God 4 - Barbara Lynn Seibel

April 13, 2025April 13, 2025

Have You Ridden a Donkey?

I am sure I have been around a donkey or two at a zoo or other wildlife preserve.

But I have never ridden one. Nor have I had to lead one anywhere.

In the last year of my earthly father’s life, he shared a story with me I had never heard before about a time he handled two donkeys.

He shared he was responsible for getting these two donkeys from one location to where his father was waiting for him.

At one point, the donkey he was riding stopped and refused to move forward. The other donkey also stopped. My dad said he did everything he could think of to get those donkeys moving again.

Donkeys have a reputation for being stubborn, which my father experienced firsthand.

What does this have to do with Matthew 21:1-11?

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 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.

July 21, 2024July 20, 2024