Can you believe June is already coming to a close? It seems I just did May's "round-up" post a couple weeks ago! But it's that time again to look back over the month! Don't you love getting to sit and just think back over what all you got to do and what all the Lord did for you in the last month? I know I do! Anyway, without further ado, here is some of my favorites from June. I hope you'll leave a comment and let me know what all it held for you! (It's always fun to reminiscence back over the month, but it's always more fun when others join in. :D). Favorite Events:
A Favorite Verse:Our pastor preached an entire sermon on this verse, breaking it down and talking about different elements of it. One thing he pointed out that stood out to me was that this verse doesn't say "was helped" but "am helped." The LORD is my strength and my shield: my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. ~Psalm 28:7 A Favorite Book:
A Favorite Song:Note: Since I am not familiar with this group, I can't recommend them as a group, but this was a song that stood out to me when I heard it this past month. How was June for you? What were some of your favorites from this past month? It would be so fun to hear from you down in the comments!
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In the past few weeks, I've been thinking alot about meditation. No, don't worry, I'm not talking about sitting Indian style and looking up with your eyes closed and doing whatever it is those people are doing. I'm talking about meditating on the things of God. A simple Google search of the word "meditate" will show you that one of the definitions of it is to "think deeply or carefully about (something)." I tend to struggle with meditating on the things I should, so I decided to do a simple word study on Bible verses that contain the word "meditate." I was surprised to find that, of all the Bible verses about meditation, everything that it talked about meditating on could be categorized into three things. This has helped me give direction in my thoughts, and I hope it will be a blessing to you as well! 3 Things to Meditate On
Psalm 63:5-6 says, "My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches." Here David, the man who wrote this psalm talking to God, says that he meditated on God Himself. We can mull over God's character and just Who He is. The Bible has so many different names for God and roles He fulfills for His children. Each of them has a special meaning that we can ponder for ourselves.
Psalm 77:12 simply states, "I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings." Psalm 143:5 talks about this too: "I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands." Meditating on the things that God has done for us is not only something that we know helps us to trust God and be awed by Him in the present, but is also something that the Bible clearly talks about doing. I've found that, since I like to write, journaling helps me with this. Writing down a story from beginning to end helps me to see how God was working throughout the whole situation. A list of a few things you're thankful for is another excellent way to meditate on God's work. Besides the things that God has done for us, the whole Bible is full of the things that God has done. Thinking about a Bible passage we are reading instead of just skimming through can help us to see how God was working and traits that He demonstrated. We can then remember in turn that the God of the Bible is the same God we serve.
Of these three things that the Bible talks about meditating on, this was mentioned the most. We're told to meditate on God's law, God's precepts, God's Word, God's testimonies, God's statutes. All these things relate to meditating on the Bible, what God has to say to us about how we should live, think, act, etc. I won't list all of the verses here, but I will list a couple. In Joshua 1:8, God tells Joshua that meditating on His Word is key to his success: "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." Psalm 119 is full of verses about God's Word, but a couple of them are verses 15 and 16. "I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes; I will not forget thy word." Psalm 1, which talks about a godly, blessed man, says that "his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night." I'm sure there are many, many ways to meditate on Scripture, but I've found that memorizing Scripture and quoting it to myself throughout the day, writing Scripture in a notebook, and listening to verses set to music are all ways that help me. I've heard others say that writing a verse on an index card and carrying it with them throughout the day helps them. It's amazing how keeping God's Word on the front of our minds makes such a huge difference in our lives! Is there anything that you've found helps you to meditate on God, His Work, or His Word? Share it with the rest of us down in the comments!
Well, summer is here! And for many of us that means no school, time off, vacations, and time to take a break from the normal daily grind of life. But should we just use all the time to sit around and relax? How can we go about having a summer that is restful and fun, but also one that is productive? How can we have the kind of summer we look back at and feel good about all we did? Today, let's look at five tips to having a restful, yet productive summer! 1) Keep a ScheduleIt is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep. ~Psalm 127:2 It's the third week of summer break. You're stretched out in bed, your face buried into the pillow to block the stream of sunlight flooding into your bedroom from behind the curtains. Rolling over to glance at the clock, you see it's 10:30. You roll back over and after half an hour of dozing in and out, you finally drag yourself out of bed, reluctantly throw your clothes on, and sit down on the couch to watch a movie with a bowl of Fruit Loops, texting your best friend all the while. I don't know about you, but that story fills me with dread! I don't want to have a summer like that! Even if it's fun to sleep in and be a bit lazy every occasionally, we end up having a much better summer when we keep a schedule (even if it doesn't feel like it in the moment that the alarm clock goes off). Pick a time or a round-about time to wake up and go to bed, then stick to it. Stick to a morning routine, even if it's way more lenient than it your schedule is during the school year. God made us to be purpose-driven, and a schedule of some sort can help us to fund that sense of purpose. 2) Define Your PurposeGo ahead and think ahead about what you want to do this summer. Do you want to spend time with friends? Practice a musical instrument? Read? Watch that movie you've been wanting to watch? Read your Bible more? Whatever it is, having a plan for what you want to do ahead of time and then putting that into action will help to ensure that you feel good about your summer when fall rolls around. Remember not to get over-ambitious though. You don't want to overload yourself with things to do and places to go. Sure, you want your summer to be productive, but you also want it to be restful. 3) Watch Screen TimeWherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight... ~Hebrews 12:1 Screens can be such a time-sucker, whether in the form of a computer, phone, iPad, TV, or whatever. When used properly and in moderation though, they can also be great benefits, make tasks easier, and provide a fun way to relax. Don't give your summer away to a screen! Take active measures to make sure it doesn't steal your time. Maybe determine to stay off devices until you've spent time with God in the mornings or to stay off the Internet the last couple hours before bed. Maybe install an app that blocks certain things that tend to distract you (Since I use a laptop, I like the free version of Cold Turkey Blocker for this, but there are also lots of apps for those who use phones). Whatever measures you have to take, watch that a screen isn't standing in the way of you and having a good, truly productive summer. 4) Keep LearningThe heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge. ~Proverbs 18:15 Did you just do a double-take? I know for alot of us summer is our break from learning, but that doesn't mean we have to shut our brains off. Even if we don't want to sit over a textbook or work out math problems (I know I don't!), there's still plenty of fun, but still educational activities to engage in. Go on a nature trail, watch a movie about something you're interested in "experiencing," try cooking some new dishes, memorize a few Bible verses, check out your library's summer reading program (these aren't just for children! They have them for teens and adults as well!), study a new topic in your Bible, or try a new hobby or activity. Perhaps pick something you are already interested in and spend some time refining that hobby or skill. 5) Serve OthersAs we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them that are of the household of faith. ~Galatians 6:10 Sometimes when we think about summer, we tend to only think about all the things that we think are fun and that we'd like to do, or that we'd like to get done. But life's not all about us. We're to strive to be like Jesus, who took on himself the form of a servant. Consider doing something with a sibling, volunteering somewhere, or helping out with a chore around the house. Don't forget to be willing to lend a listening ear or change your schedule for someone else. This is often something hard for me, but the results are so rewarding! Well, that about wraps it up! Do you have any thoughts on how to have a good summer? What do you plan to do this summer? Leave a reply in the comments! I'd be thrilled to hear from you!
Yep, it's finally time to share y'all's answers to the Get To Know You Quiz from a few weeks back! Since this week I am, Lord willing, going to be gone, this is going to be a simple post, but we have four responses that I am excited to share! Response 1
Response 2
Response 3
Response 4
What are your answers to some of these questions if you didn't get to answer? What did you think about some of these answers? Let us know down in the comments!
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