TAKE OVER TUESDAY 2/24 - BEKAH
My morning started out by making a breakfast sandwich which got me on the topic of asking you all some poll questions related to my morning. Here they are:
Polls:
- Bacon or sausage for a breakfast sandwich?
- Egg yolks cooked or runny?
- Cats or dogs?
- Iced or Hot beverage?
Results:
- 50% Bacon and 50% Sausage
- 80% Runny and 20% Cooked
- 64% Dogs and 36% Cats
- 70% Iced and 30% Hot
A book of the Bible that popped into my head during the afternoon was James.
James 1:2-3 says "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness."
James is one of my favorite books of the Bible. If you aren't familiar with it, I would definitely recommend giving it a read.
This time we're living in right now could definitely be considered a "trial" for many. It's hard to be alone and be stuck at home. It's scary for people who can't work from home. It's hard to be living in a time of so many questions and concerns and wondering what the future will hold.
That being said, the Bible reminds us to "count it all joy" when we're going through trials or difficult times. These trials can make us sometimes question God and His ways and his plans.
BUT- if we continue to trust in God through all of this, the testing of our faith that we're facing will help us to build our relationship with God to an even stronger one! He is the great healer and comforter. He will help us through all that we're facing.
Check out James during some of your free time this week if you get a chance.
I spent some of my afternoon sitting outside relaxing and enjoying the nice weather. I shared about how important it is to take time out for yourself and putting your own health and mental health first, especially during this time of quarantine. With so many restrictions on what we can do or where we can go, a lot of time is being spent inside our homes. With that being said, I'd encourage you all to go for walks or spend time outside. It's an especially great time to spend in God's Word - learning more about our creator and drawing near to him. I've been trying to spend my days thanking God throughout the day for everything. Even things like having toilet paper, food, and a place to live. We have SO much to be thankful for, even during a time like this. Don't forget to take time out of your day to thank God for all that he has blessed us with. It can be during the quiet parts of your day or when you're getting dressed or ready for the day etc.
THURSDAY DEVO 3/20 -JENN
Click Here to Visit our youtube page and watch Jenn's Devo
TUESDAY TAKEOVER 3/17 - JESS
Morning Thoughts - This morning when I was driving out it was all foggy with the snow all you could see was the skyline of the hills, on the first official day of quarantine. It reminded me of Pslam 121 we talked about at our last MidWeek and that's been our Oak Hill text to read while washing our Hands. Psalm 121 reads:
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
We see that the Pslamist is falsing lots of hills, mountians to climb and its all they can focus on. I've been aksing a smiliar question as I consider the proverbal hills we're facing as a result of COVID-19. Oh, God, who can help? The question reminds me that our help comes from the maker of the hills. IVerse 2 says "My help comes from the lord, the maker of heaven and earth." We must see all our help laid up in God, his power and goodness, his providence and grace; and from him we must expect it to come. Not to dwell on the "hills" and hurtles we're facing, whether it be TYPE MORE
POST Let's think about the content that we're surrounding yourself with during this time? We've been watching lots of Netflix I won't lie, but our latest "Binge" has been The Bible Project Vidoes, we just watched one about The Devil/The Satan that helped me with my own thinking and perception. There's also a GREAT one about Ephesians, the book we've been studying HERE. What content have you been watching and digesting lately? We encourage you to watch some that help you learn about God during this time!
MID DAY THOUGHTS Thinking about Content and changing it up, a fun thing to watch is each day the Cincinnati Zoo is going live about a different type of animals HERE! There are also lots of Musume Tours you can take online. I'd encourage you to check it out!
POST Took a trip out after the snow melted (thankfully!) and remembering that full trust in God is recognizing that his will is not a puzzle or problem to be solved. I can’t just figure it out and know, I have to rest in believing that he knows best. God’s word tells us his faithfulness does not depend on our wisdom (Lamentations 3:22-24). God’s word tells us his grace does not depend on our performance (Ephesians 2:8-9). Gods word tells us that whatever shape our life takes his steadfast love and goodness trumps whatever is going on whiteout us (Psalm 136). And if all that is true it should change how we view every circumstance in our life - Remember switch our heads as we say in youth group 😉
THE SIGN outside of our church asks us "What are you Grateful for?" today I'm thankful for Fresh Air!
AFTERNOON THOUGHTS I pulled Matt in to have a discussion about getting into the word and finding time for Worship in our homes, which is even more important as we won't be meeting in person throughout the week to worship together. One way that we've found to do this is a daily devotional. Now we're not perfect about this (we're like a week behind in our Lent Study). But it's helpful to have a toll-like that to help us as opposed to studying without a guide, especially if we're by ourselves or getting back into it. One way to worship at home is by listening to Worship Music, now this is also a great tool for scripture memory. Sometimes we don't realize how much scripture we have memorized until we realized we already know it in song, think about all the songs we've learned at VBS -
Pslam 23
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.[a]
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness[b]
for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,[c]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
and
2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has us everything required for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and goodness. (GAMEON)
It's easy to get in the same routine and listen to the same things, but now is the perfect time to break that routine and listen to things that point us to Christ. Now it's not about doing this to do "the right thing" but opening our hearts to God. And that's our prayer for you during this time
END OF THE DAY THOUGHTS
It was so fun to be in touch and post to you all, all day long. You can find the full Tuesday Takeover on our Instagram page. Please know we miss you all and are praying for you each by name today. If there's anything specific we can be praying for you please let us know HERE.
