Having a Mary Spirit

1.Weaver grounds the possibility of real change in 2 Corinthians 5:17—"If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come." What does it mean that we are already new creations, even as we still struggle with old patterns? How do you hold those two realities together?

1.Weaver's title for this chapter—"Willing to Be Made Willing"—captures a paradox at the heart of sanctification. What does it mean to ask God to give you the desire for something you don't yet desire? Have you ever prayed a prayer like that?

1.The "junk drawer" metaphor is immediately relatable. What does your spiritual junk drawer contain—what habits, thought patterns, or attitudes have you been tossing in there, meaning to deal with them "someday"?

1.Weaver defines a stronghold as a pattern of thinking—a lie or a distorted perspective that has been reinforced so many times it feels like truth. What strongholds have you identified in your own thought life? How long have they been there?

1.Weaver's "flesh-woman" and "spirit-woman" framework puts a face on the internal war described in Galatians 5. How helpful is this personification for you? Does giving the flesh a name and a face make it easier or harder to confront?

1."I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). Weaver spends significant time on this verse. What does it mean—really mean—to no longer live? What has died, and what remains?

1."Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled" (Matthew 5:6). Weaver takes this beatitude seriously as a diagnostic tool. On a scale of 1–10, how hungry are you for God right now—and what do you think has shaped your current level of hunger?

1.Weaver uses Mary of Nazareth's response to the angel in Luke 1:38—"I am the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled"—as the defining portrait of a surrendered heart. What strikes you most about Mary's response? What did she know and not know in that moment when she said yes?

1.John 11:5 says simply, "Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus." Weaver lingers on that verse. How does the specificity of Jesus's love—named individuals, named families—affect how you read statements about God's love for you? Does knowing He loves "you" feel abstract or personal?

1.Weaver pairs Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:2) with the sinful woman who anointed Jesus in Luke 7. Both are women with significant pasts who encounter Jesus and are transformed. What do their stories have in common, and what is most striking to you about how Jesus responds to each of them?

1.Weaver returns to Jesus's own example as the model of servant-heartedness—the one who, though Lord of all, took a towel and washed feet (John 13). What is the connection between inner transformation and outward service? Can you serve from the outside in, or must it flow from the inside out?

1.2 Corinthians 3:18 describes us as being "transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, as from the Lord, who is the Spirit." What does "ever-increasing glory" suggest about the pace and direction of transformation? Is it linear? What does it look like when it feels stalled?

1.Looking back at your journal entries or notes from throughout the study, which week's material produced the most significant response—the most conviction, the most hope, or the most resistance? Why do you think that particular chapter hit hardest?

1.Weaver's central metaphor is transformation from the inside out—soul-deep change that works outward. Looking back across the whole book, where have you seen the most evidence of that kind of inside-out work in your own life over these weeks? Be as specific as you can.