How About a Proverb a Day to While the Pandemic Away?
Friends! I’ve just spent the past thirty-one days reading a proverb a day as we while this pandemic away. Funny, I thought perhaps by the time I finished, so would the pandemic be...sigh...so, I’ll offer another idea (at the end of this post) after sharing tidbits of this most helpful and inspirational book.
The book? Checkout Liz Curtis Higgs’, 31 Proverbs to Light Your Path. In addition to blessing you as you read, this book would make a spectacular gift for your friends or family. The book’s jacket gives us a teaser saying it’s “A daily devotional and small group Bible study gift book brimming with encouragement.” You can take that to the bank a la Lizzie…
Each of Liz’s thirty-seven books, upon launch, is my current favorite du jour, but this one, call me crazy, is really, really, special—in a bizarre-o way. Most of you know Liz was diagnosed with cancer three years ago. She had completed the manuscript for this book prior to her diagnosis.
When you read 31 Proverbs, it is uncanny how the Lord went before Liz, as if preparing her for what was ahead. Each chapter gives me chills, especially “Tomorrow, Tomorrow” (#27). Even tho’ I read this when it came out in 2017, rereading it anew and afresh with what’s swirling around us was refreshing and gave my faith a big boost.
Chapter ten, “Heavy Lifting” is crazy timely for us today: Proverbs 12:25 is our verse, “Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.”
Take a listen to Liz on this: “When we let our imaginations wander down What-If-Boulevard, when we visit Worst-Case-Scenario Town one too many times, fear of the future can become an unbearable burden. Instead, let’s give our fears to God and tell the Enemy to take a hike.” YES!
In true Lizzie fashion, Liz dissects these verses, word by word and phrase by phrase, showing us different translations of the Bible which are eye-opening. I’ve highlighted and dog-eared many a page.
Liz reminds us, “A thousand years after Solomon wrote this verse in Proverbs, Jesus offed the same wisdom:
While statistics can scare us silly, Liz, a lovely ambassador for hope, tells us point blank, “I am not a woman without hope.” In the wake of chemo’ and radiation, and immunotherapy, Liz spoke multiple times the past couple of years about “Endless Hope” in her talks for Prison Fellowship International, pointing us to the One who promises hope:
Each chapter of the book concludes with a fun little activity called, “One Minute, One Step.” It’s a suggestion to help you grab onto the concept of the Scripture verse Liz has just written about. These are easy and make you say, “Huh, why haven’t I thought of that before?”
At the end of the book are 2-3 Bible study questions per chapter which you can do on your own, or with your Bible study group or Small Group. They’re thought provoking and rich with application.
I could never choose a favorite chapter, but I can give you one more peek into one more chapter. This comes from the chapter called “Looking Glass” (#22). The verse Liz helps us with is Proverbs 27:19,
Each chapter also concludes with a prayer. I love this one:
So what’s next for devotional reading? Something you can WATCH Liz teach each Tuesday at noon on her Facebook LIVE! beginning the week of June 9th. I’m going to get a jump on these verses. They come from Liz’ book, 31 Verses to Write on Your Heart.
Cute, little, ball-o’-fire Patsy Clairmont says of 31 Verses to Write on Your Heart, “Writing God’s Word on our hearts is insurance. It’s truth we can call on 24/7 in times of fear, insecurity, or intimidation. Liz, a faithful friend to all of us, has searched our truth an shared it by way of her brilliant mind and darling heart. Don’t miss this chance for thirty-one days of life enrichment.”
This little jewel came out in 2016, so for sure I need a refresher course and am excited to dive in and to SEE Liz teach us on each and every verse. Won’t you, too, dive in with me? Let’s go for it!
‘Til next time!
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the page above are “affiliate links.”