Monday wrap up!

Morning:
Monday's morning study wrapped up yesterday. We're celebrating our completion with coffee upstairs at a big table at the Buzz next week. Hope you'll be there!
This verse came during the video of Esther, but I think it applies to our discussion yesterday:

After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes." Nehemiah 4:14

Girls, we gotta remember who is great and awesome, and fight!! All you girls, you have never been so fiercely in my heart and in my prayers as yesterday. I am fighting for you-- I love you all....

Esther Evening: Yes, oh yes, it's tough being a woman.... Tables are turning, though, and it's so good to know that God's turns our tough situations around for us as we trust Him in them...

"When, because of your faith your life too becomes perceptibly different; when your reactions are quite opposite to what the situation seems to call for and your activities can no longer be explained in terms of your personality; that is when your neighborhood will sit up and take notice. In the eyes of the world, it is not our relationship with Jesus Christ that counts; it is our resemblance to Him." (excerpt from The Queen and I)

I want that.

One more week of Esther-- we are meeting at Oliver Woods next week....

G.P. explained!

I found the answer! :)
Beth Moore, in her videos, has been exclaiming in her Beth-Moorian way, "G.P., are you with me?" We've all been whispering under the video's volume what that could be-- I mean, GirlFriends, is GF after all! G.P. stands for God's Property, and if you've made Him the Lord of your life, then you belong to Him, hence, God's Property :) That's it... carry on, have fun with your homework!

Tuesday Morning :)

I just love Mondays... not everyone can say that, but I do. I just get such a kick out of Bible study-- getting together with girls and talking about God's goodness over coffee and something chocolate. I mean, what more can you ask for? If you missed this session of studies, join us starting April 20. You don't have to be a scholar. You don't have to know it all already. All you need is the desire to connect with other women over coffee and something chocolate and talk about how great God is... and if you don't know how great God is, that's okay too...come find out! God longs for you to know!

Monday morning's study: Plug in! That means, get involved with others... we're built for relationships, and we're all parts of one body working together. All parts of the body are important-- God has a way of using seemingly the weakest parts for His greatest works.

Monday evening: Destinies have taken a turn! :) Every reversal of destiny begins with a step... and it's tough being a woman who feels responsible for the "how", but girls, God knows how!

It's tough being a woman to balance passion with patience, but God longingly waits with you too for just the right time to bring it to pass.

Study well, pray for each other this week... (morning girls, there's an email for you with those requests) As always, Melanie and I are available to serve you-- if you're in need, just let us know :) Oh, and Donna was baptized on Sunday... yipee! yahoo! Praises to Him :)

Monday update

Happy March Madness Day! (I know, I am the only one who cares, I am sure.) Hope you're all having a wonderful, restful Spring Break. Here I am with another Monday recap:

Monday morning, we had a small group. Many were missing because of the break, and illnesses, etc (hope you're all feeling better and able to sleep!) and we talked about offloading our stress, chapter 8. Jesus will carry our burdens if we entrust ourselves to him, and yoke ourselves at His side.

Monday evening, Esther girls learned about peripety and chiastic structure in Chapter 6. It was really awesome. Really. You had to be there, I guess. hehheee... They have to do with a hinge-- in Esther's case, and in ours, a hinge that will change the direction of destiny so as to mirror the opposite of what was.

New studies will begin April 20... stay tuned for announcements! :)

Ta'Anit Esther

FYI for all you Esther students: The fast of Esther, beginning on the 13th of Adar, began on Monday, the 9th of March. Wish I knew that on Monday! Click on the word Wikipedia if you're interested!

Monday in review :)

SNOW!! Yikes.  It was me, Jen, who had the keys and the DVD's for study yesterday morning.  I really thought I might have tried to get there, but then got two phone calls saying not to try it. Hence, the 8am cancellation of the 9:15 study.  I made a few phone calls in addition to the email, all the while trying to bundle my kids to walk to school which was not canceled. (I don't have the complete phone list for the morning study, just called the ones I could find) Everyone I called was quite thankful for the cancelation, but if you were one who was brave and struggled out there only to find a note on the door, I do apologize and thank you for not sending me a nasty email written in MEAN ALL CAPS LETTERS! (must have been that lesson on forgiveness a couple weeks ago!)

The snow stopped for Esther, and we proceeded after a week off last week.  We talked about the importance of knowing when it's time, when it's time to wait, when it's time to wait for someone else's time, and when the meantime is God-time.  If we wait upon the LORD we will renew our strength, (Isaiah 40:31) but if we wait upon the thing we're waiting for, our strength gets depleted.  We get tired of waiting.  So wait upon the LORD! :) 

Have a great week, girls, and don't forget about being grateful! Don't know what I am talking about? Click here!

How Grateful I Am......

We talked this morning in Bible study about discontentment. We're often discontent because our focus is off. We compare our lives with others, and decide that our circumstances dictate our happiness. Instead, we need to focus on the things eternal, the stuff that matters. It's Christ who gives us the strength to be content.

Here's our assignment in conquering discontent, counting your blessings!
Daily post three things (different ones each day) that you are grateful for. We're going to do this for four weeks, and we'll recognize all the little things that God is doing in our lives daily, those things to be thankful for, realizing what we have, not focusing on what we lack. (No comparing your list with others, that would lead to discontent!! hehehe... We will rejoice with those who rejoice instead!) Click the word COMMENTS at the end of the post. If you have trouble posting, email us at tmpwomen@gmail.com and we will post for you.

Feel free to participate in this exercise whether or not you attend the morning study! :)

Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. --Philippians 4:11-13

Marching forward....

There we go, a new background :) Happy March, everyone! 

Just reminding Esther girls to have a great week off, catch up on that homework, and see you on the 9th for lesson 5.

Daylight savings time starts next Saturday night, so move those clocks ahead an hour--don't be an hour late for church on Sunday morning!