Sunday Thoughts

As I'm studying my Bible each day, I'm keeping my mind and heart aware of the Scriptures that help me in my word of the year - RENEW.  I have felt a huge calling on my Spirit from God to renew so many areas of my life that have been neglected, or even destroyed, through the past years of battling health issues. Of course, all Scripture is vital and I apply all of it to my life, but I'm keenly aware of those things I feel God is showing me to help me RENEW my life.

I was studying Ephesians 4:1-7 and there is so much there to direct us in our lives! Here is the Scriptures in my Bible (click on the picture to make it larger for reading)

This passage tells us to live worthy and then gives the qualities we need to pursue.  These qualities are:

• Humility
• Gentleness
• Patience
• Tolerance
• Peaceful
• Hopeful

What I love is that in verse 7, God tells us that we don't have to try and do this on our own! We have the grace of Jesus to help us in our pursuit to live worthy.  He gives us the measure of grace we need to live our lives in a way that glorifies Him. 

When I read this, I realized that these are the exact qualities I need to help me RENEW my life. These are the things that are vital to a life well lived - a life worthy of the One who died for me! To live with all these attributes makes life so much better. 

I made these notes to remind myself of how these will work to help me in my longing to make areas of my life better

Here's my notes to myself about what I learned:

• To live in a way that will glorify God, these are the attributes I need to pursue and live out
• To renew relationships, these are the qualities that show love to others
• To renew areas of my life that are dry as dust, these are the attributes that will breath new life into those areas.
• All through the grace of Jesus!

I love how God gives us so much through His Word! He knows what we need to help us in our lives and that's why it's so vital to get in our Bibles every day. There is so much help to us as we go through our days. No matter what we are going through, God is there for us and He gives us reminders of His love, grace, and guidance through our Bible reading. 

You can read this passage of Scripture online at Bible Gateway HERE

Thank you for coming by and reading all about what God is showing me! I hope it encouraged you today.

Blessings - Julie

My Quiet Time Book Stack

I thought I would share with you the books I will have in my quiet time stack this year. I may add to it as the year goes on, but this is what I have right now. (Mitzi is actually quite excited about my choices! 😉)

This is my She Reads Truth Bible and my KeyWord Bible.

The She Reads Truth is the blue leather-bound edition as I find it so much easier to hold than the hard back edition.  As I get older and my arthritis gets worse, I try to find ways to make it easier on myself as I do things.

I like this Bible because it has large margins where I can write my notes or prayers as I read through the Scriptures. I also really like the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) edition as I find it easy to read yet true to the original Greek and Hebrew.

The Key Word Study Bible is great for truly understanding what I'm reading. It explains the meanings of the Greek and Hebrew words so that I can understand the context of the Scripture. I really like this Bible because it helps me to dig deeper into the Word.

Next is my Drawing Near Everyday Devotional Bible by John MacArthur

I love this Bible because it takes part of the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs and gives me a little bit to read each day. This allows me to read the Bible through the year in one year.

My next book is a devotional journal that I received for review about a month ago. I just love it and decided to work through it each day this year. It has a wonderful devotion and a huge section for writing. It's a wonderful devotional/journal.

The Give Me Jesus journal is wonderful for keeping your thoughts on your daily Scripture reading, your prayers, a gratitude area, and more. It's a lovely book and will become a keepsake! I love how it encourages me to write down what I've learned.

The next two books go together. One is a book and one a study by Lysa Turkeurst.

I'm excited about this book and study as I know it's going to be inspiring and help me to understand why things happen in a way that we don't think it should. I've been hearing about Lysa's story this past year and I'm anxious to learn what she learned and how she stayed strong in her faith despite what was going on around her. I also have the DVD so I can do the study with all the information.

This is my gratitude journal. I've had this for a couple years and was consistent in writing down my blessings each day but then fell away from it. I'm making a commitment this year to write in it every day. It's such a great encouragement to write down the blessings of my day each day.

Finally, this is my Praying with Jane devotion. I read through this last year when I reviewed it but enjoyed it so much, I wanted to make it a part of my quiet time again. If you haven't checked this book out, be sure you do, especially if you're a Jane Austen fan. It will speak to your heart!

I hope you enjoyed seeing my book stack for my quiet time. I'm sure I'll add different things as the year goes on, but this is my beginning stack.  In case you're interested, I have added the affiliate links to all these books at the end of this post.

I have some other things I'm going to be working on as well, including my Illustrating Bible and my 100 days of grace book. I haven't done anything in them yet but, when I do, I'll share!


The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible: NKJV Edition, Burgundy Genuine Leather (Key Word Study Bibles)

CSB She Reads Truth Bible, Navy LeatherTouch

ESV MacArthur Drawing Near Devotional Bible

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus (365-Day Devotional Journals) (Lifestyle Journals)

Give Me Jesus Journal 

It's Not Supposed to Be This Way: Finding Unexpected Strength When Disappointments Leave You Shattered

It's Not Supposed to Be This Way Study Guide: Finding Unexpected Strength When Disappointments Leave You Shattered

It's Not Supposed to Be This Way Study Guide with DVD: Finding Unexpected Strength When Disappointments Leave You Shattered

"Be Thankful" Gratitude Concealed Coil Hardcover Wirebound Journal

Praying with Jane: 31 Days through the Prayers of Jane Austen

Thanks so much for reading about my book! I hope you enjoyed it.

Blessings - Julie

Counting Our Blessings - Link Up!

How have you been doing? I hope well! I have been out of touch, I know, and owe several of you emails. Please be patient with me!

Let's get started on this weeks blessings!

5.  I am on the launch team for Craig Groeschel's new book, Divine Direction. I always feel so blessed to be chosen to be on a launch team and never so much as for this book. I have started reading it and the pages are filled with pink highlighting!

6.  My husband was so sweet and got me a new Bible cover for my huge HSCB study bible. We bought my son a cover for his at Christmas and I really liked how it had a handle for carrying this heavy Bible around. We went to the Family Christian Book store and I found this one.

My Bible is purple so having this purple cover is perfect for it. I like how they have the handle on the spine of the book as it makes it so easy to carry it now. Such a sweet hubby to bless me with this!

7.  I've been working on my faith journal. I did this page and I really think it needs something more. It says exactly what I want it to say, but I probably need more color on the page. Anyway, here's the pic of how it looks so far.

8.  Of course, Miss Mitzi is always a blessing. She was resting in bed with me while I read and I was able to snap some shots of her. She's always on the go so it's hard to get her to pose for a picture. Have to take the pictures when I can!

Please share your own blessings on the link up below. Share a blog post that will bless others or that shows how you have been blessed! Thank you so much for being a part of my link up!


Blessings - Julie

Bible Review - Beyond Suffering Bible NLT

ABOUT THE BIBLE:

The Beyond Suffering Bible is the first study bible made specifically for those who suffer and the people who love them.

MY REVIEW:

As a pain sufferer myself, I was so excited to be able to receive this Bible! Joni Eareckson Tada has truly been a lifeline for me as I have suffered with pain and health issues in the past few years. She always, always points to God's Word for sustenance and comfort and this Bible is the perfect culmination of her ministry.

I really like the NLT version and find it very easy to read. It's perfect for the long time Christian as well as those who aren't familiar with reading the Bible. The font is easy to read and also large enough that it doesn't strain the eyes.

The first thing you'll notice is the beautiful cover. It's a picture of the beach and ocean and just gives you such a feeling of peace. When you open it, there's a gorgeous plate of the ocean with Scriptures on it. There is a beautiful letter from Joni and then several Bible reading plans after that.

My most favorite feature of this Bible for me is the "Topical Guide to Features" section. You can look up a specific word in this guide and it will lead you to Scriptures or other features within the Bible that specifically deal with that thing you're needing guidance on. When we are hurting, having a guide like this makes it so much easier to find the comfort within the Scriptures we are needing.

There are profiles concerning people that themselves suffered or had someone close to them that suffered. These profiles are so inspiring and I enjoyed reading about the courage and strength they drew from God.

There are little blue boxes called "Connection Points" that help us understand an important point of Scripture on the page. These are great for understanding the Scripture more deeply and being able to apply it to our lives.

I love this Bible! I am using it exclusively now as my Bible because it encourages me so much in my suffering and gives me the guides to finding Scripture and encouragement for my pain. If you suffer or take care of someone who does, this is truly a must have Bible for you! This Bible is truly a gift from God and I highly recommend it! I give it 5 out of 5 stars!

*This Bible was provided to me for my honest review by Tyndale Blog Network


Blessings - Julie

Bible Review - The NIV Holy Bible for Girls, Journal Edition

ABOUT THE BIBLE:

The NIV Holy Bible for Girls, Journal Edition is the perfect way to apply Scripture to your everyday life. Designed with the thoughtful writer in mind, a whimsical cover and journaling lines inspire reflection in God’s Word. This Bible contains the full text of the bestselling New International Version (NIV) translation.

Features include:

Lines on each page for journaling and notes Thick paper perfect for any writing utensil A presentation page for gift giving A “How to Use This Bible” page to get started on the right foot Ribbon marker The complete text of the bestselling New International Version (NIV)

MY REVIEW:

This has become my new favorite Bible! I love the cover with the beautiful blue color and the band that keeps it closed. My favorite part of this Bible is the inside, though.

This Bible has wide margins with lines for making notes. I like the Bibles that have the drawings but I like making notes and this Bible is all about that. The paper is a light ivory and heavy enough that the highlighting I make and the notes I write don't show up on the other side of the paper. If you look really hard, there might be a tiny bit of shadowing, but you have to really look. I love that I can highlight and write in it and not worry about the shadowing on the other side.

The NIV edition is always a favorite and easy to read and understand. I really have enjoyed using this Bible for my latest study and having the area to make the notes about the Scriptures without trying to find room. I really like this Bible and give it 5 out of 5 stars.

*This Bible was provided to me for my honest review by BookLook Bloggers program


Blessings - Julie

Bible Review - NKJV Word Study Bible

ABOUT THE BIBLE:

The NKJV Word Study Bible includes in-text subheadings and 1,700 easy-to-use word studies with select Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek words explained in every chapter from Genesis to Revelation, helping you dig deeper into your Bible study. By looking into these ancient texts we are able to read scripture as it was originally written and passed on from generation to generation, bringing these words to life and allowing you to almost hear Jesus teaching on the hillside or crying out to God on the cross. As you study you will discover the richness and significance of the original languages of the Word of God and experience scripture in a whole new way.
Features Include:

• NKJV paragraph-style text with in-text subheadings and translators' notes
• Book introductions
• Words of Christ in red
• Word studies
• Indexes
• Concordance

MY REVIEW:

This is a fantastic Bible! I have been wanting one that gives the Greek and Hebrew definitions of words as I study and this is perfect!

I really appreciate how I can study the Bible so easily with this version and understand what I'm reading. Each book of the Bible has an introductory to explain what it's about and also shares a list of "Watch Words" to look for as you read through the book. I absolutely love how the definitions are highlighted in blue boxes so it makes it so easy to find and read. I also like that the words of Jesus are red-lettered, making it easier to read the words of Jesus.

This is the perfect Bible for Bible studies, too. I have been using it for the Bible study I'm doing right now and it has made my Bible study time deeper and richer. It gives me a clearer understanding of what I'm reading and how it should be understood. Since it uses the Strong's concordance numbers for the highlighted words, it makes it great for inductive Bible studying.

I highly recommend this Bible if you want to understand God's Word in a clearer way. If you do Bible studies, this really is a must have Bible because you'll come away from your studies with a clearer understanding. I highly recommend this Bible and give it 5 out of 5 stars.

*This Bible was provided to me for my honest review by BookLook Bloggers program


Blessings - Julie

Psalm 1

I'm going through the Psalms right now and thought I would share what I'm learning here.

I have a highlighting system I use but I'm still fine-tuning it. That's why I have the different highlighter colors. Right now I'm using this system:

Purple - God, Jesus, Holy Spirit
Green - Geographical
Blue - People
Yellow - Instruction or commands
Pink - Women
Orange - satan, evil forces

I'm sure I'll get it exactly as I want it but this makes sense to me so I'm using it! lol

Psalm 1 tells us that "happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked". As I studied this I found that true joy is only found in the Lord. We find this joy by knowing God and His Scriptures and that's why in verse 3, he tells us we should be meditating on it day and night.

How many times have you heard of people in dire situations that are able to withstand their circumstances because they can recall Scriptures that encourage them? I know for myself, as I was going through test after test when I had cancer and also when I went through my other health issues, I would think of Scriptures that helped me and gave me strength. How glad I was that I knew Scriptures by heart!

Finally in verse 6, God reminds us that He watches over His people. How comforting this is! He watches over our way and guides us when we follow Him. This encourages me to follow God and make Him a priority in my life. God is so good to be with us!

I love the Psalms. They have absolutely so much in them about all aspects of life. They are some of the most comforting, yet convicting, Scriptures of the Bible, in my opinion. I'm so excited to share them with you. I would love to know how the Psalms have helped you and give you strength and comfort when you needed it.

Blessings - Julie

Bible Review - Girls Slimline Holy Bible

ABOUT THIS BIBLE:

God loves you! You are a very special art of his plan. In fact, God had you in mind when the Bible was written. He has so much to share with you in the pages of this amazing book. The more you read the Bible, the wiser you become!

Godwants you to know that you can always come into His presence boldly in faith and He will lead you and guide you and help you!

The New Living Translation text is excellent for young readers because it is so clear and they can understand what they are reading. When they can read and understand God's Word, God can work in their hearts!

MY  REVIEW:

I love this Bible!! It was designed for young girls, however, I am not a young girl but I just adore this Bible. The first thing that you'll notice s how very pretty it is and the cover is made of soft, plush-like material. It has a short nap so it's not overly plush, but it definitely feels good in my hand. I also love the shiny silver edging that goes all around the cover. It just makes it look even prettier. As a final touch, the edges of the pages are purple.

The inside is gorgeous, too. The inside cover is a hot pink with this Scripture written inside the front:
"Because of Christ and our faith in Him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God's presence." - Ephesians 3:12 I love this wonderful reminder every time I open this Bible! On the next page there is an area where you can inscribe it to someone if you're giving it as a gift.

I was concerned that because it's a Slimline Bible that the font might be too small for me to read easily, but that is not the case! I find it very easy to read and it's not so small that it makes my eyes tired. Because it is the New Living Translation (NLT), it's easily understood as well.

There is a wonderful Concordance in the back that goes into almost anything you might need to look up. Not only that, there is a page called, "Great Chapters of the Bible"and it lists the chapters and what they focus on. I really liked this! Then there are three pages of Scriptures that are great for memorization and a Daily Reading plan for a year, too. Finally there are colored maps for reference while reading.

This little Bible has everything! I love that it's slim and easy to carry with me or read in bed (which I have been doing a lot). It's just such a pretty Bible and perfect for any girl in your life or for yourself. I just love mine!

*This Bible was provided to me for my honest review by Tyndale House Publishers


Blessings - Julie

Lord Over All

It's the day after Easter and I've been pondering what the resurrection of Jesus means. I've come to one conclusion...it means everything! Everything I believe, how I live my life, and how I treat others all comes down to that one glorious moment when God released Jesus from death and He rose to live and reign at the right hand of God.

Because of Jesus, I always have hope and assurance in all things in my life. I've gone through some really difficult things in my life, as I'm sure you have, too, but knowing that Jesus is there for me, gives me the courage and strength to go on with my life.  To not give up. It would have been so easy for me to give up so many times. Life is hard and we all need a Savior! We need a Savior in every area of our life. Sometimes, it's easy to put Jesus into the box of Savior of our life when we die. Yes, because of my faith in Him, I will have eternal life, but He's much more than that. He's my Savior when I feel like I just can't go one more minute because of the pain I'm in. He's my Savior when I feel like life is just too difficult and too complicated. He's my Savior when I'm not sure what to do next. He's the Savior of my complete life - while I'm living now and when I will pass on to the next life.

Sometimes we like to compartmentalize our life. We will have our work life, home life, family life, friend life and faith life. The thing is, the faith life needs to be over all the other lives. When we do that, it makes everything else fall into place. God doesn't want us to put our faith in a little box and bring it out on Sundays or when we really need Him. No, our faith should be the driving force behind everything we do. I'm not saying this is always easy - especially in today's world. We are scorned and even tortured for our faith. We can feel afraid to put our faith "out there" but if we don't, aren't we just as bad as those who scorn? Either we totally believe or we don't. It's easy to think that if we keep things separate, our lives will be better but it never works out that way. If we don't have a resevoir from God from which to pull from, we're going to come up dry and wanting when we really need the cool refreshment of his Living Water.

After thinking about all this in my own life, I've decided to be more discisive about putting God first in my day and making Him a part of every area of my life. I've been guilty of pushing Him to the back burner more than once but, honestly, that's not really working for me. I'm finding it harder and harder to come back from the bad moments because I have nothing to pull from.

So, on this day after Easter, my heart is to longing to remember who I worship and serve. The risen Lord! He cares about every aspect of my life and yours, too. I'm going to make Him Lord over all my life. How about you?

Blessings - Julie

30 Thankful Days

We had rain all day today and it has suddenly turned quite cold! I've been in my warm pajamas all day and have napped off and on. This morning, Mitzi was quite restless and if I'm really tired, my hubs will come let her out if I text him (I told you he was great, didn't I?). He's a early riser and I'm not so he's always willing to let that little girl out in the mornings when I'm tired. Anyway, I was so tired, I wanted to sleep longer so grabbed my phone to text him, looked at the time and about passed out! It was 12:13 pm! Yes, afternoon! I decided it was time to get up and took her out myself. I understood why that little girl was so restless! She really needed to go out and it was so late! I still felt tired and my hubby did, too. I don't know if it's the change in weather or what but I'm hoping tomorrow is better in the tired department! I will say that I am so thankful that I can sleep if I need to!

This is day 3 of being thankful and here's what I'm the most thankful for.

The Word of God! This is my Bible and I love it and am so thankful for it! This is a fairly new Bible and it's the Holman Christian Study Bible in color. It's just amazing. I love all the colored maps, charts and information throughout this Bible. I also like this translation and researched about it before I bought it. It's the closest to the original Hebrew, Arabic, and Greek, which was important to me.

My time spent in God's Word is so refreshing and I'm thankful that I can have peace because of my salvation in Christ. There's nothing better!

Blessings - Julie

Little Steps of Progress

Today I got some of my staples out of my incisions. I went properly "medicated" so I wouldn't be all stressed out by the pain. I've had staples out before, but never when they have been in this long. Today marks the one month mark since that horrible day when I had the artery cut.

I have never seen staples that small and the nurse had a hard time finding some of them as my skin had grown over them. Thankfully, I only really felt one of the staples being removed, so that was such a relief!! They only took about every other one out, and on the actual bypass incision, he only took two out because it still is pulling a bit and leaking a bit and he didn't want to take the chance of it breaking open. The knee staples were a snap and he took about half of those out, too. They are the size I'm more used to, so they were easier to remove for the nurse. All in all, it went well and I feel much better where those staples are gone. I think they are starting to be a bit irritating at this point.

I came home and was able to lay on my bed and do the exercises where I put my leg on the wall and then bring my leg down to bend the knee. This exercise really helps to bend the knee and I really felt like I did well. I did promptly fall asleep afterwards! I haven't laid on my bed since I've been home and it was so wonderful! I've missed my bed! lol I still don't think I can sleep in it all night because I have to have help getting up and if I need to get up in the night, then I'd have to get someone up to help me, so until I can get up on my own, I'll still be sleeping in my recliner.

I've been studying Ephesians and have been reading a lot. I would love to get out my cross stitch, but my brain just can't focus enough at this point to really work on anything. I do think I'm going to try and work on my crochet, though, tomorrow. I need to do something creative because it really helps me.

We finally had rain tonight. There's nothing more peaceful than hearing the rain on the skylight. I love it as long as I don't have to go out in the mud. We really need the moisture, so I'm really happy that we are getting some rain.

I want to thank you again for all your sweet comments, your many prayers, and your wonderful emails you have sent me. They mean so much to me!!

Blessings - Julie

Gentle Reminder

It's the end of a weekend, a weekend filled with snow and cold. I'm ready for sunshine again because the cold makes me ache. I told my husband that I could now understand why seniors head for the hot areas of the country! The cold hurts! lol

I kept the news off for the most part. One can be saturated with the horrors of the world for only so long before the brain just shuts down and our heart feels like it's going to implode in our chest. I tried to focus on Christmas shows and movies with a good measure of "Burn Notice" thrown in, as it's my favorite show. I also watched my favorite Pastors on TV like Charles Stanley, David Jeremiah and Charles Price. Thank the Lord for good, Biblical teaching!

I didn't do a lot this weekend - really because of the pain. I did a bit of writing, reading, and cooking. Thankfully, however, I have things in the freezer that I can pull out and throw in the oven. Some days are just like that.

I'm realizing that it's important to focus on the blessings of life. I know that I talk about this, especially on Tuesdays, but I want to refocus on this again. These times are hard. So many of us are struggling financially, in our health, in our emotions, and it's so easy to focus on what we are lacking. When we're struggling to figure out what to cook because there is not enough in the pantry ro we can't pay bills because there is not enough money. When we can't do the things we want to do because of pain or depression, it's easy to give into despair. It it only by focusing on what we DO have rather than what we don't have; by believing in the promises of God and standing on those, that we can even raise our head off the pillow in the morning. It is through the light of Jesus that we can get up and put one foot in front of the other. It is through Jesus that we can set aside our fear of not having enough money and believe that He will provide what we need.

The only way to focus on what we know the Lord promises, is to learn those promises, through his Word. Do you find that sometimes when you are struggling that it can be easy to not be in the Word? I do. It's easy to stay in that sorrowful place of despair and just watch TV or sleep, but it really is in these times, that our Bible needs to be open and we need to be seeking out His promises for our life.

I write this as much for me as for you. I struggle with all these things and this is a gentle reminder to myself of what I need to do. I hope that it has helped you, too, if you're dealing with these struggles. It is good to lift one another's heads to the Lord and to remind each other to keep our eyes on Jesus.

God bless you - Julie