Posts Tagged ‘joanna weaver’

I read having a Mary Heart in a Martha World – Finding Intimacy with God in the Busyness of Life by Joanna Weaver over the summer.  A book I now highly recommend for all women, young and old to read.  I have been actually sharing my findings as I journey through the accompanying Bible Study Mrs. Weaver placed at the end of the book on my blogs.  Here is the latest question I studied out and gave commentary on.

Questions for Discussion or Reflection – Day Fourteen

1) Martha wanted Jesus to tell Mary to help out in the kitchen, but instead of giving her what she wanted, Dr. Jesus made a diagnosis:  “Martha, Martha… you are worried and upset about many things.”  If you had been Martha, how would Jesus’ words have made you feel?

I have been Martha, in the past and sometimes do even have relapses.  However, to answer the above question directly and honestly, I would have felt at first taken aback and quite possibly a bit offended by Jesus’ comment.  The reason since that this man would have been undressing my mind, with his response to my request of help, from Mary my sister.  Culturally yes the women were to ready the house for guests.   However, nowhere in this encounter with Jesus do we see Martha being asked to do anything by Jesus or anyone else for that matter.  She made the conscious decision to busy herself.  I can imagine being Martha saying to myself while being very aggravated “I wish I could sit at the Master’s feet and act as if I have no cares in the world like my sister Mary!  However, I must do what duty dictates.”

Duty at times can be a blessing.  It leads to the maintaining of order.  However, it cannot be our excuse for not making positive changes in our lives.  Mary outside of the two sisters was the most bold in this story.  She went against traditions to sit herself in a room filled with men, at the feet of a man that was not her husband.  In this she showed Jesus that she valued what he had to offer, his presence.

Instead of trying to show him through works begat from busyness, she [Mary] showed him in her immediate corresponding action of faith by sitting at his feet.  Martha on the other hand, showed her busyness to be more important than to hear a word from Jesus.

To be continued… I welcome your comments!

The previous article can be found here.

Lela Jefferson – http://www.memoirsofablackgirl.com

I recently finished reading having a Mary Heart in a Martha World – Finding Intimacy with God in the Busyness of Life by Joanna Weaver.  A book I now highly recommend for all women, young and old to read.  For the next 12 weeks, I plan to share my findings as I journey through the accompanying Bible Study Mrs. Weaver placed at the end of the book.

Questions for Going Deeper – Day Nine

1) All of us have felt alone-even great heroes of the faith felt this way.  Read 1 Kings 19:1-18.  How did the “Deadly Ds” of distraction, discouragement, and doubt attack Elijah after the great victory over the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18?  I’ve completed the first one as a example:

DISTRACTION:  Jezbel’s anger made him run for his life.

DISCOURAGEMENT:  He showed his discouragement by hiding away and taking offense with Israel on the Lord’s behalf.  He internalized worries and concerns that were the Lord’s not his own. He forgot his lane or role in their relationship; him and God.  He was the servant not the master.

DOUBT: Elijah showed his doubt when he lost his confidence in himself and his relationship with God.  He allowed fear to make him believe God could no longer protect him; he lost faith.  When this happened all that God could do was instruct him to appoint those that would succeed him and kings of Israel and Judah.

To be continued… I welcome your comments!

The previous article can be found here.

Lela Jefferson – http://www.memoirsofablackgirl.com

I recently finished reading having a Mary Heart in a Martha World – Finding Intimacy with God in the Busyness of Life by Joanna Weaver.  A book I now highly recommend for all women, young and old to read.  For the next 12 weeks, I plan to share my findings as I journey through the accompanying Bible Study Mrs. Weaver placed at the end of the book.

Going Deeper – Day Seven

8 ) What spoke most to you in this, chapter.

The morning my mother the beloved Thelma B. Jefferson went home to be with the Lord in the spring of 2006;   I was very audibly awakened by the Holy Spirit.  It was the first time I had ever been awakened in such a way and at the time in the morning.  It was just before 4:00 AM.  Being obedient I got up and began to pray in my heavenly language / tongues.  The night before I had been told I was being recommended for a position to work full-time in ministry and was not completely sure about taking up the offer because it was not in one my strengths area.  I knew it was my destiny to work in ministry, however I was not sure if it was the right season or timing for it.

So, as I began to pray my heart at first was heavy.  As I was led deeper into the spirit and began praising God I felt a peace.  At the end of the hour or so, I lifted my hands up and said ‘Lord, whatever people places or things you must remove out of my life in order for me to walk in your perfect will.  I promise I will not become angry with you.’  As I stated above that was the morning my mother went home to be with the Lord…

Additional life changing events began to unfold shortly thereafter…relationship testing.  I accepted the position and was released and brought back.  Learned my boyfriend/fiancé of 6 years was cheating on me.  My finances were hit, the list goes on.  However through it all I kept my promise of not getting angry with God.

Yet, our relationship became one of duty bound because I was trying to shield myself from being hurt again, versus one of release and restoration.  Reading this chapter and doing the Bible Study showed me that.  Real power comes from learning how to release your cares wants and desires back to God.  He has a specific purpose for each of us and if we are bogged down, with burdens he did not want us to carry, we can miss the mark.  Then what most of us do is look towards God and asking him why? When, we were the cause of it all; for we had stepped out of the protection that is found in being intimate with him.

To be continued…

The previous article can be found here.

Lela Jefferson – http://www.memoirsofablackgirl.com

I recently finished reading having a Mary Heart in a Martha World – Finding Intimacy with God in the Busyness of Life by Joanna Weaver.  A book I now highly recommend for all women, young and old to read.  For the next 12 weeks, I plan to share my findings as I journey through the accompanying Bible Study Mrs. Weaver placed at the end of the book.

Going Deeper – Day Six

7) Read Matthew 11:28-30. Circle key words and mediate on these verses-really think about Jesus is saying.  Then memorize this passage phrase by phrase.  Write it on an index card, and refer to it frequently, repeating it until it becomes a part of you.

Mark 11:28-30 (King James Version)

²⁸And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?

²⁹And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

³⁰The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.

Mark 11:28-30 (Amplified Bible)

²⁸And they kept saying to Him, By what [sort of] authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do them?

²⁹Jesus told them, I will ask you a question. Answer Me, and then I will tell you by what [sort of] authority I do these things.

³⁰Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men? Answer Me

What I received from this passage is this.  Before you question someone else’s motives for doing something, evaluate your own.  Jesus was baptized in the natural by John the Baptist as it was preordained in the scriptures.  However, he was given heavenly authority to do what he did on Earth by God.  He was heavenly appointed.  The voice of God was heard audibly that day; it was manifested and could not be mistaken.  If you read the verses before this passage and after, you will see it was the chief priests and scribes of the temple of Jerusalem that asked him this question. However, because he knew who he was and who had sent he was able to BOLDLY ask the same question they had asked him.  Their reply was “We cannot tell.”  Why? Could not these men of God answer him confidently? Simply, because they were more concerned on what the people would say or do.  Their reverence was misplaced.

To be continued…

The previous article can be found here.

Lela Jefferson – http://www.memoirsofablackgirl.com

I recently finished reading having a Mary Heart in a Martha World – Finding Intimacy with God in the Busyness of Life by Joanna Weaver.  A book I now highly recommend for all women, young and old to read.  For the next 12 weeks, I plan to share my findings as I journey through the accompanying Bible Study Mrs. Weaver placed at the end of the book.

Going Deeper – Day Five

6) Have you seen God’s work for transformation in your own life or some else’s? How did you know it was a “holy makeover” and not a just a temporary “facelift”?

I have definitely seen God’s transforming love work in my own life as of late.  As I strive to get more intimate with him, he shows me time and time again how much he really loves me.  My relationship with Abba Father truly is a daughter-father one.  I am learning each day how much he wants the best for me as well.  How by accepting him as my Abba Father that there is a set of standards of my own behavior, how I look and act, the people that I fellowship with, where I fellowship and the words I allow to precede out my mouth, my attitude EVERYTHING has to line up with his WORD and his instructions for me.  If I even THINK of deviating, I now get roadblocks and warning signs clear as a bell from people, places, things and more times lately than ever prophetically from the pulpit at church!  It like he is saying…”I am warning you.  Giving you a fair amount of time to make the right decision, so if something happens you have no reason to be upset with me.  You will know, clearly know where the fault lays and what you need to do in the future to prevent that blessing blocker from even appearing.”  In return, my answer now is ‘Yes, sir and amen!”

Temporary facelift!?!?! Ha, definitely not.  Once you are in covenant with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, it is for life even if YOU think is conditional.  In relation to the World’s thinking it is like the mafia.  God is all inclusive; he doesn’t do anything half stepped.  To be quite honest I would rather submit and be protected by his shadow (reference Psalm 91); then disobey and be heavenly corrected.  I have already experienced a few heavenly corrections in my lifetime, and though I felt his presence embracing me and loving me all the while.  The sting is still there to remind me and the process to get back on my original course could have been avoided if I had just listened, submitted and obeyed in the first place.

To be continued…

The previous article can be found here.

Lela Jefferson – http://www.memoirsofablackgirl.com

I recently finished reading having a Mary Heart in a Martha World – Finding Intimacy with God in the Busyness of Life by Joanna Weaver.  A book I now highly recommend for all women, young and old to read.  For the next 12 weeks, I plan to share my findings as I journey through the accompanying Bible Study Mrs. Weaver placed at the end of the book.

Going Deeper – Day Four

5) What does the Bible say in the following verses about our potential for change?

Ezekiel 36:26-27 (King James Version)

²⁶A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

²⁷And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (King James Version)

¹⁷Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Philippians 1:6 (King James Version)

⁶Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

By accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior we gain the benefit of receiving a new heart and spirit the Master’s own.  Through this exchange we are also made anew, our old ways are casted away.  This is the essence of being changed, renewed.  All we have to do in order to maintain these benefits is remain confident in the fact a good work has been created in us and be obedient to the God’s words and ways.

To be continued…

The previous article can be found here.

Lela Jefferson – http://www.memoirsofablackgirl.com

I recently finished reading having a Mary Heart in a Martha World – Finding Intimacy with God in the Busyness of Life by Joanna Weaver.  A book I now highly recommend for all women, young and old to read.  For the next 12 weeks, I plan to share my findings as I journey through the accompanying Bible Study Mrs. Weaver placed at the end of the book.

Going Deeper – Day Two

3) Read Luke 10:38-42.  List two things you learn about Martha in this passage and at least two things you learn about Mary.  How would you sum up Martha in one word?  How would you sum up Mary?

Luke 10:38-42 (King James Version)

³⁸Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.

³⁹And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.

⁴⁰But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me.

⁴¹And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:

⁴²But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

The two things I learned about Martha in this passage is that one she had the wisdom to welcome Jesus into her home and to treat him as an honored guest.  The second is that she really did not seem to enjoy life, she had many concerns.  However, they did not seem to be anything of substance.  I have to add a third she seemed to operate on automatic.  Martha, did not wait for instruction before busying herself.  Nowhere in this passage of scripture do we see her asking Jesus what he would prefer instead it seems as if she chastised / questioned him for encouraging Mary not to help her.

Now Mary, on the other hand, is shown to have the good sense one not to open her mouth to speak before listening.  Secondly she had the wisdom to sit herself at the feet of Jesus to hear his instruction.

If I was to use one word to describe Martha it would be “Driven”.

If I was to use one word to describe Mary it would be “Purposeful”.

To be continued…

The previous article can be found here.

Lela Jefferson – http://www.memoirsofablackgirl.com

I recently finished reading having a Mary Heart in a Martha World – Finding Intimacy with God in the Busyness of Life by Joanna Weaver.  A book I now highly recommend for all women, young and old to read.  For the next 12 weeks, I plan to share my findings as I journey through the accompanying Bible Study Mrs. Weaver placed at the end of the book.

Questions for Discussion or Reflection – Day One

1) What preconceived ideas did you have about Mary and Martha before reading this book?  Which woman do you relate to most – Mary or Martha?  Explain your answer.

Before reading the book, when thinking of the two sisters I pictured Martha being the ultimate workaholic and people pleaser.  Always staying busy, not satisfied till the work was done, very efficient and by far the best hostess.  As for Mary, I saw her as a true free spirit and worshiper with the innocence of a child.  Unafraid, possessing a quiet boldness that gave her courage to sit at the Master’s / Lord’s feet and not worry about the consequences of her actions may accrue.

Of the two sisters, I could always relate more to Martha.  All my life I have been in constant preparation mode.  Always working to help others to bring their dreams to the foreground while out of fear from disappointment, (what I used to think) watching my own dreams fall to the waste side.   See I had let past hurts allow me to cast away my confidence in my own God given dreams.  It got so bad at one point that I began to sow out of a sense of duty versus that of purpose.

Yes, I found joy in helping others. However, still I had the frustration of never truly feeling understood for me.  I had for so long worked to mask who I was my heart’s desires that it became hard for me to express to others the real me. Those days are gone with praise God for mind renewal!

Anyway, that is how I saw and related to Martha.  Duty bound, do to circumstances; not able to live the life she wanted.  Always seeming to be the one to pick up the slack or responsibilities others were not willing to.  Like caring for siblings, keeping a home or making a living; basically forced to grow up before she was ready to.

In my own life, I learned at a young age how to be self-reliant; not to be an extra burden.  Staying overly active in school and getting above average grades.  Looking for approval through my works; this created ultimately a bondage to people.  See, my father had left our home when I was about six because of infidelities.  He cheated on my mother.

Don’t get me wrong my father was never far away and was one of my greatest teachers, yet he had his own demons to fight.  I am truly blessed to have been his daughter and share with him his journey the last 22 of the 63 years of his life. To have heard him say to me that he was glad I never gave up on him and that he could call me his friend.  I will always treasure that.

Growing up though, financially it was rough when I was younger.  It got to the point that my mother shortly after her separation from my father that she had to get public assistance collect benefits and recycle bottles and cans to make money for us.  She later despite her being legally blind in both eyes became a daycare provider; my bedroom doubling as a classroom during the day.  The one thing I can say through those lean years is we always had a roof, food, love and an understanding knowledge of God in our household.

2) One woman told me, “My life is like a blender – and it’s stuck on frappe!”  What inanimate object best describes how your life currently feels?

The inanimate object that best describes my life is a boat on a river floating peacefully towards an unknown destination.  Sure there are turns and twists; however I have an anchor (the word of God) and a set of oars (good relations) to prevent me from top siding.

To be continued…

Lela Jefferson – http://www.memoirsofablackgirl.com