Light My Path Ministries

Spring beckons the farm girl in me to come out so once again the gardener has emerged. Every April and May grasses and weeds attempt to take control of the flower beds provoking my perennials to struggle for recognition amid the horticultural mayhem. Ridding those beds of weeds and grasses is a tedious chore that I wish only had to be done once in my lifetime! But to every gardener’s dismay it is a chore that requires steadfast diligence and a determination that beauty will prevail. Every time I do this necessary gardening task it reminds me to steadfastly “cultivate my life garden”.
One such life garden lesson that I unearthed from this year’s bed-cleaning was that weeds and grasses not only look ugly on the surface of the soil but they embed themselves underneath the dirt, out of sight, lethally entwining themselves around the roots of my beautiful perennials and annuals! Even though my flowering beauties look healthy and thriving, I know that once the heat and drought of summer sets in those plants will quickly be robbed of moisture and nourishment by those pesky weeds and grasses that co-habit the underground berth of my beautiful plants’ root system.
God put Man in His garden (Genesis 2:8, 15-17) to care and work it. And as we read on in Genesis sin tangled itself into the life of man, casting him (us) into the perpetual role of pain-staking laborer. Tending our life garden requires vigilant pruning and weeding in all areas of our lives. Just like my annuals and perennials appear to be healthy and thriving now, so can my life appear to look swell on the surface but deep down sin has taken root and it will be only a matter of time before it’s in plain sight, spoiling my ability to purvey the fragrance of Christ (II Corinthians 2:14-16).
So, diligently cultivate your life garden. It’s impossible to destroy every weed, but we can definitely control their propensity to hide the beauty of Christ in our lives. Dig deep; you never know what you might unearth.

Light My Path Ministries went to the third annual Women Walking With God conference in Wichita, KS.  What a blessing to be there! We listened to some great speakers and were inspired.  We hugged lots of old friends and we made some new ones.  We laughed out loud at humorist Kathy Bishop.  We soaked in the incredible sounds of The Herndons singing.  Most of all, we just spend some time with other women who are also dedicating themselves to being the best that they can for the Kingdom.  If you have not been to a Women Walking With God conference make plans now to attend next years at the end of April.  We will certainly be there again!  Here are some pictures from the weekend.

I am a believer in vibrant Ladies Bible class programs.  Programs that involve women in relevant discussions about God’s word, introspection into how to change your life for the better based on God’s word and relationships that grow out of those times.  A congregation that has a growing, warm ladies Bible class program will benefit on so many different levels.  An interesting event happened in my adult Bible class about a year ago that started me thinking about this.   There are about 100 people in the Bible class that I attend at my home congregation.  During our discussion a man raised this question to the fellow men:  “How many of you are here because your girlfriend…your fiancé…your .wife….initially brought you? 

I was bowled over by the show of male hands. 

 By far, the majority of the men in the class raised their hands.  Now, most of them have grown beyond attending for their wife – they are ministry leaders, deacons and elders, but their initial motivation was through their wife or fiancé or girlfriend. 

 So that started me thinking about some of our most recent contacts that are studying and obeying the gospel…most of them were the women.  The initial contact to the family came thru the woman.  Hmmmm… 

The Lord’s church needs to be a place where women have the opportunity to grow spiritually.  It has to be a place where they can drink in the Word of God, it should be a place where they can ask questions about life and receive Godly answers.  All of these things happen in a vibrant ladies Bible class program.    

As we write our 14^th study guide, Connie and I are thinking very deeply about the book of Genesis and how it relates to our 21^st century lives.  For the next few weeks, we are going to sharing some thoughts from the very first book of the Bible. 

In my house sits a very old table and buffet.  It belonged to my husband’s grandparents.  This table and buffet were one of the first pieces of furniture they bought when they were married.  My husband remembers sitting at the table when he was a young boy.  As a child, my mother-in-law ate supper at this table and pulled dishes out of the buffet.  When I pull a chair up to the table I am sitting down at a tangible piece of our family history.  When I pull dishes out of the buffet, I am part of a long line of Taylor women who have been hospitable.  This table and buffet help build my identity – who I am and who I want to be.  The tie me to the past and give me courage to face the future.

For a Christian, a beloved child of God, Genesis serves the exact same purpose.  When I read the creation account and think about what God created for me from the very beginning, I stand in awe.  God created this entire world for me!  He made plans from the beginning – plans to give me place to live, plans to communicate with me, plans for me to prosper, plans for me to have work to do, plans for me to come home to live with Him eternally.  When I carefully read and meditate on the words at the start of Genesis I know so much about who I am and who God wants me to be.

Womens Bible Study

We all need to do more Bible study.  One of the best ways to do that is to encourge daily Bible study in conjuntion with regular Bible classes.  That is what our Ilumination series is all about.  Each lesson has five sections to do during the week to help each one prepare for the next class.

What a great way to get more women studying the Bible every day.