Bridget A. Thomas's Blog, page 14

My One Word for 2023

It’s that time of year again, when everyone feels hopeful and expectant for good things to come. We have a blank slate in front of us, filled with potential. Many people make New Year’s resolutions or write down goals. Personally, during this time of year, I like to reflect on habits I would like improve, or habits I would like to break. And I especially like to pick a word for the year. This word is my anchor for 365 days. One word (or phrase) can be an encouraging reminder to help us become be...

Conclusion of the Gratitude Challenge for 2022

If you have been reading my posts this fall, then you are likely aware of the gratitude challenge. It wasn’t the main focus of my posts, but I did mention it at the end of each post as a reminder.

Since I was encouraging you to continue through December 31, I am stopping by today to check in. But don’t let this stop you from continuing for as long as you like!

As we flip our calendars from one year to the next, this is a perfect time for us to reflect on gratitude. When we look back at the...

Merry Christmas!

Hello, my friends! I just wanted to take a moment to wish you all a very Merry CHRISTmas! Today is a special day for us as Christians, and for the world, as we remember a little baby born over two thousand years ago. The Son of God came to earth, in the form of a vulnerable infant. Emmanuel – God with us. He would grow up and ultimately die for our sins. He would pay the price we could never pay. The Prince of Peace would bring peace, hope, joy, and love to the world. May we celebrate all that J...

A Year of Abiding

As you may know, my one word for 2022 is abide. I love the beauty of this word, especially in relation to abiding in Jesus. Here are some ways this word helped me to grow this year.

In January I read a book called Abide in Christ by Andrew Murray. This is a 31-day devotional, but it took me about 6 weeks to read due to the old language. (It was originally written in 1864, I believe.) But pressing through was worth it, as this book was very insightful.

Throughout the year, I read the gospel...

Books to Add to Your Christmas List and A Giveaway

Hi Friends! I wanted to share some book fun with you. I have read many books this year, and I pulled out my favorites for you to add to your Christmas shopping list. These books weren’t necessarily published in 2022, they are just books I read this year (for the most part). These are all Christian books, as that is pretty much all I read. So no need to worry about content. I have them broken into several categories. I hope you find something that sounds interesting. And make sure you read to the...

Abide Series Recap

If you have been following for the past couple of months, then you know that we recently went through a series regarding Abiding in Jesus. There are more Bible verses we could look at with the word abide in them. However, I felt the verses that we studied were the best in guiding us to grow in our Christian walk. I hope you enjoyed the series as much as I did.

Side note: I also enjoyed looking for different pictures of vineyards or grapevines to go with each post. They were all so beautiful t...

Happy Thanksgiving 2022

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the US, so I want to take a moment to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! No matter what part of the world you live in, I hope you will take time today to thank God for all the blessings in your life. Our Heavenly Father does so much for us, every single day. We have so much to be thankful for. May we learn to stop and look aro...

Abide – Part 6

Do you want God’s best in your life? I bet the answer is “yes!” Keep reading and you’ll find out how to accept God’s best with open hands.

We are continuing the series of abiding in Jesus and learning what that looks like in our daily lives. When we started this series, we looked at some verses in John 15. Today we are going full circle and heading back to that same book and chapter. However, we are focusing on different verses today.

When we began this series, we started off with John 15:...

Abide – Part 5

In this series, we have been talking about abiding in the Lord. In the first four posts, we were in the book of John. The book of John was written by John, one of Jesus’ disciples. All of the Bible verses we have looked at so far were words that Jesus spoke when He walked the earth. Today we are moving over to the book of 1 John. 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John were books also written by the disciple John. And while the verses in these books will not contain words spoken directly by Jesus, “All Scrip...

Abide – Part 4

We are continuing in the series of posts on Abiding in the Lord.

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” – The words of Jesus found in John 14:16-17

In this series on Abide, we have been talking about what abiding in the Lord looks like. And we have been focusing on Bible ve...