“‘So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.'” (Matthew 10:26-28).
What about you? Has God given you a special “anchor” verse for 2009? If so, I would love to know. Also, when you have the occasion, please visit my friend that I mentioned in my video, Pamela at In His Graces. This link will take you to the specific post I mentioned. She’s a tenacious and passionate worshipper of our Father. I loved her the minute she accepted my offering of chocolate. Love u, Pam.
Get to it friends in 2009!
PS: Please note: I sincerely apologize for any offensive material that may have been included with my YouTube clip. Some images may have appeared at the end of my video that had nothing to do with my upload. Thus, I’ve moved the video over to GodTube. If any of you know how to avoid this in the future, please let me know. Peace.
the Flip Ultra. Check it out. I’ve longed for a way to communicate with you face to face. Well, at least screen to screen. This is the most affordable solution along those lines. My husband did a ton a research into this purchase, and I was thrilled with my surprise yesterday morning. It’s the easiest recording device out there and just may revolutionize our journey in blog land!
Christmas 2008 has come and gone; still and yet, our hearts remain. And wherever there is a pulse, there is the truth of eternity. Carry it well, friends. Get to it. Keep to it. To Jesus and to all things eternal.
May the peaceful rest of Bethlehem’s pause be your portion as you go. As always,
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:23-25).
Four and a half years worth of Bible study makes for some memories. Memories that include a whole lot of…
Most importantly, memories that seed with a whole lot a Jesus. He, alone, is the one reason that keeps most of us coming back for more, study after study, year after year.
We’ve completed eleven different studies since my family’s arrival here almost five years ago. I knew before I arrived that God had clearly called me to facilitate the process. A couple of years prior, I had a head on collision with the power and transforming work of God’s Word. He profoundly interrupted my life with the truth of Scripture, and my hunger was palpable.
When I learned that we would be making another pastoral move, my heart welled with anticipation for the possibility of bringing God’s truth to others in a more tangible way. My zeal was well matched by a group of women who were hungry for the same. Together, we have laughed and cried and prayed our way through some difficult seasons. We’ve come to know and love Beth Moore, Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Jennifer Rothschild, and most recently, our precious Alicia Britt Chole.
I introduced Alicia to our group several weeks ago via her book Anonymous: Jesus’ Hidden Years and Yours.To say this study has been transformational in our lives, both corporately and individually, is to say too little, yet somehow tonight I struggle to find the right words. Alicia has given us the permission to celebrate our hidden years … to respect them, to embrace them, and to understand their sacred worth as it pertains to our intimacy with Jesus Christ.
I am forever marked by the truth of her study and by the time that I spent walking it with over fifty women. Jesus has been the overriding focus of our hearts these past seven weeks, and I finish this time with a rich fullness and deep thankfulness for all of my God-ordained seasons. Whether in the bloom of Spring, the heat of Summer, the stripping of Fall, or the barren of Winter, all seasons with the Father are served as the main course and are to be partaken of accordingly.
We have partaken, and our season of study has come to a close. Tuesday nights are free and clear for the fellowship hall of Pine Forest UMC … at least for a couple of months. We’ll be back. Friends and Jesus have a way of creating a hunger for more of the same. I, for one, can’t wait to reconvene with my sisters in January.
I love these women. As a pastor’s wife, it can sometimes be difficult to find your “home” in a place you never even imagined your feet would pause. These women have made it their mission to invite me into theirs. They are home for me, and even though we’ve closed shop temporarily, when January rolls around and the scent of Tuesday nights once again fills the air, I’ll be ready to break some holy bread around the table with my family. I won’t worry about them being available. They will be.
For they have learned, even as I have learned, that God is simply and profoundly…
too good to be neglected. He is worth our time and our best efforts at attending to the process of our sacred becoming.
So Tuesday night gals, I want you to know that I love you and that I would have missed a great deal had the Bishop not decided to send Preacher Billy and his family to you! You have shown me a side of heaven that is rarely glimpsed on this side of eternity. I carry you all in my heart, even as I know that you hold me close in yours. Doing life with Jesus alongside the likes of you has been one of the richest blessings my life has known.
Let us keep on doing it, and all the more, for as long as we pilgrim this road together. Until we meet again, whether here or there…
~elaine
Now, bloggie friends, I want to share a pitifully captured video from a portion of our final study with you. This visual is not great (we are still living in the age of a non-digital camcorder…my wish lish for Christmas has just increased) but I wanted you to at least hear my voice–no mocking of the southern accent please. Not because I have anything overly profound to say, but simply because it gives you a more complete picture of the writer of this blog. Please disregard my husband’s attempts at “fading” in and out, and pay close attention to my friend, Michelle, who is a professional interpreter for the deaf. At the end of her song, it fades, but then returns for a brief final look of my incredible Tuesday night gals. We made the tape for Alicia and is much better quality when viewing it as a DVD. Anyway, enough apologies. Enjoy the song.
