As I sit writing this, I have just completed a big goal I set for myself at the start of 2020. For over 15 years I have been a runner. What began as a means of staying healthy and active has turned into a passion and something I genuinely find joy in doing. I’ve run many miles and road races over the years, but for as long as I can remember, I’ve always put a limit on myself when it comes to what I believe I am capable of doing. Whenever I have thought about taking on long-distance runs such as a half or full marathon, I have quickly chided myself and said, “That’s too hard; I could never do that” all the while wishing that I could. ​

But this year was different. I will turn 40 at the end of 2020, and as this milestone year began, I decided there was no better time to set a challenge for myself.

We will use the alphabet as an acrostic and study topics like: Abide, Beloved, Calling, Delight, Endure, Faithful, Garment, Hunger, Increase, Justice, Kindness, Light, Manna, Name, Ordain, Path, Quench, Ransom, Salt, Testify, Upright, Vanity, Wait, Yield, and Zeal.

Every week, we’ll discover a different topic. Each topic is accompanied by five Scripture verses—one for each weekday. The FREE STUDY GUIDE has a page for each verse. Those spaces will invite you to write the verses out and journal what you’ve learned.

Every time I read God’s Word I learn something new. I also find that Scripture writing really helps me meditate, and as I meditate, God always shows me just what I need for that day—it’s AMAZING!

What does “normal life” look like for an almost 37-year-old woman in today’s Christian culture? If the first thoughts in your mind deal with being married and rearing a family, you are probably thinking as most folks do in our churches and in our world today. What goes through your mind when you meet someone like me—37 years old, “unattached,” and never been married? I have had all kinds of comments from people within the church ranging from “Don’t worry…you’ll find someone someday,” to “So, do you even want to get married?” and everything in between.

The world kind of leaves people like me to our own individuality on most fronts. Some unbelievers make invalid assumptions about people like me, but I can get past those assumptions quickly because they are unbelievers and don’t understand my heart and desire to honor God in EVERY aspect of my life. ​

We will use the alphabet as an acrostic and study topics like: Abide, Beloved, Calling, Delight, Endure, Faithful, Garment, Hunger, Increase, Justice, Kindness, Light, Manna, Name, Ordain, Path, Quench, Ransom, Salt, Testify, Upright, Vanity, Wait, Yield, and Zeal.

Every week, we’ll discover a different topic. Each topic is accompanied by five Scripture verses—one for each weekday. The FREE STUDY GUIDE has a page for each verse. Those spaces will invite you to write the verses out and journal what you’ve learned.

Every time I read God’s Word I learn something new. I also find that Scripture writing really helps me meditate, and as I meditate, God always shows me just what I need for that day—it’s AMAZING!

God’s creative design bursts with variety. In the human race, He fashioned a diverse assortment of looks, personalities, and abilities, giving a unique combination to each one of the nearly eight billion people walking around out there. 
 
He created the acrobat, the person who can trip over thin air, the beauty pageant winner, and the self-conscious preteen boy with a bad case of acne. He understands the outgoing church greeter and the quiet accountant. He designed both the orators who always know the right thing to say and the people like me who can manage to give a socially awkward response to a straightforward question.

​God didn’t make any mistakes when He made you or when He made me. As the psalmist declares, each one of us is “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14a). 

We will use the alphabet as an acrostic and study topics like: Abide, Beloved, Calling, Delight, Endure, Faithful, Garment, Hunger, Increase, Justice, Kindness, Light, Manna, Name, Ordain, Path, Quench, Ransom, Salt, Testify, Upright, Vanity, Wait, Yield, and Zeal.

Every week, we’ll discover a different topic. Each topic is accompanied by five Scripture verses—one for each weekday. The FREE STUDY GUIDE has a page for each verse. Those spaces will invite you to write the verses out and journal what you’ve learned.

Every time I read God’s Word I learn something new. I also find that Scripture writing really helps me meditate, and as I meditate, God always shows me just what I need for that day—it’s AMAZING!

I still remember the day I read this quote from Streams in the Desert by Lettie Burd Cowman.

My husband and I had left a ministry of twenty years to answer the call of returning to our college alma mater. His new position would be sports ministry director and head baseball coach. This was his dream job. He was about to complete his masters and this was an open door to what God had placed on his heart when he started this pursuit. ​

Many things about this decision did not make sense from a human perspective. The pay was less. I was pregnant with our eleventh child. Our oldest daughter was a senior in high school and would be left behind to complete her year.