Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Bible Study for the BIRDS or OWLS?



 Our first night of Bible Study was a “latte” fun with crazy coffee cups, tongue depressors, and an excitement for the Word.  So, if you are following our coffee cup plan…

 

DO it! (Do one day’s the homework on one day)

REVIEW it!  (Review it the next day)

USE it! (Some time before Bible Study, share it via text, FB, e-mail, or chat with a friend)

 

…no matter where you are in your study this week…Congratulations for getting started, girlfriend!  Dig in!

 

Now, you might need an entire box of 64 crayons with a sharpener to finish it, but don’t quit!  Sorry, I didn’t get a chance to tell you about all the color coding while reading the passages of God’s Word with Kay Arthur. (WINK ;)

 

This was totally new for me and found it really a unique way to examine the scriptures.  If it is new for you, don’t grumble, try it…you might like it.  

 

Remember literally resting our minds on God’s Word at the end of the first session together?  If we are going to rest our minds and hearts on His Word, we first really need to check and see what we believe about His Word.  Kay is going to help us do that this week.  As you are reviewing or highlighting the questions that Kay asks you about your own life in light of the scriptures for your REVIEW days, focus on this:  What do I think of the Word of God?  Can I count on God’s Word to be faithful?  When am I faithful to lean on His Word? When am I not?  We will talk more about this the next time we get together.

 

One more question this week, if you don’t mind.  Given the important topic that came up in our first session together, answer this:  Early Bird or Night Owl?  If you are curious (like me) and wondering when everyone else is finding the time to do their homework, then, leave a comment with your name sharing if you are doing your Bible Study in the morning or evening.  I am curious as to whether we have more early birds or night owls in our group.

 

The A.M. gals will love to chat with you and roosters about what the sunrise looks like while answering the questions in your workbooks!  LOL!  J.  The P.M. ladies & I will be up late reading your posts and hoping we win! I will have the comments tallied at the next session, Thursday, January 23rd 2017 @ 7:00 p.m.  All those who leave a comment will have their name entered into our door prize drawing!  (Aren’t you glad you read this post! ) J

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Reliance & Rebounds


After the year I had in 2013, I am terribly excited about leading our new Women's Bible Study starting tomorrow night!  Oh how I have missed hanging out with friends, collectively being in the Word, and drinking coffee while hearing stories about God working in hearts and lives...these are a few of my favorite things!



Let me share a story with you as we get ready to jump into this Bible Study…get the wheels turning, if you will.

 

It was cold Friday night as we passed Christmas lights and headlights on Rt. 8.  We walked into the gym to the hud, hud, hud of new basketballs hitting the wooden surface of the floor.  Excitement was in the air, until the drills started.  The little boy partnered with Jeremiah was trying to pound the ball AT him instead of practicing passing the ball TO him.  Jeremiah’s warning, “Stop it right, now” was not heeded and a bright red stinger appeared on the back of his leg as he tried to avoid the next basketball BOMB while the other child laughed.

 

Now, move with me from the gym floor to the bleachers, where I was sitting with my hubby, Jason. 

 

Girls, I was about ready to snatch my “Super Momma” cape right out my bottomless purse, fly down there, intervene with bracelets of righteous anger and set the situation straight when I heard, “Wait, April.”  Jason held out his hand, patted my leg, and encouraged me to watch and let Jeremiah handle the situation that we had only experienced in conversation over the dinner table.  You know the one, “When someone is mean to you, you…” or “When you see bullying, it is important that….”

 

How could my husband, an educator, not see the need to “address” this!  I gritted my teeth, watched and waited.  Jeremiah got the coach’s attention and the Coach addressed it.  Our son relied on what he had been taught, heeded our words, and overcame a difficult situation in a 7 year old’s life.   

 

Although many of us past the age of 7 many years ago, let me ask you as I did myself sitting there on the bleachers, do I heed my Heavenly Father’s wordsEven in the difficult situations?  If God came running into our lives with His absolute power at the need of every rescue, when would we ever learn to reply on what He has taught us through His Word and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?  It gives God great joy to watch us trust and implement what He has told us in the Bible...kinda like a parent seeing their child implement life lessons taught around the dinner table. 

 

In this season of your life, how is God rejoicing over your reliance on:  His faithfulness?  His abundance?  Or His truth?



See you Thursday!