Welcome back to week 2 ladies! If you were unable to join us for week one, it’s not too late to join in. This interactive blog study on Passion and Purity is a great opportunity to get to know some great women and grow in your relationship with the Lord, please join us!
To introduce myself as Catherine did, my name is Sarah. I am a graduate student at the University of Louisville studying Social Work. I grew up in the very small community of Mayfield in Western KY. I have a wonderful family who adopted me at birth from California. I am an only child, but I have a very large extended family that all live close by. I moved to Louisville 4 ½ years ago for college, where I now consider my home.
I became a Christian when I was 13 after much doubting of a prior decision to be baptized at age 7. I feared for many years that I was not truly a Christian because I relied so heavily on good works for salvation. After hearing John 3:16 preached at a youth service, God touched my heart with His LOVE and GRACE that I had never understood before. Since then, I began really growing in my walk with the Lord when I came to college. Following Christ led me to serve as a summer missionary in KY for 2 summers and TN for 1 summer. In July I went to Zimbabwe, which changed my life forever. I am a sinner in need of His grace everyday. My goal in reading this book is to fall more in love with Christ.
To introduce myself as Catherine did, my name is Sarah. I am a graduate student at the University of Louisville studying Social Work. I grew up in the very small community of Mayfield in Western KY. I have a wonderful family who adopted me at birth from California. I am an only child, but I have a very large extended family that all live close by. I moved to Louisville 4 ½ years ago for college, where I now consider my home. I became a Christian when I was 13 after much doubting of a prior decision to be baptized at age 7. I feared for many years that I was not truly a Christian because I relied so heavily on good works for salvation. After hearing John 3:16 preached at a youth service, God touched my heart with His LOVE and GRACE that I had never understood before. Since then, I began really growing in my walk with the Lord when I came to college. Following Christ led me to serve as a summer missionary in KY for 2 summers and TN for 1 summer. In July I went to Zimbabwe, which changed my life forever. I am a sinner in need of His grace everyday. My goal in reading this book is to fall more in love with Christ.
Discussion Questions:
1) On page 47 Elizabeth writes about her wishes. Do your wishes match God’s wishes? How do you know when your desires match God’s desires? Do you trust that God will “give you the desires of your heart?”
2) On page 56 Jim is honest with Elizabeth about his feelings for her. Did Jim’s confession of his feelings for Elizabeth surprise you? How so?
3) In discussing singleness Elizabeth says, “No Christian ought to put himself outside the possibility that this is his assignment.” (pg 59) Have you ever considered this is what God has for you? How would you react if God told you to be single forever? Would He be enough?
4) “But the things that we feel most deeply we ought to learn to be silent about, at least until we have talked them over thoroughly with God.” (pg 62) Is it difficult to keep quiet when we are bursting with excitement or frustrated about a situation? Can you think of a time that you did keep your thoughts to yourself even when it was difficult because you wanted to pray about it? How about a time when you spoke too soon? How can we become quiet-spirited women?
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Please post your comments and watch the blog for others' thoughts as well.
Please post your comments and watch the blog for others' thoughts as well.
The quote from #4 hits me every time I read this book. I would answer YES, it is very difficult to keep our thoughts to ourselves concerning young men. We're always tempted to balance it with the "need for Christian counsel," but I love how she speaks of talking it thoroughly over with God first. Let's think about our past relationships (or current if you're in one)... how much time was spent talking to God about them in comparison to the time we spent giggling with our girlfriends about it? I think there is a time and place for sharing with our closest friends, of course; godly friends are a gift from the Lord. However, do we help our friends amplify situations beyond reality? For instance: A friend confesses an interest in a handsome, Jesus-loving guy at work and proceeds to tell you how he brought her the mail from the workroom. How do we respond? "OH MY! HE IS TOTALLY IN LOVE WITH YOU." I'm not so sure I've blown it totally out of proportion. Do we push our sisters into premature, deeper emotional involvement, setting them up for future heartbreak if nothing becomes of the situation? I personally don't know where the balance is, but I'm thinking we could best serve each other by praying and asking challenging questions concerning the reality of the situation. When new guys come into our own lives, are we quicker to talk to God about them, or our girlfriends?
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say, I've fallen in this trap too many times!
Proverbs 10:19-- When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise.
REALLY BLESSED BY YOUR INSIGHT. Thank you.
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