Siesta Summer Study: Final Gathering
Siesta Summer Bible Study (Weeks 5 and 6) from LPV on Vimeo.
Here are your four interactives for your gatherings today:
First two from Week Five:
1. See pages 102-103. Book freak that I am, I loved the way Jennifer started the week with English author Huxley’s comparison of our memories to private collections of literature. Lock in on the graphic of the books on the shelf on p.103. Each person share the words they wrote on the first and last book.
2. See pages 112-113 where Jennifer talks about the unattractiveness of complaining. You might say, it’s like living our lives with rollers in our hair. Jennifer drew a very insightful connection between a complaining spirit and a sense of entitlement. In your gatherings, talk about what you think the term “entitlement” means and offer a few examples of it.
Second set from Week Six:
3. See p.126. As we wrap up our series, I want you guys to share your answers (even if you didn’t write them down) to Jennifer’s first questions: What’s the most significant thing you recognized about your self-talk so far? In other words, I’m asking you to share the biggest revelation you received through the study about your thought closet.
BTW, I loved Jennifer’s creativity in the interactive on p.130 about the colors in our closets. I like questions that really make me think and imagine. These are the kinds of question some of our personality types and learning styles love and others roll their eyes about. If you are the kind that loved it and you came up with a pretty creative color, share it! If you’re the kind that rolled your eyes, roll them one more moment while your sister shares. I love you both.
4. See the bottom of p.136. What is the most frequent song you’re singing right now to your soul to help you persevere and keep hope alive? I almost overlooked this exercise because we shared a post not too long ago concerning the songs that stir up our love for Jesus. This one’s a little different though. Jennifer is asking specifically about songs that stir us up to perseverance. Songs that make us essentially say, “March on, my soul, be strong!” What’s yours presently?
Also, please visit this post to thank Jennifer Rothschild for the study and let her know what it has done for you personally.
1.) My first book is “Mimi”; my grandmother shaped my spiritual life by planting seeds of scripture into my soul throughout my young life. My last book is called “Teacher”; this is who I am and have been for 36 years! The chapters could be called all sorts of things, good and bad, funny and sad!
2.) Entitlement means” I think the world ‘owes me’ something, and yes, I was so busted by this idea! It is indeed the root of my grumblings, negativity, and discontent. It is self-righteousness! I thank Jennifer for this conviction and have great hope for a new perspective in the areas of my life where it has been a problem for me and consequently, others.
3.) a. This study has had a profound effect on me in the realization of how the kinds of words I use in self-talk (water or gasoline)shape my perspective in every situation. I can choose positive over negative, godly over evil every time, gratitude over “entitled”, any time! Hallelujah!
b. Ever since I was a very little girl, I thought of the days of the week in terms of color. This is how it goes and what I am thinking now that it means:
Sunday: white, holy
Monday: blue, slow or a down day
Tuesday: brown, nothing much going on
Wednesday: green, things are coming alive
Thursday: red, lively
Friday: yellow, cookin’!
Saturday:pink, fun!
4.) Ever since I first heard it, “The Voice of Truth”, by Casting Crowns sings to my soul what I need to hear! I also sing “Shackles” by Mary, Mary when I need to pep up my spirit!!
1.) My first book was called, “Dead Poet’s Society”. It was after a movie that I watched in high school (not recommending it, because its got some “ucky” intent in it), but God used this to speak to me about how I was “living” for Him. He then had circumstance after circumstance to begin to teach me how HE wanted me to live for HIM! My last book is called Brian. I seriously could have had tons more books on that shelf, but I just picked the major ones. Brian is my husband. God perfectly planned our coming together. And God has used him in my life, tremendously (with the good and all the other).
2.) I think entitlement means, when you feel like you are owed something. I guess sometimes we think we are entitled to any “easy” life because our Daddy is The Creator of the universe. That we shouldn’t have hard thing after hard thing come our way because we are in His family, y’know? Bu t God always seems to use those “hard” things to make us more like Him. Also, I think of being a kid and asking for something at a store. Mom or Dad say , “No” and a “fit” ensues. Why not? We deserve it, right? OR, I even thought about in my family. If you are an older child that surely entitles you to some kinda respect from your younger siblings, right?
3.) I guess the biggest revelation about my self-talk is that I say alot of untruths to myself. I did also love the revelation that, “Who I am and what I struggle with are not the same thing”. Also, I realized that if my self-talk can be so destructive to myself, the way I talk to others can be just as destructive. I really saw that with my hubby.
The color thing kinda through me off. She described blue days as almost something negative. I thought my blue days were calming ones, tranquil ones, when you really have a sense that God is in control and you can rest in that. The days she described as blue would have been my gray days. Gray and yucky. You know, when you really get to believing those lies you say to yourself or the lies the enemy is trying to get you to believe and act on (or just lay down on the couch on!)
4.) My song is “Hold Fast” by Mercy Me. God literally sang this song (and “Never Let Go”) about a couple of months ago to me. I was really struggling with a number of things and then got caught in a storm (a bad storm), locked out of the house. And it was like He used the crazy circumstances to get me to sit and hear Him. It was like He was telling me that He was coming to my rescue, to just hold on. (If you all want to read the whole story, it is on my blog: http://brianmichelemy.blogspot.com/2009/06/it-shouldnt-take-tornado-touch-down.html?zx=c1e390b382dda06e (You may have to shoot me an email and I will invite you. :0)
Another song that He has directed me to during this study is “Let Me Love You” by Third Day.
Hold Fast: “To everyone who’s hurting, To those who’ve had enough,
To all the undeserving, That should cover all of us.
Please do not let go. I promise there is hope.
Hold fast, help is on the way
Hold fast, He’s come to save the day
What I’ve learned in my life
One thing greater than my strife
Is His grasp
So hold fast
Will this season ever pass
Can we stop this ride
Will we see the sun at last
Or could this be our lot in life
Please do not let go
I promise you there’s hope
(chorus)
You may think you’re all alone
And there’s no way that anyone could know
What you’re going through
But if you only hear one thing
Just understand we are all the same
Searching for the truth
The truth of what we’re soon to face
Unless someone comes to take our place
Is there anyone?
All we want is to be free
Free from our captivity, Lord
Here He comes
So Hold fast, help is on the way
Hold fast, He’s come to save the day
What I’ve learned in my life
One thing greater than my strife
Is His grasp
So hold fast
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Cheers! Sandra R.