At the beginning of last year, I made a goal to spend the entire year focusing on connecting with God in prayer. I read a couple books and did topical bible studies based on prayer and in August, I upped my game by creating a prayer binder. It has easily been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done to invest in my quiet time with God. Now that I’ve had some time with it, I thought it might be a good time to share it here, too.
First things first, a prayer binder is a tool that helps to keep all of the things I want to pray for in one place. The best thing about using a binder, as opposed to a journal, is that it can always be evolving. Throughout the past 5 months, I’ve rotated and changed things out so that the flow of prayer comes naturally to me. My prayer binder now incorporates prayers (both written by me and by others), scripture, photos, and a couple embellishments here and there. I’m really into paper-crafting, so I had a lot of supplies on hand that I used to get started. Even though mine has lots of patterned paper and decorative bits, it can also be as plain as you want it to be. Here are the supplies I used:
When you get down to it, my binder is comprised of 4 main parts that are made up by the acronym PRAY: Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield. I also have a resources section to keep random information and notes. Each day, I start by praying my way through both the praise and repent sections. When I get to the ask section, it’s set up into daily and weekly prayers. There are things I pray for each day, an then a rotating list of things I pray for weekly. This process give me a more reasonable amount of things to pray for each day and it helps remind me of specific details that I may forget without notes in front of me. This is followed by a section where I yield and being still before God. Throughout all sections, I write my prayers on sticky notes so that they are easily movable. It’s a way for me to wait expectantly, because when God answers the prayers, they get moved to the praise section. This way, I can continually see the work he’s done and the prayers he has answered. Here’s a look into what I’ve included in each of the sections:
I pray specifically for the sin in my life and for my eyes to be opened to the things that I need to bring before the Lord.
A – Ask – Daily
I use an “emergency room” section (an idea from The Reset Girl) which is a spot for anything that is urgent, needs daily prayers, or for specific and upcoming prayer requests.
Bible Verses I include with the “emergency room” section
I pray daily for myself, my heart, goals, divine appointments, and my relationships as they relate to the prayers for the next section.
A – Ask – Weekly
Monday – Our Marriage
Even though I pray for Kevin and our marriage daily, I include it on Mondays as well in more of a ministry type of way and the way we welcome people into our house and life. This is also a catch-all for anything else related to our marriage that doesn’t fall into the daily section. For example:
Our House
Hospitality
Our goals
Tuesday – Friends, Small Group
This is easily my most robust section, as it includes both photos of each person/couple, scripture I pray over each, and any prayer requests or things going on in their lives that I want to pray for. It brings me so much joy to see their sweet faces as I’m lifting them up in prayer.
Wednesday – Non-Believers, Social Media/Influence, Blog
The third day of the week is all about praying for non-believers all over the world and non-believers we interact with on daily basis. I pray for interactions with non-believers and the people we may have influence on in terms of social media, the blog, etc.
Thursday – Our Jobs, Work, Stewardship/Finances, Military
This is a big one – I pray for our specific roles and interactions at work as well as the way we steward our money and pay off our student loans. I ask God to continually give us direction in these things. I specifically work with people who have served in the military, so i’ve included that in this section as well.
This is pretty self explanatory, but I also have pictures, verses, and specific things I am praying for for each person in my immediate family and my relationship with them.
Saturday – Kevin’s Family
This is the exact same set up as I have for my family, except with Kevin’s side.
Sunday – Government, Our Community, The Crossing (Our Church), Missionaries, Ministries and Organizations we Support
This is also quite the doozy of a section. I originally had these split apart but I kept feeling myself overlapping them in prayer, so I put them all together. I’ve found a couple really great prayers online for each of these.
Enneagram Quote about Resting in God’s Presence – As I have studied the Enneagram, I have learned a lot about the impact it has on my faith and some of the things that I have a hard time with. For me, that is being still before God. No question that this has always been a struggle, but I had just always called it a distraction or wandering brain. I picked out a couple quotes from The Sacred Enneagram and some images from @xoenneagram on Instagram that relate to this topic and the Enneagram.
I’ve drawn a lot of inspiration from Cori the Reset Girl (her video is below), but there are tons of great resources on the internet.
Mysa Home Styling’s Setting the Table – you have to sign up for emails to get this little guide, but I’m telling you, it’s worth it. I keep this in the front of my prayer binder and it’s been a good reminder to make my home more comfortable for others.
I started on February 20, 2019 so the challenge will end on November 17, 2021. As of today, I’ve already crossed 24 items off the list. I’ll be honest, COVID hasn’t done anything good for traveling or in person events, but we’ll see if we can cross some of those off by the end of next year.
Create a list of 101 things I want to accomplish in 2.75 years (February 20,2019)
Unplug completely for 24 Hours
Get a massage
Plant a flower garden
Consolidate email addresses (Spring 2020)
Watch the Blues win the Stanley Cup (June 2019 – WE WON!)
Release floating lanterns
Camp for the first time
Eat food from a food truck (August 20, 2020 – 12 Baskets)
Read 50 new books (50/50 – The Five Intentions // Atomic Habits // The Path Between Us // The More of Less // Everybody Always // Girl, Stop Apologizing // A Love Letter Life // Lean In // The Coddling of the American Mind // Afraid of All The Things // Just Open the Door // The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry // In His Image // Grateful American // Reading People // 168 Hours // It’s Not Supposed to be This Way // Where the Crawdads Sing // The Enneagram Type 8 // The Alchemist // All Along You Were Blooming // An Edited Life // Looking for Lovely // Uninvited // Lethal White // A Court of Thorns and Roses // When Less Becomes More // Liturgy of the Ordinary // Ready Player One // Digital Minimalism // A Court of Mist and Fury // A Court of Wings and Ruin // A Court of Frost and Starlight // Growing up Amish // Prayer // Goodbye, Things // The Path Made Clear // Decluttering at the Speed of Life // Garden City // So You Want to Talk About Race // The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes // This is Where You Belong // Dare to Lead // The Selection // The Elite // The One // The Heir // The Queen // Leave Your Legacy // Chasing Vines)
Happy 2020! I just love the fresh start feeling of the New Year as it’s always a great reminder to reflect and celebrate victories of the previous year, or in this case the previous decade. Each year, I look forward to these posts as a way to count the fruit. You can read previous posts here: 2018 and 2017.
January
I kicked off my One Little Word rest in hopes of prioritizing resting secure in God, cultivating a life of less, drawing from an overflow of rest, listening to my body and heard, and resting and rejoicing in growth and change.
Our sweet Chloe turned 5!
We survived snowpocalypse 2019 – about 20 inches of snow.
I started watching The Office after finishing up Friends in 2018.
Kevin and I tried some new restaurants. Le Bao and 44 Canteen were two of our favorites.
We were regulars at Fuzzy’s Trivia on Thursday nights.
February
I started meeting with a counselor on a weekly basis.
I went to California with Mom and Grandma to celebrate my cousin Mia’s birthday. I was in love with the lemon trees growing fruit in the winter.
My small group friends and I make prayer binders for a craft night.
I made the best watch face of all time.
I worked lots of overtime.
March
Kevin and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary the best way we know how – with some amazing food!
I created a gallery wall (with my absolute favorite photos) that brings a smile to my face every single time I see it.
We tried Mod Pizza with our friends, Jeff and Taylor. Somehow I ended up with dairy free cheese.
I started using Monat hair products and saw huge changes in my curls.
April
We celebrated our Three Year Highridge Ranch-iversary. I just love this space that’s all ours.
Our friend, Taylor, moved in with us. It was such a sweet season of spending time together and watching all the Bachelorette and Fixer Upper.
I ripped out the roses in our front garden beds.
May
Taylor and Jeff left Columbia for the last time as residents.
Kevin and I bought a Honda CRV!
I listened to Sabbath Practice podcast from Bridgetown Church (it was amazing!).
The Stanley Cup Finals put me in a state of anxiety during every single game.
I took a watercoloring class with Bohemia’s School of Artistry and learned so much about light and blending.
June
WE WON THE STANLEY CUP!
We went to the Stanley Cup parade in Downtown St. Louis – the best.
Books Read: The Five Intentions: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully, Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Bread Bad Ones, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own, and Everybody Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People, The Path Between Us: An Enneagram Journey to Healthy Relationships
July
We celebrated 4th of July in Hamilton with Sarah, Cole, Andrew, Alexa, and Josh.
We went to Weston, MO for a distillery tour, delicious BBQ, and cave bars.
We celebrated Grandma’s 75th Birthday!
I committed to volunteering with Compass 31.
Book Read: Girl, Stop Apologizing
August
I celebrated my 28th Birthday (and make white chocolate raspberry cheesecake to celebrate!)
Mom and Dad took the family to the Lake of the Ozarks for a long weekend.
Kev’s students moved to campus and he officially became “coach”.
We wrapped up the month with the annual Family Golf Tournament.
Kevin and I invested in a record player and spent time searching for gems at the record store in town. Our faves: Eric Church, Billy Joel, and Paul Simon.
Kevin got me a legit Poloroid camera.
I graduated from weekly counseling to only going on an as needed basis.
Books Read: The Coddling of the American Mind, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, A Love Letter Life: Pursue Creatively. Date Intentionally. Love Faithfully.
September
Kevin and I celebrated 10 years together!
Willow gets a forever home and Chloe gets a new best friend.
My first Compass 31 product launch went live with all new products in their shop.
I started leading a college juniors small group at our home.
October
Sarah and Cole sold their house next door and officially move; it was the most sad.
We helped host a dope homecoming tailgate.
First snow of the season (WHY THOUGH?)
My team celebrates me well with Ketchup on Bosses Day.
Books Read: Afraid of All the Things, Just Open the Door: How One Invitation Can Change a Generation
November
Kevin’s Rocket League team wons the NACE Championship and was undefeated in their inaugural season!
We put up the Christmas Tree.
I participated in the Live2Lead Event at work and got to see Rachel Hollis speak – I’m a fan.
We spent Thanksgiving with Claire and Michael and I made my first pumpkin pie.
I went to VU’s Feast Forum and got teary-eyed over the gratitude and goodness of my workplace. I’m so thankful.
I spent Black Friday with Grandma and we shopped til we dropped.
I tried my hand at cooking vegan at home and found some new recipes to incorporate into our regular routine.
Book Read: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
December
I watched 12 Christmas movies before Christmas.
I completely caught up on Project Life – so now I have printed photos from 2013 – present.
Mom and I dressed our dogs up in matching PJs.
VU hosted an incredible Holiday Party, as always!
We made gingerbread houses at work.
Books Read: Grateful American: A Journey from Self to Service, In His Image, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World
This post has been a long time coming. Some of my favorite bloggers have shared their lists of 101 goals to complete in 1001 days over the past couple years and I’ve been wanting to join in, however, I have been holding off on getting started because I wasn’t sure exactly how it fit into the monthly and yearly goals. I finally got around to starting my list in February but wasn’t posting much on the blog at that time. Now that I’m back to blogging more regularly, I thought it would be fun to share my rendition here and then also add a link (which you can find just above the search bar on the right side) so that I can continually update as I’m ticking them off.
I started on February 20, 2019 so the challenge will end on November 17, 2021. I’ve already crossed 12 items of the list and I’m hoping to pick up steam from here.
Create a list of 101 things I want to accomplish in 2.75 years (February 20,2019)
Unplug completely for 24 Hours
Get a massage
Plant a flower garden
Consolidate email addresses
Watch the Blues win the Stanley Cup (June 2019 – WE WON!)
Create a one year editorial calendar for the blog (July 2019)
New blog photos of myself
Take someone’s photos
Write 8 faith-related blog posts (0/8)
Photography blog series
Publish a YouTube or IG Video
Double my blog views
Have a guest post written on my blog
Post a house tour on the blog
Share a capsule wardrobe
Go on 20 photoshoots (0/20)
Watch 5 of Kevin’s favorite movies (0/5)
Re-read the Harry Potter series
Read all the books on my shelf
Host a book club
Read 50 new books (9/50 – The Five Intentions // Atomic Habits // The Path Between Us // The More of Less // Everybody Always // Girl, Stop Apologizing // A Love Letter Life // Lean In // The Coddling of the American Mind )
Create a one year editorial calendar for the blog (July 2019)
New blog photos of myself
Take someone’s photos
Write 8 faith-related blog posts (0/8)
Photography blog series
Publish a YouTube or IG Video
Double the views on my blog
Have a guest post written on my blog
Post a house tour on the blog
Share a capsule wardrobe
Go on 20 photoshoots (0/20)
Watch 5 of Kevin’s favorite movies (0/5)
Re-read the Harry Potter series
Read all the books on my shelf
Host a book club
Read 50 new books (9/50 – The Five Intentions // Atomic Habits // The Path Between Us // The More of Less // Everybody Always // Girl, Stop Apologizing // A Love Letter Life // Lean In // The Coddling of the American Mind )
