Today, I dropped my husband at the airport at 7:15 a.m. (He recovered from all injuries!) I then traveled to Nashville to pick up all those back-ordered copies of the new Digging Deep book. (They were heavy!)I went to the wrong loading dock first and the prankster at the loading dock told me that my printing company had suddenly gone out of business. He was NOT funny! Eliza Jane and I finally got those boxes and boxes of books loaded and started home. We grabbed a quick bite on the way home (The bite was a large one.) and made it home in time to drop (She recovered too!) Eliza back at home, and then I turned around and went back into town for a doctor’s appointment. I then ran home (I was out of breath.) and baked cookies for our Digging Deep time tonight (We dug way deeply without heavy equipment.)
I wrote the above paragraph, without the parentheses, last night and then put the laptop down because I kept dropping it on my face as I was lying there trying to communicate to you. I’m sleep deprived, lately! When proofreading that paragraph this morning, before an 8 a.m. dentist appointment, I realized just how very frequently we use figures of speech or idioms in our speaking and writing. Just in this little exercise, I became acutely aware of how often it is in Bible study that we need to research what an idiom used in Scripture may actually have meant in the day, and to the audience, in which it was communicated; things like “a camel through the eye of a needle”( Mark 10:23)), or “Abraham ’s bosom” (Luke 16:22), or “eat their own bread” (2 Thessalonians 3:12), or “drink water from your own cistern” (Proverbs 5:15). I’m just throwing this in (I have a good throwing arm.) randomly, because it hit (ouch, again) me so BIG this morning, but let’s watch for idioms as we study these conversations.
The podcast is tonight here at 7:00 CST: https://thecolleyhouse.org/live-digging-deep-video-podcast. Hannah Colley will join me. (It’s been too long. I’m excited about this co-host!) Today is a great day to invite someone to view the podcast and study along. It’s easy catch-up through November, so it’s not too late. I did get all those books unloaded into the basement, so if you ordered in September, your book will arrive shortly. We are working hard and we are so sorry for the delays that some of you have encountered. More books can be ordered currently without a long wait for shipping.
I’m listing below the very limited sizes of t-shirts and hoodies we have left. The t-shirts are 20 dollars and the hoodies are 34 dollars (plus postage). If you want a shirt or hoodie, the ONLY way to get one is to email me at byhcontest@gmail.com. Please don’t text me or call me or FB message me. Email this address. I will let you know if I still have one for you as I fill these orders, first-come/first serve. I’ve had lots of ladies notify me in so many different venues that I can never know who was first. So THE way to get one (or more) is by emailing byhcontest@gmail.com.
Please go ahead and list your address and the size you need from these limited sizes. If I have it, I will mail it to you and include the amount owed in your package. We just have a few (sometimes even just one) of each size, so we will just fill as many as we can in the order received in that email account only. I’ll post a list soon of those who should be watching for a shirt or hoodie! Thanks so much for being so patient with us.
Here’s what we have:
T-shirts sizes, as of now:
XL
4XL
Hoodie sizes, as of now:
M
XL
3XL
For the Diggers:
Co-host is Kendra Byrd. She’s new to the podcast, but you’re going to love her. She’s a sister who is willing to go the distance for her kids in the kingdom. God has brought them to the West Huntsville family and we praise Him for that! He is good like that!
The podcast is happening tomorrow night at 7 CST here: 
PLEASE, please invite your “non-churched” friends or friends of other faiths. Women who have sincere hearts, who want to know the good news for their souls WILL learn it if they dig with us this year. It will be an inescapable, but tender revelation from the Savior–an invitation from the One who bore our iniquities and was smitten for our griefs (Is. 53). Invite sisters, too, who can invite others who need the gospel. 
Now, let’s finish up t-shirts and hoodies!
$9.00 shipping for a hoodie and we will send straight-away. Don’t paypal till you hear from me. (If you don’t do PayPal, you can send a check and I will go ahead and send out. I trust you!) These will not, of course, go book rate, so you should receive pretty quickly. (I may not have time to respond till late tonight AFTER the podcast! (My grandkids have already spent a chunk of my morning on FaceTime! Who can study while that’s going on?)
We’ve located 24 of these sweet little Digging Deep shovels! They are sterling silver and they are precious little keepsakes. Designed especially for Digging Deep by our good friends at Dempsey’s Jewelers in Johnson City, Tennessee, they bear the words “Digging Deep.” Mine’s on a bracelet, but lots of sisters have them on little silver chains around their necks. They come with the sturdy little ring for easy attaching and in the pretty little gift box for easy gift-giving ( in case you know a digger who could use some sweet encouragement). We rarely find extra Digging Deep paraphernalia, but I wanted to throw this little find out there and sweep clean the DD shelves once again. You can order the little charms here:
The GLORY study has been more fulfilling for me than I could have imagined. You’ve been kind and encouraging as we’ve studied and your enthusiasm has not assuaged with the passing of sub-topics and months, even when zeal for almost all things was challenged by Covid and chaos. I think the weight of His attributes has been fully on display even through the unprecedented difficulties that distancing has presented (maybe even moreso than in more normal times). His Word is like that…it throughly furnishes.
As soon as the study theme is announced, all materials will be available at www.thecolleyhouse.org. This challenging year is the 10th anniversary year of Digging Deep. (That’s so hard for me to believe!) We have no idea what to expect as far as numbers are concerned during this strange year, but we know God has been very good to Digging Deep from its inception. We know He will bless us as we seek Him. Digging Deep has surely been a work of Providence. While the year has witnessed economy, schedules, sports, education and lifestyles turned upside-down, and there’s so much about the future we do not know, we are positive that any time we dig into Scripture, He is more fully magnified in our lives. The important things of life are stabilized. Digging Deep (or any serious Bible study) can give us what we need for clarity and conviction to make our lives purposeful and safe in Him! We can then make our homes spiritually safe places for the souls we nurture in and from those homes. It’s important in times like these to remember that our physical safety pales in comparison to our spiritual security.