Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Simon," he said to Peter, "are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.

Mark: 14:37-40

The Lenten Season is almost over, and we find ourselves very tired. We have wandered in the desert with Jesus, we have been tempted by the evils of the world, and we have found ourselves in need of prayer. But, instead of praying and keeping watch, we instead, make our ways to our beds. We pull the covers over our heads, and we close our eyes before we even hit the pillow. WE ARE SO TIRED!

Jesus knew that we would become weary, in fact, he even tried to plan times in his ministry for the disciples to take breaks. However, even on the Sabbath we find Jesus working. So, what sort of examples are we to keep? Do we work until our hands can no longer move, till our eyelids droop, and we forget who we are working for? We don't know the answer ... we are an EASTER people, we are ready for the resurrection, but why is the journey there so hard? Why must there be pain and suffering before there is joy and celebration?

The disciples were tired too, but here they were, hours away from the arrest and death of our Lord, and they are sleeping. Jesus asks them time and time again, "please, stay awake, pray for me." It was a simple task, one that we hope we could do, but when the time came for prayer, the disciples were too tired to even try. This lesson teaches us that it's hard following Jesus out into the wilderness, and that it's not going to be easy. Even the disciples, who saw the mystery of Christ, could not follow cheerfully and be aware. We are the same way. It is hard for us when there is so much that still needs to be done to take the focus away from the world and onto where God is calling us. But Jesus tells us -- STAY AWAKE!

Weariness as a Christian can be found -- in our attitudes, in our relationships, and at the end of the day, like the disciples, in our prayer life. Has life gotten in the way of living for Jesus? Are we too tired to step forward in faith for Christ? Why are we sleeping, when Jesus needs us to stay awake for him ... even just for one more hour?

Discussion Starters:

1. When there is so much to be done, and so little hours of the day, when do you find time to focus on what Christ is calling you to be in the world?

2. Do you believe that a Sabbath, a true day of rest, is possible? Why or why not?

3. What suggestions do you have for the group that could help us practice "staying awake?"

* Artwork: Praying at Gethsemane by HE Qi

-- Mary

Our first discussion series will be Lent: 40 Days in the Desert. We’ll be covering topics ranging from the Israelites wandering the desert to reach the promised land to the temptation of Jesus in the desert to general thoughts on the season of Lent.

Read Numbers 20-21

They quarreled with Moses and said, "If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! Why did you bring the Lord's community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!"

-Numbers 20:3-5

Over and over, in seemingly every chapter I've read for the last several weeks, the Israelites have been complaining, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" (Numbers 21:5) After all God had done for them from bringing them out of slavery to raining down manna from heaven every night for them to eat, all they could do was whine and disobey the rules he clearly set out for them even to the point of worshipping other gods. God was obviously and rightfully frustrated with them and wanted to wipe them all out multiple times, but he didn't. The Israelites were really pretty lucky that their only punishment was 40 years in the desert without seeing the promised land. God clearly wanted and could have easily caused much worse.

I imagine it's similar with us today. God has provided me with far more than just food and clothing and shelter. Yet I often complain about petty things. Even though I know God is full of forgiveness and grace, I can picture him rolling his eyes at me the same way he must have at the Israelites every time I have a pity party for myself.

One of the side notes in the Student Bible edition of the New International Version mentions how people often wonder why God doesn't show himself more clearly to us the way he did back in Biblical times with big shows like speaking from burning bushes and severe plagues foretold by prophets. It then goes on to point out that it didn't matter that he was so clearly present. People still doubted him and disobeyed just as much then as they do now. I thought that was a really intriguing way of looking at things, and something to really think about.

It's amazing to read that these people could doubt Moses was doing God's work when they could see him always off talking to God, and it's amazing that they doubted that God had their best interest in mind by taking them out into the desert after the miracle of parting the Red Sea. If they couldn't see it, it's no wonder people find it difficult today when it's not so obvious. Or maybe it is obvious and we look right past it just the way they did.

Discussion Starters:

• Why is it so hard to be grateful sometimes?
  
• Why is there not always a connection between knowing you're fortunate and truly feeling that you are?
  
• Why do you think God doesn’t show his presence in the same ways as he once did in Biblical times?
  
• What do you feel are some obvious signs of God's presence in modern times that people just disregard?
  

I grew up attending a Southern Baptist church in a very small town in Arkansas right in the heart of the Bible Belt. We showed up nearly every Sunday morning and Wednesday night. I went to Sunday School and church camps and Bible studies at friends’ houses, and my mom ran Vacation Bible School. I was involved all the way through high school. Not being involved was sort of a foreign concept. When I went to college, though, I just stopped attending. I wasn’t being rebellious. I never lost my faith in God. I just didn’t feel I was getting anything out of attending services.

Eventually, I married a Catholic guy, a practicing one. For anyone coming from anything resembling a Southern Baptist background, that’s a bit of a shock. Until I went to college, I had never even met anyone who was Catholic. Until then, it seemed to me that Catholicism was a whole separate religion, not just another denomination. Graham and I have been together for 5 years now, 3 years of that married, and we just recently found a church that fit us both well. For the last year and a half I worked most weekends so that made the search even more difficult since I only got off about one Sunday a month. We just recently became members of a Presbyterian church. It’s got a rock and roll feel, but they are trying to incorporate more traditional aspects.

In the past I have worked in human resources, accounting, and photography, none of which had anything much to do with my Management Information Systems degree. I even did a short stint selling mouse ears at Walt Disney World in Orlando. I am currently doing temp work in a marketing/admin capacity while I figure out my next move.

Graham and I live in North Carolina, just north of Charlotte where we share our home with 4 turtles and a couple of fish. We don’t have any children yet, but I think we're almost ready, as ready as you can be I suppose.

Let’s start with how this blog came to be. Whitney committed to reading the Bible through in 2009, and she loves to take notes when she reads. Biblical topics were becoming more frequent on her personal blog and she decided she needed to create a separate space for them somewhere rather than letting them get lost among the mish-mash of posts about searching for a job, trying to lose weight, and fighting off baby fever. There needed to be a more focused space where these things were easy to discuss and easy for others to find. She remembered previously throwing around ideas with her out-of-state friend, Mary, about possibly forming a Bible study through video-conferencing or instant messaging. That had never taken off because they could not conceive of a good weekly time for multiple people from multiple time zones to get together. But this, a sort of Bible study blog, this could work. People can log in whenever they have time, day or night. It still allows for discussion, and most likely even better discussion than they could have had otherwise.

In addition to the convenience of 24/7 availability, is the potential to involve an unlimited number of people. We would love to include anyone on the internet who wants to participate, anyone, that is, who is willing to act like a grownup and participate in enlightening conversation as opposed to hate-filled flame wars in our comments section. The goal of this site is open, honest talk concerning what it means to be a Christian and how the Bible relates to our everyday lives, mostly from the perspective of educated women in their twenties and thirties. Our intent is to have posts on two to three subjects each week, enough so there will always be something fresh to read, but not so much that there isn’t enough time to reflect.

Contemplating different viewpoints on things will be beneficial to all of us. I know we can raise questions and address them without fighting over them. Disagreements are fine and are to be expected when people from different backgrounds and denominations come together. But flat out rudeness will not be tolerated. We propose that if you are planning to participate in this blog, you shall adhere to a few terms of usage.

1. Do Not use foul language or insult us. If you are anti-religion, anti-God, anti-whatever we say, this is not the blog for you to yell at us. Believe me, we are not some naive, brain-washed bunch. We know our religion front and back, and we will give you a Bible beating if you decide to change our minds. (Okay, we won't really do that, but we will delete your comment immediately and pretend we never saw it, WE WILL NOT ARGUE WITH YOU). This is not because we want to be closed-minded but because we do not feel that it serves our witness or will enhance this site to do so.
   
2. Do give us feedback and start new discussions in a loving and gentle manner. There is always something new that each one of us can learn about each other, and that's what this forum is about. We can all benefit from each other’s experiences, backgrounds, and opposing viewpoints. The success of this project certainly depends on the participation of you, our readers.
   

Thanks for stopping by, and let the dialogue begin!