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Jared Dees

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June 2020 Project Report

By Jared Dees

Here is a report of where I spent my time and how well I progressed towards reaching my goals last month.

My 2020 Goals

Professional Goals:

93% / Double the number of members of The Religion Teacher (December 2017 to present) (-2%)

348,748/1,000,000 words for kids (A part of my #1millionwordsforkids goal) (+28,057 words)

531/600 Resources (Videos/Worksheets) for Members of The Religion Teacher (+7 resources)

Personal Goals:

39/75 Books read (+5 books)

29/73 Books of the Bible read from beginning to end (+2 books read)

72/100 30-minute workouts (+14 workouts)

How I Spent My Time in June 2020

I track every minute of time I spend working on projects using an app called Toggl (here is why). Here is a list of the top ten projects I spent the most time on last month:

  1. 27:06 – Daily Bible Devotional for Kids
  2. 19:46 – The Religion Teacher Email & Customer Service
  3. 10:32 – Bible Breaks Bible Stories for Kids
  4. 9:02 – Daily Review
  5. 8:18 – Morning Preview
  6. 6:09 – The Religion Teacher YouTube Videos
  7. 5:48 – The Adventurer Saga
  8. 4:12 – The Religion Teacher Blog Posts
  9. 4:12 – Weekly Review 
  10. 3:20 – Bible Breaks Newsletter
  11. 2:12 – The Religion Teacher’s Saints Worksheet Collection

Total Time: 119:33 Hours

June 2020 Highlights & Lessons Learned

Daily Bible Verse Devotional for Kids

I wrote more than one hundred reflections on Bible verses in the Gospel of Mark and John. I am tentatively titling the work “The Words of the Lord” because each verse is a sentence spoken by Jesus Christ in the Gospels.

Looking at each sentence of the Lord one by one is an incredible experience. I have learned a lot and reflected on my own life. I am really looking forward to getting these into the hands of children and families.

I will compile 365 of these verses into a book, but I’m excited about some other possible formats: daily emails, monthly printouts, social media posts. We will see what is most useful.

I started to share a few examples on social media:

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Who is my neighbor? The one who showed mercy. Go and do likewise. Luke 10:29, 37 With everything that is going on in our world, let's share the parable of the Good Samaritans with our children. ASK: To whom can you show mercy today? REFLECT: The parable of the Good Samaritan has so much to teach us today. Do not let race, religion, or anything that differentiates us stand in the way of mercy. Mercy starts in the home. Mercy starts in our families. Mercy extends out to our friendships. Mercy must also be done for those we do not know. Mercy is done, not said. We must go and make an effort to show mercy. Forgive. Help. Go. Do. #biblebreaks #bibleforkids #biblequoteforkids #biblequotesforkids #bibleverse #bibleverses #bibleversesdaily #biblequotes #biblequote #dailyscripture #goodsamaritan #parableofthegoodsamaritan #whoismyneighbor #mercy #goanddolikewise #luke10 #luke10_37

A post shared by Jared Dees (@jareddees) on Jun 3, 2020 at 8:52am PDT

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Seventy-five. By my count, the exact phrase "do not be afraid" is spoken 75 times in the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, the phrase "Do not be afraid" appears again and again. I've heard others say it appears 140 times and 365 times with different variations. Imagine the Lord speaking these words to us today. What are you most afraid of at this moment? In your fear, turn to the Lord… The Lord Says: "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." Genesis 15:1 "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades." Revelation 1:17-18 In picking a title for my book of Bible stories about hope, there was no question what phrase to use: Do not be afraid. #biblebreaks #bibleforkids #biblequoteforkids #biblequotesforkids #bibleverse #bibleverses #bibleversesdaily #biblequotes #biblequote #dailyscripture #genesis15 #revelation 1 #donotbeafraid #godsays #fear #hopeinthelord #wordsofthelord

A post shared by Jared Dees (@jareddees) on Jun 4, 2020 at 1:01pm PDT

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When was the last time you did something wrong? When was the last time you broke a commandment…even a small one? It's easy to make excuses about doing something wrong. We sometimes tell ourselves that what we did was bad, but not that bad. Jesus reminds us that breaking any of the commandments, no matter how small, leads us away from God. Instead, do good and teach others to do good as well. That is how we become great in God's kingdom. Lord, teach me your ways so that I may do good and show others how to be good as well. "Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:19 #biblebreaks #bibleforkids #biblequoteforkids #biblequotesforkids #bibleverse #bibleverses #bibleversesdaily #biblequotes #biblequote #dailyscripture #catholicreadings #matthew5 #matthew5_19 #commandments #kingdomofheaven #biblemeditation #biblereflection #brokencommandments

A post shared by Jared Dees (@jareddees) on Jun 10, 2020 at 3:46am PDT

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Where is your favorite place to pray? ???? Find a quiet place alone to pray. There's no need to brag about how much or how well you pray. That prayer time is between you and God. Find a place and time to spend with him. It can be very brief. God wants you to be with him. Find a secret time and place and say a little prayer today. ???? Lord, I love you and want to spend time with you. Thank you for the gift of prayer and the opportunity to speak to you. ???? "But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." Matthew 6:6 #biblebreaks #bibleforkids #biblequoteforkids #biblequotesforkids #bibleverse #bibleverses #bibleversesdaily #biblequotes #biblequote #dailyscripture #prayerquote #matthew6 #matthew6_6 #timetopray #placetopray #sayalittleprayerforme

A post shared by Jared Dees (@jareddees) on Jun 17, 2020 at 3:01am PDT

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ASK: Who do you know that follows the words of the Lord every day? REFLECT: We can think highly of ourselves when we do things like read the Bible or pray every day, but if we only read and don't put those things into action, our life can quickly fall apart. Think about the kids you know that get into trouble. They fall so often because they ignore what they know they should do. Listen to the words of God and put them into action! PRAY: Lord, save those who have ignored your words from destruction. Give them wisdom to learn from you and the strength to put your words into action. "And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!" Matthew 7:26-27; Luke 6:49 #biblebreaks #bibleforkids #biblequoteforkids #biblequotesforkids #bibleverse #bibleverses #bibleversesdaily #biblequotes #biblequote #matthew7 #luke6 #doersoftheword

A post shared by Jared Dees (@jareddees) on Jun 25, 2020 at 3:30am PDT

Bible Breaks Story Collections

I finalized two more collections of Bible stories. The collection on the Eucharist will be published in July and the one focused on prayer will follow a couple of months later.

Take and Eat: Bible Stories for Kids about the Eucharist will release on July 20th:

Take and Eat

I hope these stories will encourage a greater appreciation of the Bible. I hope that kids read these stories and will then go on to read the Bible on their own to learn more.

During these days of isolation and quarantine, we can turn to Scripture to encounter the living God.

The Religion Teacher Videos

I haven’t created many whiteboard videos during the coronavirus quarantine. I’m not sure what was holding me back. Isolation can become a habit. I felt more comfortable silently writing rather than getting in front of the camera.

I experimented with a few whiteboard-only videos that I could create in the early morning hours before the kids woke up and before I showered for the day.

I wanted to see if these videos would be as effective as the ones with me in it. I’m watching the views and uses closely to see, but I’m going to put in some more face time in the weeks ahead.

Here are the videos I created in June:

I did create one video in front of the camera. Check out that long coronavirus hair!

July 17, 2020 Filed Under: Monthly Reports

About Jared Dees

Jared Dees is passionate about sharing practical resources to teach faith. He is best known for his website The Religion Teacher and is the author of many books including 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator, To Heal, Proclaim, and Teach, Praying the Angelus, Christ in the Classroom, and Beatitales: 80 Fables about the Beatitudes for Children.

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Jared Dees is passionate about sharing practical resources to teach faith. He is best known for his website The Religion Teacher and is the author of many books including 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator, To Heal, Proclaim, and Teach, Praying the Angelus, Christ in the Classroom, and Beatitales: 80 Fables about the Beatitudes for Children. See all of Jared's Books →

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