Fresh Year

I love a fresh notebook.
Something about the smell, the crispness, the newness of it thrills me to the core.
I also like the idea of a fresh start. A new notebook first meant a fresh new school year was upon us, but it has also meant a new prayer journal was beginning or a new year. There have been seasons in my life that just simply deserved a fresh new notebook; to plan, to dream, to doodle, just to put thoughts to paper on.

So yesterday my Tuesday morning small group finished a 10-week study on the book of Esther, which means we will embark on a new adventure in God's Word.
I know some of you who read this are not Christ followers and you might even get sick of me talking all this God's Word stuff, but bear with me, you can at least acknowledge the literary genius in a book that has stood the test of time and a book that lays out the history of the Jewish people like no other history book.

Back to the new adventure, starting in 2-weeks we will begin to dig into the book of Ruth! Oh how excited I am, I have begun to read the story; some of it familiar to me, some of it not. Each time I read it aloud to myself I pick up on something new, something fresh. Go ahead and read the book for yourself, it'll only take 15 minutes or so, click here to read. And read it aloud, this was a book meant for outloud reading.

Speaking of fresh, next to a clean, new notebook I also love a clean fresh spiral index card book. Each year I purchase one with the hopes of filling it with memorized scripture, some years are better than others- but here is what stared me in the face this morning: my Bible, fav bookmark, thin tip pen (my new obsession), new index cards and prayer journal.

My index cards came with a fancy see through cover.

My first verse and this is the memory team I participate in.

My prayer journal.

Several years ago a friend of mine made this prayer journal for me. It is a smaller 3-ring binder with 7 sections, 8.5 x 11 paper is cut in half and 3-ring punched to fill each section. Each morning I can go through and write my praises, seek forgiveness, ask God, thank God and record scripture that is dear to my heart that day. On Wednesday nights I record prayer requests and praise reports from my girls and the best part is looking back over at answered prayer!

So a fresh year is on us and I am ready to go!! How about you? Any fresh starts this year?