Next Book Ideas?!?!
>> Thursday, October 15, 2009
If anyone out there has any book suggestions, please let me know. We are discussing several possibilities at our next meeting in about a week, so please throw any ideas into "the hat"!
Read more...
So Sorry!
OK, so I have been terrible at keeping up with the blog posts for this latest book! I think that I had just been taking on too much, as I have been known to do, and could not keep up with it all. We will be starting a new book soon and I am going to use it as an opportunity to start fresh with the blog! The new book has not been decided, as of yet, but I will post more info as soon as I have it!
Blessings1
Chapter 4, Wounded - Take your questions to HIM!
>> Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Every woman asks, "Do you see me? Am I captivating? Do I have a beauty all my own? Am I lovely?" Ask God these questions, not the world! Read Isaiah 62:1-5, but replace "Zion" and "you" with your own name. Jesus came to heal and to restore. Turn to Him now and let Him begin to come into your pain and begin the restoration process. Eldredge points out that we don't have to wait until we are in Heaven to begin to feel His healing. It will be perfect there, but He can start to remove pain while we are still on earth. "There is hope. There is healing. There is life." All we have to do is turn to Him!
Read more...Chapter 4, Wounded, A young girls heart and every woman's question...
What are the core questions that every little girl asks? How was your question answered when you were little? Do you remember a certian incident or messages that you somehow receieved that caused pain or wounded your heart? How did this change the way that you viewed yourself? Take some time to ask God how events in your life changed or shaped how you viewed yourself or your beliefs. (This can stay between you and God, if you prefer, but work through it with Him. Turn it over to Him.) Are you willing to consider that these messages are not true? What does the Father say instead? Ask Him!
Read more...Chapter 4, Wounded - He wants to heal our pain!
We often compare our lives to other women that we know, which can become very dangerous. Often, they might look better than ours and discourage us, when reality, they have similar struggles--their lives are not perfect either. Other times, when we hear about the hardships and difficult or painful pasts that another woman has suffered, we minimize our own pain. In reality, our pains and sorrows matter to the Father...You matter to Him. Read Psalm 56:8. What does this tell us about how precious our tears are to our Father? Eldredge reminds us that we shouldn't revisit our pains to feel sorry for ourselves; however, it is necessary to allow ourselves to go there so that we are able to turn them over to God and He can restore and heal those areas of our hearts. This will open us up to his loving truth and to better things that He has planned for our lives.
Read more...Chapter 3, Fallen Eve and Aching Hearts`
In the book they talk about how we all have aches, pains in our hearts and unmet longings. God desires for us to bring our aching hearts to Him so that He can speak into our lives and touch our hearts. Where do you tend to turn when you have that ache and don't take it to the Father? How can you change that in the future? Read Hebrews 4:14-16. What is this scripture speaking to you?
Read more...Chapter 3, Fallen Eve
Eldredge talks about women either becoming crontrolling and driven or desolate and needy? Can you relate to this and which direction do you tend to go? How does it play out in your life? Eldredge says, "We are in this together, gals. We need to look at our fallenness in order to find the redemption available to us in Christ and become the women we are intended to be. Thee is mercy for us. Even here."
Read more...Chapter 3, Fallen Eve
Why do you think that Eve really decided to take the forbidden fruit? Read Genesis 3:10. Do you ever find yourself hiding? If so, how do you tend to hide?
Read more...Captivating - Chapter 2, Created Eve
>> Wednesday, April 1, 2009
If you read the story of creation, you will see that afterAdam was created, God wanted to bring him a "helpmate". God said that it was not good for man to be alone and brings him all of the animals that had been created to be named, but no suitable helper was found.
Eldredge points out that Eve was His final creation, "She is the crescendo, the final, astonishing work of God. Woman. In one last flourih creation comes to a finish not with Adam, but with Eve. She is the Master's finishing touch. Eve is....breathtaking. Woman was not created as an afterthought, but as the pinnacle of creation."
Have you thought of the creation of woman up until this point as an afterthought or as something more? What do you feel in your heart when you hear "crown of creation"?
Chapter 1, A Loss of Heart
Most of us have felt pressures from the world to "be more" or "be less", "try harder"....Can you relate to this feeling? Do you believe that this message is from God? If you were to replace that message that the world is sending you, what do you think God really thinks and feels about you?
Eldredge wrote in the study guide, "God did not place these longings in our hearts to torment us. Trather, they reveal the secret of who we truly are and the role that is ours to play. There is so much hope here, hope to become the woman you secretly long to be, the woman who is romanced, irreplaceable, and utterly beautiful!" What does this make you feel?
Chapter 1, Beauty to Unveil
Who is beautiful to you and why? Can you relate to what Eldredge says about all women wanting bo be beautiful, to unveil your beauty to someone?
Read more...Chapter 1, Irreplaceable
Do you have a desire to play an irreplaceable role in a heroic adventure? Take a few moments to think about that...What would you be doing if money, status, time, etc. were no object and you had the opportunity to take on an adventure? How would your living that life impact others in this world? How is the life that you are living now impacting those around you and the world?
Read more...Chapter 1, Romanced
Eldredge talks about our desire to be romanced. Are you aware of a longing to be somone's priority? Think about that for a moment. What would you like for that to look like?
Read more...Captivating - Chapter 1, The Heart of a Woman
God created our feminine hearts as a reflection of his own heart. Eldredge says that, "And so the journey to discover what God meant when he created woman in His image - when He created you as His woman - that journey begins with your heart. We are reminded in Proverbs 4:23 of the importnce of our hearts, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."
The Refuge Women's Ministry - "CAPTIVATING"
>> Saturday, March 28, 2009
Hello, Ladies! Welcome to the Women's Ministry blog site! This this is the starting point for the "Captivating" book. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let me know at zkwojtek@suddenlink.net.
You will notice that there are some past book studies shown on this blog site. If you ever feel like reading one of the past books that are discussed on this site, you can always go back and see what other ladies thought about them by looking through the archives. The books that have been discussed so far on this blog include: "And then I Had Kids" by Susan Alexander Yates and "Walking with God" by John Elderedge. I highly recommend both of them!
I look forward to finding out what God has in store for each of us during this Captivating group! I am thankful for what each of you will bring to the group and for the opportunity to grow in Christ with all of you!
Blessings!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
