Last Night - Woman's Bible Study

My Woman's Study group has been studying 'Dangerous Surrender' by Kay Warren.. This has been a very emotional and difficult study.. The study is about getting out of your comfort zone and making a difference.. In Kay's case she was seriously disturbed about HIV/Aids. She went on a missions trip to Africa and learned that she needed to surrender herself to God's plan for her. She is now an HIV/AIDS advocate. "God wins us, not by shouting, beating us up, or starving us into submission, but by asking for an invitation to enter. We are loved into Surrender. The more we accept that he operates out of love for us, the more we will entrust ourselves to him" excerpt from 'Dangerous Surrender'.
Not everyone is called to go overseas on a missions trip.. There are many opportunities right here in our own communities...
There were many disturbing issues that were discussed during this seven month study. I learned that Human Trafficking is alive and well in the United States....it's everywhere. I have learned a little about how to detect it... Now there are many opportunities for me to get involved in helping to bring attention to this awful crime. I have found that there are pregnancy centers that help give women a different alternative to abortion. Horizon Pregnancy Center in Huntington Beach, California is trying to raise money to purchase an ultrasound. Studies have shown that women who see their unborn child show a 90% ratio of not having an abortion.. If you would like to donate to this cause please do to www.horizonpc.org. My husband took our daughter to a Purity Dance for this cause. It was a beautiful evening for the two of them.
Tonight's last class is on the last chapter of the book... The name of the chapter is 'Some May Die Today'... sounds kind of ominous don't you think? Matthew 10:28 "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell" One of the speakers we had during this study said that missionaries have to have "The body bag mentality" In the words of Queen Esther "If I perish, I perish" (Esther 4:16) For most of us dying for Jesus' sake is not something we will be asked to do, but in the deepest places in our souls, we must come to the place where we are willing to die if it serves God's purposes...
Surrendering to God can be dangerous... dying to self is hard...giving up our way of life and taking up the cross to bring God's children to Him is really hard...."But surrendering our lives to him and being willing to pay the highest price open up the certainty that justice will finally roll down like a river - every tear will be wiped away, mercy will triumph over judgment, orphans will have families, these fragile bodies that are sick will know health, and love will win." excerpt from Dangerous Surrender...
The final project for tonight's final study was to make a cardboard sign... One side saying what I was before the study and the other side what I am today after the study..Granted the picture is not of me holding the sign but my kid Nikki, why you may ask? Well.. I don't like my picture taken and she already had her makeup on!
The Last Question: Will you risk your life and all you hold dear for the sake of God's kingdom? Leave me a comment and tell me what you think......