Helping Hands Coaching Group/Book Study Week 5 Tested By Fire Like Silver (Gala Palmgren) Beth Jones http://womensbattles.com I can hardly believe our time for this class is up! I pray you have been encouraged, strengthened and motivated to press into God and to pursue your passion and His great purpose for your life. The key to everything in our lives is staying close to Jesus. This week we will cover Chapter 7, Gala Palmgren s story in my ebook, The Hands Of a Woman: Everyday Women In Everyday Battles. Gala and I are friends in real life, and although I knew she had been through some painful things in her life, I had no idea of the EXTENT of that pain and all she had endured. She is a strong woman of God, a woman after God s own heart. Despite and perhaps because of all that Gala has been through, she has a HUGE heart of love and compassion. In this chapter, Gala wrote about the scripture Romans 8:28, that God causes everything to work for good to those who love God and are called according to God s purpose for them. EVERYTHING. That sounds nice and Christian, but in the midst of a fiery trial, it can be difficult to believe that such as when Gala s little girl died in the car accident. Do you believe that God causes everything to work for good in your life? Why or why not? What evidence have you seen of this? I know in my own life, God has used my childhood sexual and physical abuse for His good and glory, because I have been able to forgive those who hurt me and have been able to minister to those who have been through some of the same painful things. What are your thoughts on this passage of scripture?
On page 91, Gala shares that her father died in a car accident only 10 days after her birth and this set up a chain of tragic events in her life. As the movie Courageous addresses, fatherlessness can cause an entire host of problems in our lives, whether through our father s death, absence, abuse,abandonment, neglect, criticism, etc. What kind of father figure have you had in your life? How has the type of father you ve had in your life colored your perception of God? How has it affected your life and the life of those around you? Gala s grandma Mead told her mom that Gala s blood would be on her hands if she didn t do something about Gala s stepfather abusing them, such as when her mom came home to find her husband sexually abusing Gala and her husband trying to strangle Gala s mom on several occasions. What does God word say about our responsibility and dutyas parents and also our duty to our neighbor? Read the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37. One of the most powerful scenes in Gala s chapter was on page 92 when a family member bailed her stepdad out of jail and he broke into their home, her mom ran through a glass door, and later Gala and her sister, who had been hiding from her stepdad with the gun, later walked through the broken glass. God sees the brokenness of our lives and of our hearts. He has seen every tear you have shed and cares compassionately for you. Do you believe and know this? Write in your journal about the broken pieces of your life. I described my childhood abuse and my former abusive marriage in the last chapters of the book. Share in class anything that you would like to share.
Gala describes the cycle of abuse that continued in her mom s and her life, when her mom married another man and he sexually abused Gala, too, and then her mom like Mommy Dearest began abusing her, too. Are there any cycles of abuse or dysfunction in yours or your family s or neighbor s lives that you or they need to break? What do you think is the solution? Some cycles would include alcoholism, drug or food addiction, strife, physical or sexual abuse, controlling and/or manipulating parents or family members/in-laws, etc. Share in class. This chapter specifically addresses unforgiveness and bitterness. It would be extremely difficult to be able to forgive all the people who had hurt Gala, but she has. It shows what a great woman of God she is. Have you forgiven those who have hurt you or others? If not, release that unforgiveness today. Bitterness defiles everything in our lives. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any areas of unforgiveness or bitterness in your life that may be defiling your heart. If there is still anger, hurt or any type of sting associated with a person s face or name, there s a good chance you have unforgiveness toward them. Ask God for His help to forgive. We can only do it by His power and Jesus blood and redemptive work on the cross. When we forgive others, we walk in great power and can fulfill our purpose! Chapter 8 Susan Evans The Power of God Susan s chapter deals with the demonic. There are different doctrinal stances on Satan and the demonic, but one thing is for sure: Satan is real, and his job is to steal, kill, and destroy. One of the tactics the enemy uses against Christians is to plant thoughts into their minds, like he did with Susan when he told her to kill herself. Have you ever felt suicidal or thought you would be better off dead? Share in class.
On page 101, Susan describes praying to God about wanting to kill herself and asking Him to deliver her, and a great weight that was crushing her chest came off of her. This is God s deliverance. Not all deliverance is accomplished so easily because not everyone who is bound wants to truly be free. Have you experienced deliverance in your life? Have you ever witnessed anyone being delivered from a demon? If you believe that demons or deliverance don t exist, I encourage you to do a study in the Bible where Jesus dealt with demons. Jesus came to set the captives free. Read Isaiah chapter 61. Susan wrote something that is extremely encouraging to us on page 101. Jesus is much more powerful than satan or any demon in hell. We can rest in the certainty that God is in control, and is almighty and we don t have to be afraid of the enemy. Since Satan is a spiritual being and does have (limited) power, we do need to respect that power and recognize he is a powerful foe, but we don t have to be afraid of him. Make sure you have on your armor, you are walking in obedience, and that you have faith and trust in God. Prayer and God s word and the blood of Jesus are our most powerful weapons against Satan. Has the enemy ever tried to lie to you to make you afraid or is there an area where he is trying to lie to you now or make you afraid? Choose some scriptures to combat those lies. One of the most insightful things Susan shared in this chapter was about how Satan uses LOGIC as his one of his weapons. Human logic and/or the intellectual logic of Satan can lead us astray. One example I can think of is evolution. Susan writes that Satan often uses real truth and mixes it with lies to deceive people. What examples of logic can you think of where the enemy is deceiving people even Christians today? One modern example would be the U.S. government providing the
people s needs, such as for healthcare (Obamacare) or jobs. People are starting to trust more in the government to meet their needs, instead of God. Susan points out something powerful in her chapter, that she is a prayer warrior (I can personally attest to this as she has prayed for me before!) and that Satan often tries to interfere when she is praying and a thick fog will come over her mind. Notice that if you pray, suddenly all hell breaks loose against you to KEEP you from praying: the phone rings, the doorbell rings, the kids fight, your husband wants you to run an errand, you get a sudden headache or feel hungry, etc. Satan knows the power of prayer. Ask God to battle on your behalf when you take time out to pray, because the enemy will try to keep you from doing it. Keep pressing into God! Have you ever experienced this fog Susan speaks of, or some type of distraction when you pray? When I read what Susan wrote about the day she was speaking for the expo, wondering why everything was so calm and she was late to the session and everyone was praying for her and how God s Spirit came upon her so powerfully and how her words touched so many people, I was just amazed. Have you ever experienced anything like this in your life? When we are weak, God is strong! Think of a time when you felt weak in your own power, but God demonstrated Himself to be mighty on yours or a loved one s or someone s behalf. Journal about it or share in class.
What were some of the aha s you took away from my ebook and this class? What have you learned? What will you do differently now? What has challenged and motivated you? What are your goals for the rest of this year and 2011? What is the next thing you will do to move forward in your life and in your business? Pray to ask God for the next thing to do! Thank you so much for being part of my Helping Hands Group Coaching/Book Study Class. I am so thankful you joined me and I feel I know you a little better now, and hope you know me better, too. I will continue to pray for you and your family. Please keep me and my family in prayer as well! I love you and please email me just to chat sometimes and let me know what s new. Let s stay connected! Copyright 2011 Beth Jones. http://womensbattles.com. All Rights Reserved.