MM & L Bible Study Meeting 3: Weeks 3 & 4

Tonight's bible study was so good! I missed some of my bible study buddies tonight! I hope everyone is doing well! I just want to encourage you all to pray for the ladies in our group. We ALL have "things" in our lives that the Lord is tending to. Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves, but a cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Let's lift each other up!
Now to the bible study:

It was easy to track the emotions to actions-What isn't always easy is choosing to listen to Wisdom. I hear the alarms going off & well sometimes I just go ahead and pitch my fit--even if I am the only in the room! (I know: tisk,tisk, tisk-Gotta let that Watchman of my thought-closet (Wisdom)do Her job!)

The one defining circumstance from which other issues flow took some time to really think about...glad I took the time & pinpointed it!If you didn't get this far in your homework, it is really worth thinking about...

Recurrent convictions lately-it's funny because during the day an "issue" will pop up & I think to myself "where did you come from?" and then I get busy with the day--I forget to bring it before the Lord. Asking us to think of any recurrent convictions we might have had lately, helped me to take the time to think about it & tell it to the Lord! No longer a weapon the devil can use! I'm so grateful.

Each of the folks in my group tonight, including me, had an accountability partner! Praise the Lord! There is safety in relationships! It is important to have someone you can trust to talk to. Yeah, I don't want to hear that I look fat in my favorite jeans--it would definately hurt my feelings, but my accoutability person would definately tell me & I need her to! She's watching my blind spots for me! (Proverbs 27:17-"iron sharpens iron")

Left tonight with a sweet, sweet peace that as we are in the trenches, dealing with our issues, God is preparing each of us for the specific call on our lives that we may stand strong & remain in the peace of God when the roaring lion attacks.

We only have one more meeting (Tuesday, August 4th 6-7:30 p.m. @ Carpe Diem Coffe & Tea). We will be going over the last 2 weeks of homework. I've already done a couple of days in week 5 & I HAVE to say---the best yet! Love you all! Good luck with your thought-closets!

Weeks 3 & 4 -MM&L Bible Study

These past 2 weeks of work have been enlightening & truly comforting. On pg. 59 when we wrote down that prayer for wisdom, it dawned on me that I don't ask for things I should. (We forget that though we do not deserve to take a step toward God, His grace and ALL the good things of God are for US.)
In reading this week about the Holy Spirit as my counselor...how He guides us into truth when we quiet ourselves and listen, I was painfully aware that I seem to ask for guidance when I'm in a situation that I do not know what to do....where I do not feel adequate. God does not want to guide me when I can't rely on myself...He wants me to rely on him everyday in every circumstance whether I think I can handle it or not! (Ouch---I feel growing pains!)
I love that the issue of confessing was addressed on pg. 81 --Salvation BEGINS with confessing. We cannot move forward and be transformed unless we confess our sins. ("Sin shows up in self-loathing, negative attitudes, and accepting lies as truth") As we are working through this workbook, we are becoming aware of ways that we have allowed sin to sit on a shelf in our closets. I don't know about you but it has brought me to some pretty humbling moments! But I understand that humbling myself before the Lord, becoming "awake" to my weaknesses & confessing my sin has allowed for change that brings about God's glory & brought me deliverance! Boy, have I been delivered over these past 4 weeks! I trust we've ALL been in the trenches, conquering our issues so that we can reach our potential that that "roaring lion" has been fighting to keep us from!
Here lately, it seems so many people in my prayers have triggered the scripture (though I can never seem to recall it word for word when I would like to---frustrating) 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, "the weapons we fight with are not of this world...they have divine power to demolish strongholds....". I loved that when Jennifer referenced this scripture, she immediately referenced Ephesians 6:16, "In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." Faith! (Remember the woman with the issue of blood from Mark5? ) A beautiful story where a woman's courage, faith & hope allowed her to reach out & receive God's compassion, holiness & immediate healing --reminds me of us. We too, as we do this study--we are reaching out for our own healing, for wisdom and truth for our souls. "By faith we receive truth. By faith we believe truth. And by faith we act on truth." May your "soul-talk" be FULL of FAITH!

Second Meeting: MM & L @ Carpe Diem Coffee & Tea

Last night was an AWESOME girl-time & bible study time! I had so much fun getting the chance to know the wonderful, beautiful women in my group even more! I feel honored to get to spend this treasured (& I do mean TREASURED) time with them. This was the first time to meet since we've done the 1st 2 weeks of homework! Boy, that homework was harder than I expected it to be...but it was also great & much needed in my case!
We talked about how we confuse our struggles with our identities, those faulty assumptions we make, the worries that insanely control us at times, & the awful labels we give ourselves & others. We ALL have at least one area where the devil harasses us! I want to thank everyone who shared things that they really don't want people to know. Let's face it! It's embarrassing to admit our struggles & it makes us so vulnerable! The great thing is that God loves us in spite of all our weaknesses and when we humble ourselves before the Lord, and even each other, it puts us one step closer to restoration! God wants to heal our minds and use them for HIS glory.
Thanks to this annointed study, we are becoming aware of the devil's attempts to distract us with his lies & we are faithfully working on cleaning them out for good--replacing them with God's wonderful truth--HIS WORD! Moment by moment & thought by thought, God is ready to give us victory!

"My THINGS vs. HIM"

Wow! 2 weeks of homework in between meetings is harder than I thought it would be! I hope no one has lost motivation in doing their bible study! I felt myself slipping behind & then needing to catch up...it would have been easy just to say "forget it, I just don't have time for this..." But the truth is I DO have time. Makes me think of Adam & Eve in the garden. After they had sinned, they hid...and God was calling for them. He was used to spending time in fellowship with them & when they hid, He was looking for them! Do we "hide" from God? You know, behind errands, household chores, kids' activities, jobs, etc.? I get up every morning & think of all that I need to accomplish that day. Immediately, I am overwhelmed & get up to start knocking out that list (as much as I can before the 3 'bosses' get up!). Knowing I need to do my bible study...my time with God still falls to the bottom of my list some days, unfortuneately. God is 'looking for me' & I'm too distracted with things that really don't matter in an eternal perspective. Praying that God will give me wisdom to discern between the things that matter to him & the things are just "my things"....praying it for you too! Can't wait to hear your thoughts from the 1st 2 weeks! Hope to see you tomorrow night - 6:00 p.m at Carpe Diem Coffee & Tea Co.