wanna join me ????????

Have you been looking for a Bible Study you can do at  the privacy of your own home that doesn't require leaving home/getting dressed or having to be at the church at a specific time that you are unable to attend? OR,  worse case scenario, have you been hurt by a well meaning but judgmental Christian person/denomination or Christian group and that soured you on all facets of Bible studies?   Have you not joined a Bible Study for fear that you "aren't familiar enough for the Bible"/"don't have a church background" or the biggest: for other reasons only you know??? Have you been feeling that Nudge to know more about God but aren't a part of a church or small group? ON THE FLIP SIDE:
 Are you a regular church go-er who  gives to everyone else and needs some study time  yourself??? Are you a church leader/team organizer/Sunday School teacher who needs a little oasis and quiet time ? 
 If you answered "YES" to any of the above or any not listed:
Then, WELCOME. YOU HAVE FOUND A HOME.


 I have gotten "THE NUDGE" to invite you to an online/blog Bible Study!!!!For the past couple of YEARS I have felt like I needed to lead a Bible Study group again. Actually, felt the breath of God, hotly, on my back about it. And I have brushed Him off. Yeah. It's never good when you brush off GOD, for heaven's sakes. But, being in between a couple of churches, *(attending 2  different ones , both Methodist, if you're wondering, haha), I just haven't felt like approaching one of the two churches we regularly attend with: "OH, BTW, I'd like to start a small group study". That would be odd since I'm (me, b/c Big T goes to one of the two ), floating and being indecisive about where I feel led to worship permanently with the Body of Christ. That would be awkward. If not pompous on my part. haha. But, still the hot breath of the Holy Spirit, (not only God but also the H.S.!) ,continues to whisper to me to listen and do that which He has asked me to. Does that sound HOKEY to you? If so,  hit EXIT and leave right now. Because God is bigger than you can ever imagine and, YES, He speaks!. He can whisper to you at any moment, IF YOU HAVE EARS TO HEAR! I promise, I'm not being judgmental here, THIS I know to be TRUE! HE SPEAKS!!!!! In so many ways!!!! (His Word/Christian brothers and sisters/Your pastor/thro circumstances just to name a few). For me, it is undeniable and real. And one thing I am CERTAIN of, I DO know when God is telling me something. How? Don't know. Just do. I'm sure YOU know too, and if you don't, then * I AM SCREAMING NOW:maybe you'd like to JOIN me in a weekly BLOG Bible study so maybe you can recognize , more clearly , HIS Voice? HMMMM? Willing? want to???? If so, PLEASE do! I won't be "giving the plan of salvation" (although I hope you already have heard  that and if you haven't, heck yeah, I'll tell you right then you need to have J.C. as your Lord!). I won't be "talking down to you" (how could I? me a sinner?). I won't be SERMONIZING (again, I'm a sinner, I have to have sermons myself to stay on track!). WHat I WILL do is SHARE what I have read/learned/experienced. Am I qualified? NO! Am I without sin?  NO! Am I judgmental? ABSOLUTELY NOT!>>>  Well, sometimes when I watch "The Bachelor" or "Housewives" I'll be judgemental (YEAH, I'm a real person and I do have my guilty pleasures! reality T.V.! HAHA! BESIDES, you can , and I DO, pray for those folks who seem so looking for what only GOD can give them!).Am I willing to put myself , with lots of warts, out there to share? YES!!!!!!!! (withholding a few secrets that only God knows, of course! HAHA). Want to know where I come from and my beliefs before you comment to this?  Of course you do if you want to join a group with me as leader! So here goes.............
I'll make it simple and quick, ok? Age first. I am 60. wow, that hurts. OUCH! OLD WOMAN.Yeah, I'm old. Another thing about me is that I LOVE to laugh. I always say, (yeah I say it a LOT) that Jesus had THE best sense of humor and GREAT FABO personality!!! I mean, who in their right mind would follow someone who walked around acting all deadbeat and depressed all the time?! He WAS AN AWESOME AND FUN PERSON!!!!!! I see Him smiling almost all the time, except of course, when those who came to Him were hurting or sad. Or when someone just didn't "get it". See, Jesus doesn't MAKE you follow Him, He wants you to do it on your OWN. we're not puppets, folks. He gives you the opportunity to JOIN HIM in His plan.So where was in His Plan? Oh, I'm in it. Just didn't figure out all about it for a long time. I really HATE it when people lament to me, "well, I wasn't brought up in church so I don't know that much about the Bible...blah blah blah". Ok, how about this? I WAS brought up in church , there every SUnday and had to have a doctor's excuse if I was sick on a Sunday!IN OTHER WORDS, I missed about 3 Sundays growing up! DO I KNOW IT ALL????? BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
WHAT A JOKE! It was almost, I say "almost" a detriment to me b/c I TOOK FOR GRANTED and DIDN'T LISTEN. Got it? So no excuses about not growing up in church. I had about the same knowledge as you. Soooo, when did I come into the knowledge of Christ and accept Him as my Lord? well, when I was 12 I became confirmed and Baptized at East Lake United Methodist Church. This is kind of funny but when I was signing up for Confirmation I asked my mother, "Was I baptized as a baby?" She said, "well, I just can't remember. we went to Dauphin Way UMC (in Mobile, Ala.) but I don't remember if you were actually Christened then or NOT!". Hmmmm, sticky. HAHAHA! (I had to tell tHAT to my minister).So, it is QUITE POSSIBLE I was baptized TWICE>! THat makes me super special, right? WRONGO PONGO! HAHAHAHA! It took a lot of GOD WORK to get me straight! I wasn't a bad kid/teen at all. I was just silly. Tried to be "center of attention"(no comments from the peanut gallery). I Liked to make people laugh. (still do). Not disrespectful to adults but didn't listen either. So, first encounter with Jesus? THis sounds weird and hokey, but I used to talk to God all the time as a kid. Yeah. Like a best friend. I think God probably thought that was endearing and made Him smile. But, as I grew older, I didn't do that as much. I became older and wanted more "real, skin on Friends". So, after years of hearing all the Bible Stories at church---in some kind of film strip thing we watched in Sunday School  about a flying squirrel who gives the Gospel. (hmmm). I liked that, of course. Fast forward. (cause I'm losing your attention). Next encounter.At Camp Sumatanga, (A Methodist campground) about an hour from here , in the wooded beautiful mountains. Long story short, I felt Him , for the first time in a long time, in Quiet Time during a Youth Retreat.I HEARD THE VOICE in the woods at Camp Sumatanga. But I was WAAAAY TOO COOL to mention THAT to my friends. And, it only lasted long enough for me to get home and get back to my silly, teen aged years and forgetting Him. Kind of. Except while singing at Sunday School, "IN THE GARDEN" or other meaningful hymns where I did definitely hear "HIS VOICE" again.*(YES< MUSIC CAN GET YOU SOMETIMES WHEN NOTHING ELSE CAN).


*NOTE HERE: I AM A METHODIST. That does NOT mean I don't like: Baptists,Episcopalians,Presbyterians(oops,wrong spelling even tho my grandmother was one)/Catholics/ etc. But, I was "born/raised" a Methodist and that I will stay. I like their belief system and how we do things , well, methodically. I love John Wesley ,founder of our denomination b/c he was awesome. NO, I didn't know him personally, heck he's been dead for ages, but I truly feel he "got it"/shared it and lived it. I don't agree with everything the Methodists do/say!But,a Methodist I am and will stay. (see my email address below! HAHA)....Now, lets move quickly. I got LOTS out of our Sunday School Class at ELUMC when my kids were little. THen, in 1990 we moved to Hoover. We joined another Methodist church that was small but would soon become a massive, huge congregation. Riverchase UMC. It was there that I joined a DISCIPLE group , (joined to make new friends, I DID, and they are friends to this day!), and my appetite was whetted and I now knew I needed more. MUCH more of THE GOD I PUT ON THE SHELF UNTIL I NEEDED HIM. I was invited to go on an EMMAUS WALK which changed my life. And my whole concept of God/Jesus/Holy Spirit and they they work in my life. In 72 hours I had what I had missed for 40 years in Sunday School and Church. NOT BECAUSE OF THE TEACHERS OR PREACHERS. Let me underscore that! It was because of  ME. Selfish ,me. Close minded, me. Hard to penetrate the brain, me.Even harder, hard to get to my faith understanding, me. What I found during one of the "reflection times" during my "Walk to Emmaus" was that , not surprisingly, He was still speaking to me as He had when I was 3. My "mature" ears had just stopped listening. OH THE JOY I had upon leaving Camp Sumatanga that Sunday after the Emmaus Walk ended.  For I had NEW TOOLS ,  almost like a better "hearing aid" to hear His Voice again. And I took off running. LIFE CHANGED..Life did not change in the fact that anything changed but ME. I changed!!!!! Life was the same. Pain/struggle/world issues.. I UNDERSCORE, I was  not completely changed. NO WAY! I was still: selfish/stubborn/envious/prideful/unwilling to forgive about a lot of things. I AM A WORK IN PROGRESS< FOLKS! I am STILL working on these things. But, as if Jesus is  constantly and yet gently tapping my hardened heart, I see a shinier and cleaner one emerging. I HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO! But, I see changes. And I have regressions. But, One step forward and trying NOT to take a step back. Oh, I do sometimes, but it's getting better......The past 20 years have been one of growth/pain/suffering/incredible joy/searching/fulfillment/ and pure happiness. During the past 20 years I have led several Bible Studies. Not patting myself on the back, in FACT, the very first one I led , TO THIS DAY, I cringe at how it went. BUT, have had 3 of those precious folks tell me it meant so much to them. HUH?! How could it??? It was chaotic,inept and lacking. BUT, it was where I was then, I guess God just "fixes" things where people don't always see your flaws when it comes to teaching HIS Word. I'm not going to talk about the groups I was blessed to be a part of.RIGHT NOW. I was only the designated leader (as inept as I am), but it was the people there that made each group what it was. AMAZING and wrought with miracles, each amazing group of women . I would love to one day write about two different particular groups (and I will one day);one with one other person who started a group and another later on-- 4 of us who stepped out with a vision and how we were all overcome with all that came with it. JOY/DISCOVERY/PAIN/FAITH/DESPAIR/ and HOPE.
How sticking together and walking together with HIM, changed all of us involved......
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SOOO,That's it, not really, but enough if you're still reading. More to come! IF you want to. I'd love to have you "come along with me" on this journey God is calling me to take once again. Only this time in very different venue. THE BLOG. What I thought I'd do is have one day a week for my "study". Say, Wednesday! (just randomly, just that minute, pulled that out of the air! HAHA). On WEDNESDAY I will have my thoughts on something I am reading or studying. It might change from week to week! or, it might stay the same. Who knows? (but God!). So, are you ready to come along????? If SO, you don't need to tell me, unless you WANT to. If you WANT to, please email me (Imamethodist@aol.com) or leave a comment here. I'd love to know , if you WANT me to know! Otherwise, you can stay a silent traveler with me. Fine with me. Of course, I'd love to have your INPUT so if you get brave, please give me your thoughts!!!!!!!!


For my FIRST study BLOG lesson, (that I will start soon), I found this little book I bought back in 2001. Do you remember "Prayer of Jabez" ? Its not that one, haha, but another one by the same author, Bruce Wilkinson, called: Secrets of the Vine.Certainly not as well known, a small book, I think I skimmed it after buying it and promptly put it away amid the others in my closet. And I have MILLIONS, (ok, hundreds), of Christian books around here. BUT, for SOME REASON (GOD???), it landed in my hands. WOW, it has some awesome stuff in it. I LOVE IT. The book is based on John 15 and is about "fruit bearing". Spiked your interest? If it sounds, well, BLEH, to you, don't give up.It's cool, I promise. Maybe I thought it was, well, "bleh"  the first time I read it too but not now. Now it seems sooooo perfect to launch a little study on. The thing is, you might not even be able to find it now.(except online). That's ok, I'll just go over the stuff and what I've learned. And then, you can see what YOU think. (and maybe you will come out of hiding! HAHA). 
enough for now. I am going to let you think about and pray about if you want to be a part of a "blog Bible Study" or not. I will come back tonight after putting together some thoughts about it. Until then, ask yourself what I've asked MY self. Are you ready to go to a Bible Study but can't "fit it in" b/c of work/busy-ness during the day but yet KNOW you need to hear/read/ be in something? Well, maybe you've found a niche. Maybe I"VE found my niche. I'll challenge you AND ME to get out of the rut. You can't say you don't have anything to wear! COME IN YOUR JAMMIES! You can't say that you have tennis or exercise! YOU CAN COME AT NIGHT! (in the MIDDLE of the night!) you can't say that you are TOO BUSY(you have time now to do this!). YOU CAN say you need to be connected. You CAN say you need a friend. You CAN say you feel called by God but not sure how to respond.  We'll try this together. If you want to remain anonymous, do so. But, I will encourage you to SHARE because WHAT YOU THINK is important to me and even more important to GOD. And by sharing what YOU know, you are helping others. maybe this is the first time you've EVER been in Bible Study. Maybe it's your TEN MILLIONTH (like me). Maybe you are shy (that's ok, I won't call you out), maybe you need someone to know the real "you". Whatever reason you're here (and God love you if you're still here reading this now!), I'm glad. But God is gladder. (I know, that's not a real word, but I'm not an English teacher. HAHAHAHA). I will put prayer requests that come along to me at the bottom of my blog for you to write down, if you will, to pray for. I want YOUR requests as well. If you have one too personal, just ask for "unspoken".
Since you're still here, I have a prayer request until we meet again. It's for a childhood friend who was hit by a car after her son's wedding, of all things. She is in grave condition at UAB hospital with many broken bones and possible brain injury, It happened 10 days ago. She is a Principal at a local school, (Homewood for those in the area) and we grew up together, watching the same squirrel filmstrips and giggling in Sunday School and church. She needs our prayers, friends. Her name is Carol Calloway Lord.


Now.......
  come along with me....the best is yet to BE.


P.S. BTW, would you like to help me name this group>>>? I have been a part of many groups and we always named ourselves. I have already been a part of "SPLASHES OF JOY"; SERENDIPITY and B.A.B.E.S. and "Starting Over....with GOD" and "OASIS".  Now I need another name for OUR group. Send me a message with your idea, you just might be the winner!  EMAIL me or put on here your ideas....I'll be back on the blog tonight after working on what I'll say in my first study. I'm excited. I hope you'll join me.


P.P.S. YES< I'll still be putting my usual blah blah stuff on here--annoying and oftentimes obnoxious pix of grandchildren,e tc. Just in case you were wondering.haha