Day 7: Bible Studies for the Family

Do y'all remember when I said I was motivated to try and draw out my bible study, which didn't work out the way I had planned, but ended up showing me an amazing way to do bible study with my (now) seven year old daughter? Hop over to Day 3 of the 31 Day writing challenge to re-read if you must. 

Well, I have bible study groups and resources galore at my finger tips. I can jump around and do more than one if I want or need - I can scale it down if I'm just not feeling up to it. When it comes to my children, it's not so easy... they have to have it there, in front of them; In their hands, laid out step by step, day by day in order to do any type of bible study. They aren't going to just take the initiative and dive into the Word on their own... and who could blame them really - the bible can seem so overwhelming to even adults at times. Where do you begin? The beginning, the New Testament, any certain book? So I began to search for the perfect devotion for each of my children...

I had received a Tween Bible Study book - Around the Word in 60 Seconds - a year or so ago and was going to give it to my oldest as a daily devotional.

However, after reading over a few weeks worth of devotions myself I decided it was more for my 10 year old than for my soon to be 15 year old daughter. That lead me to do some research to find a great bible study/devotional for my 15 year old daughter. It needed to be something that would reach deep, but not take an enormous amount of time and discourage her from wanting to read it each day.

I discovered A Daughters Worth... I'm waiting for it to come in now! I'm excited about this one, and hopefully she will enjoy it as well.

So, I have my youngest daughter following along with me in my own bible study each day - I have the Around the Word for my 10 year old daughter and will soon have A Daughter's Worth for my eldest daughter.

All I need now is a good bible study/devotion for my 13 year old son... any suggestions?!

Really - I need suggestions!

Hopefully these bible studies will leave a lasting impression on my children and lead them on their own journey of Seeking His Face.

Day 6: Praise

Praise... it is the reason we were created - to give Him praise and glory. 

Isaiah 43:21 The people I have formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.

I remember the first time I read Ann Voskamps book One Thousand Gifts. I remember how blessed, how touched and inspired I was by her willingness to essentially give God praise in the simple mundane moments of her everyday life. 

A simple sight, a smell, a thought or a word... anything and everything is worth giving Him praise. 

Hebrews 13:15 (NIV)Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.

If you've never read her book I encourage you to do so. 

You can visit her website HERE as well. 

No matter what you are going through in your life, no matter what situation or circumstances you might find yourself in, you can ALWAYS find a reason to praise God. Even if it's solely for having the breath in your lungs to be able to do so. 

Psalm 145:3 (NIV) Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.

We cannot even fathom His greatness! 

Psalm 18:3 (NIV) I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies. 

He is there... when no one else is, when no one else can be... when no one else wants to be, He is there. Sometimes God allows us to drop to the lowest points in our lives so that once we reach the bottom we have no choice but to look UP... when we are weak, when we can no longer try by our own hands to fix the problems we face... we feel as if we have no choice but to put it in Gods hands. After we've drained all of our resources and call on God, and he comes in and fixes it we have no choice but to give Him the glory and the praise. If we would only begin with handing it over to Him... we would save ourselves so much heartache. 

Revelation 7:12 (NIV)  Amen! Prise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!

Day 4: Forgiveness...

One of the things I used to struggle with was forgiveness. Oh, how I would lay up at night thinking about the ways people had hurt me... I would wallow in my self pity as I'm sure the other parties were fast asleep in their beds. 

I have since learned to let go... let go and let God. 

Ezekiel 33:12-16 (NIV)
12 “Therefore, son of man, say to your people, ‘If someone who is righteous disobeys, that person’s former righteousness will count for nothing. And if someone who is wicked repents, that person’s former wickedness will not bring condemnation. The righteous person who sins will not be allowed to live even though they were formerly righteous.’13 If I tell a righteous person that they will surely live, but then they trust in their righteousness and do evil, none of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered; they will die for the evil they have done. 14 And if I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ but they then turn away from their sin and do what is just and right—15 if they give back what they took in pledge for a loan, return what they have stolen,follow the decrees that give life, and do no evil—that person will surely live; they will not die. 16 None of the sins that person has committed will be remembered against them. They have done what is just and right; they will surely live.


If our God can forgive us to the point of not even remembering - when we are all sinners not worthy of his love... how much more so should we forgive those who have sinned against us? 

Matthew 6:14 (NIV)
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

I don't know about you... but I want my sins forgiven. 

Is it easier for me to forgive now than it was say three years ago? YES! Would I say it's easy? NO! Easier yes, easy... no. It's a choice, sometimes daily, to forgive someone. 

You know one day we will stand before the King of Kings and we will have to answer for the things we did in our lives. It will not matter what anyone else did or didn't do to or for us... they will have to answer for their lives when it is their time... all that will matter is what you did. 

As often as you can, make the right choice - and try to forgive the best you can. 

Day 5: Sunday Rest

I'll be taking things pretty easy on Sundays, we are usually really busy... we wake early to get ready for church service, and on the days we are not able to wake up and get ready in time (with four children it doesn't always happen) we listed to our church service via podcast blaring through our bluetooth speaker in the livingroom. Whether we are able to attend church in person or not, we always visit my Grandmother afterwards, as does the rest of my family, for Sunday Supper. 

After Supper we sit around for a while and talk and visit and just catch up with whats been going on with everyone during the week. After an hour or so we usually head home for some relaxation.

So my Sunday posts will be pretty quick. A little music, a little devotion, cup of coffee, and I'll be on my way. 

I hope you spend today enjoying the blessing of being alive! Whatever way you choose to meditate on His word... self bible study, online church programs, podcast, television broadcast, daily devotion, or you have a Church home... I hope you were able to be with Him today.

Day 3: Inspiration in Motion

Yesterday I shared with you a blog feature I happened upon of a beautiful lady of the Lord named Shar. You can find that post HERE if you missed it. 

Today I wanted to show you a page from a journal I used to keep... before life got in the way and I stopped...

I don't think I'm an artist, by any means of the word, but I enjoy drawing just as much as I enjoy writing... it soothes me. Drawing while meditating on a scripture just made sense. I enjoyed it immensely! 

So after seeing Shars journal, I loved the way she incorporated the entire chapter of the bible, not just one single verse... so I tried to come up with my own version of what she did...

It kind of reminded me of a low budget childrens bible book. ;) - maybe another example of "be yourself". My youngest daughter loved the picture so much, she copied it! She took my page and re-drew it herself. Afterwards I read the chapter to her so she could see why I put each picture in there. It turned out to be a great bible study tool with her (she's six) which was something I completely didn't plan on. Perhaps I can continue this on a regular basis as her bible study? I've recently given my 10 year old her own Tween bible devotional book, and purchases a Teen one for my 14 year old... so this would work perfect for my younger daughter who hasn't mastered the art of reading yet! 

I do LOVE the way Shars journal pages turns out... I'm just not as great with it as she is. I love her method of color coding and symbols... I've always color coded, even when studying on my tablet. The below picture is of my tablet.

This picture is of my bible - it's ratty and tearing apart in places, with stains at the tip in the beginning pages... I have so many notes and markings in it though, I couldn't stand to part with it just yet. I love my ratty and torn bible! I've started to add a few symbols here and there of my own... I think I'll continue this one going forward.

So... my inspiration from Shar in motion... I thank the Lord for you my friend!

This was Day 3 of 31- You can jump to Day 1 and view the rest of the days of this challenge HERE.