Category: Pam Farrel

Refresh: To Give Someone More Of

The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever.
(Isaiah 40:8 NIV)


Trees are ever changing their outward appearance season after season. Tiny buds to full, verdant foliage, to multi-colored leaves that drop to the ground, to bare branches; each version of a tree gives me something to appreciate. The hope of new life in the spring, the shade of summer, the rich palette of autumn and the stark, clear view of the winter sky. When I embrace the offering of each season in perspective, I am refreshed.

Trees also remind me that summer does not last forever; seasons fade, but the Word of the Lord remains constant.

Pam Farrel encourages us to change it up with our Bible versions:

Sometimes when we read and reread passages, they become such familiar territory  that we don’t see the word afresh. But God’s Word is alive! We need to find ways to heart hear the words of Scripture as if we were reading them for the first time. 

One way to do this is to read a different translation or to read a variety of translations to gain a different perspective on the same passage.

©Pam Farrel from 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time (IVP). For more devotional books by Pam www.Love-wise.com



With biblegateway.com comparing translations has become so much easier. Here are some samples of a favorite verse about rest. (Matthew 11:28)

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  
(NASB)

Come to me, all who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. 
(GOD’S WORD Translation)

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
(KJV)

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.
(The Message, Matthew 11:28-30)



To peruse all of the 31 Days of Quiet posts thus far, 
clicketh here!
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Promise: Reason to Expect Something


God’s way is perfect.
All the Lord’s promises prove true.
He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.
(Psalm 18:30 NLT)


The first promise besides “that whosever believeth in Him shall have everlasting life” that I “claimed” in my youth was from the book of Hebrews. I found the promise in the Gideon’s Bible, when I went to Buffalo for my Air Force physical. It was my first time away from home, my first physical as a teen-aged girl and I was embarking on the adventure of my life. 

I had known Jesus from Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. He was my Savior, but I was just beginning to understand that He wanted to be the Lord of my life. After graduation, on the advice of some mentors from church I met with the Air Force recruiter. My youth leaders taught me to seek His will through prayer and Scriptures. So when I found the Gideon’s Bible in my hotel room, I came across a page with topics, like loneliness. Under that topic, I looked up verses on trust.

As I read the words from Hebrews 13:5b, I experienced the personal promise of Jesus that He would never leave nor forsake me. And time after time, as I left home for basic training and being stationed in the Philippines, I would rehearse that promise in my heart.

The other life long promise He gave me that night in the hotel was a directive and a promise: 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
(Proverbs 3:5,6 NASB)

Whenever I was lonely for home or afraid for my future, God would bring this promise back to mind. A mere two years after God gave the promise to me, I would be surprised that someone else knew this promise as well.

I was stationed in Del Rio, Texas at Laughlin AFB during the spring of 1986, and I was dating this handsome fellow. And I was praying hard to know if it was God’s will for us to become a married couple. One day he left for a trip, and I borrowed his car. He left a note encouraging me that we would trust God together and at the end he wrote, Proverbs 3:5,6! (I had never told him that it was my guiding promise!)

We were engaged by May of that year and exchanged vows on October 18, 1986. (Twenty-seven years ago today.) God keeps his promises.


What promise has God made to you? Have you ever written it on a 3×5 card, like Pam Farrel suggests in her book, 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time? 

Here’s a creative way her family shared promises one year:

One Christmas my mother gave every daughter and daughter-in-law in the family the same quiet time book and journal. When we saw each other throughout the year, we shared promises that we had gleaned from God for our own lives–and each other’s.

Creating your own Bible promise book can help you navigate the pain of grief…or loss. God knows what your pain is and His Word can be a healing balm.

©Pam Farrel from 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time (IVP). For more devotional books by Pam http://www.Love-wise.com





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Quest: To Go on a Journey to Find Something


Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; 
knock and the door will be opened to you. 
(Matthew 7:7 NIV)


Did you ever notice that the word question has quest in it? Ever since, my friend, Lynni, pointed this out, I have approached questions with a whole new zeal. I love journeys, adventures and quests. Especially quests that involve words. My favorite kind of quest is searching a trail through the dictionary. I start out looking for the definition of one word, and that leads to another and then another and another. Sometimes, I even get sidetracked by a word that I wasn’t even looking for!

Questions lead us in a quest for deeper knowledge and deeper intimacy with Christ. Asking questions helps to sort out what we believe, and searching for the answers prepares us to give a reason for our hope.

In 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time, Pam Farrel invites us to ask all kinds of questions during our quiet times with the expectation that the Holy Spirit will lead us to the answers. She advises:

Spend a quiet time writing out a list of theological questions that you’d love to know the answer to. Which doctrines do you need to learn more about: eschatology (end times), the person of Christ, the Holy Spirit, baptism, sin or sanctification? 

After you’ve written a list…go to a Christian bookstore to buy a book that will help you study…try asking your pastor what theology books he or she had to read in seminary or Bible college. 

Think of questions  people who don’t know Jesus ask. Make a list and research biblical responses…For example, I have answers to questions like: Why should I wait until marriage for sex? Why should I believe the Bible? What makes Jesus so special? What happens to people who don’t accept Jesus? What is heaven like? What is hell like? What does God have to say that will help me be a better parent?

Ask other believers: Why do you still believe, and what has held your faith together all these years? Listen for commonalities. 

©Pam Farrel from 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time (IVP). For more devotional books by Pam http://www.Love-wise.com

What question is burning in your heart today?


To find all the posts for 31 Days of Quiet, click here.
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Post: To Make Familiar With a Subject


I pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare before Him my trouble.
(Psalm142:2 NKJV)

I sent these postcards to myself, as a type of diary
chronicling our trip on the Erie Canal.
Do you ever wish you could send a letter to God, addressed to His complaint department? What if you could send Him a thank you note? Or a postcard telling Him how much you love Him? 

Let’s get out the stationery. For this quiet time activity, I prefer the touch of pen to paper, but if you are tech savvy, adapt this idea with e-mail or a scheduled reminder text.


In 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time, Pam shares her thoughts on the topic of writing a letter to God:

Write a letter to God about your life. What would you like to see happen in the next three to six months? What would you like to learn about God? What requests would you like answered? Maybe you are at a special juncture  in life, have an obstacle to hurdle or circumstance you’d like to see change. Write out your feelings, goals and requests.

Place your letter in a self-addressed stamped envelope. Give the letter to a friend to mail back to you after three, six or twelve months. [Or send it to yourself, with an “open on” date written on the envelope.]

I found this idea helpful after the death of my father. I took a limited sabbatical…but after two months I still wasn’t feeling emotionally better. I wrote a letter to God about how I wanted to feel at the one-year anniversary of my father’s death. As I wrote the letter, I realized I was not going to be able to make this journey alone. I wrote down books to read. I contacted a grief counselor. I wrote out activities that I though would help me resolve my feelings and bring closure…ten months into the journey…I am much further along in my grief than I would have been if I had not take this quiet time with God to verbalize how I need him to heal me. 

There are some journeys we don’t want to go on, but writing to God about the difficult path ahead makes the road less formidable.

©Pam Farrel from 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time (IVP). For more devotional books by Pam http://www.Love-wise.com



What kind of letter do you need to write to God? Is there a subject you need to share with Him in prayer?


To read all the posts in 31 Days of Quiet click here.
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Recite: To Relate in Full

My heart is overflowing with a good theme;
I recite my composition concerning the King;
My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. 
(Psalm 45:1 NKJV)





Today, let’s turn up the volume a bit on our quiet times. You don’t have to shout, but why not try reading or praying out loud. Two of Pam Farrel’s suggestions incorporate a type of recitation of God’s word. 

To recite something is to either read it out loud or repeat from memory. Reading Scripture out loud helps me to concentrate. Memorizing verses brings the truth of God to mind, especially when I am struggling with negative thoughts.

Here are some of Pam’s creative ways to listen to  God’s word, besides reading it out loud to yourself:

Listen while your children read the Bible aloud
Pick up a  dramatized version of the Bible on audio or video [try Bible.is online]
Listen to a family friendly series like Adventures in Odyssey
Share your faith with another person
Memorize a longer Scripture passage like Mary’s Magnificat to recite at Christmas
Memorize a prayer from the Bible like the Lord’s prayer or a Psalm
Reenact a Bible story with your family
Try your hand at writing a script with a storyline using pieces of Scripture
Learn a Scripture song with hand motions

Memorization accompanied with action etches the Word of God into your heart. 
Lights, camera, action!

©Pam Farrel from 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time (IVP). For more devotional books by Pam http://www.Love-wise.com


What are some ways that you listen to God’s word?


Linking with Soli Deo Gloria Party



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