This holiday season already has me struggling to get in my time with God on a regular basis. This entire past weekend slipped by and I realized I hadn’t spent any time along with God. Yikes! By Monday morning I was starving for Him, but wasn’t sure where to start.
I figure some of you may be in the same boat. We’re desiring God, hungry for Him, but not sure how to connect with Him during this crazy time. {Tweet That!}
To help us all out, I’ve found 6 good ways to dig deep with God this holiday season for us and our families. There’s something in here for everyone (you, your kids, and your spouse!). This list gave me a good place to start this week, and I hope it helps you, too!
For You
LoveGodGreatly.com (LGG) has an Advent study from a few years ago called “The Road to Christmas.” This study is just four weeks long with a short reading each day that you can SOAP (Scripture, Observation, Apply, Prayer) if you like. This study comes with a reading plan, study guide, and extra blog posts linked on the study page for you to read if you have the time. I did this study with LGG a few years ago and really got a lot out of it as I learned more about the women in Jesus’ family as history lead up to his birth.
If:Equip.com Advent study. If:Equip with Jenny Allen is one of my favorite newer online studies this year. This one is in the running for my study this December. Their studies are so simple with short readings from the Bible, sometimes an additional reading, a short video (usually 2-3min), and short reflection questions. Though this study is short and simple, it is deep. Jenny doesn’t do it alone, but has other women authors, smaller bloggers, and popular bloggers on the videos, too. Because of the videos and the foundation of the Bible, it feels like I’m getting filled up each day by God and these loving mentors. Love it!
The Search for Significance. SOAP your focus verses. If you’re doing the study The Search for Significance study with us, you’ll noticed we’ve had a focus verse each week. If you want to continue with what you’ve learned in our study, you many want to choose a different focus verse each day and use the SOAP method of study to dig deep into those verses. This is a great way to continue to process what you’ve learned and apply it to your everyday life. Here is the link to our study and you can access the focus verses at the top of each week’s post.
For You and Your Spouse
SheReadsTruth.com and Hereadstruth.com have an Advent study “Born is the King” happening this holiday season. It will look at Jesus as the hero of the old testament and then his birth story in detail. The study is available several ways. You can buy the study book package ($40) . This is the women’s study only adding the men’s makes the package a little more. There are a lot of extra goodies that come with the workbook that make the price worth it. You can also download the app in your app store and purchase the study (usually $1.99), or subscribe to their blog and get the posts via email (Free). I haven’t done a study with them before but have heard good things from my friends, so I may check it out this time. I’m not sure if I would purchase the book or not. The book and goodies look really cool, but it is kinda of pricey. We’ll see. Either way you choose to do it, this looks like an awesome study to help us focus on Christ this holiday season.
GodScout.com and Prayer in Practice by J.L. Gerhardt. If you want to go deeper with God in prayer check this book out! It came out in October and has really helped me to dig deeper into my prayer life. I love that it’s not bunch of theology but instead it is short discussions about different aspects of prayer full many, many prompts to get you started praying right now. Do it by yourself or with your husband, either way I know you’ll be blessed. I linked the Amazon Kindle link for you above, but Jennifer offers more packages on her website Godscout.com, too.
For You and Your Kids
OhAmanda.com and Truth in Tinsel. This an awesome hands on study for your kids! I would say ages 2-10, but older kids, if they like crafts, might like it too. I bought this ebook ($7.99) last year and my boys love it! Each day includes a devo and instructions to make a Christmas Tree ornament to go along with that day’s reading. Last year I tried to do it everyday, but it was harder since my boys were really little and I had to do everything for them. Plus we ended up with a gazzion homemade ornaments! This year I’m going to just pick one devo to do on Friday each week and see how that goes. Anyway you do this study, your family will be blessed by the extra focus on Jesus at Christmas time.
I can’t wait to begin one of these studies in a few weeks! What study from this list or others are you going to dive into during this season?
Thank you for all the great resource links! We encourage SOAP scripture study at church too. It’s worked well, and especially great for small group study. This time of year it’s challenging to stay focused, and we need all the help we can get. Thanks again, and have a blessed Thanksgiving!