I first heard of Gloria Furman when I received a copy of her book, Treasuring Christ When Your Hands are Full. God used that book to meet a deep need in my soul and I immediately bought a copy for 3 of my friends. Since that point, I have been encouraged many times through Gloria’s writings of blog posts, books (including The Pastor’s Wife), and even Instagram posts.
I was delighted when Gloria agreed to participate in our Dwelling Richly series. I trust her very real account of personal Bible study will encourage you not to wait for the “perfectly picture-worthy” Bible study situation, but instead to take advantage of each moment to grow closer to God & His Word.
Mornings are great times for me to read and pray, so I try to maximize those times as best I can. On a normal school day, I wake up before the kids and tiptoe to the living room with my Bible. Usually there are two little ones who join me at some point and curl up in my lap while I read. It would be irregular to spend that whole time by myself!
I ask God to help me with this. Left to myself, I would gravitate toward things that don’t feed me spiritually. So, I pray that He would open my eyes, enliven my heart, satisfy my soul, etc.
When I was finishing my last semester of seminary, I gave birth to our first child. Then, we both graduated and hit the road doing fundraising and more trainings. Simultaneously, my husband began his struggle with the nerve disease that disabled his arms. You can imagine that my previous routine was all out of whack. I did not adapt to my “new normal” gracefully. By the way I gave up every morning when I attempted to read or pray, it was painfully obvious that I had believed God would only meet me when my life was quiet, tidy, and controlled.
Slowly in time, as I recalled how my “new normal” is actually the one, great permanent circumstance of being “in Christ” forever, the fog began to lift. By God’s grace He continued to meet me in all of the temporary circumstances in which He lovingly placed me.
I’ve been known to write down things with whatever writing utensil is available. If you pick up a glitter pen, I recommend letting it air dry before putting it back in your Bible. Other than that, I don’t have any helpful tips.
hmmm…something tells me this last tip from Gloria is from personal experience? 😉
Gloria Furman is a Christian, pastor’s wife, mother of four,
and cross-cultural worker in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
She has written 4 books and contributed to several others. (Find the whole list here.)
You can find Gloria at her website, instagram, and twitter.
Gloria, thank you so much for sharing your heart & time with us!