Hey women,

Somehow I have on my hands more than I need. If you (or someone you know) could use one of these books, please let me know by emailing me. I want to give them to someone who wants them and will use them.

1. ESV Journaling Bible. I actually own two - and one I use all the time. I love it, and if you are in need of a Bible or at least one that isn’t neon-colored paperback and falling to pieces, let me know. It’s great for writing sermon notes in and just questions as your do your personal reading.

2. Vintage Jesus. This is Mark’s newest book and if you’d like a copy (or even better, if you know someone who needs to know more about Jesus but can’t afford to get them a copy yourself), I have one extra.

3. The Future of Justification. This is a new book by John Piper, and I just do not have time to read it at this stage of my life.

4. Desiring God. By John Piper. Same as above.

5. When I Don’t Desire God: How to Fight for Joy. By Jon Piper. Same as point 3.

6. God is the Gospel. By John Piper. Same as point 3. This book’s introduction is worth its price. I read excerpts from this book in an article in World magazine a long time ago that set about a life-changing paradigm shift in me: that God’s glory is so much better than my own [revolutionary, I tell you].

If you can pick these up at the Ballard or Wedgwood campuses, I can leave them for you. Just shoot me an email and I hope they will be a blessing to some of you or your friends.

Thanks!

At what age do you cross the line from being a swinging single with (often naive) notions of finding the man of your dreams to a world-weary veteran of singleness?

How do you find joy and peace in singleness after the death of your youthful assumptions of how your life would look at this stage?

Several women asked for teaching on these questions in the surveys from the women’s retreat at Semiahmoo this month. While a half-day teaching from a year ago won’t completely answer the burdens and concerns mentioned in the surveys, we want to highlight what is already available on this subject for those who may have missed it.

Maturity in Singleness, part 1
Deacon Amy Lockman discusses the emotional, physical and spiritual battles faced by single women who are over 30 (or close to it!) and what a biblical response to these pressures looks like.

Maturity in Singleness, part 2
Wendy Alsup, deacon of Women’s Theology, speaks on the importance of being in community with women in varying stages of life.

It’s up! If you missed the training day on December 1st, you can now catch the audio here and view the training manual, too.  

From the MH Women’s Training Day, December 1, 2007:

Training Manual - This is a PDF of the day’s print material for the lectures.

Session 1: What is Theology and Why Do I Care? - Wendy Alsup builds the foundation for the day by clearly defining ‘theology’ as the study of God. She reminds us that any hope we have for change and transformation is rooted in our knowledge of God — that looking to His face to know him is our first duty and delight.

Session 2: God is our Father - Crystal Munson discusses the first person of the Trinity - God our Father.

Session 3: God is our Savior - Kelly Cowan teaches on the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Session 4: God is our Help - Amy Lockman shares on the Holy Spirit and His role in our lives as a comforter, counselor and helper.

Session 5: What Do I Do Now? - Wendy Alsup closes the training day with a teaching on how to practically apply knowledge of God into each life situation — taking every thought captive and making it submit to the mind of Christ.

I remember Christmas 2002 at Mars Hill Church quite well.  It was my first Christmas in Seattle and at Mars Hill, and I remember my initial horror when I figured out the link of the title of this Christmas sermon with the content. 

The whores in Jesus’ lineage.  That’s it in a nutshell.  The churches in which I grew up didn’t preach much on whores and certainly didn’t title their sermons in such a scandalous way.  But I have to say that sermon got my attention and stuck with me.  Listen to it if you have time.  If you don’t have time, here’s the basic idea.  Women who were disdained in their society because of their sinful sexual activities are redeemed by God.  Their stories are transformed.  They are no longer remembered in the history of the church as whores but as the mothers of the lineage of Jesus.   These women remind us that, while our culture may exploit women from multiple angles, our Savior has long been in the business of loving us, transforming us, and giving us His name.  

This is WHAT HE DOES.  Redemption.  Reconciliation.  Restoration.  

. Therefore we have Hope.

Guess what?! I got to interview a very wise woman over the phone just a few weeks ago! I called her at her home and it felt like calling my grandma. I loved the opportunity, I loved getting to talk to her, I loved hearing her heart for Jesus and the Bible. I did not love listening to my voice after the recording. Oh wow. [Those who know me, I can't make you NOT laugh, but just do me a favor and don't tell me how MUCH you laughed if you listen to this.]

Jani Ortlund authored “His Loving Law: Our Lasting Legacy” and discusses teaching our children to love and live the 10 commandments. Sounds boring or stifling? I thought it would be, but it’s neither. She is writes practically on each commandment with ideas on how to teach them to your kids (she was a school teacher!) and brings everything back to Jesus and his love and grace. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Amen!

Hint: honestly, the first part of the interview is a little slow, but it gets better as it goes. It’s my first time, so if I get another chance at it, it’ll improve! And, if you are a mom, with all the practical ideas and helps, this book is well-worth the purchase. Listen here.

So I went to Mexico with high hopes - chart the course of my next 5 years, quit caffeine, sleep, get in wicked shape and… I wanted to read the whole Bible. I mean, what couldn’t I accomplish in 19 days without a job?!

Yeah, um… my trip was not nearly as aesthetic or ascetic as I’d romantically planned. I didn’t finish reading the Bible or even the Old Testament. I didn’t run every day. I drank … less coffee, but didn’t go cold turkey. I didn’t get 8 hours of sleep every night. I didn’t reverse engineer my life.

But you know what? I did something I’ve never done before.

I read the Bible looking to answer one question: “Who is God in this story?”

See, Pastor Mark preached a sermon called “Studied By Scripture” a long time before I was ever around, and it just so happened that I downloaded it before I left since it seemed topically in-line with my Bible-reading goal. And listened to it in the airport while I was waiting to fly into sunshine.

And he called me on something I have always done. I have previously always approached Scripture as a “how to” manual. I want to know what to do. How to do it. How I can be a better person. How I can love someone. How I can accomplish something. Me, me, me.

Mark said the junk with that. Our first priority in Scripture is to seek to know God, since it’s him revealing himself to us. So before we ask those very good practical “so what?” questions from Scripture, we need to seek knowing him and his character first.

“God, who are you in this story?”

What does he do? How does he interact with the people in the story? What is his character like? Where is Jesus? How does this story tell me about Jesus?

It’s actually much more peaceful reading for me. I am not trying to squeeze application out of every verse. It stays simple, just absorbing who God is.

And even though I am still a long ways away from feeling like I first did when Jesus became “real” to me (oh the long-lost raptures), my heart is reviving as my eyes are opened to little glimmers of my Savior.

And my plans to reverse engineer have not delineated any further than this giant, generalized-yet-heartfelt acknowledgment: I plan to know Jesus better before I die.

I am looking for the Man
He said he’d be close by
But he looks like all the others
Though he’s a King on high

I am looking for his footsteps
His shoes are too worthy for me
He is stern and he is gentle
Eyes ablaze with tears on a tree

I am looking for his heart
I am straining for his voice
I still have never seen him
But he is my only choice

According to Stasi Eldredge, the author of one of my favorite books, Captivating, one question women seek to answer over the course of their lives is “Am I lovely?” Women were created by Jesus as beautiful creatures made in his image, yet we spend so much time and energy wondering if we are lovely and worthy of being loved. I know from my own experience as well as from hearing the stories of other women that it is so easy to become distracted and be robbed of our joy by focusing on outer loveliness and worldly beauty - an attitude that will always leave us feeling lacking and discontent in our femininity. If you are a woman searching to experience God’s love more deeply and sense his enjoyment of your beauty, I highly recommend this book.

The author says this about her first non-fiction writing: The message of Captivating is this: The desires you had as a little girl and the longings you still feel as a woman–they are telling you of the life God meant you to live. He offers to come now, as the Hero of your story–to restore your feminine heart and release you to live as a woman, fully alive. A woman who is truly captivating!

This book isn’t just for women! A guy at Mars Hill picked it up and after reading it said this: “Captivating is a tangible narrative to true love and loveliness, stemming from a new identity in Christ. The essence of every woman is lovely and worthy of loving. The message in this book opens the possibility of community, relationship, and “falling in love.”


Click here to purchase Captivating.

Hey, guess what? We have been compiling links to teaching that is especially relevant to us ladies, whether the teaching is from women’s events or the Sunday pulpit.

Where? Look to the right (more…)

In an article I wrote earlier this month, I encouraged readers to study the gospels paying special attention to cross-references to Old Testament passages. Since nobody explains the Bible better than the Bible itself, it’s wise to consider each cross-reference within Scripture carefully. I see each like another line connecting the dots in a drawing. Each connection gives a better perspective of the picture until, finally, all of the connections are made and the picture is revealed. Similarly, each cross-reference in the Bible gives us a little more insight into the connected, coherent story of God’s redemptive plan for man.

Here is one that really hit me (more…)

I don’t like complicated things. I hate long-winded speeches. Just give me the facts and let me process them on my own, please. And I HATE, HATE, HATE when intelligent people try to intimidate others by throwing around complicated terminology. The sad thing is that there are a lot of Bible study resources that, in my humble opinion, intimidate and put off the very people who most need their help. In contrast, here are a few resources I’ve found that were truly helpful in my Bible study. Short on big words, long on meaningful help. If you too get frustrated by study helps that actually make things more complicated rather than less, you may find the things on this list a better fit for you.

1. The Reformation Study Bible
I’ve had my share of study Bibles over the years. Consistently, the notes in each would be about things I didn’t care about, while they would say nothing on the verses that I had real questions. The Reformation Study Bible is a pleasant (more…)