GMG - Summer Bible Study

GMG - Summer Bible Study

Week 5 - Psalms

We are now half-way through our study of the book of Psalms! This week's chapters are some that I am more familiar with than some from the previous weeks. Today's reading is from chapter 23 which is probably one of the most often quoted passages of scripture. 

Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

GMG Summer Bible Study Week 3 & 4

Summer Bible Study

Psalm 3 & 4

I have been learning a lot from reading through Psalms this summer. I especially love it when it is one written by David. The life of David was not prefect at all yet he is considered "a man after God's own heart". There are verses that stick out as ones I memorized as a child or a song lyric. I normally read a chapter from Proverbs that corresponds to the day, and it has been enlightening to also read a Psalm.

What have you been reading for your Bible Study this summer? You can still join the Psalm Bible Study group on Facebook. I would love to have you join!!

GMG Summer Bible Study ~ Week 2

Welcome to Week 2 of Our Summer Bible study!!!

How did last week go for you? What did you glean from your Bible Study?

This week we will be continuing in the Book of Psalms, reading chapters 6 ~ 10. You can leave your observations here or click on last week's post for the link to join the FB group. 

Good Morning Girls Summer Bible Study

Good Morning Girls Summer Bible Study

        Today starts a 10-week study of the book of Psalms covering chapters 1-50. Each Monday and Friday we will be meeting here on the blog as well as in the FB group to talk about what we are learning. 

Link to request to join the FB group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1833088310334642/

Grab your favorite drink, Bible, pen, highlighter, and notebook. 

Walk It Out - Book Review

Walk It Out by Tricia Goyer

I am planning on making this into a series of posts about books that I have been reading, reviewing or just books that are in my "to-be-read" pile. I haven't decided if this will be weekly, bi-weekly or monthly yet. Sometimes I write about books in my homeschooling posts too.

 This is my review of the book, Walk It Out by Tricia Goyer and all opinions are my own.

If you ever get the chance to be a part of a book launch team, then I say go for it! This is something that I have been getting to do for awhile now, and I love it!!! This opportunity is great for book people. My favorite part of joining a book launch team is getting to interact with the author. I think that is just the coolest thing. OK, so here is the short and long of it. This is a first for me, but I am so honored to be working on three different book launch teams currently. They are as follows:

1. Walk It Out by Tricia Goyer
2. The Lifegiving Table by Sally Clarkson
3. Blind Spot by Dani Pettrey

Today I want to talk about the first book listed above, Walk It Out by Tricia Goyer. I am just going to say that if you are only familiar with her novels, then Walk It Out which is non-fiction will NOT disappoint you. I am greatly enjoying reading, highlighting, and making notes while going through this book. My heart has broken for the tragic events that have happened in Tricia's life, and my heart has also beamed with happiness for the awe-inspiring events. There is nothing cookie-cutter about this book. She has sprinkled gems of wisdom gleaned from her walk with the Lord. Every time that I read another chapter I am even more inspired to find more or different ways that my family and I can serve others. I come away encouraged to keep finds ways to walk out my faith. I think that it would be so neat to meet her in person, by the way. 

This post would get way too long to share all of my favorite quotes from the book, but I would like to leave you a few. 

1. "I trust and follow Him as He leads me in His perfect will. I've learned that God's good plans are not always easy or neat, but when we step out in obedience we never walk alone."
2. "His purpose for your life is one that will not only fulfill you but will also benefit the world."
3. "It seems to me that God does His best work through ill-fitted yet determined servants who willingly follow His directives."

I also have a treat for you. Tricia asked her launch team members to share the first chapter of her book Walk It Out with everyone. Yay!! Click here for more information. Thank you for sticking around until the end of this post, and I hope that you enjoy this book as much as I have. Blessings!

Prayers for a New School Year

Prayer is so important in the life of a believer! Prayer is our lifeline to the Lord. I know that I have to pray all of the time because I also know that I can't make it in this life without the help of Jesus. There is always someone or some situation that I am praying for and about to the Lord. 

August is the time when I start praying more intentionally for the beginning for our school year. I ask the Lord for His guiding hand, peace for our days, excitement for the opportunity to learn, and most importantly that we always make Him Lord of our school days. We wouldn't even be on this journey without His leading as well as His provision. 

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV), we read "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.". (Emphasis mine) We should always be rejoicing, giving thanks, and praying without ceasing.

I want to share three verses with you for this upcoming school year. Write the verses on index cards. Hang the verses somewhere so that you will see them and be reminded to pray daily.

The first verse is about God's PLAN.

Jeremiah 29:11  (NKJV)

" For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."

The second verse is about God's PROTECTION.

Psalm 91:1-2 (NKJV)

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

The third verse is about God's PEACE.

Philippians 4:7  (NKJV)

"and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."


Let's spend some time mediating on these verses this coming week and set a goal of starting the day with prayer. I pray that your children will have a great start to their new school years.



Scripture source: Bible Gateway

Learning Character Resources Review 2016-2017

Now for the next review post for our curriculum that we have used for the 2015-2016 school year. I have written a post in the past about the two different character resources that we were using together. After awhile we went back to our original program that we have been using since the first year of homeschooling back in 2011. There is nothing right or "less than" with the other program. I think that we were just use to the lay out of the first character program.

So the first program that we have been using for awhile now is from the company "The Learning Parent" by the Rick and Marilyn Boyer. I think they may have changed the name to "Character Concepts" now, but when we first used their materials it was called "The Learning Parent". We just love the ease of the program, and the fact that it can be used with a range of ages. By range of ages I mean that the preschool and early learner books would be usable for ages 3-9 years of age. I love products that I can cycle back through with my children. I don't expect them to remember every character trait learned. By going back and reviewing previous learned character traits it is helping to reinforce it each time. It is my hope that they will internalize each character trait as they get older. There are other programs available from the same company to use as your child gets older, but for us it works better if we are all in the same book.

We normally learn a new character trait or review one as apart of our morning time after we have read our Bible passage. In the book with the character traits there are Bible stories and verses, stories revolving around the Boyer cousins, and true stories about people from history who have displayed a particular character trait. There are also coloring pages that your child can color while listening to one of the stories. This really is a easy and fun program to implement. We will be cycling through both books again for the up-coming school year.


Again for the record all opinions are my own. I am not a paid representative for "The Learning Parent" or "Character Concepts" or the Boyers. I just love talking about homeschooling, curriculum, methods and styles. I would love to hear what your family uses for character training.

You can check out the materials by visiting "Character Concepts": http://www.characterconcepts.com/store/

This should take you to the Preschool Character Package: http://characterconcepts.com/store/product.php?id_product=1572

This should take you to the Early Learner Package:

http://characterconcepts.com/store/product.php?id_product=3260

Proverb Wisdom Cookies

Have you ever eaten at a Chinese restaurant? I would imagine most people have, but if you have not here is a little detail. After you have finished eating they will give you fortune cookies. Inside these crunchy cookies is a little slip of paper. On the paper will be a saying of fortune for you to read. There will also be your "lucky numbers or days" on the back. The sayings are sometimes clever, sometimes serious or even sometimes about your romantic future. My husband and I have always just laughed when reading some of them that we have gotten. Just as a side note, I am not the Chinese cuisine lover in the family. The thought hit me this morning as I was reading my Proverb for the day. Why not Proverb wisdom cookies? I love reading the book of Proverbs. I am still trying to absorb all the wisdom that I can from this book. There are just so many ideas of wisdom that are written in this book. So here are just a few that stood out to me that would make good bits of wisdom.

Proverbs 18:10, 12, 13, 19, 22, &24 (NKJV)

10 "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe."

12 "Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, and before honor is humility."

13 "He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him."

19 "A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle."

[One of my favorite ones.  :) ]
22 "He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the LORD."

24 "A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."

Now to find a fortune cookie recipe.