And The Winner Is...

At the beginning of the Pure Grace Sweeter Than Chocolate On-Line Study, I had made a Beaded Bookmark to be given as an End of Study Giveaway.

Congratulations Jan! If anyone grew in leaps and bounds during these past 6 weeks, surely you must be counted among their number!

I believe that it was in Week Three that you said in the Comment Cafe... "Hi Cathie,

I am still here! I too have been struggling a bit with the length of Lesson 3. I almost did not attend our group session on Thursday because I felt I was just going around and around not getting anywhere..."


Just 4 short days later, you wrote, "... I also am finding that the studying is going better this week and I am even getting into the Digging Deeper sidebars. I have also been reading 1 Samuel and now am starting 2 Samuel. I have been in Genesis and Joshua and plan on reading Jeremiah 18 as well. I am finding that, for me, the Psalm is getting clearer and easier to understand. Vs. 96 was causing me a bit of difficulty understanding what the psalmter was trying to say but then reading all the translations of that verse clarified my thinking. I have really enjoyed this week...."


And 11 days after that, you wrote, "Hi to all my sisters in Christ,
I have had another burst of understanding this week. I am sure I should have 'gotten" this before but I am one of the simple that the psalmist speaks about in vs 130. Cathie, I remember how you spoke about using God's word to explain God's word and I never quite understood but this week with the help of my sisters I began to do much more cross-referencing than I had done before and I really began to see how God's word builds on God's word. I felt as if a lightbulb had flicked light on over my head just like you see in the comics. I began to see how checking 1 cross-reference led to another and I could feel my understanding of what was being said greatly increase. Like I have said many times, it seems to take me a wee bit longer to catch on but eventually I do. I am blessed by that verse, knowing that God will have patience with me and will give me understanding, even if it takes a while...."

And just 3 days after that, you were the first one to fly through the door of the Comment Cafe, coming prepared with the research you had done on the Trinity and presenting it to your sisters! You said, "I am so excited this morning. I was working on my study late last night when I got to the question aboout the Hebrew word for salvation which the psalmist hoped and longed for. YESHUA!!! Meaning help, deliverance. saving... I am going to do more looking as I know you have said we should be careful about commentators but I was beside myself last night to see how everything in the Bible fits together to point to our Lord Jesus as the Messiah.

More later.

It was the "more later" that just sent me into giggles and my joy over the top! Jan, it is with great love that I pass along to you this little Bookmark. May it be a reminder to you of the precious time that you spent, close to The Word, Yeshua!, in Psalm 119. You have been an inspiration and an encouragement to all of us, and we just plain love you, o-o-odles!

love,