Welcome back to the Promises of God Podcast, episode number 34 my name is Tracie Rollins, and I want to thank you so much for spending some time with me as we learn and take action on God’s promises in life. Before we get started, I wanted to ask you a favor. If you haven’t left a review of this podcast on whichever app you are listening to, please do that. If you can today, I would really appreciate it. It does help this podcast get discovered, and I want to thank you in advance. This months series is about Freedom in Christ, and we’re working out of the Momentum devotional offered by Bible Journaling Ministries titled Freedom. You can learn more about Bible journaling with our free 10-day course at BibleJournalingMiinistries.com. Today, we’re talking about the Freedom from the penalty of sin, and our verse is Romans 8:1-2 and I will read that out of the world, English Bible, it reads, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus who don’t walk according to the flesh. But according to the spirit for the law of the spirit of life in Christ, Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. My kids ask a lot of questions about the Bible. Sometimes I can answer them with confidence. Other times we have to look up the answers together, and sometimes I don’t know, and I have to seek others to help lead me to the right scripture. The hard questions come when a friend when they lose a friend or a parent of one of their friends first when they have when we start this discussion, we talk about sin. We talk about the penalty of sin. They asked me, why can a murderer be saved but a mommy not be? Then we talk about Jesus as the lamb who fulfills the law and who covers our sins. We discussed Romans 6:22-23, and I’ll read that out of the world English Bible. It says, but now being made free from sin and having become servants of God, you have your fruit of sanctification, and the result of eternal life for the wages of sin is death, but the free-gift of God is eternal life in Jesus our Lord.
I asked them to tell me what they think about it. The answer is so easy for the ones who departed that we know we’re believers. We say for sure they are in heaven and rejoicing. They are glorified and pure and free from sin, but for those who are unsure if we hope and we pray that they found Jesus before their last breath, we will never know what happened during their last breath. I’m confident that when I die, I will see my maker. My kids don’t like it when I talk about death, but it’s important. I don’t plan on leaving any time soon, but I do want them to know how confident I am that when I die, I will truly see my maker knowing that Jesus paid the price for my sins is my confidence. I was justified before God. The second I put my faith in Jesus because the penalty of my sin was paid, I can’t be unjustified.
It’s done. I am free from the penalty of sin. Are you This week Take some time to write or journal about what justification means to you. Why is it important to have faith in Jesus, and do you believe you’re free from the penalty of sin? Why or why not? And if you’re here today and you feel like you’re not free from the penalty of sin, turn to God and ask him to come and share life except Jesus as your Lord and Savior and received the Holy Spirit. If you have experienced Freedom and craft that you feel like your sins continue to hold you back, call him the Holy Spirit to help you fight this battle you’re not promised tomorrow, and I wouldn’t put this off from. And Romans 6:23 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 excited to continue this conversation on Freedom and the next episode of the promises of God. Goodbye.
Thanks for listening to the Promises of God Podcast. This podcast is sponsored by Bible Journaling Ministries, where thousands of women Grow in the word creatively. Get your free 10-day course from Bible Journaling Ministries and other episode resources at the PromisesofGodPodcast.com.
Episode 033: Freedom from Fear
Welcome back to the promises of God podcast, episode number 33 my name is Tracie Rollins, and I want to thank you so much for spending some time with me as we learn and take action on God’s promises in life. This months series is about Freedom in Christ, and we’re working into the momentum devotional offered by Bible journaling ministries titled Freedom. You can learn more about Bible journaling with our free 10-day course at BibleJournalingMinistries.com today we’re talking about Freedom from fear, and our verse is 2 Timothy 1:7 and I’ll read that out of the world English Bible, it says “for God didn’t give us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and self-control”. I mean a lot of people at conferences and events naturally being the curious type conversations often lead to hopes and dreams for the future. Most of the women I meet share the most amazing ideas for their businesses and ministries that one day, they hope to start.
What’s odd is that our conversations quickly go to the word, but it’s, I hear things like, but I don’t have the money, but I don’t have the resources, but I don’t have the time, but I don’t have the knowledge, but I’m not good enough. Behind each of these buds is a fear. For example, if we take them one by one when someone says, but I don’t have the money. There’s a financial fear behind that word, but if they say, I don’t have the resources, there could be a financial fear there, but it’s also maybe a fear of failure there. They may say, but I don’t have the time, and that could be a fear of overwhelm or a fear of committing and then not following up on those commitments. When they say, I don’t have the knowledge, but I don’t have the knowledge. Maybe they fear what others will think of their efforts in the same thing for, but I’m not good enough. Right Maybe they fear what others might think about what they’re trying to do. There’s also the fear of success in what that means going forward. So sometimes we might not start something, or we’ll use a, but because we fear we actually might be successful. And I know that sounds really weird, but there is a fear of success for many, many people. My fear, I’ve got quite a few fears that I worked through, but one of my fears is the fear of rejection. So what that means is that I in, it’s so odd to have this fear. It’s not odd, but it, it sounds odd. So, um, people who are entrepreneurial, all, I mean, many of them have very similar fears. Like I have a, so when you have a fear of rejection, you tend to isolate yourself. You tend to do less collaboration.
You tend to be very, very independent. You work very, very hard to achieve. You know, whatever it is you’re trying to do, oftentimes you’ll work, you know, very, very hard. So sometimes that, at least for me, I know that sometimes I’ll work late at night, sometimes I’ll work too many hours and then like the rest of your life starts to be impacted by that because of the lack of asking for help or the last lack of asking for support. I mean if, if you’re a type of person like I am, that is, I’m scared of rejection. You often don’t go out and ask for people’s help when you know you need it. And then because you don’t ask, you end up doing all the work yourself and or you might not ask for help because you don’t trust them, that the person’s going to deliver on time or would the quality that you want it to be.
So when you have that type of fear of rejection like I have, um, you have to work through that fear. It’s one of the biggest things truly. It’s one of my biggest things that I’m working on this year. I’m working on quite a few things, but one of the biggest things that I’m working on is my fear of rejection. So what does that mean That means that you know, I put myself in a mastermind group where I’m, I have a, a Christian business coach, a leader who helps me overcome my fear of rejection and who coaches me to help me, like to collaborate with other people. So you’ll see me start to work, you know, collaborations with people. You’ll see me start to maybe teach some classes with people and collaboration. You’ll see me start to not just, it won’t just be Tracie all the time.
Of course, in the podcast, it’s still me. But if you follow me at all or follow the ministry at all, you’ll start to see us collaborate more with people. And I think, and you’ll also see me start to give more work to some of the people that helped me. So I have some freelance writers, some freelance graphic designers, and illustrators that help me create the things that we do in Bible Journaling Ministries. But I also have an assistant who does a lot of the podcasts production, editing and a lot of the video editing. She comes alongside and does a lot of those things. So you’ll see things that go out. That might not be exactly how Tracie used to do them because I’m other people, and I’m learning to collaborate more, and I’m learning to work through a fear of rejection that I have. And so that’s just some of the things that, I think it’s important to share because, you know, it’s just, it’s just a girl behind this microphone talking to you right now. It’s a girl that has just as many issues as many people have in this world. And I work so hard to overcome them. And I hope that by being truthful and honest with you, that you can take a look at your life and see what areas are in your life that you might be holding yourself back because you have this fear. And I promise you that when you start to break through these fears because I’ve had multiple fears of my past that I’ve worked through, I’ve multiple sins. On my past that I’ve worked through and I still have sins that I’m doing now and sends in the future, and all these things and I’m just working through. I hope that by seeing me go through some of these things, or hearing me through podcasts or videos and all that, that you can be encouraged to heed the Holy Spirit’s call on your life, to ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate areas that might be holding you back so that you can live the life that you truly deserve to live.
Fear is not from God. Fear is what Satan uses, um, to stop progress before it even starts. It’s often the way, the easiest way out. I mean, certainly, it’s a lot easier for me not to collaborate. It’s a lot easier for me to isolate myself and, and not worry about being rejected because I don’t allow myself to get rejected. Right The majority of this world experience, fear, especially when they’re stepping out into the unknown, they let Satan hold him back from serving God and living a purposeful filled life. So what’s holding you back? You can ignore fear and keep yourself occupied. But if you truly want to be free, you’re going to need to face your fear. God didn’t give you the spirit of fear. That’s exactly our verse for today. He gave you the spirit that’s characterized as power, that works, love that cares and self-discipline that controls use what he gave you and punch fear in the face when God calls you to action.
Don’t stand in fear. Instead, seek wisdom and discernment and then take action. I promise he will be with you every step of the way this week. Take some time to write or journal about what you’re afraid of and how your life would be different if you face that fear. And if you’re here today and you’ve experienced fear in your life, and you’re looking to break free of that fear, I encourage you to start a conversation with God. Ask him to remove that fear in your life and then listen as the Holy Spirit speaks to you, call on God except Jesus Christ, and become a child of God. If you’ve experienced Freedom in Christ, but that fear continues to hold you back. So you know you’re a follower of Jesus, but you have fear in your life, and it continues to hold you back from living the life that you deserve to live.
Call on the Holy Spirit to help you fight this battle. God gave you the spirit that is characterized by power, love that cares, and self-discipline, that control. So you have what you need to overcome. This fear and the Holy Spirit will help you fight this battle because you’re not promised tomorrow. Romans 6:23 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. I’m so excited to talk to you more about Freedom this month in our next episode of the Promises of God Podcast. Goodbye.
Thanks for listening to the promises of God podcast. This podcast is sponsored by Bible Journaling Ministries where thousands of women grow in the word creatively. It’s your free 10-day course for other ministries and other episodes resources at ThePromisesofGodPodcast.Com.
Freedom
Freedom Journaling Devotional
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The Freedom Jar – A Tool for Breaking Free
The day I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior was the day I was liberated from the sins of this world and made holy in the presence of God. It was the first day that I took steps towards becoming the woman that God designed me to be.
To me, being free from the bondage of sin doesn’t mean that I don’t sin. After all, I’m human and live in a fallen world. It means that sin doesn’t have control over me. I’m no longer a slave to it. Because I’m not a slave to it, I address my sins and battle them daily. Do I win every battle? No. But I don’t stop trying.
I use many tools and actions to help me battle sin, including prayer, worship, Bible journaling, Bible study, daily devotionals, prayer walks. One tool that’s been helpful is the use of the Freedom Jar. I learned about the Freedom Jar in a Christian Weight loss program that I’m a part of (Faithful Finishlines). If you want to learn more about my journey, click here.
What is the Freedom Jar?
I use the Freedom Jar as a tool to help me overcome cravings, but you can use it for any area of sin you’d like to address in your life. It doesn’t replace prayer or any other Spiritual practices that you have.
In order to use the Freedom Jar, you’ll need to have an understanding of what battle you’re up against and a plan of attack. Write your plan down. For me, it’s a daily plan for the food that I’m going to eat. When I feel like going off my plan, I resist the urge and put a token in the jar. If the feeling still lingers, I wait for 10-minutes and then add another token to the jar. The goal is to get to 100 tokens, and the special reward is the knowledge that Satan didn’t win this round.
The Freedom Jar is supported by two Scriptures:
- Galatians 5:1 (WEB)- Stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don’t be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
- John 8:36 (WEB)- If therefore the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
How to Make the Freedom Jar
Supplies Needed
1. Glass jar or any container
2. 100 marbles, beads, plastic chips, coins, tokens, or other small items
3. Alphabet stickers and other ephemera
Directions
Step 1: Find a container. I reused a glass pickle jar, but you can use any container. Glass is preferable since it makes a clinking sound when you add your items to it.
Step 2: Put 100 marbles in a container next to the jar.
Step 3: Decorate the jar with letters and stickers.
How to Use the Freedom Jar
1. Understand what sin you’re up against and write it down.
2. Why do you want to tackle that sin?
3. Create a plan to address that sin.
4. When you’re tempted to sin, stop, look at your Freedom Jar, and put a token in it.
5. If you still feel like sinning, wait ten minutes, then add another chip in the jar. Don’t distract yourself. Feel the emotions that you feel. Let them bubble up. I find that praying is helpful during this time.
6. Repeat until the craving dissipates.
A Piece of the Armor of God
I view the Freedom Jar as a piece of my Shield of Faith (Ephesians 6:10-18). Faith tells me that God keeps His promises even if I can’t see it. When I am tempted with food, instant gratification, or whatever, I can use the Freedom Jar to quickly recognize Satan’s tactics and extinguish his arrows with the sound of one “clink.” Let freedom ring!
Bible Journaling Freedom
Here are a few examples from this month’s Momentum course.
John 8:36
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
2 Timothy 1:7
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Romans 8:1-2
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 6:22-23
But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Philippians 3:20-21
For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
Luke 4:18-19
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
2 Corinthians 3:17
Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
Psalm 118:6
The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
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Episode 032: What is Freedom in Christ?
Welcome to The Promises of God Podcast, Episode number 32 my name is Tracie Rollins, and I want to thank you so much for spending some time with me as we learn and take action on God’s promises in life. This one series is about Freedom in Christ, and we’re working out of the momentum devotional offered by Bible Journaling Ministries titled Freedom. You can learn more about Bible journaling with their free 10-day course at BibleJournalingMinistries.com. Today we’re answering the question, what is Freedom In our verse is John 8:36 and it says, if therefore the son makes you free, you will be free. Indeed, according to the dictionary, Freedom, his independence, it’s the liberation from slavery, restraint in the power of another. It’s the ability to choose what you want to be, do or achieve without constraint or corrosion, but Freedom is not anarchy.
While you may be capable of doing whatever you please, your actions lead to consequences. Even in the land of the free. We have laws that govern our Freedom. The Israelites weren’t free either. The Egyptians oppress them for 400 years. In Genesis 15:13 the Lord makes a covenant with Abraham, and he says to Abraham, no for sure that your offspring will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs and we’ll serve them. They will afflict them. 400 years. The Israelites suffered under bondage and were forced to serve in a land that wasn’t theirs. You can read more about their deliverance in the book of Exodus but pay close attention. Freedom didn’t mean that they were free from God’s authority. I’m not free from God’s power either and thank goodness for that. I praise God for his never-ending forgiveness for all of the sins I’ve committed in my life and the ones that I will battle in the future.
Being free doesn’t mean I get a free pass to disobey God and do whatever the heck I want to do and continue sinning and you know, be in sin all the time, right That’s not a free pass. You can’t just continue to, you know, once you find Jesus Christ and accept him into your life, then you’re changed. Christian, you’re a changed person. You no longer are slaver or by or in bondage to the sin that you have in your life that is changed a new person. You’re no longer slave or in bondage to that sin. Now that doesn’t mean that you won’t experience than you absolutely will, but the Holy Spirit helps you battle against that sin. The Holy Spirit comes and enlightened you and shows you areas of your life that you should be paying attention to, areas in your life that you might be sending, even areas that you may not realize that you’re in sin, but the Holy Spirit is calling you to take a look at that.
And that’s why it’s so important for us to listen to the Holy Spirit. When he calls the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 6:1-2 and he says, what shall we say then Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound may it never be we who died to sin. How could we live in any longer? So what Paul is saying is, you know, we’re saved by grace, but that doesn’t mean we get to keep on sinning. And just because we’re saved, meaning that we can continue to send, he’s just, he’s saying like you, you know, we who died to sin, you know, how can we live in it any longer How could we, you know, continue to wallow in our muddy mess of sin knowing that we are free in Christ. True fee freedom is the ability not only to think about but to see and take action to do what is right.
Pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians in his final exhortations, he says, finally, brothers, what, or whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report. If there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think about these things. Jesus didn’t free you from God’s authority. He liberated you to walk in relationship with God and be the kind of person he created you to be. Now that is Freedom worth singing for this week. Take some time to write or journal about what Freedom means to you. If you’re here today and you’ve never experienced the Freedom that comes from knowing Christ, I encourage you to start a conversation with him. It’s easy. You don’t need special prayer. Just ask him to show you what it means, but then listen and look and be prepared for him to answer you.
If you’ve experienced Freedom in Christ, but feel lately like things have taken you off course, maybe you’ve sinned, and you feel, um, you feel the bondage of that sin. Maybe you feel like you can never come out of that sin or you can’t overcome that. I encourage you to seek God and ask for forgiveness. Go to him. Tell him that you’re sorry. Tell him that you need his help to shoot from whatever bondage of sin that you are currently shackled to. I encourage you to seek God and ask for his forgiveness and then continue to work through the process of sanctification is not an easy process, and everybody sends everybody wallows in our muddy mess. It’s just part of life, and we live in a fallen world. It is only part of this journey.
But I encourage you to work through and continue to work through using the counsel of the Holy Spirit that is within you. The Holy Spirit will enlighten you, ask God to eliminate it for you. If you don’t know that you’re sending ascot to eliminate what sin that is in your life that you need to be released from right, and then take steps to release yourself from the sense I have a lot of sins in my life. I promise you one of the biggest sins that I have is my desire just constantly to overheat. It is something that I have used food as an emotional crutch for so much of my life, and so I am continually working on is battling that sin and we’ll talk more about that as we continue to go throughout this devotional. But I’m maintaining Lee working on that, and that’s not the only one I have.
If you, if you are in our momentum program at Bible Journaling Ministries, you get to see in some of the devotions that we do where I’m truthful and honest and I, and I don’t hold anything back, and even in this, even today I’m not holding anything back. I’m just not going to spend hours and hours and hours talking about all the sins that I have in my life. I’m not perfect. I’m here, and I’m working through the sanctification process. In one of these days, I will be glorified and free of sin, and that is a day worth looking forward to. So I would encourage you to, again, just if your insulin and having you know, only a hard time with it, seek God, ask him to forgive you, ask him to show you the next steps. Ask to show you any resources that he would have for you.
Ask them to provide people into your life that would support you as you go through the sanctification process. As you learn how to battle the sins in your life, you’re not promised tomorrow, and I would not put this off. Romans 6:23 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. I know this topic is hard, but it is so important to address. I hope that you’ll stick around as we talk about Freedom from fear, Freedom from the penalty of sin, Freedom from the power of sin, and Freedom to choose your path. I am so excited to go on this journey alongside you. This is a tough topic, but it is going to be so freeing, and I think that as you work through each of these topics, you will see how amazing is to be free in Christ. Thank you so much for tuning in today, and I’m looking forward to talking to you in the next episode of The Promises of God. Goodbye.
Welcome back to the Promises of God Podcast, Episode number 31 my name is Tracie Rollins. I want to thank you so much for spending some time with me as we learn and take action on God’s promises in life. This months series is about understanding and receiving God’s love, and we’re working out of the momentum devotional offered by Bible journaling ministries titled a Father’s Love. You can learn more about Bible journaling would their free 10-day Bible journaling course at BibleJournalingMinistries.com today we’re talking about clinging to God and choosing life. Our verse is Deuteronomy 30:19-20, and I’ll read out of the World English Bible. It says I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore, choose life that you may live you and your descendants to love your way.
You’re a god to obey his voice and to cling to him for he is your life. And the length of your days that you may dwell in the land. Would she always swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob to give them When I was a little girl, my grandmother bought me the biggest doll I had ever laid my eyes on? She had this rubbery plastic face. She had these freckles on her cheeks, and she had this brown yarn hair that I used to tie up and try to comb, which by the way, you should never try to comb yarn hair. She had these plastic hands and as a cloth-like body, and she only had one dress. So I would try to dress her up in my clothes, which Kinda didn’t work cause I was bigger than the doll. Anyways, she just had the prettiest dress, and I loved it.
I loved that doll so much that I took her to church with me. I took her out. When we would go out to eat, I would be all like, Hey, can we have another place setting for a fake doll And I take her out on walks. Anytime we would go anywhere; she was by my side. She was like my best friend, and I’d sit there, and I’d read books to her. I would teach her math and English and correct her spelling even though she was a doll and actually couldn’t do any of the work. I think my mom, my parents must have loved us because as I was teaching her, I pretended she do the schoolwork, but then I would do the schoolwork. So I just even learned even more at night when I went to sleep, I put my arm around her, and she was like sleeping right there next to me all the time.
I just absolutely loved this. Donna, I don’t know what happened to this doll because I think eventually, I grew out of her, but I just loved her so much. I just had her around me all day long. She was my best doll friend. And I’d like to kind of think about in general, at least for you, what is it that you have that you love Like what do you do to something that you’ve loved so much Some people say when you love someone, you should let them go, but that’s not necessarily good advice. If you look at our verse today, it says, the Bible says that you should cling to God for he is your life in a length of your days. Choose life; having a father’s love like the One God provides is truly like no other love. God is love. He knows things about you that you don’t even know he provides for you, and he carries you next to his heart.
Oh, what an amazing father you have. So as you’re thinking about, as we wrap up, and as you’re thinking about this last section in our devotional, we’re talking about clinging to him. Practically speaking, write in your journal. What does it mean for you to cling to God? For me, clinging to God means being with him all day long? Just like my Dolly and my Dolly and the car and Medallia at dinner and Medallia at Lynch I had my dolly everywhere. So I try to remember God throughout my day. I try to pray a lot. Even just quick, simple prayers like you know, I might be getting ready for work and I might just say, you know, quick little prayer that I think some people call them popcorn prayers and, and I know that you know, some people like very, very long prayers and those are definitely warranted and definitely you should do long prayers and have your time with God in your meditations with them and be in the word and, and all of that.
But you can do quick popcorn prayers too. He wants to see you; he wants to talk to you; he wants to be in conversation with you all the time. So it’s okay to do quick, easy popcorn prayers and allow yourself to do that. Because I think when you do stuff like that where it’s super easy, and you’re just with God and just saying, you know, Hey God, I’m about to head out the door and I pray for safety as I go to my journey, or I pray that the meeting I’m headed to, we’ll go, well, you just, you’re in that conversation with him in and it makes it easy to have a conversation with him throughout the day. You don’t have to sit down and get your Bible out, and you know, make sure you have the right dress on to pray to God.
He wants to hear from you. Now he wants to hear from you; even if it’s just a second, also if it’s just a minute, whatever you have, he wants to hear from you. And I think when you get into that habit, you bring him along throughout your day. And I, I love that. So that’s what it means to me to clean to God, to be with him throughout the day, praying to him also when I have time to get into the word, you know, I try to read the Bible in the morning when I wake up. It’s one of the first things do I like to; I also exercise as one of the first things I do too. So I try to get the stuff out of the way that I, that is most important to me. And um, that just kind of shows my priorities.
So health is important to me. Spiritual health is important to me. So I read my Bible, and I do my exercises first things in the morning. Um, and also then throughout the day if something happens and it’s not like I’m going to forget it because I’ve already done it. So, and that’s how I kind of keep in to ensure that I get in my Bible reading time in my devotional time to worship and pray to God, you know, worship him, sing songs to him. You could be in your car listening to a Christian radio station and singing to him. You can sing to God. Even not Christian songs. I mean you can sing love songs to him all day long if you want to. It doesn’t have to be a specific Christian song, barely just taking time with the Lord and not just waiting for Sundays is really what it means to clean to God, clinging to God just by going to church on Sunday.
Never talking to him again is not clinging is it is just, it’s almost like, and I know you’re visiting him once a week and God wants to have a relationship with you. He wants to be in your life. He wants to be in your life today. He wants to be in your life the second he wants to be in your life now. He doesn’t want to wait until Sunday. So begin to cling to him, and I think when you clean to him, you will find life that you haven’t experienced before because I will tell you, being with God all day long helps. Number one. I mean, it helps keep me in line. I do send, I’m not going to lie, I don’t, it’s not like I don’t send, but I do sin, but I don’t spend nearly as much as I used to, so it keeps me in line, helps me fix my eyes on my priorities, helps me align myself with what I say is important to me in my life, and I feel good about it and I know at the end of the day I feel really good about the things that I’ve accomplishment it accomplished and even some days where it’s just been really hard, or I feel like it made me, God’s not around, I just keep praying.
I feel like he’s not talking to me. And if I didn’t, if I just stopped praying and stopped trying to have a relationship with God, I would go off in, there’s a whole other tangent that would not be good for me in any part of my walk or any part of my journey. So I would encourage you that even if you’re going through one of those difficult times like I have, cause I’m, I only have been recently got out of one of those dark valleys and now I’m back into the flow. I’m back. You know I feel God’s presence now. I feel him with me each and every day. I promise you; there are times where you feel like God’s not going to be around and you need to clean to him. You need to grab him and say, I love you.
I’m here for you. I want you to hear God, and I want to be the person that you want me to be. Show me your will. Show me your way. Help me be the daughter that you want me to be and cling to him because I promise you he will come back. You know he’s always here. He’s never going to leave you. But that presence, that feeling that he’s coming back, they will be there because God never leaves. He never leaves. Just because he doesn’t answer you in the way that you want him to answer you, it doesn’t mean that he’s not there. He is always here, and you have to believe that. And I think that if you are going through a difficult time again, cling to him because I promise you, you will come out of it and you will be better for it.
I promise you, when you cleaned the god, you choose life, and if you’re here today and you’re ready to choose life, it’s easy to get started to start this podcast right now and pray to him. Just invite him into your heart. Ask him to show you him. Ask Him to talk to you and open up your Bible. Like I randomly will open up my Bible. I’ll say, Lord, speak to me today. I want to hear your voice. I want to know what you have to say to me, and I’ll randomly open up the Bible and start reading. And often it’s so applicable. It’s like he reads, he shows up in his word pretty much every time I do it. Sometimes I open it up, and it’s not exactly what I thought like it’s kind of weird, but I know that it’s a word.
I know it’s his word. And I know that I need to understand that so I feel like he speaks to me every time I opened up his Bible. So I hope that you’ll try that as well. But if you’re here today and you totally know what it means to clean to God, but you straight a bit, that’s okay. It’s okay. You’re allowed to strip it. You’re allowed history a bit. Just come back, come back to God. Just tell him that you’re sorry. Tell him that you miss him. Tell him what you want to hear him speak to you today and open your Bible and listen to what he has to say. Romans 6:23 says, the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Lord. So turn to him, confess your sins and follow his will in your life and he will feel the love of Christ that surpasses all understanding.
I want to thank you. I thank you so much for tuning in today. I am so excited about our next month, next month series. I think that this series was I think, appropriate for the month and I hope that you truly do feel a father’s love. I look forward to talking to you in the next series next month. I hope you have a beautiful day and if you haven’t left a review on iTunes, please do so. I would appreciate that. It does help us out and if you don’t subscribe via iTunes and you subscribe maybe through another channel, please go ahead and leave us a review. That helps others find us. So I hope that you have a beautiful day and I will talk to you soon. Goodbye.
Thanks for listening to the promises of God podcast. This podcast is sponsored by Bible Journaling M
Episode 031: Cling to God and Choose Life
Welcome back to the Promises of God Podcast, Episode number 31 my name is Tracie Rollins. I want to thank you so much for spending some time with me as we learn and take action on God’s promises in life. This months series is about understanding and receiving God’s love, and we’re working out of the momentum devotional offered by Bible journaling ministries titled a Father’s Love. You can learn more about Bible journaling would their free 10-day Bible journaling course at BibleJournalingMinistries.com today we’re talking about clinging to God and choosing life. Our verse is Deuteronomy 30:19-20, and I’ll read out of the World English Bible. It says I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore, choose life that you may live you and your descendants to love your way.
You’re a god to obey his voice and to cling to him for he is your life. And the length of your days that you may dwell in the land. Would she always swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob to give them When I was a little girl, my grandmother bought me the biggest doll I had ever laid my eyes on? She had this rubbery plastic face. She had these freckles on her cheeks, and she had this brown yarn hair that I used to tie up and try to comb, which by the way, you should never try to comb yarn hair. She had these plastic hands and as a cloth-like body, and she only had one dress. So I would try to dress her up in my clothes, which Kinda didn’t work cause I was bigger than the doll. Anyways, she just had the prettiest dress, and I loved it.
I loved that doll so much that I took her to church with me. I took her out. When we would go out to eat, I would be all like, Hey, can we have another place setting for a fake doll And I take her out on walks. Anytime we would go anywhere; she was by my side. She was like my best friend, and I’d sit there, and I’d read books to her. I would teach her math and English and correct her spelling even though she was a doll and actually couldn’t do any of the work. I think my mom, my parents must have loved us because as I was teaching her, I pretended she do the schoolwork, but then I would do the schoolwork. So I just even learned even more at night when I went to sleep, I put my arm around her, and she was like sleeping right there next to me all the time.
I just absolutely loved this. Donna, I don’t know what happened to this doll because I think eventually, I grew out of her, but I just loved her so much. I just had her around me all day long. She was my best doll friend. And I’d like to kind of think about in general, at least for you, what is it that you have that you love Like what do you do to something that you’ve loved so much Some people say when you love someone, you should let them go, but that’s not necessarily good advice. If you look at our verse today, it says, the Bible says that you should cling to God for he is your life in a length of your days. Choose life; having a father’s love like the One God provides is truly like no other love. God is love. He knows things about you that you don’t even know he provides for you, and he carries you next to his heart.
Oh, what an amazing father you have. So as you’re thinking about, as we wrap up, and as you’re thinking about this last section in our devotional, we’re talking about clinging to him. Practically speaking, write in your journal. What does it mean for you to cling to God? For me, clinging to God means being with him all day long? Just like my Dolly and my Dolly and the car and Medallia at dinner and Medallia at Lynch I had my dolly everywhere. So I try to remember God throughout my day. I try to pray a lot. Even just quick, simple prayers like you know, I might be getting ready for work and I might just say, you know, quick little prayer that I think some people call them popcorn prayers and, and I know that you know, some people like very, very long prayers and those are definitely warranted and definitely you should do long prayers and have your time with God in your meditations with them and be in the word and, and all of that.
But you can do quick popcorn prayers too. He wants to see you; he wants to talk to you; he wants to be in conversation with you all the time. So it’s okay to do quick, easy popcorn prayers and allow yourself to do that. Because I think when you do stuff like that where it’s super easy, and you’re just with God and just saying, you know, Hey God, I’m about to head out the door and I pray for safety as I go to my journey, or I pray that the meeting I’m headed to, we’ll go, well, you just, you’re in that conversation with him in and it makes it easy to have a conversation with him throughout the day. You don’t have to sit down and get your Bible out, and you know, make sure you have the right dress on to pray to God.
He wants to hear from you. Now he wants to hear from you; even if it’s just a second, also if it’s just a minute, whatever you have, he wants to hear from you. And I think when you get into that habit, you bring him along throughout your day. And I, I love that. So that’s what it means to me to clean to God, to be with him throughout the day, praying to him also when I have time to get into the word, you know, I try to read the Bible in the morning when I wake up. It’s one of the first things do I like to; I also exercise as one of the first things I do too. So I try to get the stuff out of the way that I, that is most important to me. And um, that just kind of shows my priorities.
So health is important to me. Spiritual health is important to me. So I read my Bible, and I do my exercises first things in the morning. Um, and also then throughout the day if something happens and it’s not like I’m going to forget it because I’ve already done it. So, and that’s how I kind of keep in to ensure that I get in my Bible reading time in my devotional time to worship and pray to God, you know, worship him, sing songs to him. You could be in your car listening to a Christian radio station and singing to him. You can sing to God. Even not Christian songs. I mean you can sing love songs to him all day long if you want to. It doesn’t have to be a specific Christian song, barely just taking time with the Lord and not just waiting for Sundays is really what it means to clean to God, clinging to God just by going to church on Sunday.
Never talking to him again is not clinging is it is just, it’s almost like, and I know you’re visiting him once a week and God wants to have a relationship with you. He wants to be in your life. He wants to be in your life today. He wants to be in your life the second he wants to be in your life now. He doesn’t want to wait until Sunday. So begin to cling to him, and I think when you clean to him, you will find life that you haven’t experienced before because I will tell you, being with God all day long helps. Number one. I mean, it helps keep me in line. I do send, I’m not going to lie, I don’t, it’s not like I don’t send, but I do sin, but I don’t spend nearly as much as I used to, so it keeps me in line, helps me fix my eyes on my priorities, helps me align myself with what I say is important to me in my life, and I feel good about it and I know at the end of the day I feel really good about the things that I’ve accomplishment it accomplished and even some days where it’s just been really hard, or I feel like it made me, God’s not around, I just keep praying.
I feel like he’s not talking to me. And if I didn’t, if I just stopped praying and stopped trying to have a relationship with God, I would go off in, there’s a whole other tangent that would not be good for me in any part of my walk or any part of my journey. So I would encourage you that even if you’re going through one of those difficult times like I have, cause I’m, I only have been recently got out of one of those dark valleys and now I’m back into the flow. I’m back. You know I feel God’s presence now. I feel him with me each and every day. I promise you; there are times where you feel like God’s not going to be around and you need to clean to him. You need to grab him and say, I love you.
I’m here for you. I want you to hear God, and I want to be the person that you want me to be. Show me your will. Show me your way. Help me be the daughter that you want me to be and cling to him because I promise you he will come back. You know he’s always here. He’s never going to leave you. But that presence, that feeling that he’s coming back, they will be there because God never leaves. He never leaves. Just because he doesn’t answer you in the way that you want him to answer you, it doesn’t mean that he’s not there. He is always here, and you have to believe that. And I think that if you are going through a difficult time again, cling to him because I promise you, you will come out of it and you will be better for it.
I promise you, when you cleaned the god, you choose life, and if you’re here today and you’re ready to choose life, it’s easy to get started to start this podcast right now and pray to him. Just invite him into your heart. Ask him to show you him. Ask Him to talk to you and open up your Bible. Like I randomly will open up my Bible. I’ll say, Lord, speak to me today. I want to hear your voice. I want to know what you have to say to me, and I’ll randomly open up the Bible and start reading. And often it’s so applicable. It’s like he reads, he shows up in his word pretty much every time I do it. Sometimes I open it up, and it’s not exactly what I thought like it’s kind of weird, but I know that it’s a word.
I know it’s his word. And I know that I need to understand that so I feel like he speaks to me every time I opened up his Bible. So I hope that you’ll try that as well. But if you’re here today and you totally know what it means to clean to God, but you straight a bit, that’s okay. It’s okay. You’re allowed to strip it. You’re allowed history a bit. Just come back, come back to God. Just tell him that you’re sorry. Tell him that you miss him. Tell him what you want to hear him speak to you today and open your Bible and listen to what he has to say. Romans 6:23 says, the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Lord. So turn to him, confess your sins and follow his will in your life and he will feel the love of Christ that surpasses all understanding.
I want to thank you. I thank you so much for tuning in today. I am so excited about our next month, next month series. I think that this series was I think, appropriate for the month and I hope that you truly do feel a father’s love. I look forward to talking to you in the next series next month. I hope you have a beautiful day and if you haven’t left a review on iTunes, please do so. I would appreciate that. It does help us out and if you don’t subscribe via iTunes and you subscribe maybe through another channel, please go ahead and leave us a review. That helps others find us. So I hope that you have a beautiful day and I will talk to you soon. Goodbye.
Thanks for listening to the promises of God podcast. This podcast is sponsored by Bible Journaling M
Episode 030: God Provides for His Children
Welcome back to the Promises of God Podcast, Episode number 30 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 months series is about understanding and receiving God’s love, and we’re working on at the momentum devotional offered by Bible journaling and ministries titled a Father’s Glove. You can learn more about Bible journaling with their free 10-day Bible journaling course located at BibleJournalingMinistries.com. Today we’re talking about God’s provision and our verse is Matthew 7:11, but I’ll read starting in verse 9 and reading out of the world English Bible, it says, or who is there among you Who if asks his son, who, if his son asks him for bread will give him a stone. Or if he asks for a fish who will give him a serpent. If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?
My kids don’t ask for much. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s because they experienced the recession or because they don’t see us spending money on the latest and greatest styles. Maybe they have what they need in our content. It kind of makes gift giving a little bit boring around here though. So sometimes when they decide that there is something that they want, like for their birthday or Christmas, I get excited, I get to like start finding the greatest deal on the most awesome thing that they’re asking for. So I get super excited. I want to begin to be able to give them exactly what they’ve asked for. But unfortunately, sometimes what they ask for is not something that as a parent I want to give them, or I think is appropriate for their age. So I have to say no.
Sometimes the Kiddos will ask for things that are, that will directly or indirectly harm them. I think that I do the same with God. I think there are so many prayers that I look back on today that I’m so glad he didn’t answer. God is a provider, and he wants to give good things to his children who asked them good things. And not snakes like inner verse today, but asking tests our faith because God doesn’t always deliver exactly what we want when we want. Sometimes he has something better for us, but we have to have the faith to trust in him. I know there were so many times in my life where I asked for God to provide. A lot of times, especially as I was in my young twenties, uh, we didn’t have a lot of money, so I was always asking to win the lottery.
I know that sounds so weird. Um, but I did, I prayed that I would win the lottery. I prayed that I would get like $1 million and not have to go to work anymore so I could stay at home with my kids. There were so many times that I prayed for money, and it just didn’t happen. And it was kind of funny that I would pray for money because maybe what I should have been doing is praying for help or praying for a solution to what I wanted. I mean, I was praying for money, but really what I wanted to do was spend more time with my children and not have to be at work, you know, 40 50, 60 hours a week or have a two-hour commute to work every day. I probably would’ve been better off had I prayed for something rather than just money.
Maybe it would’ve got me thinking, and I wouldn’t have continued on the path of pursuing a career that was focused on money and I was focused a lot on money in my younger years. That’s for sure. I’m so glad that God doesn’t answer our prayers exactly how we want them all the time because I can also remember, not only was I praying for money a lot, but when my son was born, my youngest son was born 11 weeks premature, and he was born at two pounds, 6.4 ounces and he was in the ICU. That’s the neonatal intensive care unit at the hospital for 11 weeks, and I remember so many times driving in my car just praying to God, please let me take him home. I don’t want to go back there again. It makes me sad because there were times where you would walk by in the neonatal intensive care unit, and you would see a memorial for a child that didn’t get to come home, and as a mother trying to, trying to get her kid home, it was sad.
I mean I would stop and pray for the baby that didn’t make it for the family. That was devastated, but it also hurt my heart, and I would think about what if my child doesn’t get to come home And I would think about that a lot. And at the time, the neonatal intensive care unit that I was at, to get to that section, I had to go through the maternity ward, and so I would go through the maternity ward, see all the happy moms with their babies and then see mine in praying to God. I could take him home, and then I would leave him at night to go pick up my other son, and I have to walk through the maternity ward and see all the moms with their babies going home. And I was happy for them but also very sad about my situation.
And I would pray every day that I get to take my child home. But I will tell you that I’m so glad that God didn’t answer that prayer because if I would’ve taken my young son home, I don’t think he would be here today. My son had multiple issues with ultimately what was keeping him from coming home as he had mal rotated intestines, and I believe that if I would have taken him back that the doctors would not have been able to diagnose him and he may have died because of the lack of nutrition or other issues related to mal rotated intestines. So I was just glad that God didn’t answer that prayer because what happened was it got me to a point in my life where I completely surrender to God. It was on my way to the hospital, and I prayed to God if I couldn’t take my son home that he would provide and that he would take my son and take care of him until I got to see him one day.
That was the hardest prayer of my entire life, but it was one that also matured me in ways that I’m still trying to understand. I don’t know how I had the strength to pray that prayer, but I did. And a few weeks later my son did get to come home, and he is thriving now. So I am just glad that during those times when I was going to the hospital and, I’m glad that he didn’t send them home. I’m glad that I was able to stay in the hospital until at nine weeks they died. They said they would do some exploratory surgery, so they were going to open up and check underneath the hood, right, to see what was wrong with them. And they did in a two-hour exploratory surgery turned into four and they fixed him. And if you like for weeks later, he came home, and he’s been thriving.
Ever since of praise God for that. So I know that it’s hard in life to ask for things and you want God to deliver. Just like with financial issues or babies sick in the hospital, or even if my recent knee surgeries and all the pain that goes with that and asking for the pain to go away and me. I know that God doesn’t always provide things the way we want them to be provided. And you know, he doesn’t even provide it sometimes when we want them to be provided. But I promise you that at least in my experience and what I believe to know about my God is a, He provides things that are better than I just haven’t seen yet. And I can see it. They look in the past and my life. I can see how those difficult times were ways that helps stretch me in ways that helped me grow in multiple areas, including my faith, including my spirituality, including my health, including my work, including everything about my life.
So if God hasn’t provided for you exactly what you have wanted, maybe you’re here today and um, you’ve been praying for something that hasn’t materialized, who ask yourself, maybe it’s not what God has planned for you, or maybe it’s just not yet. Or maybe there’s a different path to take if you’re like, I was when I was younger, praying for money. Maybe you could pray for the solution or something that would enlighten us to the next step and the difficult journey that you’re currently on. I believe that God will give you exactly what he has planned for you. And I believe it is so much better than what we see each and every day of our lives. So this week I would like you to take some time to journal about a time that you prayed for something, and you didn’t get it and that you’re now glad that you didn’t get it.
So look back in your life and see, you know, where you like me. Did you pray for money and are you glad you didn’t get that Because I tell you right now that if he gave me what I asked for at as a young woman, I would not be where I am today would not speaking to you on this podcast. They would not have the opportunity to see all the beautiful people that I get to see every day here in my personal life, face to face, as well as in our online community. There is just so much that God has for us that we don’t understand. And so I pray for you that as you’re asking for provision to understand and to seek why it is you’re asking for that provision. And perhaps maybe you need to be asking for something just a little bit different or maybe it’s time to wait for a bit and see if God will provide it at a later day or maybe there’s an alternative path for you as well.
If you don’t know who I’m talking about when I say God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit, I want you to know that that’s okay. I pray that this podcast takes you one step closer to learning more about him. Romans 6:23 says, the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus, our Lord, so I hope one day you’ll, you’ll take a chance on him, he’ll turn to him, maybe confess them of your sins that you’ve had in your past and feel the love of Christ just come over you. I hope that you get to experience God’s provision in your life today, tomorrow, and always. Thank you so much for tuning in today, and I’m so excited to wrap up this series with you in the next episode of the Promises of God Podcast. Have a great day. Goodbye.
Thanks for listening to the promises of God podcast. This podcast is sponsored by Bible Journaling M
Bible Journaling to Receive God’s Love
If you’re here today and you’re struggling with giving or receiving love, this week take some time to write or journal how you feel about our Fathers love. God is a provider and wants to give good things to His children who ask for them. Having a father’s love like the one God provides is truly like no other love. God is love. He knows things about you that you don’t even know. He provides for you and carries you next to his heart. How do you respond when God doesn’t give you what you’ve asked for? Perhaps share a time when you didn’t receive love from others or consider someone who’s really good at giving compassion. How does it feel knowing that God provides love even when we don’t’ deserve it? To me…it’s truly amazing. I encourage you to invite God into your life today. If you know, the love of God is in your life, but you’ve strayed from the path, come back. 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 love with our Father, this is it. You can see what some of our members have created below using our monthly Momentum Kit.
Matthew 7:11
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Thank you, Taylor Myers from our Creative Faith Crew for creating this beautiful page. Momentum printables in her ESV single column journaling Bible.
Proverbs 16:3
Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. Thank you, Mary, from our Creative Faith Crew for creating this awesome page. She used cut outs from Bible Journaling Ministries Momentum kit and added cute ribbons for tabs in her journaling Bible.
Bible Journaling in Matthew
God is a provider and wants to give good things to His children who ask for them. Good things and not snakes (v. 10)! But asking tests our faith because God doesn’t always deliver exactly what we want when we want it. Sometimes he has something better for us, but we have to have faith and trust in Him. Missy created this amazing page using aqua pigments, stenciled numbers, washi tape, and sequins along with Bible Journaling cutouts in her mini New Testament.
Psalms 3:6
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about. This Beautiful page was created by Taylor from our Creative Faith Crew using cutouts from our monthly Momentum Kit. She created this page in an ESV single column journaling Bible.
Jeremiah 31:3
The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. This beautiful page was created by Aaron from the Creative Faith Crew using cutouts from our monthly Momentum Kit.
Matthew 4:18-20
And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. Msedenika, from our Creative Faith Crew, created this cute page! She used cutouts from this month’s Momentum kit from Bible Journaling Ministries and a bright sunflower ribbon in her Illustrating
Deuteronomy 30:19-20
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. This beautiful page was created by Taylor Myers from our Creative Faith Crew! She used washi tape, this month’s devotional stickers, and a yarn bow clip in her ESV single column journaling bible.
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Christian Weight Loss Journal
I’m so excited to share Bible Journaling Ministries’ first published journal! This one is a weight loss journal and planner for Christians. It’s the one I designed and use myself to help me lose weight in a way that keeps me focused on God’s Word and promises. Here’s our ministry affiliate link if you’d like to purchase it and support our ministry. Thank you! Click here to purchase.
Why Did I Create This Journal?
Over the last few months, I’ve realized that the key to losing weight is intentionality and focus. For me, I have to plan the night before so that I avoid decision fatigue the next day. When I have decision fatigue I end up eating whatever I can get my hands on. That DOES NOT equal weight loss success.
I searched for the perfect tool to use in my journey. Combined with a fitness routine and community support, I started putting intense focus on breaking free from the hold food has on me. Especially Icees and movie theatre popcorn!
As I searched for a journal, I couldn’t find one that was comprehensive. I ended up carrying around my planner, food journal, prayer journal, and gratitude journal everywhere. That’s one heavy purse! So, I decided to make my own planner. It took MANY iterations, but I finally got it right.
I love that this journal allows me to keep my focus on God while honoring the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). It also made my purse a lot lighter!
Christian Weight Loss Journal Key Features
This all-in-one weight loss journal for Christians combines your monthly and weekly planner with your daily fuel log, reducing the need to carry multiple items to track your progress. You get:
- 3 Monthly calendars
- 3 Monthly habit trackers
- 3 Monthly weight and measurement trackers
- 15 Weekly menu planners with grocery lists
- 15 Weekly schedule planners that include space to write Scripture, prayers, priorities, and to-do items
- 25 Recipe planner pages to encourage you to try new recipes
- 20 Verses from the KJV translation to encourage you on your journey
- 105 Daily food planner pages that track nutrition, hours slept, reasons for eating, exercise, hydration, blood pressure, blood sugar, vitamins, weight, notes, things you’re grateful for, and your daily affirmation
How to Use the Journal
For the most part, the journal is very intuitive. It’s designed to help you establish healthy habits as you focus on your goal of losing weight. By combing planner functionality with daily health tracking, you can keep your weight loss journey top of mind. Here’s a video walkthrough of the entire book.
Most of the journal entries are common across all weight loss journals with the exception of the following:
Habit Tracker
Write the habits you’re trying to create in the columns and mark a box for every day you accomplish the habit.
Weekly Planner
• Verse of the Week: Write down a verse that you want to focus on. A few are listed in the back of this book.
• Praying for: Write down who or what you’re praying for this week.
• Key priorities: Write down your main deliverables or things that you want to accomplish this week.
Daily Fuel Log
• I am: In this section, you’ll write who you envision yourself to be. For example, “I am a healthy, active, and energetic woman.” By writing this daily, you’ll start to believe and take action on the person you want to be.
• Blank column: This section is for tracking other measurements like “points.”
• Eating because: Why are you eating? Are you hungry, bored, tired, stressed, or pressured? By writing this down, you’ll start to see patterns of eating and can work to address them.
• I am grateful for: In this section, write down what you are thankful for. Having a daily practice of gratitude leads to joy and peace.
To learn more about the Christian weight loss program I mentioned, click here: https://www.biblejournalingministries.com/christian-fitness-program/
‘If you’re ready to break free from the weight that’s holding you down, click here to purchase, and let me know how you like it!: https://amzn.to/2Xl1QBo
Free Printable Planner Stickers
If you’ve read this far – thank you! I hope that you enjoy this free printable! And…if you purchased the planner, thank you!!! Please leave a review on Amazon. It really helps!
Episode 029: God Carries His Children
Welcome back to the promises of God podcast, Episode number 29 my name is Tracie Rollins, and I want to thank you so much for spending some time with me as we learn and take action on God’s promises in life. This months series is about understanding and receiving God’s love, and we’re working out of the momentum devotional offered by Bible journaling ministry titled a Father’s Love. You can learn more about Bible journaling with their free 10-day Bible journaling course, at BibleJournalingMinistries.com today we’re exploring what it means to be carried by God, and our verse is Isaiah 40:11 and I’ll read this out of the world English Bible. It says he will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arm and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead those who have their young. When my babies were little, I’d carry them around their house.
Their heads would rest on my chest, and they’d fall fast asleep. I would sit there, and I’d stare at their little eyes and marvel at how precious they were where they’re little, tiny fingers in it, tiny feet. I’d pat their backs and sing songs of love and happiness, and they felt safe. They were safe. I wouldn’t let anything happen to them. As they got older, I couldn’t carry them anymore, and so I’d hold their hand and gently lead them as we went about our errands. I love this first and Isaiah, the fact that God will gather his lambs in his arms and carry them close to him so close and he’ll gently lead those who have their young that that is for me. I mean, I think about that, and in my life and say, yeah, he has gently led me, especially as it relates to my parents.
Seeing and having these young two men in my life, my little boys which are now grown. I’d like us to take a moment now and spend some time just thinking about what this first is and what it means to you. I’d like you to close your eyes for just a minute, not too long and imagined God carrying you in as bosom, like hearing you so close to him right next to his chest. You can hear his heartbeat. You can feel the warmth of his body. You can feel the tenderness and love that he has for you.
Imagine that he looks down at you, his precious, beautiful child with great love. Maybe you’ve never experienced this type of love before, but as you look up, you see him just staring at you like just in love with you. I can think about that as I would take a look at my babies and fall in love with them. As I carried them, as they held them tightly and if you have children, you probably may have had that opportunity to just hold them close and just stare at how amazing in beautiful they are, and if you haven’t had children, maybe you’ve had something in your life where you’ve been able to look at it and just marvel in that beauty. It’s that great love that is just so simply amazing. I want you to think about how does it feel to be loved like that I think about the warmth of his body and him just holding you. Do you feel secure? Do you feel warm? Do you feel safe? Do you feel loved and well cared for?
As we kind of think about that for a bit, take some time and write writing in your journal. Write about how you feel as you’re contemplating God is loving you like a child, like just loving you, like greater than you’ve loved anything else near in your life. Maybe this love you can’t even comprehend, but if you were to think of your greatest love to think even greater than that and it will probably overwhelm you. Are you a lamb and Nida father’s love I hope that this week you’ll take some time and think about this first, the message of Isaiah, it makes my heart sing. God shows his fatherly love with the provision, care, protection, and guidance. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. And if maybe you’re here today and you feel like the world’s forgotten you, maybe you feel like you’re left alone, you’re isolated or maybe, or even isolating yourself, maybe that’s what you do.
I sometimes know when I feel upset or alone or isolate myself, that’s not good. I’m working on it. I have some friends that are surrounding me and trying to make sure that whenever I’m down that, I reach out to them and reach out to my God and pray to him and helped me not to get into such a deep, dark hole. That is hard to get out of sometimes. So if you feel like you’ve been forgotten or left alone in this world, I pray that you will turn to God and ask him to show his love and light into your hearts. Just ask him into your heart. Ask Him to show you that love that he has for his children. Greed, the verse, Isaiah 40:11 remember that God, exactly. We’ll feed his shot. Feed his flock like a shepherd he will provide for you.
And if you feel like you haven’t been provided for you, haven’t you feel like you haven’t been loved, you haven’t been gathered in his arms and, and you haven’t been led gently, but you’ve been forced to do things that you’re not proud of. We’re not happy to do. Lord, I pray that you would go to our Lord and ask him to show you the things that you haven’t seen before. To ask him to carry you, to ask him to provide for you, to ask him to lead your life. And if you know that God is your God and you know when you have a relationship with him, but maybe you’re mad at him because things haven’t been going your way or what you’ve asked for, he hasn’t delivered. I pray that you will go to him and repent of whatever it is that that is on your mind and her heart.
Are the things that you’re upset at him for. Perhaps he has something better for you that he has yet to share with you. I’ve always felt there are times in my life where I’ve always, I wanted something so bad, and I would pray to God, please give it to me. I just, you know, I know that I would do so good if you would just do this for me, but now that I’m older, I look back, and I’m so glad that he did not grant that wish because I would not have the love in my life that I have right now. I wouldn’t have the friends that I have in my life. I wouldn’t have the husband that I’m married to. I wouldn’t have the kids that I, that I have and it’s pretty amazing. I know. I used to think that it would be more amazing if I had a ton of money and now that I look back, I go, I’m so glad I don’t have it.
Oh, so there are a lot of problems that come with that kind of money I was wishing for, and I’m so glad that God didn’t provide cause he provided exactly what I needed exactly when I needed it. He is an amazing God, and so he truly does feed his flock like a shepherd. He gathers his lambs in his arms, he carries them in his bosom, and he gently leads those who have their young. I hope that today that you are encouraged to know that you have a god that carries you and that truly does love you. The Romans six three 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 I know you will feel the love of Christ that surpasses all understanding. You will feel God carry you even in your, your greatest stays as well as your deepest, darkest moments. Thank you so much for tuning in today to the promises of God podcasts, and I can’t wait to talk to you in our next episode. Goodbye.
Thanks for listening to the promises of God podcast. This podcast is sponsored by Bible Journaling M
Episode 027: Who is God?
Welcome back to the promises of God podcast, episode number 27 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 months series is about understanding and receiving God’s love, and we’re working out of the momentum devotional offered by Bible drilling ministries titled a Father’s Love. You can learn more about Bible journaling with their free 10-day course at BibleJournalingMinistries.com today we’re answering the question, Who is God? And our verse is Matthew 3:16-17 and I’m reading this out of the King James version. It says, and Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water and Lo the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him and Lo voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.
I love this first. Mostly the reason why I love this first is that all of the three persons of the Trinity appear in this one, in these two verses. And you can see that they are United, but they’re also very distinct. And I think it is a great, great visualization of what it is to be to the Trinity. Essentially, God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus all in one. And when we ask ourselves today, who was God And I know God because when I first believed in Jesus Christ, I was given the gift of the Holy Spirit. When I was young, I called up my conscience or my intuition, but realize later in life that it wasn’t me, but it was the holy spirit. I feel his presence, and I see his work all around me, and I’m not talking about the beauty of nature, but the small things like a smile from a stranger, a lost item found or the pain of a current struggle, which leads to an opportunity in the future.
If I trust him, I know that seems odd to say pain being an opportunity, but if I look back on my life so many times where I was hurt, um, or even in physical pain, that experience grew me in some way, and allowed me to bring others to Christ or to share hope with others or whatever. There was always something positive that came out of a simple, simply just rough situation. I know God, but not fully. He is way too complex for me. Many of my pastors have tried to explain to me who God is, but for me, it’s impossible to explain it. It would take thousands upon thousands of words, but because God is just so complex, I can’t wrap my mind around even the smallest part of him. Do I start with his attributes? Do I start with the spirit? Do I even start with Jesus? It seems a bit watered down to break God apart, but I do try because not trying seems like giving up. And a lot of people ask me, who is God and what do I say God is and who do I say God is?
So I tried to say it in many different ways. I mean first, for a nonbeliever, I will always say, you know God is complex, but you know in the simplest form his true love. He created this, this earth and it was good, and he created it as a beautiful, beautiful place. Of course, that’s how we are today in the simplest form of explanation. God is the father, son and Holy Spirit in one a trinity. God is the creator. You can read about that in Genesis 1:1 he is love, and he holds the universe in his love, and that’s the first John Chapter four verse eight and Colossians 1:17 as hard as it is to fathom the point isn’t to understand God. I believe the point is to know him and be known by him.
So you can be with him in eternal glory. You can read a little more there in Second Corinthians 4:17 there is simply no one like him this week I’d like you to take some time to write or journal about what it means to have a father that his love for me to have a father that is love means that I will always be accepted and loved no matter how. How my life turns out, I am a center, right I have faults, and my God won’t never, never leave me. Even with all of my, my faults and misfortunes. I think I will always be good enough for God and I can do anything according to his plan, in his will. And you can see, even in our world, like our earthly fathers are not the same as our heavenly father. We have some amazing earthly fathers.
My father is an amazing man. Um, but of course our earthly fathers have, and they have issues, and sometimes they’re not the most loving people in the world. Sometimes, you know, I can sometimes remember where, you know, I’d want to do something, but we couldn’t do it. There was either, not finances, I was not skilled enough, there was no tutor available, et Cetera, you know And so there were limitations that I had as a child, but I believe with God that all things are possible if it’s in his wool. So there are some fathers that say, no, you can’t do that. Like you’re not good enough for that. You’re never going to be good enough. Right. I’m sure many of us have heard things like, you know, there’s no money for that, so you can’t do that. There’s no future in that for you.
So don’t even start. There’s no money to be made in that. So why even bother There’s no skill that you have that would even put you in the ranks of being able to attempt something like that. Right. Sometimes our fathers say things to us to protect us because they love us and you know, I’m sure there are plenty of fathers that don’t love their children. I’ve seen a lot of that often. I was fortunate to have a father that loved me, but there are so many of my friends that did not have a father that loved them, and some fathers abused their children. Some fathers ignore their children. And that is not an example of the heavenly father. So if you look at your life and you’re looking at your father, and you’re saying, I don’t want to have a relationship with any father.
Because of what you’ve experienced, I would encourage you to take another peek at God because God is amazing and the love that he has is like none other in. Once you get to know him, I think you’ll start to feel the love that you may never have felt before in your life. So if you’re here today and you’re struggling with receiving God’s love, I encourage you to say, today I receive God’s love. And then you can begin to take steps to experience the love that he has for you. Maybe you’ll take a break today and reflect on this verse. Maybe you’ll go outside and breathe the fresh air that is around you. Or if you live in the city in its pretty smoggy, maybe you’ll, you’ll look, stay indoors, and maybe you’ll look at the things around you that you, that you love and that are in your life for.
Maybe you’ll take a look at the friends that you have or the family that you’re surrounded with and realize how lucky you are. Or perhaps you’ll go to a food bank and donate your time today and see just how lucky you are that you are able to eat today and that you’re able to thrive in the space that God puts you in. Maybe I’m just hoping that you’ll take one step to consider accepting a father that loves you like no other, regardless of your past, regardless of your sins. And Romans 6:23 says, the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of eternal life is Jesus, our Lord. And He loves you. He gave his son for you. And when you accept his love, you will experience the world in a whole different light. I would encourage you to turn to him and confess your sins and follow his will in your life, and you will feel the love of Christ that surpasses all understanding.
Truly, I hope that you’ll give God a chance today if you haven’t already. Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode as we explore a father’s love, we’ve got about four more episodes to go as we start talking about how to receive God’s love and then how God just knew you as he formed you in your mother’s womb. We’ve got quite a few more to go, and so I hope that you’ll join us on this journey and I can’t wait to talk to you next week. I hope that you have a fabulous day. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye.
Thanks for listening to the promises of God podcast. This podcast is sponsored by Bible Journaling M