WELCOME!I am loving this book. God just knows exactly what we need to read and when doesn't He? I love that He is a God that pays such close attention to our lives and puts people and books in our lives that will draw us closer to Him. If this is your first time here, we are doing the book, "What Happens When Women Walk in Faith" by our friend Lysa TerKeurst. Join the study anytime. With this book it's never too late to catch up where we are.
Let's get started. We are reading two chapters a week and this week we read chapters 6 & 7. Remember, anything in blue is a quote from the book.
CHAPTER 6: God's Extraordinary Invitation
I love Lysa's story about her boys and the first time God stirred it into her heart that they were hers. If you have never heard her talk of this go to her blog and on the top it says "Oprah". Watch her on the Oprah show tell her amazing saying Yes to God story.
Her prayer at the concert after God let her know that two of the boys in the choir were "hers" I bet just gave God the giggles.
"Lord, I just came here tonight to bring my girls to a simple little cultural event. I'm not looking for a major life change. My life is already very full..."
God wasn't discouraged by my response.
I think of when I deal with my own kids on something. Sometimes I'll ask them to do something and they all of a sudden I have deaf children. But, I don't give up and they then tune into to my voice and do as told. Their selective hearing doesn't faze me. They still end up doing what I ask them to do.
I think my favorite part of this chapter is when Lysa was asking "why me?" and her friend said,
"Because God knew you'd say yes, Lysa."
Oh, don't you want to offer a heart that pounds out a YES every time He asks us to do something? I don't want to miss out anymore on what God is asking me to do! I thought an important part of that though was how Lysa responded to her friends answer. She let God take her down memory lane and remind her of the years of spiritual training God had taken me through to get me to the place where I could be called a woman who say yes to God.
God asks us to do things when HE thinks we're ready. Just like the troops that are fighting right now. They go to a boot camp first and when they are ready then they get sent to the desert to fight the real battle. They go into battle with the right equipment and they know how to fight against their enemy. I believe that if you look back over your life you can see how God has prepared you for whatever is going on in your life today.
Being a follower of Christ is a continual process of learning, growing, stretching, and trusting.
Lysa reminds us that when we say Yes to God we need to:
look for the joy
realize this life is not about me but all about Jesus
when you leave your comfort zone you are forced to depend on God
breakthroughs come when we are in the famine phase of our journey
with a "yes" heart we can have the great life He has for us
GOD IS CALLING YOU, WOOING YOU, PURSUING YOU, INVITING YOU, TO SOMETHING RICHER WITH HIM.
CHAPTER 7: God is With you.
When God calls us to do something our minds instantly jump into the impossible mode. Lysa was convinced that there was "no way" she could fit two more lives into her already busy and demanding lifestyle. God reminded His cautious daughter that He is the Way. Once she agreed with the Truth,off she went on the ride of her life.
I learned that I must expand my vision. Lysa says that In our own strength, achieving dreams may be impossible. But with God, there is a way!
The thing that probably pierced my heart the most is when Lysa wrote this truth: God wants you to succeed in His plans.
HIS plans. Not Lelia's, but His. First of all, doesn't it just blow your mind that God, the Creator of the universe has plans specifically drawn out for each one of us? So how do we get on the ride of our lives like Lysa did?
Start with a YES to whatever He is asking you to do.
Leave the past behind...new wine skins.
New way of thinking.
Here is a great reminder from our author/friend: Don't try to make your whole dream come true at once. Just fulfill the small part of the mission He's asking you to do today.
So Lord, I ask...what is my assignment TODAY?
Life is hard ladies. My husband woke me up this morning to tell me that a pastor friend of ours in Atlanta just lost his 13 year old son. He had contracted a virus and died. Thirteen years old, and he didn't make it through the summer. A year younger than my son and he's gone. The unimagineable journey. I just got off the phone with our friend and his son's life was so amazing because at 13 years old, he chose to say YES to God!
A few of us are dealing with rebellious teens, strained finances, struggling marriages, hopeful woman that read negative pregnancy test results, cancer...so much more. Life here is hard, but what hope we have when we make the CHOICE to say "Yes Lord".
Whatever is going on under your roof CHOOSE to say YES to the One that will not let you down. The One that wants what's best for you. The One who believes you are capable of fulfilling any impossibility He asks of you simply because you believe He is capable.
Say YES right now, today. He'll make it worth it.
Please share what touched you the most in the chapter or the study and if you have more to share with us, please sign up below so we can come visit your blog. You are such a blessing to my life.
Love you,
14 comments:
Some of my thoughts/ponderings from these two chapters:
Life w/Jesus is an extraordinary invitation. And as with any invitation, we have to pick it up, open it, read it, and make a choice.
SO WHAT IF WE CAN'T GET IT ALL RIGHT...God's grace, His gentle nudge, His hand over us will guide and direct us. JUST LISTEN to be able to make a choice....a God choice.
He doesn't wants us perfect, He simply wants us open, ready, and available. SAYING YES TO HIM when He asks.
Then...God is with you.
He is with me, little ole me. Why? Because He created me, He loves me, and He has big plans for me, one YES at a time.
Love you,
Yolanda
Lelia,
Thanks for your words - they really echoed Lysa's key points. How true they are! Lelia, thanks also for your honesty, you're right life is hard, but He is always with us and His strength is sufficient. Your reminder was just the encouragement I needed today. My prayers are with you as the journey continues, Jill
Lelia,
You hit on all the major points that majorly struck my heart. Lysa's words are so profoud. Some of what she says in just in such a way that my heart wants to memorize her words to hold to those truths.
I absolutely LOVE her story about her boys. I love her prayer to God "I am came here...for a cultural event."
And then her friend's comment that God knew she'd (Lysa) would say yes. Wow...to be chosen for such a task because our Father's knows we'll say yes to Him.
I have to admit that when she challenged us at the end of ch. 6 about what God is saying, wooing, stirring, in our hearts...I pondered, I cried out to the Lord asking Him what it is. I wrote down a prayer of a few things like learning to be content (future post), focusing more on the now and being content now and not when He provides my miracle. But I felt nothing HUGE.
I worry sometimes that in my ignorance I may not be saying Yes, I may be saying no, and not know it. Wonder if anyone else feels that way. I want to say Yes to God yet I feel I need to first know what He's asking and I don't always have the interprative skills to know that. Ha!
I cannot comment on ch. 7 as I need to finish that tonight.
Oh achieving dreams in our own strength may (IS for me) impossible but with God there is a way. Reminds me of the song with a chorus..."God will make a way where there seems to be no way." It's on one of my variety CDs and I remember exactly where I was last summer when I first heard this song...wow...what a moment...what a revelation of hope that HE can do this. HE can do what I cannot. He can provide this most impossible miracle. Wow. My mind still can't wrap around that because I think in human terms.
Love ya, sister.
Paula
Fabulous job, girl!!!
I loved the story of the boys. I especially love the way that they gave up fun to sing in the choir. They saw no benefits for a long time, but they remained steadfast in Him. And when God unfolded His plan....boy, oh boy, did the heavens open up for them! :)
Praying for the Keyes family.
Rebecca
I just love reading how the same words touch so many women differently. thanks again, Lelia, for sharing and hosting this study!
Girl, I don't hear much from you these day. Hope all is well. I have posted my thoughts with this study on my blog. Thank you for hosting this.
You are loved and appreciated!!
In His Graces~Pamel
Hi Lelia,
I so do want to offer a heart that pounds Yes to what God asks of me. This book has touched on so many good points and we're not even halfway through it!
I'll be praying for you friends.
Blessings,
Sandra
Thank you so much Lelia for allowing me to participate in your bible study. Already I have learned so much and I know they will be tools, i will carry with me forever.
My heart is breaking for your friends. I will continue to pray for them.
Much Love,
Lea
<*)))><
Lelia:
I will pray for your friends. I cannot even begin to imagine their grief. But I know the God we serve knows it and He will see them through.
I've posted my comments and thoughts on chapters 6 and 7 on my blog. I'll just repeat here that the thing that spoke to me most, being so strong-willed and Type A was the following comment. "In our own strength, achieving our dreams may be impossible. But with God, there is a way!". I just feel like every morning I need to get up and say "Lord, let more of me die so more of you can get this thing done."
I'm excited to see what God says to us in the next two chapters. He's already spoken volumes.
Missed y'all last week. God definitely knows what we need to read when. Thanks for bringing us all together.
Yes, I agree with the above comment, God certainly does know what we need, and when. I haven't got hold of the book yet, but I am so appreciating the study through your blog, Lelia! Thank you for taking the time to host this each week - you're wonderful. And, no-never-mind the piles of washing, etc - you're saying "Yes!" to God! [I read your previous posts and the Domestic Diva one was a classic!... It's just busy-ness that keeps us from our regular chores - we busy ourselves with things to do with the children, with our husbands and then with what interests us... You and I and countless others, just find joy in other things, is all; and then it mounts up, yes, we get a little (!!!) frustrated... but I've learnt, as long as we are all getting into clean sheets at night, as long as we are warm and groomed (!) and well-fed, then things aren't all that bad after all - despite the odd pile of 'whatever' here and there.] Bless your heart! Naomi
I love how everyone grows more in love with this study as the weeks progress. I can hardly wait to go read all the posts.
Hope you are able to keep the title of domestic diva. All the advice was helpful to me too. Thanks.
I'm praying for your friends.
Luanne
I have been touched by your writing. My heart aches for the family's loss of the teen. I have no where to know how they face the day. But I know in my hard, hard times God shows up on time...I mean in a second; not one moment early or late. I will pray for them.
You wrote so beautifully: Life here is hard, but what hope we have when we make the CHOICE to say "Yes Lord".
As I am dealing with my own challenges, and "being present" with friends' and families' hard times, and feeling the pain of some blog contacts I am more convinced than ever that we Christians must know that our focus must be on Jesus Christ...not our problem. That takes supernatural power and God only asks for our faith, humility and request for Him to fill us continually.
Keep writing; you are making a difference.
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