Women In the Word Wednesdays—June 1

Well, this is my first Women In the Word Wednesday post in a while. Currently I am participating in a couple of Bible studies. One is of course the Good Morning Girls Ministry of Motherhood book club. This has been an awesome study so far. I have read through chapter 2 in the book and am SOAPing my verses each morning. Then I am emailing my group to let them know what I am learning; then they do the same. This has been so helpful for me because there are so many times that they see something in a verse that I haven’t. My group has wonderful insights to God’s word; I can only hope that I am helping them too. I am hoping that this book club will help me with the tools I need to be a better, Godly mother.
The other Bible study that I am participating in is through my church. A small group of ladies (myself included) have just started a study entitled “ The Traveler’s Handbook”. We meet once a week and the rest of the time there is “homework” that we do each night and verses each week to memorize. The two that we have been working on this week are: “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation!” ~~ Psalm 68:19 and “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” ~~ 1 Thes. 5:16-18
I believe this promises to be a live-changing summer!!


 

Women In The Word Wednesdays--On Thursday

I have been reading in James for almost 9 weeks now. I have felt ashamed and I have had my toes stepped on-a lot! Most recently I have begun thinking about how blessed I am, which is something I am sure a lot of people have been thinking about since last Friday. Life is like a vapor-it is only here for a short time. We will only be here for a short time.
WE can't make decisions on our own; He makes the decisions. WE need to be fully surrendered to Him. WE need to understand that the next breath we take is one of the greatest blessings. I know that this is all something I struggle with, daily, hourly, minute-by-minute. I am not fully submitted. I have not relinquished all control over my decisions, thoughts, words, and actions. I really need to be praying about this.

Women In the Word Wednesday

Well this week I have been learning about wisdom--Godly wisdom and worldly wisdom. I think I exercise heaps of worldly wisdom--but I want and need Godly wisdom. Today's verse-James 3:16 spoke volumes to me today. It really hit me in the area of parenting. I need to be a Godly mom who shows mercy and grace to her children, who is willing to yield, who is not partial , gentle, peaceable, and not a hypocrite. That is what my children need from me. That is the example I want them to see and follow.

This is linked up to Good Morning Girls.

Women In the Word Wednesdays-February 23

Wow, what I have been learning about in James this week really hits home—the tongue. We all have one but James is not necessarily just talking about a tongue; he is talking about what you say—the words that roll off that tongue. Are they Godly words or are they sharp, sarcastic words? I am afraid that too often-especially if I feel stressed-the words that roll off MY tongue are not helpful to anyone. It is definitely an area that I need to spend some time working on and praying about. I can act Godly, read my Bible, be around Godly people, and call myself a Christian, but if what I say doesn’t match what I do or what I profess to be then what kind of example am I showing the world? What about the lost? Are they going to say, “man, I really want what she has! I really want Jesus. Tell me about Him!!” No, the answer is no they are not. The little tongue can cause so many BIG problems. Gossip…angry words…slander…belittling…sarcasm…I don’t see anything useful so far in this short list. As Christians—LET’S SHOW GOD OFF!!!

 

This is linked to Women In the Word Wednesdays @ goodmorninggirls.org

Women In The Word Wednesdays--February 16

Wow! James is such a powerful and meaty book. There is so much to learn there I am sure that I could read it through so many more times and learn something new each time--maybe I will do that!
This week I have gleaned from James that I can show other people my faith through my actions. There are so many people in this world who are not Christians. For a lot of them, the only Bible they have is what they see Christians living out. I desire to be a Christian who lives a life that God can get glory from. Daily He gives us opportunities to show non-Christians His grace and mercy. LET'S SHOW OUR GOD OFF!!!


This is linked to Women In the Word on Good Morning Girls.

Women In The Word Wednesdays--February 7

Well, the book of James does not fail to disappoint. It is such a meaty book in the Bible. My shortcomings as a Christian are so obvious when I read this book. This week we have been reading in the beginning of chapter 2. It deals with partiality--which is not how God deals with us. God is not partial, but we can be and usually are. Usually when I read verses 2-4 of chapter 2, I am taken back to childhood. Especially as a child it is easy to treat others differently. There was so much peer pressure and I can remember being very much persuaded by what my friends or others in my classes thought. I was far too quick to judge other children by what they wore, who and what their parents were, and what other kids thought of them.
Yesterday when I read those two verses, we were up later because we were supposed to have a three hour delay for school (we ended up not going at all), so I gathered my kids around and read those verses to them and talked to them about not treating other kids differently for the reasons I mentioned above. We prayed together after that. I know it is a lesson that will need to be reinforced many times (since it is a lesson that I still need to keep learning over and over), but maybe all of us getting together on that snowy morning will make a difference.

This is linked to Good Morning Girls.

Women In the Word Wednesdays

I have been learning so much in James since this session of Good Morning Girls has started. I love the SOAP method of studying scripture. I can spend more time thinking about each verse and how I can apply it to my life.
This study has come during a hard time in my life. Anyone who has been without their spouse for a while (weeks or months)can identify I am sure. My husband has been gone a little more than a week but it feels like a year or two. Since we started dating in high school, my husband and I have never been apart more than a week. Anytime that we have been apart (usually at a conference for work) we have been able to send texts and call each other. Not so this time. Basic training is a whole new situation. We did get a letter from him yesterday (he wrote each child their own letter--he is so sweet and thoughtful). That helped morale in our home tremendously.
So far, James has dealt with joy in the midst of trials. I am praying about and looking for the joy right now. It will not do me or my children any good to mope around for months on end, nor will it glorify my Lord and Savior.
During these few months, I am recognizing the need to turn to God for help, to have joy, and to read and apply what I am reading and learning from His word. GOD WILL GET THE GLORY!!!

This is linked to Good Morning Girls.

Women in the Word Wednesdays--January 26

This week in James, I have learned:

• Temptation does not come from God.
• Temptation, desire, and sin all lead to death.
• You can be rich spiritually and not be rich monetarily.
• Life is not all about earthly treasures.

What have you been learning about in your Bible?

This post is linked to Good Morning Girls.

Women In The Word Wednesdays

This week we began a new session of Good Morning Girls. I am part of a group of ladies who are from different areas--we all met on the message boards, bonded by our common desire to be a part of a Good Morning Girls Group for the next 12 weeks. So far we have read in the GMG James study chapter 1 verses 1-6.
I had never heard of the SOAP method before this, but I really like using this method so far. It really seems to fit into my morning schedule well and I feel like I have gotten more out of the first six verses than I have gotten out of most Bible studies. I find myself thinking over the verses throughout the day--especially since I am reading e-mails from my group as the day goes by.
What I have gleaned so far:

• The Lord has blessed me far beyond what I have ever deserved.
• I need to pray for more faith; I want to be more steadfast and not so moveable in my faith.
• I should display a joyful attitude in the midst of the bad things that happen in life. This is contrary to human nature, but it glorifies God.
• I need to trust God for wisdom. He gives wisdom in great amounts to the faithful.
• Testing of faith usually seems to require waiting; you have to be patient to wait.

If you participate in a GMG group, what have you been learning? If you don't, what have you been reading about in your Bible lately?

This is linked to Good Morning Girls Women In the Word Wednesdays