The "Unveiled" women's retreat is only two weeks away! I can't believe how fast fall is flying by! There will be a registration table set up in the Narthex at church again this Sunday and forms will also be in the bulletin. PLEASE let me know if you are planning to come and haven't registered yet. We don't want ANYONE to miss out on the fun! I promise you won't regret it!
Also, don't forget that there is no Bible Study for either class this Wednesday, October 29th, due the the Harvest Party being held in the CLC. This is open to the public, so invite your friends! The kids ALWAYS have a ball!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Who Are We Listening To?
I added a new song to the playlist called "Embracing Accusation" by Shane & Shane. Here are the lyrics...
The father of lies coming to steal, kill and destroy
all my hopes of being good enough.
I hear him saying, cursed are the ones who can't abide.
He's right, Hallelujah, he's right!
The devil is preaching the song of the redeemed
that I am cursed and gone astray,
I cannot gain salvation...embracing accusation.
Could the father of lies be telling
the truth of God to me tonight?
If the penalty of sin is death, then death is mine.
I hear him saying, cursed are the ones who can't abide.
He's right, Hallelujah, he's right!
Oh, the devil's singing over me an age old song,
that I am cursed and gone astray!
Singing the first verse so convincingly,
he's forgotten the refrain...JESUS SAVES!
Who are we listening to? Satan telling us that we can never be good enough? Or are we listening to God who says, No, you will never be good enough, but I love you and will give you the strength to stand firm and overcome?! We have to listen to the whole story of the gospel, not just the first verse, where we recognize our sin and failure. Maybe satan hasn't seduced you into serious sin, but maybe he hasn't needed to...maybe it's been enough for him to convince you that you've gone astray and aren't worthy to serve God's kingdom, to stand on the front lines proclaiming Christ...maybe he's convinced you that you don't love God enough to receive His love. I don't know about you, but I don't want to give in or give up so easily. We have to see ourselves the way God sees us...be convinced of His unfailing love for us and claim the promises He gives us in His Word! JESUS SAVES!
The father of lies coming to steal, kill and destroy
all my hopes of being good enough.
I hear him saying, cursed are the ones who can't abide.
He's right, Hallelujah, he's right!
The devil is preaching the song of the redeemed
that I am cursed and gone astray,
I cannot gain salvation...embracing accusation.
Could the father of lies be telling
the truth of God to me tonight?
If the penalty of sin is death, then death is mine.
I hear him saying, cursed are the ones who can't abide.
He's right, Hallelujah, he's right!
Oh, the devil's singing over me an age old song,
that I am cursed and gone astray!
Singing the first verse so convincingly,
he's forgotten the refrain...JESUS SAVES!
Who are we listening to? Satan telling us that we can never be good enough? Or are we listening to God who says, No, you will never be good enough, but I love you and will give you the strength to stand firm and overcome?! We have to listen to the whole story of the gospel, not just the first verse, where we recognize our sin and failure. Maybe satan hasn't seduced you into serious sin, but maybe he hasn't needed to...maybe it's been enough for him to convince you that you've gone astray and aren't worthy to serve God's kingdom, to stand on the front lines proclaiming Christ...maybe he's convinced you that you don't love God enough to receive His love. I don't know about you, but I don't want to give in or give up so easily. We have to see ourselves the way God sees us...be convinced of His unfailing love for us and claim the promises He gives us in His Word! JESUS SAVES!
Mind Wars-Christy
In my reading this week, Beth Moore draws out the scripture in Mark 12:28-30, when Christ answered the question, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" He answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." She, Beth, then asks if we have ever really thought about what it means to love Christ with all our MINDS. As women we get the whole heart thing but it really hit me hard in regards to loving God with all my mind. The parts of my mind that I hold onto past hurts and pains. The part of my mind that I go to when I am feeling depressed. Do I really want to let Christ in those areas. Beth states in the book that having our minds sanctified is an ongoing, lifelong process, but absolutely nothing will have a greater harvest in your life.
I guess for me this was convicting. I need to let Christ bring his broom or maybe shop vac into my head and remove those negative thoughts, doubts and insecurities. I think that our own personal way of thinking can become such a habit that we do not know any other way. I am starting today and asking Christ to help me to think on things His way. And that includes how he sees me.
I pray you are keeping up with your reading:) I love all of our discussions and I gain so much from all that you bring up. May God guard your mind and heart as you continue to draw closer to your loving saviour!
Christy
I guess for me this was convicting. I need to let Christ bring his broom or maybe shop vac into my head and remove those negative thoughts, doubts and insecurities. I think that our own personal way of thinking can become such a habit that we do not know any other way. I am starting today and asking Christ to help me to think on things His way. And that includes how he sees me.
I pray you are keeping up with your reading:) I love all of our discussions and I gain so much from all that you bring up. May God guard your mind and heart as you continue to draw closer to your loving saviour!
Christy
Monday, October 6, 2008
How Is Everyone Doing??
Is everyone still reading their book? Liking it? Hating it? Wondering why they are reading it? If anyone else is like me, I don't always get my thoughts out during study...guess I'm just a little slow. By the time I get my thoughts together and start to speak up, the subject has changed...or Kristine has made a joke! :-) This is the perfect place to throw out your thoughts, ask questions, or ponder out loud, so we can get to know each other better. In case you aren't familiar with blogs, be sure and look at the bottom of each post. It will show the number of comments for that particular post and when you click on it you can read what others have said and leave your own comments. I know that people are reading, but ya'll are sure quiet!
Please prayerfully consider if the Unveiled Retreat is something God wants you to attend! Unveiled is a concept I have pondered since the idea was first revealed..."And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes form the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 Cor 3:18). Is anything more important in the life of a believer in Christ? to reflect the Lord's glory to the world, a world that is ever growing darker? to be transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory? WOW!! That's exactly what I want for my life, but there is a cost! The veils we wear to hide our insecurities, weaknesses, sins, and past failures have to be lifted...not necessarily before the whole body of Christ, but most certainly before our gracious and loving Father who desires to restore us, that we may know the hope to which he has called us. We know that this can be a reality because the one who has called us is faithful and HE WILL DO IT! Let's turn to God together and unveil before Him anything we may be hanging on to that is preventing us from living our lives to the full...
A Testimony To The Power of Prayer in Marriage
Seven or so years ago (am I showing my age, here?) I was invited to MOPS through a mom at preschool. Everett and Marsha Johnson spoke at one of the meetings about marriage and spoke highly of the book "The Power of a Praying Wife". I would describe my marriage as "rocky" at the time. I had three year old twins and my life was stressful. We lived WAY out in the country and my husband worked all the time. I could elaborate on all the emotions that I felt at that time, but I'm sure you can figure most of them out on your own. Things would go well, for awhile, but the things we argued over never seemed to get resolved. I did buy the book, but was pregnant with Garrett and in the busyness of that time, put it up on the shelf without ever reading a page. I didn't look at it again until things began to slow down enough for me to start contemplating my situation a little more closely.
I became overwhelmed to the point that I was DONE! I wasn't happy and decided things would never change in my marriage. I made all the rationalizations in my head and started looking at my options. I read through the classifieds looking at what rent would cost and jobs that were available, trying to picture what our lives would look like, if I was a single mom. I'll admit I felt pretty hopeless at this point. My children's lives would have to change drastically, if I did this because I had been able to stay home with them up to this point. The thought of putting Garrett in daycare at 6 months old nearly broke my heart, but I wanted and deserved more...or so I thought. In God's infinite wisdom, He brought the book to mind again, and with a faint glimmer of hope I began reading it.
I had withdrawn emotionally from my marriage to the point that it was very difficult for me to read the chapters, let alone meditate on what they said and pray the way the author suggested. However, I did desire to please God in my decisions and gradually my desire to obey Him overcame my desire to be free from the constraints of marriage. My feelings for Damian didn't change drastically overnight, the walls I had built were thick and tall, scaling them wouldn't be easy. The only way through was to let God tear them down, brick by brick. In fact, to be honest, I didn't read the book to save my marriage. I read it because I wanted to convince myself that God agreed and that I could end it with His blessing. Obviously that wasn't in God's plans and at the end of it I realized that the battle had just begun. Instead of fighting with Damian, I was going to have to fight for Damian. This is a very difficult thing to do when love has grown cold, so I didn't really focus on Damian at all, at first.
Everything I did for Damian from that point on, I did because I knew it was what God wanted me to do and kept my eyes on Him. I could be the wife and mom God wanted me to be, regardless of whether I felt Damian deserved it or not. Well, through that process God began to change my heart and rekindle the feelings of love in my heart, which was painful at times. There were blessings along the way, though, which God gave to encourage me to continue on the journey. Damian and I have grown together and stronger in our commitment to each other, but we still have a long way to go. I realized that I was expecting Damian to fulfill me in ways that only God, through the resurrection of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit can. Damian is human and imperfect, just like me, but "God will meet all my needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." (Phil 4:19) I don't believe that this only refers to physical needs like food and shelter, I believe it also means God will be there to love and comfort, to laugh with, to protect... I just had to realize that my needs needed redefined and I needed to learn to trust that God knows what I really need and surrender my will to His.
This testimony doesn't have a fairy-tale ending and my marriage hasn't really changed all that much, but my view of it certainly has and I know that God will use it to grow my faith and trust in Him. My feelings for Damian have also changed and even though I still get angry at the same things I use to, I know that our love can conquer our differences and forgiveness is a choice that goes both ways. Some people have heard bits and pieces of this story, but for anyone who doesn't know me well, I hope I haven't shared too much. I really felt God prompting me to share a week or two ago, but well, what can I say? I procrastinate on the tough stuff!
I hope everyone is having a great week and that you see God moving in your life!
Jenelle
PS. I'm always available to talk with anyone about this, or anything else for that matter. ;-)
Please prayerfully consider if the Unveiled Retreat is something God wants you to attend! Unveiled is a concept I have pondered since the idea was first revealed..."And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes form the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 Cor 3:18). Is anything more important in the life of a believer in Christ? to reflect the Lord's glory to the world, a world that is ever growing darker? to be transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory? WOW!! That's exactly what I want for my life, but there is a cost! The veils we wear to hide our insecurities, weaknesses, sins, and past failures have to be lifted...not necessarily before the whole body of Christ, but most certainly before our gracious and loving Father who desires to restore us, that we may know the hope to which he has called us. We know that this can be a reality because the one who has called us is faithful and HE WILL DO IT! Let's turn to God together and unveil before Him anything we may be hanging on to that is preventing us from living our lives to the full...
A Testimony To The Power of Prayer in Marriage
Seven or so years ago (am I showing my age, here?) I was invited to MOPS through a mom at preschool. Everett and Marsha Johnson spoke at one of the meetings about marriage and spoke highly of the book "The Power of a Praying Wife". I would describe my marriage as "rocky" at the time. I had three year old twins and my life was stressful. We lived WAY out in the country and my husband worked all the time. I could elaborate on all the emotions that I felt at that time, but I'm sure you can figure most of them out on your own. Things would go well, for awhile, but the things we argued over never seemed to get resolved. I did buy the book, but was pregnant with Garrett and in the busyness of that time, put it up on the shelf without ever reading a page. I didn't look at it again until things began to slow down enough for me to start contemplating my situation a little more closely.
I became overwhelmed to the point that I was DONE! I wasn't happy and decided things would never change in my marriage. I made all the rationalizations in my head and started looking at my options. I read through the classifieds looking at what rent would cost and jobs that were available, trying to picture what our lives would look like, if I was a single mom. I'll admit I felt pretty hopeless at this point. My children's lives would have to change drastically, if I did this because I had been able to stay home with them up to this point. The thought of putting Garrett in daycare at 6 months old nearly broke my heart, but I wanted and deserved more...or so I thought. In God's infinite wisdom, He brought the book to mind again, and with a faint glimmer of hope I began reading it.
I had withdrawn emotionally from my marriage to the point that it was very difficult for me to read the chapters, let alone meditate on what they said and pray the way the author suggested. However, I did desire to please God in my decisions and gradually my desire to obey Him overcame my desire to be free from the constraints of marriage. My feelings for Damian didn't change drastically overnight, the walls I had built were thick and tall, scaling them wouldn't be easy. The only way through was to let God tear them down, brick by brick. In fact, to be honest, I didn't read the book to save my marriage. I read it because I wanted to convince myself that God agreed and that I could end it with His blessing. Obviously that wasn't in God's plans and at the end of it I realized that the battle had just begun. Instead of fighting with Damian, I was going to have to fight for Damian. This is a very difficult thing to do when love has grown cold, so I didn't really focus on Damian at all, at first.
Everything I did for Damian from that point on, I did because I knew it was what God wanted me to do and kept my eyes on Him. I could be the wife and mom God wanted me to be, regardless of whether I felt Damian deserved it or not. Well, through that process God began to change my heart and rekindle the feelings of love in my heart, which was painful at times. There were blessings along the way, though, which God gave to encourage me to continue on the journey. Damian and I have grown together and stronger in our commitment to each other, but we still have a long way to go. I realized that I was expecting Damian to fulfill me in ways that only God, through the resurrection of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit can. Damian is human and imperfect, just like me, but "God will meet all my needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." (Phil 4:19) I don't believe that this only refers to physical needs like food and shelter, I believe it also means God will be there to love and comfort, to laugh with, to protect... I just had to realize that my needs needed redefined and I needed to learn to trust that God knows what I really need and surrender my will to His.
This testimony doesn't have a fairy-tale ending and my marriage hasn't really changed all that much, but my view of it certainly has and I know that God will use it to grow my faith and trust in Him. My feelings for Damian have also changed and even though I still get angry at the same things I use to, I know that our love can conquer our differences and forgiveness is a choice that goes both ways. Some people have heard bits and pieces of this story, but for anyone who doesn't know me well, I hope I haven't shared too much. I really felt God prompting me to share a week or two ago, but well, what can I say? I procrastinate on the tough stuff!
I hope everyone is having a great week and that you see God moving in your life!
Jenelle
PS. I'm always available to talk with anyone about this, or anything else for that matter. ;-)
Week Four Highlights - BOTH studies
UNVEILING OUR SPIRITUAL EYES
UNVEILING THE POWER OF PRAYER
This will be a time for you to really get personal with God and allow Him to show you if there is an area in your life He wants you to unveil. There will be some great worship and awesome Mexican Food prepared by some of the husbands in our church. (Now that is worth the price by itself, right? Not having to cook?)
ANYONE WHO TURNS IN THEIR REGISTRATION WITH PAYMENT BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT WILL GO INTO A SPECIAL DRAWING HELD AT THE RETREAT!!
Don't miss this opportunity! Let's come together for a special time of growing deeper in our faith and closer to one another...nothing beats a good Girl's Night!
- Guiding questions we discussed as a group:
- How would you describe your current season with the Lord? Ex. Mountain top, Steady as she goes, or Desert
- When you feel closest to God, what are you doing?
- How many people actively intercede for you on a consistent basis? Question from book pg. 120
- Ask your small group to pray for you, in a specific area, for the rest of the study.
- Spend some time finding a Scripture that goes with your prayer request. Concordances are available.
- Spend a few minutes in prayer together.
- Memory Verse Challenge for the week: "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe." (Eph. 1:18-19)
- Read Chapters 9-11 in your book.
- Question of the week? Do you have a friend that KNOWS you? As Beth put it: the good the bad and the ugly?
- CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK: CHOCOLATE FOR EVERYONE WHO SHARES THIS WEEK ON THE BLOG! :-)
UNVEILING THE POWER OF PRAYER
- Guiding Questions for the Week:
- How does realizing, or being reminded that for a wife, sex comes out of affection and for a husband, sex is a pure need? What can i, or should I do with that truth?
- What does your husband feel is the best way for you to communicate love toward him? If you don't know, you might try and find an answer.
- Memory Verse Challenge: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things." (Phil 4:8) Tack this onto Phil 4:4-7 from previous weeks.
- Self Evaluation:
- Have you seen your attitude toward your husband change in some way?
- Do you see a difference in your prayer life?
- Is there a place I need to unveil myself before God?
- Assignment for Week 5: Okay ladies, we are going to have to pick up the pace. The chapters for this week are 6-9. Answer as many of the reflection questions as you can, but don't feel like you have to do them all.
This will be a time for you to really get personal with God and allow Him to show you if there is an area in your life He wants you to unveil. There will be some great worship and awesome Mexican Food prepared by some of the husbands in our church. (Now that is worth the price by itself, right? Not having to cook?)
ANYONE WHO TURNS IN THEIR REGISTRATION WITH PAYMENT BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT WILL GO INTO A SPECIAL DRAWING HELD AT THE RETREAT!!
Don't miss this opportunity! Let's come together for a special time of growing deeper in our faith and closer to one another...nothing beats a good Girl's Night!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Week Three Highlights - Unveiling the Power of Prayer
- Guiding Questions for the Week:
- Do you believe that you could be seduced?
- Do you believe that Satan will attack our areas of weakness?
- Are you being sifted?
- Do you trust God with every inch of your past, present and future?
- Do you believe that leggings are coming back into style? (Christy shared a hilarious story about a woman's experience with this fashion trend that is making a comeback! I'll try to get a copy and post it, so everyone can have a good laugh!)
- Memory Verse Challenge for the Week: "And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Esther 4:14b
- Assignment for Week Three: Read Chapters 6-8 in your book and come ready to share and discuss.
- QUESTION OF THE WEEK: God gives us healthy boundaries and borders for our protection. In what area do you need to build yours up?
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