In which I set aside my "To Do List" and actually write a post!

I don't normally do women's Bible Studies at church. I'm too busy with the kids and the cakes and the dishes and the laundry... Seriously, we generally have one night a week that we don't have a practice or a game, or something we have to do. Adding one more thing just never seemed like a good idea to me...until...Miss Marcy stood up in church and announced that she was starting a Bible Study on "The Book of John for Women". Now I don't really know Marcy at all. She sings on the worship team with her husband and has a beautiful voice, but that's about all I know about her. That and the fact that she is funny. (One of my most favorite traits in people!) I have been to a couple of baby showers at the church that she attended and when she spoke, she cracked the place up. So, my interest was peaked. But when she told us that as she was setting out the sign-up sheets for the Bible Study, and one of the ladies signing up told her, "I don't normally go to these things", it was her response that sealed the deal for me. She said, "Neither do I!" That was it, I was in!

However, I was still concerned about our sports schedules and such, and I didn't want it to be offensive or disruptive to her if I wasn't able to attend every session, so I sent her an email explaining that there were some nights that I would not be able to be there due to my son's baseball games, and would that be too disruptive? She immediately replied letting me know that I was welcome to whichever sessions I could attend and that she would email all the material that I missed to me, so I would have a complete notebook. She's cool isn't she? This study was obviously not about her!

Well as it turned out, the study was a six-week course and we had baseball games scheduled for 4 of those dates. However, apparently God wanted me there as well, because two of those games were postponed due to rain, and the fourth was a late game, so I was able to attend before the game! The session I did miss was on "Patience vs. Frustration". I guess God didn't think I needed that one...or maybe He can just recognize a lost cause when He sees one...LOL!

Anyway, it was a FABULOUS study, full of wisdom and creative teaching tools that I wish I could share with you in detail, but that's not really my thing. What I really wanted to share with you was what I personally took away from the whole thing. There were lots of little things, of course, but the main thing came to me on the second to the last meeting of the series. The lesson was on "Trust vs. Doubt" and the activity was called "A centerpiece of faith and trust". Basically, Marcy had purchased a bunch of different types of cut-flowers. They were all laid out on the table and there was a vase filled with water in the middle of the table. One by one, we each knelt at the table, chose a flower, cut it off to the length we wanted, and placed it into the vase. As we placed our flowers into the vase, we each made one of the following statements taken from John 17 in order:

1. We glorify Your Son.
2. You have given us eternal life.
3. You are the only true God.
4. Your work is complete.
5. Jesus, You are exalted.
6. I belong to you.
7. Every good thing comes from You.
8. I believe Your Word.
9. I am Yours.
10. You are mine.
11. I am protected by You.
12. I am safe in Jesus.
13. I receive Your joy.
14. I receive Your words.
15. I am protected from the evil one.
16. I am not of this world.
17. Your Word is truth.
18. I am sent into the world.
19. I am set apart for You.
20. Others will see and believe.
21. My oneness with You will affect the world.
22. The body of Christ is one body.
23. God loves me.
24. I will see Your glory.
25. You sent Your Son.
26. Your love lives forever in me.

Now, let me tell you, by the time we had gone through each of those 26 statements, and pruned those flower stems, (part of the lesson, you see, is the pruning) and placed them in that vase, we had quite a beautiful arrangement! It was an example of how God sees all of us together as a beautiful bouquet, and even though we need some pruning now and then, we are still part of that bouquet. Cool huh?

But here's the really cool part...the statement that fell on my turn was "You are mine". I had often thought of myself as His, but had never considered Him to be mine. I guess this was something that God really wanted me to hear, because at the end of the evening, we were each given an envelope to open with a personal message for each of us. The messages weren't anagrams of our names, but each letter of our names was highlighted throughout the message. This was significant because one of the things we had studied was about God calling us by name. Anyway, the message for me included that "I am Yours" from God to me! I am still trying to wrap my mind around that, but it is so obviously something He wants me to know, that I am going to focus on it for awhile and see what He does with it.

I really wish I had taken my camera with me so I could have posted a picture of that bouquet to share with you all. It truly was glorious!

And now, although I must return to my "To Do List", I will leave you with this thought...You are His, and He is yours! Wrap your mind around that today and let me know where it leads you!

Thanks for stopping by.