****This "brief" summary ended up being a little lengthy :-)
I'd like to get in the habit of blogging more, but it's so hard sometimes when you feel like you are talking to air and have no idea who your audience might be. I still feel led to try to blog for some reason. I just can't seem to actually do so consistently. Since the theme lately has just been to share what I've been reading/studying, I might as well get caught up on that :-)
The Esther study ended April 1st & I can't believe that 2 months have already passed. God taught me and reminded me of so many foundational things throughout the study & I was amazed time and time again of how the "themes" through Esther matched up with right where I was at the time. God was actively working in my heart and speaking throughout the study. I loved seeing the Providence of God. Even though I loved every minute of the study & all the video sessions, my favorite sessions were:
--Session #4 dealing with fear and trust.
--Session #7 dealing with waiting on the LORD
(If you've done the study or WHEN you do the study, you'll understand why it was extremely hard for me to pick favorite sessions. I'm just trying to be more specific on what spoke to me the MOST.)
Some of the biggest concepts the LORD really drove home for me were:
--We will never fret our way to victory! The LORD wants trust.
--The longing is a part of the wait. There is no wait without the longing. There is something the wait is for.
--It is TRUST that turns it all around!!!
--Trust Him period.
Also I just have to mention the topics of deliverance & PURIM & chiastic structure & peripety & tables being TURNED! WOW!!!
During week #8, there were 2 paragraphs that were chock full of all sorts of meaningful goodies that really stood out...
pg 188 - "Some of us with little previous battle experience have no idea why God is allowing us to go through such difficult times in a place we thought was His will. He's trying to make warriors out of us, girlfriend! Rise to the occasion! But we aren't meant to fight unseen forces alone. You and I have the God-given right to lock arms with our sisters and brothers in Christ and defend ourselves with the sword of the Spirit and the shield of faith. Here's the best part: When we do, we are guaranteed the victory. I said guaranteed" - Beth Moore
pg 197 - "Beloved, take these simple words to heart no matter how many times you've heard them: your God cares about you! He wants to show you what He can do with your life and your negative conditions, but He wants you to know without a doubt that He alone is the author of reversals. Wait like a watchman on the wall and when the first sign of reversal comes, don't dream of calling it coincidence. Raise the roof with praise and ask the One who has begun a good work in you to complete it! He is not only glorified through our suffering. He can also be supremely glorified through our celebrating." - Beth Moore
On page 220, Beth Moore writes "I've savored so many things about the Book of Esther but nothing more extravagantly than the pure element of story. That's what God used to captivate my imagination for months on end. Eugene Peterson explains the wonder of "story" in words beyond what I can express: 'Story doesn't just tell us something and leave it there, it invites our participation. A good storyteller gathers us into the story. We feel the emotions, get caught up in the drama, identify with the characters... Honest stories respect our freedom; they don't manipulate us... They bring us into the spacious world in which God creates and saves and blesses... they offer us a place in the story, invite us into the large story that takes place under the broad skies of God's purposes.' "
Through the story of Esther, the TRUE story of Esther, I believe God was inviting me to my own destiny & He strategically planned for me to go through this study "for such a time as this." To prepare me. To build my faith. To seek Him by faith. He is calling me to courage and perseverance.
p.s. One of the cool things that happened during the study... and the story behind one of my memory verses... (This is kind of hard to explain, but I'll do my best.)
It was February 26th... the subject of "belonging" came up when I was talking to one of my BFF's Ashlee... She was 2 weeks ahead of me in the Esther study, and she was telling me about one of the video sessions I had not yet seen where Beth talks about "GP"... (which is "God's Property" from Kirk Franklin & is a part of the song "STOMP"... LOVE that song by the way :-) .... We were talking about being "God's People" though.
Fast forward to later that evening when I was searching the scriptures and asking the Lord which scripture to memorize starting March 1st. I had narrowed it down to two possibilities. I came across my Becoming magazine (the NT in New Century Version) & wanted to look up Psalms 112:7-8 (one of the possibilities) in that version, but Psalms was not in that magazine. So then I was just flipping through and noticed the "calendars" where they make suggestions on certain days. I found the February calendar & the suggestion for that day (February 26th) was
"Memorize Ephesians 2:19." Guess what Ephesians 2:19 has to say?!?! "Now you who are not Jewish are not foreigners or strangers any longer, but are citizens together with God's holy people. You belong to God's family." :-)))
In regards to the song, "STOMP" by Kirk Franklin & God's Property, I got the biggest kick out of hearing it right after the Esther study was over & do you know what one of the lyrics is?!?! "TURN MY LIFE AROUND!!!"
