Just joining our online Bible Study, “Stuck” by Jennie Allen? INFO, WEEK 1, WEEK 2, WEEK 3, WEEK 4, and WEEK 5 and WEEK 6
How was your week? It has been a while since I have asked… Are you a little less stuck? I hope those places in your life are being revealed and that God is doing a mighty work in your life!
Recap ~ “Overwhelmed” ~ Jennie Allen’s Bible Study Stuck
Last week you saw some photos from our recent trip. I wanted to share my overwhelming experience with you here… Here are few blurbs from my journal…
Day 1 – Even in a third world country, in a simple, yet very clean room, I can feel overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with details of our day; overwhelmed by questions I have no answers to; overwhelmed by the “do’s and don’ts.”
BUT I DON’T WANT TO!
Today, I am going to throw that all out the door. Today I am going to choose to put it before His feet and follow His lead; moment by moment. I can’t control what is going to happen, but I can control me – my obedience.
But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offering and sacrifices of your obedience to His voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice…” 1 Samuel 15:22
I want to be overwhelmed… with grace, love, sacrifice, obedience, joy.
Day 2 – Overwhelmed… there is no other word for this morning’s worship. Sitting in a Dominican village church I am overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit. The worship is… worship. There is no other way to describe it. Singing praise music in English, while the rest of the congregation sings in Spanish was … overwhelming. Looking at the three beautifully braided, twisted and beaded children’s heads in front of me today… I am overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the obedience of missionaries and friends serving here… singing as loud as I could praising my God… Overwhelmed… Having a glimpse of heaven… overwhelmed.
Tears, more tears and more. I am convinced that I am going to BAWL in heaven… because… you guessed it! OVERWHELMED!
Day 3 – It happened…
Today we went to a girl’s orphanage. When we arrived the girls were busy cleaning. It took us a while to figure out through translators that a pipe was backed up and the bathrooms and kitchen had flooded. I began helping the girls in the kitchen mop up the water. Once that was under control I helped one of the girls sweep the water outside away from the house. In the process my shoes became pretty muddy. She took me around the side of the house to a spigot where I could rinse off. I took off my sandal and she immediately took it and began to scrub it. I tried to get it back… she didn’t need to do this… inside I was crying “stop!!!!”, “please… don’t” and then… she began to wash my feet. Here I was, standing by a spigot in the Dominican Republic, having my feet washed by a 14 year old orphan. Words… there are none… however, I felt overwhelmed.
This video is of the girls at the orphanage… prepare to be (you guessed it) overwhelmed.
Right now, the commitments in my life are ones I have prayed over and feel the Lord leading me to be a part of. (This has not always been the case.) They are things so much bigger than me. The ONLY possible way they can be accomplished is through Him. I cannot do this alone. I don’t have to do this alone. I am not alone.
May it become a word we long for … May we be totally amazed by the love of Christ, His sacrifice and peace. May we choose to listen and obey Him as we do laundry, as we love on our neighbors and wherever He leads us…
This Week ~ “Sad” – A temporary Ache
Sad – we have all felt it. Sometimes it is fleeting, other times… well, it is deep. Life here is hard and sometimes not fair. There are moments of loss that cannot be described, only experienced.
Jennie writes on page 111…
On even the best day, something still feels off inside. It is like a subtle, dull ache that never completely goes away. On bad days it is not subtle; it throbs. No one ever talks about it, but I think other people feel it. I think we all do.
It is easy to look at Facebook, Christmas cards or see a neighbor at the bus stop and think she has it all. These surface glimpses of others lives don’t reveal, as Paul Harvey said, “the rest of the story.”
Sadness… we hide it well.
However, this is not our home! Praise God, this is not our home! We spend our time trying to make this life happy, pretty and easy. Perhaps some of the sadness we may feel is our longing for home … eternity, heaven. We are to run the race here on earth with all that we are and come home.
One thing I do know is that nothing can separate me (you) from the love of Christ. Even in all the sadness, there is eternal hope in this truth.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
AMEN!
Let’s Chat…
1. How is it possible to have true joy in the midst of suffering?
2. Do you really believe heaven is coming? Discuss
3. What do you hope for?
May the Lord work in your heart and mind this week.
LOVINGLY BLESSED ~
ANNE
(Click here for printable study guide)
Below is our scripture printable for this week ~ Romans 8:38, “Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.” I encourage you to print it out and memorize it by heart.
Click here for your Scripture Printable (formatted for 4×6 frame)
