We began this week's study by going over prayer requests which I will list at the bottom. Then we began on page 1 of our workbook (which is always a good place to start :).
We talked briefly about what prompted us to join this group, which for most was the same - we joined because this is OUR group! And though none of us feels that we are overly insecure, we did feel that we each do have insecurities in our lives which would be good to address. We also had a new person join us: Khanh. We were very happy to welcome her. She shared that she wanted to join our study because it sounded interesting and would hopefully enhance the other Bible study she is involved in.
On page 4, we addressed the question: How pervasive is insecurity among women? Are there some women who seem to get off the hook when it comes to insecurity, or do you think it's something we all grapple with? We were pretty unanimous in our response - all women deal with some sort of insecurity on one level or another. Some insecurities come from our childhood/parents, some from our culture/society and some from our current relationships/friendships. Sometimes friends who are insecure with themselves can intentionally or otherwise pass their insecurities on to us. We also discussed briefly the insecurity we can get about our kids when it comes to the dangers that they face.
What helps you feel secure? When in your life have you felt the most secure? (pg 5) Though no one had specific examples, we agreed that feeling secure comes from yourself, and being okay with who you are. Letting go of what (you think) other people think of you.
In our culture, how much weight do women place on male validation? (pg 6) We talked about our dads' influences in our lives - how for one, having strong male validation from her father as a child led her to seek it as in adult in her husband, and how for another, whose main validation came from her mother as a child, seeks more independence as an adult and strives to be a strong woman like her mom. Though we did all agree how important it is to a child to have a strong father influence. Someone mentioned an article Akane had sent out a while ago about how to talk to girls, and how they should be validated on their smarts, achievements, likes and opinions; instead of on how they look.
We touched briefly on Jeremiah 17:7-8 (see pg 7). If we are the trees in the analogy, the water is what the Lord offers to us. If we put our roots (trust) in Him, then we can remain green (confident people) despite negative outside influence.
Next, we read Psalm 103:13-18 (see pg 8). The Lord created us and knows how frail and shaky our lives are. Still, what is His response, according to Psalm 103? What might that tell us about how He views us when we struggle with insecurity? Psalm 103 talks about how fleeting our lives are, and relatively insignificant in the history of the world, and yet God finds us significant. He loves us and keeps promises to those of us who fear Him, and follow Him, thereby validating us. So, if God has validated us, why do we need to seek validation from others, or need to care what others think of us? Wendy also pointed out, that the word "fear" can have negative connotations, but in this context it refers more to reverence. We also talked about how self-respect should not be mistaken for insecurity (e.g. wearing make-up, doing your hair, wearing nice clothes, etc). Taking care of your body and putting your best foot (or face) forward, simply shows that you respect what God has given you and want to present that for your own benefit. Ms. Moore sums it up nicely in the end: The Lord knows how frail we are, how emotionally fragile our insecurities make us - and He loves us with an everlasting love anyway.
One more quick thing - I shared with the ladies a great book I have found for answering my kids' questions about God. It is called If I Could Ask God Anything by Kathryn Slattery. It has also opened up some great discussions between me and my kiddos.
Prayer Requests
Linda - Praise that she didn't need a biopsy on her toe - everything was okay! Please pray that she would get over her cold quickly.
Jennifer - Praise that the ultrasound showed that all was good with the baby! Please pray that she would make it through these next couple weeks while Chip is traveling.
Akane - Please pray that Matt would be led to choose the best position in the best start-up company that has been offered to him. That his decision would be both fulfilling to him and financially lucrative for his family.
Julie - Please continue to pray for her dad's foot. Also, that Mike would not be "punished" by his investors for something that was out of his control. Please pray that things would turn around for him at work both to relieve stress and give him more time at home with his family.
Shelly - Please continue to pray for her cousin Cheryl whose baby was born with Downs. Also for her brother-in-law, Dave, who recently lost his job.
Wendy - Continued prayers for her baby. Praise that she has made it to 16 weeks!!
Khanh - Please pray for good blood test results tomorrow - that the Lupus diagnosis was in error. Or in the case of affirmation of this diagnosis, that the disease would stay in remission or mild form and not effect Khanh's day-to-day living.
Siara - Please pray that my chiro is able to once again get my neck in alignment tomorrow so that I can start feeling better. Praise that I have somewhere to turn when my symptoms do get bad!
Please feel free to add anything in the comments! Love you all!
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