The Desk Series: Books (part 3)

The Desk Series :: My Meeting Place 

Books  - Part 6

Continuing with part 6 in this series, I want to share a few more titles with you that have made a difference in my life. 

You can find  parts 1-5 of The Desk Series listed on the sidebar.

The first book for this third post in the area of books is of course, Fervent: A Woman's Battle Plan for Serious, Specific, and Strategic Prayer by Priscilla Shirer! I could go on and on about Priscillia and the wonderment of her gift in ministry. She is on fire for Jesus...we need more to step out with that kind of fire today! I will have more to post on her work once we move to studies.

The book, Fervent was inspired by the movie, War Room. That movie was a game changer for women and prayer "closets" began springing up in a lot of homes because of it.  If you need a reminder of it's inspiration or you have never watched it for yourself...here is a clip. I found it a fantastic movie which reminds me I want to get my copy out and watch it again. 

The book is broken down into strategies using precise topics in which to pray. If you want to build your prayer life and need a bit of help, do read and study this book. I am sending along the little videos that go along with each strategy and they are free! You can begin here with week 1 and conclude with the 11th week being her final thoughts. They are awesome and go along with personal study so well. Enjoy!

*~*~*~*

The second book for this post is The Divine Mentor: Growing your Faith as You Sit at the Feet of the Savior by Wayne Cordeiro. I like this book because the author reminds us of mentors in the Bible. 

Also, he guides us to and through commitment and devotion in order to put time aside for study and the importance of getting in the Word and staying in the Word. One chapter reminds us how important 5 things are; Bible, pen, journal, Bible-reading plan and a daily planner. I would agree since this entire desk series is devoted to items I have found to enhance my quiet time.

Once you reach the second half he goes into depth to teach you the S.O.A.P. method for studying your Bible. If you are not familiar with this method, it means:

S ---> Scripture

O ---> Observation

A ---> Application

P ---> Prayer

Personally, I have used this method somewhat over the years, but it tends to keep me a bit more structured than I want to be. However, it is a great place to begin...find the scripture, tell what it says in your own words, how can I apply it to my life and finish with prayer. I just finished reading and studying the book of Hebrews using my own method which I will share with you in a future post.

Also, the author speaks strongly of the "fruit of daily devotions", telling us to "Look intently". "God isn't inaccessible. He's neither coy nor introverted. But He does require us to seek Him. This hones our hearts and purifies our motives. And the ancillary benefits are manifold. Seeking and searching for God builds our faith, like pecking out of the shell strengthens a newborn chick." You know the more we do something, the better we will be at it.

The Desk Series: Books (part 2)

The Desk Series :: My Meeting Place 

Books  - Part 5

Continuing with part 5 in this series, I want to share a few more titles with you that have made a difference in my life. 

You can find  parts 1-4 of The Desk Series listed on the sidebar.

The first book is Experiencing the Presence of God by A. W. Tozer

Teachings from the Book of Hebrews

 (compiled and edited by James L. Snyder)

If there is one thing you can count on in reading any work by A. W. Tozer  is that your toes will surely get pinched and sore. I love A. W. Tozer for that very reason. He writes profoundly, without reserve or apology and this is what draws me to his books. Too many books tend to skim the surface of the matter and few get down deep where real transformation and change can take place. His books can sometimes be difficult to understand, but if you are looking for meaty soul food, check out A. W. Tozer.

In the introduction of this book, Mr. Snyder says, "Dr. Tozer writes about solid, scriptural truth. Truth is not isolated from another truth. Isolating God's truth, according to Tozer, is how heresy starts in the Church." 

This thought aligns with something I read the other day by Beth Moore and which I agree with wholeheartedly and see so much of today. I wrote her quote on an index card and have it taped to my desk.

Beth writes, "You know you are losing sound doctrine when we lose any kind of doctrine whatsoever of there being a devil and there being legions of demons and there being a real live hell." 

The Word of God is complete and nothing is to be left out. I know there will be more and more of this "letting out" until we are hardly able to recognize the Word of God. This is why we must be in the Word daily so we are able to know the truth when we read, hear or see it!

A little from chapter 2 : Hindrances on the Pathway to God's Presence

A. W. Tozer writes about, "cauterizing the conscience"...being insensitive or callous to the world around us, a deadening of feelings toward morals.

Then there is, "spiritual lethargy, an unnatural inward drowsiness when faced with the claims of God. We are always concerned about superficial things but rarely concerned about spiritual things." 

I want to add here the "spiritual things" he is speaking is of course not the lie-filled type of "new age spirituality" or "new spirituality" that is growing in popularity today. 

"Moral insensitivity and spiritual lethargy are two great curses because they keep us from taking earnest heed to our spiritual health. Unless we are serious about our approach to God, we will be hindered every step of the way."

(Goodness, Mr. Tozer passed away in 1963 and I can only imagine his thoughts on this if he were alive today)

*~*~*~*

The second book for this post is a gal whose work is always on point. I love Lisa Whittle...she is a firecracker who loves Jesus! My copy of her book, Put Your Warrior Boots On : Walking Jesus Strong Once and For All is full of turned down pages, yellow highlighter and pen. This is an amazing book that will heat you up and rekindle your walk with Christ.

There is just so much good stuff in this book. I will share a few quotes...

"We live in a world that pulls us away from knowing anything for sure. We've started to believe everything-whatever the latest popular spiritual guru says, whatever the world sells that sounds like love, broadening the door instead of honoring the God-created narrowness of it for our protection-it is a slow death we don't even know is taking our life. Because believing in everything is really believing in nothing at all."

"The double standard of culture is to respect, even promote, the secular no while calling the spiritual no "legalism." And those "legalistic" Christians have become unpopular because they are saying no to things secular society does not want policed. We have become the unwelcome group, and no one wants to feel unwelcome. So we have started to cave." 

"When we leave God, we start marching the death march and eventually we reach the end: the end of ourselves, the end of goodness, the end of our standards, the end of peace, the end of the hopeful life." 

"A strong warrior for God will be determined by the depth and consistency of our following."

This last quote is meaningful for me personally...I want the consistency of following God in my life. Not the back and forth, on the whim, on the need, and certainly anything that resembles a lukewarm walk!! I have lacked consistency over the years and I can attest of what she says about reaching the "end of ourselves." We will and all of the goodness of life will fade more and more the longer we wander.

Well this post got a bit longer than I wanted it, but I learn as I share. Truly, it seems when I write to you, I am writing to myself as well, because I need these reminders in order to stay fresh and renewed. 

Also, I want to thank you for the kind comments that I have been receiving. I appreciate you letting me know your thoughts. 

The Desk Series: Books (part 1)

The Desk Series :: My Meeting Place 

Books   - Part 4

(find parts 1, 2 and 3 on the sidebar)

For part 4 in the desk series, I want to share with you a a number of books that I have found to be especially helpful to me personally during my life as a wife, a mother, and a woman.  I have mentioned a few in passing over the years in my daybooks, but not really any at length. I will be sharing just a few at a time in these posts.

 I want to preface these titles with an important notation before beginning...these are books that changed my life. They may not be for everyone and everyone has their own mindset as to how they live. It should go without saying, but I want you to know I understand that we are all in different situations, in different seasons and you may not even share my faith, but I lovingly ask that you just lend your ear. 

Ten women could read my posts and only one come away inspired and encouraged to read on...it is for her, this one, that I write. 

Going back a number of years is the first one entitled, The Excellent Wife: A Biblical Perspective by Martha Peace. (there is also a study guide)

Based on scripture, Martha gently guides you with grace and maturity without taking an "in your face" approach.This book had a profound impact on my life. I wrestled through it several times and each time it left me bruised and a bit broken, healthy elements that opened my heart in order that change could take place. 

Every time I try to fix my husband, be a wife in my own strength, contemplate moments where the everyday of marriage seems like too much work or I might be better off single...I adjust my thoughts and heal a little bit more. This book will grow you and stretch you in your thinking and in light of our culture it will sting greatly. I know this because I led two groups of women through this book and study guide and they too found it difficult.
  Culture will change, but the Word of God does not.

****

A few years later, Becoming a Titus 2 Woman by Martha Peace came out and I was feeling strengthened in the call toward mentoring. I was knee-deep in homeschooling, child-raising and keeping my home, all things that were near and dear to my heart. These two books helped me deepen and renew my purpose as a wife and a mother and showed me just how important the work that I did at home was. 

These books would come to set the stage for my love of writing and sharing that love with women. In 2001 a small, humble online ministry began to take root. Over the years as time has faded, that voice has become diminished and nearly silent.

However, I am now in the place of that "older" woman and I have a renewed desire to return to those early roots with fresh insight.

****

Spiritual Mothering by Susan Hunt is another good one written in this same line of thought. Susan writes beautifully of this woman to woman ministry of older women to younger women...when put into a correctly working practice is one of the most precious things us women can bestow to one another.

A few quotes...

"When women do for other women what Elizabeth did for Mary, I believe we will see young women burst forth in lives of praise to God."

"Encouragement is the context in which equipping can take place."

"Paul was smart enough to know that women need women to train them how to apply God's Word to areas of our lives that are uniquely feminine."

and this one that spoke volumes to me as I wrote, "The Influence of Aloneness" (more on that in a later post),

"Our tendency to self-sufficiency can only be overcome when our situation is beyond our sufficiency."

The Desk Series: Yearly Diary

The Desk Series :: My Meeting Place 

Yearly Diary  - Part 3

Part 1

Part 2

The little habit of keeping a diary may sound like an old-fashioned thing to some, but since I am just an old-fashioned type of girl, I wanted to add it to this series. Some of you no doubt remember the diaries of your girlhood...the yearly books we would get at the beginning of each year with the clasp and tiny key. Most often my diary was started with fresh excitement and the best of intentions. But, a few months down the road it was forgotten, stuck in a drawer and most of the pages left blank.



This year I have been keeping the elusive thoughts of diary writing alive and am enjoying it very much. Could be the love I have had here at The Simple Woman blog over the past 10 years of daybook-ing or the time I now have that I did not when raising children was in full swing.

The concept of keeping a diary has not changed, it is the same in taking the time, remembering the moments and keeping a standing record. There are days when I leave a blank spot and while that bothers me, I do not beat myself up. If I remember something from that day that stands out I will go back and add it, if not, it is fine.

I greet the space at the end of the day, recording the weather and always something about nature and the beauty of it. Then, as you would imagine I add simple thoughts about what stood out...where I went, what I did, a meal I made, a birthday, a visit from one of our kids and anything of special interest that happened that day. Sometimes the recording of the day will coincide with a prayer that I then add to my prayer journal.

Here is one of my entries from February 12th...

"An ugly day-snow, ice, sleet and now fog is settling in. I am trying to be patient for just a tiny bit of green to show itself. The Mock orange is coated in ice and no doubt feeling as heavy as I am with the weather. The heat from the wood stove feels so good to my ole bones. I lit my candle, supper dishes are all cleaned and put away and now I will settle in with a hot cup of mint tea. Tomorrow I want to fill another box with things from the kitchen I no longer need or use, but deep cleaning will happen next month. Just be patient."

If there is one thing you know about me, if you've been reading here for any length of time, is the fact that I am a down-to-earth, plain and simple kind of girl. Everything about me holds a bit of simplicity and that is true of the writing in my diary and the writing of my blog.

Maybe this little idea is one you have held to for years, but maybe you think how neat it would be to re-visit writing down your day. Another idea is to use the daybook prompts in a notebook and fill them in...either way you look at it, every day begins with a blank page.

The Desk Series: Prayer Journal

The Desk Series :: My Meeting Place 

Prayer Journal - Part 2

Part 1 of this series found here

Keeping a prayer journal is a new addition I've added to my meeting place. For me, prayer is not new, but purposely writing my prayers out while at my desk is. God hears my prayer whether I speak it out loud, think it silently, or write it down. He hears my prayer, any time, any place and I can pray directly to him. 

This little black leather journal has simple lined pages, elastic strap to keep it closed and a bit of tiny design etching on the front and back covers. Most days, I add a prayer, some days they are a page long and some days as few as 4 lines. These are prayers that are of a more focused nature and I put dates beside them in order that I can look back and remember. Actually, I began the journal with these words and this entry...

"So I won't forget...

Dear Lord, so I won't forget. I begin my prayer journal with these words of dedication. I fail so often to pray to you, when I should be be praying to you. I want to be purposeful to a life of prayer, so I begin creating the habit of taking time to write them down. It is my prayer that I turn to you-turn fully and regain any lost ground, ground that I gave up in any way. Lord, replace what has been lost with something new and help me to be aware of it's timing. ~Amen"

What do I write? Anything I would normally pray or want to say to Jesus. Over the years of my life, my prayers have ranged from overwhelming joyful adoration with praise and thanksgiving, to sorrow and lament with profound grief along with warm-faced conversations laced with demanding questions. I have prayed standing up, lying down, sitting and my most precious of all are the prayers that have found me on my knees. There is something quite sacred about that special posture. I have prayed in my home, in the car, in church, in the hospital, in various places and most often in nature. My prayers always seem to take on a beautiful mixture of prayer and praise. I am not sure you can have one without the other. There have been many times when I have not prayed nearly enough.

My first prayer, the one that was the most important was the one I prayed at 11 years old in the woods, while taking a walk. (more on that in another post)

Really, prayer is as simple as taking your next breath with the name of Jesus on your lips. And make no mistake, no matter what anyone has told you, no matter what you have read as to his hearing your prayers or not...yes, he does hear!

I love this quote in the book, The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson. "Prayer and praise are both expressions of faith, but praise is a higher dimension of faith. Prayer is asking God to do something, future tense; praise is believing that God has already done it. past tense."

and this one,

  "The potency of prayer has subdued the strength of fire; it has bridled the rage of lions, hushed anarchy to rest, extinguished wars, appeased the elements, expelled demons, burst the chains of death, expanded the gates of heaven, assuaged diseases, repelled frauds, rescued cities from destruction, stayed the sun in its course, and arrested the progress of the thunderbolt. Prayer is an all-efficient panoply, a treasure undiminished, a mine that is never exhausted, a sky unobscured by clouds, a heaven unruffled by the storm. It is the root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings." unknown

If you have never written down your prayers, give it a try and see if you enjoy it. I love the concept of just taking the time to do it. It makes me pause and really think about those intimate moments that I pen on the page. Also, that little black journal will become a legacy after I am gone for those who come after me...I find that to be important.

The Desk Series: Bible and Study Bible

The Desk Series :: My Meeting Place 
Bible and Study Bible - Part 1

Last week, I shared a simple picture of my desk that I lovingly called, "my meeting place".

After the kind response I received, I began thinking it might be nice to share just what goes on there. The more I thought, the more ideas I came up with. So what started with a picture has now turned into an on-going series simply entitled, The Desk Series. 

I want to begin with the most important item on my desk, that of my Bible. About six months ago, I retired the Bible that had served its 20 or so years of purpose, for one that I can now make notes, add dates and other small bits of meaningful sentiment next to what I am reading. I had been searching for that perfect one that would suit my needs and I finally found it! It is the hardcover NIV (New International Version) Journal the Word Bible from Zondervan.

Reasons I love it

~It has large enough font that does not cause strain on my eyes

~The pages are a rich cream color and they are not real thin or flimsy

~The words of Jesus are in red lettering (a must have)

~The margins are wide and go the length of the page and have lines to keep my writing neat and organized. 

~It does not have any maps, pictures, devotionals (my retired Bible had these) or anything that takes my focus away from the text at hand

~It has one red ribbon to use as a bookmark

~The style is plain and simple

~It has a black strap that holds it firmly together, protects it and trains it to lay closed when taking it away with me



Please note it does not come with the little rainbow colored tabs, they are an add-on that I love. You can find them on Amazon.

I do not draw, color, write over words, use pen or regular highlighters in my Bible. I use pencil with a neat gentle hand. However, I do use these wonderful highlighter pens that DO NOT bleed through to the other side. (my retired Bible had a lot of faded yellow marks and pen bleeding) I have a small notebook I keep with my Bible when taking it with me to church or ladies Bible studies, etc. There I use pen and write notes that mostly never are written neatly. Then, once home I add what I truly want from those notes onto the margins.

Of course, these are just personal preferences that we all hold to when choosing our Bible.
 We all love what we love.

The second item of importance is my Study Bible. It is the NLT (New Living Translation) Life Application Study Bible from Tyndale House Publishers. I have had this Study Bible for a very long time, and I think it is in it's second printing. It has everything that I need to take reading my Bible to another level of understanding. 

Every book of this Study Bible has a neat timeline at the top of the page. On the sidebar of the page it lists, "Vital Statistics" such as the following:

Purpose for the book

Author of the book

To whom it is written and the date it was written

The setting

Key Verses and Key People

Then, you have this wonderful outline of the entire book and maps that pertain to where it is written. It helps you understand the context of a passage, gives background and historical info, explains difficult words and phrases.

This Study Bible lies open on my desk, open to what I am concurrently reading in my Bible and being they are in different translations it gives me a unique word experience. I grew up using the King James Version and while I am glad I "cut my teeth" so to speak with that translation, I am happy to have this different version to use now. 

If you have not tried using a Study Bible for yourself, it would be a wonderful resource for you to add to your study time. It is well worth the small financial outlay to have it to use when you need it.