Our Tuesday Night Group

Stephen and I have been meeting with a group on Tuesday nights since the beginning of the year for Bible study. Our group consists of the Nihisers, who happen to be our friend Owen's in-laws, our preacher's wife, Sharon, and another young couple, Stan and Adrienne. Stan and Adrienne have a little boy who is Elsie's age and a little girl who is a year older than Mary Grace. (Mary Grace thinks she's the coolest thing!)
First we did the Crown Financial study. Now we're studying Donald Adams's book, With Hands Outstretched: Actively Seeking the Mind of Christ. Pastor Adams's book is very in depth and really pushes you to think and be honest with yourself and the group your study group. It's not one of those that just gives you a Scripture reading and then asks questions that only have you repeat exactly what the Scripture said. No, no. You're not getting off that easy with Pastor Adams!
Just as an example, the first question of the first chapter of the book is this: "Martin Luther would ask his companions in spirtual formation, 'Where have your temptations lead you?' What have you learned about yourself through your temptations?" And you're supposed to share that with the group?! Definitely not for the faint-hearted!
We meet at the Nihiser's lovely home on Tuesday nights for our study. We take turns brining supper and facilitating the night's discussion. This week was Chapter 4: Remaining in His Affection (Seeking to Share God's Singlemindedness), which features such questions as: "Lies are spiritual red flags, simple though they seem. Where are you dishonest or in denial in some way?" and "Why do we resist the compassion of Jesus?" Ha! So I read my chapter, write some notes, and pray for the best. We arrive at the Nihisers for supper and Adrienne asks me, "Did you get my e-mail?" No, I didn't get Adrienne's e-mail, which by the way, she sent at 3 o'clock to my home address! Well, the e-mail was entitled "Father Cometh". Oh, I forgot to tell you, Adrienne's dad WROTE OUR BOOK! Yes, the author is coming to sit in on our discussion, which I"M SUPPOSED TO LEAD!
Talk about pressure! I'm actually glad I didn't get the e-mail! I was more than a little nervous but it all turned out alright. Pastor Adams is so knowledgeable and so nice! It was truly a treat to have him drive all the way from Vidalia just to meet our little group! He gave us a lot of insights where we needed them but also just sat back and listened as we went through our study. He's a precious person and we were truly blessed by his presence.
He spent a total of about six or seven years, he said, over the course of 20 years working on the book. Talk about dedication!