And all may enter...

I recently decided to start blogging again.. and by again I mean for the second time in my life ever! :) The reason I came to this conclusion was because I am horrible at remembering all the same details. I can't remember who said what and when or where we were. I envy people who are able to bring up stories from days gone by, and I can barely remember what I wore two days ago.

There have been a lot of changes in my life over the past year. I got married, moved to a new city, became a pastor's wife, graduated college, landed a teaching job, and am now looking back wondering where all the time went. I am so thankful for where I am at tonight as I sit on my couch, and just look at how the Lord has brought me to this wonderful place of peace.

I have recently started a word study with a group of ladies from my church. Every week we have a portion of scripture we are to read, and then fill out this in depth evaluation on what the Bible says and then what it does for us. I told the ladies in my study that I wanted to start blogging about it. I was so moved and changed by things they were saying and teaching me, that I wanted to make sure I didn't forget the "little stuff". So here goes our first blog about our group...

Our study is on the book of John. We go chapter by chapter and verse by verse. Tonight we were in John chapter 2:13-3:36. The stories that take place in these chapters are familiar to most who would claim to read the Bible. The story of Jesus in the temple and overturning the tables, the story of Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night and questioning who the Spirit was, and then John the Baptists followers being reluctant about Jesus baptizing. You may think "what in the world do all these stories have to do with each ohter?" Well I am going to try and shed some light on that.

Tonight my mother in law summed up every emotion and thought I had this week during my study. She said "the spirit is like the leaves of a tree falling, we never know where each one is going to land." I've learned through the four weeks we have been doing this study that we each are facing our own battles, demons, frustrations, victories, joys, and life.

We have a place in our study that we call "the clearing". At this time we share the place that God is drawing us to in our mind and hearts. This time is really special because you get to see every different heart come to life with words. I cannot express how proud I am of the ladies in my group. They wear their heart on their sleeve during this time, and I am moved with compassion and humbled every time they speak. Some of the clearings tonight where that God takes joy in watching us smile, in taking that first step, being happy in His creation, knowing that cleaning the mens restroom IS a form of worship, sitting and feeling him all around.

As i continue to blog our journey, I will hopefully tell it more like a story. I needed to do some explaining of how it all works though.

My most favorite part of the night was my sweet friend sharing her name that was given on her heart this week, and it was "spoken for". If we could all remember that we are already spoken for, we might rest easier in the grace and comfort of the one who gives all.