Abingdon Women has always offered you resources and samples of our line of studies. We want you to feel good about your chosen resource material and confident in leading others through a time of Bible study.

At the beginning of 2006 my life had completely changed. I had just given birth to my daughter a few months before. As the New Year approached, my maternity leave was coming to an end and I found myself in a whirlwind of working mommy/career woman. I worked a stressful, fast-paced job that had me rising early, working long days, and commuting over an hour. My days left me exhausted. I was overweight, over tired and overwhelmed. And instead of seeking my Savior for rest, I made a resolution that year to seek my own desire to feel better. My resolution for 2006 was to lose weight.

Make plans now for a true spiritual get-a-way, coming in 2015.

Even after all these years, it was still hard for her to believe. She was really only a child when it began. A mere thirteen years old. And not a child of means. Her family was poor and what many might call common.

Soft lights twinkle on the Christmas tree in the quiet hours just before dawn. Carefully wrapped packages wait patiently under the tree. As the first rays of the sun fracture the night sky, several tiny feet hit the floor and soon the entire house is awake. Christmas is here!

Americans generally don’t associate fear with Christmas. We tend to sanitize and commercialize the holiday, throwing in omniscient Santas and schmaltzy music for good measure. Even when we dramatize the Nativity, it’s safe and tidy with the generous magi showing up like long forgotten uncles. But there’s more to this narrative–and that more is far from safe.

Several years ago I bought a steam mop as a {To: Me} {From: Me} Christmas gift. I have always preferred a mop, bucket and a splash (or three) of Pine Sol to clean my floors. But the owner of a house I cleaned introduced me to a steam mop. When I would finish, I would admire how shiny the floors were. And the more I used it, the more I wanted one.

I don’t often hear the Lord speak audibly. But, somewhere in the middle of my plot to overtake the footie-pajama industry, I could’ve sworn I heard a voice from heaven:

For a long time now, Romans 8:37 has been one of my favorites. Here it is in the NIV: "...in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."

There is nothing like a rainbow to make you stop and gaze up in breathless witness of the magnificence of God’s masterful hand, and to remember a promise: “For I will see the rainbow in the cloud and remember my eternal promise to every living being on the earth.” (Genesis 9:17)

Recently I've had lots of conversations with women wondering - "how do I know for sure what God is calling me to do?" Sometimes in the midst of our busyness we wonder if we might be missing God's voice.

“And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you: therefore the child to be born will be called holy - the Son of God.’ ” ~ Luke 1:35