Worship into the Week- Epiphany

 

Worship into the Week-

Matthew 2: 1-12

The Visit of the Magi

Epiphany

Rejoiced exceedingly with great JOY.

 Lord, may I see the Star that brings LIGHT.

That I may go there!

Today I have thought about the Magi

 riding camels to Bethlehem.

(me last year in Petra)

John and I thought about following a star 

when we were in Petra last year.

 In our family Zoom worship this past week, 

we talked about camel riding tips.

So on this Epiphany day I will place this sign

 over the doorway to our home.

Epiphany comes from the Greek word- 

epi pha neia

It means appearance, manifestation.

One of the oldest festivals in the Christian world.

When Christ was made 

manifest to the Gentile world.

The blessing is:

Christus Mansionem Benedicat

May Christ Bless this House.

20+ C+ M+ B+ 21

Preferred is to include a cross

 between all of the symbols.

And Lord, may you bless this nation.

Into the New Year- with Intent

 

This first part of 2021 has been 

to set up some of the practices

that I will continue to use as 

spiritual formation resources in my life.

Here is a photo of the Joy Journal 

that I have set up in a monthly 2 page layout.

The left side has spaces for noting 

one gift a day, a blessing, a gift.

I have done this practice for over 10 years now.

You can see the count on the side of the page

and by the end of January 2021- 

it will be 3558 days of gifts.

I would not remember all of His goodness

 unless I wrote it down.

The right side is what I call-

 Prayers by the Month.

There is a Scripture to pray into the situations

and over the people collected here on this page.

This practice helps me to "Actually Pray"

for the things and people

 I say will pray for in my life.

This free resource is from 

Visual Faith Ministry.

gifts-of-joy-journal-by-bev-wicher

This year I also set up my calendar 

tiny doodles journal for the whole year.

 I use a calendar from Concordia Publishing House

 and then cut it into thirds to fit my Traveler's Notebook.

This has a worked well for me this way now for three years.

 So, I will continue recording a phrase

 or image for each day from my daily devotions.

Any calendar will work and any devotion does also.

I choose 4 colored pencils 

for each month to make it simple.

 The calendars for the year can be downloaded right here:

cph-portals of prayer-calendars

Once a month I also set up my resources 

for the practice of Worship into the Week-

 using resources from Visual Faith Ministry.

There are half sheets, 

and Bible verses and the new resources

 has a Gelli print and some extra goodies. 

worship-into-the-week-faith-planner-kit

All I need comes right to my mailbox

 for setting up my 3 ring journal.

 I have been doing this practice for over 3 years now

 and it follows the 3 year Lectionary

 and has blessed my Worship life.

So- instead of making all sorts

 of New Year's resolutions- 

I used my time to set up a framework

 for being in the Word

 and recording the journey, 

so the I may tell the story

 of His Faithfulness in 2021.

Would you like to join me?

Print out the resources and come along!

Give the Holy Spirit something to work with!

Scripture Doodles- December 2020

Scripture Doodles

December 2020

Habits of the Heart-

Celebrating, Memorizing Scripture,

Reflecting on the Past Year,

Looking Forward to the New Year.

A phrase a day in a little square.

With a Scripture connection each day.

Thankful for this simple way to chart 

the Devotional Journey of time in His Word.

#tinyscripturedoodles

#devotionaljournaling

#concordiapublishing

Worship into the Week- Nor Anything Else

Worship into the Week- New Year's Eve

Romans 8: 31-39

We are more than Conquerors-

because of Jesus who loved us.

Of all that this 2020 year has brought upon us-

of death, Covid, heartaches, despair, loneliness,

fear, illness, hurtfulness, and failure.

But,

In this AULD LANG SANG moment-

 I will remember God's Word

 to me and to you-right into the 2021 year.

From the Message:

31-39 So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.
We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.

Blessings to each of you in 2021

 and thanks for stopping by here 

to see and hear the story of His Faithfulness.

Connie

Supplies:

Visual Church Year Printable    romans-837-123120

Magazine Cutouts     Scrapbook Paper

 Gel pens   Colored Pencils

Thanks to Rachel Hinz for these images.

Adding in the images from Worship into the Week

that didn't make individual blog posts.

But, I wanted to share the lovely images

 that blessed my devotional worship time

Christmas Day Dawn

Christmas Day

December 27, 2020

Soul-Tending Reading 2020

=

The Soul-Tending Reading List for 2020-

Top to Bottom-

The Spiritually Vibrant Home-Everts

Songs of Easter-Collins

The Princess and the Goblin- George MacDonald

The Minister's Restoration- George MacDonald

The Radium Girls-Kate Moore

First Easter- Paul L. Maier

The Forgotten Desert Mothers- Swan

Let's All Be Brave- Annie F. Downs

Everybody Always- Bob Goff

Her Mother's Hope- Francine Rivers

Her Mother's Dream- Francine Rivers

It is always surprising where I end up

 at the end of my year of reading

I make a stack of proposed books

 and then see where it goes.. as the days unfold.

As the Lord lays out the plan...

I journey into 2021.

 

Nostalgic Christmas

                     

                                                          I purchased this photo 

in an antique store in Nebraska 

when my daughters were 1, 2 and 3.  

It is a picture cut out of a magazine'

 or some sort of publication

and then laid on top of a simple paper matting. 

The man reminded me of their dad- John. 

This is how I often saw how he held his daughters.

They did not need to hold mistletoe

 to get a kiss from dad.

It was probably made as a very special gift

 for a soldier serving in World War 1.

In France 

Christmas 1918

Salutation to a Soldier

Pieces of the paper with the 

very precious words are just falling off.

It lives in the hallway in my family room these days.

Think it will be a January project to type them

 out and attach then while I can still read them.

And perhaps save this very nostalgic

 Christmas greeting- another 100 years.

A bit of a 90's throwback with black and white photos

 of the girls with copies of 100 year old postcards.

Here is a page form the 

December 1953 McCall's magazine.

Love the image and the way this was

 just a part of life in this mid-century publication.

It is matted and framed 

in the front hallway for Christmas.

This print is the back cover of the

 Dec. 1916 Modern Priscilla.

Always makes me want to 

make up a cup of hot Cocoa.

A favorite- 

A Child's Book of Christmas Carols-from 1942 

Illustrated by Masha- 

who illustrated the very first 

Little Golden Book- the Three Little Kittens.

This lithograph graces the living room 

during the Winter months.

This print is by George Leighton 

and was published in the Christmas Supplement

 for the Illustrated London News- Dec. 20, 1856. 

It is a wood-engraved lithograph.

 I purchased this in March 2000 

as my trip souvenir in Galway, Ireland.

It truly may be said that for me-

"pre-loved" is best.

Worship into the Week- Salvation for All

Worship into the Week- 

Christmas Eve Services

God is Love

1 John 4:7-16

God's Steadfast Love endures.

God showed love among us

 by sending His one and only Son.

For the Grace of God has appeared,

bringing salvation for all people.

Titus 2:11

Waiting for our blessed hope,

the appearing of the glory 

of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

A tiny baby changes everything.

Supplies:

Visual Faith Ministry Printables

childrens-bulletin-1-john-47-16-122420

childrens-bulletin-

titus-211-122420-christmas-eve-midnight

Colored pencils

Scrapbook paper

Newspaper cutouts