My dishwasher broke on Christmas Eve. So lately my sink has been full to the brim of used dishes waiting to be washed.

What if I invited you over for coffee, and I handed you one of the mugs right out of the dirty sink? Would you use it?
No! You would wash it or grab a one out of the cabinet.

Yesterday we envisioned ourselves as the  beautiful vessel God created us to be. He fills us with his Spirit in these fragile containers that we are, and we spill out on those closest to us, those beautiful containers on our “blessing table.”

But we are still sinners. And we always will be until he takes us home. The good news, is that we don’t have to go find an animal to slaughter on our behalf anymore like the people in the Old testament.  Instead, we believe that’s what Jesus did for us on the cross. We know his blood is like the dish soap to dirty dishes. When we bring our hearts to him to confess and ask forgiveness, it’s like we are sparkling clean, ready to be used by Him for all the good work ahead of us this day and this year.

  “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”‭‭1 John‬ 1:9

Everyday y’all. Our hearts get misguided everyday. Use this passage as your prayer for Him to show you where your heart needs a scrubbing:

Psalm 139:23-24

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  Point  out anything in me that offends you,and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

He will show us, making our hearts pure so that His love can freely flow through us.

We can #Refocus our hearts on Jesus anytime because of what he did for us on the cross. 

If you have never entered into a relationship with Jesus, never made a deliberate decision to Focus on him,  to get  to know Him, now is the time! A new year, a new you, the you that you were created to be can start right now.

“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” Romans 10:9-10

Tell Him, and then tell someone you know that loves Him. Your new life with Him is going to be amazing! It won’t always be easy, but it will always be worth knowing Him.

So we #Focus on Him for the first time ever, or we #Refocus on Him again & again & again…Everyday. Everyday this year, we come back to the Cleanser to be washed sparkling clean.

We know we will receive mercy as he washes all the dirty, yucky, grime away from our hearts. And we will be ready to receive and pour out His goodness again and again and again this year. Our husbands, our children, those who enter our homes, and those we encounter as we go about our lives  will be blessed through us. We will be these honorable vessels:

“Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”

 ‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭2:20-21‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I really have enjoyed washing my dishes by hand the past week.  It has been a time for me to pray & ask The Cleanser to reveal the dirty specks in my heart and wash my sins down the drain with the soapy water. Maybe dish time can be a good time for Him to search your soul & wash you clean as well.  Anytime, anyplace will work. Just do it sisters! Praying for you as you #Refocus on our heart Cleanser today and all year long!

You are worthy, qualified, and ready for the good work He has for you to do this year. Glory to Jesus.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world,

but let God transform you into a

NEW person

by changing the way you think.

Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Happy NEW Year!

There is no better way to start a NEW Year than by believing God wants to do NEW things in your life. Is this biblical?

YES!

Yesterday we looked at Isaiah 43 and remembered Who God is…

Today, we look at who YOU are in this NEW life Jesus has given you, continuing to transform you through HIS infinite grace.

This NEW year you can continue to be transformed by Grace Himself through His living word.

Challenge:

Take at least 15 minutes today, asking the Lord to give you verses from His Word to transform the way you think. Google verses that relate to the struggles you are facing if you don’t know the scripture references. Write them down, post them where you will see them frequently. Screenshot them on your phone. Commit to thinking on them and praying them over yourself and loved ones.

JESUS is the WORD made flesh. Inviting more of the Word into your life and mind is inviting Him there as well. He loves you so much and wants to continue to transform your heart to know Him more, love Him more, and love others more.

Take it another step!

Google free printables for your verses and put them in frames in your home for the NEW year.

Ask God to saturate your life, mind, and heart with NEWNESS through His living, active word. Nothing will transform you from the inside out like He can!

Narrow your focus:

Select one verse for each of these areas that pertain to your life:

* Your relationship with Jesus

* Your marriage

* Your mothering

* Your home

Post them (in real life surrounding you)

Pray them

Speak them

Believe them!

“Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.” Proverbs 30:5

I’d love to hear your verses!

Praying for you!

Amy

New Here? See what’s going on below!

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! Study started New Year’s Eve, but jump in anytime!

You can buy the study here: Buy Refocused Bible Study

If you can’t buy the study, no worries! Take the Reading/Verse writing challenge for FREE: Refocused Bible Reading/Verse Writing Plan

Join our online group on FB HERE: Facebook Group

CHALLENGE: Monday through Friday, before looking at social media,

1. Engage in God’s Word using the study or reading plan and prayer.
2. Then, comment on this blog, the FB page, 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!

As this year ends, and a new one begins,

REMEMBER.

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!

You can buy the study here: Buy Refocused Bible Study

If you can’t buy the study, no worries! Take the Reading/Verse writing challenge for FREE: Refocused Bible Reading/Verse Writing Plan

Join our online group on FB HERE: Facebook Group

CHALLENGE: Monday through Friday, before looking at social media,

1. Engage in God’s Word using the study or reading plan and prayer.
2. Then, comment on this blog, the FB page, 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!

Praying for you!

Amy



Refocused Bible Study starts right here Dec 31st! Even if you’ve done the study before, pull it back out and let’s see what God shows us anew through His Word for the coming year.

Before we get started, I have some tips to help us be consistent in any bible study and prayer in 2018!

“Commit your actions to the Lord and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3

COMMIT- to carry out an action deliberately.

Let’s be deliberate about growing with the Lord this year. Girls, there is no better commitment you can make!

Here’s a checklist I put together to help us all start out on the right foot in bible study & prayer for the New Year:

_Prepared: Our bible is handy & we have our study book ready to make beautiful with our colored pencils! For me, part of this step includes having my coffee pot ready to hit the button in the morning!!!

_Time set: Think about your schedule & decide when you will do your study. I love getting up before everyone in the house to spend time with Jesus. But before bed may work better for you.

But –#Refocus on God’s grace when these plans don’t make it to reality.

Stay deliberate by committing to engage in God’s Word before you look at social media for the day. Download the bible app on your phone. Don’t look anything else until you read some of His Word.

Look through the study & see what the few verses are for the day and click a pic of them to refer to throughout the day.

Consistent in prayer- Don’t call anyone on the phone until you’ve spoken to God yet. This is great for car time! Unless you have talkative babies in the backseat 🙂

These are just a few tips that have helped me stay focused on the Lord. Feel free to share any great ones you have. He is worth the focus!!!

Even if you don’t purchase the study, we’d love for you to join us as I blog through the material and we Refocus on God & me

Marriage

Motherhood &

Home

The first four weeks of the brand new year!!!

My goal is always that you will be encouraged on this journey with Jesus!  Join us New Year’s Eve as we fix our eyes on Jesus for the year ahead. ❤

You can purchase the study God wrote on my heart below, I pray it blesses you!

Amy

Here is a link for a more in depth view of it: A Peak inside Refocused Bible Study

To buy the study on Amazon:

Buy Refocused Bible Study <<< here! 🎉🎉