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,

On Loving Jesus above all Things // Book Excerpt

Hello darlings!

I was reading The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis during my quiet time the other today (great book by the way!) and this particular chapter just spoke to my heart.
I'm going to be sharing the entire chapter (it is quite short) here in this post with my favourite lines in bold type.

I pray this stirs your heart as it did mine and that you'll pick up this book and be inspired.

Book 2 - Counsels On the Inner Life

Chapter 7

~ On Loving Jesus above all Things ~

"Blessed is he who understands what it is to love Jesus, and to despise himself for Jesus' sake.

You must surrender all other love for His love, for Jesus desires to be loved alone, and above all things. The love of creatures is deceptive and unstable; the love of Jesus is faithful and enduring.

Whoever clings to any creature will fall with its falling; but he who holds to Jesus shall stand firm for ever. Love Him, therefore, and keep Him as your friend; for when all others desert you, He will not abandon you, nor allow you to perish at the last. 

Whether you wish for it or not, you must in the end be parted from them all. 

Hold fast to Jesus, both in life and death, and trust yourself to His faithfulness, for He alone can aid you when all others fail.

Your Beloved is of such a nature that He will not share your love with another; He desires your heart for Himself alone, and to reign there as a King on His throne. If you could empty your heart of all creatures, Jesus would delight to dwell with you.

Whatever trust you place in men rather than in Jesus is almost wholly wasted. 

Do not trust or lean on a windblown reed, for 'all flesh is as grass, and its glory will fall like the flower of the grass'.

If you look only to men's outward appearance, you will soon be deceived; for if you seek comfort or gain from others, you will often meet with loss. 

If you seek Jesus in all things, you will surely find Jesus. And if you seek yourself, you will surely find yourself, but only to your ruin.

For a man who does not seek Jesus does himself greater hurt than the whole world and all his enemies could ever do him.

What stood out to you from this chapter?

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!).

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