In times of distress, we tend to turn toward "tried and true" verses that have upheld us during challenging times of our lives.
As a young girl in a Missionettes class in which we did a lot of scripture memorization, I remember learning this verse:
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13
From that point forward, I felt emboldened in anxious times to whisper this verse as a beacon of hope to see me through chaotic family struggles, hyperventilating through my first clarinet solo competition, and meeting stressful academic deadlines. I learned the value of having a go-to verse to steady me when I was on uncertain ground.
The pandemic has shifted a lot of things in our culture. Each day we are faced with "new rules of engagement" for us to sift through and decide how to apply them to our family life, navigating through strong opinions on a variety of issues that can be painfully divisive if we don't have a strong foundation to steady us, grounding us in Truth.
This is a timely season for us to focus on
"Strength for Today."
Our June series is going to be 30 Days of Strength. Raini, my lovely friend from Texas, has collected verses of strength that have fortified her over the years to share with us during this tenuous time.
Download the "30 Days of Strength"reference list and join us as we walk through these scriptures together!
To get started, I'm prepping a flip card set of the daily verses we'll be creating with this month.
These cards don't have to be fancy. In fact, I'm doing them in the car on a road trip and I've got some jiggly words from bumps and potholes. (kind of indicative of life though, right?)
I've added the daily references on the BQJ monthly calendar so I can track verses as I go. I jotted down the letter-of-the-week in the #abcsofthebible series as a quick reminder, too.
I happened to have a June sticker from a planner packet that I used for a title. I opted to leave the header box open until I choose a favorite verse to highlight for the month.
"The Lord is my STRENGTH and my shield; my heart TRUSTS in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for JOY and I will give thanks to Him in song."
Psalm 28:7
One day at a time, we'll focus on the provision of strength the Lord offers to us through HIM.
Since we celebrate Father's Day in June, this might also be a time to focus on the Fatherly attributes of God. We can lean on His strength and find refuge in Him. His unfailing love extends to each of us. Always.
This is also a time to pray over the men in our lives - - - husbands, fathers, sons, uncles -- - -to be steady and true to their faith and family during this tumultuous season of reopening and financial challenges.
For the June cover page in my Month-by-Month Bible Quilt Journal, I'm using the Men for Christ template. You can use the monthly template to highlight the monthly theme or create a page inspired by the season or a holiday that occurs that month (e.g. Father's Day.)
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