Category Archives: august challenge

Challenge Day 31

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Today’s Inspiration. I’m sitting in my car using my personal hotspot to write this post two days early, since once again over the weekend I’ll be out of town, this time without access to wifi or even a cell signal. The simple life. But even in pared-down, simple (technology-light) life, it is important to remember.

Today’s blog—the last day of the Writing Life Challenge posts—will be about remembering. Jesus admonished his own disciples to remember when he said “remember what I told you…” (John 15:20). Paul asked his readers to remember what he had previously told them, too. In fact, if you search for “remember” in a Bible app, you’ll see several verses that instruct us to remember.

Challenge Day 31 remember #writinglifeaugustchallenge

Today’s Challenge. Today, your challenge is to pray, to review your own notes or thoughts from the previous challenge posts—especially those you completed—and to journal for a few minutes about what God has taught you this month. Ask God to help you assess your own heart and ask him what’s next. I’ve included the previous posts to make it easier for you:

Day 1 – Thankfulness & Prayer
Day 2 – Praise & Prayer
Day 3 – Watchfulness & Prayer
Day 4 – Devotion & Prayer
Day 5 – How to Pray
Day 6 – Who to Pray For
Day 7 – What to Pray For
Day 8 – When to Pray
Day 9 – Where to Pray
Day 10 – Why to Pray
Day 11 – Fasting & Prayer
Day 12 – Why Read the Bible?
Day 13 – God-Breathed Scripture
Day 14 – The Bible is Useful
Day 15 – Bible-Trained
Day 16 – Bible-Taught Teaching
Day 17 – Bible-Rebuked
Day 18 – Bible-Corrected
Day 19 – Just Love
Day 20 – Heart Love
Day 21 – Soul Love
Day 22 – Mind Love
Day 23 – Strong Love
Day 24 – The Lord Your God
Day 25 – Self Love
Day 26 – Neighborly Love
Day 27 – Encourage One Another
Day 28 – … Daily
Day 29 – Build Up
Day 30 – Continue

Today’s Participation. For today’s participation, I’d like your feedback whether it’s in the comments or in a private message—what did you think of the challenge? If you did it, was there anything about it that stuck with you (and would you mind sharing that with me)? Would you like to see something about it again in the future?

As this challenge month draws to a close, I want to say Thank You! to all of you who took time to read (and do!) even a few of these challenge posts. It’s been a challenge keeping up with writing them! I won’t be doing a daily devotional challenge again in September—with back-to-school (for me, too, since I teach) it’s a bit too much for me to add to my daily routine. But look for regular weekly blog posts and a special, different type of challenge I’ve been thinking about coming soon.

Challenge Day 30

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Today’s Inspiration. Do you ever start doing something differently with every good intention to keep up with it, only to give up days or weeks later? Most people think about this around February, when all of their New Year’s Resolutions lay forgotten by the wayside and the Girl Scout Cookies they bought from their friend’s daughter sit enticingly on the kitchen counter. I’m thinking of diet/food analogies now because I recently ended a health/weight loss challenge and without that motivation and accountability, I’m floundering and my appetite is growing.

Sigh.

As this challenge month is drawing to a close, there is one word that keeps coming to mind as being important: continue. Because what I’ve been challenging you to do—what you may have spent the past month doing—pray, read the Bible, love God and love people and love yourself intentionally, and encourage and build each other up, is important to do beyond this month. It is important enough to continue. You may have been doing something like this already; even if you have an established, daily habit of your own, this message is for you, too. Continue.

Challenge Day 30 Continue #writinglifeaugustchallenge

Paul urged the Thessalonians to do that in the verse we’ve been using for a few days now:

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11, NIV)

Did you see that? Just as in fact you are doing.

I know you’re already doing it, acknowledges Paul. Be sure to keep doing it. Continue.

Today’s Challenge. Your challenge today is to pray about what God wants you to commit to continuing to do—between you and him and with the help of his Holy Spirit. Or perhaps there’s something new you need to start and then continue. Write it down. Figure something out and start small. And then find someone to keep you accountable—without someone there to motivate and encourage you, you may end up scarfing down a box of Girl Scout Cookies.

Today’s Participation. Share what you’ve decided to commit to online (#writinglifeaugustchallenge) or in conversation with someone.

Challenge Day 29

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Today’s Inspiration. In your day-to-day life, are you more often a construction worker, or a demolitionist? Someone who builds, or someone who destroys?

I’m not talking buildings—physical structures—I’m talking people.

I am ashamed to admit that I find myself tearing other people down too often. Usually—and sadly—it’s those I profess to love the most that feel the brunt of this, because they’re the ones who see me at my worst. It’s like Paul said: “What I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (Romans 7:15). Those are often the worst times. The best times are those when I am able to follow Paul’s instruction in 1 Thessalonians 5:11, which we’re going back to for today’s inspirational verse:

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. (NIV)

Today’s challenge comes from the phrase build each other up.

Challenge Day 29 build up #writinglifeaugustchallenge

Today’s Challenge. Earlier, I compared someone who builds people up to a construction worker. The idea is not far off—the Greek this word is translated from gives the sense of “to be a house-builder, i.e. Construct or confirm.” Your challenge today is to think about what it takes to construct something like a house and what the implications are when you apply that to a person or people. What does, or would, it take to build up another person? Pray for understanding as you begin. You may also want to look at cross-references for this verse to help you gain a better understanding of Paul’s meaning (he used the same type of language in 2 Corinthians 12:19 and Ephesians 4:29).

The next part is the harder one—pray about who, in your own life, you should work to build up. Then pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in doing just that—it’s something that is difficult to do in our own power, but possible with God.

Today’s Participation. Try your hand at some art today! Sketch a home or another structure to help you think through what it takes to build something similar, but label parts not as physical building materials, but spiritual ones. Share your sketch online or with a friend. (For Instagram, use #writinglifeaugustchallenge and follow me so I can see it!)