2020 - a new decade, one of challenge

You know, it is almost hard to believe that we have closed the door on another decade. So much happened for me in the last one, I got my job with the Pregnancy Resource Center, a fresh, just turned 21 year old who knew so little! I finally got my driver's license at the ripe age of 22 and my first car ( wow, that is so crazy, it feels like yesterday!) I also signed up for my first semester of collage right before I turned 27 making me pretty much older than most of the kids in my class and I also managed to graduate by the time I turned 30 (Praise the Lord!). I also learned a lot about myself, I learned that I could do more than I thought as I was stretched outside of my comfort zone.
My biggest transformation however, took place in my walk with God. I learned to depend on Him more and lean upon His strength. As I look back over this decade I see a lot of rough patches but I also see the goodness of my God and how He walked with me through every hard situation. He never once abandoned me, but was always there ready to wipe each tear away and soothe every hurt.
Some things never change
Last year I chose to read through the women in the Bible and I am so glad I did. I learned so much about myself as I read their stories and realized that they faced many of the same problems I did and do even though we lived thousands of years apart. They all struggled with something, none had a perfect life, none had a care free life, but they all had the same God, the God who never changes, never sleeps and always does what is best. I was almost sad to see this reading plan come to an end but that is the beauty of God's Word, it will always have just what I need for each new day and each situation I face because it is a living book.

My weakest area
As I began to think about what I wanted to read for the new year, I felt God leading me to read through the prayers of the Bible. See, prayer is my weakest area, I struggled to make it a priority in my day and I wanted to change it. I have created a new Bible reading plan that stretches out over the course of the year and goes through passages where people prayed to God, including many of the Psalmist's prayers and the passage where the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. I am only a few days into this plan but I am enjoying it so much and I have made it available on my website along with the Women of the Bible if that is one you might be interested in reading. Click here to download them. Just a side note, but I highly recommend using a journal, you don't have to write pages but let the Lord speak to you and write down what He lays on your heart. I promise it will be a blessing to go back and read it at the end of the year.

A challenge for 2020
As we prepared for the decade, I wanted to challenge myself in a way I hadn't before. I called it the 2020 challenge (I know that was so original!). I have chosen to purpose to read at least 20 minutes in God's Word and pray for 20 minutes. I believe it is vital to form these habits now, to purpose to carve out time for my God on a daily basis and not give Him the scraps of my day. I also feel that it is important to give God the first part of the day even if that means I have to get up earlier than usual. He is the most important person in my life and He is worthy of not only my praise but my time. For the first time I actually made myself a real prayer journal which I was very excited about. I have several pins saved in Pinterest but this particular link (though it takes a little bit to get through all the ads) was worth the time and gave some practical ideas on how to make a nicely divided journal. 
Prayer Journal
These are the sections I chose for my journal but you are certainly able to do it however you like:

• Monday I pray for my family and friends.
• Tuesday I pray for Government both national and local along with social issues.
• Wednesday is missions and Christian organizations.
• Thursday is a personal day where I pray for things that I need to grow in or particular requests I have for myself.
• Friday is my miscellaneous day where I pray for particular requests that have been mentioned to me such as sick friends or special needs I have seen posted on social media.
• Saturday and Sunday is set aside to pray for those in spiritual authority positions like the paster and Sunday school teachers.
• I also have a daily section that I use and I also pray for whoever the Lord brings to mind while I am praying.

I have already seen God answer specific requests and look forward to spending more time in prayer communing with the One who loves me.
My wish for you.
Would you consider joining me in this challenge, it is not too late and I know it will be a blessing to you. We are in a new decade which means new opportunities to grow in Christ, to be used by Him and to make a difference in a world that is in dire need. We all make time for what is important to us, I know I have which is one of the things that convicted me. I could spend two hours watching a movie, or get up early to go somewhere important but I could not even give God 40 minutes of my day. In the end, the time I spent with Him and the time I spend doing His work will be all that matters in the end. Let's vow to start this decade off right by spending more time with our God so that we can be used to make a difference for eternity.