Audio and Video from The Gospel Coalition Women's Conference

Three weeks ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend The Gospel Coalition Women's Conference in Orlando Florida. This conference gave almost 4000 women the opportunity to dig deep into God's word and be encouraged in the gospel and their various roles in life. I came away greatly encouraged, knowing more about God and His gospel, and have a deeper fellowship with the ladies with whom I traveled. God is great, and God is good, and I am grateful for the chance to grow closer to Him during that weekend.

Now, The Gospel Coalition has posted audio and video of all of the plenary sessions and workshops. This is a wealth of information and encouragement that I encourage everyone to use! You can find the links here. It is hard to choose a favorite (or several favorites), but I recommend Paige Benton Brown and Carrie Sandom's plenary sessions. They are probably unknown names to you, but their biblical teaching was deep, sound and thoroughly edifying and encouraging. I could not attend all of the workshops, unfortunately, but Kathy Chapell's parenting session and Jani Ortlund's marriage session were both incredibly helpful. Listen to them, and let me know which ones you enjoy!!

Little Ones Love To Memorize!

Ever since Leah F. wrote THIS POST, I have really been wanting to start memorizing larger portions of scripture with my family. We really enjoyed doing our scripture verses last year, and had even more fun with our "questions," but I really wanted my 4-year old to start getting some context for all the random verses that she was learning. And then once I started reading all about Classical Education and how much children actually enjoy memorizing at a young age and how easy it is for them, I decided it was time to start.

We started with Psalm 1 and are now working on Psalm 23. 1Cor. 13 is up after that. I'm hoping to choose longer and longer passages each time and eventually be able to memorize a whole book without forgetting the ones we initially learned.

We have started adding one more line of scripture each night during our bedtime routine of singing, Bible stories, and prayer. I am blogging about this on our family blog to kind of keep me accountable in doing this with my family... hopefully we will be able to post a new video every other week or so of a new chapter of Scripture learned.

I have been amazed at how quickly little ones memorize scripture... they actually do better than Mark and I and are constantly correcting us when we make a mistake! This is a video of them saying Psalm 1 -- you will notice that they are much more familiar with the 1st part because we have said it so often, and they still need some cues for the last part. But that is ok, because each night that we say it, they remember more and more! Oh and the best part is that they really enjoy it! And at random times during the day, I will hear Karlie tell her My-na baby, "how blessed is the man..." Today Karis was reciting it as she was using the potty. Oh, how I love to hear God's word on the lips of my girls! It both blesses me and rebukes me because I wish it were on my mind more often!

I'd love to hear about your family's Scripture memory – what tips do you have for memorizing longer passages with your children and what chapters have been most beneficial to your family to learn?

Leah P's Bible Reading

There are a few different things I've been reading as part of different groups. Let me share with you what's stuck out the most to me recently.

Our Small Group: The Minor Prophets
Hosea 1:5 - For their mother has played the whore; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, "I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink."
Hosea 1:8 - And she did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine, and the oil, and who laished on her silver and gold, which they used for Baal."

I was really challenged by this passage to consider where I think all of the things in my life come from. And do I chase after things that I think bring me pleasure when really those things are a gift from God.

Hosea 11:8 - How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.

The compassion and the forbearance of the Lord is awesome.

Bible Study Fellowship: Isaiah
Isaiah chapter 5 is a song that Isaiah sings about God planting a vineyard and all of the care He put into it, and it only yields wild fruit. It challenges me to think about all the time, love, attention and care God is pouring into me and what fruit I yield for Him. The BSF study had us jump to John 15 where Jesus says that He is the vine and we are the branches and that we must abide in him to bear fruit. This lesson was SO good for me. I MUST remain connected to God through His Word and through His Spirit to bear fruit.

Our Moms Group: Parenting is Heart Work by Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller
1 Samuel 16:7 - For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
I had always considered this verse from the standpoint of not judging a person by their outward appearance because it's the heart that matters to God. But looking at it from the perspective of a parent and how to raise my child, I totally had my eyes opened. I am always struggling with pride and wanting others to think I'm such a great mom and my kids are so well behaved - TOTALLY concerned with man looking at the outward appearance. But I need to be more concerned with getting at my children's hearts, where the Lord is looking.

Personal: Proverbs 31
I'm stuck here in this chapter. I have been for months and months. Whenever I sit down to randomly open my Bible, I turn here. I can't help myself. I'm just SO challenged by verses 26 and 27.
Proverbs 31:26-27 - She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Will there ever come a day where I feel like I can put a checkmark next to these verses? Seriously, I am not a mom or a wife or a friend who consistently opens my mouth with wisdom and has the teaching of kindness on my tongue. I SOO desire to be that. And I so often find myself eating the bread of idleness instead of looking well after the ways of my household. I thank God all the time for these verses because they take me straight to the foot of the cross and have me call Mercy! I give up! I can't do this on my own!

How about any of you? Anything you've been reading lately that has been impactful on your life?

In God's Word this week

Confession time-since I have gotten pregnant with Finnling #3, my time in God’s word and prayer has been inconsistent. Okay, bare naked honesty—it’s been practically nonexistent. My best time for quiet time with the Lord is first thing in the morning, before the children wake up, and so many mornings I just cannot get out of bed before they do (my kids wake up at 7 every morning). Several weeks ago I had a two or three week period where I woke up between 6-6:15 every day, had a shower and read my Bible before the kiddos began to stir. Those were great weeks, because I spent quality time in the word of God and because my mood was better because the kids weren’t waking me up—I was dictating my wake time! But then something happened, and my good habit died, and so my Bible study has been sporadic.

The Lord gives grace to his children, and I am so thankful for the time in the word that I have! Over the past few months I have been reading through the Old Testament. In the summer, I set this grand goal to read through at least the OT before baby #3 comes along, and now I will be doing well to finish the Pentateuch. I am in the book of Numbers right now, specifically Numbers 6.

[Aaron's Blessing]
[22 ] The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, [23 ] “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
[24 ] The LORD bless you and keep you;
[25 ] the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
[26 ] the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
[27 ] “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
(Numbers 6:22-27 ESV)

This beautiful, familiar blessing falls right in the middle of passages about the Nazirite vow, and offerings for the tabernacle, and indicates God’s blessing on all of his people (not just the Nazirites, who had been referenced immediately before this passage). The notes on the ESV Study Bible state that the word “Peace” does not indicate simply the English meaning of “lack of war”, but “total well-being”. How wonderful to seek and serve a Lord who gives us peace!

My pastor, Andy Davis, is currently preaching through the book of Hebrews, and I love that I am reading the Old Testament while he is preaching through this New Testament book (you can listen to his great sermons here, scroll down to find all of the Hebrews messages). Hebrews focuses on the supremacy of Jesus Christ over the angels, Moses, Mosaic Law, Melchizedek, and the tabernacle—what a perfect accompaniment to a study of the Pentateuch! As I have been reading through Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, I am continually reminded of my sinful nature, my inability to meet ‘God’s standards’, and the fact that I must daily rely on Christ, who died a perfect atoning death and was raised to a glorious resurrection-for His glory and for my salvation!

So that’s where I am! May I recommend a good study Bible as you read God’s word? I love the ESV Study Bible, and Broadman & Holman recently released the Holman Christian Standard Study Bible, which is also a good resource. As one last note in my rambling thoughts, I recently read the book, A Sweet & Bitter Providence by John Piper. This small, easy to read book walks through the book of Ruth with the Bible passages included in the text of the book itself. Though it is not a ‘typical’ Bible study with blank lines for you to respond to questions, it is wonderful way to study this Old Testament book that has a lot to teach us about sex, race and the sovereignty of God.

So what are you reading in God’s word? What has the Lord been teaching you about Him through your Bible reading?

Resources for Incorporating the Bible into our Daily Lives

As Meagan has shown us in the previous post, there are a variety of ways for you to be intentional in your study of the Bible and biblical truths. As we all know, unless we are deliberate and intentional about studying the Bible and meditating on God's word, our sinful nature will allow it to become an afterthought at best. Below are a few of my favorite resources to help me incorporate the Bible into every facet of my life.

An Approach to the Extended Memorization of Scripture--A shameless 'plug' for my pastor and his amazing Scripture memorization techniques! This booklet is a guide for memorizing long passages of Scripture. Honest confession: I have not used this method myself, but that is simply because of my laziness. Many people have, and find it incredibly helpful. Personally, I am greatly blessed by a pastor who has a large portion of the Bible memorized, and who can apply it easily within a sermon or daily conversation!

Truth and Grace Memory Books--I think I have mentioned these books before in a comments section somewhere, but I wanted to highlight them here. These workbooks give you suggested hymns, scriptures, and catechism questions for each age, starting at age 2/3. The catechism questions are included in the back of the book. Each age 'builds' upon the other, by adding verses to the hymns, or memorizing longer passages of Scripture. *Note: I think it is important for children and adults to memorize both individual verses and entire passages of Scripture. The individual verses help convey truths and lessons ("Children obey your parents"), while longer passages allow you to grasp the big picture of Scripture*

Seeds Family Worship--Several of us POH authors have these CDs and love them. Each album has a 'theme', i.e., the Power of Encouragement, and all of the songs are scripture verses from that theme. As an adult who gets really irritated by kid's music, I actually enjoy Seeds! There is usually a male or female adult 'lead singer' with kids singing along, and the songwriting is of good musical quality (as opposed to sounding like nursery rhymes or something)

Robert Murray M'Cheyne's Bible Reading Plan--If you need a good Bible reading plan, I highly recommend using this one. It has two 'sections', the "Family" and "Secret" readings, so you can read portions of the Bible for your quiet time ("Secret") and your family worship time ("Family"). If you do that, you will read through the OT once and the NT twice in one year. Or you can choose to read just the "Family" or "Secret" readings, and you will read through the OT in two years and the NT in one.

For the Love of God, vol. 1 and For the Love of God, vol.2--These two books by D.A. Carson are meant to go along with the M'Cheyne Bible reading plan above. Each volume has a devotional thought that is gleaned from the daily Bible reading schedule, and will help you go a little deeper in your studies.

My last thought is to encourage you to incorporate a family worship time into your schedule. This does not have to be anything fancy or elaborate, but both you and your children will be greatly blessed by the time spent together as a family reading God's word and praying together. Our family has made a concerted effort to have REGULAR family worship times together in the past several months, and that has been a huge blessing to all of us. Please share with us your thoughts and suggestions for studying God's word and making it a regular part of our lives!

Being Intentional with the Bible (for both myself and my kids!)

This week at POH we are talking about ideas for being intentional with the Bible, both for Moms and for kids. I'm excited about this week because I'm really hoping to learn some great ideas from our readers that I can implement in our home! Please share with us what has worked in your family and what has not. Here are a few things we have done in our family to be intentional with the Bible:

The girls and I have a "Bible Time" every morning on the couch. I had always thought we would do devotions before bed every night, but it always got too late and the girls were tired and fussy and not able to focus. So instead we switched to singing before bed and Bible time in the morning. This has just worked so much better for our family!

At night, we sing a combination of hymns (such great theology in most hymns!) and fun Bible songs. Here is a quick clip of one of our silly songs that teaches her the fruit of the Spirit:


We have our Bible Time before we get started with our chores for the day. We usually go outside to play first thing in the morning (before it gets too hot!) and then come inside grab our water bottles and settle on the couch for our Bible time. The girls have gotten all their wiggles out and can really focus well. Our Bible Time consists of:

1. "Questions" -- I recently got this "Catechism For Young Children" set from Doorposts and we have really enjoyed it! I make a game out of asking Karis questions each morning and she uses a fake microphone to answer. I love the great theological foundation these questions lay for her and you would be amazed at how often she brings them up in random conversation. Here is a short video example of some of the questions:


2. Scripture Memory -- Right now we are going through the verses listed in My 1st Book of Memory Verses. We usually go over 2 verses that we learned previously and then repeat a new verse several times. I usually make the scripture into a song, rhyme, or rap, and often add hand motions to make it more interesting and easy for Karis to remember.

3. Bible Stories -- We have several children's bible story books and I usually just let Karis choose a few to read for the day. My personal favorite for her age is The Big Picture Story Bible, but there are many that she enjoys. Sometimes we read them for a half hour, and other days we only read 1 story. I want her to enjoy the time so right now I base it totally on her interest and how Karlie is doing entertaining herself. (Karlie usually starts off reading with us, but can't sit still as long as Karis and ends up doing puzzles after a little bit.) We just started "loosely" following the Bible reading plan on ABC Jesus Loves Me and I usually also teach them a song or two about whatever story we are focusing on for the week.

For Myself: This week is also about sharing ideas to help Moms be more intentional with the Bible and I have to be completely honest; I struggle in this area. I am much better at being intentional with my kids! I try to have my Bible Time in the morning before the girls get up, but if they randomly get up earlier than usual, my time is cut short. And I have a hard time finding any other time in my day. I am not one who can study at night because I just fall asleep :)

Anyways, I usually just try to read about 4 chapters out of the OT and 2 chapters out of the NT every day, if the girls don't wake up before I finish. I'd love to do a formal Bible study like BSF, but there isn't one near me and I don't want to make another day in my week crazy. So I just try read all the study notes in my Bible and try to pick a verse or two out of my reading to write out and meditate on throughout the day. I am also memorizing the scripture verses along with Karis, but that's about it. I'd LOVE to hear any suggestions you have: any book studies that you have enjoyed or other ideas for being intentional with the Bible!

My Bible Study System

I guess I have a very basic system for studying the Bible. I use a program that my husband has called QuickVerse. With it you can customize your own bible study reading plan. I used to have a very detailed one where I was reading the Old and New Testaments, plus the Psalms and Proverbs each daily. Sadly, they upgraded their program and I now think it is entirely too complicated to customize a plan like the one I had. So, this year I had to simplify and I'm reading through the Old Testament once this year and the New Testament twice. I'm trying to add the Psalms and Proverbs on my own, but I really miss having them in the plan! I like organization! But, even without Quickverse, there are a number of bible reading plans online. Just do a simple search and you'll find many out there (or some Bibles even come with a plan in it already). I don't find this to be a lot of reading at all, and I'm also trying to get ahead, as we are expecting our third child this summer and I'm sure to get a little behind with all the newborn craziness. But, even if I get off track (as I did last fall when we moved to Scotland), I still try to remain in the Word every day. If I have questions, or run across something interesting or something I haven't noticed before, I spend extra time studying that particular topic and looking it up in various commentaries (I have really loved the Focus on the Bible commentary series by Dale Ralph Davis. I've read several of these and love how they supplement my Old Testament Reading.)

I also don't get hung up on what particular time I do devotions. I hear all the time that doing devotions early in the morning is best and I've tried it and can't stick with it. It might be best for some people, but I'm simply not a morning person and never have been. I usually read during my kid's naptime or at night once they go to bed. This has worked for me for years and I'm sticking with it. Time in the Word never returns void!

Time in the Word with Bible Study Fellowship

Have you ever heard of Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)? Per their website:

BSF is a comprehensive inter-denominational Bible study program aimed to help you gain a practical understanding of this important book. Held each week in 36 countries around the world, BSF International began in a California living room a half-century ago. BSF has grown to include compelling classes for women, men, young singles, and children all around the world. In all, there are nearly 1,000 BSF classes with 200,000 class members in more than 30 nations across six continents! Over 800 of the classes are held in the U.S.

I am part of a local BSF group that meets on Chicago's North Shore. The daytime group is open to women only and includes a great children's program that both of my boys attend. BSF operates on an 8-year cycle (they are adding a new study next year).

The 8 studies are:
John
Isaiah
Acts of the Apostles
History of Israel and the Minor Prophets
Genesis
Romans
Matthew
The Life of Moses

What makes BSF unique today is what made BSF unique in that first Bible study more than 50 years ago: a Four-Fold Approach to learning. BSF studies throughout the U.S. and around the world all utilize these four elements:

Daily questions for individual Bible study
Discussion groups
Challenging lectures
Study notes

I started BSF in the Fall with the John study. We meet every Thursday morning according to a school-year calendar. Each week I read the assigned section of John, answer 6 days worth of questions, attend a small-group discussion session of those questions, attend a large-group lecture about the section, and then read about 8 pages of great notes about the section.

I recommend this study to someone who likes to study the Bible in-depth and a book at a time. You need to be able to commit time to this study (about 30 min/day and 2 hours/week for the weekly meeting).

The other SUPER great thing about attending BSF is their children's program. The children learn from the same section of Scripture, have worship time, time for "quiet reflection" and guided play by great trained teachers.

If you'd like to know more about BSF, check out the BSF website. Or use their search to locate a class near you.

Time in the Word for a New Mom

I really liked what Hollie had to say yesterday about her primary focus being in the Word. I whole-heartedly agree. When you are short on time or energy, it's best to go straight to the source - the Living Water.

After each of my boys were born, I found it hard to have one time in the day carved out and devoted to reading/studying. Their schedules fluxuated so much in the beginning, and most times I tried to sleep when they slept. I found what worked best for me to be in the Word was to pick one small book of the Bible and read it over and over again. For Samuel, it was Ephesians. For Joel, Colossians. I knew right where to turn each time I sat down to read my Bible. Sometimes I had time to read through the whole book. Sometimes I only made it through a chapter. But going back to the same book did two things for me: I never had to fret about what to read, and it really sunk in to me after reading it over and over for months on end. Sometimes our minds aren't the best when we're tired and also healing from the birthing process. Reading the same book over and over allowed God's Word to really sink in and settle in my mind.

If you are a new mama out there and you're feeling a little lost when it comes to spending time in the Word, I really encourage you to try this method and see if it works for you.

Favorite Devotions for Moms

Call me old-fashioned, but for my time with the Lord, I mainly stick to reading the Word and trying to maximize every chance I can get to move the LIVING WORD from the pages to my head and into my heart. Don't get me wrong, I love other things like devotions to help me deepen my understanding of the Word, and that's what I use those things for...to help me understand, but I don't replace my time in the Word with those things. Those devotions always follow behind my reading, if time permits. Nothing can replace the True and Living Word.

At this stage in my life, with a three year old and a five month old that is so very far from sleeping through the night, time does NOT permit me to enjoy an extra devotion or book. Oh I wish it did. I am thrilled if I can carve out QUALITY time in the Word for me. I say quality, because right now, my time in the Word seems so rushed. I know it will get better, but in the meantime, I must do what I can to get the Word in my daily life somehow: scripture on the walls of my home, make a song out of scripture and sing it with my toddler (who LOVES to sing anything and everything), carry scripture in my back pocket, keep my small Bible tucked away in the pocket of the glider, etc..

From my past devos, I have really liked:

• Beth Moore Bible Studies (and one summer I bought the Spanish version of a Beth Moore Bible Study, so as to challenge myself to continue to learn and sharpen my Spanish), as well as her blog, Living Proof Ministries
• One on One with God: This particular study does aid you in your time in the Word. I have posted about this study before on POH, but it truly changed my life and my walk with the Lord. I love the free downloads of the reading plan and blank pages for daily Bible reading notes as you read along.

I will post more as I think of them. This Mama is writing too late and must get in bed! Can't wait to make my devo wish list from your feedback and this week's posts. Blessings over your week as you hide away in the Word, as well as LIVE IT OUT this week. Tootles!