James: Mercy Triumphs Session Two

Here are the answers for this week's listening guide...

1. doesn't say, does, slave
2. tribes scattered

• diaspora
• James, Jacob
• Jacobus
• Ya'aqov
• Jewish Christian, Christian Jew
• divorced, Jesus knew

3. first book, written
4. last, admitted

• rule, standard

5. teachings
6. live it
7. joy, you

Don't forget to let Beth know if you memorize the book of James by writing her at lproof@lproof.org.

Our service project this week will be to write a minister or other leader in your congregation a thank you note for all that they do. You can mail them yourself or bring them to class next Wednesday night and Kathy will mail them from the office for you.

Finally, we'd love to hear about what you are learning in this Bible study. So feel free to comment on this blog post. Let's have a little conversation on the side as we study throughout the week!

See you next Monday!

Throw a little shrimp on the barbie, mate!

That's right...our last Girls' Night Out was at Outback! We had a great crowd and especially enjoyed having a number of our young women with us. They make us laugh and keep us young!

Make plans now to join us on March 6 at Olive Garden for the next GNO.

In the meantime, enjoy a few pictures...

First is the requisite picture of my food...didn't want to disappoint any of you who have come to expect such a picture...it was a steak sandwich that was awesome in its yumminess!

Here is the lovely Shannon & Jennifer...yes, I posted the picture even though someone who shall remain nameless told me not to because they didn't like the picture of themselves. No, I don't always follow directions well. And I think they both look smashing!

A good time was had by all and we hope you will join us in March!

James: Mercy Triumphs Session One

We started our James Bible study this past Monday night with 16 women in attendance! Woo hoo! If you weren't able to join us this week, it's not too late. We'd love to have you come to BOB next Monday night at 7:00.

If you were in class, you heard Beth talk about her sister, Gay. Well earlier that day, she had posted on the LPM blog about her sister and Gay is beginning to write her story. It will be posted on the blog in segments and you can read the first one here. Already, it is a powerful testimony to what God can do in a surrendered life! I can't wait to read the rest of the story.

Here are the blanks for the listening guide from Session One:

Then He appeared to James.

1. Jesus appeared to those who needed to see Him most.
2. James enters the scene as an unbeliever.
3. Jesus radically re-structures the idea of family. (Five blanks under this point are, in order: Natural, Disciples, Family, Spiritual, Resurrected)
4. By the grace of God, James became what James became.
5. The power of the resurrection means that nothing but the tomb is meant to be empty.

Also, here is the acrostic for those who are going to work on memorizing James:

John 15:7-8 - ABIDE
Ask God for the ability.
Believe you can do it.
Increase the portion each week.
Determine a set time every day to practice.
Enjoy it!

Beth suggested that you choose the version you want to memorize and then print out one chapter at a time. You can use www.biblegateway.com to do that easily. She also suggested that you laminate your paper. We will bring the office laminator to class next week if anyone wants to use it before or after class.

Other suggestions include memorizing one chapter per month, starting with the first few verses and adding verses each week until you have the whole chapter memorized.

Kathy Bannister, our class facilitator, suggested that as you study each week and learn a new idea or gain some insight, please share it with the rest of the class. You can comment here on the blog and we will all be able to read and comment back to one another. I look forward to reading what each of you is learning!

We are a little excited around here!

I just love a new year, don't you? Even though some things carry over from the previous year, January always marks a new beginning for me. Maybe it is because I don't have kids at home any more and aren't tied to the school calendar. Or maybe I'm just glad to have gotten through Christmas yet again! Whatever the reason, I like me some January!

And around the office we are just a little bit excited right now! As announced on Sunday, we are looking forward to sharing The Story in the fall with our church family, but especially with our community. It will be a comprehensive look at God's story throughout scripture, from beginning to end, amen. And a great opportunity to reach out to those around us who don't know God's story...or may not know how they fit into God's story...or maybe just got lost along the way.

Our shepherds have also started off the new year with a bang by challenging us to step up our generosity game to accomplish some goals they have set for us for the next couple of years. And that ain't just a resolution that will be forgotten before we even flip the calendar page over to February!

Starting off the new year this way has inspired me. It's kinda like a fresh new notebook with all blank pages that stirs up all kinds of imaginings about what will come this year (yeah, I'm an office supply nerd too!).

A couple of Sundays ago, before praying over communion, I read out of Isaiah 43 where God says, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." I love that God is about the new stuff too. He wants to do something new in all of us. Why? So that we "may proclaim His praise."

We already feel His leading in the new things planned for our church family this year. He wants to do new things in each of us as individuals too...which will help us get to the places He is leading us as a church. Funny how it all intertwines like that, huh? 

So what new things does God want to do in your life this year? I'm pretty sure I know where He's leading me and hope that you know the same for yourself. Let's look forward to the year, what God will accomplish in each of us and in our church family and then let's proclaim His praise!

So What Are You Reading 2?

Some of you may remember that I undertook a book reading challenge from Margaret Feinberg last year and while I didn't meet the 75 books in a year challenge, I did read a lot more than I would have otherwise.

This year, I decided to join a book club. I found one on Meetup and have enjoyed getting to know these gals and reading some good books.

And then there are all the books I've been reading for work too.

So maybe I'll hit that 75 book-mark this year.

Here's a list of what I've read so far this year...

1. Surprised by Worship by Travis Cottrell
2. Persuasion by Jane Austen
3. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
4. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
5. The Girls from Ames by Jeffrey Zaslow
6. Five Conversations You Must Have with Your Daughter by Vicki Courtney
7. One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
8. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
9. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
10. Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo
11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
12. Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
13. Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
14. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
15. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larson
16. High Five by Janet Evanovich
17. Hot Six by Janet Evanovich
18. Room by Emma Donaghue
19. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
20. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larson
21. The Help by Kathryn Stockton
22. Holy Conversations by Richard Peace
23. The Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay
24. Seven Up by Janet Evanovich
25. Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich
26. Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick
27. To the Nines by Janet Evanovich
28. Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich
29. Becoming Spiritually Beautiful by Sharon Jaynes
30. Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich
31. Perfect on Paper by Maria Murnane
32. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
33. Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich
34. The Bucolic Plague by Josh Kilmer-Purcell
35. Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich
36. Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich
37. The Pawn by Steven James
38. And by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay
39. Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich
40. Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich
41. One Day by David Nicholls
42. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
43. Gifted to Lead by Nancy Beach
44. Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich
45. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
46. It Happened on the Way to War: A Marine's Path to Peace by Rye Barcott
47. Whispers of the Bayou by Mindy Starnes Clark
48. The Devil in the White City by Eric Larson
49. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
50. Bossypants by Tina Fey
51. Radical by David Platt
52. Radical Together by David Platt
53. Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich
54. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson
55. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larson
56. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larson

Okay, not quite 75 but more than last year! Yes, I re-read a couple of books this year since the movies had come out (The Help, Breaking Dawn, and The Girl trilogy) but if you enjoyed a book once, it can be that much better the second or third time!

And I've just started the next book club book this morning so I'm already on my way to 75 for 2012. It's good to have goals.

What about you? What did you read in 2011?

Do We Know How to Party or What?

If you were anywhere near the Charlotte last night, you probably heard the raucous laughter emanating from my house! So, yes we do know how to party! About 35 GEMS joined us for our annual Christmas gathering and if you weren't there, we missed you.

Thank you to everyone who came - it wouldn't have been a party without you there. Just so you know, all the GEMS are invited to our gatherings, regardless of age. Last night, we had women who have just started college all the way up to...well, I won't tell you exactly how far we went but suffice it to say that we had a couple of great-grandmothers in attendance!

Thank you to the special sisters who brought a couple of items I had forgotten at the store. I always forget something so just be forewarned that if you are ever invited to my house, I may call you at the last minute and ask you to pick up some ice or something!

Thank you to those who brought me sweet hostess gifts. You really shouldn't have (and I mean that!) but I appreciate your kindness.

Love, love, love having everyone over. So anytime you are in the neighborhood, feel free to stop on by. Or if you need an extra place to house a guest or two, or want to use my house to host your next gathering, feel free to ask! I'm so grateful for my new home and would love to share some time with you there.

Here are some pictures from last night...enjoy these and make plans now to join us for GEMS Christmas 2012!
(Did I really just say that?)

A Sea of Emotions

Yesterday was a day of highs and lows...I guess some days are just like that. We get to experience a swing of emotions so wide that it takes our breath away and then it all has to process through our hearts and minds for hours.

I think endings are the hardest part. Learning of the death of a friend is certainly a low. When that friend is only 8 years older than you, it sends all kinds of questions through your brain, not the least of which is, "Why, God?" Needing to ask God that question feels lower...although I know He welcomes our questions, even the hard ones.

God's timing in our lives is impeccable though. A family in our congregation called me several days ago to ask if I would baptize their daughter after services on Sunday, which I was delighted to do. And as this little girl committed her life to Christ, and came up out of the baptismal waters, I was struck by the collision of life and death on the very same day. One family grieves. One family rejoices.

My friend, John, lived a life dedicated to God, his family, and the church. He wasn't perfect but he was a servant who loved the Lord and wanted to see as many people as possible come to know and love Him too. Which is what my sweet young friend Laura did on Sunday through her baptism. She proclaimed her love for Jesus and committed her life to serving Him.

That is what it is really all about. Loving God and serving Him from the day you commit to Him to the day He calls you home, regardless of how much time passes in between. So I am grateful for the memories that yesterday brought...memories of old friends and lives spent serving our Father. And memories of new friends and the special time we shared together.

Being a witness to lives well spent and decisions well made is a grand privilege.