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!
God seems to be asking me to do everything that is beyond my natural abilties lately. I have had to face many of my weaknesses in order to serve Him at our small church in northern Ohio. I am daily reminded of 2Cor.4:7. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
“My weakness. God’s strength.”
Coming from a weak family background, (I was 15 yrs. old & young in my faith) when my Mom died of a violent act, God has surely carried me through my weakness with His strength. He has provided all my needs and given me strength to serve Him and trust in Him every day. I feel His strength and love every time I share my testimony.
Thank you for giving the bible study material. I would love to gather a small group of ladies at my home & if it is God’s will that I am selected, watch the DVD’s and dive into God’s Word. If I am selected for a Bible Study workbook, that would be a blessing as well. Regardless, I will try to get a workbook & I look forward to joining everyone!
My weakness, no matter how bad I think it is, can and will be used to show HIS strength!
I am often amazed at how little I can accomplish when I rely on my own strength. Without God’s strength, I’m a mess! But with it, I am able to grow in my role as a daughter of the King of Kings!
My weakness Gods strength. Always, but hard to remember in my weakest moments.
The subtitle hits me strong!! Bulls eye!! “My weakness is more like me failing and God looking down at me disappointed, or even angry at me for coming up short”, that was my perspective or how i feel most of the times. Knowing that God isn’t looking down sad and disappointed at me, knowing that I have not let God down and He doesn’t love me less and that He is strong even in my weaknesses is life changing! WANNA LEARN MORE 🙂
“Your weakness. God’s strength”. This was actually what God was speaking to me about this morning during my quiet time. I was struck hard by Paul’s wording in 2 Corinthians 12:9 where he said, “Most gladly therefore will I rather GLORY in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” When I come to the end of myself, I can shout “GLORY!!” When I’m at my wit’s end, when my human strength ends, that dunamis power of God excels. Whoa!
My weakness. God’s strength. Makes me think of everyone’s favorite Sunday School song, “Jesus Loves Me.” (singing) “They (ME) are (IS) weak, but HE is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me.” Plain and simple I don’t have to be strong. I’m not strong. He is strong and He loves me. He picks up where I leave off. He picks ME up. He carries me through situations I can’t even bear to look at. Not around them mind you…through them. I am weak. You are strong. Praise you, Father, for Your strength.
Side note, I just moved clear across the state, so will be participating solo this year (maybe convince my sister to do it with me via Skype), but thinking back to years I’ve hosted it seems hard to convince non-Siestas to come on here to “register”. I know doing so will help you with a headcount, but each time I’ve led a group of ladies I was always the only Siesta (I don’t actually know any other Siesta in the flesh). Wondering if maybe, when it comes time to “register,” asking Siestas to make an additional comment for each gal in their group would work if you are really want as accurate a headcount as possible? Just a thought.
Thank you for organizing us and all the behind the scenes prep and support! Looking forward to a great study!
I’m living this right now. I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching lately regarding God’s calling on my life. So far I have found myself believing much more in my own weakness and tendency toward failure than in God’s strength. Because of that, I’ve been giving into fear rather than letting God’s strength override my weakness and carry me into the middle of His will.
My weakness…God’s strength. Relief, wish I would tap into that strength more often, glad He can when I can’t…
This is where I am in a certain area in my life…weak/broken…I’m waiting to see God’s strength
“Your Weakness, God’s Strength” when I read Beth’s post and question I am sitting in a local hamburger joint alone, eating the works. Comfort food. I had the usual excitement when Gideon was announced for our Summer study but now it has more meaning. You see I have just left a funeral for my 20 year old son’s friend, and while I ate my “comfort food” I was looking at my phone for anything. My son, and his group of friends, when they were in 7th grade have experienced too much death and it has not stopped, beginning with a mom in her 30’s tragic accident, a friend at 18 from cancer, a friend at 16 from church camp, 2 dad’s in their 40’s and today we said goodbye to their 20 year old friend from a self-inflicted death, and we are praying over another young man in their group with brain cancer. It is just too much. I am weak, and need God’s Strength. Gideon was just another story, until today. Show me LORD. Thanks Siesta’s I just needed a shoulder to cry on. I am weak and tired. It’s just too much sometimes.
I’ve been feeling like gathering some women this summer to study and pray but I wasn’t sure what we should read. The Gideon study looks wonderful. I’m thinking Gideon in Central Park this summer?!
My weakness is fear of the unknown (future); separated from my husband of 35 years and at the age of 56 years old….I battle these thoughts and attacks the enemy throws at me. God’s strength – I just keep telling myself that God will provide my every need, He cares and loves me even through my weaknesses. I have to declare His promises “everyday” otherwise…I would totally lose it.
My weakness. God’s strength. The two phrases are so totally synonymous. Just another one of the upside down ways (from our human perspective ) of our Lord ! Praise God!
God calling me to step up as director of Women’s Ministry at my church while going through treatment for breast cancer!! It’s going to a wild ride of seeing God show up!
Your Weakness, God’s Strength…I need some strength as I’m facing some unknowns right now in my husband’s health. He just had blood work and CAT scan and is schedule for a biopsy next week. “My One word” for this year is Faith and I will use this to remind myself that “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”
Your weakness: God’s Strength, wow describes me to a tee, weak. The only way I can get up and get going is in God’s strength. While it is hard to admit that I have weaknesses but I do, we all do. My weakness these last couple of years is discouragement, feeling of going through the motions. I am so excited about starting this BIble study and getting my fire back and to go in God’s strength to do the tasks He wants me to do. Oh I am ready, I am praying for a wonderful study of God’s word!!
In my weakest times, desperate for God and His help, at the end of my rope – this is actually the best place for us to be. God wants us to depend on HIM for everything that we need. It is during these times in my life that I look back and see God’s beautiful work in me and I clearly see His strength in bringing me through. Praise His Name!
One easy answer is in being Mom to 3 kids. I’ve never felt weaker in my abilities, but I trust and pray for God’s strength to not just survive, but thrive.
God is always faithful when I am weak..He is strong. There is nothing I can do on my own strength, except by HIS power that resides in me.
“Your weakness. God’s strength.” This really gets to me, because I often feel overwhelmed my weakness. I get so bogged down by all my junk, it sometimes feels incapacitating. But this quote puts it into perspective. While I may think my weakness is huge and awful….God’s strength trumps that. His strength outshines and overpowers me, and anything I may call a weakness.
Looking forward to this study!
Your weakness, His strength- I’m currently diagnosed with a movement disorder that has gone unidentified for almost a year, resulting in continuous doctor appointments and tests and increasing difficulty with daily life. In two months I have to quit my job, and will therefore lose my insurance, with no guarantee of another job/insurance, due to moving to complete my last year of graduate school. I’m excited about pursuing my dreams,but also terrified due to all the health issues and being without what I consider necessary things- like money!- and I rely hourly, sometimes by the minute, on God for the faith to believe He is strong and will make my way straight before me, providing for my needs. I am VERY weak right now- all the greater opportunity to rely on His strength!
This study & subtitle is perfect timing. I’m finishing up Breaking Free and it uncovered some my weaknesses so I’m looking for His strength. Staying in the Truth is key. Bible study is the key. Spending time in His Word is one of my weaknesses. Studies hold me accountable.
That’s mindboggling. Strength in weakness?! I hope I can wrap my mind around this.
Reminds me of the song I used to sing when my kids were small, “yes, Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so”
I have weaknesses, hardships, persecutions, difficulties for if I didn’t, I might not seek God daily for His strength, His guidance. I might think I have the power or wisdom to solve my own problems. I would be foolish, self-centered, and arrogant.
I have to be reminded to humble myself. To get down on bended knee. To lie down flat, face to the floor asking for mercy.
For God’s strength.
I am confused about this….
Our group is meeting on Wed nights, so we will log onto the blog and watch Beth and get our questions for discussion? But we can also download Priscilla and watch her too?
I have not done this before and want to be organized…thanks!
“Your Weakness. His Strength.” This resonates with me big time in the season of life I’m in. Within the last year or so, I went from being extremely active (racquetball player, competitive weight lifter, etc.) to the total opposite – not being able to lift my arm to brush my hair, not being able to raise my leg to get into the shower, not being able to get out of a chair without assistance and much pain. I have shed many a tear over my lack of independence and mobility. But I have recently come to realize that my God allowed this very difficult thing to draw me closer to His bosom. What’s odd is that I thought I was already super tight with Him. But no, looking back, I can see that I had an air of superiority, pride and arrogance and I was completely unaware of this. He wanted to humble me, to break me, to mold me — for me to rely on Him for literally everything. Oh yes, I have been ever so humbled. Each day is a major challenge – physically and emotionally. Praise God He has been there for me every minute of every day. He is ever so faithful.
My weakness, God’s strength hits be right in my heart! When I am at my weakest He is stronger than my weakness. He can power through my weakness, my failures, and my helplessness. He is my all in all!
He uses the weak and foolish things to confound the wise. I am a weak and foolish thing!
Your weakness. God’s strength seems to sum up who I am and what I am, “weak.” I feel underserving. I walk in my faith reaching for Him, wanting Him, longing for Him, loving Him, then I go backwards. Something will happen that sends me into a tailspin. I am weak going into this study, but it will be God’s strength along with my obedience that not only sees me through this, but sees me through the memory verse of 1 Chronicles 29:11, and through the next season of this Christian walk of mine.
Walking in a way that please God, being a wife, and mother are by far the hardest things that I’ve ever worked at it my life. They are also the most important and rewarding with eternal consequences.
I’ve made up my mind to accept my weakness, Beth, because I am realizing that it is when I am weak that His strength carries me.
I don’t need the extra books or dvd’s, that’s not why I am commenting. You sparked something in me with that statement and I felt the need to share.
Thank you so kindly for putting this together.
Your sister-in-Christ,
Angela
My weakness Gods strength: He holds me up daily that in my weakness that is when I’m the strongest. Couple of areas, managing time, quiet time( I have no excuse), falling deeper in Love with HIM.
My Weakness God’s Strength! is what I am living right now….Lost our business….family falling apart….but I live daily in His Word and meditate on it when I start to focus on my circumstances.
He is my everything!
thank you living proof ministries for all you do for us!
I am so excited to do this study. I have had a great amount of weakness in the last 3 years with stresses over illness and I so need to rely on His great strength.
The subtitle hits me in the way the through my weaknesses God can give me strength. Over the past 10 years I have battled with something very personal, and very hard temptation, and it was in my weakness that God was giving me the strength to battle and fight it. It was in those down and ruff times that he was taking me and saying I see you, lean on me, I will be your strength to push through. That is what I think this subtitle means. It means that in our weakest times we need to lean on God most for strength. In our ruff patches or our times where we feel most tormented, tempted or broken, that his strength will be our perseverance. I am so excited to study this, because I am so happy to say that God’s strength has helped me overcome this temptation, this weakness in my life.
My weakness, God’s strength is really the mantra of my life – certainly not something I learned the easy way. When I was going through a challenging time, I used to pray that God would eliminate the problem. However, it wasn’t until I began to pray to God to help me through it, that things began to change. By leaning on God through the the good, the bad and ugly….you are able to face all situations.
My weakness, His Strength.
I hide my weaknesses…A LOT.
In doing so, I’m hiding Christ in me.
Ouch!
My Weakness. God’s Strength.
Umm, excuse me…are you sure about that? Oh right, that’s what God Himself said. That’s bananas. It’s moments like this when Isaiah 55:8-9 echoes with an urgency so loud in my spirit it deafens my stubborn flesh. If this is really true, and we know it is because God spoke it so, then my earnest prayer is God make me weak so you can be strong and allow Your joy oh God to be my continual strength. Less of me, more of You oh God.
My weakness, God’s STRENGTH! As the other Siestas have said thats so me. My whole life I have felt like a fsh out of water. I’ve been scared to step up, step out. Leading a group scares me to death! He’s calling me and I have too, He knows best, He knows my heart better than I do. I just want to serve Him, love Him, share Him. That’s all. You all are such a blessing to me.
“Your Weakness. God’s Strength.”
Well, to be honest I’ve heard of this bible study but never gotten the book or dug in – though I’ve wanted to. Being a college student, it’s so, so hard to find time to read everything I want to. Between balancing good grades, working for (in)courage, finding a church community (thank you, Lord!), and leading my own bible study…it’s nice to just get more than a few hours of sleep each night. 🙂
To be honest, leading a bible study at school was a bit of a leap of faith. What if no one showed up? What if I didn’t have the words? Or worse – what if people came and just. sat. there. Through my weakness, He has proven strong. Five of us have met every week for many months now, and the community that has come of it just gives Him glory.
I’ll be interning with Student Leadership University this summer, so I wouldn’t be able to form a ‘typical’ small group. But, I’ll be rooming with two other girls and maybe we could do it together…? Over and over I’ve seen God prove Faithful and strong in the midst of my weaknesses. I still feel like there’s SO much I could learn about this, though.
Thank you for reading this, and for putting me in the drawing for one of the free books! I so appreciate it!
Overseas adoption…holding pattern….military move to new state…chaotic….finding new church family….daunting
My weakness = big. God’s strength = even bigger. AMEN!
Your weakness, God’s strength.
Many of us are staring down weaknesses as I type this. We all understand weakness. Some to a higher degree than others. One story is no better or worse than anyone else. I am tired on this journey and was ready to give just up yesterday, with recent memory recall of childhood violations it has been overwhelming. I am in search just like many of my sisters, in search of His strength in our weakness. This subtitle grabs me because I can only see the weak 1/2 and so desperately need to experience His strength.
We’ve been beaten down by life circumstances quite a bit the last couple of years. I have seen many of my weaknesses, so I know that it is only God’s strength that I can rely on!
How does the subtitle hit me: Your Weakness, God’s Strength
A broken heart over the loss of my Mama (will soon be passing the 6 month mark) is truly a weakness for me…especially as I try to keep my attitude and demeanor positive and happy for my sweet boys (almost 3 and 8 months) instead of sad and depressed–even though I struggle with both of these.
God’s Strength: Turning my weakness into “joy”. I recently had someone comment about the soon to be passing of a loved one and she said, “I will miss my Aunt, but how awesome is it that she will be standing in front of Jesus in just a few days?!?” I was left speechless…I want to feel that way. My Mama is with Jesus!!! I want to feel joy and happiness over knowing this…so I know God will turn my heartbreak into a strength–a blessing, a joy. Because He is an awesome God!
~Kari
The subtitle, “Your weakness, God’s strength” perfectly describes the times of growth in my relationship with God. Everytime I have been knocked to my knees in weakness (infertility, business failure, etc.), I have had to totally to submit to the power of God to find my way out of the pit. But surrendering control to God, He overwhelmingly showed his strength and glory in my life. I am always reassured that when the storm clouds gather, God has something new to teach me and I will be blown away by the lesson and not by the storm. Praise God that His strength is perfect!!
As my husband and I prepare for The Lord to show us how, and where, He wants to use us in ministry I am every day more aware of how incapable I am of living a life worthy of the sacrifice He made for me. In the times I think I am strong, I am actually weaker than I realize and when I am at my weakest all I need do is lay my burdens, truly and purely, at Jesus’ feet and He will carry me.
Your weakness. God’s strength. – A lot of days I feel weak and I know it is God’s strength that carries me through the day. I’m looking forward to digging deeper in God’s Word this summer.
My weakness, God’s strength.
Hallelujah! Praise the LORD!