Immanuel {Think On These Things}

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He can show up in the most interesting of places... a burning bush, a fight in the night, a food trough for animals. He comes quietly with no fanfare, and yet angels sing on high when He arrives. He will walk with you in fire or down a dusty road where you least expect Him to show up. He will hide you behind a rock and pass by so you can experience His goodness. 'Tis the season to see Him appear in our daily lives. Join me in December as we write out verses that demonstrate how He is always with us even in the most unlikely of places.

You can download the file here!

If you would like all the Think on These Things verses or want to know more about it, click here. Also, here are some of the benefits of Scripture writing...read this.

Instagram

During the month I try to post my thoughts on the verses on Instagram. If you would like to follow me you can find me here. Also, if you are posting your own thoughts there please use the hashtag #thinkonthesethings. I would love to read how God speaks to you!!

Supplies

There are many ways you can use these verses. You can read and meditate on them. You can write them out as you meditate on them. You can read them and then write about them in a journal or journaling Bible. You could do verse mapping with them (See this post). Here are some of the items I use...

A single column journaling Bible allows you to make notes in the margins.

ESV Single Column Journaling Bible (TruTone, Chestnut, Leaves Design)
ESV Single Column Journaling Bible (Black)
ESV Single Column Journaling Bible (Brown, Flap with Strap)

Some highlighters {These are my absolute favorites!}...

Eco Highlighter Pencils - Set of 5 Colors

Black pens are great for writing out the verses...

Black Ink Pen Set
Black Artist Pen Set

I love these journals that lay flat...easier to write in! They are great for Scripture writing!
Studio Oh! Deconstructed Journals

Let's Think On These Things!

Great Stories for Kids at Advent

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Some of my best Christmas memories didn't happen during my childhood, but rather the growing up years for my sons. When the oldest was in elementary school someone recommended Jotham's Journey to us for Advent. Jotham goes through a series of adventures that eventually lead him to the birth of Christ! Each night of Advent you read the continuing story that almost always ends in a cliff hanger (making your kids beg for more). After each part of the story there is a short devotional related to what is currently happening. The book also gives you a calendar of when Advent starts and also how to incorporate the candles that go along with Advent in your reading of the story each night.

The author, Arnold Ytreeide, has come out with three other books like Jotham's Journey: 

Bartholomew's Passage

Tabitha's Travels

Ishtar's Odyssey

Each one of these stories surrounds the birth of Christ, and here is the absolutely awesome thing about these adventures...they are intertwined! Jotham, Bartholomew, Tabitha, and Ishtar cross paths in the story. So if your family reads one the first year and a different story the next year you get to see the story from a whole new vantage point. Last year, my husband and I (because our boys are now too old) read Ishtar's Odyssey together even though the boys didn't participate. We loved this angle of the story, because Ishtar is Persian and comes with the Wise Men to see the baby King. It added a whole new perspective!

So if you are looking for a new tradition for Advent these books would be a great addition to your season! The stories are captivating and the messages in the devotionals are not to be missed! Advent starts November 27th...so get ready for an adventure!

When God Stoops Down

You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.

Psalm 18:35 (NIV 1984)

A few weeks ago my youngest son was memorizing a set of verses in Psalm 18. When he got to the last one my heart stopped. God stoops down to make me great?! Who does that? Our normal mode of operation is to make ourselves great. Even when we think we are being self-sacrificing sometimes we are not. Sometimes we sacrifice to make our names great. Not so with Christ.

Christmas, the coming of Christ, is and always has been about God stooping down. The God of glory trading in His status, His position, His comfort so that He can live among us, the wretched. Once again I ask, "Who does that?!" We were the ones who messed ourselves up. We are the ones who can't hold ourselves or anything together. We are the ones that need Someone to stoop down and lift us from our pits. So God quietly slips out of heaven and enters our world...not as a person of wealth, power, or prestige. He comes as a helpless infant to help the helpless. He leverages all that He is and has to prop us up. The thought of it humbles me.

Hope is the reach of our hearts for the cure. -Cornelius Plantinga 

This season is one of hope. In a world gone horribly wrong where hurt and heartache reign God knew we needed hope and healing. He also knew we couldn't provide it for ourselves. Hope finds it home only in Him. He is the only One who can heal our broken pieces. He is the One who can put us back together no matter how shattered we are. The Baby bends down to pick up our pieces and make us beautiful again. We can have hope because we have Him.

If this season you are feeling broken go to the One that made Himself little to make you great. He loves you and would do anything for you. He is your hope!

Need more hope? See all the Verses of Hope I have collected this year. Also, if you are needing hope may I also suggest this devotional, Wait Only Upon God. I read it earlier this year, and it changed the way I look at hope and waiting on Him. Even though I may not know you I am praying that in this Christmas season you find hope...you find Him.

Gift Ideas for the Anxious Person

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I have been a lifelong sufferer of anxiety. I have anxiety about my anxiety. I struggle to take control of it before it takes control of me. A plethora of ideas exist on how to cope with it. There are also items that can help a person relieve the churning thoughts. While no method will permanently rid a worrier of  the angst, tools exist to help an anxious person get through the rough bumps in the road. If you are shopping for someone who struggles with worry or anxiety here are a few gift ideas...

Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty is pretty amazing stuff. For those that are fidgety and need to keep their hands moving {For some it is calming to manipulate something with their hands} this putty totally works. It is totally different from any other putty or clay or playdough I have seen. If you buy it in the small tins they make great stocking stuffers!

Coloring books have changed my life! I know it sounds almost crazy, but I find it extremely calming to color and get my mind off of my worries. There is just something healing about art and being creative.  Here are some of my favorites:



Creative Coloring Birds: Art Activity Pages to Relax and Enjoy!
Garden Blessings: Scriptures and Inspirations to Color Your World
Lost Ocean: An Inky Adventure and Coloring Book
Prismacolor Verithin Colored Pencils, Set of 36 Assorted Colors-These are the pencils I use to color. LOVE them!!

God's Word soothes my anxious soul time and again. There are times when I am not in His Word enough and my anxiety increases. I love my ESV Single Column Journaling Bible because I can take notes and record my thoughts and prayers in the margins. I use this black pen set for writing and these Highlighter Pencils to emphasize the passages that bring me comfort.

I love my GreenAir Diffuser. There are many essential oils out there you can diffuse that are relaxing. I tend to order from Plant Therapy. They have several blends that are good like Stress Free. Lavender is another oil which is good for those that are struggling with anxiety.

Other great gift ideas?

A journal to record their thoughts. For those who love to write {like me} journaling helps deal with all the hard emotions. Here are some lined journals.

Herbal teas are calming to me. Just remember though they probably need to be caffeine-free! Harney and Sons make some of my favorite teas!

So if you are trying to come up with gift ideas for those you love who have anxiety one or two of the above items might be appreciated!

Gift Ideas for Bilingual Kids

If you have bilingual kids in your life or if you are raising your own kids with more than one language, check out this post on my Spanish blog with ideas on what to get them this Christmas!

Gifts for Bilingual kids...

Christmas Reading

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Christmas is my favorite holiday! I love everything about it! During this time I try to take time to read a special devotional or book with a Christmas theme to focus my heart for the upcoming season. I also love reading fiction set during the Christmas season during November and December. Here is a look at some of my favorite Christmas devotionals/books...

Ann Voskamp's The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas is a beautiful look at the family of Christ to lead your heart to Him during the Advent season. I  have gone through this book a couple of times and have loved it each time! Here is my review of it. The book comes with a free download of ornaments when you purchase it. Each day after reading the devotional section you place one of the ornaments on your tree. I have written a post on how to get the ornaments ready for your tree. You can check it out here.

Last year I did Candace's book, Jesus, Light of the World: Praying the Scriptures through Advent. In this book, she focuses on how Jesus is our light. You can order her book from Amazon here. Or you can download it from her site here. If you would like to read more about her devotional see my review on it.

This year my youngest son and I will probably read through Max Lucado's In the Manger: 25 Inspirational Selections for Advent which is a collection of devotionals for Advent from his various books. I LOVE the way Max writes! He is an artist with the written word.

This year during my personal Bible study time I am going to be using materials from She Reads Truth. "Born is the King" is their Advent study for 2015. I have used their website before and loved some of their studies, but this time I thought I would take the plunge and buy the book that goes with the study.

I also love reading Christmas fiction during this time. In the past I have read Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Yes, we all know the story from movies, but have you ever read it? Dickens can be wordy, but A Christmas Carol is one of his shorter works.  Last year I read Liz Curtis Higgs' novella, A Wreath of Snow. It's a sweet story of love and forgiveness set in Scotland.



If you have kids (older elementary) and want to read something to them this season we LOVED Arnold Ytreeide's books for Advent! The stories are compelling and each day's reading leaves them clamoring for more! There is also a short devotional thought at the end of each day. Each story leads up to the birth of Christ. This year there is a new book out, Ishtar's Odyssey! I bought it even though we don't have young kids anymore. My husband and I plan to read it to each other this year. I know that sounds crazy, but these stories are that good!  Here are the others in the series:

Jotham's Journey
Bartholomew's Passage
Tabitha's Travels


So what are you reading this Christmas season? I would love to hear from you with some reading suggestions. Leave a comment as I need more reading options (especially in the fiction department) this season!