The Word

I went to my mom's church for Bible study tonight. It was okay. I'm not used to that style of teaching. It was a little light on scripture. I prefer lots of scripture. It's the only part of going to church I love. Reading God's word.

We were enemies

Scripture

Asking God

One of the hardest things to do is to rely on someone else. I didn't grow up with much family around, do I learned from an early age if my mom or my dad couldn't help me, I was on my own. I wish I had known about God when I was younger. I probably would have learned how to rely on Him to do the things I needed help with.

The good news is, I have Him now and I can turn to Him and ask him for anything I want (or need). I'm going to be honest though, I still forget to go to Him first. Now the good news, He's very forgiving and it is never too late to put all my trust in Him. I'm going to bed now.

Proverbs

I made the decision to write out the book of Proverbs. Not sure what I'll accomplish, but I noticed when I wrote out Romans, I meditated more on the text. I noticed things that I wouldn't have noticed during my normal reading.

I don't have much to say. That's been my issue for a while now. I'm going to bed. Good night.

Easter

I won't be blogging today. I'll definitely post something tomorrow.

Post-snow Sunday

Snow Saturday

With Jesus

Mark

We are back to studying the Gospel of Mark in the women's Bible study group. I'm glad we're done with Ecclesiastes. That book was on the depressing side.

I have so much to blog about but not enough energy or time. Plus, I need to get some rest. I haven't had a good night's sleep in a long time.

Generational curses

Do you believe in generational curses? I believe they exist. It's one way to explain why people continue to repeat destructive behavior.

I still cannot stop thinking about the movie Courageous. Nathan Hayes (the black officer in the movie) realized how not having a father figure in his life left him scared. Some people don't realize it when so many people around them are living the same way. I must pray.

Untitled

There was an amazing sun rise this morning. I was able to get a picture of it.

It rained today but not enough to give me hope for bountiful poppies this year. I love those orange flowers. They give the desert much needed color.

I'm trying to get through my topical Bible studies but my reading plans won't load. I needed to write down the daily verses I'm supposed to meditate on. I hope this is just a temporary glitch as I don't want to miss my reading in the morning.

My mom made purple sweet potato pie. I can't wait to try them. I will be posting pictures tomorrow.

21-Day Challenge

Just came across a 21-day Bible reading challenge. What an awesome way to get people to subscribe to a reading plan! You can read more about YouVersion's 21-day challenge here. I didn't mean to post this so late but better late than never.

Ecclesiastes

I'm so glad my women's Bible study group is studying Ecclesiastes. It is a very difficult book to understand and can be grossly misinterpreted.

I got depressed meditating on Ecclesiastes. It turns out, Solomon wasn't thinking with a mind focused on God. He had a worldly view of the world because his focused had shifted (from God) so much because of his wealth, wisdom, and wives.

I can't wait until the last sermon next week.

I must get my other Bible studies out of the way before going to bed.

What is pleasing to the Lord

"for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord." (Ephesians 5:8-10 ESV)

These Bible verses are from the day 1 topic study on dating and relationships. When I watch tv, I get the impression that sex is something that is a social norm for couples to do outside of marriage.

Couples living together seems like the norm but I know different. It is only to be done in the context of marriage.

I really wish I had been taught these things growing up. My would be a lot different. But my parents, in particular, my mom can't teach me something she hasn't done herself.

I go every year to my mother's church for Mother's Day. Last year, a guest speaker got up and started talking about how things were done when she was a child. (This woman had to be in her 70s.) she mentioned how women didn't have children without husbands. Then she apologized for comment and couldn't understand why as sex outside of marriage is a sin and we were in a church. Not understanding why anyone would see the need to apologize for a comment about sin in a church but it happened.

I guess that is why my mom and I attend different churches.

Bible reading plans

I just completed my first reading plan from the YouVersion Holy Bible phone app. It was only a 7-day topical plan about dating but I completed it and got a badge.

I don't quite understand what one of the verses mean in regards to dating, but I'm going to pray about it and hopefully God will give me an answer through his word or some other means. Maybe you have some insight on what it means?

"I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?" (Job 31:1 ESV)

Maybe I'm tired or maybe I'm stupid, I don't know what this means in terms of dating. Aren't we suppose to want someone who is pure?

One awesome Bible reading app

I rediscovered an app for my phone that helps me keep track of my Bible reading. More information can be found at youversion.com.

I originally discovered this app over a year ago but didn't do anything with it because it was very limited. But the developers have really made this an app worth blogging about and using. Here are just a few of the reasons why I like it do much:

1. There are 27 translations of the Bible to choose from.
2. Many of the common translations have an audio version. So, if you are more of a listener rather than a reader, you can enjoy God's word.
3. There are probably hundreds of reading plans to choose from ranging in length from a few days to 2 years. I'm reading the Blended plan but I've also started Topical reading plans which range from 5 to 7 days each.
4. The app is free.
5. The app can be synced across multiple mobile devices and you can send yourself email notifications for the day's reading if you are like me and can't have a phone at work.

Well, this is all I can think of at the moment. I would go to the website to sign up, then go to the app store to download the app. I have an iPhone but I think this app is available for Android, too.