Summer "study" and "work" time

I just can't imagine summer without my Bible study peeps. But when I realized I missed the opportunity to teach a study at church, I had to find another way to still get one going. So I texted a couple friends to see if they wanted to join me on my front porch to do a study together, and they said yes! I didn't want to have to deal with any kind of technology, plus I only had six weeks to squeeze it in, so I went to the Love God Greatly website to find a study we could fit into that time frame. I've led several Love God Greatly studies, and I love the format. Simple, solid Scripture, and you can take it to whatever level you need. Basically, you get out of the study what you put into it. But what I love about this format are the "ah-ha" moments when you discover something new in the verse that you never noticed before. 

So when I found a new study called Friendship, I knew God gave me the perfect study after a year and a half of separation and social distancing. A study we all needed and a time of fellowship we all craved.

Every Monday morning at 9:00, I met with 3-5 friends out on my front porch and just talked about what the Bible has to say about our need and purpose for deep, authentic biblical friendships. God gives us friends for our safety, productivity, comfort, pleasure, and provision. My biggest take away from the study was how much we need each other and how much our love for each other within the body of Christ is actually one of our most powerful witnessing tools to a watching world. God created us to constantly give to and receive from our friends. Sometimes we focus too much on the giving or the receiving, but we should always be pouring ourselves out while letting someone else pour into us. We always have something to give just as much as we always have something we need to willingly receive.  

I cherished every Monday morning, which usually lasted until at least lunch time and then extended into lunch out together on several occasions. I grew closer to each of those five friends and felt blessed to find out how much we all have in common. Wishing I'd gotten a picture of all six of us together!

This was one of the verses we spent quite a bit of time discussing. 

Besides Bible study, I also took advantage of some alone time to do some reading for pleasure, something I sadly don't have much time for during the school year, especially the last school year. 

A friend who is also sending her youngest off to college this year ordered this book the same time I did, and it could not have ministered to me at a better time as I watch my 19 year old now live with one foot in and one foot out, knowing he's home for the summer but that this isn't home during the year. I read through it and immediately passed it on to another close friend about to send her daughter off to college. I guess I'll have to order another one for myself so I can do the journaling parts. 

Nothing like a cloudy day to sit in the hammock and soak up words on a page. I highly recommend this book!

A little nostalgic reading of a novel that took place in my hometown in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

And then a little writing time on a project that's grown in my heart for the last four years. The first (simple) draft of what could some day be my third book to turn my series into a trilogy. If I ever want to publish it, I'd have to go back and do quite a bit of revising, elaborating, and fleshing out of the story, (plus obtain permission from the main people I included), but for the first time in four years, I finally wrote out the backbone of our journey to Laura in story form. The format changed, though. Rather than start each chapter with my own poetry, I wanted to use Biblical poetry, so I based it on Psalm 23. 

Book 1--Unexpected Tears. Published. Book 2--Patiently waiting.  Published. 

Book 3--Boldly Praying. Maybe someday? 

It felt good to finally write it all out.