Access the devotional- A New Year
Psalm 113:5-8
Prayer Index Card to accompany- “A Paradox to Ponder”
A New Year
As I flipped through my Instagram feed on New Year’s Eve, this Peanuts cartoon got my attention. The caption reads, “My favorite memory from 2018 was . . .”
My husband and I were on an unexpected, cross-country, road trip, so I thought this might just be an interesting conversation starter. Sure enough, it prompted an almost immediate response from him as he quickly identified several highlights and answered prayers that were a part of his 2018. The surprise came to me when it was my time to answer. As I flipped through the year in my mind, there was no stand-out highlight that I could identify.
In my mind, 2018 had been a hard year– one of taking a step, then the next one, and then one more after that. I felt tired from the daily grind that includes caring for a senior parent drifting farther away each day into the depths of dementia. While a long season of joblessness came to end for my husband, it had come in an unexpected package that left me still wondering what God was doing. Even though it had been a busy and fruitful year of ministry leading a morning women’s Bible study, I had ended the year feeling overwhelmed and tired, more ready for a break than I could ever remember.
There were certainly answered prayers and refreshing times sprinkled through the year, but for the life of me, I couldn’t think of one thing that I would really classify as memorable. It had been a year of more ordinary than extraordinary, more difficult than ease, more head down moving forward than I would have preferred. Realizing that much of the stuff of 2018 would continue walking with me into the new year ahead, a sense of dread and anger swept over me.
How would I begin 2019 with many things still unresolved?
God of Creation
God of Creation, a Bible study written by Jen Wilkin, takes an in-depth look at the first 11 chapters of Genesis. Participants are guided by Jen to study using a verse-by-verse method that includes three critical stages of learning: Comprehension, Interpretation, and Application. The 10-week study is organized into 4-5 daily assignments per week followed by a weekly video teaching from Jen. There is an additional 11th week Wrap-Up Session with no video for those who desire an additional week.
Through the course of the study, participants come face to face with the Almighty, All-powerful, Creator God, Elohim who spoke creation into being as well as the personal, Lord God, I Am, Yahweh, who is intimately involved in the life of man. This in-depth look at what is termed the “seed plot” of the Bible journeys from the creation account through the fall, the flood, and the dispersion at Babel showing God’s heart to redeem and restore the one He created in his own image.
The strengths of this study are numerous: Continue reading “God of Creation”
Prayer Index Cards
For as long as I can remember, I’ve kept a spiritual growth notebook of some kind. I started this as a student with the help of a youth pastor who taught me to use a S.W.A.T. Notebook– otherwise known as Spiritual Warfare And Training. In it, I kept track of what I was reading and learning in God’s Word, both through personal quiet time and study as well as large group teaching times. I recorded prayer requests and answers, scripture memory work, and spiritual growth goals and progress. Continue reading “Prayer Index Cards”
Daily PICs for Life 