ANYTHING by Jennie Allen

 A Phone Tree Book Review

What a wonderful message. I could see myself so easily in the words on the pages. It would be impossible to say I was not affected. Quite simply, I enjoyed this book. Anyone who reads this book is guaranteed to walk away changed. Guaranteed. And that says something.

To find out more about Jennie Allen, go to JennieAllen.com.

To learn more about Anything, go to whatisyouranything.com.

Watch the video presentation of Anything on YouTube.

 

Table Talk Tuesdays…Made To Crave by Lysa Terkeurst

(A Message based on Lysa TerKeurst’s book, Made To Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desires with God, Not Food)

“We need a power beyond our frail attempts and fragile resolve. A power greater than our taste buds, hormones, temptations, and our inborn female demand for chocolate.”

- Lysa TerKeurst, Made To Crave

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Finding our “want to” when we have nothing left inside of us to motivate us and push us forward can be difficult to say the least. Difficult, of course, when you try to totally rely on yourself. But when you rely on God, when you depend on Him as the Source of your motivation and as the Power that propels you forward, great things can happen. Achievement, success, victory – they can all be yours. And how sweet they taste to the one who surrenders to the Most High.

Reflections: Nothing that we do can be done without the help of the LORD. No matter how much we try to convince ourselves that we can do it on our own, the truth of the matter is that we need God.  It does not matter whether we are trying to get fit, make a lifestyle change, or “cut the fat,” without God, we will likely taste the vicious cycle of defeat.

Table Talk: When you have cravings for the unhealthy, do you tend to rely on yourself more than God?

To learn more about Made to Crave or about Lysa TerKeurst, go to LysaTerKeurst.com.

 

Route 66 – Walking Through the Word

The Phone Tree Bible Study Group is dedicated to bible study and the pursuit of the Most High. With that in mind, it is our pleasure to introduce a new question-based bible study series called Route 66 – Walking Through the Word. This ongoing series will be dedicated to featuring books and people from the Bible. By engaging in this type of biblical question-based education program, it is our hope that we can encourage women to take part in bible study in the purest sense and influence them to uncover the vast riches of the Word.

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If you would like to review samples of this type of bible study format, please click on the links below.

The Acts of the Apostles, Chapters 1-7

Love, Letters and the Revelation of John

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His Word. Life Relevance. Holy Direction.

 

ESTHER…Introducing Hadassah

A Phone Tree Bible Study Series

 Esther: It’s Tough Being a Woman by Beth Moore

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Week 1 in Summary: Introduction

In the introduction of Esther: It’s Tough Being a Woman, Beth welcomes us to an adventure with God. She shares with us background information on the Tanakh, the Megillot and on how Esther relates to each. She also introduces us to Purim, the Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jews from Haman.

Week 1 Quotes from Beth – The Whole Megillah:

- “To find Esther, we’d open the Jewish Bible to the Ketuvim or Writings.”

- “Each of the scrolls [The Five Scrolls] is read publicly in synagogues at certain times of the year, but of the five, none is dearer to the Jew than Esther.”

- “[Esther] is commonly called the Megillah or ‘the Scroll par excellence.’ Every word is read aloud in synagogues during Purim.”

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A Phone Tree Q4U: What do you know about the story of Hadassah (Esther)?

 

The Muir House Chronicles – Who is Willa Muir?

The Muir House Chronicles – An Online Weekly Book Club Chat/Review

Who is Willa Muir?

Willa Muir longed to know her past. She wanted to unlock the mysteries from her childhood. Until she faced the darkness of her yesterdays, she would never be free to walk into the light of her tomorrows.

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Q, A, & Me: Chapters 1-16

1) Willa believed she would be okay once she knew the truth about her past. Do you believe that it is helpful to revisit the past?

2) Early on, Willa talks about being “loved extravagantly” by her Daddy. What is your definition of extravagant love?

3) Hale said, “What if home is a person…What if I am your home?” Can and/or should home be represented by a person? Discuss.

4) Willa’s life story contained aspects of light and darkness. Do you ever feel that the LORD calls you to “go back to the place where the darkness began” in your own story?

5) Rheus spoke about being given a mission from God to restore the memories of others. What mission have you been given by God as it relates to the lives of others?

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“A love story. A lost story. All under one roof. The Muir House….” - Mary DeMuth

 

Cascading Praise

119 It!

“Let praise cascade off my lips; after all, you’ve taught me the truth about life! And let your promises ring from my tongue; every order you’ve given is right. Put your hand out and steady me since I’ve chosen to live by your counsel. I’m homesick, God, for your salvation; I love it when you show yourself! Invigorate my soul so I can praise you well, use your decrees to put iron in my soul. And should I wander off like a lost sheep—seek me! I’ll recognize the sound of your voice.” - Psalm 119

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Take a Listen: More Than Anything by Joann Rosario

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Reach(ing) 2012…Upward, Inward, and Outward

 

Table Talk Tuesdays…Made To Crave by Lysa Terkeurst

During the entire month of May,Table Talk Tuesdays will be featuring highlights from Lysa Terkeurst’s book,  Made To Crave – Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food.

Phone Tree Challenge of the Week:

1) Get a book and make plans to join the discussion.

2) Review the Made To Crave trailer. After you have viewed the trailer, write down at least 1 personal goal you would like to realize by the end of this discussion series.

3) Share the Made To Crave message with one person you think might benefit from being encouraged.

To learn more about Lysa, go to Lysa TerKeurst.com.

 

What’s Next on The Phone Tree?

Esther: It’s Tough Being a Woman by Beth Moore

“…a profile in courage. Join Beth in a very personal examination of this great story of threat and deliverance as she peels back the layers of history and shows how very contemporary and applicable the story of Esther is to our lives today.” – Amazon.com

Phone Tree Bible study lessons will be posted each Sunday, starting May 6, 2012. Join us for this incredible 10-week series, and discover the Esther inside of you.

(This Bible study series is scheduled for May – July 2012.)

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Table Talk Tuesdays…featuring highlights from Lysa TerKeurst’s book, Made To Crave.

“We were made to crave – long for, want greatly, desire eagerly, and beg for – God. Only God.” – Lysa Terkeurst

(This discussion series will be offered every Tuesday in May.)

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The Muir House Chronicles – An Online Weekly Book Club Chat/Review

“A love story. A lost story. All under one roof. The Muir House….” - Mary DeMuth

(This special book club series will run on Saturdays in May.)

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The Phone Tree Bible Study Group…where Spiritual Life Fitness Happens

 

 

The Puzzle Within

“With your very own hands you formed me…put me together again with your Word. - Psalm 119

Who are you?

What do you know about yourself?

What does your identity say about who you are in Christ?

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Self - a mystery unsolved without the ready answers of the Holy One.

The question of identity for most is a never-ending challenge. Two steps from the watery grave and yet many Christians still struggle with knowing who they really are in Jesus Christ the LORD. They battle between who they were and who they have been determined to be. One definition of self, associated with the old, says, “I am a sinner, without grace and unworthy of acceptance.” The other definition in the new says, “I am saved, an adopted child of the Most High God. His beloved.”

The meaning of self and the identity that we each have been given by our Creator is fulfilled in Christ. He is everything we hope to be and by God’s grace can be. He is the perfect answer to our oldness of self and our newness of life. He is the complete solution to the puzzle within.

 Once we each figure out that the LORD alone forms us, defines us, and transforms us, we can begin to see the life He promised us.

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Spiritual Fitness Challenge:

1) Read Psalm 139.

2) Review Matthew Henry’s Commentary on this psalm. (You are also encouraged to refer to other resources as needed.)

3) After reading your selected commentaries, write down all of the things that you learned about God and about who you are in Him.

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Phone Tree Q4U: Where do you stand where your life in the LORD is concerned? Do you know who you are in Him? Are you more assured of your identity in the LORD in your present life season?

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Lesson:

The puzzle within each one of us can only be solved at the hand of the One who formed us. As He knows us best, it is vital that we go to Him in order to gain understanding. In His Word, we are able to discover not only who He is, but we may also find out from whence we came, who we are in totality, and where we are going as it relates to eternity.

 

One Night with the King

Review this movie and let us know your thoughts. We would love to have a conversation about your One Night with the King.

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Spiritual Fitness Challenge: Read the book of Esther. Identify 3 key lessons you learned from studying the story of Esther.

 

Table Talk Tuesdays…{W}hole by Lisa Whittle

(A Message based on Lisa Whittle’s book, Whole: An Honest Look at the Holes in Your Life – and How to Let God Fill Them )

“The desire to experience God more than we desire anything else produces in us the attitude of Psalm 142:5: ‘You are all I really want in life.’”

- Lisa Whittle, {W}hole

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Experiencing God. What does it mean? Tasting of His divine presence. Being changed by His holiness. Trusting in His provision. Believing in His promises. Hoping in His determined inheritance. Experiencing God is about all of these things and more. It is about encountering God in such a way that you taste, touch, feel, breathe, and drink of Him. It is about a heart-to-heart collision between all that He is and all that you are, where it is understood that He alone sustains you and makes you whole. Complete. Full. Nourished. Alive.

Reflections: There is nothing that should be desired more than God. In Him dwells all things meant for good and growth. To experience Him and get to the place of, “You are all I really want in life,” is the place of the great aha where life and Life meet and you are changed forever, ruined for all things common.

Table Talk: Are you finally at the place where you realize that the LORD is all you want and need?

To learn more about {W}hole or about Lisa Whittle, go to Lisa Whittle.com.

 

Unexpected Idols and Other Little “G” gods

“…casual idolatry is lethal.” – Psalm 119:118 (MSG)

The road to apostasy is treacherous and deadly, filled with lethal comforts and poisonous pleasures. Each step along the path leads further and further away from God. Straight trails with winding turns take the innocent and well-meaning, as well as the willfully rebellious and lure them deeper into a place where hope becomes a distant dream and salvation a questionable illusion.

For those who lose their way along the road, unexpected idols and other little “G” gods lay in wait, each having been strategically placed by the evil one. The sole purpose of each is to tear the ill-prepared child of God away from the heart of the One who loves her best. But what are the unexpected idols that snare the would-be fallen? What little “G” gods become casual infernos of sin?

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Spiritual Fitness Challenge:

1) Define the word idol. (Consider doing a word study in both the Hebrew and Greek languages.)

2) Read the following Scripture verses and identify whether the concept of idolatry can be linked in any way to the verses. (Remember to be Scripturally sound and consistent with what the Word of God says only.)

Exodus 20:3-5

Acts 17:29

Matthew 10:37-38

Colossians 3:5

1 John 5:21

1 Corinthians 10:14

3) Take note of the key message that connects all of the verses.

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Phone Tree Q4U: As a result of this challenge, are you better able to identify some of your unexpected idols or little “G”gods?

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Lesson:

Idolatry is a very real and very constant threat that has the potential to lead to apostasy if left unchecked. Ask God to open your eyes so that you might be able to clearly see those people or things that are serving as idols or gods in your life. Prayerfully, surrender each one, so that you might be free to worship the One and Only God.