Mikki's Posts

So I have a place for devotions.  I decided on my desk.  It's a good place because it's not too comfortable so there's little chance I'd fall asleep.  I'm not giving up but picking the same time every day won't work for me. February has a few goals now. 1. When I rise and when I go to bed, I will be spending a concentrated 10 minutes in prayer.  If I go over, great.  But at least 10 mins. 2. I'm going to read Today in the Word, the Moody Bible Institute daily devotional.  I gave the hard copy I have for the month to my friend and she's going to read with me to keep us both accountable.  I'm going to text or email her every day my thoughts or reactions to the day's reading/devo. 3.  In this next month I will get my bible study homework done before the day I have study. Sunday for BSF, Tuesday for the women's study.  Yes BSF is a daily structure but there many weeks where I have days I slack. So that's it for now. Oh!  I'm g...

But I was right--so far, it has been a looong winter.  Sigh.  I've been crazy busy or crazy tired.  It's a vicious cycle.  I managed to stay current with my wed nite bible study.  We finished our fall study, a book called Becoming a Woman of Balance.  It was a fantastic study from the Women of Faith series.  I definitely grew and had many great discussions. But I totally got behind on BSF.  I missed a week because I volunteered in the kids' classes and then I missed a week for bad roads/weather.  Then we went on break for the holidays, so I haven't seen anyone from my group for a month! Thankfully I've got a great friend from last year who I get together with for dinner and such.  We really like sushi.  I'm thinking my next birthday should be at a sushi place.  Mmmm... Anyway, the long and the short of it is I haven't been very diligent about devotions or prayer or reading my Bible.  And that was not good.  I had ...

So I'm very excited that BSF has started back up this year.  I really like my group already; there are a couple girls from my group last year in my group this year! I'm excited about studing Isaiah.  There was an amazing number of ladies there for the first night.  There's lots of groups and the sound of all of us singing the hymns was incredible. The overview of Isaiah was pretty good.  I didn't know that Isaiah is the least studied book in the Bible.  But I did know it was the most quoted Old Testament book in the New Testament. The biggest thing I took away from the 1st night was the first principle: A godly lifestyle combined with words of God's truth profoundly influences family, friends and culture.

I haven't post in a while. After I got all excited about getting back to posting I got too busy to blog. Sounds like a good excuse but it's not. And now my computer is a little, shall we say, malfunctioning. It's an older laptop, from 2005. Ancient in computer terms. And it won't boot. The good news is up until the week I'd been doing my Light Therapy consistently and regularly. This week I let other priorities get in the way and I slacked off. Not so tomorrow morning. I'm getting up early and spending some time with God before I drive back to Indy to help my friend move. Plus I need to finish my BSF homework too. My heart has been breaking as we go through the last few chapters of John. There's so much I didn't know historically about the Jewish legal system in Jesus' time. I feel so blessed to have the Old and New Testaments to be able to see the complete story of God's plan for humanity. To see all the OT prophecy fulfillment ...

Another year of BSF, another incredible study and fabulous discussion group...that's theory at least. I do have a great discussion leader with whom I think I've connected as well as a couple of ladies in the discussion group.  It's a terrific cluster with a diverse cast of personalities and a good mix of single, married, and married with kids. It's my second year in BSF.  Last year was the study of the life of Moses.  It was a wonderful study and a great introduction to the BSF formula.  This year we're studying the gospel of John.  And so far I'm really struggling with it. I guess I kind of feel like one of the Jews that just didn't get what John the Baptist or Jesus was saying.  It feels like something's not translating; as if I'm reading the Bible in the original Hebrew or Greek and can't make head or tails of it. Except I know what they're saying.  I believe what I'm reading is the truth (John 5:24, 5:31-38).  I...

Wow. A lot can change in a couple months. My first year in Bible Study Fellowship is now over. It's weird. I'm sad to be losing my discussion group. They're a wonderful collage of women from whom I have learned much. They've made me laugh, they've touched my soul and shown me perspectives I could never truly imagine on my own. In another week and half, my ladies Bible study group on Wednesday, which I lovingly nickname my McDanell study, will be finishing up our current book called The Cycles of Victorious Living by Earl and Hazel Lee. It's a good book and I would recommend it. A little birdie called the church bulletin, informed me the Wednesday night group would study Hebrews next. I hope that is true--I'm ready for digging into a book of the Bible study. Lastly, my small group has started a new book. (Yes, I was in three Bible studies this winter. No, I'm probably not doing that again). The book is something Dave L. was reading and thought we'd...

So after three weeks of spiritual highs, I fell. I wasn't on guard. I not only let my guard down but dived right into sin. Which totally sucked! Was the sin fulfilling? Of course not! I just spiraled for a day and avoided God and reading my Bible and praying. That doesn't mean I didn't see God during that time; it was weird to still see Him in everything despite my disobedience. It was a struggle to go to my Bible study Wed night. I really didn't want to. I felt wretched and worthless and unpure and unworthy to be amongst these ladies of God. But thankfully I ignored my feelings. I knew it was important to go. 1) My roommate's in the study so not showing up would make her concerned. 2) It was the last chapter of the study and I needed closure for the book whether or not I felt like it. 3) I needed to go. My soul needed encouragement. I was determined not to talk however. I hadn't finish the chapter of our book (The One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven by Mar...

God is so good. No seriously, He's reallly goood. I'm on two weeks of consecutive devotions now. I'll be the first to admit that some days have been more productive and fruitful than others, but some form of prayer, scripture reading and mediation time with Jesus has happened. HOW COOL IS THAT?! The difference I see in myself from just two weeks of walking after/seeking God is great. I'm joyful even when it hurts to walk. I'm a smile factory. I see so much beauty in people. Not to say I'm perfect by any means. There were tests that I failed. I gave into having a bad attitude about someone this weekend. I'm trying to change my heart and debating whether I should say something to them. I sped on my road trip to Kentucky. Not terribly but still I was above the posted limit. (Yeah, it's a speed LIMIT, not a speed MINIMUM...still trying to respect that.) That's the great thing about God. I messed up; I repented and asked God to help me ...

Doing good this week. Did devotions the last two days but didn't take time to blog. I think I did the more important item so it's all good. Question. Why is the human memory so long for some things and so short for the things that matter? In Numbers 9:1-14 the Lord says to Moses that the Isrealites should celebrate Passover; a commeration of the final plague in Egypt that God's people had been spared from. According to the passage it's been 2 years since leaving Egypt. Back in Exodus 12 God gave Moses instructions for the people for the first Passover when they were about to exit Egypt. The Isrealites were to put some of the blood of the lamb on the sides and tops of their doorframes where they were eating the lamb, which had to be without defect. The angel of the Lord came through Egypt and all the firstborn (men and animals) were struck down, but when the angel saw the blood on the door frames he "passed over" the Isrealites houses. In the two years time ...

Can I just say yesterday was amazing?  I got up early and did my devotions before work and the day just flew by.  I was so joyful.  At work.  I'm a sunny person in the lab most of the time anyway but Monday I was in a spiritual zone. But today is (well was) a new day.  I got up seriously early for one of my days off and read the first four chapters of Numbers.  Sounds boring right? It wasn't. Praying prior to reading the Bible makes a big difference.  I've been asking God to show me His truth as I read.  I've been reminding myself that the Bible is "...God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness..." (2 Timothy 3:16).  The Bible is "...living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitude of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12) Anywhoo, back to Numbers.  The Isrealites have been out o...

Leviticus 26 is a good read. It's the blessings and punishments the Lord details to the Isrealites for obeying or disobeying the decrees and laws handed down at Mt. Sinai. First God lays out the blessings and they are wonderful. Abundant crops, peace, victory over enemies, God dwelling and walking among the people...the first 13 verses are brimming with promises of rewards for obeying God's decress and law. Then, dude, there's a lot of punishments. And yes, they are terrible. The consequences of disobeying God are numerous and destructive and, quite frankly, depressing. Four times, in verses 18, 21, 24 & 28, God says that He will punish their sins 7x over. That's heavy. But all this despair is not without hope. Starting in verse 40 God shows the way out of disobedience and wrath....confess their (the Isrealites) sins, humble their uncircumcised hearts and pay for their sins (by the sin offering set up earlier in the Law). THEN God says He will not reject them,...