Recap Week 6

Chapter 6 was titled "Balancing Love and Obedience"   
"If you love Me, keep My commandments" - John 14:15

Have you ever used a phrase like "if you really loved me" on your husband? Do you have a list of expectations, whether reasonable or not that your poor husband is always trying to live up to? Or, that he's given up on because of your way of handling things when your expectations aren't met? Have you ever tried to manipulate him with tears or pouting? Shame on the female species (or as the book states "manipulative little minxes" :) ) for treating our husbands this way. What kind of example of love is manipulation?  

Even if manipulation is wrong, we are right about one thing, "if you really loved me"  is scripturally sound; if you use it correctly!  Real love is demonstrated in John 14:15  God commands us to show our love for Him with our actions. (Who else read "American Girl Books" growing up and flashed back to 2nd grade and Samantha books - "Actions speak louder than words" and pictures a cross stitched pillow illustration? Just me? Okay then!)

Section 1 reminds us that you can see love. It's actions are tangible.  God gave the ultimate example of this by sending His Son to die for us. (Romans 5:8) He sacrificed His Son so we could be with Him forever. He loves us that much.

In return, chapter 2 instructs us on demonstrating our love in return.  Deuteronomy 11:1 tells us that the best way to show our love in return is to live our lives according to His will for us and keep His commandments.

Have you ever been around someone who tells you to do one thing and immediately does the opposite themselves? There's no point in saying one thing and doing another, it's completely hypocritical and gives a bad witness.  If you're going to talk the talk, you have to walk the walk. Isaiah 29:13 also cautions against going through the motions. If you really believe something, you can't just talk or do, both will match up and work together to create a solid, believable, tangible witness.

Section 4 gives us two illustrations from John-
John 14:24 -"He who does not loves Me does not keep My words."
and
John 15:10 - "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abided in His love."

Love is HANDS ON! God shows us that in His promises in Deuteronomy 7:9 and Nehemiah 1:5.
He loves us and keeps His promises, forever and for everyone.  His love and mercy never end.

"The more I investigated God's love through the Scriptures the more I relaxed; the safety of His love untied the knot of anxiety and perfectionism within me."

 -Patsy Clairmont

From the book-

"Ponder through the practical aspects of loving and maybe even start a list! How can we demonstrate our love for God?" To Him and others?

Recaps weeks 5 - Sorry! REALLY LATE!!

Sorry ladies!  I'm running just a bit (ALOT) behind!  We're moving this weekend and I've been pulling extra hours at work and getting the 45 minutes I need to type all this up every week has been a pain the past two weeks.


Chapter 5 was titled "Balancing Faith and Sight" and the key verse was Colossians 1:16 which talks about how even the things we can't see were created  by God.  

For anyone who's seen "When in Rome" the idea of a pitch black restaurant is pretty easy to imagine, (if you haven't seen it, rent it/netflix it/whatever - it's really cute, fairly cheesy and very clean!) though very creepy in a comical way. In the case of the chapter's analogy, the servers are all blind and totally comfortable in their pitch black surroundings. They've had to put their trust in basically anyone but themselves for alot of things and therefore they aren't phased at all by not being able to see or control what's around them.

Romans 1:20 (and 21 & 22) Paul talks about how even those that choose not to live for God, know that there is a God.  One of my favorite verses in highschool (while doing several missions trips and outreach events) was Romans 1:21 - For although they knew God, they did not glorify Him and their thinking became futile and hearts darkened. (total paraphrase!) And that's so true.  How many relatives and friends do you have that will talk to you about your faith, support your church endeavors, but never apply any of it to themselves?

Section 2 reminds us in Psalm 145:4 that we're called to pass on our faith. Our witness is evidence of God's power and faithfulness.

Section 3 quotes Colossians 1:16 again. Sheila Walsh is quoted in saying -

"It is easy to believe that God can use our lives when we see immediate results, when positive feedback encourages us to push on.  It is hard to keep walking when we see little sign that what we are doing makes a difference."

The thing is, all creation, everything we see and can not see is created by God, and since we can not see everything, we can not possibly see the results of all of our actions.  And, since everything was created by God, there is a purpose for everything, because everything was created for Him.

Taken directly from the book-

"Christianity requires many of us to ignore the evidence of our eyes.  Instead we learn to rely on other senses to navigate. We trust an unseen God to gently push us in the right direction.  We tune our ears to the Spirit's promptings. We walk according to the wisdom of the Word. We put out trust in unseen realities."

Section 4 through 6 use Job 17:15, Hebrews 11:1 and 2 Corinthians 5:7 to remind us that by trusting in God all things are possible, as nothing is impossible for Him. (cue WOW song and motions!)

"Prayer isn't magic. Jesus did not come to make our suffering disappear in an instant. Instead He came to fill it with His presence."

- Barbara Johnson

Section 7 orders us (through Psalm 31:14 and 73:28) to

1) Trust in God

2) Get close to God

3) Declare His works

The "Digging Deeper" verses for this chapter are

Psalm 10:17

Psalm 77:1 

and

Isaiah 65:24

"We walk by faith and not by sight"

2 Corinthians 5:7

Recap Week 4

Okay, so first thing, when a couple of us starting reading this week, we thought of this,  I tried to embed it, but it didn't want to cooperate, so just follow the link please.

http://youtu.be/wM1DgihKHVI

I know it's cheesy, but it's a perfect lead in to this chapter.  The opening paragraph even talked about this story, it's one of Aesop's Fables.

The chapter this week was titled "Balancing Work and Rest" and the theme verse to open it was Proverbs 6:6 - "Go to the ant, your sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise" 

See why we thought of that old "Silly Symphony"?

The chapter asks the questions-

How much work is too much work?

How much rest is too much rest?

Where is the balance?

Section 1 points out that Proverbs has a ton of verses that parallel the "Aesop's Fable", 6 verses in particular. Proverbs 6:9, 12:24, 12:27, 13:4, 15:19 and 21:25 to be exact.  All of these verses are very critical and negative about laziness.

Section 2 leads us to the New Testement to see that God's opinion on laziness hasn't changed. Paul flat out warns the Thessalonians that "if you don't work, you don't eat".  That doesn't exactly line up with how our system works these days, does it?  God wants us to work to provide for our own needs as well as we can.  If we're not putting in any effort, how can we expect Him to? God always provides for His children when we need Him to, but He also expects us to use the gifts and talents He's given us to provide for ourselves.

God established a time of rest for us though, right in the beginning.  He knew working all the time wasn't good for us, we'd burn out, be unhappy, tired, unhealthy, without some time to rest and recoup and get refocused on what's important. That's why He established the idea of the "sabbath".  Everyone needs a day of rest! Exodus 23:12 and 31:15 explain this.  In Old Testament times, the Sabbath was so sacred no one did anything that involved any form or exertion.  Opening a door, fixing a meal, walking to get somewhere, were all against the rules on the Sabbath. Now it seems like we use Sunday as a crazy rush around catch up day most of the time, but that's not what God intended.

Section 4 encourages us to get away every once in awhile. Sometimes just escaping yoru routine can make a huge difference in your effort and energy levels towards your work.  That's why most jobs offer vacation time!  Psalm 55:6 echoes this sentiment.

Prioritizing rest will make sure we get some.  God promises to be our peace and rest in Mark 6:31 and Matthew 11:28-29 we're to turn to Him and let us protect us from life's chaos so that we can get the rest we need and refocus on Him.

Section 6 reminds us that not all times are restful times.  Neither laziness or workaholicnesss (I know it's not a word) are a good thing, God wants us to balance them and be diligent.

Proverbs 27:23 - Be diligent to take care of our responsibilities

2 Timothy 2:15 - Be diligent to keep your integrity and witness pure

Hebrews 4:11 - Be diligent to rest

2 Peter 1:10 - Be diligent to keep your priorities straight

2 Peter 3:14 - Be diligent to do things God's way

Section 7 encourages us to keep our focus on God, and prioritize our lives the way He would.  If we're striving towards the right goals, He'll protect us from exhaustion and grant us peace, even when we're working hard.

Every life needs a balance of work and rest.  Too much of either is bad for body and soul.

Use these verses to dig deeper this week.

Romans 12:11

2 Corinthians 8:7

Hebrews 6:11

2 Peter 1:5

See you next week!

Stefanie

Recap Week 3

Good morning everyone, sorry this post is so delayed!  I usually plan to write this Wednesday night/Thursday morning, but I literally have not had access to a computer other than my one at work all week, mostly due to my own crazy schedule and then not wanting to waste time with my husband in front of a computer screen when I finally get home.

Anyways, Tuesday was great, we had a good turn out, and our discussion times are getting longer and more involved, it's fun!

Chapter 3 was titled "Balancing Schedules and Interruptions", if I wanted to make excuses, this week had alot of interruptions, or rather alot of things I didn't say "no" to. Who else feels like the extra day of weekend wasn't worth it? When the work week starts on Tuesday it's not really fair, because you still have to do 5 days worth of work, but you only get 4 days to accomplish it! So not fair!

In the beginning of the chapter they gave us the illustration of Philleas Fogg, (Around the World in 80 Days) and his perfectly timed out, planned out lifestyle.  Now, in a book, or movie, alot of his schedule would work, but in real life? He'd have to be some kind of extreme OCD case!  Most of us would be excited if we knew when we'd have time to eat again, let alone at exactly what minute and what was being served based on the minute, day and season.  In the story Philleas is trying to get around the world in 80 days, and return at an exact minute.  Things keep getting in his way and delaying him on his trip, to the point that he arrives home exactly 1 hour late, or so he thinks. When he thinks he's late, he goes into a deep dark place of depression, shutting everyone out, rather quickly.  Thank goodness he's an extreme case, I can't imagine being depressed everytime I was late.  Of course, as story would have it, he forgot to allow for the changes in time zone and actually arrived 23 hours early, but that's fiction for you.

Do you have a favorite fiction character? Are they you're favorite because you're like them, or you'd like to be like them?

Section 1 reminds us that "the best laid plans of mice and men are forever being interrupted".  It also used the analogy of "scheming schedules" when we try to force our plans to work out.  Psalm 33:10 & 11, and Proverbs 19:21 remind us that God's plans are the only plans we should be working towards. His plans are always better than ours. 

I saw a quote on Pinterest this week, that goes

Pretty perfect to find that on Monday and have study on Tuesday. Think God's trying to send a message?

In Section 2 we talked about how sometimes it's hard to separate God's plans from our plans.  He gifts us in many ways, some of our gifts make us happy, but some of the things we're gifted in are there only to make God happy and serve Him the way He wants us to.  God only gifts us to be able to do things that are within His will, if those things make us happy, bonus!

God can change our plans, and desires to accomplish those plans.  Philippians 2:13 reminds us that God has the power to interrupt us when we're going in a direction He doesn't like, or focusing too much on something other than His plans. 

The sidebar quote on this page was

I realized how tart I become when inconvenienced.

It doesn't take much of a breeze to topple me.

I want to believe that, if called upon to be a heroine,

I would rise to the occasion.

But experience has proven me feeble.

Patsy Clairmont

Do you think that sometimes it's our attitudes that make it so difficult on us when things don't go as we planned?

Section 4 talks about how we don't always know how we should plan, or what God's plans are. We never know what He's thinking, but He always knows what we are, and should be thinking. God sees the big picture.  Kind of like when our prayer don't get answered the way we want, and we can't figure out why God didn't acknowledge our prayer request, and 2 weeks, 2 months, or 10 years later, we look back and wonder what we were thinking wanting that in the first place.  Hindsight is 20/20.  Like when you think you were in highschool and wanted something so badly, to hang out with certain people or a person, and go to certain social events, but your parents wouldn't let you, and then 10 years later they pop up in your "people you may know" on Facebook, and out of natural curiosity you click their picture and wonder why you found them attractive in the first place because their life's all messed up now. Or is that just something that happens to me? :)

Romans 11:33 (as quoted in Section 5) talks about how God has true wisdom, only He understands everything about our lives and plans, and can make the best plans.

Section 6 compared our ways to God's ways using scripture.  Read these verses to see how much better God's ways and plans are than ours.

Deuteronomy 10:12

Isaiah 2:3 and 58:2

Daniel 5:23

Psalm 25:4 and 145:17

Proverbs 5:21

and Lamentations 3:40

Sections 7 and 8 talk about our attitudes and responses to things that get in our way when we're trying to accomplish everything in our plans. Whether we get our plans done or not, we weren't right or wrong, we're just following God's will.  We're not in control of all the interruptions that happen, but God knows they're coming, and He'll use them to train us an mold us to be more like Him if we let Him.  A positive attitude and willingness to adapt are everything.  Our attitudes are our witness, do you want people to see you as a frazzled, rushed, rude (face it, in a hurry it's easy) messes? Or as someone willing to set aside our desires and ideas for someone elses? Many of the greatest Bible stories are about characters who had to endure HUGE redirections in their lives to do what God wanted them to do.  Go read the stories about Joseph (Old Testament one) Moses, Ruth (one of my favorite examples) David, Esther, Daniel, or Mary (Jesus's mother, now there's a huge interruption!)

How can you change your attitude towards your interruptions this week to be more open to God's working in your life?

Week Two Recap

Okay, so this week's study was pretty great! For one thing, we had 8 wonderful ladies (including one visitor-welcome!) show up, and for a second thing, it was only 94 out, with a breeze!  I'm so looking forward to not sweating all the time!

I apologize for any grammatically crazy sentences this time, it's 6:40am and I haven't had coffee yet. :)

Chapter 2 was titled - "Balancing Time and Responsibilities" basically, how to fix your "juggling act" from the week before!

Remember when you were a kid and couldn't wait to be responsible enough to be allowed certain things? A pet, a privilege, to be in on discussions and decisions, a later bedtime, freedom to do things without mom and dad?  Well is it just me, or does responsibility come back to bite you?  The more we grow, and the more responsibilities we take on, the more we have to juggle to maintain and the more frantic and fried we become.  We used to beg for the right to be responsible, and now it's just not so much fun, is it?

Section 1 reminds us that "life is short" therefore, "time is short".  In today's society, it's a challenge just to survive our daily routines! But really, compared to eternity, our time span is pretty minute. Psalm 39:11 compares our lives to a "vapor", fleeting and temporary and only visible for a very short while.

Section 2 uses Psalm 90:9 to compare our lives to a "sigh", or depending on the translation "a tale being told", something short lived, and easily forgotten or overlooked. How many times have you heard an illustration, and not realized it's relevance until later, possibly when it was too late to be helpful? Our lives can be that way too, if we're not wise with our use of time.

We're encouraged to use our time wisely in Section 3.  Ephesians 5:16 and Colossians 4:5 tell us to "redeem" our time, and make the most of it.  When I hear "redeem", my mind instantly goes to coupons. If you redeem them wisely, you get way more back than the value of the amount of effort it took you to cut it out and take it with you to the store. Not that using our time wisely should have a self seeking motive, but it's just the way the cycle works.  When you're using your time the way God wants you to, He rewards that.  You are the happiest when you're making someone else happy, even if that other "person" is God, you'll be better for it. 

Alot of people think they need more to be happy, but having more just leads to more work!  How can more work make you happier? We don't always know what is best for ourselves. If we want a raise, that usually comes with a promotion, which usually comes with more responsibility. If we want a bigger house, that comes with more housework and higher utility bills. We should learn to be content with the life we have and simply re-adjust, or organize the things we already have. 

In Section 4 we're encouraged to be wary of things that distract us from our good responsibilities.  Acts 17:21 talks about men of that day wasting away their time talking about the latest things.  Kind of like we waste our time talking about the latest news  or gossip. As much as I love Facebook, it's a beast to keep from taking over my life!  Figure out what your weaknesses and distractions are so you can keep them under control.

Section 5 was a "True" or "False" exercise using scripture.  I'm going to list the passages that gave us "True" information and I encourage you to read them yourselves.
John 7:6
Acts 3:19
Romans 13:11
1 Peter 5:6

In closing we talked about how every season of our lives have a different set of priorities and goals. Have you had to set aside some of those plans because of the chaos you were living in? What have you learned from this? Were some things not as important as they seemed at the time? Has God used those sacrifices (and also the victories) to teach you something specific?

The prayer suggestions really hit home this week.  We don't want to regret the way we've used our time.  We should pray for clarity and courage,  to say both "yes"  to the things God wants us to use our time for, and "no" to the things that will distract us from living the life He's intended for us.

Week Number One Recap

Sorry this took me so long, normally it will be up by Thursday night, I was just waiting until my copy of the book came in so I could pull a couple exact quotes from it that I couldn't write down fast enough in the semi-dark during our time on Tuesday.

Also, I probably need to go back and re think some things this week, as another reason I'm just getting to this is my crazy schedule and working 6 days this week, maybe I need to use some of the information from our study in my own life, ya think?

Anyways, here's my recap on the study this week, feel free to add your commentary in the comments section, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Chapter 1 was titled "The Juggling Act", right off the bat I knew this study was for me!

It started with the analogy of a circus act.  They usually start simple, gradually getting more elaborate until suddenly you're holding your breath with anxiety and fear that you're about to see someone die, or at least lose a body part or something.

This is how many of us (ME) lead our lives most of the time.  The opening scripture was Isaiah 33:16, paraphrased in the Message-

"This is how you raise your standard of living! 

A safe and stable way to live. 

A nourishing, satisfying way to live"

Is your life even close to "safe and stable"?  If it is, I need to take lessons from you!  How about "satisfying"?  I think most of the time many of us are content, but in the passive, I'm not concerned enough to do anything about it sense.  

They asked the question, "If you were a circus performer, which one would you be?"  I know what I'd want to be, but does that really represent me, or just what I'd like to be?

Section 1 talked about how there are some things we'll always have to juggle, and that's expected. We have to eat, pay bills, work, etc... but in Luke 12:22 & 23 it reminds us that even all of that stuff is really in God's hands, and He provides, so we shouldn't add in worrying about any of it to the chaos of handling all of it.  

Section 2 ties right in, urging us to separate our physical needs from our spiritual needs. Paul offers a similar comparison in 1 Timothy 4:8.  We as humans will always have physical needs, but shouldn't we also feed our spiritual needs so that we have the faith to trust in God to provide for our physical ones? Also, what "needs" are really NEEDS?

There was an exercise in Section 3 focusing on both Old Testament wisdom from Solomon, and New Testament relevance and application from Paul, I'm going to list the scriptures for you to read on your own.  Notice how many verses, just in this little exercise focus on the same thing?  We need to build up a foundation of faith, through Bible study so that we can discern and prioritize.

Proverbs 2:7

Proverbs 3:21

Proverbs 8:14

2 Timothy 1:7

2 Timothy 1:13

2 Timothy 4:3

Titus 1:9

Titus 1:13

We're clearly not the only people with chaotic lives who need to take a breath and focus on God!

I liked the analogy that nuns take vows of chastity and poverty to remove all the earthly distractions that would keep them from giving 100% to ministry 100% of the time.  God doesn't want us all to be nuns and never marry and have kids and a home, our marriages and families can still bring glory to Him, but are we nurturing them that way?

What are your distractions? Could some of them be "simplified" out of your life?

Are they things that are good and necessary and still give glory to God?

Section 4 referred to the Parable of the Sower found in Luke 8, I encourage you to read it for yourself and think about what your "rocks" are.

We all want balance, right? Section 5 talked about our motive for finding balance.  Are we trying to prioritize for the things that make us happy, or work hard so we can live comfortably? Or are we trying to prioritize, focus and simplify so we have more time to work within God's will to bring glory to Him and further His kingdom?  What's your motive?

I think if we make the latter our goal, we'll still see the former in our lives. God rewards us for following Him.  If we prioritize our study and prayer time, family and ministry time, the rest of the things won't seem so important or necessary and the things that are necessary will come more easily.

In Section 6 we're reminded that balance means we're feeding both our physical and spiritual needs. Our attitudes towards those things, and how we prioritize them affect ALOT!  Read John 15:4 and 8 (even the whole passage) if you get the chance.

There's a quote from Marilyn Meberg on the side of the page that caught my attention-

"If my mind becomes cluttered by the day's annoyances, it's a given that sooner or later I'm going to lose my self-control.  If I lose my self-control, for sure I'm going to lose my joy. I hate losing my joy. Fortunately I have a choice in how I react."

How's your attitude?

These are just my thoughts from Tuesday's study time. If you were there and want to add in your thoughts, I'd love to hear them. Or if you couldn't make it and still have some thoughts or questions, put them in the comments section as well. 

See you Tuesday!

Stefanie

Welcome!

Welcome to the Covenant Marriage Lifegroup Ladies Group Blog!

Here we'll be posting notes and summaries from our ladies groups Bible studies, because we know so many of you have crazy schedules and can't make our study every or any week, but we don't want anyone to miss out.

Check back weekly for recaps from study and feel free to add your two cents to the comments section. You don't need any kind of account to read or comment on the posts, just please sign anonymous comments if you don't have a public google account.

Thanks!

Stefanie