Welcome to the St. John Lutheran Church Women’s Ministry blog! Please join us as we journey through Beth Moore’s Esther Bible Study over the next 10 weeks.
Some of you may be very familiar with blogs, while others may not. A blog is simply a website used to share information. Each week we will post information on the Esther Study. You may choose to simply read the postings, but it will be much more fun if we all participate in an online conversation. To do so, you will need to “comment.”
1. It is very easy to post a comment on a blog! At the bottom of each post, you will see, in bold text, the number of comments already posted, for example “4 comments”. Click on those words.
2. This will bring up a list of all of the comments already posted, listed in a chronological order. As you read through the comments, you will be reading the online conversation that has already happened. The more who are participating in the conversation, the better! At the very bottom of the list there will be a section called “Post a Comment.”
3. In the text box (white box), type what you want to have posted on the website.
4. When you are done typing your comment, move to the drop-down box underneath the “Comment as.” Click on the little down arrow on the right hand side and a list should appear. For purposes of our website, please select either the “Name/URL” or “Anonymous.” If you select “Name/URL,” an additional box called “Edit profile” will open. Under “Name:”, type your name! (First names and last initial only, please!) If you choose to post Anonymously, no additional box will open.
5. Last step – click “Post Comment” and see your own words published to the web!
This may seem a little tricky and detailed, but we promise if you try it once you’ll see how easy it is! We are so excited to have this great opportunity to share our learnings, thoughts and struggles over the next 10 weeks! We encourage you to just play around with this website and explore it!
Isn't this great?!?
ReplyDeleteYes, it is great! It has been a while since I read the book of Esther and reading through the summary reminds me of the many details that I had forgotten. I am looking forward to this study. Thanks Denise!
ReplyDeleteGood morning to all my fellow Esther Thespians. !!! :)
ReplyDeleteI wanted to let you know I am praying for you today! I am praying that God meets you in your study space today and leads you by the hand as we begin our journey towards becoming a "Dangerous Woman for Christ". I just had a light bulb moment and realized we are starting a 50+ day journey of intent. One intended to change our lives forever.
Have a great day and remember God meets us in the mudane. Even as we make breakfast for our kids. :) Dawn Bodien
If Xerxes can entertain for 189 days, I certainly can study Esther for 10 weeks. :)
ReplyDelete~Carrie
woops 180 days on the above, my finger hit the wrong key
ReplyDeleteI am so excited to be part of this bible study with so many women! Wonder where we will be by Christmas
ReplyDeleteGot them hormones kicking-can't wait for the next class
ReplyDeleteCarrie - I love your take on this! They partied for 180 days, and we'll study for 70 days! I think Denise should make up the difference and we should spend 110 days with lots of cookies and cakes and, most importantly, chocolate!
ReplyDeleteI everyone! I am so excited to have this blog to chit-chat with you! After being away for 7 years this is a great way for me to get to know all the wonderful women around! This is the first time that I have done a bible study and I am loving it! Hope that everyone has a great day tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that Beth said today that has stuck with me all day is... "You can not become what God wants you to be without your history." And that is so true...the good and the bad! LOL
Today looking at Vashti the scripture seems to only reveal the obvious...her beauty...but what else is there to Vashti? Beauty is not only skin deep. Did she have the heart to help people? Did she in her actions of saying "no" start a movement for the women she held close to her heart or was it her just saying "no" because she was too tired from all the festivities? Too many times we, women, tend to let the duties of our day get the best of us. We make decisions based on what we feel like that day. I am so guilty of reacting instead of interacting...I don't take the time to step back and research how I should be and instead I am the person I don't want to be because of the rash statements I have made or the actions I have taken. I leave you with a quote from Max Lucado. "God sanctifies each day. He conducts holy business at all hours and in all places. He uncommons the common by turning kitchen sinks into shirines, cafes into convents, and nine to five workdays into spiritual adventures." Here is wishing that you get to know the situation and seek God for his company in it before we react or interact. God's blessins on your day!
ReplyDeleteI think the class it great. I hurry and get my house work finished so I can clear my mind about everything else so I can open my book with a clear mind an start on my studing. It is a great learning experence for me, I really enjoy it
ReplyDeleteMany of Beth Moore's remarks stay with me. This week two in particular have me thinking. First, God insisted his people should not worship other Gods. They continually disobeyed and did their own thing even bringing idols into their homes and into God's house. This led to them being taken into captivity. I was struck by the thought that we do this today when we bring secular ideas into our churches and teach them in place of what God plainly tells us in his word. Second, personal destiny is tied to personal history. Profound! By remembering our history (including our sins) we appreciate, in a personal way, what Christ has done for us. He uses our weakness to make his word real to us and to make us more understanding and compassionate. What a miracle that he even turns our failures and messes into good!
ReplyDeleteThe point I keep returning to is that Esther
ReplyDelete"won" favor - with the eunuch, with the king,
with other women. It was her attitude of cooperation, humbleness and selflessness that
"won" favor with those around her. That kind of attitude is a great example for us, especially in this day and age!
I am really loving this study - it's great to be with such a wonderful group of women but I also love the personal study time too!
Didn't Xerxes ever have a headache?
ReplyDeleteWow...first post for October. How brave and courageous of Beth Moore to tell a large group of women to keep their boobies to themselves. We struggle everyday with our two little girls teaching them the proper way a lady should dress. I will share something with you that my husband has adapted so that our girls get the picture. He calls it the 4B's. If your belly,boobs,butt and back are not covered you don't leave the house. I laugh because there are many times they will try us...imagine that..lol...and my husband will just say "Are the B's covered?" and the their hands go over their heads and they spin around for approval. Most of the time they are covered but there are sometimes that we send them to their closet for adjustments. I applaud Beth Moore for her courageousness and give her a "RIGHT ON SISTER!" :)
ReplyDeleteFIVE lessons a week seemed like a lot - at first. But, the lessons are so interesting and full of important applications for us today that when I've finished, I'm wishing for more! This week lesson five pointed out that 'store shelves are filled with books, magazines, and movies that reinforce a warped worldview.' This constant reinforcement of the views and values of the elite in the entertainment and fashion industry has a profound and far reaching effect on our lives. Being a child of God becomes subtlety more difficult all the time as we realize that God's way is not in sync with the fads and fictions of the media. (It's hard being a woman and being different.) We have a choice: 'take up your cross and follow me...' or become like the Jews of Persia and disolve into the culture. A culture that would have led to their annihilation.
ReplyDeleteXerxes - how odd to have two X's in your name. This week Beth Moore revealed the construction of the book of Esther. Anyone else think it is interesting that the book uses the 'chiastic structure' as a literary device? The Greek letter 'chi' written as 'X' representing the crisscross?
ReplyDelete