Recap of Chapter One from March 9

I have to apologize for my very late post here... sorry. But anyway, here it is. A recap of our study last Wednesday night where we covered more of Chapter One from the book Disciplines of a Godly Woman.

We began the study by asking the question "What does Spiritual Discipline mean to you?" The answers that came up were: reading the Bible, prayer, doing devotions, and practicing patience and Godliness. Those are important because our witness to others depends on it, we are made in God's image so we should be holy, and they are our own lifelines.

When discussing what prevents us from pursuing such disciplines we all agreed that we come up with excuses of "too busy," perfectionism, not prioritizing, lack of self control, it's uncomfortable, we don't think we are "that kind of a person," etc. Basically, it all came down to sin. However, we also agreed that when we are not exercising disciplines our lives feel chaotic, unorganized, and restless. The only major cost of being more disciplined is that we'll no longer get whatever we want, whenever we want it.

Next we moved on to discuss some of the differences between true disciplines and legalism. We noted that doing devotions legalistically can lead to feeling like a robot, focusing on self instead of God, and being frustrated and angry with interruptions. The book had a beautiful quote that we encouraged everyone to remember.

The legalistic heart says, "I will do this thing to gain merit with God." The disciplined heart says, "I will do this because I love God and want to please Him."1

The John Wesley quote in the book was also a great visual of disciplines done out of a true relationship with God--all for His honor and glory. We ended noting how submission has fallen on hard times and realizing we were out of time, we determined to go over "The Two Ways To Live" section at the following meeting.

1. Barbara Hughes, Disciplines of a Godly Woman (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2001), p. 14.

Recap of Chapter One from March 3

Our first meeting went very well! Thanks to all who attended-- some new faces and some regulars. We hope to continue to knit our hearts together through the course of this study and we are looking forward to seeing the Wednesday night crew next week!

We began the study by asking the question "What does the word discipline mean to you?" The answers we came up with were:
necessary
using time wisely
prioritizing
not taking shortcuts
learning
training (as in children)
leads to obedience

We decided that some of the world's thoughts on discipline included negative things like punishment (and not the positive element of training)
restrictions and being opposed to freedom
boring and narrow minded

Page 12 of the book says

"Maybe discipline seems like a hard word to you now--one full of challenge and perhaps of duty. But be prepared to discover that discipline is your lifeline, something that you learn to embrace and thank God for as you grow in him." 1

Then we went on to talk about how a locomotive engine is never free unless it is bound to its' tracks. Just imagine if it tried to derail! We too are most free when we are on the disciplined tracks that God has laid out for us. At that time we also talked about how discipline is the opposite of instant gratification.

Moving along we talked about the meaning of the word train and how it is a laborious, strenuous, "excersizing" type word. Not something we sit back and think about, but must constantly DO. Furthermore, it reaps eternal rewards, where other things that we labor after in this life do not.

We ended the study with an assignment: Contemplate what things are holding you back in your walk with God and what makes you hang on to them?

1 Barbara Hughes, Disciplines of a Godly Woman (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2001), p. 12.