a belated Bloggie Bible Study - Week 2

Well, i am so sorry that it is Friday & I am just now posting this! As many of you know, there was a death in my family this week. Sweet Uncle Bookie went to be with the Lord about a week before his 91st birthday. We took a quick trip to Grenada, Mississippi for the funeral, which was Wednesday. And seriously...the internet i have access to up there is slowwww. And it's also on other people's computers so i don't like to take too much computer time!

But i did read the chapter & I really really enjoyed it. So i am posting even though i'm a bit late. :)

What meant the most to you from this chapter or what offered you the greatest challenge or inspired you deeply?

I really loved where she talked about "the great exchange". I thought it was fantastic. Of course, it is true. God is so faithful. I think that even if we don't feel like we are "getting anything" out of our prayer time, He is still faithful to give us what we need. We might not notice then, but later we will see that we handled a situation better than we normally would have or that a verse popped into our head that we don't remember reading. I loved "the great exchange". NOT because i only want to receive from Him. i want to worship Him, too. But i sometimes forget that he WANTS to pour into me & fill me up, so that i may minister to others.

I have to post what she said, in case you aren't reading this book:

"I call this time with God "the great exchange". Away from the world & hidden from public view, i exchange my weariness for His strength, my weakness for His power, my darkness for His light, my problems for His solutions, my  burdens for His freedom, my frustrations for His peace, my turmoil for His calm, my hopes for His promises, my afflictions for His balm of comfort, my questions for His answers, my confusion for His knowledge, my doubt for His assurance, my nothingness for His awesomeness, the temporal for the eternal, and the impossible for the possible." ~Elizabeth George

I love that. It's like whatever i'm going through or am in need of, He is there ready & willing to help me. He is such a good God!

How is your underground life, the time you spend abiding in God's word and prayer out of sight, alone, in secret? 
This is getting better but it's nowhere near how it should be, or how i want it to be. I spend more time reading the Word than i have in a long time, and i do pray all throughout my day. But there was a time when i was a prayer warrior. I would lay on the floor face down & just pray for people i knew who needed something: salvation, comfort, a breakthrough, healing, etc. I cannot remember the last time i did that, which makes me sad. I do pray for people. But i have become lazy with it. I need to change if i really believe that prayer changes things. And i do. :)

Are you more like the breathless, frazzled, fretting, and worrying women in that scenario--or are you more like Karen, recognizing the need to slip away for a few minutes alone with the Lord when tensions mount?
Well, in those kinds of situations - planning events - i tend not to worry too much. I did my best, everything will be fine... i'm very laid back about it. But i had to relate this to things that DO tend to get me worked up... money troubles, work problems...& yeah... i tend to freak out a little bit. I tend to get frazzled or overwhelmed easily & i know it would be so much better if i just gave it all to God.

These were the most important questions for me to answer, i think, so i just did those. I really loved this chapter, though, and it's a great book! Looking forward to week three!