I am the Sunday School Director-in-Training at our church. I am also putting together this year's Vacation Bible School. I've never had responsibilities like those before and certainly never felt I had leadership capabilities. God has been supplying me with the ideas and skills I need to do those jobs.

The main difficulty I have encountered is getting people to help. Some people say they have no time. Others say they have no talent. Others won't say anything but, "No." Today's Bible study shoots holes in any excuses regarding talent. I don't think we need a Bible study to address the "time" aspect. If time is spent in worldly pursuits, then rewards (if any) will be worldly. Time spent in heavenly pursuits. . . .there will be rewards of the best kind!

I went to a Sunday School Workshop this last weekend. God blessed me with lots of information on learning styles and spiritual needs. I had difficulty picking which seminars to go see as there were about 20 available each session, most of which were not repeated. I prayed about which ones I should see and was blessed. Each seminar I saw flowed into the next until I had filled my mind to bursting with great information.

Now, as an analytical/visual learner (that's part of the stuff I learned there) I pray I can remember the things I learned (I did take lots of notes) and turn my head knowledge into heart knowledge. I know God will help me with that. After all, He's the one that picked the seminars for me, so I know He wants me using what I learned!

As Christians, we all have the responsibility to spread the news about Jesus. God has equipped all of us with certain gifts/abilities. Jesus said, "but ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

He doesn't force us to use that power. When an opportunity for service arises and you feel the "Holy nudge" then you should respond. Move on to this week's Bible Study and be encouraged!

Link to the 3/2/98 Bible study.

Before I forget, I want to tell you that the next Bible study will be updated on Tuesday the 17th. I try to go visit my mom once a month. I go there straight from church as that puts me half an hour closer to my mom's house. Then I spend the night Sunday and come back late Monday.

My mom and I never took the time before to sit and talk like we do now. On Sundays we talk until bedtime and on Mondays we get to talk off and on while I am helping by doing things around her house. This would have never happened if God hadn't convinced me that I didn't need to have a 40-hour a week job. Gee, I sure am glad my God knows what He is doing!

I am sure you won't be surprised to hear that day-to-day living is very difficult! It seems like every single day there is something coming up that requires research, correction, or that just all-around messes things up. I don't enjoy answering the phone or getting the mail. Technology is causing my brain circuits to overload because everything needs programming these days and everything is programmed differently. When I have someone fix something it ends up not being fixed correctly.

I have to decide on what electric company to choose. How do I know which company will fulfill their promises? I get so much junk email I accidentally delete some things that I wanted to keep. My bank began charging me a service charge because they connected the wrong savings account to my checking account after having the information correct for ten years. I could go on and on.

All these things are trying to take my eyes and thoughts away from God! If I spend time dwelling on the bad things then the space in my brain allotted for God begins shrinking. The thing I have to make sure I do is open my Bible and soak up some of the power of God's Word. I have to keep my mind looking at God.

I need to look at everything as if I am looking through God to see everything else. Is it easy? No. I need to be diligently seeking God in reading the Word and in prayer. It isn't easy to find or to make the time, but it is certainly worth it once you do it!

Here's a helpful hint you have probably heard before. I thoroughly enjoy my 8+ hours of sleep and so have put off trying it till now. Set your clock a minimum of 1/2 hour earlier in the mornings. Get up, grab yourself a cup of wake-up, and sit down with your Bible in your lap. Alternate reading and listening for God's voice. Dedicate each day to Him. Use that time in whatever way the Spirit leads you. It sure made a difference for me!

Link to the 3/9/98 Bible study.

What do you know about God? Where did you get your information? Did you find out about Him in church? in Sunday School? from your parents? Did you take the information they gave you and fill in the rest with your own ideas of who and what God is? Have you imagined anything about God using your experiences as a human?

The chances are VERY GOOD that you have come up with at least some conclusions about God on your own. I know I did. I have read the Bible all the way through more than a few times. I drew conclusions from the things I read there as well as from things I heard preached from the pulpit. I had formulated an opinion of how God works.

I had the head knowledge about important things. I knew in my head that God heard all my prayers, that He loved me unconditionally, that He wanted to bless me, that if I had enough faith I could move mountains, etc. etc. etc. I could say it and I could teach it and I believed it.

The problem was that I didn't have the faith it required to commit those things to my heart. I had small doubts. The doubts caused me to fill in gaps in my knowledge with my own information. "God loves me unconditionally, but since He is up in heaven (wherever that may be) I really will never be able to feel that love. God hears my prayers, but some float on by like helium balloons. Those that float by don't receive His attention. That is why they don't get answered."

I had difficulty allowing God to be God. I tried to humanize Him. I was using my own finite mind to categorize God's infiniteness. All these years I have been diligently trying to wrap Him up in a box of my own making. All these years He was sitting next to me and shaking His head at how foolish I was. He was holding out His hand and trying to bless me. He was offering to pour His love out over me and I was busy pushing Him away thinking there was a wall between heaven and earth. I was craving love and seeking it from people instead of from the One who is love! I feel so foolish!

The question of the day would probably be, "How do I find out what parts of what I believe are of my own making?" The Bible is our source of information about God. It has everything we need to fill in all the gaps in our knowledge. It has everything we need to survive living day-to-day here on the earth. In order to move the information from the Bible to our heads we need to read it or listen to it. (There are cassette tapes with the Bible on them, you know!)

Once the information begins planting itself in our heads we need to seek God to get the information to our hearts. Seeking God means communing with Him directly and seeking what He wants for you. It is the same principle as if you want to talk with your neighbor. You would put yourself in the same room as your neighbor and talk and/or listen. Imagine God to be in the same room with you. He is, after all! You can speak to Him and then you listen.

The Word of God is a powerful thing. You have that power in your Bible. God wants you to have knowledge of Him. He wants to commune with you. You need to take the time to be with and find out more about the One who loves you more than you love yourself!

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."
Matthew 6:7-8  

Oh yeah, there is a bonus you get when you experience God's phenomenal, incredible, spectacular, overwhelming love for you. You begin to look at other people through His eyes and are able to love others more than you ever could before! Try it - - - you'll like it!

As I'm reading this over I see I got a little long winded. (OK, more than a little!) Sometimes when I talk about this subject I want so badly to share the wonderful things I have experienced, I go overboard. I would apologize if it was something that wasn't good for you. It is, so I won't! Have a wonderful week and I'll see you again next week!

Link to the 3/17/98 Bible study.

Well, spring is here! This spring is coming on strong with lots of weeds and lots of pollen! HaaaaaaaaAAA CHOOOOOOOO!!! I know a family who doesn't have any allergies. They didn't even have to tell me. The way I knew was when I asked for a tissue they DIDN'T HAVE ONE BOX OF TISSUES IN THEIR HOUSE!! Whenever they needed one they ripped off a piece of toilet paper.

Wow, I wouldn't have any skin left on my nose if I didn't use the softest tissues I could find! I think the worst part is that by the end of a bad allergy day I am exhausted. It's hard work having allergies, I guess!

The first week in April I won't be updating this Bible study. I will be spending the week in Tennessee visiting J.J. (my oldest son.) He has been wanting me to come visit and I have not had the money to go. For Christmas he gave me a gift certificate for a round trip ticket. Isn't that wonderful?

I've never gone on vacation by myself before. Gee, I might get to like it. My poor husband and youngest son . . . I better make sure the can opener and microwave are in working order before I go!

Now I'm starting to wax philosophical. ( I wonder where that phrase came from!) Anyway, imagine how boring life would be if everybody was the same. Have you ever sat and watched people go by? Have you noticed how each and every person looks different from the next? Unless they are twins, most differences between people's faces are very pronounced.

Along with the differences in looks God has given every person differences in opinions, differences in likes, and differences in dislikes. Without those differences everyone would be competing for the same jobs, eating all the same foods, wearing the same clothes, etc. Imagine it for a second!

So, it is a good thing that everyone is different. The bad thing is that we don't like to recognize that there are more opinions out there than just ours. Since our opinion is ours we like to think that makes it right. That would make any opinion that is different from ours a wrong one.

God wants us to love all the other people in the world as much as He loves them. Yes, but Lord, they aren't like me!! They are unlovable!! There are dozens of reasons I can't love them!! Ah yes, but if they were like you then you would have no need for opinions. Perhaps they are unlovable because they've never been loved. There are dozens of reasons why you "can't" be loved by everyone else.

The key to loving others is to look outside of yourself. Take your eyeballs of love and turn them around so they aren't looking inside yourself. Point them outward the way eyeballs should be. Use those eyeballs to look through God's eyes at everyone else. What a difference it will make! 

Link to the 3/23/98 Bible study.

I am going to Tennessee to visit my oldest son this Wednesday and won't return until April 8th. The Bible study won't be updated on Monday the 6th. The next update won't be until Monday the 13th of April. See you then!

Every day it seems like something goes wrong. Life is so complicated these days! I am almost afraid to go get the mail because there are so many things that are confusing to me! My bank changes options and I have to make decisions. I have to decide which electric company will provide the best service and save me the most money . . . how am I supposed to know? They all say they will be cheapest!

My phone bill has weird charges on it and I have to call to straighten it out. I subscribe to a Christian youth magazine for my son and he starts receiving "Home Office" magazine! ARGH!!!!! It's enough to make me crazy! (Or should I say, crazier?)

Well, the scriptures say that if I rejoice in the Lord always, let my moderation be known unto all men, be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let my requests be made known unto God, then the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep my heart and mind through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7) Is the "peace of God, which passes all understanding" a good thing? No, it's not a good thing . . . IT'S A GREAT THING!

Here's a helpful hint for all you out there who are struggling with your commitment to the Lord. When you get up in the morning dedicate each day to Him. Tell Him that you want everything you do and say that day to be pleasing to Him. It can make a big difference. Try it!

Link to the 3/30/98 Bible study.