Becky enjoys custom designing events to meet the goals of her audience. The mission and objectives of each event remain the same, but the design of the event will be created especially for the unique desires and needs of each group or organization.
Several options can be arranged to include Becky in your up-coming Bible Study. Consideration for availability is influenced by geographic location and schedule openings.
Bible Study Launch or Closing Event
This 45 minute multi-media presentation will introduce you to the catalyst that started it all! Be inspired by God’s amazing promptings and provisions during this adventure of faith. Three key concepts from the Bible study are highlighted, accompanied with author adventure stories and travel photos.
Guest Lesson Leader
Arrange for Becky to be a guest lesson leader at one of your Bible study sessions.
If you are interested in hosting a Sweetly Delicious Bible study event, please get in touch with us via our Contact page.
Participant Journeys
In this section we would also like to share events and happenings that are a direct result of taking a personal journey through the Sweetly Delicious Bible study.
One of the lessons in Sweetly Delicious asks participants to write a faith action plan. They are to focus on something they feel the Spirit is moving them to complete, yet they haven’t taken that step of faith due to fear. During the pilot group, market test of the Bible study in February 2017, one participant shared her action plan with the group and asked us to join her in prayer. Which we readily agreed to do! That week doors started flying open with incredible, almost unbelievable opportunities. Here is her story… the beginning.
Creation of a Faith Action Plan – Testimony
By Lisa Straatmann June 2017
“I was so happy to join the pilot group of the What Kind of Chocolate Are You? Bible study, led by Becky Baxa, and knew that I would be blessed by attending. Little did I know that my life was about to change!
One week, early in the study, our homework included writing our action plan for a step of faith that we felt God was calling us to take. As I walked out of the room that day, I mentioned to Becky that I wanted to have a therapy dog to visit people in nursing homes, hospitals or anywhere else there were people in need. I remember saying “I don’t know if it’s what God wants me to do, or just what I want.” I filled out my plan, with little hope of ever carrying it out, because, since the death of our pet dog several months earlier, my husband had insisted that we would have NO MORE DOGS. He wants to retire and travel and not be tied down by a dog.
At our next group meeting, Becky asked me to share about my plan. I talked to the ladies about my idea for a therapy dog and my husband’s reluctance to have a dog. All of them agreed to join Becky and me in prayer for the therapy dog plan. One member of the group knew of a dog at our local humane society that had the calm temperament needed for a therapy dog. She sent me the information on this dog and I began to worry and try to figure out a way to convince my husband to adopt that dog, that very day! Later that afternoon, I opened the Bible app on my phone and the first thing I saw was the verse of the day, Psalm 27:14 “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” This verse spoke directly to me about patiently continuing to pray and waiting for the right time to boldly step out in faith, rather than worrying about how to get that dog right away. The following week at class, my friend let me know that the dog at the Humane Society was going to need two surgeries and would have a long recovery, it was not the right time for her to have been adopted into a new home and begin training. At this same class, Becky shared with me that she had attended a work function with her husband and made a new friend who was involved with a therapy dog group in nearby St. Louis, MO. The friend was happy to share contact information for the group leader for any future questions or needs.
A few weeks later, I mentioned to a friend that I hoped to one day own a therapy dog. She immediately said I should talk to a mutual acquaintance, “because she knows about that, she’s had therapy dogs before.” As we were walking out the door, I worked up the courage to ask about her therapy dogs and told her I was interested in having one, even though my husband did not want to have another dog. She explained that she had been hoping to start a therapy dog group at our own church. A good friend of hers has written a book on training service dogs and when the time is right could offer training, certification and insurance. She was happy to have a “partner” in her plan and even offered to watch my future dog while we were on vacation.
A few more months went by, and I continued to pray and wait. One Saturday morning, out of the blue, my husband told me we could look for a dog. A few days later, I happened across a puppy who needed a home and met all the requirements (size, type, shedding) that he had asked me to keep in mind. We brought Dash home that evening. His favorite person in our family, of course, is my husband. They quickly became good friends. We have been taking Dash almost everywhere we go to socialize him and get him accustomed to many different situations and people. So far, he has remained calm in every situation. In the three weeks that he has been home, Dash and I have met people who needed cheering up because of illness, death and the loss of a pet. He is very sweet and willing to be held and petted whenever people ask, and usually gives tiny kisses, too. He loves children. We have signed up for basic puppy training, and look forward to continuing from there. I have high hopes that he will be the therapy dog that we prayed and waited for. Maybe this was a step that God wanted me to take, after all.”
When we step out in faith and obedience to the promptings from God, amazing things happen! On June 28, 2017 Lisa and “Dash” made their first official social appearance at a local assisted living facility. Dash was a perfect gentleman and won the hearts over from everyone who met him. This was his first step on the path of becoming a fully certified therapy dog. He was a shining star during his first institutional visit and is on his way with flying colors! We will be praying for this ministry that has the potential to touch the hearts of many and spread immeasurable amounts of joy!
An Invitation to Bible Study Participants
One of the first activities in Sweetly Delicious, is the development of a Faith-Action Plan. If you, or your Bible study group, have experienced something really cool after completing this activity (or the entire Bible study), we would love for you to inspire others by sharing how God is moving in your life! Please send your God in-action stories and photos to us via our Contact page.
