By far, my favorite gift this Christmas was from my dear husband. Smart man that he is, listened, oh so closely to something I had been wanting...but probably would not have bought for myself.
I recently have developed a very high respect and love for the work of Kay Arthur. I have done a couple of her studies before, but it had been quite a long while (probably 10 years long while). My memories of her were all wrapped up in the Bible markings she asked of you. Honestly, it would make me cringe. I love my Bible, and I love making it mine, but I didn't care for the rainbow mess her studies would leave behind. Actually, it is very likely I skipped all those parts and consequently ended up not impressed.
Just before Christmas, I finished "Anointed, Transformed, Redeemed: A Study on David" by Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore and Kay Arthur. Love all those ladies, but walked away deeply touched by Kay Arthur. (Had a very similar experience when I saw them all in Atlanta last summer.) She still had the "circle this, square that" stuff in there and while I still cringed at it - I actually did it this time. WOW. I learned so much!
It left me wanting to do more of her studies, but all the marking...eh! Finally, I came up with what I thought was my brilliant idea: to get a cheap Bible specifically for her studies and then I could mark in it without cringing. (It wasn't until I the had the new Bible and study in my hand that I read in her intro that she recommends getting a Bible just for her studies. So much for my great idea.) :)
So, have you guessed what my sweet husband gave me for Christmas yet? Yep, a new Bible (a pink one at that!), Kay Arthur's study on Acts and a brand new set of colored pens (oh, I do love pens!). And being the Bible study nerd that I am...I was beside myself with delight! I was even more excited about it than my gift cards (my usual favorite gift - because if I am not doing Bible study, I would like to be shopping!)
So on Christmas Eve, after we opened our presents (yes, we open presents on Christmas Eve...) I sat down to devour my new Bible study...and devour I did. It was a thirteen week study and I just finished it last night. It was SO good! I would start reading after the kids were in bed and it would be 1am and I would scarcely notice. It was always a struggle to put down, no matter how late it was.
And you know what the coolest thing about all this is? It wasn't the Bible study that I couldn't put down - that is just an itty bitty book of directions and questions. It was the Word of God that captivated me so! I fell in love with Paul. I cried when he went to Jerusalem - knowing what awaited him there. I was completely moved by the Holy Spirit and blown away at knowing that same Spirit fills me! I am not living near up to the power God can enable me too.
I shared with my husband, early on how this study had really brought out how lazy I am with Bible study. I am used to sitting on the couch, reading my Bible, and then looking to Beth Moore or another author to fill me in on what it was saying. If you have done a Kay Arthur study, you know, she doesn't much do that. She would ask questions and many times I wouldn't know the answer. I would wait for her to explain, but she didn't. However, as I stayed in the Word, I could see God answering my questions. Sometimes I did a little more research on my own (actually getting up off the couch and looking things up on the computer). Many times the answers would bring more questions...some that are still unanswered. But one thing holds true: I have been greatly affected by the power of this book.
So I am sharing all this basically to say, I have a new found love for the book of Acts. And I don't want to get over it. I don't want to forget what God taught me on my short stay there. I planned on sharing more of what I learned in this post and less about why I did the study in the first place...but I will just let it be what it is and come back with a post devoted entirely to the amazing book of Acts! I bet you can't wait! ;)
