Bible Journaling Ministries

Bible Journaling - Grow in the Word creatively!

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Episode 016: Choose Hope

 This is the promises of God podcast and I’m your host, Tracie Rollins. This podcast is about you, your ability to hear and believe and take action on God’s promises in your life because all of God’s promises are yes and amen. Resources mentioned in today’s episode can be found on promises that God podcast.com. Now, let’s get started.

Welcome back to the promises of God podcast, episode number 16. My name is Tracie Rollins. Thank you so much for spending some time with me as we learn and take action on God’s promises in life. This month series is about choosing hope in both the good times and the bad, and we’re working out of the momentum devotional offered by BibleJournalingMinistries.Com, where you can learn more about Bible journaling with our free 10 day Bible journaling course. Today we’re talking about choosing hope. Our verse is Hebrews Chapter Ten, verse 23, which I’ll read from the new living translation. It says, let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Hope is a choice. Sure. There are days when I don’t have hope. Absolutely. Truth be told, I’ve been trying for over a year maybe. Yeah, close to two years probably now to get my church to consider holding a Bible journaling class. 

I have met for our, with the coordinator on the campus. I’ve sent emails, I met with the pastor, and we talked about it. He seemed encouraged about it and was know, said he tells his wife and you know, pipe it up the line and that was awesome. I got to meet with the Women’s Bible study director, and she met with me for a little bit and gave me the opportunity to tell her more about it and she-she needs to go, you know, to talk to other people about it. But so far after the old effort, I have heard nothing but crickets. I have all but given up hope, and yeah, it is hard and frustrating, but that is why it’s so important to pray and be in the word because it’s versus the ones we have today that say don’t waver, have to hope and I have hope. If God truly wants me to share the message with my local church, then I have to still be here. I can’t give up. I have two weights in the pause of this time. It’s possible that the church isn’t ready for it. A lot of churches aren’t ready for Bible journaling. A lot of it’s really new and so the data just isn’t there and to, to, you know, be able to comprehensively say, you know, so many millions of people have, have, you know, discovered the word in it helps them better with their study. I mean I have, I have data that shows that I present that data whenever I’m talking to people about hosting Bible journaling. I have a lot of data that says it’s amazing and helps people grow in the word and have joy and peace and it encourages them to open up their bibles are so many benefits and I have all that data, but it could be that the church is not ready.

It could also be that they have procedures that are in place, wouldn’t. That’s pretty likely that they have to go through in that, you know, it takes time for them to prioritize it and put it on the agenda for them all to talk about it. It could also be that I’m not the person they want to deliver that right now or ever. That’s okay too, and hopefully, they find the right person to do that. If that’s what they decide and another thing to consider is that it just might not be the right time for me to do it. It could be that God has me on pause because he has something else for me in my life, like number one, recovering from this knee replacement surgery. Right Or perhaps he has something else better for me or maybe not better but different for me. Maybe he has a path that I haven’t considered. It’s possible that I’m supposed to do Bible journaling classes, not just at my local church, but maybe he wants me to travel or wants me to speak in different places. I’ve had many opportunities when I was in marketing to speak to large audiences, so it’s possible that you know, this could just be a pause in in that I’m a shift in direction potentially. I don’t really know what God’s plan is, but I do have hope and I know that he has put this on my heart and he’s put me on this path and I will continue to pray until he eliminates the way. There are so many instances in the Bible where God fulfills his promises. Joshua chapter 21 verse 45 reads, not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed. Every one was fulfilled.

The evidence throughout history is that God keeps his promises, so why do I occasionally had the feeling that God won’t keep his promises Some days I feel that his promises in scripture are spoken over my life don’t pertain to me. Sometimes I feel like I’m not good enough or important enough to pay attention to, but then I remember. This is precisely what Satan wants me to feel. I get to choose. I can choose to believe the lie that St and wants me to feel and believe or I can choose hope. The truth is as that though I’m not worthy, Jesus is through his blood. I am washed of my sins and so are you. God’s promises are for me and they are for you. He always keeps his promises. You can count on it. He may not provide them on your schedule or even in the way you think that he should provide them.

Like I was saying, I thought that I should be in my church right now doing Bible journaling and they should just ask me to do it right. That’s just so silly when you think about it that way. It’s just so. It’s funny that that I sometimes feel like God should do what I want him to do, but I promise you, even though God may not provide his promises on your schedule, he definitely will keep to his schedule. It’s up to you to make the right decision. Are you going to believe in Satan’s lie or are you going to choose hope Hoping in God is a choice that you can make right now. I encourage you to invite God into your life right now. You can just press pause on this podcast and just you know right now, get on your knees and pray to God.

Asked him to fill you with the Holy Spirit. Ask him to just be a part of your life and change you. You can. You can do that right now. If you know God and maybe you’ve strayed a little bit, that’s okay to press pause on the podcast and give your life back to him. It’s okay. You know you’re not promised tomorrow. Don’t put this off. Life is too short. Romans six, 23 says, the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus, our Lord. So turn to him, confess your sins and follow his will in your life and you will feel the love of Christ that surpasses all understanding. Thank you so much for tuning in today and I’m so excited that we wrapped up our series on hope and I cannot wait to see you in the next episode of the promises of God. Podcasts. Goodbye.

 Thanks for listening to the promises of God podcast. This podcast is sponsored by Bible Germany ministries where thousands of women grow in the word creatively. It’s your free 10-day course for other ministries and other episodes resources@thepromisesofGodpodcast.com.

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Embracing My Imperfect Hospitality with DaySpring’s Bible Journaling Kit

I’ve never really thought of myself as a good hostess. When you compare my cup of coffee and store-bought cookies to someone else’s wine and charcuterie tray (Yup…had to look that one up when that perfect hostess said she’d have one), mine always looked a bit slim. It’s not like I didn’t want to be a perfect hostess. I did! Things just got in the way. Like having no income, communiting to work 2 hours a day, and of course, my house wasn’t as amazing as hers.

In the span of 14 years, I went from hosting gatherings twice a week (Bible Study and Life Group), to once a week (Bible Study), to once a month (neighborhood Bunco), to the occasional drop-in friend or family gathering. I didn’t fully realize how little I’ve hosted in the last few years until I opened up the Imperfect Hospitality Bible Journaling kit this month.

DaySpring sent me the third kit in the three-part series they’re doing on Women of the Bible. This kit is titled, “Imperfect Hospitality”, and it’s a good one! If you’re interested in purchasing this kit, please consider using our ministry affiliate link. It helps us out and doesn’t cost you more. You can purchase the kit here. Thank you!

Here’s the thing about Bible journaling. While its fun and gets those creative juices flowing, the message that lingers and the prompting of the Holy Spirit begs me to take another look at my imperfect hospitality.

As I jumped into the kit I realized that I have a lot to learn about what God wants to see in a hostess. When I worked through Mary’s imperfect hospitality, I realized that being a hostess isn’t about having the most put together house. But, rather attentiveness to your guests. I can do that!

If you’re curious about the Women I studied, here’s an overview and samples of my Bible journaling entries.

Women of the Bible Imperfect Hospitality Bible Journaling Kit Overview

The Women of the Bible – Imperfect Hospitality Bible journaling kit includes:

  • 4 devotionals
  • washi tape
  • 2 sheets of clear stickers
  • 2 sheets of purple alphabet stickers
  • 1 huge paperclip
  • 1 ribbon
  • Assorted die cuts
  • 1 clear stamp set
  • 1 Women of the Bible: Imperfect Hospitality sticker
  • 1 greeting card
  • Packaged in a box with moss green tissue paper and a sticker
  • You also get digital downloads so you can get started today. No need to wait for the kit to arrive.

The Featured Women of the Bible include:

  • Genesis 24 – Rebekah
  • Luke 10 – Mary
  • 2 Kings 4 – The Shunammite woman
  • 1 Kings 17 – The widow of Zarphath

Women of the Bible Imperfect Hospitality Kit Review

In this review, I use the In(Courage) Bible. The difference between this Bible and a “standard” journaling Bible is that the space for journaling is at the bottom of each page instead of in the margin.

Bible Journaling Imperfect Hospitality with Mary

Bible Journaling Kit

Recipe for this page:

  1. Write down your thoughts on the Scripture or an answer to the journaling prompt provided in the kit.
  2. Stamp the image of Mary and Love Above All.
  3. Color with gelatos.
  4. Add clear stickers.
  5. Add the Women of the Bible sticker.
  6. Place washi tape to add color.
  7. Add a few die cuts.
  8. Staple a die cut image to the top in lieu of a tab.

Imperfect Hospitality with Rebekah

Recipe for this page:

  1. Write down your thoughts on the Scripture or an answer to the journaling prompt provided in the kit.
  2. Stamp the flowers with the corner stamp.
  3. Color the flowers with gelatos.
  4. Add clear stickers.
  5. Place washi tape on various portions of the page.
  6. Staple a die cut image to the top of the page.

Bible Journaling Imperfect Hospitality with the Shunnamite Woman

Recipe for this page:

  1. Write down your thoughts on the Scripture or an answer to the journaling prompt provided in the kit.
  2. Add die cuts and clear stickers.
  3. Place washi tape across to the top and bottom of the page.
  4. Staple a die cut image to the top of the page.

Bible Journaling Imperfect Hospitality with the Widow of Zarephath

Recipe for this page:

  1. Add your thoughts on the Scripture or answer the journaling prompt.
  2. Stamp the image and color with gelatos.
  3. Add clear stickers.
  4. Place washi tape across to the top.
  5. Tie the ribbon onto the paperclip.
  6. Tape the die cut image to the paperclip.

Embracing My Imperfect Hospitality

The new Women of the Bible Imperfect Hospitality Bible journaling kit by DaySpring got me thinking this month. Truth be told, I miss having the girls over for our weekly weight loss Bible study. I gave that up when the hubs lost his job, and I headed back to work during the recession. Two-hour commutes left me with little energy, and I wanted to focus that energy on my littles and husband. But, now that I’m no longer commuting, perhaps it’s time to embrace my imperfect hospitality and get my coffee pot on and my store-bought cookies on the counter. Perhaps what I consider imperfect hospitality… is perfect after all.

Bible Journaling Kit

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Episode 015: Finding Hope in the Pause

 This is the promises of God podcast and I’m your host, Tracie Rollins. This podcast is about you, your ability to hear and believe and take action on God’s promises in your life because all of God’s promises are yes and amen. Resources mentioned in today’s episode can be found on promises that God podcast.com. Now, let’s get started.

Welcome back to the promises of God podcast, episode Number 15. My name is Tracy rollins. Thank you so much for spending some time with me as we learn and take action on God’s promises in life. This month series is about choosing hope in both the good times and the bad, and we’re working out of the momentum devotional offered by Bible journaling ministries.com where you can learn more about Bible journaling with our free 10 day Bible journaling course. Today we’re talking about finding hope in the pause. Our verse for today is Romans Chapter 15, verse four, which I will read from the English Standard version. It says, for whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction that through endurance and through the encouragement of scriptures, we might have hope. The paws of life is so difficult. I remember in March of 2018 I was walking the dogs with my husband and I usually walk the dogs in the morning and I had walked the dogs earlier in that morning, but my husband came home and we thought, why not give them an extra walk So we both, the started walking and we’re going around our normal route and all of a sudden I tripped and I fell crashing down to the sidewalk and my knee kind of got jammed along the way and I had twisted my leg in a way that was probably not the right way to twist it.

The next day I woke up and I really couldn’t move that leg. I don’t know how it was that I got home from that walk because it was definitely two to three blocks of walking after that that I had felt no pain at all. Like it was. I mean I had pain but it wasn’t like I couldn’t walk on it. It was more like pain from like a bruise that, that I must have. Um, when I hit the sidewalk I must have got some kind of bruise. So I had felt that pain, but I was able to walk home and walk up the stairs. At this time I had a two story house in my room, was upstairs and walked upstairs and we got ready for the night and went back to, went to sleep. And when I woke up in the morning, I couldn’t move that light, that leg was so like it hurt to stand on it and I grabbed my cane because I had a cane from a previous surgery and just kind of use that to kind of get around for the next day and went, made an appointment to see my doctor. Actually it’s more of an orthopedic surgeon is I call him my doctor, but he’s actually a surgeon. It’s. He had been treating me for about 12 years and we came into the office and he takes x rays and he looked at it and he said, it’s broken. Here’s this for those of fracture or there’s little fracture line you showed me on the x ray and there’s a little fracture there. And it wasn’t like he could do anything. It’s, you know, you basically, it was, I guess it wasn’t big enough to put into any kind of cast or wasn’t, you know, it was just a little hairline fracture, but it was still painful to walk on it. And so I couldn’t walk on it and he gave me some crutches. And for I think six weeks I hobbled around on these crutches. Well, I was thinking after those six weeks that would be able to get back into walking again.

And so they came back to the office and we did the x rays and the, the um, the fracture was gone so it had healed, but I still couldn’t walk very well. And in looking at the x rays, he looked at me and he said, honey, it’s time, it’s time to do that knee replacement that we’ve been talking about that we’ve been putting off for so many years. And we had put off the surgery. We had a, had a different surgery in 2006 because the, uh, my knee had been giving out at that time. And so he did a different surgery in hopes of postponing a total knee replacement surgery. And it worked for 12 years. But he said it was definitely time to do it. I wasn’t quite ready for that. So I spent quite a few weeks after that working with physical therapists and trying to get my native somehow work without that.

I did some injections and went through quite a bit of work before finally realizing that he knew more than I do about my knee. And um, yeah, that I would have to get that surgery after all. So I’m still, I’m my point even telling you this is that I had part of walking was a journey like it was, is what I did everyday is my fitness goal. It was one of many things that I did. I would walk in the morning, I would ride bikes, I would go and do the elliptical at the gym. I actually had a membership at the time and I hadn’t met that membership for I want to say three to four years and I would use it. I was definitely consistent and using it was part of my fitness routine and there was a lot of different classes you could take that I will try to take. I even tried to take a spinning class, but that didn’t work out for me because obviously I had problems with my knees. Um, but my plan was, was part of this fitness, right It was part of, you know, having fitness in my life and, and this was my plan was to be healthy and fit and not have problems with my body and unfortunately this plan that I have is, is still on pause as I recover from my total knee replacement surgery. So I guess what I’m saying is, is that it’s hard in the positive life. So in the pause of my dream to be fit and go back to the gym and be healthy, I have to just know that I’m in this, this waiting period and it’s through endurance and encouragement of scripture that I have hope. I know that I will be healed.

It is a promise that I believe in. I know that God’s going to provide that. It is in his timing and in his will and in his way and I’m doing the very best job that I can right now to be in his will and I’m doing as much as I can to heal my knee. Following everybody is advice, listening and praying and doing all that. And it is just a pause. It is just a little weight and I know that a year sounds like a long time to be waiting and yeah, to me it is a long time to be waiting. I’m quite impatient sometimes, especially when it comes to seeing everybody else walked normally and wanting to do that myself so I can be quite impatient, but I know that, you know, this is God’s plan and where I am, where he wants me to be in and I wonder for you is, you know, do you, what do you do in the pause of your life. I mean, do you wait patiently Are you sometimes frustrated and impatient like, like I can be. I think that I’m, I’m doing great now. I’m definitely in scripture and, and having hope in the Lord, but some days are hard, especially when there’s a lot of pain. Um, so for you, I mean, think about what you do in the pause of your life or in the waiting periods. Take some time this week to write out a few verses that can give you encouragement during this time of waiting. I know in January I made a lot of verses in preparation for my surgery and so I need to go through each of those verses often to remind myself and to encourage myself and so that I can have hope in the Lord.

If you don’t yet feel the hope of God in your life, if you don’t have any hope in your life for that matter, I encourage you to invite God in your life today. If you know God and you just have strayed a little bit and you feel that he won’t forgive you, don’t, don’t do that. He’ll forgive you. He loves you. Come back, you’re not promised tomorrow. Romans six, 23 says, the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus, our Lord. So turn to him, confess your sins and follow his will in your life and you will feel the love of God that surpasses all understanding. Waiting in the positive life is hard. It is so, so difficult, but as Romans 15, four reminds us, it is through endurance and through the encouragement of scriptures that we truly might have hope. Thank you so much for tuning in today and I’ll see you in the next episode of the promises of God. By now.

 Thanks for listening to the promises of God podcast. This podcast is sponsored by Bible Germany ministries where thousands of women grow in the word creatively. It’s your free 10-day course for other ministries and other episodes resources@thepromisesofGodpodcast.com.

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Bible Journaling to Find Hope

Need a little pick-me-up when it comes to your Bible journaling? Don’t give into your feelings of hopelessness! Romans 15:4 reads, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through patience and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope”. Our entire Faith Crew is here for you to give ideas, advice, and of course fellowship in the Word. If you have been waiting and looking for the right community to be a part to grow your faith, this is it. You can see what some of our members have created below using our monthly Momentum Kit.

Matthew 12:19-21

He will not strive, nor shout;
    neither will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
 He won’t break a bruised reed.
    He won’t quench a smoking flax,
until he leads justice to victory.
   In his name, the nations will hope. Thank you, Msedenika from the Creative Faith Crew for creating this bright and beautiful page. She used a Butterfly stencil, Distress oxide ink, alpha letters, and Momentum printables in her interleaved journaling Bible for this page.

Matthew 12:19-21

Psalms 117:1-2

Praise the Lord, all you nations!
Exalt Him, all you peoples!
For His merciful kindness is great toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord! Thank you, Amanda, from our Creative Faith Crew for creating this awesome page. She followed a Bible Journaling Ministries tutorial in Momentum to paint these flowers in her Reflections Holy Bible.

Psalms 117:1-2

Ecclesiastes 9:4

For to him who is joined with all the living, there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion. Msedenika created this amazing page using kuretake gansi tambi watercolors, Dayspring cards, and this months Bible journaling kit from Bible Journaling Ministries in her Illustrated Faith illustrating bible.

Ecclesiastes 9:4

Matthew 6:20-22

But keep things for yourself in heaven. Insects and rust will not spoil them there. People will not get in and steal them. The place where you keep things is where your heart will be also. The body gets its light through the eyes. If you have good eyes, all your body will have light… This Beautiful page was created by Nikki Bunch from our Creative Faith Crew using Distress Oxide Ink, and cutouts from our monthly Momentum Kit.

Matthew 6:20-22

Mark 1:12-13

Immediately the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness. He was there in the wilderness forty days tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels were serving him. This beautiful page was created by ‭‭Msedenika from the Creative Faith Crew using Scribble Sticks and Alpha Letters in her Illustrated Faith Bible, and cutouts from our monthly Momentum Kit.

Mark 1:12-13

Bible Journaling in Ecclesiastes

Taylor Myers, from our Creative Faith Crew, created this cute page!  She used cutouts from this month’s Momentum kit from Bible Journaling Ministries and acrylic paint in her Illustrating Bible to make this page.

Ecclesiastes 9:4

Isaiah 40:31

But They that wait will renew their strength.
    They will mount up with wings like eagles.
    They will run, and not be weary.
    They will walk, and not faint. Msendenika, from our Creative Faith Crew, created this beautiful page in her Faith Illustrated journaling Bible, using Versafine pigment ink, Acrylic stamps, teal gel pen  & printables from Bible Journaling Ministries.

Isaiah 40:31

Matthew 12:21

  In his name the nations will put their hope. Huge thanks to Amanda Hargrove, from our Creative Faith Crew for creating this awesome page. She used cutouts, brought to you by this month’s Momentum kit from Bible Journaling Ministries to create thi. We are loving what she did with this page!

Matthew 12:21

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Episode 014: Hope in God Leads to Endurance

 This is the promises of God podcast and I’m your host, Tracie Rollins. This podcast is about you, your ability to hear and believe and take action on God’s promises in your life because all of God’s promises are yes and amen. Resources mentioned in today’s episode can be found on promises that God podcast.com. Now, let’s get started.

Welcome back to the promises of God podcast, episode number 14. My name is Tracy rollins. Thank you so much for spending some time with me as we learn and take action on God’s promises in life. This month series is about choosing hope and both the good times and the bad, and we’re working out of the momentum devotional offered by Bible journaling ministries.com where you can learn more about Bible journaling, would their free 10 day Bible journaling course. Today we’re talking about the strength and endurance that hope in God brings our verse for today is Isaiah Forty, verse 31, which I will read from the world English Bible it reads, but those who wait for y’all way or hope in the Lord, if you’re reading the Niv version, will reveal, we will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not be weary.

They will walk and not faint. Have you ever tried to get more strength and endurance There are so many beverages and supplements that promise this. They. There’s carol cans of this and cans of that and the hell. All kinds of interesting chemicals that I can’t pronounce and I have a few relatives that love to drink those, those cans of whatever they are. There’s, they’re just these big cans and there’s a lot of caffeine in them, but over time those cans, they may work or those products they may work for, you know, an hour or two, but they don’t last. They don’t provide a lasting source of strength despite what the world says is the source of strength. The truths or the source of strength is spiritual. People always asked me, how do I do it all Honestly, I don’t know how I do it all. I can just point back to this verse, this verse of Isaiah.

I’ve honestly have experienced the power of God in my life. I’ve found that during the hardest times in my life, he has been the one to provide the strength and endurance so many times. Uh, there have been times where I’ve been in the hospital and, uh, almost literally dying, uh, with this thing that’s called Hellp Syndrome. It actually, a lot of people don’t have it, but basically, if you have it and the only cure for that particular syndrome is to deliver the baby that you have and that you’re carrying inside of you. And often cases very, very prematurely. So there were so many times in my, during that time where my body would give out. And, and that happened more than once in my other pregnancy with my oldest son. My Body also gave out. So as you can see, as much as I wanted multiple babies, I got two.

I’m very thankful for them. And uh, just wasn’t a good deliverer, let’s call it what it is. That’s the truth. But during both of those times and giving birth to my kids, uh, I, I was dying. I was dying, and God brought me here. He brought me back. He gave me the strength and the endurance to fight. I’ve also had multiple surgeries now, not the ugliest person in the world, but I have had enough surgeries in my life to, to say I’ve had too many probably. I think one is probably too many, but I have had multiple surgeries in my life, and it’s so hard when you’re finished with an operation like the one that I’m getting through now with my total knee replacement. It is a lot of work. It’s a lot of work, and it’s just sometimes I wonder, you know, am I going to be able to take enough steps today. Am I going to be able to climb the staircase today? Can I get through my physical therapy Appointments? Is just so much sometimes and I think that, um, I have to remind myself that God is here and he is going to give me the strength that I need to do the things that he’s asked me to do. And if that means that I get to run today, then I’m running. If that means that today, it’s just one small step or one rotation around the black, then that’s what it is. And I trust in him and believe that he is going to provide the strength and endurance I need exactly when I need it. Those who hope in the Lord will discover strength and endurance. That’s in the comprehensive role, especially to those who don’t know God. God will provide exactly what you need when you need it.

This week. Take some time to journal time in your life where God has provided unexpected strength and endurance. What were you doing and how do you know it was from God I know with me every day, it’s from God. How do I know Because I pray for it and when I pray for it, God answers it and sometimes it’s rest because God often times will provide me more than I need. He oftentimes, and that’s why people ask me, how do I get it all done Well, that is, that is truly the strength and endurance I get from the Lord. I mean, there are multiple recordings. The videos, there are multiple printables to put together. There are devotionals to put together and my business, there’s no marketing that has to be done. There are business operations, there’s answering emails and there’s definitely praying for people. We do that. There are facebook groups.

There are so many things that you know I have to do just in this business alone, let alone I’m a mother, I’m a wife. I’m a friend, I’m a sister, I’m all of these things, and God always provides the strength and endurance I need, and he still provides so much that often I have to remind myself to. Don’t forget to take a break and especially when he doesn’t provide the strength and endurance for whatever it is I think he needs. I mean I think he wants me to do. Sometimes he doesn’t provide it, and it is in those times that I say, okay, it’s time for me to rest because whatever I’m finding forward today is not necessarily what God wants me to be doing. So I’m going to take a break. I’m going to rest. I’m going to get back in the game in. I have found 100 percent of the time when I’m doing his will when I’m doing the things that he’s called me to do in my heart at the time that he wants me to do it. That strength and endurance come to the Prophet Isaiah. It encouraged the Israelites to put their hope in God, and he said he would deliver them. When they trust in him, God will deliver you to, and if you don’t have hope in your life, I encourage you to invite God into your life today and if you know the love of God, but you’ve strayed from the path a bit, come back. You’re not promised tomorrow. Don’t put this off. Romans 6:23 says, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus, our Lord. So turn to him, confess your sins and follow his will in your life and you will feel the love of Christ that surpasses all understanding. Thank you so much for tuning in today, and I’ll see you in the next episode of the promises of God.

 Thanks for listening to the promises of God podcast. This podcast is sponsored by Bible Germany ministries where thousands of women grow in the word creatively. It’s your free 10-day course for other ministries and other episodes resources@thepromisesofGodpodcast.com.

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Bible Journaling Bible Verses About Hope

Momentum is an affordable digital monthly Bible journaling kit subscription program designed to help you build momentum in your walk with God. We make Bible journaling easy so that you can spend time in the Word consistently, without much preparation and without needing long blocks of time. You can Bible journal and grow in your faith even if you only have five minutes! The next time you feel hopelessness strike, try writing out your favorite scriptures in a Bible journal. Then, pause and spend some time meditating on the scripture that led to the beauty you created on the page. You can see what some of our members have created below using our monthly Momentum Kit. If you have any thoughts or questions, please join our social community.

Mark 1:12-13

Immediately the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness.  He was there in the wilderness forty days tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels were serving him.” This beautiful page was created by ‭‭Msedenika from the Creative Faith Crew using Scribble Sticks and Alpha Letters in her Illustrated Faith Bible, and cutouts from our monthly Momentum Kit.

Mark 1:12-13
Mark 1:12-13

Psalm 119:74

Those who fear you will see me and be glad because I have put my hope in your word. This page was created by Missy from our Creative Faith Crew using watercolor, stamping with VersaFine ink, 0.65 Illustrated Faith pen, and finished with washi tape in her Inspire Bible. Super cute!

Psalm 119:74

Matthew 12:21

In his name, the nations will put their hope. I created this page using this months Momentum Kit’s printables and foil using the Heat Wave tool, in my NIV Journal the World Bible Journal. Super cute!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Watermarked2019-02-25-2204-768x1024.jpg

Matthew 6:20

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. Taylor created this page with printables from our latest Momentum Subscription, distressed inks, and washi tape in her Illustrated Faith Bible journaling Bible.

Matthew 6:20
Matthew 6:20

Bible Journaling in Mark

 Preparing for Lent is always something I look forward to- Lent begins on Ash Wednesday which is tomorrow and lasts approximately six weeks later, before Easter Sunday. Lent is the preparation of the believer for Easter through prayer, doing penance, repentance of sins almsgiving, and self-denial. I use this time of year to reflect and reevaluate what is most important in my life and use this time to change it.  Thank you, Mary, for this lovely page! She used cutouts from our monthly Momentum Kit  in her Illustrating Bible and we love it!

Bible Journaling in Mark
Bible Journaling in Mark

Isaiah 40:31

 But those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength.
    They will mount up with wings like eagles.
    They will run, and not be weary.
    They will walk, and not faint. Msendenika, from our Creative Faith Crew, created this beautiful page in her Faith Illustrated journaling Bible, using Versafine pigment ink, Acrylic stamps, teal gel pen  & printables from Bible Journaling Ministries.

Isaiah 40:31
Isaiah 40:31

Psalm 63:1-2

God, you are my God.
    I will earnestly seek you.
My soul thirsts for you.
    My flesh longs for you,
    in a dry and weary land, where there is no water.
 So I have seen you in the sanctuary,
    watching your power and your glory. A huge thanks to Mary who created this page using this month’s Momentum printables in her Illustrated Faith Bible journaling Bible. Super cute!

Psalm 63:1-2
Psalm 63:1-2

2 Corinthians 1:3

For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Missy went back to the basics while creating this page. She used This page is back to the basics. Just some gel pens, colored pencils, and some Bible Journaling Ministries printables. Cute and simple!

2 Corinthians 1:3
2 Corinthians 1:3

Bible Journaling in Matthew

Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Msendenika from the Creative Faith Crew creathed this awesome page using acrylics, BIble Journaling Ministries printables, in her CSB notetaking Bible.

Bible Journaling in Matthew
Bible Journaling in Matthew

Job 11:18

“ Having hope will give you courage.
    You will be protected and will rest in safety.”
So much to learn from the book of Job. About strength, courage, defeat, perseverance….all in the name of the Lord. Where does your strength come from???? Special thank you to Amanda from our Creative Faith Crew for making this page! She used gelatos and this month’s cut-outs from our monthly momentum subscription. And we are loving it!!

Job 11:18

Bible Journaling in Isaiah

As a follower of Jesus, confidence goes beyond self-assurance. It’s rooted in what God has done for you, rather than what you have achieved. You don’t need to progress to the highest ranks in your career or have thousands of wins in your corner to win have confidence. Confidence can be achieved by knowing what God has done for you, and focusing your efforts on the things that bring Him glory. Huge thank you to Nikki Bunch from our Creative Faith Crew for creating this page. She used distressed inks with a stencil for the beautiful background and this month’s devotional printables!

Bible Journaling in Isaiah

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Episode 013: Hope in God Brings Security and Confidence

 This is the promises of God podcast and I’m your host, Tracie Rollins. This podcast is about you, your ability to hear and believe and take action on God’s promises in your life because all of God’s promises are yes and amen. Resources mentioned in today’s episode can be found on promises that God podcast.com. Now, let’s get started.

Welcome back to the promises of God podcast, episode number 13. My name is TraciRollinsns. Thank you so much for spending some time with me as we learn and take action on God’s promises in life. This month series is about choosing hope in both the good and the bad times and we’re working out of the momentum devotional offered by BibleJournalingMinistries.com, where you can learn more about Bible journaling with their free 10 day Bible journaling course. Today we’re talking about security and confidence that hope in God brings our verse for today is job chapter 11, verse 18, which I will read out of the Niv version. It reads, you will be secure because there is hope. You will look around you and take your rest in safety even though so far who was speaking to Joe, but this time is known for being one of the most uncompassionate men in the Bible.

He literally called job stupid and basically says, job is getting what he deserves. We can still see in this first some encouragement to job. It’s so funny how some people in our lives mean well, but the delivery just isn’t there. Do you have people in your life like that because I surely do. Regardless of what the delivery is, it is so important to have hope in God and to have that security and confidence that hope and God brings. When I was a child, I’d climb up on the couch and I would look outside the window with this expectant hope, just watching cars pull up and dad’s getting out. They’d all had inside for dinner and then later they would come out and play tag or watched the kids ride their bikes or throw a football with them and I would always wonder if today was the day that my dad would read return from. You know, he was in the military and so we often had overseas assignments and that day I probably didn’t think he would return, but I still hope that he would and days with eventually turn into months and months into years and eventually my hope faded and then one day he’d arrived home in his uniform and I’d run into his arms with joy. Seeing my dad after months or years apart brought me peace home, seemed a lot safer with him around and I slept much better over the years. I got used to saying goodbye after all, when you’re in the military and the military called the soldier must do what A soldier Stu. I stopped wishing for deployment notices to disappear and I stopped wishing for him to come home before his tour was over and I replaced those wishes with confidence that he would return. That didn’t mean that I wanted him to leave, just means that I knew that I would see him again one day.

My hope wasn’t just a desire to have him home, but instead a confident expectation that he would come home. When scripture says to hope in God, it doesn’t mean wish. It means to expect and have confidence that God will deliver. You can be secure and confident in him. This week, write down some of the promises that you’re hoping for. Are you confident that he will deliver them I sure hope that you are. If you don’t yet have hope in your life, I encourage you to invite God into your life today. If you know the love of God, but maybe have strayed from the path, come back. You’re not promised tomorrow. Don’t put this off. There’s not enough time. Romans six, 23 says, the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus, our Lord. So turn to him, confess your sins and follow his will in your life and you will feel the love of Christ that surpasses all understanding. Thank you so much for tuning in today and I’ll see you in the next episode of the promises God podcast. Goodbye.

 Thanks for listening to the promises of God podcast. This podcast is sponsored by Bible Germany ministries where thousands of women grow in the word creatively. It’s your free 10-day course for other ministries and other episodes resources@thepromisesofGodpodcast.com.

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14 Ways to Find Hope in God

14 Ways to Find Hope in God



14 Ways to Find Hope in GoThere is no charge for joining the Choose Hope Bible Journaling Devotional. Simply use this article, grab the free calendar and mini-kit provided upon sign up at the bottom of this article, and get started! To join our Bible journaling family and share your thoughts and layouts head over to  https://www.facebook.com/groups/BibleJournalingforBeginners.

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Choose Hope – 14 Ways to Find Hope in God

Hope is an interesting action. I spend a lot of time hoping. I hoped my son would live when he was born, I hoped my surgery would go well and that I could walk normal again, I hoped I would get a job so we could keep our house, and I hoped that broken hearts would be mended.  Today, I’m hoping to get the kids through high school, hoping someone will read these words and know the love of God, hoping the choices I make are the right ones, and hoping I don’t mess it all up.

My husband, like many federal employees, received their furlough notice as the government shutdown in late 2018. Unfortunately, that meant that his paycheck stopped coming in for some time. He hoped that the government shutdown wouldn’t last, that we had enough in our emergency savings to cover the shortfall, and that he could go back to work. He hopes a lot too.

Most of us experience moments of disarray in our lives. Sometimes we lose hope that things will ever change. Sure, when life is going smoothly, it’s easy to feel hopeful. But, what do you do when trouble enters your life, and you feel like God isn’t hearing your prayers? Here are 14 ways I’ve used in my life to find hope in God in any situation.



1.    Pray for Hope

Life is full of hardships, but that doesn’t mean you should give into the fear. Find hope in God through prayer. Philippians 4:6-7 – 6 says, “In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus”.

2.    Read the Bible

Everything you need is in the Bible. Read the Bible daily, but especially when you feel yourself giving in to feelings of hopelessness. Romans 15:4 reads, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through patience and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope”. Reading the Bible will help you thrive and it is the perfect book to turn during times of need.

3.    Listen and Sing Worship Songs

Listen attentively to worship songs and let sad feelings melt away, replaced by heartfelt praise and gratitude for God. Singing along with the music creates a closer connection to the Lord as well, and creates a profound sense of wellbeing.

4.    Bible Journal Scripture

The next time you feel hopelessness strike, try writing out your favorite scriptures in a Bible journal. Instead of drowning in your feelings, turn your focus to God’s Word. Then, pause and spend some time meditating on the scripture that led to the beauty you created on the page.

5.    Join a Bible Study

What do you do when life’s challenges make you feel isolated and alone? Join a Bible study group. Members are often encouraging, supportive and loving, along with offering advice should you seek it. The right Bible study group will have a positive impact on you that can be life-changing.

6.    Record Your Requests and When He Answers Them

Keeping track of the times you’ve turned to the Lord for help, and noting when he answers your requests, will be a reminder that – yes – He has always come through for you. Looking back on your list when you’ve lost confidence in his ability to keep his promises will quickly change your attitude – a great indication of His unconditional love for you.

7.    Read Encouraging Stories (And Turn the News Off!)

A great way to get out of a slump and find hope in God is to read about or watch happy, encouraging stories and random acts of kindness. Cultivating a sense of wonder and positivity can’t help but help build a positive outlook. Also, wherever you go, look around for small wonders, whether it’s a child’s smile, a colorful butterfly, a happy smile, etc. In other words, turn the news off, look for the good things, and you can’t help but have a happier outlook.

8.    Minister to Someone in Need

If you have lost hope in God, ministering to others in their time of need will not only leave a lasting impression – it will lift your spirits. Whether it’s volunteering at your local women’s shelter, or small random acts of kindness like buying a cup of coffee for the person behind you in line at your local cafe, or holding the door open for someone, your actions can help you find hope in God. After all, Jesus healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, comforted the mourning, and even brought the dead to life.

9.    Read a Devotional

One of the easiest ways to find hope in God is to read a devotional. Daily devotional reading is essential to our development as Christians.

10.    Talk to Someone You Love

When you are worried, feeling down, or lost, it can help to talk to someone you trust and love about what you’re going through. Opening up to someone about what’s on your mind can make a world of difference. Talking with someone, whether it’s family, a trusted friend or your pastor, will help you see things in a different perspective and you may even discover a solution to the problems you’re dealing with.

11.    Get Involved at Your Church or Your Local Community

Getting involved at church or with the community are actions that have been linked to better physical and mental health. Inspirational talks, social bonding, and worshipping will leave you with a sense of belonging and meaning. These states can’t help but foster hope in God.

12.    Consider All of the Good Things in Your Life

It’s so important to be thankful for all the good things in your life. If you focus on the bad, you’ll end up seeing more and more of it. The practice of focusing on the good things in your life and being grateful for them will improve your outlook on life.

13.    Spend Some Time with God’s Creations in Nature

Nature quietly reveals God’s glory, beauty, power, wisdom, presence, and, most important of all, His love for us. This is one of the reasons many people love to spend time in nature, surrounded by His creations and loving presence. So, when you are trying to find hope in God, go out, take a walk in nature, and reconnect with Him.

14.    Be Patient

Some days it can be extremely hard to be patient, leaving us feeling like God has forsaken us. You know, those days when you bring your feelings of quiet desperation to the Lord, then grow tired of waiting for him to respond. It soon starts to feel like your prayers are falling on deaf ears. Sound familiar? The truth is, He is going to respond because he loves you completely. Remember his timing isn’t yours, but when he does respond it will be worth the wait.

Thankfully, finding hope in God isn’t difficult if you open yourself up to His love. The hope that He offers is far more than a feeling – it’s the certainty of His presence within you. Using the 14 ways to find God listed here will help you experience hope in God in any situation, no matter what tragedy hits you.

Matthew 12:21

In his name the nations will put their hope.”

Job 11:18

And you will feel secure, because there is hope;
you will look around and take your rest in security.

Romans 15:4

 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Isaiah 40:31

but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

Hebrews 10:23

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

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Episode 012: What is the Hope of Believers

 This is the promises of God podcast and I’m your host, Tracie Rollins. This podcast is about you, your ability to hear and believe and take action on God’s promises in your life because all of God’s promises are yes and amen. Resources mentioned in today’s episode can be found on promises that God podcast.com. Now, let’s get started.

Welcome back to the promises of God podcast, episode number 12. My name is Tracie Rollins. Thank you so much for spending some time with me as we learn and take action on God’s promises in life. This month series is about choosing hope in both the good times and the bad, and we’re working out of the momentum devotional offered by BibleJournalingMinistries.com. You can learn more about Bible journaling and take the free 10 day Bible journaling course there. Today, we’re focused on securing hope every single day, and our verse is Matthew Chapter Twelve, verse 21. It reads, “In his name, the nations will put their hope.” Matthew is sharing a fulfillment of prophecy from Isaiah chapter 42, that Jesus is the chosen one who will proclaim justice not just to the Israelites, but to all the nations. It is in him that we have hope. What does it mean to have hope Hope is an expectation or desire for some event or thing to happen. It’s not a wish. It’s not wondering as it relates to God. It’s an expectation that God will deliver on his promises which extend beyond death into eternal life in the presence of our Lord.

Most of us experienced moments of disarray in our lives. Sometimes we lose hope that things will ever change. Sure. When life is going smoothly, it’s easy to feel hopeful, but what do you do when trouble enters your life and you feel like God isn’t hearing your prayers Here are 14 different ways that I’ve used in my life to find hope in God in any situation. The first one is to pray for hope. Life is so full of hardships, but that doesn’t mean you should give in to fear. Find Hope in God through prayer. Philippians chapter four verses six through seven say, and nothing, be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. The second thing I do is I read the Bible.

Everything you need is in the Bible. Read the Bible daily. I do. It’s the first thing I do when I wake up in the morning before I even jump out of bed, I grabbed my phone. I get open the you version, okay, Bible APP, which is the one I use almost every day, and I read the Bible there, read the Bible daily, especially when you feel like you’re giving into feelings of hopelessness. Romans 15 chapter, Romans Chapter 15, verse four reads, for whatever things were written before were written for our learning that through patience and through encouragement of scriptures, we might have hope. Reading the Bible will help you thrive and it’s the perfect, but to read in times of need.

The third thing I do is listen and sing. Worship songs listened attentively to work at worship songs and let the sad feelings melt away. They will be replaced by heartfelt praise and gratitude for God. Singing along with music creates a closer connection to the Lord as well. It creates a profound sense of wellbeing. I love to listen to the worship songs. It literally this one. Number three really is what got me through all of the weeks that my son was in the neonatal intensive care unit at the hospital. It was literally the. One of the only things that really just helped me through that time was I would get in the car or turn on, I think it was Kayla is the one I was listening to and I would just listen to that on the way to the hospital. A lot of times I’d be crying.

Then on the way home, it would lift myself spirits as well, so I just encourage you to do that, especially when you’re feeling hopeless. Nis, as I did during that very dark season in my life, and that’s for a whole nother podcast episode. The fourth thing that I turned to his Bible journaling. I’m just grab your Bible and read a verse and doodle about that verse in Your Bible. You will be amazed at how much it. It just helps you understand the word and really as you pause and reflect on scripture, how much it helps you to feel the love of God that has that. The love of God that he has for you and how encouraged you’ll be. Most people that I talked to that Bible Journal find just joy and peace in it. That is like the biggest thing that they say whenever their Bible journaling.

They just have this sense of peace and I think that if you’ve ever have you ever get a chance to watch one of my videos were on Bible journaling with, with, with you. Basically him. You’ll notice that I start off the videos, very excited, but by the time we get to the end of the videos, I’m pretty mellow and that’s just what it does. Bible journaling just helps me find peace and relax for the wonderful way to grow in the word creatively. And the fifth thing that you can consider doing is joining a Bible study and I think by joining a Bible study often times, not only do you get the growth in the word, but you are usually surrounded by very beautiful people that really care you and your growth, so in your life. Absolutely. A lot of when I was in Bible studies as a young mother, I know that my mom’s group would always make sure that if, if one of us, one of us moms was going to have surgery or having a difficult time or there was something going on in our lives, we would be praying for them, we’d be bringing them meals.

We just rallied around each other. And so finding that kind of support is amazing. Another thing you can do, and this is number six, is to journal your requests. So journal The Times when you’ve turned to the Lord for help in the note when he answers your request, actually write down your requests, um, as they relate to things that he’s promised and then go back later when he’s answered them and some things will be answered right away and some things will be, you know, years and years in the making and then you just come back and re-write that down when it’s, when it’s been answered. I think that when you look back on your list, when you, especially when you lost confidence that he will come through on his promises. I think it will quickly change your attitude. It’s a great indication of his love for you and that you can see in your life where things, maybe you’ve been struggling, or they were difficult times in your life or even the great times in your life to review those as well.

All of that. Taking the time to just see the requests, see the prayer, see the promise that you’re waiting on being fulfilled, and then it actually being fulfilled. I think if you look back in your life, especially if you have this done or if you haven’t done this and you might even just create a list right now of all the times that he has been there for you and has provided for you. The second thing is to read encouraging stories and turn the news off. I think sometimes the news can really damper are our hope. I think that sometimes it can be extremely negative. I had a friend who was really spiraling into negativity because she was just surrounding herself all the time with news and, um, I just kind of sent her a message and was like, Hey, you know, I haven’t seen you do much of your art lately, would you, you know, here’s something that I found that might be interesting to you.

And she text me back not only 10 minutes after I sent that message, that what a great idea to get away from the news and to be in her art, praising God for the wonderful skill that he gave her. And she snapped out of it pretty quickly, but she had been depressed and in a state of hopelessness for a few weeks. By that time I had a Holy Spirit call upon my heart to reach out to her. So definitely, um, uh, turn the news off, read encouraging stories. I think that you know, if you can grab a book of devotionals or even a Bible that has devotionals in it, I’m even encouraging stories in the Bible are amazing to read. Those things will help you have hope. The eighth one is to minister to someone in need. If you’ve lost hope ministering to others in their time of need doesn’t only help them, a lot of times you’ll find it helps you.

You can volunteer at your woman’s shelter. Uh, you can provide random active acts of kindness, like maybe you buy the cup of coffee for the person behind you. And I even heard of this thing the other day that someone did where they, um, bought a gift card for their birthday, scanned it on their phone, and then posted it on social media so that people could get a coffee at Starbucks and tool. I think it was $50 and then it was gone. But what an amazing thing to do for peoples to give them something, you know, minister to them in their needs. And yeah, I mean, something like the Starbucks thing. Maybe you don’t think that that is ministering to anyone in their need. But she said when she posted, that she received a note from a woman, who actually had just the worst day and had absolutely no money and pray to God that she could just, you know, if it would just be nice, just if she could just have a cup of coffee, is what she prayed for and literally got delivered it to her.

It was just amazing. I love these kinds of stories. I get a gig out of him. So minister knew someone in need doesn’t necessarily mean you know who you’re ministering to. The person behind you in the drive through that you bought their meal. It could be that they’re down on their luck too. It could be, or it’s a friend that’s going through cancer that you stopped by to say hi because you miss her, any lover and she just. You tell her how much you care about her. You don’t even have to bring her a meal although I would highly recommend it, because she probably is exhausted from the treatments numbered nine. Read a devotional. I think I’m one of the easiest ways to find hope and God is to read a devotional. I mentioned that earlier, so I’ll keep going.

Number 10, talk to someone you love. I think when you’re feeling down or lost or hopeless, it’s always good to reach out to those that you love and that surrounds you and your community. It can be a friend, a family member, your pastor, just talking to people sometimes helps you see things from a different perspective. Don’t just call someone to vent on them and not be willing to listen to their counsel. Sometimes it’s easy for us to pick up the phone and you know, dump all of our worries onto somebody and all of our hopelessness onto somebody and then when they try to help us, we give them but this and nope, we can’t do that, or it’s not going to work. All the negative things that they’re just trying to help you and give us, you know, give a little encouragement, a little advice.

So stop and listen to it and consider it at a minimum. Just listen and consider it. And I’m the 11th one is to get involved in your church or your local community. I think getting involved in your church is so important and, um, they really hope you have a sense of belonging to your community. Number 12, consider all of the good things in your life. Take a minute to write on, in your gratitude journal. Go Get your gratitude journal out right now. Press pause on this and just start writing all the great things in your life because now you’ll have a, a second, um, anytime that you think that your life is not that awesome, you’ll be able to look back and see all the things that you truly have that are amazing. Number 13, spend some time in God’s creation. I’m in nature specifically. Go outside and lock. That’s one thing that I love to do. Every morning. I get the dogs out, I’m hobble around with them and uh, try to get them moving in. Breathe the fresh air. I love to do it in the morning because the grant is still kind of dewy and I, it just smells differently. It smells new. I don’t know if that’s right, but that’s the right way to say it, but to me it smells like a new day and if you know what I’m talking about when you wake up in the morning and it smelled like a new day, I would love for you to shoot me a little message on a. even if you go to the promises of God podcast.com, like, shoot me a comment there. I would love to know if I’m not the only one that feels like when you wake up in the morning, it smells like a new day.

It really does. So yeah. Spend some time in God’s creations. You’ll notice things differently. You’ll see things that you didn’t see before and you’ll be pretty thankful. I think by the time you get back, you’ll definitely feel a little less hopeless in a lot more hopeful, and the last one is to be patient. God knows what you need and sometimes the things that you believe he supposed to give you, either he’s not going to give you because it wouldn’t be good for you or for other reasons. It wouldn’t be good for maybe someone else or he’s going to give them to you, but just not today, so be patient and wait on him and his history shows that he always feels as fulfills his promises so you can be confident that he will fulfill his promises to you. This week. Pick one or two of these 14 ways to find hope in God and apply them when you’re searching for hope.

If you have more to share, head over to the promises of God podcast.com and let others know in the comments. It’s in times like these that hope is so important and if you don’t yet have hope in your life, I encourage you to invite God into your life today. If you know the love of God in your life, but you’ve strayed from the path, come back, you know he will accept you with open, loving arms. You just have to come back. You’re not promised tomorrow. Time is short. Don’t put it off. Romans six, 23 says, the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus, our Lord. So turn to him, confess your sins and follow his will in your life and you will feel the love of Christ that surpasses all understanding. Thank you so much for tuning in today and I’ll see you in the next episode of the promises of God podcast. Goodbye.

 Thanks for listening to the promises of God podcast. This podcast is sponsored by Bible Germany ministries where thousands of women grow in the word creatively. It’s your free 10-day course for other ministries and other episodes resources@thepromisesofGodpodcast.com.

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Episode 011: How to Receive God’s Love

 This is the promises of God podcast and I’m your host, Tracie Rollins. This podcast is about you, your ability to hear and believe and take action on God’s promises in your life because all of God’s promises are yes and amen. Resources mentioned in today’s episode can be found on promises that God podcast.com. Now, let’s get started.

Welcome back to the promises of God podcast. My name is Tracie Rollins and I’m so thrilled that you’re here with me today as we learn and take action on God’s promises in our lives. This month series is about understanding and feeling the love that God has for you, his child, and we’re working out of the momentum devotional offered by BibleJournalingMinistries.com, and I will link that in the show notes today. We are talking about receiving his love. Our verse is going to be Ephesians chapter three, verse 19, but I’m going to read Ephesians three, chapter three, verse 13 through 19, out of the message today, and it reads, all this is proceeding along the lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus. When we trust in him, we’re free to say whatever needs to be said bold to go wherever we need to go, so don’t let my present trouble on your behalf. Get you down. Be Proud. My response is to get down on my knees before the father, this magnificent father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I asked him to strengthen you by his spirit. Not a brute strength, but a glorious inner strength that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in, and I asked him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all the followers of Jesus, the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breath. Test it’s length, plumbed the depths. Rise to the heights. Live full lives full in the fullness of God.

When I think about God’s love for humanity, I’m grateful and joyful. Don’t get me wrong, I still cry when I see what Jesus went through, played out in the movies or described in the Bible, but at the same time, I have the deepest admiration for God’s Justice and righteousness. I no longer question why Jesus had to die. Instead, I hold my head high and I’m thankful for the opportunity to live each day as his child. In ephesians chapter three, verse 14 through 21, Paul prays for the Ephesians. He prays for strength to grasp Christ’s love and be filled to the fullness of God, being full as the opposite of being empty. When you the fullness of God, your full, complete and not longing for more fullness comes when you truly know Christ love. So many people don’t accept God’s love because they feel they haven’t earned it and they don’t deserve it, and let me tell you, that’s the point. You can’t earn your way to heaven. You can’t earn God’s love. All you need to do is accepted. Some of the things I think are important to do as we close up this month, a month full of love, full of God’s love, for sure. Sometimes we feel like we’re not loved. Sometimes we just want to be left alone. Sometimes we get a little depressed or sometimes it’s even worse than that.

If you feel a little down during this month, here are a few things that you might consider doing. I know that I have implemented at least one or more of these probably last month, maybe today, who knows, but these are the things that I look to and do whenever I start to feel a little unloved or I started not to like myself, so one of the first things I do is i Bible Journal, God’s desire for me and I hope that you will consider Bible journaling God’s desire for you. It really helps to remind me and it always gives me peace and calm whenever I’m Bible journaling. It helps to settle me. The second thing is to listen to verses about God’s love for you so you can listen to that on an app like the Youtube you Bible App or you version Bible App is a great one to listen to.

Podcasts are great to listen to you, of course, and I’m beautiful music on your favorite stations. Worship music is also a wonderful thing to help lift your spirits. Focus on some worship songs. Turn on the radio, listen to the wonderful words that come from people’s beautiful mouths and the beautiful songs that they sing, another idea to write in a gratitude journal. I think about all of the things that you have in your life. Just list them things you’re thankful for. Think after you do that, you will feel the love that God has for you and you’ll feel very blessed at what you have. Prayer and meditation is always good. If you can be in prayer. I’m, I’m in prayer constantly. In fact, so many of these things that I’ve already talked about, I know I’ve done just in the last week, just part of my daily practice.

People ask me why I am so joyful and so in love with God and that is because I do these things quite often and that’s why I’m sharing them with you. Another idea is to head doors. I’d take a walk every morning as much as much as I can and I guess I can’t really say every morning because I missed it today. I was really interested in getting this podcast recorded so I skipped it, but I’m hoping to go later tonight and I’d love to go in the morning because everything seemed so new and fresh and I just. It makes me smile. Another option is to consider your food if you’re not feeling very loved and a little bit depressed, what kind of food are you fueling your body with Is that high in sugar There’s studies that show that sugar does lead to some depression, so that might be something to consider if you’re not fueling your body with healthy, healthy foods, unplugging from social media or the news, the news can be very, very tragic and to have that always in playing in the background and to always feel that that could lead to some sadness as well. And don’t unplug from social media. If you have a group that’s encouraging you, uh, go into the group, especially if you have a group that prayer prays for you. I know the Bible journaling for beginners community on facebook does a prayer threat every week and as much as I can, I pray over that prayer thread and a maybe that would be something that you might want to be interested, might interest you, but if and nonetheless, if you can find a community that lifts your spirits, that is a healthy community, join it, get creative with some close friends. Why don’t you text her girlfriends and have a girl’s night out If you can maybe find a sitter for the kids if you have the kids and just text her girlfriends and go to the movies or go to chick filet and have some chicken. I don’t know. Have Fun.

ever experienced in your life I do, and I know that he does, but if you don’t feel the love of Christ in your life, I definitely encourage you to invite Christ into your life today.

I know I say that in just, but in my life that’s where my girlfriends and I meet. We actually do go to the CIC fully and we eat chicken and we just talk for hours. I think they usually have to kick us out. Sorry, chick fillet employees. Just remind us. It’s time to go. We just get a little bit busy and then we meet with each other probably at least twice a year. It used to be monthly and then time just fly by and so if, if I’m one of us doesn’t text the group, we forget, but yeah, especially if you’re not feeling joyful or happy or you feel like you might be spiraling into some kind of depression, go meet some friends. Lastly, another idea would be to create some kind of, I call it a feel-good basket. Add some things that you like in there, maybe some of your favorite pictures, maybe some really cute pens or pencils, or it may be some bath salts or something that makes you smile, maybe a flower or maybe your slippers and pull that basket out anytime you’re a little bit unloved so that you can remind yourself how much you are loved.

It’s so important to take care of yourself, to take care of the body that God gave you. It will help you on your journey as you continue through this life following his will and I’m executing on the things that he puts in front of you. God wants to give you everything. He wants to give you all of it, and he loves you so much. I hope that this encourages you to think about your life, to think about the love that he has for you that is unmatched and unlike anything else, and if you don’t quite feel the love of Christ in your life, I encourage you to don’t waste a single moment. I encourage you to invite God into your life. Today. Romans six, 23 says, the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus. Our Lord turned to him. Confess your sins and follow his will in your life and you will feel the love of Christ that surpasses all understanding. I wanted to thank you so much for joining me in our series. I hope that it encouraged you and that you truly feel the love of Christ in your life. If this podcast is encouraging to you, please, please, please subscribe and leave us a review on itunes. It really does help spread the word and I am excited about our next topic for next month. I think that you’re going to really enjoy it and so I can’t wait to talk to you next week. I hope you have a wonderful week and know that you are truly loved. Goodbye.

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