Writers call it “the take-a-way.” What is the “take-a-way” of a book?
I am in Wisconsin now, where “Forget-me-nots” blanket the woods in May.
What does God speak to you from The God of All Comfort that He wants you to remember? That He wants you to “Forget-Me-Not?” What two or three sentences might you put in the inside cover of your book?
I’d love to have sentences that were clear, concise, and contained a word picture, like the many we saw in the psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs used in this book, for word pictures stay in your heart.
I’m eager to hear your final “take-a-way.” What do you want to “Forget me not?”
18 comments
Great is Thy faithfulness morning by morning new mercies I see, as a bird sings so stong and gleefully in early morn not worrying about the cares of its day or provision.
I loved all of “The God of all comfort”, even tho I didn’t answer on line alot I took in so very much from it. The “forget me not” that I will take from it most is what I learnt about the new heaven & earth in lesson 6 (Be still, my soul)of the study guide. I read the book first & then loaned it to a freind, so I’ve been reviewing the study guide the most. I love day 4 “God’s Heaven”.
Since I’ve lost my mom & a very dear freind/cousin this year I had a longing to know more about heaven just like you & your children did after you lost Steve, Dee. My word picture will be not so much about all the gold streets & pearly gates & enormous mansions & playing harps but about heaven coming down & the earth being transformed as we know it, only perfect and we will see our loved ones…not “ethereal but tangible” like we are, only perfect in all ways! I will see my miscarried baby & I will not be disabled & my daughter will no longer have cerebral palsy & sessures & no more death, tears, pain or sorrow & we shall be forever with our Lord! I can hardly wait! That’s a big word picture & forget me not but it’s in my heart to stay!
What will you “take away” from this study?
My heart is no longer gripped with fear of what pain or loss the future may hold. When the breeze turns into a gale, my heart will run to Jesus, the Master of the wind, for safety and comfort. I have resolved to trust His heart towards me and if He sees fit to allow suffering, I know it is for my good.
I agree with Joyce about heaven, my soul cries out all day long.
If I look back through the book I will surely think of much more, and I will do that, but right now off the top of my head, this is it.
God is with me in my pain. He will never leave me or forsake me. Because of His great love for me He will not leave me as I am. Much of my pain is due to the sin in my heart. Therefore, He is changing me into His image. My word picture is that of the smelting furnace that refines precious silver. Will I shrink from the fire that will burn away the dross in my soul or will I embrace it and be conformed into His precious image? I will never forget the testimony of Darlene Rose that I heard on Focus on the Family. She is with the Lord and her precious husband now.
When my soul forgets the love and purpose of my Lord, I will speak these verses to her.
Isaiah 49:14-16 (New Living Translation)
14 Yet Jerusalem says, “The LORD has deserted us;
the Lord has forgotten us.”
15 “Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child?
Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?
But even if that were possible,
I would not forget you!
16 See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.
Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.
And sing this song:
Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.
Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.
Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.
Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.
Letting go of the rope of my strength was scary. But, after I let go, my feet landed on the true source of my strength, Christ Jesus the Solid Rock. God wants me to “take away” from The God Of All Comfort the fact that, no matter what He allows to come at me in the future, I am standing on the Rock of Strength which WILL NEVER crumble.
This what I think of after reading the book Dee
My forget me not.
Is My God never moves so I must slide up to where He is sitting, wrap your arms around Him putting my ear to His heart & stay there:no matter the state of my heart or how bumpy the ride or how light or dark it is, Wrap my arms around his waist & hang on (not always a comfortable position but a place of healing)
Sitting shiva with someone who is grieving has stayed with me.
thank you
Loving your pictures. Hope to read more from others of you.
Will be doing some intriguing things before we begin Woman of Worship — I’ll post the first on Sunday. Meanwhile, more Forget-Me-Nots please!
There are so many “take aways” from this book and our journey through this Bible study.
What met me especially was the repeated encouragement not to “back away from God” during my time of grief. That Satan’s desire was to hit me with that lie that God does not love me and so discourage me so that I will stop talking to God. That it can be so hard to trust God, when He has allowed your loved one to die, and that it is hard to run “toward” Him when you feel so let down, or when you have regrets that you wonder how He can possible forgive you. Yet the theme of the book was to always move closer to God, through the Lament, through the words of the old hymns, which are so full of solid theology.
I take away what I learned from studying the life of Job, in particular the question of why didn’t God ever tell Job the reason for his suffering. For me, it was a picture that if God gave me a giant box, in which was all the “evidence” and answers to my questions and answers to all my “what ifs”, concerning the death of my nephew, and I could look through that box and have all the answers, I’d be left with the answers but it wouldn’t change anything. What I learned is that God gave Job something better than an answer, He gave Job an encounter with Himself that Job came away KNOWING God in a way he had never known Him before. What I want to take away with me is a continuing desire to know God, and His Son, Jesus Christ, in a way that I never have before.
I’ve always liked the story of the woman with the bleeding disorder who fought through the crowd around Jesus, just thinking to herself that if she could just touch the edge of his garment, she would be healed. I picture this woman literally on her hands and knees, and just being able to grasp a tiny edge of his long cloak between her thumb and index finger. But it was enough. That’s how I feel many times; I don’t have the strength or perhaps the strong faith to do anything but just barely hold onto Jesus, with just one finger! But my strength, or lack of, is not the issue. He always has hold of me.
I will also “take away” Dee’s very personal journal entries that she shares in the book; the way she let us look into her heart and revealed her personal grief. They were so very moving, and many times I would cry when reading them, and I felt that Dee was someone who understands what I feel, and she understands what any reader who has lost a loved one feels. It gave the book a very “intimate” feel, not just reading a “textbook” on how to handle grief. It was personal and heart-to-heart sharing.
I agree with Susan also, Dee. I would find myself going back over your personal entries that you shared of your grief & family things you all went through. I cryed along with you all also. Those heartfelt testimonies are what kept it all so close to my heart. I felt the pain you all were going through. I could pick up a book anywhere on grieving, but you made it your own with your sharing your heart with us. It helped me deal with my own grief & it also helped me to know how to help others as they are grieving…like sitting shiva & not saying the wrong things to them. Thank you so much.
I’m also praying for you three daughters & daughter-in-law’s pregnancies to go well & all the precious babies to be perfect in every way! Please let us know when all the little blessings are here! I think soon, right?
Hi Dee and dear sisters in Christ! It has been awhile since I have responded although I have been here silently following along and praying for you….I just can’t begin to tell you how much this study with each of you and Dee has meant to me or how much the Lord has been using it in my life. It would take a long post!:) He has shown me His love in a new sweet way, delivered me from fears and moved me out of a desert place in my life:)
We are just returning from Door County Dee, after spending 5 days there for our anniversary. The forget-me-nots do really blanket the woods and I love them! The innkeeper where we stayed sent some home with me so now I will have a few(or more!) in my garden:)
So here is my forget-me-not for inside my book: Jesus’love like a beautiful blanket ALWAYS surrounds me. When the trials of life cause my blanket to loosen nearly falling and I cry out He whispers to me: Be still my child ssshhh Be still I am right here..sshh Be Still..leave everything to me in My Hands…Be Still my dear child.
Thank you so much Dee for your beautiful book. I so appreciated you sharing from your heart in your journal entries! and I will remember how meaningful it is to sit shiva. Thank you again Dee for the God of All Comfort study on the blog and to you my dear sisters for all your amazing input that has made it so great….my continued prayers for each of you
I think the greatest take away for me is understanding lament. I have known that I can tell God anything on my heart but I have done it only as a last resort, when I can no longer cope with the pain. Now I think that it should be the first thing I do, possibly even a regular exercise. There is so much to lament as we walk this earth. Not only do we have our own pain but it is all around us. My practice has been to not really look at the pain around me because I can’t cope with it. I even deny much of my own as a way of coping. I feel like this is only the beginning of understanding for me, like standing before a door just opened that I’ve yet to walk through. So I will begin my journey with a prayer.
Lord, teach me to talk to You, to really share not only the joys but the deepest pain. Give me the words that I may express my soul to You. Thank You for this jewel, the freedom to lament, to be honest before You. Forgive me for ever putting on a face that was not mine, for shutting You out in my self-sufficiency. Amen
Thank you to each of you for sharing these forget-me-nots.
You’ve made this a great study.
I pray you’ll continue with us as we turn to a new subject.
My husband of 47 years died of a massive heart attack on 1/2610. We have two adult daughters. We had a 17 year old son who died as a result of an accident 27 years ago. God has blessed us with three wonderful grandsons. My husband was helping our 12 year old grandson with a school project when the heart attack occured . What I took away from your book was almost like a message. My husband had also requested that when he died we would have The Far Side Bands of Jordon song at his funeral and he said he wanted me to listen to the words because he meant them for me. We were greatly blessed with a loving marriage and met in the fourth grade. Your book reminded me that as much as I love my husband and look forward to being with him again Jesus is the primary factor in my life. My husband had great faith and looked forward to being with Jesus and our son again. With both of us Jesus was a part of our relationship. Thank you for the book.
Judy — we do share so much. Isn’t that song from The Far Side Banks of Jordan a comfort?
Meeting in the fourth grade. 🙂
Thank you so much for writing, for sharing. My heart goes out to you.
Would love to hear more from you on this blog — you are articulate and dear.
I’m so sorry for your loss, but thankful for your heart.
I’ve only started reading this book a month or so ago as my mother passed away in February. It has been a very painful few months with her bday a few wks ago while my bday is the day before hers. Plus Mothers Day. She was my best friend and a very godly woman. I have truly enjoyed the transparency that Dee displays with her journal entries. I have cried through most of them so far. What I am struggling with is truly trusting God w/my broken heart. I know I need to let Him heal me but I have a tall steel wall protecting my heart. In Chapter 5, “Why Are You So Downcast” you write that “our real fear is that we wonder if God will keep His promises or if He will be enough.” That is my current struggle. Before my mother passed away, a good friend lost her husband very tragically. She called me and I, along w/many others, helped her and her 4 children. Now she has pulled away, seldom returns calls or emails. Although she did that before this accident. However, it still hurts deeply and I feel like she doesn’t care. So even before my mother passed, my heart was hurting a bit. I listen and sing to praise music and feel Gods presence but I am so hesistant to totally depend on Him. I have seen and experienced Gods hand and comfort in different ways during my grieving, but I just don’t want to get hurt again. I do feel blessed that my mother kept so many journals and just recently found a journal w/my name on it. Only time will heal and I know eventually I will let God have the steering wheel. Thanks for listening.
Gayle — I’m so very glad you wrote. What a special mom to keep a journal especially about you.