In Praise of God

As some of you know, near the first of the year our printer raised its printing rates and, while we were able to print enough copies to have adequate stock of most of our books, our Joshua study has been sold out for some weeks now.  Several of you have been praying that we would be able to print more studies before fall classes began…and it now looks like that will be possible!   Lord willing, we will have enough copies for those of you who have contacted us already, with additional stock available (at least for the foreseeable future) . . . and we will not have to raise the price for these books.  We are so grateful to the Lord!

If you haven’t already let us know of your interest in this study, please contact us as soon as possible.  Also, some leader’s helps will be available at no cost for class leaders.   Just call or write for details!

We know this is a time when many groups begin thinking about their Fall Bible study classes.  As you do so, please note that our Joshua study is currently out of print.

You can still get all our other studies from local or online booksellers or Focus Publishing (in the case of Hope in God and Prayer) or directly from us (for Jonah, Psalms, Beauty of Holiness, Thinking Heavenward, and Proverbs).

Additionally, we would appreciate your prayers as we are putting our next book series together. It is currently in very early stages of development, but we are excited about it…I’ll post more updates as they are available.

 Our Psalms study has a new title: it is now entitled Be Thou My Vision: An Inductive Study of Psalms 73-89.

Please note that it is the SAME study as was published under the previous title.  Only the cover and title/copyright pages have changed.

The name, of course, comes from that dear old hymn.  It also speaks to the focus of the study, reminding us to keep our eyes on our loving and powerful Father and to view the world through a framework that puts Him first.

Hello! This is a quick update to let you know that I’ve put links up on our audio page for the lessons in Kristie’s fall class, Living and Loving the Gospel: Studies in the Life and Letters of Paul.

The first lesson is being recorded today, Oct. 1, so start looking for the talks online very soon!

The Proverbs study (third edition) is now back from the printer and available.  The updated Teacher/Leader Guide will be available this summer for fall studies.

As this 2008-2009 year of Bible study comes to an end, my prayers are taking on a familiar theme: that of thanking my God for you all!  What grace God has bestowed in giving us the opportunity of sharing with each other in life and ministry!

Each one of you is so dear to my heart;  though I often do not have the chance to tell you personally, I hope you know I love you, I pray for your families (especially your children and grandchildren), and I give ongoing praise to God for your faithfulness to His Word and your willingness to share your lives with me and each other. May we never grow weary in doing good and living for Him!

Looking forward to our next semester of study…and coveting your prayers as I prepare for it!

Kristie

I am of the generation who grew up without cell phones, computers or internet. If it were not for my daughter and a few forward-looking friends (and the necessities of this ministry), I would still be living “in the dark ages” without much inclination toward technological advances. Although I have written eight Bible studies, I do not consider myself a writer, but more of an instruction-giver (”Look up this verse,” “Make this list,” and so forth!) who fervently desires to apply God’s Word to every area of daily life and help others do the same.

And so, it is with a bit of trepidation that I enter the world of blogging; however, mixed with that is also a sense of anticipation. What will God see fit to do through this forum and ministry? Only time will tell, but my prayer is that He will use it to exalt Himself, encourage and sanctify His people, and further equip us to disciple the next generation.

One of my most treasured books is The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions. In it, there is a prayer that is fitting for the beginning of any new journey or the continuation of those ongoing. As you read the following excerpt, may your heart, as mine, be drawn to worship and prayer!

JOURNEYING ON

. . . My hands hold a pilgrim’s staff,

My march is Zionward,

My eyes are toward the coming of the Lord,

My heart is in thy hands without reserve.

Thou has created it,

renewed it,

captured it,

conquered it . . .

I love thee with soul, mind, body, strength,

might, spirit, affection, will,

desire, intellect, understanding . . .

Thou art worthy of an adoration greater than my dull heart can yield;

Invigorate my love that it may rise worthily to thee,

tightly entwine itself round thee,

be allured by thee.

Then shall my walk be endless praise.

We have just been alerted that the Sample Pages for download have not been available.  It seems that, when we updated the web site, these files were not moved from their previous location on our server.  I moved them this morning, and downloads should now be working; please comment to let us know if there seem to be any further problems with the downloads.

Just a note that the Proverbs course is currently in revision. We anticipate publishing the revised edition this summer, but until then please note that only a limited number of older edition course books are available. Thanks for your understanding as we work to improve (read: shorten) the study!

We are also looking forward to publishing the Thinking Heavenward Teacher/Leader Guide in time for fall studies.

We’re so pleased to announce that we have begun uploading audio files to the site!

Kristie’s recent lectures at the Berachah Bible Church retreat in Georgia are up, as are the first two lectures from her spring Proverbs study for her home church back in Nebraska. We plan to post further lectures weekly.

Thanks again to all those responsible for preparing, recording and uploading the mp3 files!

You can download audio files here.