What a treasured three weeks we have spent together. My heart is sad that we have reached the end of our journey. How I wish I could hug each and every one of you and spend time together sharing all that God has done face to face. You have been so faithful! This journey through the lives of Mary and Martha has challenged all of us, and you have been faithful to meet that challenge head on. You persevered even when it was hard. I’m so proud of you!! And you can be assured of this: God will richly bless your faithfulness.

I know there are many places you can invest your time on-line. Thank you for choosing to invest your precious time in this study and with me. I’m so thankful for each and every one of you!

Before I jump into the closing message, I wanted to share some exciting news with my favorite On-Line Study girls! Thomas Nelson shared  the release date for my very first Bible Study!

Living So That: Making Faith-Filled Choices in the Midst of a Messy Life will be released in March 2014!! Thomas Nelson sent me the cover a few days ago, and I want to share it with you!

Living So That will be part of Inscribed, a new collection of books offered by Thomas Nelson. The books will be written by a community of women authors who have a deep desire to get women into the Word in a way that makes it understandable and equips them to take that Word and apply it in everyday life. The logo at the top of the cover identifies the book as being part of The Inscribed Collection.

I would love your thoughts on the cover and this new collection by Thomas Nelson. Leave a comment, and I will choose two names to receive a free copy of Living So That when it arrives hot off the presses!

If you want to team up with me for pre-release activities, please sign up for Wendy’s Street Team by clicking here. It will be a fun group who will have the inside scoop on all things Inscribed and get extra special perks. Now that we have a publication date, we have some exciting plans that we will share with the Street Team in the next few months. The Team will get to read a chapter before Living So That is released, learn about the new studies being released in the Inscribed Collection before anyone else, get sneak peaks at the Inscribed Website before it’s officially launched, and participate in fun giveaways all along the way. I hope you will sign up and join us for this exciting time!!

Okay, back to our study. Below please find a closing message from my grateful heart.

Now that our study is over, it’s time to continue our journey of sitting at the feet of Jesus. We often start with the best of intentions but fail because we don’t have a plan. We start with so much enthusiasm and excitement and within a few days, life gets in the way. Good things push out our time with the Lord.

Here are three ideas to help you be successful in keeping quiet time with God a priority in your heart and life.

1. Set A Goal

Set a goal, one that you know you can keep. Maybe you do better moving through one book of the Bible at a time so choose one, work through it faithfully and when you’re finished, celebrate and choose another one. Maybe you do better with time. Choose a length of time you will sit with Jesus and His Word. For example, the first week, begin with five minutes and focus on a few verses at a time using the book of Psalms or the book of Proverbs. The next week or month, bump your time to 7-10 minutes. The next week or month 10-12 or whatever works for you. You get the idea.

2. Be Consistent

Find a time of day and a place that works for you. We talked about morning being best, but if you can’t, remember there are no rules. Maybe lunch is better for you or nap time if you have children or bedtime if you are a night owl. What matters is to find what works in your schedule so that you will do it. And find a place that you feel comfortable and won’t be disturbed. When I first started my quiet time, I sat on the floor in our walk-in-closet and loved how quiet and private it was. Maybe it’s curled in your bed or in a favorite chair on your porch or at your desk. But whenever and wherever it is, make it a place you love to go. Keep your Bible, journal, a favorite pen, a blanket, and whatever else you love.

3. Be Organized

By this I mean, decide what quiet time is for you. It will be different for everyone. Maybe you want it to be a time of journaling prayers and listening for the Lord as you pray. Or maybe you want to use it more as a study time to work through a book of the Bible and seek to know God in deeper and richer ways. Maybe you want to use it for a time of praise and worship. Sweet friends, that is what is so great about our God. Do whatever it is that God leads you to do and then be consistent in that. After a month, maybe you can vary what you do.

Next, I thought I would share an example of a 7-10 minute quiet time to get you started.

Invite the Lord to join you. (30 seconds)

A simple prayer from Psalm 119 is great: “Open the eyes of my heart, Lord, to see the wonderful things in your law.”

Read the Word. (4-5 minutes)

Spend a few minutes reading from the Word (Scriptures or devotional book). Maybe a chapter a day if you are reading the Bible. If you use a devotional, dig beyond the day’s reading. Usually they include Scripture references or ask questions that require a response. Look up the verses and look up cross-references. Answer the questions. Note them in your journal or notebook. And if you can’t finish what you commit to read, NO GUILT or CONDEMNATION. Just pick up and read the next day. Satan wants you to feel like a failure and unworthy. Don’t believe His lies.

Listen for God’s voice. (1-2 minutes)

Don’t be afraid to use a pen or highlighter, noting verses where God speaks to you, touches and/or convicts your heart, answers a prayer. Write what you learn and/or hear from God.

Pray. (1-2 minutes)

In step three , you listened for God so now you respond to what you heard. If you struggle with prayer, use this famous acronym:

A – Adoration
Praise God for His greatness, power, majesty, love, faithfulness, and holiness.

C- Confession
Specifically confess your sins before the Lord. This cleanses your heart and allows God to hear your prayers and work in and through them.

T – Thanksgiving
Thank your heavenly Father for all the things He is done…not just for you but in our world. And sometimes it means praising Him in the difficult times as well as the good times.

S- Supplication
Pray for specific needs…yours, loved ones, community, nation, world, missionaries, churches, Israel…the list is endless.

And here is a friendly word of caution: please don’t become devoted to the habit of quiet time, but rather, become devoted to the One Who is the object of your quiet time….JESUS!!

I found a beautiful song about Mary’s heart by CeCe Winans, Alabaster Box. The words are perfect to close our time together. Click here to listen.

Continue to visit when time allows. You have a special place in my heart, and I look forward to our next study together.

And please stop by next week. I will post a some Scriptures on what God has to say about His Word and include a Prayer of Commitment you will be able to print off and keep in your Bible to remind you of the commitments and promises we have made here together.

And remember, as a member of our on-line studies, you will receive an invitation when our next on-line study is announced.

Blessings,

Welcome to Week Three, the last and final week of our study. Time has gone by so fast!  Your comments and prayers for each other beautifully reflect the heart of Mary. How I pray you see this, because I do. You have taken time to sit at His feet, to hear His voice, to follow His lead, and your words reveal the great work He is doing in and through your acts of obedience.

This week we find Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus again. But this time, it feels different. Her heart is tender, and her actions more intimate than any we have seen before. Sweet friend, you will love this week. I can hardly wait to dig in to this beautiful love story between Jesus and Mary. Below please find my Week Three message.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You that I do not live on bread alone but on every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God. ((Deut. 8:3) Fix these words of Yours on my heart and impress them on my mind; help me to tie them as symbols on my hands and bind them on my forehead.  Equip me to teach them to others, talking about them when I sit at home and when I walk along the road, when I lie down and when I get up.  (Deut. 6:6-9) Help me to keep my way pure by living according to Your Word. (Psalm 119:9) May Your Word be a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. (Psalm 119:105) Let Your Word dwell in me richly.  (Colossians 3:16a) Help me not merely to listen to the Word but enable me to do what it says. (James 1:22) May I be more like Mary, choosing what is better. When Your words come, help me to eat them and digest them, make them my joy and my delight. (Jeremiah 15:16) Thank You that though Heaven and earth will pass away, Your words will never pass away.(Matthew 24:35). I ask all this in Jesus’ name.  Amen!!  

Reading

Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-7

Homework

1. If you had been a guest in the house that day, how would you have responded to Mary’s actions (uncomfortable, envious, angry like Judas, confused)?

2. Why do you think God provided for Jesus this way through Mary?

3. What do you think Jesus received from Mary’s sacrificial gift?

4. We find Mary at the feet of Jesus three times in these passages? Why is this? Was Mary wiser than Martha? Was she more faithful and committed? Was Mary needier than Martha? Or had someone or  something broken her heart and the One at whose feet she worshiped had healed her?

a. Why do you think we always find Mary worshiping at the feet of Jesus?

b. How often do you take time to sit at the feet of Jesus?

c. What do you give Jesus when you sit at His feet?

d. What do you receive?

5.. Reread Mark 14:3-9. We find another dinner given in Jesus’ honor, this time at someone else’s home, but his three beloved siblings are in attendance. What a beautiful picture of love. Mary loved extravagantly because she had experienced the lavish love of God. Read 1 John 3:1 and Romans 8:31-39. Respond to these verses by writing a note to God expressing your gratitude for His lavish love and extravagant grace.

6. Find one way to outwardly express this gratitude. Maybe give up something for God. Maybe create a gratitude journal or box where each day you write down something for which you are grateful…invite friends, family or your Bible study to join you. Commit to do this for at least a week and keep a journal on how God changes you and maybe even those around you.

7. These stories have taught us much, but one message resonates above all others. God deeply desires an abiding and loving relationship with us. Often we don’t abide because we are too busy and too distracted with the things of this world. Many of these things are good things (exercise, careers, marriages, children, serving our families, volunteering in our neighborhoods, churches and schools) and some are not (people pleasing, pride, bitterness, addiction, self-pity, materialism).

a. Read Luke 8:4-15. Jesus speaks of four types of soil, each one representing the heart of one who reads or hears the Word of God.  Take a moment and dissect each soil as it relates to the heart and explain why that impacts the heart’s ability to receive the message.

b. Examine your heart carefully and consider which soil represents your heart? The footpath? The rocky ground? The thorny patch? The good soil? Share what you discover.

b. In this parable, Jesus challenges us to cleanse our hearts from every distraction and sin that prevents us from hearing God speak. Mary invites us to OPEN our hearts and LISTEN. I want to encourage you as we come to the close of our time together. If you love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength, He will NEVER fail you. If you seek Him with ALL your heart, you will FIND Him. He will love you, forgive you, heal you, restore you, fill you, lead you, guide you and direct you. Sit quietly with Jesus and ask Him what is distracting you and keeping you from spending time with Him (anxiety, busyness, worries of the world, fear, doubt, lack of trust). Commit to remove the distraction. Write a prayer asking the Lord to help you.

Closing Thoughts…

Mary invites us into the most amazing classroom, with an amazing teacher. He is better and greater than any teacher we have ever had. He is our Creator and the Author and Perfecter of our faith. He knows what we need when we need it.  He is trustworthy.  He loves us unconditionally.  He is Truth.  He is Hope.  He is the Healer. He is Faithful and True.  And He is waiting…waiting for us to come.  He wants to wash us with the water of His word and feed our hungry souls.

Friend, at the feet of Jesus we receive so much…knowledge, peace, wisdom, discernment, hope, healing, strength, power, rest, and so much more. When you need a “word” from the Lord, sit at His feet.When you need an answer, sit at his feet.  When you are confused, sit at His feet. When you doubt, sit at His feet. When you feel empty and depleted, sit at His feet. When all seems hopeless, sit at His feet. When you want to learn and understand God more, sit at His feet.

Continue your glorious pursuit of Jesus this week. I cannot wait to hear what you learn!

Join me next week for a closing message!!!

Blessings,