Virtuous Daughters

How many of us believe in preparing for our earthly husbands? How many of you would go about your life, until the last minute possible, and then start preparing for your upcoming marriage? I dare say that hardly any of you would do such a thing.  I think I can be pretty safe to suggest that most of you are preparing while we speak.  And that is wonderful and how it ought to be, don’t get me wrong!

But what I would like to deal with this morning is how I think I can also safely suggest that most people on this earth wait until the last minute possible to prepare for the one most important marriage, that with our Heavenly Bridegroom.  And some never do get around to preparing for it, but just live every day from day to day.

But is this right? Should we not be just as concerned about our Heavenly marriage, as we are with our earthly marriage? Which one will last forever, even after we pass from this earth to the next?  Girls, I dare say that you ought to be even more concerned with the preparedness of your heart and life where Yahshua comes in (your Heavenly Bridegroom), than you ought to be over that of your earthly bridegroom!  Yet, as I look around me, I see just the opposite.  People are so concerned over being ready for their earthly marriages that they leave out how they need to be preparing for their heavenly one, as well.

Sometimes, it is very easy to become nearer minded. As in, a one tracked mind. We can see our earthly marriages.  We can look around us at couples who were ill prepared for them, and we can see how much we don’t know and need to learn, so we put our focus on that.  We long for marriage, so we throw ourselves into preparing for that marriage.  But where our Heavenly one is concerned, one that we can’t really see, so we don’t generally see how vitally important it is to be prepared for it or even how our actions even effect it.  Yes, we know that we are married (or betrothed) to our bridegroom, Yahshua.  Yes, we know that we need to live a righteous life.  Yes, we also know that we need to read our Bibles. 

But what I want to challenge you today is; how many of our earthly marriages would fail if we treated them with the care that we have with our heavenly marriages? How many would want to spend as little time as we generally do with our bridegroom Yahshua, of that with our earthly husbands? How many of our marriages would fail, with how we treat Yahshua, if that is how we started treating our earthly husbands?

Girls, we all know that a man’s greatest need is to be respected and honored (as well as obeyed). Everyone will tell you this.  Yet, how many of us dishonor God with how we treat Him? We know that we are to obey and submit to our earthly husbands and that this is a much needed ingredient to have our marriages succeed.  I mean, how do we show our true love to them? Is it not by obeying them? Yet, how many of us go through our lives, knowing what Yahshua and His father wishes for us to do, yet, we walk away not doing any of it? Or atleast not in the areas that seem to “difficult” for us to follow.  We do the “easier” things of course.  We just leave out the more difficult things…the areas that He commands us to keep, but we know our friends would think we were weird if we did. 

Girls, let me again voice this question to you; how many of you treat your heavenly marriage as you do your earthly marriages? How many put just as much work and time into your heavenly marriage, as you do into your earthly one? How many of you spend just as much time preparing for the one, as you do the other?  And how many of you will truly be prepared to be Yahshua’s bride, when He comes calling you the marriage supper? And how many of you will bring Him shame, when He comes and finds you, and how many of you will see a smile on His face as He beholds His bride?

You see, this life isn’t about our earthly marriages.  Yes, they are important and are supposed to be beautiful.  I know that.  And yes, I believe we are to be prepared for them.  Yahweh Himself told us that much.  But He also gives us a glimpse into our Heavenly marriage when He tells us that our earthly marriage is supposed to be a picture of our Heavenly marriage.  Our lives here on earth are supposed to be focused on the heavenly, not the earthly, for the earthly will pass away, but heavenly will last for eternity. This is what is the most important areas of our lives, girls. The question is; are you getting prepared for it? And will you be prepared for it when He comes?

Don’t waste this precious time that Yahweh has blessed you with.  Prepare the way for Yahweh!  Prepare for the most beautiful relationship and marriage…that of our precious Lord and Master, Yahshua! And girls, in order for you to have a beautiful marriage with someone, you must put your time and effort into that person. You can’t go about your days ignoring them.  You must have an open communication and dialog with them.  This means reading and studying Yahweh’s word and how you can live your life to bring Him pleasure.  This means spending time in prayer, talking with Him.  Don’t go day by day, never speaking to Him!  Talk to Him! He longs to get to know your heart and for you to get to know His.  And just like you would surely devour a love letter written by your beloved, you should also devour the “letter” written to you from your Beloved!

My challenge for you today is to start putting more of your time and effort into your heavenly marriage and stop thinking that all that matters on this earth is that you get married.  Yes, it is important, but it isn’t as important as your heavenly marriage.  Here you are, already married and spoken for, so spend more time furthering that relationship and marriage…for the more you prepare for that marriage, the more you will be prepared for your earthly marriage and relationship, as the one will flow right on into the other. Don’t put it off, dear precious girls! He is waiting for us and He longs to really get to know you! Use your time wisely and let’s make our Heavenly bridegroom smile down upon us, like we would want to see our earthly husband do!

The Beginning of My “Quest for Answers”

At this point I basically threw away everything I had ever thought about life in general and especially my life specifically, and tried as much as possible to come to Yahweh with an empty slate and an open mind, looking to Him for the answers I so desperately needed.  I needed to know what my life-purpose was, what Yahweh’s will was for my life, what He wanted me doing with my life, how He wanted to use my life, what He wanted to accomplish through my life, etc.

I asked my dad how one was to find their life purpose and he told me that although there are certain purposes Yahweh gave to all mankind in general (which are written in His word), when He gives us our personal life-purposes, He doesn’t give it to John Doe or Mrs. Smith down the street, and He doesn’t even necessarily give it to our dad’s. He said that to find our personal life’s purpose we need to go to Yahweh in prayer, and prayerfully study His word.

I wasn’t overly happy about his answer, because I was hoping he would hand me the answers I was looking for in a complete, ready-to-serve package. I didn’t like having to wait (waiting is HARD, especially after Yahweh had so impressed on my heart how much time I had already wasted, and I was so anxious to stop wasting my life and start making it count). But, since the only way I was going to find the answers I needed was through prayer and searching, pray and search I did.

One of the first things I did (besides pray, pray, and pray!) was go through the ‘Life Purpose Planning Workbook’ (lifepurposeplanning.org). This helped me to organize my thoughts, dreams, passions, etc. and also help me to see Yahweh’s hand already at work in my life. (As the book said, Yahweh isn’t waiting for us to realize our life purpose to start working in our lives – He has been working in them even before we were born - we just haven’t necessarily been aware of it.) As I was going through it I would detour when Yahweh would bring something else to mind (like listing any dreams I’ve ever had, both past and present, what they all had in common, why I dreamed of doing them, etc). I wrote all my answers in a spiral notebook instead of in the actual book, which was helpful because it allowed me to use the book as a guide without forcing me to follow it exactly. For example, if they asked a question that I didn’t really understand (or one that was worded in such a way that it didn’t really fit me), but sparked a question in my mind, I could write that down, instead of necessarily answering their question.

Throughout this whole “quest for answers” I tried to be open and flexible to Yahweh’s leading, and slow to jump on or accept any ideas or possibilities, because I wanted to be sure that it was Yahweh’s leading and not my emotions or my anxiousness to find the answers and “get started” living my life.

Quite a few times during this time, Yahweh would give me a piece of the puzzle, and I had to hold myself in check realizing it was a piece of His answer, not His final answer. A few times when I heard or read something, Yahweh would impress on my heart that it held at least a part of an answer, although I wasn’t able to put my finger on exactly what it was. So, I would study whatever it was that held the “answer”, praying that Yahweh would show me what it was, and then trust Him to help me understand it in His time. Sometimes He would help me to understand it right away, and other times I wouldn’t understand it until later when He would give me the other piece(s) to the puzzle. But either way, I knew that everything was in Yahweh’s hands, and He would help me to understand what I needed to in His time (I just needed to pay attention to whatever He was trying to tell me (whether I understood it or not), so I was ready to understand when that time came).

Most of all through this time I prayed, prayed, prayed, and prayed (did I tell you I prayed?J). Yahweh is the only One who knows what our futures hold, what He created us to do, and what he wants us to live for and do. He is the only One who really knows how we can please Him and bring Him the most glory.  He is the only One with the answers, so if we want the answers (or at least want the right answers) we must go to Yahweh. Every time I would come across a possibility, or someone would suggest a possibility, I would go to Yahweh with an open ear, and ask Him if that was what He wanted. Yahweh’s ways are best, so if we want the best in our lives we must go to Him, and find out what His will is.

I don’t generally write specifically to my older singles, but today I felt the need to.  This may or may not apply to those of my younger readers, but you are more than happy to read it anyways.

So…

Have any of you ever approached your birthday with a gloomy spirit before? Most people would consider birthdays a joyous occasion, but I have to admit, this year has been a bit different for me.  I almost, no, okay…I did, feel dread as the day approached.  For me, it signified yet another year without my Beloved.  As I looked at the number 26, it felt odd and foreign. I never dreamed that I would hit that number, without being able to celebrate it with him by my side, yet for some unforeseen reason, Yahweh has decided that that would be best.

I sat here last night and just wanted to cry.  How was it that I could miss someone so much, that I haven’t even met before?!  How I could feel so lonely? I wanted to cry out to Yahweh and beg Him to please bring my Beloved to me, wherever He was, yet I knew that it would only happen in His will and in His time.  Nothing, even my screaming, would bring him to me a day sooner.  

I wanted one thing, and yet I knew it was impossible to get it.  I never dreamed that Yahweh would test me so many times, asking me to continue waiting, eight years after I honestly thought I would be married.  I never dreamed I wouldn’t be married at 18…at the very longest, 21.  But here I am at 26 with my Beloved nowhere in sight and I couldn’t help but to feel down and out about it.

But you know what, Yahweh showed me something last night and again this morning.  So often I feel like I put my future husband above my Heavenly Husband and Love of my life.  Here I am complaining that once again, a year went by without my Beloved, yet what I failed to think about was, I DID have my BELOVED by my side! He has been by my side for 13 years now! Not only that, but as unworthy as I was and am, He still chose to over look my faults and choose me to be his wife, when He could have chosen another.  But no, that day, 13 years ago, He came to me and chose me.  How can you not feel special thinking about that?!

You know, my sisters, sometimes we get to dwelling on the physical side of things.  We dream about the day we will be married and will be able to pour our love onto the man of our dreams.  We dream about loving and serving him.  Yet, how many of us dream about our spiritual bridegroom? How many of us dream about how we can love and serve HIM better? Yet, we should care for Him, even more than we do our physical husbands.  Yet how many of us, even knowing how to please Him, do? How many of us, knowing what would bring Him true pleasure, do those very things?  If we were married to an earthly husband, it wouldn’t matter what people thought of us, we would still do that which would please our husbands.  So why then, do we often find it so difficult to do the very same thing, to our spiritual husband, Yahshua? Where’s the difference, girls? In reality, there really shouldn’t be any difference, yet we all know that there generally is.

May Yahweh grant us the strength to focus on our relationship with His son, and our heavenly bridegroom, Yahshua!  May we all feel, instead of the gloom at yet another year without our physical husbands, dwell on the fact that we have been gifted with yet another year WITH our spiritual husband, Yahshua!  And may we spend this next year sincerely doing that which we know would bring Him pleasure and delight.  May He grant us the strength to take that stand for righteousness, regardless as to what others may think or not think.  For my sisters, this relationship is what really matters.  Yes, I very much look forward to the day that Yahweh will join my hand with that of an earthly man, but never should our earthly husbands come before that of our heavenly husband.

What Is Your Life-Purpose? Part 1

Hi girls!

My name is Sharon and I am one of Samantha’s younger sisters. I want to share with you what Yahweh has been teaching me over the last couple of months.

When I graduated high school, it was really fun not to have school work each day, and to have the whole day to do whatever I wanted  . . . that is . . . for a little while. Within a couple of months, I had this nagging thought of “now what do I do?”

Over the next couple of years I tried to ignore this thought as best I could, but every once in a while it would pop up again and I would get really discouraged, wondering, “What is the purpose of my life? There has to be something more. I have to be missing something. My life feels so empty and meaningless. What do I do that someone else couldn’t take over doing without even noticing my disappearance? I help clean, cook, and do chores, but, when I’m gone for whatever reason, my siblings pick up the slack without even a hiccup in the way the house runs. Sure, I help my mom teach my younger siblings school each day, but the other girls could take over that if I wasn’t here, and even if they couldn’t, is that the only reason I am alive?” I would try to find something to do or study that would fill up my time enough so I wouldn’t think about how empty I felt about my life, which would “work” until a short time later when the same empty feelings would pop up again.

Sometimes it would be something I could study, other times it would be weeding our garden whenever I started to feel like I wasn’t accomplishing anything with my life, sometimes it would be canning, etc.

While I had something to study, I felt really good about my life, because now I not only had something to fill up my time, but I also had a purpose to each day (doing that day’s lesson) and a goal to work towards (finishing that book/course). Life was great as I worked towards finishing each course, excitedly looking forward to accomplishing what I set out to do and reaching my goals. But, as I would get to the end of my courses, that excitement and anticipation would turn to dread as that old familiar feeling of emptiness would return along with the same old question of “now what?”

I always dreamed of getting married and felt like that was Yahweh’s will for my life at some point, so after graduating high school, I really started focusing on preparing for marriage (studying marriage, relationships, etc.) and trying to prepare my character, etc. for the day when I would be a wife. I dreamed about it, I thought about it, I planned and prepared for it, and, most of all, I waited for it – day after day, month after month, and . . . year after year.

Well, Yahweh continued to impress on my heart how purposeful-less my life was, and how much time I was wasting by just living from day to day, with no knowledge of what my purpose in life was or how He wanted me living it out.

When Yahweh showed me this, and really convicted my heart about it, He brought me to a place where I completely surrendered everything to Him – my life, my future, whether or not I got married, everything- and started me on what I call my “quest for answers”. What was my purpose in life? Was I already living out my purpose and just not realizing it? How was I to even go about figuring it out? The bible has all the answers, but where was I supposed to start?

Over the next couple of posts, I would like to take you down the journey that Yahweh brought me down, to share with you how I was able to find out what my life purpose was, in hopes that if there are others out there with the same questions, it will help serve as a guideline for you, too, to find out what your  life purpose is.

Until next time,

Sharon

Here is a song that I wanted to share with you all. I hope it will bless you as much as it did me.

Lyrics:
When my way seems dark and drear and the future I don’t know,
My heart feels so empty as the tears unending flow.
When my heart breaks with sorrow and a tempest fills my soul,
This one thing I know for sure: My God is in Control.

His way is perfect, HIs way is perfect.
Though I don’t understand His wise and loving plan,
His way is perfect. His way is perfect.
Take my life and make a vessel purified.
God makes no mistakes; His way is best.

When the toils of life are come and my heart is worn with care,
I faint ‘neath the burden of a cross I cannot bear.
When the joy has departed from my sorrow stricken soul,
This one thing I know for sure: My God is in control.

His way is perfect, His way is perfect.
Though I don’t understand HIs wise and loving plan,
His way is perfect. His way is perfect.
Take my life and make a vessel purified.
God makes no mistakes; His way is best.

by Anne Conner

Yahweh I know there is someone,
In this world for me
Keep him safe from harm,
And from temptation help him flee

Make him a leader,
Who can guide me through the years.
Give him a loving arm to hold me,
And to dry all my tears.

Mold him to be a father,
As you have been to me.
Always keep him by my side
A right arm forever he’ll be.

Cause his love for you to grow,
And a true doctrine let him know.
And in his life forever,
Let your light always show.

Place him in the ministry,
So more can hear Yahweh’s word
And when the trials come,
Help us praise you Yahweh.

Give him a compassion,
Toward those who are orphaned
And to such as these,
Our home will always be open.

Finally Yahweh I ask you,
Help him keep himself
Because a Christian man like this,
Is valued above great wealth.

*Names have been changed to sacred names.

I read an interesting comment yesterday. It said:

Don’t make sure Yahweh is on your side, make sure you are on Yahweh’s side.

How true that saying is! It isn’t so important for us to make sure He is on our side, but it IS important to make sure that we are on HIS side.  Are you on His side?

Girls, this applies to everything we do, everything we think, everything we believe. Often when we think about doing something different or making a change in our lives, whether it is what we are about to do, or what we believe, it is always in light of “what will so and so think of me?” Yet my friends, does it really matter what others think about us? Who really matters, our friends or our King?

I want to challenge each of you to look at things through eyes of eternity.  Our friends will pass away.  Yes, if we live a truly set apart life, our true friends will be few and far between.  Yet, let me ask you this question again, Who really matters?  When we reach our King, whose opinion of us, really matters?  Will He be able to say “Well done thou good and faithful servant!” Or will He look at us and sadly say “Oh, thou unfaithful servant, why did others opinion of you matter more than Mine did?” 

Sisters, in the end, all that will matter is that we are on His side, not our friends side.  Don’t try to get Him on your side and to agree with you, you go get on His side and agree with HIM.

Here is a song that I thought you would all really enjoy. Below are the lyrics.  Please remember that you will have to shut the other player off, before you hit play on this song.  Just scroll down and hit pause on the playlist to your right.

I have had the right
To stand and fight
But it would have still been wrong
I’ve had the chance to prove
A hurtful truth
I had to let it go and just move on

‘Cause there’s a gift called grace
That’s captured my life
Though the way of the world is power and pride

I want to be different, Jesus
Just like You
I want to be tender with mercy
Guiding all I do
So when others talk about me
Let it be because
I am different
Let the difference be love

Let me have the kind
Of heart that shines
The light and shows you’re real
And where hope is dim
And fear sets in
Will you use me Lord to help and heal

I don’t want wealth or fame
To define the life I live
Oh let me be known
For what I give

I want to be different, Jesus
Just like You
I want to be tender with mercy
Guiding all I do
So when others talk about me
Let it be because
I am different
Let the difference be love

Every day is a chance to serve You
By caring for someone else
I will make the choice to surrender
And not live for myself

I want to be different, Jesus
Just like You
I want to be tender with mercy
Guiding all I do
So when others talk about me
Let it be because
I am different
Let the difference be love

This afternoon, I have had this song just pouring through me. I can honestly say, above anything else in my life, I want Yahweh to take me, break me, mold me, and use my life for His Kingdom.  It is my hearts cry and desire.

But, as I sang this song, I wondered how many people who sing this song, really mean what it says.  “I want to be set apart as Yours, different to this world”…How many of us really want to be different from this world in which we live in? How many of us truly want to be set apart as Yahweh’s?

My dear sisters, this means that we will stand out, that we will be different from all those around us! Yet, how many of us just want to “fit in” with those around us? How many of us just want to go about our life, fitting in with the world? Doing the things that those around us do, because we don’t want to seem odd or weird? How many of us don’t obey Yahweh’s commands, for that very same reason? “What will people think of me?!” Often plays through our minds, yet, does it really matter what others think about us?  The only one that really matters in this life is our precious Father! He is who matters! Not those around us.  Pleasing Him and obeying His word is what matters most in this life.  Yet, how many of us don’t want to truly find out what He really desires for us to do? How many of us are afraid to really study the scriptures and find out, for we don’t want to be that different, that set apart?

“I want to be set apart as Yours, available to You” Is that really true? Do we want to be available to do what Yahweh wants us to do? Or, do we only care about pleasing ourselves and doing what we want to do?  Do we truly care about what Yahweh wants?

“I want to be set apart as Yours, transformed by Your word” Do you, my dear sister, really want to be transformed by His word?  Do you study His word so that it can transform you? Or are you comfortable with where you are spiritually? Do you want to be stretched by His word, challenged by His word? Changed by His word?

“I want to be set apart as Yours, freed by Your love” Is that really true, my girls?  Do you realize that everything written within your Bible was written there for your own good?  That means each and every law!  How many of us look to the law as a burden? A curse? Yet, we sing that we want to be freed by His love…yet we reject the very law He has given to us, so that we could be freed! I think of so many of His laws, and the benefits of keeping them, and the curses if we don’t, and I often wonder why it is so hard for some to accept them…when it would give them the very freedom they desire? Why is that, girls?

“Free to dance, free to sing, and make Your name known” Do we really want to make His name known? 

“It’s You I live for…” do we live for Him girls, or do we live for ourselves and others? Is everything we do in life, revolve around our Saviour, girls? Do we honestly live for Him?

“It’s You I’m seeking…” Is that really true, girls? Is it really Him that you are seeking? And are you really seeking Him and the things of Him? Or are you seeking just enough to get by?  Do we even know what it means to “seek” Him?

“It’s You I long to please” Is it really? Do you honestly, truly, long to please Yahweh, girls?  If you do, then everything within your life would show it! If you truly want to please Yahweh, you would do what He has told you to do and you would live every single moment, of every single day, for Him.  Yet, do you? Or do you rather long to please those around you, instead?  Who do you really long to please, my friend?

“Could You take me, break me, mold me, use me” Girls, do you know what that means? Do you know what it means to be taken, broken, molded and used?  This isn’t easy.  This often requires us to go through some pain, trials, and a whole lot of stretching.  Yet, are you willing to go through that breaking, so that the Master Potter can mold you into a useful vessel? Or are you to prideful to be broken and molded?  Do you honestly want to be used for His Kingdom? Are you truly willing to be used?

“Fill me up with more of You” Ah, how easy it is for us to sing this part, yet, do we truly know what this means? Do we know who Yahweh really is? To be filled up with more of Him, you must first know who He is, what He is.  I read the life of my Saviour, and how He kept the law, I read about all the things that He was and did, how He was willing to stand alone, even when the world was against Him, and then I look around me and see that so often the very things that He did, the very person He is, those around me reject.  How can we ask Him to fill us up with more of Him, when we reject the very things He did, the very person He is?  You can’t have the world and Yahweh, both.  You have to choose between them.  You have to honestly choose which one you want, my friends, because you can’t have both, and you certainly can not please both.  So which one will you honestly choose? Do you want to be filled with the things of the world, or the things of the Messiah?

As you read this song in its entirety, I pray that you will honestly sing it with your whole heart and mean every word in it!

Yahweh bless!

 Samantha

*********************************************************************

More of You

I want to be set apart as Yours,

different to this world

I lift my hands and

stretch them out for You

I want to be set apart as Yours,

available to You

To clothe the naked and

fight for the poor

And reach out to the lost

It’s You I live for; it’s You I want to be

It’s You I’m seeking;

it’s You I long to please

So take me, break me, mold me, use me

Fill me up with more of You

Could You take me, break me,

mold me, use me

Fill me up with more…more of You

I want to be set apart as Yours,

transformed by Your word

To follow in the footsteps of Your truth

I want to be set apart as Yours,

freed by Your love

Free to dance, free to sing

And make Your name known

It’s You I live for; it’s You I want to be

It’s You I’m seeking,

It’s You I long to please

Could take me, break me, mold me, use me

Fill me up with more of You

Could You take me, break me, mold me,

use me

Fill me up with more

Could take me, break me, mold me, use me

Fill me up with more of You

Could you take me, break me, mold me,

use me

Fill me up with more…more of You

Lately I went through a Bible study and it gave some ideas as to how to and what you might think about doing, to make your devotions more meaningful.  I thought I would copy those things down for you, as I thought they might be of an encouragement, because you know what? It IS important! I can not stress how important it is for us to mediate on His word day and night! We need this “food” in order to live a thriving life for Him.  Let’s make the best of the time that we have to spend with Him, shall we?

From the Bible Study “Looking at myself, before loving someone else”

  “Wisdom is not learned in a day. It is not something we get simply by reading a book or working through a lesson.  The Bible says “The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10) Wisdom comes from God.  To be wise, we need steady, lifelong exposure to God. This is the primary purpose of setting aside devotional time each day.

  Many people struggle with having a meaningful devotional time.  Following are some pointers:

1.     Keep your commitment to God up-to-date. God wants your devotion more than He wants your “devotions”.  Settle it in your heart and mind that you will follow God no matter what happens, no matter how you feel, no matter where or how long you live.

2.    Set a regular time for your devotions. Establishing a regular time is a healthy discipline.  Obviously, it can become a meaningless ritual, but on the other hand, without setting a time, it easily gets crowded out with other things.

3.    Be systematic in your devotional time. Set goals, do study projects, etc.  Following are examples: (a) Read a chapter from the Book of Proverbs each day for a month. (b) Read through the Bible in one year. (c) Study a particular book of the Bible. (d) Memorize a portion of Scripture. (e) Do a study of a subject relevant to something you are facing personally, such as pride and humility, submitting to authority, moral purity, or a right way of viewing yourself. (f) Do a character study of someone in the Bible whose life you want to learn from – read the pertinent Scriptures, label significant sections of the person’s life, note turning points, list strengths and weaknesses, study his or her contributions to God’s Kingdom, and then make a list of lessons you can learn.  Having goals for your devotional time gives a sense of purpose and helps maintain interest.

4.    Vary your activities. As the above suggestions imply, there are many ways to expose one’s heart to God and His Word. In addition to the above suggestions, you might supplement your Bible reading at times with hymn studies or reading devotional books or Christina biographies.

5.    Write down something from your reading. This can vary depending on what kind of project you are doing. If you are reading in a history section of the Bible, for example, you can use the “Who? What? When? Where? How?” questions to keep track of what you read.  Or you can look for one or all of the following: a command to obey, a promise to encourage, an example to follow, a question to ponder, and an application to your life.  Writing things down not only helps keep you mentally alert; it also helps you remember what you have studied.”

   I pray that this gives you some things to ponder as you work on having a meaningful devotional time with your Saviour. I know keeping a notebook with me as I am reading through the Bible, really helps me. It gives me a place that I can write down the things that come to my mind.  As I see different scripture verses that stick out at me, I can write them down right away, and also why they stuck out to me.  Sometimes something triggers my memory about a prayer need that I need to be praying about, so I stop and write those down as well.  Other times I will come across scripture verses that I can pray, either for myself, my future husband or another person.  And at other times, I will simply read something that I do not understand or something that brings about questions on something that I once believed.  I can also write these down, so that I can later remember them and go look into them, after I am done.

  So you see, having a spiritual notebook can be VERY helpful! You can also write down meaningful things that you read in devotional books or something, too, as well as prayers that you may have at that time.  Personally, I like to get a smaller size notebook that will fit in my Biblecase, as this way no matter where I go, I always have it with me, along with a couple of pens.  J

  I pray that these things will give you all some ideas, Girls.  If you have anything to add, please feel free to write me! I would love to hear about some of your own ideas, as well!

Love always,

Samantha