I really enjoyed Nicole Johnson's honesty in this chapter. She talks about how we need to fully surrender to God, but also how we shouldn't be afraid to be honest in our prayers. I grew up in a very traditional church, where we were taught to never question God's decisions, and to always be happy with Him even if we are struggling with our lives. The answer to my questions were always, "That's what God decided" or "Well, just because!" (That one was given to me by the pastor at our church, believe it or not! Can you see why I needed to find a deeper connection with God as an adult?!)
Nicole writes that when we bring our problems into prayer with God, we can deal with them better, not just brush them under the table. I don't know about anyone else, but my life is so busy and full that I don't have time to play games or hide my feelings! I was relieved to read that she encourages her readers to wrestle with God in their prayers, and then let Him lead the way. Thoughts?
I can't wait to see everyone on Friday and also read their comments on this blog! As Nicole mentions in the introduction of the book:
(In reference to coffee's universal appeal) "The message is always the same: friendship and warmth. You are welcome here."
Erica
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Wow! I am so motivated! Okay, now it's over. Does anyone else out there have that same problem? My last big motivation was to get up at 6am and spend time writing. I did it the first day and felt great! The second day I hit the snooze for another 45 minutes. The third day I didn't even set the alarm! That's why I love this book so far. Okay, I know I'm only on chapter one, but it doesn't seem to require me to do anything supernatural. The Lord knows me well!
ReplyDeleteOf course, with any book I read I end of having more questions than answers, so that’s what I chose to write this blog about. There were also a couple of statements that I really liked and wanted to see if other’s liked as much.
Pg 1… Did anyone else relate perfecting to the thought of “surrendering” just like you do when you take a sip of coffee? It’s almost like… ahhh… now I can start my day with peace.
Pg 3… I really liked the idea of going to God naked (okay, not literally… but in a real way).
Pg 4… Loved Martin Luther’s quote which I’ve paraphrased as “we show whether we believe by what we do when we sin…” I really need to think on this one more, but I love where it’s going.
Pg 7... Love the part about moving from “trying to prove your worth to accepting your value.” My only question is… HOW???
Pg 9… “You are the beloved.” It’s almost difficult for me to hear. I know that sounds strange, but once you believe it, you have no excuses to trust and be exposed.
Pg 13… I wonder if I have ever prayed a brutally honest and exposed prayer. I usually find myself treating God like my pastor… filtered and cautious not to share too much, and very polite and respectful. Who am I kidding? It’s not like He doesn’t know. I think I’ve actually bared my soul deeper with close friends than I have in prayer. How sad is that! I like the part she says about laying down your strategies and false motives. But HOW???
Pg 16… Okay, did anyone find the revised Samaritan Woman story more than a little creepy? I felt like I needed to wash my ears out with soap. Of course I have thought far more sexual thoughts about a man, but thinking that way with Christ seems a little… ummm… weird. Not sure, anyone else get this feeling?
Pg 19… I like the part about as we submit to suffering we find the path to real life. This makes me think of one of my favorite scriptures… Romans 5. I do love Hope!
Pg 20/21… I tried to break the hymn down into an order of stages… here’s what I came up with…
1) Acceptance
2) Surrendering
3) Redemption
4) Salvation
If this is the order… where do I am? I wonder…
Can’t wait to talk to you all and figure out where I am? Do you know where you are?
I know we discussed on Friday, but you had many good points, and I felt bad that we had to wrap it up so quickly! I'm just going to respond to a few of your points:
ReplyDeletepg. 4: "We show our belief in the gospel by what we do when we sin." I too, think this is interesting, and really need to contemplate it more. Today's church service talked about How we act BEFORE we sin, that we try to rationalize away God so we don't feel guilt about sinning. But then how do we pick up the pieces after sinning? Again, I must think about how to answer that question to myself.
pg. 7: moving from trying to prove your worth to accepting your value. I think as women we are especially prone to constantly trying to prove our worth. I see many stay-at-home moms who do this, because deep down, they feel they need to prove to others that what they are doing is important. (Which of course, it is!!) But I think many others try to do this, even if they aren't religious. We try to prove our worth to our family, spouses, and friends. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could just accept that God loves us, and that Jesus has already proved our worth by his sacrifice? I can type those words, but it is something I need to work on in my own spirituality.
page 16: Yes, that was a bit creepy...what else can I say?!
It was great meeting with the book club on Friday! I hope more women will join us next time! :)
I'm starting a little late, but better late than never, right? :-)
ReplyDeletePg 7: I think accepting your worth comes down to what we learned from Stuart Smalley on SNL years ago.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Smalley) We need to look ourselves in the mirror and say "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and
doggone it, people like me!" :-) I know that sounds simple, but when you tell yourself often that you are worthy, it becomes natural.
There is no magic verse or book that will make us accept ourselves. I personally believe it's a
process. We may not like everything about ourselves, but that's ok. It's ok to find things we want to change in ourselves, however
the key is to accept ourselves (flaws and all) but be kind to ourselves as we try to fix our flaws.
Pg 16: Whew! I'm so glad you guys thought that too. I was seriously freaking out about the kiss/intimate stuff. It was just weird. ;-0
Patty O'Furniture, I love your comment! I agree. For me, I think it's about trusting that God is infallable, which means that He made each of us valuable... and therefore we should accept his creation as valuable too. Great post. Can't wait to see your thoughts on Chapter 2.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter set me free! Although I understand God's grace in theory, I think this is the first time I've ever truly experienced it. Lately, I've been wondering why peace is so hard to find if I'm a Christian. Now I know--I hadn't truly experienced God's grace. Thanks for letting me be part of this group and for introducing me to this book!
ReplyDeleteWe're so thrilled to have all you ladies join us! Great posting!
ReplyDelete