Thank you all for participating in this online Bible Study of The Jesus-Hearted Woman. I hope you enjoyed the book and I hope you took some things away from it to help you along your journey.
Since this is the first time we have done this, we would like to get some feedback from you. Please take a minute to fill out this survey and give us your honest feedback.
Thank you ladies for all that you do for the Kingdom! I know that each and every one of you are true Jesus-Hearted Women who are serving the Lord in the ways that He has called you! I am honored and blessed to be connected to you ladies and I pray for each and every one of you!
I look forward to what the future holds for each of you and for us as a group of women serving the Lord here in Arkansas and around the world!
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Vision - Dancing on Prayers
Verse of the Week:
Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, It will not tarry. (Habakkuk 2:2-3 NKJV)
Chapter 10 Video Links (From Her Green Room):
- Vision Part 1 (These videos are not yet available. I will update these links when they become available.)
Another fantastic chapter! Jodi does a great job in this chapter helping you walk through how to find out what your vision is if you don't already know, then how to see it come to fruition!
One of the things that stood out to me in this chapter is the idea that you don't have to have your own vision to be passionate about seeing a vision come to be. Some people's vision is to help other people achieve their visions! If you struggle to figure out what you vision is, find another lady who has a Jesus-hearted vision and help her achieve it!
Or maybe you do have a vision, but you need help to make it come to pass. Search out another Jesus-Hearted Woman who can share your vision and help you make it happen!
A God given vision is contagious! You can catch it and you can spread it!!
Jodi gives five things we should keep in mind to see our visions endure and flourish.
- The right vision starts and ends with seeing God more clearly.
- Don't let others define or limit your God-given vision.
- Vision requires feet
- Jesus-hearted leaders keep their vision open to course correction.
- Jesus-hearted vision shows us the unseen, the things that others miss.
I love these thoughts. First of all, whatever it is that we put our efforts behind, it should be something that helps us see Jesus more clearly and also helps others see Him more clearly.
The third item here really made me think. VISION requires FEET! We can have a vision or a dream as much as we want to, but in order to see it come to pass, we have to put feet to it! We have to be willing to work to see it happen. Vision points you in the direction that you need to go in but until you start walking, you won't get any closer to seeing your vision come to pass. A vision is just that, a vision. It won't become a reality until you do something with it.
Like the story at the end of the chapter, we may think that our vision is the beginning of something, but it could be that it is the continuation of God's plan that was started with someone else. What Stacy thought they were starting by turning a bar into a church, they actually were continuing. What God is stirring inside of you may very well be the beginning of something great, but maybe, He is stirring you to continue a great work that He started before you.
Either way, find a vision that you can get behind and support. Whether it is your own vision or the vision of another, let's work together to make the visions that God has placed in the hearts of His people come to fruition. After all, it's God's vision in us, not our own.
Discussion Questions:
- What do you think it means to put feet to a vision? Give any specific examples you can think of from real situations.
- Have you ever had to close a “door” behind you in order to open one in front of you? Was that easy or hard? What did you learn from that experience?
- Read Exodus 1: 8– 21. Has someone served as a “midwife” to your ministry vision ? Tell what things she (or he) did to help birth your dreams. How can you be a “ministry midwife” for someone else?
- Read 2 Kings 6: 15– 17. What can we learn from this story about having our eyes opened to spiritual realities that exist beyond our five senses? How important is that to leadership? In what area do you most need God to increase your vision?
- Is there anything else you want to discuss about this chapter?
Wrap-Up
Thank you for participating in this online Bible Study. Please take a minute to read the wrap-up post and complete the survey included there in order for us to evaluate how this online study went and how we want to continue this ministry.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Soul Care - The Green Room
Verse of the Week:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. (Psalm 23:1-3 NKJV)
Chapter 9 Video Links (From Her Green Room):
This week Jodi talks about soul care; taking care of our own souls, taking care of ourselves, so that we can better minister to others. This has been another week where the timing couldn’t be better on what we are reading.
Lately in my life, I have had many thoughts about how I am spending my time and what things in my life are more important than others. I am still doing some soul searching on the subject, but one thing I know for sure; I have to rearrange some priorities. I’m not quite sure how I’m going to do that yet, but by the grace of God, I am.
This jumped off the page at me while I was reading it.
Because neither you nor I are omnipotent or omnipresent, a yes here, always means a no somewhere else, and vice-versa. How we need God’s help to sort out which goes where! It’s been a painfully slow lesson, but I am learning not to rush to yes. My good friend, Pastor Bob Stone once said, "Don’t let others, or even needs, set your priorities. Needs and opportunities are not necessarily true indicators of God’s will."I don’t know about you ladies, but this is something that I need to get better at. The loving, compassionate, caring heart that we ALL have inside of us (I can say that because I know most of you and I know that it’s true) sometimes has a hard time when it comes to determining the difference between what God is asking us to do and what people are asking us to do. Now, I don’t think this means that we should not step in and help when people need us, I think that God calls us to help others and to be there for them. But, I do agree, that we need to figure out what our calling is in life and say No to some things in order to be able to say Yes to what God has called us to do.
Earlier I mentioned Alicia Britt Chole’s wonderful booklet, Ready, Set . . . Rest. In it, she writes, "There is a great deal of difference between saying, ‘I volunteer because there is a need’ and ‘I volunteer because there is a God.’ The greatest gift I can give those whom I need to say ‘no’ to, is being faithful to those whom God calls me to say ‘yes’ to."
Most importantly, we need to find our sanctuary. We need to find our big brown comfy chair and we need to find the time to spend in it. This is one of the things that I need to re-prioritize. Far before this week, it is something that has been tugging at me. In my busy world, I have to have time to spend, just me and Jesus. I need more of that time than I am getting now and the only way I am going to get it, is to say no to something else.
What is it that you need to say no to this week? What is it that you haven’t said yes to yet, that you need to? Are you seeking Jesus in your own portable sanctuary? We may not have a green room to escape to, but we do have the arms of Jesus in our "big brown comfy chairs".
Discussion Questions:
- The three main components of soul-care discussed in this chapter are limits, boundaries, and replenishment. What limits have you set for yourself to keep your soul healthy? What other limits should you set for yourself to have a more cared-for soul? What one next step could you take in that direction?
- Have you ever felt like the “incredible leaning woman”? What are the things that drain you most as you lead others? What are the things about ordinary living that sap your energy and joy?
- What is your own equivalent to Gail’s big brown chair where you meet with Jesus? If you’re not satisfied with how you’re making the “one thing”— being with Him, unhurried and fully attentive to His presence— the center of your life and your source of soul-care, what is the next “one thing” that might move you in that direction?
- Psalm 46: 10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” How is stillness related to knowing God? What is your biggest obstacle to finding times of stillness?
- Is there anything else you want to discuss about this chapter?
Monday, April 21, 2014
Kindness - First Clappers
Verse of the Week:
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32 NIV)
Chapter 8 Video Links (From Her Green Room):
Here we are at week 8. This journey is coming close to an end together as a group, but I pray that God is making some things real in your life through this book that will continue to guide you on your own personal journeys.
There were some great things in this chapter. Since I trust that you are all reading the book, I am going to take this post in a slightly different direction. I'm going to be a little more transparent than I have been in the past.
Nearly every week of this Bible Study, God has given me personal experiences that have coincided with the chapter we were reading. Some of them I have shared and some of them I haven't. Some I think were for the group, and some I think were for me. All of the real life things have happened each week before I read the chapter. So I didn't know what the chapter was about when these things were happening.
This week God attempted to do this again. He was setting me up for a real life, relateable experience. Something maybe that I could have shared with you ladies. Unfortunately, instead of obeying God, I let my shy, what will the cashier think of me, thought process, keep me from what I believe now would have been an experience that would have changed me in a small way and maybe changed someone else too.
I was in the McDonald's drive through on my way to work one morning. I had an overwhelming urge to pay for the persons meal behind me. I started to speak and just couldn't get the words out of my mouth. The car in front of me pulled out and so I just moved on to the second window.
The woman behind me was in a hurry apparently, because at the light waiting to pull out of the parking lot, she was honking at me to go (when there was way too much traffic to pull out). I had a slight moment where I thought, I wonder if she would have reacted differently had I obeyed the nudging of The Lord.
All of this happened before I read this chapter. Now in hind sight, this was as much a lesson in obedience as it was kindness! It at least has made me realize that I have to live outside the box way more than I do now. I have to put aside my fears and worries in order to live in obedience to God.
All of this happened before I read this chapter. Now in hind sight, this was as much a lesson in obedience as it was kindness! It at least has made me realize that I have to live outside the box way more than I do now. I have to put aside my fears and worries in order to live in obedience to God.
I will be looking for opportunities this week to try again! To find ways a show kindness.
Discussion Questions:
Discussion Questions:
This week, I want to hear your stories! Have you ever committed a random act of kindness? How did it go?
Have you ever been the recipient of a random act of kindness? What happened? How did you respond? Did you "pay it forward"?
What can you do this week to show intentional kindness to others?
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Self-Awareness - Terra-Cotta Warriors
Verse of the Week:
Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. (Romans 12:3 NLT)
Chapter 7 Video Links (From Her Green Room):
One was the section on "Who's Got Your Back". Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." What kind of friends do you have in your life? Do you have friends who are honest when you need them to be even at the risk of hurting your feelings?
I have to say, it has taken me until the last few years to develop a friendship that I can trust to be honest even when it doesn't feel good. I have a friend now who is able (and willing) to give me that self-awareness shot in the arm that we all need every once in a while.
A few years ago, I would have been hurt and offend by those moments, but now I'm more grateful for them than anything. Still maybe hurt for a moment, but after that, grateful to have some guidance as to what I need to focus on and even more grateful to have a stronger friendship than before when it's all over. Real and honest conversation can go a long way to help us grow into the women that God wants us to be.
Another really interesting (and somewhat relieving) thing in this chapter was when Jodi talked about Jesus and the open interaction that He has with His disciples. Peter rebuked Jesus at one point and Jesus didn't get upset with that. Jesus did confront Peter's wrong thinking, but not his outburst or rebuke. Peter had more than one moment of talking back to Jesus but Jesus never rebuked Peter for his outburst, he only consistently corrected Peter's thought process.
It is important for us to take time to self check. Time to reflect on our inner selves and where we are at is important. I think the best sentence of this entire chapter was in the very last paragraph in reference to a quote by Socrates which said, the un-examined life isn't worth living.
Jodi said: "I want to know myself, yes, but only in the presence of a living, forgiving, transforming, grace-offering God. Only He can make the converse of Socrates' statement true - the examined life is worth living."
No matter what flaws we may find in ourselves through our self examination, God can turn them around. Without that promise of redemption that He so freely gives us, all we would have is our imperfections. Through Christ, our imperfections can shine as a testimony to His goodness!!
Discussion Questions:
No matter what flaws we may find in ourselves through our self examination, God can turn them around. Without that promise of redemption that He so freely gives us, all we would have is our imperfections. Through Christ, our imperfections can shine as a testimony to His goodness!!
Discussion Questions:
- How do you want people to remember you? What do you need to do to make sure that happens?
- Read Proverbs 27:6, 28:23, and Psalm 141:5. According to these verses, what role do our friends play in helping us become who we are meant to be? Describe what the healthy "wounds" of a friend might look like.
- Read Romans 12:1-8. Self-awareness is not only about recognizing our weakness but also about being familiar with our strengths and the gifts God has given us. What gift do you see, in this list, that He has given you, even if it isn't fully developed yet? How can you begin to develop and use that gift?
- Is there anything else about this chapter you would like to discuss or that stood out to you?
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Courage - Pocketbook Punches
Verse of the Week:
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10 NIV)
Chapter 6 Video Links (From Her Green Room):
This has been another great chapter!! The chapter started off with the story of Ginger Littleton taking a chance at stopping a gunman who took over a school board meeting and was holding her colleagues hostage. She came up behind him and hit him with her purse to try and stop him.
This story made me think of the story of another courageous young woman at a school. Do you remember Rachel Joy Scott? She was the first of 13 people who were killed in the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. It was reported that one of the shooters approached her and asked her if she believed in God. Knowing what was about to happen, she answered, "Yes". She was then shot at point blank range while the shooters were mocking her for her faith. What a tremendous amount of courage that took!
Then I thought about Corrie Ten Boom and Elizabeth Elliot. And then thinking about them and their ministries, I began to think about some of our missionaries. Our friends who find the courage to go to places where they could be arrested or even killed just for being there to share the gospel.
A few of you ladies participating in this Bible Study are some of our courageous women missionaries. I just want to take a minute and say thank you! Thank you for being courageous women who are willing to risk everything to fulfill the calling God has placed on your life and to share the gospel with the people He chose for you to share it with! Thank you for your service to the Kingdom!!!
Jodi talked in this chapter about courageous women of the Bible and why they needed courage. Here are the reasons that she gave:
- To deliver a dream
- To protect the powerless
- To win the war
- To hold the Holy
- To transport the truth
All of these things take courageous people to accomplish. Corrie Ten Boom protected the powerless, Elizabeth Elliot continued after the death of her husband to complete a dream and transport the truth, and Rachel Joy Scott even in her death was helping to transport the truth of the gospel to others.
Let's seek God to give us the level of courage that we need to accomplish the things that He has for us to accomplish.
Discussion Questions:
- When you hear the word courage, who most personifies that virtue for you? Why?
- Which of the reasons Jesus-Hearted Women need courage speaks to you and why?
- What verse (or section) of scripture has given you comfort and courage when you were afraid?
- Is there anything else about this chapter you would like to discuss or that stood out to you?
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