Running on Empty

Truth: No matter how hard I've tried to tell myself otherwise, there have been more days that I haven't enjoyed my job this year than in the previous 10 years combined!

Truth: This school year my quiet time has been minimal.

Coincident?  I think not!

Last Wednesday at Prayer Meeting it hit me.  When the job is done right, teachers give all day long.  Because I wasn't filling myself back up, it was hard to find more to give.  That's why I felt exhausted and depleted.  I left Prayer Meeting that night, called Kelly, and told her that we needed to started the Bible study we'd been talking about for several, several months.  She told me she'd planned on talking to me about that exact same thing.  Coincident?  I think not! 

I can't begin to tell you how my perspective has changed or all the ways I've seen God working just since I've spent more time seeking Him!  It's been amazing!!  It's so embarrassing to admit how I let busyness selfishness get in the way. By doing this, I had defeated myself.

I'm happy to say that we started the Beth Moore study of Esther today after school in my classroom.  It's my second time to do it, but I can't wait!!  There's an intimate group of five, and  I can't wait to share this journey with them.  Fill me up, Lord, I want more of You and can't wait to know you more!!

These lyrics from Hillsong's "You" is SO the prayer of my heart right now!!

"Steal all that is within me, 'cause I all want in this world is more of You.

In the less of me it is You.  Increasing as I fade away, your light for all the world to see.

God it is you, who breaks the chains.  It is you, who lights the way. 

And everything I am cries out for you.

  So make my life transparent.  Your life in mine displayed. 

And let every earthly glory go back to you."

Summer Bible Study-Week 3 (w/ a bonus feature)

Tonight was another great night. To all of you Girls who come, thank you! Thank you for sharing so openly and honestly. You have encouraged, inspired, and uplifted me. I'm learning so much!

For those of you who haven't been able to be a part of this study, here are some topics we're discussing:

• words and the influence they have over us
• who we are and what we struggle with are not the same thing
• we need to rely on God's Word and not our own
• wrong thinking comes from faulty assumptions
• we have a choice: "Act according to truth or react to our emotions."
• "By faith we receive truth. By faith we believe truth. And by faith we act on truth."
• God gave us the Holy Spirit to teach, comfort, counsel, and defend us.
• we need to be awake and have our shield of faith ready to fight against the devil's attacks
• we've become so used to the lies Satan tell us, we often think it's our own voice
• prayer is the best weapon when fighting the devil
• we need accountability

Talk about food for your soul, huh?

Each week we meet together we watch Beth's video on her thoughts, discuss some topics she lays out for us, and comment on her blog about our time together. Tonight we decided to have some fun and be different. We put our comments in the form of a rap. It was a blast! (I'm so sorry you missed Jen's performance. It was definitely award winning! Ha! Love ya, Girl!) Here's what we came up with:

A little rap from the Bible Study "Babes" in Springfield, MO.

5-6-7-8: Holla!
Me, Myself, and Lies is what we folla'.

Yo, Bethie we're here
to tell ya 'bout our fears.

Satan tells us lies
And sometimes makes us cry.

We're stepping out in faith
To claim our rightful place.

Like the woman with the flo,
We need our faith to grow!

We recognized our triggers,
And we know that God is bigger.

To keep our closets from the fire,
We're kickin' out that big fat liar!

Word to the Father!!!!!

Bible Study - Change of Date

Make a Smilebox invite

We have Lift-Off!

Last night we had our first group meeting for "Me, Myself, and Lies". Let me tell you it did not disappoint. We have a wonderful group of ladies! We took some time to get to know one another by comparing our demeanor to that of a specific breed of dog, to share something that we are praying about, and to talk about the gift that God's Word is. We missed those of you who were unable to come. Have no fear, at the next study we can share the dog demeanor we came up with for you at the next get together! (he, he!!) (I've posted Beth's video below for you to watch.)

Here are some things you need to know:

1. The next time we meet will be Wednesday, July 15th due to a scheduling conflict with VBS.
2. This means that you will need to complete 3 weeks of homework to prepare for this get-together. (No worries, next time you'll only have 1!)
3. The next time we meet, we'll be meeting at Tina's.

I can't wait to dig in and get started!!!

Siesta Summer Bible Study (Introduction) from LPV on Vimeo.

See ya Wednesday!

Ok, Bible Study Babes, are you as excited about this study as I am? If you're not quite there yet, I think you will be when you read this post. We have 12 "for sures" signed up so far! Amazing, isn't it? Here's our list:


1. Tammy
2. Jen
3. Leslie
4. Kelly
5. Cara
6. Kay
7. Tina
8. Sherry
9. Vicki
10. Tonya
11. Laura
12. Mirella

If anybody else is interested, it's not too late! I believe God had good things in store for us!

I'll see you Wednesday at 6:30 at my house.

Bible Study - time & place

Thank you, Jen, Tonya, and Kelly for letting me know your opinions. It makes it so much easier to make a decision when you know you're not doing it alone.

Here's the deal: We have some other ladies would like to join us, but cannot make it on Tuesday evenings. Is there any way we could do it on Wednesday evenings at 6:30? We'll plan on just meeting for an hour (15 minutes of Beth's video and 45 minutes of discussion). I am more than willing to host our first gathering, which will be on Wednesday, June 24th. I'll make some kind of snack for us. We can decide then if we want to rotate or just continue to meet at my house. Remember, we will only be meeting a total of 4 times since this is a summer Bible study.

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to share this with all of you! It's going to be such a growing experience: growing in Jesus and growing with each other. Can't wait!!

Just to remind you, here's the meeting schedule:

Wednesday, June 24, 2009 (1st Mini-Session/LAUNCH/Group instructions)

(DO WEEKS ONE AND TWO OF HOMEWORK ON YOUR OWN.)

Wednesday, July 8, 2009 (2nd Mini-Session/Group Instructions)

(DO WEEKS THREE AND FOUR OF HOMEWORK ON YOUR OWN.)

Wednesday, July 22, 2009 (3rd Mini-Session/Group Instructions)

(DO WEEKS FIVE AND SIX OF HOMEWORK ON YOUR OWN.)

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 (4th Mini-Session/Conclusion)


What do think? How does this sound? Have you been able to rope anybody else into joining us? (Cara, I'm thinking about you here...)

Gearing up for Bible Study

Hey, Girls! Have you bought your books for our online Bible Study? I can't wait!! Before we begin, we need to decide on the time we'd like to get together. In her post, Beth writes about meeting on Tuesdays beginning with June 23rd.

• Will Tuesdays work for you?
• Do you want to do it during the day or during the evening hours?
• Do we want to meet at once place or do we want to rotate?

I'm completely open to anything! I'd love for everyone to post their preference. Then, we'll go with the majority. What do you think? I'm anxious to see what you say!!!

Are you up for it?

So, I've been horseback riding today, but that's about it. Sad to say, I've had a horrible allergy day and have had to spend what's left of the day inside. Now I remember why winter is wonderful! It's my own fault actually. I got out of the habit of taking Claritin daily. Needless to say, I'm working on getting it built back up in my system.

(Biscuit, Mom and Dad's barn cat, stowed away with us. When we got to Bar K we found her in the trailer!)

On to bigger and better things... I checked out Beth Moore's blog today for the first time in a while. I was excited about what I saw. She is getting ready to host a summer Bible study on her blog. Did any of you do this last year? It sounds VERY doable, even amidst the craziness of summer. The book we're going to study is "Me, Myself and Lies" by Jennifer Rothschild. "The basic premise of the study is to learn how to guard what we’re saying to ourselves and what we’re stuffing destructively into our minds." Sounds like something I need! What about you?

Beth's post explains how this online, blogging Bible study will work. Basically, we're going to be working through the workbook 2 weeks on our own. Then, we'll meet together, watch a 15 minute video of Beth sharing her thoughts, and then discuss what we've discovered during the 2 weeks. When we're done, we'll post a comment about our time together.

I know summer pulls everyone in a million different directions, but I've grown so much during the Esther Bible study and have even noticed a difference in myself during these past few weeks that I've taken "off". Accountability is good for me!

There's no pressure here because I'm going to do the study no matter what. I just thought I'd see how many of you might be interested, too.

Any takers?

Fear not!

To say that last week's bible study with Beth Moore was amazing would be an understatement. I haven't posted about yet because I really wanted to take some time to process the things she said. Here are the points I'm still pondering. Points that are changing my heart and my perspective.

1. Conditional trust leaves us in the tight fist of fear. "Our conditional trust positions us as negotiators and beggars before God instead of secure children."
2. "What if..." If = I Fear
3. I have the courage of God's presence.
4. I can bitter and resentful or with courage and determination.
5. And if _______________________(fill in the blank with something you fear), then my God will take care of me
6. Psalm 138:8 - The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever."
7. 1 Cor. 2:9 - "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him."

Each week it just keeps getting better! Thank you, Jesus!!