August
1. Ask God to help you find a new “verse of the month” and a new “word of the month.” Post it where you can see it. And ask Him to help you apply it. (And/or ask Him if there is any task/challenge He wants to give you this month.)
2. Pick two or three new people to pray for this month. Write their names down, pray for them daily, and ask God if there is anything specific you should pray for about them.
3. What are five things you are thankful for in your own backyard (or whatever’s outside your door)?
4. Pick another item from your “nice things to do for others” list and find time to do it this month.
5. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4)
Ask God: “What do You want to learn from this passage? How do You want me to apply it?”
6. What five things are you thankful for about the part of the world you live in?
7. Spend at least 30 minutes away from all technology at least three times this week and do something peaceful and relaxing instead. Protect your “alone time” and your time with your family.
8. Ask God: “What (or who) am I pursuing, relying on, or finding satisfaction in when I should be pursuing, relying on, or finding satisfaction in You?”
9. What are five things in your living room you are thankful for?
10. Pick a verse you’ve always wanted to memorize. Now memorize it.
11. Ask God: “Is there any part of the Lord’s Prayer that You want me to meditate on or be convicted about?”
[Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts (trespasses), as we also have forgiven our debtors (those who trespass against us). And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. (And something we often add . . . For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, now and forever.) Amen]
12. What are five things related to light that you are thankful for?
13. Make a “bucket list,” things you’d like to do or need to do before you leave this world. Are there any you are willing to try soon?
14. Ask God: “How can I live this verse more?”
Matthew 6:33: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
15. What are five things related to love or relationships that you are thankful for?
16. Pick a new recipe or food to try soon.
17. Ask God: “Is there an area of my life where I need to live with more integrity or walk more righteously? Am I ‘luke-warm’ in any area? What do You want me to do about it?”
18. What are five “near-misses” or tragedies that could have happened to you but that didn’t, and you are thankful they didn’t happen?
19. Choose from your “nice things to do for yourself” list. And do it soon.
20. Ask God: “Like rainbows reminding us of God’s promise, what other things should remind me of You and Your love whenever I encounter them?” (For me, it’s hummingbirds. They’re little whispers of God’s presence.)
21. What are five things related to vacation/weekends/down-time that you are thankful for?
22. Make a pleasant change in your home. Move some furniture, buy a new picture, display something you had put away, or whatever. Just try something new, pleasing to the eye, or meaningful.
23. Ask God: “Is there a time in past when I didn’t think You were with me . . . but You really were?”
24. What are five black things you are thankful for?
25. The next time you are talking with someone, really listen to them. Resist the urge to interrupt and to finish their sentences. (Bad habit of mine. Yet I do it to let them know that I am really listening, that I understanding them, and that I am engaged in the conversation. But it ends up giving the opposite impression.) And listen to what they are saying instead of just using the time they are talking to figure out what you want to say next. Let them lead the conversation and see where it goes. (And notice how tempting it is to jump in and turn the conversation back to you or to sound intelligent or to “one up” the other person. It’s eye-opening when you begin to see this tendency in yourself.)
26. Ask God: “Who do I need to begin seeing through Your eyes? Is there anything You want me to do for this person?”
27. What five natural wonders are you thankful for?
28. Next time you stand in line somewhere, pick a person around you to pray for. And ask God what He wants you to pray.
29. Ask God: “Is there anything I am afraid of? What do You say about that?”
30. What five things about the human body are you thankful for?
31. Take a different path today (or really soon) than the way you normally go. And just enjoy the sights. (And if you are driving, roll your window down and enjoy the breeze.)
Like rainbows, what else makes you think of God? What natural wonders make you stand in awe of Him? Any other comments on anything here?
