Welcome everybody! This is our first gathering for Children of the Day and we are incredibly blessed to have you along! If you’re just now hearing about it, we’d love for you to join us! You’ll find it most helpful to begin by reading this previous post that includes our approach, our summer Bible study schedule and many other specifics: (SSBS 2014 Info post) All you need to participate is the workbook entitled Children of the Day. We only officially “gather” here on the blog every two weeks because summers are so busy. On each of those 5 Tuesdays (starting today), you’ll find a video I’ve prepared for you with instructions for that day. I’ll also remind you to do the next 2 weeks of Bible study before our next gathering. View it personally if you are going solo or, if you’re joining in with others, with your small group. I’ll always put the bare bones of that gathering’s instructions in print in the post as well (as you’ll see below) in case you have any trouble viewing the video. Here’s your first one!
Basic written instructions in case you have trouble with the video:
Register for our summer Bible study by simply leaving a comment to this post per instructions below. Of course, you can take part without registering but you’ll get much more out of it if you fully participate. It not only increases accountability. It stirs up a sense of belonging and fellowship which is so important to us here in this blog community.
Here’s what we’d love for you to supply in your registration comment today: (Try to limit yourself to this information so it will be easy to read and count.)
1. Your NAME.
2. Your CITY.
3. Whether you’re going SOLO or in tandem with a small group. If you’re in a small group, share approximately how many are in your group and where you are planning to meet.
4. Share in a sentence or two why you could really stand to be in Bible study this summer. Maybe it’s that you’ve never been in one before. We would be elated! Or maybe it’s been a long time. If so, this is a great time and place to come back home to the heart of Jesus. Maybe you’re just hoping to get to know Christ a little better. Or, perhaps you’re interested in particular subject matter that appears on the pages of 1st or 2nd Thessalonians. On the other hand, maybe you especially need to be in the Scriptures because you have extenuating circumstances that could really challenge you this summer. What’s motivating you to get into the Scriptures with us this summer? There are no wrong answers!
5. BONUS question (optional): WHAT IS A QUIRK OF YOURS?? Come on, now! Tell us!
If you’re meeting with a small group, share your answers to questions 4 and 5.
I will pitch out a memory verse each week for anybody who wants to participate:
Week 1 Memory Verse:
1 Thessalonians 1:4 The NET Bible: We know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that He has chosen you.
Week 2 Memory Verse:
1 Thessalonians 2:8 The NET Bible: …with such affection for you we were happy to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.
Do WEEKS ONE AND TWO of your homework before our next gathering in two weeks! If you’re watching the OPTIONAL video teaching sessions, you will want to watch Session 1 this week before you start your homework and Session 2 before you start your second week of homework. Here is the link: Children Of The Day Sessions
Don’t feel pressured to go to the added expense. All you need to participate in the summer study is the workbook.
I am so honored to serve you and study with you this summer! Can’t wait to see your names and locations! So much love to you, Sisters! We joyfully embrace each one of you.
1. Donna
2. Thornburg, VA
3. Solo
4. I will be facilitating this study in the fall at my church!
5. It’s hard to pick just one quirk-I have so many!!
1. Suzie
2. Marion, VA
3. Solo
4. Want to be involved in a Bible Study to help me learn more about God and the Word and how it applies to my everyday life!
1. Suzanne
2. Charlotte NC
3. with my 15 year old daughter
4. I am in seminary and sometimes academic study of God replaces the personal kind; this is a good way to avoid that!
5. I hate the little tiny white plastic thing that covers the hole across from the mouth opening on a Starbucks cup and have to pick it off as soon as I get the cup.
!. Melissa Porter
2. Elizabethtown KY
3. Solo
4. I just love Bible Studies!!!
5. a quirk: my study/devotional area, has to have candles lit!!
1. Bonnie Finstad
2. Pinehurst, TX
3. Solo
4. having family issues and I want to focus on God
5. Speaking before thinking
This is my small group!
1) Kristy
2) Slidell, Louisiana
3) Solo
4) I’m going through a very rough season….and I need some hope. A fresh encounter with God.
5) A quirk – I don’t like to eat anything with seeds; including strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, – even things that feel like seeds – like cracked pepper or nuts in cakes/cookies… Weird… I know!
My name is Anita and I live in Neligh, Nebraska. I am doing this in a small online group through Womens Bible Cafe. I take every opportunity to participate in Beth’s Bible studies, I love them so. One quirk: Beth talked about her coffee routine. I am the opposite. I have to have one cup immediately before I can get started, otherwise the Lord finds me really foggy.
1. Melissa
2. Vicksburg, MS
3. Just me and my friend/coworker
4. It has been a while since I have done a study and I want to grow closer to Jesus!
5. Oh goodnes… Um… the volume on the tv mut be on an even number. And I usually eat the exact same thing for breakfast lunch and snacks during the work week.
I want to know more of Jesus
1. Denise
2. Cypress
3. solo
4. love being in the word
5. I need my space
1. Shelby
2. Washington, Indiana
3. Doing the study with a friend (we’re both ministry wives)
4. Overwhelmed and in NEED of Jesus, His people, His Word, His voice, His presence….
5. Quirk: I get excited about libraries,books, homework, and particular pens… I am weird. 🙂
1. Sue 2. Grapevine, TX 3. Solo, but may join up w/a friend 4. Doing a study helps me to stay in the Scripture. 5. The rest of my kitchen may be a wreck, but I have to neaten the stacks of silverware in the drawer.
1. Kari
2. Plano, Texas
3. Group
4. I always need a little bit more Grace during the summer months when my children are home – staying in God’s Word helps immensely!
5. Is being a controlling person a quirk?
1. Alyssa
2. St. Paul, MN
3. With a group
4.Continued growth and accountability to stay in the Word during the summer (in the past, I tend to “take a break” in the summer, last summer, I did not and was amazed and still am amazed at the good works God did through me, and i know that I cannot take a break from Bible study)
5. I do whatever I can to only take one trip from my car to my house…Even when I have tons of groceries. My goal is always one trip.
1 Jen
2 Monument, Colorado
3 Mostly Solo, but I will be checking in online with a friend from Texas about the study 😉
4 I have only been in CO for one year. I feel the Lord wants to take me to a different path for my job and I am listening intently. I want to be in His Word this summer waiting and listening.
5 I will say common cliches and totally mess them up with my own words. Ex. It’s just around the bend…I’d say, It’s just around the hill. So crazy!
1. Melanie Ford
2. Maple Valley, WA
3. Solo (although I am throwing it out on fb to see if I get any takers..:)
4. BSF ends May and Starts back in Sept. needed something for the summer. got a sample of this in the mail and LOVED it…thanks for offering this to us.
5. I take my yellow rubber gloves with me when I travel, camp or visit as I can’t stand to wash dishes without them. I look like a dork, but my hands stay nice.
1. Lesley
2. Maidens (Richmond) VA
3. Solo
4. These studies “renew me afresh” and bring me closer to the Lord. I love the personal quiet time with the Lord and the growth I receive. So excited to begin!
1. Delores
2. Lake Stevens
3. Small group totalling 7, meeting at my house
4. Since i haven’t been part of a small group in a while, i need this interaction and i love Beth’s studies in particular so it’s a double blessing to be doing that this summer!
5. I’m an editor (sadly i notice mistakes-almost compulsively: and BTW, the lowercase “i” is intentional-a reminder of humility for me)
1. Denise
2. Orange City, IA
3. Solo
4. I crave concrete examples that apply God’s Word to real every day life.
5. I only like to write with a fine point blue ink pen. I hunt for my special ink pen before grabbing a different pen. Black ink is only used if blue ink is unavailable.
Kimberly
Traverse City, Michigan
SOLO
Need refreshment after a year loaded with ministry service.
I eat things in twos: two m&ms, two pretzels, etc.
Jan
Prattville, AL
Solo/Group – 2 or 3 co-workers may occasionally meet @ Starbucks
I have been trying to get involved in another Bible study. This invite came when my schedule is slower and I believe I will really have the time to spend with GOD (and maybe another friend or two!)
Quirk: I always check to see if I have something in my teeth after eating. And, I always check to see if I have toliet paper on my shoe when I leave the restroom!
1. Donna
2. Spring, Texas
3. Small group in large group: Ladies’ Wednesday Night Bible Study at The Woodlands UMC
4. I always want to be in Bible study – it keeps me in the Word and growing in my relationship with the Lord and my sisters in Christ
5. I’m a messy housekeeper but when it comes to my laundry – I am a fanatic about doing it “right” – hang wash cloths to dry before washing them, very careful pre-wash sorter, must be inside out or right side in depending on what article of clothing it is – must be hung to dry right away or warm from the dryer and immediately folded. Wish I could do my housework that well but then my laundry might suffer! :))
1.Deborah
2. McDonough, GA
3.solo
4. Helps me stay in the Word which helps me live better.
5. I LOVE chocolate !!!
1. Kim, Pam, Sheri, Lisa, Kristine, Amy, Jamie, Jennifer, Mai
2. Suwanee, Georgia (North of Atlanta)
3. Small Group; meeting in Kim’s home
4. Mai-to build faith muscle (since she doesn’t build body muscle); Amy – never done Bible study, peer pressure to do it this summer; Kristine – peer pressure, like Beth M., to stick with goal of reading Bible more; Lisa – to stay in the Word; Pam – I need to be with women to hold accountable to the Bible and spiritual growth; Sheri – to be involved with faith group during summer; Kim – God made me do it
5. Mai-hate to exercise; Amy – clean freak, need Clorox wipes only; Kristine-brush teeth after getting out of shower; Lisa – talk to herself a lot; Pam – snorts when laughs; Sheri- has no foresight to what meetings are about until they happen; Kim – attitude towards kids-blurt out feelings to them
60435 zuni rd
First time to do an online study. Also facilitating this same study for a group of. 26 women on Thursday evenings at our church. I have a real passion for women ministries.
One of my quirks: my clothes hang in my closet according to color.
1. Sharon
2. Campbellsville, Kentucky
3Solo:(
4.I need this!!!! I have recently joined the club known as a “pastor’s wife”, my husband and I have been married for 21 years but this is his first pastorate. Its been good but I have a whole new respect for the term ” living in glass houses”, its hard. I really feel alone and I guess Im hoping to find fellowship and not feel like im in performance mode.
5. ???? To many im sure.
Sharon, I just want you to know you are not alone. I have been married 23 years and my husband became a church plant pastor 5 years ago. It is the hardest thing we have ever done but we wouldn’t trade these blessings and our relationship with Jesus for anything.
Unfortunatly, the glass house and lonliness comes with it. But in those times cling to Jesus. I will be praying for you all the way from Iowa….
1. Heidi
2. Fayetteville, GA
3. Solo, in my study
4. I am in Bible study this summer because I NEED to be in bible study. It is balm for my soul. The more I learn, the more I realize that I have only scratched the surface of all that God has for me,
5. I have too many to list. One thing is that I picked leaves when I was in Israel. All kinds. I keep them in my Bible because it always makes me remember that God wants me to dwell in “my promised land”.
1. Julie Walsh
2. Seattle WA
3. small group at work
4. It’s been a long time. I’m just hoping to get to know Christ a little better.
5. Apparently I can’t make coffee.
1) Jennifer C
2) Southeast, Houston
3) Me, myself and I 🙂
4) I want to get back in the Word, more than I ever have before. I’m going through some things and I know the answer is found only in Him and His Word.
5)I’m a total geek. I love smartphones and tablets. If I wasn’t single and dependant on a paycheck I would love to sell smartphones.
Lisa K
Wichita ks
Solo
Looks like a good study
Like to irritate my kids 🙂
New Delhi, India
solo
I want to know more of Jesus.
1. Wanda
2. Covington
3. Solo
4. Need to grow closer to God.
5.
Debbie
Perth WA
Solo
I’m doing this study to get me refocused and back into God’s word
1. Judy Madison
2. Beaumont, CA
3. SOLO
4. We are studying eschatology on Wednesday nights at church and I’m anxious to study study Thessalonians in light of that, including the amazing rapture of the church.
5. My quirk is my sense of humor — sometimes very quirky but sure to bring a smile. I love to see the reactions of smiles or laughs.
Sally
Falcon, CO
SOLO
Desperate for more of God!
Jenny W.
Grand Ledge, MI
With a friend
Must stay immersed in the Word or I become swallowed by the world
I drive a stick shift, on purpose.
Linda here in Bartlesville, OK – going it solo. I’ve been reading the books of I & II Thessalonians and am so excited that there is a study about them! I want to understand them in a deeper way. I’ve been working on memorization of some of the passages. Thanks for doing this!
Something quirkie: Hmmmm…. I don’t like to leave the house without my bed being made and all of the pillows in place!
1. Nightingale
2. Miami, FL
3. Solo
4. Need to be involved in a Bible study with other women
1. Mary Lou
2. Brainerd MN
3. small group
4. New to MN, love studying the Word with other women & haven’t since moving 4 months ago, Bible study is a great way to connect
5. flower and bird fanatic
Sherri Smith
Greenville, NC
solo
I will be leaving this study in the fall.
1. Bonnie Walker
2. Mansfield, Tx
3. Solo
4. I’m in a dry season, haven’t had a home church in 2 years, trying to get back in the Word. Summer, b/c I have gone back to school and I’m not in classes during the summer.
5. Toilet paper must roll off the TOP!
Praying for you & appreciate yours too. In the same place right now.
Renee & Leah
Loveland, Ohio
Mother and daughter
Draw nearer to God
Everything about me (Renee) is quirky, she (Leah) loves me anyway~
So excited about this study came at a perfect time. Answered prayer
Marcia Berkompas
Warner Robins, GA
Going solo
I am a service member and will be deploying this summer away. Also, have not been very faithful in daily bible study so praying this will be an opportunity to get back in the Word daily.
1. Ida-Sue
2. Andalusia, Alabama
3. Solo
4. Heart longing for God’s Word!
5. “Make sure it hasn’t been opened” “Always check the expiration date” (I’m a food and drink, big time quirk(er) )
Hey, I’m Kristen. I just moved back to Long Island, NY on an adventure with my husband & Jesus. 😉 I’m doing the study with a good friend of mine. This year has been one of huge transition and struggle for my immediate family. I need something SURE and STRONG this summer to stand on, and what could be better than this?
A quirk…. I could never wear mismatched socks. It would drive me nuts ALL day. ha!
1. Nikki
2. Granite Falls, WA
3. Solo
4. I have never done an online study so I thought I would try it out and I love Beth Moore so this is perfect!
5. I cut all sandwiches from left to right diagonally from the top. I can’t eat them otherwise.
1.Melinda
2.Utica
3.Solo
4.Going through a season of trials and need to draw close to the Lord.
5. I tend to think to much and try to control things that arent really in my control.
Kathy Plant
Overland Park
Doing the summer study SOLO
Just needing to press into God and stick close to him!
Quirks? I don’t know, I’m a little OCD so I’m sure I have something!