Make sure you read all the way to the end, Siestas!
Hey there Siestas!
I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to put pen to paper (actually fingers to keyboard) and write you a post. I’ve been popping over and reading your comments for a long time now. Your community is beautiful and I’m thrilled to be able to be a part of it today.
Except…I’m kind of sad too.
See, your Siesta-momma and I had a blast shooting a video for you that we all fully intended to have up today but, lo and behold, all the wonders of technology didn’t work any wonders for us. We’ve spent the better part of three days trying to get the video from our computers in Dallas to the computers at Living Proof in Houston to no avail. My poor husband (who is the CEO and head-honcho of all things techie at GB ministries) has sat for hours upon end, staring into several different laptops and programs trying and re-trying to get that video to send sans glitches and freezing frames to no avail. It has simply refused to act right. He came home late last night with a glazed over expression and went straight to bed. . .fully dressed.
So, here I am writing to you instead…nearing midnight – as we’ve finally thrown in the towel trying to get the video to you.
But here’s living proof (you better believe that pun was intended) that we filmed something…
Ahhhhh, that makes me feel better at least.
We tried Siestas. Promise we did. And we had so much stinkin’ fun. Hate not being able to share our goofs and giggles with you.
In any case, I hope you’ll still allow me to congratulate you on a job well done in your completion of the Gideon study! I am so honored to have served you and pray that your spiritual life has been enriched and encouraged. I hope that it was as rich for you to read it as it was for me to write and teach it. Truly, Gideon went above and beyond my expectations giving me little surprise lessons along the way.
Isn’t that the way God’s Word always is – gift giving, surprising, blessing us with every page we turn?
This study didn’t disappoint.
I’m so anxious to know what most surprised you in your study of Gideon? How did God speak to you in a way that you didn’t expect?
I’ll be thrilled to read your responses!
Thank you again for allowing me to serve you. I pray that we can do it again sometime soon.
Blessings
Priscilla
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Y’all! This little gem came to us this morning around 3:30a.m. It is brought to you by the blood, sweat, tears…and sleepless nights of Jerry Shirer. Sometimes technology tries to get the best of us, but in the words of our Siesta Mama, he “perse-dang-vered”! Jerry and Priscilla lived up to their ministry name in this little project. Going Beyond Ministries. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your hard and frustrating work Shirers!! LPM and the Siestas LOVE you guys!
I can relate to Gideon, so much. I actually went into the army years ago and at time I thought of Gomer Pyle and Goldie Hawn in the movie she played in as a solider…but for me to go into the army No Way!
At the time I was trying to make it on my own at age 29 and I had stayed home with my dad for seven years after my mother had passed away from cancer. I considered the Air Force, but I was over the age limit to join. Going out the door after talking to a recruiter, I noticed this army sign. I ask the recruiter if I could work in an office job and would I be able to go to Germany…he said, He would call me.
I went home and I told God if he wanted me to go into the army let that recruiter call me back with an office job, I wasn’t going back. Then, I read in my Bible, Trust in the Lord lean not on Your own understanding. I also read several other verses. Well, two days later the recruiter called and I went into the army.
I ask the Lord for a husband and a trip to Germany. I agreed to tell others about Him. And that is exactly what I did …I told others about Jesus.
After I arrived in Germany, I went to church off post. Two friends introduced me to my husband in the mess hall later. My husband, Gordon and I had guard duty together. He is a Christian and we dated for almost six months, then we were married there in Germany. Later, we moved to Georgia where I finished my three years in the army. Gordon stayed in the army and we returned to Germany where I had twin boys. Gordon retired a few years ago. My boys are grown now and my Husband is a custodian at a middle school. It’s been 28 years. We now live in Oklahoma.
God is awesome! This little Gideon never knew how things would turn out, but God gave her the desires of her heart. So very thankful!
Solo from Scottsdale, AZ
What most surprised you in your study of Gideon?
Point 1:
Based on our own personal assessments, we tend to doubt God’s call on our lives. We doubt God’s greater call on our lives because of our own assessment of who we think we are, can be, or cannot be. Often times God will choose people who feel they are not particularly useful. God will often use “strife” to bring us to the place of weakness where we will totally rely on Him and His grace.
Point 2:
The Lord does not mind being tested when we humbly ask for wisdom and confirmation to truly be in the center of His will.
Point 3:
Practical Lessons:
A. We must guard against forgetting God and failing to teach our children.
B. God can use ordinary people to do great things.
C. A small number with God can do much.
D. One can grow from doubt to great faith.
E. Many people won’t get involved unless the way is proven by someone more courageous.
“The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” (Judges 6:12).
What does God want me to get out of this study?:
God understands my weakness and uses me in spite of them.
Conclusion:
This study is just the beginning… What I am asking myself: Does God want to use me to accomplish something very difficult?
My Prayer: To view my weaknesses (‘holes’) as an opportunity for God to pour in His Power and Grace. I pray that I won’t be discouraged by my weaknesses, that I will receive God’s power to fill my life. The bigger the ‘hole’, the more God can pour in!
Thank you Beth…there are no words to articulate the impact your Bible Studies, your testimony, your open and honest teachings, and this Blog have had on my life. You are truly a blessing to me and obviously many people around the world. May God continue to Bless you and your ministry as well as your precious family. Thank you, Priscilla, for sharing your insights with us in this wonderful study. I will be repeating the study in the fall with a local Women’s Bible Study Group here in AZ. I’m sure I’ll learn even more! God Bless you, Priscilla, as well.
Thanks for the chance to do a study where we can interact with so many people 🙂
Some lesson memories
#your right now role #stand stong/be brave
#encourage one another #be a light/you can turn the tide
#legacy of faith–does it begin with you?-for such a time as this (Esther tie in!)
#you are where you are for a reason
I loved your story about visiting your paternal grandparents! It reminds me of our Thanksgiving with my extended family. It’s like stepping back in time a little, when things were warmer, closer, more Faith, fun, lighter. It’s the best part of fall 🙂
Your fruit fly story had me lauging because something very similar happend to my family. We went on a weekend trip and left our freshly picked tomatoes on the table (well they weren’t picked the day we left, but not too far of)and they are usually fine for a good week before we cut them up and make sauce, well it must have gotten hot while we were away and we came back to some stinky tomatoes that decided that they would burst and leak while we were away. Fortunately not all misbehaved, but oh my did they ever smell..lol
Elise–Newark
I was shocked to learn more of Gideon’s story. I guess it always shocks me, in my life and others, when God has chosen to use us (despite our weakenesses) when we see Him move and then (sometimes) so quickly foget. Forget Him, who He is and what He has done. It just EMPHASIZES the fact that we have to come to Him DAILY, all day for strength, and knowledge and comfort and help. We have to come to Him daily, with a sense of who he is and that He deserves our worship.
As always, God seems to plan every study to speak to me, specifically, in a certain season of life I am in. Amazes me every time! So thankful!
Priscilla, thank you for sharing what God has given to you. I have recently been introduced to a few of your books (and this study!) and have been truly blessed. God has spoken, encouraged, comforted and taught me, recently, using you. Thanks for walking with Him.
(and can I say, TOTALLY off subject, I LOVE your house! :0)
Mama Beth, as aways, sending hugs and love.
Thanks to the Siestas for praying for our little family. It’s been hard, but we know God loves us and we are trusting Him.
Jamee, Sanford, FL Solo
First of all, thank you SO much Priscilla for creating such an amazing study. It met me in my current circumstances in a way only God could have orchestrated and challenged me to grow deeper in my obedience to Him. I learned a tremendous amount, not only about Gideon’s story, but more globally about God’s story and specifically how He is calling me to grow deeper in my walk with Him. I truly treasured every lesson and the video sessions breathed even more passion into the content and fueled my enthusiasm tenfold. Thank you for being an obedient servant of Christ–I am closer to Him because of your willingness to respond to His call.
Sweet Beth, thank you for selecting this study and hosting it in Siestaville. I am a brand new mama to a precious 4 month old boy and venturing out to a weekly study was just not feasible for my family in this season. This gave me the accountability I needed to stay in the Word and participate in a life-enriching community. I am so grateful.
I think what surprised me most about this study was the depth of Gideon’s story. Having grown up in the church, I was familiar with the basic plot, but I never realized just how many lessons there are to be learned within this brief little slice of scripture. I thought I was just going to learn more about Biblical history over the course of these 6 weeks (which I was looking forward to)–never did I anticipate seeing so much of myself in this narrative! God used Gideon to reveal areas of my life that I have been withholding from Him and challenged me to a deeper level of commitment and obedience. So grateful for that.
I love having my “tweets” to refresh my memory of all that God has taught me this summer. As a teacher, I have a tendency to take notes and underline all over my book as I’m learning. The one line summation sentences enable me to recall at a glance what the lesson involved and how it impacted my life. I’m thinking about typing them all up on a single sheet of paper as a quick reference, so I don’t lose sight of what I have learned when I close the book.
Again, thank you to both of you for your commitment to this community this summer. You have blessed my life and have given a bleary eyed mom something life-changing to focus on in the midst of the surreal, unpredictable season of newborn life!
Briefly, and Late 🙂
Kristi, Pensacola, FL; going solo
What surprised me in this study (although it shouldn’t because I know that the Lord’s Word speaks to me afresh each time I read it), is that a well-known story in the Old Testament has such rich applications to my life. Priscilla has such a gift for presenting those lessons, and tying in New Testament scripture. I have been blessed by this study!
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The importance of the spoken word has really been driven home to me lately and also confirmed in this study and videos.
In the garden God asked Adam & Eve “Who told you that you were naked?”
In my life the enemy tells me many lies and God counters with “Who told you that you were… (ugly, incompetent, worthless, etc)? You need only believe what I, God, say about you.”
I am a daughter of the King through Jesus. May I believe it, embrace it, and live it.
Thank you for this wonderful study. It’s worth doing again!
I have been stretching week 6 out over the course of probably a week a half now, finishing up the final video this morning, nearly in tears. I don’t want it to end! I know, I know.. the study of God’s Word never has to end.. but THIS study.. Priscilla, I have no words! God surprised me over and over and over again. I remember at the beginning when Beth asked what immediately struck us when we saw the subtitle: “Your weakness, God’s strength” I didn’t have a clue. God has graciously and sovereignly {and you better believe painfully!} allowed me to see those areas come to light in the study. I think the thing that finally seemed to break through and make SENSE to me was that the weaknesses I grapple with daily, the things that level me daily and leave me so defeated and discouraged, it’s not my job to cover them up or muster up the strength to do better or be better. These weaknesses were given to me. GIFTS. They keep me humble. They keep me desperate for God. They keep me dependent on Him. They give me no reason to boast in self and ample room to give Him all glory. For so long I think I have been just weary with striving and trying and it just hit home that I have been given weaknesses as gifts so that I grasp for God and find Him (and giving me HIMSELF is the best He can give me) and so that He can receive glory when He shows Himself strong on my behalf.
Wish I could talk your ear off with all the myriad and intimate ways God has spoken to me through this study. For a girl who has been passionately studying God’s word now for 10 years, this study ranks as one of the very best, the most fruitful. I am so profoundly thankful to Priscilla and to Beth and the LPM team for this study this summer and I am filled with such joy knowing that the “summer fruit” that has been borne will be credited in part to your “account.”
All praise to Him, the one who does exceedingly and abundantly beyond what we could ever think or ask or imagine!
Lisa, Bloomington, IN Small Group
So appreciate how both of you encourage us to “stay in the word”. Just thinking as I watched this wrap up video “each time I hear these godly women speak, God speaks to my directly to repair holes in my heart”…needed to truly absorb your comments on how our words really effect other people. How if we can criticize by “building up” others, we offer encourgement to others and show love through accountability.
During the study 2 precious lessons made a mark on my heart:
In Session 4 when Priscilla shared about the long suffering patience of God…so direct yet very profound to me. God has saved me, changed me, positioned me and strengthens me EVERYDAY – Amen! And God used me with my small group that evening to speak a word of truth about singleness and waiting for a godly man. Turns out a 20-something daughter of one of my small group siestas had joined us just that one evening. Found out later that she had recently broken up with her boyfriend of several years after finding out of his unfaithfulness. Gives me a case of chill-bumps how God spoke through me to her heart that night.
Secondly, the lesson from week six around the statement “we are not human beings having a spiritual experience but a spiritual being having a human experience” is a message straight from God as I heard in two different studies I was reading that week. I’m a small group leader of a single adult small group who is meeting this summer and sharing over a sermon series by Miles McPherson based on his book, God in the Mirror. In Part 3, Pastor Miles describes how we are to be moral mirrors of God, created in His image to reflect His characteristics back at Him. He referenced the same quote encouraging listeners to be “a spiritual being having a human experience”. One of my strongholds is letting go and letting God. Fueled by fear, I believe I need to be in control. However, I’m learning through faith and studying Yahweh’s truth that I long to surrender all control of my life to my Almighty Protector. I’ve not quiet moved the meaning of “being a spiritual being having a human experience” from my head to my heart, but I am aware the Holy Spirit is working on me. Praise God and blessed to have this Gideon study to lead me along this path. And when the reality settles in my heart, I desire to give thanks again to my long-suffering and patient God who never leaves me nor forsakes me.
Farewell for now as we wrap up another life changing study…until we meet again!
May God truly bless the rest of your summer!
Susan – Piscataway, NJ – solo
I was surprised by how rich and rewarding the experience was flying solo. I grew spiritually and felt connected via the videos and blog. Thank you.
Vivian, Birmingham, AL, solo
I was surprised at how many times Gideon had a firm Word from God and still had problems accepting it without confirmation. I love how patient our Father God was with him as he asked for that confirmation. I knew He was patient but Gideon’s scenarios brought it home to me in a new way. Even though I am finished with the study the Gideon story keeps coming back to mind. I find myself recommending it and have even sent a copy of it to my son. It was wonderful to go deeper into this Bible lesson I learned as a child. I was also challenged to ask myself questions about what idols I have in my life.
(I actually finished the study over two weeks ago; just didn’t get around to posting until tonight. Really enjoyed this study by Priscilla! A gifted teacher!)
The Gideon study hit home in so many areas that the Father is working on me. Thank you, Mrs. Beth, for hosting this study. Thank you, Mrs. Pricilla, for being faithful to what God called you to do with these lessons!
This is what God showed me…it is as if she spoke and wrote these words just for me!
http://justbelievejesus.blogspot.com/