We're about to welcome in 2023!
This year we're going to explore a different topic each month using the Monthly Bible Quilt Journal, "Building on a Firm Foundation." Hopefully you've had a chance to prep your journal. If not, check out this post to get some helpful tips to guide you along.
Even if you don't have the Monthly BQJ, you may still follow along with us using the BQ Calendar or another BQ journal, or whatever personal study materials you have that fit this particular season of your life.
Our first topic is Prayer. Isn't that the best place to start on anything?
You may access the year's full list of references as a free printable with code FREELIST. They're formatted as bookmarks, so cut out the one on Prayer and let's get started!
Add the dates by handwriting them or using stickers. Then add our daily verses, the next BQ Zoom chat, and whatever devotional goals or Bible reading plans you may have for the month.
You can cut out the colorful "Prayer" title from the back of the journal to add to the page. Then color and decorate with washi tape or seasonal stickers however you'd like!
Thanks to Sandra, a Bible Quilter from Alabama , for curating our collection of verses this month.
Writing out the scriptures onto a flip card set helps us become familiar with the verses and the surrounding passages to understand it in context. Once completed, the flip cards make a handy personal reference or a resource to share with a friend who might need extra encouragement.
If you want to shorten the time spent prepping your flip cards, we've got a digital version of all the verses typed out and formatted. Just print and cut, then slide the cards onto a binder ring!
After you've gotten your scriptures gathered up, you're all set to begin the 2-page spread in the Monthly BQ Journal. It's also available as a printable if you don't have the journal or would like an extra to share with a friend.
It's wonderful to see these pages fill up with beautiful verses on prayer:
We also have the featured template of the month, Praying Hands, designed by Sandra. We can use verses from our reference list that particularly impact us or maybe create with additional scriptures we've discovered along the way as we've studied this topic.
There is so much rich content on prayer in the Bible that you may be inspired to create some additional pages on favorite passages.
The Prayer template may be a way to kickstart a page, so you can dive right in.
Maybe you'd like to do a BQ page for prayers over your home and family?
You can incorporate photos to surround with scriptures you use to intentionally pray over particular things.
A personalized BQ page can aide you in focusing on specific scriptures for a particular person. You could even make a color copy of your page to share with your friend or family member.
Whatever ages our kids are, we can pray over their academic pursuits, relationships, and unique challenges. A small photo can add an instant personal touch.
If you have the ABC Journal, you can use our monthly topic verses to fill in some of your pages, too.
The beginning of a New Year may prompt us to reevaluate our personal prayer life and we may try some new strategies. You can do a BQ page to help you focus your intentions or to create an inspirational page to help you visualize the steps you go through as you pray.
Prayer is a powerful resource for us individually, as families, and together as a community. It can be one of those "simple, yet not easy" habits to develop, but maybe one that we can all improve in as we focus specifically on prayer this month.
I shared a lot of ideas here and hope it didn't overwhelm you! Once I got going, I realized we've touched on Prayer pages quite a bit in this community so I wanted to provide you with a sampling of options. I look forward to hearing more from you, too!
Join our next BQ Chat to discuss this month's topic:
Let's pray for our Bible Quilt community, our nation, our schools, and churches as we focus on this vital topic of PRAYER.
Resources that might be helpful to you this month: January 2023
Please add YOUR completed pages in the Comments below to develop a resource for our whole Bible Quilt community!