I spend a lot of nights not sleeping.  Because I’m no longer in the newborn/nursing phase of motherhood, I have little tolerance for this problem.  I’m reminded that Marie Benware would rise during those sleepless hours and fold laundry (5 loads, if I’m remembering correctly!).  I, on the otherhand, sort, fold and organize my ‘mental laundry’–all those ideas that are lying all over my brain waiting to be folded and put away.  One of those ideas is this blog–a place where the women of New Covenant church can share their lives through words, pictures and online conversation.

New Covenant desires that all members are regularly reading the word of God and applying it to their lives; in lieu of a traditional Women’s Bible Study, we are challenging the women of the church to begin reading through the Bible chronologically, at the same pace.  The passage for the day will always be listed at the beginning of the blog entry–to print the entire schedule for your convenience, leave a comment in the blog and I’ll e-mail you a Word document.  Otherwise click on the link above.  Please note, because we are starting in September, we are just finishing up the Old Testatment readings and will spend our next few months in the New Testament.  The reading for today is Esther 6-10 (although reading the whole book might make better sense).

The uniqueness of reading the Bible chronologically is that it puts familiar Bible passages (or unfamiliar ones) in its broad historical context (i.e. the book of Micah right after 2 Chron 27 and Isaiah 9-12) so that the grand story of God’s working is more vivid and easy to identify.  As we read together, processing the same passages of scripture through the differing lens of our unique lives, I hope we will see more clearly the beauty, complexity and richness of God’s Word.  I hope we will be challenged by the honest questions, thoughtful insights and genuine sharing that we find here as we read through the Old and New Testament scriptures together.

This blog will also feature ‘interviews’ with different women from the church (look for an update on the Finches and Donndelingers soon!), photos from different Women’s Ministry gatherings (such as our gathering for Sisters Together), and resources for Christian growth.  May our eyes be opened to the goodness of God in the lives of His children!

I encourage you to leave a comment (look at the top of this post–this will involve leaving your e-mail address and name) and join the conversation–as an added incentive, I will take a drawing of all the women who leave a comment to this post and the winner will receive a copy of Paul Tripp’s War on Words, an excellent resource for taming the tongue (the topic of our next Sisters Together gathering).  The winner will be announced in Saturday’s post.

Welcome, Sisters!

Emily