Journal of a Busy Mom

living one day at a time

How I Set Up My Prayer Journal

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Last year I decided that I would start a new prayer journal every year. I like to go back and read my prayers, but sometimes I couldn’t find things because I had 2-3 years shoved into one book. So, I found these nifty binders at Office Depot for $1.00.

I was so excited. I selfishly bought them all-like 15 binders. They come with five dividers with write-on tabs and a nifty storage pouch. I don’t know if they were being discontinued, but I found a similar set at Amazon. It costs more than a dollar, but worth the investment. I like my binder to fit in my prayer box so I don’t use a full size binder.

I did find something similar at Amazon, it has dividers and a pouch. Here is the link the that.

I found an amazing post over at Intentional by Grace about how she sets up her prayer journal and she takes you step by step. There is even videos. So visit her site if you want a step by step.

My prayer book and Bible

My prayer journal is similar but I have less sections:

  • Praise
  • Thanksgiving
  • Confession
  • Daily
  • Monthly
  • Days of the Week

Then I Have a Daily Section which is where I keep all my daily prayer sheets for my family, friends, loved ones. This section is followed by Monthly. This section is for specific prayers for that month. For example, in February I will start planning for our VBS this summer. I will write that in February.

My Daily Sections

Then my Days of the Week are broken down as follows:

  • Monday- my church, church in America, Fellow Believers,
  • Tuesday-Grieving, Important Events, Lost & Backslidden, Neighbors, Persecuted Church
  • Wednesday-Specific Extended Family, the Ill, Those in Authority (president, governor, mayor, etc)
  • Thursday-Peace in Jerusalem (specifically pray for Jews for Jesus), several close friends, and foster families (I know alot of them)
  • Friday- missionaries, my Compassion kids, and homeschool family (specific family I pray for each year)

I am trying to help my kids establish their own quiet time so I am linking several printables I have found for them. Including prayer and reading guides.

10 Bible Reading Plans

180 Days Guided Tour of the Bible (this is the one my son chose)

http://chico1st.com/hp_wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/180DaysGuidedTour.pdf

Four Seasons of Christmas: A Look at Fall

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For the last three weeks I have been writing about the blessing of the four seasons leading up to Christmas. Here is the first post.  This project was prompted by the reading of one of my favorite devotional books:  The Finishing Touch by Chuck Swindoll. 

This week I focus on the season of fall. I have been looking through my pictures to jog my memory. I found 7 things to be thankful for! 

  1. My son started 10th grade and my daughter started her first official year of college. She has been taking college classes for over a year and will be earning her AA by this upcoming spring. 
  2. I ran another 5k with my sister and niece. I had a better run time, not as fast as I wish, but I did it! 
  3. We visited Georgetown College again. We are actually considering moving to Kentucky. We really like the area and the pace of life. California life is so hectic.
  1. We visited the Creation Museum in Ohio. It was an awesome experience, we didn’t have time to go through the whole place so I am planning a return trip.
  2. I packed 20 Operation Christmas Child boxes! These boxes are due the week before Thanksgiving so I count it as a fall blessing. I am truly honored to be able to share the love of Christ through a shoebox.
  1. My daughter turned 18! 
  2. My “adopted” daughter through Compassion International also turned 18 and therefore graduated out of the program. It made me sad since I have “known” her since she was 8 or 9. I went ahead and “adopted” another little girl from Guatemala. She is 4 years old, so I will get to enjoy her for a long time. 

Ligia

Fours Seasons of Christmas: Summertime Memories

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This week, I am looking back to summer of 2018. Last week I shared about taking the weeks between Thanksgiving and  Christmas to ponder the things I am thankful for this past year, as I look forward to Jesus’ birthday the truly most blessed day of the year.

Technically, my daughter’s graduation happened in June so it could count for a summer blessing, but I did find 4 unique events that I am thankful for. Starting with the fact that I got to see Mercy Me in concert!

    1. A friend invited us to Spirit West Coast Ca in July. The concert featured Danny Gokey, Tauren Wells, and Phil Wickham, but the highlight was Mercy Me. After seeing the movie I Can Only Imagine, I was eager to see the man behind the movie. Mind you, I have always loved their music so it was exciting to see them live. It was a great time! Most special to me was that he (lead vocalist Bart) shared about his son having Type 1 diabetes. That struck a chord with me because as I have shared my daughter is type 1 as well. He shared a story that brought me to tears and that only a parent of a type 1 diabetic can truly understand.
    2. My daughter and I went on college tours in Texas. We visited three campus, but our favorite was Dallas Baptist University. It was a beautiful campus and we really liked the school environment and school offerings. We were in Texas for a few days visiting family and also getting the tours. It was nice to be able to do that with her.
    3. My husband and I started an LLC! We named it House on the Rock based on the verse in the Bible in Matthew 7:24-25.” Anyone who listens to my teachings and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the wind beats against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock“.
    4. My son got to enjoy another fun filled week of camp before coming home to start his Low FODMAP diet. He had a wonderful time and get to eat all his favorite foods before coming home to a very strict and “depressing” diet by our standards.

Summer came and went as did the rest of the year, but now as I look back I am thankful for the things summer 2018 brought.

Ligia