Have you visited my Christmas Kitchen? Ir's Christmas in July!

 

 Just popping in to note, for those who haven't made their way over to Mrs. T's Christmas Kitchen, that it's Christmas in July over there.  

I've been busily writing and scheduling posts, and just barely staying ahead of the game.  So far there are some recipes, memories, vintage things, Christmas fabrics, and all sorts of ideas that might interest you.  

Starting today, and running through July 24,  I'll be having a Christmas in July sale at my Etsy shop, too.  25% off all listings in the Vintage Christmas category.  

Merry Christmas in July!

Sunday Scripture

 

Time for another Sunday Scripture!  This is part of an ongoing series on my simple study of Rachel Wojo's Everything Beautiful.  You can read about the plan here if you are interested in it for yourself: Everything Beautiful Bible reading plan. My answers and input on this series are a combination of what I learned back in 2018, and what I found in looking over the Scriptures now, six years later.  I'm attempting to SOAP the passages too, though some of them are longer. [Quick reminder that S stands for Scripture; O stands for observation; A stands for application, and P stands for prayer.]  Today's study is from Isaiah 29:13-16. 

S= "Wherefore the LORD said, Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men;
"Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.
"Woe unto those who seek deeply to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us?  And who knoweth us?
"Surely, your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay; for shall the work say of him who made it, he made me not?  Or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?"  (Isaiah 29:13-16)

O= Scofield titles Isaiah 29:9-16 "God's reasons for the discipline" (of Judah and Jerusalem".

Cross-references for "with their lips" (v.13) -- "Nevertheless they did flatter Him with their mouths, and they lied unto Him with their tongues."  (Psalm 78:36)

"And they come unto thee as the people come, and they sit before thee as My people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness."  (Ezekiel 33:31)

"Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
"This people draweth near unto Me with their mouth, and honoreth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
"But in vain they do worship Me,  teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."  (Matthew 15:7b-9)

Cross-reference for "marvelous work" (v.14) -- "Behold among the nations, and regard, and wonder marvelously; for I will work a work in your days, which you will not believe, though it shall be told you."  (Habakkuk 1:5)

Cross-references for "wisdom of their wise men"  (v.14) -- "Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts.  Is wisdom no more in Teman?  Is counsel perished from the prudent?  Is their wisdom vanished?"  (Jeremiah 49:7)

"Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Edom?" (Obadiah 8)

"For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the  prudent."  (1 Corinthians 1:19)

Cross-references for "seeth us" (v.15) -- "[The wicked] has said in his heart, God hath forgotten; He hideth His face; He will never see it."  (Psalm 10:11)

"Yet they say, The LORD shall not see; neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.
"Understand, ye stupid among the people; and ye fools, when will yet be wise?
"He who planted the ear, shall He not hear?  He who formed the eye, shall He not see?"  (Psalm 94:7-9)

"For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness; thou hast said, None seeth me.  Thy wisdom, and thy knowledge,  it hath perverted thee, and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me."  (Isaiah 47:10)

"Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery?  For they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth."  (Ezekiel 8:12)

Cross-references for "understanding" (v.16) -- "Woe unto him who striveth with his Maker!  Let the potsherds strive with the potsherds of the earth.  Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou?  Or thy work, He hath no hands?"  (Isaiah 45:9)

"But now, O LORD, Thou art our father; we are the clay, and Thou our potter, and we are all the work of Thy hand."  (Isaiah 64:8)

"O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter?  saith the LORD.  Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in Mine hand, O house of Israel."  (Isaiah 18:6)

"Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God?  Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?"  (Romans 9:20)

A= For this Scripture, there were also a number of ways to apply it as prompted in the journal.  

"When I question the details of God's work in me, I am not appreciating His beauty." -- Rachel Wojo

This thought of course fits with verse 16, which asks, "Shall the thing formed say of Him that formed it, He had no understanding?"

 
Rachel also shares a "focus word" in each of the devotional pages.  For this lesson the focus word is "trust". 

 

We definitely do need to trust what God is doing in our lives, whether or not we understand it or whether or not we even see Him working. 

The question was asked: How can I realign the eyes of my heart to see the Father's gift of everyday elegance?

My response in 2018: By taking a different perspective on this season I am in.  I understand God is giving me time to rest, but I have questioned somewhat the involvement of pain.  I need to trust Him with the details of my life and to accept the fact that pain is sometimes necessary.

Answering this same question in 2024:  We're in what could be a very terrifying place as a country.  Teetering on the brink it seems.  Looking to God, even to the gifts of everyday elegance He sends our way, reminds us that He is in full control of our situation and is in it with us.

This prompt was given, along with a list: Today I will keep my eyes open for God's beauty in one or more of these places.

These are the places I circled: The words I read; the places I go; the music I hear; the people I encounter; the food I eat;  the air I breathe; the weather I experience; the rest I receive.

In 2024 I can note that for the music I hear,  I had the opportunity to watch and listen to a concert our granddaughter and friends played in, from an amazing venue in Sweden.  It was a delight to be able to watch this performance after the fact, with her safely home again and watching it with us.

For the food I eat, I recalled the gorgeous red strawberries we picked fresh from the field.

For the people I encounter, I noted the glowing smile of a friend I bumped into in the grocery store.

For the air I breathe, I mentioned cool breezes wafting through the window at our camp.

A journaling prompt was this:  Everything God made is beautiful.  Where have I noticed God's beauty in the last 24 hours?

My response in 2018: In blue skies and warmer temperatures.  In precious memories as I've recently completed a blog post concerning my recollections of maple sugaring.  In my husband's concern and loving kindness.

For my response in 2024, I added: At dusk and dawn at our little camp, the varied and beautiful songs of many birds.   (We have them here at our house too, but many of the birds are different.)  In glorious orange lilies and yellow primroses.  In clouds of fireflies dancing in the woods.

P= "Lord,  I am thankful for Your working in my life.  I ask Your forgiveness for questioning the details of that work.  I know that You have a plan and that Your plan is good.  You are all wise and all knowing, and I am not.  You know exactly what is necessary and best for me, as well as for our world and country, and I trust You to accomplish it.  I thank You for  all You are doing and  for all You will do, in Jesus' name, Amen."

 And there is this week's Sunday Scripture!  I pray it's a blessing to someone.

 

 

A glorious Independence Day to you!

  

This is pretty much a re-post from 2021, but my thoughts are still the same, so I am posting it again.)

I hope that each of you Americans reading this will have a glorious Fourth of July celebrating the birthday of our beloved country! Whether you celebrate with family, friends, or church family, whether you are here on US soil or elsewhere, whether you're enjoying a picnic, a parade, fireworks, or possibly even a meaningful visit to a cemetery, I hope that each of you will take a moment sometime throughout the day to thank God for the land He has blessed us to be able to live in. Our country has many serious problems and flaws, but it is still a wonderful place to live and we enjoy many blessings here which we often take for granted. The wonderful song "America the Beautiful" includes these powerful words:

"America! America!
God mend thine every flaw.
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!"

I've often been reminded -- and it happens again whenever we sing this song -- that truly, God is the only One who can mend our flaws.  But we have to want that to happen and we need to beseech God that it will happen. I've often thought, too,  how so many of our citizens are so confused concerning the balance between liberty and self-control. Our land offers us many freedoms, yet we take them for granted and many times do not see the need to exercise self-control or self-restraint in any area of life. We want what we want, when we want it, and then when we meet the inevitable consequences of our lack of self-control, we expect our government to take care of us.

 Our flaws have never been more obvious, it seems, and never have I been more aware of how fragile our liberties are and how easily they can be snatched away.  Let's take time today to beseech God to help us "mend our flaws" as a nation, and to thank Him for the privilege of living in this land.

Today I'm also sharing a few links to previous Fourth of July posts that might be fun or encouraging reads on this meaningful day.

From 2019: Independence Day Medley

From 2018: Praying for our country

From 2017: July 4 Hodgepodge

From 2016: This Land is Our Land

 And then there is this one: Faith Like Fireworks, by Rachel Wojo

Just one sentence from Rachel (but you'll want to read the whole post!): "As Christians, we must not be afraid to shine God’s light into the night sky, revealing the beauty of the Gospel to a dark world."

Hope you'll enjoy these thoughts!  Happy Fourth of July!

Some goals for July

 

A new month means new goals (and with me, always some ongoing ones as well) -- so here goes!

* Keep up with Flylady's homemaking zones of the week
* Get back to working through the "Make Room Challenge" from Make Room for What You Love
* Spend time with our friends who are younger believers
* Enjoy our church ladies' gathering
* Post in this blog as often as possible
* Post every day in my Christmas blog for Christmas in July
* Continue planning for family birthday gifts and crafting any handmade ones
* Use Charles Swindoll's devotional Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life for my quiet time daily
* Continue studying and preparing for my Sunday School lessons
* Continue studying and preparing for my Sunday Scripture blog posts
*Work on Even If, a study of Habakkuk from the Daily Grace Co.
* Continue stocking my Etsy shop and continue selling vintage items
* Write at least 4 encouraging notes to friends and family
* Touch base with teen grandchildren regarding the Stand Firm Bible study
* Help and encourage my local daughter as I'm able
* Plan meals with a greater emphasis on healthy eating
* Continue to work on memorizing the book of James
* Continue to help a widowed friend with the challenges of life in general
* Get to bed by 8:30 each night we are at home
* Drink enough water each day
* Walk and/or exercise at least 4 times each week
* Do some needed outside scraping and painting of our little cottage
* Help prepare for and serve at a Fourth of July picnic at church
* Do some planning of meals for a family vacation coming up at the end of July

HEALTHY HABITS FOR JULY:  Drink more water/get more sleep/get more exercise/intermittent fasting/limit carbs

WORD FOR 2024: Continue

Sunday Scripture

 

Time for another Sunday Scripture!  This is part of an ongoing series on my simple study of Rachel Wojo's Everything Beautiful.  You can read about the plan here if you are interested in it for yourself: Everything Beautiful Bible reading plan. My answers and input on this series are a combination of what I learned back in 2018, and what I found in looking over the Scriptures now, six years later.  I'm attempting to SOAP the passages too, though some of them are longer. [Quick reminder that S stands for Scripture; O stands for observation; A stands for application, and P stands for prayer.]  Today's study is from 1 Peter 2:1-9.  

S= Wherefore, laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
"As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that ye may grow by it,
"If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious;
"To whom, coming as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men but chosen of God, and precious,
"Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
"Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded.

"Unto you, therefore, who believe He is precious, but unto those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
"And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them who stumble at the word,  being disobedient; whereunto also they were appointed.
"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a people of His own, that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."  (1 Peter 2:1-9)

O= Cross-reference for "tasted" (v.3) -- "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusteth in Him."  (Psalm 34:8)

Cross-reference for "stone" (v.4) -- "But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob (from there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel)." (Genesis 49:24)

Cross-reference for "disallowed" or "rejected" (v.4)  -- "The stone which the builders refused is become the head of the corner."  (Psalm 118:22)

In reference to "holy priesthood" (v.5) and "holy nation" (v.9) there is this note: "In the New Testament, one Greek word, hagios, in its various forms, is rendered 'holy', 'holiness', 'sanctify', 'sancified', 'sanctification'.  It signifies set apart."

Cross-reference for "Behold, I lay in Zion" (v.6)-- "Therefore, thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; he that believeth shall not make haste."  (Isaiah 28:16) 

Cross-reference for "stone of stumbling" (v.8) -- "And He shall be for a sanctuary: but for a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem."  (Isaiah 8:14)

Cross-reference for "whereunto also they were appointed" (v.8) -- "Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another to dishonor?
"What if God, willing to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction,
"And that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared unto glory,
"Even us, whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?"  (Romans 9:21-24)

Cross-references for "chosen generation" (v.9) -- "For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God; the LORD thy God hath chosen you to be a special people unto Himself, above all people who are upon the face of the earth."  (Deuteronomy 7:6)

"I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen."  (Isaiah 43:20)

Note concerning "royal priesthood" (v.9) -- "In the exercise of his office the New Testament believer-priest is 1) a sacrificer who offers a fourfold sacrifice: 

 * his own living body (Romans 12:1)
* praise to God (Hebrews 13:15)
* his substance (Romans 12:13)
* his service (Hebrews 13:16)

2) an intercessor (Colossians 4:12)

Note concerning "holy nation" (v.9) -- "In both testaments the same Greek words are rendered by the English words 'sanctify' and 'holy' in their various grammatical forms.  The one uniform meaning is to set apart for God." -- Scofield

Cross-reference for "people of His own" (v.9) -- "Now therefore if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people, for all the earth is Mine.  And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation."  (Exodus 19:5-6a)

Scofield comments, "What under law was conditional is, under grace, freely given to every believer." 

"Praises" (v.9) literally means "excellencies".

Cross-references for "out of darkness" (v.9) -- "To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them who are sanctified by faith that is in Me."  (Acts 26:18)

"And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known.  I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight.  These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them."  (Isaiah 42:16)

Cross-reference for "His marvelous light" (v.9) -- "For with Thee is the fountain of life: in Thy light shall we see light."  (Psalm 36:9)

A= Warren Wiersbe notes concerning verses 1-2: "Just as a baby has an appetite for the mother's milk, so the child of God has an appetite for the Father's Word.  If you lose that appetite and stop growing, check to see if any of the sins listed in verse 1 are infecting your life."  Food for thought, for sure!

For this Scripture, there were also a number of ways to apply it as prompted in the journal.  

"Remembering who I once was is important to realize who I am now." -- Rachel Wojo

This thought of course fits with verse 9, which reminds us that God has brought us out of spiritual darkness. 

 
Rachel also shares a "focus word" in each of the devotional pages.  For this lesson the focus word is "mercy". 

 
It's certainly God's mercy that brought us out of darkness into His marvelous light.  It's His mercy that has made us a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people of His own.

The question was asked: Which of my own words have blocked the beauty of God's Word?

My response in 2018: Again, probably words like "This is too hard!" when God's Word clearly states that there is nothing too hard for Him.

Answering this same question in 2024:  Words like "I can't do all this!" when God clearly tells me that I can do all things through Christ.  I know I absolutely can do all things that are His will for me to do.  

As Elisabeth Elliot wrote, "If we really have too much to do, there are some items on the agenda which God did not put there.  Let us submit the list to Him and ask Him to indicate which items we must delete. There is always time to do the will of God."

This prompt was given, along with a list: Today I will keep my eyes open for God's beauty in one or more of these places.

These are the places I circled: The words I read; the places I go; the music I hear; the people I encounter; the air I breathe; the weather I experience; the rest I receive.

In 2024 I can note that for the words I read, there are the beautiful words of the Bible as well as lovely poetry I have recently read.

For the places I go, I noted how we are surrounded with cool, refreshing shades of green at our little cottage in the woods.

 For the people I encounter, I spoke of a diverse and unexpectedly large group of ladies in my Sunday School class, all encouraging one another with their insights.

For the weather I experience, I mentioned a string of perfect summer days.

A journaling prompt was this:  List one or more ideas to remind myself to intentionally look for God's beauty throughout the day.

My response in 2018: Walk outdoors or on the porch if at all possible.  Soak up any available sunshine.  Breathe deeply while outdoors.  Listen for birdsong.

For my response in 2024, I added: Enjoy hummingbirds at the camp, and a large variety of colorful birds at our feeder at home.   Watch for perennial summer flowers and wildflowers.  Admire the color of my homemade chive blossom vinegar!

P= "Lord,  I praise You today that You have called me out of darkness into Your marvelous light!  Your expectation is that I will show forth Your praises in my life.  I need to be sure I'm doing that every day, not just on days when I'm feeling fine.  Help me to show forth Your praises every day, and I thank You for all You will do, in Jesus' name, Amen."

 And there is this week's Sunday Scripture!  I pray it's a blessing to someone.

Sunday Scripture

 

Time for another Sunday Scripture!  This is part of an ongoing series on my simple study of Rachel Wojo's Everything Beautiful.  You can read about the plan here if you are interested in it for yourself: Everything Beautiful Bible reading plan. My answers and input on this series are a combination of what I learned back in 2018, and what I found in looking over the Scriptures now, six years later.  I'm attempting to SOAP the passages too, though some of them are longer. [Quick reminder that S stands for Scripture; O stands for observation; A stands for application, and P stands for prayer.]  Today's study is from Psalm 96:1-6.  

S= "Oh, sing unto the LORD a new song; sing unto the LORD, all the earth.
"Sing unto the LORD, bless His name; show forth His salvation from day to day.
"Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.
"For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: He is to be feared above all gods.
"For all the gods of the nations are idols; but the LORD made the heavens.
"Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary."  (Psalm 96:1-6)

O= Cross-references for "Oh, sing unto the LORD" (v.1) -- "Sing unto the LORD, all the earth;  show forth from day to day His salvation.
"Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all peoples.
"For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He also is to be feared above all gods.
"For all the gods of the people are idols; but the LORD made the heavens.
"Glory and honor are in His presence; strength and gladness are in His place."  (1 Chronicles 16:23-27)

Note for "to be feared" (v.4) -- "The fear of the LORD is an Old Testament expression meaning reverential trust, including the hatred of evil." -- C.I. Scofield

Cross-references for "gods" (v.4) and "gods of the nations" (v.5) -- "But our God is in the heavens; He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased.
"Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.
"They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not.
"They have ears, but they hear not; noses  have they, but they smell not.
"They have hands, but they handle not; feet have they, but they walk not; neither speak they through their throat."  (Psalm 115:3-7)

"For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven, or in earth (as there are gods many, and lords many),
"But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him."  (1 Corinthians 8:5-6)

Note concerning "gods" -- "Of course there is only one God.  The pagans had, however, those whom they called 'gods; for instance, in David's day, Dagon and Baal.  Then and now, whatever preempts the place in one's heart that belongs to the true God may be said to be a god; for example, self and the pleasures of this world." -- C.I. Scofield

Believer's Bible Commentary explains,  "The LORD is great, infinitely superior to all gods.  False gods made of wood or stone are powerless; the true God is Jehovah, who made the heavens.  His attributes are like inseparable attendants, accompanying Him everywhere.  Thus honor and majesty precede Him, and strength and beauty wait on Him in His sanctuary."

Cross-references for "the LORD made the heavens" -- "Thus saith God, the LORD, He who created the heavens, and stretched them out; He who spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; He who giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk in it."  (Isaiah 42:5)

"He hath made the earth by His power; He hath established the world by His wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by His understanding."  (Jeremiah 10:12)

A= Warren Wiersbe comments concerning these verses that in them we are given an admonition to sing to the Lord.  He writes, "Sing a new song because you have had a new experience with Him.  Sing a worship hymn because God is glorious (v.3) and great (v.4-5).  Sing a gospel song because the nations need to hear the good news of salvation.  Sing a song of victory and reveal the strength of the Lord.  Sing a song of devotion and reveal the beauty of the Lord."

For this Scripture, there were also a number of ways to apply it as prompted in the journal.  

"I must open my eyes to see the beauty in His sanctuary." -- Rachel Wojo

This thought of course fits with verse 6, which reminds us that "Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary."  It also brought to my mind Psalm 63, verse 2:

"To see Thy power and Thy glory, so as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary."

 

Rachel also shares a "focus word" in each of the devotional pages.  For this lesson the focus word is "open". We do indeed need to open our eyes.to see His strength and beauty.

The question was asked: What one thought can I surrender to create room for seeing moments  of grace?

My response in 2018:  Maybe the thought that this physical difficulty is never going to end -- and I won't ever get back to normal.  I need to remember that whatever happens, God's grace is, and will always be,  sufficient for me.

Answering this same question in 2024:  Any thought that I can do anything in my own strength.  If I try to do this, I will not notice moments of God's grace in those situations.

This prompt was given, along with a list: Today I will keep my eyes open for God's beauty in one or more of these places.

These are the places I circled: The words I read; the places I go; the music I hear; the people I encounter; the air I breathe; the weather I experience; the rest I receive.

In 2024 I can note that for the music I hear, there is such a variety of birdsong around our little cottage.  

 One of the birds we hear frequently is the wood thrush.

In the music I hear category, I am also so thankful for the opportunity to hear a concert that our granddaughter and some friends are playing in, livestreamed all the way from Sweden!

For the air I breathe, I noted the delightful coolness of sleeping with open windows at our little cottage.

A journaling prompt was this:  Everything God made is beautiful.  Where have I noticed God's beauty in the last 24 hours?

My response in 2018: Pale beech leaves and lacy evergreen shrubs against the snow.  Last night's hazy crescent moon.  The kind concern of others.  A direct message from a friend asking about my health.  A handmade card from another friend.

For my response in 2024, I added: The endless variety in wildflowers' color, shape, and form.  The beautiful color of my knockout roses and peonies.  Fireflies spangling the dark evenings at our little camp.  The moon visible and bright as a piece of gold through our open window.

P= "Lord,  I praise You that Your grace is sufficient for me and that Your strength is made perfect in my weakness -- even when my weakness is most pronounced.  I praise You that my concerning weakness from six years ago did pass, and that You helped me to not only get back into my regular activities and ministries, but to even go beyond that.  I praise You that in that very same year, You helped us to take a big trip out West with family.  And I praise you that in recent years, You have given energy and endurance to serve you in different, more challenging ways than ever before.  I thank You for all that You have done and all that You continue to do,  in Jesus' name, Amen."

 And there is this week's Sunday Scripture!  I pray it's a blessing to someone.

 

Variety -- the spice of my devotional life

 

 I've alluded to this a bit before, but haven't gone into detail.  I seem to need creativity in my life on a daily basis, and even though I don't always get to work on a craft as I'd like to,  I do find joy in realizing a creative solution to an everyday dilemma or need.  Such has been the case with my quiet time.  

I love Bible study and journaling and there are just more studies that I want to do than I ever seem to find time for.   In 2024, things have been ever so slightly better in that regard and my devotional life has been spiced up with a little creativity.  I thought I'd share in case others might be interested in taking a similar approach.

This year, I determined that I wanted to journal through Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life, by Charles Swindoll.  It's one of his older books and I acquired a hardcover copy of it last summer.  Each reading includes a devotional lesson, a "Deepening Your Roots" section with Scripture to look up, and a "Branching Out" section with ideas for applying the lesson to real life.  This book, though, has devotional lessons only for Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with a "Growing Strong" section on Saturday where one journals about how applying the lessons for the week has worked out.

 So, that leaves Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday to do something else for Bible study and quiet time.  In fact, it leaves Saturday too, because the "Growing Strong" wrap-up doesn't involve much, if any Scripture.  So this is how I'm using those four days each week:

 Tuesdays and Thursdays I work on SOAPing the Scripture from the Everything Beautiful Bible reading plan that I'm using for my Sunday Scripture blog posts.  You can read about the SOAP method of Bible study here if it is new to you.  

On Saturdays I'm working my way through a Bible study on Habakkuk.  You can find it here: Even If.

Prior to beginning this study, I completed another on the armor of God.  Although it may seem slow to work through a Bible study like this only one day a week, I find it is far, far better to do this than just to lament the fact that I don't have time to do all the studies I want to.  Far better to work on it once a week than not at all, and I do eventually complete them.

On Sundays, I usually work on making a new page for my prayer journal or a page in the prayer journal I'm making for my husband.  This involves either searching out and/or copying Scripture relating to a particular attribute of God or a relating to an issue in my life that I want to keep before the Lord in prayer on a regular basis.   For the longest time, I felt so frustrated that I wanted and needed to make new pages for these prayer journals, but it would never get done.  It finally occurred to me that this would be a good devotional exercise for Sundays.

(And by the way, if you don't have a prayer journal or the one you have isn't working for you, check out this post:  How to Make a Prayer Journal (which, interestingly, is the second most popular post of all time on my blog!).  You will probably also want to read this one: Using a Prayer Journal.  I find that there's pretty much an endless list of things I want to pray about regularly, like specific character flaws in my life, for example, so I am frequently adding to my prayer journal.  The posts I've linked to will show you how to do that.)
 

   This varied approach to my quiet time surely has been a blessing to me, and I hope others may be encouraged to try something different as well.