A Book

A Book

“Now” - said a good book unto me -

“Open my pages and you shall see

Jewels of wisdom and treasures fine,

Gold and silver in every line,

And you may claim them if you but will

Open my pages and take your fill.

“Open my pages and run them o’er,

Take what you choose of my golden store.

Be you greedy, I shall not care -

All that you seize I shall gladly spare;

There is never a lock on my treasure doors,

Come - here are my jewels, make them yours!

“I am just a book on your mantel shelf,

But I can be part of your living self;

If only you’ll travel my pages through,

Then I will travel the world with you.

As two wines blended make better wine,

Blend your mind with these truths of mine.

“I’ll make you fitter to talk with men,

I’ll touch with silver the lines you pen,

I’ll lead you nearer the truth you seek,

I’ll strengthen you when your faith grows weak -

This place on your shelf is a prison cell,

Let me come into your mind to dwell!”

by Edgar Guest

Surprised by Joy - The Shape of My Early Life

Our latest selection is under the category of "Book Club Favorite Author". More on this later - my battery is about to die and I am sick on the couch :(

Cheat Sheet...

by Jennifer

I am posting these discussion questions to give everyone an itty bitty head start on tonight's discussion. I am also doing it to generate some discussion about the blog itself. Do what you want with these, but please don't be scared away... nobody will be put on the hot seat. And lest some of you panic and say "wait, I don't remember reading that" some of them are specifically related to the book and some are not-so-much...

Don't answer them here - these are for later. And you don't need to print this out - I have copies for everyone. And don't assume I won't ask you something that is not on this list - that would be risky.

1. What was the author’s purpose or stated intent for this book? And did she meet her objective?

2. Why a theology book specifically for Women?

3. Before reading this what was your interest in “theology”? Has that changed?

4. What percentage of your Bible reading would you say fits into each category?

a. Devotional Reading
b. Exposure to individual passages or sections during a teaching, sermon , book
c. Whole Bible (reading through it in a systematic manner)
d. In-Depth Study

5. Can anyone give an example of how what you know about God and how you appropriate that knowledge has made a real difference in you or in your life?

6. When you meet a theological truth or something you are not sure about God – how do you handle it? What steps do you take to resolve your conflict?

7. Is there anything about her testimony or the examples she used that have given you a new perspective or some tool you can use in your own walk?

8. Are there any theological truths in the book that have challenged or encouraged you?

9. Did the book prompt any other “studies” for you?


See you tonight!

Practical Thology for Women

by Kathi

I have to say that, for me, this book ranks among my favorites. It is a book to reference again and again. I could just quote the whole book, but I will focus on just a couple things I really liked.

Chapter 4 Appropriating What You Believe - pgs. 55-57. The author elaborates on an example of how God corrected her vision, enabling her to refocus on him as she drove home. I have asked the question a number of times, "how do you, in the middle of a situation, stay focused on God." The answers I always get are not all that different from Wendy's, if I can personalize her, but her answer finally gives me the tool I need. Her "quick reflection at a stop light served as my spiritual lens adjustment, putting God's eternal purposes back as the center of my attention."

I know what I believe about God and what is in my heart. I don't have to leave a situation and come back after I have refocused; I just need to make that lens adjustment (in the blink of an eye). It doesn't change the situation but it changes my focus and approach immediately, and that changes everything. Her job struggle was still in her line of vision, but it no longer demanded her focus or consumed her energy.

Chapter 2 What is Faith? The move from unbeilef to belief when you can't figure out how God is going to use a bad circumstance for your good, is evidenced when you move form despair to peace, despite nothing changing in your circumstances.
The last statement in Chapter four: Know Him and then act like you know Him,that is Faith.

Wimpy Theology Makes Wimpy Women

This is a great quote that fits right in with what we've been reading in this month's book. This is from John Piper at the True Women Conference:

"Wimpy theology makes wimpy women. That’s my assumption that I bring to this evening. Wimpy theology simply does not give a woman a God that is big enough, strong enough, wise enough, and good enough to handle the realities of life in away that magnifies the infinite worth of Jesus Christ. Wimpy theology is plagued by woman-centeredness and man-centeredness. Wimpy theology doesn’t have the granite foundation of God’s sovereignty or the solid steel structure of a great God-centered purpose for all things."

Read the whole thing here.

Act like you know him

I said in my last post that I was trying to pace myself. That's hard to do with a short book that is well written and full of important stuff. I think I did well. I finished last week and have spent the days since "processing".


I was really struck by the way the author presented one who is "of little faith". So this is really a follow-up to that topic.


If, when we don't act in accordance with what we have seen God do and heard him say, the problem is that we don't have conviction sufficient to cause us to act accordingly where does that leave us? What are we to do when we find our actions and attitudes reflecting a lack of faith? We can certianly WILL ourselves to ACT a certain way in some cases but can you just WILL yourself to have more faith? If faith is made up of things like "assurance" and "conviction" (Hebrews 11:1) then there is something about it that defies our own personal decision to simply have it or to have more of it.


So chapter three left me with these questions. Can you see the relationship of your focus and your faith? Does this thought give you any clarity in your desire to be more "faithful"? Or maybe a better question is "what should we do (practically speaking) when we lack faith"?

Oligopistos anyone?

We're about two weeks away from our next meeting. I hope everyone is enjoying the current selection.

At only 152 pages it's tempting to just stay up late one night and read it straight through, but I've chosen to take it slow and really meditate on the issues raised.

It doesn't take much spiritual introspection for me to see clearly how my own anxiety, fear and reactions to the circumstances in life reflect the "oligopistos" of chapter 3.

Looking at the make-up of our group I think this probably affects us in varying degrees and I am anticipating a great discussion complete with plenty of real life examples of how the Lord has worked in each of our lives in the area of "faith".

For me personally, I've been been seeing my anxiety and worry more as faithlessness and sin rather than just obstacles to my own peace - that changes things for me. At the same time, I am realizing how dependent I am on knowing God, knowing the scriptures and flat out crying out to Him for a remedy to being "of little faith".

How about you? Have the author's thoughts on Faith affected you these past couple of weeks?

Bloggging 101

Now that some of you have started to join the blog I wanted to post a few guidelines to help us get started.

Posting

If you have something you want to share with the group you should write a new post. Give it a descriptive title and type away. You can format it using the toolbar, add photos, etc. But a plain and simple post is nice too.

Use clear, concise labels. These are the little tags that you put in the white box on the bottom right hand corner of your post when you are writing. Try to use one that already exists on our blog under "Topics". If it doesn't fit, be as succinct as possible. If we go crazy on this it will just clutter up the blog.

If you are interested in more blogging tips, check out one of my favorites:

Darcy over at Life With My 3 Boybarians has a beautiful blog and she has posted a series on blogging - here's one that is good to read on the topic of labels or "tags".

http://www.lifewithmy3boybarians.com/2008/05/blog-bloat-tags-1.html


Comments vs. Posts

If you have something quick to add to a conversation use a comment on the relevant post. This will keep things focused. For example, if you have accepted the invitation to join the blog and want to say hi, comment on the welcome post.

http://chapelchelmsfordbookclub.blogspot.com/2008/09/welcome-come-on-in.html

You don't need to create a new post for that.

I know this is new territory for most of you. Relax. It's going to be fun. If you make a mistake you will not be banned from blogging for life.

Now - I am supposed to be cleaning the house while my dear husband who took the day off has the boys out. So my final tip... don't get lost in the blogosphere when you are supposed to be doing something else :) real life is waiting

Books we read in 2006 - 2007

2006 - 2007

1. The Shaping of a Christian Family - Elisabeth Elliot
2. Feeding Your Soul - Jean Fleming
3. Stepping Heavenward - Elizabeth Prentiss
4. The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis
5. Heaven - Randy Alcorn

Books we read in 2007 - 2008

2007 - 2008

1. Letters to My Daughters - Paul Friesen
2. Humility - C.J. Mahaney
3. Feminine Appeal - Carolyn Mahaney
4. Hinds Feet on High Places - Hannah Hurnard
5. A Chance to Die - Elisabeth Elliot
6. Women's Ministry in the Local Church - Susan Hunt and Ligon Duncan
7. With Christ in the School of Prayer - Andrew Murray
8. When I Don't Desire God - John Piper

Welcome! Come on in...

Good evening ladies. Or good-morning, afternoon, whatever it may be. This blog is designed as a place for us to share our many thoughts in the days in-between our meetings. When you have just read something in our latest selection that inspires, confuses or provokes you this is the place to share it without waiting until the next month's meeting. Or maybe you forgot to say something important last time. We hope to enhance our discussion by making it more of an ongoing conversation.

You can say nothing and just read what others are saying or you can write lengthy posts about the author's views on deep theological matters - it's all up to you. So grab your copy of our latest book, a cup of something (double-tall latte for me) and check it out.

Let's remember to use our manners and not say something we wouldn't say in Jan's living room when we are all face to face and happied up on wonderful snacks.



Enjoy!