Back from from vacation - Jesus Calling June 22

We had a wonderful family vacation to South Dakota and Colorado, so blogging got put on the back burner. Now we're back with new ideas.

Today's Jesus Calling was about thanking God for our troubles. We said prayers thanking God for things that were troubling us. Then to reinforce the idea, we wrote the prayers on book marks along with related Bible verses. My daughter thought the story of Paul and Silas praising God while in prison was a good example of praising God through our challenges (Acts 16:16-40). I'm so proud of her!

Steps for this simple project:
1) Cut strips of paper (2-2 1/2" x 8 1/2"), preferably out of card stock.

2) Write a prayer thanking God for your troubles. Decorative pens help make this part fun, but pencil may be preferred for perfectionists.

3) Choose a Bible passage or two and write the chapter and verse as a reference to read when you are troubled.

4) Add decorative touches to your book mark.

5) Place your book mark in your Bible at a helpful place to open up next time you are troubled.

Jesus Calling - June 7

But seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. -Luke 12:31

As God provides for the birds of the air, so we can trust Him to provide all that we need. We will have troubles, but trusting in His ultimate care for us will lift the burden of worry.

Make a feeder today for God's precious birds (or squirrels).

1) Search out a pinecone. If you cannot find one, a pretzel will do well.

2) Tie a string on it for holding and hanging.

3) Spread peanut butter around the pinecone. Think of it as spreading your worries, taking them from inside you and putting them on the pinecone.

4) Roll the coated pinecone in birdseed (alternately, air-popped popcorn). Turn your worries into a life-giving force for the birds.