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.
Jamie Harkins
Lithia, FL
Inviting neighbors to join me
I need to be in the Word daily if possible; keeps me focused on eternal things, rather than useless stuff.
Dislike mayo, lizards & snakes
Name: Jessica
City: Sterling
Going solo as of now, but will be talking to friends.
I am a wife, teacher, and mother of 3. The summer affords a bit more “unscheduled” time. I look forward to spending time in the word and learning from Beth.
I love to have clean floors. The countertops may be cluttered, but I’m quirky about the floors!
Jiffy Holland
Ft Lauderdale, Florida
Group thru FaceTime
What better way to deepen a long distance friendship than through a study of God’s Word?! And there’s no better summer Bible study than with Beth!
I’m definitely sharing Beth’s quirk of loving COFFEE!!! I’d have to admit that no matter where in the world I might be, I’d be willing to travel an hour or two in order to enjoy that morning coffee!
1. Melissa
2. Tupelo
3. Solo
4. Many recent life events have me overwhelmed and tired of fighting the good fight alone.
5. I’m very OCD, but without a thyroid, also forgetful. Makes for entertaining days!
1. Keisha
2. Stratford, TX
3. Solo
4.I’m coming out of a very deep valley and I am so ready to be back in a Bible study. I’m a little late but getting my book tomorrow and diving in! So excited!
5. I still have a blanket I have had since I was a baby (a very long time ago.) =)
1. Deborah
2. Bon Aqua, TN
3. Solo, but have a Twitter friend doing it, so we chat
4. I’m in a very low place right now, spiritually & emotionally. I stopped teaching my class at church because I felt I wasn’t in a place to be a spiritual leader. I need refreshing and revival in my soul.
5. Quirk – I carry at least 3 books to work with me everyday even though I rarely get to read anything on my breaks, but just in case!
Rhonda Vandergriff
Jackson, MO
solo
I am without a study at the moment
I am a collector: Sock monkeys, reading glasses, lego people, Bible versions
1. Amy
2. Orange County, CA
3. Solo
4. To stay in the Word
5. I put my mascara on in a circle: top, bottom, bottom, top.
1. Joanne Oribine
2. Frankford, Ontario
3. Solo
4. I’ve been away; time to come back home to Jesus and to be refreshed by His Word.
1. Mimi
2. Decatur, Al
3. Solo
4. Helps me so much. Been a difficult season with health problems. I feel dry and am ready to be filled up to go with my God.
5. I have to have things just right. Like writing doing the memory versus if I mess up and have mark things out I have to start over.
1. Mimi
2. Decatur
3. Solo
4. I have had a difficult season with new health problems. I feel like I am dry and I want to hear God. I need him.
5. Quirk. I am obsessed when I write if I have to mark something out I have to go back and start over. Do not like that mark out on my page.
1. Sherry
2. Minneapolis MN
3. Small group at Caribou Coffee as well as Skyping with college roommate
4. Difficult season this summer. Need Jesus and The Word
5. Need to laugh every day with friends!!
1. Eboni
2. Dallas, TX
3. In a small group led by Misty Rockwall.
4. Excited about a more in depth study of the Word.
1. Gayla (none ya) and Emily (15 yrs)
2. Billings, Montana
3. My daughter and I
4. We need Him and His Word!
5. Our life is a musical. We have a song for everything…All 7 of us, well 6, my hubs doesn’t sing. He just shakes his head and smiles.
1. Jodi
2. Cincinnati, OH
3. Small group of 2
4. I need structure to keep me in the word. My friend and I do it every summer.
5. I like to feel the soft edge of my t-shirt.
We will meet at first watch.
1. Kristi
2. Roi Et (Thailand)
3. With a friend (probably on skype)
4. Living in a new country and trying to learn a new language has me craving a Bible study in English. I was missing a depth that I can’t quite get yet out of my Bible studies in Thai!
Cool, all the way from Thailand! Welcome !
1. Erica A
2. Torrance, CA
3. Solo
4.looking for a group to fit in. I love hearing the word and stories from other women
5. love repurposing to the dismay of my husband when he sees junk, I see treasure lol
Karen
Little Rock, AR
With a friend
Looking forwrard to some focused time with The Lord after a busy school year
I have a slight obsession with the Tour de France every July. 🙂
Leah
Knoxville, Tn
Solo
Structured time in the Word… doing a book study with my Bible study group this summer every other week…will do Children of the Day sometime in the near future with them.
1. Ashley Venhuizen
2. Churchill, MT
3. Solo
4. Needing a good way to stay in His word, helping me be a better Mom to my crew this summer!
5. I love to sleep in, but I hate to nap (feel like I’m missing out on something!
1. Krista
2. Omaha, NE
3. Solo
4. 1 Thessalonians 4 was the chapter that God used when I was 17 yrs old to show me how REAL he is! I have a heart for 1 and 2 Thessalonians. I’m excited to dig deeper into His word to get to know His heart better:)
5. This is really out there…I pray for strangers and friends all the time for miraculous healing.
1. Kellyann
2. Tigard, Oregon
3. Solo- just me & the Holy Spirit this time 🙂
4. I SO need this! The Bible studies at my church take the summer off. I CANNOT take the summer off! Thank goodness God never takes time off, you know what I mean? If left to myself, even for the summer….I would surely self destruct!
5. I can memorize like no one else! Songs, scriptures, lines from movies….even children’s books! My college kids recently had me recite one of their favorite Dr. Seuss books, that I used to read them, and I practically knew it word-for word!
I have been saved 40 years this month but I still need more of Jesus! I will be doing this study by myself.
1. Karen
2. Des Moines, IA
3. Mother/Daughter Group and we love to meet over dinner and discuss our Bible Studies for that week.
4. I have done our church small group Bible Studies before in the summer, but this one is special because it is my daughter and I together sharing our hearts.
5. I love Big Mac’s without the sauce!
1. Scarlett Ruyle
2. Elizabeth City, NC
3. Meeting with one another gal regularly at our apartment complex 🙂
4. I love Beth’s stuff and I learned a lot from Breaking Free, since then I haven’t done a workbook of hers. I would really like to be challenged to learn more from the scriptures as well as have a outline for a study plan in my quiet times 🙂
5. I write down everything in my planner, and use abbreviations that I made up, I guess you say I am a nerd of organization.
Springville, Alabama
small group
to stay in the Word this summer
I am bunny crazy! I have a pet bunny named beau!
1. Linsey Konieczny
2. Howell, MI
3. Partnering with my mom
4. To get my God time back in my life which has fallen off since having baby#2
5. I LOVE the smell of boat exhaust!!!!
1. Lynn
2. Kentucky
3. Solo
4. Even though I teach Bible study every week I need some Bible study for just me. Plus I really want to hear from God, just feeling rather useless lately.
1. Nichole Hensley
2. Chesapeake
3. Small group of 2 and praying for more.Our group will meet for beach dates.
4. I desperately need to get back in the word. I have become so busy that I need to be reminded that it is God’s way, glory and timing!
5.I am a list maker, I wake up making lists.
1. Nancy
2. Lakewood, CO
3. Solo
4. I am away from home a lot this summer so can’t do a group study. So looking forward to this time in His Word. Thank you Beth and LPM team!!
5. Quirk: Have calendars all over my house to keep my schedule in front of me and on my cell phone. Guess I think I could miss something plus my schedule is different every week!
Lynn
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Solo
I love Bible study but have been in a dry spell and recently felt that lift so wanted to get back in the Word!
One of my quirks is that I always have my food in the same order on my plate – meat at the bottom, potatoes at the top if I’m having them and veggies and salad at the sides! Crazy I know:)
1. Deborah
2. Bellingham, WA
3. Solo
4. Have not found a church here yet and need accountability.
5. It never ceases to amaze me when my crazy family do crazy things. You would think I would come to expect it.
1. Melissa
2. Owasso, OK
3. solo
4. I work at a church and feel I’m getting busy with church work and not with things of God
5. There are so many quirks – Dirty dishes need to be in the “right” side of the sink.
1. Tricia Fogg
2. West Jordan, UT
3. Doing a group over FB with about 35 members
4. This is only my second bible study. I feel like I don’t know the bible like I want to. I wasn’t sure where to start and I remember how much I learned in my first bible study. I also wanted to connect with other Christian women. I am a fan of Beth Moore as well.
5. I can’t really think of all the ways I am quirky, but I just started a blog about the real life struggle of my weight loss and everyone tells me it is quirky 😉
1. Laura
2. Rock Spring, Georgia
3.I am riding SOLO.
4. This past school year, my little classroom and school suffered two student deaths. I am weary, but I know I can be refreshed and renewed through the Holy Spirit through study of His word to me. This was a God tweet! I was randomly checking twitter when I saw the study in my feed! He knew I wanted and needed it! Ain’t He good??
5. I still sleep with my baby blanket! In fact, it is so well loved, that my husband sometimes steals it in his sleep! I guess my quirk rubbed off!
1. Lori
2. Bangor, Maine
3. Solo
4. My family is in a challenging time with serious physical sickness and I need to hear from the Lord personally and NOW!
5. It really bothers me if my soft cover books get a crease or bend in them – so if my Beth Moore workbook gets torn or a bend, I have to work at not letting it upset me when I am doing my homework!!! It is so silly because there is so much else in life to be concerned with!
Happy Summer everyone!! I am very excited, this is my very firsr SUMMER BIBLE STUDY. Our small group of women do about 2 studies a year, but this is the 1st summer one.
So here is the info requested:
My name is Brenda K
I am from Hartsville SC
I am doing this study in a group setting out of my mom’s house (about 7 of us)
I am doing this summer Bible study because it was offered & I haven’t done a study on Thessalonians before. I am also reading Christine Caine’s Undaunted to help me move pass some history.
One of my quirks is I am never on time & people that know me (& have for YEARS) that expect me to be early or on time!! I mean I really do try to be on time, I just can’t.
Thanks for taking the time to read about me & I am ready to get started!!
Brenda K
1. Sherry
2. Calhoun, GA
3. With a small group of about 10, give or take
4. I am thrilled to be in Bible study any time of the year. It keeps me in the Word and provides accountability for that goal.
5. I wish you could have heard some of the funny quirks we shared at our meeting, but I will only tell mine. I leave about one bite of most anything I’m eating. It’s more likely if it’s a food I’ve been holding with my hand, such as french fries or a cookie. I’m thinking it’s because I’m a nurse, and I know where that hand has been…even though it was gloved and it’s been washed and sanitized maybe 5 times before I eat. That’s my theory…but maybe it’s just a quirk. 🙂
1 Name: Jennifer Olmstead
2 City: Janesville, Wisconsin
3 Solo; unless I can get a neighbor to join us
4 Why could I really stand to be in Bible study this summer:
I have been through 15 months of extremely difficult losses in my life (including my Mom’s and Senior Pastor, John’s passing through Heaven’s gate 8 days apart from one another in March, 2013; having to find homes for our 3 dear cats, moving out of my Mom’s home. And, more recently, a very strong Christian friend, Mary C.[from my new apartment complex], having disappeared, then her body was found on the bank of the Rock River a week later-all during the same time that a stabbing, and a murder took place; though the stabbing suspect is in police custody, but he told the man [a former roommate] that he was stabbing that “He had already killed 3 people, and we are going to die, too.” [Praise God, the stabbing victim is recovering from his wounds!!!]
So, besides already seeing a counselor, Summer Bible study will be great for me !
5 A Quirk: I like to make bead animals !
1. Your NAME – L White
2. Your CITY – Berwyn Heights, MD
3. Solo
4. I love to read and learn. I was never able to truly absorb the Bible until I paired it with a Bible Study. At that point, I felt it really spoke to me. The days get so hard I feel like I need to hear from Him as much as possible!
5. BONUS question (optional): WHAT IS A QUIRK OF YOURS?? I put way too much honey in my tea. 🙂
1. Barbara
2. Orange City, IA
3. Solo
4. Love your studies! Need a study to stay in the Word.
5. Have to know all the options before I make a choice. By then I’m so confused, I can’t make a decision and have to start looking at all the options all over again. I drive myself crazy!
Marlinda Flynn living in Heppner, Oregon
It will 2 Siesta Sisters, we will meet half way between our homes, coffee shop, park
I am doing this Bible Study this summer because, I desperately need to stay in the Word, and I need accountability. I am in a season in my life where God is teaching me to trust Him with everything, and give up control, this is a daily struggle for I am facing many unknowns.
Quirk: I drink my morning tea out of a cup that says RENEW
doing the study solo.
I’m doing a Summer Study strictly for the discipline. Motivation is to know more of Jesus.
Quirk: I’m a list maker, sometimes to the point of frustration. Some days I even think about making a list at the end of the day of the things I accomplished that weren’t on my regular list…just so I can say I scratched something off.
PS…doing the study solo in Lexington Park, MD
1. Pam
2. Chesterton, Indiana
3. Solo
4. I enjoy doing the studies on my own. I love the feeling grabbing my cup of coffee and curling up on my couch with my Bible and studying. I have been feeling dry and in need of a fresh pouring out of God’s Spirit in the dry land of my life and so the God’s Word in Isaiah 44 really resonated with me. I feel it is important for me to have my in-depth private Bible study so I am then able to share with others. I do watch the video series as well. God always reveals something new to me during my time of study and the teaching I receive.
5. My quirk is that I really prefer to drink my coffee out of a ceramic cup. I don’t think it tastes the same in a metal or paper cup. I like the feel of the warmth through the cup especially in the winter time in Northwest Indiana!
1. Kathleen
2. Newburyport, MA
3. Solo
4. In a very difficult period in work and life. I need to be refreshed with His spirit and am desperate for him to lead me thru this time.
5. I LOVE to do laundry. I love having all the clothes clean and folded. Clothes hardly have time to hit the ground after being worn around here.
1. Amy
2. St. Cloud, FL
3. Solo
4. I’m lonely, trying to find my place in the church. I need to connect with other believers and be in God’s Word this summer.
5. I can’t stand for there to be dishes left in the sink, or for the kitchen to be a mess, and yet unfinished laundry will pile up after it’s clean. Go figure 🙂
Brittany
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Solo
Just this week, my husband and I moved from Boston to Ohio. While weare not yet plugged into a church family here, I am thirsty for a community of women to be a part of.
Quirk, according to my hubby: I never drink the last few sips – the “ends” of my drinks.
Debbie
Ringgold, Georgia
Small Group
My circumstances this summer requires me to be deep in HIS WORD to even survive ! HIS WORD IS A Lamp for my feet and a Light for my path, I desire to hide HIS WORD in my heart so that I may not sin against HIM.
Quirky- I write down everything! I love to journal!
1. Leola Hancock
2. Friendswood, TX
3. Small group – so far only two of us – Dunn’s Coffee or Starbucks or even on the phone.
4. Churches don’t offer summer study…i need to study the Word and with homework.
5. Peanut butter on almost anything especially pancakes and French toast. My daughter recently gave me a jar of peanut butter with jalapeños. YUMMY.
1) Karen
2)Corrales,NM
3) Solo, but hoping to form a group
4)To know my Lord better and to be accountable
5)I pray and praise God in my garden
I have always wanted to read the Bible through in 1 year, but can’t read it like a novel. I like to dig in and study it.