WORD up!

My Pink Princess Slippers. Colossians 3:1-10 was a lengthy passage to study on day one, but what a beautiful set of verses to build our identity on. Our hearts and minds should be concerned with heavenly things because we are positioned with Christ – at the right hand of the Father. There is so much that we need to resolve to put to death in our lives: bad language, immoral behavior, idolatry and more. As royalty (we are sons and daughters of the King of the Universe), shouldn’t our primary concern be those things that our kingdom is all about? This lesson led to a conversation with Jesus in which I confessed that I am not usually concerned with heavenly things. My concerns are selfish: my own health, my family, how we will spend our time together. Shouldn’t I be more concerned with the kingdom impact of my illness? But no, I just want to receive the good news from my doctor that the prescribed treatment did what it was supposed to do and there is no cancer in my body. Should...

Priscilla talked about the roads that we have traveled that we’re not so proud of. She shared her experience of dread when she approached an exit that previously led her to some very bad choices. But as she passed the exit, the Lord made it clear to her that those choices were in the past. That she was traveling a new road. The Lord makes all things new – including us. I expect that this will be a week of breaking down strongholds. Hallelujah! Who are we in Christ? As Christians, the Lord has put us on a new road. It’s a road beyond our pain and mistakes. It’s a rewarding road. It’s a road that defines us in Christ. I can’t wait to travel it this week! It will involve conversing with God about the specific road He has for me.

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses and encourages you through this material. I’m not sure of the condition of the world at the time of this publication. At the time of its writing, early 2009, things are looking pretty bleak with the economy and unemployment among other things. Are these the first stages of birth pains? The last? God only knows. Stay strong. Encourage each other. Pray. Jesus is coming… Stacey Take a few minutes to pray and savor 1 Thessalonians Chapter 1. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your own revelations… This first letter to the Thessalonians was written by the apostle Paul during his 2nd missionary journey, 49-51 AD. The Thessalonians were a group made up of mostly gentile ...

Trusting God When Bad Things Happen. Habakkuk 3:17-19 reminded me that times may get tough, but I have victory in Jesus Who is my strength and makes my feet steady on the path. What a simple, powerful truth. I will trust Him and lean on Him every day. This lesson was accompanied by an incredible quote from Charles Spurgeon that basically says we should be joyful wherever God leads us because He is too wise to err and too good to be unkind. This is a truth that I want to remember when bad things happen.

M.L. Tyndall’s “Surrender the Dawn” is a wonderful read filled with lots of seafaring action, suspense and intrigue, romance and the struggle to believe in God because of tragedy. Cassandra is trying to provide for her family: her mother and two sisters. Taking their last bit of money, she wants to invest in a privateer but no one will take on a woman investor. Luke Heaton just won a ship gambling. It is a broken-down vessel that needs lots of work and he has no money to fix her up or he would endeavor to become a privateer. Destiny brings these two together and it seems to be a perfect business arrangement. Cassandra has a difficult time trusting Luke because he is a drunk, a gambler and a womanizer. She is also wounded spiritually by her father’s death. But Luke actually makes strides in changing his ways and has some success as a privateer. And it doesn’t hurt that her heart flutters whenever she sees him or hears his name. So, when her money is stolen, Luke saves the day once again...

God’s Protection When I Am Intimidated. Jeremiah 1:17-19. Have you noticed that, when God assigns the task, it is ALWAYS bigger than you? This scripture reading led me to confess my fear of huge assignments. It also brought me to a place where I thanked the Lord for His presence and strength and power. I also thanked Him for using me at all. I know that the assignments He has planned for us in the future will appear bigger and bigger as He grows my faith, and I pray that my fear and intimidation will decrease and my trust in Him will increase and engage sooner each time. I know He will be faithful to this prayer. In fact, He already has. He is giving me opportunities each day to share Him with others, and this assignment is growing increasingly pleasurable where it used to be daunting.

The third installment in the “Missions of Mercy” series, “Undercover Pursuit”, is an incredibly enjoyable reading experience! I laughed out loud at the situation as the book opened and became instantly invested in these characters. SMW has a gift for drawing her readers into her novels. The prose is so well written that it plays like a movie in my imagination in complete Technicolor and Surround Sound! Luke Dekker, another operative with Stryker International, is on a mission to protect a CIA informant. Scarlett Hanson is on a mission to get her sister married to her former crush. When Luke meets Scarlett, he assumes that she is his date, and an agent sent to protect his informant. Scarlett knew her sister would try to set her up with someone during the wedding, but never imagined he’d be as amazing as Luke! This comical case of mistaken identity quickly takes a serious turn when the terrorists suspect that something isn’t quite right. This novel is an amazing roller-coaster ride that ...

Yesterday’s study topic was so incredible, and when I saw the heading for the next set of scriptures (God Uses Unseen Supernatural Sources to Provide Protection), I chose another set of scriptures from there to begin today. What I learned from 2 Kings 6:14-17 is that the protection God provides is more numerous and powerful than the enemy we can see. God’s protection is also more powerful than the enemy we can’t see. This powerful study time led me to pray that He would open my eyes to His power at work and that I would have a spiritual awareness of the vast army that is guarding me. False Sense of Security. Isaiah 30:1-5 brought sin and rebellion right into my face! Praise God! I want to trust in Him alone, not things and people. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that He put gifted doctors in my path on this journey through cancer. And I do believe that He works through them – and treatment. But HE GETS ALL THE CREDIT FOR HEALING. After all, if it isn’t His will, healing will not...

Susan May Warren has outdone herself with the second novel in the “Missions of Mercy” series, “Mission: Out of Control”. Brody “Wick” Wickham, former Green Beret and friend and teammate of Chet Stryker is going crazy on mandatory R&R after a mission. So, he takes a job as a bodyguard to make a few extra bucks that will save his parents’ home and send his little brother to college. How hard could it be to guard a Senator’s daughter on a trip through Europe? Veronica Wagner is not your typical politician’s daughter. Her alter-ego, Vonya, is a singing, mosh pit diving entertainer getting ready for a tour in Europe. What her bodyguard doesn’t know is that she has an agenda besides rehearsing and performing. She is also gathering data for the CIA in exchange for the agents working to release a child she befriended from a terrorist camp. This is an action-packed novel that can be read almost in one sitting – the pages turn that fast! The suspenseful story sparks the imagination. The char...

God Protects Even In Times Of Hardship. Psalm 23:4-5. A familiar passage, but one definitely worthy of revisiting again and again. Is God’s presence enough protection? It should be. His presence is assured when we belong to Him. And when we belong to Him, the victory is assured as well. We WILL be with Him for eternity if we are His. He has lavished so much blessing upon me. Blessing I certainly don’t deserve, but He wants to give me because I am His precious daughter. He is with me. Everyday. He is not an absentee Father, but a living active participant in the lives of all of His children. Hallelujah! Psalm 33:18-22. In those times when I am afraid, I need to remember that I am to fear God alone. I also need to remind myself of Who He is by praying His attributes that I’ve learned from scripture back to Him.

“Point of No Return” is an incredible new novel by Susan May Warren. This wonderful “Missions of Mercy” series picks up where the author’s “Mission: Russia” series left off. Mae Lund is on a mission. Her nephew, Josh, has disappeared from a mission camp in the eastern European country of Georgia. Mae needs help, and the only person who comes to mind is Chet Stryker, an old flame who broke her heart. Chet is on a mission of his own: to find and return a missing woman to her people so that an arranged marriage can come to pass. So what if the mission takes him back to Georgia, where he is a fugitive marked for death by a terrorist. So what if the memories of his time there 20 years ago still haunt him. So what if the missing woman is the sister of the woman he loved and killed. So what if he finds himself working alongside Mae and they have a history. But what if he really isn’t over the beautiful, intelligent, reckless pilot? This outstanding novel must be devoured. Exotic locations, st...

The Hedge That Protects. Psalm 118:6. This is a wonderful scripture to begin the week with! I love that, since there is a fair amount of reading to introduce the topic on day one, this study is designed with only one scripture to study on that first day. And this is a powerful verse, fully capable of standing up on its own. The concept is simple: God is on my side so I won’t be afraid. What can man do to me? God is absolutely my protection! I’m not saying that life in relationship with Jesus is without pain. I have had my fair share of that. But I know that everything that touches my life, BECAUSE I BELONG TO CHRIST, HAS BEEN SIFTED THROUGH HIS FINGERS. He is with me at every turn. Hallelujah! And I would much rather be in pain WITHIN His will than to be in pain without it! I apologize for my tangent on pain, but in my prayer time, I spoke to God about what I am afraid of, and it turns out to be pain. So, I sought a way to make my suffering more bearable. Not only do I h...

Priscilla uses an illustration about her children and the local swimming pool and arm floaties to talk about how God protects His people. After swimming with the floaties for awhile, her youngest son grew in confidence and wanted the arm floaties removed. When Priscilla complied and the boy jumped back into the water, he struggled without the flotation devices and became frustrated because he really couldn’t swim on his own. I am so like that little boy! What do I REALLY trust in? My savings accounts? My home alarm system? My seat belt and airbags? Or my God? WOW! Another powerful question that promises to be a powerful week of study and prayer. What makes me feel so secure that I remove the arm floaties that God has provided for me? This week, I am supposed to have a conversation with God about the things I trust. I can already feel the pain of conviction coming.

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Exodus. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses you through this material. Stacey Take a few minutes to savor Exodus Chapter 40. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your own revelations… 40:1 – the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month. 40:3 – the ark of the Testimony was put in place and the curtain shielding it. 40:4 – the table was put into place with everything on it and all its articles. Then the lampstand was put into place and its lamps were set up. 40:5 – the altar of incense was set up in front of the ark of the Testimony and the curtain entrance to the tent of meeting was set up. 40:6 – the altar of burnt offering was set up. 40:7 – the basin was set up and filled with water. 40:8 – the courtyard curtain...

Breaking the Cycle. This is the lesson I need! Thank you, Jesus!!! 2 Kings 18:3-7 not only helped me to prayerfully identify two very specific idols in my life, it led me to pray that the Lord would teach me to cling to Him in the good times. It’s easy to hold onto God in the hard times, when you’re suffering and in pain and need Him desperately. But when the suffering has ended, we tend to loosen our grip on Him. Now that chemotherapy is over, I don’t want to let up even a little bit on the grip I have on Him. I learned that, to cut down these idols in my life, I must “take each thought captive”. As thoughts pop into my head regarding these subjects, I must IMMEDIATELY focus on Christ and push the thought out of my head. What a powerful time of study and prayer. I will definitely study more on this topic.

Consequences of idolatry. Romans 1:21-32. Wow! What a quiet time! This passage showed me the domino-effect that begins with idolatry and travels through pain and consequences to wickedness and sin to disobedience and rebellion and ultimately leading to death! I never saw idolatry as dangerous as it truly is before today! And it is something that can easily be engaged in almost without realizing it. In fact, I realized that cancer has become an idol in my life. So my prayer time with the Lord this morning was full of tears and longing to focus on Him and smash this and other idols in my life. I begged the Lord to teach me how to truly live like it doesn’t matter what the results of my post-chemo tests are because He is in control REGARDLESS!

Secret Idols. Ouch. My study of Ezekiel 8:9-12 prompted a conversation with the Lord on the way to work about recognizing things that I allow to take His place in my life. It branched into a discussion of sinful things that “lurk” in the dark places of my heart, hiding from the light, deliberately looking for an opportunity to catch me by surprise and POUNCE! It reminded me of the scripture that teaches us that the enemy is prowling around for us like a lion, waiting for the moment to attack us. I prayed that I would not become the enemy’s prey. I asked that God would make me alert so that I would not fall into any traps or be caught by surprise. It made me realize that, if I stay close to Jesus, His light will illuminate everything in my path and the enemy will have no place to hide. So I am coming to You, Lord, to ask that You would fill me with tenacity to spend time with You and maintain that connection. Give me a hunger and a thirst for more of You. In Christ’s wonderful...

Human Heroes. What a great quiet time I had with the Lord, today in Exodus 32:1-4! This is a two-fold lesson that led to a two-fold prayer on the way to work this morning. My prayer was that the Lord would keep me from idolizing others, and keep me focusing on Him. I also asked that He would keep me from becoming an idol to anyone else and that I would actively point others to Him. The discussion evolved into my asking how I should handle situations where someone compliments my performance. I know some people who say “I’m glad you were blessed”, but it sounds arrogant. Is it wrong to say “thank you”? Or is that taking credit from God? Or should I say, “Thank you. It was an honor to be able to serve you/the Lord in this way”? What a productive lesson and wonderful interaction in prayer.

Who is the Lord? Is Jesus really the Lord of my life? Or have I given that prominent position to someone or something less deserving? Today’s study of Psalm 24 was a challenge. Not only was I applying the 5 Ps to the most verses (10), the material is truly convicting. Do I glorify God as I should? As He deserves? I want to live to glorify Him. I want to make choices to glorify Him. This is a difficult subject for which to choose a “Plan and Pin” action. I decided to start small. I am already in the Word every day, so I need to take it a step further. So, I will apply what I learn from His Word more often so that I start to resemble Christ.

A story about Priscilla’s niece, who became upset when she received a dime as she attempted to collect nickels, really drove home a spiritual truth: How often do we hang onto what we’ve grown used to when God is trying to present us with something more valuable? I anticipate that this will be a painful, but worthwhile week of study and prayer as I confront the things that I’ve allowed to capture my attention when I should have been giving it to Jesus! This week, I will be dialoguing with God about what I value.

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Exodus. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses you through this material. Stacey Take a few minutes to savor Exodus Chapter 39. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your own revelations… 39:1-31 – Which piece of priestly clothing inspires you? Can you picture people dressed this way in the time of Jesus? 39:32-33 – During the inspection of the tabernacle, “How Moses’ heart must have pounded! He knew above all others that if he missed the tiniest deviation from God’s command and allowed a defective piece to be carried into the sanctuary, it could mean death for all of them.” (A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place – Beth Moore) 39:33 – Moses inspects the tent, furnishings, clasps, frames crossbars, posts and bases. 39:34 – Moses inspec...

What a powerful lesson! Before I even finished the 5 Ps on the first set of scriptures, I was having a heart-to-Heart conversation with the Lord about my relationships with both believers and unbelievers. I candidly expressed my desire to honor Him with the relationships in my life, and my inability to determine whether some of those individuals really are believers. I also know that I don’t always act like a believing disciple of Christ, but I never want to be mistaken for a non-believer. This subject of relationships is one of longsuffering contemplation for me. Shortly after I became a Christian, I moved across the country with my family and made “friends” during my senior year of high school, but none of those relationships lasted. I have accumulated several friends over the years who I know I can ask for prayer and they will, but I don’t see them. We seem to rally around each other when the physical and spiritual battle intensifies and we need support. Lord, I want You to be...

This was a timely lesson for the times in which we live. 1 Timothy 6:6-10 spoke to God’s desires for my finances this morning. After examining these verses under the 5 Ps method, I couldn’t help but conclude that I haven’t been living up to God’s expectations for my life in this area. Why am I collecting “stuff”? It’s not like I’m building a collection as an investment. Okay, I admit it. The stuff I collect is movies on DVD. These things keep me house-bound in a chair when I should be out walking my dog, playing Frisbee golf or hiking with my family or doing anything else that will help me drop some pounds and get healthy! This was not where I expected to be convicted, today. God truly does move in mysterious ways. We’ve had a great discussion about this, and we are going to do something about this right away!

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book! You never know when I might play a wild card on you! Today's Wild Card author is: Michelle Stimpson and the book: Someone to Watch Over Me Dafina; 1 Original edition (June 1, 2010) ***Special thanks to Michelle Stimpson for sending me a review copy.*** ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michelle Stimpson is an author, a speaker, and an educator who received her Bachelor of Science degree from Jarvis Christian College in 1994. She earned a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2002. She ...

What a powerful quiet time, today! First, I looked at Mark 6:30-32 regarding getting rid of busyness. What a wonderful lesson to remember that Jesus wants us to rest with Him after ministering to others. I took a couple of lessons away from this passage: we need to discuss our ministry experience with Jesus and we need to physically step into the boat so that He can take us to the secluded place of rest. I am at such a juncture right now. I’ve recently completed chemotherapy. I am no longer ministering to my chemo nurses or my phlebotomists on a weekly basis. I don’t have news to report to my prayer partners every week. I am not encountering patients in the treatment center. So, my ministry of prayer and encouragement in those venues has ended for now. Another prayer ministry has opened since one of my Sunday school Sisters has had heart surgery. Yet another ministry of encouragement in my workplace (being the poster child for undergoing cancer treatment with a smile) is ali...

Today’s scriptures are challenging. I feel like I took the easy route of studying Re-Organizing My Priorities with Luke 5:4-6, 8-10. But these verses brought forth a wonderful picture of obedience to Christ that I’ve studied many times, but never saw quite this way before. The conclusion that I drew from these verses is that Jesus reveals to us what He wants us to do. We can choose to obey or not. If we do obey, we will be blown away by what He is capable of accomplishing through us. We will be humbled to be a part of His work and we will make an eternal difference. This is my prayer today: to be part of His work, regardless of what that is. Whether it’s the same thing I’ve done for Him over the last days or weeks, or whether He wants to change things up and put me somewhere new. I want people to see Jesus, not me. I am just grasping His robe and hanging on for the ride.

Jeremiah 18:3-6. I love these verses of scripture. The Lord is pictured as a potter. We are the clay. As He molds us on the wheel and we become flawed, He molds us into something else. I feel as if my life has been through several edits. Sometimes, this can be a painful or frightening process. I have learned that we cause the pain or fear ourselves because we are not following in God’s footprints, but are rather forging ahead, blazing the trail where He never intended us to go. There have been good edits, too. Cross-country moves, changes in career and church affiliation. The difference between the scary changes and the good changes have been how tightly I have a grip on His robe as He walks the path before me and I simply follow Him. That has been my cancer journey in a nutshell: hanging onto His robe and following Him. There was nowhere else to go. I am praying that I won’t let go now that chemo is done, but that I will continue to cling tightly to my Savior so that I won’...

Using the illustration of growing prize-winning tomatoes, Priscilla introduced the topic for week two of study: God’s priorities. Growing a prize-winning life requires removal of last year’s weeds and pruning. Jesus did the Father’s will AND NOTHING ELSE. Do we want to live like Jesus did? He lived a weeded and pruned life. He didn’t pour into the unnecessary. This week, I will be conversing with God about His plans and priorities for my life.

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book! You never know when I might play a wild card on you! Today's Wild Card author is: Janet Holm McHenry and the book: PrayerWalk: Becoming a Woman of Prayer, Strength, and Discipline WaterBrook Press; 1st edition (March 20, 2001) ***Special thanks to Laura Tucker, WaterBrook Multnomah Publicity for sending me a review copy.*** ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Janet Holm McHenry is the author of numerous books, including Daily PrayerWalk and PrayerStreaming. A high-school English, journalism, and creative writing teacher, she is the mothe...

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Exodus. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses you through this material. Stacey Take a few minutes to savor Exodus Chapter 38. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your own revelations… 38:1-7 – This is the obedient response to God’s instruction to build the altar of burnt offering in 27:1-8. See Matthew 23:16-19. 38:1 – see 27:1. 38:2 – see 27:2. 38:8 – The basin for washing being made from mirrors of highly polished brass plundered from the Egyptians is to fulfill God’s request in 30:17-21. It is fitting that the item used to make it represented vanity since its purpose is to cleanse the priest. “It was a beautiful Old Testament expression of dying to self…The purpose is clear: before we can truly come before God for cleansing, we...

Nine pages of journaling marks my time with the Lord today. Psalm 103:1-6 was the scripture used to speak to me about the power of words in my relationship with God. After getting into Position, Poring and Paraphrasing took some time, but yielded good results. I was able to draw good scriptural principles from my paraphrase. Posing questions was also fruitful. But trying to plan and pin an action from such a huge study was rather time consuming and required much effort to narrow things down to one or two do-able activities. In this case, those turned out to be knowing God’s Word so that I can obey it. This will lead to the second activity of remembering God’s benefits. Meeting with the Lord daily is the only way to accomplish this. Does a Plan and Pin activity count if I’ve already Planned it for some other study?

First of all, I would like to extend a heartfelt “Thank you” to Jamie Carie and her publisher for sending me an electronic copy of "Pirate of my Heart" to review for them. I am truly grateful for this generosity. “Pirate of my Heart” by Jamie Carie is an enjoyable romantic adventure. Lady Kendra Townsend is in quite a predicament. Her uncle has ruined her family financially with his gambling. Now Kendra finds herself answering to him because of her father’s untimely death. Choosing to travel to America to live with relatives she has never met rather than agree to a marriage she doesn’t want, Kendra finds herself aboard the Angelina with the handsome American Captain, Dorian Colburn. Dorian is furious at the prospect of a passenger. But first mate, John, has seen to all of the arrangements so Captain Colburn moves into his best friend’s quarters. But Lady Kendra isn’t a typical woman. She is beautiful, intelligent and unselfish. As Dorian’s heart betrays him by letting the Lad...

Well, I won’t say that the 5 Ps are mastered, yet, but they are getting a bit easier. “Positioning” yourself to hear from God is crucial. If you have distractions, you’ll be tempted to rush through your time with God. Go to a quiet room, park, sit in the car in your driveway if you must, but get by yourself with God. I also realize that the most intensive part of the effort is “Poring and Paraphrasing”. Take the time to meditate on the verse and read it several times before you write anything down. Strong poring and paraphrasing is a necessary foundation for building the remaining Ps into something life-changing. I am so excited that the principles seem to be rising to the surface of the scripture verses rather than me having to exercise much effort to “Pull (them) Out”. Actually, if I spend enough time on the pore and paraphrase, the principles jump right out at me. Hallelujah! We must “Pose” the tough questions if we really want to have a life-changing experience. Taking scri...

Today’s scriptures concentrated on the affect of my words on my children (Deuteronomy 6:6-6) and my husband (1 Peter 3:1-2). Again, using the 5 Ps technique of studying the scripture brought a couple of things to light in these verses that I remember reading, but never placed much importance on them. Today, those things popped right off the page and prompted me to pray that God would do a work in me that would make Him and His Word an obvious characteristic me that would be noticeable to others. I also asked the Lord to make respect and purity the default language I speak to my husband. Once again, I have a list of scriptures that I didn’t get through. I will use these verses if I want to revisit this subject matter again. Actually, since the homework is spread out over five days, that leaves two days for me to choose scriptures from these lists to study during my quiet time. Then, on day seven, I will also watch the video to introduce the next week’s study topic.

Here is my review of this amazing Bible Study: First of all, I would like to extend a heartfelt “Thank you” to Carla McDougal and her publisher for sending me a copy of "Reflecting Him" to review for them. I am truly grateful for this generosity. I really appreciate the time, effort and expense it takes to make a reviewer copy available to me. Carla McDougal’s “Reflecting Him” is a beautiful ten-week women’s Bible study on making Christ integral to every part of your daily life. As the clay in the hand of the Potter, we reflect Him as His creation. The weekly lessons are driven home in a five-day homework format that is not too taxing on a busy woman’s schedule. This would be a terrific study to do in your personal quiet time with the Lord, with your women’s ministry or a group of gals at work. “Reflecting Him” will bring the student to a new level in their prayer lives and how they live for Christ.

I think I am cured – (at least in one area)! In my quiet time with God this morning, I only got through the first set of scriptures. And HE IS SPEAKING VOLUMES! I pray that I will no longer be held captive to “finishing my homework” over hearing God speak. The “5 Ps” were a bit easier to work through today. James 1:19, 26 (words reveal the truth about your character) were a couple of rich verses to apply this study technique. I was impacted to not only listen more and speak less, but to put forth much more effort to avoid being offended or angered. Who snuck that part into the verse? I’ve never read that before. “Plan and Pin” led to another immediate conversation with God about my words. In general, I am a good listener and slow to speak. Sometimes to the detriment of a situation. I am reminded of Edmund Burke’s quote: “All that is needed for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing.” I don’t want to be the reason for evil to triumph, so I asked that the Lord would help...

This was a difficult day. It was a challenge to work through the 5 Ps. Thankfully, there was only the one set of scriptures to work through. I’ve already confessed that I have a tough time pulling the principles from scripture. Well, my “5 Ps” were pretty weak. “Positioning” worked out well. I went outside and enjoyed the sunshine and a cool breeze of God’s creation as those in my household began to wake up and begin their day. My problem started with “Pore and Paraphrase”. James 3:8-11, which was chosen to reveal the power of words in our personal lives, was tough to paraphrase because I saw these verses as pretty straight-forward. Since the Paraphrase was weak, the “Pull Out” was weak. “Pose” the question seemed to bring me back on track, though. I did ask myself a couple of pointed questions that brought into the light my recent behavior that was not glorifying God – especially since chemotherapy has been loosening my tongue a bit. “Plan and Pin” prompted an immediate con...

This is going to be a wonderful summer study! This video session is almost 25 minutes long because it familiarizes the student to the “5 Ps of Hearing God Through Scripture” in addition to introducing the topic for the first week of study: the tongue. I anticipate that God will speak powerfully this week. Many of us have made great strides with God’s help to tame the tongue. Priscilla takes the illustration of a raging fire to a new level. She made me see that, although we may have put out the visible flames, there may be hidden fires doing damage in places where I can’t see it. My goal for this week will be to allow the Holy Spirit to put my tongue in check. The Lord has already revealed an area of weakness in me where He is planning to do some work. I am task-oriented, so I am one of those people who MUST finish her homework. Sadly, I believe that I have missed out on so much relationship with God because of this. Rather than resting on a set of verses, I have rushed throug...

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Exodus. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses you through this material. Stacey Take a few minutes to savor Exodus Chapter 37. Then return here and leave comments about your own revelations… What attributes of God have you observed in your study today? How will this change your relationship with Him?