Back in the summer of 2011, I started a women's Bible study group. Even in college, I remember having the desire to study the Word regularly with other women, especially those in my family. Needless to say, this ministry has long been placed on my heart.
After we moved back here though, that vision finally became a reality. I can't remember the specifics of the conversation, but one day Granny told me that if I started a class, she'd come. It must have been the nudge I needed because from there I began planning, encouraged and excited to begin our study together.
With the belief that God was leading me to pursue this desire, I invited several other women to study the Gospel of John with me at my house. I sent out a Facebook invite, announced the study at church, and invited several family members - not sure if anyone would respond or really be interested in hearing me teach. However, one after another, people replied affirmatively that they were coming!
The response was much more explosive than I'd imagined. Before the study even began, there were more women interested in attending than I could fit comfortably in our home. Thankfully, our church was willing to let me host the study in their fellowship hall and things got rolling on schedule.
To my surprise, that first summer the group flourished. About twenty women attended off and on over those first few months. Ladies from church, family members, and even high school friends I hadn't talked to in years showed up! There was a huge range of women too - college students to senior citizens, new Christians to mature believers, those who had never attended a Bible study to those who were veterans. Despite the wide variety, somehow God met each of our needs through the group no matter what we were struggling with or where we were in our faith walks - just as He's known to do.
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| One of the most humbling parts was that both my grandmas, my mom, my aunts, and even a few of my great aunts have come to be a part of these classes. It's just such a testimony that God's ways aren't always our ways. He used my Grandma Nora Ann and mom to teach me about Him from childhood as well as my Aunt Susie to get me into Awana where I memorized so much Scripture and now is reversing the roles. What an awesome privilege! He's used all of our gifts to spur each other forward at different points in our lives. |
After studying John, we jumped into a video series called "Battlefield of the Mind" and wrapped up the year diving into the Book of James. In the new year, our group began a workbook focusing on principles of worship displayed in the symbolism of the Old Testament Tabernacle (a great study that even ended in a field trip to a replica of the tabernacle in Lancaster, PA).
As that third session drew to a close, I remember being so worried we wouldn't finish in time because it was so close to my due date with Hadley. But, two days prior to Hadley's arrival, we did it! Definitely God's hand - His timing!
I took a few months off after my baby girl's arrival but was anxious to start again, worrying that possibly the group would disintegrate as they sat stagnant waiting. As with anything, when we get out of the habit it's sometimes hard to jump back in, but God didn't let my girls wander far. Some of them found other groups to get into at their own churches or closer to where they lived, and though we missed them, I was thrilled to hear they'd taken steps to move forward even apart from us. As a result, we had a smaller group when in July when we went chapter by chapter through the book of Acts, but it was a good one and we gleaned a lot from each other as we looked closely at the Word and discussed our insights and questions.
Since video series are always a nice transition from an intense study (plus they're good for drawing people in, helping to rebuild the group), we began 2013 with one called Armed and Dangerous before going into a longer study.
When that ended, my group loved the tabernacle book so much that they requested another one from the same series so we began Life Principles from the Old Testament, reviewing a lot about the patriarchs of the faith and learning new material as well.
As fall approached, I decided I needed a break to prepare for Reid's arrival and adjust after his birth. I knew God had held these women together even when I took a bit of maternity leave after Hadley, but foolishly when I got pregnant with Reid, I again picked up the worry about what would happen next. Thankfully, one of the women, who'd attended for months and had become one of my dear friends named Sherri, volunteered to teach the next study which she began a few months prior to Reid's arrival. Teaming with another Christ-filled woman in our church named CJ, the two of them diligently spent time in God's Word prepping to understand the book of Philippians in order to help us grasp the richness found in those verses. During that time I enjoyed just being ministered to by them for several months.
Not long after they finished, once again God put me back in place to teach, and we did an evangelism course called Sharing Jesus Without Fear - and four week study that ended up taking eight as we moved slowly through it taking time to think about how to practically share our faith with those we love as well as the people we encounter daily. All of our lives have been so drastically impacted by the love of Christ, that there was just such a desire to share those experiences and the videos and workbooks definitely helped guide us in how to do so without the anxiety of rejection - to put ourselves out there for others even if it meant not everyone would agree.
Finally, back in July, I began another one - Steps for the New Christian. There were so many women in my MOPS group and family that either were searching for faith or still struggling with foundational principles that when I saw this particular book, it grabbed my attention. Usually at the end of each study, I let everyone somewhat vote on what they would like to see us do next, and they confirmed that this was an area many of them would like to explore deeper. Having felt like the Spirit laid it on my heart and confirmed through the agreement of my sisters in Christ, we went with it and I'm so glad we did.
Since we were switching churches and in the middle of our hunt at that time, the setting was a bit different this time. Instead of meeting at God's house, we met in mine - gathered round the dinning room table. There were some nights we were packed in like sardines. In the pics below there were 13 people crowded in, hungry to hear what God would speak to our hearts as we sought him in his Word. (And, it doesn't even show everyone that participated - at least four others aren't pictured!) Parking was rough and some nights we had to pull out extra chairs and tray tables because we needed more space, but that was okay. From all different backgrounds, there was a huge range of ages represented, but we all had a need for His truth as well as the fellowship with other women.
The enemy doesn't want the truth taught though nor does he want people bonding together in prayer, encouraging one another, so as the weeks progressed we began to see opposition come up. Childcare issues, sickness, weather, etc., our group was being pulled in different directions. Sometimes it was hard not to be discouraged on the weeks when we only had a few able to attend - not because numbers are important but because I knew just how rich the study was and that my sisters were missing it. Satan tried to put thoughts in my head that I was wasting my time in preparation, and we had some in the group so worn out that they too debated if it was worth the effort to study and show up every week. However, with all that opposition, I began to openly talk to the ladies about the attacks on our minds we were all feeling, and we began praying and fighting even harder to stay committed.
One night when our group was especially small, God gave us a very visual reminder that He is faithful. I can't remember who spotted it first, but right in our front yard, he planted a gorgeous double rainbow. Immediately we dropped everything and went straight out on the porch, standing just in awe of Him as He refreshed us and lifted our chins to keep our eyes on Him versus the storms.
This time in particular, several women lamented that they wouldn't be able to participate without someone to watch their children. A couple even suggested going together to hire someone to help each week. In the midst of planning, we also realized that ironically this was the first time that we didn't even have a church nursery to put them in to play, and we weren't sure logistically how we could keep the kiddos quiet in our house so that the women could focus.
The first few weeks were a challenge, but in the end we managed! Dave was the one who really stepped up to the plate. We knew in order for there not to be chaos, we had to plan carefully to keep the kids busy. For my sanity and to keep the germs at bay with so many little ones, we also knew we had to come up with a good way to stay in front of the mess that kids can create quicker than you can blink - something we struggle upstream with everyday with just our three. Additionally, we also really wanted to use the time that the adults were learning to also teach the kids. Praise God, in the end, he helped us pull it all together!
Each week Dave used The Big Picture Story Bible (one of the best we've seen for kids), to teach a story or two, followed by a theme related craft, a snack, and then a game or some other form of play time. Keeping it structured and having a few ground rules, like everyone taking their shoes off at the door and keeping the food in the kitchen, made things run smoothly. At first, when the group was bigger, we even found some teenagers helpers to help with crowd control or tend the babies while Dave taught the older ones. There were a few times when the roar conflicted with our women's group, but a quick shuffle outdoors or to the basement playroom were pretty quick remedies for that.
Here we'd been all worried, but how silly we'd been! God worked it all out when we were obedient to do what He'd set before us. Though that first night, between the twelve ladies present, we had nine children, my hubby was ready and any hiccups were minor.
I learned something about that fella I married too - he's a really good children's teacher. Just look at these crafts!
Aside from studying the Word together, I try to plan a fellowship activity every other month when we're doing the studies to just take time to get to know each other deeply. Relationships are what really keep any type of group strong, so we don't just want to gain knowledge together; we want to truly know each other - how to pray for and encourage one another in the best way possible.
For this particular study, we took a trip one beautiful summer evening to a local park for a picnic. We chatted and enjoyed each other's company...
...and our babies got in some good play time and socialization in the meantime.
From my other posts, you've heard time and again all the challenges we faced in November and December, so once we closed up this particular study I didn't move into another one quickly. Between just trying to stay above water and all the snow we've been getting this winter, the timing just wasn't right. However, God never removed the desire to keep this group going from my heart. For months I have been pondering when and what to explore next with my sisters in Christ.
As I looked through several books on my own, I came across another written by the same man who penned our previous one. This one, however, was entitled How to Develop a Quiet Time: A Forty-Day Journey. At first glance, I expected it to be on how to study God's Word and carve out time in our busy schedules, but as I read through it, I realized the focus is more on how to pray. Personally, I have a really hard time being still in both body and mind to focus in prayer. Sometimes I feel the words are repetitive, empty, and misguided. I fall asleep midway or start thinking about my to-do list or worries and never finish. It's a weakness that affects my walk with Him, and I have longed for something deeper for a while. As a result, this book was so exciting to me and the perfect follow-up to the one the group had just finished.
Right now there are twelve of us who have decided to take this journey together starting in April and we would love to have more. If you live locally and are interested in participating, please let me know as soon as possible so I can order you a workbook now. Though we have several more weeks to wait in anticipation, I need to make sure we have all our resources early because this is not a study participants will be able to start part way through. We would love to have you and hope you'll consider joining us!
(Note: If you live elsewhere but would like a copy of the workbook or to join our online Facebook group for the discussion points, please contact me and I'll get you set up. :) )
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