Grace - My Faith Planner

 One of my A5 planner binders is all about documenting my faith and how I am growing and learning.  Here are a few pictures and maybe you'll find some encouragement and ideas.  Please feel free to comment with any questions you may have.

Inside the front cover I have various stickers and things in the pockets as well as this Faith Girl dashboard I put together a few years ago.  I love the letter stickers and the black and white patterned paper.  That gal is sassy!

The next section is a list of Godly Goals I want to accomplish.  It also is my Faith Bucket List of traits I want to work on in my personal faith.  These are working lists and I always adding to them.

The next section I call My Faith -- I want to be consistent and disciplined in utilizing this section to record happenings in my faith life and use what I've recorded to further deepen my prayer life.

After that is a section focusing on a growing list of studies I want to do.  This covers many ideas: Old and New Testament studies, word studies, character studies, places, events, Hebrew words, Greek verbs, deep Biblical concepts, heck: #AllTheBibleProjects that I have had in my head or have heard about someone else studying.  I am considering categorizing these a little better; something like a page of lists like:

Old Testament studies

my OT mentor

Judges

Kings

Women - a basic summary

Hebrew words

the Tabernacle

12 sons of Israel

Altars

the Jewish Calendar

Battles

Ancient City Geography

The Song of Ascents (Psalm 120-134)

...and more (I could be here all day)

New Testament studies

General book information (OT, too)

Comparing the Four Gospels

the Parables of Jesus

People Who Were Healed by Jesus

The I AM statements

Concepts (there are many!)

The 3:16 Verses (at least of list of them)

The 1:9 Verses

...and more (all day and all night haha!)

Basic Bible Information like:

Number of: books, authors, chapters, verses, languages, questions, commands, promises, prophesies...longest chapter, shortest chapter, longest verse, shortest verse....

I've also copied out short studies I have seen or heard about in a sermon or seen on Pinterest that I liked, such as "My Father Is...." "God's Desires for Women" (1 Peter 3:3-6).

and then all the studies behind those lists.  I may have to make a new binder to contain all the studies--won't that be fun?  It will also be fun to add stickers and washi tape and other decorative elements to those pages.

The next section is another series of lists like: books I want to read or buy, gratitude, Rhema scriptures, scriptures to illustrate, favorite hymns and songs, et cetera.

The last section in this planner contains various notes about what I wanted for my Faith Planner that I've taken over the last year or so.  It is lots of ideas I wanted to keep nearby so that I could keep my focus on how I wanted to put this Faith Planner together for myself.  It's probably the most unorganized section in this binder, but I do reference it from time to time to keep myself on track as to what I wanted contain in this planner.  If you haven't got focus, you just have ideas; I know I need a map of where I am and where I want to go.

These dividers were some of my own making from the Carpe Diem/The Reset Girl lines that I've had for a while as well as sassy gals from the Honeys collection from The Reset Girl.  I am not sure if she is selling these right now; I did purchase the printable files from her a few years ago.

More links here:

Products (theresetgirl.com)

The First Love Club (theresetgirl.com)

What's Up with Cori? - YouTube  She has lots of crafty how-to videos here!

Grace and Peace to you....

Grace

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)...For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God..."  Ephesians 2: 4-5, 8

"...My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.  Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me."          2 Corinthians 12:9

...good will, lovingkindness, favor of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting His holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ...keeps, strengthens, increases them in faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues....

Greek: Original Word: χάρις

Phonetic:  khar'-ece

Strong's Concordance:  5485

-grace, as a gift or blessing brought to man by Jesus Christ

-favor

-gratitude, thanks

-favor, kindness

Mentioned around 150 times in the Bible.

We received grace because Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners: "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him."  Romans 5:8 We see the grace of God in this action:  "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  John 3:16 But grace is more than the payment of the debt of sin by Jesus dying in our place.  It is the gentle encouragement by the Holy Spirit to lay aside the old self (Ephesians 4:22) and live in the freshness and confidence of being made alive in Christ. Now that you've accepted His grace, may you strive to live in it. Grace and peace to you....

January 2022 Daily Scripture Writing

For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.   1 Thessalonians 2:13

Welcome!  

Here is a list of Scriptures you can use in your practice of daily Scripture writing.  A new year is the perfect time to start this amazing discipline in your faith walk.  I did it the whole year of 2021 and I can't tell you how good it felt to be so disciplined.  I found it a challenge at first but I am so glad that I stuck with it for the whole year.  I now have a whole book filled with verses in my writing!

The theme for the month is God's Word.

I started curating DSW lists in 2021 for a small group of women and it was well-received.  They liked the themes and the encouragement to write Bible verses every day.  It's a wonderful way to get more Scripture into your heart and brain and life.

Use a notebook you already have or create a new one to use for the whole year.  Make it fancy or simple and keep it out on your desk or in your #BibleBasket where you will be sure to use it every day.  I bought myself a Happy Planner at the end of 2020 to use in 2021 and it worked out well for me.  

This document is formatted as a half-sheet of paper (A5 or 8" x 5.5"); I designed it this way so I could use it in my A5 planner binder for 2022.  I left a wider left margin so you can punch it with a six-hole punch or a disc punch.  The page is a little smaller than a Happy Planner.  Right click on the image, copy it, then save it to your computer, then print from your printer.  (If you know of an easier or better way to do this, please send some tips my way; I'm still learning how to attach images on this blog thing.)  Or write the verses in your notebook.

Please find encouragement and strength in the power of God's Word.

Grace and Peace to you.

Bethlehem

"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.  His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity."  

Micah 5:2

 

Strong's Concordance 1035
Beth Lechem: "place of bread," a city in Judah, also a city in Zebulun
Original Word: בֵּית לֶחֶם
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: Beth Lechem
Phonetic Spelling: (bayth leh'-khem)
Definition: "place of bread", a city in Judah, also a city in Zebulun

-Located approximately 5-6 miles south of Jerusalem.

--"Place of Bread" is most likely because of the nearby fertile fields in the Judean desert.

-Bethlehem is first mentioned in the Bible as the town nearest to where Jacob's wife Rachel died and was buried (Genesis 35:19; 48:7).  At that time it was a Canaanite settlement.

-The city is sometimes called Bethlehem of Judah or Bethlehem Ephrathah (Genesis 35:19) to set it apart from the Bethlehem of Zebulun (Joshua 19:15).

-Bethlehem is also known as the City of David.  The city was David's family home (1 Samuel 16:1; 17:12) and the place where he was anointed king (1 Samuel 16:4-13).  

-Was built as a fortified city by Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 11:5-6)

.

When Cesar Augustus called for a census, Joseph traveled to Bethlehem with Mary because he was of the House of David (Luke 2:4).

Bible Study Resource Binder (pictures!)

 Are you looking for a way to keep your Bible notes and Bible study information organized?  I created a binder of Bible study reference helps for myself and maybe you can find some helpful tips and ideas.

I was searching Pinterest and the Internet for the longest time for ideas of what to put in a study or reference book for myself.  I found a few examples but I was frustrated at not finding what I wanted as far as content and information.  I spent many hours thinking about what to do!  I had so many ideas on so many sticky notes and somehow needed to get them organized and then really decide what I wanted to do.  There are many pictures on Pinterest of pretty inside covers and pockets and dividers with stickers and cute paper clips and bookmarks (which I love!) but no ideas as to specific content of what people were doing.  I still seek out ideas but I decided to make my own.  I may move some content to other binders as my needs change, but I think this basic format is going to not only be helpful to keep me organized but help me to be focused on God, my study about knowing Him, and growing my faith. 

Do you name your binders?  People name their cars, so why not?  A gal I know had cheekily named a collection of her planners so I wanted to do that, too.  Meet Olivia, a Carpe Diem A5 size planner in Teal.  She is my "Loving My Bible" binder.

 Can you see those tabs? I'll tell you what's in them below. They are:

Helps
Book Summaries
Chapter Summaries
Daily Scripture Writing
Treasure Box
Hymns - Lyrics

Helps   

This section contains a chronological listing of the books of the Bible that I typed up .  I've also put a printout of the books in chronological order.  This format is a good visual representation for me.  You can find charts like this by searching the Internet for "Bible books in chronological order."  

I know there are other timelines out there but a project I would like to do someday is to map out the entire Old Testament with the books, dates, authors, judges, kings, prophets, and major happenings. I am sure I would have to print it all out and do some Scotch taping and folding to get it to fit in a small binder!  Haha

Also in this section is a Hebrew language alphabet and a Greek language alphabet.  You can find these also by doing a search and you can find these sorts of alphabet listings with either basic or extensive information.  Did you know that each Hebrew letter is actually a word?  Fascinating!  #BibleNerd

Book Summaries  

I made these printouts myself taking the information from a study Bible I have.  This took me a few months of concentrated work!  You can find much of this sort of information in any good study Bible or online; I just typed and formatted all the information I wanted into a MS Word document.  I have more information to fill out on these, but I got every book finished.  It has been so rewarding to be able to put my hands on this sort of information from one spot.  Sixty-six pages of information on half-sheets of paper sure beats carrying around four or five big study Bibles full of information.

Chapter Summaries

Another project I have done over a period of time was typing up the chapter headings of each chapter of each Bible book.  My NASB has these chapter headings -even paragraph headings- but I am not sure if every Bible printed has them.  These give even more specific information as to what is in each chapter.  Here's an example from a few New Testament books:

If ever I'm in a Bible study or with friends talking Bible Talk and someone wonders where a specific story or information is in, like "in which chapter in Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth does he talk about the Lord's Supper?" I can look here and see that he talks about it in chapter 11.  Not only can I be helpful in that way but I can become even more familiar with where specific subjects and topics are in the Bible.  I'm trying to commit more information like this to memory and I hope this resource will help me do that.

Daily Scripture Writing (DSW)

The next little section is a year's worth of Bible verses that I had put together in 2021.  A few dear friends of mine wanted to write more Scripture on a daily basis so I put together monthly plans on different themes for us.  I have been writing Scripture every day this year and I have found it to be so rewarding.  I can focus on a certain theme each month and see how much the Bible speaks to it--about thirty verses each month.  Sometimes the writing is one verse and sometimes it is a few verses, depending on the specific passage.  If there are more verses for a day, it helps me with the context.  Here is one of my favorite collections from April 2021: I plan on typing them up in 2022 but for many months I simply hand wrote the list.

  I purchased a 2021 Happy Planner for this project and filled in each day with the verse for the day.  Like this:

I plan on doing next year's 2022 DSW in another A5 binder; I will tell you about that adventure next month.  By the way, I plan on sharing each month's verses here on this blog, if you're interested.  Look for January's list near the end of December.  February 2022 will be shared at the end of January, and so on.  I hope you'll join me in the daily practice of writing out Scripture--I really enjoy it!

Treasure Box

My next little section is my listing of my favorite Scriptures.  I have found these verses one by one after many years of sermons and Bible studies and they have come to mean a lot to me.  They are a reminder of my journey so far and a reminder me keep my faith focused.  I have typed out some and some are handwritten.  I even made a sort of a listing for them #ListerGirl that I am.  Most pages look something like this:  of course, I added washi tape and various stickers to these pages.  Do you have a Scripture Treasure Box of meaningful verses?

Hymns - Lyrics

I grew up going to church.  Dad was an elder, Mom led congregational worship, and they both taught Bible classes.  So I have a few favorite hymns.  I love the choral music and I love the #truth in the lyrics of these songs.  I pulled a few from the hymnals I have and made a section for them.  These pages are not really "resources" but they contain so much and they have played a role in the forming of my faith in my younger years.  I also have lyrics from more contemporary worship songs in this section.  

I have other binders with other information related to Scripture and my faith.  Those are future posts so stay tuned, if you'd like.  I know many of you have different binders and notebooks that you use to study the Bible and grow your faith.

Grace and peace to you....

EDITED 12.31.21

I recently completed a study/listing of all the Chapter 3 Verse 16 verses from the Bible.   I just went book by book and copied out the verses.  Not only was it a good discipline but I had never read them in this sort of way.  If the book did not have a "3:16" verse, I just put a series of dashes and a slash so I know there is not one in that particular book.  Some books (like Obadiah and Philemon) have only one chapter, so if there was a "verse 16" I added that under the book name.  

Up next:  all the Chapter 1, Verse 9 verses!  #StayTuned

Immanuel

 IMMANUEL

or Emmanuel (romanized)

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel."  Isaiah 7:14

Hebrew עמנו אל (im-ma-nu el)  "with us is the mighty one"

 עם ( 'im ) with 

 נו ( nu ) us

 אל ( 'el ) God

עמנו is the Hebrew word עם (iym, Strong's #5973, note that the ם is the form of the letter מ (mem) when it appears at the end of a word), meaning "with," and the suffix נו (nu) meaning "us." The word אל (el, Strong's #410) is the Hebrew word meaning "mighty one" or "God." All put together, the name עמנואל means "with us is the mighty one." 

Definition of Hebrew Names: Immanuel | AHRC (ancient-hebrew.org)

God With Us.  We hear this name most at Christmas.  But Jesus is with us always.  Always.  He has been with us from before time existed and He will be with us when someday we meet Him in heaven.

He is with you during church services.  With you when you pray.  He is rejoicing and dancing with you on the mountaintop and walking beside with you in the lonely valley of despair.  He knows the ins and outs of your heart, the workings of your mind (He made you, after all!).  He is with you during nighttime terrors and with you as you greet the morning with a peace that passes understanding.  He is with you as you walk beside your spouse and with you as you teach and discipline your children.  He is with you as you clean house, make dinner, and do laundry.

So rejoice in this merry season as you remember that Jesus came to earth as a swaddling baby and sing the songs that give your heart gladness and that deep peace.  

Rejoice in this truth: God Is With Us.

Simple Christmas Song

 Music has been a part of my life for all my life.  My mom helped me to learn how to read music and because the church I grew up in used hymnals for congregational singing, I learned a lot about four-part harmony.  

Hymns have played a major role in my life and so has Christmas music.  So when the Christmas season rolls around, I am usually humming some ditty that is stuck in my head on repeat.  This song below has been in my head for a few days, so I wanted to share it with you.  It is a short and simple song with a gentle melody and words of truth.   

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S

(Jenny Lou Carson / Eddy Arnold)

...Originally recorded by Eddy in 1949
Jim Reeves - 1963
Also recorded by Rosemary Clooney, Perry Como, Kitty Wells, Andy Williams, Ernest Tub, Hank Snow

"When I was but a youngster, Christmas meant one thing,
that I'd be getting lots of toys that day.

I learned a whole lot diff'rent when Mother sat me down

and taught me to spell Christmas this way:

"C is for the Christ Child born upon this day;
"H" for herald angles in the night.
"R" means our Redeemer
"I" means Israel
"S" is for the star that shone sho bright.
"T" is for three wise men, they who traveled far
"M" is for the manger where He lay.
"A" is all He stands for
"S" means shepherds came,
And that's why there's a Christmas Day."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Perry Como's version was the one my mom played over and over.  Mom loved Perry.  Enjoy!

C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S - YouTube

Here is Eddy Arnold's recording:

Eddy Arnold "C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S" - YouTube

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."  Romans 15:13

Spiritual Disciplines

 I have been a list maker for a very long time.  I remember my mother using her pocket calendar to keep track of her appointments and birthdays and I remember all the snippets of paper containing various lists she had tucked away in that plastic-covered book of fun.  And I know I'm in very good company with other list makers around the world.

My problem with making lists is that I had collected a small mountain range of colorful sticky notes.  I had made these mountains over years of taking notes and while I had them in multi-colored stacks, they weren't organized into themes.  I organized these notes into various categories few years ago and keep much of that information in A5 size planner binders.  I reference and work in these binders on a fairly regular basis.  (These are Carpe Diem six-ring binders; the slightly larger red one on the right is a Webster's Pages product.  Classified Information: I secretly want all the solid colors made in the Carpe Diem A5 line:  Mustard, Persimmon, and more; oh my!) 

One list I have started is a list of Bible studies I want to do.  I have read or heard about some and others are studies I have been wanting to do for some time.  I learned to study the Bible at an early age--my dad was the first #BibleNerd I knew--and I have found that I have a passion for seeking and knowing God through His story.

However, as I started to keep a list of #AllTheBibleProjects I wanted to study I struggled with filing them into categories.  So many seemed to fit in more than one category and I've spent so much time sorting through them.  But I think I am getting closer to figuring out these categories for myself and then I can make binders and add to them as I continue this lifelong journey.  

Focusing On God Spiritual Disciplines
daily Scripture reading, daily Scripture writing, Scripture memorization, prayer

NEW:  I am adding creative/crafty Scripture Journaling with my DSW.

Growing My Faith Study Workbook
OT kings, OT prophets, OT judges, Bible women (OT and NT), Hebrew words, Greek verbs, word studies, Jesus' "I AM" statements, Fear Not 365 (apparently there are about 365 "fear not" or "do not be afraid" phrases in the Bible-one for every day)

Loving My Bible Reference Materials

Bible book summaries, Bible chapter summaries, my Scripture Treasure Box, and charts, graphs, tables, helps, etc.  I am also adding pages of my favorite hymns from a few hymnals I have as they speak so much #truth

NEW:  I have added the 3:16 and 1:9 verses, as well as the 40 Things a Christian Receives at Salvation study.

I am sure I will always be adding to these lists and it may be that I move different items to other binders as my needs change and my faith deepens.  But I feel pretty good about this for the moment.

Do you have binders or notebooks you keep studies in like this?  What do you keep in them?  Maybe this has helped you to think about your Bible study habits and how to keep it all organized.

Blessings to you!  Come back again!

An Ultimate Christmas Piece

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Such a beautiful verse!  Ever since George Frideric Handel composed the oratorio "The Messiah" which is "an extended reflection on Jesus as the Messiah called Christ," this specific piece of music on the above verse has delighted singers, challenged musicians, and thrilled listeners.  

This piece imparts great Biblical truth about the Heavenly Father coming to earth as a baby to show us how to live.  The government resting on His shoulders tells us that He has authority over us because He Is God and that He has our best interests in mind.  And then there are His names--how deep and glorious they are!  A wonderful counselor who knows exactly what we are going through, a mighty God who created this amazing world full of sight and sound and smells, an eternal Father who was, and is, and is to come forever, and a prince of peace who longs for us to know Him and His peace.

Have you heard this piece of music lately?  I encourage you to find a video of it somewhere.  Put on the headphones, sip a warm beverage, be transported to a little corner of Heaven...and marvel at the love and greatness of our Eternal Father.

Merry Christmas!

Some lovely performances:

Boston Baroque — "Unto Us a Child is Born" from Handel's Messiah - YouTube

Handel: Messiah, For unto us a child is born (Sir Colin Davis, Tenebrae, LSO) - YouTube

Had to share this, too:

Handel's 'Hallelujah!' Chorus live at the Sydney Opera House - YouTube

For more information on "The Messiah":  Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia