QOTM (Question of the Month)...obviously, daily questions are hard to come by these days! :)
I know I have been absent from most of our meetings, so the answer to this question may be obvious to you if you discussed this and I am not aware of it. However, it has been nagging at me and I wanted to post it and get your thoughts on this.
What is the difference between being "cursed" and being "broken"?
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Last Meeting.....
I have been trying to capture the right words to express my feelings about Tuesday night. I want my words to show my love, appreciation, and awe for the evening. I just keep coming back to one word....HOLY. I felt that thick covering of the spirit....it was so strong when we sang together. Beautifully, Holy. Do you ever have that overwhelming sense that the Lord is smiling at a certain moment? I could clearly see Him smiling Tuesday as we shared communion together-it was unlike any other time I have had communion. Beautifully, Holy.
I felt a soft whisper in my ear as I sat at the table, with bread, wine, and broken glass. He kept telling me to "look". When I saw what He was talking about I felt my eyes well up....though I did not release until later. In that moment God reminded me of my prayer. A prayer I prayed endlessly to have friendships in Casa Grande-it was not that my friendships in Phoenix were bad or unfulfilling, but the distance was just that distant. I prayed for girlfriends.....He is a God of MORE THAN ENOUGH....when He said "look" I saw MORE than girlfriends; I saw sisters. Beautifully Holy. No gossip, no cliques, no hiding, no pretending. It is not common in a group of women to be the way we are together. Beautifully, Holy. That night I wept for the gift that God has given me in each of you. I am sure that He spoke to each of you that evening-showing you something...some gift, some delight, some revelation.
My words never quite seem to do justice to His holiness or His presence. I am thankful. Blessed. Full. Beloved.
Your Sister,
Jennifer
I felt a soft whisper in my ear as I sat at the table, with bread, wine, and broken glass. He kept telling me to "look". When I saw what He was talking about I felt my eyes well up....though I did not release until later. In that moment God reminded me of my prayer. A prayer I prayed endlessly to have friendships in Casa Grande-it was not that my friendships in Phoenix were bad or unfulfilling, but the distance was just that distant. I prayed for girlfriends.....He is a God of MORE THAN ENOUGH....when He said "look" I saw MORE than girlfriends; I saw sisters. Beautifully Holy. No gossip, no cliques, no hiding, no pretending. It is not common in a group of women to be the way we are together. Beautifully, Holy. That night I wept for the gift that God has given me in each of you. I am sure that He spoke to each of you that evening-showing you something...some gift, some delight, some revelation.
My words never quite seem to do justice to His holiness or His presence. I am thankful. Blessed. Full. Beloved.
Your Sister,
Jennifer
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Handout from Kathy N
I am hoping this works well. I know many of you received this because you were with us 2 weeks ago, but for those who were not I thought I would scan the piece and place it here....click on the image to enlarge
Chew on this for awhile...12/15
I bought this book for Colin for Christmas and couldn't resist sharing it with all of you. Every page of it...is here. It is so fitting after we gave of ourselves last night. Thank you, friends, for breaking bread and drinking poured wine with me. I love you! Merry Christmas!!
God Thinks You're Wonderful!
By Max Lucado
God is fond of you...
If he had a wallet, your photo would be in it.
If he had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.
He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.
Whenever you want to talk, he'll listen.
He can live anywhere in the universe, and he chose your heart.
Face it, friend.
He's crazy about you.
By the way, it may be difficult for you to believe that God knows your name...but he does.
Written on his hand.
Spoken by his mouth.
Whispered by his lips.
Your name.
I have written your name on my hand. Isaiah 49:16
Our hearts are not large enough to contain the blessings that God wants to give.
So try this.
The next time a sunrise steals your breath,
or a meadow of flowers leaves you speechless,
remain that way.
Say nothing and listen as heaven whispers, "Do you like it? I did it just for you."
If we give gifts to show our love, how much more would he?
He could have left the world flat and gray...but he didn't.
He splashed orange in the sunrise...
and cast the sky in blue.
And if you love to see geese as they gather, chances are you'll see that too.
Did he have to make the squirrel's tail furry?
Was he obliged to make the birds sing?
And the funny way that chickens scurry...
or the majesty of thunder when it rings?
Why give a flower fragrance?
Why give food its taste?
Could it be he loves to see that look upon your face?
So promise me you'll never forget...
that you aren't an accident or an incident
you are a gift to the world,
a divine work of art,
signed by God.
You knit me together in my mother's womb. Psalm 139:13
You were knit together.
You weren't mass-produced.
You aren't an assembly-line product.
You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on this earth...
by the Master Crafts-Man.
He thinks you are the best thing to come down the pike in quite a while.
Turn to the sidelines; that's God cheering your run.
Look past the finish line; that's God applauding your steps.
God is for you.
If he had a calendar, your birthday would be circled.
If he drove a car, your name would be on his bumper.
If there's a tree in heaven, he's carved your name in the bark.
Maybe you don't want to trouble God with your hurts. But...
"he cares about you" (1 Peter 5:7)
He is waiting for you, to embrace you,
whether you succeed or fail.
Your heavenly Father is very fond of you and only wants to share his love with you.
Blessed be the LORD your God who had delighted in you... 1 Kings 10:9
Untethered by time, God sees us all.
Vagabonds and ragamuffins all, he saw us before we were born.
And he loves what he sees.
Flooded by emotion, overcome by pride, the star maker turns to us, one by one, and says,
"You are my child. I love you dearly. I 'm aware that someday you'll turn from me and walk away. But I want you to know, I've already provided a way back."
You have captured the heart of God.
He cannot bear to live without you.
God's dream is to make you right with him.
And the path to the cross tells us exactly how far God will go to call us back.
It is not our love for God; it is God's love for us in sending his Son to be the way to take away our sins. 1 John 4:10
"Can anything make me stop loving you?" God asks.
"You wonder how long my love will last? Watch me speak your language, sleep on your earth, and feel your hurts. Find your answer on a splintered cross, on a craggy hill. That's how much I love you."
God does more than forgive our mistakes; he removes them!
We simply have to take them to him.
You can talk to God because God listens.
Let a tear appear on your cheeks, and he is there to wipe it.
He has sent his angels to care for you,
his Holy Spirit to dwell in you...
his church to encourage you,
and his word to guide you.
As much as you want to see him,
he wants to see you more.
He thinks you're wonderful!
God Thinks You're Wonderful!
By Max Lucado
God is fond of you...
If he had a wallet, your photo would be in it.
If he had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.
He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.
Whenever you want to talk, he'll listen.
He can live anywhere in the universe, and he chose your heart.
Face it, friend.
He's crazy about you.
By the way, it may be difficult for you to believe that God knows your name...but he does.
Written on his hand.
Spoken by his mouth.
Whispered by his lips.
Your name.
I have written your name on my hand. Isaiah 49:16
Our hearts are not large enough to contain the blessings that God wants to give.
So try this.
The next time a sunrise steals your breath,
or a meadow of flowers leaves you speechless,
remain that way.
Say nothing and listen as heaven whispers, "Do you like it? I did it just for you."
If we give gifts to show our love, how much more would he?
He could have left the world flat and gray...but he didn't.
He splashed orange in the sunrise...
and cast the sky in blue.
And if you love to see geese as they gather, chances are you'll see that too.
Did he have to make the squirrel's tail furry?
Was he obliged to make the birds sing?
And the funny way that chickens scurry...
or the majesty of thunder when it rings?
Why give a flower fragrance?
Why give food its taste?
Could it be he loves to see that look upon your face?
So promise me you'll never forget...
that you aren't an accident or an incident
you are a gift to the world,
a divine work of art,
signed by God.
You knit me together in my mother's womb. Psalm 139:13
You were knit together.
You weren't mass-produced.
You aren't an assembly-line product.
You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on this earth...
by the Master Crafts-Man.
He thinks you are the best thing to come down the pike in quite a while.
Turn to the sidelines; that's God cheering your run.
Look past the finish line; that's God applauding your steps.
God is for you.
If he had a calendar, your birthday would be circled.
If he drove a car, your name would be on his bumper.
If there's a tree in heaven, he's carved your name in the bark.
Maybe you don't want to trouble God with your hurts. But...
"he cares about you" (1 Peter 5:7)
He is waiting for you, to embrace you,
whether you succeed or fail.
Your heavenly Father is very fond of you and only wants to share his love with you.
Blessed be the LORD your God who had delighted in you... 1 Kings 10:9
Untethered by time, God sees us all.
Vagabonds and ragamuffins all, he saw us before we were born.
And he loves what he sees.
Flooded by emotion, overcome by pride, the star maker turns to us, one by one, and says,
"You are my child. I love you dearly. I 'm aware that someday you'll turn from me and walk away. But I want you to know, I've already provided a way back."
You have captured the heart of God.
He cannot bear to live without you.
God's dream is to make you right with him.
And the path to the cross tells us exactly how far God will go to call us back.
It is not our love for God; it is God's love for us in sending his Son to be the way to take away our sins. 1 John 4:10
"Can anything make me stop loving you?" God asks.
"You wonder how long my love will last? Watch me speak your language, sleep on your earth, and feel your hurts. Find your answer on a splintered cross, on a craggy hill. That's how much I love you."
God does more than forgive our mistakes; he removes them!
We simply have to take them to him.
You can talk to God because God listens.
Let a tear appear on your cheeks, and he is there to wipe it.
He has sent his angels to care for you,
his Holy Spirit to dwell in you...
his church to encourage you,
and his word to guide you.
As much as you want to see him,
he wants to see you more.
He thinks you're wonderful!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Brokenness
I had so many "aha" moments last night - i want to thank each one of you for allowing me to -what feels like to me- to "Crash your book study" with all my brokeness spilling out everywhere. I have to admit I did not get to the Broken chapter until this morning. I came even though I had not read the Chapter on "Broken". My God is so good and I know he prompted me to go last night because he knew I would have to respond from my heart intead of from my head - I would have intellectualized what I was going to read this morning under Broken and thereby "Hide" again behind my "walls". Page 93 reminds me that I must step towards my fears and brokenness in order to heal and we have to dare to overcome our fear. Coming to your study has challenged me first to be WITH people - My God wants me in community- not isolated. But it also challenges me to become familiar with my fears and I can only do that by exposing them. Today I am choosing to Trust the Lord is going to lead me , but I have to say Yes- Lead me Lord. Hiding away does not allow that. I had many ahas last night- came up with a Top Ten List of Revelations if anyone wants to read my ramblings on a separate blog Click here. I do want to thank you again for your patience with all my struggling to share appropriately. Sorry I know it's a book study-- but real time therapy at the same time.
Music/Song List
Hello Ladies,
Last night we talked about being a friend of God.....I love that worship song so I added it to our blog's website. Click play and have a listen.
He calls YOU friend!!!!!
J.
Last night we talked about being a friend of God.....I love that worship song so I added it to our blog's website. Click play and have a listen.
He calls YOU friend!!!!!
J.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Chew on this...12/1
What a warm, refreshing discussion! (literally...Steve served to-order lattes! We love you, man!) As individuals, each one of us is taken and blessed by God. This was the topic of our discussion last Tuesday. But, this week my mind and heart are also wrapped up in another thought: As a whole, as a group, as a family, as a community....could it be that we (this book group) are also taken and blessed? I do not ask this as a way of puffing ourselves up because we all know we are work in progress. The thought has been my heart that maybe we are working as individuals to do something Mighty as a whole group? Hmm. Not sure this makes sense, but I'll go with it. :) Think about it. Pray about it. For me, I am absolutely awestruck by the work He has done and is doing in each one of us, which is only more validation to the fact that we are absolutely chosen and blessed in Him.
If you weren't with us last week, Kathy gave us a very thought provoking "assignment":
Reflect on and write about a time when you were blessed in a special way. Choose any format (i.e. first person story telling, journaling, outline, etc.) Capture the feelings, settings, and essence of that moment when you knew you were a Beloved Child of God.
If you weren't with us last week, Kathy gave us a very thought provoking "assignment":
Reflect on and write about a time when you were blessed in a special way. Choose any format (i.e. first person story telling, journaling, outline, etc.) Capture the feelings, settings, and essence of that moment when you knew you were a Beloved Child of God.
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