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Showing posts with label Bible Study. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bible Study. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

I am ...

Source: Uploaded by user via Marji on Pinterest
  • funny 
  • a wife 
  • a people-pleaser
  • a mom
  • nice
  • a daughter
  • sedentary
  • a photographer
  • a sister
  • a singer
  • silly
  • an aunt
  • a teacher
  • a student
  • a writer
  • hard on myself
  • a woman of prayer
  • a daughter-in-law
  • fearful
  • strong
  • a step-daughter
  • patient
  • kind
  • a sis-in-law
  • encouraging
  • wordy
I love the picture here, but I must admit, I totally diagree with it. How I see myself is not what is most important. See I'd like to think of myself as a lion all the time, but reality sets in. There's a full length mirror right there that tells me the truth. And truth is truth whether I want to believe it or not. 


I have wide hips from my mom and a double chin from my father's side of the family. I have to wear reading glasses now, and I hate the tears that fall when I encounter a heart-touching ANYTHING. I don't like making mistakes, especially stupid ones or second-timers, and there's nothing worse than wasting the time and energy of others.


Don't worry. I'm not down or dissing myself! I'm just telling it like it is. And I'm okay with all the imperfections I display in my physical appearance and in my behavior. They are as much a part of who I am as the music I sing, the stories that bubble up, or the family that surrounds me, so why should I shy away from them?


Another reason this sentiment is so wrong happens when the imperfection begin to overwhelm. Last Friday night, while my Precious Redhead sat laughing with her friends, watching a Tim Hawkins video here at the house, the church at the end of our street went into lock-down. A family dispute somewhere else ended with a man driving away from his home with a gun. The police found him in the church parking lot, refusing to leave his car. This guy had been a prominent chef in downtown Dallas, talented and well-off from the patronage of his exclusive restaurant, and yet at about 12:15 AM I heard the shots ring out as he came out of his car brandishing his weapon. 


That's the type of thing that happens when what matters most is how we see ourselves. See my eyesight isn't so hot. One minute I see a crown atop my head and the next, I see horns. What appeared beautiful is actually slimy, disgusting, and putrid. Or worse, the image fades into blurs with no features, nothing that stands out or seems worthy. Or maybe I'll keep seeing that queen, yet knowing deep down that I'm lying to myself. 


What REALLY matters most is how God sees me. That vision isn't swayed by mistakes, messes, or anything else I can do or have done. He sees me with nothing less than the glory of Christ. When my Savior collected all of the ugliness from me, dying with it, in my place, God replaced my sin with Christ's perfection. Paul describes us collectively, as flawless, "without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." (Eph 4:27) 


Oh do give a listen to this awesome song!


Like the song says - "When He sees me, He sees His righteousness. He sees His Holy Spirit filling up the emptiness. When He looks at me, He sees the blood He shed." 


I am SO glad He sees Himself each time He looks at me!










Friday, October 21, 2011

Weekend-spiration

This week in the online Bible Study that I do (from the website Good Morning Girls), we finished up with 1John chapter 2. One of the sections was from verses 18-19.
Dear children, this is the last hour, and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. this is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
There is so much to unpack with these two verses!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Weekend-spiration: The Kudzu of Life

The verses in 1John inspired me this week. He spoke about the difference between living in the light and living in darkness. It took me to the picture below.

What an amazing view. The emerald landscape, straight out of a fairy tale, is truly beautiful, if little creepy. 

This is kudzu, a plant indigenous to China. It was brought to the United States on purpose during the 1876 and 1884 World's Fairs. Like a warm blanket or comfortable chair, the vine wraps around the host, bringing it beauty and choking away all life.

I'm convinced that bitterness is a

Friday, October 7, 2011

Weekend-spiration - He Is

This brings a whole new meaning to the phrase, "Wrap yourself in a good book." In this case it's The Good Book.

What an amazing visual of John's Gospel. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God ... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us."

How distinctly we see the person of Jesus pour from the pages of His book, and not just through the Gospels and letters of the New Testament. Like a thread throughout history, He is also evident in the Prophecy books of the Old Testament, being the One of Whom they mainly speak. He is the loving bridegroom in Song of Solomon, the wisdom of Proverbs, and the muse throughout the Psalms. All of the historical books

Friday, September 30, 2011

Weekend-spiration

I'm so enjoying my mornings lately. No, I'm NOT a morning person, unless you count the hours after midnight. But my mornings have been successfully highlighted for the last two weeks with a Bible study. It's not that I don't regularly study, just not in the morning.

I'm the type that sets her alarm for the latest possible time and then slaps the snooze button at

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Weekend-spiration - Am I Up to the Challenge?


This week, I embarked on an online Bible Study with ladies from all across the country. It's sponsored through a sight called Good Morning Girls and my group is a Facebook group of Homeschool moms. Over the next 12 weeks, we will take a walk through 1 John. Have you seen

Friday, September 9, 2011

Weekend-spiration - How to Study


I was asked recently how I studied my Bible. Truly, I struggled with this for decades before I hit on a couple of  things that really helped me.

The first was the variety of Bible Study books that are available. I don't much go for the types of studies that focus on overcoming difficult environments or horrible childhoods. I didn't deal with them, so they don't really speak to me. Instead,
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