Bible Verse to Prayer Journal and Ponder

Bible Verse to Prayer Journal and Ponder

HOW I GET THE MOST OUT OF THE WORD OF GOD EACH DAY
The first thing I do in the morning, is put dog outside and feed Beagle and Maine Coin and grab a cup of coffee. Then, I sit and have time with God. I make Him the precedent of each day. I give Him reverence and put Him first. I turn to the Bible, His love letter to us, His Word.
I am reading the Bible through in a year and am using this program, which you can start at any time:
http://www.biblegateway.com/reading-plans/old-new-testament/today?version=HCSB
I find at least one verse that speaks to me and try to keep prayer journaling it and pondering it all day long. With every verse that jumps out at me, I try to look it up at least three translations or versions of the Bible of it and get as much meaning out of it as possible. Often I look up five to seven.
Why do I look up more than one translation? As I said, I get a great deal more meaning out of it and I also read it more. The more I read it and ponder it, the verse will take root deep inside of me and become a way of live and living. It becomes part of me. Every time I read it, it grows and changes me.
Then, I read this program, which you can start at any time. I read a chapter of Psalms and Proverbs. Today, it's Psalms 10 and Proverbs 10. I find a verse of several from this reading as well.
I write these verses down and carry them with me. I also keep the tabs open of the internet links that lead to these daily verses and a document on my computer so I can look them up all day. I also pull them.up on my cell and tablet when I am not at my computer.
Some people are anal about checking texts and emails on their cell. I use that as my cue to pull up my daily verses on my cell. I also do this when stopped at a light. I use the light as a reminder to think of my daily verses.
Another cue I use is every time I take a sip of a liquid or a bite of food. I'm hypoglycemic so I eat and drink all dynamic long, so I stretch out my daily verses as much as possible.
This is how I get as much out of the Bible as I can and is how I try to include and remember God and His Word every moment.
I won't lie. Some days, I do all of this. Other days, once and that's it. I am constantly trying to do this more--and in doing so, just being with Him more each day.

Read the following verse and prayer journal about how this applies to you, your marriage, your house and family, your larger family, your city, your county, your state, your nation, and the world:

Proverbs 10:17 / Expanded Bible (EXB)
17 Whoever ·accepts correction [guards instruction/discipline] is on the way to life,
but whoever ·ignores [abandons] correction ·will lead others away from life [wanders aimlessly].
-- Scripture taken from The Expanded Bible. Copyright © 2011 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 10:17 / GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
17 Whoever practices discipline is on the way to life,
    but whoever ignores a warning strays.
-- Scripture is taken from GOD’S WORD®, © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group.

(Image credit: Stacy Duplease June 2014)

Bible Verse to Ponder and Prayer Journal

Bible Verse to Ponder and Prayer Journal

Psalm 9:1-2 / New Living Translation (NLT)
1 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
    I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
2 I will be filled with joy because of you.
    I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.
-- Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

How can we praise God with ALL of our hearts, unless we actually are intentional about it? Prayer journaling makes us live intentionally. Prayer journaling makes us live a life of faith purposefully.
How can we do all of anything without being intentional and purposeful? This is why it is so critical for everyone to prayer journal. Otherwise, we live a life of faith we take for granted and we fail to seek Him first (Matthew 6:33) every moment.
How can we tell of ALL the miraculous, marvelous, wonderous works God has done unless we write them out so we can remember them tomorrow, in a week, in a month, in a year, and in several decades?
This is how important it is to prayer journal.
Now, prayer journal your thoughts.

(Image credit: Stacy Duplease 2009-2014)

Camp NaNoWriMo and My Spiritual Memoir

In July, I'm taking part of Camp NaNoWriMo (Camp National Novel Writing Month), where people around get together and write a book in 30 days. Yes. A book. They write part of a book or an entire book during that space of time.

I try to take part in Camp NaNoWriMo and NaNoWriMo every year during the months in which I can participate: April, July, November.

This year, I plan on working on my spiritual memoir.

You can find my spiritual memoir and view my progress here--starting July 01, 2014. So, stay tuned.

(NOTE: Click on the bold words above and in this post to go to those links.)

Tentative Title and Cover

This could change, but this is what it is right now. :)

(Image credit: Stacy Duplease at Historic Jamestowne on June 15, 2014)

I Am a Prayer Journalkeeper: The Richness of My Experience

I Am a Prayer Journalkeeper: The Richness of My Experience

Prayer Journal and Letter June 14, 2014, Saturday, 1008 A.M.

Mom,

Hello. I hope you are well on this fine Saturday morning. Thinking and praying for you--always.

I know you want to know how we are here in Virginia. And that is precisely why I write this email, which will be end up being Chapter One of my latest book (with your permission, of course).

For years, I keep fighting it. I surrender. I am not meant to do anything but prayer journal. Why do I keep fighting it? Why else has God allowed the richness of my life experience?

Huh. I never thought of looking at the challenges in my life as a treasure from God--and that makes me rich in Him. Very wealthy. Wow. Wonder of wonders. (Pardon me while I sit here for a moment and try to fully digest what I just prayer journaled, but in form of a letter to you.) I wrote that before I even comprehend what I wrote.

God has allowed the challenges in my life, including the last year and a half, so He could make me rich in Him and His Word. These life challenges are a treasure of great richness to intensify my relationship with Him, my faith, and my growth in Him. Glory!

Wow. I shake my head, blown away by His goodness. What a sacred gift, my life's challenges.

I have been able to, over the last five years, thank the Lord deeply for everything He has done and allowed in my life, including the challenges. For, they have made me who I am today. I thank Him for helping give me this perspective, and my new one of the richness of those challenges.

Wow. Pardon the light bulb moment.

Now, the original reason why I wanted to write this email was to share with you how I am changing, once again (Lord, help us all) what I want to write. I am done fighting it. I know my God-sized life's purpose:

I am a prayer journalkeeper.

Nothing more. Nothing less. This is me. It is all of me--deep and shallow. I am not supposed to be anything but. This is how God made me. Period.

Why hasn't this been enough for me?

That question has stopped me in my tracks. If God made me a prayer journalkeeper, and that is indeed my life's purpose (and, it is), then that is more than enough. This is how He wants me to share Him and His Word with the world, and bring Him glory. This is the sacred thing He wants from me most: To share how I live, in my corner of the world, in faith and how I interact with Him and the Word, through prayer journaling.

Could anything be grander?

Is anything more important?

So, I surrender. I will live as He wants, write what He wants, and share this thing called life with others. I will be the best prayer journalkeeper I can be.

Could life have gotten any simpler? I will live in His will alone and stop living outside of it, which had me hopping in a million other insignificant directions and kept me so busy--and missing Him.

That's the latest here.

I am a prayer journalkeeper.

-- Stacy Duplease, Writer

Sent from Amazon Kindle Fire HDX

Blog: http://APrayerJournalkeeper.blogspot.com/

(Image credit: Stacy Duplease 2011-2014.)

Bible Verse to Ponder and Prayer Journal

Bible Verse to Ponder and Prayer Journal

Deuteronomy 1:29-31 / GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
29 Then I said to you, “Don’t tremble. Don’t be afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God, who is going ahead of you, will fight for you as you saw him fight for you in Egypt 31 and in the desert.” There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as parents carry their children. He carried you wherever you went until you came to this place.
-- Scripture is taken from GOD’S WORD®, © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group.

Do not be afraid now or at any time.
"Them, they, or Egypt" can be anyone, anything, any time.
God will fight for you, for us, so you/we do not have to fight. We just need to open our eyes and look for Him and seek Him. We can live confidently knowing He sees all, even this. He will fight for you and carry you. You are not alone. For, Emanuel. God is always with us.
God knows.
He's got this.
This is true in the good times, the challenges, and the so-so times. God never, ever changes.

Prayer journal your thoughts.

(Image credit: Stacy Duplease 2008-2014.)

Bible Verse to Prayer Journal and Ponder

Bible Verse to Prayer Journal and Ponder 

Psalm 86:8 / Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
8 Lord, there is no one like You among the gods,
and there are no works like Yours
-- Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Prayer journal your thoughts.

(Image credit: Stacy Duplease 2009-2014.)

Prayer Journal June 14, 2014, 123 p.m.: My Psalms and Proverbs Reading Today: Psalm 6 & Proverbs 6

Prayer Journal June 14, 2014, 123 p.m.: My Psalms and Proverbs Reading Today: Psalm 6 & Proverbs 6

My Key Verse:

Proverbs 6:23 / Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

23 For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light,

and corrective discipline is the way to life.

-- HCSB: Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

The Word of God, the Holy Bible, sheds light to how to live and which path to follow.

Proverbs 6:23 / Expanded Bible (EXB)

23 These commands are like a lamp;

   this ·teaching [instruction] is like a light [making things clear].

And ·the correction that comes from them [disciplined correction]

  will help you have [is the path of] life.

-- HCSB: Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

His Word shows me how to live, so this shows how critical it is for me to be in the Bible every day, preferably all day long. There is nothing more important.

If I want to live in Your will, Lord, this is how to do it: Be in Your Word. Lord, help me to get as much out of Your Word as possible and mediate on it day and night (Psalm 1:2).

(Image credit: Microsoft images online 2008-2014)

Prayer Journal June 14, 2014, 1255 p.m.

Prayer Journal June 14, 2014, 1255 p.m.

I am a prayer  journalkeeper.

God created me to prayer journal. This is my life’s purpose.

Me: Lord, why do You want me to prayer journal?

God: So, you can live these verses firsthand, Stacy:

Proverbs 3:6 / Expanded Bible (EXB)

Remember the Lord [Know him] ·in all you do [on all your paths],

and he will ·give you success [keep your roads straight].

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

Psalm 143:10 / Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

10 Teach me to do Your will,

for You are my God.

May Your gracious Spirit

lead me on level ground.

-- HCSB: Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Psalm 77:11 / The Message (MSG)

11 Once again I’ll go over what God has done,

   lay out on the table the ancient wonders;

I’ll ponder all the things you’ve accomplished,

   and give a long, loving look at your acts.

-- MSG: Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Isaiah 46:9 / The Message (MSG)

Remember your history,

   your long and rich history.

I am God, the only God you’ve had or ever will have—

   incomparable, irreplaceable—

-- MSG: Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Psalm 40:5 / Expanded Bible (EXB)

5 Lord my God, you have done many ·miracles [wonders; great acts].

   Your plans for us are many.

If I tried to tell them all,

   there would be too many to count [104:24; 139:17–18; John 21:25].

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

(Image credit: Stacy Duplease 2009-2014)

Welcome

Welcome to my prayer journaling a blog, which is my spiritual memoir and a blog on how to prayer journal.

(Image credit: Stacy Duplease 2009-2014.)

Life's Difficulties and Challenges: 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Life's Difficulties and Challenges: 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 / The Message (MSG)
3-5 All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too. 

-- MSG: Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. 

Thought to Pray and Ponder: More of You, Less of Me

Psalm 91: A Psalm for Life's Challenges and for Perspective

Read it here:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ps+91&version=MSG

Good Morning, Lord, Prayer

Good Morning, Lord, Prayer 

Psalm 16:8-9 / New King James Version (NKJV)
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will rest in hope. 

--   NKJV: Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Lord, help me to set You before myself always and without hesitation. For, it's all about You and is not about me. My life is Yours. I hope to put You as the center of my thoughts in every moment, every minute, for the rest of my life on this earth. I want to put You first and foremost. Teach me to live in this way. 

(Image credit: Microsoft Images Online 2008-2014.)

Verse of the Day to Ponder and Pray: Matthew 12:34-37

Verse of the Day to Ponder and Pray: Matthew 12:34-37

Matthew 12:34-37 / The Message (MSG)

34-37 “You have minds like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded? It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard. Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation.” 

(Image credit: Microsoft Images Online 2008-2014.)

Good Morning, Lord, Prayer and Galatians 5:16-18

Good Morning, Lord, Prayer and Galatians 5:16-18

Lord, here are three different versions of this passage I want to pray and meditate (ponder, contemplate, chew on, think on, grapple with) today, all day long, throughout the day: 

1 

Galatians 5:16-18 / Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
16 I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.  

-- HCSB: Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

2

Galatians 5:16-18 / Expanded Bible (EXB)

16 So I tell you: ·Live [Walk] ·by following [guided by; in the power of; L by] the Spirit. Then you will not do what your ·sinful self [sinful nature; T flesh] ·wants [desires; craves]. 17 Our ·sinful self [sinful nature; T flesh] ·wants [desires] what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit ·wants [desires] what is against our ·sinful self [sinful nature;T flesh]. [L For] The two are ·against [opposed to; or hostile toward] each other, so you cannot do just what you ·please [want]. 18 But if the Spirit is leading you, you are not under the law. 

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

3 

Galatians 5:16 / The Message (MSG)

16-18 My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?  
-- MSG: Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. 

Lord, help me to remember that my life is Yours, not mine. Everything I am and do is because of You and is for the purpose of bringing You pleasure and glory. It's not about me. It's all about You. 

(Photo/Image Credit: Stacy Duplease 2009-2014.) 

Good Morning, Prayer

Good morning, Lord. I come before You and thank You for yesterday and last night. I also thank You for the opportunity of this new day. Lord, help me to make it Your day, not mine. I want to draw forever closer to You. I want more of You, less of me in my life. Help me to live this way today. Teach me how to do so. 

Lord, keep my mind from wandering. Help me to stay focused on You. I realize I need to train my mind to do so. Please teach me how. 

You are my everything. 

Help me to ponder the things of You and Your Word, not the senselessness of this crazy, sinful, self-centered, material focused world. Help me not fall into that trap. 

You are God. No one is more important in my life. Help my day today reflect this truth. 

(Image Credit: Stacy Duplease. Backyard. 2013-2014)

Thought to Ponder

We will never have more time. So, the question is, what are we going to do with our time with God today?

(Image credit: Stacy Duplease 2011-2014. Taken along the Colonial Parkway.) 

Morning Prayer 14 January 2014

Morning Prayer 14 January 2014

Good morning, Lord. 

Thank You for the opportunity of this day. It gives me the chance to live another day of loving You, worshiping You, living the purpose You have for my life, and to bring You glory. 

This is the day You have made, Lord. You created it, and have allowed me to wake up this morning for a purpose. Lord, help me to live that purpose and bring You glory. Help me to know the purpose and to live it today, tomorrow, this week, this month, this quarter, this year, over the next decade, and for the rest of my life. 

This is Your day, not mine. Help me to remember this and grasp it. 

I love You, Father and Daddy. 

(Image credit: Stacy Duplease 2011-2014.)

Day 1 of 40: Introduction: A New Beginning

01 January 2014, Wednesday

MY HEART AND TREASURE PRAYER JOURNAL:

A DEVOTIONAL BIBLE STUDY

I am a prayer journalkeeper and have been for over thirty years and ever since I was a little girl. It's something I do every single day and have for years and I prayer journal throughout the day and evening. Therefore, it's something that's very important to me.

Every year, and throughout the year, I try to find a better way to prayer journal since it is so important to me and my life. Needless to say, I keep an eye out for new resources and suggestions that might lead me to a better way to prayer journal. I also try to do it in several different ways and keep up things fresh throughout the year. It's always a good thing to keep prayer journaling fresh, for each journal entry is a way to connect with God, and I want to grow as close to God as possible.

I woke up this morning to one of the best blog posts, or daily devotionals, I have ever received. It got me thinking and it inspired me. The blog post, or daily devotional, was by Stephanie Clayton and here is the source:

http://stephanieclayton.org/2014/01/01/treasure-journal/

So, that's where I got the idea to do this for my new prayer journal I am starting this year.

Would you care to join me?