Ephesian Bible Study Now Available Print and Ebook

Wow! The First Bible Study is Here! And More to Come!

The first of my 10 Bible studies hot off the press is Ephesians: God’s Great Mystery Revealed: In Christ, In His Church. It’s part of my Beholding-is-Becoming series which connects people to the love of Christ through intimate, intelligent, and accessible Scripture studies using an integrated head/heart/hands rhythm with:

• 10-minute daily devotional questions (and an “express” version for those overwhelmed by life)

• Discovery sheets for deeper, personal connection with Scripture

• Concise commentary

• Guides for teachers and facilitators (email me at nancy@nancywcarroll.com for a PDF!)

You can purchase it on Amazon (or contact me at nancy@nancywcarroll.com if you want a bulk amount).

Would you add your review?

You can review Ephesians on Amazon (link here for tips on how to) and Goodreads (link here). Reviews are helpful and appreciated. If you did my Ephesians study a few years back, I’d love for you to give a review. Thanks so much.

Here’s some information about the book:

 It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Ephesians1:11 The Message

Ephesians is my heart book, where I grappled with the “believe it or not” truth of God’s love for me. This is the book where I caught the picture that it is through all of our individual puzzle pieces fitting together that we show Jesus Christ, God’s great Masterpiece, to the world. I pray that God can open the eyes of your heart to believe his love for you and his destiny for you as his beloved and royal children.

For a sneak peek, these are the chapters for the study, with the hope of soaking deeply in this amazing epistle!

Discover Your Destiny: Sons and Daughters of the King

Overview of Ephesians          Discover Your Destiny: In Christ  

Ephesians 1:1-14                     And Can It Be? (Yes!)

Ephesians 1:15-23                   Living the Unbelievably True Life

Become Who You Really Are: His “Master Pieces”

Ephesians 2:1-10                     Piece of Work or Masterpiece?

Ephesians 2:11-3:13                 God’s Great Mystery Revealed

Ephesians 3:14-21                   Living the So Much More Life

Walk Out Who You Are Together: His Beloved Children

Ephesians 4:1-16                     Time to Grow Up

Ephesians 4:17-5:21                 The Cinderella Syndrome

Ephesians 5:21-6:9                  Living the Royal Life Relationally

Stand Strong Together: Royal Warriors

Ephesians 6:10-24                   A Call to Arms and Prayer

Ephesians Summary               Living Out Loud

For those teaching it and facilitating small groups, please email me for the leader’s guide for additional notes and resources.

Thanks to God and to my agent Julie Gwinn at Seymour Agency and to Brian Kannard with Donelson Press! And to all of you who kept asking me for these studies. AGOG! All by the Grace of God. All to the Glory of God.

Recalibrating Practices: How will you G-R-O-W this year?

Every year I choose a word as a theme to recalibrate around. But, as a woman flooded with words, it’s swollen in the past few years into an acronym : G-R-O-W.

Gratitude. Resilience. Obedience. Wonder.

(In 2021, I’m going to make it G-R-O-W-L because we all need some laughter. Every day.)

These words are part of my current “rule of life,” a spiritual practice which serves as as a way to set a sacred pace for your life. (More on developing a “rule of life” in an upcoming newsletter.)

G-R-O-W jelled when three friends from different seasons of my life who didn’t know each other gathered to help usher in my 60th birthday at the beach. One afternoon, we sat for a few hours with our feet in the sand and spoke about our biggest fears and desires as we stare down the second half (or last quarter in my case).

It was then I realized the things I fear are the flip side of what I most want.  

I fear ending up bitter, cynical, and judgmental. I fear II’ll give up on my dreams, deaden my longings, and become rigid and inflexible in my beliefs and habits. I fear I’ll lose my love for Jesus and rationalize or minimize my sin. I fear I’ll become bored, apathetic, tired, and joyless.

What do I most desire as I stare down my failures, confusion, disappointments? I want to be grateful every day, to keep going and trying new things. (Which means I want to keep failing.) I want to love Jesus more and respond to him out of love not as a means to an end. I want to live a life of wide-eyed joy in the mysteries and beauty of life. And I want to laugh uncontrollably—tears streaming and unable to catch my breath—with those around me.

For the next few posts, I will explore G-R-O-W-L. Starting with:

GRATITUDE 

Henri Nouwen writes, “Gratitude is the awareness that life in all its manifestations is a gift for which we want to give thanks. The closer we come to God in prayer, the more we become aware of the abundance of God’s gifts to us. We may even discover the presence of these gifts in the midst of our pains and sorrows. The mystery of the spiritual life is that many of the events, people, and situations that for a long time seemed to inhibit our way to God become ways of being united more deeply with him. What seemed a hindrance proves to be a gift. Thus, gratitude becomes a quality of our hearts that allows us to live joyfully and peacefully even though our struggles continue.”

There are wonderful podcasts, Ted Talks, and apps which can help retrain your brain to gratitude. I love the Five Minute Journal because I can do it in two minutes a day and add a photo. It’s good to have a place to skim back and remember that life isn’t so bad.

Ron Rolheiser, OMI writes, “Gratitude is the ultimate virtue, undergirding everything else, even love. It is synonymous with holiness. Gratitude not only defines sanctity, it also defines maturity. We are mature to the degree that we are grateful. But what brings us there? What makes for a deeper human maturity?” He then lists 10 ways we need to address to embrace gratitude. I’d love to know which most resonates with you.

He writes, “God is a prodigiously-loving, fully-understanding, completely-empathic parent. We are mature and free of false anxiety to the degree that we grasp that and trust that truth.”

 Start with just soaking in some of h the many Scriptures on thankfulness, like Colossians 3:12-17. Before going to bed, write down 1-3 small or big things you’re grateful for that day. Or take a photo a day of one thing you’re grateful for. Or thank someone (with specific reasons why you’re thankful) once a day (at least!)

Please let me know your gratitude habits.

Next up: Resilience!

This Advent: Wrestling Until We Rest

No. No. No.

In the past month, we've attended too many funerals (masks and distancing making it even harder). For an 11-year-old boy who drowned in a creek. For a man who succumbed to suicide leaving a wife and three children. For a mother who died in her sleep five months pregnant. We’ve grieved for those who’ve lost family and friends to Covid-19, one who lost her brother and her twin sister. We’ve agonized with friends who stayed by their youngest daughter's side as she delivered a stillborn son.

I’m flooded with “it-should-not-be-this-way” raging shouts in my head.

No! No! No!

I keep saying “No, No, No” for friends wounded by betrayal from fellow Christian teammates. For a widow forced to face the total chaos and renovation to her home and belongings because of smoke damage. On her own. For single friends longing not to be single. For my 88-year-old mother and all those locked away in their retirement homes, wondering if it’s worth not being able to touch anyone for a year. For political tensions separating family and friends more than any medical pandemic. For all those waiting for justice, for steady employment, for a child, for healing (or at least an easing of pain), for adult children to return to faith, for peace and safety in their own homes and hearts and minds.

No. No. No.

I am grateful Jesus tells us to come to him as children, even when we’re weary, confused, hurting, “hissy-fit” children. I am grateful God will not let me go as I pummel him with my angry and fearful prayers. I am grateful I can’t pry myself away from his embrace. This truth is embedded in me from Romans 8:38-39, TPT

So now I live with the confidence that there is nothing in the universe with the power to separate us from God’s love. I’m convinced that his love will triumph over death, life’s troubles, fallen angels, or dark rulers in the heavens. There is nothing in our present or future circumstances that can weaken his love. There is no power above us or beneath us—no power that could ever be found in the universe that can distance us from God’s passionate love, which is lavished upon us through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One!

No. No. No.

That’s been my honest, wrestling prayer with God this season. I love the word “wrestle” because rest is nestled right in the middle of it.

I will wrestle until I rest. And then wrestle and rest again.

That rest isn’t found in pat answers but in the mystery and wonder of a God who is beyond my questions and tantrums. That rest isn’t in my understanding, but in a God who understands and loves me. His answer is in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

In this Advent season, I am meditating on Luke 1, on Mary’s wrestling  with “how will this be?” releasing into the rest of “let it be to me according to your word.”  I think about Mary’s yes in a No! No! No! world

Her yes to not be afraid. Her yes to receiving God’s favor and grace. Her yes to being overshadowed by God’s power. Her yes to his word and will. Her yes to the impossible. Her yes to bearing greatness. Her yes to magnify the Lord and rejoice in God her Savior as she births the son destined to die.

In this dark, waiting-for-his-return Advent season, I long for Jesus to come and change all the “no’s” of this broken, painful, not-right world into that glorious final “YES!” of making all things as they should be.

Rest. Rest. Rest.

If you’re a wrestler like me, I pray Psalm 131 comforts you. It takes a lot of squalling and squirming before I settle down and rest, quieted, my soul humbled in his presence. I pray in this hard season, you will find rest and contentment in his presence.

Lord, my heart is meek before you.
I don’t consider myself better than others.
I’m content to not pursue matters that are over my head—
such as your complex mysteries and wonders—
that I’m not yet ready to understand.
I am humbled and quieted in your presence.
Like a contented child who rests on its mother’s lap,
I’m your resting child and my soul is content in you.
O people of God, your time has come to quietly trust,
waiting upon the Lord now and forever.
Psalm 131, TPT

Wait. Wait. Wait.

As we long for things to be made right and for Jesus' return this Advent, as we wrestle to come to the point of surrender of “Let it be to me,” may we quietly trust and "Wait with hope. Hope now; hope always!"(Ps. 131:3b, MSG)

Recalibrating Practices: Wake Up and Root Down

Aligning Your Spiritual Posture

It’s not my mother’s fault. She told me to stand up straight. But after years slouching over my computer keyboard, I confess I am a “slumper.” A slumper who also is easily distracted and frets too much.

Because of that, I developed a recalibrating practice I call my “morning stand,” a way to engage my whole body to anchor my scattered soul as well as straighten my sagging posture.

As one “prone to wander” spiritually and emotionally, taking my morning stand has helped “bind my wandering heart” to God. For those, like me, who may be scattered or sagging, I offer this practice.

To recalibrate your soul and stretch your body, try this simple five-minute wake-up routine integrating Scripture, movement, and prayer.

First, while lying in bed, breathe deeply and remember who you are: This is your beloved son/daughter (and state your name). Pause and exhale: In whom you are well pleased. Luke 3:22 (Truth note: For all who are believers in Christ, this how God now sees us.)

Then, sit up and gently stretch your neck and shoulders and repeat three biblical truths:

• I am made in the image of God (and so is everyone I will interact with today) 

• I am part of the plan of God (therefore, what I do today has purpose and meaning).

• I am filled with his Holy Spirit.

Next, stand and plant the four corners of both feet on the floor, imagining tree roots growing down, life flowing up. Lengthen your spine, aligning and stretching from your toes through your neck and head.

 Pray from Ephesians 3:17-19 (adapted from The Message):

I ask You that with both my feet planted firmly and rooted deeply in love, I'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love.

Roll your shoulders up and back and stretch your arms wide, thinking of the love of Christ shown on the Cross, and the vulnerability of being fully open, heart and body, to the world. Breathe slowly and deeply.

Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.

Then, lower your arms and place your palms down. Visualize gently dropping each of your deepest heart concerns and questions into the loving scarred hands of Jesus.

Pray, “I pour out all my worries and stress upon You and leave them there, for You always tenderly care for me.” (I Pet 5:7 TPT)

Turn your hands up in a receiving position. Picture God pouring his grace and mercy, power and love, wisdom and strength into your body and mind.

Pray, “You have not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-control.” (2 Tim 1:7)

Repeat the Lord's prayer slowly, stopping where you most need it this day (praising Him, seeking His kingdom, yielding to His will, laying out daily needs, asking/giving forgiveness, resisting temptation, overcoming evil). 

Finally, lift your head in a way which will balance a crown and remember the truth that He has crowned you with His steadfast love and mercy and remind yourself that you are the son or daughter of the King of Kings ready for this new day. (Ps. 103:4)

Note 1: For those of you who wake with a toddler’s finger poking in your eyeball, the alarm ringing in your ear after too little sleep, or late before you even leap from bed, don’t give up. To remember who you really are, what is true about you, and rooting deeply in the love of Christ can be done at any hour. The releasing of our deepest concerns and fears into Christ’s hands can be done on repeat (since I tend to reel mine back in after casting them onto the Lord). Just like we need to continue adjusting our physical posture, we can keep training our spiritual stance.

Note 2: When I’m tempted to uproot from love because of pain and doubt, I’m reminded of Henri Nouwen’s words.

“Do not hesitate to love and to love deeply. You might be afraid of the pain that deep love can cause. When those you love deeply reject you, leave you, or die, your heart will be broken. But that should not hold you back from loving deeply. The pain that comes from deep love makes your love even more fruitful. It is like a plow that breaks the ground to allow the seed to take root and grow into a strong plant. Every time you experience the pain of rejection, absence, or death, you are faced with a choice. You can become bitter and decide not to love again, or you can stand straight in your pain and let the soil on which you stand become richer and more able to give life to new seeds.”