Dannah Gresh - The One Year Mother-Daughter Devo

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The One Year Mother-Daughter Devo

Copyright 2010 by Dannah Gresh. All rights reserved.

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For my sweet niece Rebecca,

who I pray will love Gods voice as much as I do.

Aunt Dannah

For my mom, Rachel, and my mother-in-law, Fran

I love how you love God.

Janet

Introduction

Hi, Moms and Daughters!

I love devos!

Since my mom gave me my first daily devotion book when I was in elementary school, I have loved opening up the Bible every day to hear the special things God wants to tell me.

I hope youll love it too. Whether youre a well-practiced daily student of the Bible or this is the first time youve given it a try, my greatest prayer is that this will be fun for you. If you like it, youll want more, and daily Bible reading will become a lifelong practice.

My dear friend Janet Mylin helped me write these for you. We worked really hard to make this book unlike any other daily devotion youve ever used. Our answer was to put some fun and unique elements together to help you study the Bible.

Bible Blast: The Bible Blast at the beginning of each devotion is optional. If you really want to dig in deep, open your own Bible and read the Bible Blast Scripture offered just under the date and title of the days devo. Itll be referenced in the devotion that day and will give you a little extra meat to chew on, but the reading is not necessary. Mom, you might want to use this if you have an older daughter. Its great for building the discipline of opening your own Bible each day.

Language Lab: The Language Lab devotions are easy-to-swallow theology lessons for both of you. Youll learn what big and important words in the Christian faith mean and how God wants you to apply them in your life. Youll find one or two each month.

Amazing Animals: What girl doesnt love animals? Each month includes one or two Amazing Animals devos. On those days, youll meet some pretty amazing creatures and dig into the Bible to see what they can teach us about God.

Kickin Kraft: If you love crafts, youll love these devos. (And if you dont, relax! Theyre easy and optional.) A couple of times a month, a craft project made from everyday items that youll find around your house will provide a simple object lesson or reminder to go along with your devotion.

Meditation Moments: Its great that youre doing devotions. Im so proud of you. Since I also want you to be able to have devotions without my help, well take some time to practice meditating on Gods Word. Meditation is what I do when I write a devotion for you. I study a Bible verse and then let God guide my thoughts about it through prayer. Meditation is easy, and its a great habit to form if you love reading your Bible.

So what are we waiting for? Lets dig in!

Dannah

January

Can You See Where You Are Going?

Bible Blast: Read Genesis 12:1-7

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

Psalm 119:105

I have the best dog in the world. She is a huge chocolate Labradoodle named Stormie. She brings me my newspaper every morning and cuddles on my feet when Im writing books. Shes my constant companion. As wonderful as she is, Stormie has one fault: shes a scaredy-cat! Once, my husband, Bob, took her on a survival camping trip. Stormie was scared silly! She whimpered and whined into the wee hours of the morning. Realizing he wasnt going to get any rest, my husband finally stood up and said, Lets go home, Stormie. Eager to leave, she tore off in the direction of the car. Bob ran after her, jumping over branches and avoiding holes by using his flashlight. Suddenly, Stormie stopped and stood dead still! Bob knew something was wrong. Ever so carefully, he moved the light toward the spot where Stormie was staring. Imagine his shock to find a porcupine hanging on the side of a tree and staring right back at him! He slowly moved toward Stormie, and together they walked around the danger.

The Bible is like a flashlight for you and me. It shows us the way to walk in a world thats full of darkness. The Bible is the light to show us where to walk so we wont stumble into things that could hurt uslike that porcupine!

When Abram obeyed God and headed out to the Promised Land, he didnt know where it was. He had to listen to Gods voice. He didnt even know hed gotten to a place where he could see the land until God told him he was there. Pretty cool to have Gods voice as your guide, huh? Well, you can have it too! Just read your Bible, and youll hear God telling you what to do from day to day.

On this first day of the year, make a promise to use the Bible togetheras mom and daughterto guide you in every decision you make.

Girl Gab: Mom, share a time when you had a difficult decision to make and the Bible was a light for your path, giving you a clear answer. Daughter, talk to your mom about a situation at school or in your family that is difficult for you right now. Pray about that situation together and start looking for direction from God in the pages of your Bible.

A Tall-Icy-Glass-of-Red-Kool-Aid Story

Bible Blast: Read Genesis 12:10-20

Dont lie to each other. Colossians 3:9

Do you know what its like for a fib to grow out of control? I do. It all started one hot summer afternoon when I was a kid. I needed to use the typewriter in my dads office. (Whats a typewriter? Ask your mom!) I just couldnt stand how hot it was, so I broke the no food allowed rule. I made myself a nice tall, icy glass of red Kool-Aid and placed it next to the typewriter. Big mistake. You see, typewriters have this thing called a return. Its a big clunky piece of metal that returns to a starting position when you finish a line of writing. Well, when I hit the return button, that thing returned right into my tall, icy glass of red Kool-Aid. I scrubbed and scrubbed and tried my best to hide any trace of the tragedy, but my dad knew . (Parents have a sixth sense!) I was so afraid that the punishment would be more than I could stand. When he asked who had spilled Kool-Aid in his office, I said I didnt know. He just smiled knowingly. And then the fib started growing. Oh, it never really came up again. But in my heart that lie was like an inflating balloon just waiting to burst. Id wake up in the morning and think about it. Id pour a glass of Kool-Aid and remember. Id hear my dad coming home from work, and I just knew that this terrible lie stood between us. Finally, I couldnt stand it. I told my dad the truth. He just smiled and said, Yeah, I knew it was you, but you were doing such a good job punishing yourself that I felt no need to help! Then he forgave me.