Browsing Tag

Digging Deep The Crown

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

On the Sixth Day of Digging Deep…

Posted on August 12, 2024

On the first day of Digging Deep, this digger got to  see… A new deluxe edition for me…

On the second day of Digging Deep, this digger got to see…two giant swag orders and a new deluxe edition for me. 

On the third day of Digging Deep, this digger got to see …three posted dig-a bits, two giant swag orders and a new deluxe edition for me.

On the fourth day of Digging Deep, this digger got to see …four sample screen-prints, three posted dig-a-bits, two giant swag orders, and a new deluxe edition for me.

On the fifth day of Digging Deep, this digger got to see…Five Golden Crowns!!!!…four sample screen prints, three dig-a-bits, two giant swag orders, and a new deluxe edition for me.

On the sixth day of Digging Deep, this digger got to see…Six sheep-a-grazing…Five Golden Crowns!!!…four sample screen prints, three dig-a-bits, two giant swag orders, and a new deluxe edition for me.

Looking back on the study, I think the sheep and shepherd part at the the beginning of  The Crown was probably the portion with which we may have had the most fun in all the years of Digging Deep. Ladies made magnets and bought sheep socks and found sheep greeting cards and a group of us even went out to talk to a shepherd in Tennessee and watch him call in the sheep. We were amazed at the peril of the cast sheep and we learned the allegories that mirror the tenant shepherd versus the invested shepherd, We  learned to love the Chief Shepherd more than ever before. We had “sheep singings” and we were thankful for the safety of the fold. We grew closer to each other under the protective eyes of the Good Shepherd.

 

 

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

The Crown

Posted on August 5, 2024

Like David. my Lord was a king, a potentate.

With scepter in his right hand and dainties on his plate. 

He should have worn a golden crown—A robe without the jest:

But he was stripped and wounded, while giving me His best. 

 

Like Aaron, he was holy. a turban crown was His. 

He laid that down beside the throne—poured out eternal bliss

To come to earth to rent the veil and enter there for me

But tearing was contingent on the suffering on that tree. 

 

He poured out wealth and majesty. He poured out the right to reign.

He poured out equality with God that I could access gain.

He poured out honor, left His place beside the throne of God

To sit by old Judean wells and dusty paths to trod. 

 

He traded allelujas for mocking cries and shame.

He gave up all authority, inherent in His name.

He left the perfect garden for dark Gethsemane

Came down from Zion’s eternal mount, to bleed on Calvary. 

 

His crown should have been golden, with holiness engraved

But piercing wooden thorns he wore, my sin-stained soul to save. 

With tissue torn, exposed and rent, and cross on bleeding back

He made His way to Golgotha. While armies were in tact…

 

And stood at heaven’s ready, to rescue heaven’s prize.

They nailed him there and shouted blatant mockery and lies. 

Choosing human weakness, succumbing to the death

Bruised by men He formed from dust, he breathed his final breath.

 

And in that time of tearing veil, of darkness in midday

Of dead men walking through the town and shaking earth’s display. 

They took the crown, now bloody, cast it to the ground. 

And wrapped him in a rich man’s cloth and laid his body down. 

 

His body resting in the tomb. The  purchase is complete.

The kingdom price is paid by blood. So wonderfully sweet

Is my redemption. If I had a thousand tongues to sing

And if I had a thousand crowns that I could humbly bring…

 

And alabaster boxes to brims with fragrance filled,

The blessing of anointing Him would not the sweetness yield

To honor nail-pierced hands and feet emerging from the grave.

The King of Kings laid down the crown, my wretched soul to save. 

ccolley

 

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

DD: Have You Killed God’s Anointed One? (The Crown, Chapter 6)

Posted on February 29, 2024

In 1 Samuel 24, David had this amazing opportunity to kill his foe. Saul went into a cave to relieve himself. At the risk of being graphic, it looks as if, in doing this, that he was squatting or sitting. Afterward, he rose up. Before he did rise up, though, David, who was apparently already hiding in the cave, stealthily crept over and whacked off a piece of Saul’s clothing. 

Here we have the morally faltering king of Israel, caught by the one He’s zealously trying to kill—caught quite literally with his pants down—and finding that he was utterly at the mercy of David for his life in that cave. It’s an incredible story for your family Bible time!

You remember the reason for David’s restraint. He told his men, who wanted him to complete the fatal task, “I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.”

The Lord’s anointed. David, the one revered by the Pharisees (and all Jewry) even today, would not put his hand on Saul’s life because He was God’s anointed. Yet the Pharisees lived in the Judean world with the most highly favored, anointed One that God had ever chosen (Acts 10:38). Jesus was prophet, priest, and King of kings. He was God. And the Pharisees could not wait to get Him to the Roman cross. Had it not been for the Roman rule over them (and the prophecies to be fulfilled), they would have likely killed King Jesus long before Calvary. They killed the anointed One.

You and I can do it, too.

Hebrews 6:4-6:

For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

Have you once been enlightened about the Lord? Do you know His story? Have you tasted salvation? Have you known just how good the Word of the Lord is in your life? Did you once rest in knowing the power and sovereignty of the anointed One?

What happened? Have you remained loyal to the Anointed? Or have you walked away? If you have walked away, as scores that I know have done in recent years, you have “put out your hand against the Lord’s anointed.”

You have crucified Him afresh.

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

More than just the Study…

Posted on January 29, 2024

I hope you are loving the study of “The Crown” as much as I am; not because of who compiled the great thoughts of the Holy Spirit for our consideration this year, but because of Who authored them for our compilation. This month what is smacking me in the face as I read and study is the humility of the crown-wearer; the thorn-crown wearer. I can’t wait to talk about him. As this hits your inbox or your Facebook scroll, it will be just a day until podcast day. Don’t forget it’s Tuesday at 7 CST. https://livestream.com/whcoc/for-women

My good friend Larianne Stutts, from Orange Park, FL recently shared this photo with me. She took the “Practically Speaking” assignment from Month 4 of our study, tweaked it just a bit, and planned a brunch for teen girls in the church where she lives. The purpose was to discuss the Goliaths in their lives and give insights on how to slay them. The assignment read as follows:

Have a teen girls’ devotional in your home. Discuss 1 Samuel 17 and have the girls discuss the giants that they face in their lives during the formidable teen years.

She said she expected 5-10 girls. Here’s the photo of the attendees. (But then Israel never expected a dead giant on the ground at the end of the day, either!) Our God is so big, so strong and so mighty. There’s nothing our God cannot do!

I love that about Digging Deep. It’s more than a study. It’s a bond. A world-wide bond. I spoke with two women about this bond yesterday and I am 500 miles or so from home. It’s a catalyst for service. It’s the most encouraging human “thing” in my life. It is HIS word making headway in me.

As I look out my window in Asheville, NC this morning, there are giant flakes of snow falling. If you want to think more about His snowfall, think (and thank) here https://westhuntsville.org/sermons/snow/. Maybe you are looking out your window at snow today, too. This is what I saw…So fun!

One thing’s for sure. If you are looking out your window at all, you are looking at Him–the One who made you and then put on skin so that He could save you! If there’s ever anything I can do to help you to heaven, I’m all about that!

 

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Grow More in ’24!

Posted on January 4, 2024

Happy New Year! Perhaps  the New Year is an over-used motivator that lacks long-term effectiveness. But this IS  a great time to commit to deep Bible study. The Word is, by far and away, the most important knowledge you will grasp in this lifetime. Reading it through is of great value. It’s the only information we have from our Father about what it takes to be saved from eternal death. But merely reading it through will not bless you in the same ways and to the same extent that deep study will bless. 

It’s a perfect time to start digging with thousands of women who are staying on track each month in the Digging Deep Bible study. You will not find your self lost or “behind” if you jump in right now. You can get free materials or materials to purchase here: https://thecolleyhouse.org/store#!/Digging-Deep-2023-The-Crown-Deluxe-Study-Book/p/574010342/category=0. If you want to know more, why not join us next Tuesday night at 7 CST here for the Digging Deep podcast? It will just take an hour (plus a little) of your time and it just might change your life or even your eternal destiny! We’d love to have you join us! https://livestream.com/whcoc/for-women

Here’s what one digger recently said:

It is no exaggeration to say that doing this study each year has been life-changing for both me and my daughter.  I know you will be blessed if you partake in any of this study. 

Let me know if I can help you. There’s a tutorial video pinned on the Digging Deep in God’s Word page. Find it here: https://thecolleyhouse.org/digging-deep-introduction-video?fbclid=IwAR1Pl2uzSPAq0fniEPf1elYcstpajooIRkpJ6ywONypAfv47eY8D2RpWPXM

Happy New Year! 

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Order your Shirt/Hoodie before Midnight Tonight!

Posted on September 11, 2023

I want to once again, thank the diggers for your patience. Only one of you has reported Glenn to PayPal for non-delivery. Hoping the rest of you will decide not to do that yet! He’s working so hard and those of you who have ordered books only (not t-shirts, mugs, etc…) should be receiving those any day now. Most have already received if you ordered on (or near)  August 19th. A phenomenal number of you ordered t-shirts this year and that’s great, but we are on our third shirt order. That’s a great problem to have, because shirts are fun advertisement for our great study, but your box may be waiting on a shirt. For that reason, I am going to try to go ahead and order (with our screen print company)  the LAST batch of shirts at this time. Please order your shirt or hoodie by midnight tonight, September 11th, from the website. If you already ordered your shirt or hoodie, please don’t reorder.

Your package could also be waiting on your mug. I expect those at my doorstep tomorrow (and I can’t wait to see this new color,) so hopefully we can complete all shipping this week. That would be so grand on our end, because we feel your “wonder-where-that-is?” and we want to reach out to each one of you. For those who are asking about first month’s assignments, don’t forget you can look at that on the free download in the store at www.thecolleyhouse.org.

You will be seeing the dig-a-bits begin this week and there will be four of those monthly.Those are little audio blurbs about the study.  The first podcast will be on September 26th at 7 CST and we will be announcing then the podcast schedule for the remainder of the year. 

So hang in there with your shovel. (I’ve been making those bracelets and keychains, too! They are really pretty fun to put together.) Your stuff is coming and, as always, we are thankful for the kind of women you are. Your hearts and diligence are an amazing wellspring of encouragement in our lives. Frankly, when I (rarely, but occasionally) think I can’t go on putting one foot in front of the other, Digging Deep calls to me, both through the Word and through your encouragement and hunger for that Word and then I ask myself “Who am I to get to do this with these amazing servants of our infinitely more amazing God?!”  It’s a privilege for which I did not go looking, but a wide-open door that God put right in front of me. I’m so thankful.

If you are before the throne and can think of it, please pray for our family in the coming weeks. I am speaking so many times (24, I think) between now and the end of October and there are some other pretty large and looming responsibilities on the plate. I do know, though, that my cares are small when compared to some of yours and I am before the throne often in behalf of diggers. You make me stronger and heaven with you is going to be wonderful!