It’s a blessing to have sufficient room for a Bible study. And it’s one, quite frankly, I took for granted until a few weeks ago.
With a record number of women signed up for our Abide in Christ study, we had doubts that we’d fit in our current location, the beautiful B Encouraged Ministry House in downtown Simpsonville. After all, there were 28 women in the last study and the space was tight.
We considered meeting elsewhere, resigning ourselves to the fact we had no other choice. That is, until I stopped by for a trial run yesterday. Becka, one of their amazing staffers, suggested a different place for Becky and I to stand while leading the study. Yes, it will still be a little “cozy”, as realtors say, but we think will work just fine.
New ideas and fresh blessings emerge when we include others in our decisions. Thank you, Becka!
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Also, I’m delighted to be guest blogging at Allison Martin’s The Budget Maven today. I’d love for you to hop over for a quick visit. There, you’ll also find my poem Soft Clover, which won third place at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writer’s Conference in 2011.
I plopped down on Lifeway’s blue armless chair, arms filled with the latest bible studies, and bowed my head. I mean, one can’t go wrong in choosing a study as long as we’re in the Word, right? In the big picture, I believe this to be true—but I also believe God is in the details of our personal lives. So I pray.
Lord, You alone know who will attend this study. You alone know our true journey — where we are, where we desire to be, our strengths, our weaknesses, our everything. Pour out Your wisdom and direct me clearly in choosing our next study, as I am confident You have a purpose and a plan for each of us.
And pour out He did. Two hours, and nearly fifteen studies later, one study stood out: Abide in Christ, by Andrew Murray and Bo Stevens.
“It would be easy to study this parable to gain more knowledge, but this was not our Lord’s intent when He shared this parable with His disciples. His intent was for them to experience an abiding relationship in Him. He has the same intent for you and me today. He wants us to learn to abide, not simply learn what it means to abide.” -Bo Stevens
This modern-day version of Andrew Murray’s The True Vine invites us to dive in the Word throughout the week and come up for air on Tuesday nights at 6:30 p.m.
While the study itself is only 6 weeks, we will have an introduction the first week, and on our final week, we’ll come together for a very special Vine & the Branches tea party that you’ll not want to miss.
Begins: Tuesday, September 4th Ends: Tuesday, October 23 Time: 6:30-7:45 p.m. Place: Be Encouraged Ministry House, Simpsonville Led by Cathy Baker and Becky Kirby
We’d love to see you there!
Cathy Baker
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