September Scripture Writing Plan: Serving Others

Happy almost September friends!

The scripture writing plan this month is over one of my favorite things in the world:
SERVING OTHERS!

Serving others is one of my favorite things to do.
One of the things I look forward to the most about retirement
is that I will be able to spend more time serving others.
(Well that and getting to read all the books I want! Can. Not. Wait.)

For me the absolute best way to put aside my own worries
and get out of a crankypants mood is to do something for someone else.
Seriously-nothing helps turn my mood around faster than doing something for someone else.

However, in order to do that I have to be super intentional.
I have to slow down (which is such a struggle for me!),
look at those around me to see needs, and then act to meet those needs.
And truthfully sometimes that's hard for me because
I get caught up in my busy to-do list and forget to look around.

Because of this I pray each morning on the way to work:

God help me to see those you place in my path today who need to see your love and who I can help. And when I see them, help me to be obedient and follow through with serving them in any and all ways that I can.

Opportunities to serve others are all around us- both inside and outside our homes.
God WILL put someone in our path for us to serve-
we just have to ask Him to show us those around us who are struggling and in need.

Let's spend this month digging into His word to learn more about how and why
 He tells us to serve others.

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 English and Spanish in the folder HERE.

{Just a reminder, don't try to print the images below or they will be blurry. Be sure to click the link to download a PDF copy!}

The Battle is HIS

I'm a fixer by nature. If there's a problem and things seem out of control, I want to find a solution. ASAP. Stat. Immediately. And sometimes that is a good thing.

Have a technology issue or task you are trying to accomplish? I'm your girl. Have a party you want to plan and need some creative, inexpensive ideas? I'm your girl. Have a care package you want to send and need some fun theme for it? I'm your girl.

But other times, when the battle is NOT mine? That tendency? It's not so good. (#ugh)


2 Chronicles 20:15 says...

Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.

Many times I get frustrated trying to fix things (and people!) and fight battles that are not mine to fight. To meddle in things that God is working in and through. To allow Him to work in His mighty and powerful ways.

I love this verse so because it's a beautiful reminder that Jesus has already won victory over EVERYTHING and ANYTHING that this life and world can throw at us. He has fought and WON against everything- marriage difficulties, financial struggles, cancer- EVERYTHING.

Just like the verse above says, all we have to do is trust Him, take our positions, and stand firm in His promises, His plan, His almighty power. The battle is His and my job is to trust and believe in His promises- even in the fact of hopelessness and what seems impossible. Because nothing is impossible for Him!

I made this little printable for a retreat last year and I put one on my desk as a reminder to myself. To remind myself to allow God to fight the battles and for me to stand firm in His promises. (If you'd like to print your own copy, you can get one at the link here: https://goo.gl/7d1K3n )

My prayer for us today is that we are able to hold fast to this promise. To trust Him, rest in Him, and reject the lies that Satan tries to get us to believe. To sit still and expectant- knowing He will fight for us.

Memory Verse: Week 35

I believe that Satan doesn’t want us in God’s word and will use any and every means possible to keep us from the truth and therefore we must be prepared and have a PLAN!

To work on hiding God's word in our hearts, 

this year I'm going to be posting a memory verse for each week
 along with a printable to print out and hang up. 

Here's the verse for week 35:

     

You can print out the verses in English and Spanish and the complete list in a folder  HERE. 

Hold YOU

When my daughter was tiny she would walk up, reach up her hands, and say "Hold YOU!" when she wanted to be picked up. I loved that she said "Hold YOU" instead of "Hold ME" (and hated when people tried to correct her because I knew that soon enough she no longer would say it!). I think that's how God wants us to approach Him- with our arms uplifted and stretched out, asking Him to hold us and trusting that He CAN and WILL carry us. And I don't know about you but I so often need Him to carry me. When I cry out to Him, he picks me up- burdens and all- no matter how heavy they are. He reminds us over and over again in scripture that He WILL carry us through difficult times- we just have to let Him.


Isaiah 46:3-4 reminds us of this:

“Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel, you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." NIV

"I’ve been carrying you on my back from the day you were born, And I’ll keep on carrying you when you’re old. I’ll be there, bearing you when you’re old and gray. I’ve done it and will keep on doing it, carrying you on my back, saving you.” The Message

No matter what happens today and how stinky it may be {because some days ARE super stinky}, it's just a single day- it won't last forever. God’s plan for your life far exceed the circumstances of this day. God promises that HE will carry you, sustain you, and rescue you. And what God promises? He always does.

That's my prayer for us today friends. That no matter what we face today, we thank the Lord for carrying, sustaining, and rescuing us through the ups and downs of life from our first breath on earth until our last. That we are able to thank Him for carrying us in the past so that we can look to the future with no fear- knowing that He WILL carry us- whatever the future may bring. That we remember that nothing in this world- no person, no job, no amount of money- compares to Him.

Memory Verse: Week 34

I believe that Satan doesn’t want us in God’s word and will use any and every means possible to keep us from the truth and therefore we must be prepared and have a PLAN!

To work on hiding God's word in our hearts, 

this year I'm going to be posting a memory verse for each week
 along with a printable to print out and hang up. 

Here's the verse for week 34:

     

You can print out the verses in English and Spanish and the complete list in a folder  HERE. 

Memory Verse: Week 33

I believe that Satan doesn’t want us in God’s word and will use any and every means possible to keep us from the truth and therefore we must be prepared and have a PLAN!

To work on hiding God's word in our hearts, 

this year I'm going to be posting a memory verse for each week
 along with a printable to print out and hang up. 

Here's the verse for week 33:

     

You can print out the verses in English and Spanish and the complete list in a folder  HERE. 

Memory Verse: Week 32

I believe that Satan doesn’t want us in God’s word and will use any and every means possible to keep us from the truth and therefore we must be prepared and have a PLAN!

To work on hiding God's word in our hearts, 

this year I'm going to be posting a memory verse for each week
 along with a printable to print out and hang up. 

Here's the verse for week 32:

     

You can print out the verses in English and Spanish and the complete list in a folder  HERE. 

Memory Verse: Week 31

I believe that Satan doesn’t want us in God’s word and will use any and every means possible to keep us from the truth and therefore we must be prepared and have a PLAN!

To work on hiding God's word in our hearts, 

this year I'm going to be posting a memory verse for each week
 along with a printable to print out and hang up. 

Here's the verse for week 31:

     

You can print out the verses in English and Spanish and the complete list in a folder  HERE. 

August Scripture Writing Plan: God's Promises

Happy almost August friends!

The scripture writing plan this month is over some of the amazing promises of God.

 God's Word contains literally THOUSANDS of promises to us. 

And unlike the promises of people in the world 

God's promises are rock solid and can be counted on 100% of the time.

I love reading about God's promises in His word. 

I like to think of the Bible as a giant treasure chest full of all the promises of God. 

God wants us to open His word and see His promises. 

He wants us to trust His promises, 

rest in His promises and be transformed by His promises.

We must remember though that God’s promises for us don’t come about

 by us simply sitting around and waiting for them to drop into our lap. 

They require us to be obedient, to act in faith, 

to live out the principles taught in His Word, 

and to align our lives under God’s truth.

Let's spend this month digging into His word to learn more about His promises to 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 English and Spanish in the folder HERE.

{Just a reminder, don't try to print the images below or they will be blurry. Be sure to click the link to download a PDF copy!}

Memory Verse: Week 30

I believe that Satan doesn’t want us in God’s word and will use any and every means possible to keep us from the truth and therefore we must be prepared and have a PLAN!

To work on hiding God's word in our hearts, 

this year I'm going to be posting a memory verse for each week
 along with a printable to print out and hang up. 

Here's the verse for week 30:

     

You can print out the verses in English and Spanish and the complete list in a folder  HERE. 

He is My Strength

I recently started taking yoga (which I love!) and because I only have half of my balance nerves (my right side balance nerves were severed during my brain surgery so I’m kind of like a weeble- I wobble but don’t usually fall down) there are some poses, like tree pose, that are extremely difficult and challenging for me. The first time I did tree pose I literally almost fell over. What I have had to learn over the past few weeks is that I must lean on my supports while doing poses like the tree pose- at least initially. It’s not an option, it’s something I must do or I will fall down. I must lean in and steady myself with something that is unchangeable and that I know I can count on- like the wall or bar. Doing so turns my super wobbly pose into a solid, secure one and eventually I can let go.

As I stood in tree pose in class last night I thought about what a perfect analogy my tree pose in yoga is for how I am in life. I go along and try to do all sorts of things in my own strength- only to get super weary and wobbly and ultimately fall down. But, when I stop and am reminded that God is my strength and that He is steady and secure, and I can lean on Him, then I am rock solid strong.

Isaiah 40: 28-31 reminds us of this where it says….
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 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.” NIV

These verses are full of reminders that:
1. God is in control. He is. Not us. He is all seeing, all knowing, all powerful and has NO limits. Isaiah doesn’t start in these verses immediately talking about what needs to be done. He stops and says….Hey, don’t you remember who God is? He is God who loves us with an always and forever love. We can count on it and rest in it- even in (and especially when) life is crazy around us.
2. God is everlasting.
3. God is the creator of the ends of the earth.
4. God is infinite in His energy. He is ALWAYS working and NEVER tires or gets weary.
5. God is unchangeable. Even when life makes no sense to us, God’s not ever confused or perplexed or overwhelmed.
6. God is strong. Always.
7. God is generous. He isn’t just powerful, He wants US to walk in power with Him. He meets our weakness with His strength.

When we seek it, God gives us an ample supply of HIS strength. I don’t know about you but for that I am so crazy thankful.  He has his eyes on me and holds me in the palm of His mighty hand. When I start to fall (and I WILL fall) in my own strength, He will catch me.

 My prayer today is that we are reminded to lean into Him and His strength and to draw from His power when we feel weak. To steady ourselves on the only true thing we can count on in this world-Jesus.

Memory Verse: Week 29

I believe that Satan doesn’t want us in God’s word and will use any and every means possible to keep us from the truth and therefore we must be prepared and have a PLAN!

To work on hiding God's word in our hearts, 

this year I'm going to be posting a memory verse for each week
 along with a printable to print out and hang up. 

Here's the verse for week 29:

     

You can print out the verses in English and Spanish and the complete list in a folder  HERE.