Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Women Living Well Book Club--Week 1

I am following along with Courtney Joseph's book club of her new book, "Women Living Well." The book club is at her blog www.womenlivingwell.org. For each chapter, I will be answering the questions that go along with the book club.

Chapter 1--
1. On a scale of 1-10 (10 = great; 1 = stinky) , how is your walk with God right now?
Through 2013 I desired to have a better walk with Christ. I struggled with staying disciplined with my quiet times because I had a very difficult pregnancy the first half of the year and then struggled with finding balance with everything in life with being a new mom. So for 2013 I would say I was about a 3 or 4. I am determined to change that in 2014. I have several goals that I am pursuing to make this happen. I am reading through the bible this year along with a teenage girl I mentor. I will be keeping a journal focused on the word Submission. I will be reading Women Living Well and being involved in the book club. And I am doing the Good Morning Girls bible studies throughout the year starting with “Intentionally Focused.” Through all of these I am sure I will have a much better devotional life this year than I did last year.
2. What would you say is your greatest hindrance to carving out time to meet with God in your busy day?
My biggest hindrance to carving out time is not having a schedule. Having a newborn has made for a very unpredictable life but now that my daughter is nearing her first birthday I am seeing her naturally entering a schedule that I can work with to make time with God.
3. Grab your Bible and read (or google) Hebrews 11:5-6. What does verse 6 state that we must do and believe if we want to be like Enoch?
We are to have faith in God. We need to believe who He is and diligently seek Him. We must be devoted as Courtney explains in her book. Enoch’s name means devoted. Enoch lived his life completely focused on God. I’m sure everything he did, said, and thought was always focused on pleasing and glorifying God. That is how I want to live my life so that my daughter and anyone else I am around sees this and sees Christ ultimately.
4. What is one intentional thing you can do this week to begin creating space and solitude to earnestly seek after God?
My plan is to wake up early in the morning tomorrow (5am) and do my devotions before my daughter wakes up at 7am (her usual time). I have dreaded making this change because it is so early but sacrifice is what I need to do to make this happen. If I sacrifice my hour or two of sleep, Christ will give me the strength to get through the rest of the day. I will be forced to lean on Him and that is what He asks us to do.

Chapters 2 & 3--

1.  From Chapter 2:  When, where and how are you studying God’s word right now?
I plan to wake up at 5am each morning to do my bible study. I will sit at the dining room table and pull out my books from my bible study/prayer basket. I just recently came to the decision to create a study/prayer basket. I learned of this idea from my Pastor's wife about two years ago. I never implemented the idea and then a couple of months ago I came across a YouTube video of a woman explaining what she keeps in her prayer basket. I decided that I should do the same because otherwise I leave my books spread out all over when I'm finished and it just makes the house look cluttered. I will be study God's word using the Good Morning Girls bible studies and through studying my word for the year and scripture focus for the year. I will also be reading through the bible this year but not for studying sake. The reading is just to be immersed in God's living water each day.

2.  Read Luke 5:12-16 – what was Jesus doing here?  How can we, as busy women, follow his example?

In this passage Jesus healed a man who was suffering from leprosy. When people learned about Jesus healing the man, others who were ill came to hear the things Jesus said and be healed. Due to being swarmed with people all of the time, Jesus made sure He took time to pray. He did this by going out in the wilderness alone.

3.  From Chapter 3:  How can you improve your prayer life this year?

Before reading chapter 3 of "Women Living Well" I planned to keep a prayer journal this year. I will have a list of people and situations that I will pray over each day. I will also write out my confessions, prayers, praises, and answers to prayers. As Courtney explains in the chapter, I will start doing consistent prayer walks through my house to pray over my family and our household. In GMG we have a prayer list each week with group members' prayers that I can add to my prayer list. Whenever family or friends ask for prayer, they will be added to my list. I also will write out scripture to pray back to God. This will help me when I need to pray aloud. I get overwhelmed with praying aloud so having God's word already written out as prayer will give me things I can start prayers with until I become more comfortable. 

Crystal

How would you answer these questions above?

2 comments:

  1. Crystal - being a new mom is a very challenging season. The accountability as a teen mentor is such a great idea and must be such a blessing to this teen. I really enjoyed this post and window into your life!!!

    Keep walking with the King!
    Courtney

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  2. Seems like you have some great ideas for getting into God's Word this year and making it a priority! :) Thank you for sharing on Courtney's link up! I was blessed to read it!

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