Sin's Demise is Bondage & Brokenness. Freedom's Keys are Confession & Repentance

Welcome to an overview of our first week of Jennie Allen's Bible study called STUCK! If you were one who joined us today, THANK YOU for coming and for your insight! What a beautiful group of women! I can't wait to get to know you more as we get to know God more. 

I must admit (and I did at the Cafe today) that having the first chapter talk about sin felt like it could be a bit awkward considering we would be diving in with several women who don't know one another. But I reminded myself that we all have it, this sin problem, and so we all share the need to get unstuck.

"We are never as sweet as we appear." ~Jennie Allen~ referring to her sweet and well-behaved daughter suddenly yelling at geese at the beach out of frustration with their noise. :)

As human beings and maybe even more as women, we tend to live with this tension in our souls between what we know we should do (love, forgive, be patient) and how we really act in the heat of the moment. We long to live free from the stuck places and so often they are emotions we need to deal with aren't they?

The aim of STUCK is to enable us to experience and know God more, and trust Him more readily and therefore gain His power at work in our lives. It is in knowing God and His love that will enable us to live in His grace and respond to life with His grace. God is the only answer to our stuck places. Since Christ shed his blood to cover our sin, we no longer need to use the masks we tend to use to cover up. We can live progressively differently as He transforms us. 

I'm going to highlight a few of our discussion questions here to enable you to join in with us. Please leave your comments here or on our Facebook page.

1. "WHAT ONE THING DO YOU HOPE TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS STUDY?"

 * We want freedom! We hope to get free from things like fearing what people think (who is not with us there?), and manipulating people to get our way. Free from avoiding uncomfortable situations and freedom from being self-focused. Free from the stuck places that keep us from having a healthy view of God. And free from stuck places that keep us from having healthy relationships~even with ourself!

* We want to have our emotional needs met by God.

We often pray for our physical needs, or families' needs and most every other thing, but this thought hit me when it was brought up. This is the core of our need, to be fulfilled in our hearts, to feel valued, cherished and fully accepted...and only God truly can.

2. "HOW DOES FEELING STUCK AFFECT YOUR DAILY LIFE?

* We feel drained, unable to manage the things on our plate, perhaps inadequate. Our relationships can be strained. We can cause wounds with our reactions. We can blame others without acknowledging our own wrongs leaving barriers. 

3.  HOW HAS YOUR PAST CONTRIBUTED TO YOUR STUCK PLACES?

*  Things that have hurt us in the past make trusting people in the now difficult. This is challenging if one has had a break-up, and then moves on to a new relationship. I talked about a time when I reacted to my husband negatively because he did something that reminded me of my dad being mad at my mom and that wasn't at all what he was doing. {fortunately when he looked at me with a 'what-planet-are -you-from?' look, I knew in an instant what had just happened and took note for the future!}

It goes against our nature to admit we are wrong. Totally hard, but when we realize we are all stuck in places, somehow it becomes easier. Just having spent a little time together today talking about our struggles brought light into our lives. There is something about getting it out there that frees us. Admitting our weakness makes us more free.

I am so glad to have you coming along on this journey to freedom with us! 

For this week, do chapter 1 homework {Broken on Page 19} and please share your insights!!!

Remember this: He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3