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,

Christian Favourites // podcasts, youtubers & books etc.

Hello darlings!

Are you looking for wholesome Christian content? Are you searching for good Christian books?
That is what I am covering in today's post!

I have discovered many of these in the past couple of years when I began the hunt for good Christian content on the Internet.
I love to sit down and watch a Youtube video knowing it will better me and encourage my faith or to listen to a podcast that I know to be biblically sound in a day and age where that is becoming rare.

So sit back and enjoy this collection of my top Christian favourites!


P O D C A S T S

~ Revive Our Hearts Podcast
Though I am not an avid listener of podcasts, when I do I often turn back to Revive Our Hearts because I know I am getting Biblical teaching and advice and it is always an encouragement.
Here are a few of my favourite episodes:
The Right Kind of Strong
Compassionate Hope
How You Can Truly Please God

~ Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey
I like this podcast because Allie gives Christian perspective to all the current events and also talks about relevant theological topics. I'll leave the link below for one of my favourite episodes!
What Is Worship?

~ Harvest Work by Kaetlyn Kennedy
This is a fairly new podcast but I have been following this girl and her blog/Intsagram for a wee while and I love her podcast too.
Kaetlyn doesn't only talk about faith topics on her podcast but also about a simpler way of life and cultivating a quiet heart. To start off I recommend listening to her Q + A episode to get to know a bit!
Q+A | Get To Know Me



B O O K S

~ The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis

~ Through The Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot

~ The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer

~ Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin

~ Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis (Majors)


YouTube Channels

~ Coffee & Bible Time
Ashley & Taylor's videos had a lot to do with how I began reading God's Word for myself. I love their videos and how they encourage young women to get into the Word.

~ Girl Defined
Girl Defined is a wonderful ministry dedicated to giving young women answers from the Bible in a world where the society tells us differently. They share chatty videos covering topics like dating, singlesness, Christian living and sharing snippets of their own lives and marriages.

~ Nate and Sutton
I recently discovered this channel but I love this godly couple and how they speak up for Christ and a Christ-centered life.

B L O G S  &  W E B S I T E S

~ Girl Defined Blog

~ Desiring God Articles

~ Little Faith Blog


What are some of your Christian favourites?
Talk to me in the comments!


keep blooming,

P.S. I am taking a little break from Instagram and from posting on this blog. I will be working on some blog stuff still and probably be changing up my posting schedule. But I just wanted to take a step back to evaluate, spend some time on slow activities and growing closer to Jesus! See you soon!

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,

What God Has Taught Me This Year

Hello darlings!

I'm coming to you from our dining table today with Phil Wickham's songs playing in my ears and an empty glass that held my yummy coffee next to me.

As this year comes to a close I've been reflecting on the past year and thinking about the year ahead.
One of the big things that has been on my mind is what God has brought me through and taught me this year.
He has taught me many things, but I want to focus on the main ones in this post.

First off, God taught me that He is fully dependable and faithful. He is so, so faithful my dear readers!
He is faithful to stay with us with each step we take, faithful to provide, faithful to comfort us and bring us through times that we could never face without him by our side.
When I look back this year I can see very clearly He was in which he has shown me his faithfulness and it is so important to look back at be reminded of the good things God has done.

Another thing God has shown me in the last few months is that He is worthy of my trust.
I wrote this post a while back talking about trusting in God and my main takeaway from a youth retreat I attended.
Now I have a small testimony to share that started back at that very youth retreat.
I was asked at the youth retreat if I truly trusted God. I wanted to say yes but I thought and prayed about it.
At the time, I don't think I could fully say that I did trust God, with my life, my family, or my future.
But with tears streaming down my face I committed to God and carried on with my life.

A few weeks after my brother & I had left the retreat, my world was tipped upside down and with it my family's world. We are still in a hard place but as I look back on the past couple of month which have been some of the hardest and most unpredictable of my life, I see that I was in a way being tested.
In a way, I feel that God was asking me, "Do you really trust me even though you are going through hard times? Do you trust that my purpose in all of this is really for your greater good?"
And now I smile because I see that He was and continues to grow my faith and was using the past few months to mold and shape me.

It is one of the most wonderful things to look back in your life and see how the puzzle pieces of random and various events fit together into a beautiful pattern!
At the time you may not see how any of the things in your life have a purpose or connect, but God always has a better plan to make something beautiful out of the brokenness.

Now I feel that I can step into 2020 with full confidence that God will lead through all of it, whether through sunshine or rain, He will be by my side.

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

A Collection of Quotes // Kisses from Katie

Hello darlings!

I thought that instead of a normal book review, this time I would just share my favourite quotes from the book Kisses from Katie.

This book is a wonderful story of how God used and is still using her to make Him known among the nations. I highly suggest you pick it up, it will change you in one way or another.
This post is a compilation of quotes that I loved and highlighted as I was reading.

• • • •

~ Thankfully, God's plans do not seem to be affected much by my own. ~

~ Jesus wrecked my life, shattered it to pieces, and put it back together again more beautifully. ~

~  have learned that something happens when one makes herself available to God: He starts moving in ways no one could imagine. ~

~ This was one of the many instances when the Lord has shown me that the more I give of myself, the more He fills me up. The more I love, the more love I have to give. ~

~ But so often, when we stop to be kind when we don't really want to, that's when the sacrifice becomes most rewarding. ~

People often asked me then as they do now, "How do you do it?"

The answer has never changed and it is so simple: I don't. It's just a little bit of coffee and a whole lot of Jesus. This plan, these "accomplishments," they are so not my own.

I am dependant.

Powerless.

Weak.

Drowning. 

While those adjectives may sound scary, they put me in a beautiful place, a place where I couldn't go one minute without crying out to my Father or I would sink.

If I continue to preach the gospel, and more importantly, live the gospel, here--even if outward conditions never change or change very slowly--and these people can live eternally with Jesus in heaven someday, a few years of suffering will pale in comparison.

~ Being a Christ-follower means being acquainted with sorrow.

We must know sorrow to be able to fully appreciate joy. Joy costs pain, but the pain is worth it. ~

Even Jesus kept His scars after the resurrection. My stains are beautiful to Him and as I become dirtier and more beat up, I am becoming perfect, transformed into the image of the One who made me.

• • • •

I think that that last one is so beautiful! If you think about it, since Jesus became bruised, wounded, dirty and bloody for us, when we are true followers of Him we will ultimately become like this too. But he sees that as beautiful. To Him, it is beautiful because it shows complete surrender, total trust and reliance on Him. We are powerless, but He is our strength.

I just think it is a powerful image to think of. 

I hope these words made you think. I hope that they inspired or encouraged you. 

Please read the complete story in Katie's book, you will not regret it!

keep blooming,

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