Chapters 11 & 12 Wrap Up

Chapter Eleven

Question~ What does your teetertotter look like when it comes to balancing work and worship?
Imogene~ Because at the start of this book I was destined to be Martha. I would say that if there was an opportunity to serve or be involved in a group at church I was there. God has told me to be still and he will show me the path of service. He is allowing me to use this computer to blog while my children are sleeping and it does not take away from my family. He also showed me that my quiet times can be worship by going to you tube and watching praise videos with the songs. This is where the idea came from to pair up chapters with music that spoke to me during that chapter. I hope you enjoy.
Question ~ We all need time to let our souls catch up. Can you commit to a prayer time daily? Let us list some ideas of activities that we do everyday that we will not do until we have a prayer time.
Imogene~ I am going to commit to not check my email until I have my prayer time.

Chapter Twelve

Question ~ Have you ever heard a great Christian testimony and wished you could have the faith of that person or live as he or she has lived? What was the process that gave them this product?
Imogene ~ Total reliance on Christ in a moment of failure. I am always looking back and seeing God most in my moments of weakness and despair. He uses us and our experiences to showcase his love for us as our Savior who will keep saving us everyday in everything that we do.
Question ~ What spoke to you most in this passage?
Imogene ~ I loved how the author opened up about how this is a struggle for her. To see how God transformed her to a Martha with a Mary's heart in this world. This is so important for me. When I am in the middle of a Martha moment I need to stop and search for Mary's heart in all this. Thank you! This has been such a blessing to me and I am praying for a transformation in my life starting today!

Chapter 9 and 10

Chapter Nine

Question ~ We have to accept the diagnosis if we're ever going to experience the cure. I believe Martha did just that. Read Luke 10:38-42. Now read John 11:17-28. What differences do you see in Martha in these two stories?
Imogene~ Submission to his will in her life. She accepts his plan and power for her life. This is the desire of my heart. I want to accept his will for my life and rely on his power and not my own.
Question ~ God is willing to forgive and change us~even at our worst. Rewrite your cry for transformation in your own words. The read it aloud to the Lord.
Imogene ~ Dear Lord, Please take the worries of my world and let me use this energy to focus on you and your love that you have for me. I pray that I will see your power and glory in everything and every situation. I pray that my heart will be still while you calm the storms of my life and that I will find true rest in your spirit.

Chapter Ten

Question ~ Mary loved extravagantly because she had experienced firsthand the extravagant love of God. How can we do this on a daily basis as a mom?
Imogene~ I look at my daily life and I think of what I could give up for God in order to be closer to him. At the beginning of the year I decided that I spent a lot of time in Target shopping. When I had a free moment I would run across the street and shop. This is something that I am willing to give up and spend that time in the word or blogging the books that I am reading for an online study. Honestly I would be there right now! I love this time in this book and the word and reflecting on what I got from this book and what application I am going to have daily to have a Mary's heart in this Martha world.
Question ~ What spoke to you most in this chapter?
Imogene ~ Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." I have to remind myself of this treasure each time I have a moment of distraction. I have to ask myself, "Am I going to serve this world or him?" Am I upset because of a worldly treasure that may have been lost? I need to see that God prunes me of the treasures of this world so I can focus more on him and his treasures that he has for me.

Chapters Seven and Eight

Chapter Seven

Question~ Read the "hoppy birthday" story. Name the Hula-Hoop responsibilities you have in your life. Which one is the most difficult to keep in motion?
Imogene ~ I feel that my relationship with God is the most hard. With my husband, children, and friends they are right in front of me all day. It is up to me to make time for a quiet time and rely on him through my entire day. I wish there was more I could do for him. Sometimes it is so hard to keep him #1.
Question ~ What spoke to you most in this chapter?
Imogene ~ "I have to let him in before we can enjoy our Living Room time together". Wow! He is always there waiting for me! I want to see all that he has for me in this life and be more in the mind frame of looking for his treasure and not the earth's.

Chapter Eight

Question ~ What is your favorite kind of story and why?'
Imogene~ Romance, I feel that it is a total escape from reality. My prayer group's circle leader made me realize that not only was I using these novels as an escape, but also creating unrealistic expectations on my marriage. Wow! That really made me start thinking about the books I was reading.
Question ~ How would your life be different if you could receive these words as a truth and not only truth but as evidence of God's love in your life? What spoke to you most in this chapter?
Imogene~ "If you are struggling to trust God, it may be because you don't really know God." This hit home. I am trying to read the bible through this year and the more I get into this book of treasures the more I learn about God. I see that he is to be feared and that he will go to the ends of the earth for me. I am chosen and he will protect me!

Chapter 5 and 6 Discussion Questions

Chapter Five

Question~ Someone has said that each one of us is created "with a God shaped hole" and that we will never truly be satisfied until we fill the space with him. Unfortunately many of us, as Terri described, fill up on spiritual snickers bars. What do you turn to instead of God when you are feeling empty.
Imogene~ First I fill it with activities with other people. Then I turn to food if that did not do the job. God has had to scream at me, "Why are you going to all these other people and not just coming straight to me? I am the only one that can fix this." Also I love to eat. Growing up my mom had us on strict nutritional diets and so now I love junk food. It is scary how much I can eat. The I realized that I was emotional eating and it was getting the best of me. I had to start having second quiet times at night before I started my snacking.

Chapter Six

My first favorite song after I was saved:)
Question~ Who was the first Christian in your life to live in such a way that you could clearly see Christ? How did this person affect your live?
Imogene~ This one is an easy one for me, my sister. She was the one that called my up and invited me to go to Campus Crusade Spring Break and instead of drinking we were going to share the gospel with people and save them from hell. She has continued to be an inspiration to me. She helps me see what is really important, and it is not in this world. I love her!
Question~ What spoke to you most in this chapter?
Imogene ~ "Of all the identifying marks of a Christian, Jesus said love would be the thing that gives us away. "By this all men will know that you are my disciples,". I feel that so many times I am so caught up in my own self that I forget to look around to see who God may have in my path that may need a little extra love today. They are there, but am I looking? If I have my quiet time it sets my day off in his focus and I will try to look to see what he is showing me:)

Chapter 3&4 Mary's Heart in a Martha's World

Chapter Three~

Question ~ Martha wanted Jesus to tell Mary to help out in the kitchen, but instead of giving her what she wanted, Dr. Jesus made a diagnosis: "Martha, Martha,...you are worried and upset about many things." If you had been Martha, how would Jesus' words have made you feel?
Imogene ~ Well since I know that I am a Martha, he has told me this multiple times during my life. There have been so many times where I am so worried to the point that I have stomach problems. When I lay them at his feet I know that I have the choice to trust him with these concerns and let them go. He is my Abba and provider. He knows the path that he has for me and he is looking for my trust for him to lead me. He takes me back to my moment of salvation and says, "You trusted me with much, are you not going to trust me with little?"
Question ~What spoke most to you in this chapter?


Chapter Four~

Question~ Read the wagon story. Take a look at your wagon. Which rocks has God asked you to carry? Which rocks have you unwisely and sometimes unconsciously volunteered to carry for someone else?
Imogene~ My relationship with God and my family are the main rocks in my wagon. When things and activities come up, I have to ask myself, "Is this going to make my load heavier or lighter?" I know that God has called me to do much for his name but I have to rely on his strength and will to get me through this journey as a mom.
Question~ Do you ever feel the driven, perfectionistic, spiritual Martha Stewart coming out in you? What does she look like at home? What does she look like at church?
Imogene~ This really hit home for me. I feel that when I get upset about details I am trying to control the situation and the outcome for the credit. When I am at home and hosting a get together, I have a choice to ignore the details or my children. So the details get ignored and the children get hugs. When helping at church I have a hard time delegating details but with a family at home I have to. In both situations I see over and over again how God is in the details. His will is going to be done with or without me worrying about the details.
Question~ Why may the one thing God asks you to do be different from what he requires of someone else?
Imogene~ We are all made differently and God uses us in different ways in different people's lives. I think it is important for us all to remember that God has us just where he wants us. Sometime I find the spirit of comparison trying to sneak in and tell me that what I am doing is not enough and then I have to remember that he wants me to have a Mary's heart in this Martha's world.

Having a Mary's Heart in a Martha's World CHPT 1&2

Chapter One ~
What preconceived ideas did you have about Mary and Martha before reading this book? Which woman did you relate to most?
Imogene ~ I relate to Martha. Being the oldest child from a divorced family, I have always felt like a care taker. I have also had life situations that have required me to juggle multiple balls at one time to meet the needs that are before me. My views on these balls have changed through the years. But my desire for activity still remains the same.
Question ~ Have you seen God's work of transformation in your own life or someone else's? How did you know that it was a "holy makeover" and not just a temporary "facelift"?
Imogene ~ I have seen a "holy makeover" in my life. Through the roller coaster of life I tend to look at myself for the solutions to problems. When I have gone through trials I do always look back and thank God for the trial that drew me closer to him, because he cared that much for me that he wanted to have those moments of desperation for him in my life! Those are the moments that I have seen "holy makeovers" in my life. I pray for many more along the way!


Chapter Two ~

Question ~ Read Luke 10:38-42. Have you ever asked Martha's question, "Lord, don't you care?" What was the situation? How did God answer your question?
Imogene ~ When I had my second son I was having a hard time adjusting to the realization of being a stay at home mom of 2 young boys and providing for my family on my own. Through a Bible Study and Prayer Circle, God guided me through this situation. One lady in the study had a young child that had seizures. Once when she was having one she asked her mom, "Did you see him?". She said, "Who?" The little girl said, "Jesus, he was right here." God used this story to make me realize that he is always with me. When I am in a moment of trouble he is there. It is up to me to look for him and not at myself. So he answered this question for me right then and
there.
Question~ What spoke to you most about this chapter?
Imogene ~ How the demons were at work in the "bishop story". As I continue to serve him, I have to watch out for distraction that may take away from God's plan for my life as a mom and in the body of Christ.


Please comment with your thoughts are on these questions. Can not wait till the next two chapters! Chapter Two had me in tears! God is always keeping me warm, why am I always focusing on the broken window?

Love you All!
Imogene

First Day of Study!

Pray that he will "Lift us Up" this week. xoxoxo


After meeting with a couple of moms we decided that we would use this six weeks to hold each one of us accountable to having quiet times each day. We feel that God is focused more on our hearts than our actions. We are going to read two chapters each week and do the discussion questions on Tuesday mornings. We pray that God will talk to us all through this study. We would LOVE to have you participate through this blog or facebook. Let me know if you prefer Facebook and I will send you the link to that study group.

In my weakness He is strong;
In my need He leads me on.
When I come to the end of all I am,
And I place my trust in Him;
That’s when His strength begins –
In my weakness.

Blessings!
Imogene

Getting Ready

Can not wait to start this book next week. Here is the story of Mary and Martha to prepare for this book.

Luke 10:38-42

New International Version (NIV)

At the Home of Martha and Mary
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Thought to Ponder~
What are some characteristics of Mary and Martha? Who resembles you most now?

Blessings!
Imogene

Having a Mary's Heart in a Martha's World

A couple of Moms are going to join me reading this book over the next couple of months. I thought I would post weekly when we start. Here is the information on the book. Renee said you can get it for $4 on Amazon and there is also a Kindle version. Please comment on the posts if you are going to join! Thanks and look forward to the first post on the 24th. Blessings! Imogene

http://www.amazon.com/Having-Mary-Heart-Martha-World/dp/1400074037/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326044495&sr=1-1