Last week after we went over chapters 16 and 17 in The Confident Woman and ended with You Go Girl! I had the room set up with no tables this time and all the chairs were put in a circle. There were 21 of us and we each took turns to share how God used this book to change our hearts and lives.
I don't want to share names of the women but I will share some of the issues and the things that God has taught us. Many of the women discussed how they have been living in fear for many years and didn't realize how much it has controlled their lives. Some women shared that...
* This book allowed them to have the courage to open up more with their spouse and potentially "save their marriage"
* God taught them to trust him while caring for elderly parents
* God taught them to be confident while raising their children
* God is teaching them to rely on Him for strength during a difficult time of seeing a parent/sibling go through cancer treatment
* Learning that God doesn't want us to be stressed, or live in fear but to have joyful lives
* Being confident enough to love a relative even while being verbally mistreated
I was so blessed as I heard how God worked through the book and through Joyce and allowed all of us to become one step closer to being more confident, bold, courageous women who are living each day with joy and not in fear or stress.
God has reminded me to pray for this group of women and continue to encourage them in the Lord. Many times I was stressed about my lesson or preparing the room before our meeting but God taught me that people are so much more important than setting up a room or tea or coffee.
The day after our meeting my friend Debi who joined our group said, "Kristi, did you know what a huge blessing this group would be?" And quite honestly, I didn't know. But as we all shared and laughed together and cried together I thanked God for each woman and can't wait to teach our next study in February!
Thank you for my friends back home who prayed for this Bible Study...God really works in amazing ways!
That's great that you got such positive feedback on your group! Sounds like it was a blessing to everyone involved.
ReplyDelete