LGG ~ Made for Community - Week 5 - Tuesday

Good morning~

Happy birthday to our very own Tammy.  I hope your day is as special as you are!!

Reading Acts 4:32-35

S.O.A.P.

S:  All the believers were united in heart and mind.  And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had.

O: United.  Shared everything.

A:  Like I said yesterday, I am not a regular church attender.  Because of this group, I feel plugged in to a community of believers.   But, after reading yesterdays posts and now today's, I am realizing I do need to be involved in a local church.  One that has believers and teachers of God's word.  A place where I can learn and be with others in Christ and break bread and fellowship.  It is what I am called to do.

P:  Father, direct my path in the way you would have me go.  Cause me to be obedient even if it isn't at the church I have been attending (when I go).  Be with the others in our group searching for their home church.  In Jesus' precious name.  ~Amen

Have a good day.  It's a soggy one here today.

LGG ~ Made for Community - Week 5 - Monday

Good morning~

Are you ready for a good week?  I am.  I am staying positive this week.  I will not let anyone steal my joy.  

Our challenge this week:

Our reading today is:  Acts 2:42-47

And S.O.A.P. 

S:  All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord's Supper), and to prayer.

O:  Fellowship.

A:  I am not a regular attender of church on Sunday, I'll admit, however, I do feel it is good to come together with other believers.  I enjoy going to church when I do and love hearing the message of our pastor.  The NC girls of this study have been meeting together Saturday morning for a few hours and it is a wonderful time of study, sharing, crying and laughter.  I am hoping by the end of the week I will have a better understanding and desire to be a more regular Sunday church attender.

P:  Father, thank you for providing a wonderful church to attend with a pastor who speaks directly from your word and convicts me to spend more time in your word and being about your business.  Thank you for these sisters who are a wonderful group to fellowship with and pray with.  Be with each of us this week as we learn more about coming together as a body of believers.  In Jesus' precious name.  ~Amen

Have a happy Monday.

LGG ~ Made for Community - Week 4 - Friday

Happy Friday, Girls~

It's hard to believe we are now half way through this study.  I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am.  Thank you for sticking with this and for sharing your hearts.

Today is fun fact Friday.  

My fun fact is, I love animals.  Any kind of animal.  They just make me happy.   I always wonder what they think about and if they have a secret language between each other.  (I know I am silly)

Reading today is Galatians 6:1-10

S.O.A.P.  Galatians 6:10

S:  Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone - especially to those in the family of faith.

O:  Do good to everyone - especially other believers.

A:  All week we have talked about others.  Today those others are ESPECIALLY those we share faith with.  I sure hope you all read the blog post that LGG puts out Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  They are some of the most thought provocation and inspiring words that I read on those days.  Whitney touches my heart every time I read her thoughts.  Today she shares:  

But we love Jesus and we’re practicing how to keep the main thing the main thing:

No condemnation.

No competition.

No comparing.

Just compassion to do good when we can, and enough courage to take the focus off of ourselves and promptly put it back onto Jesus. Over and over again, with help from each other.

WOW!  Wouldn't it be wonderful to live this way every day, with everyone, especially those we love and share our faith with?

P:  Father, thank you for these beautiful women who choose to share in our group.  Thank you for allowing us to come together each morning from all over but feel so together.  Thank you for giving us opportunities to lift each other up and share our joys and sorrows.  Be with each of us this weekend as we go to our own churches, or trying to find new churches or wherever each of us are.  Help us to find and share with others who have a like faith as ours.  We need You as our center.  A cord with three strands is not easily broken.  ~Amen.

Have a wonderful weekend.

LGG ~ Made for Community - Week 4 - Thursday

Good morning~

Nothing like waking up and thinking it's Wednesday but it is really Thursday.  That was a strange feeling.  Happy Thankful Thursday.  Today I am thankful for my sister.  She got a job yesterday.  She lost her job right before Christmas and was pretty devastated.  But praise God, she starts a new position Monday.  Please keep her in your prayers (and my Mom, too).

What are you thankful for?

Reading Ephesians 4:1-6

S.O.A.P.

S:  Always be humble and gentle.  Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love.

O:  Humble and gentle.  Because of love.

A:  Taken from You Version:  "Humility is the sober assessment and awareness of the truth of who we are with Christ and who we are without Him. Humility is not weakness, but the utter dependence on God and submission to His will in every circumstance. Humility yields gentleness. When we fearlessly recognize and assess our failings as we stray from the Lord, we become more gentle and compassionate towards others who fail us."  

I am hard on myself and others.  I tend to be a major 'eye roller'.  Praise God I am a work in progress, because of Him and being in his word more, I am becoming more forgiving and understanding.  But golly it is hard.  Especially now being in the south.  I never realized what Jeff told me until I experienced it for myself.  There is a laid back style here that is acceptable and very hard for me to learn to accept as far as a work ethic is concerned.  I am learning to be more loving, more forgiving,  more humble and gentle with others.  I like to say I do everything with love and because of love, but sometimes it is just plain hard.  I need to be more like and act more like Jesus.  He is my goal.  I need to keep my eyes focused on Him and in turn, I will love and be more patient in the areas of my life that cause me to roll my eyes.

P:  Father, I am a sinner.  I am not perfect.  I can only imagine how others roll their eyes at me.  Please let me remember that the next time I feel my eyes rolling because of what I think is someones weakness.  Give me a compassionate heart like Jesus.  Let me love and be gentle and patient in all areas of my life.  Forgive me for the times I fail you.  Thank you for loving me and forgiving me and for sending your Son to save me.  ~Amen

Simply Love~

LGG ~ Made for Community - Week 4 - Wednesday

Good morning Girls~

Happy Halfway Day.

Reading Psalm 133:1-3

S.O.A.P. 

Psalm 133:1

S:  How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!

O:  Wonderful, pleasant - harmony!

A:  What a force we could be if we all celebrated each other's strengths, gifts, talents instead of tearing each other down or by being jealous.  God gives us each our own gifts.  I think of when it is raining or when I spill something (my mom knows this has been a pet peeve of mine for as long as I can remember) but think of it.  The wet flows even into the nooks and crannies of everything in it's path.  What a covering.  We need to come together as a body of believers and for the greater good of Christ's people.  We can build on one another's strengths to become better for Him.

P:  Father thank you for the stepping stones in my life.  Thank you for allowing me to grow.  Help me to build my sisters up and recognize their abilities and not be jealous.  Give us opportunities to work together for your greater good.  Forgive me for tearing down and not building up.  I am sinful and jealous at times and that is ugly.  It feels so much better to celebrate than tear down.  Be with us as we go about our day.  Give us words to share with each other to build up and celebrate each other as a body of your children.  ~Amen

Be blessed and a blessing, Sisters.

LGG - Made for Community - Week 4 - Tuesday

Good morning Girls~

Reading today is 1Corinthians 12:12-27.

S.O.A.P.

1Corinthians 12:26-27

S:  If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.  All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.

O:  We are in this this together.

A:  What a boring world it would be if we all had the same talents.  I need to recognize that differences are what make us all unique instead of less than adequate.  Each person has something to offer.  If we are all using the gifts given to us to honor God, then I need to accept it and not try to change it to 'my way'.  My way is not always the right way.  Thank God he knows what he is doing.  If we were all doctors or lawyers or teachers or secretaries or home makers or factory workers or painters or house builders how in the world would anything get done?  I mean imagine a world with only one of these professions and none of the others??!!  YIKES.

P:  Father, thank you for giving each of us a role.  Help us to each be the part you choose for us and let us give all the glory, honor and praise to you.  Forgive me for not recognizing our differences as a gift and being judgmental.  Shame on me.  I fall short of your expectation every single day, but you give me mercy again and again.  Let me also show that same mercy to others.  Be with me today.  Give me eyes to see and accept that each person I meet today are in life doing what they do because it is the gift you have given them.  Let us work together to do your work and be an example to others of who you are and what you can do for them.  ~Amen

Have a good day, Girls.

LGG ~ Made for Community - Week 4 - Monday

Good morning Ladies~

Reading for today is Exodus 17:8-13.

S.O.A.P. 

Exodus 17:12

S: Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset.

O:  Supported and held him up.

A:  This reading brought me to tears thinking of what a bond these men had.  This is what good friends do.  We support and love each other when we feel we can't take another step.  That is what this our group is.  We support and love each other through tough times and in joyful times.

P:  Father, God, thank you for the reminder of what it is like to have good friends.  I pictured this story in my mind as I read it.  I can only imagine how tired Moses' arms were.  Thank you for Aaron and Hur being such wonderful examples of what friends should do for one another.  Thank you for the women in our group for always being here lifting each other up and praying for each other.  Be with us this week as we go about our lives and recognize people in our lives who need us to help them and show them what it's like to be a friend with you as the one we are serving. In Jesus' precious name.  ~Amen

Who will you support and lift up today?

Be blessed and a blessing.