The Homemaking Foundations Podcast

Are you finding yourself needing to fight for JOY this year? In this episode we are going straight to the Bible to see what our source of Joy is and how we can find steadfast joy and peace this year and beyond. Listen in for some deep encouragement today! Listen to the Podcast: And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. What is true JOY according to God’s Word? "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls." - 1 Peter 1:8-9 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." - Romans 15:13 "Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” - Nehemiah 8:10 "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,"  - Romans 14:17 And so many others. But when you read through the entirety of scripture with this joy in mind, you will quickly see the Christian life is one of JOY. To set the stage about what we will be talking about, I love this lengthy quote from R.c. Sproul's book Can I have Joy in My Life? (FREE on Kindle right now!) “THE WAY TO RECOVER JOY - Paul’s admonition to believers to be joyful presupposes that believers can do something if they find themselves lacking in joy. He is right, of course, and the New Testament is filled with teaching on how to be joyful. The most basic method is to focus our attention on the ground of our joy, the source of our joy. Paul gives one of the most practical of these teachings in Philippians: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (4:8). This is a call to meditate upon the things of the Lord, to turn our attention to the things of God. When we find ourselves depressed, down, irritated, annoyed, or otherwise unhappy, we need to return to the source of our joy, and then we will see those circumstances that are sapping our joy in perspective. The circumstances of this life will pale into insignificance when compared to that which we have received from God. Sometimes our joy is determined by the intensity of the latest blessing we experienced at the hands of God. We’re always looking for the mountaintop experience, for a spiritual high that will excite us and fill us with joy, but these intense feelings wear off. When I have things in perspective, I know that if I never experienced another blessing in my entire life other than the blessings I already have received from the hand of God, I would have no possible reason to be anything but overflowing with joy until the day I die. God has already given me so much to be thankful for, so much to provoke my soul to delight, gladness, and joy, that I should be able to live on the basis of that surplus of blessedness and remain joyful all of my days.” How does joy differ from happiness? Happiness is a fleeting emotion. And usually a very unstable one. What makes us happy might differ from moment to moment. And what is true happiness anyway? Happiness is easy to get swept away with the troubles of this world. Joy on the other hand, is a fruit of the Spirit. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,

Today I'm sharing my top 10 books that I read this last year. I love reflecting back over the books I've read and I've got some good ones to recommend to you today. Listen in! Listen to the Podcast: And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. I read 78 books in 2020. It was far off from my original goal of 156, but considering what a busy year we had, I'm very happy with it! Of all the books I read this year, here are my top 10 favorites! My Top 10 Books of 2020 Suffering is Never For Nothing - Elizabeth Elliot Love Centered Parenting - Crystal Paine (Releases March 16th!) God's Battleplan for the Mind: A Puritan Practice of Biblical Meditation - David W. Saxton Adventuring Together: How to Create Connections and Make Lasting Memories with Your Kids - Greta Eskridge Loving Well - William P. Smith The Gospel Comes with a Housekey - Rosaria Butterfield The Call of the Wild and the Free: Reclaiming Wonder in Your Child's Education - Ainsley Arment Stop Calling Me Beautiful: Finding Soul-Deep Strength in a Skin-Deep World - Phylicia Masonheimer Start With Your People - Brian Dixon (My interview with Brian here) Grain by Grain: A Quest to Revive Ancient Wheat, Rural Jobs, and Healthy Food - Bob Quinn Links & Resources: Follow me on Goodreads Follow Jason on Goodreads Follow me on Instagram Our Sponsor: Go to GreenChef.com/homemaking10 and use code homemaking10 to get $90 off including free shipping!  

I love setting goals for the new year! For 2021, my goals are based off of my word for this year and the focus I want to have. Listen in to my 12 goals I'll be working on this year! Listen to the Podcast: And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. My word for 2021 took a little while to settle on. But in praying about it and really thinking through what Jason and I both want our household to capture this next year, I landed on: Kingdom. It's shaping a lot about how I approach this next year in my thought process and practically through my goals. As I dig into what we will be working towards in 2021, I've broken my goals down into 3 categories: The Kingdom and my personal goals The Kingdom and my family The Kingdom and my business/ministry The Kingdom and My Personal Goals: I'm a big planner and goal setter. It helps to motivate me and I know that by setting personal goals for myself, I accomplish far more than if I didn't set any goals at all. I've got 4 goals for this category: Read 130 books in 2021 Read the entire Bible cover to cover Keep a gratitude journal for 365 days Do 6 craft projects in the year The Kingdom and My Family Goals: Jason and I have developed these goals together. Memorize 40 Bible verses this year (I would like to shoot for 52, one a week, but I know 40 is more realistic). Play more board games (as a family and Jason and I) Invest in solidifying our homeschooling routines. We started a new curriculum 6 months ago that's working so well for us. The next step is really solidifying those routines and habits. Better family worship routine (5 times a week) The Kingdom and My Business/Ministry Goals Write a book Launch rebrand of Finding Joy in Your Home (from Young Wife's Guide) Hire 3-4 people over the course of the year Launch 4 new big products and 4 small products Secret goal: Work on a huge secret project we have set to launch quarter one 2022. We need to be working on this project each week but it's hard to stay on track with a project that huge when it's so far away!

This is my 7th year picking a word for my year. Last year I expressed that I always love picking my word for the year but I had difficulty in picking one for 2020. Well that's true again this year. I thought and prayed about it a lot but I think I landed on the perfect word for my year. So today I’m sharing my new word for the year as well as some tips for picking your own word for this year. Here are my past words:  2012: Intentional 2016: Joy 2017: Create 2018: Refresh 2019: Faithfulness 2020: Cultivate Listen to the Podcast: We also recorded this blog post as an audio podcast. If you want to listen in instead of reading, click play below or do a combination of both  And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. What has gone into choosing this word: When picking my word for 2020, I was looking ahead to what looked like an extremely full and weird year. We were looking ahead to selling our house, having baby #6, and buying an RV and starting to travel around the U.S. full time. And now we are almost 7 months into that travel journey. But of course, we had no idea what else 2020 would have in store. So I've been praying a lot these past months on what 2021 will have in store for us. I know now more than ever that I can't control what the future holds. But I can hold fiercely to joy and peace this year for my own life and family. More than ever, I need to make sure that MY priorities are crystal clear. I need to make sure that when things in the world get crazy and the days might be hard, that I am standing fiercely in the hope of God's Kingdom. I need to make sure that God's priorities are my true priorities. For my own personal goals, for my family, and for our business. It's something that Jason and I have been discussing a LOT and praying about a LOT. And so all of this has led me to my word for 2021... Kingdom. I want more than anything for 2021 to be Kingdom focused. I want Kingdom focus in my personal goals, my parenting, my marriage, and my business. I want to make choices, pray about decisions, and walk boldly into 2021 with this Kingdom focus. So what does this mean? Got Questions explains that God's Kingdom is: "Broadly speaking, the kingdom of God is the rule of an eternal, sovereign God over all the universe. Several passages of Scripture show that God is the undeniable Monarch of all creation: “The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19). And, as King Nebuchadnezzar declared, “His kingdom is an eternal kingdom” (Daniel 4:3). Every authority that exists has been established by God (Romans 13:1). So, in one sense, the kingdom of God incorporates everything that is. More narrowly, the kingdom of God is a spiritual rule over the hearts and lives of those who willingly submit to God’s authority. Those who defy God’s authority and refuse to submit to Him are not part of the kingdom of God; in contrast, those who acknowledge the lordship of Christ and gladly surrender to God’s rule in their hearts are part of the kingdom of God. In this sense, the kingdom of God is spiritual—Jesus said His kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36), and He preached that repentance is necessary to be a part of the kingdom of God (Matthew 4:17). That the kingdom of God can be equated with the sphere of salvation is evident in John 3:5–7, where Jesus says the kingdom of God must be entered into by being born again. See also 1 Corinthians 6:9." So to me, what this brings to mind is twofold: Christ is reigning over the cosmos. He is in control of all things.

This month we are going to be chatting a lot about reading, how to read more, and WHY we would want to read more. Today I'm giving some reasons for investing in reading and some tips for reading more...no matter what that means for YOU! Listen in! Listen to the Podcast: You can find the notes for this episode down below. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.  Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. Why I read and invest in reading: As a Christian, I think it's important to be learning and growing. As a mother, I want to model to my kids what it means to be a life long learner. And reading is very relaxing to me. It fills up my cup so that I can in turn fill up the cups around me. So when considering reading more, keep those in mind! But also keep in mind that we all derive different levels of enjoyment out of reading. For me, it's ALSO my entertainment and what Jason and I choose for leisure. You might not enjoy it that much, and that's okay! Reading will mean different things to each of us. If you don't think you enjoy reading that much, I do encourage you to try some new types of books and see if you don't fall in love. Try new genres, try audiobooks, or different times of day for reading. When setting a goal can help: It can help incentivize you to pick up books. It helps develop a routine. When we do 2 books a week, it naturally helps us pace those. It can help you choose things OVER television or social media. Which is almost always the right thing ;) It helps me FINISH books. Which has greatly paid off because some of my most impactful reading moments have been in the last chapter or so. Links & Resources: Follow me over on Instagram to follow along with everything in real time Follow me on Goodreads to see all my latest reads and challenge Our Sponsor: Visit HomeschookMagnet.com to find some better homeschooling support! Our Sponsor: Get the best custom Christmas gifts and cards at Vistaprint.com/HF

My kitchen has changed dramatically over the past few years as I've gotten into good habits of batch booking. In this episode, I'll share how I use batch cooking in a busy schedule and some terrific resources for doing it in your kitchen as well. Listen in! Listen to the Podcast: You can find the notes for this episode down below. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.    Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. Links & Resources: Jamerrill Stewart's Large Family Table Prep Dish does the work for you - get 2 weeks FREE! Follow me over on Instagram where we've been chatting about all things kitchen! Our sponsor: Vistaprint.com/HF Our sponsor: Homeschoolmagnet.com

In hard seasons, in mundane moments and everything in between, the Gospel needs to shape our responses, our attitude and our home.  Often we think of the Gospel as something that was important at that moment of salvation. Christ died for me, I'm forgiven...then the Christian life starts. But the Christian life is the Gospel. It affects our work, our marriages, our parenthood, our attitudes, and responses to all that life throws at us. And that's exactly what we are discussing today. Let's dive in! Listen to the Podcast: You can find the notes for this episode down below. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.    Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. What is the “goal” of the Christian life? “For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” – Philippians 1:19-23 Living in light of the Gospel: “It is our obligation, as people created and owned by God, to give him the honor and glory that is due to him, to live and speak and act and think in a way that recognizes and acknowledges his authority over us. We are made by him, owned by him, dependent on him, and therefore accountable to him.” - What is the Gospel? By Greg Gilbert Finding Glory in the Mundane Moments You see, I struggle sometimes with finding worth in the mundane. I struggle finding glory in the ordinary. I sometimes struggle knowing how the second load of dishes or sweeping the sidewalk is worth anything.  Do you ever struggle with this? Do you ever struggle knowing how our work in the home matters to God? Both of these books this year have helped with that. I feel like I’ve gone on a similar journey as the author has in Glory in the Ordinary. I love how she’s open about her struggle with this as well: “Like all major changes, my early days as a stay-at-home mom rocked me to the core. I had gone from days filled with fruitful conversations to days filled with crying and blank stares from two needy babies. Over time I began to see that being home had inherent value, but what I couldn’t immediately see was how the work at home had value as well. It was not merely about staying home to take care of the children (which made sense to my exhausted brain); I had to learn there was value in the laundry and cleaning too.” – Glory in the Ordinary page 25 This is the impactful part, she goes on to say: “What I’ve learned is that God is glorified in the mundane work as much as he is in the magnificent. In fact, it is in the mundane moments, the moments where we live each and every day, where we come to see the true greatness of God and his love for us.” – Glory in the Ordinary page 25 Life is lived out in these tiny moments. I may not always have the mental capacity to remember and realize that I am doing big, grand work, even when I’m scrubbing toilets, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Something that I love throughout her book is this concept of how our culture views work in the home versus how God does. Our culture views work as simply a means to an end. We work just enough to be able to afford leisure time. And we look down on those blue collar jobs or work that seem to have little worth, such as workingMcDonald’s. We value big important jobs. We admire people who are in charge of large ministries who are ma...

I have one big goal in my kitchen: nourish my family with good, nutritious food so that we all have the energy and vitality to serve the Lord. BUT it has to be simple and easy or I'll never be able to do it. So in this episode I'm going to share a bit behind how I run my simple kitchen to save money, save time, and eat healthier. Listen in! Listen to the Podcast: You can find the notes for this episode down below. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. Links & Resources: Find all my favorite kitchen appliances in my Amazon store Join me over on Instagram Our Sponsor: Get 50% off your first month of Care/Of by going to TakeCareOf.com/home50 and use promo code home50 at checkout! Grab your ticket to this year’s conference! Tickets went on sale this week for the 7th annual Homemaking Ministries Online Conference. The theme this year is Finding Joy in Your Home. It’s going to be our BEST online conference yet. I invite you to come check out all the speakers, sessions, and other goodies.  

Are you feeling frazzled right now? Maybe overwhelmed as you look to the end of the year and a start of a new one? I've been feeling that a lot this year so I had to remind myself: There is important Kingdom work for me to do each day. I just need to refocus enough to see it. We are going to talk about the right priorities today: Listen to the Podcast: You can find the notes for this episode down below. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.     Links & Resources: Our Sponsor: Visit JennyLife.com/HOME to get a FREE quote right now on life insurance! Our Sponsor: Go to HelloFresh.com/HOMEMAKING90 and use code HOMEMAKING90 to get $90 off including free shipping Grab your ticket to this year’s conference! Tickets went on sale this week for the 7th annual Homemaking Ministries Online Conference. The theme this year is Finding Joy in Your Home. It’s going to be our BEST online conference yet. I invite you to come check out all the speakers, sessions, and other goodies.

It's November and the Holiday's are almost here. I don't know about you, but once November hits, I feel like we hit fast forward on the year. So as we look forward to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and making memories as a family...I want to be intentional! Here's how we can start to prepare our hearts to better focus on Christ and make memories as a family. Listen to the Podcast: You can find the notes for this episode down below. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. Linka & Resources: The Tech-Wise Family by Andy Crouch Hidden Christmas by Timothy Keller Our sponsor: New customers get 20% off plus free shipping at Nutrafol.com coupon code: HOME Christ-Centered Christmas Kit! If you are looking for another resource that will give you the tools to focus more on Christ this year, I want to share with you my Christ-Centered Christmas Kit! The kit includes 6 audio lessons, Celebrating a Christ-Centered Christmas eBook, and a TON of printables to help you this Christmas season! And you can get the Christmas kit for 25% OFF making it just $14.95 (it’s normally $19.95). Just use coupon code: CHRISTMASBUNDLE18 at checkout for 25% off! Purchase the Christmas Kit Here The Christmas kit even includes these beautiful printable Scripture readings that go along with each day of December. It’s already December you say? Who cares! Jump in now and you will also have these next year to use!! Plus a ton of other great goodies inside the kit! Grab your ticket to this year’s conference! Tickets went on sale this week for the 7th annual Homemaking Ministries Online Conference. The theme this year is Finding Joy in Your Home. It’s going to be our BEST online conference yet. I invite you to come check out all the speakers, sessions, and other goodies.

It’s been such an insane year. And one thing has been clear to me: I haven’t been making relationships in my life a big enough priority. Listen in to the 3 areas I'm working on relationships in my life: in my parenting, in my marriage, and in my friendships. Listen to the Podcast: You can find the notes for this episode down below. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. Links & Resources: Find out more about the Homemaking Ministries Online Conference 2021 Preorder Crystal's NEW book: Love-Centered Parenting Our Sponsor: Get $80 off your first 5 boxes at HelloFresh.com/Homemaking80 and use code Homemaking80 Grab your ticket to this year’s conference! Tickets went on sale this week for the 7th annual Homemaking Ministries Online Conference. The theme this year is Finding Joy in Your Home. It’s going to be our BEST online conference yet. I invite you to come check out all the speakers, sessions, and other goodies.

It's been a rough year. Am I right? But 2021 doesn't have to be. Let's head into this next year with JOY! Here's what I'm working on: Listen to the Podcast: You can find the notes for this episode down below. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. Links & Resources: Find out more about the Homemaking Ministries Online Conference 2021 Bible Verses Mentioned: Romans 15:13, Psalm 90:14, Phil 4:4, James 1:2-4, Psalm 94:19, and 1 Thess 5:16-18 Our Sponsor: Sponsor a child today with WorldVision.org/Home Grab your ticket to this year’s conference! Tickets went on sale this week for the 7th annual Homemaking Ministries Online Conference. The theme this year is Finding Joy in Your Home. It’s going to be our BEST online conference yet. I invite you to come check out all the speakers, sessions, and other goodies.    

We are gearing up for our 7th annual online homemaking conference. As we've been sharing about it this week, I thought I would share a little history of our online conferences, how they came to be, and some sneak peeks of what's coming up in our ministry and business. If you want to just chat with me for a little while, listen in! Listen to the Podcast: You can find the notes for this episode down below. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. Links & Resources: Find out more about the Homemaking Ministries Online Conference 2021 Our sponsor: Get your waived registration fee from LaurelSprings.com/Foundation Our sponsor: Get 50% off your first vitamin box from TakeCareOf.com/Home50 Grab your ticket to this year's conference! Tickets went on sale this week for the 7th annual Homemaking Ministries Online Conference. The theme this year is Finding Joy in Your Home. It's going to be our BEST online conference yet. I invite you to come check out all the speakers, sessions, and other goodies.

Helping our kids know God's Word (and hopefully come to cherish it) is such an important task! But it can also be a very overwhelming task. In this episode, we will share some some great resources for helping our kids know God's Word. Listen in! Listen to the Podcast: You can find the notes for this episode down below. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. Links & Resources: Sign up to get notified when tickets go on sale for the 2021 Homemaking Ministries Online Conference Get FREE classes for your kids! VarsityTutors.com/Home Get $10 OFF stroryworth.com/homemaking Common Questions / Misconceptions “I don’t have enough time!”— Consider repurposing regular times of the day when you’re already with your kids (mealtimes, playtimes, snack time, car rides, before nap or bedtime, walks, etc.) “I don’t know what to teach them!”— When in doubt, just read small portions of scripture, talk about it in simple language, and pray. For more, you can add resources as referenced below. “I don’t know enough!”— Learn together! “It’s hard!” — Faithfulness is always challenging, but it’s worth the cost to invest eternal truths into the hearts of our children. Reminders There is no formula, every family will do it differently and that’s okay. Salvation belongs to the Lord. Even if we do everything right (spoiler: we won’t) that doesn’t guarantee our children will follow the Lord. Hope in him, not your methods. Pray for your children to have changed desires. 5 Ways to Help Your Children Know, Understand, and Apply the Word of God Through Inductive Study Through Scripture Memory By Teaching Doctrinal Truths By Teaching Vocabulary Through the Gospel Narrative Inductive Study Ages 7+: Once a child can read, train them to think through the passage using a tool like the Kid’s Inductive Study Card (free download) as they read on their own. Have them write or draw a picture of what they learned. Ages 3+: Read a passage of scripture to your child, use a tool like the Kid’s Inductive Study Card (free download) to discuss, understand, and apply the text. Have them draw a picture of the story. Ages 0+: Focus on listening to the word of God through an audio bible or an audio storybook bible. Talk about it for comprehension at their level. Free Audio Bibles: ESV app from Crossway, The Bible App Jesus Storybook Bible Audio Version, The Big Picture Bible Audio Version ESV Devotional Psalter (as mentioned in video that our family uses) Main idea: Help your children get used to hearing the word of God and thinking deeply about it. Don’t forget to pray! Scripture Memory Ages 3+: Focus on memorizing small or long passages of scripture together. Recite it daily or set it to a tune. For more passive memorization, listen to scripture songs: Seeds Family Worship, Hide ‘em in Your Heart There are many more if you do a quick search! For more incentive, offer a small treat or work scripture memory before your child moves onto a preferred activity. Main idea: Implant the truth of God’s word in their heart so the Holy Spirit can bring it to mind. Doctrinal Truths Ages 3+: Work through catechisms (content amount appropriate for child’s age), having them memorize simple statements. New City Catechism (book and app) — Some people also use: Westminster Shorter Catechism, Heidelberg Catechism

There's never been a more important time to be in God's Word. But I know so many of us struggle to make that a habit in our own lives and also to help our kids make it a habit in their own life. In this episode, we'll hear from Laura & Emily from Risen Motherhood as they share what it means to treasure God's Word. Listen to the Podcast: You can find the notes for this episode down below. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. Links & Resources: Sign up to get notified when tickets go on sale for the 2021 Homemaking Ministries Online Conference Get 20% off your first order (and free shipping) to get thicker healthier hair Nutrafol.com and use promo code HOME Need help scheduling virtual doctor appointments? Check out plushcare.com/homemaking Why is it important for a mom to study God’s word? The Bible is how God speaks to us. Right thinking leads to right living. Growing in biblical literacy is how we grow in discernment. Knowing who God is shapes where our identity is found. We cannot pour into our children if we our well is empty. Two important notes: The local church is a great place to find support and learn to study the word of God. Don’t confuse a devotional with a Bible Study. While devotionals are wonderful, we should prioritize studying God’s word for ourselves. Tips for getting in God’s word as a mom of young children Plow: Read one book of the Bible over and over for comprehension. You can start with any book of the Bible, but here are a few ideas to start with: Genesis, John, Acts, 1 Peter, James Free Audio Bibles: ESV app from Crossway, The Bible App Read the entire Bible for comprehension. Reading Plans: The Bible Project, The Bible App, Read the Bible cover to cover, Chronological Bible, Navigators Gospel-Themes: For a full list and further description, click here. Trowel: The Abide Method The Abide Method Tutorial on Risen Motherhood Free Bible Study Worksheets from Risen Motherhood Bible Gateway (Where to get text for scripture. Copy and paste then print on paper in a large, doubles paced font.) Journaling Bible, ESV Study Bible, Pens Other resources we use to study God’s word from Risen Motherhood Three steps to The Abide Method Observation: What does the text say? Interpretation: What was the original context to the original audience? Apply: What does this passage tell you about who God is? How does that transform your life? Always open and close your time with prayer. Favorite prayer resources: Val Marie Paper Prayer Journal Valley of Vision, A Book of Puritan Prayers A blank notebook/journal