A Season of Abiding in Christ

I am going to warn you now, this will be a long post so grab your self a hot drink and settle down!

Imagine we are sitting in my lounge together, sipping delicious cups of tea or coffee, chatting like girls do and having a heart to heart. That is what I want this post to be like!

So sister, in this post I am opening up to you and sharing my heart. It's going to be raw & real but I hope you feel encouraged, inspired and hopeful by the end of it.

Let me rewind to a couple weeks ago.

I was pretty happy with where I was in life, until one night, I had a dream about a guy that I admire which stirred up a whole lot of thoughts, feelings & desires.

In the following days I felt restless & discontent with where I was. 

I looked at other girls, some even just a few years older than me, who were in romantic relationships. 

I wished I had what they had.

I reached out to my mum, and other girls for advice. I wanted answers. I wanted direction, to know how to move forward.

Slowly but surely, God started to reveal to me what I should do, namely, to seek Him first.

I began in my search for answers & advice by reading Elisabeth Elliot's book, Passion & Purity. 

That books shifted my focus. The story of Elisabeth & Jim Elliot is one that reflects Jesus so clearly and points to Him over and over again. After finishing it (which I did in a matter of days), I had hope and assurance that everything will happen in God's timing for He knows what is best for me.

But my journey doesn't and didn't end there. God was teaching me an important lesson.

I must stress the importance of reaching out to older, godly women in a time and season like this. If you too, face this struggle today don't hesitate to confide in your mother, grandmother, aunt, trusted friend, or another wise woman you know. They have sailed through these rough waters before and can offer you helpful advice and cover you in powerful prayer. I am so grateful for my own mother, grandmother and a few older sisters in Christ that have poured into my life in the last few years and helped me grow through times like this one.

While talking to older women who have already experienced these desires and longings is important, there is also great solace in sharing to girls in your own age group who may be going through exactly what you're going through. I was 'surprised' to find many other girls understood my sentiments and shared the same longings & desires, as well as the struggles with how to handle them.

Moving on in my journey over the last few weeks. I was still unsure of exactly what to do. 

I had a second dream one night. I woke up and just lay there, wishing that I had not dreamed it. 

Something I never thought of till someone pointed it out once, was that you can and should uplift your dreams (the type you have awhile you're sleeping) to God and ask Him to guard you from dreams that don't line up with Philippians 4:8. So I prayed for a few nights that God would guard my dreams while I slept and it helped!

Many of the girls who shared their advice all agreed on one thing. That prayer and continually digging into scripture was THE MOST IMPORTANT thing to do in a season such as this.

The Bible itself says, in Matthew 6:33, But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

We are to have no other gods before the One True God, even relationships and desires that we have.

And I want to make myself clear, that I believe the desire for a husband and a romantic relationship is God given. If we didn't have that desire, no one would marry and there would be no future generations!

So in and of itself the desire for marriage is good. But if it distracts from our relationship with the Lord, its a problem.

It is now 22nd of May as I write this. I feel like I am in a better place now than I was a few weeks ago.

I want to share all the things I have done or am doing to help keep my focus on Christ in this season!

1. Contentment by Lydia Brownback

This devotional was the perfect thing for this season of my life. It is full of truth about contentment and where you truly find it--in Jesus. I have really enjoyed each chapter so far and it has really helped me discover that contentment is a choice, not something we feel based on our circumstances.

2. Studying contentment/satisfaction in the Bible

I went online and made a short list of specific passages & verse that speak about these topics and I am studying them slowly. My absolute favourite has been Isaiah 58:11.

3. Coffee & Bible Time PDF Prayer Journal (link)

This has been an amazing resource and has really helped my with establishing prayer into my life.

It has helped my to pray regularly, keep track of my prayers and keep things structured.

4. Sticking scripture reminders all around my room

I have verses almost everywhere I look in my room and they serve as constant reminders of God's truth!

5. Worship music (link)

I have created a Spotify playlist specific to this season of my life. It is called Surrender and is full of songs that sing of God's love for me, surrendering everything to the Lord & turning your eyes on Jesus.

6. Nurture the friendships you have with other sisters in Christ

It brought me so much joy this afternoon writing letters to my girlfriends and decorating the envelopes to send to them! 

Take the time to pour into these relationships and treasure them, girls! God has blessed me with so many wonderful friends and I can't wait to see the memories we will make in the future as we grow in grace together.

7. Pursue creative hobbies or activities that bring you joy

Think about it. We are young now. We don't have a husband or family to care for so we have the time for these creative pursuits. I personally love knitting, painting, reading, scrapbook journaling, and a few other things. 

8. Scripture writing

Basically scripture writing is when you copy down large passages of scripture into a notebook. I think this will be a great way to implant more scripture into my mind & heart.

9. Love Defined by Bethany Beal & Kristen Clark

I read this book last year and I decided to make it a yearly read. I plan to read it again soon!

Love Defined offers so much helpful advice for one's love life and biblical truth. 

10. Coffee & Bible Time Podcast S2 Ep.3 - Finally being content in singleness (link)

 I really liked this podcast episode and I found it quite helpful. Ashley shares a bit about her current season, her intentional year of singleness, and things she has done to find contentment during her singleness.

What would you add to this list?

Lets chat in the comments!

keep blooming,

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,

Why I Want To Be A Mother & Homemaker

Hello darlings!

I'm going to warn you now, what I am about to say in this post might be a little controversial and many women today wouldn't share my opinions on these topics.
But I have decided to go ahead and share what is on my heart about being a mother & homemaker and I hope that you find it interesting and inspiring all the same.

My reason for speaking about this is because I think its something that is unpopular but necessary in today's society and the women that do want to pursue the life of a mother/homemaker often feel alone in their choice of lifestyle.



My Life Dream

If you were to ask me what my biggest dream in life is, my answer wouldn't be to have a great career and a fancy apartment in the city.

No, my answer would be this, that my dream is to become a wife and mother and create a home in the country where we can grow our own food, live naturally and simply and let my kids grow up getting dirty and playing outdoors.
We'd have some chickens, maybe a cow and live of the land where we could.

This is my dream,  however counter-cultural it may be.
If you share the dream to be a mother and homemaker one day I want to tell you that that is a wonderful calling and dream and if it is the Lord' s will for you then go for it!
The world needs more women to mother and nurture the next generation in godly homes that radiate Christ.


Motherhood

Yesterday, my dad told me he had been talking with our neighbor and mention how I wanted to be a mother and stay at home etc.
The neighbor was of the opinion that that wasn't a real job. He couldn't have been farther from the truth. I believe being a mother is a job, and not an easy on at that.
As a mother, you give all of yourself to raising and nurturing your kids and that isn't easy. I know from watching my own mum and other stay-at-home mothers I know.

The call to be a mother is a Biblical one too. Often in the Bible God used mothers to accomplish His will.
I believe it is a worthy calling and if I am called to be one I intend to honor that calling.



Homemaking

A homemaker is a person who manages a home especially as a principal occupation.
A homemaker is a woman who's primary occupation is nurturing and creating a home for her family.

Personally, I enjoy creating a happy, comfortable space and nurturing my space so I love the idea of having a home to nurture and being a stay-at-home mother.
Homemaking is also a Biblical practice, like the woman mentioned in Proverbs 31!

Many women in the past lived like this and families thrived. Think Little House on the Prairie...
That simple lifestyle is a healthier than the hectic rushing around most people call normal.

Read Calico & Twine for more inspiration and info on a simpler lifestyle!


Resources

These are a bunch of women, blogs, YouTube channels and Instagram accounts that embrace motherhood, homemaking and simple living.

Milena Ciciotti YouTube

Mrs Midwest YouTube

Girl In Calico YouTube

Housewives are Not Oppressed Mrs Midwest YouTube Video
Homemaking Practices You Can Start TODAY! Mrs Midwest YouTube Video
Why I Love Being a Homemaker Mrs Midwest YouTube Video

Farmhouse on Boone Blog


So those are some of my thoughts on the matter!
What are your thoughts? Lets chat in the comments!


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,

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

gratitude not mindfulness

via Unsplash

Hello darlings!

As I was taking my dog Molly for a walk today and breathing in the fresh air, I was struck with a thought.
A thought that I will now share with you.

In the past couple of years, one of the popular practices that many people have begun implementing into their lives is mindfulness.
I'm sure you've heard that word before, in a self-help book, on the Internet, or on the cover of a colouring book.

(This article has some great point on mindfulness and self-care! I got some of the inspiration for this post from it and it explains both from a Biblical perspective.)


In on YouTube video I saw once, a lady was suggesting the practice of mindfulness as a healthy habit and demonstrating an exercise for mindfulness were you take note of your surroundings carefully and meditatively. "Notice 5 things you can see, 4 things you can smell" etc.

I remembered this when I was out walking today because I was enjoying the fresh air and the way it smelt.
Then I thought how instead of tuning into your surroundings, practising mindfulness and self-care, we should be pouring out gratitude to God for all the small and beautiful things he gifts us daily.

I love to take a step back and notice all the beautiful things in life(especially nature)that sing the praises of God.
I love to think about how the air smells during different times of day, how the sky looks, beautiful flowers, the seasons and appreciate how lovely they are.

But instead of simply being mindful of these things or meditating about them, we should praise the Lord and be thankful that God created all things beautifully and for His glory.

Take a moment today to look at the things around you, count your blessings and cultivate a heart of gratitude!


I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. ~ Psalm 9:1


O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. ~ Psalm 104:24


keep blooming,

xo, 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

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