Uncharted Territory

I guess I decided to start this first post with some explanation as to where this idea of a blog Bible study first came from.  A group of women from UHBC met together to share ideas about different directions and formats for women's ministry to move in our church.  I happened to share that several years ago my friend and I found ourselves in situations that did not allow us to attend Wednesday night Bible studies, but knew we needed an accountability partner and to be fed spiritually.  We chose a Bible study and decided that we would share our thoughts and prayers with each other via a blog.  There were really no "rules;" we were just trying to find a medium of communication that would be convenient for both of us and not tie us down to a specific time or place.

I honestly didn't think much about my sharing, but Gwynne Johnson was listening and approached me later about the possibility of trying this as an option this fall. Fast forward to now and this small group of us is really jumping out into uncharted territory.  There doesn't seem to be anything like this already out there and in the digital age in which we live, this may definitely be God working to call out to those who might not otherwise venture through the doors for traditional Bible study.

After much prayer, I truly believe that God led me to the bible.org study titled "Footsteps of Faith: Following the Call," by Vickie Kraft. I've been struggling for a while with what God is calling me to, but everything became very real to me - and affirmed that this was the right study for us - this past Sunday when Richard preached about being open and willing to following God's call:

• Whenever He calls us 
• Wherever He calls us
• As long as He wants
• Only at His calling

At this point in my life, I'm still praying about what exactly God is calling me to in many areas of my life and I"m sure I'll share more of that as we progress through this process and better get to know each other, but I now understand He was calling me to get involved in our women's ministry in this way.

So where do we go from here? There really aren't any rules.  I've shared the schedule in the sidebar of the blog and just above that is the link to the curriculum.  Once you click on the link to the curriculum, you will see a list of links that takes you to each lesson. In each lesson, there is a blue bar that says "Related Media." Clicking on this will take you to the audio file(s) for each lesson.  My suggestion is to start the week's lesson by reading the given text and answering the questions and then listen to the audio file that gives some clarification.  I feel like working through the Word first will give us an opportunity to "hear" God without someone else's interpretation interfering. However, remember I said there were no rules. So, you may choose to listen to the audio first and then work your way through the questions.

My initial thought is that we will each write a post, pose a question, or comment on others' post by the Wednesday listed on the schedule for each lesson.  Obviously this is evolving, so if something's not working, let's adjust as we go.

For this first week, listen to the introduction and read the accompanying materials.  There isn't a set of questions for study and honestly you can skip over the   part where she provides the timeline she used and the "Study Suggestions and Format." Start with the "Introduction" and then skip to

Discovering God’s Word for Yourself
An Introduction to Inductive Bible Study Methods

This section is just good stuff. As far as blogging - in an effort to get to know each other in this virtual world - this week, share about yourself. Who are you? What's your testimony at this point in your life?  I look forward to really getting to know each of one of you better and am in constant prayer for each of you and where God leads each of us through this.