To Keep with the Biblical Theme...

Since we're focusing on getting better acquainted with God's Word during Lent as part of the 40 Day Bible Feast, I wanted to share a great resource available through Lakewood Public Library (our other local libraries may carry it too, but I'm not sure) that we stumbled across while looking through the kids DVD section.

It's a 5-part series of DVDs called the Kids 10 Commandments (or, K10C) and is an animation of the time when God gave Moses the big 10. We've borrowed these countless times and I finally purchased our own set because the kids enjoy them so much. In each part of the series, two of the commandments are highlighted and incorporated into the story line which features a boy, Seth, as the main character, along with his mom, best friend and animals. Each segment lasts about 30 minutes.

The best thing about this...it's helped me remember the 10 commandments and in the correct order (at least 80% of the time :) )! As I mentally go through them, I can picture what happened in each episode along with the corresponding commandments.

In Christ,
Andrea

40 Day Bible Feast: Day One!

Here we are on day one of our journey!

I thought the best place to start out would be to share how each of us are planning to feast upon God's Word. That way, we can encourage one another and perhaps "dialogue" if some of us are reading the same books or passages.

Here's what I'm planning to take on:

• Finish reading the Book of Deuteronomy
• Read the Book of Job
• On Sundays, read from the epistles in the New Testament
• Since I love doing biblical word studies, I want to hunt up Scripture passages around the themes of day, night, trusting God/waiting, pride and I still have one more to figure out :). I also want to pray God would lead me to specific passages which I can turn into prayers for my husband and children. I'm praying that God would grow my prayer life as well as grow me in knowledge of Himself through this exercise.
• I'm thinking of also reading at least one of the Gospels. I haven't quite figured out if I'll read paralell passages in all four of the gospels or read The Message's translation of them (I'm kind of leaning to The Message, but still need to purchase that Bible :) )

I think the overall theme for my feast is looking at God's Word in new ways or rediscovering it for new truth.

Now it's your turn...where are you feeling led to begin? Do you anticipate any challenges along the way? If so, what might they be and how can we support you?

Upward in Christ,

Andrea

40 Day Bible Feast: Preparing the Meal

Two days to go! Let's start cooking.

1. Prepare your work area: This may involve recycling or boxing up magazines or other reading materials which may tempt you to deviate from the real Feast (think of them as "fast food"). If you subscribe to a newspaper, consider canceling or holding the subscription for the next 40 days. If you get your news online, consider removing the bookmarks from your favorite sites to remove the "one click away" factor. How radical you get with the preparation is up to you, but sometimes a little preventative maintenance can help us through the times when our desire and self-control is at its lowest. Remember, the enemy does not want to see us reading God's Word, much less committing ourselves to read only His Word for 40 days. Be on guard for attacks of temptation.

For me, the hardest thing will not be reading the blogs of people I've come to know and pray about (pray for my accountability here!). It feels like it will be abandoning them, but I need to keep reminding myself I can still pray for them even if I don't know what's going on in their lives and that God won't abandon them.

To enliven the preparation with some fun, consider whether you want to designate a special room, area or chair in your home for you to read the Bible or maybe even a special (quiet) place outside your home. Think about what you might like in place to create the atmosphere (such as keeping the candle or prayer shawl/blanket nearby which I referenced in the last post)

Since we're involving our small children in this, we'll be packing up the children's books which aren't biblically based. This may sound extreme, but I'm believing God to work through the "out of sight, out of mind" principal. To help them get excited about the 40 days, we're countering the boxing up of their books by bringing in some new bible-story books for them to read.

I'm gathering Scripture passages to study and possibly memorize. To help me with this, I found some small journal books at Target for $1 each - I like to be organized and get excited about filling blank pages with the Words God gives me.


2. Slicing, dicing and stirring the ingredients. Hmmm...this is going to stretch my imagination a little more. Let's see if this works with the analogy - writing out a goal of what you want to read each day or week of this feast can be helpful. The purpose in writing it out is not to stress you out if you aren't able to read as much as you intended, but to provide a little structure to keep you motivated to stay on track. I'm constantly amazed how writing something down helps increase my motivation and it feels more real than if I keep things in my head. Also, if you're planning on reading through a longer book of the Bible, slicing it into smaller pieces might help it feel more manageable. I'm going to be mixing things up quite a bit, so keeping track of the various "dishes" I'll be sampling will help keep me organized.


3. Cooking it up. Whether it's on the stove top or in the oven, cooking helps blend the flavors, join the ingredients together and (as in the case of a cake) make for a tastier confection. This is where prayer comes in. Spending time in prayer over the next couple of days will help solidfy all the preparation you've put in place since feeling led to take on this challenge. Some things to pray about:

• That God would continue to increase your hunger and thirst for His Word and that you will know the satisfaction of being filled when you do feast upon His Word.
• That He would help you in the final preparations - in your heart, spirit or physical environment - before the Feast begins.
• That He would continue to bring people alongside you/us to join in the Feast.
• For each of us who have committed ourselves to the Feast - that we would find the strength in God to bring us through the 40 days and have the ability in Christ to cast down any temptations thrown our way.
• That God would grow in us perservance and we would see the fruits of the Spirit manifested in our lives, especially the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, faith, and self-control. (Galations 5:22-23)
• That we would emerge from the 40 days knowing what it means to have the crown of life (James 1:12) bestowed upon us.

That's it, my friends. I hope to "see" you back here Wednesday for the first day of our feast. While I won't be reading blogs during this 40 days, I will be writing some posts as God leads and enables and I hope you will feel free in the Spirit to share how you are doing as well.

Love in Christ,
Andrea

40 Day Bible Feast: Gathering the Ingredients

This is cutting it a little close to the wire (only 5 days to go!), but I'm going to squeeze in this post and one more as part of the series in preparing for the feast.

To continue with the food theme begun in this post...

Once the menu is set, the next thing we usually do is take stock of the ingredients we have on hand and make a list of ones we need to purchase.

I'm going to guess that most of us participating in the feast have a Bible already on hand (the staple pantry item :) ). But if not, no worries. Now is a perfect opportunity to stock your pantry and purchase God's best seller!

Since we're that subject...even when we do have a well-stocked pantry, there are times when we need to evaluate the quality and freshness of ingredients. Although spices may not come with an expiration date, they do lose their pungency after a while, and even canned goods and non-perishable items have a set time to expire for good reason.

The Bible is the "honey" of the pantry (the only food to never go bad or expire). However, if you've found it a challenge to read your Bible in the past and felt it difficult to understand exactly what God was trying to say through His Word, investigate whether a different version of the Bible speaks more clearly to your heart.

Think of it this way - God's Word, no matter the version or language is always tasty. But some flavors, or versions, of the Bible seem to agree better with the unique set of taste buds God bestowed upon each individual. The NIV (New International Version) is the Bible I use 90% of the time when I read God's Word as it resonates with my spirit. However, God has shown me over the past couple of years the value of reading other versions to gain additional clarity or understanding.

For example, when our Bible study group was reading Romans, one of Paul's more challenging epistles, we often turned to The Message to gain a different perspective on what God was trying to say. I'll also frequently check the New King James Version to see if a particular passage strikes me in new ways.

In this 40-day feast, ask God to whet your appetite anew for His Word. Consider taking a field trip to a book store well-stocked with many versions of the Bible. While perusing the shelves, listen closely to hear if God is whispering for you to make a particular selection. Whether this is His will for you or not, it's eye opening to see how many ways the Bible can be presented (did you know there are chronological Bibles, ones that have 2-3 versions side by side and ones that have the original Hebrew or Greek language alongside the English?!)

One last thought before I move onto purchasing additional ingredients...a study Bible, regardless of the version, is a helpful format to have on hand. Most study Bibles contain the following: notations on the Biblical text, a Concordance, maps, introductions to each section and other commentaries to provide understanding.

Moving beyond the pantry and into the grocery aisles...

Depending on how God leads you to partake of the 40-day feast, you may feel led to supplement the Bible reading with some helpful tools. The Internet has many free resources for you to access, which is a blessing to your pocketbook. :) Check out this link to access some online versions of well-known Bible study tools. When I'm doing a word search in the Bible, I frequently use this link as my concordance as it's more complete and I can see how different Bible versions present the same passage(s).

Since it would make this post much longer than it already is, I'll hold myself back from writing about each of these tools. However, if you have any questions about the tools or how to use them, please email me at bea813@cox.net.


Some non-Biblical purchases which may feel essential for your feast:

• A journal to capture how God is working in your heart and to dialogue with Him about where you struggle or rejoice in His Word
• Index cards if you feel led to take on memorizing Scripture. Beth Moore, one of my favorite Bible study teachers is a huge advocate for this. Check out her blog and do search under "scripture memorization" if you want to learn more.
• Special candle to light each time you sit down with the Bible (sometimes, setting the mood helps increase our anticipation)
• Prayer shawl or blanket to keep you warm (since we are in winter, at least in Lakewood!) as you wrap yourself in God's Word

If you have any ideas you'd like to share on ingredients you've found essential for your feast, please leave a comment with this post. Check out the blog Monday for the last post in this series.

Love in Christ,
Andrea

40 Day Bible Feast: Preparing the Menu

Since the title of this 40-day challenge suggests food, it seems fitting to go with that theme as we begin to prepare for those 40 days. If this is the first post regarding the 40 Day Bible Feast that you are reading, please click here for the background.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized the importance of approaching the Bible feast like I would any other much anticipated culinary gathering (think Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter). Though turkey and gravy won't be on the menu, we will be dining on something much more satisfying.

I was also thinking that it might be tempting to stop at cutting out all recreational reading during this time and filling it with other things (TV, Internet, chores, hobbies, etc.) instead of adding in the feasting on God's word part. This is where I'll pick up the food analogy.

What is the first thing we do when we know the time of a feast is approaching?
Answer: we plan the menu!

Take some time to ponder this...what are some of the emotions, thoughts and actions do you experience when planning out a menu.

[Reserved for some thought time :)]

For me, it's hard not to get excited and hungry when thinking about all the good things we'll have on the table. I think anticipating the day fuels this appetite as much as the food. (I'm seriously getting hungry just as I write this post!)

Now back to our Bible Feast...over the next 21 days, let's take some time to plan the meal for our 40 days of feasting.

Here are some questions as you plan your menu:

• Often, our holiday meals feature foods we normally do not place on our table and probably include more choices than you normally see on your plate in the everyday. I believe this adds to the anticipation. How can you apply this concept to preparing for your Bible Feast?
• The mainstays of holiday feasts are the main course, side dishes, and, of course, the desserts. If feasting on God's Word seems overwhelming because it is so broad, how can "break down" your menu so it feels more manageable and comprising myriad flavors.
• Rarely are our holiday feasts one person affairs. How can you use the idea of family or community to heighten your anticipation of the 40 day feast?

And some tips:

• Preparing menus takes careful thought. For our feast, spend time in prayer asking God to lead you to a selection of His choicest Words for you.
• Writing out our menus helps us make sure we're not overlooking any special dish or food group. Consider writing out what you would like to read during this time.
• There are infinite ways to approach reading God's Word, which is why is can seem daunting at times. To avoid feelings of overwhelm: depending on length, choose one or several books of the Bible to read; choose a theme to study based on what you are currently experiencing in your life (e.g. waiting, celebrating, uncertainty, fear, loss), choose a word or words to guide your study - you'll need a Concordance for this, which I'll elaborate on in a future post (e.g. faith, Spirit, love, mercy, life, anger, forgiveness, light), study the names and characteristics of God (if you're interested in this one, please leave a comment with your contact info and I can get you more information for this approach).

A few last thoughts...

I can't stress the importance of prayer enough when it comes to this feast. Pray God would give you encouragement during this time of preparation and in the 40 days. Pray He would guide you to specific places in the Bible that He has prepared for this season in your life. Pray that He would heighten your anticipation of this time.

To encourage the feeling of community and help us be accountable to one another, please consider leaving a comment with this post outlining what you are planning to read. God has a way of bringing others alongside us when we need encouragement, which is why this opportunity to share is invaluable.

For God's glory,

Andrea

Great Resource

I love listening to the Fish radio station (95.5 FM in our area) and occasionally check out their website. The other week, in doing some research for community events, I discovered that the Fish website has many Christian-based events listed on their site.

So...if you're looking for some faith-based events and others that are just family friendly, visit their website at http://www.955thefish.com/ and go to the "Cleveland Community Calendar" which is under the "Fish Resources" at the left side of the page.