BarbaraLynnSeibel 2 - Barbara Lynn Seibel

February 11, 2024February 10, 2024

Why Did They Turn to Idolatry? | Part Three

Again, thank you for all the prayers while I recovered from my exceptionally long work week and head cold.

Although I am still feeling some physical tiredness along with some lingering symptoms from the head cold, I am much stronger today than I was a week ago.

It is fascinating how the fact that I had to pause between each part of this “Why Did They Turn to Idolatry” series aligns with the series.

One reason I feel this way is that it has reinforced the concept of patience we first looked at in part one.

Another reason I feel this way is that it allowed me to share how the LORD encouraged me during an exhausting week through both His Word and songs written by fellow believers about Him.

Each of these examples was exceptionally timely for my need, just as the LORD provided for the Israelites exactly what they needed in part two of this series.

But now we need to answer the question, “Why did they turn to idolatry?”

February 4, 2024February 3, 2024

Needing A Recovery Weekend

As many of you know, last week was unusually full for me at work.

We hosted our denominational national gathering which required several back-to-back fourteen to fifteen-hour days.

The week went remarkably well considering hosting an event of this magnitude is not what we regularly do.

Thank you for your prayers as I participated in all of this.

In addition to the busy week, I have developed a head cold that is draining me even more.

Thus, the next installment of Why Did They Turn to Idolatry? | Part Three will wait another week.

In the meantime, I want to share how the Lord encouraged me throughout this past week.

January 28, 2024January 27, 2024

Why Did They Turn to Idolatry? | Part Two

Yes, we are getting to part two this week.

Before we do, thank you for your prayers over the last week.

Last Tuesday, a coworker asked about my stress level regarding the upcoming conference we are hosting at my work.

I responded, “Frankly, I couldn’t care less right now.”

Granted, that response stemmed from what I shared with you last Sunday.

But by Wednesday, I realized my attitude had shifted in a positive direction. The new attitude is that this conference is just another work week.

Yes, there will be 1500 people on our campus over the next week that typically aren’t there.
Yes, I am tasked with things to do that are not a part of my normal work responsibilities that will involve extremely long hours each day.
And yes, I still have moments of sadness over the pet losses and some other expected losses that are looming on the horizon.

But, in the end, my purpose for next week does not differ from any other day.

What is that purpose and is it possible to relate it to today’s study?

January 21, 2024January 21, 2024

Seeking Prayers From You

Yes, I said I would have part two of Why Did They Turn to Idolatry this week.

When I last posted, I knew with a brief trip coupled with a busier-than-usual workload at my day job, I would not have time to post something last Sunday.

Then, last Monday my husband and I said goodbye to our sweet dog of 14 years after having said goodbye to our sweet cat of nineteen years just back in September.

And the next two weeks will be unusually busy at my day job as we host a huge conference.

January 7, 2024January 7, 2024

Why Did They Turn to Idolatry? | Part One

One of my responsibilities at my day job is to train employees in our software tools.

As I was doing this last Friday, we had to wait for what I sarcastically refer to as the “spinning circle of death” to load the page we needed.

At one point, I stopped the trainee I was working with from clicking the link again by pointing out the circle was still spinning and stating we needed to be patient for the computer to finish processing.

They immediately looked at me with a big grin and said, “Patience is not one of my virtues.”

I laughingly replied, “So this is why we have so many technical issues during your training. Clearly, God is helping you grow in this virtue.”

Why am I sharing this jesting about the need for patience?

And what does it have to do with this post’s title, “Why Did They Turn to Idolatry?”

December 31, 2023December 31, 2023

Are You Ready to Start a New Year?

Last week, my husband was a camera operator for our church’s evening Christmas Eve service.

Because of this, we arrived about an hour before the service began.

I planned to meditate on scripture while I waited for the service to start.

However, upon entering the sanctuary, I met a friend who had signed up to usher for the first time and began asking me if I knew what he was supposed to do.

Shortly after, another friend who was ushering arrived and asked me if I thought they should light the altar candles this early or wait.

Next, two of our facilities team approached, talked about some things they had cleaned because of earlier services, and asked me if they should bring out the individual candles to hand out to worshippers since people had already arrived to get a good seat.

If you read last week’s post, you know this experience of “ask Barbara” is not an unusual phenomenon for me.

So how did I respond to all these questions?

And what does it have to do with being ready to start a new year?

Most importantly, what does it have to do with studying the Bible?

December 24, 2023December 23, 2023

Who is Really in Charge?

In 2022, during the holiday season, before I signed off at my day job for several days of vacation, I emailed my coworkers with the subject line “Ask Barbara Not an Option.”

Why did I do this?

First, I did it to be funny.

Second, I would travel by car for my vacation and would have extremely limited time or access to internet service.

But also, having started working as the receptionist and eventually becoming the office manager, I get asked many questions throughout the workweek in my job.

Thus, from the day I started working at my current employer, I have regularly interacted with every single department. Thus, I know many details about many things.

But this does not mean I am the one in charge at work.

What does any of this have to do with Luke 2:1-7?

December 17, 2023December 16, 2023

You Are Highly Favored | Luke 1:26-38

How would you respond to someone greeting you with the statement, “You are highly favored?”

Excited?

Suspicious?

Justified?

Would your answer change if the statement came privately?

It is one thing to have a fellow human make this type of statement to us, regardless of the motive behind it.

But what about when an angel from God speaks to you this way?

December 10, 2023December 9, 2023

From Genealogies to Dreams: Obeying God | Matthew 1:18-25

The first chapter of the gospel of Matthew surprisingly starts with a genealogy.

After fifteen verses about who fathered what son and after mentioning a few unexpected mothers, we get verse sixteen:

¹⁶and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. ^{^[1]}

Verse seventeen then summarizes the royal genealogical record Matthew highlighted, reinforcing his opening verse statement that Jesus Christ is officially part of the promises made to Abraham back in Genesis and King David in 2 Samuel.

Then, Matthew explains the mystery of why he did not call Joseph the father of Jesus Christ.

December 3, 2023December 2, 2023