Mary's Story

I am finally finishing up the book "A Lineage of Grace" by Francine Rivers. Francine does such an incredible job of making people in the Bible come to life and this book has really brought to life 5 women who I have never really given much thought to before. They are 5 women in the lineage of Jesus who made some interesting choices, and one would think "Why would God choose her to be a part of Jesus' lineage" but he did, which brings me hope!

The final story is Mary's. I wasn't really looking forward to reading it because I felt like I knew her story...we hear it every Christmas. But now, I have a different perspective. I've been pregnant and I'm now a mom.

I was telling Matt some of my thoughts about why I thought it was interesting that Mary was engaged and not single when this all happened and thought I'd share them here.

• God's timing and plans are perfect! He chose a woman who was engaged to be married. I never thought how important this was until now. You see, in Mary's time, her being pregnant was enough reason to be stoned to death. The only way she (and her baby) survived is because of her fiance, Joseph, who was God-fearing and stood up for her. Had she not been engaged to be married, its very possible she would have died.
• Being pregnant is difficult and exhausting! Could you imagine being pregnant in her time? Sleeping on the hard floor, dust everywhere...AND she decided to make a long journey to visit her best friend Elizabeth while she was pregnant AND she had to travel to Bethlehem for the census. No thanks! She needed support...which is another reason why God's timing is perfect...she was engaged, then married, to Joseph. Again, had Joseph not been around she would have been killed or disowned by her family.
• Finally, I think God was creating a picture of what He desires "family" to look like. Had Mary been pregnant and single, it would have said there is no need for a man to be a part of the family unit. Fathers aren't necessary. But instead he chose a couple, in the perfect circumstances, that would parent Jesus together. He created a family unit.

I love when scripture comes alive. I would definitely suggest you read this book!

New Profession: Mom

I've always known that I wanted to be a mom and deep down I wanted to stay home with my children. My mom stayed home and I really appreciated having her home and available all through my childhood...especially in my teen years!

Rilyn's arrival confirmed all of my desires to raise my family at home. It was a little harder to convince Matt as he had major concerns about providing for our family, which I appreciate that he even thinks about that! So, I told him that I would continue to work if that's what he felt we needed to do. All summer, I was preparing myself to return to work. The closer and closer it came, the harder and harder it was for me to think about leaving her. I'm sure most, if not all, moms feel or have felt the same way.

The tipping point for us is when we figured up how much we would be spending in childcare. Despite the incredible deals that people were going to give us, more than half of my income would be going to having other people take care of Rilyn. That just didn't sit well with us. I couldn't see the benefit of being gone from Rilyn every single day, all day, for a few hundred dollars a month.

After much prayer and conversation, we made the decision that I would stay home to raise our family. I'm so excited!!! This is going to be a season of trusting God but I'm anxious to see where he takes our little family. I've turned in my resignation but told them I'll stay until they find my replacement and I train them.

I find it interesting that God has been preparing us for this. Our first month of marriage, we took a class called "Financial Peace". Because of that class, we have never truly lived off my income. It has mostly gone to paying off our school debt. But we still enjoyed the extra income to go on vacations and drink lots of Starbucks. :) Then, last December our church did a challenge called "750 in the black". Basically we were all challenged to either start tithing or double our tithe to the church and also invite friends to see what God was doing. Matt and I were really stretched financially during this challenge -- which was incredible for us! It was a great time of learning how to trust God with our money and changed our view of money.

Now that I'm not working, we're making much less than we did in December 2009 and yet, everything is panning out. Once again, we're having to trust God. Its an exciting adventure yet again!

Just look at that smile! She's so worth it!

Which Son Am I?

This Crazy Love series is really challenging me! In fact, I've been "stuck" in Chapter 4 - Profile of the Lukewarm - for a while now. It's been something I have to soak in and really challenge myself with. Because most of it is smacking me right in the face...in a good way of course.

There was a verse that really caught my attention last night, Matthew 21:38-31:

²⁸"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'

²⁹" 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

³⁰"Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go.

³¹"Which of the two did what his father wanted?"
"The first," they answered.

Wow, I don't know about you, but for me this was screaming my name. So often, I'm the person that puts on a good face and says, "Yes of course I'll do what you're calling me to do", but either I don't or in my heart I'm kicking and screaming. I think both of those reactions are the same. To quote my mom, "Obedience with an attitude is disobedience."

However, what also popped out to me is God's grace. Even when we screw up, if we genuinely return to His will, he gladly accepts us. What a gracious and loving God!

Crazy Love - Send Me!

On Sunday, our church kicked off a 5-week "Crazy Love" series. We're all reading the book "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan and then the sermons and our Growth Groups are all digging deeper into the study.

In my reading last night, Isaiah 6 was referenced as Francis was talking about how huge God is and how we should respond to him. I pulled out my Bible and started reading through this chapter and was really challenged!

¹ In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.³ And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

⁴ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

⁵ "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

⁶ Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

⁹ He said, "Go and tell this people..."

Here are a few things I noticed:

• Isaiah saw God sitting on his throne -- how awesome would that be!
• He realized he was not worthy and was humbled by the experience.

The coolest thing I noticed was that because of his humbling encounter with the throne of God, when God said "I need someone to send, who shall I send?" Isaiah immediately said, "Send me!" He didn't even know what God was needing him to do, but just because of what he saw in God, he had a desire to be used by God.

Often, I think we wait to see if something fits with our "giftings" before we decide whether to serve God. This has its place, but I think we are supposed to be more like Isaiah.

Gifts that Give Back - Continued

My mom posted something on her blog yesterday about Gifts that Give Back and had some great responses with more ideas. So I've added them to my list as well.

To find the whole list check out the post Gifts that Give Back.

"Love Your Neighbor As Yourself"

Our high school students experienced this on Sunday. We had a night called "As Yourself" based on the scripture mandate to love your neighbor as yourself. We had our students bring in any amount of money they could. Students brought in everything from pennies to $20 or more. In total...our 25 high school students gave around $500 of their own money.

We then split them up into 5 groups, gave each group $100, then sent them out into the community to bless people as they felt led. What an awesome night! Here are some highlights:

• One group bought a woman's groceries, turns out she just lost her job and cares for an elderly friend.
• One group bought a disabled woman's groceries and Christmas gifts for her family. She was actually putting things back onto the shelves from her cart because she couldn't afford it all. Then, our group stepped in to bless her.
• One group went to the Cancer Center Hotel and was able to help pay for a man's stay while he was receiving a consultation for his cancer. Turns out he only had to pay $33 for 3 nights...$11 per night! While they were helping him out, two adults started chatting with a woman in the lobby and it turns out she's there because she had breast cancer. So they were able to pray with her and encourage her.
• One group paid for a man's gas.
• One group was able to help out several people with their groceries.

It was such an awesome night to see our students give of themselves and have the opportunity to bless others. As an adult, it was hard at first not to step in and push our students one way or another as they tried to figure out what to do or even drum up the courage to approach someone. But watching them actually step out of their comfort zone was a blessing to us!

Read a follow-up with a cool God story from our "As Yourself" night here.

Gifts that Give Back

This Christmas, Matt and I are seriously reconsidering what we give our loved ones for Christmas. While physical gifts can be wonderful, we also believe that there are eternal ways we can give as well.

Especially as we start our family, we are even more in tune to the message we want to send to our children about materialistic things and what Christmas is really all about.

Our church has been doing a series call "750...in the black" and its been really challenging me (us) to completely trust God with our finances. And it all comes down to the fact that its not our money, but God's and he's made us stewards of it. So how are we probably going to spend God's money this Christmas? How about donating to charity on behalf of your loved one?

Here's some ideas...maybe you would be inspired too!

Gifts of Compassion (My Personal Favorite)
World Vision Gift Catalog
A Gift from the Heart - Habitat for Humanity
Operation Smile
Harvest of Hope
*Changing the Present
Give-A-Tree
Heifer International
*Donors Choose - Connecting You to Classrooms in Need
*The Good Card
To Write Love on Her Arms
Living Waters for the World
Operation Christmas Child
Bible League
Bibles International
Any Soldier


Maybe you'd still like to give a gift, but still want to help out. Check these out!

Toms Shoes (For every pair of shoes you buy, one is donated to a child in need)
Spend Yourself (100% of the profit goes to the cause each shirt supports)
Ten Thousand Villages (Your fair trade purchase of handmade jewelry, home decor and gifts helps improve the lives of thousands of artisans in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.)
*Better World Books
*Uncommon Goods
*Gift Back (10% of purchase goes to charity)
*CommonThreadz - For every tshirt you buy, a school uniform is donated in Africa

Anyone else have any ideas for Gifts that Give Back?

*Any link marked with a (*) I have not personally purchased or known anyone who has purchased through them. I would encourage you to do your research. :)

586 Families are Waiting

These are some of the faces of families waiting for homes. If you look you will realize that these are pictures of birthdays, family outings, graduations, Christmases and weddings. They are of children that have dreams, mothers that only want to give food to their children, and fathers that have promised they will provide for their family. Each of these families has come to us asking for our help; for your help. We are asking you to help us make that possible. Right now there are 586 families who are waiting to receive homes. Without your help they WILL NOT receive them. Each of these pictures tells a story; would you be willing to be a part of their story?
~ Brittany Girle, Team Coordinator

We are very excited to be a part of Casas Por Cristo's mission to build a home for one of these families. We recently discovered that the family we will be building for has been waiting for 14 months for a home. 14 MONTHS! Its exciting to be a part of the remedy!

Read more updates at the Juarez09 Blog: http://juarez09.blogspot.com/

Do You Have Beautiful Feet?

Last night, Matt and I watched the movie "Slumdog Millionaire". I have heard some good things about it before, but had never seen it. It was a good movie, but left me with a very heavy heart. My fear is that people will watch the movie and not think about how it is real life...it is not a set that someone created based off their imagination. But people actually live their lives in poverty such as this. They are forced into life situations based on their circumstances. I've seen it with my own eyes on many mission trips.

This is one of the many reasons why I am excited that we have not cancelled our trip to Juarez, Mexico. We leave in a few short weeks. I know so many have expressed concern, but I have excitement and anticipation. Our students will be exposed, probably for the first time, to what true poverty looks like. It is real, and we are called to do something about it, swine flu or not.

Psalm 82:3-4
Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

Proverbs 3:27-28
Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, "Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow" — when you now have it with you.

Proverbs 14:31
He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.

Romans 12:13
Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

I read about situations like the cyclone in Bangladesh and my heart breaks for the children that were effected. It makes me proud to partner with organizations like Compassion International and Buckner. I am proud of our students who are meeting every week to pray for the city of Juarez, Mexico and the family we are building for. I am proud of the students we have going to Mexico and their excitement rubs off on us! I am proud of the ministries our church partners with, such as Rio Bravo.

Romans 10:15 says, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

I hope that the day I meet God he tells me I have beautiful, well-worn feet that walked wherever God wanted me to go!

So, how are you responding to the call to help others? Where are you going to "walk"?

If you would like updates on our trip to Juarez, Mexico you can check out the blog: http://juarez09.blogspot.com/.

Postcard from God

I have stepped out of our high school youth group to blog because I'm so encouraged. In the last few weeks, Matt has done a great job on a series called "DTR". Its all about Defining The Relationship with God. (For those parents who don't know what DTR is...its the conversation where you define the relationship...mostly referring to a dating relationship)

Anyway, we have seen slow but steady growth. A few weeks ago, Matt said to me that we would never break past 36 kids. Every time we've seen 36, its been a bad night and then it drops to a dozen or so again. I'm not saying its about numbers at all but its cool to see that your ministry is reaching out to students. I don't think they would come back if they weren't getting anything out of it. We don't play games. We don't horse around. We have a youth worship service. Its awesome!

Tonight we have 41 students here. But the 41st student to walk through the door is what got me so excited!

I just saw a student walk in who hasn't been in a long time. In fact...his girlfriend was one of our regulars until the last few months when her family life has fallen apart. He rarely came with her. Well...they recently broke up. She isn't here tonight...but he is. I think its awesome that he came here tonight. I don't know for sure, but I think he might be here because he knows there is genuine love and hope here. Not because of us, but because of Jesus.

I have never known anyone to speak of Jesus like Matt. I mean, growing up I always heard about him, but not like Matt speaks of him...passionately and intimately. I believe the students respond to Matt's excitement of Jesus and to Matt's transparency.

Anyway...just wanted to share. :)

Completely His

Every woman needs to run out and purchase her own copy of this book "Completely His" by Shannon Etheridge!

It is an incredible read! She had me crying in the first few pages and I was completely hooked and challenged throughout the rest of it. I picked it up yesterday (yes...yesterday) at Borders and was crying in Borders! :) I've never read any of Shannon's other books so I've never heard any of her story...it was riveting!

Here's a review from Publishers Weekly:
Ethridge, bestselling author of the Every Woman's Battle series, begins this book on God's limitless love by recounting the horrific moment when she accidentally killed a woman while behind the wheel. Ethridge's vivid memory of the sorrow she caused as a new teen driver doesn't stop at the tragedy's harrowing details but focuses on the amazingly gracious forgiveness and affirmation she received from the victim's spouse. So sets the stage for this guide where Ethridge uses generous portions of scripture to convince doubt-ridden, wounded women of their intrinsic worth to God. To demonstrate, she draws upon the spiritual metaphor of a love relationship: falling in love, a tender proposal, the forsaking of all others, love languages, wedding surprises and the tossing of the bouquet. Particularly poignant is when she shares her personal epiphany that God had transformed her greatest stumbling block—that of her previous sexual sins—into the vehicle for demonstrating how God had changed her. Ethridge challenges women to accept the "wedding" gifts from a loving God who offers redemption from the past, resurrection power for today and a heavenly home in eternity. While the book is engaging and soulful, many of Ethridge's personal accounts have been published elsewhere and might feel stale to some loyal readers.

Today's Quote

This quote was powerful for me this week:

All attempts to define God cannot help but minimize him.  If in our pursuit of greater theological knowledge God has gotten smaller, we've been deceived.

- Beth Moore study "Believing God"

Believing God Study

Just wanted to tell you a little about what God's been doing in my life. I started a Beth Moore online Bible study called Believing God yesterday and it has already rocked my world!  The entire basis of the study is on Joshua 1:1-3; 3:1-5.  1:3 says, "I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses." then 3:5 says, "Joshua told the people 'Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.'"  

Here's an excerpt from the study: "Many Old Testament concepts with literal implications hold spiritual implications for New Testament believers in Christ.  The concept of a promised land is a primary example.  In face, God not only invites us to apply the concepts spiritually but also insists (Heb. 3)."  SO COOL!

One of my favorite lines that Beth Moore says in the study is "My 'promised land' is the place where my theology merges with my reality."  That was an 'aha' moment for me.

Anyway, this online version has been really neat to work with.  I have been eyeing this study for a few months ever since I saw it on the shelves in a book store, but just could not afford to get the videos with the booklet.  I happened to see that there was the online version where you download the book and watch the videos online.  So it is at your own pace!  I would suggest it to anyone!

I hope you'll check out the Believing God Web site (http://www.lifeway.com/believingGod).  It would be awesome to be doing this study along with you! :)

Crosswinds Community Church - New Home

I love my dad! He inspires me all of the time to love and care for people - right where they are. He has incredible wisdom and knows when to challenge and when to encourage. Years ago, my dad started talking about planting a church, thus Crosswinds was born. I remember the beginning stages of meeting on my parent's front lawn to finally finding a home in a warehouse and all of the growing pains that come along with a brand new church. I know that for my dad (well...my whole family) there has been a lot of joy and a lot of pain that has come on this journey - but its been a good one.

A few months ago, an opportunity came along for Crosswinds to take over an older church building that had a dying congregation. You can read more here and on my dad's blog. Sunday afternoon, my dad called me excited to tell me about moving day. Instead of a typical church service, they had a moving service. The entire church came together and moved from one building to the new building. Its an exciting new season and I know that it has pumped my dad up! I am sure that seeing his dream taking a huge leap forward is a confirmation that he has truly followed the direction God laid out for him to do.

I once read somewhere that becoming a follower of Christ is not an invitation to an easy life, a life of luxury or a safe life, but its still worth it!

You can check out more about this exciting day by checking these out:

Moving Photos
"Move That Church" post by Amy

Prayer

When Matt and I were first dating, someone from his church gave me a book, "The Power of a Praying Wife." I was a little weirded out at first because we were not married...had barely talked about marriage! But I was curious and opened it up. It was really cool because it was a wonderful guide to praying for my man.

This morning, I was once again reminded of what a valuable tool that book is. There are many times I am praying for Matt but don't have the words and I pull out this book. Often, as I am praying the prayers written, it helps me to focus beyond myself and my desires and truly, unconditionally pray for him.

I would recommend this book! Pick up your copy TODAY! :)

Emotional Roller Coaster

I have really enjoyed hearing how everyone spends their Couple Time. Keep them coming! (Read Couple Time).

Last night was the last youth group for our graduating seniors. Up until last night, I've held it together and have been the one to comfort those that are crying and reassure them that things will change but it won't be worse - and yes youth group will go on without them.

Matt decided to have a worship night with scripture reading instead of our typical service. He set up the youth room with rows of chairs and then had couches in the back. Of course, our students rushed to the couches. I was up front running the powerpoint so I had little control and really wasn't aware of what Matt's plans were.

Those students need to come sit up front on the chairs or they won't pay attention and won't have a good worship experience. I kept thinking this and started to obsess over where they were sitting and if Matt was going to say something. Suddenly I felt the Lord whisper to my heart:

God: Anne, do you not think that I could reach their hearts even on a couch?

Me: Of course I do! But how will I know that they are paying attention and participating?

God: It doesn't matter...they don't answer to you.

In that moment, I felt helpless and only capable of surrendering them over to God. It's a good thing they don't answer to me because I am incapable of showering them with love, forgiveness and mercy like Christ does.

It was also in that moment that it hit me the seniors were leaving and they were no longer going to have the "safety" of our youth group family. I was no longer going to have the same relationship with these students. All I could do was cry and pray that God would continue to hold onto them in this new season of life.

Living Out Galatians 6:10 - Global Food Crisis Fund

My house is clean! YAY! My mom left me a message last night and she said, "Maybe that spider is what will keep you from piling up your clothes again!" Hehe...I think I will always be her little girl!

Last night was our first small group of the summer. We finished digging through Galatians. Galatians 6:10 says, "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

I had the girls put their name in a bowl and choose someone else's name. We then wrote encouraging notes to that person that I am mailing out today (Yes snail mail! I think its an important thing that we take for granted). I was trying to teach them ways to live out Galatians 6:10. I think its very interesting that Paul emphasized caring for those who belong to the family of believers. One of the girls mentioned that we tend to forget that those closest to us need our help too.

I wanted to share with you another opportunity to live out Galatians 6:10. As I am sure you have read in the news, all of the flooding in the Heartland is going to cause a spike in food prices (such as corn and grain). The World Food Programme calls the global food crisis a phenomenon, a "silent tsunami," that is affecting families in every nation on every continent. Food prices for popular menu items like rice, wheat and beans have doubled in the last year.

Though increases in food prices have hit all budgets, it's the poor who bear the brunt of price inflation. The higher prices are forcing people who survive on just $1 a day to spend upwards of 80 percent of their budgets just on food. As a result, many people, including millions of children, are going hungry. The longer food prices rise, the more people will be plunged into hunger and poverty. Many of the children that are a part of the Compassion project are only able to eat at the Compassion projects!

ABOUT THE GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS FUND
Compassion International has launched the Global Food Crisis Fund to bring aid to those most adversely affected by rising food costs. More information is available and donations can be made at https://www.compassion.com/contribution/giving/global-food-crisis.htm

COMPASSION'S DAY OF PRAYER AND FASTING
Compassion International has set aside June 25 as a day of fasting and prayer to honor the victims of the global food crisis and pray for them. Join me on June 25! Even if you aren't financially able to donate to the fund (we aren't able to either) the most powerful thing you can do is pray!

Get this widget!

CHECK OUT SOME OF THESE OTHER RESOURCES:
http://blog.compassion.com/a-day-of-fasting-and-prayer
http://blog.compassion.com/the-silent-tsunami/
http://www.mnnonline.org/article/11277
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080601/32614_Compassion_International_Prepares_For_World_Food_Crisis.htm
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/compassion.prepares.for.world.food.crisis/19191.htm

Christian Music Seems To All Sound The Same

Have you ever noticed that Christian music seems to sound the same? I remember flipping through the radio station and without even hearing the words, I knew it was a Christian radio station. When I first moved up north, I tried finding a Christian station, but couldn't get any in this far north. So, for two years I have gone without a Christian radio station...and I've been perfectly fine with that. When I needed my "fix" I would just pull out my ipod.

I drove down to Bloomington this weekend for Evan's fiance's bridal shower, and drove back Sunday morning, so I was missing church. I found myself really wanting to listen to a Christian radio station. I started flipping through the channels and sure enough, immediately could tell that I had found Christian music. As I drove closer to the city, it started to become Christian music entwined with static. So I tried to find a new station and came across KLOVE. I knew KLOVE existed but could never get it as far north as I live. I found myself praying that it would last until I made it home. I found it refreshing, like drinking a nice cold glass of water on a hot day. About 10 minutes from my house, it became static once again.

The last few months have been like a hot summer day for my faith. It continues on at a sluggish pace. But it does continue. For some reason, I found the much needed refreshing drink on my drive home Sunday.

Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters.

"How can I pray for you this week?"

I never thought those words would stop me in my tracks, but last night they did. In fact, they actually surprised me. Why? I believe in prayer, I'm a prayer warrior myself. But, I haven't been asked that question in months from someone who truly means every single word. I found myself pausing before I answered. I couldn't give a quick response to someone who truly desired to know what I needed prayer for. That's kind of when it hit me that I haven't even stopped to ask myself that lately. I've been praying my own 'soft' prayers.

Ephesians 6:13-18 (MSG) says, "Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out."

So who is praying for you today? Who are you praying for?

Heart Beat

At Girls Small Group last night, we read Galatians 4:1-7. It took us an hour and a half to go through seven verses! Misty did a great job of preparing for teaching last night! There are a lot of awesome things in these seven verses but one in particular has stuck with me and I have continued to mull over.

Galatians 4

1What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. 4But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. 6Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba,^[a] Father." 7So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Verse 6 is what has been going over and over in my mind. "God sent the Spirit of his Son (the Holy Spirit) into our hearts". So the Holy Spirit is a part of us and indwells in us. Then the cool part..."the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father". So we have the Holy Spirit in our hearts and the Holy Spirit cries out "Abba Father!" For me, it makes sense why we have this natural draw or longing for our heavenly father. We have the holy spirit within us who is crying out for Him!

High School Girls Small Group - Galatians

Last year, we decided that the best format for our group was just reading the bible together and then discussing. We started by reading through most of Genesis. That was really good because it gave the girls some history and foundation to our faith. We just finished 1 Peter and that was really awesome!

The next book that we are starting is Galatians. I'm very excited to start digging into this book with the girls. Last night, I wanted them to get to know the author, Paul, as we hadn't really dug into any books that he had written. I feel its important to get to know who is writing and who they are writing to in order to truly understand what is going on. So, I broke the girls up into groups of 2 or 3 and then gave each girl 10 sets of verses and some questions to go off of and asked them to build a "character profile" of Paul. They really enjoyed getting to know the background of who this person was and how he came to know God.

I recently read that there were somewhere around 2150 people named in the bible. "Character Profiles" are a great way of studying God's word and it breaks things up sometimes when you are in a rut. I wanted the girls to discover a new way of reading God's word.

Anyway, I thought I'd share with you the verses and the questions. These questions can apply to any person which is why they reference he/she:

Acts 7:54 - 8:3

Acts 9:1-31

2 Corinthians 10:1-11

2 Corinthians 11:6

Acts 22:1-5

Acts 23:11

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

1 Thessalonians 2:2

2 Corinthians 6:3-13

Some Questions To Consider About Paul:

1. Who wrote what we know about this person?

2. What did people say about him/her?

3. What does his/her name mean? Why was he/she given that name? Was it ever changed?

4. Where did he/she live? What was his/her home life like? What were the characteristics of his/her parents? Did they influence him/her?

5. What was his/her occupation?

CHARACTER

1. What type of person was he/she?

2. What were the outstanding strengths in his/her character?

3. What were his/her particular faults and weaknesses?

4. How did he/she respond to failure? Did he/she get discouraged easily?

5. How did he/she respond to adversity? Did he/she handle criticism well?

6. How quickly did he/she praise God for the good/bad things that happened to him/her?

7. How quickly did he/she obey God when told to do something?

8. How did he/she get along with other people? Was he/she a loner? Was he/she a team person?

9. What influence did he/she have on others?

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS

1. Was there any great crisis in his/her life? How did he/she handle it?

2. Are there accomplishments for which he/she is remembered?

3. Did he/she experience a divine 'call?' How did he/she respond to it?

4. What crucial decisions did he/she have to make? How did they affect him/her?

5. Where did he/she succeed? Where did he/she fail? Why?

6. What part did he/she play in the history of God’s plan?

Why do you think God allowed this person to be mentioned in the Bible?

Is there a lesson in this person's life that can help or encourage me?
What can I learn from Paul to apply to my own situation?