Month: October 2018

I always heard that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but I have recently learned that you CAN. Not that I consider myself OLD….. but I definitely would consider myself rather set in my ways. My Bible study consisted of Sunday at church, prayer and Bible reading through the week, and an occasional special service here and there. This routine just wasn’t cutting it anymore. I did not feel that I was growing as much spiritually as I wanted to, so I began searching for new things to add to my daily and weekly practice. I came up with 3 things.

Bible studies- I have participated in a few online Bible studies before and I really enjoyed them, so I went online and tried to find one that I felt was manageable and beneficial for me. The answer was Proverbs 31. I knew this was the place for me when I saw their tagline, “Your life is crazy. Your Bible study doesn’t have to be.” Their lessons are convenient, well designed, and provide lots of options for busy people like me. I just finished up their study of Love Life Again and I signed up for the next one, Breathe.

Morning Music- For this one, I have to give credit to my daughter, Kari. For years I   have watched as Kari headed into the bathroom for her shower: pajamas, towel,     and cell phone in hand. The door would close and within seconds the sounds of   music would fill our home, often with Kari singing right along.I had never really been one to sing in the shower, though I have been known to hum an occasional tune.  I have my car radio tuned to The Message, so I listen to Christian music anytime I am in my car, but I decided that maybe starting off each morning  with it would put me in a better mood right off the bat. Taking another page from   Kari’s book, I downloaded Spotify on my iPhone and set up my first playlist.

The first morning I tried it, I was skeptical. It did not take very long for that skepticism to dwindle away. I found myself listening to the music, smiling, and even doing a little bit of “shower dancing”. (I will spare you the details.) The effects did not fade away quickly either. I stayed in a much better mood as the day went on, even bringing some of those morning lyrics back in my mind. Some morning I do not take the time to follow through with my morning concerts and, on those days, I can definitely tell how beneficial the music is to me. I feel more lost and alone on those days, possibly because I did not start them with God’s welcoming spirit.

Faith Planner- I recently discovered a wonderful woman named Karen Hunter . I have been dabbling in Bible journaling for a while now, but it just was not doing it for me. I worried too much about my lack of artistic talent, and I just wasn’t allowing myself the freedom to document my faith as I saw fit. Karen’s faith planner was the answer for me.

Karen uses a regular planner to document her prayers, blessings, sermon notes, and notes from her Bible readings and studies throughout the week. My description cannot do it justice so click on this LINK to see her actual planner and a description in her own words.

When I saw what Karen was doing I was definitely intrigued. I loved the fact that she worked on just those two pages throughout the entire week. I could do that! Just a few minutes each day to document a verse, a prayer reminder, and my daily blessings. Surely I could manage that. As for supplies, I already had a lot of things I needed. Still I was a bit leary. I messaged Karen with a couple of questions I had, not really expecting a quick response, but I got one. Maybe this was for me.

I bought a planner, replenished my marker supply, since many of mine had dried up from lack of use, and set about doing my first attempt at a faith planner. I have now finished two weeks and, while my results are not nearly as stunning as Karen’s, they have definitely worked for me! I find myself focusing more on my blessings each day because I want to document those. I hear little phrases in a song or in a conversation and think, “I need to write that down! I want to remember it!” I find myself going back and flipping through past pages to remind myself of where I came from and where I am going.

I truly believe that my faith planner will be a part of my routine for a very long time!

So, this “old dog” has learned 3 new tricks in recent weeks. Who knows how many more there are out there for me to learn? With God’s guidance, I am open to all of the new experiences he has in store!