At the Womens Bible Cafe, we like to introduce the women participating in our bible studies and get to know them better. Since Raye Holmes is leading our next study called Loving Well by Beth Moore, we wanted you to “meet her.”  Below are the questions we asked Raye about herself.

Can you please share a little bit about yourself and a little about your walk of faith?  

I am 47 years old and I have always had a relationship with God. I have had my days were everything was going great, I have had my days where I questioned was there even a God. Life has not been easy on me – but thru my struggles is where I have drawn close to God. I have served as a church secretary, children’s pastor and women’s minister leader. My passion is intercessory prayer.

Were you always passionate about bible study or was there something specific that happened that caused it to become your passion?

To be honest I was always passionate about “serving.” Work, Work and Work for the Lord was my motto. It was not until I learned about a program called “Celebrate Recovery” that I saw that there is so much more to serving God. That program makes you deal with really what is in your heart and get to the realization that without a relationship with God I am nothing but a broken vessel. That revelation is what brought me to my first Bible Study.

Do you remember your first bible study? What happened?  

My first Bible Study was Beth Moore’s – ‘Breaking Free’. To describe what happen (changed in me) would take a book! Seriously! I was set free from so many issues that were holding me back from being the woman God called me to be. I was forced to deal with issues from my childhood, marriage hurts, and church hurts, as well as unforgiveness and hate – the list could go on and on!

What has been the most value gained from your bible studies?  

I would have to say that the most value I have gained is that God loves me for me! All my faults, all my moodiness, all my ugliness, all my disobedience, all my struggles I put on myself, God’s grace and mercy is renewed everyday. And when God looks at me He does not see a failure- but He see’s a princess! He sees me as beautiful, He sees me as compassionate…. WOW! I am just so special to the Father!

What has been the most difficult in your bible studies?

 Is having the faith that what I wrote above is true! I am a work in progress I have my days where I think what is the use in all of this? I keep failing, I keep messing up, I keep……. (Fill in the blank); But the Word of God is what keeps me from giving up! God’s word cannot come back void! God is not a man that He should lie! The word of God is more powerful than any sword, then any failure, than any problem, then any illness, more powerful than anything!

What was it that prompted you to join the Women’s Bible Cafe?  

 Hunger! Fellowship! Desire to grow in my relationship with God! Iron sharpens Iron and with that said I need to see and hear what others go thru and how they overcome! I need to be accountable! And of course I love to pray for the needs of others!

 Do you read devotionals or have a favorite book?

 The B-I-B-L-E is my favorite book! I enjoy devotionals written by Lisa Bevere and Beth Moore as well as many others.

How satisfying is bible study for you and how has bible study changed your life?  

 Who can satisfy my soul but God’s word! Bible Study changes me because it makes you see the areas you need to work in, the attitudes, the sins, as well as the love that God has for us!

What bible study book had the most impact on your life?

I would have to answer that by saying anything by Beth Moore! She is so real, she is so open and she tells it like it is! And boy sometimes it can hurt!  However it is the truth that sets me free!

Do you have any prayer requests for the group?

The one area that I struggle with is my weight issues! I know that my weight issues are what cause my health issues! My prayer request would be for God to direct me in the right direction to lose weight. I have been told I have a crack in my L4 and L5 and because of that exercising is so hard on me – but God has an answer to get this weight off!

 What is the best way for people to connect with you? 

 I can be contacted thru the Women’s Bible Café Group page on facebook or thru email.

Please take a moment to read about Lauren Bates a wife, Mom, nurse, and nursing professor, as we continue our series Getting to Know You at the Womens Bible Cafe. Lauren lives in a very small town in Southeastern Kentucky “where everyone knows everyone, and if they don’t know you, they find out real quick who your ‘people are,” according to Lauren.  “I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I love sports… of course, UK Wildcats… and football is my favorite… Pittsburg Steelers all the way.  I volunteer in my community for the Relay for Life and also my local Women’s Club, where I assist with Veteran’s recognition.”

Lauren was raised in a Pentecostal church from a baby but says she never really took it seriously. “I learned from a young age who to call to when I needed help, but then would find myself complacent in that relationship during good times.  It wasn’t until I had my 8 year old that I realized this world was scary and I wanted him to have that same good experience with God that I had through my faithful family.  I still have good days and bad days, but I am growing closer and finding myself more in a ‘relationship’ than being religious.  I love that God loves us where we are, but that He is willing to change us.”

Lauren has only become passionate for bible study in the last year or so. Beth Moore’s Stepping Up Through the Psalms of Ascent was her very first bible study. A co-worker was doing it with her study group and had an extra copy, so Lauren worked through it on her own.  Since then, she has completed several Beth Moore studies and also a couple of others from other authors. “I learn something new every time I open my Bible.  Just knowing that God loves me and that others struggle with that concept is helpful.  Realizing that I don’t have to be perfect- that I could never be perfect,” are the lasting benefits of her commitment to bible study. Staying on track… making daily time for daily bible study has been the most difficult part of her commitment. Like many of us, Lauren says  “I struggle with getting overwhelmed with life.” Sometimes life interrupts our intimacy with God, and we have to fight ourselves to stay in track. Lauren joined the Womens Bible Cafe when she saw Christine’s posting on Kelly Minter’s Ruth Study that Beth posted on Siestaville,  thought it would be a little extra to help with that… and just got hooked.  “I love the fellowship at the Womens Bible Cafe,” she says. Lauren is an avid reader, and subscribes to Proverbs 31 devotions daily emails in addition to reading a lot of different kinds of books. Ruth… and Jonah…  were her most memorable bible studies, “but they’ve all been good” according to Lauren.

Her current prayer request is that “we can all grow closer to God and be His hands and feet.  Its a scary world we live in… and it needs our light shining bright!”

To connect with Lauren, post a comment below. You can also find her on Facebook at Lauren Bates.

Welcome back to Getting to Know You as we introduce Sarah Stirman, a freelance writer and speaker for women’s events. She lives in Abilene, Texas with her husband, Troy, and her children, Ashley and Riley, plus a menagerie of pets including Stickers the hedgehog and Duchess the lab. Sarah is a certified elementary school teacher. She has taught 2nd grade and special education classes, as well as worked for various non-profits. Sarah writes a regular column for Abilene Families Magazine and has a blog at SarahStirman.com Sarah says “I love to tell my own God-story and encourage women to find their role in the story. I have a passion for helping women hear where God is leading them in life, knowing that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. I like to remind people of scripture stories and allow each to find her own story within.”

Sarah Stirman’s bio tells you the basics — wife, mom, writer, blogger. She loves every one of those roles. Her kids are teens — 7th and 9th grade — and Sarah spends much of her life on bleachers and driving to games and practices saying “I love every minute of that!”  Besides loving chasing her family and the writing material they bring, she enjoys her exercise time. “I’ve always been a ‘gym rat’ hanging out with my friends there, but last year I completed a (VERY slow) half-marathon! I’m hoping to speed that up a little in the next few years. My exercise is my prayer time, friend time, laugh time, therapy time all in one (depending on which I’m doing). I like to constantly have goals in front of me with my exercise and writing,” says Sarah.

In describing her walk of faith, Sarah says “I was raised in a Christian home, went to Christian schools, married an amazing Christian man, have always had a church home, have a (seemingly) fairy tale life. Through many twists and turns, God has drawn me closer and closer to Him, showing me that while these earthly gifts are tremendous blessings, none of them can take His place in my life. My walk is as imperfect as I am, but God continues to be gracious, welcoming me back when I am ready to return to walking on His path. I guess my faith walk looks like me trying to make it look like it’s great by having everything right — except my relationship with the Lord. The Bible studies that I have participated in the last few years have allowed me to draw closer to Him. I was raised in faith and was a faithful Christian, attended Christian schools and surrounded by godly friends. For a while I felt that was enough, but I had the nagging feeling something huge was missing from my life. When my husband and I started having children, I asked God to reveal to me what it was. It’s a very long story of how God peeled away all of my ‘security blankets’ (friends, finances, even my marriage) reorganizing my priorities, strengthening my marriage and letting me know that He was enough — and I should get to know Him well.”

When asked about her bible study experiences, Sarah says “I have attended classes with women at churches — sometimes the church where I attended, sometimes a different one, to be able to participate in a particular Bible study. The first one that I remember truly diving in was Beth Moore’s Beloved Disciple (it wasn’t the first one I did, but it’s the first one that I fully participated in, homework and all of the classes). It was life-changing. I made lifetime friends and awakened a passion for knowing more of God’s word. Besides building amazing community with my sisters in Christ,” says Sarah “I always enjoys diving into the Word through someone else’s eyes, knowledge, and expertise. It’s like… looking at a painting from a different perspective.”

For Sarah, the most difficult part of bible study has been making the time to do them. “The pull of everything else in my life convinces me that I don’t have time and that it can wait and I’ll get back to it later. I still go through seasons where I don’t get into the Word, and I can TELL it is missing in my life. It’s like… riding a rusty bicycle. Things just don’t work as well. Though I have known the Lord since I was a baby, and grew up in faith, it has been a many-years long process to come to truly hunger for the Word. I had to pray for the Lord to put that hunger on my heart.”

She found the Womens Bible Cafe in desperation. Her husband was unemployed and she was beginning to unravel emotionally and spiritually. Her church was already in the middle of a Bible study. “I knew I needed to start one and needed accountability to get through it, says Sarah. Through an online search she found us!

She does not usually read devotionals, but goes through a LOT of books. “It’s hard to pick a favorite, so I will choose one that coincided with when I went through Beloved Disciple. I was reading Angela Thomas’ Tender Mercy for a Mother’s Soul. It collided with Beloved Disciple to convince me that faith and my walk with the Lord was not meant to be ‘a big part of my life… but my life.’ When asked “How satisfying is bible study for you and how has bible study changed your life?” Sarah answered “It depends on the study how satisfying it is. Sometimes I just want to read the Word, and I do usually have (besides a Bible study going) a plan of reading portions of the Bible, if not through it. Bible study has brought me rich relationships, deeper meaning of what is there, correlations and connections of God’s perfect design. Bible study has added rich, beautiful color that I didn’t even realize was missing from my life.” Besides Beth Moore’s Beloved Disciple bible study, a life-changing event for Sarah, she also found Jennifer Rothschild’s Me, Myself, and Lies was very powerful, as well.

Sarah was asked if she had any prayer requests, and replied “My family is currently in a waiting place and would love your prayers! We, like so many of you, were affected by unemployment in 2010. My husband was thankful to find a job late in the year, but it is 200 miles from where we are currently living. There are TREMENDOUS blessings in this situation, but our teens and I were hoping to move at Christmas break. Financially, we really need the house to sell before we can move. So, my husband has a room to live in (RENT FREE! Thank you, Lord!) and comes home on weekends. Please pray for our house to sell by the end of this school year (end of May, 2011). Prayers for peace in the waiting and for a place (and friends) for my children once we move would be a tremendous blessing, as well.”

The best way to connect with Sarah Stirman is to post a comment below, follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SarahSt or read about her journey on her blog: SarahStirman.com

Thank you for sharing your story with us Sarah!

If you would like to be featured on Getting to Know You, please contact us.

It’s Friday and another opportunity for Getting to Know You. Today’s Bible Cafe guest is Sue Alice, a caregiver for her ill husband.  Sue volunteers at her church Monday through Friday  at the welcome center.  She has been in nursing for over 40 years and her friends will describe her as compassionate, caring and comforting to know. On more the one occasion, Sue has jumped to my side and walked me through a family crisis and taken on the devil in my name. I assure you, she’s the friend every woman wants to have. She is the mom of two dogs…Onyxmarie and Brandilynn and lives with her family in Greenwood, Indiana.

When asked about her walk of faith, Sue says “I grew up in church Methodist, but as a teen went church-hopping.  I left church in my late teens and became really rebellious.  I left in the late 70′s and did not return until my mom died in 1985.” Her first Bible study was with Bible Study Fellowship in Indianapolis, in the late 1980′s.  She says “I had a very good leader who was from the south….she was a southern lady thorough and thorough.  I was there for three years and Genva was my leader and still to this day my mentor and friend.  This was a good place for me to learn about the Bible and God.” After the death of her mom, Sue became more passionate for God and explored her relationship with him. For her, the most valuable lesson was learning about Jesus and His love. “I was building up of my faith, but most of all knowing I am never alone, God is always there for me.” says Sue.

For Sue Alice, the most difficult part of bible study is staying focused sometimes.  With so much going around at home, she has found it easier to study at church, her second home. Sue came to the Womens Bible Cafe when she was surfing the Internet and came across this site about 4 years ago and just passed it by.  THAN the LORD brought it back to mind 2 years ago, so now she’s here to stay and is an active member of the Bible Cafe.  She says “I had to learn to post and blog.  But I am so happy to be here…the Lord knew where I needed to be at this time.  This is a perfect place for me sense I am a caregiver for my husband….I can hop on here at any time.  I have used this site more than once to bring women to Bible study and one of them was my sister.  This is a wonderful – God filled site.

Online bible study has been very satisfying, changing her life  bringing her closer to God. In addition to regular bible study, Sue reads the devotionals Jesus Calling by Sarah Young,  Breaking Free By Beth Moore and visits the Internet Devotion Cafe` online. The bible study with the most impact in her life has been  Me, Myself and Lies by Jennifer Rothschild. “This study made me aware of all the self-talk I do….not  good self-talk….very negative thoughts about my self and others around me.”

Final comment from Sue: Blessings to all and thanks for reading this.

To connect with Sue Alice, please post a comment below.

If you would like to be featured on Getting to Know You, please contact us.

What a great response to last’s week interview of Carin, as we launched the Getting to Know You series at the Womens Bible Cafe! Each Friday we’ll feature another guest from our online bible studies. Imagine yourself sitting across the table, sipping a cafe drink, and chatting with her about her walk of faith and her bible studies. Here we go with our second Getting to Know You… meet Lisa.

Getting to Know Lisa Hutton

Lisa was brought up in the Catholic church and felt she did not learn enough about Jesus or have a personal relationship with Him (no disrespect intended to anyone). Even at a young age, Lisa felt uncomfortable in her church community.  She says “I always knew there was something more than what I knew, but had no guidance. I had to do everything ‘on my own,’ which we all know is really not the way to go. I really didn’t get/have any guidance until 2006 (I was baptized in 1991, I think that’s right, but there was no follow-up, so I was ‘alone’ again). So my walk with Christ has been a real yo-yo ride with obedience for, well practically my whole life so far. But, since I have been more obedient, God has spoken to me several times, I’ve physically felt Jesus holding me (after an operation), and the Spirit ‘pokes’ me regularly.”

Lisa loves to learn and is passionate about growing in knowledge. Her passion is driven by a desire to be in control of what goes on with her life.  In seeking control, Lisa felt the need to “know” more about God so she could prove her knowledge and passion with those who challenged her faith. In bible study, Lisa learned the right answer was to learn to love God, let Him into her heart and give Him control of her life. Instead of “proving God” she started sharing God.

Lisa still remembers her first bible study, she was attending a really small church and the entire church did the bible study together. They studied the beliefs of the Southern Baptist religion. Lisa has doubts about what she learned, because she does not remember much of it. More recently, Lisa feels she has gained “tons and tons” of value from her bible studies and her new walk with God. When asked “what has been the most difficult in your bible studies?” Lisa replied, “learning that I don’t need to ‘know’ more about God just to have ‘knowledge,’ but rather to have what I do ‘know’ written on my heart. The way I was taught to ‘learn’ works well for other subjects, but for the Bible I wish I had the skills for better and more precise recall with references.” Lisa let go of legalism and embraced the Savior’s love. When we seek biblical knowledge just to prove our faith, we are not seeking the heart of God. Lisa realized this as she continued in her bible studies.

Lisa joined the Womens Bible Cafe when she saw a Facebook link for the Chip Ingram study Invisible War. She  loves to learn and since this was a study about Satan, Lisa was “fascinated.” She is quick to explain that she “was” fascinated, and since her walk of faith has changed she “knows better now.” She explains, “I was incredibly intrigued and wanted to ‘compare’ what I knew to what was going to be presented, you know, confirmation that I was soooo smart. Needless to say, the ‘knowledge’ I was so proud of, was worthless. It was a humbling experience.” Who knew that a bible study on Spiritual Warfare would humble her to the reality of the invisible war in her own life! This is one of the great benefits of bible study- as the Holy Spirit works with us to convict us and correct us as necessary. Kudos to Lisa for sharing her experience with us as testimony.

Lisa does have a few devotionals, but mostly reads what is posted on Twitter and/or Facebook. She uses the devotional One-Minute Meditations, Wonderful Names of Our Wonderful Lord and Our Daily Bread as inspiration for her email ministry.

In sharing her bible study experience, Lisa says “If I start a study, and it seems like it either isn’t time for me to do it, or I’m just not getting anything out of it, I stop. The ones I have completely completed have been very satisfying and has prompted further study and reflection (which really scares me since I know there is so much I have ‘hidden’ away from God that I don’t want to revisit)”

The bible study with the most recent impact on her life has been Invisible War by Chip Ingram. She is working through Stepping Up by Beth Moore. Lisa’s prayer request for her bible study is “that I will allow God to make the changes in me He is looking for. I need to release ALL control to Him. I am struggling with that.” Pray specifically to break her Stronghold of Control. If you struggle with a stronghold, I highly recommend Breaking Free by Beth Moore (we’re repeating this study in April) or her book So Long Insecurity.

The best way to connect with Lisa is by posting a comment below, through Twitter @myMagen or follow her blog Peace and Blessings

We thought it would be fun to start a weekly event called “Getting to Know You.” Each Friday we’ll feature a guest of the Womens Bible Cafe: someone who is participating in the online bible studies and posting regular comments. Let’s have fun getting to know each other, as we share our favorite bible study memories. Our first Getting to Know You Guest is Carin.

Getting to Know Carin

Carin lives in Sonoma County of Northern California. She works in the wine industry for more than 18 years.  Carin is also an officer of a construction company. Her first Beth Moore study was in a ladies small group.  Carin says “the scriptures and events that occurred changed my life.” She did her study on The Patriarchs: Encountering the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by Beth Moore. After a season of financial change, Carin and her husband were drawn I closer to the Lord. She believes the most value gained from her bible studies has been a closer walk with the Lord. When her small group took a study break and she knew she had to be in the Word everyday, Carin  went Internet surfing and found the Womens Bible Cafe. She has been doing the studies ever since and often her husband joins her in reading the workbook lessons.

Carin agrees that her bible study has been very satisfying. She says ” it is the best way to be in God’s word and looking at things in a different perspectives when someone like Beth (or whoever’s book we are doing) comments.”

The one bible study with the most impact on her life has been Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit by Beth Moore.

The best way to communicate with Carin is through the Womens Bible Cafe- post a comment below and she’ll reply.