Bible Study Fellowship

Tonight we will attend BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) and we are excited! My mom was a BSF discussion leader for MANY years (12+) and we are thankful for the excellent input that BSF has had in our family's life. When Daniel, Lizzie and Anna were ages 5, 4 and 2, my mom encouraged me to join BSF here in Fresno. "What? I can't go out with three little kids ages 5 and under!" Her reply was the same that I will use for any young mom who is wondering "whether or not she should go to BSF": "You can't NOT go!" Mom encouraged me to take the children not for my own sake, but for what they would learn. BSF has the most wonderful children's program. The children's leaders do not just babysit the children; they actually have to memorize the Bible lesson and they teach the same lesson that the adults are getting. The children also learn hymns and Scripture. So, off to BSF we went, for three years. And, we loved it. Then we took a break because the children were too old to attend. Later, I joined an evening women's BSF class and took the children to the gradeschool program for children in the evenings. Again, the experience was wonderful. Now, this year will be Julia and Ben's first time in BSF. The study is in Isaiah--a brand new study for BSF. I am SOOO excited that there was actually a place in a class for all three of us! And, Tim is attending the men's class on the same evening! So we can all study together the same lesson every week. As I was reviewing my lesson this morning I pulled out my mom's Living Bible and saw that this was the Bible that she probably used while studying her BSF Minor Prophets lessons--the books of the Minor Prophets have all kinds of notes on the sidebars, in my mother's lovely little handwriting. She, like I, must have pulled out her Living Bible after studying in her Study Bible, to get another view of the text. I miss you, Mom! You would have loved going through Isaiah! You did all the other 7 years of BSF so many times--I have all your notes filed in my filing cabinet--but this year is something new. But, maybe you have already met Isaiah in person! We are learning so much--and imagine--in Heaven we can learn again together. We are thankful for good teachers who encourage us to get into the meat of God's Word. Praise Him!!