Summer Bible Reading Plan For Moms

John Piper writes: Don't let summer make your soul shrivel. God made summer as a foretaste of heaven, not a substitute.

If the mailman brings you a love letter from your fiancé, don't fall in love with the mailman. That's what summer is: God's messenger with a sun-soaked, tree-green, flower-blooming, lake-glistening letter of love to show us what he is planning for us in the age to come—"things which the eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man, God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).

It is easy in the midst of summer fun to let our time in God's word slip.  If you are in need of accountability, I want to invite you to join me as I follow this summer reading plan for moms.

This reading plan follows the "S.O.A.P" method and I will be using it alongside Sally Clarkson's book The Ministry of Motherhood.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE SALLY'S BOOK TO JOIN ME!!!!  Reading God's word is first priority.  There will be videos over on Good Morning Girls.org that accompany this reading plan.  We'd love for you to join us - come alone or come as a group!

What is the S.O.A.P method?  The S.O.A.P. Method stands for:

1. S- Write out the scripture passage for the day. (I have a shiny new notebook where I will be writing out the verse/s of the day.)

2. O- Write down 1 or 2 observations from the passage. (After I write out the verse, I will write what I learned from the verse.)

3. A- Write down 1-2 applications from the passage. (Then I will write out how this verse applies to me if it is applicable.)

4. P- Pray over what you learned from today’s passage. (Then I will pray this verse over myself and my family.)

As you go through this study, if you come across a verse or passage that you don’t understand, I recommend Crosswalk’s Bible Study Tools found here: http://www.biblestudytools.com/ On this page in the lower right hand corner, you can find links to Bible dictionaries, commentaries (I like Matthew Henry's and John McArthur's), concordances, and other Bible translations, etc.

I need accountability.  If you need it too just print out the summer reading plan here.

And if you are a blogger and would like to share this with your readers - feel free to copy and paste this little button and link it too http://www.goodmorninggirls.org/

If you don't have a blog - I invite you to spread the word to your family and friends - share the link to this post or Good Morning Girls.org with your facebook, twitter or email friends.

 

Walk with the King and let him knock your socks off – he loves you so!!!!

To make sure you don't miss a thing - follow me on Facebook or Twitter!

I am linked to Raising Homemakers, Titus 2sdays, We Are That Family and A Holy Experience.

Putting Your House In Order

I'm excited to begin a series titled "Putting Your House in Order". This series of posts includes some of my bloggy friends who will be writing on other areas. I have been assigned the area of faith. I hope you will visit my friends!
Children: Connie from Smockity FrocksDecorating: Myra from The Casabella Project and My Blessed LifeFinances: Alyssa from Kingdom First MomFood: Jessica from Good Cheap Eats and Life as Mom

Order - I crave order. I make schedules and lists and plans and then the children wake up...and well - the order goes out the window! That's when I light my candle, put on some classical music and say a prayer for peace in our home lol!


Every year on January 1st, I attempt to get my spiritual life in order. I crack open a fresh, simple 5 subject notebook and transfer my favorite quotes and verses from last year's journal to this years journal. Then I write out my spiritual goals for the year and begin my first devotion of the new year!

I have been journaling since I was 16 - so for about 19 years (I'll save you the math - I'm 35 years old lol!).


So you may ask, what do I write in my journals? My answer: It's a massive plethora of stuff - that's why I get the 5 subject, college rule, notebooks!. I write:


1. My daily prayer requests. Sometimes they are in list form and sometimes I write out entire prayers.


2. Praises. Sometimes I write them in list form and sometimes I write out entire prayers of thanksgiving.


3. Confessions. I confess my sins in my notebook - yikes - do not let the kids get a hold of these lol! Lately, I have grown more private and I use code words or often I write the word "confessing" and then I pause to confess my sins but I don't write them down. The discipline of confessing is unnatural - it is easy to become neglectful in this area.


4. Verses. Often I write out verses from my quiet time that I don't want to forget.


5. Book notes - when I read a good book, I consider the author my mentor. Often times I journal quotes that have touched my soul.


What I don't journal:

1. Bad things my husband says or does. At one time I would go to my journal when we fought and just pour out my frustrations...to the Lord. Taking my frustrations to the Lord was good but journaling them not so good. Here's why...a few years later, I was reading through a journal and came to a point where Keith and I were fighting - oh it was ugly! All the feelings rushed back as if it had just happened only moments ago - what a tool from the enemy to distract me from the forgiveness and grace God had helped me to extend. I learned that day to no longer journal when I am angry...if you feel a need to write - tear it out and toss it - it's amazing how anger can be restirred up simply by remembering.



2. Bad things about others. Here and there in my journals, I express disappointment when a friend or family member has hurt me. It's amazing how years later, I can see my immaturity in some situations to the point that I am embarrassed of myself when I read what I wrote - sin is so evident all over the pages! I do not want to sin in my journal!


So it's a new year and time for new beginnings. It's time to get our spiritual lives in order. If you have never tried journaling, I encourage you to hit the nearest Target and get yourself an inexpensive notebook. I can testify that it has been a powerful tool in my spiritual life.


Next, start reading your Bible. If you don't know where to read, I have the perfect Bible study for you! TODAY, the on-line James Bible study launches over at my sister site GoodMorningGirls.org. We have over 135 Good Morning Girls Groups and over 935 Girls enrolled from all over the USA and in Brazil, Korea, Austria, Germany, Canada, Scotland, Australia, and Croatia. You do not have to have a Good Morning Girls Group to participate in the James study! Join Angela on Mondays, a link up on Wednesdays and I'll be there blogging on Fridays.

Here's a video from Angela with all the details:

Join me for the James Bible Study as I put my house in order starting with my spiritual life.


Walk with the King!


The Be My Valentine Marriage Challenge and Link Up begins this Wednesday!

The Unveiling of The James Book Club

January 17th the James Book Club begins on my sister site GoodMorningGirls.org!

Angela and I have created a 3 month study plan that you can print out and slip into a 3 ring binder, notebook, Bible or post on your fridge! We will study 2 verses a day, 5 days a week. The study method is called SOAP. First, you write out the Scripture (by the end of 3 months you will have written out the entire book of James!), then you will write down your Observations, Applications, and Prayers. The assignment should take about 10 minutes a day.Here's my James notebook!

Francis Chan says imagine you told your child - "Go clean your room."


Then your child walked away and returned and said:


"I memorized what you said...I can say it in Greek! In fact, some of my friends are going to come over tonight and do a little study on what it would look like for me to clean my room!"


That scenario is absurd! Yet it's easy to slip into that habit with our quiet times.

This James study is all about taking God's word and applying it to our daily lives. Every Monday on my sister site, Angela will open up the week with a reminder of your assignments and her thoughts. On Wednesdays it's your day to leave feedback and interact and on Fridays, I will be wrapping up the week with my recap of the scriptures through the lens of a wife, mom and homemaker.

Here's the details(and hopefully the answers to some of your questions):

Who: Anyone who is looking to go deeper in their study of God's word. The method we will use is a method I began using in the 4th grade with my mother...so even your children could do this with you!

What: You will need a Bible, notebook and pen.


Where: The study outline is on my sister site GoodMorningGirls.org - (you do not have to be a good morning girl or have a group to participate!)


When: Begins January 17th and ends April 15th (this is a 3 month study, 5 days a week)


Why: Because studying God's word will change the entire course of your life!!!

I am praying some of you will join me!!!

My heart's passion is to journey together as we walk with the King of Kings in our daily lives as he transforms us into Godly woman.


So hop on over to Good Morning Girls and print out the James Book Club reading plan and join us January 17th!


Walk with the King!

More Bible Studies I Want to Recommend!

Yesterday I shared the Bible studies that I have led or my husband and I have led together. The list included many Beth Moore studies, Elizabeth George studies, Stormie Omartian studies and more. Today I want to share the small/large group Bible Studies I have attended at my church.

After attending 4 years of Bible college, one might think I would be tempted to be done learning. In college, I took Greek and read the Bible in its original language for class. I was required to read through the Bible my freshman year and then was tested on every single book of the Bible - from memorizing ever King of Israel, to every judge and prophet - I stuffed a lot of knowledge into my short term memory! I took hermeneutics and years of Systematic Theology studying Bibliology, Christology, Pneumotology, Anthropology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, and Eschatology. The Bible was my text book for 4 years.


But I must admit - I came out of college HUNGRY for God's word. And my appetite simply cannot be satiated. I continue to thirst for him daily and the more group studies I am in, the more it's contagious! I believe there is power in women coming together to study God's word. That's why I root so much for the Good Morning Girls Groups! Accountability works! Don't ever stop studying God's word!!! It is our daily bread!

So the first set of Bible studies I want to share with you are by Kay Arthur. She is an in-depth Bible study author. By in-depth, I mean that her studies require 5 days of homework a week and it includes looking at the original language to get the original meaning of the text, charting and labeling the verses and commentary work.

My mom was my Precept Bible study leader. (I'm so blessed! My mom ROCKS! She has led Kay Arthur studies for 30 years!) and this first one - the book of Genesis took 2 years of weekly study to complete - we studied every single verse in Genesis!

After completing Genesis, I signed up for Exodus and then Leviticus and Numbers.

I can't recommend Kay Arthur's Bible studies enough. They are literally like college courses for moms just like you and me. Here's a peak inside my Leviticus book. First, we dissect every verse using colored pencils and symbols. Then we drew diagrams of how the temple offerings took place according to scripture.

And then we filled in charts to help us sort out all we were learning. It's a very effective method of in-depth study! All of Kay Arthur's Bible studies include similar methods.

Then I took Judges - this book is so interesting! And I took Ruth: You Have a Kinsman Redeemer at a neighbor lady's house! Most of the Precept studies I have taken are in the Old Testament, but I have completed a few in the New Testament. I & II Thessalonians (not pictured), James and the Sermon On the Mount.Last year, I took Beth Moore's Esther study and the year before I took Beth Moore's Living Beyond Yourself - a study on the fruit of the spirit. I love me some Beth Moore! Then this past summer, I took Anne Graham Lotz's study Just Give Me Jesus led by the Comfy Cook Janelle! And this past November, I finished Anne Graham Lotz's study I Saw the Lord! Great studies!
Then there's sweet Sally Clarkson. My small group read The Mission of Motherhood together and used her questions after each chapter for discussion. My Good Morning Girls group went through Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit by Teri Maxwell one summer as a book club.

And last but not least, is Shaunti Feldhahn's For Women Only. She has a book you can read but the workbook is absolutely powerful. It is EXCELLENT for married women and I highly recommend it!!!!

This only scratches the surface of some of the Bible studies that are available in Christian bookstores. The resources are plentiful but those who truly hunger and thirst after Jesus are few. Pick a book of the Bible and learn it like the back of your hand - it will change the course of your life!!! If you can't pick one, join me January 17th when I begin leading a study on the book of James over at GoodMorningGirls.org.


Are you in a small group study in your church? Tell me about it!

Start the new year out right - walking with the King!

Bible Studies I've Led and I Recommend

For years I have transferred this quote onto the first page of every prayer journal:


"Observed duties maintain our credit, but secret duties maintain our life." (John Flavel 17th Century Clergyman)


There are duties that we do, that others see but then there are duties we do, that no one will ever see. It's the secret duties - the duty of studying God's word and praying daily - that maintain our lives.


How are you doing with your secret duties? Did you make a new year resolution to read your Bible daily, to memorize some new verses, or to start a prayer journal? Often times the busyness of life squelches out time even though the desire is still there. But if you've gotten off course - do not despair!!! God is not a legalistic God - he loves you so.


Here's what Elizabeth George says about discipline:
"You do it because it is what you need to do and are supposed to do and because it is the right thing to do... somehow... the duty of the discipline turns into sheer delight and we reap the blessings of a priceless, tender relationship with the Lord a thousandfold."


This has rang true in my life. I do not always enthusiastically open God's word - yet I always need a word from God no matter how busy I am.


Over the years I have led a few Bible studies - let me share with you the ones I have led and recommend.


These three are all Beth Moore Bible studies. I adore her! These all had a video series that accompanied the workbooks. The homework for these studies took about 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. My favorite is Jesus, the One and Only - I've led it twice in a large group and once one-on-one with a friend. Breaking Free is AMAZING! It was a challenge to lead but I learned things I still am applying today in my life - and I led it 9 years ago! A Woman's Heart God's Dwelling Place is also a tie for my favorite Beth Moore study. The entire study is about the tabernacle - it's fascinating - I've led it twice.

These two studies are also Beth Moore studies. To Live is Christ is the study of the life and ministry of Paul. It was my first Beth Moore study to lead 13 years ago. Those poor ladies I led in this study were quite patient with me - I was a nervous wreck! lol! A Heart Like His is the study of David's heart - it is glorious also.

These next few studies are by Elizabeth George - she is another favorite author and Bible teacher of mine. I have read many more of her books than what is pictured here. This workbook study is titled A Woman's Heart God's Dwelling Place and I had a CD and DVD to go with the workbook.

These books are also by Elizabeth George. This study has the same name as above (A Woman After God's Own Heart) but it spoon feeds you all the info and it is very simple. You read the book and then use the handbook to answer questions. I have used this study with a large group of women (25) and in a one-on-one discipleship. This is a great starter book for a new believer. The second book here I LOVE - it's Life Management for Busy Women. I've read this book 3 times through and have led it once in a large group.


The next book is by Linda Dillow titled Creative Counterpart. My Good Morning Girls group used this as a summer study/book club. In the back of the book, questions are included for discussion. The other two books are by Stormie Omartian titled The Power of a Praying Parent. The book and handbook are an excellent guide to praying for your children and really was a fun book to use for a small group study (my group wasn't small though...it was popular at sign-ups! Don't we all want to pray more for our children?)

Tomorrow I will share with you more studies I have completed and want to recommend and Thursday I will unveil a study that you can do with me on-line starting January 17th.

But first let me share with you some couples studies my husband and I have led in our home. We had an amazing group of 8 couples that were very consistent for 3 years straight coming to our home. (we had co-leaders who also helped us lead these studies - Kory and Clare):


When the couples arrived we would fellowship for the first half hour around food. Then we divided the men and women into different rooms and I led the women through Stormie Omartian's The Power of a Praying Wife and my husband led the men through The Power of Praying Husband. We will never master praying for our spouses - this is a great book to do time and time again. I had led it two other times previously with groups of women.

Another study where we divided the men from the women was Jim George's study A Man After God's Own Heart and Elizabeth George's A Woman After God's Own Heart. Again - can't say enough good things about these authors.
There was a time when the group felt the desire to emphasize evangelism so we used Bill Hybel's book, handbook and DVD titled Just Walk Across the Room. It really helped to motivate us all to share our faith.

After the Just Walk Across the Room study we thought that this book by Josh McDowell titled Evidence Demands a Verdict might help us with evangelism too. Warning - this book is not a written in a Bible study format. It is a great resource. We assigned different pages for reading and then discussed our reading each week. If you want to know better how to defend your faith - this book needs to be on your shelf! I read this book for the first time in high school and I used it heavily to defend my faith in my public school.

This next book is a parenting book. It's by Tedd Tripp and it is titled Shepherding a Child's Heart. It also comes with a handbook. This is a book that can be read again and again as a resource. It's great to have on the shelf.

And last but not least - my favorite marriage book by Dr. Emerson Eggerich titled Love and Respect. It also has a handbook that we used. This book was the hardest for our group to swallow. One wife told me later that she went home, read the first chapter and threw the book in the trash! Ouch! It can be hard to swallow but it is exactly what marriages today need to hear! My husband and I think so highly of this book that we purchased 20 copies of it and handed them out to our group, another couples study in our church, plus a few couples who came through our home who needed encouragement in their marriages. This book has helped our marriage immensely.

Do you remember the story of Enoch? Genesis 5:24 says, "Enoch walked with God and then he was no more because God took him away." Hebrews 11:5 tells us why he was taken away - "By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken he was commended as one who pleased God."


Why should we maintain our secret duties in our walk with God? Because it pleases God.

Do you have a favorite Bible study you can recommend - share it in the comment section.

Let's start the new year right and Walk with the King!

I am linking up to: Motivation Monday, Hip Homeschool Hop, Finer Things Friday, Raising Homemakers, Making My H0me Sing Monday , and Works For Me Wednesday. Please check out these blogs for more great links.

Good Morning Girls Fall Session Comes To An End

This past fall we had over 700 ladies from over 40 different states in Good Morning Girls Groups! So exciting!

The fall session has come to an end today, so this video was posted over at GoodMorningGirls.org but I thought I would share it with you all also. (sorry about the goofy expression on my face lol!!! But it was exciting to have my partner,Angela, in town from Texas on my couch! You can read more about her here.)

If you want to start out the new year with accountability for your quiet times, consider creating a Good Morning Girls Group. A Good Morning Girls group is a tech accountability group. We use email, facebook, twitter and texting to every morning say "Good morning, this is what I read in my quiet time!".

You can grab a group of real life friends or find some new friends over on our message board at GoodMorningGirls.org and join us January 1st through January 15th during roll call. The session is 3 months long and will run from January 15th to May 15th.

Your group can choose to read a passage of scripture or use a Bible study of your own or you can join our Book Club through the book of James. I can't wait to do this thing together!

Walk with the King!

Is the Bible Really God's Word?

I struggle at times. I know that the only word we have from God on this planet earth is contained within this leather bound book that lies on my desk day and night. Yet the computer, television, a busy schedule, to-do list or even serving God - woo me away from hearing God's voice in his word.

I long to sit down and just drink from the living waters of God's word and be refreshed. I long for a still moment of prayer and time in God's word. But for some unknown reason, I regularly try to satisfy this need in other places!

What makes the Bible so special? What makes it the number one best seller of all time?

For the rest of this post visit me over at Good Morning Girls.

Walk with the King!

Solutions For Keeping Little Ones in Bed While You Have Your Quiet Time in the Morning

Lately, I have seen a lot of status updates on Facebook that mention their little people - toddlers and preschoolers - are waking up WAY too early in the morning. And I know that when the children wake before mommy wakes - a quiet time is sure to not happen. Children need our full attention so having our eyes on the Bible is not best when our eyes need to be watching them!

I know there are mothers desperate to get their quiet time in, in the morning. So this post is for you! I have two solutions - if the first solution does not work - move to the second!

1. My sisters taught me a trick that they both used and now I still use! Cover the last two numbers of the clock. Then write on the paper the hour that you would like your child to come out of their room in the morning. In our home, it has always been 7. Then teach your child to match the two numbers! When the two numbers match they can come out of their room. At bedtime, I would show them how the 7's were matching (they usually went to bed around 7:30pm) and I'd remind them to not come out of their room until there was a matching 7.

I'd lay books beside their bed and they had permission to get up and read or play quietly in their rooms - just not come out until there was a matching 7. Sometimes there were rewards for obeying. If they mistakenly came out, I gently took them back to the room - showed them that the numbers were not matching and encouraged them to read and play until they saw matching numbers. This took time and training to get them to this point - but once they got it, it was so worth the training time! This is still the "rule" in our home to this day.

(If you have tried other solutions to no avail and you have tried this one - go to solution number 2!)

2. Do not try to have a morning quiet time alone...oh I know it's painful to not have that time that you dream of having - but some seasons of life do not permit this possibility. Either you have to get up very very very early (which may make you sleep deprived and not such a nice mommy or wife) - OR simply give yourself grace during this season of life. Read the Bible with your children during breakfast or lunch or wait until after they are down for afternoon naps or bedtime, and then spend quality time with Lord.

Please remember, this season of life is NOT forever. Add ten years to your children's lives. If you have a 1, 3 and 5 year old in ten years they will be 10, 13, and 15. You will not be bathing them, cutting up their food, and dressing them forever. In ten years, the opposite will be happening. Perhaps they will be preparing the food for you and doing the laundry to help you!

So persevere during this season of life. My children are memorizing Philippians 3:14 right now. It says "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Press on sweet sisters and mommies! Strain toward the prize. We are not home to heaven yet. These days may be hard - but we have great hope in knowing that one day all the pain and trials we face will be over and we will step onto the shores of heaven!!! Oh what a glorious day it will be!!! Press on!

Walk with the King!