My First Girls' Bible Study Group

I ordered 20 copies of Lynn Cowell's book His Revolutionary Love and devotional with no idea of what I'd do with them. 

I hoped to use them for a girls' Bible study group. But I know (from more than two decades of teaching junior high and high school) that most adult-initiated "great ideas" flop.  

At least mine always have.

So, I stepped out in faith. Or presumption!  To be honest, I wasn't sure which. I just knew I was taking an empty suitcase to North Carolina when I headed to the She Speaks Intensive last week and bringing it back full of books. 

Beyond that, God was going to have to let me know what to do next.


Next

Well.

He didn't waste any time!

Less than an hour after I'd connected with Lynn, I received an e-mail from our girls' dean. She was asking -- of all things! -- for women to lead Bible study groups because so many girls were asking.

Goose bumps!

The dean said she'd put together mixed groups: 2 freshmen, 2 sophomores, 2 juniors, and 2 seniors. Each group would have a student liaison.

Excellent!

No cliques.  No trying to "sell myself" or beg girls to sign up for "my" group.  None of the popularity contests I so hated in high school...for the girls (or me!)


My List

Monday afternoon, I got my list:  7 seniors and 1 junior. All intense young ladies.

I e-mailed the dean back, "Holy moley, whatever happened to that nice mixed group you promised?"

She replied, "Ha-ha!  They all signed up last night, so you have the comfort of knowing they picked you."

"Comfort"?

How about terror!


Monday Night

At 6:15, a group of Christmas-caroling girls arrive on my front doorstep. (Okay, so maybe I am the last in the neighborhood to take down my tree and lights!)

We talk about why they wanted to be part of a Bible study group. I share my reasons for hosting them. We read the introduction to His Revolutionary Love and then brainstorm four pages of unhealthy choices we make "so that _________." (I'll share some of them next week!)

I wrap up by sharing the verses I'd studied in my quiet time that morning, Ephesians 6:10-13.  

I'd planned to study 10-17, but I'd gotten stuck on verse 13:

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, 

so that when the day of evil comes, 

you may be able to stand your ground, 

and after you have done everything, 

to stand."

Verse 14 begins, "Stand firm, then..."

I'd gotten stuck because of the word "stand."


Stuck on Stand

"We don't put on the full armor of God to fight but to stand. It seems so counterintuitive!" I say, shaking my head in dismay.

One wise young lady challenges me, "Yes, Mrs. G. But which is harder?"

Thoughtful pause.

I confess, "I'm a do-er! Let me fight!  ANYTHING but just stand there!"

Their laughter confirms that they, too, are Choleric / Driver personalities who understand "do" but are baffled by "be."

And I realize that rather than "having the comfort of knowing they picked" me, I know the Comfort who picked them for me...and me for them.

I suspect 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 will take on all new meaning over the upcoming weeks:

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 

who comforts us in our troubles 

so that we can comfort those in any trouble 

with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

Your Turn:

• What's your favorite thing about teenagers?  Least favorite?

• If you've ever lead a group or taught a class, give an example of how you learned from your "students."

• How comfortable are you with "just" standing?

• Anything else on your heart!

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Q4U: Helping vs. Meddling? (+ "Desperate" Give-Away!)

For the last couple of weeks, I've been doing an in-depth study of Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Esau. I'm especially looking and listening for what I can learn about meddling. 

I've had a blast!  And I've taken a ton of notes that will turn into blog posts soon.

But I'm stuck on one vital point: defining "meddling."

So, I'm asking for your input! I've already spent time in the dictionary and Bible commentaries. What I'd love are your own thoughts, convictions, and lessons learned by experience...either as a "meddler" or a "meddlee"!

Q4U:

• What is "meddling"?

• What is the difference between "helping" and "meddling"?

• How do you know when you've moved from "helping" into "meddling"?

Respond in the comments, and then be sure add your name to the Rafflecopter so you'll be entered into this week's drawing for Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson's new book Desperate!

I'm looking forward to learning from you!

---

Coming in January!

Click here --> to sign up

to receive Cheri's FREE eBook when it releases!

---

Looking for a simple way to keep scripture close at hand?

Click HERE for full details!

31 laminated cards in an organza draw-string bag...

images and word spacing designed to enhance memory

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Day 25: NEAR

Our Give-Away for Today!

Dog Tales: Inspirational Stories of Humor, Adventure, and Devotion

Dog Tales is a collection of dramatic, heart wrenching and sometimes hilarious true dog stories. If you always suspected your dog of being a hero at heart, you have proof with these miraculous dog tales. Dog Tales shows that sometimes the most ordinary mutt can impact lives in an unforgettable way.

With passion and heart, ardent dog lover Susy Flory offers true, inspirational stories about amazing acts of courage, boldness, and dedication by canines, including…

• Guide dog Roselle, who led her partner down 78 flights of stairs after the World Trade Center attack.
• Kaiser, who gave his owner, a struggling veteran, a reason to live.
• Blue, who fought an alligator to protect her elderly master.

Through these engaging and heartwarming tales, readers will be touched by how these much-loved animals answered prayer and revealed God’s loving heart.

Susy Flory grew up on the back of a quarter horse in Northern California, spent time as a journalist and high school teacher, then in 2004 started writing full time for publications such as Focus on the Family, Guideposts Books, In Touch, Praise & Coffee, Today’s Christian, and Today’s Christian Woman.

Susy is the author or co-author of four books, including So Long Status Quo: What I Learned From the Women Who Changed the World and Thunder Dog: the True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero. 

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(Can't see the image? Click here to download Philippians 4:5!)

Yesterday, I receive an e-mail with this request:

“Could you do one of your next blogs about keeping up with God, as in getting closer with devotions and stuff?”

And I rejoiced at the fit between this request and today’s verse/word!

No question: The Lord is near.  

In question:  Is my gentleness evident to all?

(Not so fast...it’s a rhetorical question!)

My gentleness–how I treat others throughout my day–is a direct result of my nearness to God. 

A few thoughts on drawing near to God:

One Minute Can Change Everything 

by Kathi Lipp

What is the number one reason you don’t have your time with God in the morning?

I know the obvious answer is time, but I think there is a different reason: It’s our overwhelming need to do it “right”.

I feel like if I can’t have a “good” quiet time – one with prayer, meditation, Bible reading and reading a devotional, then why bother? So I let my overwhelming need for perfection keep me from having a meaningful relationship with God. If I can’t take the time to do it right, then I guess I won’t do it at all.

I kept thinking that I would have a chunk of time to really do the kind of devotion I wanted. But that chunk of time never magically happened. And my quiet time suffered. Or didn’t happen.

One of the things I’ve learned in other areas of my life is the principle of 85%: Doing something 85% well is about the best we can hope for or expect.  It takes the perfectionistic spirit out of things, while still giving me something to strive for. My quiet time had become like cleaning my kid’s bathroom: if I couldn’t do it perfectly, I wouldn’t even start.

So I started to apply the principle to my time with God. I would start off with 10% and work my way up. I figured one minute was better than nothing.

What I didn’t expect was the subtle way that my heart changed during the 10%.  I would grit it out, and force myself to do more and more as time went on.

As I started to spend time with God again after a dry period, just that little bit of time – even one minute, I wanted more. I would tell myself I was just going to spend a minute or two reading Jesus Calling, or praying, or reading in First John, I wanted to linger a little. I wanted to go a little deeper.

Eventually, it became 15 minutes. 15 minutes was a good amount of time: enough to spend some time with God and get my morning right, but short enough that I felt that it was manageable. Often, I spend much more time than that. But I don’t skip it because it’s “too much”.

If you are wrestling with quite time, could I talk you into a one-minute quite time? Does it feel like it would be cheating God? Can I be the one to give you permission to be OK with just getting started. God longs for you to be with Him. One minute, that will turn into 15.

Give Me This Water! 

One of my worst habits isn't something I do; it's something I don't do. I don't drink enough water.

I just don't think about water...until fatigue sets in and a splitting headache demands my attention. Especially during the winter, I'm simply unaware of thirst.

Recently, as I pondered the story of Jesus talking with the Samaritan woman, I was struck by her urgent request, practically a demand: "Sir, give me this water!" Here is a woman aware of her thirst. Aware of her need. Aware of the consequences of dehydration.

I am inspired by her immediacy. All too often, I deny my obvious need for water. I walk by a drinking fountain, telling myself, "I don't need just a sip. I need a full water bottle. I won't waste my time with a few gulps. They'll just leave me thirstier." And then I forget and continue to go without.

What happens when I do stop and take a drink from a fountain? I actually begin to meet my body's pressing need for hydration. And something else happens, too: I suddenly become overwhelmingly aware of how badly I need that full water bottle. I realize how T-H-I-R-S-T-Y I actually am. Drinking until my thirst is quenched becomes a top priority, no longer a "when I get around to it" concept.

In John 7:37, Jesus says, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink."

I find it all too easy to become spiritually dehydrated because I simply don't think about my need for His "living water" until fatigue sets in. All too often, I deny my obvious need for His Word, telling myself, "I'll wait until I can spend an hour in Bible study. Five minutes isn't enough; a few quick verses will just leave me wanting more."

What happens when I do stop and meditate on a few verses? I do want more; I become overwhelmingly aware of how badly I need that hour of quiet time with God. I realize how T-H-I-R-S-T-Y I actually am. Quenching my spiritual thirst becomes a top priority.

I echo the Samaritan woman's words: "Give me this water!"

The First Few Set the Tone

How many notes does it take you to recognize a familiar tune? 

Just for fun, try a few:  

Tune 1...Tune 2...Tune 3...Tune 4...Tune 5...Tune 6

How many notes did you need before you could start humming along, perhaps tapping to the rhythm, maybe even miming the piece in the air?

No, this isn't a competition – no prize if it took you only 3 notes when I needed 10-20! But it is a comparison. A metaphor, for the start of your day.

How many minutes after waking up – perhaps mere moments – before the tone is set for the rest of your day? For me, what's on my mind as I'm waking up becomes the way the rest of the day plays out.

I used to get up at 5:30 AM, put on my iPod, and listen to an audiobook while working out on the elliptical. But first, for a "just a few minutes" (what my children call "Mom minutes"!) before exercising, I'd check my e-mail...and Facebook...and text messages...and...

By the time I got to the elliptical, my mind was awhirl with bits and pieces of other people's lives and news and problems to solve and emergencies and...and...and... Then somehow I was surprised when the rest of my day was a cacophony of people and events and drama and blind-siding and...and...and…

I still get up at 5:30 AM, but I intentionally avoid distracting technology (yes, even a good audiobook on my iPod!) until I've spent time in God's word, awakening my mind with His Love and Truth before anything else has a chance to get in.

Do I then waltz effortlessly through the rest of the day?

No.

My days are still full of people and events and all sorts of unexpected stuff, just like yours.

The difference is not in what happens during the day.

It's the tone of my day that's different–an entirely new song, in fact!–when I start with the Word than when I start with the world.

Try this today:  (1) Stop everything and spend a minute–yes, a minute!–in God’s word. Take the sip.  (2) Tonight, lay out your Bible so that the first thing you do upon waking is set the Tone for your day. 

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Please leave a comment 

• responding to today’s blog, and/or

• sharing your Day #1-25 experience of replacing “baditude” with God’s word and gratitude, and/or

• about anything else on your heart!

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(Catch up on any "Warm-Up Week" Blog Posts!)