Last week I wrote about a great new book that our group was planning on beginning together. The book is really great and I hope that we will go through it as a group, but I was off on my timing. We are not going to begin it now. This past week both Rita and I were sensing the same thing regarding our group. When we got together to talk it over it was decided that we would take a break from our weekly meetings until after the first of the year.
During this break we will pray about how God wants our group to change, how He wants it to stay the same and who will be in leadership. It is not an easy decision to suspend our meetings. And we are not doing this because we think the Lydia Ministry is not important...NO, we are doing this because this ministry is very important and that means it's important to do it right.
During this time of waiting and praying please let us know if you have comments or suggestions for how we may improve our ministry.
I hope to continue updating the blog. I may post some thoughts and insights I've had while reading the bible. Insights on the nature of evil; thoughts about what might happen to us when we die; thoughts about why God put the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden or why He sent Satan and his fellow fallen angels to this planet in the first place. If you're wondering now if we're suspending the meetings because I'm loosing my marbles, don't worry...I haven't had any marbles for a long time.
As always please feel free to leave your comments, suggestions or thoughts.
shelly
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Rich Single Life, Abundance, Opportunity & Purpose in God
Last week was a transition week for our group. We are just at the cusp of starting to go through a great book that was recommended to us by one of our members. More on that later.
Last week at our meeting we considered a very familiar passage. It's in Luke chapter 6, verses 46-49. Jesus tells a story of two men who build houses. One man builds a house by first digging down into the solid rock . This house has a firm foundation. The other man builds his house quickly on the ground without any foundation.
Okay - so you've probably heard this one before, maybe you even know the song from your days in Sunday School. (If you don't and you are very brave, I could sing it to you next week.) What's the point? Well, of course it's a better plan to build a house on a firm foundation. That fact is proven at the end of the story when a storm comes and the house with the firm foundation stands and the house built on the ground with no foundation falls apart.
We all want to be the wise person who builds our house on the firm foundation, right? But, what was Jesus really saying? As he told this story I can imagine him looking at the faces of many people who had come to hear him teach. Jesus had just finished preaching one of the most famous sermons ever preserved, The Beatitudes. People were blown away by his wisdom and the authority that he spoke with. I can imagine that they were hanging on his every word,
And, then Jesus tells the story of these two builders.
What is easy to miss about this story is that these two people start off at the same place. Jesus says that they both heard his words. They both were part of the same congregation. The difference comes with what the two men did with the words they just heard.
Ladies, this message hits me every time. What am I doing with Jesus' words? Am I acting on them, am I letting the teaching of Jesus really shape my life? Or, do I hear the teaching and then act the same as I did before? How about you?
In the weeks ahead we'll go through the book mentioned above. It's called, The Rich Single Life. I am confident that this book is based on words of Christ that will provide you with the tools needed for good foundation building. If you would like to purchase a copy you may do so buy typing:
www.SovereignGraceStore.com
in your browser and then follow the directions. The books are only $6 per copy.
I hope you can make it to our meeting, at Cross Creek Church this Saturday at 10:30am.
If you need babysitting please let me know (there will be a boxcar rally going on this Saturday too, so if you are involved in that with your kids, we hope you'll have a great time and we'll see you the week after).
Love,
Shelly
stimbol@comcast.net
Last week at our meeting we considered a very familiar passage. It's in Luke chapter 6, verses 46-49. Jesus tells a story of two men who build houses. One man builds a house by first digging down into the solid rock . This house has a firm foundation. The other man builds his house quickly on the ground without any foundation.
Okay - so you've probably heard this one before, maybe you even know the song from your days in Sunday School. (If you don't and you are very brave, I could sing it to you next week.) What's the point? Well, of course it's a better plan to build a house on a firm foundation. That fact is proven at the end of the story when a storm comes and the house with the firm foundation stands and the house built on the ground with no foundation falls apart.
We all want to be the wise person who builds our house on the firm foundation, right? But, what was Jesus really saying? As he told this story I can imagine him looking at the faces of many people who had come to hear him teach. Jesus had just finished preaching one of the most famous sermons ever preserved, The Beatitudes. People were blown away by his wisdom and the authority that he spoke with. I can imagine that they were hanging on his every word,
And, then Jesus tells the story of these two builders.
What is easy to miss about this story is that these two people start off at the same place. Jesus says that they both heard his words. They both were part of the same congregation. The difference comes with what the two men did with the words they just heard.
And why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and do not do what I say?
"Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words, and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like:
he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
"But the one who has heard, and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house upon the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great."
Ladies, this message hits me every time. What am I doing with Jesus' words? Am I acting on them, am I letting the teaching of Jesus really shape my life? Or, do I hear the teaching and then act the same as I did before? How about you?
In the weeks ahead we'll go through the book mentioned above. It's called, The Rich Single Life. I am confident that this book is based on words of Christ that will provide you with the tools needed for good foundation building. If you would like to purchase a copy you may do so buy typing:
www.SovereignGraceStore.com
in your browser and then follow the directions. The books are only $6 per copy.
I hope you can make it to our meeting, at Cross Creek Church this Saturday at 10:30am.
If you need babysitting please let me know (there will be a boxcar rally going on this Saturday too, so if you are involved in that with your kids, we hope you'll have a great time and we'll see you the week after).
Love,
Shelly
stimbol@comcast.net
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Let's Try Something New
Last week one of our Lydia members gently nudged me to pay more attention to our blog. With the nudge came a suggestion to post our weekly reminders and info here instead of on emails. This sounds like a good idea, so let's try it out...
Do you have plans for Saturday? Would you like to have plans for Saturday? Would you like to come to the Lydia Ministry meeting at Cross Creek Church at 10:30am and meet with other single women, like you who are looking to find purpose in life and wanting to learn more about you place in God's plan?
Well, I hope you answered, "no" - "yes" and "yes".
This week I am looking forward to sharing something that I see in many of the parables of Christ. You know Jesus talked a lot about the Kingdom of Heaven, in doing so He often talked of two groups of people. I want to take some time this weekend and consider what Jesus was saying and why this theme was so important that He kept bringing it up over and over in His teaching...are you interested?
Please come -
The week following this one we will begin going through the book, The Rich Single Life, written by Andrew Farmer. We'll have a couple of copies at the meeting this week. It's really a great book, I think it will be valuable for all.
If you will need babysitting at our location during the meeting please let me know.
Love,
Shelly
stimbol@comcast.net
Do you have plans for Saturday? Would you like to have plans for Saturday? Would you like to come to the Lydia Ministry meeting at Cross Creek Church at 10:30am and meet with other single women, like you who are looking to find purpose in life and wanting to learn more about you place in God's plan?
Well, I hope you answered, "no" - "yes" and "yes".
This week I am looking forward to sharing something that I see in many of the parables of Christ. You know Jesus talked a lot about the Kingdom of Heaven, in doing so He often talked of two groups of people. I want to take some time this weekend and consider what Jesus was saying and why this theme was so important that He kept bringing it up over and over in His teaching...are you interested?
Please come -
The week following this one we will begin going through the book, The Rich Single Life, written by Andrew Farmer. We'll have a couple of copies at the meeting this week. It's really a great book, I think it will be valuable for all.
If you will need babysitting at our location during the meeting please let me know.
Love,
Shelly
stimbol@comcast.net
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