When we read the Acts of the Apostles, there are so many events that take place that are very much like what happened to Jesus when he walked the same streets.  The apostles continue the joy, healing and love that Jesus expressed. The resurrection of Jesus continues to be found in the apostles and early Christians.  Jesus lives on in them.  

And so it it for you and me.  The Holy Spirit lives inside of us, longing to continue comforting and healing others through us.  Isn’t that just wonderful?

Acts 3—4

Thursdays are dedicated to the letters of Paul, other letters,
the Book of Acts, and the Book of Revelation.
This year in Easter Season we read Acts 1—9

These Firestarters are from a new edition of The Bible Through the Seasons being developed for families with children. For the Firestarters in the original edition, I recommend the ebook.  You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or table! Check the menu options at the site for more information.

Remember times when you used to build sand castles on the beach?  The first thing you probably did was to move your arm back and forth to create a smooth place in the middle of all the footprints that have the sand be uneven.

It’s Wednesday–the middle of the week.  People are at work, moving all around, as though making many footprints in the surface of the week.   Stop, clear a space for yourself to pray this lovely psalm, smoothing out a space in your heart, not only for you, but for so many people who are huffing and puffing about, caught in the middle of the week of work.  

Here’s a beautiful phrase in verse 8: “Keep me as the apple of your eye.”  When you look into someone else’s eye, you will be able to see a tiny image of yourself in a little space called the apple, the pupil.   You are in the very center of God’s eye!

Psalm 17

On Wednesdays from this point on, we continue to read
the Psalms in numerical order, beginning with Psalm 14.

These Firestarters are from a new edition of The Bible Through the Seasons being developed for families with children. For the Firestarters in the original edition, I recommend the ebook.  You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or table! Check the menu options at the site for more information.

Imagine you are walking along the shore looking for special rocks and shells.  That’s all you are thinking about.  Then all of a sudden, you find a beautiful colored shell; you pick it up, look at it carefully, drop it in your bag so that you can return home and put it in a special place.

Reading from the Book of Proverbs is like that.  Some of them will make you stop reading and think further about a particular one…a special moment when God is talking with you.

Now, do something extra.  Take a favorite proverbs and write it out.  Then wait and imagine the Holy Spirit writing further phrases and ideas.  These are moments when God is speaking to you in a personal way.  The same Holy Spirit who gave the psalms to the sacred writer, will be writing from within you!

Tuesdays are dedicated to the Old Testament books of history
and the Hebrew “Writings.”
This year in the Easter Season we read
Proverbs 10—12 and the Song of Songs.

These Firestarters are from a new edition of The Bible Through the Seasons being developed for families with children. For the Firestarters in the original edition, I recommend the ebook.  You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or table! Check the menu options at the site for more information.

Proverbs 12