Audio from Women's Teaching Event with Connally Gilliam

On February 22, 2011, we were privileged to have Connally Gilliam come and speak to the women of Rez & our community.  You may listen here to Connally’s talk, entitled ‘Loving the Life We Didn’t Expect- Seen & Loved by the One who Knows Us’.  The recording also includes the Q&A session that followed Connally’s talk.

You may also want to take a look at Connally’s blog that encourages women to pray and fast in community.

After listening to the talk, take a few minutes to think about and respond to the these questions that were shared at the event:

Reflection Questions

  1. 1. Psalm 119 says,
    “My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place.
    When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
    Your eyes saw my unformed body.”

    If God saw us even as we were being knit together in our mothers’ wombs, he most certainly sees us now. Can you recall a time when you knew that you were seen by God. What was happening? How did it feel? How did it affect you?

  2. In what area(s) of your life do you long to know that God “sees” you right now? Put differently, in what area(s) of your life do you need to know he’s truly paying attention to you, your desires, your circumstances, your prayers? It might be something within your own
    heart, having to do with your family, regarding relationships, with a job or health concern, etc.
  3. In Hosea we read of God’s lament for his unfaithful people: “How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel?
    My heart is turned over within Me, All My compassions are kindled. (Hos 11:8)
    Scripture paints a picture of our God having a heart that can “turn over within” Him and “compassions” that can be “kindled.” In what way(s) does this fit or not fit your picture of God? Does this attribute of God encourage you, or give you strength to keep praying?
    Could it, at least, remind you that whatever your unanswered longings or unexpected circumstances, God has compassion for you?
  4. At Rez we talk a lot about the importance of community but it may be that we still feel pretty alone in certain circumstances or in certain unmet expectations of our lives. How can we better share our struggle to trust that God knows us and loves us particularly in these areas
    that sometimes feel so individualized? While our issues are not identical, might we do more to support one another as the beloved children of a good God who all happen to live in a broken and disappointing world? For example, can you think of someone with whom you could share answered as well as unanswered prayers, or with whom you could spend time in scripture about this evening’s topic in a way that is healthy and healing (through Triads or more informal interactions)? Can you get to know and support someone in a different life phase (from single to married, from mother to married without kids, etc), sharing stories of God’s trustworthiness as well as today’s challenges? Are there any habits you are engaged in as part of this community that could be isolating or otherwise detrimental to other members? Take a minute to think about how you can be “the aroma of Christ” to those who are suffering in our church.

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