Bible Studies & Books
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28
Bible Study Review: Francis Chan, Book of James
The Daniel Plan
The Daniel Plan basically teaches you how to be stewards of the body God gave you. It have five essentials, Faith, Food, Fitness, Focus, Friends. All key in being successful at getting and staying healthy. It is not all about loosing weight. Even people who are thin can be unhealthy (meaning high blood pressure, high cholesterol, blood sugar management issues, etc). As with many other health programs, the focus and friends areas are important in keeping up motivation, but the difference is the faith area. It is our faith that gives us the motivation because life is out of our control and we cannot do it alone. I lead a small group over the summer 2014 at our church. If you would like more information please visit The Daniel Plan website or contact me for local information regarding our church bible study.
How We Love
Our church small group meets alternating weeks with the girls and guys. This is because we literally all have children the same age and alternating weeks allows us to keep the kiddos on a bedtime routine without paying for a sitter. The girls decided to go through a marriage study, How We Love, by Milan and Kay Yerkovich. This was a very deep study not only into our marriage but our personal past. I really enjoyed it, but would like to go through it again in a couple setting with my husband. In this book, you identify your love style for yourself and your spouse. This really helped me to learn more about myself in a way that helped me to recognize my triggers with not only my husband but in other relationships. This was a great study, but you have to be prepared for what you might learn about yourself.......which in the long run is a good thing! This study was a great reminder that no matter what our faults are, God is there with grace and we just have to trust in Him.
Boundaries
This was a study our small group did as couples, before everyone started having babies. :) This study was great for learning when to say "yes" and "no". It focused on all types of boundaries, emotional, physical, mental and spiritual. It was also finding the balance between being selfish and having healthy boundaries. I thought it was a great study for our group.
Financial Peace University (FPU)
FPU is a personal financial management program created by Dave Ramsey. I cannot say enough about this program. We LOVED it!! The basic premise is we are to be stewards of the money God has given us because it is just that, God's money and we are just managers. FPU teaches how to become debt free and create a budget along with offering educational information on many other concepts such as insurance, retirement, buying/selling a home and giving. I have been a small group leader and/or co-facilitator for three FPU classes at our church. I hope to continue to do more in the future. I believe that managing money is all part of living a healthy lifestyle, at least it is for our family (of one income :) ). You can visit the Dave Ramsey site for more information and to find classes in your local area.