Week 4 - My One Word

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is."  Romans 12:2 (NLT)

To the wonderful group of women who gathered Friday morning for our in-person discussion: Thank you for a great morning!  And keep the comments on the blog coming!  They are fantastic; I love reading them throughout the week.  Posting as you read is like talking about a movie with a friend right after you've seen it.  Sometimes, as I'm reading I want to turn to someone and say, "holy cow!  that was great!" or "I have no idea what the author means by that." or "Ouch, that truth hurt." or "WOW!  What did you think about that?"  I hope you come to see the comment section of the blog as a week long conversation, a place to react, question, and make requests.  It 's also a dynamic tool for those of us who cannot attend on Friday mornings or need to miss a session or two.   I love you all and am so grateful that you have chosen to share this journey with our small group.

Last week's session taught us that "resistance builds strength".  We know this about our physical life (working out, lifting weights), but it's also true in our spiritual formation. Mike talked about the 'unrealistic expectations' we have for our lives; his example of the person who chooses "patience" as their one word and then assumes God will remove all the slow people from their path, is both pointed and funny.  The point being that, when 'patience' is our one word, we should expect that our patience will be tested, because resistance (resisting the urge to grumble about the slow person in our check-out line) builds strength.  We should not "measure our progress by the absence of struggle", but remember that "character is developed by how well we deal with the struggles we face, not by how well we avoid them" (Ashcraft, MOW video).

Just as Mike concludes the video session by telling us to embrace the struggle, we move into chapter 9, where we read, "If Satan can control our thoughts, he can control our behaviors." (MOW, p 120).  Talk about a struggle!  

I don't know about you, but my mind is where I fight my toughest battles.  'Why is this?', I often wonder.  Is it because I'm a woman, because my mom was a perfectionist and passed that mindset on to me, because the media & the world tell me I'm not good enough, because I have a history (family & personal) of depression?  Why am I my own worse enemy?  Does everyone think like this?  Will I pass this negativity on to my children and how can I stop it?!  I need only to search Scripture to find my answers (one of them opens this post).  Chapter 9 is filled with Scripture that tell us how God wants us to think.  And what happens when we "fix our eyes on Jesus" and the Scriptures and God's truths.

I love chapter 9!  I could spend hours talking about it, but I won't :)  Let me urge you to spend some time with it.  Besides reminding us of God's truths and pointing out Scripture to help us with our thoughts, Mike gives us some helpful ways to make the changes we want to make.

I am looking forward to reading your reactions to chapters 9, 10, 11, & 12 (our reading for this week).  Although this will bring us to the end of the book,  remember that My One Word is a year long project. 

Keep your word in front of you daily, memorize your associated Scripture and practice your one small action.  Keep your journal and your book handy, as you may want to refer back to them throughout the year.

"Change is possible.  Focus is required.  Dependence on God is absolutely necessary."  (Mike Ashcraft, MOW)

Your Partner in Ministry,
Shelly (honey)

"Kind words are like honey - sweet to the soul and healthy for the body."  Proverbs 16:24