introducing my study on women in the Bible

As many of you know, about 4 years ago, after Adam and I realized that we were not growing spiritually in our church at the time (an understatement), we decided to make a "clean break" from the denominations that we had both been raised in (Baptist for me, Catholic for Adam). In all truth, this was no reflection on either set of our parents...our 4 respective parents raised us both to know the Lord and to love Him, and for that, Adam and I are both eternally grateful.

However, we had both come to a standstill in our spiritual lives in the place where we were at. For our own good, we knew we had to find a place where we could learn and grow. For me, this wasn't just a church-swap. In college, I realized that the private school I was raised in had put, for lack of a better word, "spiritual sludge" in my mind about the Lord and about how to live the Christian life. So when we decided to find a new church, I also decided to chuck out the window pretty much everything I had been taught up to that point (excluding the basics, of course...the virgin birth, Christ as Messiah and Redeemer, His glorious resurrection, etc.). I'm talking about...does God really care whether your skirt comes to your knee? Did He turn water into grape juice (whatever!) or was it wine as the Gospel says? What is speaking in tongues??? Is that "bad" as I had been taught? I had so many questions, I didn't know where to start, except to trash everything and allow myself to be instructed anew.

Long story short, that's indeed what happened at Southside Bible Church...we were instructed anew. And I think everyone can relate to this...do you know what it's like to be taught truth, and to know that it is indeed TRUTH, to the core of your deepest gut??? In essence, Adam and I have just BLOSSOMED in our church and our growth as followers of Jesus has been nothing short of phenomenal...to God be all the glory!

So what's your point with this blog entry, Becky? Please hold, I'm getting to that. One of the areas where I really struggled and fought with the teachings of my youth was the area of how God viewed women, what a woman's role in the church was, what God's expectations of a woman are, and so on and so on. And though I have learned MUCH in this area and have really found peace with the answers, I realized the other night that I've never done a Bible study on women in the Bible. I've done a pretty thorough study on the women in the Bible who experienced infertility, but hadn't really stretched beyond that, and the other night I had a strong desire to do so. So...I want to blog my findings, because basically, I think they're really really cool! Anyhoo, what a long introduction to a pretty simple Bible study! Stay tuned for my findings. I think that they will bless you, as they have blessed me.