Thursday, March 31, 2011

Being Tired

Are you tired? Or are just sleepy? There is a difference. If you are sleepy, a good night's sleep starts the recovery process. If you are tired, you can have several nights of good sleep, but you are still left feeling worn out and exhausted.

So, how are you? Are you sleepy or exhausted?

Life's challenges can wear us out and through them, we can feel exhausted and tired. So, what do you do to help yourself better?

How can you ensure that you are not exhausted? What can you do?

- Stacy Duplease

Pj4life Tip #2

Write everything that is on your mind. Write whatever you think, what you keep thinking about and why, and make sure to write about your emotions. Put it all down on the page.

- Stacy Duplease

31 March 2011: pj4life tip #1

Pj4life stands for Prayer Journaling for Life. What does pj4life mean to you? In other words, how would you define prayer journaling? How would you define pj4life? Journal your thoughts.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

You never know...

You never know what God is going to do in your life. He is full of surprises.

Journal your thoughts.

How has God surprised you?

What surprises do you think He may have in store for you? How will you handle them?

- Stacy Duplease

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

What are you waiting for?: A Prayer Journaling for Life Exercise

Grab your journal and address each of the questions below.

 

What are you waiting for?

 

Are you living this moment as best as you can for God?

Are you right smack-dab in the middle of His purpose—or yours?

Are you remembering your present and living this moment as best as you can—for God?

Is your today better than your yesterday?

Are you living today like you could die tomorrow?

When you see God that first time in heaven, will He ask you why you didn’t……(fill in the blank)?

Are you living like Christ could return today?

Have you made sure everyone around you knows Christ and the Gospel?

Do you know God’s purpose for you and your life?

 

Today is too short.

Are you doing what you need to be doing for the Lord?

Are you having your daily quiet time? For at least a couple of hours every day?

Are you praying without ceasing?

Are you studying His Word, not just reading it, and applying it to your life—repeatedly and noit just this week sicne that was what you studied?

Are you too busy to do what’s right by God and live His purpose?

What are you waiting for?

 

~ Stacy Duplease

Remembering Your Present, LLC and pj4life (Prayer Journaling for Life)

Author of Biblical Fiction, Bible Studies, and Devotionals

 

Email: Pj4life1@gmail.com

dorlchronicles@gmail.com

 

Blogs:

http://pj4life1.blogspot.com

http://reststill.blogspot.com

http://dorlchronicles.blogspot.com

http://fictionfaith.blogspot.com

Turning to the Book of Psalms: David's Journaling and Prayers (pj4life and Prayer Journaling for Life)

A pj4life (Prayer Journaling for Life) blog post:

 

There is one place I go to without fail when I am tired, upset, confused, frustrated, angry, sad, and any other strong emotion you can think of. I also turn to the psalms when I am neutral, dead inside, listless, lifeless, numb, and dull. They are where I go to when I need refuge and when I want to experience a real connection with God.

 

Why do I go there of all places in the Bible?

 

The psalms are David’s prayer journal.

 

If you want to know how to pray, turn to the Book of Psalms.

 

If you want to know how to prayer journal, dive into the Book of Psalms.

 

It’s there David pours everything out to God and declares the glory of God—both—and all at once. He talks to God in a very real way. He doesn’t hold back. He uses his writing as a way to purge himself of everything and as he does it, he connects to the one Most High.

 

~ Stacy Duplease

Remembering Your Present, LLC and pj4life (Prayer Journaling for Life)

Author of Biblical Fiction, Bible Studies, and Devotionals

 

Email: Pj4life1@gmail.com

dorlchronicles@gmail.com

 

Blogs:

http://pj4life1.blogspot.com

http://reststill.blogspot.com

http://dorlchronicles.blogspot.com

http://fictionfaith.blogspot.com

New Blog Information

Happy Tuesday. I hope you are well and that you’re week is going well and is productive.
I just wanted to let you know, once again, about all of my new blogs I am working on setting up over the next week or so. Their links are below.

I will continue this blog. It’s my main blog. This is where I will post first and foremost. This is where I will talk about prayer, journaling, and life in general. However, there are three other blogs.

~ One blog is on finding rest in God and His Word. It’s Rest and Be Still and will be a series of blog posts called, “Remembering Rest.” This is a journal, devotional, Bible study combined blog.
~ One blog is a new Biblical Fantasy Series I’ve started writing. That’s the Dorl Chronicles blog and series.
~ One blog is about writing fiction as an individual of faith. This is the Fiction and Faith Café. It’s a how-to blog on writing a novel and how to write in general. It will give pointers, etc.
Have a blessed day!

~ Stacy Duplease
Remembering Your Present, LLC and pj4life (Prayer Journaling for Life)
Author of Biblical Fiction, Bible Studies, and Devotionals

Email: Pj4life1@gmail.com

Blogs:

Monday, March 28, 2011

Monday, 28 March 2011: News

Greetings. I hope you are doing well. 

I’ve been sick for a week and prior to that have taken some time to be with God. I’ve sought His vision for my life and for my writing. Therefore, there is a great deal new here on this blog.
I’m getting ready to start several blog columns on this blog and on the blogs mentioned in the attached links:


1.       “Remembering Rest.” It’s seeking about seeking rest with God and His Word. http://reststill.blogspot.com/
2.      “pj4life” = Prayer Journaling for Life = here on this blog
3.      “Fiction and Faith Café”  = about writing fiction at: http://fictionfaith.blogspot.com/
4.      “The Dorl Chronicles” at: http://dorlchronicles.blogspot.com/ -- which is a new children’s fantasy series I’ve started to write.
5.      Etc. Etc. Etc. = random thoughts = here on this blog


~ Stacy Duplease
Remembering Your Present, LLC and pj4life (Prayer Journaling for Life)
Author of Biblical Fiction, Bible Studies, and Devotionals


Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Inheritance--Book 4--Release Date News

Not since the release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” have I been so excited for a release date.

 

Christopher Paolini’s Book 4 of the Inheritance Cycle series was just announced that it will be released on 08 November 2011. It’s titled, “Inheritance.”

 

Check out these links:

 

http://www.alagaesia.com/#/home

 

http://shurtugal.com/

 

~ Stacy Duplease

 

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Japan Prayers

My prayers go out to Japan—the people, the government, the nuclear plant, the rescue workers, the military, the economy, and all of the loss they’ve experienced because of the earthquake and tsunami at the end of last week.

 

Lord, be with them. Bring them comfort. Protect them.

 

~ Stacy Duplease

A new time travel machine? This is reality--not sci fi

For anyone who loves science fiction, check this out!

 

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/03/16/atom-smasher-used-time-machine/?test=faces

 

~ Stacy Duplease

 

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Addictions: Things I Really Like

I guess I need to confess that I am a woman of addictions… (I use the term loosely.)

 

I really like and am addicted to:

Coffee.

Starbucks Chai Tea (or Tazo Chai Tea I can make at home and save on the calories)

Reading

Writing

The Amazon Kindle

Journaling

Bible Study

A certain Beagle

A certain Orange Tabby

2 turtles

A baby boy

My friends and family

NCIS

NCIS Los Angeles

Castle

Bones

Criminal Minds

Fringe

House

Rick Riordan

Donita Paul

 

~ Stacy Duplease

Remembering Rest #3 and pj4life #2: Observing Yourself: An Inventory

In this blog post, I want us to take stock about our present state of being. Let’s answer the question in a very deep way regarding, ‘How are you?’

 

Take out your prayer journal and journal your answers to every question listed in this blog post. Make sure to be thorough and to take your time. In fact, you may want to repeat this exercise every day for the next three days, again in another week, and again in a month. You will get the most thorough answers that way and you’ll have something to measure your future state of being with. This will be your starting point. There are no wrong answers here. Just be honest and write more than you think is necessary.

 

Are you tired?

Do you feel exhausted? Can you think straight? Or are you so worn out that you wish you could take a week for yourself and do nothing?

I don’t know about you, but I think this is an epidemic of society. We are too busy for our own good and are barely functioning.

 

When was the last time you took a day of rest in a week?

So, when was your last Sabbath (day of rest)?

When was the last time you had 2 Sabbaths in a row? 3 in a row? 4?

 

When was your last vacation?

When was your last 5+ day vacation? How long was it and what did you do?

Do you take this amount of time off at least three times a year? Why or why not?

 

Evening rest

Do you ever get a chance to rest for a couple of hours after work?

 

Spiritual Retreat

When was the last time you ran away and spent alone time with God for 2 days in a row? 3? 4? 5? 7+?

 

Sabbath Rest, Vacation, Evening Rest, Spiritual Retreat

Take out your planner and calendar for a year from now. Block out each of these increments on that calendar. That way, you can’t say that you didn’t have enough time to plan to do so. You have it scheduled a year out and blocked out so that nothing can get in the way of that time.

 

Here’s what to block out (these are all minimums) on your planner/schedule:

~ A day of rest every week

~ A two-day spiritual retreat every 3 months

~ A 3-day spiritual retreat once a year

~ A week’s vacation three times a year to play

~ A 5-day spiritual retreat once a year

 

How can you implement any of these soon?

So, how can you start to adjust your schedule to accommodate each of these immediately—or fairly soon?

~ For the weekly Sabbath, start with one hour a week (or 30 minutes) and increase it by that increment every week until you have 24 hours per week planned for time with God.

~ Start with a half day spiritual retreat every 3 months and increase it by half a day until you have 2 days every 3 months.

~ Plan a week off from work for vacation and play in 6 months

~ Any other ideas you can come up with

 

Journal Your Thoughts

Journal your thoughts of everything we’ve looked at today.

 

~ Stacy Duplease

Remembering Your Present, LLC and pj4life (Prayer Journaling for Life)

Author of Biblical Fiction, Bible Studies, and Devotionals

 

Email: Pj4life1@gmail.com

Books Published

I’ve had seven books published so far. Check them out on Amazon at the following link:

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=stacy+duplease

 

~ Stacy Duplease

Remembering Your Present, LLC and pj4life (Prayer Journaling for Life)

Author of Biblical Fiction, Bible Studies, and Devotionals

 

Email: Pj4life1@gmail.com

What is Prayer Journaling for Life (pj4life)?: pj4life #1

Prayer Journaling for Life (pj4life) is precisely what you think. It’s the practice of prayer journaling—for life. It’s a habit. It’s a way of life

 

How do you prayer journal?

You simply write your prayers into a journal—where you both talk to god and listen to what He has to say. It’s nothing more complicated than that.

 

What do you prayer journal?

~ Your prayers

~ The memories made today

~ The lessons learned today

~ Your hopes, dreams, goals

~ Your fears

~ Whatever bothers you

~ Your memory verses

~ Notes from the sermon on Sunday

~ Notes from your Bible study you do with a group

~ Notes on your daily quiet time

~ Verses which speak to you and why

~ It’s keeping track of your spiritual markers or monuments

 

~ Stacy Duplease

Remembering Your Present, LLC and pj4life (Prayer Journaling for Life)

Author of Biblical Fiction, Bible Studies, and Devotionals

 

Email: Pj4life1@gmail.com

Remembering Rest #2:

It is so easy to get caught up in life that we neglect the most important. Our priorities become skewed. The most nagging, or the priority that demands immediate attention, is what we focus on and that’s when this neglect occurs. We know we’re missing the mark, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day. Needless to say, we’re tired, busy, and don’t have the time for real rest.

 

How do we squeeze the 20 hours we need every day to get things done and still get 8 hours of sleep every night and have a day of rest every week? Is this even possible?

 

We are burned out, stressed, anxious, crabby, and/or let down because of everything just mentioned. Is it any surprise?

 

~ Stacy Duplease

Remembering Your Present, LLC and pj4life (Prayer Journaling for Life)

Author of Biblical Fiction, Bible Studies, and Devotionals

 

Email: Pj4life1@gmail.com

Remembering Rest #1: Presenting

Prayer Journaling for Life (pj4life) Presents:

Remembering Rest:
The Remembering Your Present Blog Bible Study Series, Vol. 1

This marks the beginning of a Blog Bible Study Series called, The Remembering Your Present Blog Bible Study Series.

It will be a topical blog Bible study series and this first one is on rest and there will be other topics after this one.


~ Stacy Duplease
Remembering Your Present, LLC and pj4life (Prayer Journaling for Life)
Author of Biblical Fiction, Bible Studies, and Devotionals




Solid Bible Study

Check out this link:

 

http://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/tips/11628150.html

 

It’s an article by John MacArthur about how to do a solid Bible study on your own. Check it out.

 

~ Stacy Duplease

Remembering Your Present, LLC and pj4life (Prayer Journaling for Life)

Author of Biblical Fiction, Bible Studies, and Devotionals

 

Email: Pj4life1@gmail.com

 

Friday, March 4, 2011

Rahab--Unlikely Ally

Here’s a good Bible study on Rahab:

 

http://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/11632601.html

 

~ Stacy Duplease

Remembering Your Present, LLC and pj4life (Prayer Journaling for Life)

Author of Biblical Fiction, Bible Studies, and Devotionals

 

Email: Pj4life1@gmail.com

When You are Low on Hope

The last few months have been a challenge at best. I keep looking for resources to help life my spirits and help me to limp along a while longer. (I’m being dramatic. It really isn’t that bad. But, I have definitely been struggling and still am.) Here’s one I thought I would share with you.

 

http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/upwords/11646701/

 

~ Stacy Duplease

Remembering Your Present, LLC and pj4life (Prayer Journaling for Life)

Author of Biblical Fiction, Bible Studies, and Devotionals

 

Email: Pj4life1@gmail.com

 

Getting There

I am slowly but surely working on recapturing all of my lost information on my computer. It will take a while.

 

Ugh!

 

~ Stacy Duplease

Remembering Your Present, LLC and pj4life (Prayer Journaling for Life)

Author of Biblical Fiction, Bible Studies, and Devotionals

 

Email: Pj4life1@gmail.com

 

 

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Ugh! Everything Going Haywire

This has become an epidemic in my life over the last week. Everything is breaking.
1. Furnace
2. Computer
3. Cell
4. Master file of my writing and other documents and files

Lord, please help me to recover everything. To You be the glory.

- Stacy Duplease

I am trying not to freak out. I may have lost every document and file from the last 6 months on my computer. Joy!

Test

This is another email test. Sorry for the repeat.

 

Blessings,

 

Stacy Duplease

Remembering Your Present, LLC and pj4life (Prayer Journaling for Life)

Author of Biblical Fiction, Bible Studies, & Devotionals

 

pj4life1@gmail.com

 

 

Welcome

Greetings! Welcome to my new blog.

Check out my other blog at: http://www.pj4life.wordpress.com/

Stacy Duplease of Remembering Your Present, LLC

Email: pj4life@gmail.com

Testing email blog post.

Testing texting blog.