Holy Hunger & Satisfaction in Christ

Psalm 63 has been a favourite of mine for a while. 

I have read it over and over and studied it in-depth a year or so ago. 

As I am reading through Psalms at the moment, I reached Psalm 63 and got to take a deeper look at it again.

What never ceases to amaze me, is how no matter how many times you return to a passage of scripture, you can always come away with something new!

So this time as I read the words of the psalmist David, new things dawned on me and in the season I am in right now the meaning of this psalm became more precious to me.

I was so refreshed by what I learned I simply had to share a few points with you. I also highly suggest you study this psalm yourself, especially if you don't feel like getting into the word during this season of your life.

David writes these words when he is in the wilderness of Judah. He was in a desperate situation, he was most likely tired, thirsty and hungry. But instead of complaining about his fleshly needs, he makes holy complaints, pleas for spiritual food & water.

He knows that feeding his soul is more important that feeding his body. So He cries out to God!

There are three main references to the soul in the passage.

My soul thirsts for You

My soul shall be satisfied

My soul follows hard after You

I took a closer look at these three statements and learned some wonderful things!

1. My soul THIRSTS for You

The meaning of thirst is to have a strong desire for something, to feel dry, to have one's heart set on something. 

This should be my heart for God. A constant holy hunger. To feel dry without Him, to have my heart set on knowing Him.

(Ps 42:1-2, Mat 6:33, Hosea 5:15)

I must be diligent in soaking my soul in the water of the word daily. 

2. My soul shall be SATISFIED

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food. (Ps 63:5)

Satisfied means contented, fulfilled, enjoyment, pleasure & comfort.

David knows that it is only in God that his soul will be satisfied. He knows that God alone can satisfy his longing soul.

For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness. Psalm 107:9

3. My soul CLINGS to You

To cling means to hold on tight, to remain close, cleave, grasping and embracing.

God never leaves us, so if we 'feel' distant from God it is because we did not remain close, or hold on tight to His promises (one of which is that He will never leave us nor forsake us!).

This psalm paints a picture of what it is to have a holy hunger & thirst. That thirst is for righteousness (Mat 5:6).

I also sensed a sort of cycle depicted in this psalm. 

Our souls thirst or long for something (God) but we often choose to fill it with other things. 

When we chose to fill and feed that thirst with God and His word we become truly satisfied. The more satisfied we become in Christ, the more we cling/cleave to Him because we know we will not experience such peace or contentment anywhere else. We thirst for Him more and more because once we have tasted and seen that He is good, our souls crave more and more. And so the cycle continues!

I hope that made sense! These are real and raw notes from my journal so I'm not sure that they always make sense to anyone other than myself! 

I hope this post encouraged you and please read and study this psalm for yourself!

keep blooming,

A Reminder to Have Hope

Hello darlings!

With everything going on in the world at the moment, I would share with you the hope that has been keeping me afloat and positive.
As Christians, we don't have to be fearful and worried about the days to come because we can put our faith and trust in our loving Father.
It is also our job to share this hope and peace with others and remind our fellow brothers & sisters in Christ of it too.

Remember the story of when the disciples were caught in a storm at sea? Jesus appeared to them walking on the water and Peter steps out in faith to join Jesus on the water.
As long as he had his eyes fixed on Christ, he was able to walk on the water. But as soon as he focused on the waves, he started to sink.
We too will sink in fear, anxiety and worry if we don't keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and not the storm that rages around us.

We as followers of Christ do have a hope we can cling to. As we cling to that, we must also be reminding each other of our future in heaven. (More on that later.)

Now for the scriptures that give me hope during uncertainty.


1 Peter 1:3-9
This whole chapter is a wonderful passage of scripture but the verses I want to focus on are verses
3-9. Those of us who are born again are born again into a living hope, to an inheritance that is incorruptible and that does not fade away, kept in heaven.
We may be grieved by various trials for the moment and this tests the genuineness of our faith which is more precious than gold.



Revelation 4-5 & 21
I'm not exactly sure what it is about these chapters but they fill me with such joy and hope when I imagine what they look like in my mind.
This is our future! We will all be in heaven together praising and glorifying God.


1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
One day, the Lord Himself will descend and take all those who believed on Him into the clouds and we will be with Him in heaven.
Verse 18 concludes, we must comfort one another with these words.


It is a comfort to me to know that one day there will be no more pain & no more tears.
And when our brother or sister in Christ is feeling overwhelmed by the evil in this world, we are to comfort them by reminding them that this world in not our home.


keep blooming,

Getting Back Into The Word

Hello darlings!

I coming to you today from the couch in our living room with a post that I need and I hope that you will also benefit from it.

Since the beginning of this year, I have found it difficult to have regular quiet times with the Lord.
Now life has been full of ups and downs for me ever since December 2019 till now.
I knew that I needed Jesus in those moments but it was hard to find the time and the frame of mind to sit still and read His Word.

In the past week I have tried getting back into it, but it is still a struggle however much I crave it and need it.

So here I am today with this post where I will give myself and you ideas and motivation to get back into the Bible!


1. Spend time with Him even when you don't feel like it.
One of the biggest lessons I learnt last year was that you shouldn't depend on your feelings when it come to spending time with God. You may not feel like it but it is so important that you do it anyway. Then eventually it will become easier and He will give you a desire for His Word.


2. Change things up.
This will look different from person to person but make whatever changes you think you need to get back into reading the Word.
Maybe do it in a new place in your house or outdoors. Use a new Bible study or plan.
Start reading a Christian non-fiction book at the beginning of your quiet time.


3. Listen to worship music or hymns during the day.
I always find that listening to some Christian music uplifts and inspires me and sometimes gets me motivated to spend more time with God.


4. Pour out your heart to Him in your journal.
I recently started doing this and it has been really good. All I do is pull out my journal before I start my quiet time and answer the question God asked Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, "Where are you?"
Where are you at? Where is your heart?
Tell Him how you feel and what is on your heart. He is a caring Father who wants to know you!


5. Do a Bible study with some friends or together with others on the YouVersion Bible app.
I'm doing this at the moment and not only does it keep you and your friends accountable, it is a wonderful way to grow together and connect over the Word.


6. Make it a time you look forward to.
Make this special time with Jesus special same as you would with a friend. Make yourself comfortable, brew some tea or coffee, light a candle or turn on some fairy lights, and use some pretty stationary for your journaling.
Also remember who it is that you are meeting with. We have the privilege to meet with the King of the Universe when ever we want! And He is always there waiting for you to spend time with Him.



Do you have any thought or ideas? Share them in the comments!
I'd love to hear your thoughts and I pray that we all have the strength and grace to get back into the Word and continue in it.

keep blooming,

Good & Bad Fruit // Lesson from the Garden

Hello darlings!

Summer is coming to an end.
This was clear to me as I was out in our garden harvesting the last of the delicious plums from the tree in our backyard. They were littered all over the ground underneath the tree.
As we have been quite busy, we weren't able to keep up with the amount of plums this tree was producing.
So as I was trying to salvage as many good plums as I could from the ground I had to pick through the already rotting plums to find the good ones.

I would see a plum that looked perfectly fine but as I picked it up and turned it over I found that it was either rotten or being eaten away by half a dozen bees.

This formed an analogy in my mind.

Sometimes a Christian's life will look great on the outside or from the side they show the world but in reality they are rotting on the inside.
They put up a front, a show, to make it look as though they are following Christ but in the shadows they lead a life of sin.

Jesus called out the Pharisees and scribes on this very issue. On the outside the Pharisees appeared to lead righteous lives. But their hearts weren't in it.
They were not actively pursuing a relationship with the Lord.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness.

So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."

Matthew 23:27-28 (emphasis added)

Lets look at the root of this problem.

"A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit."

Matthew 7:18

I believe that this, shall we say heart condition, is a result of an 'unhealthy' or 'diseased' heart.
Like the Pharisees, we can sometimes have knowledge of God and the Bible and do all the Christian things, but in our hearts we don't personally and intimately know God and so cannot follow him well.

There needs to be a balance or head knowledge and heart knowledge in our walk with Christ.

Challenge

Here is a challenge for us all.

- Does your heart resemble a lovely juicy plum or a bad rotting plum?
- What fruit is your life producing?

"For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit."

Luke 6:43

As I was reading the verse above I read further into this chapter and discovered Luke 6:45.

"The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Luke 6:45

So my point is this, if we truly treasure God and His Word and seek a relationship with him, our hearts are 'healthy' and our lives will produce fruit.

Let us all be real Jesus-loving, Christians whose lives produce much fruit the radiates Christ!

I hope my rambling made sense and that you got something out if this post.

keep blooming,

Sin Entered the World // Christmas Through the Carols

Hello darlings!

This week was the first week of the Christmas Through the Carols Advent Bible reading plan that I created (link to that here).
The theme for this week was looking at  the Fall, & how sin came into the world, creating a need for a savior.

We began by looking in Genesis 3, which I love as a passage and find incredibly powerful.
Today, I wanted to share a few of the points I took away from reading & studying this chapter of the Bible.

First off, this chapter tells us lot about how Satan works.
As a Christian it is important to know our enemy, Satan, so that we can be prepared for his attacks and know how to fight back.
Here's what I found:

The serpent was more subtil (crafty) than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He crept in silently, and still does today, planting doubt and questioning the words of God.
He caused Eve to doubt the words of the Lord by asking her, "Did God really say...?"

"Satan suggested that God was withholding something good from them & tempted them to reach and grab what would make them like God himself." ~ Nancy Guthrie


On the flip side...

God always speaks truth. He never lies and always gives us rules that will guide us and keep us safe.
Psalm 84:11 says this: ...No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Adam & Eve were already made in the image of God, there did not need to make themselves more or better than Him.

My main takeaway point from my notes is this.

The fruit of the forbidden tree looked good. It was pleasing to the eyes, and it was tempting to reach out and pick one.
Something may look pleasing, tempting, promise us happiness, or satisfaction.
But the worldly things that are tempting to try or take, will not ultimately bring us fulfillment.
Alchohol, drugs, porn etc. may offer relief, satisfaction and happiness but their charms quickly fade and like Adam & Eve, we are left empty, cheated and ashamed.
When Adam & Eve ate the fruit, their eyes where opened and instead of feeling satisfied, they wee ashamed.

The Lord promises good things and true fulfillment. Because He is Lord God, His Word is to be trusted to be true & His promises sure.

At the end of this sad day in history, it seems as if all is lost.
But hush, the Lord is doing something! He has a plan to rescue his people from the result of sin-death-by sending His Son Jesus to die for us. Jesus died the death we deserve as sinners, but he became the ransom for us.
The story does have a happy and good ending. We who believe in Him and his sacrifice on the cross have the hope of heaven to cling to!


During this season of Christmas, we get to celebrate the gift the God gave the world on that night long ago.
May we ever be thankful & grateful for His love in giving up His son to die a sinners death so that we could experience the joys of heaven!


keep blooming,

Christmas Through the Carols // FREE Advent Bible Reading Plan

Hello darlings!

You know those ideas that just come to you out of nowhere and you have no idea if it will even work or how to do it but you go ahead and do it anyway?

Well, this was one of those ideas. I was just going about my day when the idea to create my own Advent Bible reading plan came to me and I went with it! I didn't know how was even going to create this, but I am very pleased with how it turned out.

So I am very excited to bring to you my Christmas Through the Carols Advent Bible reading plan!

~ ~ ~ ~

What inspired this plan?
It is called 'Christmas through the Carols because I wanted to take some of my favourite and most popular carols and delve into them a little and think about the words and how they relate to the beautiful Christmas story.
Throughout the month of December, I have compiled my favourite versions of the carols I selected for you to listen to.


How do you use this plan?
Each day there is a scripture reading and a song/activity. The scriptures were selected carefully to explore several main themes that encompass the Christmas story. The Fall, our need for a Saviour, prophecies of the Messiah, the coming of the Messiah, and hope for His second coming.
Through this plan, we will be reading form all over the Bible, including the Old Testament, the Gospels and even the letters in the New Testament to get a broad picture of the whole story and the wonderful way that God wrote it.


Right, are you ready to see this Christmas Bible reading plan? Okay in...
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3
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2
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1

Ta da!

I love how it tuned out and I can't wait to do this along with you!
Here's a closer look at the schedule...

Click here to download PDF!

What else can you expect this month?

Some fun, Christmassy posts here on this blog,  plus snippets of my Christmas preparations and what I get out of this Advent study over on my Instagram (@joy_and_wildflowers). 

I have also created a playlist with all of the songs in this Bible reading plan so that it is easier to find them.

Link to my Christmas Through the Carols playlist on Spotify!

I hope and pray that if you use this plan that it will fill you with hope and encourage you during this Christmas season.

One thing that I really desire is that we would all become women who love and cherish their Bibles and time spent between its pages. 

In doing this plan I also hope it will help us keep our eyes on Him during this busy but wonderful time of year.

keep blooming,

What Boosted My Study of the Bible

Hello darlings!

Let's face it. Sometimes, studying the Bible can be hard.

It's easy to just skim over it, sigh and then bring up a commentary on your phone to 'help' you make sense of what you just read.

But, this is not the way to do it. This is not true, dedicated study of the Scriptures and it won't lead to a good understanding of the Bible.

In the words of Jen Wilkin, "We're called to love the Lord our God with all of our mind, not John Piper's mind. While what he and others have to say about the Bible can be extremely helpful, it is no substitute for Bible study on our own."

"We must learn to study in such a way that we are not just absorbing the insights of another, but are actually being equipped to interpret and apply Scripture on our own."

A couple months ago I printed out Coffee & Bible Time's free printable annotation & highlight guide and started using it in my quiet time.

Link to their blog post here!

I tried using highlighter codes previously but I never continued for very long and didn't find they worked for me.

But for some reason this one was different and it worked! 

I also found the annotation ideas helpful in digging into a passage. Now I usually only use a study guide or commentary after I've written my own thoughts and only as a way to finish off my study.

My favourite 'colour' from the highlight guide is the purple one which is for who God is, His names, attributes, characteristics and actions.

I think it is so important that we not forget WHO the Bible is about and looking for God in each passage is a great thing to do!

Sometimes after I read a passage, I'm left thinking, "Well, what can I get out of that?"

And the annotation ideas help me there.

For example, one of the ideas is to write a bullet point list of God's attribute mentioned in that passage. 

So I read through it again and make a list of all of the attribute of God that was mentioned.

Or there's the idea of defining words. Are there any ket words that stood out that you don't know that definition for? 

Maybe you know the word but sometimes they can have a deeper meaning when you look up the definition and jot it down.

If you feel like your Bible study has been lacking lately, then I'd encourage you to maybe try using this simple guide.

One last tool that I've also found helpful is a book. Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin is a small book but full of helpful tips and methods to help equip you to better study the Bible.

Purchase Women of the Word

Highlighters I Use

Coffee & Bible Time Blog

I hope you enjoyed this short & sweet post and that it will help you on your journey in discovering the treasures in your Bible.

keep blooming,

P.S

I apologize if my posting is a bit irregular from now on. I will try to get back to Monday and Friday blog posts but for now, I'll just post whenever I have the time(life gets crazy sometimes!).

a little list of my favourite Psalms

Hello darlings!

Throughout the Bible, we see true stories of faith, God using people to carry out His plan and many of the human struggles. We can relate to the struggles of many of the famous Biblical characters, but to me the most human and relatable book of the Bible is Psalms.
David poured out his heart in the Psalms. His joy, sadness, grief, anger, depression, hope, gladness, the lot!

I love going back to the Psalms to read and meditate over them. Over the years a few have stuck out to me and remain some of my favourites and I am going to share them with you now.

~Psalm 139~

If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 

even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

(v.9-10)

Psalm 139 is so beautiful in my eyes! The language used is quite poetic, as you can see from these two verses. I just love it so much!

~Psalm 119~

Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. 

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

(v.2 & 11)

I know what you're thinking! The longest Psalm? 

Yes, I really love this Psalm. One day I read the whole thing through twice and it didn't take me as long as I expected. I love how it speaks of the importance of God's word and how we should study and delight in it.

~Psalm 34~

I sought the Lord, and he heard me and delivered me from all my fears.

They looked unto Him and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.

(v.4-5)

Again, I just love this Psalm and always associate these two verses especially with sunsets!

This psalm praises the Lord and gives hope to someone who is feeling low.

~Psalm 63~

Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. 

Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

(v.3-4)

I 'fell in love' with this psalm when I studied it along with a study video from Coffee & Bible Time on YouTube. It has since then been a favourite and I have memorized verse 3.

~Psalm 1~

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

(v.2)

My favourite thing about this psalm is the parallel between the righteous and the unrighteous. I love that the Bible gives us an example of both so we know not only what not to do, but what to do.

I hope this inspired you and uplifted you. Let me know your favourite Psalms in the comments!

keep blooming,

Do I Trust God?

Hello darlings!

After taking a break that ended up being longer than I anticipated, I am ready to gather some of my thoughts into a wee blog post for you!

So a week ago, I and my brother attended an annual youth retreat organized by some friends.
It is always a highlight of my year and this year was no different!


One of the things that I took away from the retreat this year was the question of "do I trust God?".
This simple but impacting question was posed to me and some other people one evening during a conversation after dinner.
I was very blessed by the whole conversation but the main thing that stuck with me was whether or not I trust God.
Let's apply it to some specific things:
Do I trust God with my life?
Do I trust God to be with me wherever He leads me?
Do I trust God with my love story?
Do I trust that God will remain faithful?

I could go on but all these questions boil down to this question, "do I trust God?".
As always it is important to look at what God's Word says about this topic.

Proverbs 3:5-6 
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.

Psalm 70:1 
In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.

Isaiah 26:4
Trust ye in the Lord forever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.

The Hebrew word for trust is batach and it means to have confidence, to be bold, to be secure and to feel safe.
Can you confidently say that all these things are true in your relationship with God?


While I have been pondering these things, the old song Tis So Sweet came to mind.

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,

Just to take Him at His word

Just to rest upon His promise,

Just to know, "Thus saith the Lord!"

Part of the not-so-secret secret to fully trusting in God is in the first verse of this lovely song.

"Just to rest upon His promise". When we are trusting in Him, we trust that His promises are true and that they are a firm foundation for us to stand on.

The Bible is full of God's promises to us from cover to cover. You can probably think of several off the top of your head.

Let them really sink in and ask yourself if you really believe that He will never leave you or forsake you, that He will supply all your needs, and that He hears your prayers.

So I leave you with a little challenge.

Take some time each day to meditate on one promise from Scripture and do so until you fully believe and trust that it is true.

Pray and ask the Lord to help you to trust Him with all your heart, and surrender each day to Him.

keep blooming,

Kindness

Hello darlings!

Recently I finished listening to an audiobook of Candace Cameron Bure's book, Kind is the New Classy and I was challenged by her message.
Her message was a simple one, but one that has power because kindness is powerful.
I definitely recommend that you read her book!
It got me thinking, so I wrote down some of my thoughts in my journal and I thought that I would share them on here too.
Hopefully, this will give you some food for thought and challenge you.

• • • •

Through reading this book, I realized that being simply being only as nice as necessary isn't enough.
I should really be more kind than necessary. I was convicted of this in my life.
I sometimes have the mindset that I only need to be a little bit kind to someone, but to enough to go out of my way to show them kindness.
It sounds awful, I'll admit, but it's the truth. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks this way sometimes.


One of the cool things about kindness is that one small act of kindness can start a ripple effect.
Your act of kindness to someone will most likely inspire them to act kindly to someone else.
In return, when you are kind, others will be more likely to show kindness back to you.

After reading Candace's words, I was inspired to keep my eyes open to any opportunities to be kind.
I want to go the extra mile in my everyday life and try to infuse the people around me with Christ's love through acts (or words) of kindness that the Lord will help me to do.
For example, I'm going to a youth conference in a few weeks and instead of only seeking what I can get out of it, I want to use it as an opportunity to seek ways in which I can serve and be kind to others.

I want to be the listening ear for anyone who has a burden, I want to be the person someone can laugh with, I want to be a light that spreads the love of Jesus everywhere I go and sometimes that means getting down and doing the dirty work (Jesus washed his disciples feet! You can't get much more dirty than that!) or the work that barely anybody notices. I want to be kind to everyone I meet and those who I already know.
I also believe that turning outside of myself to be kind to others around me will help me not to be so wrapped up in worrying about what others think of me (which is a struggle I have).


Ultimately by being kind to our fellow man (or woman!) we are following the example of Christ which is the most important motive. We will also be glorifying God in all that we do if we do it with love and kindness.
Genuine kindness is becoming rare in today's world, which is a world of anger, hate and rudeness (especially on the Internet).
It is our responsibility as Christians to be a light set on a hill, showing love, compassion and kindness on a broken and dark world that desperately needs it.

 So I challenge you to look around you today and see the ways that you can show kindness to the people around you. I'll start you off with a few ideas.

• Smile, really smile at people
• Write a letter, not or text to a friend to encourage them and let them know you are thinking of them
• Cook a meal for someone
• Take time to pray for someone
• Do some chores for your mum so she doesn't have to do them
• Offer to babysit for a busy mother
• Host people in your home and practice hospitality

Pinterest

The last thing I want to to say to you is we can't do this in your own strength. We need the strength of another, stronger than us. We need God's love and grace to help us.
We also cannot pour out all these good things to the people surrounding us if we don't fill ourselves up with Him first. This means that each and every day we need to come to Him to be filled.


We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us!


keep blooming,
xo Hannah

Living to please the Lord

Hello darlings!

Are you living a life that is pleasing to God? Or are you living to please others and fit in with the crowd?

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. ~ Galatians 1:10 ESV

If you're like me, maybe you answered yes to both questions. Maybe you have good intentions of living a godly lifestyle but still lack total commitment and surrender to Him.
It is hard to live in a way that is pleasing to the Lord, especially when there are so many influences in our culture that tell us to do otherwise.

We might intend to dress modestly, but are told by clothing brands and advertisements that that is simply not attractive.
We might have the desire to spend time in God's Word, but our culture says that it is much better to relax and watch a movie instead.

I speak to myself when I say that I think we need to redirect our goals from pleasing the world to pleasing our loving Father.

Living to please others is a very futile goal. The truth that I think most of us know is that you can never please everyone.
Not everyone will like the way you dress, not everyone will be passionate about the things you are passionate about, not everyone will agree with you about everything, not everyone will like you.
We cannot rely on the opinions of others because they will always be different, varied and sometimes we simply do not know what people are thinking.

But what we can rely on is what God thinks of us. His thoughts about us, his creation, are recorded for us to read in the Bible.
God will not forsake you, He cares for you, He loves you more than anyone else ever could, He gives us grace and mercy when we make mistakes.
While we may not always know what others think of us, we can be assured of what our Father in heaven thinks of us.

And that is all that matters. We are on this earth solely to give glory and honour to Him. Our purpose in life is to live for Him and make him known among the nations. To pour out His love to everyone around us just as He did on the cross for us.

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. ~ Colossians 3:23-24

To close this off, I do believe that when a young woman (or a guy), lives his or her life out in a way that is pleasing to the Lord, it will show and even cause others to be drawn to you. The love that God will show people through you is attractive(not in a romantic way, although it can be)!
So in the end you may get new friends, get noticed by others or even attract a great godly guy, but all of this is only and added bonus(if you will) to truly living for Jesus and focusing on Him to satisfy and fulfil you.

When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. ~ Proverbs 16:7

Make drawing closer to the Lord, serving Him and loving others some of your main priorities in life and other good things may come out of that.
The Lord bestows blessings upon those who demonstrate full surrender and obedience in their lives.

I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart. ~ Psalm 40:8

Recommendation: Listen to THIS podcast episode by Revive Our Hearts called 'How You Can Truly Please God' to help you learn more about this topic!

This is just something I was pondering last night and sat up to quickly jot down!
I hope and pray that it blesses you and that together we will be renewed by the transforming of our minds as we behold the face of Jesus daily and become more like Him every day. (Romans 12:2)


keep blooming,

Hannah

Bible Study with Me // 2 Cor 12:9-10

via Unsplash

Hello darlings!

It was one quiet afternoon. I decided to sit down and do an in-depth Bible study.
I made my coffee, got out my pens, Bible and all the other necessary tools and sat down at my desk.

Little did I know what the Lord would show me from His Word when I devoted that time to Him.
That is the first point I wish to make. Take time, take time out of your day to spend in the presence of Jesus. When you give Him your time, He will bless it.

Also, lately I have been reading large portions of Scripture, and while that is all fine and dandy, I forgot the importance of "eating small bites and chewing slowly".
The analogy of eating fits very well with the reading of the Word. When you scoff down your food(the Bible), you are less likely to enjoy it, enjoy the flavor and to reap the benefits of it.
Whereas if you chew each mouthful slowly, you can enjoy the taste and it will be much more beneficial.

Back to the real reason for this post!
Come along with me as I study these few precious verses that have so much to offer.

In case you wish to know, here's what I used for this little Bible study.
• Bible (of course!)
• Highlighters and pens
• Coffee because why not? (This was one of the nicest coffee's I've had in a while!)

I typed out the verses I wanted to study and printed it out so that I could write all my notes around it.
In addition to that, I printed out a study guide on these particular verses of  2 Corinthians 12.


By now you are probably wondering which verses I chose to study!
I chose 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 because I just felt that those where verses that I should study a bit more in-depth.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  ~ 2 Cor 12:9-10 (ESV)


I began by saying a short prayer and then I read the full chapter of 2 Corinthians 12 so I could understand the context.

After that, I went through verses 9 & 10 and highlighted and circled certain words.
I used pink for what God does/His character and green for what we do or should live out.
The words that I circled were words that I thought were important and significant or ones that I wanted to look into more.

That's another tip I have for you! Look up the meanings of words even if you think you already know it. Often it will give a deeper meaning to what you are studying!

For instance, other words for sufficient are enough and adequate.
Think about that, His grace is enough for you, and it is adequate to meet your daily needs!

I also wrote down a summary of the meaning of grace. I think it has to be my favourite explaination of what grace is!
"Sweet, unmerited favor from God that offers forgiveness, not because of who we are but because of what Jesus has done." ~ Whitney Daughterty (I wrote a whole post inspired by this quote a while ago and you can read that here. )

Then I read through the study guide, writing down my own thoughts and some points from the study guide that I wanted to remember.

I wish I could share with you all the points I got out of this small passage but a few of my favourites will have to suffice.

• Sometimes instead of removing the hardship in our lives God simply gives us His grace we need to handle it. His grace is sufficient to meet all our needs.

• God can remove the burden or strengthen the shoulder that bears it. Whatever will bring Him the most glory! Thus showing His strength in our weakness.
We must acknowledge our own weaknesses and insufficiency in order to receive the sufficiency of God's grace.

• When we're forced to depend on His grace for strength, our dependence on God makes us stronger than if we were to be self-sufficient and proud.

• In light of his life and accomplishments, we would say that Paul was a very strong man. But he was only strong because he knew his weaknesses and looked outside of himself for the strength of God's grace.


There is much more I wish I could share but these few points are a glimpse into what I learned!

I apologise that the lighting is bad in this photo. By the time I was finished with this, it was dark out and I had to turn the light on!

My hope is that this post would encourage you if you are in a place where you feel weak and helpless. Let God's grace be your strength and lean on His everlasting arms of love!

I also hope that you were inspired to take out your own Bible and study these verses for yourself and find the treasures that God has in store for you in His Word or that you would simply set aside time in your day for Christ.

keep blooming!

xoxo
Hannah

The Problem with Romance Novels

via Unsplash

Hello darlings!

I am back with you after an unintentional break to have a heart to heart chat about romance novels!
I want this to be as if we are sitting together, sipping hot drinks and sharing our thoughts and struggles with one another.
I am not trying to tell you what to do and how to do it. I simply want to share my heart and thoughts on this topic.
Without further ado, lets begin!


The majority of what I read is Christian fiction, and for some reason the majority of Christian fiction novels have romance in the plot.
They are fun to read, to swoon over and smile at the happy endings when the guy and the girl finally get together.

But there is an issue. As with anything, it is best to take things in moderation.
I am talking to myself here as well.
There comes a point when after reading many happy endings in books, you can't help but wish for your own happily ever after.
Reading these books in moderation is fine but if it gets too much for you, you need to set a limit.

When we see romance and love stories in books and movies, we can start to long for our own love story, romantic relationship and marriage.
These desires are not all bad, God created them and they are natural.
But when these longings consume your thoughts, make you discontented, and even distract you from your walk with the Lord, then you need to take a step back and take action.

For me, I saw this happening and I got to thinking that I had to change something. Discontentment makes you feel awful. It is not a nice feeling.

• • • •

So what do we do when faced with this obstacle?

Personally, I have decided first and foremost to take a break from reading any romance novels and instead read only Christian non-fiction books or biographies.
Secondly, I am praying and will continue to pray that I would seek the Lord above all else and that I would find complete satisfaction in Him.
And lastly, I want to focus solely on my relationship with Jesus. I want to immerse myself into the Scriptures, memorise verses more intentionally, and grow closer to Him.

Because at the end of the day, I know that my happiness truly lies in Christ. In Christ I can be content, happy, fulfilled, and whole.
A guy cannot fill the hole in my heart that is meant only for Christ.


Picture your heart as a puzzle.
Now imagine there is a piece missing in the centre of you heart puzzle.
We often try to fill this hole with all sorts of alternatives to God. When really he is the missing piece to our hearts.
Nothing here on earth can ever fill that hole.


I hope that if you have been in this same state, that you found this encouraging and helpful. We are all on our own journeys. Through all life experiences, our heavenly Father is shaping us into the women He intends us to be.



keep blooming!

xoxo
Hannah

4 Bible Verses That You Should Think on Daily

I love the Bible. I love that you can find answers to every question you could ever have in the Bible. It was designed to be our manual for life.

In my room, I love to write out Bible verses and stick them up everywhere so that I can look at them and be reminded of God's truths.

Whilst reading in Kristen Clark and Bethany Beal's second book, Love Defined, last night, I decided to stick some new verses up.
In the book, Love Defined, Kristen and Bethany share these verses and how they impacted their own lives and so I chose some to use for myself.
These verses are great, life-changing, impacting truths that we should be meditating on often.

So here are four (out of many) Bible verses that you too, should be glancing at daily and meditating on.

• • • •

Psalm 118:8

It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

"No guy can ever give you what only God was intended to give." ~ Love Defined

"Instead of looking to a man for your hope, this verse is saying that it's better to put your hope in Christ. " ~ Love Defined

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.

"I wanted to be a woman who fully and completely trusted in Him with my singleness." ~ Love Defined

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

"Instead of becoming Proverbs 7 women, let's choose to be women who reflect the holiness and purity of Christ. Let's use our femininity to promote purity in the men around us." ~ Love Defined

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

"Instead of being on the hunt for Mr Right, we need to be in the Word, becoming Miss Right. Our goal as single women should be centred on becoming more like Christ each day." ~ Love Defined

"This verse is saying that we should pursue Christ first, and when we do, God will give us what we need (not necessarily what we want). " ~ Love Defined

Next to my bedroom mirror

In the bathroom near my mirror

On my bedroom wall

I pray that this inspires you and that these verses will impact your life. I pray that you will have the strength to pursue a God-honoring lifestyle and that you will seek Him in all areas of your life.

Be a woman who goes against the way society tells you to act and do what God tells you to do in His wonderful Word!

keep on blooming.

xoxo
Hannah

A Sustaining Quiet Time Method for 2019

Hello darlings!

The other morning, I was sitting outside in the warm breeze to have my quiet time when this idea struck me.
I quickly jotted it down with the intention of sharing it with you, and today I am going to be giving you an idea that will hopefully kickstart your quiet time in this new year if you need it!

So my idea was, how your quiet time can essentially look like a 3-course meal!
Yes, you heard me right, a 3-course meal.

I created this outline of what this 'meal' would look like.

~ • ~

• Start with prayer! This sets the tone and course of your time with God and in this situation could resemble the setting of the table before you eat.

E N T R E E

A simple, encouraging devotional

A devotional is a snack or entree to open your quiet time with. If you don't have as much time this is all you might get away with but generally, it will not leave you full for long.

I am using My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers as mine and I love it.

M A I N

Bible Reading & Journaling

THIS IS THE GOOD STUFF. The sustaining, amazing, filling, stuff! Even if you read a little or a lot, you got to read it daily! 5 minutes in the Word is better than no time. 

Make sure to write down some thoughts so you can meditate and remember what you read too!

D E S S E R T

A few pages of a Christian non-fiction book

This helps you get some reading done and also enrich your mind by filling it with MORE truth!

One of my goals for this year is to read more faith-impacting books. 

• End in prayer!

~ • ~

That is how I have been doing my Bible study lately and I love it. I love to think of it as a daily meal that is even more fulfilling than real food!

I hope that this gives you some inspiration if you feel like you're quiet time has been lacking a boost.

xoxo

Hannah