Tag: joy

August Scriptures

For the past few years, I have taken on the goal of reading my Bible through one of the one-year reading plans.  Mostly, I’ve used the NLT One-Year Chronological Bible. I seem to prefer this particular one because it’s written as it happened, in chronological order.  It’s interesting to me, when reading the Bible this way, how events in history transpired simultaneously through some of the different books and also the different order of the books from how the Bible is laid out.

Like I said, I read the One-Year Bible for several years using this particular version.  But last year, 2019, I didn’t just want to read the Bible, I wanted to make sure I got something out of the daily reading. So I decided I would find one verse or scripture passage that spoke the most to me during each day of Bible reading.

My goal was to read the Bible each day, highlight the specific verse or scripture passage that I found and then write it down to keep in a journal. I used a certain highlighter color so I could keep track of which verse I picked for the daily reading, versus other highlights already in there.

Then, late last year, I decided I wanted to do more with my daily verses, besides keeping them in a journal.  I wanted to share them. So for each month in 2020, I plan to post the scriptures I found for that month in 2019.  Sorry for the late post as this is for August.

My prayer for you is that as you read these scriptures that spoke to me last year, they will speak to you right here and now; either to something you’re searching for, an answer you need or just confirmation of what God has been speaking to you.

August 1—2 Kings 23:25

Never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a king like him since.

August 2—Habakkuk 2:4

“Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.”

August 3—Zephaniah 3:17

For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a majority savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

August 4—Jeremiah 26:13

But if you stop your sinning and begin to obey the Lord your God, he will change his mind about this disaster that he has announced against you.

August 5—Jeremiah 46:27

“But do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, do not be dismayed, Israel. For I will bring you home again from distant lands, and your children will return from their exile. Israel will return to a life of peace and quiet, and no one will terrorize them.”

August 6—Jeremiah 20:11

But the Lord stands beside me like a great warrior. Before him my persecutors will stumble. They cannot defeat me. They will fail and be thoroughly humiliated. Their dishonor will never be forgotten.

August 7—Daniel 3:28

Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

August 8—Jeremiah 9:24

But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken.

August 9—Jeremiah 12:3

But as for me, Lord, you know my heart. You see me and test my thoughts. Drag these people away like sheep to be butchered! Set them aside to be slaughtered!

August 10—Jeremiah 17:7-8

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.”

August 11—Jeremiah 23:24

Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?’, says the Lord.

August 12—Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

August 13—Jeremiah 31:25

For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing.

August 14—Jeremiah 51:19

But the God of Israel is no idol! He is the Creator of everything that exists, including his people, his own special possession. The Lord of Heavens Armies is his name!

August 15—Ezekiel 3:10

Then he added, “Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself.”

August 16—Ezekiel 3:19

If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed me.

August 17—Ezekiel 6:10

They will know that I alone am the Lord and that I was serious when I said I would bring calamity on them.

August 18—Ezekiel 13:3

This is what the Sovereign Lord says: What sorrow awaits the false prophets who are following their own imaginations and have seen nothing at all!

August 19—Ezekiel 16:62

And I will reaffirm my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord.

August 20—Ezekiel 18:20

The person who sins is the one who will die. The child will not be punished for the parents’ sins, and the parent will not be punished for the child’s sins. Righteous people will be rewarded for their own righteous behavior, and wicked people will be punished for their own wickedness.

August 21—Ezekiel 20:41

When I bring you home from exile, you will be like a pleasing sacrifice to me. And I will display my holiness through you as all the nations watch.

August 22—Ezekiel 24:13

Your impurity is your lewdness and the corruption of your idolatry. I tried to cleanse you, but you refused. So now you will remain in your faith until my fury against you has been satisfied.

August 23—Ezekiel 24:24

Ezekiel is an example for you; you will do just as he has done. And when that time comes, you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.

August 24—Jeremiah 33:9

Then this city will bring me joy, glory, and honor before all the nations of the earth! The people of the world will see all the good I do for my people, and they will tremble with awe at the peace and prosperity I provide for them.

August 25—Ezekiel 28:25

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The people of Israel will again live in their own land, the land I gave my servant Jacob. For I will gather them from the distant lands where I have scattered them. I will reveal to the nations of the world my holiness among my people.”

August 26—Jeremiah 39:18

“Because you trusted me, I will give you your life as a reward. I will rescue you and keep you safe. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

August 27—Lamentations 3:25

The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.

August 28—Lamentations 5:19

But Lord, you remain the same forever! Your throne continues from generation to generation.

August 29—Jeremiah 42:3

Pray that the Lord your God will show us what to do and where to go.

August 30—Ezekiel 34:26

I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill. And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing.

August 31—Ezekiel 37:5

This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again!

**All verses are written from the New Living Translation.

**The verses are taken from the NLT Chronological One-Year Bible from YouVersion

April Scriptures

For the past few years, I have taken on the goal of reading my Bible through one of the one-year reading plans.  Mostly, I’ve used the NLT One-Year Chronological Bible. I seem to prefer this particular one because it’s written as it happened, in chronological order.  It’s interesting to me, when reading the Bible this way, how events in history transpired simultaneously through some of the different books and also the different order of the books from how the Bible is laid out.

Like I said, I read the One-Year Bible for several years using this particular version.  But last year, 2019, I didn’t just want to read the Bible, I wanted to make sure I got something out of the daily reading. So I decided I would find one verse or scripture passage that spoke the most to me during each day of Bible reading.

My goal was to read the Bible each day, highlight the specific verse or scripture passage that I found and then write it down to keep in a journal. I used a certain highlighter color so I could keep track of which verse I picked for the daily reading, versus other highlights already in there.

Then, late last year, I decided I wanted to do more with my daily verses, besides keeping them in a journal.  I wanted to share them. So for each month in 2020, I plan to post the scriptures I found for that month in 2019.  I fell behind again, so for May you’ll get the April scriptures (this post) and then the May scriptures (later post).

My prayer for you is that as you read these scriptures that spoke to me last year, they will speak to you right here and now; either to something you’re searching for, an answer you need or just confirmation of what God has been speaking to you.

April 1—Judges 6:14

Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”

April 2—Judges 8:34

They forgot the Lord their God, who had rescued them from all their enemies surrounding them.

April 3—Judges 11:27

Therefore, I have not sinned against you. Rather, you have wronged me by attacking me. Let the Lord, who is judge, decide today which of us is right—Israel or Ammon.

April 4—Judges 13:20

As the flames from the altar shot up toward the sky, the angel of the Lord ascended in the fire. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell with their faces to the ground.

April 5—Judges 16:28

Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time. With one blow let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes.”

April 6—Judges 20:11

So all the Israelites were completely united, and they gathered together to attack the town.

April 7—Ruth 4:12

“…And may the Lord give you descendants by this young woman who will be like those of our ancestor Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah.”

April 8—Ruth 4:15

“…May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age. For he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons!”

April 9—1 Samuel 2:21

And the Lord blessed Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.

April 10—1 Samuel 7:15

Samuel continued as Israel’s judge for the rest of his life.

April 11—1 Samuel 10:1

Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul’s head. He kissed Saul and said, “I am doing this because the Lord has appointed you to be the ruler over Israel, his special possession.”

April 12—1 Samuel 13:14

“…But now your kingdom must end for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of His people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

April 13—1 Samuel 15:22

But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams…”

April 14—1 Samuel 17:50

So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword.

April 15—1 Samuel 20:42

At last Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn loyalty to each other in the Lord’s name. The Lord is the witness of a bond between us and our children forever.” Then David left, and Jonathan returned to the town.

April 16—Psalm 57:5

Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens! May your glory shine over all the earth.

April 17—1 Samuel 24:11

“…Look, my father, at what I have in my hand. It is a piece of the hem of your robe! I cut it off, but I didn’t kill you. This proves that I am not trying to harm you and that I have not sinned against you, even though you have been hunting for me to kill me…”

April 18—Psalm 56:3

But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.

April 19—1 Samuel 30:23

But David said, “No, my brothers! Don’t be selfish with what the Lord has given us. He has kept us safe and helped us defeat the band of raiders that attacked us…”

April 20—2 Samuel 2:6

And now may the Lord show kindness and truth to you. I also will repay you this kindness, because you have done this thing.

April 21—2 Samuel 3:18

“…Now then, do it! For the Lord has spoken of David saying, ‘By the hand of My Servant David, I will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and the hand of all their enemies.’”

April 22—2 Samuel 5:3

So there at Hebron, King David made a covenant before the Lord with all the elders of Israel. And they anointed him king of Israel.

April 23—1 Chronicles 15:28

So all Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant with shouts of joy, the blowing of rams’ horns and trumpets, the crashing of cymbals, and loud playing on harps and lyres.

April 24—Psalm 60:12

With God’s help we will do mighty things, for he will trample down our foes.

April 25—2 Samuel 8:15

So David reigned over all Israel and did what was just and right for all his people.

April 26—Psalm 51:7

Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

April 27—2 Samuel 14:14

All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him.

April 28—2 Samuel 15:30

David walked up the road to the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went. His head was covered and his feet were bare, as a sign of mourning. And the people who were with him covered their heads and wept as they climbed the hill.

April 29—Psalm 3:3

But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.

April 30—Psalm 7:17

I will thank the Lord because he is just; I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

**All verses are written from the New Living Translation.

**The verses are taken from the NLT Chronological One-Year Bible from YouVersion

Always in our Hearts

As 2013 comes to a close, I wanted to say a final good-bye to close out the year.  It’s been an interesting year, but one with more heartbreak than I’ve ever experienced before.

The year began like any other, then a couple of months in, we received the most joyous news.  Our dream of becoming parents was finally coming true!  All the hours we’d spent on planning, discussing baby décor, names and the number of kids we wanted to have, we were finally on our way to having our very own family.  The discussions on room décor were starting to take shape as we decided you were a boy as we had long prayed you’d be.

Sadly, the joyous time was short-lived, as our happiness turned to heartbreak. You were gone in the blink of an eye.  The excitement and joy we had over you in one breath, was quickly gone in the next.  I imagined you would’ve been as handsome as your dad, with his dark hair and shining green eyes.  I guess when the time comes for us to see you again, I can see how close I was to my vivid imagination.

I thought of you a lot since that time.  You would’ve been born at the end of October, so you would’ve had your first Christmas this year. I imagined I would’ve had a lot of fun shopping for you on Black Friday with my mom and sister, the way we shop for my nieces every year.  I imagine your dad would’ve gone with us…mostly because he’s just a big kid version of you anyway!  I imagine all the toys I would’ve had to put back on the shelf, telling your dad that we’re not made of money and that you’re too young for most of the toys anyway!  But it would’ve been fun.

I imagined you at Christmas when I was decorating the tree.  You would’ve had your first ornament on the tree…Baby’s 1st Christmas.  You would’ve had the cutest Christmas outfits and I’m sure sweater vests because that’s what your dad likes.  I imagined placing you in Santa’s arms at the mall for your first-ever picture with Santa.  Unlike your cousin who didn’t care much for Santa this year, I imagined that you would’ve just lain quietly in his arms as if you were lying in the arms of Jesus.  You would’ve had your first trip to Santa Land and the beginning of many other traditions I’m anxious to start with our family.

It was a different kind of year, thinking of what could’ve been that never was.  Your dad and I miss you dearly and we will always love you.  I just wanted you to know that you’re not forgotten.  You’ll always be in our thoughts and memories, but above all else, you’ll always be in our hearts!

ornament