Blessings of cooler weather

After a very bad thunderstorm Monday morning which woke me early, the weather has taken a wonderful turn toward the cooler side.  It is beginning to feel like Fall.  Cooler weather always makes me feel better.  It helps that Fall is also my favorite time of year.  So far the week is going well with no major crisis.  Still do not have many clients at work and therefore can spend time knitting socks and thinking about what I am reading in my current book "Radical".  It is a book that will really make you think.  It has also been convicting me about my personal relationship with God and how I share/reflect him to those around me.  I have not been a very good disciple maker and I need to work on that. 
I also met for the first time Saturday afternoon with a new care receiver.  Maybe that is a place to start, as well as at work.  At the Beth Moore Simulcast God really spoke to me about my relationship with my coworkers.  So this week I have also been working on being kinder to my coworkers.

The Law of Kindness

The simulcast was amazing as always.  Plus it really convicted me that I need to be speak more the Law/The Torah of Kindness.  In particular, there are certain people that I would be wise to stop and consider what I am about to say/post/complain about before I speak.  I really do need to stop and consider not only what I am about to say but also about my motivation for speaking.  I need to remember that what I put out there in the form of words (spoken or writen) needs to be guarded and brought under the discipline of God.  All to often I tend to complain, particularly about certain people, but also sometimes of the circumstances God has placed in my life instead of following the guidance of Colossians 3:12 where I am instructed to be thankful in all circumstances.  When I really stop and consider just what my life here in the USA is like compared to so many other places in the world, I have nothing to complain about and everything to be thankful for. 

Beth Moore tomorrow

Tomorrow is the Beth Moore Simulcast that the church I attend is once again broadcasting.  I really enjoy Beth's messages and look forward to these every year.  I also have an opportunity to see people I don't get to see to often.  Don't think food will be an issue but am carrying my little food chopper just in case.  I am hoping Beth covers information from her latest book on dealing with insecurity.  This is an issue that so many women deal with, myself included. We will also be debuting the new Women's Ministry t-shirts.  Like the colors but am not real certain I like the new Women's Ministry logo (church logo is okay).  I just don't know how I feel about being called a "Jesus Girl" at my age.  However, like the meaning and significance.  This is sure to be a good day even though it means an early start.

It's Amazing

It is truely amazing how God allows each of us to hear just what he wants us to hear from a message/sermon even if it is totally different.  Yesterday as I glanced through the various posts on Facebook by people who had heard the same sermon I had that morning, I was amazed by how each of us heard different things.  What each of us heard was of importance and significance to each of us.  Some of us heard how powerful God is, some how he has a purpose for each of us, and others how we need to be of service to others.  Yet the sermon words were the same.  Each person was setting in the same service and heard the exact same sermon.  It just totally blows me away when God mets each of just where we are at that moment in our life and gives us just the message we need to hear. 
It is the same with prayer.  God heards lots of prayers all at the same time, and in some case all for the same people but the response he gives to each person who prays maybe different. 
What a truely wonderful and awesome God we serve that can speak to each person's heart. It makes me feel humble and also makes me want to be obedient to the message I hear.

Good intentions

I keep telling myself that I will post regularly but things (life) just seems to get in the way.  Is that the way with our relationship with God sometimes.  I let other things get in the way.  Yes, they are good things, they can even be things I know God wants me to do.  However, he also desires for me to spend time with him alone. 
Today as I sat knitting I was reminded again that when I follow the pattern things go so well and the piece looks like it was designed to look.  However, when I don't keep my attention focused on the pattern the work does not go well and the piece does not turn out.  Same thing with following God's instructions/pattern.  I also realized that at times he wants me to just spend time alone with him studying, praying, listening and RESTING.  I can allow myself to get to busy with life that I forget to just take time to rest in God's presence. 
I have also been struggling with the issue of waiting upon the Lord.  By that I mean being patient and waiting for God's answer in God's time.  I am preparing for WLS and everything has come down to one last item from my primary care physician in order for the Bariatric Surgeon to schedule the surgery.  I keep getting impatient with my PCP because I want her to hurry up and write the document and fax it to the surgeon's office.  I have to remind myself that I am not her only patient and this will happen on her time schedule and God's which isn't always as fast as mine.
The other thing on my mind recently has been that God does not answer "Maybe".  His answer is either "yes, no, or wait" but it is never "maybe".  He does not say "well maybe I'll let you do that even though I know it is the wrong choice."  He also does not say "well maybe I'll have you serve in a foriegn mission field".  He gives us a clear calling and clear answers.   I however, don't always listen or chose to accept his answer.  I keep trying to turn a "no" into a "yes" and a "wait" into a "yes, now".  When I do that I am unhappy and things do not go well.  I become anxious, angry, irritable, and unfortunately those around me often suffer.
Lord, today my prayer is that you help me to hear your answers clearly and accept the "no's" and "waits" as readily as I do the "yeses".  Help me to keep my attention on your pattern for my life and to follow your instructions.  Relieve me of my selfishness and self-centeredness.  In Jesus name I pray.  Amen.

A Much Better Week

Although I am still missing my old clown dog, I had a very productive weekend.   I am looking forward to a much better week.  Tomorrow I have my visit with my primary care physician to get my medical clearance for bariatric surgery.  Over the weekend I finished a crocheted cotton Empire top, my first serious cable project, and learned to make socks.  The cable project is a purse.  I used some fat quarters I got a Hobby Lobby to make the lining and added some studs from my Beadazzler.  The socks took so long to figure out because it took me a while to locate a website that explained that knitting in the round is a little different from flat knitting.  With knitting in the round to make sockinette stitching and garter stitching you do just the opposite of what you do for flat knitting.  It made me think of the fact that although there are several good theologians and preachers whose sermans can be found on the good Christian websites, there are also those who are not completely Biblical.  Several are what are commonly called Good New/Prosperity Evangelists.  You have to find the complete instructions and for that the website is the Bible.  Only by studying the Bible in its entirity can you learn what you really need to have your life knit together as God intends.  By that I don't mean that you must read the whole Bible every time you hear something but that you must read the full passage and take it in context.  It is also very helpful if you can also study the Bible with a few reliable teachers, in a group so that you are not basing your understanding on your own interpretation.  Then you are more apt to grasp the full content of God's message (his instructions).  Like the socks, when I do that things flow so easily.  However, when I don't I struggle.  With the socks that means I have to unravel stitches and sometimes rows and start over.  With my live, I go through periods when things are just not right and again I struggle with doubts, irritability, fear, etc.
I also read a really wonderful devotational this morning that came in my email.  It talked about how sometimes we just need to sit in silence with God.  This is a skill that has taken a long time for me to acquire but one that every time I will slow down long enough to do it, brings rewards. 
Therefore, my prayer today is that I will spend time in God's Word learning his instructions for my life but that I will also spend some time just being silent before him as a form of prayer and a sign of my obedience.

Sad weekend

It has been a very sad weekend around my house.  Sunday morning when I got up to go to church I discovered our old dachsund/beagle mix Doodle Bug had died during the night.  So instead of going to church I took a trip to the emergency clinic to have them take care of the body.  He will be very sorely missed.  He brought us so much joy and laughter.  He truely was our little fat clown dog.  Our other little dog is at a loss as she can not really understand what has happened.  She has been very quite and just follows us around from room to room.  I prefer to think that he is now in heaven making the angels laugh.  As for me every time I think of him I start crying.  I know my tears are for me and my loss because he is most certainly healthier where he is.  Some people may think it is silly to grieve the loss of a dog but they are just as much my friends as any human. 

I've been out of the loop

Have spent the last week battling the crouping crud that seems to be making the rounds.  Missed three days of work and some activities.  I seem to be on the mend though so hopefully sometime this week will get back in the swing of things.  Have not really been in much of a mood to write lately.  May need to dig out the Daily Writer or the assignments from there that I never started.  Have been much more active with my knitting and crocheting.  I am also approaching the final items on my pre-op checklist in preparation for bariatric surgery.  Was in good stride to lose the last five pounds when the crud hit and have not been to the gym in over a week.  Hopefully the first the month will start a new page.  Have stayed within point for the last three days which is a break through there.  After my PCP put me on Metformin was really struggling with hunger cravings so instead of loosing weight like most people do when put on that prescription I was stalled and about to start back up.  Doing better now that I have stopped the medication.  Am also considering taking a summer Bible study.  Have gotten very lax in that area also and really need to get back into a routine. 

Aspire to Inspire

    "Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or
    addicted to much wine, but to teach was is good.  Then they can train the younger women
    to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home,
   to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."
   Titus 2:3-5 (NIV)
Yesterday as I was running errands I saw a church marquee that read "Aspire to Inspire before you Expire".  I was immediately reminded of what has been called the Titus 2 woman.  Now most of us has heard of the Proverbs 31 woman.  I even receive a daily devotional from the P31 Ministries and regularly check the blogs of the women who write and speak for this ministry.  However, God has also regularly reminded me of the other instructions to women in His word.  I personally have been challenged and inspired by the Titus 2 women. 
 Paul gives instructions to Titus, who he has left behind in Crete.  Included in these instructions are the things that Titus is to teach various groups.  In Titus 2:11-14 Paul goes on to tell Titus why he needs to teach the people the things he had instructed him to teach.   Paul states that it is because God's grace, through the form of His Son, Jesus, has appeared for the salvation of all, to redeem all.  Only those who truly receive Him as Lord and Savior are saved.  Paul further states that the same grace that saves us aso trains us.  Therefore, Titus needs to teach the people so that the Word of God will not be maligned, blasphemed, or dishonored.
This is why we, as godly women need to study the instruction that God wants us to received from his Word given to Titus through Paul, and thereby down the generations to us.
Because of my age I tend to focus on the first group that Paul talked about in his intructions.  The older women who were to be taught to be reverent in the way tht they live, to not be slanders.  Other versions translate the word slanders as false accussers or malicious gossips.  In study of the word reverent found in Strong's dictionary I think Paul mean that the older women should be modest in deportment as well as devout.  Paul often tell women that they are to be modest in how they dress and behave.  Further Titus is to teach the older women to avoid drinking too much wine to the point of addiction.  It appears that the olderwomen of Crete had a reputation for being malcious gossips, engaging in slanderous talk and drinking too much wine.  Lastly the older women were to be taught these things so that they would then teach what is good.  Paul then tells Titus what good things the older women are to teach the younger women.
They are to teach them to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, kind, and lastly subject to their husbands.  For me personally the things that the older women are to teach the younger are things that the older women need to do themselves.
If we pick up Paul's words in 2:12 we learn that the grace of God not only brings us forgiveness/salvation but also teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright nd godly lives in this present age.  This again is further instruction for how those who have been saved by grace are to behave. 
So if I am going to follow the instructions on that church marquee I need to aspire to life according to these instructions so that I can inspire other women, particularly younger women, to live as God has instructed through his Word.  I most certainly don't do that and therefore, I need to turn to God for help.  I need to turn to accountability partners to remind me when I am not following these instructions.  I desire is to be a good older Titus 2 woman.  Therefore my prayer today is:
Father God,
Help me to live according to your instructions.  Help me to be modest in my deportment (bearing).  Help me to not engage in gossip and slander.  Help me to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions to live a self-controlled, upright and godly life inspite of the temptations of the present worldly age.  For your help, guidance, and instruction I give you thanks and praise.  In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.

Still at it

I have spent the last two nights working on updating my website for "My Creative Yarns" in the hopes that maybe I can finally spark so interest in this venture and make it profitable.  Plus then I would have a viable reason to keep downloading all of these really cute patterns I keep finding.  Still do not have the page the way I want it.  What I see in my creative mind is just not ending up on the computer screen.  I've got this collage thing going on but just can make it look like I want it too.  Plus then I still have to put together a catalogue and price list.  That one will be a little easier because I'm going to simplicity there and not eye catching/get them to want to spend money look for the webpage.  This is taking time away from my writing.  I am suppose to be working on getting the first three chapters of the novella I wrote for Nanowrimo back in November ready to send into a contest.  I also need to spend a little time on the other WIPs I have going on.  I did get the closets cleaned out and reorganized last weekend now just have to find time to take four large black garbage bags of clothes and another bag of books down to the Downtown Rescue Mission.  Hope to get around to that next week.  I also want to get back to reading and studying but just can't seem to make up my mind just what.  Have recently finished some really good fictions.  Possibly when I get this website done will be able to talk myself into doing some serious study for awhile.

Back Again

It has been several weeks since I posted.  Have not really been reading anything, nor have I been writing.  I seem to be unwilling to stop knitting long enough to do any of those things.  Also when I am not knitting for the last week I have been listening to a Webinar I signed up for entitled "Getting Revived" from A Woman Inspired.  The speakers are Christian Women speakers and I have really enjoyed the ones that I have heard.  They have been inspirational and informative.  Plus they have not been the normal ones I hear.  A change up can sometimes provide me with new insight and inspiration.  The most recent on was called "Becoming and I6 Woman".  I6 standing for Isaiah 6.  Some really good stuff about how to become and I6 woman and also what you can expect to have happen if you do become an I6 woman.  I heard about them from one of the women in the ACFW.  My knitting has been afghan squares for the SE Asian orphanage.  I am using these squares to learn and practice new techniques. 
Another reason I have not been writing is that I am a little down right now, as we having some financial issues and everything I try to earn extra funds just is not panning out. 

Not really studying any thing right now

Since finishing the last book have not found anything that I really want to work on.  Instead have been reading merely for pleasure.  Just finished three in fact.  They were really enjoyable.  I have several more to read.  I started Francine Rivers A Lineage of Grace but then got sidetracked.  Instead I have also been writing more than usual.  I have taken several free on-line writing courses.  They have prompted me to do some rewrites and additions to the five stories I am currently writing.  Also prompted me to do some more serious preparation of the stories.

Ch. Five: The Principle of Storytelling

This week's chapter fell perfectly in line with what Leonard Sweet spoke of during much of the recent Prayer and Missions Conference which is a part of the Global Impact Celebration at the local Methodist Church that I attend.  Both Mr Sweet and this week's chapter extols the pinciple of using stories to witness to others about God's love.  Mrs. Kent shares personal stories throughout this book and in doing so helps us remember much longer the message/point she is making about how we can become women of influence.  It is not in flat impersonal preaching/lecturing that we draw other women to us but in our personal stories with which they can identify.  She stated "Stories can teach complex theological truths in ways that do not intimidate or threaten."
She also uses the words of Max McLean, founder of the Fellowshiip for the Performing Arts when he stated that "a story is not a story until it has been received."  His point was that in today's modern era we expect information to do something.  It has to have color, it can't just be presenting flat facts, or truths.  It needs to touch in some way, we need to have some sort of connection with what is being said in order to be touched by it.  I know that is true for me personally.  It is when a story most touches me that it become etched into my heart and my mind.  McLean also stated "If a story does not touch you,doesn't get a rise out of you, it's not going to get a rise out of anyone else."
Another quote that Mrs. Kent shared is from George Barna who stated that "today's young people are 'mosaic thinkers', able to put information together in new patterns, often arriving at unusual, novel, or surprising conclusion."  According to Barna the generations that preceeded the "Gen-Yers" were linear thinkers, what Mr Sweet called "Guttenbergers".  Both men feel that it is through sharing personal stories that a theology or philosophy will be received instead of rejected.
Mrs. Kent remind us that Jesus was himself a master storyteller.  Remember that Jesus lived in a time when only very learned men such as the church leaders knew how to read and write.  Also that they often wrote in a foreign language that the common everyday people did not speak or understand.  Therefore, in order to reach his audience Jesus had to tell stories.  His stories also needed to be about things that the common everyday person would know about.  Mrs. Kent goes on to state that if we want to make a lasting impact on others, if we want to teach them, or share the gossip with them, we need to find "points of identification" that will help them understand what we are trying to tell them.  We have to be able to, like Jesus, help others "visualize our message." 
Jesus also knew that stories help to make people more receptive to spiritual truth.  Mrs. Kent shares a story about how she and her husband worked to reach out to another couple new in the neighborhood but it was in a simple incident of relaying a story that contact was finally made in a meaningful way.  It was through the telling of a simple story that they learned of the family's need and was able to then minister to them as friends during a difficult time in the couple's life.  It was through this process, begun with a simple story, that they were able to draw the couple, first to their church and then to the Lord.
Mrs. Kent also makes a point of reminding us that Jesus told his stories in everyday, informal settings.  Here is a direct quote from George Barna that she shares in the book that we need to remember when speaking to others:
     "{The mosaic thinkers} diet of mass media, combined with the uncritical embrace of computer technologies and the ntional shift in morals and values, has resulted in an entirely new filter through which Americans recive and interpret infomration. . . The emergence of the new filter mandates a new style of semon or lesson development and deliver. . . .Presenters who address the audience without constant reference to notes, and those who do not 'hide' behind a pulpit, also seem to generate a more positive response from their listeners."
We need to rememer that the modern "Gen-Yers" do not respond to an impersonal, stiff, rehearsed speech but rather they are more apt to listen when we share biblical truths through our own personal, informal stories of how Christ has changed our lives.
The author also reminds us that Jesus almost always made the application clear when he told a story.  He might not reveal the greater truth to his entire audience but he always made the message and application clear to his disciples, his closer circle of followers. 
Her final point was stated using a quote from Lael Arrington who is the author of Worldproofing Your Kids, who stated that "in the Middle Ages and Modern Age stories had a begining, an end, a plot, and characters in which people visualized themselves playing a part in a larger story. However, the postmodern person has no sense of being part of a grander story."  Then Mrs. Kent stated that "As Christians, we know there is a grand story and Jesus continues to be the example of the greatest story every told."  Therefore our ability to share with others how he changed our personal lives and how he continues to change them, has the power to change others lives. 
It is through stories that we can reach, teach, and minister to those "Gen-Yers", those born since 1973, using Jesus' example of being a storyteller. 

Still floating on a spiritual high

Today is day two post-GIC and I am still feeling spiritually supercharged.  I am also still mentally processing all of the information from the workshops and the talks by Neil Anderson, Marilee Pierce Dunker, and Lenoard Sweet.  My new prayer has become:  "Anxious in nothing.  Prayerful in everything.  Thankful in anything.  Equals peace."  I am also processing the fact that this is no longer a Guttenberg world of words and poems but a TGIF world of images and stories.  TGIF meaning Twitter, Google, I-Phone, and Facebook.  I was reminded of this again this afternoon in talking with a collegue about trying to communicate something to her clients.  She's talking in words instead of images and stories.  Hopefully she will be able to turn it around.  We also talked how even in their texting adolescents and young adults don't even speak in words any more but in a new language made up of just different letters, not really acronyms but something similiar like OMG, LOL, R, U, B4, and many many more.  It is a language that many of us middle-aged and older adults don't even know what the terminology means.  Then there are words like tweet, retweet, peeps, twebes, etc.  I am asking myself can we learn the language fast enough to even make a difference?

Spiritually supercharged after the first day of GIC

What a day!  I have spent the day at our church's Global Impact Celebration Prayer and Missions Conference.  This is a time when Asbury UMC in Madison, AL invites all of our missionary partners to come to Madison and speak at a variety of workshops on prayer and missions and they also invite at least two keynote speakers.  The morning started off for me listening to Thom Ewing and Karen Spain of WAY-FM/Huntsville share about the mission of this contemporary Christian music station as well as how they are connecting and acting as missionaries in today's world of social networking.  Then after lunch listened as Leonard Sweet a well known author and speaker talked about how the church needs to move into what he called today's TGIF world.  TGIF = Twitter, Google, IPhone/IPad, and Facebook.  He lectured about how this is no longer a world of words but a world of images and storytelling.  This was followed for me by listening to Marcos Wittig talk about intercessory prayer for missions and shared about his work in Medellin Columbia.  The day was topped off by Marilee Pierce Dunker who shared some about her father the founder of World Vision and his prayer to God to break his heart for the things that break God's heart.  She shared also about some things that today should break the church's heart as it breaks God's.  Tomorrow will bring even more and I know by the time the GIC ends on Sunday I will be spiritually supercharged for some time.  I will spend some Sunday in prayer to determine just what God wants me to do with what I've heard.

The Principle of Walking and Talking

In this chapter Carol Kent tells us about how important it is that we not only talk the talk to those arounds but also walk the walk.  She gives several examples of people who influenced other believers by allowing them to see just how they lived out their Christian faith.  She also points out, through scriptures, how Jesus did exactly the same thing.  She reminded me that there are times when I could have been a much better example to other people than what I was.  One story she shared that really impressed me was the story of 76 year old Miss Elizabeth who acted as a quiet encourager, mentor, witness, and friend to women in her church.  Also how she did not complain, gossip, or criticize.  Yes I could do well to emulate Miss Elizabeth.  Through the entire chapter there are other stories of the influence of various people, male and female, who not only shared their beliefs with other but also were a living example of these beliefs.  Another point that Ms. Kent makes is that they were not always perfect.  In fact she shares a story about herself and the comment she got from a young woman when she shared how she had once been overly invested in presenting such a perfect image that she often was angry at her husband and son. She told the young woman that she had been a screaming monster, a silent martyr, and a skillful pretender when trying to impress others.  The young woman's response is what I really enjoyed and the point she was trying to make.  "I always thought you had a perfect marriqage and that you were an ideal mother.  It made me think I could never be good enough to get close to you.  But now, I think we could b friends."
I believe that Ms. Kent is telling us that we need to live our faith and exemplify Jesus' teachings to the best of our abilities in all of our daily living activities.  We need to not leave the lessons of the Bible in church or at home once we finish our time of study and prayer.  We become God's messengers only when we carry it out into the world we live in day in and day out.  I can think of several women that I have encountered in recent years who do just that and the alway impress me with their quiet humility.  They are not flashy or showy in their service to God, they don't hit people over the head with their Bibles but I am certain that everyone they meet know their Christian beliefs because they live them.

Chapter Three: The Principle of Time Alone with God

For the remainder of the book Carol Kent devotes a chapter to each of the principles that she listed in the previous chapter.  I believe that this first principle is one of the most important but also one that I really struggle with.  The fact that I struggle even scheduling time alone with God has more to do with my priorities that actual life events.  As I read this chapter I was again reminded of the fact that I have more than enough time to spend time alone with God if I will but get my priorities straight.  I have no children at home, I have a very helpful and undemanding husband to takes care of many of the household chores. 
Carol first lists the various ways that Jesus (our perfect role model) applied this principle to his life.

1. He made it a priority.
2. Use talking with his Father to help him clarify his mission.
3. His time in prayer produced results.
4. He often went to a solitary place to be alone with God. 

A comment she made in this section on the four way that struck a chord with me was "A 'solitude of the heart' can be maintained when our focus is on Him and our activities are monitored by an awareness of His presence. . . . When the phone rang, I prayed for the person I was about to talk to, even before I kne who it was.  When the woman in front of me at the supermarket had her credit card rejected, instead of being impatient becaue of the delay, I prayed for her."  This reminded me of all the ways in which I could be praying for other people instead of always being focused on myself.
Next she list the ways Jesus told us how to spend time alone with God.

1. Don't put on airs and try to impress God.
2. Find a secluded place to pray, keep your prayers simple and honest.
3. Talk to God as your loving Father, don't follow the formulas and techniques of others.
4. When you fast don't do it to impress people.
5. Remember there is a time for celebration and a time for fasting.

Of this list the one that I struggle with is the discipline of fasting.  I have managed a few hours like from sunup to sundown but never longer than that except for the one day prior to a colonoscopy when I could not eat and then I had a liquid diet.  That is another thing that I hope I will be better able to do once I have my bariatric surgery.  Plus for a while before and after the surgery I will be on a clear liquid diet anyway.  Not certain that is exactly the way God would want me to begin learning how to fast but I will take it.

She then goes into a portion on the Lord's Prayer which is the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples.  The next section is entitled "Personal and Direct" and she begins by saying "With God, prayer is not a 'cat-and-mouse game'; it is personal and it is powerful."  She then shares and example from the life of Jesus and one from the life of a struggling pastor of what was then a dying church.  Both are powerful examples of how God faithfully answers prayer but not necessarily in the manner we were expecting. 
Next Carol Kent tells us how to influence others to spend time with God.

1. Tell others what God is teaching you in your time with Him.
2. Pray out loud together.
3. Sing praise and worship songs together.
4. Discuss the books and articles you are reading and suggest reading material.
5. Lastly--practice! practice! practice!

This is where I am sorely lacking in my walk with God and I have been praying that He will help me improve in this area.  So I think I will take her advice and begin to Practice! Practice! Practice! praying all the while that He will continue to show me ways to improve in my influence of others for His glory and purpose.

Ch. 2: Learning From the Master

In this chapter Carol Kent tells us how to mentor other women using Jesus' example. She then made two points. (1) that there are three facts that could influenc your life and (2) seven life-changing principles that Jesus used to make a lasting difference in the lives of his disciples.
First the three fact are:
1. One person (Jesus) trained twelve human beings who went on to so influence the world that time itsel if now recorded as being before (B.C.) or after (A.D.) His existence.
2. This person worked with a staff that was totally human and not divine. A staff that was comprised of men who were illiterate, of questionable backgrounds, had fractious feelings, were at times cowards. This staff wet on to accomplish the tasks He trained them to do.
3. His leadership style was intended to be put to use by any of us.
Carol Kent then goes on to discuss more about Jesus' influence on the twelve and she asks the question: What would happen if every Christian woman would decide to make a life-changing impact on the lives of at least twelve women within her lifetime?
The seven life-changing principles in Jesus' example.
1. The principle of time alone with God. (Jesus deliberately spent time in prayer with God).
2. The principle of walking and talking. (Jesus taught not in a classroom but as they walked from place to place).
3. The principle of storytelling. (Jesus used stories/parables to teach others.)
4. The principle of asking questions. (Jesus used the power of well-placed questions.)
5. The principle of compassion. (Jesus knew that genuine compassion powerfully affects those who receive it, those who give it, and those who observe it.)
6. The principle of unconditional love. (In various ways Jesus demonstrated that we love and forgive even those caught in sin.)
7. The principle of casting vision. (Jesus demonstrated to his His followers what they were to do once he was gone.)
In the chapters that follow Carol Kent will address each of these principles. So until next week whe we address the principle of time alone with God.

Study Questions from Chapter 1: Becoming A Woman of Influence

1a. Based on Psalm 1 what are the benefits of delighting in the law of the Lord. He prospers and God watches over him.
1b. What happens to the wicked. They will not stqand in the judgment or in the assembly of the righteous. The way of the wicked will perish.
2. Memorize Psalm 1:1-3 and use it as a prayer.
3. My definition of spirituality is as difficult to describe as J. Oswald Sanders says it is. It is an essense of a person that reflects God's working in their life and that essense is visible to others even if they can not explain what the source is.
4a. Using the Bible concordance look up three verses each for the words "forgiveness" and "love" and then choose one verse for each and write it out.
FORGIVENESS: This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Matthew 26:28.
LOVE: But I tell you; Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Matthew 5:44.
4b. Based on these two verses the virtue that I need to put to work in my life as I response to someone I am close to is Love.
5a. I think the thing that fired in Meghan hope and ultimately pointed her to Christ was that he had faith that God had a purpose for her and would provide for her. He also showed her that she had already been a source of hope for someone.
5b. I know there have been others, but today all I can think of was some of my professors in College who encouraged me to keep pursuing my career goals. In some ways their encouragement was intentional but in the spiritual challenge were unintentional.
6a. Jesus gave people a better life on earth while he was alive by healing them, forgiving them, acknowledging them, offering them hope.
6b. How he has impacted my life is a little difficult to put into words. He has given me eternal life but more importantly to me was the forgiveness and the sense that he really did make beauty out of ashes.
7a. Eight ways Jesus said his followers would be blessed:

1. Inherit the kingdom of heaven
2. Will be comforted
3. Inherit earth
4. They will be filled (not hungry)
5. Shown mercy
6. Will see God
7. The kingdom of heaven belongs to them
8. Will have great reward in heaven

7b. I have been comforted, shown mercy, and I have been filled by the Holy Spirit. This has happened in to many ways to really list here.

8. I do long for an accountability partner, also a mentor, I long for younger women that I could encourage, support, and challenge to her best. I do pray about these things regularly.

9. I will delight myself in the LORD and he will give me these things that I long for. I commit my way to the LORD and trust in him that he will do this. (Paraphrase of Psalm 37:4-5 to make them personal).

Finished another book

I have finished reading the book and although Michelle has several more cute stories about her two little dogs I really did not gain much further from what she had to say and saw the remaining lessons as variations of what she had already presented. Another reader may have gotten a different message.
The next book I think I will read and study is one by Carol Kent Becoming a Woman of Influence: Making a Lasting Impact on Others. That title seems to go well with the title of the blog. It may be about lessons covered in other books but since it has to do with the things that Jesus taught his disciples that helped them become such men of impact I am certain there is more that I can learn. What I like about this book is that it actually has a lesson plan and questions which makes it more of a Bible study. Hopefully I will be able to keep up because next week also marks the beginning of a new Bible Study.

Ch. 22: The Importance of Lingering

In this chapter Michelle focuses on taking time to linger in relationships. She first relates this to how her two dogs don't want quick pats or belly rubs but they want the person they have approached to spend some time and keep giving them the affection they want until the dog gets tired or satisfied regardless if the person wants to spend that much time with them. She then shares how she rushed through a trip in which she tried to work while also spending time with her friends. At the end of the visit she felt that she had not really connected with either her job or her friends. She then equates this to how God wants us to open ourselves up to his love and then spend enough time with him so that our souls are satisfied. He wants us to linger with him in the sense of a relationship. I know that I don't do that often enough. There are far to many times when I rush through my quiet time and Bible study and don't just set and enjoy the moments with God. I often don't even give him time to answer before I off on to another task.