October Scripture Writing Plan: Rejoice in the Lord

 Happy almost October sweet friends!

The plan this month is on something we are all told to ALWAYS do: 

Rejoice in the Lord

I start working on the scripture plan for a month at the beginning of the preceding month and as I sat to write this today (at the end of September), I had to smile because I'm pretty sure God had me pick this topic because He knew I would need a reminder right about now because I am not feeling like rejoicing right now.  He's good like that isn't He? He always provides exactly what we need, exactly when we need it! 

Probably the most popular verses about rejoicing is Philippians 4:4. 

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

I think people struggle with this because they misunderstand it. Although we are called to give thanks to God in everything, we are not called to rejoice OVER everything. Read that verse again. It doesn't say Rejoice about everything, it says Rejoice in the Lord always. Rejoicing in the Lord isn't about our circumstances, it's about our relationship with and our posture towards Him. No matter what my life looks like, no matter what ugly circumstances I am in, no matter what grief I am in the middle of, God will ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS be worthy of my rejoicing and praise. 

Giving thanks to God in all things is bowing to His sovereignty and rejoicing in Him is a celebration of it. Our true joy is found solely in the Lord. Not in our circumstances, not in the people in our lives, not our situations, but completely and totally in Him. We must look up to Him and not at the insanity, brokenness, sadness, and heartache going on around us. We must trade our anxieties in for grateful and humble communion with God. We must rest in the peace of God, even when it doesn't make sense to the world, staying rooted and grounded in Christ.  

My prayer is that this month, regardless of our circumstances, we are reminded that He is the author of our story and the keeper of our heart. I pray that we are reminded to rejoice IN Him for He alone is worthy to be praised and rejoiced over ALWAYS!

NOTE: I make all plans 31 days long so that they can be 

done any month-not just the month I write them for.

TO PRINT: You can find a copy of the plan in the folder HERE.

July Scripture Writing Plan 2021: Freedom

 Happy almost July sweet friends!

The plan this month is over something that is a huge gift from the Lord:

Freedom

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

John 8:36

No doubt you've heard that verse before but what does it mean? It means that as Christians, we have assurance of salvation and true freedom from the penalty and power of sin. This freedom was bought and paid for by Christ who died on the cross for my sins and your sins in order to set us free. We are free from condemnation, we are free from having to be good enough to earn our way to heaven (thank goodness), we are free from fear. Thankfully, unlike the freedoms we have as Americans, this freedom we have as Christians can't be revoked by anyone or anything and our eternity is 100% guaranteed. How amazing and awesome is that?

Unfortunately though, many people view this freedom as the freedom to do whatever they want. Jesus didn't die on the cross so we could do whatever we wanted but so that we could do what He created to do. Jesus died so that we could walk in relationship with God, so that we could obey God and choose His will for our lives. Freedom in Christ does not give us permission to sin. It gives us the opportunity to serve and glorify the Lord and shower those He created with His love. Freedom isn't the right to do what we want, but the ability to do what we ought!  I love this quote from AW Tozer which I think sums it up:

Christian liberty is freedom from sin, not freedom to sin. 

AW Tozer

My prayer is that this next month, as we write these verses about freedom that we are reminded that we are set free and that this freedom comes with responsibility. That we are able to experience true freedom in Christ by studying His word, knowing Him, walking in His ways while we focus on service to Him and to others. That we are reminded what God has done for us in Christ and that we love and obey Him with the full assurance that God WILL make good on His promise and we will spend eternity with Him!

I: I make all plans 31 days long so that they can be 

done any month-not just the month I write them for.

TO PRINT: You can find a copy of the plan in the folder HERE

May Scripture Writing Plan 2021: Spiritual Warfare

Happy almost May sweet friends!

The plan this month is over something that's not fun to talk 

or think about but something that's super real and so very important: 

Spiritual Warfare

There is a very real and very dangerous enemy that we should NEVER forget or take lightly- Satan. Ephesians 6:12 describes this enemy and this battle (also known as spiritual warfare) of ours: 

 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 

This verse is a great reminder of spiritual warfare which is the leveraging of everything that God promises against everything that opposes God’s purposes. God is a God of purposes and a God of promises. Purposes to redeem the world and promises to judge wickedness. Purposes to grow his beloved children into maturity and promises to unfailingly manage and steward that process. Purposes to love us, to save us and to glorify His name, and promises about our lives and about His great and holy character. Satan and his spiritual forces oppose every single bit of God's purposes and promises. He opposes all of God’s purposes for salvation and redemption, as well as His every single promise for accomplishing it. 

Satan battles every single day for the hearts of men and women, trying to turn us away from God and separate us from Him. Satan is crafty and sneaky and sophisticated and he works constantly to rule this world. He schemes against us and he HATES those that obey and follow Christ. He is always watching and waiting for us to have our guard down so that he can attack. Because of that we must be alert and ready at ALL times. Because Satan is so wicked and spiritual warfare is so scary, people often want to just ignore both completely but that's so dangerous. Why?  

Because...

1. Satan is powerful. He's strong and if we aren't careful and watching for his schemes, he can (and will) overpower us. 
2. Satan is a predator and an opportunist. He is on the prowl. He is constantly waiting to pounce on those who are unsuspecting and destroy them. 
3. Satan is not our friend. He HATES us because God loves us. He knows the power of God's love and works relentlessly to drive a wedge between us and God. 
4. Satan is sneaky and strategic and deceitful. He will lie and cheat and steal to destroy us. He wants us to believe lies about God, about ourselves and about what's really important and true. He doesn't show up with a red face, pitchfork and horns but disguised as something tempting and attractive. He doesn't just use our weaknesses to trip us up, he will also take something we are comfortable and confident in and use it to trip us up. 

In order to battle Satan we must be aware of what God's word says about spiritual warfare. We must recognize that spiritual warfare exists and know what God's word says about it and about Satan. My prayer is that as we write these verses this month we would become aware of Satan's devices and schemes and his plans for our destruction. That we would be reminded over and over again that we have no reason to fear him because Jesus has overcome this world but that it's up to us to be aware and pay attention. That we would stay alert to Satan's deceptions and close to the throne of the Lord. That we would spend time in God's word which is TRUTH, so that we can stand it up against the lies of Satan. 

FYI: I make all plans 31 days long so that they can be 
done any month-not just the month I write them for.

TO PRINT: You can find a copy of the plan in the folder HERE.

April Scripture Writing Plan 2021: Hospitality

Happy almost April sweet friends!

The plan this month is over something I LOVE- Hospitality!

Hospitality is often thought of as inviting people over to your house for dinner but honestly hospitality is not about a perfectly cleaned and decorated house and fancy platters of food. To me Biblical hospitality is about serving and loving others through Christ and making them feel loved and valued and cherished, anywhere. And I think it's super important to remember that hospitality is not something optional for us to do, it's actually something that God calls us to do!

1 Peter 4:8-10 says:  Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.  Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

God calls us to first love Him and second to love others. When we love and serve those God places before us, we are honoring and serving Him. When we love others, we are showing our love for God. He loves us wholly and completely and unconditionally so when we love and serve others through hospitality, we are also serving God. When we open our hearts as well as our homes, we're practicing Christian hospitality.

The good news is that Christian hospitality doesn't have to be perfect or expensive or elaborate or Instagram worthy. So often people focus on what they don't have instead of focusing on sharing the blessings of God that they do have.  They often think that when they are older or have more money or a larger house or more time they will be more hospitable. But friends, that's not what God's word says! 

And here's some good news: God CAN use people like you and me to touch lives- right now!

It doesn't matter if we rent or own a house or lease a tiny apartment or live in a trailer.  It doesn't matter if we have fine china and crystal or paper plates and Solo cups. It doesn't matter if our house is spotlessly clean or a huge chaotic mess. When it comes to hospitality here's what we have to remember: People gather with us and come to our homes to see us and spend time and fellowship with us- not to inspect and evaluate our homes. 

Hospitality is all about relationships and making people feel loved and valued. Hospitality puts people first—their comfort, their enjoyment, their needs—and invites them into our lives. Hospitality is not worrying about the clutter on the dining room table as we order pizza to be delivered. Hospitality is not about spending hundreds of dollars purchasing food for a gourmet, 9 course meal but instead it's about intentionally creating a place where people feel welcome and experience love, acceptance, and the presence of the Lord- even if it's just sharing a big pot of leftover vegetable soup along with some crackers. 

When we practice hospitality, we have the opportunity to touch lives in a personal way. We just have to be bold and willing to share what we have with those God places in our path- even if what we have is not a lot. God has not only given us the roof over our heads, He has also given us the love and wisdom needed to open our homes and hearts to others.  My prayer that this month as we read what God has to say about Biblical hospitality and serving others, that we think of ways to invite others to join and fellowship with us. That we truly see who God places in front of us and figure out ways to have them join us so we can share God's love with them. 

(Note: You'll notice that six of the days have only the verse that the piece of armor is mentioned in as the verse for that day. My hope is that you will write that verse several times and then spend time trying to memorize it!)

FYI: I make all plans 31 days long so that they can be 
done any month-not just the month I write them for.

TO PRINT: You can find a copy of the plan in the folder HERE.

February Scripture Writing Plan 2021: Be Bold

 Happy almost February sweet friends! 

The scripture writing plan topic this month is all being BOLD!

I don’t know about you, but I want to live and speak more boldly for Christ to friends and family and strangers God places in my path.  But here is the thing: being bold is SCARY. Often super scary. Why? Because it requires us to be vulnerable, to put ourselves out there and to be firm in our beliefs, regardless of if we have the same beliefs as someone else or not (and especially if not) and to risk rejection and even ridicule.  I think most of the time when we aren’t bold (even when God calls us to be) it’s because we are scared and honestly because we are fearful of being embarrassed.  Sometimes we are fearful because we don’t know exactly how to say what we believe, we worry because we didn’t go to seminary, we don’t have every Bible verse memorized, we don’t know every historical reference in the Bible and we can’t read or speak Greek.  Because being bold is scary, it is usually easier to just keep wishing we were bolder, to admire and envy bold people and to follow them on social media, to read and be inspired by biographies of bold people, watch movies about bold people and do Bible study after Bible study about being fearful than it is to step out and actually BE BOLD. 

I for one am guilty of all of the above. But here is the good news: Not knowing everything or being fearful does NOT disqualify us to share the love of Christ. Thank goodness! Sweet friends, God created us for purpose, not perfection. He is eager to do things in and through us, but we must decide to take the risk to step out and be bold!

Boldness feels and is risky but only when we do it on our own. When the Lord has called us and is leading the way, we can follow Him without fear, knowing that the outcome is always in His capable, mighty hands. God takes ordinary, flawed people like you and me and help us to be bold to fulfill His purpose and calling. Of course, God knew we would struggle with this and because of that there are tons of stories in the Bible of people being bold for Christ as an example for us. These are a few of my favorites: The Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10), Queen Esther (Esther 1-4), John and Peter (Acts 4) David (1 Samuel 17) and Paul (Acts 28). God calls us to be bold. God is pleased with us when we do something different and step out in faith, knowing that He will lead us and walk with us. When God resides in us and works through us, His strength and power sustains us. 

My prayer is that this month as we read and write verses about being bold, we stop being fearful and instead are bold (even in fearful situations) to act despite our sweaty palms and pounding hearts. I pray that we pursue boldness and do whatever it takes to declare the gospel to every single person the Lord calls us to and puts in our path!

FYI: I make all plans 31 days long so that they can be 
done any month-not just the month I write them for.

TO PRINT: You can find a copy of the plan in the folder HERE.

December Scripture Writing Plan: Gifts & Blessings from God

 Happy almost December sweet friends! 

The scripture writing plan topic this month is over 

Blessings and Gifts from God

God has given us (yep, YOU and ME!) so many blessings that we too often taken for granted. We get so used to these gifts that we fail to recognize and thank Him for these incredible gifts that can come to us only through Him. Now I don't necessarily mean physical gifts (although He does provide those), but spiritual gifts and blessings. 

We hear the word and use the word blessed a LOT (seriously, it's on every other shirt and coffee mug you see these days), but what are these blessings from God? Ephesians 1:3 says: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 

Did you catch that? God gives us EVERY spiritual blessing that He has and does not hold back or leave out any blessings to us! Not some or a few- EVERY one. Not some to me but all to you because you deserve them more- ALL of them to each of us. How awesome and incredible is that?  

So what are these spiritual blessings?  These are blessings given to us when we choose to follow Jesus. Of course the biggest gift God gave us was when He physically and outwardly showed us His love toward us, by giving us His only begotten Son to us, as a sacrifice for our sins, so that we might live through Jesus and receive the gift of eternal life.  The giving of Jesus to us was the manifestation of the love of God for us. But there is a HUGE list of blessings and gifts from God that include things like: 

• Our salvation
• Forgiveness of our sins
• Grace
• Righteousness
• Mercy
• Strength
• The Holy Spirit which gives us insight and power to do God’s will
• Eternal life with Jesus
• Anything that brings us closer to Jesus

Now God’s original plan was to bless us with a life of peace and fulfillment with Him. God wants to give all of His children all of His gifts. There is nothing that God wants to hold back from us- He wants to give all good things to us. Of course sin ruined that plan but thankfully he gives us the ultimate blessing of restoration, forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus. Thankfully Jesus pours out all His attributes onto us: His love and joy, His peace and patience, His kindness and goodness, His faithfulness and gentleness. What incredible blessings those are! 

My prayer is that we spend this next month reading about and focusing on the many undeserving gifts and blessings from the Lord and remember to thank Him daily for them. I pray that during this Advent Season, just as Mary pondered the birth of her child, Jesus Christ our Lord, and the gifts and blessings that He brings and that is to come, we would be wise, just like the Wise Men were, to also ponder the meaning of these gifts that were given freely to us from the King of kings and Lord of lords and God Almighty, Himself!

FYI: I make all plans 31 days long so that they can be 
done any month-not just the month I write them for.

TO PRINT: You can find a copy of the plan in the folder HERE.

November Scripture Writing Plan: Repentance

Happy almost November sweet friends! 

The scripture writing plan topic this month is over something we don't talk about very often: 

REPENTANCE

A child that sneaks candy, eats it all, gets caught, probably has a stomach ache, gets put in time out and starts crying is most likely sorry. A driver speeding in a school zone who gets pulled over and gets a ticket probably regrets their decision to speed. A boyfriend who cheats on his girlfriend, gets caught and all of his friends and family find out, is probably remorseful and embarrassed. Sorry and remorseful and full of regret? For sure. Repentant? Not necessarily. That's because repentance and remorse are so often confused but y'all-they are definitely NOT the same thing. 

So, what is REMORSE?  Remorse is deep regret or guilt for a wrong committed. Remorse is being sorry you got caught and being sorry for the consequences that resulted from something you did.  In the examples above, the people are most likely remorseful. Why? Because they got caught and it caused pain to themselves and/or to others. But, being remorseful doesn't automatically mean they are repentant. Remorse is just one step on the road to repentance. Remorse deals with our guilt and the consequences of what we've done. 

So, what is REPENTANCE? Repentance is sincere regret or remorse AND a turn from the sin. That's the difference. Repentance means to turn from your sin and change your behavior. Repentance involves grief and sorrow towards God because of our sin and it always, always leads to a change in behavior.

Paul explains it in 2 Corinthians 7: 8-11 which says: 

 Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.  See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. 

Repentance leads to change. So although remorse is important, it is true repentance that's needed. We would know that the folks mentioned above are most likely repentant if they change their behavior and didn't sneak candy, speed or cheat ever again. Repentance isn't just a suggestion. God commanded of us in the Bible, Christ preached it, and God expects it from us. Repentance involves being convicted of your sin, being sorrowful about your sin, turning away from your sin and changing your ways. 

Repentance is tough for many to understand but thankfully there are many verses about it in the Bible to help us. My prayer is that this month we focus on reading what God has to say about repentance so that we can be obedient and not just be remorseful but learn to repent and turn from our sin, just as God calls us to! 

FYI: I make all plans 31 days long so that they can be
done any month-not just the month I write them for.

TO PRINT: You can find a copy of the plan in the folder HERE.

October Scripture Writing Plan: Bravery

  Happy almost October sweet friends! 

The scripture writing plan topic this month is over something we all need: 

BRAVERY

Back in April, while quarantined at home, some sweet friends and I did a devotional by Annie F Downs titled 100 Days to Brave, which I highly recommend. Each morning one of us would read the devotion for the day on Marco Polo and it was truly the perfect book for such a scary time. It was such a weird, uncertain time and none of us felt brave- not at all. What I loved about it is that in the insanity of the world we were living in, it helped us focus on the ONLY thing we can be sure of and can always, always, always, count on- God.

 
I love Annie’s description of brave:

Courage is doing things even when you’re scared. Being brave isn’t something that happens when you’re not scared anymore. Brave people don’t stop hearing the whispers of fear. They hear the whispers but take action anyway. Being brave is hearing that voice of fear in your head, but saying, “Okay, but the truth is, God made me on purpose and for a purpose.”

I’ve been doing a study on Joshua (whom I adore) and I have been in awe of how crazy brave He was! Think about it…. Joshua is following behind Moses (who was an amazing leader) and both Moses and God keep telling him to “Be brave and courageous!”. That fact alone would have had me shaking in my sandals because I know that if someone tells me something over and over again, it’s probably for a very good reason. Being told over and over again to be brave means you are going to be in some situations that require you to be brave! He’s got thousands and thousands of families looking to him to lead them across the Jordan River and into this new, unknown land. He had to feel unqualified and unprepared and was most likely doubting his abilities. But, the good thing is that Joshua knew that he didn’t have to have the answers or have it all together. God had promised him that He, God of the Universe, had it all taken care of and Joshua didn’t need to worry a bit. (If you need to be encouraged, go read Joshua because it’s full of stories where God followed through on His promises and took incredible care of His people). 

Bravery requires trusting God and stepping out in faith, even when you are scared- just like Joshua. But bravery isn’t always doing something crazy (bungee jumping or skydiving) or bold but often is doing something that makes you uncomfortable and is out of your comfort zone. Bravery is living your life according to what God alone tells you to do-putting your faith in Him and putting His plans above all other plans, even your own. It doesn’t always look heroic and sometimes it’s full of silence and waiting. Bravery isn’t about us, it’s about God and out trust in Him. 

 
I love that God’s word is full of reminders to be brave because God knew it would be something we would struggle with. Let’s spend the next month digging into what God has to say about bravery.

FYI: I made the plan 31 days and plan to do that with

all topical plans in the future so that they can be done any month-

not just the month I write them for.

TO PRINT: You can find a copy of the plan in the folder HERE.

September Scripture Writing Plan: Grace

 Happy almost September sweet friends! 

The scripture writing plan topic this month is over something we all need: 

GRACE

I love lists and really LOVE checking things off lists. Sadly, we Christians often set up some crazy lists for ourselves though and think that if we don’t do all those things, we are not deserving of God’s love and grace. Thank goodness that is NOT true. Living a life for Christ does not include a list of things to do that we are required to complete in order for us to receive God’s love. Time and time again in His word, God reminds us that even though we did nothing to deserve His grace and love, He sent His son to die on the cross for our sins. We didn’t earn it and we definitely don’t deserve it, but He gave it to us out of His great love for us. Because of this amazing gift, we no longer have to live a life in our own strength, but can surrender completely and fully to HIM.

2 Corinthians 12: 9 says:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

What is grace? Gracious, the Hebrew word chanan, in its verb form, means to be considerate or to show favor. That God is gracious would mean that he is favorably inclined toward us. That he wants to show favor to us. To do what is best for us- always.

Many of us struggle with the lie that Satan tries to get us to believe-  that we must EARN God’s grace, and that unless we live a perfect life, God will withhold His mercy and grace on us because we are undeserving. But y’all- nothing is further from the Truth of God's Word. No one can ever earn God’s favor at any time, for any reason. NO ONE. EVER. His mercy and grace to us renews each and every single morning (Praise the LORD!). God’s grace and mercy are not a one-and-done thing- it’s given to us every single day, every single hour.

My prayer is that this month, as we focus on what God’s word says about grace, that we are able to acknowledge God’s sweet gifts of love and forgiveness and grace and stop trying to live life in our own strength, but instead leaning fully on Him. My we cement in our hearts the truth that His grace covers us.

 

FYI: I made the plan 31 days and plan to do that with

all topical plans in the future so that they can be done any month-

not just the month I write them for.

TO PRINT: You can find a copy of the plan in the folder HERE.

June Scripture Writing Plan: Praise and Worship

Happy almost June sweet friends! 

The scripture plan topic this month is one of my favorite things: 

Praise and Worship

Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised.

And His greatness is unsearchable. 

Psalm 145:3

Y'all- there is such great power in praising and worshiping the Lord. 

Praising the Lord takes our eyes off of our lives and pain and issues and our worries

and puts them squarely on what's truly important, HIM. 

So what exactly is praise? 

To me praise...

-acknowledges God as Lord and King of our lives
-gives thanks to Him for who He is and what He does in our lives
-is confessing exactly who God is

Praising God helps us to more fully understand and comprehend who He is and in turn, who we are. It reminds us of his amazing, great, almighty, all knowing power and 

humbles us to realize that we so desperately need Him to love us and to save us. 

I think often people think that praising the Lord is something we only do while at church singing in a worship but the truth is every single one of our days should be filled with praise. 

Here are ten reasons I think praise is so important in our lives:

1. He is GREAT and deserves our praise
2. It puts Him where He belongs in our lives- as the most important thing, as the joy and the delight of our lives
3. It causes us to think about the millions of reasons we have to worship Him
4. It gives us the right perspective and keeps our focus on what is truly important- HIM- instead of the craziness of our world
5. It reminds us of the truth of His word
6. It points us to the truth of His love for us
7. It helps us focus on and learn about His character
8. It reminds us that He is with us always- in the beauty and in the hard
9. It reminds us of His faithfulness in the past (and present and future!)
10. It points other to Him

You'll notice that many of the verses in the plan this month are in the book of Psalms 

and that is because that's what a psalm is- a praise! Did you ever notice that Psalm is the longest book of the Bible? It is and the fact that the longest book is a book devoted to praise tells us that it's vital that we spend lots of time in praise. 

Let's spend this month praising our Lord. 

My prayer is that these verses help you to focus on our great Lord and Savior and the many, many, many reasons we have to praise and worship Him!

FYI: I made the plan 31 days and plan to do that with

all topical plans in the future so that they can be done any month-

not just the month I write them for.

TO PRINT: You can find a copy of the plan in the folder HERE.

March Scripture Writing Plan: Perseverance

Happy almost March friends! 

The scripture writing plan topic this month is
Perseverance

Perseverance: persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.

When walking through something difficult or hard or scary in our lives we have a choice. A choice to pull away from the Lord and give up or to press onward and cling to the Lord. The good news is that if we choose to persevere while clinging to God, He will hold our hand while we wait. He is with us and for us and cheering us in as we wait and persevere. When we persevere in God’s calling and plan for our lives, blessings WILL come, in His timing, not ours.

Thankfully God loves us so much that His word has lots to say about perseverance (probably because He knew we would struggle with it) and that’s what the plan this month focuses on. I pray that as you write these verse you are reminded that God’s promises are bigger and better than the promises you think you should have. I pray that you are reminded to cling to Him. I pray that you are reminded of God’s command to wait and instead of being irritated by it, are comforted by it. I pray that you are reminded that your waiting is so often needed and restores your strength. I pray that you are reminded that when you persevere, it invites you to see that God’s strength is far greater than any strength you could ever muster on my own. I pray that you are reminded that your persevering helps you to see that God is ALWAYS at work revealing His love and grace and that He never waste your patience and your waiting.

FYI: I made the plan 31 days and plan to do that with

all topical plans in the future so that they can be done any month-

not just the month I write them for.

TO PRINT: You can find a copy of the plan in the folder HERE.

February Scripture Writing Plan: Love

Happy almost February friends! 

The scripture plan this month is over a topic so appropriate for this month: 

LOVE

When I was little I had a dog stuff animal. He was a big white dog with a red shirt that said “Puppy Love”. I loved that stuffed dog so dearly and took him absolutely everywhere. I loved him so much that he grew dirty from being carried around everywhere I went and being slept & played with year after year. He eventually lost an eye and part of his nose- but my love for him did not wane, I loved him still.. After years of being loved hard, he was no longer beautiful to anyone. His fur was grayish, his shirt faded and his features scraggly. If you saw him (he is actually in my attic!), you definitely wouldn’t think of him as beautiful- you’d probably only see his flaws. However, if I looked at him, I’d tell you he was beautiful and wonderful. Not because he is actually outwardly beautiful today. Not because he does anything to deserve that love. I love him because I see him as he was created. In my eyes, he is perfect because I loved him so.

Thankfully that’s how God loves us. He doesn’t love us because we necessarily are beautiful- inside or out. He loves us when we are good and when we are not so good. He loves us when we make mistakes and screw up (no matter how big those mistakes may be). His love is what makes us beautiful. He loves us despite all of our inadequacies and flaws. He loves us- flaws and all- simply because we are His children. 

Think about how a grandmother loves a grandchild. In her eyes, her grandchild is the absolute best of the best. She has their pictures plastered all over her house, on her refrigerator, and carries around photos of them to show to anyone and everyone willing to look at them- friend, neighbor, pastor, postman, check out guy at the grocery store- literally anyone! She brags about that grandchild, sharing their accomplishments (no matter how small or insignificant) and overlooking their flaws because of her great love for them. She lavishes love and gifts and kisses and hugs on that child every single chance she gets. That’s how God feels about us- a grandma’s love multiplied by millions and millions. He set his love on us- not because we earned it, but because He delights in us. 

Ephesians 3: 17b-19 says…

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Did you notice those verses didn’t have a single stipulation on His love. It doesn’t say…..”and deep is the love of Christ IF you do ____ or act _____”. His love is. It’s a fact and there is nothing- not a single thing you can do to change or erase it. NOTHING. When you feel ugly or less than or unloved, God says: You are beautiful because you are mine and I love you. 

No matter what you have done or said, no matter what flaws you have, no matter how big your mistakes- He loves you still. His love is the single thing that you can count on. His love is irrevocable. He will always love you. My prayer as you write the verses this month is that you are reminded that God loves you more than you can ever begin to imagine!

FYI: I made the plan 31 days and plan to do that with

all topical plans in the future so that they can be done any month-

not just the month I write them for.

TO PRINT: You can find a copy of the plan in the folder HERE.

November Scripture Writing Plan: Contentment

Happy almost November friends! 

The scripture plan this month is over a topic that many folks have 

suggested when I asked for topic suggestions on Facebook, 

CONTENTMENT!

Contentment is such a struggle in our world for so many today.

Because of social media it's easier than ever to compare 

our lives to others and feel we are lacking. 

Relationships, homes, jobs, kids, friendships- you name it, we compare ours to others. 

We see the pretty perfect pictures many post on Instagram and Facebook and look

 around at our own lives thinking....my life is so NOT like that. 

When we compare, we often spend lots of time thinking "If only....". 

If only I had a bigger house, a bigger bank account, better behaved children, 

a better job, more friends, a more romantic husband, etc.

When we focus on "If I only had..." we start to wallow in it

and almost always become discontent.

We have to remember that God has placed us or allowed 

us to be right where we are right now. 

He wants us to fix our eyes solely on Him and

 to look to HIM for our worth, 

not our circumstances or our position in society. 

The truth is, we don't have to like where we are or what we have, 

but if we will choose to thank God for His provisions regardless of our 

feelings towards those things, we will grow content. 

It's difficult to be thankful in imperfect circumstances, 

but Jesus enables us to be content through His power and His strength.

My prayer is that this month, as we focus on these verses about contentment, 

we take our eyes off of others and instead fix them on Jesus. 

May we find peace that comes only from Him, no matter the circumstances of our lives.  

May we find gratitude in all that He has provided for us 

and peace so that we may truly be content in His faithful provision and blessings. 

FYI: I made the plan 31 days and plan to do that with

all topical plans in the future so that they can be done any month-

not just the month I write them for.

TO PRINT: You can find a copy of the plan in the folder HERE.