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    Give It Up!: A Lenten Study for Adults
    Give It Up!: A Lenten Study for Adults
    Give It Up!: A Lenten Study for Adults
    Ebook87 pages2 hours

    Give It Up!: A Lenten Study for Adults

    By Dottie Escobedo-Frank

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    About this ebook

    This Lenten study reflects on all the things that hold our attention, occupy our minds and monopolize our time, yet still isolate us from God and the world around us. Things like social media, phones, the noise of life, and focus on the external. Imagine taking on the challenge of giving up each of these for a week. During this seven-week study, Dottie Escobedo Frank takes the reader on a journey of self discovery, where he or she learns that the power of release brings great gain. The biggest gain is a stronger relationship with Christ. In the release, each person is freed to "give it up" in applause and praise for a life deeply lived in Christ.

    This thematic Bible study is designed to be used by individuals and small groups during the Lent 2015 season. In addition to the main content, each chapter offers questions for reflection and discussion, a brief prayer, and a focus for the week. The focus emerges from the chapter content and encourages readers to engage in a spiritual practice or do something specific that will help them grow in faith. On the whole, this thematic seasonal Bible study series is designed for transformation and application of Bible study to everyday, practical life experience.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAbingdon Press
    Release dateDec 16, 2014
    ISBN9781426795435
    Give It Up!: A Lenten Study for Adults
    Author

    Dottie Escobedo-Frank

    Dottie Escobedo-Frank serves as Bishop of the Western Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church. She earned her Master of Divinity from Claremont School of Theology and her Doctor of Ministry from George Fox Evangelical Seminary in Semiotics and Future Studies. Dottie served as an elder in the Desert Southwest Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and as the District Superintendent of the South District. She is a speaker and writer, and her work has centered on church revitalization, worship and preaching, and multicultural ministry. Dottie is the author of Converge: Our Common Sins, Jesus Insurgency with Rudy Rasmus, ReStart Your Church, Sermon Seeds, Advent and Christmas, and the Igniting Worship Series.

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      Book preview

      Give It Up! - Dottie Escobedo-Frank

      First Week in Lent

      Mirror, Mirror . . .

      Scripture: Read Philippians 4:8-9

      GIVE IT UP: No mirrors for a week

      GAIN: Internal significance

      Every morning we roll out of bed, and before we face the world, we get a shower, put on our makeup or shave, fix our hair, and get dressed. Much of our little routine is performed in front of a mirror. We have mirrors in our bathrooms, our bedrooms, our entryways, our cars, our offices, and in our purses for emergency occasions. There is even an app for a mirror on our smartphones. Before we go to an interview or a meeting with a friend or even join a crowd, we often check our faces in the mirror to make sure there are no signs of leftover lunch or tiredness from too much work and not enough sleep. Mirrors are central in our experience of living in the modern day.

      If you’re not convinced, count the times you looked in a mirror today. My guess is you’ll be surprised. Whether or not it’s intentional, we check on ourselves as a confidence booster and out of habit.

      According to YouGov, an online news source, we spend a significant amount of time getting ready every morning. Most of us (fifty-six percent) take eleven to thirty minutes. In addition, thirty-eight percent of women and twenty-one percent of men take longer than thirty minutes. That adds up to more than seven-and-a-half days every year working to look good.¹ And we spend high dollars on beautification as well. According to Investopedia.com, in 2008, Americans spent $7 billion on cosmetics, $1.5 billion on breast augmentation, $1 billion on tummy tucks, and $1.3 billion on liposuction. The average woman spends $1,000 per year on beauty products.² And while I, too, spend my fair share of time in front of the mirror trying to make myself look beautiful (or at least better) before I meet the world, I’m aware that the time could be better spent in other ways. I wonder what I could do with an extra week every year of my life.

      The Scripture

      The text in Philippians tells us that we could spend our time and effort on filling our minds and hearts with other things instead. We could, for example, think about truth and about what is noble. We could develop an authentic self that has a reputation to match. We could cultivate grace in our lives. Instead of focusing on the ugly, the cursed, and the worst of life, we could lean into what is beautiful, praiseworthy, and best.

      The Philippian Christians were a small group who gathered to worship, possibly in the home of Lydia, a woman who traded in rich fabric (Acts 16:14). She was head of her household, providing well for her family. Paul wrote to the Philippians as he served time in a Roman prison, awaiting trial. He was well acquainted with the Christians in Philippi, and he wanted them to focus on what was going on inside their hearts and not on the outside. Some of them may have been cloth dealers like Lydia, handling costly fabrics for royalty. Some might have wished they could afford clothing made from the materials they dyed for others. So when Paul told them to focus inwardly, it was like telling a cosmopolitan model to get her picture taken for a national photo shoot but not to worry about what she looked

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