Word

STEP 2: Track

/ Gail Johnson / 4 Comments

And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. Deuteronomy 11:19 (KJV)

The Israelites were to teach their children about the ways of the Lord and what He had done for them. As a child of God, the life we live is our story. We should share our journey with others as a testimony of God’s faithfulness.

Track

The second step in our 5 STEPS for Success in 2025 is Track.

Webster defines Track as an awareness of a fact, progression, or condition. It also lists to keep track of something. Merriam-Webster

Tracking our blessings can be beneficial to our health. Recalling God’s past provisions will lift our spirits, give us hope, and grow our patience. Try it and see if you don’t feel better. Our testimonies of His goodness also benefit our families and churches.

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:21-23 (KJV)

On the other hand, forgetting God’s blessings robs us of joy, hope, and peace as we fret over our problems. It also robs others of hearing the truth about God’s love.

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13 (KJV)

Think about the last time a song ministered to you. More than likely, that song was a story of someone’s loss, heartache, or victory. The lyrics blessed you because the writer took the time to write and share their story. An untracked story is a lost story.

I am ashamed to say I have not written down every blessing. I often wonder about those I have forgotten. Could they have helped someone in their time of need? More importantly, have I treated the miracles of God as ordinary things?

What to Track

Throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites were called to remember the promises of God. Question: If the Creator of the Universe gives us an answer to prayer, a dream, or a lesson from our daily activity, why would we not want to write it down so we can remember and share it with others?

Here are a few suggestions we can track this year. You can add more if you like.

Family History
God’s promises to you and your family
Blessings received
Prayers answered

Ways to Track

Keep a journal
Notate a Bible to give to your children or grandchildren
Take study notes to pass down to someone
If you paint, draw, or write songs or poetry, tell the story behind it

Why Track

As a witness to the goodness of God
As a reminder of God’s faithfulness in times of hardship

But I’m not a writer, you may say. That’s fine. You don’t have to be a writer or understand all grammar rules. Keep a record for yourself and your family, or tell the storyteller in your family so they can write it in the genealogy records.

Okay, now that we’ve discussed the spiritual side of tracking, let’s talk about the physical side.

Something Happens When We Write.

Researchers suggest handwriting improves brain connectivity. Dopamine, the feel-good neurotransmitter, is also released. If that’s true, why wouldn’t we want to spend several minutes a day with pen and paper? Especially when we tend to forget things as we age.

Our brains need the exercise.

Remember multiplications and musical scales? We practiced until it felt like our heads would explode. The truth is repetition builds bridges between synapses. Once that bridge is built, it’s hard to forget. Memories are what we have learned. They are also the way we retrieve that knowledge.

As we age, we lose memory if we don’t care for ourselves. We are often encouraged to learn a new language, play word games, or learn a new instrument. Why not add handwriting scripture and tracking blessings to that list?

With all that learning and exercise, researchers recommend we spend less time in front of our screens and limit our sugar intake. All are great ideas to increase knowledge and care for our brains.

Finally, going back to our main scripture. When the Israelites failed to recall God’s law and blessings, they became independent of Him and fell into idolatry. Today, we may not have golden idols in groves, but when we fail to acknowledge God, we look to ourselves for provision. And I daresay there are quite a few idols we can entertain in our hearts. Tracking our blessings, especially during a blessed season, keeps our hearts humble and our focus upward. Let’s track those blessings!

Happy tracking, beloved!

Your Turn

Do you track your blessings? Write scriptures? What would you add to the list to help recall the blessings of God and exercise your brain?

Articles to Read

What Excessive Screen Time Does to the Adult Brain – Stanford Center on Longevity

The Simple Act of Daily Writing Can Dramatically Improve Your Mental Health – Allison Fallon

The Power of the Pen: How Handwriting Enhances Brain Connectivity – Neurosceincenews.com

Why Writing by Hand is Better for Your Brain – Pamela B. Rutledge Ph.D., M.B.A. Psychology Today

Happy New Year!

/ Gail Johnson / 13 Comments

Have you made plans for 2025? I haven’t unless you count the unfinished plans for 2024.

Do you have any leftover plans?

One thing I have planned for the coming year, and every year, is to delve even deeper into God’s Word than I did the year before. Studying helps my mind and spirit connect with the Lord and His purpose for me. I’ve listed below several verses I find helpful in my yearlong journey. Why not share yours in the comments?

Studying

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105

Keeping His Word before me ensures I remain faithful to His purpose for my life.

Memorization

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Psalm 119:11

The Word will keep me from unsavory paths where danger awaits.

Prayer

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; Ephesians 6:18

Time spent in prayer is never wasted. It is a privilege to converse with the Lord. He hears my prayers.

Fasting

Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. Matthew 6:16

And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hundred. Matthew 4:2

As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. Acts 13:2-3

Fasting is beneficial to the body and spirit. It is a discipline the New Testament believers practiced, including Jesus. It truly makes a difference in my walk with the Lord.

Recalling

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Romans 6:6-7

God’s Word teaches me I have been forgiven and set free. I am no longer a slave to sin, serving an evil taskmaster. I am a child of light. I have a choice to do good or evil. By God’s grace, I can overcome and live in victory!

Your Turn

Now that I’ve shared a few verses that keep me moving forward in my walk with the Lord, why not share yours. Which one is sustaining you on your journey thus far?

All scriptures are taken from the King James Version Bible.

This and That

/ Gail Johnson / 8 Comments 
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing
I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth
unto those things which are before. (Philippians 3:13)

Can you believe we’re in the second month of the new year?

What have you been up to, my friend?

I’ve been praying for a study I could sink my teeth into. Not just a sweet morsel or a piece of fluff but a thick juicy piece of meat to spark my synapses and grow my spirit kind of study.

But until recently, I had been so busy with life—and its heartaches—I didn’t have the time or the chance to be alone. So, I am thankful for last month’s opportunity to settle in and grow in understanding. To reach for a “that” and make it a “this.”

The idea of “this” and “that” has been with me for over 30 years after hearing a message. I can’t remember everything the minister said except “this” and “that” is necessary to move forward. The Lord has brought me back to the idea many times to help me understand the seasons in my life.

So what is the point behind this and that? I’m so glad you asked!

A “that” is the next step in our spiritual journey. The next victory we’re believing for—and expecting—God to give us. It is the answer to our petitions if we pray for God’s will.

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. (1 John 5:14-15 KJV)

Notice John said, “according to his will.” That should be the pattern for our prayer life. It isn’t a name-it-and-claim-it lifestyle. It’s a sold-out-I-surrender-all-not-my-will-but-Yours-be-done lifestyle. Without that mindset and faith, we will never turn a “this” into a “that.”

This and That

When speaking of this and that, we could also say here and there. This being here. That being there.

A “this” is a truth we possess. It is what we know. Our comfort zone.

A “that” is what we’ve yet to achieve. It is the invisible in our lives waiting to be discovered.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

In the opening scripture above, Paul forgets those things behind him and reaches for things before because he wants his life to become the story of Jesus. “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”

To be like Jesus.

We can’t know the overflowing power of his resurrection unless we daily conform to his death. Do we want to know the fellowship of his sufferings? Hard question, I know. Yet Paul was in prison for his beliefs. He did not complain. Instead, he penned letters to encourage the believers.

Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend “that” for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended… (v. 12 parentheses added)

Wow! When I think of what Paul had been through, what he had done for the Lord, it’s hard to imagine him saying there is more.

…but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (v. 13)

Paul knew there was more, and he wanted it.

Like Paul, we are apprehended to bring glory to the Father through Christ the Son. To be a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him. An obedient servant doing the will of God our Father.

In this new year, will you remain in your comfort zone or press into the unknown to apprehend even more of Him? To trade a “this” for His “that.”

Before you answer, did you notice the picture? THAT looks bigger than THIS. But it’s not. The font on THAT is 42 percent. The font on THIS is 50 percent. Often, our present THIS looks smaller than our future THAT, making our task seem almost impossible. But God is always with us. Cross that bridge of faith, my friend, and claim all the spiritual blessings He has for you!

Prayer

Father, may we press toward the mark and claim by faith that which you are calling us to. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen