A new outlook on a familiar story...or is it?

In July Jim and I had the opportunity to have a week vacation in The Outer Banks with some dear friends. We decided one day to "hike" the largest sand dunes on the east coast!! It was a great experience and while we were "hiking" some of the dunes we commented on how what it must have been like for those in biblical time living on the sandy land as well as wondering for so very many years through the dessert as the Israelites. Being on the top of one of the dunes gave me a sense of awe, but also a sense of total dependency on God. Nothing, but His creation around us while we were there. A true sense of His presence. We were amazed at the beauty of the dunes as well as the simplicity of the dunes. We not only felt God's presence through the heat of the day, but the through the scenery that we saw and how the sky seemed to touch the dunes as well as the water at the same time. The "untouchness" of the land made the presence of God, in a sense so much closer.

I mention this experience today because I was reminded of the dunes as I attended the first day of our ladies Tuesday morning Bible study at church. It is going to be a great study. We are going to be looking at the Patriarchs, a video series and discussion compiled by the author Beth Moore. It's titled, " The Patriarchs" Encountering The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob", by Beth Moore. Just in the introduction video today I received information that, after years of hearing the generations that came from the generations, that came from the generations (you know what I'm saying) to the lineage of Christ, poked my heart and my head to say, Oh, now I get it!!!! I look forward from time to time sharing the insight of our weekly discussions and possibly some information that God will show to me as do my personal daily study of the series through the scriptures! Something that stroke me today in the video was Beth Moore mentioned hoe God allows us to choose to "do what He tells us we must do" or "He'll do what we told us to do." He is a patient God and gives us the opportunity to "do it", but when we don't and many times we don't "he does it for us" and we then learn from that choice. The intro was dealing with Gen. 11:1-9 and talking about the people talking as one and then wanting to build something for themselves and God came down to "do it" and show them what they should have done in the first place.

I feel it is going to be an excellent study. If you have the opportunity to do a series from Beth Moore, do it. Your life will be changed by the insight that you will learn through your personal daily study time in the word and through the discussions.