04.11.07
Week Eight
I apologize for not paying the attention that is needed to this blog these past couple of weeks. I have been pretty sick since late in March and am now beginning to get back on my feet and tackle all that needs to be done. So, Lord willing, we will be back on schedule with the study this coming week.
1. Read Chapter 8, “A Pattern for the Household”. What is something that really jumped out at from the chapter? Something that either encouraged or convicted you?
2. Do you have a daily time in the Word? When have you found to be the best time to have your devotional time? What have you been reading lately and what has God been teaching you through it?
3. What does Prov. 21:5 say about the benefits of planning? What are some ways that you can improve your planning?
4. How can you plan to do each of the following?
- Tend the fire at home
- Tend the fire of your heart
- Tend the fire of others hearts
5. What do the following verses list as benefits of early rising? Gen. 19:27, Mark 1:35, Prov. 20:13, Prov. 16:3 What would an ideal yet reasonable early hour be for your life?
Charissa said,
April 18, 2007 at 9:06 pm
What is something that really jumped out at from the chapter? Something that either encouraged or convicted you?
It really impressed me how the author and her husband got up so early just to get things done, and have plenty of time to do it. I would like to be more organized like that ( I think). But I would definately have to be in bed earlier!
2. Do you have a daily time in the Word? When have you found to be the best time to have your devotional time? What have you been reading lately and what has God been teaching you through it?
I’m afraid it isn’t always daily. I do think the morning works best. I just finished 2nd Peter today. The one things that I learned that I dont’ think I ever clearly realized is that the day of the Lord is referring to the day God destroys the heavens and the earth. It’s going to basically be melted or disinigrated and he will create a new heaven and earth for the righteous. How incredible that in one blast God can disinigrate our whole universe! And how amazing this new one will be!! And how wonderful that he is making it for the righteous, or at least the righteous will get to enjoy it with God!
3. What does Prov. 21:5 say about the benefits of planning? What are some ways that you can improve your planning?
It leads to plenty. Getting up early enough to look at my day planner and writing down the things I need to do today. Some days I dont even look at it and then I forget to do something I wanted to do.
4. How can you plan to do each of the following?
- Tend the fire at home – make sure meat is out of the freezer the day before I need it, have a menue planned out,
- Tend the fire of your heart – have enough time to pray, and meditate on the word.
- Tend the fire of others hearts – speak of God’s truths through out the day with my husband
5. What do the following verses list as benefits of early rising? Gen. 19:27, Mark 1:35, Prov. 20:13, Prov. 16:3 What would an ideal yet reasonable early hour be for your life?
time to spend with God, getting a good breakfast which enables us to get to work, I can take time to consiously commit my day to the Lord, time enough to pray.
I think on mornings I work, getting up at 7am would be good. And day’s I don’t work, getting up by 8 is good. I think it will be interesting to see, as I work on consistently getting up at these times and organizing my day, and spending time praying, to see if it’s enough time.
Tanya said,
April 19, 2007 at 5:10 pm
Thanks for your continued faithfulness in posting, Charissa! It’s an encouragement to me and, I’m sure, to the others who check in here… I completely agree with you on being impressed with how EARLY (4:00 a.m.!) they got up in the mornings when her husband was in school. How great it would be to be able to do that… I struggle with a balance in my own life. Tim is a late-night person and since the evenings are the only time we have together, I hate to cut them short by going to bed early. However, that usually means that I’m scrambling in the morning just to get to work on time. This is something that I really need to PLAN into my life and then pray for the strength and perserverance to stick to the plan…
Tanya said,
April 19, 2007 at 5:27 pm
1. Read Chapter 8, “A Pattern for the Household”. What is something that really jumped out at from the chapter? Something that either encouraged or convicted you?
I thought this chapter was really inspiring as this is something that I would really like to have in my life. Having an extra hour or so in the morning before I go to work would be great! The problem is the getting out of bed to have that extra hour. Lately, especially, with all that we have going on, it’s hard for me to get up in time to get to work, let alone much earlier than that. Then, the evenings seem so short as they are. However, I really do see the need to apply this chapter to my life – to spend more time in planning out what I want to do in a given day, in a given week in order to be the best steward of my time. It’s hard for me to find the balance between getting enough sleep to be able to function well throughout my days without letting the lazy tendencies of my flesh dictate how much sleep I should be getting.
2. Do you have a daily time in the Word? When have you found to be the best time to have your devotional time? What have you been reading lately and what has God been teaching you through it?
Unfortunately, my time is also not daily. I, too, think that mornings are the best time. It is before my day begins and all the distractions and things of the day flood into my mind. I have done my quiet time over my lunch breaks at work before and have really struggled with being able to focus. Starting the day out in the Word and in prayer, also helps direct my thoughts for the day. I can be thinking about what I read in the Bible throughout the day to help keep it in my mind.
This is definitely an area that I think we can be praying for each other in.
3. What does Prov. 21:5 say about the benefits of planning? What are some ways that you can improve your planning?
…planning leads to profit while haste leads to poverty…
This makes a lot of sense, even in how I use my time. If I’m planning, I can use my time profitably and if I’m not, I’m going to be wasting time. I can give the example of grocery shopping. If I’ve planned out the menu and made a list of the items that we need and done this thoroughly instead of hastily (and probably missing something), I can made ONE trip to the store for everything. If I didn’t plan well and there is something I forgot, that’s time and money to drive back to the store and take the time to check out again, etc..
I think that I can grow in being more organized with my time and my goals. I would like to set weekly goals for myself and then break them down into daily goals. I think in one of her books, Elizabeth even suggests setting yearly, then quarterly, then monthly, etc. goals. It makes a lot of sense to me to take the big picture (which can be overwhelming) and break it down into more realistic bites. I’m having a lot of opportunity to apply this with our house rennovations. The whole task seems overwhelming but as I take it and break it down into daily goals, I’m gradually getting done all that I need to!
4. How can you plan to do each of the following?
- Tend the fire at home: Plan my days out better so that I can be more consistent in my cleaning schedule, with laundry, meal preparation – everything, really!
- Tend the fire of your heart: Spend more daily time in the Word and in prayer. I need to grow in discipline.
- Tend the fire of others hearts: Again, spending time on my own in the Word to be growing so that I can encourage others in my life. Making a point to share things I am learning – this helps me remember and can encourage someone else, too!
5. What do the following verses list as benefits of early rising? Gen. 19:27, Mark 1:35, Prov. 20:13, Prov. 16:3 What would an ideal yet reasonable early hour be for your life?
Having that specific, set apart time with the Lord – before distractions of the day might interrupt or even take the place of my quiet time
If I’m not spending that time in the Word daily, then I will become spiritually poor and hungry.
I would like to be getting up at 6:00 each morning.