Day 35 4/26

So I attempted the lying on the floor face down prayer today during my quiet time. My posture did help me to quickly acknowledge my position with God and I tried to envision the cross in front of me. However, it didn't exactly go as I had hoped. I have vertigo right now pretty bad and the combination of the room spinning and trying not to look at what was on the floor plus it is never a good idea for me to lay down in the middle of the day or anytime for that matter because this mama will fall asleep in 2 seconds. caused me to lose a bit of focus. I did remain awake and prayerful for 10 minutes so I consider it somewhat a success. It's probably not a good idea for me in the future to do this if I want to give God my best:)

I am going to get back to the exercises I left off on in Living By the Book Ch.15 Read Purposefully. The continued challenge before me is to read the purpose statement passages given from Scripture and determine the author's purpose in my own words and then investigate how he communicates that to the audience (types of structure, repetition, etc.). 

#5 Malachi 4:4-6

I think the purpose of the book is basically a warning to the people of Israel to keep Moses' (God's) laws or they will be punished.

After skimming the book, the author used (there are more I'm sure, but this is my initial go at it)

-question and answer

-rhetorical questions

-instruction

-cause and effect

-historical structure

Day 34 4/25

I had a question at life group tonight about other people being resurrected from the dead and people using this to discredit Jesus doing it. I never really noticed before when reading the Resurrection story that this happened so I thought I would spend my QT reading this Scripture. I read through Matthew 27:51-53 and sure enough it talks about tombs breaking open and holy people being raised to life and coming out of the tombs and visiting relatives. However they didn't appear to people until after Jesus resurrected which I think is significant. I also think it's significant that is was apparently only holy people who this happened to. It is just kind of mentioned in passing, but this was so unbelievably amazing if you really think of it. I'm surprised this isn't talked about more. I can't imagine a loved one of mine who has died, like my dad, showing up on my door step. I've dreamed about it, but it truly happened to some families back then. Did they remain alive or did they go up to heaven when Jesus ascended? What did they say? How did the families react? Why did this happen? What was the point?

I know all of this isn't something to necessarily dwell on of course because Jesus' death and resurrection is the most important because He died and resurrected for EVERYONE, but it is interesting to look at the events surrounding the most incredible act of love ever.

What an impressive and earth shaking (literally:) ) time in history to be a part of. I'm so glad we have a record of it to read and become closer to our past brothers and sisters in Christ and most importantly learn more and grow closer to our Lord.

Day 33 4/24

I am so grateful to attend service at Legacy every Sunday and I was extremely blessed by the music and teaching and prayer and I know the Lord was lifted on high today!

 

For some reason I always get choked up when I sing at church, but I could barely sing at all today because I was just so moved and in awe with all of it. I just kept looking around and closing my eyes and thinking "this is what heaven must be like."

 
I was so blessed by our pastor sharing his story about when he got the privilege to actually visit the supposed tomb of Jesus and how overwhelmed he was at the experience of coming out of the tomb and seeing the landscape of what Jesus may have seen and also literally looking out into the line of people waiting to go in after him and how they came from all over the world, the world Jesus planned to save by His death.

Following this, communion was served, and as I looked down at the cup and bread, tears immediately started streaming down my face and I was trying to get control of myself and not embarrass myself in church:) I was so taken back by the thought that God loves me so much that He literally saved my life from eternal hell and I now, I get to be with Him forever in heaven. I was just completely overwhelmed by His love for me and I truly felt it, like really felt it physically for the first time. I had never really taken it in before I guess. I don't think I can honestly say I have ever felt that much love poured out on me in my life and I have some super awesome people in my life who love me a lot.

So, I left Easter service, hopefully with not too noticeable black marks on my face from my mascara:)  It was an incredible experience that I will never forget. Thank you Lord for revealing that to me today and allowing me to know You better today. You are truly the best and I love you.

He has risen. He has risen indeed!

Day 32 4/23

Mark and I chose to do our Quiet Time today together and it was such a blessing to sit face to face with just him and I and our Lord and reconnect and just talk honestly with each other and pray to God. Unfortunately, it had been a while since we prayed together and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it and really how intimate and precious it is to do with him. We ended with taking turns reading aloud Matthew 28 and talking about what stuck out to us about the passage. We had unintentionally neglected or forgotten to make time for one another and I am so glad we did today.

Thank you Lord for this time and I pray that we can take the time and do this more often:)

Day 31 4/22

I chose to conduct my appointment with God today during my church's Prayer Walk on Good Friday. 

It took about an hour to go through I think and I am so glad we went again this year. 

Here are some of my random notes from the walk...

- Focus every day on letting my light shine before men so that they may see my good deeds and not praise me, but praise my Father in heaven (Matt 5:16). 

- I don't think enough of the image of Jesus washing the disciples feet. What an incredibly humble and righteous man Jesus was. I know that was a duh statement. But really my Lord, humbling Himself to kneel before His friends and pick up their nasty feet and wash them. That had to of taken a while. After I read this I was reminded of the purity that the rain brought today. I was so invigorated as I walked with the kids after it rained. The smell was so fresh and rejuvenating and wonderful. I couldn't get enough.

- It really feels good to obey the the Holy Spirit's promptings and I'm afraid I don't do it enough. 

- I want to pray sometime literally face down on the ground sometime as Jesus did in the Garden.

- I guess I never really knew that all the disciples deserted Jesus and fled after His arrest.

- The most impacting moment of the Prayer Walk was when I went up to kneel down and nail the paper to the board and I looked up at the cross they had up on stage. It was the perfect posture to take at the time and it really helped me to be in the moment and briefly be in the shoes of what it must have been like back then

- My take away point from the sheet for all of us fellow Christians....

"May you reflect the face of Christ this Resurrection Sunday, and every day until the return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!" I need to post this on my mirror for the morning:)

Day 30 4/21

My prayers today...

-for energy and contentment with time in getting projects done around house, there is no hurry

- praise for how good friends my kids are to each other, I pray that they are like that forever, it brings me so much joy to watch

- love, kind words, encouragement between Mark and I because we have been super tired lately and busy, just kind of surviving the busyness of life and going through the motions

-------Wanted to focus my reading of the Word on the Lord's Supper for Maundy Thursday (not sure if I spelled that right)

Read through different Gospel accounts and wrote down what stuck out from them...

- Mark 14:21-31  Never paid attention to the fact that they sung a hymn after the meal (v.26). Thought that was really cool. Maybe this was something traditional with the Passover meal. I am not sure. I may look in to that. Something about grown men singing has always moved me.

- Matt 26:17-35  v. 30 notes them singing a hymn also. Tells Judas he will betray Him. Before the meal, Judas had really already betrayed Him by accepting money to help them find Him. Interesting Judas said "surely not I" after Jesus tells them one of them would betray Him.

- Luke 22:7-38  Baffles me that the disciples, after Jesus told them about the bread and wine representing His sacrificial body, could start arguing about who will be the greatest among them. I don't get how they could have been so close to Jesus and act like this in front of Him after Jesus had just told them He was going to die soon, their beloved friend, teacher and Savior. Also thought it was interesting Jesus told them to buy swords and that He prayed for Simon's faith not to fail. It does say though, "and when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." So maybe Jesus was praying for after Peter denies Him, He hopes that he doesn't dwell in his sorrow and guilt, but he be strong once again in his faith because his buddies are going to need the accountability and encouragement.

- John 13:1-30  "He now showed them the full extent of His love" stuck out to me for some reason. John is also the only one to mention, I think, the washing of the feet. Jesus washed all of their feet, even Judas and Peter.  That is such a humbling act to carry out, usually done by the servants.

Satan entering Judas during the meal is definitely something else that sticks out to me. Did he have to give him permission to take over his heart or did he just take it? There's a reason Satan was so close I guess. No doubt spiritual warfare had to have been at a record high while Jesus walked the earth. I also never knew Judas left during the meal.  

Day 29 4/20

I opened up my QT with prayers on my heart...

-for my son to be protected from harm from swallowing a toothpick, and for wisdom for myself and my husband and doctors if need be

-for Linds mom to wake up and feel the warm sunshine and make the decision to choose Him today to lean on, not the ugliness of the past

-for my sister in law's Jill's health

-for the new mommies in my life to feel confident, empowered, not alone, and full of energy

-for clarity with the thought on my heart lately of doing some sort of mission trip? I've felt an aching or something to be exposed to how others live and to pour out God's love on them, probably more theirs on me really. I don't know

-for our political leaders once again, specifically Obama and Sarah Palin

---------------------------------

Decided to take a short recess from my Ch. 15 Exercise and focus my scripture towards Holy Week.

We read through Psalm 22 in Life Group and I wanted to read through it individually as well.

I was drawn to the fact that "O my Strength" was capitalized. I've never given God the name Strength. Thought that was very powerful and spent some time thinking about that. I pray for His and the Holy Spirit's strength, but I guess I have never addressed Him as "Strength". I really like that.

Also, I continue to be amazed at the accuracy in prophecy here by David.

After reading Psalm 22, I was drawn to look up specifically what Jesus said during His final hours on the cross and here is the quick study I came up with. Forgive me if I have misquoted or referenced something wrong. It is interesting to see what He did.

According to the Gospel writers here are His Words...

- "My God, My God why have You forsaken Me" (Matt 27:46, Mark 15:34, Psalm 22)

-I never caught this one before...He made arrangements for His mom, Mary to be taken care of (John 19:26-27)

-"I am thirsty" (John 19:28)

-"It is finished" (John 19:30)

-Jesus forgave a criminal next to Him hanging on the cross and promised that sinner he would be in heaven with Him that day after the man asked Him to remember him (Luke 23:43)

-"Into Your hands I commit My Spirit" (Luke 23:46)

After reading about Jesus' final hours on the cross, specifically His words, I am amazed at His intentionality, clarity, and calmness during this agonizing time, according to the Scriptures. I think He may have been praying through the Scripture as someone from my Life Group suggested. I don't know obviously and I haven't read through commentary on it, but praying was what Jesus did, all the time. Why wouldn't He have done it here? Reciting Psalm 22, may have been how He was getting through this horrendous death or maybe He was saying it for the people to hear and recognize what was happening. I don't know. I am not sure that many people could hear what He was saying, but He's God of course so He could have spoken as loud as He desired, but I think He was most likely saying it to Himself.

I do my best Lord to remember what You did for me. I am forever grateful that I will be with You in eternity because of Your Son, a perfect precious lamb slain for me.

Day 28 4/19

During my quiet time today, my prayers were focused on three areas...
1.  I prayed over each member in my life group and over the prayer request list collected on Monday
2. I prayed for Legacy, specifically for protection, strength and God's Words for our leaders during this Easter weekend
3. I prayed for Sarah Palin, who I am a big supporter of.  I prayed for spiritual and physical protection for her and her family. I prayed that she not be corrupted by the political world and that she continue to lean on the Lord to be strong and make wise choices. I am a huge political nerd, if you don't know that already :) and I believe it is important to pray for our leaders.


---------------------------------------------------------

The next several days during my Quiet Time, I plan on working through the 10 exercises presented in Ch. 15  (read purposefully) of the book I am reading and then record my notes here.

I will be reading purpose statements from various passages from books in the Bible, and then determining how the author presents the material (grammatical and literary structure, etc.) to accomplish the purpose. I am also going to try and paraphrase the purpose in my own words as well.

Exercise #4   Isaiah 6:9-13


Okay, this one is tough for me. I'm having trouble understanding this purpose statement. I think I know the main purposes is for Isaiah to "go and tell" people, specifically the Israelites about what is to happen, what they should do, etc. 


I have never really studied Isaiah except for reading some of the prophecy about Jesus, but am not familiar with his style or structure. I feel like I need to take more time to do study his book to come to a more concise conclusion.

Day 27 4/18

The next several days during my Quiet Time, I plan on working through the 10 exercises presented in Ch. 15  (read purposefully) of the book I am reading and then record my notes here.

I will be reading purpose statements from various passages from books in the Bible, and then determining how the author presents the material (grammatical and literary structure, etc.) to accomplish the purpose. I am also going to try and paraphrase the purpose in my own words as well.

Exercise #3 Ecclesiastes 1:1-2, 12:13-14


After reading the purpose statement passages is seems as if the message being communicated by Solomon is what matters in life is to fear God and keep His commandments, everything else is basically meaningless if God isn't who we are striving to honor. The audience could be anyone, but I think he had a heart for the young so that they make wise choices early on and don't mess up and waste their life. Much of the book is written in honest narrative, which I respect, as Solomon walks us through his life and the experiences he went through. The Words are covered heavily in instruction and direction for wisdom using a lot of imagery. In my opinion, it almost resembles a grandpa's note to his grandkids.

Day 26 4/17

The next several days during my Quiet Time, I plan on working through the 10 exercises presented in Ch. 15  (read purposefully) of the book I am reading and then record my notes here.

I will be reading purpose statements from various passages from books in the Bible, and then determining how the author presents the material (grammatical and literary structure, etc.) to accomplish the purpose. I am also going to try and paraphrase the purpose in my own words as well.

Exercise #2  Proverbs 1:1-6

Solomon lays the purpose of his writing up front in the very beginning in fairly simple black and white language, which I like. He says basically the purpose of his writing is to serve as a guide for everyone (young, old, simple minded, etc.)  to living life wisely to honor the Lord.


After skimming through the book, it seems like Solomon uses ideological structure (focusing on ideas and concepts) with a father-like instruction feel. He also uses repetition to get his message across such as "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of understanding" and he often opens up his points with a plea of "Listen my son" stressing the importance for the young to take this to ear and learn it now. Solomon wisely writes with very effective short to the point direct quips which is probably why Proverbs is one of the more popular books of the Bible.

Day 25 4/16

The next several days during my Quiet Time, I plan on working through the 10 exercises presented in Ch. 15  (read purposefully) of the book I am reading and then record my notes here.

I will be reading purpose statements from various passages from books in the Bible, and then determining how the author presents the material (grammatical and literary structure, etc.) to accomplish the purpose. I am also going to try and paraphrase the purpose in my own words as well.

Exercise #1

Deuteronomy. 1:1, 4:1, 32:44-47

After reading through the supposed purpose statements of Deuteronomy, it seems as though the purpose was for the Israelites to hear Moses' (per God) words of the Law and obey them fervently so they may partake in God's promises for them and create a legacy generation for the future.

From skimming the book, it seems as though Moses used geographical, historical, and chronological structure as well as intense repetition to get the message across. I also sensed Moses use of affirmation and understanding for the foundation of our faith for us future readers.

This was really cool to do and I look forward to working through some more. Looking at structure usage from the author really does help in determining the meaning of Scripture by understanding the author and material better.

Day 24 4/15

I picked up where I left off in Ch. 15 and continued learning about the importance of spending time looking at structure in Scripture. Last time I looked at grammatical structure. The book goes on to discuss literary structure. I spent most of the time looking at Scripture passages of examples in different forms of literary structure like biographical, geographical, and historical. The author sums the importance of structure in Scripture by saying it is the "doorway  to understanding an author's purpose."

I'm looking forward to going through the 10 exercises in this chapter. I will park here for a while as it will take me several days. I am going to look at purpose statements in various passages from books in the Bible and see how the writer accomplishes his purpose in the way he presents his material. 

My prayers during this time are going to be focused on my friend who is a new mommy and is going through all those emotions and struggles of the first few weeks.

Day 23 4/14

I'm back to my normal routine of my QT when the kids are napping and it feels great. I am going to write down my opening prayer as my appointment with Jesus starts, not to boast or anything, but to provide an example of what of I do, maybe to help anyone who may be struggling with how to start a QT. It is out of my nature to do that because it seems odd to write it out, but it's been on my heart to do so. So, I start out this way, not the exact words every time of course, but pretty close. This gets my heart lined up right and in perspective to be with my Creator. The logistics of  typing while I pray are tough, but I'll do my best...

"I humbly come before you today Lord and am honored to get to be in your presence and rub shoulders with you today. Thank you for letting me sit at your feet as Your child, Your servant, Your friend, and Your ambassador, and Your student. My heart is open, my eyes are open, my mind is open, and my ears are open to whatever it is You would like me to do or not do with or from this time. Lay people on my heart to reach out to. Convict me. Be silent. With this Lord, I pray that I may have the courage to carry out whatever You ask. I pray also Lord, that I allow Your Words to permeate through me so that I may know you better and that others will see You in me and praise the Father in heaven. I recognize that You are the boss and the agenda is Yours today.Your will be done, not mine." 

The next chapter I'm going to read in Living by the Book is Ch. 15 Read Purposefully. I don't think I will get through the whole thing today.

 

My take away points...

- Scripture has 4 purposes: teaching, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteous living

- not a verse in Scripture is thrown in by accident

- when discerning the meaning of a passage, always look for structure from the author

 - Grammatical structure likes usage and placement of verbs, subject (does the acting)/object (acted upon), adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, transitions like and/but/or/therefore

-

Day Twenty-Two 4/13

In the craziness of traveling with my two little ones, I once again managed to embarrassingly squeeze in another 2-part Quiet Time today, both pretty lame.  I did feel a tug on my heart to be with Him and I could tell He wanted me to come to my appointment with Him as well no matter what the meeting looked like. Although  it is no excuse and I obviously needed better time management, I will show myself a little grace with traveling and get back to my regular quiet time soon.

I don't drive on vacation much because Mark usually does, but he wasn't with us so left it up to me. As I was driving, I couldn't help but be drawn to God's beautiful landscape all around me throughout the hills of Arkansas. I watched an amazing pink, yellow, and orange sun set which was a reminder of how awesome and creative my Maker is.

On the trip my mom and I talked about a lot and it made me realize how far our relationship had come since my dad's death over 10 years ago. I am so thankful, that's not nearly a strong enough word, but that my mom loves me unconditionally no matter how bad I treated her while I grieved, especially during the Anger phase. We made it through by the grace of God and are closer than ever. I am so proud of her for choosing to continue to live life, instead of give up after losing the love of her life. 

I'm sure glad God didn't give up on us and that He allowed His plan to be carried out draped with unconditional love.

When I got home, I read through the next exercise on Reading Meditatively. It involved allotting a few hours to read through John 4:1-42 and dig deep to answer some questions. I will table this when I can arrange that. I think it sounds really cool.

Day Twenty-One 4-12

I drove today during my kids' nap to see my Grandpa and Kay in Arkansas, so I knew my appointment with Him would be re-scheduled for tonight sometime. I was starting to get ancy as to when it was going to happen and was literally pacing eagerly to be at His feet, so after I put Gracie down, I intended to get it in, while Sam watched Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin in the sun room. I left my Bible in the room where Gracie was and so I searched frantically for a Bible in the room, but was out of luck. That was frustrating, but it was my fault obviously. So instead I spent some time in prayer thanking God for protecting us on the road and allowing my children to get to spend some time with their great grandpa and grandma

Well Gracie woke up 5 min in and I ended up having to lay down with both of my stinkers to get them to go to sleep. Unfortunately that meant mama fell asleep too so here I sit once again, near midnight desiring to be with You Lord.  

We've been focusing on the Easter story at church and in Life Group so I think I will park there for a bit where we studied this week...
 Didn't get past first line. It was enough to bring tears to my eyes and go to Him in prayer.

Luke 22:7 reads..."Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover Lamb had to be sacrificed."

I have passed over that line many times, but never truly saw it until now. Thank you Lord for sacrificing your Son for me and for Him going through with the plan to die a terrible death and most significantly, be separated from You. I can't grasp that act of love and why you love me so much and I am sorry if my days do not properly honor what You did for me, but know that I am forever grateful to You for providing a way for me to be with You forever.

That's a nice way to head to bed.

Day Twenty 4-11

As I lay in bed tonight at my in-laws, getting ready to spend some time with Jesus, I can't help but scroll through the events of the day. I had a tough miss my dad day today. It usually happens when I am alone for extended periods of time. My mind got rolling this morning when at the breakfast table today Sam told me he dreamt of Grandpa Alan in heaven last night and when I asked him if he talked to him, he said "No, he was just talking to Jesus." Sam then, like no big deal, went on to take a bite of his waffle. Now this very could have been another 3 year old common fabrication, but either way, it made me smile and of course shed tears. I let my dad's birthday pass this year without really talking about it to any of my family again. Sometimes it's still too hard I guess, I don't know. I even forgot to call my Grandma that day.  

Back to my quiet time... Just needing to read a random psalm and then spend some time in prayer. Missed my appointment with God this afternoon for various reasons, which is no excuse at all, but no matter how late it is, He still deserves and wants me to curl up with Him and give Him what I can, I think.

Day Nineteen 4-10

I am overwhelmed once again at the relevancy and application of the Scripture I was planning on reading today. I had a convicting, I shouldn't have said that, day, the victim being my mom, once again. I was set straight pretty quick as I ducked my head and went off humbly to do my quiet time, like a kid knowing they had disappointed their father and now they had to go talk to him.

I sat in quiet in the sun as my children slept and simply read Psalm 19. It ends with this...

14 "May the words of my mouth and the meditation in my heart be pleasing in your sight,
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."

I'm listening God, thanks :) May this be my prayer today and EVERY day after.  
I learned, once again, about the importance of the beautiful God-given act of apologizing and asking for forgiveness from God and my mother, not over email or letter or text, but in person. I was reaffirmed that it is always the right thing to do, especially as quick as one can. There's something very humbling about honest confession and I am trying to instill that importance in my children as I continue to learn the value in it.

Day Eighteen 4-9

I'm on to the next chapter which focuses on Reading Meditatively.  I'm excited for this one:) 

My take away points...

- "You are not what you think you are, What you think, you are."

- listen to scripture audibly to hear it differently or get a different perspective, 

  especially if traveling and have a lot of dead time

- bathe my mind in the waters of the Word so that my words and thoughts may be 

   pleasing in God's sight

- 1st rate Bible reading calls not for snapshots, but timed exposures

I am going to take the book's recommendation and focus next QT on reading and meditating on Psalm 19.

Day Seventeen 4-8

I decided to begin my QT following ACTS with focusing on two dear friends who have been on my heart. We need prayer of course during all times of our lives, but sometimes the urgency and desperation of it becomes clear in times of pain and I know the best thing to do for a friend is to kneel before the Father and pour out love for them and ask for them to be aware of and receive His love as well.  I know I appreciate prayer during those times and it really helps knowing that people love you and truly pray for you. 

I closed with randomly opening the Bible and reading Psalm 110 and 112. I also read the Cottonpatch story of Christmas by Clarence Jordan found in Living By The Book.

Day Sixteen 4-7

I decided to move on from the Read Imaginatively exercises because I was hitting a block and was trying to force something. I just couldn't get into it and feel connected. It was causing me to lose my passion and thirst for my quiet time so today I am just going to table the book today and pray, specifically for my Life Group prayers. My goal is for 5 minutes. 

I should do that way more often than I do. I just looked at the clock and I prayed for 10 min:) I am going to end with reading Proverbs 31 because I haven't in a while and I love it because it keeps me in check.

Day Fifteen 4-6

I picked up where I embarrassingly left off yesterday with reading 1 Sam 17 (David and Goliath). 

Finished reading it. It has been a while since I read the whole thing. I read a very small chunk of it often in my kids' Bibles, but man is the full story awesome.  David was such a cool, confident, and tough kid. I love it. Cocky too, but in a righteous way, in the name of the Lord, who he full-heartedly believed would be with him in killing this massive beast in front of Him. I love that Davie ran at Goliath, showing no fear to the thousands of soldiers watching this unfold.Then he cuts off his head and carries it around with him for quite some time. I know that sounds ridiculous now, but times have changed of course. What a stud. He followed the Lord with all his heart and the Lord was sure glorified in a big way that day.

I'm having trouble carrying out the exercise to re-write the story to relate to a group of youth gang members I think because it is just so awesome how it is and I feel weird changing it. That may be a cop out from doing my homework or maybe it's not being familiar with the right language to use and I don't want to embarrass myself. I'll try again tomorrow.

Day Fourteen 4-5

As I opened my Quiet Time tonight in prayer I prayed to be sure my heart was in check with the plumb line and hold myself accountable before the Lord that I don't want to think about posting my time on my blog, but to continue to just have this honest, transparent, and intimate time with God. I just don't want it ever to be about choosing the best words or wondering who is reading it, but to write from the heart in hopes that I will be changed and my heart be conformed to that of Christ, that I continue to learn from Him, and that He be glorified. 

One of the Read Imaginatively Exercises that I am beginning is to read I Sam 17 (David and Goliath) and rewrite it so that it may relate to a group of youth gang members. I am going to read the passage tonight and do the actual exercise tomorrow.

Unfortunately I just woke up in my chair as I have apparently fallen asleep reading. That is the major downfall for me waiting until evening to do my QT. This mama bear hits a wall at a certain point and shuts down. Sorry to disappoint you Lord. I will attempt to rally and wash my face and brush my teeth. 

Got through half of the passage. Will do rest manana. Too tired.

Day Thirteen 4-4

I have to be honest, I am more tired than usual today and this time may not be giving Him my best, but I am going to push through it. The next chapter I'm focusing on is about Reading scripture Imaginatively.

I thought it was a very cool and different way to look at scripture, not as this boring book as so many people see it, but as real life awesome stories that are powerful and animated. Some advice the book gave was to try and crawl into the skin of the people I read about to understand them and their actions better, rewrite the passage in my own paraphrase as another way to spice it up, read in different versions, literally act out the story, and change the setting of where I read (go outside by the water to read parables because that's where most of them were delivered or go out to a field and read the Psalms because David was a shepherd and most likely wrote there).

Day Twelve 4-3

Today during my QT, I am going to read through the last scripture exercise today in the Read Prayerfully chapter which is Phil 4:8-9. I am looking for illustrations of the characteristics in this passage that I see in My life...
True - the Word; Noble - Jesus dying for me; people serving others; Right - what God smiles at like the precious moments I get to spend with my kids each day as a stay at home mom teaching them about You and hugging them whenever they'll let me; Pure - the innocence of a child, their laughter and discovery, worship; Lovely - nature, people listening to and helping others; Admirable - doing the right thing, especially when it is unpopular; Excellent - seeing ambassadors for Christ represent Him; Praiseworthy - God's love, peace, timing, and will for my family and I

The 2nd and 3rd questions were about what I think God specifically needs to change or help me to cultivate after reading this passage? There are a lot, but here are some that came to mind instantly...
- intentionally using kind, encouraging words
-honoring and lifting up my husband, we are too sarcastic sometimes :)
-having more patience with the little day to day things
-judging others
-consistent prayer time for others and going out of my way to encourage those I shepherd
-see the big picture as far as that there is a whole world full of people out there that He loves but I don't know a whole lot about or can relate to
-be in tune with Holy Spirit

Day Eleven 4-2

As I ride in the car on the way home from the 5K, it is no coincidence that my scripture to focus on, emphasizing prayer and the promises of God is Isaiah 40:28-31. It summarizes today beautifully...


^"28 Do you not know?
   Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
   the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
   and his understanding no one can fathom.
²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
   and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
   and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the LORD
   will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint. "


I am taken back by how blessed I was by this event. I know that wasn't the purpose of course, but I was absolutely overwhelmed by the goodness of people's hearts, and by their support and hope for this family. As I was running, I got choked up several times by families decked out in their race shirts sitting on their truck beds in the driveways watching us run and cheering us on, kids running along the fences, police men smiling, and humble men sitting quietly in their cars trying not to be scene but wanting to be a part of it with quiet nods both understanding the significance and importance of what was taking place.


This was small town America at its best and I was so proud to be there. God was undeniably present and glorified!

Day Ten 4-1

So for my Quiet Time today I am moving on to the next chapter in Living By the Book by Hendricks, Read Prayerfully. As I look back on my notes, it was pretty cool to see that I had begun focusing more on prayer the last two days perhaps in part for preparation for this chapter? After reading the chapter I had some take away points like: "the only thing that ever moves Him is our heart", and to learn to turn scripture into prayer which is something I have always wanted to do, but I don't really know how and never really took the time to do it or took the lead on it honestly. Also, to guide in prayer, the book provided the Acronym of ACP. I had learned ACTS in the past, but I like the way the author described each part of ACP. Start with...
Adoration - occupy myself with who God is so naturally my true condition with come to light
Confession of my sin or sin of omission - see myself in proper perspective
Petition - focus on needs of the people by leaning on promises of God 

The exercise (1 of 3 ) for this chapter, challenged me to Read Psalm 23 and insert my name wherever I see 1st person pronouns. So, I prayed it first by inserting my name and it was a little strange at first to say my name in 3rd person so much, but it began to personalize the passage and what I felt I was saying was true in my heart, therefore I was empowered and it gave me a sense of confidence and stability actually if that makes sense. I didn't read it as David as I had before, but as me speaking to God. How cool that David wrote that so long ago and I can read today to glorify God. I read it aloud a second time keeping the 1st person pronouns the way they are and it was even more powerful because it was as though as I was publicly (although only my dog and cat were present) declaring these things about my Lord.

Ending my quiet time in stillness looking out the windows in my room, I was overwhelmed by His peace in this uncertain world. You are beautiful Lord and I love You.