150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 120

Good Morning Everyone!

Today we are reading in Psalm 120--a much shorter Psalm than yesterday's Psalm 119!  I knew as soon as I started reading that I wanted to record the first verse in my Bible notebook:

"In my distress I cried to the LORD, and He heard me." Psalm 120:1


Last night our weather radio went off four times--and that was all just before midnight when we gave up sleeping in our beds and moved all in our family down to the basement!  Severe thunderstorms, hail, and tornadoes are what the weather radio was warning us against.  I am VERY thankful for the warnings it gives--but it DOES startle you a bit and almost give you a heart attack when it goes off and you WERE sleeping soundly!  Once we moved to the basement, the radio continued to go off but we could sleep peacefully knowing that we had done all that we could--there was no more safer place in our home for us to move to.  And so--in my distress--I cried to the Lord--and He heard me and I slept!

That does not mean that if a tornado HAD hit our house that the Lord wouldn't have heard us--by no means.  We have some very good friends who had just that happen several years ago--a tornado swept through their neighborhood--just a few miles from where we live--and completely destroyed houses including theirs.  Praise God they were able to escape with their lives, sheltering in their basement.  God does not always protect His people from bad things happening to us in this world of sin.  But can we not pray to Him--and then relax, knowing that He has indeed heard us?

What is your distress today?  Tornadoes?  Bills?  Illness?  Relationships?  Whatever it is--cry to Him.  He truly cares.  He will help guide you--He has promised!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 119

Good Morning Everyone!

Are you reading along with me today?  We are on Psalm 119.  Quite the change from the two verse long Psalm 117, isn't it?  Psalm 119 is 176 verses!  With all those verses--you didn't expect me to just choose ONE, did you?  I did my best--I really did, but I just HAD to write down several verses in my Bible notebook!

The first verse I recorded really is setting the theme of the Psalm--the theme of loving God's Word.

"Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You."  Psalm 119:11

In my Study Bible, there was this note going along with verse 11:

"Every promise in God's word is ours.  'By every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God' (Matthew 4:4) are we to live  When assailed by temptation, look not to circumstances or to the weakness of self, but to the power of the word.  all its strength is yours."
The Desire of Ages, by E.G. White, p. 123

Isn't that a precious promise?  Just think--we can search the Scriptures and claim the precious promises as ours!

I also loved this one:

"Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way."  Psalm 119:37

How often do I spend my time doing worthless things?  Way too often, I am afraid!  This verse is a cry for discernment--and a cry for strength to do what God points out that needs to be done!


Then I wrote down this one:

"I rise before the dawning of the morning, And cry for help; I hope in Your word."  Psalm 119:147

This verse reminds me to seek God first in my day--before other things crowd their way in!


And last but not least, I found this gem:

"Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble."  Psalm 119:165

This--this is what I want above all things!  To have great peace because I know I am following my Creator's law.  To not stumble, because His Word keeps me safely on His path.

So spend some time in the Word today.  Seek out it's promises--every one is for you!  Turn away your eyes from looking at worthless things, rise first thing to seek He who is your Savior and help.  And you will find great peace, when you love His law!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 118

Good Morning Everyone!

We are reading in Psalm 118 today.  It is repeating the theme that the past several Psalms have had--that of giving praise to God!  I loved the first verse in the chapter:

"Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!  For His mercy endures forever."  Psalm 118:1

Exactly how long is "forever"?  Have you ever thought about that?

I also wrote down verse 5 and 6:

"I called on the LORD in distress; The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.  The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.  What can man do to me?"  Psalm 118:5,6

This--this is where our trust and security need to be.  When you think about it--man can do a LOT to a person!  I am reminded of the recent Corrie ten Boom stories I have been reading.  Man took her and threw her in a prison.  Man separated her from her father and from her sister and from all other earthly support.  But man could not separate her from her Father in heaven.  Even though she was living in awful circumstances--and I truly do not believe it was God's will for her to be in prison, yet--He took something negative that man did to her, and blessed Corrie anyway.  Their relationship that came out of prison was much stronger than their relationship together that went INTO prison. God used that time period as a training ground for the work He would ask Corrie to do for Him after she was released.

So I think the instruction in these verses are what we need to be following today--what I need to be following.  In my distress--for on this earth, we will certainly find ourselves in distress--in my distress, I will call on the LORD.  And He will answer me, I need not fear.

Are you calling on Him today?  He is waiting to talk with you!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 117

Good Morning Everyone!

If you are reading along with me, you will have noticed already that today's Psalm--Psalm 117--did not take very long to read this morning.  In fact, when I chose to write down verse 2 in my Bible notebook I was writing down half the Psalm!  That's right--it is only two verses!  The first verse tells us that we are to praise the Lord--and the second verse tells us "why."

"For His merciful kindness is great toward us, And the truth of the LORD endures forever.  Praise the LORD!"  Psalm 117:2

I found a devotional thought that is centered around praising God, which I read this morning and I thought it goes right along with this Psalm:

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"If we will consecrate heart and mind to the service of God, doing the work He has for us to do and walking in the footsteps of Jesus, our hearts will be come sacred harps, every chord of which will send forth praise and thanksgiving to the Lamb sent by God to take away the sins of the world.  .

Christ would have our thoughts center upon Him.  .  . Look away from self to Jesus Christ, the life of every blessing, every grace, the life of all that is precious and valuable to the children of God. . .

The Lord Jesus is our strength and happiness, the great storehouse from which, on every occasion, men may draw strength.  As we study Him, talk of Him, become more and more able to behold Him--as we avail ourselves of His grace and receive the blessings he proffers us, we have something with which to help others.  Filled with gratitude, we communicate to others the blessings that have been freely given us.  Thus receiving and imparting, we grow in grace; and a rich current of praise and gratitude constantly flows from our lips; the sweet spirit of Jesus kindles thanksgiving in our hearts, and our souls are uplifted with a sense of security.  The unfailing, inexhaustible righteousness of Christ becomes our righteousness by faith.

Let the fresh blessings of each new day awaken praise in our hearts for these tokens of His loving care

When you open your eyes in the morning, thank God that He has kept you through the night.  Thank Him for His peace in your heart.  Morning, noon, and night let gratitude as a sweet perfume ascend to heaven. . .

The angels of God, thousands upon thousands, . . . guard us against evil and press back the powers of darkness that are seeking our destruction.  Have we not reason to be thankful every moment, thankful even when there are apparent difficulties in our pathway?"

Our Father Cares, by E. G. White, p 47

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I especially like the part about as soon as we open our eyes in the morning--we should be thanking God for keeping us through the night.  This is something I need to practice on, for often my mind first starts jumping to whatever it is I need to get done that day!  But first--I need to pray!

So as you go throughout your day today, don't forget to praise your Father in heaven--and receive the fresh blessings of each new day!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 116

Good Morning Everyone!

We are reading Psalm 116 today, and this is one of my favorite Psalms!  When I first met my husband, he taught me a little song that he played on his guitar that was based on Psalm 116.  It was a beautiful and simple little tune, talking about how  "I love the Lord because he hears my voice and answers me, because He bends down and listens, I will call on Him as long as I live."  I was looking for this song this morning so I could share it with you--but I can't find that exact version.  I did, however, find several very pretty other songs, so I thought I would share one with you!

There are so many beautiful verses in this Psalm!  Probably my favorite is the first two verses, which the song my husband taught me is based on:

"I love the LORD, because He has heard my voice and my supplications  Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live."  Psalm 116: 1 & 2

I also really like verse 12, which is the one I wrote down in my notebook this morning:

"What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits toward me?"  Psalm 116:12

Have you ever thought about that?  What we can possibly do for Him?  My Study Bible had this note in it, which I thought was a good reminder for us:

"The Christian should often review his past life and recall with gratitude the precious deliverances that God has wrought for him, supporting him in trial, opening ways before him when all seemed dark and forbidding, refreshing him when ready to faint.  He should recognize all of them as evidences of the watchcare of heavenly angels.  In view of these innumerable blessings he should often ask, with subdued and grateful heart, 'What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me?'"  (Psalm 116:12)
Patriarchs and Prophets, by E. G. White, p. 187

What shall I give Him?

I can only give Him my heart.

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 115

Good Morning Everyone!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving day, filled with family and friends!

Today brings us to Psalm 115 in our reading.  It is going by fast!  I thought this Psalm was interesting in that it is talking about the futility of idols and the trustworthiness of God.  How the idols cannot see or hear or help you--yet our God can!  I choose verse 8 to record in my Bible notebook:

"Those who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them."  Psalm 115:8

Do we want to be like an idol--who has a mouth but does not speak, has eyes but do not see--who has ears but do not hear--who have noses but do not smell, hands but do not handle, feet but do not walk?  I don't think so!  And yet--what ARE we looking at?  My Study Bible had this note in it, which is a good reminder for all of us!

"It is a law of the human mind that by beholding we become changed.  Man will rise no higher than his conceptions of truth, purity, and holiness.  If the mind is never exalted above the level of humanity, if it is not uplifted by faith to contemplate infinite wisdom and love, the man will be constantly sinking lower and lower."
Patriarchs and Prophets, by E. G. White, p. 91

Reminds me of this verse:

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."  2 Corinthians 3:18

And one of my favorites--which I have tried to take as a motto for my life:

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."  Philippians 4:8

So spend some time contemplating your great God today--His goodness, His mercy, His compassion, His forgiveness--and as you look at Him--you will become changed more and more like Him!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 114

Good Morning Everyone!

And a Happy Happy Thanksgiving!  Even if you are not living in the United States and celebrating Thanksgiving today, in all reality we all should be celebrating Thanksgiving every single day--Thanksgiving to our wonderful Creator, for all He has made and for all He has done (and continues to do) for us!

Today I am reading Psalm 114.  This Psalm is focusing on the power of God in His deliverance of Israel.  I found a verse that I think is pretty neat in it's description:

"Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the God of Jacob."  Psalm 114:7

Can you just imagine God shows up and there is an earthquake because of His mighty power? So often, we think of God so causally.  He WANTS us to feel free to come to Him, He INVITES us to approach Him through prayer any time at all.  He has given Himself the name of "Our Father," but are we forgetting exactly who He is?  Are we forgetting His mighty power?  Are we forgetting that He is the Creator of everything?

Sometimes, people set out to save something in nature--and I think this is good!  We need to not be polluting the waters, or cutting down all the forests, or doing other things that cause God's creatures to die because their habitat was destroyed.  But do we sometimes look at "Mother Nature" as god, instead of looking at God the Creator as God?  I found this quote in my reading this morning, and I thought it illustrates this thought well:

"God's handiwork in nature is not God Himself in nature.  The things of nature are an expression of God's character, by them we may understand His love, His ower, and His glory; but we are not to regard nature as God.  The artistic skill of human beings produces very beautiful workmanship, things that delight the eye and these things give us something of the idea of the designer, but the thing made is not the man.  It is not the work, but the workman, that is counted worthy of honor.  So, while nature is an expression of God's thought, it is not nature but the God of nature that is to be exalted."
Testimonies for the Church, by E. G. White, Vol. 8, p. 263

Good reminder, isn't it?  So today--as you are remembering to be thankful and grateful for all that you have--don't eave out the Source that all your blessings flow from.  Even in trials, He carries us through.  How very much He loves us!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 113

Good Morning!

Today we are reading Psalm 113--it is such a beautiful Psalm!  All about our wonderful God!  There were two verses that I really loved, so I wrote down both of them in my notebook:

"From the rising of the sun to its going down, The LORD'S name is to be praised." Psalm 113:3

"He raises the poor out of the dust, And lifts the needy out of the ash heap."  Psalm 113:7

Aren't those verses beautiful?  I love the first one because it tells us WHEN we are to be praising our God--and we are to start as soon as we wake up in the morning and finish when we are going to be at night!  Sounds like all the time to me!

The second verse I love even more--because it's meaning is SO precious, SO deep, when you really think about it.  Haven't you experienced times in your life when you felt like YOU were the poor sitting in the dust?  Like you had done all that you possibly could, but it wasn't good enough and you were cast down with discouragement?  I know I have!  And yet--God comes even there--to the garbage dump of our life--and picks us up!  He loves us too much to leave us there--what marvelous love!

I was reading in a favorite book of mine this morning--"The Desire of Ages," and found this beautiful paragraph at the end of chapter 1.  It seemed to go along with today's Psalm, so I thought I would share it with you here:

"The work of redemption will be complete.  In the place where sin abounded, God's grace much more abounds.  The earth itself, the very field that Satan claims as his, is to be not only ransomed but exalted.  Our little world, under the curse of sin the one dark blot in His glorious creation, will be honored above all other worlds in the universe of God.  Here, where the Son of God tabernacled in humanity; where the King of Glory lived and suffered and died,---here, when He shall make all things new, the tabernacle of God shall be with men, 'and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.' And through endless ages as the redeemed walk in the light of the Lord, they will praise Him for His unspeakable Gift,---Immanuel, 'God with us.' "
The Desire of Ages, by E. G. White, p. 26

How much He loves us--that He came to our sinful world, leaving glorious heaven--knowing that He would die a painful death on a cross.  What was in it for Him?  Nothing.  We have nothing to offer Him.  And yet--He loves us anyway and is willing to pick us up out of the ash heap.  What is in it for us?  Everything!  Life eternal, the blotting out of our awful sins.  How much He loves us!

His name is to be praised from the rising of the sun to its going down!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 112

Hello Friends!

A good chilly morning to Everyone!  Today we are reading in Psalm 112.  This is a beautiful Psalm--one of those that you feel like underlining the whole thing instead of just a verse or two!

In my Bible, this Psalm has a sub title that says "The Blessed State of the Righteous."  With a title like that, one would expect that this would be a very encouraging Psalm--and it does not disappoint!  This Psalm describes God's righteous people with phrases such as "descendants will be mighty on earth," "wealth and riches will be in his house," "deals graciously and lends," "will not be afraid of evil tidings," "heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD," and "has dispersed abroad, he has given to the poor."  All these describing God's righteous people!

I choose to write in my Bible notebook verse six:
"Surely he will never be shaken; The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance." Psalm 112:6

We all have lost loved ones in this world of sin.  But just because they may be temporarily resting in the grave--waiting for Jesus to come and awake them--does not mean that their deeds do not still have an influence upon things here on earth.  My study Bible had this note to go along with this chapter, which I wanted to share with you:

"As the glow of the descending sun lights up the mountain peaks long after the sun itself has sunk behind the hills, so the works of the pure, the holy, and the good shed light upon the world long after the actors themselves have passed away.  Their works, their words, their example, will forever live.  'The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.' Psalm 112:6"
Patriarchs and Prophets, by E. G. White, p. 481

It makes me stop and wonder--what influence will live on after I am resting in the grave?  What influence am I spreading around now?  I pray that it will be what God wants it to be, and that others will not see me when they look at me, but rather Him.

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 111

Good Morning Everyone!

Today we are reading Psalm 111.  I knew immediately which verse I wanted to record in my Bible notebook:

"He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever:  Holy and awesome is His name."  Psalm 111:9

"Holy and awesome is His name"--that is the part that really grabbed my attention!  It started me thinking--in our country, when a president is elected and moves into the White House with their family, of course the security measures around the White House are immense.  Guards are doing their job, protecting the president and preventing people from off the street to just walk in (this didn't used to be this way--from what I read in the History books some presidents DID used to see people from off the streets--but not nowadays!).  The guards--as well as undercover policemen and secret service people are all doing their best to do their job and keep the president safe.  However--if the president has a child who is living in the White House, well, that child has free reign!  They can go and see their father pretty much whenever they want to.  Is it because he is no longer the president of the United States?  No--he still is holding that very important job, and still has all the power that that position gives.  Yet--because of the relationship between the father and their child, the child is always welcome.  The child has "special privileges."  But this does not take away the position and power of their father.

Do we remember that we have a Father who is much higher still than even the President of our country?  That our Father is the King of the Universe?  Our Creator, our Savior, our Redeemer, our Protector, our Provider?  Do we remember that we can get an audience with Him at any moment?  We don't even have to have an appointment!  Through prayer, we have His immediate attention!  And yet--do we take Him for granted?  Are we so used to being able to freely approach Him that we forget just exactly WHO He really is???  My Study Bible had this note in it, which I think is an excellent reminder for all of us--myself included!

"We are never in any manner to treat lightly the titles or appellations of the Deity  In prayer we enter the audience chamber of the Most High; and we should come before Him with holy awe  The angels veil their faces in His presence  The cherubim and the bright and holy seraphim approach His throne with solemn reverence.  How much more should we, finite, sinful beings, come in a reverent manner before the Lord, our Maker!"
Thoughts from the Mount of Blessings, by E. G. White, p. 106

Good reminder, isn't it?  So as you go throughout today--remember Who your Father is!  Approach him gladly, knowing you are welcome!  But don't forget to also be respectful.

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 110

Good Morning Everyone!

Today we are reading Psalm 110.  Hard to believe that pretty soon we will be all the way through the Psalms!  In my Bible, this Psalm has the subtitle of "Announcement of the Messiah's Reign."  I liked the reminder found in verse 1, so that is the verse I wrote in my Bible notebook:

"The LORD said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool.'"  Psalm 110:1

Does the same thing stand out to you that does to me?  Our job--to sit and wait for God!  To wait for HIM to work things out.  To wait for HIM to do battle.  To wait for HIM to decide the timing is right.  Isn't it truly harder for us to wait than for us to rush right in there and DO something???  Am I the only one like this?

Reading this verse reminded me of a couple of other similar verses--always good to take the Bible as a whole!  Sometimes we can misunderstand one verse, but comparing verse with verse we can be more certain of God's guidance in our lives. . . Anyway, these following verses came to mind, or came up in a quick search:

"The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."  Exodus 14:14

"He said 'Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem!  This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army.  For the battle is not yours, but God's.' "  2 Chronicles 20:15

"Do not be afraid of them; the LORD your God himself will fight for you."  Deuteronomy 3:22

And then we come to my absolute favorite--this is from a story in the Bible that I draw much courage from!  It is one that I always need to remember!  So I included some of the verses around it so you will have more of the story that was going on.  This story has to do with the prophet Elisha and his servant. . .

"Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city.  And his servant said to him, 'Alas, my master!  What shall we do?'  So he answered, 'Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.'  Then Elisha prayed and said, 'O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.'  And the LORD opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. . . "  2 Kings 6:15-17

I LOVE that story!  It is not that the enemy army surrounding them wasn't real--it was very real indeed!  But equally real--but the servant did not see this at first--was that God's army was surrounding the enemy army!  Elisha knew God's army was there, even though his earthly eyes did not see it either at first.  But he knew he was doing God's will, so he knew God would be there.

Does this mean that nothing bad will ever happen to God's people?  Not necessarily.  The Bible is also full of stories of His prophets who were doing His will--and yet the people stoned them or sawed them in half or all sorts of terrible things.  But if we are doing what He has asked us to do--there is no safer place for us to be.  We may lose our life here on this earth, but can not the one who created us in the first place resurrect us again at the second coming?

And so today, from reading Psalm 110, I am going to try and remember that the battle is not mine--it is God's.  I am only to make sure I am doing whatever He has asked me to do.

~Susan

Home School Review--Christmas Joy Bible Study!

Hello Everyone!

I am super excited today because I have yet another fantastic Home School Review for you!  Today I am going to be sharing with you another of the great Bible Studies done by the Bible Stories From the Heart team--this one is called "Christmas Joy," and I probably don't have to tell you that it is all about the Christmas story!

In case you missed my previous review of the "Love Drops" Bible study also from Bible Stories From the Heart, you can read all about that study here:

Love Drops Bible Study

As I shared in my previous review, these Bible studies are actually written to be used by adults, either in small groups in homes, church groups, or individually.  But since I am a home school mom, I look at them in an entirely different way--and that is as a fantastic curriculum choice for Bible class!  What I really love about these studies is that they have EVERYTHING--a Bible passage to read and apply to your life, discussion questions to help start a conversation between you and your child--and help guide them in learning how to apply what they read in the Bible to their own life, as well as a great Bible art coloring page at the end of each lesson!  I think the more ways we can help our kids apply the Bible the better--so if they are reading it, discussing it, reading some of the poetry that is sometimes included (and perhaps even memorizing the poems!), writing out a S.O.A.P. application page, as well as creating an art project--well, that is just helping them apply the Bible to their lives in SO many different and creative ways!  And these are studies that both you AND they will enjoy!  What a blessing to be studying the Bible together with your children!

The "Christmas Joy" Bible Study is PERFECT for starting right now, at this time of year!  There are a total of four lessons in the study.  When I do these lessons with my 12 year old daughter, we roughly spend one week on each lesson.  Sometimes we take a day or two longer,, and that's o.k., we just go through at our own pace!  One special thing about this Bible study is that there are Christmas poems and some extra coloring pages included in a section at the back of the study (these coloring pages are in addition to the art coloring pages included for each lesson) and there is also a bonus craft idea showing how you can make a display using some smaller versions of the coloring pages and hanging the on ribbon.  This would make a beautiful addition to your Christmas decorations!  What better decoration than using God's Word and hanging it where it will remain in your child's thoughts!

My daughter and I started the "Christmas Joy" Bible study last week.  The first lesson is focusing on the character of Mary, and what it would have been like for her when the Christmas story unfolded.  The focus verses were Luke 1:26-38, Which is when Christ's Birth was announced to Mary.  After reading the story right from the Bible (the passage is printed in the study from the NKJV, or you can look it up and read it in the version of your choice), there is some Biblical history given of that time period.  We learned a little bit about how Jewish girls were brought up at that time, and what commonly would have happened to an unmarried girl then who found herself pregnant--she would have been stoned to death or sent away as a slave!  Mary was highly honored--but along with this great honor, she accepted great risk.  She trusted God to protect her through her pregnancy, and He did!  We also learned that before Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel, angel visits were not a common occurrence!  Around six months before Mary's angel visit, her relative Elizabeth had been visited by Gabriel and told she would be having the baby John the Baptist--but before Elizabeth, it had been over 400 years since the Jewish people had had any sign or word from God!  So it wasn't like Mary could just explain everything to her family by saying "Oh, an angel visited me!"  I mean, she could--and I'm sure did--tell them that she had an angel visit, but it wasn't like that was going to explain everything to them and remove all their doubts!

After learning more of the Bible history, there is a focus verse of Luke 1:38, which reads "Behold the maidservant of the Lord!  Let it be to me according to your word.  We then focused on specific words and phrases  of "Behold, Maidservant, Of the Lord, Let it be to me, According," and "Your Word." We learned more about exactly what is the meaning of each word/phrase.

Following the Focus Words, we came to the Lesson One discussion questions.  The questions we had were as follows:
1.  Do you consider yourself a "servant" of your Heavenly Father?  Why or why not?
2.  Are you willing to be used as a "vessel" by God?  Give examples to support your answer.
3.  Is your faith in the Lord as strong as Mary's?  What areas of your faith are your strengths?  Your weaknesses?
4.  What can you do today and this week to strengthen your faith?

After the discussion questions we came to the art page for that lesson.  Like the lesson itself, the art page focused on Mary and is a beautiful reminder of how she trusted God.

You and your child can color the page just as it is--you can use crayons or colored pencils--or my daughter and I like to trace the pages onto water color paper and then water color the picture.  You can make it very simple for a younger child--or a little more challenging for an older child.  You--or they--can change things to personalize the art page however they would like to.  On my art page, I really felt like I wanted to put in a Bible verse illustrating the picture, so I did!

Do you see how easy it is to personalize these studies for your family?  They really give enough structure to really help give you some substance to work with--and yet are flexible enough to work well with any age group you may be teaching at home!

Just to give you an idea here are two more of the wonderful art pages included in this study!  I don't want to give them all away--but if you decide this sounds like something that would work great for you or your home school I do not think you will be disappointed!

Aren't these sweet pictures?  And they can also be made into some home made Christmas cards done by your children!  Or they could be a Christmas gift for Grandma and Grandpa!

"Christmas Joy" is available in a paper book format at Amazon, at this link:
Christmas Joy

It is also available as a pdf on their Esty page here:
Christmas Joy pdf

If you are purchasing "Christmas Joy" to use as your own personal devotion, or to use with just one child, you might want to consider a paper book format.  But the pdf version is fantastic if you are using it for several children, as you can print for your own immediate family the number of copies you need.  Or you can simply read the Bible study off of your computer or tablet, and only print out an art page for each child.

And last but not least--another way to connect with Bible Stories From the Heart and view samples of some of their other Bible Studies is over on their web page, which can be found here:
Bible Stories From the Heart

Thank you for joining me in this Home School Review!  As you can tell, I think "Christmas Joy" is the perfect thing to use with your children in those wiggly weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas!  These weeks can be difficult ones for children to focus on regular school things--why not give them something different and help your children focus on the REAL meaning of the Christmas season!

~Susan

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Disclaimer:  I received a free pdf copy of "Christmas Joy" in exchange for my honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are completely my own, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE these Bible studies and have used (and purchased!) several of them in my home school for our Bible class.  

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 109

Hello Everyone!

Today we are reading Psalm 109.  I am a bit late in the day getting this posted, but I have family visiting currently so my usual routines are all a bit different currently.  But it is nice to be able to catch up with family!

I did find a few minutes to squeeze in reading today's Psalm.  Right away I knew which verse was really speaking to my heart.  It is verse 4, and reads like this:

"In return for my love they are my accusers, But I give myself to prayer."  Psalm 109:4

Did you catch that?  I give myself to prayer!

When falsely accused--we need to give ourselves to prayer.

When having difficulties--we need to give ourselves to prayer.

When we lack wisdom--we need to give ourselves to prayer.

This verse reminded me of something I read a while ago and really surprised me.  I had to really think about this quote I am going to share with you for quite some time, pondering and praying about how I am supposed to apply it to my life.  The quote is as follows:

     "When perplexities arise, and difficulties confront you, look not for help to humanity.  Trust all with God.  The practice of telling our difficulties to others only makes us weak, and brings no strength to them.  It lays upon them the burden of our spiritual infirmities, which they cannot relieve.  We seek the strength of erring, finite man, when we might have the strength of the unerring, infinite God.
     You need not go to the ends of the earth for wisdom, for God is near.  It is not the capabilities you now possess or ever will have that will give you success.  It is that which the Lord can do for you. We need to have far less confidence in what man can do and far more confidence in what God can do for every believing soul.  He longs to have you reach after Him by faith.  He longs to have you expect great things from Him  He longs to give you understanding in temporal as well as in spiritual matters.  He can sharpen the intellect.  He can give tact and skill.  Put your talents into the work, ask God for wisdom, and it will be given you."
Christ's Object Lessons, by E. G. White, p. 146

Isn't this a powerful quote?  The reason I had to really think and pray about it for awhile is to decide how I am to apply this to my own personal life.  Especially as a female, I enjoy being able to share with my girlfriends, both positive things in my life as well as negative things.  And I finally arrived at the conclusion that it is just fine to support one another as Christians--but we need to not be looking to our friends to solve our problems.  That is what we are to look to God for!  But I do not think this quote means that we cannot support each other and pray for one another, lifting each other up in prayer to the One who CAN help.  But often, when we start telling others about all the things going wrong--well, let's be honest--it can easily turn into one big complaining and "poor me" session!  Let's remember that God is the One who can help us, not our friends.  But when we are feeling weak, I do think it can be appropriate to ask our friends to pray for us and about our situation--remembering where our help comes from.

So let's make this a practice in our lives, remembering that God is near and He longs to help us.

And talk with Him every day!

~Susan
   

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 108

Good Morning Everyone!

Today we are reading Psalm 108.  This Psalm is all about how God is victorious over His enemies.  But right at the start, I like the reminder that is given to us:

"I will praise You, O LORD, among the peoples, And I will sing raises to you among the nations."  Psalm 108:3

How often do we really praise God just for who He is?  And how often do we tell Him "Thank you!"  Do we tumble out of bed and hit the floor running, sending up our daily requests at the same time we are wolfing down our breakfast?  What about our requests of yesterday?  You know, all those problems that He helped us with and solved in a miraculous way?  Have we forgotten about those things already?  Can we not turn around just a moment and tell Him "Thank you!"?

"Our devotional exercises should not consist wholly in asking and receiving.  Let us not be always thinking of our wants and never of the benefits we receive.  We do not pray any too much, but we are too sparing of giving thanks.  We are the constant recipients of God's mercies, and yet how  little gratitude we express, how little we praise Him for what He has done for us."
Steps to Christ, by E. G. White, p. 102, 103

Let us not be like the lepers who Jesus healed and yet most of them were too busy to go back and say "Thank you!"

"Jesus asked, 'Were not all ten cleansed?  Where are the other nine?'"  Luke 17:17

Start your day today by thanking Him!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 107

Good Morning Everyone!

We are reading Psalm 107 today, and there were several verses I wanted to write in my notebook!  But I had to try and limit myself at least a bit!  One thing I noticed immediately is that it is repeating the "Give Thanks to the Lord" theme that was also in Psalm 106.  In fact, it is repeated more times in Psalm 107.  I do think we underestimate giving thanks--and that is NOT to our credit!  What selfish creatures we naturally are!

But what I finally settled on for recording in my Bible notebook is not about giving thanks at all--but instead it is on how our God is the One who can calm our storms.  I recorded verses 29 and 30:

"He calms the storm, so that its waves are still.  Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven."  Psalm 107:29, 30

Do you ever feel like you have a storm going on in your life?  I sure do!  Sometimes the storm feels more like a tornado!  But I have to admit--too often I am trying to handle things on my own.  My Study Bible had this note for this chapter:

"How often the disciples' experience is ours! . . . We trust to our own strength till our hope is lost, and we are ready to perish.  Then we remember Jesus, and if we call upon Him to save us, we shall not cry in vain  Though He sorrowfully reproves our unbelief and self-confidence, He never fails to give us the help we need. . . Living faith in the Redeemer will smooth the sea of life, and will deliver us from danger in the way that He knows to be best."
The Desire of Ages, by E. G. White, p. 336

Just THINK about that!  He NEVER fails to give us the help we need!  Oh me of little faith!  Why of why do I think of Jesus LAST instead of thinking of Him FIRST???

May our FIRST instinct--our FIRST reaction to anything, be to run to Him.

"All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out."  John 6:37

Go to Him today--He is waiting to calm your storms!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 106

Good Morning Everyone!

Have you thanked God yet today?  Reading the Psalm for today was a good reminder to me about how much we should be praising Him.  We are reading in Psalm 106, and verse 1 starts out like this:

"Praise the LORD!  Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!  For His mercy endures forever."  Psalm 106:1

God IS good--all the time!  And if it wasn't for His great mercy I would be lost indeed!  His mercy endures forever--not just for a day or a week or a month--but forever!  No matter how many times I mess up, He is always willing to forgive me.  If I just take one step towards Him, He RUNS the rest of the way to me!  He just will not force me to choose Him. . .

So this verse got me to thinking about God's great mercy.  I didn't have any notes in my study Bible on this chapter, but I did a quick google search and found something I love!  This is what I found:

"Have we not reason to talk of God's goodness, and to tell of his power?  When friends are kind to us, we esteem it a privilege to thank them for their kindness.  How much more should we count it a joy to return thanks to the Friend who has given us every good and perfect gift.  Then let us, in every church, cultivate thanksgiving to God.  Let us educate our lips to praise God in the family circle  Let us teach our children to offer praise and thanksgiving to God.  Let our gifts and offerings declare our gratitude for the favors we daily receive.  In everything we should show forth the joy of the lord, and make known the message of God's saving grace."
The Review and Herald, by E. G. White, Mat 7, 1908

What has God done for you today?  I woke up snuggled under warm covers, and was able to greet my son before he went off to school.  Then I am privileged to be able to in freedom pull out my Bible and spend some time with Him.  I have food in my cupboards, and a roof over my head.  And so many clothes that I have trouble fitting them all in my small 1963 size closet!  I have a car in the driveway, and I have recovered from the flu that hit me up last week.  I have freedom to home school our daughter--and so many MANY blessings each and every day, that just seem like normal life to me.  And it is--because I am blessed abundantly every single day!

What good things has God done for you today? Spend some time thinking about Him--because He is thinking about you!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 105

Good Morning Everyone!

Today we are reading Psalm 105.  I confess--I think I was influenced in the verse that I choose to record in my Bible notebook by what is going on around me.  I live in the part of the country that is dry, dry, dry!  In fact, I read somewhere that it has been seven months since we have had a rain that brought as much as one inch of water on our parched earth.  And this is definitely NOT normal for this area, and that means it is really stressing the trees and other vegetation that grows in this area.  And to add on top of the dryness, we are now experiencing fires all around us.  For the past three days the air is filled with smoke.  Air quality alerts have been issued, and they are encouraging people to not exercise outside, to bring your small pets inside, etc.  We need rain BAD, and there is really no rain in sight.

But then I read today's Psalm--and I am reminded that He can make water come out of a rock if need be:

"He opened the rock, and water gushed out; It ran in the dry places like a river."  Psalm 105:41

But there is more to this story than simply providing water--important that that was.  The rock also represented Him who would save us.  My study Bible gave this comment:

"That rock was a symbol of Him who by His death would cause living streams of salvation to flow to all who are athirst.  Christ's words were the water of life.  There in the presence of the assembled multitude He set Himself apart to be smitten, that the water of life might flow to the world.  In smiting Christ, Satan thought to destroy the Prince of life; but from the smitten rock there flowed living water."
The Desire of Ages, by E. G. White, p. 454

Water IS life.  Where there is no water--there is no life.  This is why scientists look on Mars for water, when they are wanting to see if they can find life on other planets.  But even more important than physical life, is our spiritual life.  Because through Him, we can thrive!

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."  John 10:10

So drink deep of Him today--and you will have abundant life!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 104

Good Morning Everyone!

Did you all look at the super moon last night?  I did!  It was large looking for sure, but I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't able to get my camera to focus on it for a good picture--especially since I have used this camera and gotten good moon pictures other times!  Oh well!  It was most likely not the camera--but the camera operator instead!  I tend to put it on automatic and shoot the picture and hope for the best  Sometimes it comes out great--and sometimes it comes out not quite so great!  But at least I try!

I thought the Psalm for today was timely, since it was talking about the moon!  I wrote down verses 19 and 20 in my Bible notebook:

"He appointed the moon for seasons; The sun knows its going down  You make darkness, and it is night, in which all the beasts of the forest creep about"  Psalm 104:19, 20

As I looked at that super moon last night, I couldn't help but think how God made all of this!  And while we understand many things in nature--there are still more that we do not understand--but He does!  My Study Bible had this note in it, which I also wrote down in my notebook:

"God is the foundation of everything  All true science is in harmony with His works; all true education leads to obedience to His government  Science opens new wonders to our view; she soars high, and explores new depths; but she brings nothing from her research that conflicts with divine revelation  Ignorance may seek to support false views of God by appeals to science, but the book of nature and the written word shed light upon each other"
Patriarchs and Prophets, by E G White, p 115

God is the foundation of everything.

Without Him, we are nothing, because our very breath comes from Him.

"For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'"  Acts 17:28

So if we want to understand anything in science--go to Him.  He delights to share about His creation with us!

~Susan

Nearest Mission Field

Hi Everyone!

What image comes to mind when you hear the words "Mission Field?"  Dusty African plains, or crowded Indian bazaars?  Did you at all think of the United States?  Well, you might be surprised to learn that there are indeed mission fields that are much needed--right here in the good old U.S. of A.!  And the mission field I am thinking of specifically is that of helping the Navajo Nation.

Often living on reservations, and not having the education or skills to support yourself in life, Navajo children are at risk for falling into gangs, alcohol, and prostitution.  But there are several mission schools that are devoted to changing that--to giving these children a way to break out of this traditional path.  My son, Austin, is going to be going on a mission trip this coming Spring Break to help these children.  While thousand of other college students are hitting the beaches in Florida, or traveling to destinations such as Colorado to enjoy their week off, Austin and the other college students in his group have committed themselves to working to change the lives of some Navajo children during their week off.  But they cannot do it alone.  They need funding.

Below is a video that Austin made telling more about this trip--please take a few minutes to watch this video, and pray about possibly helping him on his trip.

Austin's college--Southern Adventist University--has their own fund raising page for mission trips.  You can learn more about this destination, and watch a really neat video showing the school Austin will be helping at, on Austin's fund raising page right here: 

 Spring Break Mission Trip

If a donation is made through this fund raising page, it is a donation to Southern Adventist University's student mission program in Austin's name.  If for some reason, Austin was unable to attend this mission trip, all funds donated in his name would instead go to help another student going on the same mission trip.  

Please at least watch both videos--the first one that Austin made, and the second one about the school itself found at the above link.  And pray--pray for the planning now as the trip is being organized.  Pray that the hearts will be touched of the college students God is calling to go on this trip.  Pray for the mission school--that the college students coming will truly be able to make a lasting difference in the lives of these children.  

And remember--whatever we can do for these children--we are doing for Him!

"The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'"  Matthew 25:40

Thank you!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 103

Good Morning Everyone!

We are reading Psalm 103 today--and let me tell you it is a hard task to narrow the neat verses down and try and choose just ONE for my Bible notebook!  So I gave in and wrote two--but there were several others that I also was very tempted to write.  But I guess you are just going to have to go read this Psalm for yourself, and then you can choose YOUR favorites!

I wrote down verses 11 and 12:

"For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:11,12

Just think about those verses for a minute--exactly how far IS it from the east to the west???  Is that even an answerable question?  How far can you travel east before you are not traveling east any more?  Could you not continue to travel east, around and around in a circle around the earth and still be traveling east?  And the same thing about traveling west?  This--this is how far our Father has removed our sins from us when we ask Him.  And as far as the heaves are high above the earth.  If you look with your naked eyes it looks fairly high.  But take a look through something like the Hubble telescope and you will discover that little dots you saw are actually whole entire galaxies that go on and on and on.  THAT is how much mercy God has for us, His children.

Image from Hubble telescope

My study Bible had this note in it on this chapter, and I wanted to share it with you:

"In his restless youth the prodigal looked upon his father as stern and severe.  How different his conception of him now!  So those who are deceived by Satan look upon God as hard and exacting.  They regard Him as watching to denounce and condemn, as unwilling to receive the sinner so long as there is a legal excuse for not helping him.  His law they regard as a restriction upon men's happiness, as burdensome yoke from which they are glad to escape.  But he whose eyes have been opened by the love of Christ will behold God as full of compassion.  He does not appear as a tyrannical, relentless being, but as a father longing to embrace his repenting son.  The sinner will exclaim with the Psalmist, 'Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him..' (Psalm 103:13)" 

Christ Object Lessons by E. G. White p. 204

How much He loves us--and how often we accuse Him of the most unloving things!  Instead of correctly identifying "an enemy has done this," we accuse our Father--the One who loves us more than life itself!  How this must hurt Him!  And yet--He stands ready and waiting to forgive us and to welcome us back home anyway!

Spend some time with Him today--He is truly waiting to hear from you!

~Susan

Home School Review--Love Drops Bible Study!

Hello Everyone!

I am SUPER excited to share with you today, because I have a wonderful Bible Study product to share.  The Love Drops Adult Coloring Bible Study is actually originally designed to be used as a personal or small group Bible study, but I think it is PERFECT to use as part of our home school curriculum!!!  I have been using these lessons with my 12 year old daughter for around a year now, and we have both enjoyed them ever so much!  And when I changed to doing something different for our school Bible time, she told me "Mom, I really liked what we were doing before better!"  So I would have to say it is "kid approved!"  And I really feel like these are adaptable age-wise for much younger children as well as older teens as well!

First of all, let me not forget to say that Love Drops is just ONE of the great Bible studies from the Bible Stories From the Heart team has written.  There are also other studies such as   Exodus, Draw in Nearer, New Beginnings, Devotions, Nature Walk and last but not least, Christmas Joy. And more studies are being written all the time!

The Love Drops study starts out with telling a little bit about their goals, which they share as two fold:
1) Intentional Bible Study (searching for God's love)
2) Reflective Journal Writing (reflecting on God's love/S.O.A.P.)

Many of you may already be familiar with the S.O.A.P. method of Bible study, which stands for:
Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer.  The Bible Stories from the Heart Team uses the S.O.A.P. method to help get the person doing the Bible study INTO the Word of God themselves--instead of passively reading about something but not REALLY wrestling with it and applying it to your life is easy to do, when you are just reading.  But when we stop and actually apply the verses that we are reading to our lives, asking ourselves questions about what we are reading and about how we are going to apply what we are learning to our lives brings our Bible study to a much deeper level.
At the beginning of the studies, there are small group suggestions, so if you are using this study with a group in your home or in a group at your church there are VERY helpful suggestions as to how often to meet, and how much time to plan on for different parts of your group meeting etc.  But as I already mentioned, I am going to recommend that you look at these studies as a gold mine for your home school Bible time!

And the frosting on the cake--what has made this such a neat and enjoyable way for my daughter and I to interact together as well as to interact with God's Word is that for each Bible lesson there is an art project to go along with it!  You can simply color these pictures, using crayons, colored pencils, etc., you can trace or scan them out and paint them and keep them in a binder, or you can post them up in your school area.  They can also be used as neat little gifts for your children to give away to grandparents or visiting in nursing homes, or made into cards to mail away and bring cheer!  The possibilities are endless!  And the art page is easy enough for your child and yet complicated enough to be enjoyable for you the parent as well!

The Bible Stories from the Heart devotions are all divided into different weeks.  In the study Love Drops, there are five different weekly studies.  In using these in our home school, I will roughly do one lesson per week, using them as our Bible study for the day.  Each day we just read and study a couple more parts.  If we for some reason do not finish with one of the devotions before the week ends, we don't worry about it.  We simply keep going on Monday, and take whatever time we need the next week to finish it up.  So I am not too worried about beginning on a Monday and finishing on a Friday.  It's all good--just go through the devotions with your children, taking turns reading sections out loud and then discussing them.  With five devotions in the Love Drops study, it will take us at least five weeks--maybe a couple weeks more, deepening on our speed.

In the Love Drops lesson, the first devotion lesson starts with  focus verses of  Luke 12:35-40.  This is the story of the faithful servant and the evil servant.  First thing, the verses are printed right in the study, so you are reading the actual story straight from the Bible.  I like this!  Then there are a couple paragraphs giving the history in Biblical times.  It talks about how in the Bible times people typically wore long robes.  And when your long robe got in your way of doing whatever duty you needed to do, you would keep your robe tucked into the belt around your waist.  And this is where the phrase "let your waist be girded" came from.  This phrase was common back then, and it meant how the servants should remain dressed and ready to serve their masters at all times.  Then there is a conection to us section, helping to give questions and thoughts about applying this servant-master concept to our lives and how we also need to be "girded and ready" at all times to serve our master.

Then the study moves to the focus words.  These are words chosen from each week's study that help us understand at a deeper level what the verses are saying to us.  The focus words for this time come from Luke 12:40, which says "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

The focus words are:
Be--(verb) cause to occur

Ready--(adjective) in a suitable state for an activity, action, or situation; fully prepare

The devotion then helps us to see how the words "be" and "ready" requires action on our part.  It is suggested that you reflect and pray over those words for a little while, and ask God to show you some specific areas in your life that may need help in becoming ready for our master's return. This is a very abbreviated description--there is a LOT more in the actual study in this section.  Leslie Eaton, the author of all the Bible Stories From the Heart lessons, is truly gifted with words.  She has a beautiful and nonthreatening way of using words on paper to help guide you into reflecting on your own personal relationship with your Savior.

Right after this section, there is a beautiful poem entitled "Ready or Not" by Deborah Ann Belka.  I am thinking of using the poem in our home school for some memory work.  I am always wanting something uplifting and encouraging for my daughter to memorize, and I think having her memorize a reflective poem about what we may be doing when Jesus returns is a much better use of our time than her memorizing some piece of nonsense poem!

Finally, there is a list of six devotion one discussion questions.  These questions can be used however you would like--I do not ask my daughter to write out her answers, rather I like to use these questions as discussion questions for she and I to discuss together.  But you can use them in whatever way you would like.  The questions for this lesson are as follows:

1)  What is your big takeaway from this week's lesson?

2) Do you think most people prepare more for out of town company coming to their house than their Lord and Savior coming back?  Why?

3) Do you think it is sometimes easy to forget that we are the servants and that God is our master?  Why?

4)  Do you consider the word servant to be a positive or negative word in relation to us and Christ?  Why?

5) What do you think most people fail to do on a daily basis in order to "Be girded?"

6)  What are you going to strive to do from this point forward as a result of studying this scripture?

After the discussion questions, there is the SOAP activity page.  You are encouraged to choose any verse from the weekly focus verses to reflect deeper upon.  They reprint right in the study for ease the Bible verses again, so they are right there on the page for you.  Then they review the SOAP devotion instructions--reminding you what each thing represents, and then there is a blank SOAP form page--this one I do usually have my daughter fill out, and while SHE is filling out her page, I am filling out mine! :)

Now it is time for dessert--the art page!  These are all done by the very talented Nicole Plymesser Nelson, and I so much appreciate her sharing her artistic talents with the rest of us who are not so talented!  For this first lesson in Love Drops, the art page has to do with Luke 12:40.  I like to do my pages on watercolor paper, so I print out a page from the Love Drops pdf and put it on my light tracer and trace it onto a watercolor paper that is sized to fit into my Bible notebook.  I trace the picture, color it with my watercolor pencils, and then add the water to turn the colored pencils into paint.  After the paint is dry, I go over my pencil lines with permanent marker.  Here is a picture of my art page from this lesson:

Doing an art page has been an awesome way to spend some time reflecting on God's Word in a hands-on way!  And I think this is one reason why these lessons are great for children--my daughter absolutely LOVES doing the art pages!!!  And I love them just as much!  Neither one of us do the page in a "perfect" way, but we do have fun and what better way to combine God's Word, fun, and art all at the same time!

Some of the later art pages from the later devotions in Love Drops are as follows:

Now--Love Drops is available both in paper form, as well as in a pdf form.  If you are just looking for something to do for yourself, in your own quiet time with the Lord, you might like the paper book form.  But if you are wanting to do this with your children in home school, I recommend getting the pdf form.  They are available on Amazon here:
Bible Stories from the Heart

There is also an AWESOME Facebook community!  Look up "Bible Stories From the Heart" and if it says the name Leslie Eaton, that is the right one!  Ask to join the group, and you will be amazed at the sweet Christian spirit you will find there!  You can post pictures of your or your children's art work there, and everyone is so sweet and uplifting with their comments!  There is also a great web site which you can find here: Bible Stories From the Heart  There are also some really neat videos to go along with the different studies, which you can find on the web site.  Sometimes my daughter and I like to watch Leslie "teach" us the devotional lesson, and instead of reading the lesson out loud back and forth we both enjoy watching Leslie's video lesson instead!

Well--that is everything I can think of to tell you.  I hope you have enjoyed learning about the Love Drops Bible study, and about all the Bible Stories From the Heart studies.  And if any of you decide to try one of these studies in your home schools, be sure to let me know how you like them!

~Susan

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Disclaimer--I received a free copy of the Love Drops pdf in exchange for my honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are completely my own, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE these Bible studies and have used several of them in my home school for our Bible class.

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 102

Good Morning Everyone!

Today our reading is Psalm 102.  I found a verse that I really love, because I love promises that God is listening to us when we talk with Him!

So I recorded verse 17 into my Bible notebook:

"He shall regard the prayer of the destitute, and shall not despise their prayer."  Psalm 102:17

The prayer of the destitute--that is someone who really has nothing, no power or nothing to offer.  So God does not only listen to the prayers of the rich, or to the prayers of the powerful people.  No--this verse specifically says the prayers of the destitute.  The person who is at the end of their rope.  They have nowhere else to turn--they cannot fix things on their own--yet they are really not on their own, because if we have God, we have everything!

This verse reminded me of a favorite verse of mine that has been made into a song.  I LOVE singing this song!  We are coming up to this verse soon as it is in Psalm 116, but I will share it with you here today anyway.  The words of the song are taken from "The Living Bible" version:

"I love the Lord because he hears my prayers and answers them.  because he bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I breathe!"  Psalm 116:1,2 TLB

Can't you just imagine God--the Creator of our universe--hushing the heavenly music or the angels talking to Him and saying "Shhh!  Susan's praying!  I want to hear her!"  And then everything in heaven pauses, waiting for me to finish my prayer.  God doesn't want to miss even one word that we say to Him!  He is THAT interested in us!

So talk with Him this morning--He is waiting to hear from you!  You do not have to have anything to offer Him--just come!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 101

Good Morning Everyone!

We are on Psalm 101 today!  As I read this Psalm, it seems to be a promise that David was making to God.  David starts out with a promise to sing of God's mercy and justice--to sing praises to the LORD.  Then he continues on to talk about what he and what he will not do--he is going to behave wisely, he is going to walk with a perfect heart.  And then we come to the verse that I choose to write in my Bible notebook:

"I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me."  Psalm 101:3

I thought this verse was interesting.  How often each day do we "set nothing wicked" before our eyes?  It seems like you cannot go ANYWHERE these days without seeing something wicked!  Perhaps there is a difference between "seeing" something wicked and purposely "setting" it before our eyes.  Are we careful with books and T. V. and movies that we watch--that we are not using evil things for entertainment?  There might be a murder story book that is true--but does it pass the Philippians 4:8 test?

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."  Philippians 4:8

Since we live in a world of sin, just because something happened does not mean it is a good thing for our minds to purposely dwell on. . . We may of no choice have to live "among" evil--but we do not have to let it cling to us. . .   I do not know if he really said this or not, but I read that Martin Luther King Jr. once said "You cannot keep birds from flying over your head--but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair."  Whoever first said this--it makes a lot of sense!

So as you go throughout today, set nothing wicked before your eyes--and sing of God's mercy and justice!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 100

Good Morning Everyone!

It feels SO good to wake up well!  And I actually spent the entire day yesterday "up!"  When you have spent the previous five days flat on our back, being "up" and walking around is marvelous, even if your energy isn't quite back up to speed yet!

Which brings me to today's Psalm--Psalm 100.  There were a couple of verses I thought about writing in my notebook, but I finally settled on this one:

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.  Be thankful to Him, and bless His name."  Psalm 100:4

What struck me about this verse was the word "Enter."  That we are to ENTER into God's presence through thanksgiving and praise.  How many times do we instead enter our conversation with God by starting at the top of our very long list of things that we want Him to do for us?  And by the time we get to the bottom of that list (if we even get to the bottom before we fall asleep!) we have forgotten entirely to thank Him for things that He has already done for us? I know I am guilty of this!  Now, I truly believe that God IS interested in hearing from us whatever our burdens or concerns are--but perhaps--just perhaps--these are not to be first.  Perhaps we first need to prepare our hearts by reminding ourselves of all the many many things He has already done for us--and thanking Him for all of these things.  Then, maybe our hearts will be prepared for truly being with God.  That the only way to get there, is to enter through thanksgiving and praise.

One of my very favorite quotes from Ellen G. White, a Christian author, goes like this:

"We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history."  Life Sketches p. 196

Perhaps--when we enter God's presence  with thanksgiving and praise, we are ensuring that we don't forget--that we don't forget how God has led us and provided for us.  It is easy to read about the Children of Israel in the Bible and groan as they forget about their mighty God time and time again.  How easy it is to think that WE would never keep forgetting like they did--and yet here we are like the pot calling the kettle black, because we do the very same thing.

So maybe our being thankful--and thanking Him first, doesn't change HIM--because He is already good and perfect, but it changes US.  It is a reminder to us of everything He has already done to take care of us in the past, and that we can trust Him to keep taking care of us in the future.  Because He loves us that much.

So spend some time thanking Him today--and do not forget all He has done for you!

~Susan