Bible Study Check In~

megrae12 · December 2013

@MrsG80inTN and I will be running the check in for ninthgirl. Please PM either one of us if you need a prayer partner, etc.

Welcome to the Bible Study Check-In. This check-in currently runs 2 times a week on Mondays and Thursdays. Mondays are our in-depth study where we spend time tackling a passage of Scripture or topic at greater length together.

This is the current list of prayer partners. Please respond to your prayer partner's posts and/or communicate via PMs:

@nyg2042 & ?

@EKGibs & @Skategirl128

@Mara005 & @Megrae12

@MrsG80inTn & @MoreThanSparrows08

@mcnsher0627 & @Emma2370

For our study during the month of December we will be tracking with the Advent study running by the Good Morning Girls. As the study introduction on the website says, "Advent is a 4 week preparation time for Christmas that focuses on celebrating Christ’s birth, looking forward to His second coming and finding strength in His presence in our lives right now. In week three of advent the candle is lit to symbolize joy, which will be the focus of our study this week. Please click through read the introduction to the topic of joy here . Please also read Matthew 2:1-12 and 1 John 1:4-7. If you are interested in further reading, please read the third devotional in the study guide here.

The questions for discussion are as follows. In the devotional, the Good Morning Girls quote John Piper's saying, "By nature, we get more pleasure from God's gifts than from Himself."

1. Do you find this to be a major temptation for you? If not, can you share how you have overcome it? If so, how do you combat it? Another thing the Good Morning Girls mention in their devotional is that joy is not a natural reaction to the stresses of life.

2. In the stresses of life, especially life while TTCAL, how do you see joy and stress co-existing?

3. Who or what in your life helps you to chose joy?

4. Prayer request and praises for this week?

The reading plan for this week is: For the study: Matthew 2:1-12

Monday: 1 John 1:4-7

Tuesday: Nehemiah 8:10

Wednesday: Psalm 16:11

Thursday: Luke 2:10-14

Friday: Hebrews 12:1-12

The Good Morning Girls recommend using the acronymn SOAP as you read. S stands for Scripture - they ask you to try physically writing out the Scripture to help root it in your mind. O stands for observation - think about who was the audience of the passage, what the genre is, what words stand out to you, and what the text means. A stands for application - how does the text apply to you? P stands for Prayer - they suggest that you pray God's words back to him, acknowledge where the passage has opened your eyes to your sins, and praise him for what he has shown you of himself. As you read we hope you'll write down anything that you think would be helpful to share in next week's check in. Next week's check-in will focus on the traditional topic for the fourth week of Advent - peace.

Edit: To add top part. I am crazy and apparently think the things in mind magically appear in the thread.

megrae12 · December 2013

1. Do you find this to be a major temptation for you? If not, can you share how you have overcome it? If so, how do you combat it? Another thing the Good Morning Girls mention in their devotional is that joy is not a natural reaction to the stresses of life. I find more pleasure in God's gifts than in Him. It's easier b/c I can concentrate on these things instead of a relationship with Him. It's very superficial and I am in constant prayer about how to change it.

2. In the stresses of life, especially life while TTCAL, how do you see joy and stress co-existing? Joy and stress co-exist everyday. I have joy that I am still alive (nothing like being a walking time bomb to put that in perspective). That being said, I am SUPER stressed! In a/b two weeks I will be able to TTC again and I'm petrified yet excited. Joy and stress exist in the everyday, and I think even more so in TTCAL. We all deal with it in different ways but for us, it's a fact of life. Sometimes, it's more stress than joy but I feel like if we look hard enough, each of us has something to be joyful about.

3. Who or what in your life helps you to chose joy? My H helps me find joy. He is my rock. He is a/w about to see the positive/happy side of anything. Even now he is counting down the days til we can TTC again b/c he cant wait. He is able to find joy even in our loss b/c as he said, he still has me. While losing our baby was hard on him, he said that if he lost me, he would be lost. He joyful to have me and knows that our angel is watching and rooting us on for another.

4. Prayer request and praises for this week?

Prayer: My mom is in the hospital. She was admitted Friday with very low oxygen and crazy BP. She has COPD, so while this is nothing "new", it's always scary b/c there is always that thought of they may not get her oxygen to come up this time etc.

Praise: Singing in church went off w/o a hitch! I was a nervous hot mess! I am glad my sickness decided to wait til after I sang to hit me full force. ((Hugs)) to all you lovely ladies!

srcr2011 · December 2013

1. Do you find this to be a major temptation for you? If not, can you share how you have overcome it? If so, how do you combat it? Another thing the Good Morning Girls mention in their devotional is that joy is not a natural reaction to the stresses of life.
Sometimes I do. When I let the "things" of life entice me, I feel like "things" of this world can make me happy, like a bigger house, nicer clothes, faster car...etc and they do, they bring some happiness for a moment....once those things are gone, the happiness is gone but I truly believe happiness and joy are 2 separate things. Happiness is a feeling we get from "things" and true joy is only from God. When I have God's joy in me, no matter what situation I face, I can face it with joy. That is the only reason I can lift my hands and praise Him the the mist of my storm, my 3 losses, my sister.... John 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. God brings us joy. It's a gift from Him. When I start to feel down and I think I need "things" to make me happy, I stop and try to focus on the joy I have from God and I truly get happy for his joy.

2. In the stresses of life, especially life while TTCAL, how do you see joy and stress co-existing?
Well, they both exist in the same situation. I can either focus on the stresses and let it bring me down or focus on the joy and let that raise me up. When I see other women with babies or getting a bad case of baby fever and having to wait, it makes me upset, and jealous and impatient and scared. I get stressed out with worry or thoughts like "what if I never get my rainbow baby". I have to redirect my focus on God and the joy I have through Him. It's not easy sometimes but that's the only thing that keeps me going.

3. Who or what in your life helps you to chose joy?
Knowing I am blessed with what I do have. I have my family. I have a roof over my head, I have sooo much that others don't have. Especially over the holidays, it can be easy for me to want more...more money, more time, I make it all about me. My sister is in a nursing home. When we visit, there are so many people that dont even know who they are. No one pays attention to them, some are sitting in their own filth, some are so sick and may not make it the night. And here I am complaining about wanting more. When I get a check of reality, it brings me joy for what I have. I also brings me joy to help others. I know it may sound corny, but it's the truth for me, helping others less fortunate than me, and simply choosing to be joyful even when it seems impossible. The joy of the Lord is my strength.

4. Prayer request and praises for this week?

Prayer: For my family

megrae12 · December 2013

@srcr2011 Prayers for you and your family. I LOVE that verse you put in from John. What a great reminder to live in joy and to remember where our joy comes from. ((Hugs))

MrsG80inTN · December 2013

Full disclosure - I haven't read the devotional yet, but will get caught up tonight. I'm really enjoying them.

1. Do you find this to be a major temptation for you? If not, can you share how you have overcome it? If so, how do you combat it? Another thing the Good Morning Girls mention in their devotional is that joy is not a natural reaction to the stresses of life. For me I do find it to be a temptation most of the time... I think it's easier to get pleasure from God's gifts because they are more tangible... for me though it's in remembering the point from James that every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the father of heavenly lights who does not change like a shifting shadow... if I remember that when seeing the things i enjoy then I more readily revere God.

2. In the stresses of life, especially life while TTCAL, how do you see joy and stress co-existing? I think I just have to find joy in all of the every day life things... heck, even joy in having life if that makes sense. I am joyful that God showed us I can get pregnant... after 4 years I was beginning to feel a little like Abraham and Sarah (Though I really dislike that reference when people use it to console me regarding MC or TTC)... I need to find a better way of co-existing with stress in general because I'm terrible at it as of late.

3. Who or what in your life helps you to chose joy? My husband, seeing deer and groundhogs (yes, that may be weird, but I love them and I think God speaks to me through putting deer in my path on my way to and from work --- thankfully I have never hit one as that would I guess be a real wake up call).

4. Prayer request and praises for this week? Prayer requests - that we would get some answers on my dad's situation with his kidneys. That I can make it through this week in general... lots going on at work and home. And just that the holidays will go well... I have to see my sister-in-law who is a mother to three and she's completely unfit (yes, I know I'm judging), but it's really difficult to watch and she says REALLY hurtful things to me about TTC and AL stuff as well so I will just lose it if she does this time.

Praises - DH and I will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary on Friday. There was a time I wasn't sure we'd make it to 10, but we have by HIS grace and I'm excited to celebrate. We're going back to where we got married Friday night to walk around and are going out for a nice dinner on Saturday night.

MrsG80inTN · December 2013

@megrae12 – are you off the bench now since you’re CD6 or are you waiting one more cycle? Praying for you. I understand your being petrified about it – praying you get peace amidst the chaos. Your DH sounds like a keeper J Praying for your mom as well. I’m really glad your singing went well – I knew it would!!!!

@srcr2011 – You are so right about true joy coming from God. Thanks for sharing your approach. Reality checks do have a way of putting things in perspective… I wish it didn’t take a reality check to help me gain perspective if that makes sense. Thanks for being open and honest. Praying for your family. Also, I can’t remember --- did you want a prayer partner?

Emma2370 · December 2013

1. Do you find this to be a major temptation for you? I do find it easier to focus on gods gifts and blessing than him, these feelings are very of this world and life. this is something I need to work on. After my loss it was easier to focus on God and his promises, I guess my loss brought me back to what is most important. 2. In the stresses of life, especially life while TTCAL, how do you see joy and stress co-existing? Well for me both joy and stress co exist, there was joy in becoming pregnant seeing the heartbeat. There is joy in knowing my babies are in heaven. There is the heartache of loss, and the stress of trying again. I just have to be really focused on what I allow myself to dwell on. 3. Who or what in your life helps you to chose joy? I am having a hard time with this since my loss in August, just choosing the joy is difficult..Yes i do and my DH helps me with this, it's not that I am walking around sad either, it's just the joy has been dampened and I am not sure how to get it back. 4. Prayer request and praises for this week? . For Christmas and the impact our loss has on this time of year . A friend of mine lost her daughter at 37 weeks to Trisomy 18 this past week, the memorial service is Wednesday. We DH and I will be going, prayers for the family, and for us it's just very difficult.. . Prayers to find the joy and allow the joy in my life. Hope all you ladies are well. Hugs @megrae12 praying for your mom @mrsg80intn congrats on your 10th anniversary.....praying for answers to your dads medical issues @srcr2011 I will keep your family in prayer

Emma2370 · December 2013

Sorry ladies, the iPad just posts I paragraph, I need to figure it out.

megrae12 · December 2013

@MrsG80inTN I am not TTC yet, nor am I on CD6. What I am is having breakthrough bleeding like a mother! I still have half a week of BCP left then I can have my period! So, basically, I get to bleed for two+ straight weeks. Exciting. I will keep your dad in my prayers. Congrats on 10 years lady, that is awesome!! ((Hugs))

@Emma2370 ((Hugs)) I know going to that memorial service will be hard. Prayers for you and your friend.

@mcnsher0627 Congrats on the new job!! That is awesome! Prayers for your IL and your SIL as well as you and YH. Loss is hard and to be hit by it on both sides is really hard. ((Hugs)) hun.

MrsG80inTN · December 2013

megrae12 said:

@MrsG80inTN I am not TTC yet, nor am I on CD6. What I am is having breakthrough bleeding like a mother! I still have half a week of BCP left then I can have my period! So, basically, I get to bleed for two+ straight weeks. Exciting. I will keep your dad in my prayers. Congrats on 10 years lady, that is awesome!! ((Hugs))

Uh... that doesn't sound like fun at all!!!! I must have gotten you mixed up with someone else's chart on FF yesterday. I looked at it and thought "Wow - we're on the same day"... For all I know I was looking at my own chart. LOL - today I will have more coffee.

megrae12 · December 2013

MrsG80inTN said:

megrae12 said:

@MrsG80inTN I am not TTC yet, nor am I on CD6. What I am is having breakthrough bleeding like a mother! I still have half a week of BCP left then I can have my period! So, basically, I get to bleed for two+ straight weeks. Exciting. I will keep your dad in my prayers. Congrats on 10 years lady, that is awesome!! ((Hugs))

Uh... that doesn't sound like fun at all!!!! I must have gotten you mixed up with someone else's chart on FF yesterday. I looked at it and thought "Wow - we're on the same day"... For all I know I was looking at my own chart. LOL - today I will have more coffee.

No, you didnt b/c FF says I am on CD6 or 7 b/c they do not have a button for breakthrough bleeding. Ugh!

MoreThanSparrows08 · December 2013

1. Do you find this to be a major temptation for you? If not, can you share how you have overcome it? If so, how do you combat it? Another thing the Good Morning Girls mention in their devotional is that joy is not a natural reaction to the stresses of life.

On occasion, I have found myself focusing far too much on the things that God has given me, rather than on Him. Lately, I have taken lots of comfort in His presence and grace. I'm learning that sometimes all I need is time with him to remind me of how loved and treasured I am, even when I feel like my world is falling apart. It's so nice to just sit with Him and thank Him for blessing us and loving us unconditionally.

2. In the stresses of life, especially life while TTCAL, how do you see joy and stress co-existing?

As cliche as it sounds, I am trying to look at the mess that my life sometimes looks like (particularly my house), and remember that it's messy because of the blessings God has given us. Dirty dishes show that we have food to eat, dirty laundry means we have clothes to wear. The pile of clean, folded laundry that has yet to be put away means we have a washer/dryer and the electricity and water it takes to run them. I try to see the blessings in the messes. In life, I have to remember that the stresses we encounter are often caused by the many blessings we have been given, so rather than stress about it, we should be rejoicing that we are so blessed, and just enjoying what we have been given.

3. Who or what in your life helps you to chose joy?

My kids and my DH. They can always make me smile. My hubby is always so positive and encouraging, and his jokes always catch me so off guard that I can't help but laugh, even if it's at myself for not getting the joke right away. My youngest is my lover - he sees when I'm not feeling so happy and he comes to give me "loves", which just reminds me how blessed I truly am. My oldest is developing his sense of humor and comes home just about every day from school with a new joke for me.

4. Prayer request and praises for this week?

Prayer request for my mom -she had a stroke 9 years ago and has recently developed kidney problems, among other things. She seems to be on the decline lately, regardless of medical assistance. She's never been the go-getter type, so with a handicap, it's always been hard to get her to fight for what she wants.

Prayer request for my grandfather - he has an aortic aneurysm that they would normally operate on due to the size, but his veins are to weak to handle the surgery, so they just have to keep an eye on it and hope and pray it doesn't burst.

Praise report - for the first time in I don't know how many years, my brother (the lost black sheet of the family) will be home for Christmas, and sober! He wired me money last week (the day we found out I would probably miscarry, of all days), so I could do all his Christmas shopping for him. I'm so excited that he's going to be here and be in his right mind for the first time since he was a kid. I'm so proud of him for finally "getting it" and growing up. He's got a good job that he loves and a boss that will keep him in line and give him the tough love he never got growing up (we were spoiled rotten). My heart swells to know our prayers have been answered, even if it took a few years.

skategirl128 · December 2013

1. Do you find this to be a major temptation for you? If not, can you share how you have overcome it? If so, how do you combat it? Another thing the Good Morning Girls mention in their devotional is that joy is not a natural reaction to the stresses of life.

I do find this to be difficult. I am thankful for the blessings in my life but I struggle with my relationship with God sometimes. I find that His gifts are so much easier to see that I find myself focusing on them sometimes. I work on it though!

2. In the stresses of life, especially life while TTCAL, how do you see joy and stress co-existing?

Well, SO and I are not ttcal and may never. But, I can definitely say that through one of the most stressful years of my life I went through it with my best friend- my now SO! We both had a lot going on and we dealt with it together. I wouldn't have made it through any if it without him. The joy of him and his help helped me deal and cope with the stressors and I did the same for him.

3. Who or what in your life helps you to chose joy?

Warning DS mentioned

My SO and my DS help me find joy. SO is always there to help talk me through my problems and is there to support me. My friends also help me find joy!

4. Prayer request and praises for this week?
Prayer requests: Prayers for SOs aunt as she is having a kidney transplant tomorrow. Praying for her recovery. Also for SOs SIL mother who is in the hospital.
Praises: that we are enjoying life together and are excited to celebrate our first Christmas together. Hanukkah was fun and he's super excited for my Christmas traditions!

MrsG80inTN · December 2013

@megrae12 - darned FF with no data points for that :-( Booooo

@morethansparrows08 – I like looking at the mess and seeing the blessings. One of my favorite songs is “Everything” by Watermark… I heard them talk about it in concert once that they wrote the song while sitting in the laundry mat because they’d waited so long to do laundry they really had brought everything with them J Praying for your mom and grandfather. What a blessing to have your brother in town for Christmas. Sounds like a wonderful thing to rejoice in for everyone!!!!

@skategirl128 – praying for your aunt and SO’s SIL. I hope you all are able to find tons of joy in this holiday of new traditions for you!!!!

megrae12 · December 2013

Ladies, I have another prayer request to add. H just informed me that a friend/coworker of his just died. This is a hard hit and it couldn't come at a worse time. I feel like just when we get our heads above water we get hit with another wave. Please just keep us in your prayers as well as the family that just lost their loved one. This really sucks....

MoreThanSparrows08 · December 2013

@megrae12 I am so sorry for the loss of DH's friend/coworker. Sending prayers up for you guys and the family.

MrsG80inTN · December 2013

@megrae12 - praying. I'm so sorry for this loss.

MrsG80inTN · December 2013

An update on my dad... he met with the kidney doctor this morning and they don't think his kidneys are as bad as the original doctor said. They are changing some BP meds and are going to also recheck him in January to see where things are at...

That being said - PLEASE continue to pray... He had a spot removed on his leg by the dermatologist that she thought was cancer... he has a follow up appt on Monday for that. His kidney doc tried to get it moved up to today since he was already there (everything is at the VA), but the doc couldnt' squeeze him in. The kidney doc asked the derm if they could just move it to January based on the biopsy results and the dermatologist said that they needed to see him Monday... so, of course that seems like it's cancer, but who knows exactly what that means. So, prayers appreciated.

MoreThanSparrows08 · December 2013

@MrsG80inTN Sending prayers up for your dad, and for good biopsy results and plan of action for the kidneys. ((hugs))

megrae12 · December 2013

MrsG80inTN said:

An update on my dad... he met with the kidney doctor this morning and they don't think his kidneys are as bad as the original doctor said. They are changing some BP meds and are going to also recheck him in January to see where things are at...

That being said - PLEASE continue to pray... He had a spot removed on his leg by the dermatologist that she thought was cancer... he has a follow up appt on Monday for that. His kidney doc tried to get it moved up to today since he was already there (everything is at the VA), but the doc couldnt' squeeze him in. The kidney doc asked the derm if they could just move it to January based on the biopsy results and the dermatologist said that they needed to see him Monday... so, of course that seems like it's cancer, but who knows exactly what that means. So, prayers appreciated.

((Hugs)) hun and thank you for the update. Prayers are being sent up for your dad.

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