Friday, April 24, 2009

Esther.....What a Gal

Esther! Short name! Short book of the Bible! BIG story ! ! So many things about Esther that I never knew before these past three months of study. Even though I have read through the book of Esther at least a dozen times! I never knew the significance of so many hidden things. Things that Beth Moore brought out each week. Wow! If you've been through the study you know what I mean! If not, maybe you should plan on Esther: It's Tough Being a Woman for your next Bible study!

This week brought our study of Esther to a close with our group of ladies at Sav-A-Life. What a great journey we have been on. It has been so wonderful to meet with this group of women early each Tuesday morning and gather around the Word of God. We have laughed, and we have cried. I thought one of our ladies put it so well as she said this week...."I came expecting to learn about Esther and instead I have learned about MYSELF!" As women, we are all made out of the same stuff! (
Any men that may be reading this...you will just have to take my word for that. ha)

All of the weekly DVD sessions were good but Session 4 without a doubt stood out to...and for....me. It was all about fear....something I am well acquainted with! It was just what I needed to hear, just when I needed to hear it. I had recently been diagnosed with a thyroid nodule and had a thyroid ultrasound scheduled for the next day. (I have already emailed many of you but for those who have not heard, I got the results today from the thyroid biopsy I had last week and everything was ALL RIGHT! NO cancer! Praise God!) In that week's homework Beth said..."As hard as trusting can be, living with constant fears is harder." Oh, yeah! That is SO true!

As she talked about Esther going uninvited to see the King to beg for the lives of her people, the Jews, Beth gave us these encouraging words: "With every step toward the throne room, she gained a small measure of strength." When we are afraid, every step we keep taking gives us a little more strength to go on. I needed that!

One of the most profound statements that I heard from Beth during the Esther DVD sessions was when she quoted from The Queen and I and said this: "In the eyes of the world, it is not our relationship with Jesus Christ that counts; it is our resemblance to Him". Wow! Doesn't that make you want to look like Jesus? To let His light reflect off you so others can see Him and desire Him? It does me!

And maybe you noticed in the picture of our little group that we were holding not only our workbooks but our "Red Books"! We were so impressed with Beth's "Red Book" that we made one of our own! I asked all the ladies in the Bible study, all the ladies in my Sunday school class, and many other ladies on my email list to answer the question, "What's the toughest thing about being a women?" and then I printed them and made each of us a little booklet. They gave so many wonderful answers. I can so identify with them that it is hard to read them and remember which one I wrote and which ones I COULD have written! ha

Whether you have done the Esther Bible study or not, please remember that you have been placed where you are....and as who you are.....for such a time as this! No one else can do the job that God has placed in your hands! Take up the torch and run with it. Run as if your life depended on it. For it may. Thousands of lives depended on Esther doing what she was put in the palace to do!

"And who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Esther 4: 14

Celebrating life today!

Marilyn

15 comments:

Liesa said...

Mrs. Marilyn, I sure needed this.
Thanks for sharing! I know God has placed me here for such a time as this... but I needed reminding!
Have a great weekend.
Rejoicing with you over your good news.

Liesa

Leah Adams said...

Cannot wait to do it!! Probably this fall. It sounds so good.

Thrilled that your biopsy was negative. Have a blessed weekend.

Leah

Joyful said...

Marilyn, I have my Esther book sitting upstairs and I'll prepare over the summer and facilitate that study in the Fall. Can't wait. All the quotes and comments you shared sound so convicting!

Would like to know more about the "Red Book". Is that something I could prepare for? Would you be willing to share the results from the women you received response from? Sounds interesting.

Rejoicing in your good health report. Have a great weekend,
Love,
Joy

Joyful said...

PS. Congratulations on winning a book from Leah's blog! YAHOO!!!

Lisa said...

I have the workbook for Ester and am going to do it next. I cannot wait.

I am praising God with you over the good news from your tests! I thank Him for walking you through it and drawing you closer to Him each step of the way.

Blessings - Lisa

Marilyn in Mississippi said...

Joy, the "Red Book" is a notebook that Beth reads from in most every session of Esther. It was compiled from hundreds of women who answered the question "What are the 3 toughest things about being a woman?" on her blog. That's where I got the idea of doing one with the women in my two study groups. And....I wanted to post the answers in this blog post but felt it would have made it TOO long. So...I told the Lord that if someone ASKED me to in the comments, then I would make a separate post of them! You asked so I will deliver. :) Most likely on Monday or so since the weekend is so hectic.
So good to hear from you!

Marilyn

Deborah said...

Sounds like a great study Marilyn!
And praising the Lord (again!) for your good news!

Cindy said...

I am looking forward to doing the Esther study. Thanks for the reminder that I have been placed here for such a time as this. We tend to know and believe this about Biblical characters such as Esther. But we must know and believe this about ourselves. God puts us all here for the purposes He wants.

So glad your thyroid nodule is okay.

Cindy

Yolanda said...

Marilyn,

As I read this I felt like I had been right there with you. What an incredible time we ladies are living in as we stretch ourselves FOR GOD.

I love ya!

Yolanda

Anonymous said...

Maryilyn,
I just finished the Esther study also. I love, love, loved it! This is definitely a study for any woman! I loved the way Beth brought out, The Reversal of Destiny, through this Book. Esther's construction is beautifully written.

I can't wait to read your Red Book comments! That'll be fun; I'm sure we will all be able to relate!

Glad your tests proved good! Praise the Lord!

Blessings,
Lori - AZ

Peggy W. said...

The first Bible study that I heard on Esther was from Chuck Swindowl.( I may not have his last name spelled correctly.)
But, I was greatly intrigued by it; thank you for your study as well.
With Love,
Peggy W.

Anonymous said...

Nice marilyn, thanks! I have the workbook and can’t wait to do the study. I hope to connect with a DVD of it. I think I can do it online, haven’t cked from here yet.

Love you and so glad you were blessed!!

Peggy

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

So glad for your powerful conclusion to a wonderful study. We celebrated ours two weeks ago, and I look forward to gleaning the treasures from the study for a long season. Here's one of the most powerful quotes I wrote down from the study...

"What would God's kingdom gain from a people who were on humiliated? What would be the reward of our existence if we were only repentet and never repaired? Discontent with selfishness and weary of ego, we finally become willing to lose ourselves to something greater. In doing so, we find Christ as we've never known Him, and there, pooled in the reflection of his eyes, startle to discover that part of ourselves resembles Him." (pg. 123).

For what it's worth, just wanted to share that. Blessings to you in your Sunday rest.

peace~elaine

Lora said...

Marilyn,

Just stopping by for a lovely visit to your blog from The Point. Congratulations on winning the book too!

I agree with your comments about the Esther Bible study - It was so encouraging and I too, learned so much more with this study. Thank you for sharing Esther 4:14 - it encouraged me today.

Rejoicing and celerating with you today and praising the Lord for your test results.

Lisa Monk said...

Dear Marilyn, I love the Book of Esther. Every time I study it I learn a new truth.