A note from Amy Boutan
I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself, my vision for the women’s ministry and the upcoming Bible study “Breathe”. I grew up in Colorado Springs in a home that attended church very regularly. I even won several attendance awards. But despite the number of hours that I sat in church, my relationship with Jesus at that time and into young adulthood was one where He was my “Savior” but not my Lord. By that I mean that I fully embraced the idea of Jesus saving me from my sins so I could get into heaven, but I did not fully submit my life to Him. I did not read the Bible or pray very often. My Christian walk was on my terms not God’s. At that point in my life, my faith did not impact my day-to-day decisions: who I dated, how I spent my money, what I drank or any other behavior. I was a lukewarm believer. I did not feel as though I belonged in the church, nor did I feel comfortable at the bar. I was miserable.
One day I met a guy in a bar, and he invited me to go to church with him. The church we visited was Rocky Mountain Calvary Chapel in Colorado Springs. After hearing verse by verse teaching for the first time it was revolutionary and started to stir up my desire for a real relationship with Jesus. Shortly after, I rededicated my life to Jesus. This time I was all in. My boyfriend at the time was not a believer and had been looking at Christianity for a long time but would not take the step to believe. One day I confronted him saying I wanted to eventually marry someone who was also a genuine believer, I told him that “he needed to poop or get off the pot” and decide. Well, he got off the pot and God spared me from marrying that poop.
From my time at Rocky Mountain Calvary, I gained a thirst to know and study God's Word and to apply these truths to my life. In 2 Peter 3:16 it says to “grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.” This desire has never left me, and my hope is to encourage other ladies in their walk so that they may grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. I am a fellow learner. Over the past 24 years our women’s ministry has had the opportunity to study: Daniel, Esther, Ruth, Nehemiah, Jonah, Song of Solomon, Malachi, Galatians, Ephesians, 1 Corinthians, 2 Timothy, Titus, 1,2,3 John, James as well as many other character studies and topical studies. During each Bible study I have learned a little more and become a little nicer. God faithfully meets me along with many other women in the pages of His Word.
We had a very difficult time determining the right Bible study for this fall. Through the process of praying and looking, God was teaching me about having margin in my life. Because Paul and I are heading out of town this year for my birthday, I was hoping to find a shorter study. Initially, I looked into a Bible study on Forgiveness. But then I learned that it required ladies to read a couple of chapters in a book each week along with doing the Bible study. I along with the other ladies would have a hard time completing their lesson in addition to doing extra reading on top. It would be too much. Then I looked into a study over the Names of God which really interested me but after further investigation it had more weeks than our time would comfortably allow. I would start the Bible study 3 days after I returned from my trip. That would put a lot of pressure on me and make it very difficult to relax on our vacation. I would have showed up to the first study stressed out and made life miserable for everyone around me. The only Bible study that would work was “Breathe,” a study over the Sabbath and the principle of rest and allowing margin in your life. It was a lesson that I needed to hear. It is a lesson that many of my sisters in Christ need to hear. We need to stop over committing, over stuffing our schedules, our closets, and our lives.
If you would like to learn more about the Sabbath and creating room in your life for rest, consider joining us on October 12th for this 5-week study. We meet on Tuesdays at 7:00 pm either in person here at the church, or online via Zoom. You need to purchase your book separately.
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