Hidden Joy~Week 7
by MELISSA TAYLOR
First I have to give a standing ovation to Stephanie Clayton. Everybody, stand up right now wherever you are and clap for this girl. Wasn’t she just the best at taking over my blog? Honestly-I am a little nervous to come back~she’s a tough act to follow! Thanks so much to you Steph and to Samantha Reed for the awesome content, messages, and connections you made with our sweet and amazing Hidden Joy Bible Study Group.
I had a wonderful vacay with my family-the beach is my favorite place to escape and the ocean breeze & salty air did me a world of good. I never got on a computer even once during the week, but I did stay connected via my phone. Week 6′s chapter on forgiveness was a tough one…it’s a tough turn to make on this road to healing, but I loved the definition given by Wendy/Beth Moore on p. 87:
“Forgiving means ‘handing over to God the responsibility for justice.’”
This isn’t a concept meant for just week 6. We don’t just read it then move on. Forgivenss is a concept we’ll have to practice and give to God daily. Remember it doesn’t mean we like what has happened or like the person who wronged us. It just means we are giving it to the Lord, it won’t occupy our minds and paralyze us anymore from living. Revenge and justice belongs to Him and Him alone. We are free to carry on trusting He will take care of everything. How freeing it is when we truly forgive others….and that includes forgiving ourselves too.
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Now on to Week 7. You may want to print the rest of this post and put it with your agenda/calendar/quiet time area.
Words of the Week:
Surrender
Surrender means to give up, release control. Often people view surrendering as a weakness, but in this case it’s a strength. We are giving up something so that God can take care of it and take care of us.
Stronghold
As defined by Wendy Blight’s Bible study leader, Jan, a stronghold is any deeply rooted sin in your life that prevents you from growing in your relationship with God. Some examples are bitterness, anger, pride, addiction, pornography, sex, control, unhealthy relationships and fear. (there are many more…you know yours) A stronghold has a tight grip on your life and it’s not good. It’s not easy to give in and give up that which as a hold on you. The word strong is a part of it for a reason. BUT GOD IS STRONGER than ANYTHING that has it’s grip on us. We we release-give up-surrender our strongholds to the Lord, we become stronger.
Check out this song by Mandisa. (If you can’t see the video below, click the title of this post or visit my actual blog)
Sunday- Prepare for your week. Get your Bible, notebook/journal, pen, highlighter, etc all together. Pray for God to blow your mind this week! Ask Him boldly to meet you where you are & tell Him you are ready to RECEIVE His call to action for you this week!
Monday- Read Chapter 7~ Surrendering Your Strongholds- p. 91 (in the paperback)
Monday- Conference Call #3. This one is BIG!!! So excited to welcome author of Hidden Joy, Wendy Blight to our call! We will have an hour of rich conversation with Wendy as she will be our only guest on this call. If you have questions for Wendy, please send them toMelissaTaylorQuestions@gmail.com. Also, you will need some extra materials for this call. MTC ladies, this will be familiar to you, but it was so powerful, I am repeating it for this call. Ladies, please have 3 envelopes of graduating sizes (small, medium, and large) and an index card for use on this call. We will be doing a visual exercise that will show you how wrapped up you are in the arms of Jesus. So, please have those envelopes. There will be no outline for this call, just have paper for notes.
Tuesday- We are adding something new to our weekly assignments: Scripture memorization. Write 2 Timothy 1:7 in your notebook/journal and on at least 3 index cards. Place one card in your purse/wallet, one on the bathroom mirror, one in your car…(or wherever you’ll see them the most). Get this verse in your head. Remember it. Personalize it.
Wednesday-Fill in these blanks without looking (if you can!).
“For God has not ___________ us a spirit of ___________ and timidity, but of ___________, love and ______ _________.” 2 Timothy 1:7 NLT
Complete #1-3 in the Bible study section of your book. p. 193
Thursday-Fill in the blanks, no peeking for real today
“For _________ ______ ______ _________ us a ____________ of _________ and timidity, but of __________, ______, and ___________.” 2 Timothy 1:7 NLT
Complete #4-5 in the Bible study section of your book.
Friday- Write 2 Timothy 1:7 without looking in the comment section of the blog today IF you have really memorized it. I’m going to take your word for it, don’t post if it’s not fully memorized. I will randomly select a winner and you will receive a copy of Madisa’s newest CD, What If We Were Real.
Pray with Wendy Blight on p. 195.
Saturday- Enjoy your weekend! Love y’all <3
