Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl

If you are an Encouragement for Today Reader popping over for a visit, welcome. I'm glad you're here.

GIVEAWAY--- I'm giving away 4 copies away to one randomly chosen commenter today.... that's 1 for you and 3 to give to your friends. These will be shipped to you in September... just in time for a Fall Bible Study~


Just leave a comment below by clicking on the word "comments." If you don't have a blog, click the anonymous button and leave your first name and last initial with your e-mail address somewhere in your comment and you're entered!

Today I feel a little bit like an expectant mom waving around her ultrasound photo for all to see.

Wait. You do catch that this is an analogy right?

Please note, I am not an expectant mom. But I have been laboring over a book for the past year and can finally show you the cover.

Please also note, I realize my head appears quite large... but it is stinkin' hard to get a whole committee of people settled on a front cover photo. I'll keep a long story short by saying... I got outvoted. The end.


Now, the book doesn't officially release until September. But, if you'd like to get one of the first copies, you can pre-order the book by clicking here.


This book is my heart divided into chapters and pages. I've told my kids, even if this message wouldn't have gotten published, I would have still written it just for them.

Just for a taste of what you can expect from this book, here's the introduction:

This is for all 3 of you who like to read introductions.

Since we will be spending time together as you read this book, I thought it might be helpful to let you in on a little secret. I’m a very picky book reader.

When I pick up a book, I don’t do it lightly. It takes time to read a book and time is a hot commodity. I’m not into wasting it. Unless of course I happen to be fortunate enough to be somewhere that requires me to have suntan lotion and a skirted tankini. But even then, I’m not into reading books full of theory but lacking in real-life application.

The reality is I've got dishes to wash, loads of laundry to fold, kids to raise, a ministry to run and cellulite to deal with. If I’m going to give a book some time, I want to know that I’ll be able to relate to the author as a trusted friend and that it contains a message that will challenge and impact me. If that’s what I want as a reader, you better believe I want to deliver that as a writer.

So what is the message I’m delivering in this book?

I want to help women not only know God’s truth but also feel equipped to live it out in their everyday lives.

For too many years I was full of Bible knowledge with no idea how to let the truths I knew impact my daily life. I would go to Bible study, leave all inspired, and then come home and have a complete meltdown over bleach being spilled on my favorite shirt. Or a kid’s bad attitude. Or finding out a friend betrayed me. Or gaining back the five pounds over a weekend that took me two months to lose.

How do we apply truth to this kind of everyday stuff? We are quick to say all the right Jesus answers in church, around our Christian friends and in our Bible study. But when the strains of life press against us, do we live as if Jesus really works?

I’m challenged by this. So, I wrote this book not as an expert having achieved this perfectly but rather as a friend who dared to try and become more than just a good Bible study girl. Inviting you to accept this challenge is the point of this whole book.

You see this book started with a question that many people seem to be asking today. It used to be that people asked, “Is Jesus true?” Books were written about it, sermons were preached about it, seminaries offered courses, all offering up spiritual, emotional, historical, and biblical answers proving that Jesus is true. He is the way, the truth and the life as He claimed He was.

But now that question has shifted. The question many are asking now is, “Does Jesus work?”

That’s great that He is true but what kind of difference can He make in my life? At first this question seems self centered and not even worth answering. I would never want to reduce Jesus down to the same qualifications by which we judge a car… that’s great that it’s the nicest vehicle on the road but will it get me where I want to go?

Though I admit asking “does Jesus work?” is a bit bold, it is an honest question deserving an honest answer. The world is literally dying to know the answer to this question.

So, I broke the question up and decided to tackle six things that each play a vital role in determining whether or not Jesus works.

Will Jesus make a difference in my heart?

Will he help my connection with God be more real?

What kind of difference could Jesus make in my relationships?

How do I process my struggles with Jesus?

What do I do when my thoughts pull me away from Jesus?

And does Jesus really have a calling for my life?

As you see each of those above questions correlate with the six sections of this book. My desire in writing this book was never to just fill another book shelf with another resource that will encourage us to just keep on keeping on with all this Jesus stuff.

No, my desire was to write a book that not only pointed people to the truth but also revealed how to really live it out. Truth lived out loud, is the very thing that will answer in an undeniable way the question, “does Jesus work?”

And it’s not just so we can all have a little more Kumbaya in our lives. It’s not about having a good Jesus feeling. It’s not so we can speak a little more Christianese and play the good Christian game a little better.

It’s so that the truth of Jesus can break free from the confines of our Christian arenas and replace the world’s emptiness with true fulfillment.

And on an even more personal level, I wrote this book to challenge myself to not just know the truth but to fully live it out.

The gift of ordinary

When I was a little girl I had big dreams.

Often I could be found with a towel wrapped about my head in an effort to recreate a good and proper famous woman's hair-do. Then I'd sing into my hairbrush microphone much to the delight of my stuffed animal audience.

They loved me.

But my road to fame was cut short one night while watching the Country Music Awards. Though my mama always thought I had the voice of a country angel, this TV show made me realize a mama's love can make her lie.

I heard talent- real talent. And suddenly, my hairbrush tunes sounded painfully hollow.

And I mourned the loss of a fame I would never know.

I thought about this as I stood in the grocery store line and saw Michael Jackson's life splashed across magazine after magazine.

Fame comes at the highest cost.

In one of the last interviews I ever saw Michael do, tears leaked from his eyes as he admitted to a living in a loneliness that most people would never know. The very thing that made him a household name, made him a prisoner within himself.

Fame is the most hungry of beasts. What makes you famous today, devours the success of now looking for more tomorrow- the next big thing you must deliver. You are only as good as your most recent accomplishment. And that is an exhausting and impossible way to live.

Once you've tasted fame you develop an insatiable hunger that's hard to satisfy any other way. But the reality of fickle fans and the hands of time make it impossible to always have a number one hit, to forever be the most beautiful, and to consistently hold the attention of a world gone mad with wanting the next great thing- always the next great thing.

Realizing you were yesterday's great thing messes with a person in way very few can recover.

I think sometimes we look at the seemingly carefree lifestyles of the rich and famous and sigh and wish and travel back to our child hood dreams asking what if.

But it hit me in the grocery store line what an extraordinary gift an ordinary life really is. Simplicity and humility hold the keys to a freedom this world can't even process.

So, I unloaded the contents of my ordinary grocery cart onto the ordinary grocery belt and assessed my ordinary life full of chicken nuggets, turkey sandwiches, lunchables, and spaghettios. I smiled at the most exotic trip my kids and I will take today- an adventure to the Target Dollar Aisle to let them ponder and stress over the coolest thing a dollar can buy.

Then I'll go home to put on my skirted tankini and sit out in my ordinary back yard watching the kids break that Target item while my husband throws burgers on our ordinary grill.

I'll lift my face not to flashing bulbs and screaming crowds demanding more than my soul was designed to give- but rather to a simple breeze winding its way through the giggles of my girls. And I'll thank God for the gift--- the absolute gift of my ordinary.

Psalm 78

Crave: to long for; want greatly; desire eagerly.

God: the only One we should long for; want greatly; desire eagerly. The only One worthy to be worshipped.

So, I have been cruising through the book of Psalms this summer. I'm not sure I've ever studied this book of the Bible with such hunger to better understand my Lord. The pages of Psalms in my Bible are now heavy laden with underlines, notes, journaled thoughts, exclamation points, arrows, and aha moments.

One of those moments came in Psalm 78.

Verses 12- 16...

God did miracles...

He led them through the impossible..

He guided them...

He brought water out of dry places...

He gave them everything but they forgot.

Verse 17...

But they continued to sin against him, rebelling in the desert against the Most High.

Verse 18...

They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved.

Verse 21...

When the Lord heard them, he was very angry.

I guess the reason this hit me hard was because it so specifically addresses inappropriate cravings and the reality of how God feels about them.

And it just answered so many questions about why this journey has been such a crucial part of my spiritual growth for this year.

My New Year's prayer was, "Unsettle me." In other words, rattle loose my complacent excuses and break apart my stubborn refusals to look, really look at whatever pulls my heart away from God. Even slight tears can weaken the strongest of fabrics.

So... is there anything I crave besides God?

I know some may shake their heads while thinking I take all this God stuff too seriously.

And I would have to agree completely. I've tasted the deep satisfaction of God and I know all other things are but cheap imitations. And I don't want to be enamored by the lesser things wrought with momentary pleasure.

I am a woman who has witnessed too much. I am ruined for good.

I too have seen God work miracles.

I've been led through the impossible.

He's guided me.

He's brought living water to replace my dried up places.

He's given me everything and I don't want to forget.

Not with my mind- not with my soul- not with my heart- and certainly not with my body.

And so I've made the choice to step into a place of intentional sacrifice. A place where my strength would fail... should fail... but hasn't. "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever," Psalm 73: 26.

22 pounds... 25 inches... and a heart empowered by God's strength alone.

"He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your father had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord," Deut. 8:3.

They tried to blow up the pick up truck and ate butter for dinner

Happy Monday y'all.

How was your 4th?

Ours was spent like any redneck family should spend their 4th- in a pick up truck. Yes, complete with a wire hook up contraption going between the cigarette lighter and our kitchen microwave that was sitting in the backseat of the pickup.

Why was our kitchen microwave sitting in the back seat of our pickup truck?

Because my husband was sweet talked by our two youngest rednecks in training- we'll call them pinknecks- yes. So, the pinknecks threw all their little charm in the direction of their Daddy and convinced him that while they watched the fireworks they had to have hot microwave popcorn.

So, redneck Daddy was determined not to disappoint. Thus the wire contraption.

My ever present cautious little self saw great potential for some fuse blowing.

Art saw great potential for some fun.

Fun won.

I got sleepy from all the discussion and went to bed.

If the city was on my time table we'd be doing fireworks at 6 am on the 4th. By 9:30 pm at night, I'm in my second phase of REM. I think I'm getting old y'all. Isn't this the schedule of an old person? I've also checking the fiber content of foods lately and craving a bran muffin. Which by the way, is not on the approved list for my diet right now- bummer. I can totally envision me eating a bran muffin.

Bran muffins. The staple of all retirement facilities. I won't comment this on this seeing as I'm officially still 39 years old except to say that I'm also a big fan of the BINGO game. Ahem.

So, while I'm snoring it up at home with visions of Bran and Bingo dancing in my head, the two pinknecks, one redneck Daddy and our kitchen microwave head off to see them some fireworks.

They won't tell me exactly what happened.

Pride is a powerful thing y'all.

All I know is the next morning I saw the packages of microwave popcorn in an unsuccessful condition still very much full of kernels. Hard, uneatable, unpopped, break your teeth out kernels.

Knowing my crew, they probably just sat there sucking all the butter off the kernels, spitting them into their empty coke bottles, claiming it was just as good as having it popped.

They love to spite their mama.

Who, by the way, was right... again.

Ahem.

On a completely different note, I have my post-vacation weigh in today. Y'all were so sweet and encouraging after seeing my pictures with Art, telling me I don't need to lose any more weight. I'm just a few pounds from my goal so y'all are almost right.

But it's not just about hitting my goal weight.

The bigger picture behind all this is obedience to God and stopping the cravings that led me to portions that were too big, foods that were unhealthy, and cycles of guilt that cluttered my mind.

So, I'll be back tomorrow with an update on my progress and seriously one of the most eye opening Scriptures about this battle with cravings I've ever studied.

It's so good, we just might need to suck on some kernels while studying it. According to the rednecks, that makes good things even better y'all.

The Bottom Line

So, yesterday I posted about how my husband takes my breath away and all things love, love, love.

Then I left to go to the workout facility here that does not believe people should have air conditioning when they are working up a sweat and feeling as though they may perish at any minute. Makes total sense.

So, to help distract my brain from the pain I was about to endure while walk/jogging- we'll call it walogging on the treadmill, I grabbed my husband's i-pod. Wondering what kind of praise music he listens to while working out, I was touched when I saw the category of music called "Queen."

Awwwww- these must be songs about ME! Oh I felt like I was about to read his diary y'all. I felt sneaky and giddy all at the same time as I hopped on that machine feeling more motivated by the minute.

Then the music started.

Now, let me state for the record- my husband loves him some Jesus. Yes, he does.

But let me also state for the record that while you can take the boy out of high school, you can not take the high school out of the boy's i-pod.

Ahem.

The "praise" song about his Queen was---- hold on let me let you brace yourself....

"Fat bottom girls, you make the rockin' world go 'round."

The worst part of it all, is by the time I realized what the song was saying, I had been singing out loud for all the exercise world to hear.

Let me let that picture soak into your brain for just a second.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Off to make that choice to love y'all. And to go put my bottom in a skirted bathing suit. Thank you very much and have a nice day.

ps... For those of you praying for Hope during her adventure in Ethiopia... you can find a precious post about something that happened with her over at Renee's place...

Love, like taking pictures, is a glorious choice

Lysa: Honey, I think we should get our pictures taken while we're here on vacation.

Art: Really? Good thing we brought our camera.

Lysa: No, I mean, there is a photographer here that you can have take some pictures for you.

Art: (Silently thinking what unnecessary torture this will surely be but at the same time wanting to make his wife happy.) Okay.

Lysa: This is going to be fun!

Art: (I'm going to sweat to death.) Un-hunh.

Before I got married, I prayed that we would always feel in love.

I now realize what a naive prayer that was. Don't get me wrong, I love my husband. But the ooshy gooshy feelings aren't always there. They get tangled up and sometimes tossed aside in the pressures of everyday life.

That's where our love becomes a choice. A choice to step outside selfish perceptions, on going frustrations, the self-centered right to be right and make the choice to love even when our feelings beg us not to.

During the past 17 years, there have been times where we made the choice to hang on when our love was but the tiniest of threads. Other times our love seemed so strong it was inconceivable it should ever unravel.

Most days, our love has been a choice to get up everyday and retie the knots that bind us.The beautiful thing about making the choice to love, is the feelings often catch up rushing in taking us by surprise.

He still takes my breath away.

Somehow the photographer caught those feelings and bottled them up in the pictures he took.

Love, like taking pictures, is a glorious choice indeed.

It's not fair!

I think I've discovered one of the biggest tricks Satan plays on his girls to get us to give into temptation.

There is a statement that has caused many a girl to toss aside what she knows is right for the temporary thrill of what feels right. But the next day the sun will rise as it has a habit of doing every day. As each band of light becomes brighter and brighter, the realization of the choice she made the night before, becomes clearer and clearer.

Guilt floods her body.

Questions fill her mind.

Self doubt wrecks her confidence.

And then the anger comes. Anger at herself. Anger at the object of her desire. Anger even at a mighty God who surely could have prevented this.

What is this statement that set all of this in motion? "It's not fair."

It's not fair that others seem permitted to have this, do this, act this way.

It's not fair that God won't let us eat of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden... one little bit wouldn't be so bad, right?

It's not fair I can't buy that new thing I not only want but really feel I need... just a little debt wouldn't be so bad, right?

It's not fair I have this body that I have to watch everything I eat when that girl eats junk and stays a size 4... one piece of cheesecake wouldn't be so bad, right?

It's not fair that we can't have sex before we're married when we're so in love... experimenting one time wouldn't be so bad, right?

Our flesh buys right into Satan's lie that it's not fair for things to be withheld from us. So we bite into the forbidden fruit and allow Satan to write 'shame' across our heart.

Now, I realize a piece of cheesecake is a small compromise compared to a young girl losing her purity. But if one piece leads to two, leads to other compromises, leads to wrecking our whole healthy eating plan, then the spiral downward is quite similar.

Once you taste the forbidden fruit, you will crave it worse than you craved it before. Therefore giving temptation more and more power. And given enough power, temptation will start to consume our thoughts, redirect our actions, and demand our worship. Temptation doesn't take kindly to be starved.

I don't know what tempts you today. But, I do personally know this vicious cycle and I'm here to give you hope it is possible to conquer it. Just typing that sentence gives me chills. Just a couple of months ago, I wondered if that would ever be true for me.

Most of you know I've been on a very strict eating plan since April. Part of this plan is no sugar. Which doesn't sound so bad until you realize sugar is in just about everything we enjoy eating. Breads, pasta, potatoes, rice and not to mention all things bakery-licious.

It has been challenging at times that's for sure. But when I'm at home in an environment I can control, it became easier and easier. Well, this week I've been dropped into a place that is teaming with bakery things my mind could not even conceive. And I'm with my husband who could eat a pound of sugar a day and still look fit and trim.

So, I started to have a little pity party and those words crept into my brain, "It's not fair."

In that instant, I squirmed in my chair and thought, "I'll just take one little bite... maybe two... I've been so good... this is vacation... everyone else is indulging...OH MY STARS WHAT ARE YOU DOING LYSA!"

The sugar was like a siren of mythical tales, luring the ships over to rocky coves that would inevitably dash and destroy them. The seduction was smooth and seemingly innocent.

But in that moment of temptation, I realized me having a pity party was a clue I was relying on my own strength in that moment. A strength that has failed me before and would fail me again.

I had to grab hold of God's strength and the only way to do that was to invite his power into this situation. I mentally gave God control of the situation by reciting truths I'd been banking up in my heart. "I'm more than a conqueror." "With God all things are possible." "Let the peace of God reign in your heart." "Lead us not into temptation but DELIVER us from the evil one..."

Soon, it was time to get up from the dinner table and walk back to our room. And I've never felt so empowered in my life. Had I said yes to that one bite, that first night of our vacation, there would have been more compromises. Compromise built upon compromise equals failure.

Instead, resisting temptation allowed promise upon promise to be built up in my heart which equals empowerment.

One day, I will be empowered enough to take one bite and walk away... but that day isn't now.

Like I said, I don't know what you might be struggling with today but I can assure you...

God is fair and just. There is a reason we must face this.

The struggle may be painful in the moment but it is working out something magnificent within us. As James 1 promises, "this testing of your faith develops perseverance and perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature, complete, not lacking anything."

Oh sweet sisters, that is the cry of my soul. The cry of my taste buds makes such empty claims to satisfy me. But only persevering with God will make me truly full, complete, not lacking anything.

Press on sisters. Press on.