All Good Things...

...must come to an end. We had our last week of Esther study this week. Wow...is all I can say. It was such a refreshing time spent in the Word. It was literally amazing to see God's providence at work not only in Esther's life, but in my life as well. I believe He has me right where He wants me "for such a time as this". Our lives do not take God by surprise. He has purposed every day and every moment of our lives for a reason. Webster defines providence as, "God conceived as the power sustaining and guiding human destiny". Nothing in our lives happens by chance. Philippians 2:13 goes on to say God "works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose."

I just want to leave you with some of the most interesting quotes and thoughts that I highlighted as particularly awesome from this 9-week study.

"You cannot amputate your history from your destiny."-Beth Moore

"Sometimes providence can be defined as times when God trumps your perfectly good plan with one of His own...then seems to disappear from it"-Beth Moore

"Meanness always has a history."-Beth Moore

"I don't know exactly how God perfects plans that seem so bleak to us in process, but these two things I know: He never takes His eyes off of us or off the clock ticking over us...He is hard at work in your life, and the same eye that's on the sparrow is on the wristwatch."-Beth Moore

"Some crises are too important for saving face. Saving lives is worth losing face every time. When was the last time you had to risk losing face to try and save something more precious than pride?"-Beth Moore

"We are wise to force ourselves to keep differentiating between simple inconveniences and authentic tribulations. The more detached and self-absorbed we become, the more we mistake annoyances for agonies."-Beth Moore

"Xerxes' scepter was in the hand of God."-Beth Moore

"When we say 'what if...' we are in essence saying 'I fear'."-Beth Moore

"What would be the reward of our existence if we were only repentant and never repaired?"-Beth Moore

"Does begging for one's life equal repentance? Is anything more natural or instinctive than pleading for your own skin when it's in jeopardy?"-Beth Moore

"It's tough being a woman who feels responsible for the 'how'. We feel we have to be 'God Jr.' in every situation. God is waiting for us to trust Him with it. We will never 'fret' our way to victory."-Beth Moore

"Disconnected people can never be whole. Vulnerable and painful though it may be, a community of people whose lives are tied together by the tender strings of the heart is life the way God meant it to be lived."-Beth Moore

"One of the hardest challenges about taking advantage of a God-given time of happiness is the guilt of knowing that it coincides with someone else's sadness...Times of happiness are glimpses of heaven until we get there."-Beth Moore

"God's grace is given according to our need...not our imaginations."-Beth Moore

"Every time you're in a tight fist of fear, remember you're in something much tighter. Isa. 49:16 says, 'See, I have engraved you on the palm of my hands.'"-Beth Moore

"When, because of your faith, your life becomes too perceptibly different; when your reactions are quite opposite to what the situation seems to call for and your activities can no longer be explained in terms of your personality; that is when your neighborhood will sit up and take notice. In the eyes of the world, it is not our relationship with Jesus Christ that counts; it is our resemblance to Him!"-"The Queen and I"

Every one of these points could be a Bible study within itself! These are things that I will be pondering for quite some time...

Peace...