I'm starting a study on Esther, here are some thoughts and observations from day 1:

Background:

• No mention of God, prayer or worship in the book
• Esther and Mordecai were not necessarily godly Jews (aka Esther joining the kings harem...)
• There is great courage, nobility and high moral character in this book
• "If the name of God is not here, His finger is. He is in the shadows keeping watch over His own."
  

Esther 1:1-9
180 day banquet for his officials, servants, the army of Persia and Media, and nobles and governors of Providences
Purpose: show off his riches and his royal glory...

2nd 7 day banquet for all the people in Susa, the citadel, the great and small

Queen Vashti is throwing a feast for the women in the palace at the same time

First Impressions of Ahasuerus:
-pompous
-proud
-selfish
-people pleaser
-wealthy
-conceited

God's view on riches:
Prov. 30:7-9 --It is better to be content than have great riches! "give me neither poverty nor riches, feed me with food that is need full for me." *lest I be full and deny you or poor and steal
Prov. 31:20 --The Wise Woman "Opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy."
Phil. 4:11-13 --Learn in whatever situation you are in to be CONTENT!

Do NOT be fooled by fortune and affluence!

If you have plenty = Give liberally, give generously, bountifully and cheerfully
If you have little = Seek Contentment

Thanksgiving was over a week ago but I've still been thinking about things I'm thankful for so I'm starting a list (NOT necessarily in a particular order :)

1. My relationship with God
2. Bethel
3. My Roommates
4. The Small Group I attend (especially the awesome girls that are such an encouragement)
5. God's Faithfulness
6. Jamie (my clinical supervisor this past semester and mentor)
7. Snow :) (at least now--can't say that it'd still be on the list if this was February/March)
8. Running as an outlet for stress, emotions, etc.
9. Awesome friends from the past (Sam, Jessie, Amanda, Kristy, Brittany, the list could go on and on!)
10. Awesome friends now (Hannah, Sarah, Small group girls, Leah, Abby, my Mom)
11. For my Family

God you are:
The giver of peace. The love of my life. The answer to my every question. The reason behind my actions.
The Beginning and the End.
My joy, strength, and source of purpose.

You are beyond my comprehension.
More amazing that I could ever imagine.
Powerful beyond belief.
Loving.
Full of grace, mercy and justice.
Your actions are perfect, without error.
You care for me beyond what any human could ever fathom.

You are the reason I wake up every morning
You motivate me to work hard in life
Your joy fills me up and overflows into my every day life.

So after all of that I just want to say that I'm missing a ministry outlet in my life right now. I feel so isolated 95% of the time... and for some reason my mind keeps dwelling on past ministries that I have been involved in. This makes my heart ache. Sometimes I wish I could drop everything and go into full time ministry, but on the other hand I LOVE school, my major and the ministry that I can have through athletic training which requires 1 1/2 more weeks and then one final semester before GRADUATION!