I've had the privilege of being a small group leader for 10 years now. I just love getting together with other women from my church and studying the Scriptures or a book written by a good Christian author. This book did not disappoint. We are wrapping up our final discussion tomorrow evening (Wed Dec 4th) and although we went from 9 people down to 6 of us, we all agree that this group was special. We have grown together in searching the Scriptures and praying about how to really draw near to God in our daily walk.
SUMMARY
The author is someone whom I follow via her blog. She is also the head of Proverbs 31 Ministry which I really enjoy.
At first I thought the DVD segments were a little corny (they are) but once you get past the little anecdotes she shares, there is a lot of meat to chew on. She is a very wise woman and really lives her faith authentically.
Basically, she talks about how a relationship with God is not just a check list of things to do for God: going to Bible study, church, tithing, praying, reading a devotional, volunteering, etc etc.
The study guide that goes along with the book is not cumbersome. There's not as much "homework" as a Beth Moore study which I really appreciated because most of us are full time working women.
The chapters in the study guide go along with 3 chapters in the book. For example: Session One in the study guide is to be completed after reading Chapters 1-3. The study guide is broken into 6 different sessions. Each session has 6 days of "homework". One day will be to read one of the chapters and write down what stood out to you. I really liked this feature. Because my small group meets every other week, this gave the ladies almost 2 weeks to complete six days of work.
The topics for each session were: Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl.....
- In My Heart
- In My Walk with God
- In My Relationships (i loved this one)
- In My Struggles
- In My Thoughts
- In My Calling (my favorite one)
We learned how to make a Bible passage come alive during our quiet time with the Lord. We learned WHY it's important to have a quiet time with our Savior.
One of the main things that she stresses is that people, possessions, and positions do not fully satisfy us. That we were made for relationship with Jesus...an intimate one. Replacing regrets and envy or doubt with Truth and praise with a confidence of who we are in Christ was also a main theme.
She taught on how to love ourselves for who we are and love what we've been given......also how to discover that inner peace and security we all long for, no matter what the situation is.
A good portion in the end was spent on praying "dangerous" prayers and what that means...what that looks like. And the final chapter was about living with Jesus forever in eternity.
This Bible study is not really for a seeker of Christ/salvation, but it IS appropriate for beginner Christians as well as those of us who have been in the kingdom of God for awhile. There was something for each of us.
The author really brought out that living for the Lord is an adventure. We're on this journey and it looks different for every single one of us....yet He loves each of us intimately and longs for us to just be with Him.
We don't need a bunch of items on a "to do" list.....we just need Jesus.
In my opinion, this study is appropriate for ages 17 and older.
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 9.
3 comments:
That sounds like a great study source. Thanks for sharing. :-) In answer to your question about my niece, yes, she is my sister's daughter. My sister lives in Corinth and my niece lives in Syracuse. I would like to come out there for a visit and meet up with you. Don't know when, though. Lots of drama and problems with my sister and her family right now, so I won't be coming out too soon. Hope you have a good week. You sure got a lot of snow. Two snow days is really a bonus - especially after the long Thanksgiving weekend.
Thanks for this review. I really like the idea of praying"dangerous" prayers. And the concentration on the fact that God loves each of wants an intimate relationship. These are things we can never hear about enough.
I like her blogs and Proverbs 31 ministries too but have yet to do one of her studies. It sounds good.
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