The Bible reading for today is Job 6-9.

If you’ve been following along in the Bible reading plan, we jumped from Genesis 11 to Job 1 yesterday–this will be the fun of reading the Old Testament in a roughly chronological format.  We’ll stay in Job for the next 10 days, a book full of poetry and great truths about God.  I’d love to hear what ideas, questions or challenges arise as you read.

I’m thrilled to announce that Nancy Hawley will be sharing her thoughts on ‘Beauty, Vanity and the Christian Self-Image’ at our next Sisters Together gathering at the end of the month.  She knows both the value and fleetingness of beauty and will help all of us think Christianly about our self-image.  And we’ll enjoy, as always, yummy food as we sample and learn some new recipes for making ‘Fabulous Sides’.  Mark your calendars for Thursday, January 28th, 7-9:15pm at the James’ home!

Over the next couple weeks I’ll be doing some thinking about Women’s Ministry and how to better use this blog to connect women from the church–please send me your thoughts and let me know if you’d like to help!  Many hands make light work (whether cooking, cleaning or writing a blog).

Stay warm!

The Bible reading for this weekend is Genesis 4-7 & Genesis 8-11.

Decluttering…is wonderful!! Your description of the girls’ room reminds me of one of Karil’s favored lines of A&E Pride & Prejudice, “Shelves in the closet. Happy thought indeed!” In my own ways as a singleton, I’ve been hard @ work to strip out the unnecessary nouns in my home [roommate exempt ], w/ a particular focus to get as paperless as possible. And, as you said, the dimness to this world & the brilliance of Christ’s sufficiency daily is such an extraordinary gift. It’s so freeing to be liberated from our clutch on things & it makes evaluating what to keep, what to scan, what to trash pretty simple. I think about Mark & Ruthi Brucato or Victor Kuligan & his family & the measures they take to pack up life into a pallet & venture off to Italy, to the southern tip of Africa, to live life in pursuit of souls for God’s kingdom. I’m challenged to take a like-minded approach to life & the missions we’re engaged in locally.

Today & tomorrow’s reading cap off the 1^st of 2 main sections of Genesis (1-11; 12-50). We begin to get a glimpse of God’s character & what pleases him as we watch Cain & Abel approach him w/ offerings & deal w/ His response (love ch 4:7), we see the line restart w/ Seth, we witness the LORD’s grief over the greatness of man’s wickedness (ch 6:6=heartbreaking), we look on as flood waters rise & fall, we see words & concepts of “covenant” & “alter” make their debut, the sky & our eyes welcome the rainbow while our hearts cling to God’s Noahic covenant, “an unconditional divine promise never to destroy all earthly life with some natural catastrophe”, and our jaws drop when we see the explosion of languages commence @ the Tower of Babel. It’s a busy time in the beginnings of the world & Monday will begin our opportunity to learn from Job’s life.  It’s been good for me to be reminded, as Emily wrote, of what is true, what is most important.  I hope your time in God’s word has been encouraging to you as well.  Thanks Emily & Happy New Year all!

The Bible reading for today is Genesis 1-3.

The aftermath of Christmas gifts and decorations has spurred a massive decluttering in the O’Donnell household–we rearranged the girls’ bedroom (to make room for Charlotte’s ‘big girl’ bed–thanks, Becky!) and tossed lots of ‘notes’, candy wrappers and stray socks.    We got rid of the crib, mattress and bedding (trust me, you didn’t want it!), shoes we’ve outgrown and clothes that are never worn.  The girls announced, “This is the first time we’ve had clothes in a closet!”.  Moving on to toys, baby clothes and home decor items that fill the basement and are highly unnecessary. . .

But the more important ‘housecleaning’ is taking place in my heart.  Getting rid of unnecessary distractions, a reordering of priorities, reminders of how easy it is to be deceived, distracted and discouraged in the Christian walk.   Other things ’seem’ to satisfy besides God alone, other things ’seem’ more important than God’s glory and holiness seems so impossible.  But when I turn to the very words of God and am convicted by the grand truths found there, the things of earth do go strangely dim. 

The Bible reading plan starts us at the very beginning today and will quickly take us through Genesis and beyond.  If you need reminding about what is true and most important in this life, why not begin reading with me today.  As always, if you’d like me to e-mail you a copy of the reading plan, leave me a comment and I’ll get back to you.  Happy New Year!

The new format for the Sisters Together blog will make it easier for you to send a blog post to a friend or link to it in an e-mail or blog of your own–if you have suggestions for additional improvements, please let me know (me being Emily O’Donnell). 

I entitled this post ‘Confession’ because I feel I need to confess that I have put the blog on the back burner while preparing for the Handmade Holiday Open House I hosted this past week.  It was a truly wonderful night with 12 different individuals displaying goods they have ‘handmade’, and near 100 ladies (and a couple gents) in attendance.  I look forward to hosting again next year and would love to have more ladies from the church participate!

I also want to confess how easy it is to create idols, things that demand your time, attention and emotions, at the expense of our supremely worthy God.  And creating has done that for me.  I honestly feel my home and family, my devotion to God and obeying His Word, and my general sanity has been sacrificed in the pursuit of ‘creating beauty’ and there’s something wrong with that.  So, I encourage you to challenge me in the coming months about what is ruling my heart–is it my Father in heaven, the good Master?  Or is it Emily with all her sinful tendencies and competing desires? 

And check your own heart this season to see what is ruling your emotions–its all too easy to create idols.

14 & 15 Nov: the Bible readings for this weekend are

Matt. 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, & John 20-21

From October 1 through this last Friday, we’ve read & watched as the gospel writers have chronicled from before Jesus’ birth through his last breath & burial.    

The final chapter of Matthew, Mark & Luke & the final 2 chapters of John is where we watch Jesus rise from death….up from a still heart, deflated lungs, & the 75 pounds of myrrh & aloe that Joseph & Nicodemus wrapped his lifeless body in.

“We believe that by his incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus Christ acted as our representative and substitute.  He did this so that in him we might become the righteousness of God: on the cross he canceled sin, propitiated God, and, by bearing the full penalty of our sins, reconciled to God all those who believe.  By his resurrection Christ Jesus was vindicated by his Father, broke the power of death and defeated Satan who once had power over it, and brought everlasting life to all his people; by his ascension he has been forever exalted as Lord and has prepared a place for us to be with him.  We believe that salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved.”*

I pray God would help us to read, reflect, re-read, recount, recite, recap & rejoice! in these chapters, like we did this Missions morning @ New Covenant, in the foundation of our faith & the fuel in which we reach out to others w/ – in love, in truth, in Christ alone, “Lift high the Cross, the love of Christ proclaim, Till all the world adore His sacred name.”

In our reading plan, we just spent that last 36 days reading the gospels & now move into the next 36 days of reading through the rest of the New Testament beginning tomorrow. It’s going to be an exciting time as we take these steps together J  This is just about the time I customarily fall off of new habits & routines…I pray we can support one another in fixing the priority of Scripture in our lives, living out as Jesus himself demonstrated when he was tempted by the devil, “It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”  It’s also a nice natural transition for more to join in if you haven’t had an opportunity to until now.

Christ is risen!

*The Redemption of Christ:

http://thegospelcoalition.org/about/foundation-documents/confessional/

The Bible reading for yesterday and today is Matt. 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 18-19 (wow!).

Well, the Sisters Together diner was wonderful!  We learned from the master chefs how to slice and dice onions, leeks, celery and butternut squash, peel and cook shrimp, prepare focaccia bread and artisan peasant bread in minutes, thicken and puree soups, and use an immersion blender. 

And then we tasted samples of Shrimp Chowder (Gina’s family recipe) and Dairy-Free Butternut Squash Soup, as well as the yummy breads.  For copies of these recipes (and more yummy ones), pick up Part 2 of the Sisters Together recipe book at the Welcome Table on Sunday.

After the lively cooking demonstration, we transitioned to more sobering talk about the tongue. 

Our panel  (pictured above) presented a very balanced discussion on the subject of ‘Anger, Stress & Ugly Words: Taming the Tongue’, ranging from practical pointers, to personal testimony, to the hope of the gospel amidst the awful realities of the untamed tongue.  We were challenged by insightful words, encouraged by the power of the gospel at work in our sisters’ lives, and warned of the hurt that the untamed tongue can bring.

We sang “May the Mind of Christ my Savior” as our closing prayer and benediction, reminding all of us that we are utterly dependent on our Lord and Master to control these powerful tongues, to bring healing and comfort where there has been deep hurt, and to transform polluted waters (our hearts) into streams of living waters. 

Our next gathering, which I neglected to mention last night, will be Thursday, January 29 at Clarinda James’ home and will feature both another cooking demonstration, and a discussion on ‘Beauty, Vanity and the Christian Woman’.  Hope to see you there!

The Bible reading for yesterday and today is Luke 22; John 13-17.

Yesterday, Lily and her friend decided to open a restaurant for dinnertime (using the tea cart found at the roadside)–this diner was complete with signs, menus and a cart laden with food.  The name of the restaurant?  I’m glad you asked, ‘Chicken Booth’.  Are you drooling, yet?

Okay, so the name wasn’t fabulous, but the idea?  I love it.  So, tomorrow our Sisters Together diner opens its doors for Soup and Bread at Barb Peterson’s home (check the e-news for directions).  The restaurant opens precisely at 7pm (though latecomers will be admitted) and will feature free, tantalizing samples of the foods being prepared in the kitchen (by master chefs Gina and Caroline), as well as a yummy dessert.

Seriously, I hope many of you will be able to join us–our sisters on the panel will address the sins of the tongue that stem from anger and stress, challenging all of us to grow more in the likeness of Jesus.  And, for those who are interested, I’ll have copies of Paul Tripp’s excellent book War on Words available for purchase. 

We’ve been reading Jesus’ final words to his disciples before he went to the cross, and he emphasizes unity again and again in his prayer in John 17.  For our lives to be knit together into one Body, that is, the Church, we must gather together, speak honestly with one another, challenge and pray for one another, and proclaim God’s goodness to one another. 

So, I hope you’ll join us tomorrow night–at the Sisters Together diner!

The Bible reading for today is Matt. 26; Mark 14.

Julie’s post for the weekend was a perfect summary of all the thoughts that have been running through my head as I’ve been following the readings these past few days–if you haven’t joined our Bible reading plan and are thinking now might be a good time, we’d love to have the network grow of ladies committed to reading through the Bible this year.  If you need a schedule, let me know in the comments section and I’ll e-mail you one.

Our Handiwork gathering Friday night was absolutely delightful!  If you’ve been hesitant to come because you’re not working on a project, follow Kathy’s example (and Charleen’s example the last time we met) and just come!  You won’t be disappointed, and likely, you’ll be put to work.  Jenny Jezek brought an armful of felt needing to be cut up for Sunday School, and soon, Kathy was wielding scissors (and asking things like, “Do you want numbers on the dry bones?”).

The scraps of felt piled up as the scissors did their work–many more hands could have joined in the fun :).

There was some knitting (two works completed, another started), some beautiful embroidery by Caroline, and some fabric selection for upcoming projects.

There was lots of laughter, good conversation ranging from theology, to missions, to the excitement of curbside finds.  And one of those finds, served up the goodies that fueled the creating for the evening–behold the tea cart (does anyone have any ideas for what to put on the bottom shelf?).

Hope you’re able to join us when we meet next.  And mark your calendars for Tuesday, December 1 at 7:30pm–I’m hosting a neighborhood Handmade Holiday Open House to showcase some of the creations of my neighbors and friends.  It would be a great opportunity to purchase some unique gift items that feature handiwork and to be inspired by the creations of others.

The Bible reading for today & tomorrow is Matthew 24 & 25.

The tone & topic of Jesus’ words have been getting pretty intense.  On the heels of Matthew 23 & the seven woes (wow!), we watch & listen to Jesus as he begins to map out & manage his disciples expectations of what is to come.  The ‘when’ to match Jesus’ ‘what’ is the big question mark which is hanging like a hook on these chapters, swinging back & forth with each iteration of Jesus urging his disciples to be alert, be on guard, be prepared, be good stewards of the resources he’s given us - employed in the biz of tangibly meeting the needs of those around us, & preaching the gospel to all the nations.

Borrowing from text notes b/c it’s drives plainly to the point, “Being ready for Christ’s coming involves more than playing it safe and doing little or nothing.  It demands the kind of service that produces results.”

A little internal gut check: if you had to rate your ‘readiness’ for Christ’s return on a scale from 0-10, how would you rate yourself?  How can we help each other & ourselves to heighten the awareness Jesus is calling us to?

May today & tomorrow’s passage provide good pause for us as we take inventory of what we’re spending our time & resources on & how kingdom-centric we are in our thoughts, our plans, our relationships.  I pray Christ would help us dial up that awareness, to absorb & store up his words in our hearts & continue to sanctify us into folks that are committed to aligning our lives with the kingdom of heaven.

The Bible reading for today is Matt. 23; Lk 20-21.

Our second ‘interview’ with the women of our church is with Caren Van Byssum–enjoy getting to know her a bit better today!

(1) How did you decide to make New Covenant your home?

Don and I had decided, after 16 years of marriage and attendance at the same church in Elmhurst, that we would be better able to serve and be more closely connected to a Christian community of believers in a church in Naperville where we had been living that whole time.  We were able to narrow our choices down by going on-line and then started attending those churches whose doctrine and world-view seemed best to match what we were able to discern from Scripture.  Upon hearing from Ann Davidson that College Church was doing a plant here, we visited there, found kindred spirits and faithful teaching.  We are grateful to God for leading us to our new church home and family of the faithful.

(2) What circumstances brought you to God and when did you give your life to Him?

As a result of a disfunctional marriage which ended in divorce when I was 31 years old, I became involved in AlAnon.  This program, along with AA, reminds us that we are powerless and can do nothing without our “Higher Power“.  Well, as a result of having been brought up with Lutheran training, I knew Who the Higher Power was.  I joined a Bible Study and began to learn anew of Jesus and His tender care for His people.  I started trusting in Him and as is always the case, He has never left me nor failed me since. 

(3) What are you involved with at New Covenant Church?

Currently, I serve 5 or 6 times a year in the Nursery, at the Welcome table on the fourth Sunday of the month and with the Mission Focus group.  Having had training and served in the capacity of a Stephen Minister for about 5 years in my previous church, I am seeking guidance and clarity as New Covenant grows as to what type of caring ministry might be developed.  (Ask me about Stephen Ministry some time and I’ll explain it in more depth.  Ask my kids, I’m not often at a loss for words.)

(4) What has challenged you the most this past year and how has God used New Covenant Church to mature you as a Christian?

I sometimes find it difficult to purpose myself to get out to Growth Group on Sunday evenings, but I am always rewarded with sweet fellowship and in-depth development of the Word.  I am most blessed by the faithful expository preaching of our Pastors at New Covenant.  I can never get enough of the Truth and encouragement God’s Word gives us as we open our hearts and minds to it.

(5)How can we pray for you and your family?

Don and I have 9 grown children and also 9 grandchildren.  Coming out of the disfunction of our previous lives, there is often tension, dissension, impatience and misunderstanding that have resulted in broken bonds. Pray that as the Lord works His saving grace into this family and as we experience forgiveness and restoration, we would all extend that same forgiveness and restoration to each other.