Week 5!

Good evening, ladies!

This week Barb talked about the importance of worship, praise, and thankfulness and it was so encouraging. Download the lesson by clicking here. You can also get a copy the verses and quotes Barb referenced this week (as well as next week's verse) by clicking here.

#5 HEBREWS 11:1316

CITIZENS OF THE KINGDOM AND ALIENS IN THE WORLD

...They admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own...they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Here is Barb's Summary- Enjoy!

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Hello my friends,

This week we recited the 5 verse cards we've been M&M-ing. Our meditation was on the greatness of God and worship. Our newest card, 1 Chronicles 29:10-11, gives us beautiful words from King David's prayer to use in our own worship of God. I love memorizing passages like this one and being able to say them from my own heart to God anywhere, anytime.

We considered an earlier M&M verse from Hosea 14:1,2 "Take words with you...". We must come to God in prayer with words (preferably outloud for our sakes), whether we are praising Him, worshipping Him, making requests of Him, or repenting of our sins. I read from Elisabeth Elliot's Be Still My Soul as well as Radical Gratitude by Ellen Vaughn. In this recording of the Tuesday class you can also hear a wonderful portion from C.S. Lewis' Voyage of the Dawn Treader. It's probably my favorite part of that book.

I also shared a few quotes that have meant a lot to me:

“If God were small enough to be understood, He wouldn’t be big enough to be worshipped.” Evelyn Underhill

We should never forget that the purpose of theology is doxology: we study in order to praise. The truest expression of trust in God will always be worship, and it will always be proper worship to praise God for being greater than we know. – ESV Study Bible

“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!’” Abraham Kuyper

Please email me or write on facebook if you have anything you want to share with us from your time of meditating on God's Word! Aren't you encouraged when you hear how God used the same words in your sister's life?

May you not grow weary in this good work; keep at it, chew well, and taste the greatness of our Lord!

To the King! To the Kingdom!

Love,

Barb

Week 4

Happy Friday!

Did any of you notice that something was off with last week's recording posted on the website? Well, as you all know by now, NO ONE on this earth is more "human" than me, and it seems as though the January 18th lesson wasn't the right one. Please please don't hesitate to let me know if you see where I goof in the future! Click Here for the REAL January 18th Lesson

Click here for week 4's lesson from January 25th. Please listen to how God provided for Barb during a tough time in her life- it will make you teary eyed, I promise!

Did all of you get a chance to download the recorded verses (here)? Let me know if you had any issues with that!

OK, enough pesky business- here is Barb's summary. I hope you have a wonderful week!

Leslie

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Hi M&M Sisters,

This week was one of my favorite topics - "Our God Who Still Works Wonders". I got it from my meditation on "who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light" from our memory verse in 1 Peter this week. I shared my very favorite story of all the times when I have seen God work wonders in my life. I hope it encourages you in your walk with Him. Please listen to the class; I LOVED it, if I do say so myself! I loved remembering and retelling the story.

Lots of love,

Barb

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Next Week's Verse:

#4 I CHRON. 29:10-12 PRAISE THE KING!

“Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. 
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. 
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.”

Making Disciples

Making Disciples - Sue Jakes - 1/22/2012 - LPC

I don't know how many of you were at LPC this past Sunday and had the privilege of hearing Sue Jakes' talk on making disciples, but it gripped me (and Barb) and it is well worth a listen! She was talking about children's ministry and emphasized how important it is. Whether you are a mother ministering to your children, a grandmother, or even if you do not have children of your own, all of our covenant children are the key to passing our faith to the next generation.

Jesus called us to make disciples - that was his final mandate to us before ascending into heaven. How are we doing with that? Are we showing our children that we love Jesus? Are we teaching them to love Jesus, too? Are we raising them to be servants? Are we raising them to love His word?

She also speaks specifically to the importance of scripture, and scripture memory. She even talks about having a little card of a memory verse placed where you can see it during the day- Sound familiar anyone? :)

Please take a moment to listen to this wonderful message about passing on the baton of faith to the next generation.

Download here!

Week 3!

Hey Ladies!

I'm sorry for the delay in posting to the blog, but I was out of town for a couple of days. We have a few exciting things for you. First- Barb so graciously recorded our verses and quotes again, and I have uploaded them to the website for your convenience. You can get them from the LPC Website (http://www.lexpreschurch.com/Verses) or I put the download links on our blog (see below) if that's easier for you. Another exciting thing- I know that something funny happened with the recorder last week, but Barb was sweet enough to re-record the stories we missed last time. hey are also on the website (click here to download the stories)

Last but not least- this week's lesson! (Click Here for Week 3) So many wonderful ways to chew on God's word this week.

Enjoy Barb's summary below and have a wonderful week!

Leslie

Next Week's Verse:

#3 1 PETER 2:9,10
A PEOPLE BELONGING TO GOD

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

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Hi M&M ladies! During this third class we recited and meditated together on our #2 verse: Colossians 1:13-17. We thought about the word "darkness" and heard other verses that included the word. I also shared some tips on prayer and meditation from Elisabeth Elliot:
1. Don't wait for the spiritual feelings to come!
2. Prime the pump. Using others' written prayers can be helpful. (Valley of Vision, Everyday Prayers, by Scotty Smith are two of my favorites.) Use hymns.
3. Our prayers are like incense and God loves the smell!

I also shared a mental picture that inspired me this week as I struggled to set aside some time to pray and meditate: I imagined that Jesus had set a table before me, and asked me to come sit down and eat with Him. He handed me a big piece of homemade bread, (or piece of steak) and watched me eagerly as I bit into it: As He watched intently He said, "Isn't that good?...How do you like it?...Isn't it rich?...Slow down; chew slowly; savor it...Oh, it delights me to see you delight in My Word!" So every time I take the index cards in my hand to review and chew on the verses, I am thinking of them as those small pieces of God's inspired Word that He eagerly hands me and watches to see my reaction to it.

My friends, fight the good fight with me to set apart some time to be quiet with God and to meditate on what He has said to us. Let's pray for each other as we go through M&M this time.

To the King! To the Kingdom!
Barb

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

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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