Who God IS “I am the LORD, who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea. ” Isaiah 43:16 NLT
Who You ARE
“Because YOU are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you.” Isaiah 43:4 NLT
What HE created YOU for
“I will say to the north, give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for MY GLORY.” Isaiah 43:6-7
REFLECT
What has God done for you, His daughter, created for His glory, whom He loves this past year?
Give him thanks.
He is so good. Our faith grows by recognizing how active God really is in our lives. He is always working on our behalf. The Word says that Jesus is always interceding for us in front of the Father. If you have started a relationship with Jesus, he has given you his Holy Spirit who is teaching you, guiding you, and never leaving you.
There are things on this side of heaven that He has done for us this past year which we will never know about until we see Him face to face THAT DAY!
So even if this year has been your hardest yet, cling to the verse above that says
“I Love You.”
You are loved by the Creator of the universe, the God who formed you. He has your eternal good in mind at all times.
New Year Bible Challenge
I’ll be honest, I get sidetracked in life, how about you, friend? A few years ago, I was tired of spinning on a hamster wheel, feeling like I was making no progress in areas of my life. I prayed and God told me that this was not the way He desired for me to live. He showed me through His word that I AM His daughter, and that there is a better way. A refocused, narrower way.
We can ask God to make our vision clearer for our lives, more effective to know Him better and see Him more clearly right where we are. To have more peace and fulfillment in our relationship with Him, our marriages, our mothering, and our homes. He will flood those areas of our lives with new clarity and breath and life and beauty when we ask Him and meditate on His Word towards those areas in our lives.
His Word brings beauty to the most mundane parts of our lives! By the end of January, if you join us, you will be folding laundry, or reading to your children, or having a conversation with a friend, realizing you are standing on Holy Ground with Jesus, doing exactly what He created you to do, communing with Him and doing good work for His glory, right where He has placed you!
Join us here at Refocused Bible Study to REFOCUS through His Word! Starting today, New Year’s Eve!
If you can’t buy the study, no worries, download a print the study for FREE HERE.
CHALLENGE: Monday through Friday, before looking at social media,
Engage in God’s Word using the study or reading plan and prayer.
Then, comment on this blog, or Instagram and answer the question I pose. If you don’t have time to say much, just say, “I did it!” And we will cheer you on! Interact and be held accountable by myself and others to start this year out remembering WHO GOD IS, that YOU ARE HIS DAUGHTER, and the GOOD WORK HE HAS FOR YOU on the road ahead!
2025 is close upon us! At the turn of the calendar, The Lord often gives us a WORD from HIS WORD to focus on and hold on to for the year ahead.
I’ve put together a guide below to help you lean in and listen for your WORD for 2025 based on the acronym, WORD.
1) Want to know
Do you really desire to know what God wants you to focus on for 2025? Sure, we have our own great ideas for resolutions but do we really want to know what God would have us hone in on for the next 365 days? Ask God to give you a heart to hear His heart for you. Then ask Him to give you a WORD from HIS WORD. Then…
2) Open your eyes and ears
God speaks to us through His Word. Often, a passage or verse will seem to come to me FROM ALL DIRECTIONS. I will hear it on a podcast. Then, I will see it pop up in my email. Then my husband will mention it, and so on. This is when I pay close attention and know The Lord wants me to take note. So, I do in fact take note…
3) Respond to His Guidance
Do a word study using a concordance on the WORD you hear Him speak to you. Write down relating scriptures containing the Word. Memorize and meditate on the number one verse that speaks to you. This will help you to….
4) Declare the WORD over the next year
Speak YOUR WORD inside of YOUR VERSE aloud to God. Pray it back to Him. Everyday, declare who He is and what He’s doing through the Word and who you are and what He wants you to do through the Word. This year, my word is PRAYER and my verse is
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Colossians 4:2 NIV
So, friends, what is your WORD? I’d love to hear below!
Happy New Year! Cheers to a closer walk with Jesus in 2025!
Have you ordered a copy of Refocused Bible Study yet? It’s an illustrated Bible Study to help you prayerfully focus on Jesus in the most important areas of your life for the road ahead. Grab a copy on Amazon ✨here or print weeks that are applicable to your season of life for ✨FREE HERE.
Know a friend who needs encouragement for the new year? Send them this post and invite them to join as we Refocus on Jesus for the road ahead (Hebrews 12:2).
Is there anything “newer” than a brand new baby the day they are born? Everyone flocks to see them before that freshness wears off. When we see a newborn we see the promise of hope and newness of life.
So it’s seems perfect that when God the Father sent his son, the long awaited Savior, he sent him as a baby.
It was the humblest entrance a king -the King of Kings could make. There were no trumpets blown; no red carpet rolled out. In fact, there was not even a bed for his mother to lie in as she delivered him. Nor was there a crib or beautiful bassinet to place him in.
But there was majesty unimaginable.
Every prophecy about the Savior was finally coming true. And the faithful ones who had been waiting flocked to behold his newness with their own eyes.
A new covenant – the unbreakable promise God had made centuries before was coming forth. The fresh baby lying in the hay was proof – God keeps his promises. He is making all things NEW.
This Christmas we can look back at this fresh baby, our Savior, and be reminded that he’s still in the business of making all things new. The promise was fulfilled when that same baby – Jesus- rose from the grave. When that same baby, now seated in glory, comes back to bring his children to their forever home, he promises to once and for all make all things new.
“And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:5
Are you believing he is in the process of making all things new in your life? If you believe the baby in the manager is your Savior, then his life giving Spirit is living in you, breathing new life into hopeless, hard places. The brand New Year coming is the perfect time to evaluate your walking faith.
Are you walking out the faith you believe about the Savior we are celebrating? Even in the parts of your life that you have chalked up to “living in a fallen world?” Those are the places it’s time to believe he’s in the process of making new again.
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19
As people are gathering to celebrate, you have the opportunity to exercise your walking faith by embracing others in forgiveness and believing in restoration of relationships.
You have the chance to believe he can do anything. He can heal sickness, he can provide financially, he can make an orphan a beloved daughter and he can make absolutely anything NEW.
So what is it you need to see “made NEW” by him?
God, please make _________________________________ NEW.
Fill in the blank and believe he’s working; BECAUSE HE IS. I promise, I’m not challenging you to do anything the Lord hasn’t challenged me to do. A few weeks ago, I stood in front of a room full or people and spoke about a relationship in my life that had been severed because of sin. I told them because I cared about their relationships, and I was urging them to follow God’s plan to keep loving each other well. However, the moment the words left my mouth, I felt the Spirit’s conviction.
“Do you not believe I can restore even that relationship? What little faith you have!”Sure enough, that person called me this week and we have found restoration because of grace. This is the time friends, God is making all things new. Don’t dismiss what God’s grace can do.
As long as you are still breathing, you have another chance.
In a few short days, after we are filled with the hope of our newborn Savior, we will turn the page of grace into a NEW YEAR. Will you join us here at Refocused Bible Study as we start the year with our eyes fixed on Jesus for the road ahead?
There’s an edition for women in every season (Married with Kids, Married without kids/Empty Nesters, Single moms, Single Ladies).
“Every year, I look for ways to continue to grow in my relationship with God. My goals always include finding ways to dig deeper into the Word of God, spend more time with Jesus and refocus my attention on Him.
Amy Terry’s Refocused Study is an amazing way to do just that. The study is written to help women to slow down and fix their eyes on Christ, seeking Him for His plan and purpose for their lives. As I dug into the study, I was refreshed by reading scripture about what God thinks about me. I was reminded that I was created perfectly by Him, formed according to His plan and purpose, and beautifully made.
The coloring pages gave me time to reflect on the verses and to think about what God was saying to me.
The study progressed beautifully, guiding me through the process of seeing myself the way God sees me, as made perfectly in His image but also being stained with sin in my life. I was encouraged to confess sin to Him and keep my relationship with Him at the forefront of my mind.
The study also guided me to think and pray over my marriage, parenting and home, which helped me to plan for each of these areas and bring them before the Lord. I was encouraged to set goals for my life according to God’s plan for me, which was timely as we are going into the new year!
This study is a perfect way for any woman to start her new year with her eyes focused on Christ and His purpose for her life.”
Veronica Anne,
Christian Blogger at Veronicaanne.com
Grab a hard copy of the study on Amazon and make sure you follow this blog to join us!
Praying for us all to Refocus on Christ as the calendar turns,
Amy
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
“We’ve been talking about adopting…” her words made my heart happy thinking about the love a child would be surrounded by in this family.
“But we aren’t sure if we should foster, or adopt internationally, or domestically… how did you guys navigate that?” My friend waited for my response…
I took a deep breath in and began our story.
The Lord gave us a heart for orphaned children but didn’t give us details at first. One day when I made a new prayer list, I wrote the word “adoption” close to the bottom of the list. For years, we prayed and asked the Lord if He wanted our family to adopt one day, that He would show us. We prayed for orphans. We prayed for other families adopting and watched the beauty of the lives and family transformed by adoption.
Then, one day, years later when I was making a new prayer list in a new prayer journal, I realized that I had an urgency to write “adoption” close to the top. Right after my husband, son, and daughter’s name, was the word “adoption.” I prayed almost daily, asking the Lord to lead us to the child He wanted us to welcome into our family. And step by step, whisper by whisper, He showed us each step to take and led us to Uganda in 2014 to welcome home our daughter Sharon.
The Lord’s voice was so clear each step.
“Just ask the Lord to guide you guys, and He will,” I told my friend.
The short response I was able to give my friend above the joy of the loud music at the wedding reception we were attending just scratched the surface of our story of navigating our call to adopt. Years in the prayer closet and hours I had spent typing our story out on keyboards could, indeed, be summarized into “Just ask the Lord.” But in true girl nature, I have thousands of words to share more detail about how to follow God’s voice in adoption or just in general. This verse sums up how to follow Him:
Ask. Seek. Knock.
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8 NLT
1) Ask Put it on the Prayer List
“Adoption” was just a word on my prayer list for years. It was a word I wrote on there after my husband and I heard stories of babies in Chinese orphanages who just didn’t cry anymore because when they did, nobody came to soothe them. So I wrote it. And I prayed about it, everyday, for years.
Sometimes we just wait in the holding room of prayer until he tells us it’s time to get moving. Just like an earthly Father makes preparations for a trip, Our Father is getting you ready for the journey ahead of time through prayer.Prayer prepares us for what’s on the path before us. We can converse with The One who knows every curve in the journey before it begins. Prayer moves our hearts as we wait for Papa to say, “move your feet.”
2) Seek Hear his direction
“God’s Word is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword.” Hebrews 4:12
Since God’s Word is alive, it will speak to you. Your Father God will speak to you through his word as you seek His guidance there. Whether you are trucking through a Bible reading plan or Bible Study, start conversing with your Father by asking Him for direction in the area you are waiting to be led in. Just ask him!
This is what I did next as the word “adoption” sat on my prayer list. I asked God to show us the details of the first step in our adoption process. I wrote down verses I came across as we prayed about adoption, talked about adoption, read the word, and kept our ears and eyes peeled open at church and around our family of faith.
We already had two biological kids, and we started talking about what we would name the little boy we would adopt one day (yeah, boy, we were way off!). We decided we loved the name “Fisher, “for this verse: “And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19 Even with this, we were still in the prayer waiting room. All we had was a dream, and a name.
But, hey! We had a powerful bible verse to hold onto as we kept waiting, praying, and listening.
One important thing we did was wrote the verse down, proclaiming it as the verse God had given us with the name in my prayer journal. I prayed and told Our Father that we wanted to adopt Fisher, and teach him about how much Jesus loved him, so he would follow Jesus and become a fisher of men who told even more people (maybe even more orphans) about how much Jesus loved them, to make even more followers of Jesus.
Yep, I had it all. Planned. Out. I bet you never do that, do you friend?
A few weeks later, Father God was about to give me a big “giddy up,” it’s time to go sign at church. There was a guest speaker, a missionary from Asia who had come home to share what The Lord was doing in their ministry. He was talking about one young man in particular that they had been ministering to, and how God had transformed his life. What happened next was the moment I’d been waiting for…he looked right at me and said, He was an orphan, but he became a fisher of men! This was one of those heel to toe moments where I felt the breath of God right up next to my ear as the words from the speaker filtered through the sound system. My fingers couldn’t scribble the details of the moment down in my journal fast enough. Somehow, I made them legible.
His hand was held out. Father God was leading. He was leading through His Spirit, just as he said he would. His word had been a lamp to our feet and a light to our path to show us it was time to take the first step. We had been just waiting and praying, not seeing a path at all yet to take. And now he was confirming it was time to stand up, lace up our shoes and start knocking.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 37:23
3) Knock We had sought him for the “go ahead.” When we got it from him that day in church, we started knocking. We knew we wanted to adopt from the country of Uganda, so we started looking up adoption agencies that had a partnership with that country. Out of all the ones I could find, only two were taking applications for this small east African country. One was in our hometown. Our hometown! That just felt right, ya know? It didn’t take much knocking. Father God opened the door very quickly this time. We made our first consultation, called the babysitter, and wrote the appointment on the calendar, scared to death, but following The One we knew was leading us, like a Father leads a child, like a daddy leads a daughter.
When you are knocking, fellow daughter, be prepared to walk through the door your Father opens. As you knock, speak trust in His power to unlock. He’ll unlock room in your heart to trust Him deeper as you wait for the door to open. Go ahead and ask yourself, do I trust Him like a little girl who just walks right through a door she’s never been through; just because she’s holding her daddy’s hand? If the answer is yes, you are ready! If He has opened a door and you are afraid to put your hand in his and walk forward, just be honest with him. Journal out your fears to him, or whisper them to him in a prayer. He will be faithful to give you courage to take the first step over the threshold with him. You’ve been praying for this direction, remember? The one who has called you is faithful.
If you are considering adoption, reach out to me and I’ll join you in prayer for you to hear His guidance!
If you’d like to speak with an adoption specialist for a free consultation, click here!
It’s National Adoption Month! If you have a group you’d like me to come speak to and share about the need and beauty of adoption, visit my Speaking Page!
I’d love to come encourage you to fulfill the mandate from the Lord in James 1:27.
“And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.”Mark 16:6 ESV
It’s the last day, day sixteen of “Mark, one chapter a day for Easter.” here at Refocused Bible Study. If you missed the details of the study, you can find them here. If you missed out, you can scroll through all my previous posts while le you study on your own.
Today we are reading in chapter sixteen. and I was mostly drawn to verses 1-8, focusing on verse six. I’m sharing today following the quiet time pattern below. Try it or something similar in your own personal study and see if it helps you find focus and structure to help His Word come alive in your life! See the image here:
My verse: “And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.”Mark 16:6 ESV Application: Live like He’s ALIVE and like you’re ALIVE in Him. Don’t live so temporarily. I needed this reminder. I get caught up in today, this week, month, and year. I forget that God has conquered death. But if I keep my eyes fixed on Jesus, and the truth that he is alive, my heart and priorities are going to be set on things that are lasting.
Review: Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James, and Salome went with burial spices to Jesus’ tomb. It was open! The stone was rolled away! An angel was on the right side inside the tomb. He told them not to be alarmed, that Jesus had risen!
Kneel in prayer: Almighty Jesus, we praise you for your power that raised you from the dead. Thank you for giving us the same resurrection power (Romans 8:11). Resurrect dead, locked up parts of our souls and lives that need new life and hope in you. Help us continue to spread your message in love and power. Make us women of your Word, filled with truth and strength from you. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
That’s the end of Mark! What did God show you through this book? I’ll be announcing tomorrow what’s next!
Amy D Terry 