Productive Weekend on the Homestead

Last Saturday, my niece and nephew came by and helped with a lot of big tasks.  We started with lunch (it's crawfish season!), then they got to work.  The two big tasks was the garden fence and repotting the rose.

This very special rose was a gift from my niece, Lori for the occasion of my husband Marc's funeral.  Lori later lost her life, so the rose has a double special meaning.  It's name is L'arc.  It was doing fairly well, but seriously needed a new pot.

I thought it was fitting that her sister helped me with the repotting.  It turns out that the rose had a very long root coming out of the hole in the pot.  Not so sure it will be able to do that in the new pot because the holes are around the edge.

Here's L'arc in its new home.  The grass has been cleaned out, and it's centered in the pot (and leaning a bit forward now).  I watered it well and will probably add a bit more dirt soon.  This is one happy rose!

However, most of the really heavy work was done by my nephew in the fence area.  I had a general idea of how I wanted the fencing done, but nothing specific. 

We got the gate and the front part of the fence up.  We discussed putting up the chicken coop (and surrounding pen), then using that as a side "fence" to the garden. 

I would purchase two more gates to go on either side of the chicken enclosure, which will give easy access to tools (in the "tractor shed") and to the compost at the back of the shed but not inside the garden.  The photo above, right shows where the "front" gate will attach to the chicken surround.

Here's a photo from the other side of the fence.  The chicken enclosure and coop will go behind the pile of hay (which needs to be moved).

Finally, the last three side-boards for the beds were cut, so I have two garden beds (almost) ready for dirt.  I have blocks for one more bed, and room for maybe two, so I need to make another trip to Lowes/Home Depot.

This week, I really need to get the chicken coop painted and built, and the beds ready so I can bring in dirt.  Once that is done (and I get another free weekend), we'll get together again for more fencing and mud bugs!

Until next time,

Stormy

What's the Latest Buzz??

The weather has been wonderful this week, after the rains on Monday.  I've been doing some mowing and a bit more work on the shred pile.  However, it's also Holy Week for me and my thoughts have not been that much on the garden.

Big news: the bees were delivered today!  It is a very small transport hive.  They will stay in that for a few weeks, then a regular hive will be brought out for them.

Tomorrow my niece and nephew are coming to help me with some chores: putting up a fence around the garden and replanting my special rose.  It is in desperate need of a larger pot.  I didn't cut it back this winter, but I've trimmed off the dead branches and it's covered with buds and roses.  At the moment, I'm planning to leave the tarp up behind it for future bad winters.  Probably need to take down the blanket and wash it, though.

Next week I'll get new under-skirting for my house, and hope to get the chicken coop painted and set up.  I'll also get all the garden beds set up and get some dirt so we can get the garden going before it gets too hot!

Wishing all a Blessed Easter.

Until next time,

Stormy

Slow but Steady

 I've been making some slow but steady progress on the garden area.  I have two compost bins (full) and have shoveled a lot more of the shreds into the bins.  Today, I was reminded that part of the pile is full of ants.  (I tried to get a photo, but the ants don't show up!)  

Here's the pile from the side.  You can see how much has been moved.  You can also see one of the garden beds.  It needs leveling and sides cut (I bought 8ft 2x6s - sides are 4ft).

I have family coming to help this weekend with putting up the fence (yay!) and I'm trying to get the big pile of shreds moved by then.  Though I may put some of it in the garden beds.

My apologies for not posting last Friday.  I've had some non-homestead projects that needed done.  In addition, there has been a LOT of rain.  One thing I'll need to do very soon is clean out the gutters because they're overflowing.  That's a bad thing in more ways than one.

It looks like this is coming from the side, or behind the gutter.  That will rot the facia boards.  Not good!!  At the other end, the water runs over the edge and drops onto the angled part of the down spout.  It makes a LOT of noise!!

Other things I have accomplished over the past week: I have determined where to put the chicken coop.  I've bought paint (it was unfinished) and a covered "cage" around it.  The chicken wire over the frame will be insufficient, so will need to be replaced.  However that will be less expensive than having one built ($4500 - that's an average price).  If the weather cooperates, hope to get the coop painted and assembled this week.

I've also done a little mowing.  Time to get after the bamboo again.  I'm still waiting for things to dry up some.  Maybe this evening...

Until next time,

Stormy

Accomplishments and Plans

Last week was a very busy week, which was good.  Monday was my slow day and that's the day I was depressed for Marc's upcoming birthday.  That day, Friday, actually went well, though I missed my post.  Today, I'll catch everyone up on my accomplishments.

• House was leveled!  Now I can open and close the front door with ease.
• Spoke with the leveling guys about new under-skirting on my house, as well as a predator-proof enclosure for the chicken coop.  That may be more than I want to spend right now (the coop-enclosure).
• Determined where to put the compost and chicken coop
• Started work on moving the tree shreds to the new compost pile (and had to start another one).

I made some progress on moving the pile of wood shreds.  The pile is just far enough from the compost that I need to shovel it into my wagon, then dump, or shovel it into the compost pile.

I put the frame from a pallet inside to shape it, but my wagon wouldn't dump over the pallet board, so I had to start shoveling.  I was thankful that the last few days have been cool!  However, it wasn't long before I got a bit lazy (not really, this is a LOT of work), and started another pile next to this one.  It doesn't have a board across the front, so I can just dump the shreds in the space.

This is much easier.  Though as you can see from the first photo, I still have a long ways to go.

I will probably put in the beds before the fence,  I still need to get dirt, though hopefully I won't need to do that next year!!  I can put beds across the back of the area, so I can get dirt in them and start planting.  I will probably also put some of the shavings in the bottoms of the beds.

Today, I gave up on the idea of using the old fence boards, and bought some proper 2x6s.  I'll have to cut the end boards (oh boy!).  It was sprinkling when I got home, so the boards will come out tomorrow.  I also bought paint for the chicken coop, hope to get started on that this week as well.

Yesterday, my yard guy finally came and mowed down the bamboo.  This will need to be done regularly (probably once a week).  I bought a new lawn tractor, but wanted him to do the initial cut.  So now, I need to start doing my own mowing.  But I'm really glad to have the bamboo down.  This photo is from last week.  This is maybe a week and a half after it was cleared?

My title also mentions plans.  Below is a photo of the "garden area".   The gray outline is where the fence will go.  (It's hard to see, but the double gray line by the burn barrel is where the gate will go.)  On the right side, the chicken coop is circled in yellow and the compost in dark red.  The plan is to repurpose the greenhouse (whose opening is no longer working) to be storage.  That will actually be very useful.  The area in front of the greenhouse is used for backing and turning around, so that needs to stay open.  It may look small, but it's actually plenty large for the usage.

Until next time,

Stormy

Making Progress

 This week has caught me by surprise.   I have a sort of seasonal depression that happens in the Spring.  It's grief-related.  There are a series of days, one in February, two in March, two in April and one in May, plus a floater.  Usually when one of those special days occurs, I get a bit depressed.  Maybe not terribly, but it is true depression.  My late husband's birthday is Friday.  I started feeling off and weepy on Monday.

I have been doing what I can to keep busy, which is always useful.  Yesterday, the fiber guy came to mark the lines and he also agreed to look for electrical lines.  I now know where those are (approximately), so I have a better idea of where to put the fence and the gate.  I've also decided where to put the compost and the chickens.

My plan is to start setting up the raised beds.  Unfortunately, where I want to put them has a huge wood chip pile in the way. 

So I started shoveling!  I've probably doubled this from the picture to the right.  There's still quite a ways to go on the pile.

This is the area where I'm putting the compost, in the back corner.  In the area in front of the tree, but along the shed is where I will put the chicken coop.  The coop is to the far right covered in a blue tarp and of course, still in the box.  I'm planning to buy a screened cover for the whole thing, to protect from overhead birds and from other predators.   The one I'm considering will probably need to have the mesh replaced, because I don't think it will be enough.

I have someone coming to mow the bamboo sometime this week.  I'm hoping they will clean up all the chips so it will be safer to mow.  Until it's dug out (and maybe even beyond that), I'll have to keep mowing this.  Can I just say, I hate bamboo!!

On the plus side, the electrician came today and buried the electrical cable that we emergency-installed when the well stopped working.  The guys, four of them, had to hand-dig the trench and were here all day.  Not in any hurry to get that bill.

I will be trying to keep as busy as I can for the rest of this week.  I have a lot of activities already scheduled, so I may not have much to report on Friday, but we'll see.

Until next time,

Stormy

Baby Steps

This project seems to be going in baby steps.  My mower, gate and posts arrived yesterday and the delivery guy helped me get the chicken coop out of the truck.  A friend from church came over to help me put up the chicken coop and gave me a lot of good tips.  She also told me about the place where she gets dirt, as she had just done.  It's a bit more expensive than what I bought last year, but they will load it in your pickup.

We didn't assemble the coop after all because a few things need to happen first.  Primarily, I need to determine where to put it.  My friend shared several suggestions:  it needs shade, ventilation, and of course, protection from predators.  She also suggested that we paint or stain it, as it's bare wood.  In addition, it needs to be accessible for my neighbor, and close to the compost for easy cleaning.

Another suggestion was to get a metal chicken run, preferably with a roof or cover of some sort and put the coop inside it.  

When I went outside to take this photo (of the box), I picked up the mail and went to my neighbor's.  We reviewed the area and have decided where we want to put things.

This photo is the garden area.  It will be L-shaped with the vertical section just to the right of the burn barrel and back past the mulch pile.  The horizontal bottom of the "L" will go across from the mulch pile to the greenhouse, encompassing the keyhole garden (in green, far left).

We will put the compost in the back beside the shed, against the fence-panels.  The chicken coop will go near the shed, but in front of the tree.  This will make the coop visible from both houses, somewhat shaded and easily accessible.  I'll get a covered run to put the coop inside.

I finally saw the hawks I'd been hearing.  When this one flew, I could see it was a Cooper's Hawk.  There was another, so I assume it's a pair.  The very blurry picture below is from the picture to the left.

Until next time,

Stormy

When your dreams are bigger than you are...

 My progress goes in spits and spurts.  (That's an old saying, please don't judge!)

I'm a bit on the lazy side, but today I got busy... eventually.  I started this morning thinking of all the things I needed to do towards my homestead and put together a spreadsheet.  Then I got a text from my vet saying my kitty's meds were ready, so I dropped everything and drove to the next town to pick up the meds.

It was noon, so I grabbed lunch and went to the nearest Lowes to look at paving squares.  I decided that Home Depot was cheaper, so headed home.  But my mind was still on my list, so I fed and medicated the cat and headed for Tractor Supply, where I spent a LOT of money.

What I needed was a gate for the garden fence.  And I got that.  I also bought a chicken coop and feeders and waterers, bedding and a bit of food.  I don't have chickens yet - I'm hoping to get pullets, not baby chicks.

But there was another thing on my mind.  Bamboo.  A week ago, my yard guy cleared out a lot of bamboo and brush from my place.  After a week, here's what the fence line looks like:

Those are bamboo shoots - some almost two feet tall.  I called and told my yard guy that I needed mowing done - he said it would be next week.  Today is Tuesday.  By next week, these bamboo will be too big to mow.  So I bought a riding mower.  The monthly payments are less than I pay for mowing.

The chicken coop is in my truck and I'm not sure how I will get it out.  The rest of the "big stuff" will be delivered this week.  Maybe I'll have the delivery guy help me get the coop out of the truck.

I decided to start moving the old fence boards out of the tractor shed so I'll have a place for my new mower.  It's not all the way there, but it's a start.  I also have some additional blocks for the raised beds.

After all this, I came inside to check in with my supervisor.  She watches me through the window.

Until next time,

Stormy

Crazy Week!

 I'm trying to post twice a week, but this week has gotten past me.  I am aware of 3 people that I know who passed away on Thursday, one was a friend from my Church.  In addition, I will be participating in a Speech Contest tomorrow.  I have accomplished some things this week, however!

• I made an appointment with my House Leveler who will be out week after next
• I bought some more blocks for building the raised beds
• Altered some plans based on a different re-use for the "greenhouse"
• Probably will be a run for the chickens
• Will not be moving it, so current fencing will be a smaller area

Some things that need to happen soon are:

• Get some help with the fencing (specifically putting up the posts)
• Probably should buy a gate (or two)
• Get the raised beds put together
• Get more compost soil (my friend with the trailer to get the soil currently has a day job).

I'm sorry this post is really brief.  Time got away from me this week.

Here is a photo of the garden area:

Until next time,

Stormy

Creating a Homestead - again!

When my husband and I married, we both wanted to move out of the city to the country!  Having a homestead was our goal.  I read "Mother Earth News" (the original) and lots of homesteading books, but what I really wanted was to live in the woods like at Girl Scout Camp!!  Fourteen years later, we found our dream property - heavily wooded.  After we moved onto the property, I cleared a little garden - 4 ft. square.

Fast forward 20 years or so, and I'm trying again to turn my property into a homestead.  My goals are somewhat different and my challenges are much greater!  The greatest challenge is that I'm no longer in my 20s or even 40s and I'm trying to do most of this on my own.  This means I'm hiring a lot of folks to help.

The first set of goals are:

• Stabilize my house - it's on a slope, and there are animals living beneath it.  Annual leveling is very expensive and needs to be corrected.
• Clear as much bamboo (planted by a former neighbor) as possible and find a way to remove it.
• Obtain an agricultural exemption

The second set of goals are:

• Put in a fenced garden with raised beds
• Raise Chickens

Other than the Ag exemption which takes 5 years, I'm hoping to get as many of these things done for this season as possible.

Over the weekend, I had my landscape guy clear out a lot of the bamboo, a "back yard" behind my house and some brush in various places.  I have a huge oak at one part of my property that I particularly wanted to save.  I think this weekend's work has accomplished that!!

 

I also now have a back yard.  I'm hoping to use it to plant shade loving plants.

I hope to keep this on a twice weekly schedule as before, but as I'm having to hire work done, I may not be able to keep that pace.

Until next time,

Stormy

Changing Focus

The tag-line for my blog is "The view from my cabin door -- sometimes looking out, sometimes looking in."  In the last several posts, I have focused inward with tools for my Spiritual Life.  I have been putting together a journal for a personal Bible study, but also other studies as well.

I have added a section at the back for sermon notes.  I'm enjoying the sheets I've downloaded from Visual Faith for sermon notes, though I have to write small.  I may go back and color in the graphics on some of these.

As mentioned before, I am a collector.  In this case, I wonder if I'm collecting too much information on these studies such that I'm worn out by the collecting and do not return to the actual study.  Most definitely an issue to work on!

Starting next week, I will change the focus of my blog to "Looking Out."  I will talk about the plans I have for working my place into a small homestead.  I've already started the idea of redoing the garden and I really need to get with that before it gets much hotter.  It's past time (around here) to get seeds or even plants in the ground.  It will likely be another week, minimum, before I can get another load of dirt as the soil is horrible.

This weekend I'll be doing brush clearing (or having it done!) and preparing to get a hive of bees starting next month to work towards an agricultural exemption.  That's a lot for this upcoming very busy weekend.

I hope to have before and after photos next week.

Until next time,

Stormy

Presenting my Journaling Template

I had the opportunity to present my journaling tool to my Ladies Group at church today.  The presentation took almost an hour, and I had done a bit of the work up front.  The Scripture for this study was about 5 verses, and there were 28 referenced verses!  We only went over a few.  I left the rest for homework.

One thing this tells me for longer studies is to "summarize"!  The preceding and following verses were numerous as well.  I did like re-thinking the keywords to look for the words that were most important to the overall verse.  [At this point, my mind is inserting, "Duh!!"]

I printed and passed out sheets for Sermon Notes from Visual Faith and those were well received.  I will be sending out links and a template to the ladies via email.  Overall, I think this was a successful presentation.

Now, I just need to get myself into a regular habit of nightly study.  I can do this 2 days per verse selection and take Sundays off.

To finish my journal "creation," I have a few things I want to do:

1. Create a bookmark with a "Prayer for Bible Study" - perhaps with a graphic on the other side.  This will be used in my journal to mark where I am studying.
2. Write a summary of the 10 Questions for reference
3. Figure out how to get my printer to print double-sided on the 7x9.25 paper!  (It will do it on 8.5x11 or 5.5x8.5)

My Friday post may be late.  The latter part of this week contains a "difficult day" for me.  Next week I plan to start discussing my plans for turning my home into a homestead.  This is likely to be a HUGE challenge as I will be doing most of this by myself.  I can probably get some help from friends and family over the weekend, but most of my weekends are full as well!  I'm not complaining!  It's always better to be busy than bored!

Until next time,

Stormy

Practice What You Preach

One of the followers of this series on my blog is the president of our Women's Group at church.  This month we moved our monthly meeting to a different date and the Pastor is not available for our Bible study.  She was impressed with my review on the 10 Questions book and has asked me to demonstrate it with the verses from our Ash Wednesday service.  (Not from the graphic here.)

This gives me several opportunities:

1. Motivation to test my personal tool (though it may not work for everyone and may need some adjustments even for me).
2. Test how I would study a longer segment of scripture instead of 1-2 verses.
3. Practice my speaking and presentation skills.  This will not count towards my Toastmasters' goals, but that's ok.

While the focus is on the 10 Questions, I really feel that provides more of an analysis tool.  The information gained gives us a deeper understanding of what we are reading, but I feel it needs further contemplation.

I have been working on my verses over multiple days and coming back to them for further thought.  Unfortunately, distraction is a real issue for me.  I need a better way to keep my focus and keep with my study.  I have also been adding sermon notes and graphics (not mine) to my journal and making notes on verses I would like to study further.

Finally, I have been collecting some devotional material in an online document.  For my book-based devotionals, I take photos of the page with the thought of including those in my journal as well.  I like the pre-written devotionals to give me ideas for application.  How might I write a short devotional on what I've studied?

Questions for my readers:

 

I have a lot of material in addition to the Specific verses I initially wanted to study.  How do you choose study material?  How do you relate God's Word to your personal life?

I would love to see your comments below (you may comment anonymously).

On another topic:  I will likely be switching topics week after next.  What would you like to see:  

• Discussion on personality types (and communication)
• Turning my yard into a homestead

Until next time,

Stormy

My Journal

 Happy Tuesday!

I can't tell you how many times I have tried to keep a journal.  I am so inconsistent in that regard.  However, I do like using a ring or disk binder, which gives me a lot of flexibility.

My journal has monthly calendars (with tabs).  I really don't use the calendar for appointments, as I have that on my computer which sends reminders and alerts.  However, I can use the calendar for very brief notes on what I'm doing.

The blank journal that I bought was just for notes.  It included blank lined paper and 3 blank side tabs.  It's by "Happy Planner" and I purchased it from a local crafts store.  I also purchased a couple of blank calendar journals on clearance, so I have a lot of monthly tabs.  I also have purchased some dividers with top tabs (the monthly tabs are to the side).  I bought a pre-printed monthly calendar with dates included which is just so much easier for that part.  (The paw print is from a template, and I colored it to match my kitty's toe beans.)

I have the calendar in front with the monthly tabs.  The first of the blank tabs are various notes I've taken at events or meetings.  The 2nd blank tab is my bible study journal and the 3rd tab is for blank note paper.

At the very front of my journal, I have a top tab followed by two "To Do" sheets.  I bought a lot of stickers, so modified the To Do to say, "To Pray."  On the back of the first sheet, I have people with current issues - surgery, recovery, illness, etc.  On the second sheet, I have people with long-term issues.  For most I have their care givers listed, if known.  I may stick the first sheet to the divider tab, so I can open the two sheets side-by-side.  This makes it easy to pray for all these folks during my morning prayers.  In the evening I pray from memory!

Visual Faith has weekly sermon notes.  I have printed out all those for this month and have started taking notes during the sermons.  Then I add the bulletin with the readings on the back, and the sermon notes to my journal.  At the moment, I'm adding them in at the monthly tabs, but they are bigger than the tabs, as you can see in the calendar photo above, so I may move them. 

Speaking of Visual Faith.... They have come out with a "Common Book" that is a compilation of their tools for a year: devotional calendar, prayer page, verse mapping, scripture scribing - all of the tools they provide in one book.  If this interests you, check out the article on their blog page (https://www.visualfaithmin.org/post/introducing-the-common-book).  It will link you to their book store, if you want to purchase.

Question to My Readers

Do you keep a journal of any kind?  Do you use a pre-formatted journal, or do you create your own?  Please let me know in the comments below (you may comment anonymously).  I would also be interested in styles and tools that you use in your journaling.  What works for you?  What doesn't work?

Until next time,

Stormy

Examples: John 3:16

In my last post, I used screen prints, but they were very small, and I'm really unhappy with what I posted.  I noticed that photos that I shared years ago can be clicked on and enlarged, so this time I took photos of my examples, and hope that you will be able to enlarge them and see them more clearly.

I probably need to redo the blog completely with a new "template".  I may try that over the weekend.  In the mean time, here are some photos of my journal.  I hope this helps with both the visualization of the template, and examples of how I am using it.

John 3:16

When I started this journey, this verse was not on the list, but once I did list the verses, I realized I had to start with this one.  It is often referred to as the "gospel in a nutshell."  I was still working with the tools and uncertain which I wanted to use (hence, the strike-throughs).  I also included fewer translations, etc. because I was writing it all by hand.

Page two contains part of the context.  I have since moved the geographical section under the boxes on this page (see the page under the Proverbs heading).

Here's page three with the table of POV, Enemy, How defeated and "Who are you, Lord?"

Page four was my opportunity to get artistic.  In some other verses, I have added downloaded graphics and artwork from VisualFaithMin.org 

As I reviewed  my 4-page template, I realized I wanted to include the text of the referenced verses listed on page 2.  This time I copied and pasted from my online Bible and printed, instead of writing each out.  Here is page 5.  On this verse, page 6 is blank, though I may go back and add to it.   In some other verses, I have added hymn text on page 6 and may add some graphics to that later.  I have decided that I want to try my hand at writing a devotional commentary (separate from "My experience and Feelings" on page 2).

Proverbs 3:5-6

This is the 3rd verse in the list.  With this verse, I have my pages in a better order.   I put a bit of a devotional in the "notes" and actually have the prayer on page 2.  Some of the information I've written is personal, so I will only show you page 2 which underwent the greatest editing of the template.

I can see that the photos are clearer even in the small size.  I hope these are helpful!

Until next time,

Stormy

Putting Together the Journal

I wanted a "template" to guide my studies.  I started with two pages based on the 10 questions book.  My plan was to put them in with my calendar (which is just months).  This posed a couple of problems.  I had just purchased some 9-disk based calendars which are 7x9.25 inches.  These are larger than my normal preferred size of 5.5x8.5 but did give me a bit more room.  I bought paper for this size, since I already have a punch for disk systems.

The second issue was that my printer, for whatever reason, refuses to print these double sided.  I print double-sided all the time.   I can only suppose that they are a non-standard size which the printer somehow doesn't know how to handle.  Sigh.  [If you know how I might accomplish this, please drop a note in the comments.]

Well...  I did want the two pages to be facing.  But then I had two more pages to fill ... and yes, I now have to print one side, turn the paper over and print the other - arg!!

Here's my original:  I know it's small, I'll give you the details at the end of the post.

I decided that it might be useful to add some bits from the other journaling study guides.  I also decided that adding blue dots would enable me to easier write or draw in the large blank spaces.  So, my next iteration looks like this:

Finally, I thought that it would be useful to print out the referring verses, instead of just listing the chapter and verse.  I've also added hymn references from my hymnal (in my case, this is the Lutheran Service Book).  Occasionally, I might list verses from one of the hymns.

As you can imagine, this has suddenly grown significantly.  After the first verse, I decided to copy my template (it's in MS Word) to a separate file with the verse and copy/paste as much information as possible (mostly the verses, translations, "other verses," hymn words and some graphics).  An advantage to this is that I can easily resize sections as needed.  I usually put the prayer after the geography question on p. 3.

For this reason, and the pain of printing, I usually do the compilation in the evening.  In the morning, I will print and then dive into the data.  I am wondering if I want to write a short devotional-style story in the notes section.  This would be different from the "experience/connection and feeling" section.  It might also be based on a key word or concept from the verse which would possibly affect how I complete that section.

I want to share my template, but I'm not quite sure the best way to do that.  As you can see, it's mostly headings, text boxes (for the context) and a 4x4 table.  The blank spaces are filled with rows of periods separated with two spaces.

The current template is headed as follows:

P1

Verse:                                    Date:

-spaces-

Other translations:

-spaces- 

[Note:  I use biblegateway.com, if you change versions, at the bottom of the new version, you will have the option to view all English version.  I start with ESV and look up NIV and AMP (amplified) versions.  There are other online Bibles available, use whichever works best for you or your physical Bible.]

Keywords:

-spaces-

[I like the Hebrew Interlinear Bible (there's a greek NT).  But it doesn't work well for the template.  So, I look at that one, then go to the other one, Bible Study Tools Interlinear Bible.  This one gives you the text in English with  highlighted words.  When you click on the words you get the Hebrew or Greek translation like in a dictionary.  Also, unlike the first one, you can copy and paste the information into your template.]

P2

I repeat the Verse/Date headers at the top with dotted space.  

Context:  How did we get here? / What  happens next?

Below this is two side-by-side text boxes (outlined).

Below this, with dotted space, is:

Where are we? (Geographical Context)

Footnotes/other verses (Where have I heard this before?):

My Experience and Connection to Verse; What am I feeling?

P3

Analysis

This is followed b the 4x4 table.  The headings are:

POV    Who is Enemy?    How is Enemy Defeated?    Who are You, Lord?

I include the following:

Jones, Andrew.  Ten Questions to Ask Every Time You Read the Bible (.p153).  Concordia Publishing House.  Kindle Edition.

Next is:

What Questions Remain?

P4

Notes, Graphics, Prayers

This is a dotted page for my notes, pictures, and prayers, though I usually put the prayers on the previous page, as there are few remaining questions and lots of space.

I've added a page 5 to write out the referenced verses and possibly a hymn.  Since you have two sides, there is a blank page 6.

This is really long, but I wanted to share my template.  Please take it and make it your own.

In my next post, I will share some samples.

Until next time, 

Stormy