History 2 - Barbara Lynn Seibel

October 12, 2025October 11, 2025

Influential Relationships and Their Impact on Worship

When you read the words “influential relationships,” what comes to mind first?

Networking for career advancement?
Healthy living advice?
Political clout?
Other?

Some influential relationships I’ve had include parents, siblings, extended family, friends, coworkers, teachers, counselors and my late spouse.

The level of influence varies, as well as whether it was a positive or negative influence.

By pairing these words with “and their impact on worship,” I hope your thoughts move towards relationships that have helped shape your understanding of spiritual matters.

Today’s study considers the introduction of a king of Israel named Ahab.

As a king, Ahab was at the top of society with the authority to influence an entire nation on many levels.

September 28, 2025September 27, 2025

Why Do We Falter in Our Worship?

I faltered in doing my daily stretching this past week four days in a row.

Along with this, I spent those four days toting around a heavy backpack while at a conference for my work.

When I resumed my stretching routine on the fifth day, my body was extremely tight and less flexible.

I also suffer from DOMS: delayed onset muscle soreness. This is one of the primary reasons I practice a daily stretching routine.

Thus, the consequences of my faltering yielded a cranky low back and stiff joints throughout my body on the sixth day.

I know better, and yet, I still faltered.

But this is a Bible study blog, not a fitness blog.

Still, the example above reveals that there are consequences when we falter in our daily habits.

The study below reveals the consequences of when we falter in our worship.

August 31, 2025August 30, 2025

Does How We Live Matter to God? | 1 Kings 9:1-9

Are you a faithful follower?

No, I’m not talking about social media.

Although who and what we follow on social media can reveal what matters to us most.

But the question I’m asking is deeper than surface interests such as being an animal lover or decluttering expert.

(I’m the first, not the second, although I’m working on that.)

Seriously, I’m asking, are you a faithful follower of God?

And I’m asking whether how we live out this faithfulness matters to God.

Join me in studying 1 Kings 9:1-9 to consider an answer to these questions.

June 1, 2025June 1, 2025

Sometimes I Need to Rest

Rest.

Something we all need, but many of us struggle to do.

I certainly struggle to rest.

Sometimes it is an emotional rest that I need.

At other times, physical rest is critical.

Then there is also mental rest that is required.

And yes, sometimes we need spiritual rest, too.

Today I think I need all four areas to rest.

Why do I need rest?

April 6, 2025April 5, 2025

Experiencing God’s Support Through Others

On the last weekend of March 2025, I enjoyed spending some time with two childhood friends I had not seen in over thirty years.

Although connected via social media for several years, we had not been with each other until this weekend.

Losing my husband back in July 2024 prompted our decision to get together.

My friends wanted to support and encourage me even though one lived about two hours away and the other two days’ drive or a plane flight away.

We spent the time remembering experiences and people from our youth, laughing, crying, and laughing until we cried while exploring the sites, shopping and food near one of their homes.

What does this have to do with 2 Samuel 15:13-37?

March 30, 2025March 28, 2025

Can You Spot Conspiracy in Worship?

Trust.

Such a small word that has significant meaning in our lives.

Who do you trust the most?

Have you experienced betrayal from someone you trusted?

Was it a family member, a friend, or a leader in your life who trampled your trust?

Or have you ever betrayed someone else’s trust?

How do our moral failures contribute to making it hard to spot conspiracy in our and other’s worship?

Join me as we study an example from scripture rife with moral failure and trampling of trust within a family.

March 23, 2025March 21, 2025

Deep Sorrow that Led to Worship

As many of you know, I am healing from a deep sorrow since losing my husband by his own choice last July and my earthly father by natural causes last October.

We expected my earthly father’s death. But my husband’s shocked all who knew him.

Thus, the journey of healing I am on is complicated.

I shared part of my experience in my first post back after a six-month break from writing.

Today’s passage was hard for me to work through because it touches on the themes of deep sorrow.

Yet, it also provides an opportunity to learn why the Lord is worthy of our worship, no matter the source of our deep sorrow.

Join me in this study of 2 Samuel 12:15-23 and portions of Psalm 51.

March 16, 2025March 16, 2025

Elkanah Returns to Worship God

Two weeks ago, I started this series on 1 Samuel 1, purposefully studying the “minor” characters instead of the usual approach to this passage.

Several of you have thanked me for this focus, stating that you had never considered that these “minor” characters could reveal so much about the Lord’s work in our daily lives.

Today, again I want us to study the next group of verses from 1 Samuel 1.

And yes, as the title suggests, we will focus in again on the minor character of Elkanah and his faithfulness as he returns to worship God at Shiloh every year.

March 9, 2025March 8, 2025

How God Worked Through Eli

Have you ever misread a person’s behavior?

I certainly have.

Or perhaps you were the one whose behavior was misunderstood?

Yep, been on that side too.

How does God work through our misunderstandings?

Last week’s post considered how the Lord provided a supportive and Godly husband, Elkanah, in 1 Samuel 1, to Hannah long before He answered her petition to have a son.

Many who read the post commented that they had never studied Elkanah’s role before.

This is precisely why I focused on Elkanah last week.

Often, we forget that the supporting characters in a scripture passage are also useful in learning more about how God works in our lives.

Today, we return to 1 Samuel 1 to explore how God worked through Eli, another supporting character who, at first, misunderstood Hannah’s behavior.

March 2, 2025March 4, 2025

Seeing God at Work Through Elkanah

One of my seminary professors once stated that, anytime, scripture highlights a barren woman to take note because the Lord is about to do something significant.

The first chapter in 1 Samuel shares the unique turn of events that brought about the birth of the prophet and priest, Samuel, through resolving Hannah’s barrenness.

I can relate to Hannah in the early part of her story in the sense that I do not have any physical offspring.

But today, I want to focus not on God resolving Hannah’s barrenness, but on how we can see God at work through Elkanah, her husband, before that resolution occurs.