Good Morning Girls

An Announcement at GMG – A NEW Contributor!

January 12, 2012 By Courtney 9 Comments

Today over at Good Morning Girls we are announcing our NEWEST contributor Jen Thorn! And here we are 15 years ago – rockin some BIG rather dark – hair lol!

18 years ago, I arrived as a nervous freshman from Ohio, at the Moody Bible Institute. I settled into my new home in Houghton Hall dorm on 9 North and there across the hall lived this sweet girl with a beautiful smile. Jen had arrived in Chicago all the way from Germany and little did I know that God had a special friendship in store for me. Over the next four years, we’d become roommates, life long friends, we’d laugh, cry, share clothes, talk boys and surprisingly talk theology half the night! This girl runs deep!

During those four years of college, I was dating my husband long distance – so this poor girl had to endure me monopolizing the one phone in our room (there weren’t cell phones or email yet – just long distance calling cards!) and me writing snail mail nightly letters to my man. She helped me to enjoy life while my heart ached to be with the man I was head over heels in love with and trust me – that was a bigger task than you realize…I told LOTS of Keith stories people! lol! Which means this girl is a patient listener!

Jen was also head over heels in love with a very wise and intelligent student named Joe (who blogs at JoeThorn.net) – who also happened to be one of my close friends. This guy’s theology rocked my world – he was the source of Jen and I’s very late night theology discussions! lol! I think he taught me more about Theology than all three of my Theology courses at Moody combined! But I’m off track now – back to Jen! They married! Yes, they married the week after graduation and I was in her wedding.

And then I married 3 months later and she was in my wedding!

That’s Jen on my left and surely you recognize who’s on my right??? It’s Angela my partner at GoodMorningGirls.org! What huge blessings these girls have been in my life and I am SO excited to be coming together here and serving along side of them…

You want to see an updated photo of Jen now – along with her four children and read her bio? Come check it out by clicking here!

We will also be announcing a second NEW contributor on GMG on Friday – so don’t miss it!

Then get ready for the BIG launch Monday as we begin an on-line study of the book of Ephesians! Click here to open your free Estudy guide!!!

Walk with the King,

Filed Under: Friendships, Good Morning Girls

3 Month Bible Reading Plan

January 2, 2012 By Courtney 14 Comments

WOW! The response yesterday to the Gentleness Challenge was overwhelming!

As we embark on the Gentleness Challenge - we must keep in mind that our flesh can change for a season – but only true life long change can come by the Holy Spirit.

Being in God’s word is KEY to true transformation.

So if you do not have a reading plan for the next 3 months – I have one for you!

It’s an on-line Bible study hosted on my sister site – GoodMorningGirls.org Here’s all the details:

(Click here to download the e-study guide if the above image link doesn’t work)

Click the image above and the Ephesians e-study guide will open for FREE!

This e-study guide includes:

The Ephesians SOAP reading plan for Ephesians
An explanation of the Good Morning Girls SOAP Bible reading method
12 weeks of worksheets to be filled out!

I encourage you to print the e-study guide, 3 hole-punch it and place it into a binder!

This study begins January 15th! We will be providing additional on-line resources, videos and discussions about the content!

If you would rather not print the e-study guide at home, you can also have the guide printed and spiral bound at stores like OfficeMax or Staples. Not up for printing the e-study guide? Then try this new resource! Check out: SOAPstudy.com

Using SOAPstudy.com you can type in the scripture, observations, applications and prayers using your computer! Just another handy tool to use as you dig deeper into God’s Word.

SOAP Reading Plan for Ephesians

(Included in the e-study guide)

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE IN A GOOD MORNING GIRLS GROUP TO PARTICIPATE!

But for more details on what a Good Morning Girls group is and how to enroll, subscribe, or follow along - CLICK HERE!

Walk with the King,

Filed Under: Good Morning Girls, Quiet Times

An Invitation From Angela…

December 15, 2011 By Courtney 6 Comments

Angela (my Highschool BFF) and me in Dallas, Texas earlier this year

My partner at Good Morning Girls, Angela, is opening her home (via this post) to you…come take a peak at her Christmas decorations and then visit us over at Good Morning Girls as enrollment for the winter session begins TODAY!

Angela writes:

The fall session of Good Morning Girls ended last week so I invited my GMG friends (who all happen to live near me) to come over to my house for a Good Morning Girls Christmas party. What I LOVE about Good Morning Girls is it’s more than just keeping each other accountable to be in God’s Word, we form lasting friendships and when given the chance to get together many do. I’ve received tons of pictures of GMG groups getting together for play-dates, girls nights out or even traveling to see each other face-to-face! Its amazing the bond that can form when women start digging into God’s Word and sharing what they are learning!!!

Before the party started I decided to open my house to all of you as well…..by taking a few pictures. You are welcome here……come sit down, make yourself at home and I’ll grab you a piece of cake! I’m happy you’re joining us!

Please note, I did NOT make this cake!!! My husband and I love to shop at Costco and while you can find good deals there…..you can also pick up this delicious cake! Did you notice I didn’t even take off the plastic bottom?!!! The cake was so heavy I was afraid to!

Come sit down, this is my favorite chair in my house!

I love to add these Christmas ball ornaments throughout my house. Its a simple, easy way to add some color to any room.

My mantel- simple again, all the Christmas decorations I purchased at Target…another one of my favorite stores.

My staircase, I purchased this garland at Costco and just added the red Christmas ball ornaments to give the garland a little “pop”.

My FAVORITE place to sit with my family…..my kitchen table. For those of you who have seen some of my GMG videos…..you’ll recognize this spot! I love it in the winter because of the fireplace. I love it in the fall and spring because of the great breeze that comes in when I open the windows…but most importantly I love this spot because of the ones who sit around it.

I have my manger scene located in my kitchen right next to my table….it’s a great conversation piece and its actually plastic so my girls can play with it…although baby Jesus does tend to do some uncharacteristic things sometimes and Mary has to put him in timeout. Ha!

Well I hope you enjoyed my GMG Christmas party tour! Now lets get started forming your own GMG group! I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us this session!

Here’s a few IMPORTANT details:

1. RETURNING Good Morning Girls - please RE-enroll. We wiped clean the old message boards and start new every session. So in order for us to know who is out there and to get an accurate count – we ask that you re-enroll.

2. Ephesians Bible Study gals! Subscribe - We encourage you to subscribe to the feed of GoodMorningGirls.org. Our Monday, Wednesday, and Friday posts will come into your email inbox so you never miss a day!

3. Ephesians Bible Reading Plan & SOAP Print-out sheets coming soon...

4. Can you have a Good Morning Girls group but opt out of the Ephesians Study? Yes, your group may already be in a Bible study together or each do your own thing! The Ephesians study is optional!

5. When do we start? You will begin emailing/Facebooking/Tweeting/texting your groups Sunday, January 15th is a warm-up day just to say “Hi”. The Ephesians Study Week 1 reading will begin on Monday, January 16th!

For NEWBIES! Here’s what you do:

1. Invite your friends to join your Good Morning Girls group – it runs from January 15th-April 15th. If you don’t like email – use Facebook, Twitter or texting!

2. Don’t have friends to invite? Go to the Message Board and find like-minded women there who have already started groups or start your own on there!

How to Enroll:

Click here – then go to the thread “ROLL CALL” and enter your name, city and state, and number of girls in your group.

Can you join the on-line study and not have a group? Absolutely!!! We welcome anyone who wants to join us to study God’s word and we invite you to leave a comment on this post if you are joining us without a group so we know you are here!!! We are curious to know how many follow along without a group (for future studies) – so please let us know you are here!!!

So let’s get Roll Call started! Are you in?

Love God Greatly!

GoodMorningGirls.org

Filed Under: Good Morning Girls, Quiet Times

Today I Am Choosing to Linger…

September 18, 2011 By Courtney 13 Comments

In the midst of this noisy world, God’s voice can be drowned out by the distractions of our busy days.

Psalm 46:10 says “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth”

My son has always been a very active little guy. From the day he began walking, he no longer wanted to sit in my lap. I would try to hold him and cuddle him and he would straighten his arms and like a bullet slip to the floor. He wanted to be free! But that made me sad – because I longed for lingering moments, like when he was a baby.

Sometimes I act this way with God. He wants me to just be still and enjoy Him. But “NOOOO” I want to be free. Free to run around distracted and doing my own thing! God doesn’t want to hold me down all day long – but he does want just a little while to linger with me.

He wants to tell me how much he loves me and guide me by his Word. He wants me to talk to him about my day, my struggles, and my needs. He wants to teach me. He wants to reveal to me areas I need to mature in and fill me up with love, joy, and hope. He wants to be thanked and worshiped. He wants me to be still and know that He is God!

He loved us so much he hung on a cross for us in agony. Oh… just linger on that thought for a moment…He humbled himself to death on a cross so we could be forgiven of all our heinous sins and know him personally…intimately. So we could linger with him!!! Certainly we can set aside a few minutes a day to be still.

And so today we begin our 12 week study in the Book of I John over on GoodMorningGirls.org. I’d be remiss if I did not invite you over to check out our launch day!

If you do not have a fall plan for lingering over God’s word – would you consider joining us?

There’s a free e-book linked below – just click to open it! (you do not have to print it – feel free to use your own journal to write in! Just use it as a guide!)