TAKING INVENTORY - on JULY FOCUS

I decided that TAKING INVENTORY at the end of JULY
is a good idea
For more than the important 4 One Words.

"... It's a good point according to the book of 1 John: to stop, to shut down everything, and to take inventory of our lives." ~ Steve Brandon (sermon) "By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before Him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything." 1 John 3:19

Taking Inventory is even customary in regular life, like in stores or businesses.It's a time purposely set aside to take count of what they have on their shelves.
So clearly, it's a beneficial practice for us, too to take inventory of our livesin particular, in our spiritual lives - of our spiritual condition.
[if you have time, I linked in the box to a very applicable Sermon on Taking Inventory]
<><><>
In 2024, we have our FOCUS on specific 
One Words
Here are the ONES completed so far:

"1. Diligent 2. Kindness 3. Position 4. Follow  5. Discipline 6. Worship 7. Notice 8.Invest   9. Anticipate  10. Authority  11.Transformation  12. Advance  13. Alert  14.Choose  15. Forgiveness  16. Rhythm  17.Seek  18. Arrive  19. Timing  20.Clarity  21. Little  22.Honesty  23. Silence  24. Pace  25. Release  26. Prayer  27. Joy  28. Movement ...

I am wondering (curious) which of these One Words or the devotionals so far has God spoken to you the most or the clearest - the right WORD at the right time? Amazingly, there have been quite a few for me. Or perhaps, if you go back you will find the One Words & devos that did? God never wastes a moment or a situation to speak to & with you. It's actually aMazing for me still after many, many years to see that God lines up what I read for His glory & to bless as He speaks personally time & time again. It's the perfect, melodic MOVEMENT in the middle of my crisis, melt down or trouble as if the Master Conductor indeed never missed a beat & His symphony of Grace, Love, Peace continue to rehearse and fine tune my life - syncing with His Word to me - from all different angles if I just open all all of my senses & breathe deeply. Each Word comes alive!

<><><>

These are the Reflective Questions given by CCR for the month of our July One Words in the section of "Taking Inventory". Perhaps by now, you've done them all. If not here they are altogether & if you'd like you can share 1 of them in the comments, but I suggest that you save this blog post (tuck it away in your book) so you have these four all in one place, where you can insert your thoughts (unless you don't mind and have already written in your book)

"RELEASE 1. What burdens did you release to the Lord? 2. You cannot change the past or control the future. How, then, should you spend the present? 3. Were you able to release something from your past? Have you seen the benefits of letting it go?

"PRAYER 1. Do you truly believe that God hears your prayers? 2. How often do you pray because you are happy? Why would God like to hear from you in those times? 3. Did you pray for wisdom or discernment? What was the outcome?

" JOY 1. Did you think of a friend, teacher, or colleague who walks in joy consistently? Were you able to learn from them? 2. Did you notice anything that tended to override your joy? Were you able to overcome that and concentrate on bringing more joy to your life? 3. What did God reveal about Himself as you focused on being joyful?

"MOVEMENT 1. Did you notice that adding physical activity to your life helped strengthen your faith? 2. Did you notice changes throughout the week? Did adding movement to your schedule invigorate your soul? 3. How will you be integrating movement into your schedule in the weeks and years to come?

<>

I love these summation prayers of all 4 One Words! Thanks CCR!

4th July FOCUS: One Word - MOVEMENT

For the month of July, these will be the 4 One Words for us to "Focus" on:

RELEASE

July 7

PRAYER

July 14

JOY

July 21

MOVEMENT

July 28

<><><>

This week's

 FOCUS isMOVEMENT
in our opening of the devotional
with this Scripture verse

Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Romans 12:1 NASB

I'm almost ready to break my general format here & read the devotional before I share this blog post, as I look at all the words for this month, searching for some thread, or correlation or any clue at all as to what or how MOVEMENT fits (and the Topical definition didn't help) nor does Romans 12:1 scripture verse so I decided to read a bit further in Romans 12, before I break my own rule & read CCR's devotional. And then I find the One Word FOCUS in verse 9.
Reading in The Passion Translation (TPT): 

Let the inner MOVEMENT of your heart always be to love one another, and never play the role of an actor wearing a mask. Despise evil and embrace everything that is good and virtuous. Romans 12:9

In my search for the One Word: MOVEMENT in God's Word;I encountered another verse not too far from the above verses, just a few chapters back, but this time in The Voice:

Now we are able to live up to the justice demanded by the law. But that ability has not come from living by our fallen human nature; it has come because we walk according to the MOVEMENT of the Spirit in our lives. Romans 8:4 VOICE

In all honesty, this is more what comes to mind to me, when I hear the word
MOVEMENT
(except for MOVEMENT as regards social movements: organized efforts by a large number of people to bring about change)
Usually a social movement is to "bring about or impedesocial, political, economic, or cultural change" but might I also include spiritual, such as a PRAYER MOVEMENT oras the last verse indicates a MOVEMENT of the Spirit(hopefully all prayer movements are)Often a Spiritual Movement is one for REVIVAL!
{don't get me started on how much this nation and our world needs this one}
Yet each week in July as we approached this last One Word, especially back at PRAYER, my thoughts were headed in this direction and most certainly when Paul is URGING us ... we need to listen and act
I just happened to look up steps to build a MOVEMENT and I found that choosing your cause, reading up on your cause, spreading the word and being creativeare just the initial ones suggested; yet it seems like the book of ACTS attempted this but
"... the MOVEMENT fell apart" (VOICE, Acts 5:37)
Other verses in ACTS with our One Word: MOVEMENTActs 5:36(NLT); 5:37 (VOICE); 5:38 (AMPC); 5:39 (TPT)
Acts 9:24 (TPT); 15:7 (Voice); 17:5 (Voice); 22:4 (Voice); 28:22 (NLT)
<>
Once again, I'm very tempted to read the devotional first by Cleere Cherry Reaves before I write (I'm sure that you wish I just would do that every time) but sometimes or many times, I do these, hoping for a MOVE of the Spiritas to what He might want me to share as His vessel with the One Word prompt.
Some times, God's Spirit is just waiting to lead, guide; or for me, just burst forth {although at times it may look as if I'm headed down a rabbit hole, or rambling on with no real message or point, but when ... (or until)I look back or read it over, I can tell it wasn't me writing any longeror what I thought that I was suppose, or intended to write;because before I sit down to begin typing, I pray.
Now it may not look like it to you,but ya' gotta trust me,I go with the flow.(lol)
<>
Back to the definition of
MOVEMENT
{which I tend to really dislike when they do this in any definition}
"the act of moving"
however, I'm thinking this is more powerful than it appears - followed by
"... change of place or posture..."
the rest of the definition - this first one, then 5 more may make a difference asyou read the devotional, and/ or search for scriptures that have the One Word: MOVEMENT
because we all have different perspectives about MOVING or MOVEMENT
{yep, that was a 'rabbit hole' but for some reason, I think it's key for our frame of mind}
<>
When I looked at the search that I usually do for the One Word in our devotional book (or even in the various translations) for MOVEMENT in God's Word,
the sentences in the devotional seem to indicate that I'm not even close to how CCR is using MOVEMENT
since we're on separate pages of thought,  I'll skip sharing any quotes for now
because the FOCUS TIP alone lets me know, I'm pretty far off base.
<>
Here are the other scriptures for this week:
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV1 Thessalonians 5:23 NASBRomans 8:10-11 NASB1 Corinthians 10:31
and as often is the case the concluding statement is my favorite quote (so I'll share that){I saw it when I read the FOCUS tip that had MOVEMENT}

"Move. Get outside of yourself and do diligence to the gift of life you've been given. Moving your feet helps you put everything else at His feet." CCR

I paused after I read "get outside" and was going to comment that this is exactly my plan for this beautiful day - to get outside. But she went on to write something even more important.
"Get outside of yourself" which goes perfectly (of course) with the verses and the 1st definition of "change of place or posture" and definitely with the quote. We (the world, our society) would benefit a great deal to "get outside of ourselves" - to think of others before our own selfish needs and as CCR further recommends to "do diligence ..." 
{I'm skipping the rest of that part about our precious gift of life given to each one of us and should be valued much more than "WE" as a whole seem to be failing at doing miserably}. 
I took the time to look up what these mean:

"to get outside of ourselves" [one source] "It means you let go of what you want, what you think you need or should have (beyond the bare necessities obviously) what you think other people should give you, what you think you are entitled to, of your beliefs about what you think the world should be, how your family should be, etc...." - stepping out and watching your own interactions and see yourself - what you do and how you act {ouch, a real self evaluation] "Take a step back, take a step out, remove yourself from the circumstances, the situation, the stress, the thoughts, the pressures" {this is the best one for me!}

"do diligence" (or possibly due diligence) [source] dictionary of "diligence": steady, earnest and energetic effort: devoted and painstaking work and application to accomplish an undertaking; so DO this by doing what follows in CCR's quote "moving your feet"

showing our gratitude to God
"Jesus, when I move, I feel You work"
after all
"In Him, we live, and MOVE and have our being"Acts 17:28
A song, a verse, and my belief; and now back to another point that I was making on
MOVEMENT
"... But if this MOVEMENT is of God, you won’t be able to stop it. And you might discover that you were fighting God all along!”[Gamaliel’s words convinced the council].

Acts 5:39 TPT

Isn't it time for a some 
MOVEMENT?

"outside of ourselves" and with "due diligence"
or simply walk away - take a walk outside
both are good advice😉

Next Week:
We MOVE right into AUGUST
One Words
so you'll have to squeeze the
TAKING INVENTORY
in, 
if you haven't already done them
Or else, wait to do July & August together the first weekend of Septemberbecause there will be NO post on September 1st.
😉💙😉


[this was written on the day of the Celebration of Life of Tim Anderson (former student's) being held today at an Athletic Field facility. I will go (masked) & be there for the family🙏]

3rd July FOCUS: One Word - JOY

[image credit: Rachel Wojo]

<>

For the month of July, these will be the 4 One Words for us to "Focus" on:

RELEASE

July 7

PRAYER

July 14

JOY

July 21

MOVEMENT

July 28

<><><>

This week's

 FOCUS 
One Word
 is
JOY
{I don't know about you, but my JOY tank is running on low
so it's a good FOCUS for me for now}
I need to refill my
JOY
tank with God's Word
and plenty of Jesus!
The devotional's opening Scripture is from

Psalm 16:11 ESV
and it even has the One Word: JOY

You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of JOY; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11 ESV

This is a good verse to compare in other versions.
I like how The Voice shares Psalm 16:11
[known as the perfect JOY verse]
but there are plenty (228) Psalms with JOY

Instead, You direct me on the path that leads to a beautiful life. As I walk with You, the pleasures are never-ending, and I know true JOY & contentment.

However, in His Presence "there is fullness of JOY" (ESV)
after a week with PRAYER is so true,
although the past week also had moments of tears as well.
Yet, knowing true JOY and contentment
leading to a beautiful life
and never-ending pleasures is really fullness of
<>JOY<>
The other Scriptures for the devotional this week are:

John 16:24 NLT; Psalm 119:111 NIV; 1 Peter 1:8-9 ESV; Philippians 4:6 ESV

Back in April, completed a YV 30 day plan on JOY then in June: PEACE
in September, I plan on doing PRAYER and November, GRATITUDE,
although every day, I do PRAYER with GRATITUDE, 
somehow it's not the same for me with
JOY and PEACE
but it should be.
So more Holy Spirit power and fruit, please!
There are almost a thousand verses
with
JOY
in one of my sources
and the topical search shows 3990 for all the JOY searches
or more specifically for just the One Word: Joy (422 occurrences)
(with the Definitions, Strong's Greek and Hebrew, etc.)
So there are plenty available and enough
JOY
to soak ourselves with this week

"Jesus, because I have You, I always have JOY. Amen"

... just help me show my JOY more often around others, please!
especially when things are difficult, may Your JOY shine above
all else. That's when we really need Your JOY!
This world tends to sap the JOY out of us.
Fill us with more of You & Your JOY!
🙏
The FOCUS tip
should help us remember ... always

" ...  that no matter what happens, we have Jesus, and that alone fills our hearts with never-ending delight."

Having not read the devotional before I write my blog post, 
I did a quick search for the One Word: JOY (showed 14)
but I'm only going to share from the last paragraph
(quite often that's my favorite anyways)

"May others who see our lives never have to ask whether we believe in Jesus because our JOY so obviously will be because of Him. Much like all the gifts our Father offers us, the more we choose the JOY of eternity, the more JOY will make itself known while we're here. "

This is exactly what I hope for and expect in my Jesus filled life
with the Holy Spirit.
More JOY! More power! More of You in my life!
{I'm pretty sure that's suppose to be "more love ..." but each of the fruit fits}
Galatians 5:22-23
More than ever, our world needs to see
Christ-followers
overflowing
with
MORE
JOY
and less of all 
we have been seeing, reading, hearing 
and experiencing
<>
In the beginning, I started with an image from Rachel Wojo.
She offers Reading Challenges monthly on her Blog (website) and I noticed
that she has repeated one called Pure JOY, which tells me that the need  
for JOY is for more than just me; and her plans list 31 verses!
The most recent JOY one was in 2023 (2021)
Rachel is the one that inspired my 2024 One Word: CALM.
<>

NOTE to self: I've read often that there are enough verses in the Bible on "fear" to read one every day; so the same seems to be true for JOY, one for every day and then some. Looks like I can fill my cup of JOY overflowingly by just dipping into God's Word each day & choosing JOY and being more JOYFUL. Since the "JOY of the LORD is my Strength" worked for Nehemiah (8:10), it'll work for me, and you, too. An important part that precedes this portion of the verse that I quoted is: "do not be grieved." And I have needed this part so often.
But my first JOY verse chosen is:
Nehemiah 1:11 VoiceO Lord, hear Your servant praying to You and pay attention, and not just to my prayers but also to the prayers of these very Jews whose greatest JOY is to live in fear and awe of You. I am asking for success today, God; please make sure this man is compassionate to me, Your servant. In that day, I was cupbearer to the king.

And my second one to start out this JOY focus week (before an upcoming memorial/ life celebration this next Sat. of one of my students from when I taught 5th grade; and it seems like so many others have been facing also) however, this verse is for all times, not just sad times and this is my PRAYER for you from Jesus' words:

John 15:11 NLT

I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my JOY. Yes, your JOY will overflow!

"Open His Word and let His Truth be the standard for your life. Resume your authority as a child of God and choose to practice JOY in every step of the journey." CCR (p.71) "Our JOY is not in our arrival (in the walk, in the journey, in the process, in the blessing of taking each step, one by one ...continually being refined) but in our walk with Him." CCR (p.74)

<>

Yes, be filled with Jesus' JOY and may your JOY overflow!

Rejoice!

EnJOY your week soaking in some JOY - lots of JOY!

Search for JOY in each day!

[image credit: Positively Jane]

This quote from Henri Nouwen was a favorite with many choices but I chose this one, because 

of the "blues" & scene. Thanks Jane! (esp. your positivity in your graphics, joyful living & words).

2nd July FOCUS: One Word - PRAYER

For the month of July, these will be the 4 One Words for us to "Focus" on:

RELEASE

July 7

PRAYER

July 14

JOY

July 21

MOVEMENT

July 28

<><><>

This week's

 FOCUS  One Word: PRAYER
with the devotional's main verse from
1 John 5:14 NIV

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

3 of the other verses this week do use the One Word: PRAYER
and the other one has PRAY from James 5:13
So the other Scripture verses are:

Philippians 4:6 ESV; Ephesians 6:18; Mark 11:24 NIV

I'm sure that there are plenty of verses (over 400) for the 
One Word: PRAYER (or PRAY)
The topical search has much on PRAYER: definitions, articles, occurrences, Greek (proseuche) and Hebrew (Tefillah) and others;much more.
<><><>
Again as I look at the combination of One Words for July,
I like that there seems to be an interesting correlation
between RELEASE (letting go) and PRAYER
resulting in JOY and propelling us toward
MOVEMENT
(perhaps a PRAYER MOVEMENT)
(perhaps a MOVEMENT of the Holy Spirit)
both are much needed in our world
and in our personal lives
since PRAYER is 
not just communication
but communion 
with
our Creator
<>
Hopefully
your PRAYERS are more than just "asking" for something from Him
(although 'supplication' is an important part of our prayers)
for our Father to supply our needs
<>
As I'm sure you're aware of there are many acronyms and formulas
for how we should pray and that you already know the best one
is when Jesus taught the disciples to pray the
"Our Father"
yet He never showed us that our Father, was just a "genie" 
or a "vending machine" to go to with our many needs.
The structure of the "Our Father" basically gives us:
Adoration, Consecration, Supplication, Intercession, Protection
I read that "the prayer itself is composed of 7 petitions:
3 "Thy (Your) petitions"
[Thy Name, Thy Kingdom, Thy Will]
 and 4 "us-petitions"
[give us, forgive us, lead us not, and deliver us]
<><>
PRAYER
is vital to me!
PRAYER
is the most precious tool I have been blessed with -
to spend time communicating in communion with God
any time, any place, any circumstance.
<><>
I have plenty of PRAYER resources but I'll try to refrain.
And probably like you, I have more than enough needs to stay in PRAYER:
Supplication/INTERCESSION
for family & friends, for others, for our nation & others, for myself
but I want my arsenal of
PRAYER
to start with Adoration and so much Thankfulness
yet I'm sure I have much to Confess, too
{I did these out of sequence, but they compose one of the 1st acronyms that I learned}
A.C.T.S
Another one is 
P.R.A.Y.
for 
Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield
<><><>
Let's do a word search of our devotional
(because I don't read it until after I post this)
to find PRAYER in context
and present some quotes from the author (CCR)

"What would our lives look like if PRAYER became our way of life rather than our life support?"

That's a great question to begin our reflection!
with the following part

"... Prayer is the portal to success of every kind; it it also in the communication of PRAYER and understanding our Father's heart that we learn what true success means ...  "

{I was thinking of stopping after "that we learn ..."}
CCR continues her thoughts about PRAYER
(much more than and better, I'm sure with the full devotion)
<><><>
Here are a couple more snippets that stand out:

" ... PRAYER can be the way that our soul sings ... " AND "If we allowed PRAYER to become our go-response ... (because) "... the more we turn to Him, the more our heart looks like His."

one is these snippets is my favorite part so far (I think)
Looking forward to the Focus Tip
and repeating this 
PRAYER
daily:
"Jesus, help me to PRAY.
I know You're listening."
🙏
now that's 
the confidence in
1 John 5:14
(since this came to me as I finished I am sharing it here, but I know that there are so many great songs on PRAYER)
"... This is my confidence ..."
You're in it with me

Maybe you have one that you'd like to share too!
<>

NOTE: there are many YV reading plans on PRAYER; but I chose a 7 day one that looks good
"No Prayer, No Power"(sample of a (2017) 365 book)

RELEASE

It's seems like it's been such a long season (week) of RELEASE or maybe that's just how it is or was for me! If you did the FOCUS TIP for this week (and I guess if your life is similar to mine) then you might better understand what I mean about this week (season - lifetime) being long. Here's the FOCUS Tip from CCR:

 

... "This week, when feelings of shame or uncertainty start to come to mind, think of the (One) Word release and ask God to fill you with His love, comfort, and peace instead."

I can recall in seasons past in my life that I would have spent much time with my mind thinking of and heart feeling those feelings of shame; but not this week - it was feelings of uncertainty, as it has been for quite some time for me (not just this year, or even the last decade, yet more and more in this last season). So let's just go with, I have plenty of practice and God has been with me through every moment of uncertainty (and I believe He still is)! I have been filled moment by moment some times but let's just say often ... daily ... weekly ... yearly - faithfully by His sweet Holy Spirit with His love, mercy, comfort, peace and His aMazing Grace! 

I decided that I couldn't just leave this One Word: RELEASE - without posting one more blog, perhaps this devotional this week but for sure this One Word resounds and resounds in my spirit, and may be the most significant one for me and actually correlates to my One Word for 2024: CALM. To be CALM, one must find a way to RELEASE ... and be filled ...

I'm guessing that it might me because of one of my early morning You Version readings that I came to this decision to write one more RELEASE post yet I'm sure this will continue for me even beyond this weekend ... 

There was so much more in this "letter from God" (day 23 of 30) about "letting go"; keeping my FOCUS on God, not on things, nor circumstances, nor situations or difficulties, because they WILL come ... NOR any things of this earthly world ... {God help us!} ... BUT I am to keep my focus on God, with God; as HE will go through the REFINING PROCESS with me ... continually as I hopefully become more and more like His Son, Jesus. 

Yes, Lord ... I will let myself go and grab hold of You! In "letting go" I am able to receive more of You. I will let go - RELEASE myself of the world's ideas, thoughts, concepts and ways to grab hold of You (more completely), Your Word and Your ways. You are the Way, the Truth and the Life! (John 14:6)

Based on that reading, I went back through the verses from the book (given in the first post) and that I chose this past week on RELEASE. Unknowingly to me, but not to God, there seems to be a thread tying them together ... when I choose my One Word verses, I just do it randomly each day so there's no intention or plan or reason to it. Perhaps this thread will be apparent or significant only to me, yet I know these verses will speak anyways to you. This week, I felt it was important to capture and share these chosen verses with the One Word: RELEASE, along with the four given in the book (that don't contain the One Word: RELEASE) in reverse order, which means the most recent first and the ones with dates are from the book:

[7/12/24] Turn your burdens over to the LORD, and He will take care of you. He will never let the righteous person stumble. Psalm 55:22 GW

Insert here of another verse not from me, but a special sister who shares with me, although I won't be sharing all of hers:

💚To RELEASE the waters (to speak rashly) is the beginning of contention; therefore, leave off strife before it gets started. Proverbs 17:14

"Forgive us the wrongs we have done as we ourselves RELEASE forgiveness to those who have wronged us." Matthew 6:12 TPT "RELEASE us from the things we have done wrong, in the same way we RELEASE others for the things done wrong to us." Gift from Creator Tells the Good Story (Matthew) 6:12  FNVNT

[7/11/24] "Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you."  Isaiah 46:4  NKJV "Even as you grow old and your hair turns gray, I’ll keep carrying you! I am your Maker and your Caregiver. I will carry you and be your Savior." Isaiah 46:4 TPT

"Give careful attention to your spiritual life and every cherished truth you teach, for living what you preach will RELEASE salvation inside you and to all those who listen to you." 1 Timothy 4:16 TPT

"I’m glad because I know that this will result in my RELEASE through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:19 CEB

Actually it was between the 9th & 10th that I shared my Blog Verse (above always) under my heading of my title

"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and RELEASE from darkness for the prisoners ... " Isaiah 61:1 NIV

and portions from the Summer book club book "Still Standing"about promises from God's Word to heal & restore you ifyou will RELEASE to Him (Psalm 147)

[7/9/24] "Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy." Proverbs 28:13 NIV

“Listen to me, my people; pay attention to me, my nation. For I RELEASE my teaching to the nations, and I will cause the light of justice to rest on them." Isaiah 51:4 TPT

"Release your heart's joy in sweet music to the Eternal. When the upright passionately sing glory-filled songs to Him, everything is in its right place." Psalm 33:1 Voice

[7/8/24] "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV  "I am saying that anyone who has been joined together with the Chosen One is now part of the new creation. For in the Chosen One the old creation has faded away and the new creations has come into being" FNVNT - Second Letter from Small Man to the Sacred Family in Village of Pleasure (2 Corinthians) 5:17

The Chosen One is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father
Chosen One is chosen by the First Nations in their new NT translation.
(in case, you might have heard this spoken or written in the current media, and may be confused because of this as to WHO is the Chosen One) andwe all have been chosen by Him and appointed to bear fruitaccording to John 15:16; no one else in particular is

💚"Through Jesus, everyone who believes is set free from all sins-sins which the law of Moses could not RELEASE you from." Acts 13:39 Voice

the above was another verse chosen by my dear sister/BFF😉 although I also had it tucked away

[7/7/24] "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead ..." Philippians 3:13 NIV

"Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, “When you continue to embrace all that I teach, you prove that you are my true followers. [32] For if you embrace the truth, it will RELEASE true freedom into your lives.” John 8:31-32 TPT

"I will give to you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven; and whatever you RELEASE on earth will have been released in heaven.” Matthew 16:19 WEB "I will give you the keys of heaven’s kingdom realm to forbid on earth that which is forbidden in heaven, and to RELEASE on earth that which is released in heaven.” Matthew 16:19 TPT

"... until we RELEASE what has been holding us, we will not be able to experience the anticipation of the bright, exciting future God has in store. We know our best is ahead of us, so we may run forth, RELEASING all that is behind." Cleere Cherry Reaves

[7/13/24] "We are {I am} writing these things to you because we {I} want to RELEASE to you the fullness of joy." 1 John 1:4 TPT

What more can I say?!
{there's over 400 verses on RELEASE}
<>
{I was thinking of adding snap shots I took of the actual devotion in full from my book by CCR but I'm sure that's a violation; and not only do I not want to do that, I also don't want to loose or have to draft this blog post. If not for you, for me. I really believe we each have to go back and read the words again of CCR; if you have the book, (if not I recommend you get it) as well as going back to read the comments in that 1st July blog post}
GOD
REDEEMS
what we
RELEASE!
🙏🙌