“Miriam Dances and Sings to the Lord,” an original oil painting by Slavujac, 2001
I knew Miriam as a kid, but only from a distance. She seemed to have more in common with my big sister (being one herself) than she did with me. She was protective of her younger brother – much like my own big sister was with me. She was brave for a kid, especially when it came to her baby brother, Moses – much like my own big sister was with me. She was quick-thinking – much like my own big sister (I’m more of a slow burn kind of thinker.). She lived through some pretty tough times in her life which necessitated her to “grow up” pretty fast – again, like my own big sister. You get the picture.
I met with Miriam last summer for five days and learned a lot more about her life since those long lost days of childhood. She can be a pretty intimidating woman! Bold. Decisive. Purposeful. A leader with a pretty impressive following. A real lover of God.
She has also gone through a humbling experience that has left her more relatable than I had imagined possible. And because of that humbling experience, we finally connected as friends.
I invite you to spend a week connecting with Miriam through my five day Bible Study here.
I’ve known Eve all my life. She’s pretty famous. She’s the subject in many beautiful works of art. She’s been written and talked about for centuries. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to meet someone that hasn’t heard of her.
Even though I’ve known her all my life, Eve and I never truly connected until last summer. We spent an intense week together really getting to know one another. We connected at first as followers of God. There were many “you, too?!” moments as we shared our walks with the Lord (that too often more accurately resemble stumbles). We connected as parents of grown children. We connected as wives. It was refreshing to learn that I shared so much in common with this sister-in-Christ.
I want to introduce you to my friend, Eve. I want you to connect with her on a personal level. I want you to experience how truly relatable my new friend is to you, too.
Spend a week connecting with Eve through my five day Bible Study here.
Every Monday during June, July & August, you will meet a new woman from the Word accompanied by a link to a FREE downloadable 1-week study guide specific to her. Print the six-page guide and start connecting. It’s that simple!
Questions? Please leave a comment and I will answer your questions ASAP.
O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! – Psalm 34:8
At the beginning of our adventure in home schooling, we took a dip into the homeschool community by attending a potluck dinner for families interested in joining a particular home school group. Wanting our elementary-aged kids to exercise their social muscles, we sent them ahead of us to go through the line while we found a table and got the little ones settled. When our son made his way to our table, he had an entire to-go box of fried rice in his hands and a smile on his face. I asked him what he could possibly have been thinking in taking the entire dish for himself. He replied, “I’m hungry.”
I look back on this story now with a smile on my face instead of the embarrassment I felt in the moment. I question my choices when I feel spiritual hunger. In his hunger, my son went straight for the good stuff, unashamedly taking what was offered at the table, and he found satisfaction.
PONDER: Do I approach my quiet time like my son approached that potluck? What is keeping me from bellying up to God’s table, fork in hand, to feast on His Word today?
PRAYER: Father, I want to take refuge in You in the busy-ness of my days. So many things are vying for my attention. Help me to be ambitious when I open my Bible, ready to feast on Your Word every day. My heart desires to taste and see that you are good today.
Just three of the wonderful women of faith you’ll meet this summer (as portrayed by He Qi, Slavujac, & Wilhelm Wachtel).
What is the Summer Bible Study?
A weekly Bible study to help you connect with the women in the Word on a personal level – to get to know them as friends and sisters and mentors and kindred spirits. Each week is “self-contained” (or module-based), which means if you have to skip a week due to vacation, sickness or just plain life, you can pick back up with the following week without feeling behind. (Also, because it’s module-based, you can choose to have a 6-week, 8-week, or 10-week study, depending on your preference and availability, which makes it ideal for church-based Bible study.)
What can I expect?
Every participant spends one-on-one time with the “woman of the week” – getting to know her culture, her history, her life, her struggles, her reactions, her relationship with God.
The study is organized into five days per week, 2-3 questions per day –
Days 1 & 2 are foundational, as they introduce you to the woman of the week.
Days 3 & 4 are more relational, helping you make connections (and form a friendship) with the woman of the week.
Day 5 is applicational, making connections between your shared experiences and what God’s Word has to say on those specific topics.
Can I do the study by myself?
Yes! Everyone participating will do the Summer Bible Study as an individual study. The focus is connecting individually to the woman of the week. You will undoubtedly be challenged as you get to know a new woman from the Word weekly because you are connecting one-on-one with her.
Can I do the study with a group?
Yes! I actually encourage you to add a weekly group setting to the individual study. I did this informally in my home once a week with three close friends. Some may want a larger group setting (at their church, for example) and some may prefer to get together with only one friend.
I highly recommend adding the group option for two reasons:
Each participant will each connect in a different way with the women in the Word and meeting together helps to round out the personality of the woman of the week by seeing how others connected with her.
It opens doors for connecting on a deeper level with the women in your present-day life as they share their struggles, their hearts and their connections with the woman of the week.
NOTE: Because the Summer Bible Study is module-based, it is ideal for your Women’s Bible Study ministry. Once you choose the length of the study, you can handpick which women you want to cover during that time period. Please email ericka@erickaosmith.com for more information on using the FREE Summer Bible Study in your church’s women’s ministry.
How long does it last?
This is a 12-week, self-contained (or module-based) Summer Bible Study. That means if you have to miss a week (or more), you will be able to jump back into it the following week without feeling like you are behind.
What is the time commitment?
Plan to spend at least 30 minutes a day during the five-day individual study. Like most things in life, you will get more out of it if you invest more into it.
If you add the small group element, 2 hours one day a week would be ideal.
How does it work?
Beginning Monday, June 6, I will introduce a new woman of faith and provide a link to the study for her. I will introduce a new friend every Monday following June 6 with her accompanying link. The last will be introduced on Monday, August 22.
How much does it cost?
It’s free!
What if I have more questions?
Please leave your questions in the comments or email ericka@erickaosmith.com.
I removed my review of a Bible-themed movie from Facebook this morning. Yesterday when I wrote it, my goal was to give a thorough, thoughtful and clever review from my Christian perspective to help believers who were on the fence about supporting it financially. By last night, it had become all about me.
One person in particular criticized and belittled me for my opinion – not just once, but repeatedly. I felt marginalized, my perspective somehow rendered invalid by his comments. By the time my head hit my pillow, I was angry. I prayed until I fell asleep.
I awoke this morning with cleared vision. What had caused such inner turmoil last night wasn’t the other person’s opinion. It was my pride.
Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall. – Proverbs 16:18
Pride is a sneaky enemy. It manifests itself many ways – complaints, anger, being consumed with what other’s think, defensiveness, impatience, jealousy, disrespectfulness, an unwillingness to forgive. I displayed them all. Pride pushed God off the throne of my heart and sat myself down in His place, arms angrily crossed.
PONDER: How does the sin of pride manifest itself in your life?
PRAYER: Father, I desire to have less of myself and more of You interacting in this world through me. I want to be a conduit for Your love instead of my own agenda. I want to be a means through which You bring healing and restoration to a sick and lost world. Please forgive me for choosing self over You.
This FREE Summer Bible Study is about building bridges – both to the past and in the present. Construction begins June 6.
The Summer Bible Study provides a bridge for you to connect with women both from the past and in the present.
ONE-ON-ONE: Spending time together is essential in fostering friendship. Spend one-on-one time each week with a new woman from the pages of the Bible. See her faith come alive, teaching by example, as you connect with her over shared experiences. This is the backbone of the Summer Bible Study – connecting with the women in the Word. I had no idea each week how (or if!) I’d connect with the different women in the Word, but by Day 3 I felt as if I’d met a new friend. By Day 5, we were friends for life. Every. Single. Week. My faith was strengthened each week as these women spoke Truth to me, many times ministering to me in my own current circumstances. I learned from “hearing” their testimonies. I grew from their examples of faith and trust and courage. And you will, too. {NOTE: If you want to connect with women of faith this summer, but cannot commit to a group study, this Bible study is ideal. You will find your one-on-one time with each woman in the Bible incredibly faith-building as you form friendships with these past women of faith.}
GROUP BENEFITS: In addition to your one-on-one time each week, you can experience the Summer Bible Study with a group of friends once a week. Truth be told, I didn’t think there could be any new insights that my present-day friends (in my small group of 4) could share that I hadn’t already picked up on during my one-on-one time the preceding week. I was so wrong! The reason for this is that my friends and I connected with the “woman of the week” in different ways, depending on our own life experiences. This helped me to see my new friend from a different perspective, one I’d not considered before, and brought her even farther out of the pages of Biblical history. It also helped me to understand and appreciate my present-day friends better as they shared the experiences that have molded them into the women of faith they are today.
Whether you experience the Summer Bible Study alone or with others, you can expect to grow, to be challenged, and to have your perspective changed.
I feel closest to God when my life is a catastrophe. While I long for more peaceful times during a crisis, for an immediate end to the struggle, I yearn to experience God’s close, caring presence that seems nearest to me during a catastrophe. It’s like a spiritual Catch-22. It doesn’t seem I can have the nearness without the catastrophe.
James begs to differ.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. – James 4:8a
“This isn’t a God-thing. This is a human-thing,” James says.
Miss Dorothy Levitt, first woman British race car driver, comfortably behind the wheel in the early 1900’s.
When life is easy, I take the driver’s seat. I’m as happy is Dorothy Levitt (pictured above) behind the wheel. Before long, however, I get distracted. At best, I veer off the narrow road. At worst, I crash. Severed steering wheel in hand, I stagger back into His presence, dazed and confused. I draw near to Him more like an accident victim seeking a medic than a child drawn to her loving Father.
With James’ perspective, I can see that it isn’t the catastrophe that brings God’s Presence to me. The catastrophe brings me back into God’s Presence.
PONDER: When do you feel closest to God? What changes would allow you to experience that closeness all of the time?
PRAYER: Father, please forgive me for taking the driver’s seat in my life. I want to give You back Your rightful place behind the wheel. I want to snuggle up next to you on the front seat. Help me to learn to draw near to Your Presence more often in the peaceful times during my journey of life.
The Summer Bible Study began simply as a way for me to find a way to connect with the women of the Bible. I knew all about these women from my years of growing up in the church and then attending Bible College, but I didn’t feel like I really knew them personally. I didn’t connect with them.
And I really wanted to.
With my first attempt, I realized that I was too unorganized and lacked the accountability to stay on track. So, I made a plan. I prepped. I organized. I invited. My next attempt was so rewarding that it was worth the feeling of failure I felt from the first.
Here’s why…
This Summer Bible Study is about CONNECTING.
To Women in the Word
I had a desire to feel connected to the women I’d read about in the Word. I felt I could learn a lot from these ladies if I could bypass the obstacles (time, culture), focus on our commonalities (shared experiences) and really get to know them as they were (off the pedestal, preconceived ideas aside).
To Women in My Life
I also had a desire to feel more connected to the women in my life in the present. One night a week, my small group of friends came together to share our discoveries about these women in the Word. I gained a deeper appreciation for each of them, came to understand some of their own experiences better and fell in love with each of their hearts as they shared their own connections with our mutual Biblical friend that week.
Do you have a desire to feel more connected to the women in the Word and to the women in your life?
Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife, Rembrandt, 1634, Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam
Wrongfully despised.
Wrongfully enslaved.
Wrongfully imprisoned.
Wrongfully forgotten.
Joseph’s life didn’t start off on easy street. It would have been understandable if he had thrown up his hands in defeat by the time he was behind bars in Egypt. Instead, Joseph walked the bumpy road of his life focused on serving, not on self.
When enslaved in Potiphar’s house, Joseph served righteously.
When imprisoned for doing right by his master, Joseph served faithfully.
When the cupbearer forgot him, Joseph continued to serve in prison steadfastly.
Joseph purposed to serve as working for the Lord, not for human masters – wherever he was.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. – Colossians 3:23
Through his serving, through the thousands of menial tasks he performed as a slave and prisoner, through the faithfulness of whatever he did, Joseph added to his good reputation one faithful day at a time.
PONDER: What difficulties in your life focus your attention on self rather than the Savior? What menial, daily tasks of yours could be turned into ministry if your focus was on serving God instead of serving man?
PRAYER: Father, thank You for giving me something to work with my hands every day. Thank You for the countless opportunities you have granted me to serve those around me. Thank You for every job I have that goes unthanked, unappreciated or unnoticed. Help me to praise You with my hands as I do my work unto You, every day. May I seek to serve You, wholeheartedly, all the days of my life.
