Good Morning, Lord: A Prayer

Good Morning, Lord: A Prayer

Good morning, Lord.

How sweet it is to wake up knowing You are in my life and are working in my life, around my life, and through my life. You are always with me and forever present. You never leave me and certainly never forsake me (1 Kings 6:13; 1 Kings 8:57; Isaiah 42:16; Hebrews 13:5).

I also start this day knowing I have two choices:

1 Make today all about me or partially about me.

2 Make this day all about You.

I woke today because You wanted me to do so. That means You have a purpose for me this day. Am I going to live it? This is my choice.

Lord, guide me. Help me every second, minute, and hour, to make today all about You and not about me.

For, today is Your day. There is no better day.

Psalm 118:24 * Expanded Bible (EXB)

24 This is the day that the Lord has made.

   Let us rejoice and be glad ·today [in it]!

-- EXB: Scripture taken from The Expanded Bible. Copyright © 2011 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

PRAYER JOURNALING AND CONTEMPLATION

How can I make today more about You, Lord?

How can I make each day ALL about You, Lord? 
What is Your purpose (or purposes) for me today? This week? This month? This quarter? This year? This decade? 

(Image Credit: Stacy Duplease: The sunrise. 2011.)

My Daily Bible Reading Plan for 2014

This year, I am using YouVersion.com for my Bible reading and I started my three plans two days ago. I doing:

1 The M'Cheyne Plan in a year.
2 The New Testament in a Year.
3 Psalms and Proverbs in a month and am doing it every month all year.

So, what about you? What's your plan?

I will keep you updated about my progress and will also include daily devotionals on this blog, which will be notes from my readings.

(Image Credit: Microsoft Images 2011-2013.)

Read this book for free: Wattpad.com Version of Book

READ THIS BLOG IN BOOK FORM:

I realize that reading a blog post series and book on a blog can be difficult. Hence, I will offer this book and blog post series in another format. Check out the FREE version of each book here:

http://www.wattpad.com/33793430-40-days-of-a-new-year-and-a-new-beginning-parable

*** Please note: A Word of Caution for my wattpad.com books: There is a reason why these books are free and are incomplete. They are rough drafts and need editing, along with additional material. The books that will be for sale later will be edited and will contain more material. ***

I will add the latest to Wattpad.com, and the above link, at least once a week, if not more, and will let you know in a blogpost when I do.

Why Read This Book? (Round Two)

Why Read This Book?

Is this the beginning of a New Year?

Is this the end of another year?

Is this a new beginning for you?

If you answered yes to any of the above, then this is the book for you. After all, at any point in our lives, we can decide to stop and start again in our minds. We have that choice.

If it was June 25^th and I wanted to start over, I could. Yes. It’s just in my mind, but that is well enough, thank you very much. If I can live the best life possible over the next year, I would like to start it immediately and not have to wait for the New Year. I don’t know about you. Never mind how sometimes, I’ve made mistakes and can sure use a new start. But, then there are the times when life has served up far more lemons than anything else and the concept of a new beginning is sweet.

The fact that as I write this blog post, which will be turned into a book, on 29^thof December just adds to the mystery of this new beginning in my life.

Now, what about you? Do you need to start over? Do you need a new beginning? Or, is this the New Year for you?

If you like the concept of a New beginning, then the next 40 days are the perfect chance for you. Come. Join me and others in this adventure. 

Why Read This Book? (Back Cover Information)

 Do you want or need to start over and try a new beginning?

If so, this 40 day devotional Bible study is just the one for you.

In the next forty days, we will look at where we came from, where we want to head, and how to get there. We will learn how to color each moment of our lives into a beautiful mosaic—and not allow nature to take its course.

What does your ideal like look like? We will uncover this and figure out how to head in that direction.

What can you learn from the past so that the future can be the best that it can be?

How can you live the best life God intended for you—today, tomorrow, and all year long is another thing we will look at in this 40 day devotional Bible study.

Do you want to start over and have a new beginning?

This blog post series and book are for you. Shall we get started? 

WRITING PLAN 2014 FOR "A GODLY VISION SERIES"

WRITING PLAN 2014 FOR "A GODLY VISION SERIES" 

Book 1 = 40 Days of a New Year and a New Beginning Parable

Book 2 = 40 Days of a Patriotic Bible Study

Book 3 = 40 Days of Psalms

Book 4 = 40 Days of the Gospels

Book 5 = 40 Days of a Patriotic Bible Study 2

Book 6 = 40 Days of Thanks

Book 7 = 40 Days of Proverbs

Book 8 = 40 Days of a Patriotic Bible Study 3

Book 9 = 40 Days of Closing a Year or a Chapter in Life

(Image Credit: Microsoft Images Online 2011-2013.) 

Day 1: A New Year or a New Beginning: A Parable of the Life of a Tree and Its Leaves

Isaiah 43:18 * Expanded Bible (EXB)

18 The Lord says, “Forget what happened before,

   and do not ·think about [consider; dwell on] the past.

-- EXB: Scripture taken from The Expanded Bible. Copyright © 2011 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.


A PARABLE ABOUT THE NEW YEAR AND A NEW BEGINNING
Every person is a tree.
Every tree, every life has leaves, roots, and fruit.
God grows and fertilizes the tree and its fruit. That is His responsibility, not ours. He is the one who helps us to bear much fruit. He even helps grow leaves and roots.
But, where do we come into the picture, besides as a tree?
Every year, trees lose their leaves in the Fall and regrow them in the Spring, if they are of that variety of tree. These are the tree only trees, by the way.
But, then there are the person trees whose lives are symbolized by the trees. They have leaves year round and are given additional leaves at the beginning of each new year. The question is what we are going to do with each leaf, which each represents a new day. Are we going to made different shapes with that leaf and color it in bright, new ways? Or, are we going to neglect it and not do much with it? Or, worse yet, are we going to live this day, this leaf, as if it's our own and completely ignore the Gardener, God?
In 2014, let us take each new leaf of a new day and make it God's day, not our own. Let us live smack-dab in the middle of His will and His path, not in the one we choose. May we be in the Word, in thanksgiving, and in prayer as we help teach others about the New Life in Him.
So, how will you choose this day to color your leaf?
At the end of the year, will you have a bright, bold, colorful tree? Or will it be full of dark brown or black leaves? And, how much fruit will you allow God to bear through you and your life?

MORAL OF THE STORY
Every New Year is a New Beginning.
And, every new beginning is a new year.
At any moment, we can stop and say, "Let's try again" or "Let's start a new page." That's the beauty about life and what Jesus Christ did for us. He came so that our sins could be forgiven, so we are constantly allowed a new beginning. When we slip, we can start again and try again.
What relief.
What joy.
What a blessing.
If we have strayed from His path and gone our way, we can start all over again.
Let's not abuse it, but take advantage of the new beginning we are about to have. For, each day is His, not ours. Let's make each day bold, beautiful, and colorful in Him, in his Word, in thanksgiving, and in prayer.

New Year Poem

New Year Poem

Instead of making a New Year's resolution
Consider committing to a biblical solution
Your promises are easily broken
Empty words, though earnestly spoken
But God's Word transforms the soul
By His Holy Spirit making you whole
As you spend time alone with Him
He will change you from within!

-- Mary Fairchild