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A RECAP of Tools for Truth While You Travel

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Thanks for coming on vacation with us this month at Do Not Depart! We’ve had a rich month of sharing practical, often printable, tools to help you weave God’s word into your travel plans. We pray these tools and ideas have nurtured the holy habits in your life’s journey. Here’s a recap of the road we’ve traveled together.

Tools for Truth While You Travel

  1. The heart behind our team sharing Bible study tools for vacation & travel season
  2. 6 Tips for keeping your quiet time on track in the Simple Summer
  3. 7 Days of devotions for your family vacation
  4. Memory verses for trips, with a printable
  5. A printable Family Vacation Faith Journal
  6. Fitness and Faith:  Keeping on Track While You Travel – 7 tips that work for fitness and travel!
  7. Traveling truths: Bible verses for safety and travel in printable memory cards for your next trip
  8. Tips for packing scripture by Losing the Weight When You Travel

Like any great vacation, this month has been refreshing and inspiring, taking us to beautiful places. We’ve also savored words from the heart of a traveling shepherd in Psalm 23 in our Memory Verse Classics, and we’re reflecting on the richness of God’s plans for our life’s journey in Jeremiah 29:11.

Our team prays that this month has been a help to you as we aim to abide in the Word together!

Have you enjoyed a vacation or time of travel this summer? How did you experience God’s truth in your journey?

 

Fitness and Faith: Keeping on Track While You Travel

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(Disclosure: Affiliate links are included in this post. Please see the end of the post for details. Thanks for supporting this site!)

You’ve been walking and exercising regularly for days, weeks, or even months now. You’re feeling more fit and loving the benefits of improved focus, greater endurance, and higher energy levels. Maybe you’ve also maintained a solid bible study routine while getting your fitness routine in gear. (Maybe together with like-minded folks in a community like HelloMornings?)

Now, it’s time for a hard-earned break with your family (or spouse or friends) – a vacation!

We humans are creatures of habit. Once our go-to schedule is thrown off by a big change (like a move or a new job) or a temporary shift (a vacation), we sometimes lose focus on previous goals.

How can we keep both our fitness routines and bible study habits intact over vacations?

Staying On Track is Easier Than Regaining Lost Ground

A preface: if you’ve gotten off schedule in fitness OR in “quiet time,” do not ever feel like you can’t get back on track. Grace upon grace. We all lose focus sometimes or have extenuating circumstances that prevent us from accomplishing what we’d like and sometimes what we even need. Returning to your healthy habits is better than never trying!

Now that I’ve issued that disclaimer, if you can stay on track, it’s much easier than having to regain lost ground after a while.

Some of the same tips we use for maintaining fitness routines can help us retain bible study routines, too. (If you haven’t read some of my fitness articles elsewhere, you might not know part of my professional background is in family fitness and wellness! My tips are here to help, but always consult a doctor for individualized medical information.)

Fitness and Faith: Keeping on Track While You Travel via Do Not Depart

7 Tips for Maintaining Your Fitness and Devotion Time While Traveling

  1. Get up early. Rise 30-60 minutes earlier than the rest of your household to read your Bible for at least 15 minutes and then exercise for at least 15 minutes. (Yes, even 10-15 minutes helps!)
  2. Or, stay up late. Some of you might not be able to get up early, perhaps because of family members with special needs, odd work schedules, or otherwise. Maybe your Bible time has to come in the evenings or even after everyone else is in bed. And, that’s okay, if that’s what you need. The general recommendation for exercise is to finish exercise a few hours before bedtime because it does increase heart rate, so perhaps you can fit in higher intensity exercise earlier in the day, but include stretches and floor exercises in the evening.
  3. Pray or memorize Scripture as you walk (or bike or swim or run). You might not be able to pull out your [amazon_link id=”1418541680″ target=”_blank” ]concordance[/amazon_link] and study Bible while you exercise, but you can review memory verses and spend time in conversation with God. (Lisa gave some great memory verse tips for traveling on this post.)
  4. Find a friend (or family member) and read the Bible together, then exercise together. The buddy system has long been offered as a motivation solution in exercise, and the same can go for devotional time. Workout and worship together! (Matthew 18:20)
  5. Journal your routine. Writing down what you accomplish can motivate you to keep going. Journaling also helps you chart what you’ve learned and your progress in both fitness and Bible study. (Check out Julie’s family vacation faith journal here. And, if you’re looking for help setting family goals, check out this free printable.)
  6. Keep your expectations realistic. No, you might not take a 10-mile run while on vacation (or you might!). You might not have two hours of uninterrupted study time while also monitoring your preschooler at the vacation site. But, some portion of your normal routine is often better than none. Reframe your goals for vacation, but still work to maintain part of your routine.
  7. Try something new. I know, we’ve been talking about keeping your normal routine, and now I say “add something new.” But, just as vacationing somewhere different than home (or participating in new activities around home if you’re “staycationing”) provides motivation, trying something new in exercise or studying in a new way can help you stay on track while out of your normal environment. A few options for exercise? Try disc golfing, horseback riding, or snorkeling. For bible study? Read in a parallel Bible (like [amazon_link id=”0195281802″ target=”_blank” ]this one[/amazon_link] or [amazon_link id=”0195281365″ target=”_blank” ]this one[/amazon_link]), look up a few of the Greek words, or listen to new praise music.

Related Resources:

 

How do you keep up your fitness routine and/or your study routine while traveling? What strategies do you use with one area that might help in the other? Please share your tips in the comments so we all can learn!

(Disclosure: Some affiliate links are present to Amazon products above. If you click on those links and then purchase that item, we receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Regardless, we only suggest products we find useful. Thank you for supporting this ministry!)

Family Vacation Faith Journal

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You have such good intentions, but then you get swamped by the list of things to do to get ready to go:  stop the mail, give the neighbor the key, set your vacation email response, take out the trash, turn off the water, pack the Epi-pen, get sunscreen, print off the reservation … And so by the time you get in the car, you’re just so glad to be driving away from it all. You can’t wait to get out of cell phone range so you can really relax.

You wanted to memorize together, do a devotion together, and simply pray together, but maybe you need to invite a member of the Do Not Depart team to go with you on vacation for that!  (We would LOVE to!  We pack light and don’t take up much room! Just contact us through our FB page :) ) What you need is a journal to guide you on the journey.

This month we’ve given you some golden practical printable tools to use when you travel.  If you use them, you will be BLESSED to make the truth a sweet part of your vacation experience. That, we can guarantee, even if you don’t invite us to go with you!

But today I want to give you a 10-page journal to guide your journey. Family Vacation Faith JournalHere are some ways to use it.

5 Way to Use the Family Vacation Faith Journal

  1. Take a look at the pages together before you even start to pack.
  2. Take it into a restaurant with you to use, instead of those coloring pages.
  3. Take a clipboard and let the “back seat dwellers” use it as you travel.
  4. Take a few minutes over breakfast each day of your trip to do a page.
  5. Take it “on location” for when you need 5 sitting down min. at the beach/park/camp.

 

You can print out your copy right now, or print out a copy for each family member, but make the  Family Vacation Faith Journal a part of your next family journey. Single or without kids? No matter … we can all use a Faith Journal in our travel bag. You will be blessed, even if the journal helps you focus on a solo trek. Use your other printable tools to go with your journaling times.

Remember, “Vacations are not only times for adventure, rest, and relationship. Vacations are also opportunities for a fresh infusion of truth into our tired lives.”

Bible study tools for vacation & travel season

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When temperatures rise, class schedules end, and daylight hours linger, most of us take time off from routines and work.  Vacations call us to places of rest or adventure. The open road invites us to sigh deeply and hit our inner reset button.

Bible Study Tools for Truth While You TRAVEL Holy habitsIf we’re honest, it can take a lot of work to get to those places of rest, but it’s worth it. Just one day of digging our feet in the sand, smelling crisp mountain air, or hearing unfettered laughter from those we love is enough to motivate us to do what it takes to go on vacation. After searching for the best deal for our budget, reserving our lodging, buying tickets or checking tires, making arrangements for the cat, stopping the mail, buying sunscreen, and more, we still hope and pray we haven’t forgotten anything. We might leave out what matters most.

If weighing luggage is part of your preparations, you carefully decide what goes and what stays. If children are part of your plans, you pack every crevice of a mini-van with tricks for every potential over the miles, and then you drive all night. With so much to think about to make a vacation all we dream it can be, all we pray it will be … it’s not hard to see why we might forget something that’s part of our routine lives, but still needs to be part of our time away. How can we keep up holy habits when we’re on the road and away from home?

Vacations are not only times for adventure, rest, and relationship. Vacations are also opportunities for a fresh infusion of truth into our tired lives.

While we probably don’t have room to take our study Bibles, prayer notebooks, concordances, and prayer partners, there’s an alternative to just leaving truth out of our time away. This month we invite you to open up your beach bag or backpack and pack some tools designed to help you make the truth a fresh and functional part of your travel plans. We’ll share some ideas for individuals and even for family. After all, Jesus beckons us to get away from our burdens and find rest … in Him.

 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” ~ Matthew 11:28

The Do Not Depart team looks forward to taking a deep breath, closing our eyes, and enjoying a rest from work and routines. It’s not only a great chance to catch up on sleep, read good books, eat seafood, try a paddle board, sleep on the beach (Can you tell we really want to go on vacation?), or play games late into the night. It’s also a sweet time to quench our thirst with the Living Water and enjoy Him apart from the usual things of our days.

Will you join us? It’s time to get away for a little vacation together!

Click to tweet this post and share about the June theme at Do Not Depart.

Staying in the Word

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My children pick up books throughout our days together and bring them to me to read or “read” themselves. Yesterday morning, I even found my older child “reading” to my younger one on the floor for the first time! Melts my momma heart.

It’s pretty easy to motivate them to cuddle and read together. (I pray, pray, pray this easy motivation remains and grows for a long time.) We enjoy quality time when we do so, they learn (hey, I still learn from their books, too), and we’re spending time wisely.

Experts say kids learn to love reading when families read together and when they see their parents reading for fun on their own. Just witnessing me reading encourages my kids to continue reading.

Staying in the Word - why and how to read bible from Do Not Depart

I want them to observe me captivated and changed from reading God’s Word and eager to pick up the Bible like (or more than) I am any other of my favorite reads.

“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.” (Joshua 1:8 – NIV)

Do Not Depart is founded upon the above verse. We need to stay in His Word, for doing so brings drastic results on our hearts and perspectives. Why, specifically?

Why We Read the Bible

  • Like Ann Voskamp said, “We read the Bible to really live…” God’s Word is living, and I only continue to see that truth more and more as years progress.
  • He formed us by His words (Genesis 1:26). It seems His words hold mighty power and importance.
  • His Word encourages community (Hebrews 10:24-25), discussion, and growth.
  • Reading the Word spurs action (James 1:22). His Words and the words of those who followed Him inspire us and draw us closer to the heart of God through revealing His active love.
  • His Word offers wisdom (James 3:17-18).
  • God’s Word is trustworthy, alive, and powerful.
  • Christ is the Word become flesh (John 1:14). A pretty good reason to linger in His Word, eh?

How to Stay in His Word

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 is one of my go-to verses on the “how” part of staying in His Word. Talk about the verses, see the verses, read the verses, act on the verses.

As any discipline does, it takes training to making reading the Bible a habit.

Read and think every day. If it’s one book, one chapter, or one verse—just read. And pray for an open heart to His Word for you that day. Whenever I approach Bible reading time with a prayer and willingness, I see so much more of what He wants me to see.

A Few More Resources to Help You Stay in the Word

So, go ahead. Cuddle up with your bible. And see what amazing love you find from lingering in His Word.

Why do you read God’s Word? What are your favorite tips for staying in His Word? We love hearing from you.

Share the Love – Unshakeable Faith 8

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Unshakeable Faith Bible Study This is the last lesson in the Unshakeable Faith Bible study. It has been a privilege to share it with you! The devotional is below. Access the 2-page Quick Study here.

Every Christian belongs to God’s family. When God saves us, He saves us into His family. We can never experience all God has for us apart from a local body of believers. Jesus made it clear to His disciples that God designed the Christian life to be lived in the context of community.

Unshakeable Faith trait eight: Connected to a local church body with love and service

Peter spent roughly three years learning from Jesus how to live in a community of believers. This group traveled together, ate together, and did life together. But Jesus didn’t merely teach about love and service. He set the example.

Read John 15:12-13. What command did Jesus give His disciples – then and now – on the night He was arrested?

How did Jesus ultimately show His love for us?

Our friend Peter learned what love looks like from Jesus. In his first letter, Peter encouraged his readers to also love like Jesus loved.

Read 1 Peter 3:8-9 and 1 Peter 4:8-10. List all the characteristics and behaviors that describe how we Christians should love one another.

Peter used the Greek word agape to describe the kind of love Christians should have for each other. According to the The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, “agape love is capable of being commanded because it is not primarily an emotion but a decision of the will leading to action.” Agape loves deeply, unselfishly, with the other’s best interests at heart.

God loves His children through His children. He cares for us, comforts us, provides for us, and encourages us through our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Do you know of a need right now in your church family that needs your love in action? List some concrete ways you can show your love.

God’s purpose for your life includes a vital connection to a local church body. He has designed this interdependent relationship to benefit each of us. When trials hit, God will use His body to hold you up and He will use you to encourage someone else. If you are not fully connected to a local church, don’t wait any longer!

Let’s talk! Let’s share today some of the ways God has loved you through the local church.

I’d also love to hear how this study has encouraged you in your faith!

Let ‘er Rip! Unshakeable Faith lesson Seven

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Unshakeable Faith Bible Study This post is the Devotional version of Lesson Seven. You can also access the Quick Study (2 page version) of today’s lesson in a PDF.  If you want to do the Full Study you can purchase the book on Amazon or CBD.

Christians around the world are imprisoned, beaten, and even killed because of their faith in Christ. Although the same kind of persecution isn’t prevalent in America, times are changing. Christians have lost favor with popular culture, and the only thing that is not tolerated in our tolerant society is Christianity. How will you respond when persecution hits here at home?

Unshakeable Faith Trait Seven: Prepared to Endure Persecution for the Sake of Christ

Jesus clearly taught Peter and the other apostles they would suffer because they followed Him. Although He warned them to be on guard, He also promised they wouldn’t have to worry about what to say. The Holy Spirit would give them the right words. (See Matthew 10:17-20, Mark 13:9-11.)

Read John 15:18-21. List all the reasons Jesus gives in this passage that explains why the world will persecute His followers.

It is generally accepted that Peter died a martyr’s death under Nero’s persecutions in Rome. But Peter did not let persecution deter him from following Christ. He joyfully endured beatings and imprisonments and continued to spread the Gospel message.

While trials are common to all humans, only Christians will experience persecution because of their faith in Christ. This kind of suffering is a direct result of obedience to God.

Read 1 Peter 3:13-17. List all the instructions Peter gives about how a Christian should prepare for and respond to persecution.

Read 1 Peter 4:12-19. Write a summary of the attitudes and actions we should have regarding Christian persecution.

Times are changing quickly. Christians in the United States may well begin to suffer persecution for the name of Christ. Ask God to prepare your heart and mind for the possibility. The Bible promises that when we do suffer we will know Christ more fully and more intimately. Do you desire to know Christ more fully?

Let’s Talk. How do you feel about the possibility of facing persecution? Are you prepared? Are you prepared for persecution?

A Mom’s Testimony to Life by the Spirit

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Unshakeable Faith Bible StudyThis real-life story is an excerpt from “Unshakeable Faith: 8 Traits for Rock-Solid Living.” It demonstrates this week’s faith trait: Lives by the Power of the Indwelling Holy Spirit. You can purchase the book on Amazon or CBD.

How does a mom keep going when she knows she could lose her son any moment? Wende’s answer comes without hesitation. “I couldn’t have done this for five minutes without God.”

Ethan was diagnosed with an extremely rare condition when he was just ten years old. Arterio-venous Malformation (AVM), an abnormal formation of blood vessels in the brain, can cause seizures, hemorrhages, and strokes. Larger AVMs, like Ethan’s, results in progressive neurological deterioration. And a ruptured aneurysm is a daily possibility.

Wende smiles when she describes Ethan’s early childhood years. He was in the gifted program at school, could beat his dad at Chess, and loved to write and garden. Ethan was a beautiful and happy child with a contagious grin.

There was no hint of a problem until ten-year old Ethan’s hands started shaking. It took eight months and several doctors before they received the AVM diagnosis. Shortly after that Ethan suffered a stroke.

The stroke left Ethan with some physical challenges but it did not weaken his spirit or his faith in God. He never asked “Why me?” Instead Ethan firmly believed that God wanted to use his illness for a specific purpose.

Wende agrees completely. “I’ve seen God use Ethan to change people’s lives. They’ve caught his joy. He loved people just the way they are. The way he lived taught people not to get caught up in things that don’t really matter.”

But how did Ethan’s mom cope? Wende remembers a specific moment just days after the diagnosis. “I was washed by an overwhelming sense of God’s peace and I felt God whisper, ‘I’ve got this.’ And I believed Him.”

The Holy Spirit continued to pour peace into Wende’s life. “Those moments were a rest from all the things I had to deal with, so I could keep going.”

Wende experienced the Holy Spirit working in other ways as well. Joy when she was grieving. Strength when she felt weak. The constant awareness of God’s presence and love. And the physical support of God’s people.

After nine years of battling AVM, Ethan went home to heaven. Today, the day after Ethan’s memorial service – Wende is choosing to cling to the peace God continues to provide.

I Am Adopted: Chosen and Loved

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Sometimes I need to read, read, and re-read Scripture to even begin to grasp its meaning.

Ephesians 1:3-6 fit in to that category.

It can be helpful to take verses packed with extraordinary impact line by line to see what truths they explain.

Chosen and Loved

Ephesians 1:3 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…”

[amazon_link id=”1598562754″ target=”_blank” ]Matthew Henry’s Commentary[/amazon_link] says, “Spiritual blessings are the best blessings with which God blesses us.” This adoption blesses. He blesses us, and so we are to bless Him with praise, obedience, and love.

Ephesians 1:4 – “…even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love…”

God chose us before the foundation of world. Does that baffle anyone else’s mind? He chose us. Us. You. Me. Them. Not only did He choose – in love – but He chose us for the purpose of becoming holy before Himchosen and loved - sun tree pond

I love how [amazon_link id=”1598562754″ target=”_blank” ]Matthew Henry’s Commentary[/amazon_link] explains this original choosing: “…not because he foresaw they would be holy, but because he determined to make them so. All who are chosen to happiness as the end are chosen to holiness as the means. Their sanctification, as well as their salvation, is the result of the counsels of divine love.”

Our adoption results from God, and happiness abounds from that holy adoption.

Ephesians 1:5 – “…he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…”

We fulfill His purposes in part because we are His adopted. Since it is by God’s infallible will, this adoption is not at all a mistake. He chose us for a purpose.

Ephesians 1:6 – “…to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”

We are adopted in grace. Undeserved, unmerited, amazing grace. I shake my head in awe as I ponder this love. We are chosen by grace, and so we praise.

Gifts of Adoption

A loving, responsible adoptive family offers a home, safety, provision, and love. What do we receive in our adoption from God?

  • Redemption through His blood (Ephesians 1:7)
  • Forgiveness of our trespasses (Ephesians 1:7)
  • Grace lavished upon us (Ephesians 1:7-8)
  • A plan set forth in Christ to unite all things to Him (Ephesians 1:9-10)

We are chosen, adopted. We are loved. And He offers us this life to praise Him for it and share that love with others.

 

What is your response from knowing you are specifically and purposefully chosen?

A Mighty Wind – Unshakeable Faith Five

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Unshakeable Faith Bible StudyThis post is the Devotional version of the study intro. You can also access the Quick Study (2 page version) of today’s lesson in a PDF.  If you want to do the Full Study you can purchase the book on Amazon or CBD.

Like the wind, we can’t see the Holy Spirit, but we can feel His power and see the effects. If you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit dwells inside you. His powerful presence is a gift from the Father. The Spirit equips and enables us to live the life God has purposed for us. And that includes standing firm through the storms of life.

Unshakeable Faith Trait Five: Living by the Power of the Indwelling Holy Spirit

On the night Jesus was betrayed, Peter fell to temptation. He couldn’t stand firm in his own strength.  He needed the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised would come. Ten days after Jesus’ ascension the promise was fulfilled!

Read Acts 2:1-8. How is the Holy Spirit’s arrival described in verses 2-3? How did He demonstrate His power in the believers?

Read Acts 2:14, 36-41. What difference do you see in Peter compared to the night Jesus was arrested?

Before the Holy Spirit came, Peter was willing in spirit, but weak in his flesh. He deserted and denied Jesus. Fifty days later Peter stood in front of a crowd of thousands and boldly proclaimed Jesus. He called the people to repentance. The Holy Spirit had transformed Simon the fisherman into Peter the rock!

Weak Peter learned that the Spirit of Jesus within him was strong. And he did not fail to teach others what he had learned.

Read 2 Peter 1:3-4. According to verse 3, what has “His divine power” (the Holy Spirit) given us?

When God asks us to serve Him, the Holy Spirit equips us for the task. When God allows trials in our lives, the Spirit gives us the strength to endure. The Holy Spirit is God’s presence and power within us!

Peter recognized that God, through His Spirit, gives believers everything we need to live the life God wants us to live. Whatever our circumstances, physical weaknesses, limited material resources, or emotional needs, God will supply. The Holy Spirit even gives us everything we need to escape our selfish, evil desires and act like Jesus.

In what current life situations do you need a fresh encounter with the Spirit of God? It might be a trial, temptation, or a call to an overwhelming task.

Bible Notebook: Sermon Note Sheet for Children

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I sit on the front row of chairs every Sunday listening to my husband/preacher with our son by my side. Most weeks our almost-seven year old is wiggly and just can’t help but loudly whisper, “Is Daddy almost finished?” about five minutes after Daddy has started.

I thought it would be a perfect time to introduce him to the practice of taking notes during sermons. He’s still a little young to outline Daddy’s three points and the application, but he isn’t too young to listen well enough for the Holy Spirit to impress something on his heart from the pages of Scripture.

This listening sheet has room for notes and for a picture so your kids can illustrate what the sermon is about or what they will do to apply what they learned. You could even add their notes to your notebook!

Click here for your free printable: My Sermon Notes.  (perfect to go along with Caroline’s printable for your sermon notes!)

 

It’s Who You Know – “Unshakeable Faith” Lesson 2

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Unshakeable FaithThis post is the Devotional version of the study intro. You can also access the Quick Study(2 page version) of today’s lesson in a PDF.  If you want to do the Full Study you can purchase the book on Amazon or CBD.

Have you ever faced hard or painful circumstances over which you had no control? The trial may have consumed your thoughts, time, and strength, but still you could do nothing to change it. Times like that can leave us feeling helpless and vulnerable.

Maybe even today your world has been turned upside down by grief or tragedy and you don’t know where to turn. Even in those situations where we are powerless, there is One who is all-powerful. We can always place complete confidence in our Lord God.

In this week’s study we will examine the identity of Jesus to help us find confidence to follow Him no matter where He leads.

 Unshakeable Faith Trait Two:

Secure in Your All-Powerful, All-Knowing, Sovereign God

When Jesus called Peter to follow Him, Peter knew He was a great teacher sent by God. But as the weeks and months passed, Peter learned much more about the power and authority of Jesus.

Look up the following Scriptures. Each passage relates a miracle of Jesus that demonstrates His divine authority over a specific area. Match each passage on the left to the corresponding area of power and authority on the right.

Mark 1:21-28                                      nature
Mark 1:40-42                                     demons
Mark 2:1-11                                          material world
Mark 4:35-41                                     disease
Mark 5:35-43                                    forgiveness of sin
Mark 6:39-44                                    death

Jesus has authority over demons. He can heal any sickness and cure every disease. Jesus can still the wind and calm the waves. He even has power over sin and death. And He also has the authority and power over every circumstance of your life.

Based on these truths, how might Jesus choose to work in the circumstances of your life?

God is able to do anything! However, He doesn’t always act like we want or expect. Sometimes He allows us to go through painful circumstances. But even in the midst of the pain, God is always with us. He strengthens and comforts us in the midst of our troubles. And we can trust that He will work through our circumstances to accomplish His eternal purposes.

Let’s talk: Has your view of Jesus been limited? What specific circumstance do you need to trust Jesus with today?

Unshakeable Faith: Secure in the God Who Chooses

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Over two years ago, my family decided we were ready to begin the adoption process. We filled out the application with the agency we chose and waited to hear if we were accepted. After a couple weeks, they called with good news and bad news. The good news was we were accepted into the program. The bad news was we had 90 days to raise $15,000. Social services looked at our information and wasn’t sure a pastor and a stay-at-home mom would have enough money to see the adoption process through to the end (over $30,000 total). So they set the bar high, asking us to prove ourselves.

Some might have seen this as God “closing a door.” But we knew God calls all Christians to care for orphans. We knew He put the desire in our hearts to adopt. What would we do with this challenge?

Peter was also in a challenging situation in Luke 5:1-11. Christ seemed to expect the impossible. And Simon Peter didn’t know what to do. “Jesus said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets'” (vv. 4-5).

In our book, Unshakeable Faith, Kathy writes, “Think of a time when God guided you in a direction that did not seem logical to you. Did you obey? How did God work in this situation?”

As we learned in this lesson, God calls each one of us. God Himself chose you. He brought you first into a relationship with Him, then called you to specific ministries and opportunities. Acts 17:26 says He even determined when and where you would live. He chose the life you are living. The school you attend. The job you have. The husband you love. The children you raise. In all of this choosing, He asks you to trust Him, just as He asked Peter.

Well, we didn’t raise $15,000 in 90 days. Halfway through our 90 day deadline, they called again and said we only had to have $7,000. Because we had been working so hard to raise $15,000 we already had the $7,000 we needed. Like Peter, we were overwhelmed with God’s goodness and faithfulness to our family. We praise Him for choosing us first for salvation, and also for each opportunity He has for us.

What can you praise Him for today? Has He asked you to continue to step out in faith, as He asked Peter to do in Luke 5? Is He asking you to rest in the assurance of His love? Tell us in the comments what you learned from this lesson in our Unshakeable Faith study.

Bible Notebook: Prayer Album for Women on the Go

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Prayer Album for Women on the GoI’m pretty sure I frequently look like a refugee. Women have a lot of “stuff” to take with us. Maybe it’s because we want to be prepared for any possible scenarios. Maybe it’s because we want to justify having large floral bags. Maybe it’s because people get used to us with a diaper bag appendage, and that matures into carrying extra snacks, random trash, and assorted fast food coupons. Or maybe it’s that we want to be ready to use our spare moments well.

When life is busy, we need to think ahead about how to make the most of time to turn our hearts to the Lord. There are many ways to organize simple devotional, study, and prayer resources we can take with us.

 

As a woman often on the go, there are times when I just can’t take my Bible Study materials with me.  I want a handy, easy-to-carry, mobile tool for unexpected times I can turn my attention to the Lord. Imagine yourself sitting in a school pick up line … because you didn’t have time to go home. Think about waiting at the doctor’s office … because she was called away to an emergency.  Or envision the 30 minutes wait during a music lesson, because it’s not long enough to leave and come back. Women have little time to waste, yet we have to learn to wait. In the waiting, it’s good to have a Prayer Album for Women on the Go. Pull it out of your purse, glove compartment, lunch bag, desk, diaper bag, or other case and use your time to do a little “praying without ceasing.”

Prayer Album CardWe created these Prayer Albums as an activity at a women’s shelter. We talked about, “How do you really pray without ceasing?” It was a fun way to spend an evening with other women, putting together a tool we can all use to make the most of our time and help us abide in the Vine (John 15:1-11) in our busy lives, talking to God throughout our days.

 

Five sections for prayer include:  Praises (giving thanks), Pits (temptations/sin), People (specific needs/hopes), Pleas (burdens/requests), Promises (scripture to guide/encourage).

Girls Night Out Prayer Albums

Download The Prayer Album for Women on the Go here.

10 Steps to Make Your Prayer Album for Women on the Go

  1. Purchase a 4×6 slide in photo book (Ex. $2 option & $4 option at Target) & index cards
  2. Print out the 6 pages on to card stock
  3. Carefully cut out the divider cards
  4. Prepare 2 tabbed cards for each section:  Praises/Pits/People/Pleas/Promises
  5. Trim away extra words, preparing 2 cards per section
  6. The final card can be used as a cover card
  7. Put two cards, back to back, into a pocket, so that they show on each side
  8. Fill 3-4 pages with index cards in between each section
  9. Repeat for each section
  10. Use index cards to write down requests, answers to prayer, and scripture, and update regularly. You can even add pictures or notes unique to the content.

4x6 Prayer AlbumClick here to download your free printable Prayer Album cards.

 

And when you carve out sweet time to open up your Bible Notebook, use the Bible Notebook tabs, the Meditation Worksheet, pages for Seminar and Sermon Notes, and Prayer Calendars to dig deep in God’s Word.

“He Picked Me!” – Unshakeable Faith Lesson One

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Unshakeable FaithThis post is the Devotional version of the study intro. You can also access the Quick Study (2 page version) of today’s lesson in a PDF.  If you want to do the Full Study you can purchase the book on Amazon or CBD.

When I was in high school, a social slight felt like the end of the world. Now I know that rejection can be much more serious and hurtful than not getting asked to the senior prom. A departure of a spouse, a job layoff, or a broken friendship can make us feel unloved and discarded.

No matter how much rejection you may have faced in your life, never forget that God will never reject you. In fact, if you are a Christian – if you have entered into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ – it’s because God chose you! (Here’s more about how to have a saving relationship with Jesus.) Have you ever taken a moment to dwell on the incredible truth that God chose you?

Unshakeable Faith Trait One:

He Picked Me! – Secure in the God Who Loves and Chooses

Read Ephesians 1:4-5 from the New Living Translation below and note the words that describe God’s action on your behalf.

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.       Ephesians 1:4-5, NLT

How did God feel about doing this for you? How does it feel to be chosen by God for salvation and adopted into His family?

Believer, God chose you before the creation of the world. He picked you out for His very own, before you were even born. He saved you for a purpose: “to be holy and without fault (Eph 1:4).” You were chosen by God, saved by the blood of Jesus, and now the Holy Spirit is working in your life to transform into Christ’s holy likeness. God wants to grow your faith from shaky to unshakeable!

Let’s talk: What situation are you facing right now in which you need to remember that God loves you and has chosen you?

 

Unshakeable Faith for the Storms of Life

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Unshakeable FaithDoes your faith shake when difficulties hit? Trials and hard times are inevitable, but we can have a rock-solid faith that will weather the storms.

Two weeks from today, we will begin a 10-week Bible study called “Unshakeable Faith.” An invitation post with all the details ran last Wednesday. Check out the invitation post for more information and leave a comment to enter for a chance to win a copy of the book. Entries for the drawing close today! (Giveaway ended)

You can participate on one of three levels. (For the first two levels you do not need the book.) I would like to share with you one of the “Faith Shaker” stories that are included in the book. These are stories about real women, facing real struggles, and leaning on our Rock-Solid God!

Meet Karen, who learned to be secure in the God who loves and chooses her:

Bill physically left Karen the day before their 25th wedding anniversary, but he had been in the process of leaving for a long time. He started to drift away about five years earlier. He pursued interests on his own, resented the demands of family life, and even denied the God he had once believed in. Karen did everything she could think of to draw her husband back, but all her attempts seemed to push him further away.

Karen felt like she had lost her husband long before Bill admitted he wanted out of their marriage. His long disengagement had made her feel ignored, devalued, and ugly. His final act of walking out the door told Karen she was unwanted and unlovable. “The one person who promised to love me forever said he didn’t anymore.”

Karen begged God to fix everything – to fix Bill, to fix their marriage, to fix her. Many times she poured out her anger and distress while meeting with God on the floor of her dark closet. But the divorce still happened. So Karen clung to God.

“God did not save my marriage, but He did save me. He faithfully cared for me. Like when His people showed up to serve me, listen to me, or sit with me while I cried. And when the money I needed was there, and the lawn was mowed, and the children were loved on.”

After three years and a lot of prayer, godly counsel, and Bible study, Karen knows she is dearly loved and wanted by God. “I was told that if I let Him, God would fill my every need as a single woman – my need to feel safe, secure, and loved. I did not fully believe that when I heard it, but God has certainly done it.”

Do you ever struggle with feeling unloved and unwanted? How can remembering that God loves and chooses you help you experience joy and peace?

To find out more about the study and enter to win see the invitation post.

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