Cross My Heart’s Top Videos of 2020

Perhaps there has never been a year when we, individually and collectively, are more happy to see the pages of the calendar turn. Most of us would agree that we’re more than ready to embrace a new year (finally!) and say goodbye to 2020 and all the challenges it brought to our lives.

Yet we know that those hard times can bring blessing. Hardship often reveals the heart, bringing opportunities for God to refine and grow us. While we may never want to live through 2020 again, we know there was some good that came. Before plunging into 2021, I invite you to pause during these early days and look back, take a moment to count the blessings that came during the struggles, and remember the peace of growing closer to our Lord through it.

This week on the Cross My Heart Ministry YouTube channel, you’ll find fun (and free) downloads to help you capture memories of 2020 for the future. You can view it here:

And speaking of the YouTube channel, I polled a few subscribers and members of the ministry board to glean their feedback on the best videos of 2020. I’d love to share those with you below, hoping you will watch and also subscribe to the Cross My Heart channel.

If you are already a subscriber, I’d like to ask the favor of blessing us by sharing the channel either directly with a friend or on your social media. If you are not yet a subscriber, please click the red subscribe button and add your Gmail address – it’s free! Either way, it would be so encouraging if you’d leave a note in the comment section saying either, I shared it! or I subscribed! When the YouTube channel reaches 500 subscribers, we’ll celebrate by choosing one of you to receive a free journal and some other goodies, as well!

Editor’s note: the following posts are in chronological order as they were published in 2020.

#1:  The Parables Lesson 4&5: The Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, & Lost Boy (2/24/20)

A friend wrote, “I love hearing your stories from high school and childhood! I knew that girl who never broke the rules! … of course I was the opposite. I was a risk taker like the prodigal. That lesson meant so much to me because God never gave up on me and my Father was always looking for me to return.”

#2:  Celebrate the Empty Tomb with Rolled Away Rolls! (3/30/20)

Using frozen bread dough and marshmallows, you can create a lovely visual to teach your children about the resurrection of our Lord. These make a lovely Easter tradition.

#3:  Words from the WORD: Who’s Your Aaron? Who’s Your Hur?  (4/17/20)

Inspired by Exodus 17:15, Ex. 17:15, one of our board members describes this teaching as, “A great reminder of how we can encourage others and how they can encourage us as we pray and hold each other up!”

#4:  Words from the WORD: #HighNoonHighTime to Pray in May (5/1/20)

This video launched our Pray-Every-Day-in-May challenge, as it encouraged us to pray during challenging times. One board member proclaims the Write the WORD bookmark for May (presented in the video) as her all-time favorite.

#5:  Psalm 23: The Shepherd Psalm (5/15/20)

This was part of our four-week study in Psalms. We memorize it, quote it, and often hear it at funerals, but we need to study Psalm 23. It has a lot to say about living the Christian life.

#6:  Psalms from the Heart Psalm 34: Praising God Even in Fear  (5/22/20)

This video highlights what one friend described as, “the upside down logic of scripture. Learning to lose to gain, being last to be first (serve to lead), humbling ourselves to be exalted.”

#7:  Decorating With Seasonal Pillows (6/22/20)

Using pillow covers (rather than buying pillows) can save time and money. One board member shared this feedback: “I love it when you encourage saving money and time and still keep the integrity of classy decorating.”

#8:  S.P.A.M. It: How To Get Organized One Drawer At A Time! (9/7/20)

Using the acronym S.P.A.M (Sort, Purge, Arrange, Maintain), this video presents a method for de-cluttering and organizing.

#9:  S.P.A.M. Your Closet! (9/21/20)

This video is a spin-off of the one above that introduced the S.P.A.M.-It Method – but this time tackling a closet.

#10:  Romans Lesson 2 (9/25/20)

Addressing the often-controversial topic of sin and what it entails in Romans 1, the opening analogy for this teaching lecture was the Apollo 13 disaster, “Houston, we have a problem.” And indeed, we all have a sin problem! One of our small-group leaders commented after that the teaching addressed a difficult topic with grace and truth.

#11:  Romans Lesson 4 (10/16/20)

The introduction uses “Mirror, Mirror on the wall…” from the Disney film, Snow White, to help us see the purpose of the law in our lives. The teaching unpacks “churchy” words like justification, redemption, and atonement/propitiation.

#12:  Romans Lesson 7  (11/13/2020)

Includes ten practical ideas for living dead-to-sin. One board member commented, “I loved your Top 10 ways to live, it could be applied to each and every one of us.”

AND LASTLY … a bonus to make it a baker’s dozen! While this one dates all the way back to 2018, one friend chose this as a favorite video and had the following to say about the lessons she gleaned from it:  “Obedience is better than sacrifice. God is holy, righteous and compassionate. He is the same and never changing. The boundaries are clear … there is no guessing how we are to live.”

#13:  Israel’s Royal History Begins: 1 Samuel Lesson 9  (11/14/2018)

Thank you for your support of Cross My Heart Ministry in 2020. I pray that you will continue to be blessed by the teaching, tips, and free resources we will be sharing with you in 2021!