PRE-STUDY/ ABIDE/ WK 1/ DAY 4 RESPONSE

John 8:31,32

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

This passage goes on to say…

33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

Isn’t that just like “us offspring”…who? me? Not me, Lord.

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

In light of this Truth, we must take seriously the proposition that we are all enslaved to powers beyond our ability to master. mmhmm.

yes.  I am.  gluttony, unforgiveness, jealousy, pride, unbelief…just to name a few!

To be free…is to know TRUTH…to know JESUS…for He is TRUTH.

ABIDE…REMAIN…WAIT…DWELL…in Him…and we can be FREE from these sins that rob us of the JOY and CONTENTMENT God promises His children.

I MUST eat BREAD…on this I CAN be a GLUTTON:)

As we get ready to DIG into the VIRTUE of Contentment, let us agree to COMMIT to ABIDING.

LET THEM EAT BREAD!!

There we will find all the TREASURE God has stored up for us!!!

Agree?!

Use this weekend to work through the Doodle & Lettering Lessons for WK 1 & Document your Personal Prayer for the whole study.  If you haven’t used the 3, 2, 1 Method of Study for the last 4 PRE-STUDY Posts…please work on those too!

Don’t forget to check in with each other on our FB page:)

I look forward to DIGGING in DEEPER with all of you!

Blessings,

PRE-STUDY/ ABIDE/ ..remain, encamp, dwell, wait….

This is our focus for the next 6 weeks!

Welcome to all of you beautiful new friends who have purchased “The Virtue of Contentment : A Bible Journaling Study!”  Check in daily both here and our FB group page for information, encouragement, and sharing!

Let’s commit to encourage one another daily as we commit to obedience.

God will bless you with His presence as you surrender your will to His.

One more PRESTUDY exercise tomorrow, then on Monday we will begin to dig in!

If you don’t have your book yet, you can work in your journal until you receive it!

Make sure you’ve checked the support files, including the supply list:)

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me by email at 1arthouse.com@gmail.com.

xoxoxoxo,

PRE-STUDY/ ABIDE/ DAY 3 RESPONSE

Hello everyone!  Just a reminder…

During the next 6 weeks, I will be posting about our Virtue of Contentment Group Study.  If any of you are not participating, I pray that you will also receive insight from the Lord as you follow along.

We are still in our PREWORKBOOK phase:)

NOTE: I will be conintuing to post Doodle 101’s for those of you who find those to be helpful in your journaling process!

However you dwell with the Lord, He will bless your seeking heart! Xo

Thank you God for allowing me to have YOUR perspective- to see that the dead branches needed cutting off!

As we grow to know the Lord more deeply, we begin to understand His character…His integrity…His faithfulness

The Lord Himself will grow your faith as He provides for you.

Learning to trust Him through the discomfort is like trusting your Doctor to “treat you” through the pain…but, our GOD is THE GREAT PHYSICAN, whose healing power is eternal and restores our body, soul, and spirit.

reaching down to the deepest places we cannot see.

Even if  what remains of your once thriving plant, is a tiny puny leaf…

even if your seed is small…

as small as a mustard seed…

the seemingly impossible, IS POSSIBLE.

“He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” -Matthew 17:20

Put down your dead stick, and nourish your tiny little seed with the living water:)

Bless you!

The Virtue of Contentment study girls…your scripture for tomorrow is…

John 8:31,32

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  

PRE-STUDY/ ABIDE / DAY 2 RESPONSE

One of my favorite Christian Artists is Audrey Assad…her gift is breathtaking.

I love all her music…it touches my soul…but one song in particular, stirs me like no other.  Such a breath of life.

Listening this morning…

 

Good to Me

by Audrey Assad

“I put all my hope in the truth of Your promise

And I steady my heart on the ground of Your goodness
When I’m bowed down with sorrow I will lift up Your name
And the foxes in the vineyard will not steal my joy

Because You are good to me, good to me

I lift up my eyes to the hills where my help is found
Your voice fills the night – raise my head up to hear the sound
Though fires burn all around me I will praise You, my God
And the foxes in the vineyard will not steal my joy

Because You are good to me, good to me

Your goodness and mercy shall follow me
All my life
I will trust in Your promise”

Song of Solomon 2:15
“Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.”

Don’t let the foxes in your vineyard…steal your joy…

Because….the Lord is good to you.  It’s a promise from the promise keeper.

It’s the little foxes that spoil our vineyards…that steal our fruit.

foxes like greed, fear, jealousy, pride, arrogance, hate…

they come in and replace what God intended for us..

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,gentleness, faithfulness, self-control.

God PROMISES these things to us…but we have to be listening.

Obedience brings fruit.

Deut. 28 “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.

We all want the fruit.

Watch out for those foxes…claim your fruit and protect it!

Put a fence of truth around it.

Stand on it and SHOO those foxes out!

In Jesus name, you have power over them.

SHOUT truth at those foxes…and they will stop their stealing!

“Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.  I am the Vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”  -John 15:4-5

DAY 2 RESPONSE : THE VIRTUE OF CONTENTMENT

 

Plug in…connect, remain, encamp, dwell…ABIDE.

Protect that fruit!

When God speaks truth into our hearts, our responsibility is to RESPOND…TAKE ACTION.

Without action, we remain unchanged.

Eat some fruit…grow some fruit…give someone else some fruit:)

Bless you!

The Virtue of Contentment study girls…your scripture for tomorrow is…

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” -John 15:2

Just Keep Swimming! A Journal for recording the trail God leaves to lead us home

A very sweet friend of mine who is in the midst of terrible strife…told me about her connection with God’s provision and the shells He left for her on the beach.

The connection originated with Dory:)

See this previous post!

Dory was the inspiration for this 30 day Journal.

Just Keep Swimming is a 30 day Gratitude Journal designed to “Collect” and “Keep” a memorial of God’s provision in your life. In the movie “Finding Dory,” her parents leave a trail of shells to lead forgetful Dory back home. God does something similar for us. Though we can be like Dory, forgetting His sovereignty and authority in our lives, the Lord reminds us of His goodness and faithfulness as He provides our every need. Often, through unexpected blessings, He leads us Home. There are sections to record His daily provision, (shells) the story behind it, (God loves a GOOD STORY!) the Biblical Application along with room for specific prayers. If someday you loose your way, open your journal and remember where you’ve been and what God has done in your life. His Loving and Constant desire is to lead us HOME. Follow the Shells:)

Find it on Lulu.com

Just Keep Swimming!

Blessings,

PRE-STUDY/ ABIDE/ WK 1/ DAY 1/RESPONSE

We are all unique, with specific gifting and purpose.  We also learn in different ways…

Do you learn by…

Seeing?    Doing?     Hearing?    Touching?  Repeating?

All of the above?

One of the many things I love about journaling as I study, is the benefit of “touching” more than one way of learning.

This is a JOURNALING study, but it is a BIBLE study first.

Our bread of life is God’s word…and we must EAT…but more than just eat…we must DIGEST, and then MOVE.

The 3 2 1 Method of Study is a process for YOU to hear from the LORD in a PERSONAL way…specific to you…The Lord is so good to meet us right where we need Him the most:)

Thank you Father!

This idea or process of study is similar to a lesson I learned from Anne Graham Lotz, but is simplified by my loving Sister in Christ…Brecken Berning. 

Brecken and I have spent months processing and discerning God’s direction for both of our lives, and although her focus is within Documented Faith (LOVE), I know that her heart and her prayers are with us!

THANK YOU BRECKEN FOR SHARING YOUR GIFTS AND YOUR HEART WITH US ALL.

So…let me repeat our “assignment from this morning”

LEARNING THE 3, 2, 1 METHOD OF STUDY

TUESDAY’S SCRIPTURE STUDY: (record your “findings” in a journal or notebook)

Pray before you begin!

REWRITE JOHN 15:7

“IF YOU ABIDE IN ME, AND MY WORDS ABIDE IN YOU, ASK WHATEVER YOU WISH, AND IT WILL BE DONE FOR YOU.”

(Don’t forget you can print off the 3, 2, 1 Card for yourself!)

3 TRUTHS (simple facts)

2 QUESTIONS / THEN ANSWER THE QUESTIONS

EXAMPLES: (What do these truths tell me about God’ character? Is there a promise God is making to me? Is there a warning for me to heed?)

1 RESPONSE

What is the action God is calling me to take?

There are NO right or wrong answers.  Being still takes practice, as does listening.

We Women are WAY better TALKERS, RIGHT?!

What you hear from God will be specific to you, but it may be something someone else needs to hear! Keep that in mind and ACT if God is calling you to share what He has taught you…but, always be motivated by His LOVE:)

I want you to be able to learn and use this method of study to DIGEST God’s Word for yourself.

Always measure what you hear against God’s Holy Word to discern if it is TRUTH. (ACT 17:11)

I’m going to show you my journal, just so you can “SEE” you visual learners!!

Stay with what YOU are comfortable with…You CERTAINLY DON’T HAVE TO MAKE YOURS AS DETAILED.

Simply listen, and write.  If  the Lord gives you a visual…doodle it out:)

Join me in this exercise of patience, while we wait for everyone to get their books.

I believe it is God’s plan!

Learning this method of study is life changing, and I’m so glad we have a little EXTRA time to work on it!

We will continue to study the word ABIDE, the rest of this week.

Please join in conversation on our FaceBook page! WHAT DID GOD TEACH YOU THROUGH THIS PASSAGE?

We will all benefit from connecting with one another!

“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so

that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”

–Hebrews 3:13

OUR VERSE FOR TOMORROW!

DAY 2

John 15:4-5
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

3, 2, 1

Bless you Sisters!

The Virtue of Contentment: A Bible Journaling Study/ PREBOOK-WK 1/ DAY 1

 

What a WONDERFUL GROUP OF SISTERS have “gathered together” to study “The Virtue of Contentment!  WELCOME!!!!!!

(FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NOT JOINING US…I WILL STILL BE POSTING DOODLE 101’S EACH WEEK😘)

As we begin our first week of study,  I look forward to the opportunity of digging into already written material, to see what new revelation the Lord speaks to my heart.

I wrote this study with groups in mind, because of my personal experience with Women’s Bible Study.  God rescued me through Women like you, who taught me what it means to Abide in Christ…to invite Him to join me in everything I do…even if it’s laundry.

When I realized that individuals were purchasing the study to do alone, I just knew I had to bridge the gap!  We were designed to be in community ladies…encouraging one another daily.  Without that accountability and love, we will fall away.

Don’t fall away! Stay with me here.  

WE’RE STARTING OUT SLOW BUT WE’LL FINISH STRONG! WHILE MANY STILL WAIT FOR THEIR BOOKS TO ARRIVE, WE WILL SPEND THIS FIRST WEEK PRAYERFULLY CONSIDERING WHAT WE WANT TO “GAIN FROM OUR TIME IN THIS STUDY. 

WE WILL ALSO BE LEARNING THE 3, 2, 1 METHOD OF STUDY EACH DAY THROUGH THIS BLOG. SO, IF YOU CAN HOLD OFF ON MOVING FORWARD IN YOUR BOOKS, WE CAN ALL BE CLOSER TO THE SAME STARTING POINT!

RECORD your answer TO THE QUESTION ABOVE (WHAT DO YOU WANT TO GAIN FROM THIS STUDY) in the form of a prayer on PG 6 in your book.

-If you don’t have your book yet, record your prayer in a separate Journal/Watercolor book & transfer it into your book when you get it!                       

REALLY BE STILL.  What does that look like?

Commit to time alone with the Lord. Write it on your calendar, put a reminder alarm on your phone.  Let’s face it, if there is something we REALLY want to do, we make it happen.

We make time for  haircuts & pedicures, yoga, TV shows, time with friends, crafts, and more…but what about the one thing that will leave us filled up and satisfied?

1. COMMIT TO OBEDIENCE (It’s not a bad word…it actually promises us blessing!)
2. BE OBEDIENT.  Words are cheap:)  -ask someone to hold you accountable. Really!
3. PRAY -conversation is key to building any relationship, especially with the Lord.
4. GOOD INPUT = GOOD OUTPUT.  “Be careful little eyes what you see” ( and hear).             Surround yourself with opportunities to grow.  Listen to sermon podcasts, worship music, uplifting wholesome movies, healthy Sisters in Christ.
5. First thoughts/prayers in the mornings (before you put your feet on the floor!)  with the Lord…Last thoughts/prayers with Him…right before you close your eyes to sleep

PRACTICE HIS PRESENCE.

Chat with Jesus all day. He’s with you.

AFTER YOU record your personal prayer on PG 7  (one you can pray every time you sit down to study and journal) read through the METHOD OF STUDY ON PG. 6. PRINT OFF YOUR STUDY CARD.  You’ll find them in WK 1 Files.

We are going to use this Method to study key verses this week.  I want to make sure everyone understands the process before we begin our workbook material.

Record this week’s verses in a separate journal, or any notebook you have handy.

Use the FB page to ask questions, share, and encourage one another.

LEARNING THE 3, 2, 1 METHOD OF STUDY

TUESDAY’S SCRIPTURE STUDY: (record your “findings” in a journal or notebook)

Pray before you begin!

REWRITE JOHN 15:7

“IF YOU ABIDE IN ME, AND MY WORDS ABIDE IN YOU, ASK WHATEVER YOU WISH, AND IT WILL BE DONE FOR YOU.”

3 TRUTHS (simple facts)

2 QUESTIONS / THEN ANSWER THE QUESTIONS

EXAMPLES: (What do these truths tell me about God’ character? Is there a promise God is making to me? Is there a warning for me to heed?)

1 RESPONSE

What is the action God is calling me to take?

Meet back on our FB page to share and discuss!

 

MEET YOU ON FACEBOOK!

xo,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prayer moves mountains

 

20 “When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21 And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” -Matthew 21:20-22

There is POWER in prayer….power to move things, power to change.

I like how Matt Kennedy (in an Article from Stand Firm Against the Ruins)  helps us understand this mystery

“If God does not change then, necessarily, prayer cannot change God.

If you know your bible well your brain might run back to a number of passages in which God appears to experience a change of heart. One common text is Genesis 18:22-33 where Abraham appears to persuade God to hold back from from destroying Sodom. If you read the text carefully, you’ll notice some elements that ought to give you pause. Before the bargaining begins, God says this to Abraham: “

Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.” (Genesis 18:20-21)

Does God need to go down to “investigate”? We’re told in Hebrews 4:13

“No creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

God sees all people all the time. The behavior of the people of Sodom is no mystery to God. He didn’t need to find out what’s going on down there. He knows.

That should tip you off that there’s more going on in this text than meets the eye. It should also not escape notice that Abraham initiates the bargaining in v. 23. God doesn’t lay down an opening bid. He doesn’t say: ”If there are less than 49 righteous people in Sodom I’m taking the city out.” If he’d said that then there might be some basis for the common mis-perception that that God changes his mind. But as it stands, there’s no bargaining or persuasion going on because God doesn’t lay out any number to be persuaded from. God’s not being won over to Abraham’s point of view. But, if you read closely, Abraham is taught a lesson about the character of God. God will have mercy on the wicked for the sake of the righteous. Of course, there were no righteous people in Sodom…Lot certainly doesn’t fit that bill. And there are no righteous here. But as it turns out, God has preserved the entire world on the basis of righteousness of only One Man. This prayer exchange between God and Abraham has not changed God’s mind…but it has deepened Abraham’s understanding of God. And God uses it to foreshadow the coming of the Righteous One for who’s sake God gives grace and mercy to sinners.”  -Matt Kennedy

God doesn’t change His mind to move the mountain for us, He already knows  whether or not we will have the faith to move that mountain.

There is power in prayer to change…and that change happens within the faithful in prayer.

There is a song by Lauren Daigle  called

“Trust in YOU.”

“Letting go of every single dream, I lay each one down at Your feet.  Every moment of my wandering, NEVER changes what YOU see.  I’ve tried to win this war I confess.  My hands are weary I need Your rest.  Mighty Warrior, King of the fight.  No matter what I face, You’re by my side.

When You don’t move the mountains I’m needing You to move.  When You don’t part the waters I wish I could walk through, When You don’t give the answers as I cry out to You. I will trust, I will trust in You.

Truth is, YOU know what tomorrow brings.  There’s not a day ahead You have not ahead You have not seen.  So, in all thing be my life and breath.  I WANT WHAT YOU WANT LORD AND NOTHING ELSE.”

This is the key to moving mountains.

It starts within our hearts.

All the POWER is there…if we believe.

Bless you,

 

Getting ready to start our online study group!

 

It’s not too late to jump in, if you’d like to join us!  Email me if you’d like more info:)

1arthouse.com@gmail.com