Lies Women Believe

Another small group has begun and, this semester, we are reading a book by Nancy Leigh DeMoss titled, Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free. The first lie explores the beliefs we may have about God, and counters the lies with the truth found through Scripture. Here is a synopsis of the chapter and some encouraging reflection:

Introduction: James 1:21-25 (read)

It is not enough to simply hear the Truth.

Do not merely listen to the Word. If you walk away without doing anything, you’ve done nothing.

Application = what you do with what you’ve heard
(Importance of “Making it Personal” section at end of chapters)

Podcast from Centerpoint Church: Life Apps series, click on Week 3
http://www.centerpointfl.org/viewseries.php?id=53

Chapter Two
 

Doubt
“If God is _____________, then why ______________?”
“It’s not fair.”
“Does God really care?”

Sometimes we believe variations on a lie of half-truths. These are dangerous! Knowing is NOT believing. The way we live does not show that we believe.

Ask: Do I live as though I believe this lie?

“Hot Potatoes” – I don’t believe that’s a lie.

What we believe about God is foundational to our whole belief system (pg. 47)

Lies About God

#1: God is not really good. If He were, He would . . .

God is a personal and generous God. Everything He made is a reflection of His goodness.
“You are good and do good; Teach me Your statutes.”  Psalm 119:68

Reflect: How have you completed this statement?

#2: God doesn’t love me

Disconnect between what we know and what we feel to be true. We trust our feelings instead of the Truth.

God DOES love us, regardless of what we have done or where we have come from. His love is infinite and unconditional.

Reflect: What have you done that you feel makes you unlovable?

“You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade.”
- You Are More lyrics, Tenth Avenue North

#3: God is just like my father

Bottom line = If you have been wounded by a father – or another man you trusted – you may find it difficult to trust God (pg. 53)

Important! – We cannot allow our view of God to be determined by other men – at their best, they are flawed representations of God (They will always fall short.)

Study the character and nature of God through His Word (compassionate, tender, merciful)

Reflect:
What characteristics have you been shown by the men in your life?

What do you believe about the character of God?

#4: God is not really enough

What you’re really saying is, “I need God, plus ____________.”

Reflect:
Where do you put your trust?

#5: God’s ways are too restrictive

Lies:
Do it your way.
No one has a right to tell you what you can or cannot do.
Don’t deprive yourself of pleasures and what is good.

Truths:
Freedom comes though obedience.
We are free to choose . . . but we are not free to choose our consequences.
When we overindulge for our own personal satisfaction, we place ourselves in bondage to that thing.

Reflect:
What biblical teachings or “Christian guidelines” do you feel are too restrictive?

#6: God should fix my problems

God does not exist to please us and save us from our problems. If you believe this, you will consistently be disappointed with God. This is an expectation we created, not God.

God never said we would be free from problems. In fact, He said just the opposite.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1
Read Psalm 46:1-10 – Be still and know that I am God!

Even Jesus suffered . . .
“Even though Jesus was God's Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.” Hebrews 5:8

When we ask God to fix something, we need to examine our motives.
There is a purpose for your problem!

______________________________________________________

Chapter Reflection:
Which lie(s) do you struggle with? Are there any you would say you don’t believe, but live as though you do?

How can you apply the Truths revealed in this chapter to a lie that you struggle with? What is the practical application for you?

Were there any “hot potatoes” for you in this chapter?

Looking Ahead:
Chapter Three deals with lies we believe about ourselves:
“I’m not worth anything”
“I need to learn to love myself”
“I can’t help the way I am”
“I have my rights”
“Physical beauty matters more than inner beauty”
“I should not have to live with unfulfilled longings”
Place a star by the lies you think might be convicting for you as you study this chapter.

Life Voices: Making Connections

Story Concepts

• story connects us
• story shapes us
• story is powerful
• story is our common language

"You are the only one who can tell the story of your life and say what it means." 
- Christina Baldwin

Thoughtshots
Thoughtshots are instantaneous reactions to visual imagery. These can be cerebral or emotional, but they are triggered by sensory perceptions stimulated by first sight. This could be a reaction to a painting, piece of music, sunset, and so on.

Select a picture, then write about the moment, bringing it to life with sensory details. Describe the significance of the moment in your story.

Prompts
Tell me about an unusual relative.
If your child never met you, what would you want him or her to know about you?
Explain a lesson you learned the hard way.
Describe a time you didn't get caught.
What is your birth story?
Who puts honey in your heart?
Describe a time that you were afraid.
What lesson did you learn the hard way?
What gives you courage?
Write about someone you need to forgive.
If you were a character in a fairy tale, who would you be?

Life Voices: How Story Connects Us

Story
Our story is not created from what happens to us; those are moments that move through us. Our story is created out of what we make out of what happens to us, what we share with others (connections), and what we remember (often selective).

How do we begin to tell our stories? We have to uncover them. We carry our stories with us. Stories determine how we will approach situations, how we interact with others, and how we will live our lives. Stories define where we've come from, identify who we are, and shape who we will become.

Polysemy
A person is said to be "polysemous" when he or she displays evidence of many characteristics sharing similar qualities. Therefore, we are all polysemous because we are many variations of ourselves in one physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual representation. This can be referenced by our relationships and the qualities we associate with them.

Being polysemous is not limited to the roles we fit into. It also extends to the relationships we have made and the emotional connections to particular places, people and events in our lives. Each relationship encompasses feelings or circumstances that further define that relationship or connection. For example, I am a mother. I associate this with passion, happiness, blessing and joy. These emotions come from specific moment being a mother and interacting with my children.

Prompt
Think about the roles and relationships you have that define or contribute to who you are. Connect these relationships to an event or memory, then tag that memory with a specific emotion you associate with it. Map these out however you wish. I recommend using post-it notes and some blank wall space to move your ideas around. Pick one to write about. Begin by defining or framing the relationship, then extract the emotions associated with it as you describe the event. Consider how the relationship has affected, defined, or shaped you in some way.

Life Voices: General Musings

"We are not our writing. Our writing is a moment moving through us." - Natalie Goldberg

Writing is a process. As you move through the process of writing, be mindful of the following guidelines, which are designed to promote uninhibited self-expression:

• Keep your hands moving. Do not stop writing until all the words have come out of you. This keeps the creator in and the critic out.
• Be specific. Use sensory details to bring yourself and your reader into your moments.
• Lose control. Do not worry about grammar or correctness. These can be worked on in the revision process later.
• Don't think, just write. No second guessing or crossing out allowed; just free flow of thought. 
• Go for it. If it is scary, take yourself there. It is the site of greatest energy.

"The beginning of all writing is learning to trust your own mind." - Natalie Goldberg

*adapted from Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones

Life Voices: A small group journey

Life Voices is a small group journey of sharing moments that move through our lives and shape who we have become, through the power of storytelling. Whether you have felt overwhelmed by your life experiences, or blessed by them, this small group is an opportunity for you to learn life writing techniques to frame and share your story. Through reflection, writing and sharing, we will learn how each moment is a unique part of the bigger plan God has for each of us.

Join us and uncover your story!

This class begins June 9th and uses the following resource:
Storycatcher: Making Sense of Our Lives through the Power and Practice of Story
by, Christina Baldwin
New World Library (2005)
ISBN-13: 978-1-57731-603-9

The Persistence of Time

I need to slow down. Can you feel me on this one? Ever feel like you need more time? We have all felt this persistent pang that time is running out or slipping away from us somehow. There’s such foolish wisdom in that, isn’t there, because time is what we all have . . . right now. It is a gift we are given each day to make something of. It is impossible to find time, because you already have it.

 

I think every one of us ought to have the "Slow, Children at Play" sign prominently displayed either in our rear view mirror, bathroom mirror, or on the front door – wherever you look when you rush through your day onto whatever you think is so importantly waiting for you. Children know how to handle time; how to mold it and shape it to their whimsy and imagination. They teach us that the only way to travel is slowly.
 

 

Time ages us, infusing in us wisdom and beauty. Time is sacred. God blessed each day and made it holy; each precious moment is strung together. I don’t believe God commands us to “Hurry up” anywhere in Scripture. In fact, He is almost always telling us to wait. It’s in the waiting, the silence, that we can begin to hear.

“Remind me each day
That the race is not always to the swift;
That there is more to life
Than increasing its speed.

Let me look upward
Into the branches of the towering oak
And know that it grew great and strong
Because it grew slowly and well.

Slow me down, Lord,
And inspire me to send my roots deep
Into the soil of life's enduring values
That I may grow toward the stars
Of my greater destiny.”

~ excerpt from Wilferd A. Peterson Slow Me Down Lord