Hey, you guys! I bet you can guess what my head’s down under right now.
Oh, man. It’s a ton of work but I love it so so much. Researching then writing in-depth Bible study curriculum is still my happy place. I’ve never gotten over it. Every few days I get a tweet from somebody who has just started or finished A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place and I think, often with a lump in my throat, what an invasive virus I caught from that very first journey. There in the pages of Exodus and in the detailed construction of that Old Testament Tabernacle and then in all that flipping to the New Testament to see it fulfilled, I fell so in love with Jesus and the Scriptures that I knew I’d study them in pursuit of Him for the rest of my days. Gah, I love it. I know so many of you do, too. The divine brilliance and beauty of the Bible still slays this woman right here.
The series I’m working on right now is on 2nd Timothy and will carry the title Entrusted. It will hit the shelves in September of 2016 so it won’t be a long wait at all. You will be so glad to know that Melissa is jumping in on this one with 2 articles a week like she did in the James series Mercy Triumphs. She also has a huge stack of resource books for her part of the study but the difference is, neither you nor I can read most of the titles of her books. I mostly point at her resources and say, “Man, that must be a real nail-biter.” But, boy, do I love what she does with them.
We won’t complete the written part of the series until June but the taping for the six sessions I’m teaching takes place next week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I cannot beg your prayers loudly enough. Please ask God to pour out His Spirit on every part of the taping and on every participant and upon me as I serve and teach. WE WANT JESUS. We are seeking such a powerful and fresh work of His Spirit in this series. We’re looking for an Ephesians 3:20. Please intercede for us!
One of the concepts we will develop throughout the series is the profound connectedness between generations so poignantly illustrated in the relationship of Paul and Timothy. Our effectiveness for the sake of the gospel dramatically increases when our journeys overlap and our spiritual gifts converge and we learn with one another and from one another. We will be challenged to become vastly more deliberate in equipping and encouraging one another, on cheering one another on, and helping each other navigate difficulties and get back to our feet when we’ve been thrown on our backs. These things are invaluable in the journey of faith. They can be the difference between us staying the course and quitting.
Needless to say, our biggest objective will be to thoroughly study the verses of 2nd Timothy, deliberating on each exhortation and taking note of the process of connectedness between Paul and his son in the faith. But as an older woman who gets a huge charge out of seeing what Jesus is doing in fellow servants my age and watching Him raise up mighty servants in younger generations, I’ll also be weaving in whatever I have to give from my own experiences and my own journey where it seems appropriate. Things I learned the hard way. What’s been hardest and what’s been the most gloriously rewarding. Lord help me, there’s so much I don’t know and much I did wrong and much I can’t offer but, what I have, I want to give to this study. This is where you come in if you’re willing. I don’t just want to share aimlessly. I’d love to know what you wish I’d address.
So, here’s what I’d like for you to do. Think about what you wish you and I could talk about if we could grab a Starbucks together. Form it into a clear question – just one – and present it in a succinct blog comment to this post. You might even tell me very briefly why you’re asking. (For instance, I’m a 22 year old who feels called to…) Your question can be about walking with God in general or about leadership in particular or about teaching or communicating or about navigating ministry or family. What would you, a person of faith, ask of a woman of faith who’s been around the bend a few times? Anything’s game if it’s genuine and I’ll consider questions from brothers in Christ, too, if any feel like pitching one my way. I will carefully go through your questions and answer as many of them as I can through the process of teaching and writing this study.
If you read the comments and see that someone has already asked your question, tell me that you wanted to ask the same one. That will make it stand out in my selection. I’d love to be able to mention your first name and the city you call home when I share your question and my response if that’s okay but, if you’d rather I pose the question anonymously in the series, just say so and I’ll gladly do that.
Sound like something you’d like to take part in? I’d be so grateful! I want to serve. NOT JUST TALK. I want to know what you’d find most helpful from a woman of my sort, whatever that weird sort may be. This blog community proved absolutely invaluable in the Esther series (The Red Book!) and in So Long Insecurity through the surveys I offered to fit those themes. Your input would be solid gold in this one.
I’m so grateful for your help! Honored to serve you. Please pray for me as I prepare for next week’s taping! Bless you today!
Beth
Fasting–the who, what, when, where, how and how long, and when do you personally know when you should fast. Thank you for your studies. ❤️
Beth and Living Proof staff,
I have felt the call to women’s ministry the moment Christ saved me at the age of 18. He has cultivated a deeper love for His word and a desire to teach it. There is a longing to share the gospel in writing and teaching. We have one life and I want it to be fruitful in Him. With the calling i believe He has given me He has also blessed me with mentors to pray for me and teach me how to write and speak. I am so humbled beyond words and thankful for their prayers and guidance. I question if I need more equipping with proper schooling but then I think the Lord has been so specific in His equipping that I just need to sit right where I am and keep reading and learning and let the Lord teach me through books, and other teachers that have videos sessions. I learn a lot from watching other teachers teach. If it is the Lords will for me to write should I look into degree programs? I don’t want to waste time. I have three kids and a wonderful husband I want the time the Lord has given me to be so much in His will that even if schooling is not part of His plan that I moved on from that concern. I hope this question comes across right and makes sense. I would be very interested in more leadership training for studying and writing. I’m just hungry to be equipped so in turn I can equip others.
Another thing that I would like for you to address is pride. I believe pride is the biggest enemy to teachers. How do you deal with this in your life? I want to love what Jesus loves and hate what He hates. I know He hates pride in us. But it’s also a blinding thing in us. We don’t always see it. How do we keep this sifted out of us?
The Kingdom of Heaven is one day closer! And I sense that urgency. Thank you so much for the years of encouragement and equipping you have lavished on your readers and audience! I pray the Lord allows you to keep producing studies through this beautiful ministry. To the Lord be the glory! You have my prayers!
Thanks for listening.
Grace to you in Jesus,
Shanna
I come from great generational sin. My father and those that went before him were sex traffickers. His mother and those that went before her practiced witch craft. I was saved a long time ago and in my family line the generational sin is no more. My son is a pastor and my daughter also loves and serves God with all her heart. Yet, I still struggle with the concept of “Abba! Father!”. I do still cry out and begin many prayers with Abba, Father! However, sometimes the question passes through my mind and heart, “Oh sure, now you’re Abba! but where were you when my earthly father was torturing me and those I love?”. I know He can handle my anger and hurt and questions. The problem is how do I handle my doubt, these thoughts, towards a Holy God in whom there is no darkness?
I’m from Las Vegas Nevada.
Hi Beth,
I cannot wait to see this study come out!
I would LOVE to have coffee with you. I think it would be awesome!
My question will be a bit odd. I love Jesus, like crazy love Jesus. I have led studies for ladies at my church. I will preface it saying I am single with no children. I sometimes get ladies who will say things like, “oh honey, your views will change once you are married, or have kids, or live longer, etc”. I love studying the bible. Based on my reading and studying, I have some unpopular beliefs, not ungodly, but unpopular. How do I convey, without sounding self-righteous, that God and His Word do not change based on our circumstances or our age or position in life? For example, forgiveness is a commandment no matter what happened. I KNOW awful things happen and I am NOT dismissing hurt, but as believers we are called to forgive. I’ve been told that my views on that will change when I live with a man constantly, but there are many things about that statement that I do not agree with. I hope my heart is coming across and that I do not sound holier than thou.
Thank you!!!
Why does the church culture never touch on the “Dark Night of the Soul” and its purpose? I have a loved one struggling with this.
It’s so hard to limit this to one question!! I am a 50 year old woman who has known the Lord most of her life and is now struggling to put the pieces back together and find Him. I am extremely excited to be able to attend your event in Norfolk this year (I have loved participating in your Bible studies), because….. it will be held on the 2 year anniversary of my precious son’s suicide. So, I guess my question for you is how do I find and trust Jesus again?
My name is Linda from Indiana. When you are praying for an answer from God, and there is an answer that seems logical but you are emotionally dragging through much spiritual, emotional, and mental mud to get your heart/mind/body on board with that path, what does that mean? How do you know when you are resisting the answer He’s given you, and when does all that dragging-thru-mud to go that direction mean that is NOT the right answer? When do you listen to the resistance you are sensing, and when do you push through it? And this is not one of those, “Well i should probably not rob this bank,” situations. It is not a biblical black and white question. Thanks for shedding any light on this! I so appreciate your ministry Beth! Your studies have changed my life. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Wow!! What an exciting study that you have invited us to join together in praying for, and I look forward to see how our Lord Jesus will meet us and lead us into a closer walk with Him and for Him. I am really wondering what Paul meant when he charged Timothy to “Follow the pattern of the sounds words that you have heard from me” (2 Timothy 1:13). He goes in in ch. 3 to say that Timothy has followed “my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions …” So my coffee time question is this, Ms. Beth, What did Paul’s pattern look like, and How do the details of this pattern help in your own process as you prepare and proclaim God’s word?
I am a mid-thirties women’s Bible study leader in the Heartland, and am blessed to be leading beside an experienced and Godly woman. We love your studies, and I am trying to get a handle on communicating with passion and enthusiasm, truth and loving grace, while adding in a bit of humor to balance the intensity. I see that in you and other leaders I am learning from. God has equipped you and your team so well. May He continue to pour out his spirit on you all- and all these precious voices and hearts- so that we can be unified to His glory and serve one another with His love!
Hi Beth,
My dear sister in Christ, oh how I would love to sit and have lunch with you!! I felt the call from the Lord in college to minister. I am the wife of a very loving and godly pastor! I love the Lord and His word and He is my life! We raised two godly children who love and serve him faithfully with their spouses and families. I have been leading women’s bible studies since we got married and have led all of the ones you have written. What a joy and privilege! God has changed my life through your studies. All Praise and glory to Him! I am so thankful for you and what God has done through you! He is amazing! My struggle is in pushing the ladies to lead others. We have seen much fruit but they continue to come to my study instead of starting their own. Of course some are not called to be teachers but I would like to see more in the area of making disciples. What should I do? I am sure that more prayer needs to go into this. The Armor of God study has truely changed my prayer life. I really look forward to your 2 Timothy study! Thank you for your example to me! I am praying for God to powerfully equip you for next week and each day as you serve Him with the beautiful gifts that He has given you! You are loved, Deb Mountsier ( Mason, Ohio)
Hi Beth,
I am forty and lost my job last year. I am trying to restart my career because I have a lot of education and money invested in it. I am piecing things together with part time jobs, but things don’t seem to be holding together. Is there a place where a Christian should decide that God did not call them to something after all?
I don’t think I’m there because I really can’t imagine what other kind of work I would be good at, but is there a point in which throwing in the towel is the right thing to do?
I’m someone who believes all of the Holy Spirit’s gifts are for today, tomorrow and whenever He feels like it, so my question is how do you explain that viewpoint to those who are firmly entrenched in the opposite viewpoint? But if we were out for coffee I would ask you how I could pray for you that particular day and also where you got your accessories, because I bet they are swell.
Have you ever had a time in your life that you wanted to have faith in God, maybe you even did; but everytime you tried to pray there was a lack of sincerity? Like, you REALLY wanted to believe and have faith…but it was just out of reach. I wanted to keep this short, so I’m sorry if my question is confusing.
Beth, thank you, thank you, thank you for all you do! I have found many christian writers and speakers to be my very best friends ( and yes you are a BFF) as we share so much life in their writing and teaching. However in this season of life I’m not finding women speaking to my age and all that comes with it…. Maybe because it’s a tricky time of life. I’m thinking women find it easier to address young women/young mommies. I’m looking for someone to address menopausal, empty nesting, revolving door kind of life. Parenting adult children, enjoying grands even though there are miles to travel to be with them. Yet another season of marriage. Spiritual truths you wish you could say you’ve mastered but you’re still growing in… Smoothies and secrets…
Still growing in grace
Jamie