participating each week just by the number of comments. We will ask a few warm-up questions that day to begin cracking open that door of community.
3. I will facilitate the study by posting a blog the 4 mornings of our meeting days. I will give you instructions on these posts for your discussion times and maybe some activities. All will connect to the previous weeks of study.
4. After your gathering, you’ll check back in by telling us something about your meeting via a comment on that same post. Don’t worry if your group can’t meet on Tuesdays. You’ll still be able to find the post and comment throughout the week.
What if…
-I want to use the discussion questions in the back of the workbook instead of the ones on Beth’s posts. Go for it!
-I really, really want to do the study but it’s not in the budget. Email us.
-I’ve already committed to doing another Bible study this summer? That’s great! Stick with it.
-I don’t want to participate but still want to be a part of the blog. We totally understand and want to see you around Siestaville this summer. Know that the Bible Study will only take up one post every other week.
We can’t wait to study the Word with you this summer!
Lord Jesus, take us somewhere we couldn’t have anticipated! Somewhere we desperately needed to go. Raise up an army of mighty warriors right here in this community!
Okay, Sisters, let’s hear your comments for the giveaway! Remember we’ll only leave it open for 24 hours!
When I stop “trying” to be strong and surrender to how I really am, weak and unable to do it on my own, that is when I find true strength. His strength. That is when I am made strong. Oh how we need Him. Why do we always try to be the strong one and go it alone???? Madness!
This title fits so well with what The Lord is teaching me right now. I’m in the process of planning out a ministry opportunity which I will NOT be able to do in my own strength. The resounding word I keep hearing from Him is “LEARN”…in order to be prepared for what I am to do. So glad I saw your tweet! By the way, I was part of the Atlanta audience last weekend for LPL…wow! God is so good!
My weaknesses give me opportunity to encourage/support my girlfriends by sharing how God ALWAYS has come through to hold me up. Even when I have really blown it, He has a way through that brings resolution. Usually, I come out stronger and wiser and even more certain of His perfect love for me.
i need God’s strength to overshadow me every single day…and i pray this for loved ones as well…knowing He hears…
knowing He cares…knowing that our feelings can weaken us.
His Word is what equips me to fight my feelings and not be a victim of emotions.
Psalm 107:20 His Word is what strengthens us.Psalm 94:19
This is so much more than feelings…
it is Truth that we can faith rest in.
I am so thankful for the Lord’s strength because He knows how weak I am. His strength is such a comfort to me.
This sounds like a wonderful study. I hope that I can do it.
I have had some health challenges lately and so I can only do this in His strength. My own natural strength will only get me so far through doctor appts, tests and turning my cares and worries over to Him. I need his Supernatural on my natural right now so this doesn’t consume me.
Trusting God to find a way to use my messed up life.
” Your Weakness, God’s Strength”…It hits me as reassuring. I don’t have to be strong in order for God to do what He has to do. Actually lately, I have felt quite broken, weak and overwhelmed. Despite how I’m feeling, God is showing Himself strong, working in my life and the lives of others around me through the difficulties and challenges that leave me feeling faint. That subtitle definitely brings reassurance.
I would love to do this study not in my budget. My computer has died will this work on my old IPhone? Nancy Minor 3600 Charham Dr Columbia MO 65203 573-239-2420 God Bless you all! I have learned so much about our God through your teachings!
‘My Weakness, God’s Strength’
Deny myself…that’s something that God has been telling me to do. I need to die to myself so that the Holy Spirit can fill me up and use me to the fullest. I’ve been striving to do that. It is a weakness of mine, but I’m trying very hard to give it to Him…He IS my strength and will pull me through. All I have to do is trust Him and He will do the rest. 🙂 That’s what the title of this book says to me. I love you guys and you inspire me. Keep up the good work in encouraging women all over the world. God’s light really shines through you.
My weakness…God’s strength
I cannot be strong unless it is through Him. If I could do things on my own, I wouldn’t need God. Now, if I could remember that before I tried taking care of things myself, things would probably work out better! Thanks for the reminder that it is through Him that all things are possible!
First I am so excited about doing a bible study this summer and look forward to this one. The subtitle is totally where I am at right now. I am dealing with a family challenge and trying so hard to be strong and lean on His strength but my fleshly weakness is getting the better of me some days I need help and other sisters in Christ to pray for and encourage me through this family challenge I have been faced with.
Recently, a devotional led me to 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 about God wanting us to lead from our weakness as the scripture concludes with “for when I am weak, then I am strong”. After years of waiting on the strength to lead a single adult small group, I took a leap of faith this year to start the small group. After three months, I’ve seen God at work despite my perceived weakness. Sharing life together is our church’s theme for small groups…and having been a single adult since my divorce in 2003, the time came to share life with others in the same season of life. Our small group scripture is Matthew 6:33 as I feel God called us together to grow in personal relationship with Him. In growing or relationship with God, my hope is we each see our season of singleness as a gift, not what defines us or makes us weak. This is my group’s first Siesta Summer bible study. When I read the study’s subtitle was “Your weakness, God’s strength” it became obvious this was God’s will and I immediately invited my friends to join me! Appreciate your efforts to provide guidance, discussion ideas, love and support…
“Your weakness. God’s strength. Right now God is leading me into something for which it feel TOTALLY inadequate in every way. I kept asking Him if I was really hearing His leading on this because I seem very unqualified for the task and I’m petrified to do the thing. He kept, telling me “yes” through His Word. And then, wouldn’t you know, I saw your original post about this study: Your weakness, God’s strength. That was a confirmation to me that God can use all my inadequacies and through His strength do His work. It’s about Him, not me. 🙂
The very idea that the thing I struggle with the most, my weakness, could be the very thing God is going to use to release His power in my life… AWESOME! I’m ready! 🙂
The title is humbling. I am a very rigid and take charge mom and wife. However, without God’s strength I am nothing but weak and bossy….walking in His strength makes my personality look more like beauty than the wicked step-mother.
Gods strength is greater than ANY weakness….through Him we can overcome!!
Praise God that his ways are not my ways! My weaknesses have become my most cherished gifts and God boasts as he makes himself known so clearly where I fail yet He prevails:)
Your Weakness, God’s Strength: such a wonderful reminder for me to hand things over to God instead of trying to do everything myself. When I am weak I struggle and think I can do something to fix it, only the hole gets deeper….then when I get frustrated with it, I remember to do what I should have done first…hand it over to God. And then I feel the weight lift off my shoulders when I realize I don’t have to carry the load (whatever it may be at the time); what a blessing!
We pastor a church and there is a full on attack by the enemy to destroy this work. God is faithful, but the only way I can survive is to let Him be God. He is my strength, thank you Jesus!
“Your weakness. God’s strength.” This sub-title captured my interest immediately. I definately have weaknesses and the title suggests I can be right up there where I should be with God, walking in faith and righteousness with Him. It’s a title that made me feel excited the second I read it.
Not sure why I got this when I read this subtitle but as soon as I did, I thought
“My flaws, His perfection”
Maybe, through all my weaknesses and flaws he’s always proven to be strength and perfection even at times I wasn’t so sure about anything! Even times that took months or years to go by before I could look back on mistakes I made or situations that was going on in my life to realize that He was there the WHOLE time. And through my weaknesses it was he strength, gracy and mercy that pulled me back up on my feet! 🙂
What timing! I was just researching available Bible Studies for our women’s group and “Gideon” caught my eye. I downloaded a sample and worked through it last night. I’m going to let our ladies know about this study in case anyone else is interested in doing it.
Thank you Beth for your dedication to our Lord!
“Your Weakness. God’s Strength” speaks to me strongly. I am a get it done girl always wanting to perform at 110% or above. Have been embracing the practice of asking for God’s help & declaring His promises in the little & big things in my life. My goal is to make it an unconscious habit to always be asking for His strength & divine guidance to guide all my daily activities.
When I have been my weakest and allowed the Lord to have it, that has been my greatest accomplishments. I have been so blessed to see God use me ( so so weak) to conquer great things for His glory.
Thanks Beth, I am so looking forward to this Bible Study and seeing the Lord at work in me once again.
My weakness, God’s Strength
This hits me like so many of us. The last few years have been a busy “turning point” stage of my life… I cannot predict, I cannot know what waits for me. I can have faith in God. God is strong and his will will be done.
Looking forward to covering myself in the word this summer! Thank you!
It’s not about me-always about Him. Sometimes we (I) tend to think we can handle the small stuff and only need God for the big stuff. Truth is, I mess up even the “little” stuff.
I love it because we ALL have weakness and have to rely on God’s strength to pick us up and get us through. I can’t wait to begin this study!
Your weakness. God’s strength.
These words are the words of life. Many times I have just simply depended on God’s strength to get me through the day. And it works. Every time. It works. In my weakness His strength shines bright.
I tend to be a “strong” kind of gal, but I have come to realize that is what can make me weak. When I am trying to be strong in my own strength instead of depending on God. Letting Him shine through my weaknesses not only blesses me, but truly is a light to those around me. I want “Less of me more of Him”!
the subtitle…how about my weakness that I’m constantly trying to create a perfect “world”..I need to remember that I do not live in a perfect world, there is sin all around. However I need to rely on God’s strength, HIS perfection. Not sure why I keep hitting my head up against the wall on this one, but I do.
Your Weakness, God’s strength…. Although I often try to do things in my own strength, I am learning that I have little strength or perseverance on my own. God is continuing to teach me that this summer as I get more involved in a new church (in several areas) with some potential health issues as well as a hubby with upcoming hand surgery with somewhat lengthy recovery. It is only in relying on God’s strength that we will continue to grow and produce good fruit!!!
When I say the title of the summer Bible study, Your weakness. God’s Strength., it was like God saying, “this is for you”. It’s exactly what I need. I put on a strong front for everyone, but inside I feel like I am standing in front of leaky dam trying to hold it together and one teeny tiny little thing bad happens and it all comes crashing down on me. I plunge into a world of darkness. I need God’s strength.
**correction** When I SAW, not say
My weakness ~ God’s strength. I am not sure I can even describe how that ‘hits’ me right now. Through tears, I am looking forward to seeing how God will speak this summer through the study. I am defintely weak. And I defintely need to see, feel, hear, HIS strength!
Any Siestas near Kenosha, WI?
Your weakness, God’s Strength
This subtitle is amazing to me. It is everything thing that I do – I am so weak compared to His Strength and depend on Him everyday!
My weakness, God’s strength. My heart is wide open. I am ready to experience His word!
My weakness, God’s strength…Feeling rather weak lately (again)KNOWING God’s strength is greater than my weakness…feeling vs knowing… trusting
The first thing that comes to mind when I read “Your Weakness. God’s Strength.” is wow, if it was only one weakness! Thankfully God is strong enough to cover all my many weaknesses! As I recently had my third child and am now staying home with all three, I am constantly realizing my multiple weaknesses. I’m been relying on God’s strength to help me each and every day—this study couldn’t have come at a better time in my life! I am so excited to study with a group of women from my town!
Your Weakness, God’s Strength – such hope. God can use even me. He’s not done – with the cleansing, the training, the guiding, the remaking – transforming me into the likeness of His dear son. Yea! And I’m listening, Lord. I am more than ready!
As a wife, mother, director of a department in a medical center, I have difficulty admitting my weakness or letting my weakness show because the expectation is that I remain strong in all aspects. I have a husband, kids and a team relying on me. It’s when I admit my weakness that I do find strength in the Lord. My lesson to learn is admitting my weakness, lifting it up to the Lord and being still and quiet for His word.
God has taken our family on a path full of turmoil, waiting and pain over the past few years. I’ve never felt so weak in my life, but I’ve also felt God’s strength in incredible ways. Gideon’s story has encouraged me over and over again, while I’ve been waiting for rescue!
Beth – can’t wait. This title hits me with HOPE because I need Him with an issue right now. He is so faithful and I know my weakness! And I know His strength will be so evident!
My weakness. God’s strength. Makes me think of less of me, more of God.
God has taken me into new territory this past month and I feel so incredibly inadequate and insecure in it. It’s so out of my comfort zone and I have no idea what I am doing. I am comfortable in my home/church leading these Bible studies for the past 20 years but going out into the inner city?? God is changing me and ‘enlarging my territory.’ BUT I know that He is doing a work in me and through this new summer inner city street ministry He’s put me into. “My weakness…God’s strength” has been playing over and over in my mind day after day….it’s not about me…it’s about Him and what He wants to do in the people through this all. ♥
Priscilla’s questions “do you feel overwhelmed? inexperience? intimidated? insufficient? too young? too intimidated? too afraid?????? OH YAH!!
Being in Israel and standing at Gideon’s Springs with a group of ladies and our tour guide, Arie, is one of my favorite places. I love the story of Gideon and I LOVE my tour guides personal ‘Gideon’ story during the 6 Day War in Israel. God has definitely chosen this study for me to journey through with other women across the world. ♥
Oh wow, this title jimped off the page into my heart. I am so much like Gideon…always asking for the proof even though I know who my God is. I would love to do this study with my ladies. I so much enjot Beth’s teaching and the way she delivers the Word with compassion yet she still lets you know its serious business. It’s not in my budget but I would be blessed to be able to do this study.
The subtitle makes me think of many things but a big one of them being we just recently lost our pastor and head worship leader in a very sad situation and I am now the leader for our worship team and I’ve never been professionally trained and the talking part always scared me but this reminds me…that though this is my weakness…HE IS MY STRENGTH and will equip me for His work and praise God I’ve already seen and felt Him doing it!
My weekness: too many words
His strength: His word being memorized and the Holy Spirit empowering to speak when HE prompts me and Jesus who is exalted/and prays for me and mine.
triune living
Acts 15:6-11
All I can think is when my mother died. When I didn’t have the strength to get out of bed, God brought me to the other side. Without Him, I’d still be in the darkest place.
Your weakness, God’s strength. My oh my. Don’t you just love Gods timing? I just started a brand new job this week. Every second I feel my confidence and knowledge being tested. Things I thought I knew, I now wonder about. This big world has changed since I was last employed!
God’s strength is my power, my shield. Praise to His name.
I am in the Psalm 42:1 stage, panting for water, fresh water. I am bringing my panting to Him who can satisfy me. I want His power to be perfected in my weakness.