Can I just tell you that this may be one of my all time favorite books! I have read just about everything that Holly Wagner has written, but as the girls and I discussed last Friday…this one comes straight from the heart and hits the mark in every chapter!

Check this out on Page 99…”I heard a pastor once say that we are on a battleship, not a cruise ship. Both are vessels that float on water. But their purposes are very different. Sometimes we dress ourselves in sundresses and sandals (spiritually speaking) when we should be in camouflage and boots. When we re in the middle of a battle, it is not the time to abdicate our responsibilities, party with our girlfriends or ignore our reality.”

It is time to get our gear on and prepare for battle…

Study Guide Questions:
1) Do you tend to have a romantic or realistic view of life?
– Both – I can have a hopeless romantic view, but I can also be very realistic
– There is not a single romantic bone in my body.
– In my soul I would say that I am romantic, but life has brought so much my way that I am very aware of the reality surrounding me each and every day.

2) How has that hurt you or helped you in the past?
– It has hurt me because it is not reality
– The romantic sometimes makes me unbalanced
– It helps me to be stable and grounded

3) Read Esther 4. Are you having a cruise ship moment during a battle ship moment? How can you be like Esther and step up for such a time as this?
– I can get dressed and fight the stronghold of the enemy

4) Wearing the helmet of salvation reminds us who we are. What are some Scriptures that remind you who you are?
– Pslam 139 is a beautiful example of who I am called to be

5) The breastplate of righteousness protects our hearts and reminds us we are right with God (without having to earn it!). What steps can you take to guard your heart?
– Disassociate with negative people
– Pray, journal, read, rest, and step away form the things that keep hurting my heart.

6) Is your belt of truth on? Come one! It looks cute with those jeans!
– Yes, but sometimes I forget to buckle it.

7) What resources could help you hear, read, and understand the Word of God more clearly?
– Just spending more time with God, reading His Word helps.
– By surrounding yourself with other believers, praying, time alone

8) Read Psalm 119:165. Pray for the shoes of peace to cover your cute pedicure. Now, take it one step further and pray peace into the lives of those closest to you.
– That can be such a blessing to those who surround our lives
– It also helps to pray for those whom you might not even like that much

9) Remember a time when the shield of faith was all you had. Thank God for His faithfulness.
– For me, Melissa, it was when my oldest son, Nick, was in the PICU for 51 days…he almost died and it was only by God’s grace that we (as a family) were able to walk through that…we had our Shield of Faith high for all to see.

I am going to leave you with some words of wisdom from the book on page 107, “So, even when (notice I did not say “if”) you really mess up and fall on your face, rise. And when someone else knocks you on your butt, rise. And when the grind of daily life puts you on your back, rise. The just shall live by faith. We rise by faith. Sometimes that is all we have.”

Getting Dressed for the Battleship,