Day 14: Find Your Barnabas

Thank you for joining us for Day 14 of the 31 Days to Hallway Praise challenge!

Do you have someone in your life who consistently encourages you?  In Acts 4:36, we learn that a man named Joses was renamed Barnabas, meaning "son of encouragement," by the believers around him.  What an incredible testimony about this man!

We all need a Barnabas - someone to lift us up and point us back to the Lord.  When times are tough and we find it easy to become overwhelmed with our struggles in life, we need believers to come alongside us to help us fix our eyes on Christ.

If you already have such a person in your life, let your Barnabas know how much you appreciate his impact in your life.  If you haven't yet found your Godly encourager, start praying and ask the Lord to provide you such a person.  (Note:  if you are married, your Barnabas could well be your spouse.  If you aren't, I encourage you to find a Godly woman to be your Barnabas.)

As you try to find your Barnabas, though, there are several things to be careful about:

Be content until the Lord provides your Barnabas

As wonderful as it is to have a son of encouragement in your life, be patient until the Lord brings him or her to you.  It's great to want such a person, but not everyone has the gift of encouragement, and it might take some time to find your encourager.

Don't become dependent on him

Having another believer to support you and point you toward God's goodness is a desirable thing.  But you can't depend on him to lift your spirits every time you go through heartache.  We are all human, and no one can flawlessly encourage you every single time.

Do return the favor

Think about how you can be a Barnabas back to the person who ends up encouraging you.  Better still - look for ways you can Biblically encourage every person in your life, those who encourage you back and those who don't.

Become this person in your spouse's life

If you are married, ideally, your Barbabas will be your spouse.  Not all people are naturally gifted with a positive outlook on life, though.  If you aren't, you're going to have to work at this to be your spouse's Barnabas.  If your spouse isn't gifted with encouragement, maybe this will be an area where you both can grow as your both your marriage and your relationship with God deepen.

Today's action steps:  Think about the people in your life.  Does anyone stand out as being an encourager, someone who is often reminding you to keep your focus on the Lord?  If so, that person may well be your Barnabas.  If you don't have someone like that in your life already, how can you find someone?  Is there someone at church who has such a reputation?  If you live in a rural area, you might want to start by finding an online person who could encourage you either through a blog or podcast.

Day 13: Find Your Timothy

It's Day 13 of our 31 Days to Hallway Praise challenge!  Thanks for continuing on with all of us.

Yesterday, we discussed finding your "Paul" - an older lady who can help you grow in both your spiritual walk and in your household responsibilities.  Along those same lines, today I want to encourage you to find your Timothy.

Your Timothy will be a younger lady whom you can take under wing.  When we're facing a trial of any sort, it is so very, very easy to become so focused on the hardship and on ourselves that we sometimes forget about others.  Just as the Dead Sea is stagnant because it has no outlet, we all need a ministry outlet lest we become stale, too.

However, we also need to be careful when finding our Timothy that we don't shove advice onto someone unsolicited.  I've done that before, and it's not fun for anyone.  So, when you're considering whom you can minister to, think about whether or not someone has already asked you for advice.  If so, that's probably a good place to start.

Prayerfully consider whom your Timothy might be.  If you're not mature in your own faith yet, now might not be the time to pour into someone else.  But be praying about growing your own faith so that when the opportunity to shepherd someone else does come up, you'll be able to graciously step into that role.

If you're a young mom, your little ones might well be the Timothies that God has for you.  Or you might have the opportunity to mentor someone who is new in her faith.  If you're older and have been walking with the Lord for many years, you might be in a position to train up someone who is fairly mature in her own faith, too.

Helping someone else to grow in her faith is a big responsibility and shouldn't be taken lightly.  Go through with this only after much thought, prayer, and counsel from your husband.  But if the Lord allows you to enjoy this kind of ministry, what a wonderful thing to help nurture another's faith!

Today's action steps:  Prayerfully consider whether or not you're in a position to mentor someone.  If you're already a mom, the answer is yes - you need to be mentoring your little ones, no matter how inadequate you might feel at times!  If you are ready and haven't yet found your Timothy, pray about who it is that the Lord would have you come alongside.  Once you know who your Timothy is, continually seek the Lord's leading and wisdom as you shepherd this new relationship!

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Day 12: Find Your Paul

A few years back, a close friend of mine encouraged me to find a Christian mentor, a lady who could be my Titus 2 teacher in both spiritual and domestic matters.  I put off doing it for a while, partly because both my mom and mother-in-law are amazing, Godly ladies who already come alongside me.  But I also hesitated because I was shy, and the thought of asking someone to take time out of her busy schedule to mentor me seemed intimidating.

After more gentle nudging, though, I finally took the plunge and asked a lady at church if she would be willing to meet with me every other week or so.  It turned out that not only was she willing to do it, she was elated about being asked!

For nearly 6 years now, we've gotten together once or twice a month, and I have grown in my faith because of it.  She's willing to ask me hard, challenging questions and to confront me where I'm lacking.  I can ask her questions about concepts that I'm struggling with, and I know she'll give me honest feedback.

Had I never built up the nerve to seek out a Christian mentor, I would have missed out on this incredible opportunity to deepen my walk with the Lord.  Not only that, but she would have also lost the opportunity to minister!

The Apostle Paul was very much a spiritual leader, guide, and mentor to thousands of believers in the early church.  He exhorted, confronted, encouraged, and challenged.  Because of his influence, many churches grew and improved under his ministry.

So today, I'd like to challenge you to find your Paul.

Seek out a mature lady in the Lord who has time and willingness to take you under wing.  Look for someone who will be both honest and uplifting, someone who exemplifies the Biblical qualifications of a mature believer.  Find someone who's in a season of life where she has time to devote to something like this.

You don't need to keep a stringent meeting schedule or have an elaborate Bible study planned.  If both of you feel led to do these things, go for it, but know that this can be a more relaxed thing if that would better suit both your needs.

When I meet with my "Paul" (or, more accurately, my "Paulina"), we don't have a prescribed schedule or to-do list.  We share with one another about our weeks, our schedules, and our families.  She can share what she's learned in her Christian walk, and I can ask for her input on various situations.  She's faithful to give me Biblical answers, and I try to be faithful to implement her suggestions.

I have been so blessed and encouraged since I decided to take the risk and find my Paul.  It is worth the effort of stepping out of your comfort zone to follow the Lord's command of finding a more mature lady in Christ to mentor you. 

Today's action steps:  Ask the Lord to give you wisdom for finding a mature Christian lady who would be willing to mentor you.  Jot down the names two or three ladies you know whom you think might be a good fit.  (Be sure to check with your congregation's pastor to see if the church has any guidelines you need to be aware of; at a church I attended years ago, the pastoral staff arranged all mentoring relationships).  Be bold, and ask the first lady on your list if she'd be interested in taking you under her wing.  If she's not available, ask the next lady.  It might take some time to find your Paul, but finding a Christian mentor is so worth the time involved!

Note:  for some of you, finding a local lady to mentor you might be difficult, especially if you live in a rural area or if you're new to your location.  Another friend of mine who found herself in this situation started listening to a weekly podcast by her favorite Christian author as a means of mentoring.  Alternately, if you have someone in mind who isn't nearby, phone calls, Skype, and email also work well!

Day 11: Do Something Lovely

Note:  Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  You can read my disclosure policy here.

Today's post is one of my favorites in this entire 31 Days to Hallway Praise series.

Today, let's put aside all of our must-do's, should-do's, and need-to's.  For one day (or even part of a day, if you absolutely can't take a full day off), let's do something lovely.

What does a lovely day look like to you?  Maybe it's spending time snuggled up with your children and a copy of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  Maybe it's lighting a scented candle and watching your favorite movie with your spouse.  Maybe it's enjoying a leisurely bubble bath.  Maybe it's as simple as getting up 10 minutes earlier than the rest of your crew so that you can enjoy a hot cup of tea uninterrupted.

Forget the bathroom that hasn't been cleaned in 6 weeks.  (Trust me, one more day won't make a difference.)  Let the kids do the dishes today.  Give the dust bunnies a little longer to play under the sofa.

While I'm not encouraging laziness or belittling the high calling of homemaking, I do want you to take at least some time to do something lovely and to reflect on all the Lord has given you.  Think about how His Son died on the cross on your behalf.  Consider the depth of the Father's love for you.  Read through your gratitude journal and recall your many blessings.

My idea of something lovely would be staying indoors on a stormy day, listening to the rain drumming on the roof while enjoying a mug of Constant Comment.  The spark plugs and I would spend oodles of time reading aloud together before we set the table with the expensive China (even though I don't have enough place settings for the entire family) and waited for Jon to come home from work.  After dinner, we'd all play a game together (Rummikub is my all-time favorite).  Last of all, Jon and I would spend some time in adult conversation after the kids were in bed, thinking over the day and thanking God for His abundant blessings.

Maybe my lovely day looks nothing like yours.  It doesn't matter.  Find some way to do something special that gives you the opportunity to meditate on who God is and what He's done for us.  What better way is there to praise Him than remembering His faithfulness?

Today's action steps:  Choose to do something lovely - something that both relaxes you and makes you smile.  Be creative.  You don't have to spend any money on this project if you don't want to.  Arrange a time for your something lovely, whether that means finding something to occupy the kids for a bit or clearing your schedule to allow for some free time.  Then do your lovely thing, praising the Lord for all His mercies while you do.

Bonus points if you schedule in another "lovely" day next month, too!

Linking up at Faith 'N Friends, Grace and Truth, and Sitting Among Friends.

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Day 10: Participate in A Bible Study

Note:  Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  You can read my disclosure policy here.

Welcome back to the 31 Days to Hallway Praise challenge!  At Day 10, we're a third of the way through.

Prayer, memorizing Scripture, and staying involved in your church are all excellent ways to help fix your eyes on Christ.  But when was the last time you dug deep into God's Word with a Bible study?

Bible studies are an excellent way to grow your faith and deepen your understanding of the Bible.  If we want to be ten-thousand-hour Christians, we need to apply ourselves to the study of God's Word!

Between babysitting and transportation issues, I've not attended an in-person Bible study in years.  But that doesn't mean I can't study the Bible.  There are so many options available to us today!  I can dig out a concordance and start looking up words and meanings (tip:  BibleGateway offers free, online concordances right here).  With limitless resources on the web, I can do a personal study on any book of the Bible I choose.  Or, I can join an online Bible study. 

There are thousands of excellent Bible study resources available for purchase.  Many wonderful writers have put together amazing books and studies all designed to equip Christians with a greater understanding of what the Scriptures teach.  (Please note that not all Bible study materials are created equal, and no one person is going to accurately teach every concept from God's Word.  Use wisdom and discretion in your selections.)

One of my favorite Bible study authors is Elizabeth George.  I recently completed both A Woman's Walk With God (on the Fruit of the Spirit) and Beautiful in God's Eyes (about the Proverbs 31 woman).  Both were well-done.  That said, with her early-to-rise, multitasking ways, Mrs. George's recommendations sometimes make my head spin.  It would be easy to start trying to do things in your own strength or to think that business is the same as Godliness.  Be careful with any study you take on, and always compare everything you read with what Scripture teaches.

Participating in a Bible study is another great method for focusing on the Savior and not on the situation.  Keeping your thoughts focused on Scripture will help you to keep them off of your frustrations.  It can help you find ways to praise the Lord!

Today's action steps:  If you're not actively involved in a Bible study of some kind, decide which course of Bible study best fits your current needs - an online study, an in-person study, or simply studying on your own with the help of a concordance.  Next, choose a time of day to spend studying.  Then, dive in to your new study!

If you're already involved in a Bible study, keep up the great work!  See what else you can do to get even more out of your current study.  And why not see if you can get a friend involved along with you?

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Day 9: Read the Psalms

I have a confession to make:  when I was younger, I didn't care much for the Psalms or for King David.  He came across like a "woe is me" kind of guy, and I thought his Psalms sounded like he was whining.

I wasn't terribly sympathetic, was I?

When I was growing up, we lived comfortably.  My parents weren't wealthy, but my dad had a steady job, and he and Mom enjoyed a rock-solid marriage (they still do!).  Certainly, there were hardships - my grandma developed a fatal brain tumor; one of my brothers ended up needing an emergency appendectomy; and my other brother underwent several surgeries when he was little.  But compared to many people, I was blessed with an easy and ideal childhood.

When I was younger, I just couldn't relate to someone who had gone through the difficulties that King David experienced.  Now that I've been through a few hallways in my adult life, though, I find so much solace and comfort in the Psalms and in reading through David's life.  I have a much better understanding of the trials he experienced and why he wrote about them the way he did.

If anyone knew what it was to experience hardship and heartache, it was King David.  He had marital problems.  He had sin issues.  He lost a child.  His enemies were constantly attacking him.  He was at odds with his grown son.  He was wrongly accused.  His best friend was killed in battle.

The Psalms he wrote show the wide range of emotions he experienced.  But even the Psalms written at the depth of his despair end with, "I will choose to praise You, O my God."  (See Psalms 56 and 142.)  No matter what he went through in life, David chose to find his hope in the Lord.

No wonder he was considered to be "a man after God's own heart" (Acts 13:22)!

We can read the Psalms to help us follow David's example of finding our hope, joy, and peace in God even when circumstances aren't what we wish they were.  We can pray through the promises we find in the Psalms.  And we can take comfort in knowing that God placed the Psalms in His Word as a means of comfort for us.

Today's action steps:  Read the Psalms.  You can read one a day or several in a sitting.  It's up to you!  As you read through, jot down the ones that impact you the most so that you can re-read them later on.  I hope you'll develop a life-long love of the Psalms!

Day 8: Make Time for Exercise

I can hear the groans now.

Make time for exercise?  Really?  Like anyone has time for that!  Besides, isn't this series about spiritual matters?

Yes, exercise.  Really.  We all can - and should - make time for it.  And yes, our goal for this 31-day challenge is to develop our spiritual muscles and create habit of praise even when circumstances are difficult.  But believe it or not, exercise can help toward this goal!

Because our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, staying healthy can be a spiritual discipline as well as a physical one.  This will be easier for some than for others, given health issues, body types, and things of that nature.

When I was growing up, I ran.  A lot.  Even though I hated it.  But then I developed a painful, pregnancy-related condition that made running impossible for several years.  Now, however, the pain has subsided, and I've been running again.  I can't run far, and I certainly don't look pretty doing it.  I can only run once or twice a week.  But I'm trying to be faithful to exercise on a limited scale instead of just throwing in the gym towel because I can't exercise every day.

I thought running would get easier.  For me, it never does.  I honestly don't know how much physical benefit I'm getting from running, but I'm certain that it's better than not running at all.  And it's done worlds for my spiritual growth.

• I can pray for others as I run
• I get to spend time with my spark plugs while running
• I get to take in God's amazing creation
• I feel happier as a result of exercising (I'm pretty sure this is due to endorphin creation that exercise causes)

Running doesn't have to be your choice for exercise.  I once saw a documentary on a woman who could only move her arms from her elbows her to wrists, so her form of exercise was clapping.  She kept at it, even though she admitted to feeling very silly, and with a lot of hard work, diligence, and determination, she got to where she regained mobility.  She started where she was.

I chose to run because it's free, it's something I can do with my kids, and it gets all of us outside.  Something else may be a better fit for you.  Just start where you are (and get your doctor's okay to begin exercising if you're not already active).

It's not easy to make time for exercise, but if you're willing to make it a goal, it can benefit both your physical body and spiritual mindset.  

Today's action steps:  Begin a physician-approved exercise regimen that fits your needs and lifestyle.  Whatever level you're at, start there.  Then, once a week or once every other week, slightly increase the intensity or duration, taking care to listen to your body's cues (please don't overdo and injure yourself).  With slow and steady diligence, you'll see progress!

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Day 7: Stay in Church

Welcome back to 31 Days to Hallway Praise!  Today is Day 7 of the challenge!

For some of us, it can be tempting to skip church when the going gets tough.  Whether it's difficult to be open about our struggles or whether we're afraid of people asking questions we'd really not answer, my flesh understands and sympathizes with those who fall out of fellowship during a hallway.

However, staying away from church is one of the worst things we can do when we're hurting. 

Fellowship with other believers is a necessary component to the Christian faith.  And it becomes even more needed during times of struggle.  Without regularly meeting with your brothers and sisters in Christ, it's easy to let the discouragement overwhelm you.  Not only that, but if you're not meeting with your local Body, you may very well be missing the opportunity to encourage someone else, making lack of attendance a double tragedy.

Put bluntly, we need to stay in church!

There are definitely times to be alone; Christ often went away to solitary places to pray.  But He also ministered in the synagogues, to His disciples, and to the crowds.  The writer of Hebrews commands us not to forsake meeting together with the body of believers (Hebrews 10:24-25).

It's been said that human beings were created to need community.  This is true no matter what your personality type.  I'm a complete introvert.  I have no out-going tendencies, and yet even I need the fellowship of other Christians.  Talking with other believers, singing together in hymns and songs of worship, and hearing the Word preached are all vital to my spiritual growth.

And as I mentioned earlier, if I don't stay in church, I'm missing out on opportunities to minister to others.  Maybe someone else is going through something similar to what I'm going through (or have gone through).  Perhaps the Lord wants to use me to minister to that person.  If I shy away from going to church, even if my reason seems valid in my own head, I'm missing out on a wonderful opportunity, and the person to whom I was supposed to minister misses out, too.

So, even if it's hard, even if you don't always feel like it, make sure you're staying in church.  Make sure you're fellowshiping regularly with the body of Christ.  We all need one another to grow in our faith and to get through our hallways.

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Day 6: Drink Water

Note:  Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  You can read my disclosure policy here.

Welcome back to 31 Days to Hallway Praise!

When we're in the middle of a spiritual battle, it's important to take care of our physical health.  When we're hurting, it's easy to forget simple things like drinking enough water or taking our multivitamins.  And physical strain on top of spiritual pain is a recipe for disaster.

So, part of our 31 Days to Hallway Praise challenge will cover taking physical care of our bodies.  Today, I want to remind you to drink water.  Drinking plenty of water is one of the easiest and least expensive health boosts you can do.

There are a wide variety of opinions on how much water each person needs to drink.  Some say that a flat 8 glasses is good for everyone.  Others recommend drinking half an ounce to an ounce of water per pound of body weight.

I personally believe that you need to make a judgment call for yourself.  If you can comfortably take in more water than you regularly drink, do so.  If you are finding yourself running for the bathroom every few minutes, you might want to cut back a little.  However much water you decide to drink, make sure you're constantly sipping and not just chugging once in a while.

Will drinking water cure every ailment?  No, of course not.  Will you see a noticeable increase in health?  Maybe, maybe not.  But drinking water will help keep you hydrated; it can help prevent ailments like bladder infections; and and it's easy enough that implementing it is actually doable.

Drinking physical H2-O also won't improve your spiritual life, but Jesus has much to say about spiritual water (see John chapters 4 and 7).  You can use your water bottle to remind yourself to spend time in prayer if you need an extra reminder.  As you care for your physical body, remember to care for your spiritual life, too.

Today's action steps:  Find a fun vessel for your water intake.  I've used Contigo water bottles in the past, but my recent container crush is a colored mason jar with a straw and lid (note that these don't fit into a car cup holder very well).  Someday, I'll get even more creative and add some raffia and a silk sunflower.  :)  Once you have your favorite container in hand, drink water!

Note:  Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  You can read my disclosure policy here.

Linking up at Faith 'N Friends, Fresh Market Friday, Grace and Truth, and Sitting Among Friends.

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Day 5: Fix Your Eyes on Christ

We've made it to Day 5 of the 31 Days to Hallway Praise challenge!

Today's goal is a big one:  Fix your eyes on Christ.

It might seem odd that I've kept this one for Day 5 instead of using it on Day 1.  I mean, isn't fixing our eyes on Jesus the number one goal in our Christian faith?  Yes, it is, but I've saved this gem for today for a purpose.

On the first day of our challenge, we made it a goal to pray every day.  On Day 2, we decided to memorize Scripture.  (By the way, what passage did you choose to memorize?  Leave a comment and let me know!)

Prayer and Scripture memory are two excellent ways to help keep our eyes focused on the Savior.  Now that we've had a few days to start making these part of our daily routine (for those who weren't already doing them), we've built up some spiritual tools to help us fix our eyes on the cross and not the crisis.

Friends, it is so - SO - easy to do what Peter did in Matthew 14:28-33 and let the storms of this life prevent us from looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2).  We need to spend time in prayer and in God's Word in order to forget about the wind and the waves and to think only of the Lord.  It's not an easy task.

My trials loom largest when I'm staring them in the face.  They seem most overwhelming when I fully focus on them to the exclusion of everything else.  And I feel the most overwhelmed when I allow them to engulf me.

How about you?  When are your hardships the most difficult to handle?  I'd guess that the same is true for you: when they take your complete focus, they appear to be insurmountable.

Thankfully, there is a way to combat the overwhelm:

Fix your eyes on Christ.

Take your gaze away from your trials and look to Jesus.

But we can only do this through the help of the Holy Spirit, through prayer, and through feasting on the Word of God.

Today's action steps:  Start focusing on what God can do and stop worrying about what you can't.  Continue to immerse yourself in prayer and the Scriptures.  Fix your eyes on Christ.

Day 4: Make Your Bed

Note:  Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  You can read my disclosure policy here.

We're on Day 4 of the 31 Days to Hallway Praise challenge!

A year or so ago, I watched an incredible graduation speech given by Admiral William McRaven.  Not surprisingly, it was well-thought-out, concise, and expertly delivered.

What surprised me, though, was his first point:  make your bed every morning.

(You can fast-forward to 4:35 on the video if you want to get straight to his 10 points.)

It seemed so simple, almost too lowly.  But as he explained his choice for this first recommendation, I saw the wisdom in it.

Will making your bed every morning change your mood?  Perhaps not.  But what it will do is give you a reason to get out of bed in the morning.  It will teach you about routine.  It will help you take pride in your environment.  And it can set a precedent for the rest of your day.

Because of all those benefits, I'm recommending it now.  There is a lot in life we cannot control.  We don't know what tomorrow holds; we don't know what the Lord has planned.  But we can choose what we do with the time we have today, and we can choose to make our beds.

In full disclosure, I'm terrible (TERRIBLE!) at making my bed in the morning.  (Please don't tell my mom.  She definitely taught me better than that.)  I think it started way back when Jon worked nights - he was rolling into bed just as I was getting up, and making the bed wasn't really an option for many years.

But I'm also bad at keeping routines, too.  I think if I were to start making a conscious effort to make my bed, it would naturally lead to an improved morning routine, which would then, in turn, help my evening to go more smoothly.

So, for this challenge, making my bed every morning is something I am aiming to do.  Will you keep me accountable?  You can leave a comment asking how I'm doing, you can fill out the blog's contact page, or you can send me an email at julie(at)hallwayinitiative(dot)com.  I'm going to need all the help I can get!

If you're a veteran bed-maker, today's assignment will be really easy.  Maybe you could add in something else just for this challenge, like wiping down your bathroom mirror or cleaning out under your bed.  And if you already routinely do those things as well, just write down in your gratitude journal how thankful you are to have this assignment already completed!

Making your bed is just a small step, but it is a pretty easy one.  Let's commit to making our beds every morning for the next week and see if there is any improvement in our day.

Today's action steps:  Start making your bed each morning.  If you're feeling really ambitious, you can begin by washing your sheets.  Clean sheets lend themselves toward easier bed-making.  Why, I don't know; the just do!

Related:  If you've not tried either the Make Over Your Mornings or Make Over Your Evenings courses, I highly recommend them.  At just $17 each, they are a fantastic investment in streamlining your day.  They would go a long way toward helping you remember to make your bed!

Linking up at Faith 'N Friends, Grace and Truth, and Sitting Among Friends.

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Day 3: Keep A Gratitude Journal

Note:  Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  You can read my disclosure policy here.

Welcome to Day 3 of the 31 Days of Hallway Praise challenge!

Developing a consistent habit of prayer and memorizing Scripture are two great ways to help you as you seek to praise the Lord during hardship.

Another excellent step is to keep a gratitude journal.  (You can choose something as fancy as this, or you can do what I did and just grab a $0.50 composition notebook from Wal-Mart.)

I started keeping a gratitude journal for the first time this year, and I've loved it.  But I'll be honest:  while many days (maybe even most) I find it easy to think of multiple things to be joyful about, there are days where I'm scratching my head, searching for even one thing to be thankful for.  But without fail, if I take time to really think through my day, I can find at least one thing to write down.

If you're going through an extremely trying time, the first few days of your gratitude journal might be really, really hard.  But if you've eaten that day, you can be thankful for nourishment.  If you have a roof over your head - even if it's not your own or even if the bank is threatening to take it away - you can be thankful that you have it today.  If you've lost a loved one, you can rejoice that you had the time with your loved one before he passed away.

Start small if you have to.  But do start.  It may not be easy, but cultivating an attitude of gratitude will go a long way toward helping you choose to praise the Lord no matter what your circumstances are in life.

If you're not in the middle of a trial, this is a great time to get into the habit of writing down things you're grateful for!  Chances are good that you'll have more struggles down the road, and if you're already in the practice of looking for the blessings in life, it will help buoy your faith during a later hallway.

If you need more encouragement or just want something uplifting to read, I'd love to introduce you to Laura Coppinger's Gratituesday.  She comes up with amazing things to be thankful for!

Today's action steps:  Get or create a gratitude journal.  You can even start jotting down things on the back of an envelope (I use junk mail envelopes) if you don't have the resources for an actual journal right now - just snip out your words and collect them in a glass jar to read over.  You might want to mark down the date for reference.  Try to write down at least one thing every day this week!

Linking up at Faith 'N Friends, Grace and Truth, and Sitting Among Friends.

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Day 2: Memorize Scripture

Note:  Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  You can read my disclosure policy here.

It's day 2 of our 31 Days to Hallway Praise challenge!

Yesterday, we talked about the importance of prayer, especially when going through a hardship or trial.  Today, I want to encourage you to memorize Scripture.

Maybe you're new to the concept of memorizing Scripture.  Maybe you've been memorizing verses since childhood.  Wherever you're at in your Christian journey, you can never memorize too much of God's Word!  In the missionary story The Heavenly Man, Brother Yun taught new believers to memorize the entire Gospel of Matthew in just 30 days.  I was both blown away and convicted by that.

If you've never memorized Scripture before, I'd recommend starting with a few short passages that deal specifically with hardship.  A few of my personal favorites are James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:6-7; and 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.  There are hundreds of verses that apply to testing and difficulty, so spend some time searching and choose verses that are applicable to your current situation.

If you're a memory verse veteran, I'd also highly recommend committing to memory one or two longer passages in addition to verses on hardship.  Doing so helps us to get a clearer understanding of God's Word.  It helps us guard against taking Scripture out of context.  And it challenges us to go deeper in our spiritual walk.

For those longer passages, I'd suggest texts that focus on Heaven (Revelation is an excellent place to look); passages that demonstrate God's power and work; and/or passages that worship the Creator.  Because while trials might last for a moment, we as believers will spend Eternity with God.  We shouldn't be so focused on the difficulty at hand that we lose sight of God's majesty.

Some years ago, a close friend of mine asked if I wanted to memorize God's Word with her.  I loved the idea, and we've been doing so for many years now.  Having her accountability has been key for keeping myself on track to memorize Scripture.  If you're not sure you can do it alone, find an accountability partner.  It's definitely worth it!

Today's action steps:  Choose a passage of Scripture to memorize.  Write out your selection on a 3x5 card.  Read your passage aloud 5 times in the morning and 5 times in the evening.  At the end of the week, see if you can recite it by memory!

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Day 1: Pray Without Ceasing

Welcome to Day 1 of the 31 Days to Hallway Praise challenge!  I'm so thankful you're here.

If you've been around my blog for very long at all, you know that prayer is my number one recommended action when it comes to handling hardship.  So it should come as no surprise that it's the first step in our challenge.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 we're commanded to "pray without ceasing."  That seems like a huge undertaking, and it is.  And when put into the context of praying without ceasing during a time of crisis, well, it seems insurmountable.

But my goal is to encourage you, not to overwhelm you.

If you're new to prayer, start small.  Pray first thing in the morning when you wake up; before your meals; and before bed.  Those are pretty standard routines for almost everyone, so they're easy places to start adding in prayer.

If you have an active prayer life already, you can always go deeper.  If you need some ideas, there are some excellent pins on my prayer Pinterest board.  Or you can read about my new discovery on prayer right here.  I pray a lot throughout the day, but for this challenge, I want to commit to purposeful prayer every morning instead of my usual way of praying haphazardly as prayer requests come to mind.

I would also challenge you to start your prayers with praise and thanksgiving to God for Who He is and what He's done for you (sending His Son to die in your place, giving you life, caring for you) before asking Him to remove the trial at hand.  Or, if He's already brought you through your most recent trial, praise Him for sustaining you and for what He taught you during the hard season.

Even though the commandment to pray without ceasing may seem impossible, we can cultivate a constant attitude of prayer where we're willing to pray at a moment's notice.  We can develop the habit of turning to the Lord in prayer for any and every circumstance.

If you need more inspiration, be sure to visit ArabahJoy.com.  Arabah encourages Christians to pray through the promises of God's Word.  A pop-up should appear on her page where you can sign up for her next Praying the Promises challenge.

Prayer is an amazing gift that the Lord has given to us as believers.  Because of Christ's work on the cross, we have direct access to the Father through Jesus!  We no longer need a priest to intercede on our behalf, because Christ has done it all.  That right there is cause for celebration, and it's the first step toward praising God during a hallway.

Today's action steps:  Choose a time to spend in prayer.  This could be in the morning when you first get up, in the afternoon when your little ones are asleep, or whenever it fits into your schedule.  Remember to thank the Lord for His blessings!

Don't forget to check in tomorrow, when we'll talk about the benefits of memorizing Scripture.

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31 Days to Hallway Praise Challenge

Rejoice always.

Give thanks.

Be content in all circumstances.

At first glance, these Biblical mandates might seem simple enough.  But for those going through tremendous hardship, it can seem impossible to find joy of any kind, let alone being able to praise the Lord through it all.

If you're a Christian struggling with a trial right now and feel like you've lost your joy, may I offer you some encouragement?  It may not seem like it right now, but with the Holy Spirit's help, you can find joy in Christ.  In fact, during the month of October, I'm going to tackle this very topic with my newest blog series:  "31 Days to Hallway Praise."

My goal is to offer you 31 ideas to help you praise the Lord during hardship.  It won't necessarily be easy, and it will require a lot of work, but I'm convinced that no matter what you're facing right now, you can choose joy.  You can choose to praise God.  You can choose to give thanks, not only for what appears to be good, but also for the very trial itself.

I'm not an expert in praising the Lord during hardship - far from it.  But with the Holy Spirit's help, I know it can be done.

Are you willing to join me on this journey?  If so, I have just one challenge for you today:  decide that you'll finish the challenge, all 31 days.  Some of the assignments might seem simple, especially if they're already part of your normal routines.  Other tasks will be more difficult, but none will be impossible if you rely on the Lord for the strength to do them.

If you're in a season of life where things are going well and you're not facing hardship at the moment, I would still invite you to join us as well!  There is always room to deepen your faith, prepare for the next trial, or become better equipped to help out someone else who is suffering.

This is the post where I will be adding each day's link.  Feel free to check back here any time you want to re-read a day's post or catch up if you fall behind.

One last thing:  will you pray for me as I write out this challenge and go through it with you?  Sometimes it's easy to think that bloggers have everything together, and maybe a few really do.  But I'm not one of them!  I've worked in advance on this project, but it's far from finished.  I'm eager to see how the Lord uses this in both your life and my own.  But I'm also nervous about committing to writing each day for 31 days straight, too.  Your prayers mean the world to me and will help me to stay diligent to this commitment.

I'm so excited about this 31-day challenge.  Let's do this together!

Day 1:  Pray without ceasing

Day 2:  Memorize Scripture

Day 3:  Keep A Gratitude Journal

Day 4:  Make Your Bed

Day 5:  Fix Your Eyes on Christ

Day 6:  Drink Water

Day 7:  Stay in Church

Day 8:  Make Time for Exercise

Day 9:  Read the Psalms

Day 10:  Participate in A Bible Study

Day 11:  Do Something Lovely

Day 12:  Find Your Paul

Day 13:  Find Your Timothy

Day 14:  Find Your Barnabas

Day 15:  Clean Something

Day 16:  Be Thankful for Your Glass

Day 17:  Know Your Enemy

Day 18:  Find Bible Characters You Resonate With

Day 19:  Serve In Some Capacity

Day 20:  Try Something New

Day 21:  Read Revelation

Day 22:  Remember Christ's Sacrifice

Day 23:  Sing Out Loud

Day 24:  Declutter

Day 25:  Read Missionary Stories

Day 26:  Read Uplifting Books

Day 27:  Read Uplifting Blogs

Day 28:  Read Through Hymns

Day 29:  Remain Faithful

Day 30:  Choose to Wait Well

Day 31:  Track Your Progress

Linking up at Faith 'N Friends, Fresh Market Friday, Grace and Truth, and Sitting Among Friends.

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Has Healthy Living Become Your Savior?

Note:  Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  You can read my disclosure policy here.

When Turbo first got sick, it was only natural that I started researching healthy living in the hopes that it would heal him.  We were told over and over that Type 1 Diabetes is incurable, but I thought surely there were ways we could help him manage his disease in addition to his injected insulin!

I'm not actually sure what it was I hoped to find when I started looking into natural remedies.  I read incredible stories of people being miraculously healed from all manner of illness that people attributed to this diet or that essential oil.  And I desperately longed for the same for Turbo.

I honestly love the concepts behind healthy living and natural remedies (though I'm just as grateful for Western Medicine, too - it saved Turbo's life).  The minute we start putting our faith into healthy living instead of the One who gives us life, however, we give it too much credence, and we begin to look to it to save us.

Trying to live as healthfully as possible is a great ambition.  Especially when we remember that we are God's temples and should treat our bodies with great care and respect (see 1 Corinthians 6:19), it only makes sense that we should pursue natural options whenever possible.  I fully embrace the desire to use natural remedies and encourage others to embark on a journey toward a healthy lifestyle.

But we can't forget that God is the ultimate healer.  He may choose to work through natural remedies; He may choose to work through pharmaceuticals; or - as difficult as this may be - He may choose not to heal.  We need to be prepared to accept whatever it is that the Lord has for us.

So, I would encourage you:  yes, pursue a lifetime of healthy living.  Study it; research it; learn about it.  But don't put your faith in a type of lifestyle over your faith in the Lord.  Only He can save, both physically and spiritually.

Related:  Food Is Not Your God

Linking up at Faith 'N Friends, Grace and Truth, and Sitting Among Friends.

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Is Your Prayer Life Missing this KEY Ingredient?

Prayer is my number-one go-to for everything.  When my marriage is suffering, I pray.  When financial crisis hits, I pray.  When I'm struggling in my parenting, I pray.  When I offer a list of suggestions to my readers, you can bet that the first item is prayer.

I would consider myself somewhat of a prayer warrior, not because I pray well or long (so-called 'Nehemiah prayers' my usual style), but because I have an active prayer life.  I'm willing to pray about anything, any time, and anywhere.  And I know that many other Christians are right there with me in their eagerness and willingness to pray.

But even though I've prayed frequently for many years now, it wasn't until very recently that the Lord opened my eyes to the fact that my prayers were missing a key ingredient.  Honestly, I was shocked to learn that I was neglecting something so important!

You see, when people asked me to pray, whether it was for healing from an illness, for respite from a financial squeeze, or for something that they needed, I was only too happy to rush into prayer and as that God would heal/provide/supply.  And I would try to pray frequently for those same needs until the Lord took care of the situation.

But there was something clearly missing from my prayers.

I had neglected to pray that, until the Lord chose to remove the hardship, He would deepen their faith in the waiting.  Maybe you've been faithful to pray for people's spiritual growth in addition to asking the Lord to remove their thorns, but I never thought to do so until just a few months ago.

If God allows us to go through trials to refine us (and He does - see Zechariah 13:9), and I don't pray that the trials at hand would work in us the refinement He has planned, I'm missing a crucial part of prayer.  Hardships are, by far, the biggest cause of spiritual growth in my own life, and I've heard others say the same.

So, I've started praying differently.  While I still ask that the Lord would bring relief from hardship, I first ask that He would bring about increased faith, spiritual growth, and a closer relationship with Him before I ask for Him to remove the trial. 

I pray this way both for myself and for others.  And you know what?  It's transformed both my prayer life and my entire spiritual walk.  I now look forward to seeing how the Lord will increase my faith and the faith of those I'm praying for.  That doesn't mean I enjoy trials, but there's a new sweetness to trials when they come that helps to cover the bitterness of hardship.

Maybe you've been praying only for the removal of difficulty, just like I was.  Will you be bold with me and ask for the Lord to bring about spiritual growth while He allows your hardship to last?  It's not an easy way to pray, but I've been amazed at how the Lord has grown me as a result of this way of praying!

Your turn:  How do you normally pray?  Are you like I was - just asking for the removal of a hardship - or are you already going deeper and praying for spiritual growth while the trial lasts?

What Will You Do with Your Mites?

I've always been fascinated by the unnamed woman in Luke 21 who put two mites into the offering.  Jesus tells us that in doing so, she gave all she had to the Lord.  She kept nothing back.

What fascinates me most about her - beyond the fact that she would willingly give her life's savings to God - is the fact that she didn't consider the meager amount as being too small to be used by God.  I'm sure she had no idea that her Savior was watching or that her story would be told in God's Word for thousands of generations to come.  She simply obeyed in faith.

Last week, my blogging friend Jen shared that her family is facing serious medical trials which are resulting in a financial need.  When she asked if I would be willing to donate anything to an online fundraiser, I truly wanted to help - especially since our own family and friends had put together a fundraiser to purchase Turbo's insulin pump a couple of years ago.

As I thought about what I had to offer, though, my excitement waned.  I didn't really have much.  I've only written one ebook, and it's not very long.  Although I put my best effort into it, it seemed as if it were too small to be used by God.  And so I hesitated.

In other words, I did the exact opposite of the widow with her two mites!

Thankfully, the Lord can work around our shortcomings and hesitancy.  Another blogger with more capabilities than I have suggested that we all contribute to an ebook bundle to offer for the fundraiser.  She put everything together, and now several of us can contribute more collectively than we ever would have been able to on our own!  (Isn't that how the Body of Christ is supposed to work?)

Each of us is given different gifts, abilities, and talents.  There are no two of us alike in capabilities.  It's easy to convince ourselves that we don't have anything of value to offer or that because we're not as gifted as someone else, we can't contribute to a need.  This is what I did when my friend first asked me about helping her family.

But God is greater than our limitations and isn't held back by what we can't do.  Just as He worked it out for me to help my friend in a way that I never would have thought of on my own, He can use your abilities for His glory, too.

I did pray and ask the Lord to show me how I could help, but I didn't pray in faith.  I didn't really expect Him to open up an opportunity, yet that's just what He did.  Next time I want to serve someone, my goal is to pray in faith that God will make it possible.

Do you struggle to believe that the Lord can use you?  Do you hesitate to offer help simply because you're unsure of what you can offer?  We can ask the Lord to use our mites just as He used the widow's.  As my friend loves to say, "we serve a loaves and fishes God."  He can take the smallest offering and enlarge it to God-sized proportions. 

What an amazing God we serve!

Related:  If you have means and feel so led, here is a link to my friend Jen's fundraiser.  (All proceeds go directly to the family's medical needs.)  You can click through to learn more about her son's medical needs.  Although this fundraiser is for a different son, one of her children also has Type 1 Diabetes, which, of course, is very dear to my heart!  Please keep this precious family in your prayers, that God would grow their faith as a result of their trials, and that they would fully lean on Him.

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Are You Making This Biblical Parenting Mistake?

Are you making this biblical parenting mistake?

Jon and I have tried to Biblically parent our spark plugs from the day our oldest was born.  We've shared the Gospel with them.  We've taken them to church consistently.  We've worked hard to train them diligently.  We've interacted with each of them on a daily basis.  And we've prayed over them.

From the above list, you might start thinking that we've gotten this Biblical parenting all figured out.  That we're doing a great job with our kids.  That we're super-parents in the Biblical-parenting world.  But we're not - not at all.

But a few years ago, the Lord opened my eyes to the fact that I was making a HUGE Biblical parenting mistake.

I thought I had to prove to the world that Biblical parenting works.  And I mistakenly believed that I had to prove it by forcing my kids to behave.  All the time.  In every situation.  At home and outside.

Friends, this is not Biblical parenting.

Sadly, I know of several parents who are not parenting Biblically because they're either too lenient with their children or aren't investing the needed quality time in their kids.  But I also have a feeling that I'm not the only parent who's gone too far in the opposite direction under the misguided notion that we somehow have to prove that God's parenting methods as taught in His Word really work.

In trying to get my spark plugs to behave all the time, my parenting was lacking grace.  And in not giving grace to my little ones, I also wasn't giving them a correct view of the Gospel.

The good news of the Gospel is full of God's grace.  If there were no grace, there would be no Gospel, no redemption, so salvation from sin.  If the ultimate goal of Biblical parenting is to reach our children's hearts for Christ, then we must be sure we're not letting our parenting get in the way of the Gospel.

So, what do you do if you realize that you're making a parenting mistake in your attempt to train up your kids Biblically?  When the Lord opened my eyes to my lack of grace, He also gave me the tools I needed to begin changing my habits (prayer, His Word, and the Holy Spirit's help).  He's given you the exact same tools as well.

Two of my favorite written resources at the moment are Proverbs and Count to Nine by Ruthie Gray.  They both have been helpful in my journey toward becoming a more gracious mom.

Parenting with grace doesn't mean that I give up on disciplining them when they disobey.  But it does mean that I'm trying to be more understanding of things like illness and fatigue that might cause a child to act out.  I'm constantly reminding myself that my kids aren't going to behave every moment of every day because we're all still batting our sin natures, myself included.  And I'm working on speaking more kindly instead of being sharp-tongued.  I still fail at this often, but I am improving.

Adding more grace to my parenting hasn't been all smooth sailing, but I have made strides toward parenting with grace.  I'm trying to relax and enjoy my children, understanding that they're going to make mistakes as they learn and grow.

It's probably pretty natural to swing between being too lenient and being too strict with our kids.  Each of us will need to keep praying about our parenting efforts, asking the Lord to guide us and correct our own mistakes on either side of that parenting pendulum.

Raising children in a Biblical manner is hard, hard work.  But the end result is completely worth it - not because it guarantees saved kids, but because when we reach Heaven, the Lord will have found us faithful with the little ones He lent us during our lifetime. 

Are you making this biblical parenting mistake?

Why My Heart Wasn't Ready for the Homeschool Year

Note:  Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  You can read my disclosure policy here.

As much as I love homeschooling, I love my summer breaks equally as much.  And for some reason, I just didn't feel ready for the start of the 2016-17 homeschool year.  I changed my mind over and over again on when we'd dive into our studies.  I got all of our curriculum out and ready, calculated dates and holidays, and talked with other homeschool moms.  No matter what I tried, though, I simply felt unprepared for the start of school.

Although I didn't do as much lesson planning this summer as I have in the past, I don't think my hesitancy this year had much to do with a lack of physical planning.  In fact, I think it had everything to do with a lack of spiritual planning.

Truthfully, I didn't adequately prepare my heart.

I didn't pray enough over the start of the year.  I didn't seek the Lord's leading like I should have.  I expected everything to work out on its own without much spiritual effort on my part.

I went into the start of our homeschool year (I finally settled on beginning the day after Labor Day) with some trepidation, but we ended up having a fabulous first day.  Despite the spark plugs' insistence that they don't like studying, the structure, routine, and freshness of the day went a long way toward limiting sibling squabbles and bad attitudes.  And it felt wonderful to me to be actively involved in their day.

As we worked through our Bible curriculum and discovered that our science book from a completely different publisher both started out with the exact same verse, my heart felt light.  Reading aloud to the kids was something I hadn't done much of during the summer, and I found a renewed energy and joy as we journeyed through the first chapter of Prince Caspian.

I may not have prayerfully prepared my heart as I ought to have, but the Lord still worked in all of us to give us an amazing start to this next chapter in our homeschooling journey.

I'm so thankful that God's goodness isn't dependent on our works.  It's true that things are much easier when we choose to actively obey, but He isn't limited by our shortcomings.  I could have avoided several weeks of fretting about the year had I been praying and spiritually preparing, but the Lord still quieted my heart when it came time to begin.

I'm praying that the next time I'm facing a challenge and feel unprepared, I'll remember to spiritually prepare my heart for the situation.

Your turn:  What are you struggling with right now that you simply need to give to God?  Have you been diligent to prepare your heart for the coming season, whatever that might bring?

Linking up at Faith 'N Friends, Fresh Market Friday, Grace and Truth, Moments of Hope, Under the Tree, and Sitting Among Friends.

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