Breaking the Summer Slump With Books That Inspire

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Summer has the reputation of being a slump. There’s the summer slump that kids get where they forget everything they’ve learned in school over the summer. Then there’s the spiritual slump, where people get too busy in the summer to go to church and read their Bibles. Then there’s the slump of not being on a schedule, sleeping in too long, and more.

But summer doesn’t have to be a slump for anything. In fact, summer can be a great time to spend extra time doing things you don’t normally get to do. One of those things just might be reading. There’s nothing more encouraging than picking up a book that really inspires, motivates, or encourages you. I made a list of several books that I’ve read within the last year or so that really encouraged me.

Here’s a list of ten books along with a short synopsis and a quote I loved from each book.

Mostly What God Does by Savannah Guthrie

This book has short chapters; it’s a collection of essays on different topics. But the basis of the book is this…Mostly what God does is love you. It’s really an encouraging and inspirational read.

“How do we summon and maintain that feeling of being loved? It’s pretty simple. We don’t. Because it’s not a feeling; it’s a fact. To ‘remain in God’s love’ is a frame of mind. We use our brains to remind our hearts. We may not be able to sustain the emotion of being loved by God, but we can remain in the knowledge of being loved by God.”

Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson

This is one those books that you can’t rush through. You may only read a page or two at a time, but it’s really good at the soul level.

“No literature is more realistic and honest in facing the harsh facts of life than the Bible. At no time is there the faintest suggestion that the life of faith exempts us from difficulties.”

“Discipleship is a decision to live by what I know about God, not what I feel about him or myself or my neighbors.”

Create Anyway: The Joy of Pursuing Creativity in the Margins of Motherhood by Ashlee Gadd

I really enjoyed this book. It’s all about creating, even in the midst of mothering and raising little ones. It’s also really pretty. The artist is a photographer and uses full-color photos in this book, adding to its artistry. it’s a mix between encouragement to be a good mom and encouragement to be a creative.

“We can take heart in a God who is capable of using every ounce of our mothering, and every ounce of our art, for sacred work that can never be measured in numbers.”

“Our role is to simply make the art, open our hands, and then wait and see what God does with it.”

A Simplified Life by Emily Ley

Emily Ley is a successful businesswoman that loves structure and to-do lists and planners but also is a mom of little ones. Her books are always practical and helpful and full of inspiration to tidy up your life.

“Clearing clutter unlocks the power our homes have to be places of refuge, rest, and relaxation.”

“The goal of simplifying isn’t to embrace bare or sparse or extreme; it’s to eliminate distractions so you can focus on what really matters, treasure the possessions you do have, and live life a little easier.”

Sister Roar by Kay Robertson and Lisa Robertson

This book is full of inspiration and encouragement in Duck Commander style. I really enjoyed getting glimpses behind the scenes of the men and women in the popular show.

“It’s time to be the strong, unique woman God create you to be–the peace-filled, loving, happy, full-of-potential woman he sees when he looks at you.”

Cultivate by Lara Casey

This book is another one that you can’t really rush through, but I enjoyed it. It’s all about going under the surface of your work, relationships, and home, and seeing where things are really at.

“I’m learning that there is magic in the middle ground. There’s good stuff for us in the tension of the in-between. Growth happens in the wait.”

“Imperfection is a gift because it opens a door for us to see His ever-present grace. Right where were are, in every season, His grace abounds.”

Simply Tuesday by Emily Freeman

I loved this book. It’s all about embracing and finding joy in the Tuesdays of life–the mundane, ordinary days.

“But Tuesday teaches me that part of living well in ordinary time is letting this day be good. Letting this day be a gift. Letting this day be filled with plenty.”

“Here’s to giving ourselves permission to bring our gifts Ito the presence of God, knowing he will bring them out of us in his own timing and in his own way.”

The Time-Saving Mom by Crystal Paine

Crystal is an author and really popular blogger. This book is full of practice advice–schedules, habits, planning, systems, etc.

“This system allows me to get a lot done each day while also having breathing room and time for enjoying life, resting, creating, and investing in relationships.”

Resilient by Rebekah Lyons

This was another really good read. It’s a reminder that the life of faith takes resilience and getting back up again and again. It’s about how to handle adversity and trials and Rebekah’s personal story.

“Some mental health professionals believe we are in one of the angriest and most anxious, depressed, and isolated eras of human history.”

“He held us when we couldn’t feel him, whispered when we couldn’t hear him, and stayed by our side when we couldn’t see Him. He led me into deeper resilience, first individually, then with my family, then with my community. And he’d done it all through adversity.”

The Powerful Purpose of Introverts by Holly Gerth

This book was so eye-opening and gave me permission to embrace the introvert side of me without being afraid of it. I’m really glad I read it. I learned so much from this book!

“Our introvert brains release feel-good chemicals when we turn inward, focus on ideas, have meaningful conversations, and do work that matters to us.”

“As introverts, we need solitude to recalibrate our brains and nervous systems, process our thoughts, make decisions, figure out priorities, refuel for socializing, and reconnect with our true selves.”

Bonus: Untangle Your Emotions

I haven’t read this one yet, but it’s next on my TBR list. I love Jenni Allen’s other books, though, and know I’ll enjoy this one as well.

Pick one of these ten books to read to help you break out of that summer slump! I promise you won’t regret it.

Happy reading!

Why Pressure and Stress Don’t Have to Steal Your Joy

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l love summer! It takes forever to come to Pennsylvania, but when it finally arrives, I am here for it. I love the break from school and schedules and the freedom to just enjoy summer. I love being outside in the sun, extra time to spend in my morning time, and all the iced coffee!

Pressure and Stress

But even as I enjoy summer break, I am conscious of the fact that school begins again in just a few short weeks. Once school starts, the busiest part of our year kicks off. While that’s really good, it also brings with it lots of pressure and stress. Right now is a good time to think about how we’ll handle that stress and pressure before it’s actually here.

Psalms 119 has something great to say about handling stress and pressure that we need to take note of.

As pressure and stress bear down on me,
I find joy in your commands.

Psal 119:143 NLT

Two Opposing Thoughts

This verse seems so contradictory. You have two different, opposing thoughts. Pressure and stress…and joy. How do those work together? The writer of Psalms understood that the greater the outside pressure or force on us, the greater the internal pressure needs to be so that we don’t get crushed. The way to withstand great amounts of pressure externally is to have an equal and opposite pressure internally.

We have to get strong inside…spiritually if we’re going to make it. We have to develop those spiritual muscles of faith, trust, obedience, and joy. The author of this Psalm tells us that the way to fight back under pressure and stress is to find joy. Where do we find that joy? In His Word.

A Different Way

The greater the stress and pressure, the more important spending time with God becomes. Yet, we often do just the opposite. We cut short our time with God to get to our work sooner, so we can get more accomplished. As the stress increases, we take on more and more just to try to keep our head above water.

Yet, God shows us a different way of dealing with stress and pressure. He tells us to bring our burdens to Him and let Him carry them for us.

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

I Peter 5:7 NLT

The days we feel the most stress and pressure are the days that it’s crucial to fit in our morning time routine. We can’t skip our time with God on those days because that’s the only way we’re going to find the joy we need to keep going.

More Encouragement

Check out my post, My Favorite Bible Studies to do This Summer for recommendations for Bible studies and be sure to check out Manney Resources for all things morning time routine—journals, Bible studies, and more.

Our Trip out West and through the Mountains

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My family and I just got back from our trip out West. We had an amazing time, crossing 14 states, almost 6,000 miles, and lots of amazing stops. Some of our visits included Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, our first rodeo, the Creation Museum, and lots more.

Surrounded by Mountains

We spent so much time this trip driving in the mountains–around them, through them, over them…At any given point in our trip, we were surrounded by them. While I like looking at the mountains, driving through them is another story altogether and not my favorite. But the place we rented in Wyoming was surrounded on all sides by mountains, and the scenery was amazing. Every time I looked out the window, it took my breath away.

Lift My Eyes to the Hills

Every time I looked out at the mountains, the words from Psalm 121 would run through my mind.

I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?

My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!

Psalm 121:1

The Songs of Ascents

The background to this passage helps the passage make sense. This Psalm is part of a group of Psalms known as the Song of Ascents. These were the passages God’s people would sing and recite as they made their way to the temple. It was a pilgrimage, and they would sing these words as they went on their journey.

What’s interesting to note, as you can probably derive from the title of this collection, they were ascending as they sang. They would have traveled through the Judaean mountains or hills to get to the temple. These would have included ones we’re familiar with such as the Mount of Olives, the Temple Mount, and Mount Zion.

The View Never Gets Old

They were familiar with mountains; they were a way of life for these travelers. And yet, does anyone ever get over their beauty? Even if you live by the mountains, you still don’t ever get over their beauty. Although my parents live near the base of the Rocky Mountains, the view never gets old.

I don’t think it’s by coincidence that God led his followers through the them as part of their journey. It was a visible reminder of His incredible power and presence.

God’s Unfailing love

Every time I look at the mountains, I am reminded of how big God is and how small I am. I am reminded that the God of the universe who created these amazing mountains also created me and cares about the details of my life. I’m also reminded of His unfailing love for me.

For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens.
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

Psalm 57:10

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post, How Nature Helps Me Combat Discouragement. If you don’t live near the mountains but love the scenery of the mountains, try putting out some pictures to look at, like this collection of postcards of the national parks.

My Favorite Bible Studies to Do This Summer

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Summer is coming!! With that comes a break from school, maybe a loosening of schedules, and hopefully extra down time. It’s a great time to spend extra time in your morning time routine. During the school year, it’s hard to find extra time. But during the summer, it’s a great time to grab an iced coffee and spend a few extra minutes studying God’s Word. With that in mind, I wanted to share some recommendations for Bible studies to do this summer. There are so many good ones out there, but these are some of my favorites.

Devotionals from Manney Resources

Of course, you can check out any of our devotionals. There are so many to choose from, but You Are Not Alone and God is for You are two of my favs.

If you want to do your own Bible study, be sure to check out our Faithfully Stepping Journals. They are blank and can be used with any Bible study or your own personal study. This one is the journal I’m currently using and loving.

Immerse Bible

We are in our second year of using the Immerse Bible during the summer at our church. Immerse takes books of the Bible and removes the chapter headings, verses, and other additives and leaves you with a read-through of those books of the Bible that’s clean and has tons of room to write on the sides. It really opens your eyes when you read books of the Bible as a whole without verses and chapters; it makes the whole picture come together. I really enjoy doing the Immerse Bibles.

Last year, we did Messiah, which is the entire New Testament. This year, we are doing Poets, which is Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and Lamentations.

Bible Studies from Daily Grace Co

I absolutely love the Bible studies from Daily Grace Co. These studies are full color and are absolutely beautiful and really well-written. They have tons of great ones. I have personally done Habakkuk, Psalm 23, Ecclesiastes, and Colossians. I received two more for Mother’s Day that I’ve been waiting for summer to do.

Extras

Don’t forget the coffee, a great candle, and good pens. They help make morning time so much better!

I hope these suggestions help you find a great Bible study for the summer! Let me know if you try and of them!!

Never Give Up Praying

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Do you ever feel like you pray for the same things over and over again, but those prayers don’t get answered? Sometimes, it feels tempting to just give up on praying and give in to the thought that things are never going to change.

The Unjust Judge

Jesus understood that desire to give up and stop praying and told a parable about how we’re not supposed to ever give up on prayer. He tells the story of the unjust judge in Luke 18. A widow comes to this unjust judge and asks for justice in a dispute she’s having. We don’t know what the dispute was; we just know she was determined. She kept coming to the judge over and over and over again. The judge finally gives in to her request–not because he wants to. No, he gives in because she’s driving him crazy with her constant asking.

There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people,but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”

Luke 18:2-5

Keep Praying

Jesus tells this story as an example of how we are supposed to pray. We’re supposed to keep praying and never give up.

Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Matthew 7:7,8

Jesus knew that we struggle with consistency in prayer. Sometimes it’s hard to keep praying for something, to keep believing. And yet, so many of the miracles and work Jesus did were based on faith. Everything He taught and did came back to faith. Jesus did or didn’t do miracles according to people’s faith.

Don’t Give Up

When it comes to prayer, it’s so easy to give up, to feel like it’s not making a difference. But just as in the story of the unjust judge, it matters. If the woman had given up, she wouldn’t have gotten her answer.

We get so busy and rush from one thing to the next. We get discouraged and frustrated with our day and feel like the pressure of the world is coming at us. The best thing we can do, is take the time to pray. Take the time to tell God what’s on our heart and ask for his strength to make it through the day.

No Time to Pray

I got up early one morning

And rushed right into the day;

I had so much to accomplish

That I didn’t take time to pray.

Problems just tumbled about me,

And heavier came each task,

“Why doesn’t God help me?” I wondered.

He answered, “You didn’t ask.”

I wanted to see joy and beauty,

But the day toiled on gray and bleak;

I wondered why God didn’t show me;

He said, “But you didn’t seek.”

I tried to come into God’s presence;

I used all my keys at the lock;

God gently and lovingly chided,

“My child you didn’t knock.”

I woke up early this morning,

And paused before entering the day;

I had so much to accomplish

That I had to take time to pray.

– Anonymous

Whatever your burdens are today, don’t stop praying. Don’t give up on asking. God hears. I don’t know when the answer will come, but I know it’s too soon to give up. You don’t know when the breakthrough will come. It may be just around the corner, but you’ll never see it if you give up now.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out Matt’s book, Breakthrough; or read my post, What LJ Taught Me about Praying.

New Kids’ Devotional and Giveaway!

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I am so excited to announce that we have created our first kids’ devotional. This is something Matt and I have talked about for years and has finally come to fruition.

If you’ve been around Faithfully Stepping for any length of time, you know I am a huge fan of having a morning time routine. I talk about it quite a bit because I believe the best way to grow in our relationship with God is by spending time with Him every morning through prayer, Bible reading, and journaling. I believe the same is true for kids, and now they can have their own devotional.

Heroes and Villains Kids’ Devotional

Matt has created our first kids’ journal, the first of many. Heroes and Villains is an interactive devotional designed for kids ages 8-12 who love puzzles, games, drawing, and big adventures. Each of the 31 devotionals features:

A Bible story that brings Scripture to life. A lesson from a hero or villain to follow or avoid
A Scripture passage with questions to explore
A challenge to apply the lesson to everyday life
A puzzle, word search, decoder, sketch, or coloring page

This devotional is perfect for kids to do on their own or as a family devotional. It makes learning about God and His Word fun, exciting, and unforgettable.

A Great Place to Start

Our girls (ages 9 and 11) worked through the journal and finished it before we started promoting it, and they loved it. My nine-year-old came to me the morning after she finished it and was sad because she didn’t have any more devotional pages to do.

If you have a child or a grandchild that you want to get into reading God’s Word each day but don’t know where to start, Heroes and Villains is a great way to get them started. They won’t get bored with it as each day has a different activity to do as part of the lesson.

Giveaway

To make this even more exciting, Matt is doing a giveaway with this new devotional. The giveaway includes everything your child needs for an awesome morning time basket.

Heroes and Villains Devotional
Fun Multi-colored Pen
A Kids’ Bible
Colored Pencils
Lucky Charms Cereal Bars

The great thing is that you can create this same basket for your child at home. I can guarantee they will love it and be excited to do their morning time each morning! Enter to win the GIVEAWAY!

Hope in the Midst of Suffering

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I was talking with a friend recently who’s going through a difficult time. And then, this week during my morning time, I read this verse and found the words to be able to share hope with her.

He does not ignore the cries of those who suffer. He does not ignore the cries of those who suffer.

Psalm 9:12 NLT

It is such an incredible relief to know that God doesn’t ignore the cries of those who suffer. God hears our cries and won’t ignore us when we are suffering.

Suffering brings about two responses in people.

1. Doubt

When we are pushed to our limits, many of us choose to doubt. We go from believing God to doubting Him and turning away from him. Our belief in his goodness and faithfulness turns to no longer trusting Him and questioning His goodness. Our belief becomes unbelief. The things we always held to no longer work for us.

We find ourselves on a path away from God for a time. That time may be for just a few days or a few weeks. But if we’re not careful, that could turn into months and even years. And then one day, we wake up and find ourselves so far away from God and church and anything to do with Christianity and we wonder how in the world we got there. It all started with doubt when we found ourselves in a time of testing or suffering.

2. Trust

The second response takes a lot more faith, and that is to trust. When the suffering comes, we choose to trust God. We trust in His goodness and refuse to believe He’s not who He said He is. We choose to let our belief in Him grow deeper, and we grow in our relationship with God during that time.

This trust leads to stronger belief and a surety of our faith in God. It’s the roots that grow deep like Paul talks about in Colossians.

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

Colossians 2:6,7 NLT

Time of Suffering

Do you find yourself in a place of suffering today? Are you in pain, and you don’t know what to do or if you can make it through? Let these words from the Psalms encourage your heart. God does hear you; He doesn’t ignore your suffering. That can bring us immense comfort.

If you find yourself in a place of suffering, ask God for the faith to endure and to keep believing. Keep believing that God is good, that He is who He says He is. Remember His faithfulness.

I will never forget this awful time,
    as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare to hope
    when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!^[b]
    His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.

Lamentations 3:20-23

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my book, The Hidden Pain: When You Fear God is No Longer Blessing Your Life, or check out my post, Don’t Run When the Pruning Starts.

What’s Currently In My Morning Time Basket

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Probably my most favorite topic to talk about on my blog is a morning time routine. I am so convinced that a morning time routine is the best way to grow in our relationship with God that I have a hard time not talking about it. And of course, if I’m talking morning time routine, I have to talk about my morning time routine basket.

Thirty-to-THRIVE System

Not familiar with a morning time routine? The system Matt and I teach is called 30-to-THRIVE. It’s a thirty-minute routine for reading your Bible, praying, journaling, and reading a book. It looks like this:

First 10 Minutes

The first ten minutes is for reading your Bible or a devotional. I am currently loving the devotionals from Daily Grace Co. Of course, I’m also a fan of the devotionals that we write as well. You can find those at Manney Resources.

Second 10 MInutes

This time is used for journaling for both prayer and application for what you read. For the prayer time, I write down at least three things I’m grateful for. Then I write down things I need to confess. Lastly, I write down my requests. Then I take the time to pray through each of those things.

After that, I write down anything that stood out to me from my Bible reading time. It may be a verse, a thought, or just something that stood out to me that I don’t want to forget.

Third 10 Minutes

The last set of ten minutes is set aside for reading a book. I read something inspirational, spiritual, or a book that I can learn from.

That is the 30-to-THRIVE system in a nutshell. If you want to see this process broken down into greater detail, check out my free Morning Time Routine Course.

My Morning Time Basket

I have found the easiest thing for me to keep all my supplies in one place is to put them all in my morning time basket. That way I’m not spending time each morning trying to find my Bible or a pen or anything else I might need.

So what’s currently in my morning time basket?

1. My Bible.

I currently use this NLT Bible from Amazon. I’m probably close to getting another one sometime soon. This one is pretty marked up and ready to be saved for one of my kids to have one day. So I will start another one soon.

2. My Journal

I use this Faithfully Stepping Journal every single morning. Matt and I created them, so I’m obviously a little biased; but I love these journals. It’s exactly what I need each morning.

Each journal has a section at the top for prayer and includes sections for gratitude, confession, and requests. Next is a section for writing down anything that stood out to me during my Bible reading. Lastly, there’s a section to write down any tasks that come to mind that I don’t want to forget.

3. My Current Read

I am currently reading The Time Saving Mom by Crystal Paine and loving it. It’s so practical and exactly what I need right now. I just finished Mostly What God Does by Savannah Guthrie; that was a really good book as well.

4. My Current Bible Study

I am working on a Bible study that I hope to have out by the end of this year or early next year on the book of Job. So I have a spiral-bound notebook in my basket that I’m using for that study.

5. My Pens

Of course, you can’t have a morning time basket without pens. These Pilot G2 Gel pens are the newest pens in my basket. The other pens I have are all PaperMate gel pens in different styles and colors. I love colored pens for my morning time; it keeps things fresh because I change out the color every single morning.

6. Thank you Cards

I have a pack of thank you cards in my basket. It’s the best place to keep them because if I’m going to write a thank-you note, I usually think about it first thing in the morning with my to-do list for the day. So I get it done right then.

7. My Next Daily Grace Co. Study

I have a bible study in my basket that I’m saving for vacation in a few weeks, so it’s in my basket as well.

8. Bookmarks

I always keep a few bookmarks in my basket. I use them in the books I read as part of my morning time. I also always keep one in my Bible for underlining. I am currently loving the bookmarks from SJWonderlandz. They’re not spiritual, but they’re bookish. So I always have a few of those on hand.

9. Gratitude Journal

We made gratitude journals at the beginning of the year, and I keep mine in my basket. I don’t write in it every day; I do that in my Faithfully Stepping Journal every morning. I save my gratitude journal for bigger things–events, things I want to remember, answers to prayer, etc.

So, that’s it–a peek inside my morning time basket. Do you use a morning time basket. If so, what’s in yours?

Believe Again: Easter Hope for Everyday Faith

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Unbelief

Sometimes, we’re really hard on Thomas. I mean his nickname is “Doubting Thomas,” so it’s kind of warranted. But it’s interesting that it wasn’t just Thomas who doubted. The disciples also doubted.

After his resurrection, Jesus appears first to Mary Magdalene.

After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went to the disciples, who were grieving and weeping, and told them what had happened. But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn’t believe her.

Mark 16:9-11 NLT

Mary Magdalene told the disciples that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, but they didn’t believe her. Next, Jesus appears to two of his followers as they travel. He walks with them and talks with them. They hurry to tell the others, but they don’t believe them.

Afterward he appeared in a different form to two of his followers who were walking from Jerusalem into the country. They rushed back to tell the others, but no one believed them.

Mark 16:12,13 NLT

Stubborn Unbelief

Jesus told them exactly what would happen, and they had eye witness accounts of his resurrection. Yet, they chose not to believe. When Jesus finally shows himself to the disciples, he rebukes them for their unbelief. Not only does He call it unbelief, He calls it stubborn unbelief.

Still later he appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their stubborn unbelief because they refused to believe those who had seen him after he had been raised from the dead.

Mark 16:14 NLT

Failing to Believe

How did the people who got to actually see Jesus and hear his teaching and know Him personally doubt in the end? If their faith wasn’t strong enough; there’s no hope for my faith.

So much in the Gospels comes back to belief. Jesus healed or didn’t heal based on people’s belief. All of his healing and his teaching kept coming back to belief.

It’s not so different in our lives all these years later. God wants to work in our lives, but He still does that work according to our belief or unbelief. I wonder if far too often, God doesn’t do something in our lives simply because we fail in this area of believing.

Choose to Believe

As we celebrate Good Friday today and Easter on Sunday, it’s a good time to reflect on what Jesus did for us. But let’s take it further than that. Let’s choose not to be like the disciples who missed what was in front of them. Let’s not let the struggles and difficulties of life make us doubt God’s goodness and love. The same Jesus who died on the cross and rose for us is the same Jesus who is still walking beside us today. Let’s believe in his goodness and trust that the same God who rose from the dead is the same God who will take care of me today.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post, When Everything Changed for Mary, and She Could Hope Again or check out Matt’s book, Six Days to Sunday, an Easter devotional.

Flowers and the Father’s Love

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Making Flower Arrangements

On Sunday, my family and I showed up at our local produce store and spent about ten minutes picking out several dozen flowers for our ladies’ event. After church, we put all the flowers out on a table, along with vases and decorations from the dollar store. After lunch, we all gathered around the tables and picked which flowers we wanted and went to work decorating vases and filling them with flowers.

It was really fun. In fact, I had such a great time, I did the same thing on Thursday with my kids as a part of school. We went back to our produce store and bought more flowers, and then went back to Dollar Tree for vases and ribbon. They each got to make a vase of flowers and then had to do a nature study sheet with a sketch and label for each flower they chose.

So Uniquely Different

There are now several vases of flowers scattered around our house, and I have to say I love it more than I thought I would. There’s something about choosing which flowers you love and creating your own arrangement of them that’s just so fun. Each of my kids created their own set of flowers that are similar (because we all pulled from the same flowers) and yet so completely different. And each of them is highly satisfied with their arrangement.

Every time I see one of the vases of flowers we created, it brings a smile to my face; and it fills my heart with praise and gratitude. It’s such a small thing, but it makes my heart happy.

God’s View of Us

It makes me think of how God must feel when He looks at each of us, His perfect creations. Each one of us is similar in that we are all made of flesh and blood and in God’s image, and yet, we are all so incredibly different as well.

When He made you, He didn’t make any mistakes. He made you exactly how He wanted you to be, and that brings Him incredible joy.

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

Psalm 139:14 NLT

Grab Some Flowers

So this is my encouragement to you today. First, go grab some flowers from a produce store (for cheap) and gather a few friends, family members, neighbors, ladies from church, and make your own arrangements. It’s so fun! You won’t regret it.

If that doesn’t work for you, snag a bouquet of flowers from the store. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Put them out somewhere where you can see them throughout the day and be reminded of the fact that God loves you so very much. He created you uniquely different from anybody else in the world. He made you, you. And He is really proud of His creation.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post, Finding Freedom from Comparing Ourselves or check out David Jeremiah’s book, God Loves You: He Always Has, He Always Will.