Recorded Verses!

Barb was so kind to record our verses again this semester. For me this is the best way to meditate AND memorize! You can find all of these on the LPC website (http://www.lexpreschurch.com/Verses), but if you find my direct links an easier way to download, I have included them below:

Verse 1 - To Us a Son Is Given

Verse 2 - Behold Your King

Verse 3 - A People Belonging to God

Verse 4 - Praise the King

Verse 5 - Citizens of the Kingdom and Aliens in the World

Verse 6 - Though All Else be Shaken

Verse 7 - Fear Not, You are Mine

Verse 8 - We Thirst Here in This Dry Land

Verse 9 - The One My Soul Longs to Crave

Verse 10 - The Battle is Not Yours

Verse 11 - Administer God's Grace

Verse 12 - Rejoice and Pray

Verse 13 - Life in Community

Verse - Benediction - To Him be the Glory

Quote - Lord We Have Shut the Door

Quote - Faith

Quote - Josiah Bancroft

Quote - Prayer

Quote - You Inherited the Kingdom

Quote - Remember Your Place

Quote - Praying Out Loud

Quote - CS Lewis

Week 2!

OK, M&M group-

I have some good news and some bad news for you. First the good news! We now have a podcast- yay! This will hopefully make it easier for some of you to download our lessons and verses. Here is the link to our Podcast (or you can search iTunes Podcasts for "Lexington Presbyterian Church" and find "M&M Ladies": http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/m-m-ladies/id494181705

OK, now the bad news. Unfortunately something goofy happened with the recorder this week, and we only got the first 27 minutes of the class! This is sad, I know, but at least Barb has her lovely summary for us as always. I still uploaded the recording, I just wanted to warn you that it will end rather abruptly. Here's the link: Click Here

Happy M&Ming to you!

Leslie

#2 Colossians 1:13-17 Behold Your King!

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

~~~~~~~Summary From Barb ~~~~~~~

Hi Sisters,

In class this week you entered the room hearing Handel's "For Unto Us A Child is Born" from the Messiah. We recited our first verse, Isaiah 9:6,7 on which Handel meditated as he wrote his amazing masterpiece in a period of a few days in a little room. Many of you shared how the Lord spoke to you in your own M&M time. One member, Sue, shared a letter with the Wednesday class that I'll pass on to you in our next email.

Then we had Storytime! I read various parts of The Jesus Storybook Bible. Longtime M&Mers know how much I LOVE that book! I hope you enjoy listening to it. Sorry I got choked up while reading it...no, I'm actually not sorry! Anyway, quiet yourself and listen with childlike faith and imagination...and worship your King.

On a personal note, I packed my first box for Japan this week! It's Christmas stuff. Before I put everything away, I realized that, Lord willing, we will be in Japan next Christmas and I needed to separate what I wanted to take, and leave here, and give away. Wow. It hit me. We're going to Japan: fear and trembling, excitement and joy and sadness. Please pray for me as we go through these next months. If you're not on our update list and would like to be, please email me and let me know!

Love,

Barb

2012 - Week 1

Hey, M&M'ers!

I hope you are enjoying a wonderful 2012 so far. Just so you know, this blog is OPEN this semester! That means that there will be no more logging in, no more having to get special permission to access it... it is completely open for you and for you to share with others if you desire. That being said, if you have something personal you want to share, you may not want to do that in a comment here since it will indeed be "public".

Yes, this blog is usually pretty closely tied to the email, but I found that it was a great reference (for me anyway) if I wanted to go back and review something because i wouldn't have to hunt through my pile of emails. Hopefully it has been a benefit to you as well!

Here is the note from Barb for week 1! All of the quotes and cards she referred to can be found here. For this week's lesson, click here (or right click and "save as".) Have a great week!

Leslie

~~~~~~

HAPPY NEW YEAR M&M-ERS!

We're back together again! I've really missed you! We had a good first week of classes in our new quarter of M&M! If you are new to M&M, welcome! We are so glad you've joined us! The theme this time is "Thy Kingdom Come". It's all about being Kingdom Women or World Christians rather than being deceived into living for the glamorous "American Dream". I shared this quote by Josiah Bancroft:

I’m not going to live my life for safety. I want to see God use me somehow, for something other than feeling better. This isn’t about me just getting better and doing better at what I am doing so more and more people like me. There is a Kingdom, and God has a call on your life. Grace moves me out of myself to love God and to love others. It moves me out of me.

I also am asking the Lord that it will be a time of all of us growing in the area of PRAYER...yes, actually pray the verses as we meditate on them and attempt to memorize them. As I said in the class, I want so much to become much more of a pray-er than I am now. I think a lot, but often it's just my thoughts going round and round and I don't turn to my Father. How foolish! I shared this quote that has challenged and inspired me by Jack Miller:

Prayer is the means appointed by God to become increasingly God-centered and self-forgetful. Through prayer, the Kingdom of self is broken down and the Kingdom of God is lifted up. It is the heart of Kingdom Power.

I am so excited about our 13 new verses! Some are very familiar and well-loved; some may be new to you. Our first one is very familiar if you like to listen to Handel's Messiah at Christmas time:

#1 ISAIAH 9:6,7 TO US A SON IS GIVEN

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

I can't wait to memorize and meditate on this one and all the others. As I said in the class, be prepared for it to be a fight to do M&M! It will be a fight to be quiet with the Lord, meditating on His Word. But so worth it! Let's pray for each other as we try to carve out time here and there to chew on God's Word. I think our M&M Life Verse should be: "Your words were found and I ate them; and Your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by Your name, O LORD, God of hosts." Jeremiah 15:16

You will be receiving your CDs and verse packs soon. Online Sisters, please write out for yourself the verse for the week (it's a good way to meditate on and memorize the verse) until your packet arrives.

May the Lord bless you richly as you seek His Kingdom first!

For His Kingdom's sake,

Barb

New Year, New Verses to M&M!

Hey Ladies!

I hope all of you had a very blessed Christmas, I know we did. I am so excited about all of the wonderful things that happened in 2011 and I can't imagine what God has in store for 2012! I am particularly excited about our next semester of M&M and I hope you are too. Here's the info:

Meditate & Memorize

Led by Barbara Bindewald

• Tuesdays @ Jamestown Coffee 12:00 – 1:00


• Wednesdays @ LPC 10:00 – 11:00 in room 202 (nursery available)


• On-line: Information provided to those who sign –up

Theme: BEING A KINGDOM WOMAN

What's the difference between living for the Kingdom and living for the American dream? You're an American citizen, yet if you belong to Christ, you are also a member of His Kingdom and this is not your home. So how do Kingdom women live each day here? This theme was taught in 2010 and will contain some of the same verses, but some new ones as well. Please join us!

If you want to participate in the online group, please let me know and I'll be happy to get you set up. I'll be sending out a launch email today.

Love,

Leslie

M&M Recital

Good afternoon M&M group!

I hope that you haven't stopped chewing on our verses just because class has ended... They have been so special to us and will continue to soak into our hearts for years to come. Barb and I wanted to share some videos with you!

The first one I think is especially sweet. This one is of Barb and her two "sisters-in-love" reciting verses together the day after Thanksgiving. I hope that this clip is especially an encouragement to the onliners - particularly the ones who were too far away to attend our recital. You can recite your verses to your family, to your spouse, or to the Lord! *Please note that you are always reciting them to the Lord, no matter who else is present, but you know what I mean!

Barb's "Sister Act":

This next clip is of our group singing our song on the night of the recital. It also includes Barb's "intro" to our verse recitation as well. Play it and sing along!

Come Ye Sinners:

And last, but not least- our verses!! How sweet it is to hear our ladies reciting the word of God. (I'm hidden in the back, but I promise I didn't run away! haha)

Verse Recitation:

Thanks again for a wonderful semester. Continue to encourage one another, read your verses, and smile. Thanks and Merry Christmas!

Compilation of Verses!

Wish that you could see all of this semester's verses in one place? Wish no more!! Happy chewing to you...

BENEDICTION

ACTS 20:32 ESV

And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

#1 GOD MAKES A PROMISE

JEREMIAH 32:38,40,41

They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.

#2 MY BELOVED CALLS ME TO ARISE

SONG OF SOLOMON 2:10 (ESV)

My beloved speaks and says to me: "Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away...”

#3 HE DID IT!

ISAIAH 53:4-6

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

#4 THE WAR IS OVER!!!

ROMANS 4:25, 5:1,2

He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

#5 FORGIVEN!

ROMANS 4:7,8

“Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the [wo]man whose sin the Lord will never count against [her].”

#6 NO CONDEMNATION, FREEDOM!

ROMANS 8:1,2

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

#7 ADOPTED!

GALATIANS 4:4-7

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

#8 NEVER SEPARATED FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST

ROMANS 8:35,37-39

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us…For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

#9 COMFORT AND RESTORATION

ISAIAH 51:3

The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.

#10 BEAUTIFUL NEW GARMENTS

ISAIAH 61:10

I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness...

#11 I WAKE UP AND GET DRESSED

ISAIAH 52:1,2

Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, the holy city…Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.

~~~BONUS CHRISTMAS PRESENT VERSES!~~~

#12 I PRESS ON ‘TIL GLORY

PHILIPPIANS 3:12-14

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

#13 I WORK OUT WHAT GOD IS WORKING IN ME

PHILIPPIANS 2:12,13

Therefore, my dear friends...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Last Lesson :*(

Good morning, fellow M&M'ers!

I hope that you've had a wonderful week- it's been quite eventful for me. We closed on our house on Thursday, which was also my daughter Emily's first birthday! God is so good- we hope to get settled soon. I must say that this has been such a wonderful few months and I'm sad to see our time together come to a close, but so excited about all of the verses we learned! Thanks for joining us on this journey of feasting on God's word. Many thanks to Barb for her countless hours of prayer and preparation and for allowing God to use her in this amazing way. The Lord has given her a gift for sure and we appreciate her sharing it with us!

All that said - a few items of business:

BUSINESS:

Michael Card Concert at Lex Pres Church this Saturday, November 19th; 7pm. Tickets $12 if bought early at the church or online at iTickets.com; $15 at the door.

Our Recital!! Sunday, December 4, 6 pm. Lexington Presbyterian Church sanctuary. Reading cards is absolutely okay! Come join your other M&M-ers, especially you onliners if you live locally. We'd love to be with you face-to-face. We will be reciting Cards #1-11 plus the Benediction.

Here is Barb's Summary of this week's lesson: (Click Here to download!)

Hi ladies! As of this lesson, you have made it through the Fall 2011 M&M term! Our last classes were this week. "What," you say, "there's 2 more verses?" Sorry about that! I never could count very well! Actually, I knew that I would be leaving you with one verse to M&M on your own after this series ended, and then we decided since all the other classes at church are finishing this week and not picking back up after Thanksgiving, that we would do the same. This lesson wraps the theme up well, I think, so consider the last 2 verses my Christmas presents to you!

This week we meditated on our "green" verse. This marks a new category. Remember our first index card describing the sections? The green cards represent " MY WORK WITH GOD – COOPERATING WITH HIM DURING THIS LIFEE FOR MY SANCTIFICATION". We have meditated on some of the wonderful gifts we have received as heirs of God. I wrote up for myself a summary of some of the powerful truths that I learned from this set of verses and shared it in class. Here it is: (Click Here or right click and "save as".) I encourage you to write one up for yourself. Make it personal; put your name in it.

So now, what is our response? How do I live out of the gospel? We walk by faith not by sight. We waltz with our King! Waltz? What do you mean? Listen to the class here.

It has been my privilege and my joy to lead you all through this series of "Arise-For He Has Risen!". Thank you for investing the time and effort to memorize and meditate on God's Word. As you feast at Thanksgiving and Christmas parties coming up, I hope you will not forget these delicious, soul-satisfying portions of God's Word. "His words were found, and I ate them. And they became to me a joy and the delight of my heart." Jeremiah 15:16

Lots of love,

Barb