Hi, Friend, and Prayers for a Blessed 2024!

I pray that this post finds you rested and well and ready for a new year of God’s goodness and grace.

If you’re like me, you’ve spent the past few days reflecting on 2023 and imagining what 2024 will hold. Thinking deeply about where I’ve been and what I’ve experienced, and where I’m going and what I might experience, has been more than a bit emotional for me. God’s been so good, and His faithfulness and provision have been so evident in 2023 that I’m filled with thanksgiving and praise; I have blessed assurance that He holds 2024 in His hands which fills me with excitement and wonderings over what He will do in this coming year.

But in 2023, I was not always so faithful to God, and my reflection time has revealed that I allowed doubt and fear to influence many of my decisions this past year, and so I find myself confessing and repenting as much as I am celebrating and rejoicing. And because God is always good, He has been reminding me, and so I’m reminding you, of Isaiah 43:18-19 which reads:

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert…” 

Sweet friend, it is good to take an inventory of our faithfulness, to prayerfully consider how we could better love the Lord, how we could live a life that more clearly demonstrates our thankfulness for who He is and all He has done for us; acknowledging our weakness and repenting of our failings keeps us humble before the Lord our God and reminds us to give grace to others for we are all sinners in need of God’s saving grace. But we must also remember that God removes our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). Once we have confessed and repented, we must put those old things behind us and spring forward into the new thing that God is doing in us, through us, for us, and with us. 

Dear heart, God is making a way for you to grow in grace in 2024! He is inviting you to walk in greater victory than you have ever walked before!

And those two words – grace and victory – completely overwhelmed my heart and mind as 2023 came to a close. So much so, in fact, that I’m doing something I’ve never done before and adopting those words as spiritual focal points for 2024. 

Also popping up over and over again in my life are psalms, different ones at different times from different resources and teachers, and I’ve learned enough about how God speaks to us to know that He has a special word or two that He wants shared from the Book of Psalms. I’m not sure where Holy Spirit will take us exactly, but to be obedient to God’s leading, I’ll be focusing the devotions for Psalm1072.com on reading through the Book of Psalms in 2024. My current plan is to explore three psalms per week together, so we can read all 150 psalms together this year. I’m excited to see what God reveals to us, and committed to allowing Holy Spirit to guide us (which is my way of saying, I don’t know what order we’re going to explore the psalms in and that’s a little scary for this gal who likes control and long-term planning, but I’m all in with however God wants to lead us through them!). 

What’s Coming Up in Devotions on Psalm1072.com?

• This week I’m studying Psalms 1 through 3 and preparing three devotions to share with you next week. I hope you’ll join me for those, and then we’ll see where Holy Spirit takes us from there!
• As we study the psalms together, I imagine we’ll do some exploring of history to help us understand the psalmists’ experiences with God and apply what we learn to our own walk with God.
• I’m currently feeling led to blend in some modern poems, prayers, and songs as well and am looking forward to what God does with that leading.

What’s Going on with “The Fruitful Educator”

• I’m praying with a team of Sisters over the details for an in-person event to inspire and equip Christian educators to walk in God’s light not just personally but professionally as well. We are hopeful to announce the event in the coming weeks and hold it locally around April or May. 
• To more faithfully follow the call that God has placed on me in this season, I’m also building resources (templates, videos, workshops) to support the two Teaching Practices that Testify books that have been published so far: “Creating a Peace-filled Place” and “Giving Hope for Today & Tomorrow”. Keep an eye out for those resources on the site as well as on Facebook (videos) and for workshop dates/locations. 

What I’m Feeding Myself These Days

• I cannot get enough of “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” by Philip Yancey. I’ve been reading it for my current Sunday School class, and it’s just overwhelmed my soul with God’s love, grace, goodness, and mercy. It’s an older book, originally published 20+ years ago, but it’s proof that God’s word never returns void; His grace is sufficient across decades and centuries and all eternity.
• I’m gravitating toward worship music that incorporates psalms. Some that come to mind right away are:
  • “In the Room” by Maverick City Music – bridge is a portion of Psalm 139
  • “You Have Made Me Glad” by Charity Gayle – entire song is portions of Psalm 92
  • “Psalm 23 (I Am Not Alone)” by People & Songs with Joshua Sherman – based on Psalm 23

Friend, I’m thankful for your continued readership, but most of all for your continued friendship. Your prayers, encouragement, and support have kept me motivated to continue partnering with God in this ministry, and I pray this ministry has encouraged and supported you in drawing closer to God as well. 

May 2024 be a grace-filled year in which we all learn to walk in victory in Jesus!

God bless you, friend, and remember to let the redeemed of the Lord say so!

Yours in Christ,

Andrea Lemon, Ed.D.
Author, Teacher | The Fruitful Educator


andrea@psalm1072.com

www.psalm1072.com