We had such an amazing and delightfully enlightening first meeting this Saturday, June the 30th at Loco Froyo in Peachtree City! The photos from this Saturday can be found in the “Summer Adventures with Esther’s Circle” album on our facebook fan page.
33 young ladies from different participating churches have registered and this past Saturday 15 of them had the opportunity to discuss some of the study guide questions from the chapters assigned for the first of three sessions (the assigned chapters were 1-3).
Since we will be meeting only two other Saturdays to tour and discuss the book, we’ve decided that the best way to encourage continuous dialogue and community connection-friendships that have already begun to blossom across spiritual and cultural divides is to create an online discussion through blogging. We also want to give our out-of-town participants an opportunity to be apart of our discussions and experience virtually. Each of the young ladies who were present this past Saturday created their blogs while we were in a circle sharing heartfelt desires and dreams. Please see the registered blogs we have so far below and we encourage you to visit them as we continue to explore “Captivating” and the way in which God wants to romance each and everyone of us!
- Lady Esther Andy: andysecblog.wordpress.com
- Lady Esther Stacy: pureholypassion.wordpress.com
- Lady Esther Tiffany: talkaboutgoal.wordpress.com
- Lady Esther Crystal: giftedintercessor.wordpress.com
- Miss Esther Sydnee’: ssjstarchristian2.wordpress.com
- Miss Esther Rachael: RahRahvirtuousgal.wordpress.com
- Miss Esther Karyssa: lovelyryssa.wordpress.com
- Miss Esther Christian: outspokendior.wordpress.com
- Miss Esther Tori: siemprebella26.wordpress.com
- Miss Esther Brianna: cheetahkisses.wordpress.com
- Miss Esther Danielle: daniellecoke.wordpress.com
- Miss Esther Tashara: tasharabrewton.wordpress.com
- Miss Esther Brianna: briannalashay.wordpress.com
- Miss Esther Koneaka: beautisnatural.wordpress.com
- Miss Esther Karina: karinaclark.wordpress.com
- Miss Esther Tara: taraashawntaye.wordpress.com
- Miss Esther Jasmine: jasmineclark98.wordpress.com
- Miss Esther Alyssa: alyssahart.wordpress.com
- Miss Esther Carlya:
- Miss Esther Jasmine:
- Miss Esther Ashley:
- Miss Esther Jennifer:
- Miss Esther Eboni:
If you would like your url to be included and shared with those participating then respond with your blog url below. Stay tuned for future featured guest bloggers that will be highlighted on this site.
Discussion questions from the Study Guide:
Chapter one: “The Heart of A Woman”
Chapter two: “Created Eve/Fallen Eve”
Chapter three: “Haunted by a Question”
Chapter four: “Wounded”, Chapter five: “A Special Hatred”
Chapter six: “Healing the Wound”
Chapter seven: “Romanced”
Chapter eight: “Beauty to Unveil”
Chapter 1: The Heart of a Woman
Look up Proverbs 4:23 and write it below.
What are some of your favorite stories or movies? In them, who do you want to be?
Romanced:
- In your own words, define the desire to be romanced.
- Do you remember some of the games you played as a little girl? What were some that you really enjoyed?
- Are you aware of a longing to be someone’s priority? What would you like that to look like?
Irreplaceable:
- How would you describe the desire to play an irreplaceable role in a heroic adventure?
- What were your dreams for your life when you were a little girl? What did you want to be or do?
- Allowing yourself to drama little bit, think about this: If you could do or be anything you wanted now, what would it be?
- Let your mind drift over the idea, imagining what your life would be like if you could follow that dream, the people who would be around you. Would you characterize that dream role as one that would be easily replaced or one that is more on the side of essential?
- How would your living that life impact others? How is the life you are living now impacting others?Beauty to Unveil:
- Who is beautiful to you and why?
- Do you want to be beautiful, inside and out? Do you think you are or could be beautiful?
- Describe the desire for a beauty to unveil.
A Loss of Heart: (For the older ladies)
- How have you felt the message of “try harder” come to you? How has it made you feel and/or expressed itself in your life?
- Do you believe the message of “try harder” is coming from God? What do you honestly believe God thinks about you/feels about you?
- How do you handle your heart when your core desires are not being met?
Chapter 2 & 3 : Created Eve/Fallen Eve
- Before reading this, did you think that because God created women second to man that women are second to men in the heart of God?
- What does your heart do with being called the “crown of creation”?
- The essence of woman is beauty. What are some aspects of the power of Beauty that have struck you?
- How have you experienced the healing, restorative power of beauty through another person?
- Why did Eve take and eat the forbidden fruit, really?
- Look up Genesis 3:10. Write it below.
- Why was Adam afraid? What did it cause him to do?
- Which way did your mother or the women who influenced you most while you were growing tend to fall? Give some examples.
- Which way do you tend to go? Controlling and driven or desolate and needy?
- How does that play out in your life?
- Where do you take the ache in your heart if you don’t take it to God?
- Underneath our sin is a deep fear. What are you most afraid of?
Chapters 4 & 6: Wounded & Healing the Wound
- What does Psalm 56:8 tell you about how precious your tears are to God?
- Read Ecclesiastes 12:1. What does the author (Solomon) assume about “the days of trouble”?
- What are the core questions in every girl’s heart?
- How was your heart handled as a little girl?
- Think back through the story of your life. Can you remember an instance where you were hurt? What happened?
- What did you come to believe about yourself through this event?
- Was this a one-time event or did similar things happen throughout your life that reinforced the message against your heart? What were some of those events, situations or words?
- Do you know what horrid things you have been wounded into believing about yourself? Try to put it/them into a sentence.
- How were your heart’s questions, “Am I lovely?” and “Do You Delight in me? answered in your youth?
- Ask God to reveal to you the ways that believeing these things has shaped your life. Has it shaped your style of relating to others? Birthed fear? Mistrust? Journal your thoughts.
- Are you ready and willing to consider that the secret, awful things you have come to deeply believe about yourself is not true and that you did not deserve the wounds you received? Take a risk. Consider it. What if they are lies? What would that mean about you and your life?
- Read Isaiah 61:1-3 Jesus could have chosen so many scriptures to announce his ministry and his mission yet he chose this one. Why? Because it is central to God’s purposes and God’s heart. In your own words, what is Jesus offering? Who is he offering it to?
- When you first became a Christian, what did you think Christianity was primarily about? Did you know it is primarily about your restoration?
- Revelation 3:20 says what?
- Are you willing and ready to give him deeper access to your heart in order to heal you? What would you like to invite Jesus into, to heal you? Write it and be specific.
- What does 2 Corinthians 10:5 Insruct us to do?
- What does Romans 8:1 say? Do you choose now to believe it?
- What lies have you been believeing that you must renounce making agreements with? Write them, then pray, breaking those agreements.
- Look up Colossians 3:13. What does it say?
Chapter 7 and 8
- How comfortable are you with the idea of Jesus being your “Bridegroom” and you being his Beloved? Is this a relatively new “category” for you to think in about your relationship with him?
- Read Isaiah 62:1-5, again substituting your name for “Zion.” What new name does God call you?
- Let yourself dream a little. What would be an incredibly romantic day or evening for you?
- What do you love? Where is your favorite place?
- What is a favorite memory of yours?(Sometimes remembering a time from our childhood that was good can be difficult. Ask God’s help here if you’re experiencing this.)
- Where do you feel most alive?
- Read the following verses and write how God describes you or himself: Ephesians 1:4-5, Song of Songs 4:1, Hosea 2:16, Song of Songs 5:1
- How has your vision of Christianity changed since you first became a Christian?
- How does the revelation that Christianity is primarily about an invitation from God to a life of intimacy and romance with God change things for you?
- Explain what we mean by a woman’s desire to be romanced. (It is so much more than candlelit dinners and heart-shaped boxes of chocolates!)
- How is Romance coming to you these days?
- One of the ways that God romance us is by answering our Question. Keep asking Jesus the core questions of your heart: “Do you delight in me? Am I captivating to you?
- What would you love God to restore to you?
- In order to have intimacy with Jesus, you must offer it to Him. How? Cultivate an adoring heart. In Matthew 22:37, what does Jesus say is the greatest commandment? What does your God most want from you?
- What is your most precious commodity? How can you offer that to God?
- God is not after servants who love, but lovers who serve. What does this mean to you?
- Look up 1Samuel 16:7 and write it.
- What is of the utmost importance to God?
- Read 1Peter 3:3-5. What is the “unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit”?
- The KEY for women to live by faith and be able to offer their inner beauty and their outer beauty to others is given to us in 1Peter 3:6. What does Peter instruct us to not give way to?
- In the depths of you heart, the secret places within, what are you afraid of?
- How has fear kep you from living a life of love and offering your true beauty?
- Are you ready to ask God to replace your fear with faith? God ahead, pray.
