Dear Jonah

One Sunday morning, our lesson for the 5^th grade Sunday school class was about Jonah.  We covered Jonah’s story pretty well – all the way from God letting Jonah know what He wanted him to do and continuing right through Jonah finally heading to Ninevah and not being happy with the result.  Never mind that it was God’s plan and what He wanted.  Jonah was still mad.  It didn’t fit with what Jonah wanted for those awful, undeserving, rebellious Ninevites.   (Wait . . . oh no, that sounds a lot like me!  It just occurred to me that I could be Jonah or I could be a Nivevite.  I have been known to act like each on various occasions.  Not proud of it.  Just saying . . .)  So, after the story was told, I asked the group a question:  “What do you think Jonah could have done differently?”  The immediate and obvious answer came from a child – “He should have just done what God told him to do.  It would have been a lot easier on him.”  Ain’t it the truth.    So here I am.  I have heard Jonah’s story all my life.  I have had this wonderful example available to me and you would think that I would have learned something.   But, like Jonah, there are too many times when I still insist on my way instead of God’s way.  Why in the world do I do that to myself?  Not one time has God ever said, “You know, you were right about that.  Let’s do it your way.” 

I’m doing the Bible study on Jonah (Jonah – Navigating a Life Interrupted) and I just finished the first week of homework.  Oh boy.    What an eye opener.  For starters, I actually realized that those annoying/frustrating/frightening interruptions weren’t really just interruptions.  They were Divine Interventions orchestrated by the One who always has a perfect view of the big picture and was still willing to let me have a part in it.  That is scary and wonderful all at the same time.  I wish I could write a short note to Jonah:

Dear Jonah,

I understand.  You were scared, angry, and upset.  So, you ran away.  I do that, too.  I am trying to learn from your example.  It is a gift.  Thank you.  It is just what I wanted and needed. 

Love,

Susan

Join us for Bible study.  We would love to have you there.  Maybe this is one of those things He is asking you to do and you keep resisting.  Learn something from Jonah and make it easier on yourself.  The study I do is on Tuesday night, but there are others available mornings and afternoons.  Click on the link

 http://www.ehbconline.com/womens_ministry.asp and you can see the current schedule. 

By the way – can anyone help me with the Navigation Tools part at the end of the homework?  I might be truly stuck or I might be overthinking it.  Either way, I think I did it wrong.

The Big Bad Wolf vs. Jonah

Here comes another true story from a Sunday school experience. My son was four years old. He had wonderful Sunday school teachers – Carol and Jimmy Handey – and he loved going to their class each week. Every Sunday, as we were fixing lunch, Matthew and I would talk about what he had learned in Sunday school. One Sunday, he said, “Today we learned about Jonah.” So, I prodded – “What did you learn about Jonah?” Here’s the story as told by a four-year-old: “Well, God wanted Jonah to do something, but Jonah didn’t want to, so he got in a boat and ran away. But when he got in the middle of the water, the Big Bad Wolf came. He huffed and he puffed and he blew him into the water and a big fish swallowed him! When Jonah got out of that fish, he did what God told him to.” Oh-kaaaay. And there you have the story of Jonah according to a pre-schooler.

So, you should know that I like Jonah a lot. It may just be that I identify with Jonah. More often than I would like to admit, my first response has been, “I don’t really like where this is heading and I think this would be a really good time to turn around and run the other way.” And, there are times when, like Jonah, it takes something pretty drastic to fully get my attention. I can be such a good listener when I don’t have any other choice.

Jonah’s life got disrupted in a major way. Yours probably has, too, at one time or another. Or maybe you’re like me and it happens a lot. Tonight is the first night of our Bible study – Jonah – Navigating a Life Interrupted. We will meet each Tuesday night for six more weeks in Room 139. If you can’t make it tonight, don’t worry. It is just the first session, so you aren’t behind. Join us next week and as often as you can. I’m thinking that we are going to learn that those interruptions in our lives might just be opportunities, but if you always see them as interruptions, you are going to miss the part that is the opportunity!

Maybe Matthew had it kind of right in his version of the story. The Big Bad Wolf is always going to be there – huffing and puffing away in your life, trying to blow your house down. Listen to God. Be obedient. Even when it is difficult and scary and makes you a little bit mad. Even when you get swallowed by a fish. See you at Bible study!


He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."   Psalm 91:1-2

Hearts Under Construction - Overnight Retreat

The time is fast approaching for the annual overnight retreat for ladies.  The event is so close at hand that it is already time to register!  Once again, the retreat will be held at Shocco Springs.  The cost is $30.00 per person.  If you want one of the super-cute retreat t-shirts, then you will need to add $10.00.  And you probably do want one of the shirts.  They’re good. 

So, this year’s retreat will feature Eden’s Rain.  That’s Eden’s Rain in the picture to the right of this post.  They are talented.  They are real live beauty queens – seriously!  And – best of all – they love the Lord and have such a heart for women’s ministry and sharing.  You will be blessed by this experience. 

Okay - true confession time.  I tell ladies every year that they should attend the retreat.  I tell them they will enjoy it.  I tell them that they will have fun and get to know some really awesome ladies.  I tell them that they can pick their roommates and don’t have to worry about getting put in a room with a stranger.  I tell them that they will be so very glad they took the time and went.  I tell them all of those things because I believe they are all true.  But – me – well, I have never been to the overnight retreat.  Not ever.  Not. For. A. Minute.  But that is about to change.  Because, this year – I AM GOING!  I’ve registered.  And paid.  And bought the t-shirt.  You can register through January 23rd.   See you there.   I mean it this time.

God's Refrigerator

What’s on your refrigerator?  Not IN your refrigerator – but ON your refrigerator?  Mine is covered with stuff right now.  A repository of very important stuff.   You could find a lot of things there – among them would be a wedding invitation for January 8th, a photo magnet from a recent trip to the World of Coca-Cola, postcards sent to us from New York, Cincinnati, and New Orleans, a cartoon, car magnets used during football season to decorate the car when we travelled to games, and a letter. 

I started thinking about it when my son came home for Christmas.  The day he arrived, he received a letter in the mail from the university.  It was congratulating him on his academic success for the semester.  So, he did what we always do.  He stuck it to the refrigerator with a magnet.  The refrigerator – where we advertise our accomplishments, fasten the reminders of upcoming events, and display our memories to be enjoyed over and over again.  Every trip for ice or food or water gives us a peep at our lives.

A new year is about to begin – my signal to clean off those doors and get ready for a new year of mementos saved on the metal canvas of our refrigerator.  And so, I wonder.  What does God’s refrigerator door look like?  I can just imagine Him getting it ready for a new year – throwing some things away, storing some in boxes or picture albums – creating a clean slate, ready to start over.  I love new beginnings and second chances.  I love the idea that we get a do-over.  So, here is the challenge for you.  Make the coming year a great one for God’s refrigerator.  Accomplish some things that you can’t wait to put on His fridge .  Make sure that when it’s time to clean off the door this time next year that God will be smiling about the things that have marked your time for the year, the important and the everyday things that define your life.  

May 2011 be a banner year for your contributions to God’s refrigerator.

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.   James 4:10

P.S.  If you have trouble with making resolutions for the new year, please check out Kim Arnold's post - you can click on this link to go there:   http://www.margeryraveson.com/2010/12/blank-page.html

Nine Weeks Gone - Really?

Nine weeks.  That’s all it took.  And we, the Ladies of the Tuesday Night Bible Study on Covenant, have learned a lot!  Our lives are busy and it can be difficult to fit everything in.  We work.  We have families.   We have obligations.  There are places we must go and things we must do.  And then, there is Bible study.  It is important, so we carve out the time – not just to meet together at the end of a long day, but to do the homework.  We are a good team.  We learn from each other.  We share.  We are all so different; we are all the same.  We are sisters in Christ – flawed and imperfect, but studying and learning and making progress.  Ladies, I will miss you on Tuesday nights – but only for a while.  New studies are coming.  See you in January?

P.S. - Since you have time on your hands now - don't forget about Satan Exposed, the study with no homework and no book.  You can still catch the second part on Monday, November 15th at 6:00 p.m. in the Reception Room.  We all need as much help we can get when it comes to understanding spiritual warfare.  It is very real.

Home Again

This is the day!  I am going back home – from one side of the country to the other – from California back to Alabama.  It has only been six days, but it seems much longer.  That is not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, because I did.  I went to a wonderful conference – huge, overwhelming, full of information, brimming with new ideas.  It was great!  It was fun!

And since I was in Anaheim, I went to Disneyland.  I really did.  I felt like maybe I should borrow a child from someone, but I didn’t.  I just went.   All by myself.  My hotel was close enough that I could walk, so I did.  And I had a ball.  I rode the rides.  I went to the shows.  I learned how to draw Tigger and Goofy.  I got a grape soda pin like the one from UP.  I had so much fun!  But, I was still all by myself.  What I really wanted was my family – my husband, my son, people I love.  I wanted the people who know me best.  The ones who know when to say, “NO!  You absolutely do not need to ride that!” or “YES! I want to do that, too.”  I needed someone to be a part of the memories.  Someone to say, “Remember when . . .” and we all remember. Someone to be in the pictures.   Someone who knows what was funny and why.  Someone who doesn’t need any explanations. 

 

That is what God must be like.  The One who knows me best.  The One who knows what will scare me and what will thrill me.  The One who gets the jokes and shares the memories.  The One who remembers.  The One who forgives and forgets.  The One who knows why I would go to Disneyland all by myself and have still have fun.

Wish I Were There

I missed Bible study on Tuesday night – in more ways than one.  I simply could not be there, so I missed it.  (California is a long way from Alabama.)  And I wish I could have been there, so I missed it.  How strange that something I wasn’t all that excited about doing in the first place has ended up being so important.  Isn’t God something?  He can take someone like me – reluctant, half-hearted, uncertain – and teach them something very special, very important in spite of it all.  The only thing I had to do was go.  Make the commitment and go.  Decide that no matter how hesitant I might be, studying God’s word is more important.  He will do it for you, too.  So . . . next time you get the chance, next time you think you’d rather not, next time you think you just don’t have the time . . . go to Bible study anyway.  You will learn and be blessed in spite of yourself.