Catch a Glimpse
Our God is at the center of our days, in the midst of your terrain and of mine. You and me, we are bearing his image, and those little watching eyes get all the glimpses of who he is.
WE ARE BEARING HIS IMAGE, AND THOSE LITTLE WATCHING EYES GET ALL THE GLIMPSES OF WHO HE IS.
We are not that different.
As we pull back the covers and feel the warmth begin to seep out, our minds have fired on for the day.
Our feet hit the floor and it is there that the long list of what lies before us today does an automatic download at warp speed in our brains. We promised ourselves we would commit to waking at the sound of that seemingly loud alarm on the nightstand for some time spent alone– but not really, we both know alone with our thoughts is in fact loud. You get the point though, time “alone” with God, before the sounds of the home awake, and their whispers, cries, and little laughs fill the walls of our home.
We are not that different.
As we tiptoe into the kitchen, we reach for that mug, you know the one that the coffee really does taste better in.
Our pours reach so close to the brim leaving just enough space for our cream of choice to top it off. The warm cup between our hands has already sparked joy in our tired eyes and always moving brain. We know the spot in our home where we can turn the light on, whether it is the tiny hand-held night light or the flicker of the candle– we know where we can sit so that we don’t wake those sweet ones still dreaming– we have the creaks of the floors ingrained in our heads along the way. We sit, feeling like we could jump up and dance because we made it to our destination in a stealth mode that we both know was no easy task.
We are not that different.
As we open up the pages of our Bible, we both know that this time ahead whether we get five minutes or the whole hour we came prepared for– we need this– we need God. This is the fuel our day calls for.
Our quiet time is spent fixing our eyes on Him in whatever verse we are reading. Whoever or whatever is at the forefront of our prayer, we both sit. The warm cup is quickly cooling, we are desperate for Him to carry all of today’s worries and weariness that we already have. We know this time here will fly by, and if we are being honest– we both know how hard it is for us to focus, really. The list that downloaded at warp speed keeps trying to distract us, more often than not, it wins. You and me, we are grateful though, as the clock ticks away, the time spent here we know is not time spent entirely alone. He is here. We both pray that this day will go as well as it needs to, as we prepare to tend to the everyday moments of what lies ahead and pour out our love for these precious children He has given us.
Open-handed surrender.
Our time in the Word and prayer has neared the hour for us to start that first task, but you and I both know it doesn’t end here. We carry the Lord with us today and every day that follows. Crying out to Him as we wipe away their tears, or ours, telling Him how ill-equipped we might feel. My child’s disabilities and your child’s abilities carry a weight we struggle to uphold. But, we both teach them to praise Him and love Him, no matter the circumstances.
Our God is at the center of our days, in the midst of your terrain and of mine. You and me, we are bearing His image, and those little watching eyes get all the glimpses of who He is.
We are not that different.
Advent // Meditate on His Word // Digital Download
Join us this Advent Season for a time of meditating on His Word.
Advent Memory with Lindsay Griswold
Meditate on Advent this Season
Join us this Advent Season as my friend Lindsay Griswold hosts Good News of Great Joy.
In addition to meditating on His Word, there are prayers that I wrote to help you pray through the Word.
We start on November 27th, and we will meditate on a new verse each Sunday.
The download includes:
memory verse cards for 5 weeks
prayers to help you pray through the Word
a5 divider
a5 meditate + prayer pages for each verse
scripture memory pages for each verse
Invitations For The Everyday Moments & Homeschool Rhythms
The new school year is right around the corner, or maybe for you, it has already started! Yay!! I am so excited to kick off a back-to-school series here on the blog where I will share resources and tools, that we use, and love, every day!
A BACK TO SCHOOL SERIES
The new school year is right around the corner, or maybe for you, it has already started! Yay!! I am so excited to kick off a back-to-school series here on the blog where I will share resources and tools, that we use, and love, every day!
From the beginning of our homeschooling journey, our anthem has always been KINGDOM VISION. My faith in the Lord is foundational in who I am, in our marriage, and in raising our children. This also means that it is the foundation of our homeschool. All that I teach and learn alongside my children is built upon Him. Finding tools and resources that help teach and disciple my children from a biblical perspective is something that is important to me. No matter the subject or topic, finding a way to point them to Christ is the mission. He is the focus of our everyday moments and homeschool rhythms.
I remind my children often that in all that we do, in what we are learning, and amid any challenges, know that God is in it, we get to depend on Him and see His glory in all of it. So much of my relentless pursuit is teaching and discipling my children, so that their hearts are stirred to hunger after the Lord, to know all of who He is, and what He has done and continues to do in our lives.
Along the way, I have been so grateful for all the different discipleship tools and resources that Pip & J Papery has created for families to learn about Jesus together in our everyday moments. Whether we are practicing scripture memorization, working on copy work, looking at letters and numbers, or spending time on different themes and topics, we always reach for Pip & J tools. What I love so much is that all of the tools we use from them meet each of my children where they are at. We can easily incorporate them depending on what it is each child is working on.
It has been really helpful to incorporate tactile tools, from both a special education perspective as well as those early learning years, to help facilitate their learning. To have something that they can hold, in some cases write in, and then see the different letters, words, sentences, numbers, shapes, and animals has made those learning connections much more fluid. My kids adore the ABC cards + Workbooks and we are always using the Scripture Memorization and 10 Commandments Cards during our morning basket time. The Animal ABC and 123 flashcards have been essential in our everyday schooling and having the images connected to the letters or numbers brings that much more understanding as well as giving them the ability to use them on their own for independent work too!
As we dive into specific geography topics or different themes I always love to pull out our USA Watercolor State Cards, continent and Continents & Oceans Watercolor Cards, Solar System Cards, and Shapes & Colors Cards. It is so fun to see the kids even find different ways they want to include them and have them remind me that they have something we can use to go along with a lesson for the day.
Honestly, I could go on and on about each product and so throughout this post, I made it so you could click on each item I am talking about so you can also learn more. I would love to chat through any of the tools so please feel free to reach out or comment at the bottom of this blog post.
I want to leave you with this detail—[ I believe it is an important one and makes all the difference]—that has stood out to me from the very beginning when we first started using the products that Becky and Tori create and it’s this— not only is each tool that they create done so with such intention and faith but they genuinely care about how the tools and resources are serving families. I think back on all the countless messages we have had back and forth sharing all the ways that both Mason and Elliana are using and learning through a specific item they created. Finding the right tools that will work and help Mason learn with his disabilities is not always easy and Becky and Tori are happy to talk through it. They are moms, teaching and discipling their children, and that carries over when they are designing and creating each of their products.
I can’t forget to share that their Back to School Collection and Sale is HERE! Now is a great time to stock on all their resources, including 5 new posters -perfect for any learning space and great reminders for your everyday learning. I am looking forward to decorating our homeschool space with these! If you don’t already, be sure to follow Pip + J Papery!
The ENTIRE SHOP is 20% off now through Saturday, August 13th, use code BACKTOSCHOOL!
See you back here soon for part two of this back to school series!
Prepare the Way
One thing is certain, we don't have to wait for God to show up. He is already with you, He has been here the whole time. His presence never has to be questioned. There is no limit to the truth of who God is, Immanuel— God with us.
“He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
John 1:23
He was 4 days old, at this point less than his one pound eight ounce birth weight. The tension was high, and the weight of resistance pulled our feet to the floor. Even in the well-lit room, you could actually feel the darkness. The pain was gripped tightly in our fists, the chatter quieted down and then the words flowed right into the air. The doctors began to point at scans and images on the computer of his brain and let us know that at this point, all that could be done was done. The chances he would walk, talk, move, or do really anything at all did not exist. They wrapped up this meeting with the best case scenario being to turn off the life support.
I knew that only God had the power to determine the outcome of these circumstances, and our answer would always be in the fullness of Christ. In Him, we don't have to tightrope on chance. He is the way— the only way. Whatever happened next for our son, was in God's hands and not ours.
The only one who had a say in the quality and the life that was set before my son was God himself, and all I wanted was for my son to know the love of God, to love God, and to follow Him. There was no one who could tell me that would not be able to happen. This was the only best case I allowed to seep within, knowing that it could very well end much sooner than I prayed for.
It was then that I realized I was going to have to shift my focus off of “how-to” and exchange it for “who-to”. Who to look to, who to follow in it, who to depend on, who to cling to. There is only one answer to that— God.
Our God is in all terrain— always with us.
In the midst of diagnosis.
In the midst of illness.
In the midst of teaching either with or without disabilities.
In the midst of sending off our children out into the world.
In the midst of unknowns.
In the midst of having to change the intended path.
One thing is certain, we don't have to wait for God to show up. He is already with you, He has been here the whole time. His presence never has to be questioned. There is no limit to the truth of who God is, Immanuel— God with us.
I share all of this because when I go back to that NICU moment with the doctors I remember never wanting to forget the words He pressed on my heart — the ONLY case, no matter the terrain or circumstances that lie ahead, in the middle of all of the disabilities, my son would know God, His love, and he would hunger to follow after Him. I have held that so close to my heart and when the Lord called me to homeschool our children, I knew that it was going to look different. Really it will look different for all of us, and that's a really special thing. That different is something I embrace with open arms because it is what he needs. Yes, homeschooling a child with special needs means many different accommodations and adaptations would have to be created, curriculum switched when it was not serving us well, but more than that, the one thing I have always come back to is that I want to teach, pour out, and live from Christ.
Looking back over the last few years and seeing all that God was actually teaching me along the way has transformed my perspective of it all— little did I know when I first set out to go at whatever pace my son needed, to guide him in the ways that met him where he was at— well God has been doing the same in me. Each day He shows me that the only plan, path, and pace, that I need is His. The beautiful truth friends is that we really can give it all to Him, He has already gone before us and will never leave our side. His ways are always better, for us, and for our children.
Even still I live in this space of really not knowing how the disabilities he lives with will impact his life and education, but we do know WHO to look to in it all and it is something I talk with my son about every day. From the very beginning of our special needs parenting journey I always said that if he only walked away with one thing each day, I want it to be that he learned about who God is, knew the love of God, and left wanting more of God.
Friend, the world is loud. It tries hard to pull us in a million different directions. Right now it is so easy for us as we are all preparing for our upcoming school year, whether that be homeschooling or schooling outside of the home, to see and want to do all the things. I so enjoy learning as well as sharing about all the different tools and resources that are out there to serve, teach, and train up our children. You are not alone in that at all—you will see me sharing what we are using and how we incorporate different things into our days. Honestly, one day you might even see tools that God has put in my heart to create to serve your families. What I don't want you to miss though is that everything you need at the end of the day is found in Him. He is mighty and alive in you, He is your helper, the One who will show you the way. Prepare the way.
May our children be pointed to Christ above all else in each of their days.
His way is through.
He doesn’t need our strength, He needs our availability.
He doesn’t need our agenda, He needs our attention.
He is growing deeper roots below the surface. Inhabit His dwelling place, His glory is there.
He is Lord of all.
Press into this next year at His pace, open-handed, surrendered, fixed on Him.
May our praises run wild and free, choosing boldness over comfort. Trusting that in Him we are equipped.
Prepare the way!
Pray the Word Challenge
The purpose of this challenge is to grow in the knowledge of who He is, and deepen your relationship with Him. Our self sufficiency is not sustainable, the way forth is led by Him alone. The path of the trail is set to His ways. The pursuit progresses by faith in Him.
The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.
Psalm 145:14
Praying the Word carries me in seasons when I do not have the words to pray, when the rugged terrain appears endless, and daily stirs my conversations with the Lord. His word is an invitation into the depths of His presence, guiding me each step of the way.
God has given us His active living Word and one of the ways we can relentlessly pursue Him is through prayer. As we seek His face, growing in the knowledge of who He is, a hunger for prayer is stirred, which both fuels and sustains. We endure and we persevere in prayer, and we encounter our active living Father each step of the way.
If you ever feel like you don’t have the words to pray, or stuck in your prayer life, this challenge is for YOU! No matter the conditions of the terrain— What if we looked at it through a lens of faith instead of unbelief? What if we plunged right into His promise? What if we put our hope in Him over the conditions? What if we rested in the knowledge that we have been set with God?
The purpose of this challenge is to grow in the knowledge of who He is, and deepen your relationship with Him. Our self sufficiency is not sustainable, the way forth is led by Him alone. The path of the trail is set to His ways. The pursuit progresses by faith in Him.
In this Pray the Word challenge we will be praying through Psalm 145 verse by verse. I will guide you through the verses we will pray through each day, and provide you with prompts to intertwine with what is pressing on your heart and God’s word.
As I was praying over this challege, the Lord laid Psalm 145 on my heart with so much intention. This psalm is a praise of David, which fits so powerfully for this specific challenge. Praying the Word gives us a heart posture that is fixed on the Lord, and Psalm 145 is a summary of all that David learned about who God is while he was faithfully following Him.
We will see in this Psalm and inside look into David’s heart and his passion to truly praise the Lord. David proclaims and reflects on the goodness of God. In this Psalm we will learn so much about who God is and what He has done. Great is the Lord!
I have trekked through many seasons of not having the words to pray and other seasons where His word led me through conversations with Him, and I can tell you this—you WILL GROW in the knowledge of who He is, your relationship with Him WILL DEEPEN, and He WILL SUSTAIN you. Get ready, He WILL MEET you here!
Trail Map
DAILY:
Use the words in the verses you are exploring as a guide to writing out a prayer, expanding your prayer with what the Hoy Spirit is leading you in.
The prompts below will serve as a tool to help guide you along as you are praying the Word. As you answer them, your words will intertwin with the verses.
What is God speaking to you as you dwell in them?
Rejoice, repent, and request what is on your heart.
As you finish writing your prayer, you will see a blend of scripture and the pressings from your heart.
READING PLAN + PROMPTS:
DAY ONE- VERSES 1-3
Tell the Lord how your heart is fully devoted to praise.
Read Psalm 99:9– Exalt His name. How is our Lord described in verse 9?
What has God done for you?
Proclaim a joyful praise.
What are you praising Him for today?
Tell the Lord how great He is.
DAY TWO- VERSES 4-7
Tell of his faithfulness.
Write down some of His wondrous works.
Meditate on a characteristic of the Lord.
How does His greatness transform your life in Him?
What about the Lord are you paying attention to?
Read Isaiah 63:7– what will you recount of the Lord specifically?
What does His steadfast love mean to you?
What is stirring praise towards Him within you?
DAY THREE- VERSES 8-9
How does the Lord being gracious and merciful transform your heart and mind?
How are you bearing Christ’s image as you see who He is in these verses?
What do you need to surrender to Him?
What are some past and present experiences of Gods greatness that you can praise?
Read Psalm 86:5. How are you calling upon the Lord today?
What do you need to ask Him for forgiveness?
DAY FOUR- VERSES 10-13
What are you thanking God for today?
Describe the glory of His eternal Kingdom.
How has His hand in your life worked?
How is His power made perfect in your weakness?
What do you need to call upon Him for today?
Read Deuteronomy 3:24– Describe His greatness and His mighty hand and how it changes everything.
How does His everlasting Kingdom propel you closer to Him?
DAY FIVE- VERSES 14-16
What does the terrain your trekking through look like?
How is the Lord upholding you in it?
Read Psalm 37:7– What are you waiting upon the Lord for? How will you wait?
Describe the kindness of God in your life.
Tell the Lord how you will draw near to Him.
Tell the Lord how you will depend on Him.
How will you follow His path, His plan, His pace?
Describe how the Lord satisfies your every need.
Read Psalm 148:8– Proclaim what He does.
DAY SIX- VERSES 17-21
Tell the Lord how His graciousness transforms your life.
What do you need to ask of the Lord today?
Describe how you cling to his nearness.
Lay down any weariness, hurts, or fears at His feet.
Tell the Lord how He fuels you and how He sustains you.
Adore Him. Tell the Lord all the ways you love Him.
Describe your need for the Lord in all circumstances.
The Lord hears you and sees you. Tell Him what this means to you.
Praise the Lord.
Let’s put our trust in the Lord, because our trust is the Lord.
Here, in Him, we are like trees planted by water where our roots stretch out to the streams.
Here, in Him, there is no room to fear when the heat comes.
There is no worry when the land is parched— the fruit continues to yield.
He is taking us to a place of complete and sustainable dependency.
LET’S PRAY THE WORD!
Nothing Can Separates Us.
“Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Genesis 25:15
“Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
Genesis 25:15
I remember that day in the car so vividly. I was crying out to the Lord. I could feel the heavy weights this uneven ground of special needs held. I felt it for myself and for my son, Mason. It was sticky— pretty gritty at points, and I began to realize that as I became more aware of the weight, I really became even more aware of His nearness in it.
In our awareness of the weight, we see our desperate need for the Lord. Then the Lord spoke so clearly, that the tears rolled down my face. His words repeated over and over again— “ just exalt Jesus.” In every break in the ground that we might feel like we are falling through or every place, our foot might get stuck between the rocks, exalt Jesus.
Ever since that moment, I have reminded both Mason and I that it might appear to be rugged terrain, or that the weight of the disabilities are trying to overcome but really, we just need to exalt Jesus.
So we began to take His word and proclaim what we call mile marker anthems to keep us going. Mile marker anthems take a piece of scripture and break it down verse by verse creating statements that will be anthems. These anthems are what we live out as we live in Him throughout the trek. We press into the terrain because His goodness carries eternal weight. They are a way for you to tell of who He is, to dig deep into His attributes.
What our eyes are fixed on is what will lead the way forth.
What our heart is set on determines the path of the trail.
What our mind focuses on is what we will pursue.
Mile marker anthems serve as reminders to us that no matter what it is we are trekking through our God is bigger, our God is good, and our God never leaves our side.
The ground below might look like a whole lot of grit, maybe a pile of mundane, or an overwhelm of fear, heartache, or shame. The rugged places in the terrain are where we witness His goodness.
What if we looked at it through a lens of faith instead of unbelief?
What if we plunged right into His promise?
What if we put our hope in Him over the conditions?
What if we rested in the knowledge that we have been set with God?
Our faith in Him equips us, fills us, and it nourishes us.
His presence changes everything.
Perhaps right now it might be hard to see over that mountain in your life, or maybe you are in the valley waiting to make the big trek up, wherever it is He has you, can I encourage you to stand firm with Him in it? Our deep need for him is revealed in it. The way forth is led by Him alone. The path of the trail is set to His ways. The pursuit progresses by faith in Him.
As I proclaim these anthems I am reminded day after day to live by faith—my eyes only fixed on Him, my heart solely with Him, my mind relentless after Him. He is the only answer we need.
In the midst of unfamiliar surroundings approaching, etch His word in your heart—
Genesis 25:15 says, “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
Whatever happens in the trek furthers His eternal purpose.
Anything can make its way in— BUT God is already here.
Maybe today you find yourself in terrain that is overwhelming or anxious or maybe you really don’t know where to put your foot in the broken ground that lays in front of you, or you need to be reminded of who He is.
The valley may feel vast, the wilderness never-ending, know that He is the God who gets in the valley with you, He is the God who is your refuge in the wilderness.
This is your invitation to proclaim mile marker anthems.
His word is a tangible encounter.
His wounds are our healing.
Press into the terrain.
Grab hold of His hand in the trek.
Receive what He is producing along the way.
Nothing can separate us.
Romans 8:39
Sign up now to get my Mile Marker Anthem printable FREE, and start writing anthems from Scripture!
The Exalt Newsletter is meant to equip you to passionately pursue your Savior by sending frequent encouragement, tools, and prayers right to your inbox.
Field Note 004
Explore the Word- Exodus 13:18
EXPLORE THE WORD
HIS WAY IS BETTER
The Word: Exodus 13:18
Theme: His way is better
Trail Map
What am I learning about WHO God is?
God knows the path ahead. Ps.107:7
God leads with purpose. Ex 14:12
God is faithful in all his ways.
God sees what we can’t and guides us in such a way that calls us to depend on Him. 1 Cor 10:13
Word or phrase that God is bringing to Light. How does it further explain the Word?-
- led —סָבַב çâbab -to turn, cause to turn, to cause to go around, surround, or to encompass. Change directions. He surrounds where He leads.
-of the wilderness- מִדְבָּר midbâr— an open field, a desert, uninhabited land. From the root word, דָבַר dâbar, which means to speak, to promise, to lead, to guide. He will surely lead us in the wilderness. The other way they could have gone had great dangers— it was where Egypt's military outposts were). Our God is present in the desolate.
How is His word transforming my heart and mind?
God's presence is always with us. His plan, path, and pace are what we can in fact rest in. Even when His way is longer or more rugged, His way is better, His way outweighs any conditions because in the midst of it we are with Him. When we go His way, we can trust that we are equipped in and through Him. He surrounds us, he cares for us, and he keeps us. Deut 32:10
TOOLS
Bible of Choice
Journal/Notebook
Pens
Highlighters
** Below are the items that I use and love**
The Daily Grace Co Bible Study Handbook
The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible: ESV Edition
The New Inductive Study Bible (ESV)
Growth Book (USE JENNIFER FOR 10% OFF)
Uni-ball Signo Um-151 Gel Ink Pen - 0.38 Mm - 10 Set (Black)
Field Note 003
Explore the Word- Isaiah 40:31
EXPLORE
EXPLORE THE WORD
WAITING WITH GOD
The Word: Isaiah 40:31
Theme: Wait with God
Trail Map
What am I learning about WHO God is?
God is with us in the waiting.
God satisfies us with good as we wait with him. ( Ps.103:5)
God is working in the waiting.
God brings us to him, he sets us on the course, and he walks with us.
Word or phrase that God is bringing to Light. How does it further explain the Word?-
- wait —קָוָה qâvâh- waiting (active not passive), to bind together. In the waiting not only are we bound with Him, but this binding is giving us renewed strength.
-renew- חָלַף châlaph- to show newness, to change for the better, to alter, to substitute. God gives us a fresh strength in our waiting.
How is His word transforming my heart and mind?
The waiting is not passive, it is a time to depend on Him, to unwavering in our pursuit of Him.
To mount up, an upward motion, with wings like eagles shows us the measure of the strength that comes from Him.
To run and not be weary, and to walk and not faint, shows us that God gives this renewed strength to keep going towards Him in the waiting.
What a powerful reminder of God sending his son to take our place on the cross, so that through him we would be redeemed and have eternal life.
TOOLS
Bible of Choice
Journal/Notebook
Pens
Highlighters
** Below are the items that I use and love**
The Daily Grace Co Bible Study Handbook
The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible: ESV Edition
The New Inductive Study Bible (ESV)
Growth Book (USE JENNIFER FOR 10% OFF)
Uni-ball Signo Um-151 Gel Ink Pen - 0.38 Mm - 10 Set (Black)
A DAILY PURSUIT
Rhythms and tools for your daily pursuit of the Lord
EXALT
RHYTHMS + TOOLS
for your time with the Lord
Our world would have us relentlessly pursue all of the things it perceives to offer us. That is not the trek we are on.
Romans 12:2 tells us,
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
We do things differently around here, we are set to His pace and His path, we sit at the feet of Jesus, we exist to relentlessly pursue Jesus, seeking His face, to grow in the knowledge of who He is, stirring a hunger for His word and for prayer, which both fuel and sustain us. We endure and persevere in them. We are going to run hard after God, leaping into His fullness, and peace that surpasses all understanding- together.
What does time with the Lord look like?
What are some tools that equip and edify this pursuit?
Why is this time with Him so important?
What if I don’t know where or how to start?
Many of you have reached out asking these questions, wanting an inside look at some of the rhythms and tools that I have implemented in my daily pursuit. Before I dive in I want to preface this all by saying that our pursuit of Him will look different for each of us. We really only need a bible, and surrendered heart that desires Him. He doesn't need our time to look perfect— let’s be honest— there is no such thing.
While we are talking about this let me also remind you that this time doesn’t have to be quiet either. I think there is this misconception when we hear the tear quiet time with the Lord— but this does not have to be literal at all. For me, I do wake up around 5am and spend some time alone with the Lord, reading the Word, journaling, and praying but then I keep the conversation open with Him all throughout my day.
You know the season you are in and what your time with Him will look like, and so I suggest you pick what works best for you and your family. Maybe it will happen early in the morning before the whole house is up, or maybe your kiddo will wake early and be in your lap, or maybe at breakfast when everyone is sitting at the table too, or maybe it’s in pockets of your day when you have a few minutes. Maybe it is at the end of the day— however and whenever your time to sit down with Him is— remember He just wants you. It is important to also know that He wants to spend every moment with you, He is with you all day everyday, talk to Him all throughout your day, invite Him into all of it. He wants you to depend on Him.
No matter where you find yourself on this trail, the Lord sees you and He wants so deeply to be in relationship with you!
I pray that as I share some of these rhythms and tools that I use each day that above anything it stirs a hunger and a thirst for who God is and for His word, that truly does fuel and sustain us!
BIBLE READING PLAN
This year I am reading through the Bible chronologically following the Bible Recap plan. Each day I read the assigned reading and I am using the In Every Season Journal Set, from Well Watered Women. The journal follows the exact chronological reading plan so that as I am reading I can journal any notes, questions, and things I am learning in them. After I read and journal thought, The Bible Recap has a podcast that recaps the reading for the day— its typically under 10 minutes. They also have a printed recap version of the podcast that I use as well.
BIBLE STUDY
As I am reading through the Bible in a year, there are many times when the Lord really presses something on my heart or the Word jumps off the page— when this happens I will explore the Word further. Typically that happens later in the day or the evening for me. I do also study books of the Bible more in depth— verse by verse, in addition to the reading plan I am following. I will also go through different bible studies from The Daily Grace Co, Hosanna Revival, and Well Watered Women.
If you have been around for sometime, you will know that I use and love my Growth Book everyday for everything. The Growth Book is a journal to document all things— notes from when I explore the Word, sermons, books I am reading— you name it and I put it in my Growth Book. ( USE CODE JENNIFER FOR 10% OFF)
PRAYER
I begin my time in the Word with a prayer that I will write out, and then I will spend a few minutes writing out a handful of gratitudes. As I read and study the Word I will take notes on who He is, promises, truths, and attributes of God. I will write them down in my prayer journals which I have linked below. I spend a lot of time using scripture to pray— I will pray the Word and write these prayers out as well. After I do this I will also pray through the different categories my prayer journals have— family, friends, the world, my church, community, personal items, salvations, heavy things, goals, marriage and so on. However my time in prayer does not end there— I have made it a practice to pray and speak with the Lord all throughout my day. Having a posture of worship and praise really fixes my eyes on Him in the moments of my day.
Find Wondrous Things Prayer Journal
Val Marie Paper Prayer Journal
** Some links are affiliate links— BUT I would only share items that I wholeheartedly use and love.**
TOOLS
Bible of Choice
Journal/Notebook
Pens
Highlighters
** Below are the items that I use and love**
The Daily Grace Co Bible Study Handbook
The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible: ESV Edition
The New Inductive Study Bible (ESV)
Growth Book (USE JENNIFER FOR 10% OFF)
Uni-ball Signo Um-151 Gel Ink Pen - 0.38 Mm - 10 Set (Black)
Field Note 002
Explore the Word- Isaiah 58:11
EXPLORE
EXPLORE THE WORD
SEEK GOD IN ALL THINGS
The Word: Isaiah 58:11
Theme: Seek God in all things
Trail Map
What am I learning about WHO God is?
The Lord will guide continually.
The Lord will satisfy in all circumstances. Is. 33:16
Life with God is flourishing, sustained, rebuilt, and redeemed through him alone. Is.61:11
Life with God is like a watered garden. Jer. 31:12
Word or phrase that God is bringing to Light. How does it further explain the Word?-
guide: נָחָה nâchâh- to lead, to bring forth. God brings us into the light. He leads us forth into the truth and his ways.
continually: תָּמִיד tâmîyd- to stretch, constant, continuity. He never leaves our side, he is the constant with us.
How is His word transforming my heart and mind?
God promises to guide continually, he is after our hearts.
When we are seeking Him in all things we are fully dependent on him— this unwavering faith in him leads us forth.
His joy will be our strength.
Everything shall be build upon a foundation of the Lord.
Even in a parched land, when we are in Christ, we will be like a watered garden.
TOOLS
Bible of Choice
Journal/Notebook
Pens
Highlighters
** Below are the items that I use and love**
The Daily Grace Co Bible Study Handbook
The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible: ESV Edition
The New Inductive Study Bible (ESV)
Growth Book (USE JENNIFER FOR 10% OFF)
Uni-ball Signo Um-151 Gel Ink Pen - 0.38 Mm - 10 Set (Black)
Field Note 001
Explore the Word- Psalm 37:3
EXPLORE
EXPLORE THE WORD
FEAST ON HIS FAITHFULNESS
The Word: PSALM 37:3
Theme: Feast on his faithfulness
Trail Map
What am I learning about WHO God is?
God is a refuge for us, He desires our hearts to trust Him. Ps.62:8
God is our help and our shield. Ps.115:9-11
God is the everlasting rock. Is.26:4
Word or phrase that God is bringing to Light. How does it further explain the Word?-
dwell: שָׁכַן shâkan— to settle down to abide. God has given the land, and is the provision in it. Lev 26:5, Prov.2:21
faithfulness- אֱמוּנָה ʼĕmûwnâh- firmness, stability, security, fulfilling promise. God provides safe pasture, feasting on His faithfulness makes way to security that can only come from Him.
How is His word transforming my heart and mind?
David remind the people of God in this Psalm, that in this land, God is their refuge, lay aside all weariness, and trust Him.
Feast on the stability, the firmness, the faithfulness that only God can provide as we settle down to abide in the land.
We have a clearer vision when we trust Him.
His faithfulness is what sustains us in the land, feast on it
TOOLS
Bible of Choice
Journal/Notebook
Pens
Highlighters
** Below are the items that I use and love**
The Daily Grace Co Bible Study Handbook
The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible: ESV Edition
The New Inductive Study Bible (ESV)
Growth Book (USE JENNIFER FOR 10% OFF)
Uni-ball Signo Um-151 Gel Ink Pen - 0.38 Mm - 10 Set (Black)
Field Study 001
TRUE DESTINATION—
A FIVE-WEEK EXPLORATION INDUCTIVE STUDY
THROUGH PSALM 84.
EXPLORE
TRUE DESTINATION
A FIVE-WEEK EXPLORATION INDUCTIVE STUDY THROUGH PSALM 84.
In the trek, through the wilderness, deep in the valleys, and into the desert, the only way through is to depend on God fully.
We want to forge our way closer to Him.
We seek to relentlessly pursue Him.
We hunger for a deeper understanding of His word.
We are desperate for intimate prayer time.
We crave His sustenance that fuels and sustains us.
Yet, we are faced with distractions, overwhelm, lack of time and resources, confusion, and fear.
Field Studies are a tool that will equip you, no matter the terrain you are trekking through. You will be spurred on in the knowledge of who God is, and grow in deep connection with Him. Think of this as a tool in your backpack that will guide you and teach you how to study the Word on your own, piece by piece, consistently.
Trail Map
daily discussion in stories & weekly live teaching
EACH WEEK:
FIELD NOTES (MON-TUES) - AN INDUCTIVE STUDY THROUGH THE TEXT
EXPLORE (WED-THURS) - REFECT & RESPOND TO GO DEEPER
PRAYER (FRIDAY)- PRAY THROUGH THE SCRIPTURE
READING PLAN:
WEEK ONE- VERSES 1-2
WEEK TWO- VERSES 3-4
WEEK THREE- VERSES 5-7
WEEK FOUR- VERSES 8-9
WEEK FIVE- VERSES 10-12
TOOLS
Bible of Choice
Journal/Notebook
Pens
Highlighters
** Below are the items that I use and love**
The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible: ESV Edition
The New Inductive Study Bible (ESV)
Uni-ball Signo Um-151 Gel Ink Pen - 0.38 Mm - 10 Set (Black)
Commended for Faith, not an outcome
Hebrews 11:1-2 says, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” It is so easy to get caught up in the belief that success is based on what we yield. But what the Faith Hall of Fame advocates is, we will be commended for our FAITH in the journey – not for an outcome.
Our culture operates strongly based on a finish line. We train to complete a marathon. We go to graduate school to get the MBA needed to become an executive. The purpose is to get to the end, to finish the goal, to complete the project. Only then, when the finish line has been reached will we have made it. Then we’ll be commended. Then we’ll be praised. Then we’ll be worthy because we reached our goal; with this mentality, it’s all about the outcome.
But what if we, like some of the heroes in Hebrews chapter 11, never get to see the final outcome? What if we never reach what we’re working towards?
“Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.”
Hebrews 11:1-2
Written By: Mindy Larsen
Have you ever stopped to consider that you may never achieve the one thing that you’re working towards? Or that maybe you’ll be stuck trying long after you expected to be reaping the rewards?
I’m a writer whose one big goal is to write a book. I’m taking courses to become a better writer, sending off submissions, sharing posts on my blog and on social media in hopes that someday I will be a published author. One day, I sat behind my computer, pressed my fingertips onto the smooth surface of the square keys, and heard the Lord ask me, “Will you still praise me if your book never gets traditionally published? Will you still be faithful even if you don’t receive the outcome you’re working towards?”
faith hall of fame
There’s a well-known chapter in Hebrews chapter 11 that is often referred to as the “Faith Hall of Fame.” It tells the stories of well-known heroes of the Bible—people like Abraham, Moses, Isaac, and Noah—who took courageous steps of faith. For example, Noah was told there was going to be a flood that would drown the world, by faith he made an ark. Abraham was asked to travel to his new home in the Promised Land but he had no idea where he was going; by faith, he trekked through the desert.
After telling these stories about monumental steps of faith, verse 13 says, “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.”
One sentence in this verse struck me – “they did not receive the things promised.”
The finish line
Our culture operates strongly based on a finish line. We train to complete a marathon. We go to graduate school to get the MBA needed to become an executive. The purpose is to get to the end, to finish the goal, to complete the project. Only then, when the finish line has been reached will we have made it. Then we’ll be commended. Then we’ll be praised. Then we’ll be worthy because we reached our goal; with this mentality, it’s all about the outcome.
But what if we, like some of the heroes in Hebrews chapter 11, never get to see the final outcome? What if we never reach what we’re working towards?
Hebrews 11:1-2 says, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” It is so easy to get caught up in the belief that success is based on what we yield. But what the Faith Hall of Fame advocates is, we will be commended for our FAITH in the journey – not for an outcome.
Commended for faith
Noah saved mankind and all the animals of the earth, but believe it or not, he was not commended for the end result. He was commended for the faith it took to build the ark. And Moses was not commended for leading the people of God to the Promised Land (friends, he never even got to go in); yet he was commended for the faith it took to leave Egypt.
When it comes down to it, our ultimate goal as followers of Jesus is to be faithful no matter what. If we become so focused on what we produce, on what goals we are accomplishing (or not accomplishing) in our lifetime, we not only rob ourselves the joy of enjoying the process, but we run the risk of losing sight of our purpose; to make Jesus name known.
The key to losing the end-goal mentality, to being satisfied with steps of faith versus an outcome, is found in Hebrews 11:16 that says, “Instead, they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one.” The reason the ancients didn’t lose faith, even when they didn’t reach their outcome, is because instead of being focused on their end goal, they were focused on THE end goal – eternity in heaven with the Lord.
shifted prespective
Instead of obsessing over my goal to become a published author, I’m shifting my perspective to being faithful and obedient to the Lord in each moment, and trusting Him to lead me even if the outcome is not what I expect. And you know what the result has been? Freedom. Satisfaction. Joy.
Fixing our eyes on Jesus releases us from the power-hungry obsession to be successful and enables us to enjoy life to the fullest. Will you join me? Together, let’s focus on faithfulness, find satisfaction in the journey, and pray that someday we, like the ancients, might be commended for our faith.
Mindy Larsen is a writer living in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. She loves donuts, the power of Scripture to combat anxiety, and cuddling on the couch with her husband Chris, and their cat, Finn. Mindy writes to encourage others with words that point towards Jesus. You can find her writing in Thryve Magazine, Grit & Virtue, and (in)courage, as well as on her personal blog – www.loveminblog.com She’d love to connect with you there, or over on Instagram www.instagram.com/mindykaysl
Finding Freedom in Surrendering Your Imperfect Purpose
There is freedom in surrendering to who Christ designed us to be. As humans, we often feel like surrendering to anything means that we are giving up control, giving up power, and giving up freedom, but in Christ, we find true freedom when we surrender to His design. A freedom that can only come from the Lord because it is solely dependent on the price He paid for us on the cross. Yet, we allow ourselves to hold back from full surrender because it means that the imperfections and the mess will be uncovered, that our weakest points will be on display-- but what we are not grasping is that the Lord has us come just as we are. Our perspective of who we belong to has to be shifted, the chains of this earthly world must be broken-- as Christian women, we are to show up however He might have us so that He is seen through us. We have to daily remember that He has placed us here on earth for a set amount of time to share who He is, to speak His message, to build His Kingdom, all through the imperfections that we walk with. As a body of believers, our eternal perspective needs to bring us such a hope and peace that we are not battling ourselves to hold on to our own freedom.
For through the Law I died to the Law and its demands on me [because salvation is provided through the death and resurrection of Christ], so that I might [from now on] live to God. I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith [by adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting] in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not ignore or nullify the [gracious gift of the] grace of God [His amazing, unmerited favor], for if righteousness comes through [observing] the Law, then Christ died needlessly. [His suffering and death would have had no purpose whatsoever.]”
Galatians 2:19-21 AMP
There is freedom in surrendering to who Christ designed us to be. As humans, we often feel like surrendering to anything means that we are giving up control, giving up power, and giving up freedom, but in Christ, we find true freedom when we surrender to His design. A freedom that can only come from the Lord because it is solely dependent on the price He paid for us on the cross. Yet, we allow ourselves to hold back from full surrender because it means that the imperfections and the mess will be uncovered, that our weakest points will be on display-- but what we are not grasping is that the Lord has us come just as we are. Our perspective of who we belong to has to be shifted, the chains of this earthly world must be broken-- as Christian women, we are to show up however He might have us so that He is seen through us. We have to daily remember that He has placed us here on earth for a set amount of time to share who He is, to speak His message, to build His Kingdom, all through the imperfections that we walk with. As a body of believers, our eternal perspective needs to bring us such a hope and peace that we are not battling ourselves to hold on to our own freedom. We are His, society would have us think that can make us weak, belonging to someone-- but it is not just someone who we belong to-- our lives imperfect and all are purposed for His glory. He has called us, purposed us, in such a way that His Kingdom comes, in every single one of our imperfections. The freedom that arrives at our doorstep when we surrender it all to the Lord can feel harder than surrendering to self, but don’t let the enemy deceive you, do not believe that lie he sets up there. God wants us to sacrifice the total feeling of comfort to give us something greater. HIMSELF. When we think what we want and what He wants out of our lives it can often be different purposes, and it means stepping into the unknown so He can show us all of who He is, and all that He is working in our imperfections.
Why do we give space to hesitation in surrender?
We give ourselves a space to hesitate to surrender because we allow the ongoing pressures of the world, the flesh, and the enemy to shape our thoughts, feelings, and actions. We live in conformity to those things--- we cannot be transformed in Christ when conformation is existent. We must surrender to these conformities so that we accept His grace in our lives and rebuke the ideas of perfection and pressure. When we hesitate to surrender it all to the Lord, what He does, in fact, call us to, we are really saying, “ fear, lies, perfection, you are all welcome here,” because we choose fear over faith, lies over truth, perfection over imperfection.
Have you felt consumed with the “rules” and “should do’s” of this world that you found yourself in a place where all you could think of or do is try to keep up with it all? Your wheels have just been spinning in the yes mode, the I can do it all mode, day in and day out until you get to a place where you are so tired because really you are just relying on your strength? Your striving is what you think is thriving, yet deep down you know something is missing? It is easy for us to look at our world, at other women, and mamas, and think, “Oh, that is the way I need to be, or that is what I need to be doing, or that is the way it's supposed to go, so what do I need to do to get there” , completely disregarding the truth that we belong to Christ and He is who ultimately directs and empowers us-- not the world that we live in?
We give space to hesitating to surrender because we accept comparison when we should actually be empowering and equipping the women around us to walk in the grace that the Lord has called each of us too. As Kingdom women, there cannot be a place for hesitation-- we have to be boldly pursuing what it is that will advance the gospel, what will grow His Kingdom. It has to start with a deeply rooted grasp on a fully surrendered life. We leave an open door for our flesh and the enemy to enter when we are not in daily communication with the Lord. Our faith pulls us to center as we ABIDE + SURRENDER to Him. It is so important for us to protect our faith day in and day out— He calls us to have a FIRM grip on our faith, for ourselves and for generations that follow. There is no room for HESITATION when we live surrendered.
In what ways can we find true freedom in surrendering our imperfect purpose?
The freedom that comes when we surrender it all to Christ is the freedom that identifies with Christ, living in Christ who lives within. Surrendering is living on the basis of faith not striving. Embracing our imperfections. We begin to understand that it doesn’t mean we are alone on our journey and that His ways are greater than ours. We think that freedom is the power for us to walk on our own, yet He did not design and create us to walk alone in our lives. The truth is freedom is redemption but that doesn’t mean that we go back or remain in a perfect state because there is only One perfect, Christ.
We find true freedom when we accept that we were made with a purpose to glorify His kingdom which means our lives are not about us and our comfort but about the walls He will tear down for us to walk in the victory he paid for us.
The freedom that comes with surrendering our imperfect purpose, the perfect ways that we thought, or strive for, is the freedom that we live out because we have died to our flesh where we can now grasp the power of His growth, abundance, redemption that He purposed in our lives.
When we seek to surrender to the Lord, he sustains us. When we surrender ourselves to the Lord, we are in fact transformed-- freedom..we are justified through our faith in Him alone. When we trust the Lord, what is true of Him, is true of us. It is about what Jesus has done for us, something we could never do for ourselves. Surrendering is doing it only on the basis of faith.
What does TRUE freedom really look like in contrast to the way we perceive earthly freedom?
True freedom from surrendering our imperfect purpose looks like transformation and trust compared to a lack of power as our world would see it. It looks like He is working to challenge us, to connect us, mature us— it doesn't look like we get to do what we want when we want. It understands that we are not in power of our lives— that there are things that will have consequences due to the fall and sin. We are imperfect for this exact reason, a broken world, a broken people-- but we are redeemed through Christ. It does mean that He is and always will be a good God though because in the end, He will always be glorified but our faith has to remain undoubting.
Something that has really forced me to work very hard to stay far from earthly expectations is being a mama to a special needs child. I feel God in this place every single day, nothing about my pregnancy, my son’s birth, and our journey is one that was a “rule” follower-- it was never about it going according to “plan” because it was all about being Christs to glorify. It is not mine to compare because no matter what it looks like it is a gift. I would be abandoning the Lord if I followed suit with what I thought I should be as a mama to him by comparing-- the wheel would never stop spinning because I would be living for me, my expectations, my desires. Yet, we all have one place we can all dwell in, one Savior to abide in, and surrender to. We get to walk in freedom trusting that we don’t have to keep trying to please the Lord, and certainly not this world. Christ has already shown us how to live, He already enables us to live a life that is free of pressures, guilt-trips, expectations. We have to take the initiative to identify with Christ himself, understand that with His death, our flesh has also died and we are alive and living with our Savior, not with the striving of this world. Our way to thrive with our time on earth is to let ourselves be consumed with only the Lord, and who He is so that we would be imitators of only one, Him. God doesn’t need or care for us to keep trying to keep up, He needs us to lift our hands high, surrendered, trusting Him to have His way with our lives, not for our sake at all, but for His.
“Let us say it again: The Universal Presence is a fact. God is here. The whole universe is alive with His life. And He is no strange or foreign God, but the familiar Father of our Lord Jesus Christ whose love has for these thousands of years enfolded the sinful race of men. And always He is trying to get our attention, to reveal Himself to us, to communicate with us. We have within us the ability to know Him if we will respond to His overtures. (And this we call pursuing God!) We will know Him in increasing degrees as our receptivity becomes more perfect by faith and love and practice.” - A.W. Tozer
the freedom in surrender is found when our imperfect purpose is in fact surrendered
When we surrender to God’s plan for us when we surrender to our imperfections and make room for His perfection we surrender we are brought to a place of rest because we turn over-dependence on the Lord, making way to freedom in our lives. Our world would have us believe that we have to exemplify self-power, self-dependence, but all that eventually does is run us dry. You will do yourself hard if you for one second believe these lies. Ultimately we have to hope in the Lord-- and only in Him, if we want to live a life that is surrendered to Him. Laying down our lives for Him is exactly where He wants us to be, in the imperfect places. He has perfection all figured out, it is not our job, so we can accept that He is who He says He is, He will do what He says He will, and He has already got it all figured out. When we know Christ, who He is fully, everything He has already done for us, we are compelled to surrender to Him, fear holds no ground in our lives.
How Desperate Am I For More of God?
The miles flash as I speed through the desert. In its pre-dawn blush, the sky shimmers, mother-of-pearl. Rugged mountains cut a stark silhouette against the glow.
It’s breathtaking.
But all I can think about is my rumbling stomach. I’m hungry. So hungry that my stomach's growling complaints fill the entire sound-space of my brain, leaving no room for any type of early morning appreciation of beauty.But I’m also in a time crunch, without even a moment for a pass-through at fast food joint where I could hurriedly snatch a rubbery biscuit loaded with cheese and a bit of overdone egg...
Instead, I gaze across the miles into a desert range rising jagged and bare, and I’m catapulted back to the image which captured my heart just days before. All about Moses and his hollow heart hunger, and how God showed up to feast Moses on the indescribable glory of His presence.
Written By: Tiffany Nesbitt
“Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7,8).
The miles flash as I speed through the desert. In its pre-dawn blush, the sky shimmers, mother-of-pearl. Rugged mountains cut a stark silhouette against the glow.
It’s breathtaking.
But all I can think about is my rumbling stomach. I’m hungry. So hungry that my stomach's growling complaints fill the entire sound-space of my brain, leaving no room for any type of early morning appreciation of beauty.But I’m also in a time crunch, without even a moment for a pass-through at fast food joint where I could hurriedly snatch a rubbery biscuit loaded with cheese and a bit of overdone egg...
Instead, I gaze across the miles into a desert range rising jagged and bare, and I’m catapulted back to the image which captured my heart just days before. All about Moses and his hollow heart hunger, and how God showed up to feast Moses on the indescribable glory of His presence.
And it makes me pause, wondering.
How hungry am I, really?
Because Moses was so desperate for the Presence that if he didn’t get more, he was willing to wander the scorched sands of Sinai, forfeiting the divine promise of milk-and-honey inheritance for himself and his people.
“ If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. ” (Ex. 33:16)
In other words, if I can’t have more of you than what I’ve yet tasted, I’m ready to dig in my sandals, stubborn-like, and just — wait. No charging forward, half-filled. No finding a way to make it all happen, dissatisfied still. A single longing filled Moses’ very core.
More of His presence.
I interrogate my heart there in the quiet hurtling through space.
How much do I really want? How desperate am I for more of God?
I glance in the rear view mirror, images flashing hard across its lens. Too many scenes of filling my soul’s belly with less than or not enough . How quickly I gravitate towards those plasticized versions of nutrition, nothing really there except temporary gratification and, somewhere down the road, coronary disease.
Jesus, more of you.
ecause I want to be so hungry for Him that every moment of my life, I’m knocking, searching, chasing Him down. He’s promised that if I seek Him, I’ll find Him — if I search with all my heart. But so often my heart is a divided territory, only half-in, while the other half slumbers away in complacent enough-ness. He’s promised that if I hunger and thirst for righteousness, I’ll be satisfied. But it can’t be any of that self-made, man-approved righteousness, striving only after comparison. The kind I cling to so easily.
I want a real, lasting hunger that burns, inferno-like, within me and declares I can’t possibly go forward without more of you, my Jesus.
Satisfy my burning heart.
The suns bursts over the horizon, and I imagine Moses, his face blazing like glory as he treks down Sinai. He’s been in the Presence — that more for which his heart had cried — and his earth-suit can’t contain the splendor.
I pull out my sunglasses, squinting into the glare. It’s glorious.
And there in the blinding glow, I can finally hear the beat of my own heart, satisfied.
My story? I’m a Jesus lover: an ardent worshiper who longs for nothing more than to revel in the presence of the One who alone is WORTHY. I am wife to Christopher, that amazing husband and father whose beautiful romancing 30 years ago started so much.I am mother to four incredible blessings: two stalwart young men, two radiant young women. Gifts of glory and sanctification, all. I spent nineteen years of my life practicing at being a home educator: joyful, hard-won days filled with priceless memories and perpetual messiness.I thrive most when teaching, mentoring or loving on the upcoming generation. My husband and I co-founded CRSSM, a ministry center in Costa Rica, where we lived for the first half of 2016. On March 1, 2018, I released a women’s Bible study called Bless. I am a fearless shower singer, a faithful Austen devotee, an unashamed musical watcher. I love to celebrate milestones with great aplomb. I delight in opening my home to friends and family, and at such events, steaming cups of tea are invariably found.
ou can find her at her website Tiffany Nesbitt, and over on Instagram.
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR LAUNCHING A PRODUCT OR SERVICE
In the past years, my business has changed a lot. The business I was running in 2016 is completely different than the business I am running in 2017 and 2018. There are a lot of things that influenced these changes, but there is one thing I really started to research and implement. It transformed my income and my business. You want to know what I am talking about?
THE LAUNCH.
I know “launching” is kind of a buzz word in the creative industry right now, so you might be rolling your eyes and thinking: “yeah, yeah, we get it. Launching is a big deal.”
But. It is. Like a really big deal.
And I want to give you all my secrets about planning a launch and being able to be on autopilot once it goes live.
Today, I will be sharing five tips to help you plan and execute a successful launch. Let’s dive in!
Before we get to the tips, allow me to introduce The Launch League! This is a FREE 5-day online challenge where I will lead you through the steps and strategy behind planning a successful product or service with ease. I will help you go from frazzled and stressed, to confident with every launch!
Written By: Rachel Allene
In the past years, my business has changed a lot. The business I was running in 2016 is completely different than the business I am running in 2017 and 2018. There are a lot of things that influenced these changes, but there is one thing I really started to research and implement. It transformed my income and my business. You want to know what I am talking about?
THE LAUNCH.
I know “launching” is kind of a buzz word in the creative industry right now, so you might be rolling your eyes and thinking: “yeah, yeah, we get it. Launching is a big deal.”
But. It is. Like a really big deal.
And I want to give you all my secrets about planning a launch and being able to be on autopilot once it goes live.
Today, I will be sharing five tips to help you plan and execute a successful launch. Let’s dive in!
Before we get to the tips, allow me to introduce The Launch League! This is a FREE 5-day online challenge where I will lead you through the steps and strategy behind planning a successful product or service with ease. I will help you go from frazzled and stressed, to confident with every launch!
Want to learn more and sign up FOR FREE? Challenge kicks off on April 23rd!
Step One:
Putting it all out there
Make a comprehensive list of everything you need to do. Make sure you get really specific here. I like to split my to-do items into as many small items as possible. For example, “contact Influencers” can be broken down into these items:
Make list of Influencers
Write first contact email
Write follow up email
Create spreadsheet for “yes” list
So, I just took one item and made it into four items. I like to do this because I feel more productive on my list of items to complete if there are small tasks. Which also helps me stay motivated to do more.
Step Two:
Categorize everything.
You will want to make different categories for all the items on your list. So, have a list for all the content you need to write, the social posts you need to schedule, the design work you need to do, the emails that need to be scheduled, etc.
Step Three:
Write all the content.
Before I do any emailing or social post work for something I want to launch, I write ALL the content first. For example, for #theheartfeltgrid (a free instagram e-course I hosted), I write all the emails for the entire challenge, the emails to write to my list of influencers, the content for any educational resources, and the content for the website. Once the content is written, I am able to focus more on the social strategy and start creating the design elements for the launch.
Step Four:
Create a social strategy.
You will need to create all the Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest posts. For my challenge, I needed to create graphics and write content for my social strategy. I simply had a massive Google Doc with all the posts that needed to be scheduled and wrote the day and time above the content for the post. This was done so when I went back to schedule the posts, I wouldn’t have to think about which day it was done. The content was written before I do the scheduling, so it’s easier to just decide on the day and time while you’re writing the content.
You also need to create graphics for these posts. You might just need to take the pictures or maybe you need to design them in Adobe Illustrator or Canva.
Part of creating a social strategy is also creating a schedule for promoting the launch of your product/service/challenge/webinar.
*Using Facebook Live and Instagram Live are also important for a launch! In full disclosure: I didn’t have the time for this in my previous launch, but moving forward I will be hosting Live video. It allows your audience to ask questions and Live videos are relevant for quite awhile after you post them. So, the content lives on!
Step Five:
Scheduling everything.
In full disclosure, I will tell you that I have a virtual assistant who did the majority of my scheduling for my recent online challenge I hosted, but before that I did all the scheduling myself. This is because I have an infant. Otherwise, I would have done all the scheduling myself. If you block out time for planning your launch, I promise it can be easy and streamlined.
Here is what I use to make scheduling easy peasy:
Google Docs for all content that can be easily copy and pasted into the respective social channels.
Facebook can now schedule posts in groups, so I just use that resource.
I am old school with Instagram and write my captions in an email and send it to myself.
ConvertKit for emails. ← seriously the best!
Tailwind for Pinterest!
Step Six:
Execute the launch!
When your launch is going on, I suggest that you only focus on the launch. “Shut down” other areas of your business so that 100% of your attention goes into the launch. So if you’re launching a course, make sure that is all that you’re focused on while the doors are open for your course. If you’re trying to juggle too many things, the success of your launch might suffer.
If you’re looking to dive into the strategy behind launching and learn how to craft an approach that CONVERTS, then come join The Launch League!
Challenge starts April 23rd, 2018 and I can’t wait to get started!
Head here to sign up and start learning all about launch strategy. I can’t wait to see you there!
Xo,
Rachel Allene
Rachel Heckmann is an educator, product shop owner, encourager, and the creative stylist and director at Rachel Allene, an online shop that offers products and services for the creative, joyful, and inspired dreamer. She creates business resources in order to encourage and empower women to run heartfelt and profitable businesses on all social platforms. Rachel is a grateful wife, humbled mama, founder of #lesshustlemoregrace, and believer of real talk.
You can find her at her website Rachel Allen, and over on Instagram.
3 Ways to Transform Your Prayer Life
Our prayer life is transformed in walking out our faith, surrendering it all to Him, being expectant of the work He is doing, where we might be swept in a slew of directions, shaken, sifted, taught, even paused-- to actually being present, showing up to do the work-- meeting Him in that place. Honestly, we have to have a faith so rooted in Him where we allow Him the room to do the mighty works-- that is fully transforming, not necessarily doing but being one with Christ.
"And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be [a]transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you]."
Romans 12:2
Are we fully giving ourselves to the Lord because of the grace that we have thru Him that which saves us? When I thought and prayed about how I wanted to start the year off, prayer was the first thing that came to mind. I think it is a topic that we hear and talk about a lot, but I think sometimes we only grasp the surface. When we are new in Him, we have come from the dead (a brokenness) to a new living being from within. The old withers, and the new sprouts. As we are made new in Christ, our minds are also transformed so that we can further discern God’s will. That which is good and acceptable and perfect for our world is far different than that of Christ most often, a purpose that goes far beyond the expectancies of the world. When we meet the Father in prayer we are letting Him overtake it all for us, which is what He desires, it is what He wants so that we have a vast awareness of what He is capable of in our lives. Our prayer life is transformed in walking out our faith, surrendering it all to Him, being expectant of the work He is doing, where we might be swept in a slew of directions, shaken, sifted, taught, even paused-- to actually being present, showing up to do the work-- meeting Him in that place. Honestly, we have to have a faith so rooted in Him where we allow Him the room to do the mighty works-- that is fully transforming, not necessarily doing but being one with Christ.
Transformed through Surrender
In order for prayer to fully transform us, for us to know that we are fully His I think we have to begin with surrender, the rest will follow from there. The thorns that we read about in Matthew 13:16-23, they will choke us-- it is on the hardened ground where we might cling more to the cares of the world that produces less fruit. If we dig a little deeper into our lives, into our prayer life even more specifically, when we allow our fears, our anxieties, our brokenness, our need for perfection to take hold of us-- we are in bondage to Him. We are admitting to our Savior that we don’t think what He paid for us on the cross is worthy enough--- when in truth it is His abundance He gives to us. When we break free from the thorns, whatever they are in your life, you are opening yourself up to God. He already knows every single detail about us-- He just needs us to speak it to Him. For transformation in our prayer life to sprout, to experience the fullness of Christ, we must speak His abundance-- that means laying it all out to Him. Practically it means being present with the Lord--- we live a world where it can be easy to just go through the motions-- however, in prayer, it is not that way. We have to open ourselves up to the Lord trusting and asking for His will, His way, to be done.
I don’t know about you but when I read about Jesus praying I can picture Him, being so humble and lifting His hands up in surrender. In a posture that allows our Heavenly Father to lean in closer to us. We learn from Jesus that by surrendering it all we seek His will, we are there to encounter His whispers. Our hunger and thirst for the Lord when we surrender becomes our constant appetite. Can we be so desperate that our faith in the Lord is the complete belief in what His ability is and not ours? Are we coming to the Father, fully surrender, fully prepared to abide in what it is that He has for us?
Before you begin to pray, surrender--- pause, hunger, and thirst for you to hear Him, draw near. It is almost as if you are taking a deep breath and lifting yourself up to Him.
Transformed through Expectancy
Our prayer life is transformed when we have a posture of expectancy. We need to position ourselves, our prayers, our thoughts to be expectant of what is to come. This can be hard sometimes, our world wants us to think we have to move two steps ahead and have all the answers-- that is flesh, that is not how our God works-- He is the only one who knows what was and is to come, we however just need to expect Him-- trust that He is present. We are made new in Him, and this sometimes means that we will have to wait. We are on His timeline, and each day that He gives us, we need to know that with that we are made new again and again until He says He needs us in eternity with Him.
I will tell you when I had Mason at 23 weeks, of all the things I remember most on the day he was born and the very scary days into his life, was having to be expectant. We hear the word expectant, and we tend to think of a woman carrying her child, but for me, in that place, it was expectant of what God’s plan was for Mason’s life, for our life. In praying almost every minute of those days, prayer woven into every conversation with the doctors and nurses, especially the first 4 days of his life-- I remember so clearly, hands open to Him, letting Him know I was going to just be expectant, if that meant He needed to take Mason to be with Him, He could, if He wanted Mason to stay with us a while longer, it was His will. We must go to a place in prayer where we understand that it is not about what we want when we want it--- what we may pray for may come but also in a completely different way. No matter the way He presents it to us, being expectant forces us to trust that no matter what, He is there with us-- there is nothing in His purpose for us that is not used to glorify Him.
When you pray, be expectant--- instead of only asking Him what you want or need, give Him the permission for His will to be done in your life.
Transformed through Revival
Let us first define revive:
revive is the translation of chayah, "to live," "cause to live," used of restoration to life (Genesis 45:27; Judges 15:19, etc.); of rebuilding (Nehemiah 4:2); of restoration to well-being (Psalms 85:6 (the Revised Version (British and American) "quicken"); Psalms 138:7; Isaiah 57:15; Hosea 6:2; 14:7); of Yahweh's gracious work for His people (Habakkuk 3:2, "revive thy work in the midst of the years," etc.); "reviving" is the translation of michydh "preservation" or "means of life" (Ezra 9:8,9). "Revive" occurs in the New Testament as the translation of anazao, "to live again" (Romans 7:9; 14:9, the King James Version "Christ both died, and rose, and revived," the Revised Version (British and American) (omitting "and rose") "Christ died and lived again" zao). Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. "Entry for 'REVIVE; REVIVING'". "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia". 1915.
For us to understand transformation through a revival perspective, we break down what the word revival means. Here we can see that to revive is to live, a means of life, to live again. We become alive when we have this living relationship, which we can do through prayer with the Lord. Revival is showing up, day in and day out, knowing that we need Him in every moment of our days. It means when we want to give into what our flesh might want, impatience, exhaustion, anger, sadness-- we have to rise to Him. We have to rebuke the enemy. Living in Christ is a relationship with Him, one where He shows up no questions asked, even when we doubt His presence. We have to show up and meet Him in all areas of our life. In order for us to bear the fruit, we have to tend to the harvest. The work needs to be put in-- whether you set 5 minutes aside a day, or you talk to Him throughout your day-- you have to filter your days through Christ.
Maybe for you, that means writing out your prayers, physically seeing the words you speak to Him, and then seeing His promises back to you-- whatever works in your life, to be transformed in prayer let yourself be revived-- brought back to life in Him. When we pray and read the word, we are not trying to get something out of it for ourselves--- our main focus has to be about getting to know our Lord and Savior. Not what He will do and fix in us, but what He has done. When we sin, when we feel less than, to trust that He makes us new--- are you going to Him, confessing, and asking for forgiveness? We have to ask ourselves if we understand the depth of what His victory in our life means-- that there is no battle we actually need to fight because it is won by Him already. In the midst of our days, when we pray we are rebuilt, right then and there. Our thoughts are shifted to a position of focus towards Him.
When you pray, show up--- get into His word, get to know Him more than anyone-- serve Him, build His Kingdom, live in Him.
“For God alone my soul waits in silence; From Him comes my salvation.He alone is my rock and my salvation,my defense and my strong tower; I will not be shaken or disheartened.” Psalm 62:1-2
What if we break down the walls of prayer-- remove the fear of not doing it right or saying the right words--- what is we grew in our relationship instead-- ultimately our transformation comes through the Lord this way. What if we threw out the misconceptions of prayer just going through motions and actually had an honest conversation with him? Can we move from here and now and to our beings waiting, surrendered, present, expectant of what the Lord has planned for your life. Waiting in silence, so that we can draw near and get so close to Him so that we can hear Him speak. Maybe you can’t quite make out the words, but a place of awareness brings so much freedom in our lives. Being aware of our joy, and contentment, all stem from Him alone. I have found that when I feel overwhelmed, doubtful, anxiety-filled— I can wait with Him, I never have to feel alone, even in a world so big, I can get still in Him. We see SALVATION here twice- deliverance— we are delivered from Him, and this friend is the only thing that should shake our day— nothing else, can shake us because thru Him we are delivered. I cling to this, I can release fear in my life because He is my defense, He wants me to live a BOLD life for Him, His strong tower protects and this is also the truth for you! In times when my soul might feel dry or run down, exhausted— these words of truth bring an eternal light and life to me, may they bring the same to your life.
Will you wait in silence for Him today? Will you FULLY trust that your salvation, your deliverance comes from Him alone? Can you picture Him as your defense today, your strong tower? You cannot be shaken friend, He is your eternity.
Prayers of the Bible | A guide to cultivating a spirit of prayer
Have you ever been in a place in your prayer life where you didn’t feel equipped in your walk with the Lord to turn to Him, or maybe you didn't think you had the “right” words? Maybe prayer is not your go to? With that, I want to challenge you and ask you why? Prayer is one of the powerful tools that the Lord gives us to connect with Him. It is a way for us to experience His fullness and know that He is at work in our lives. To cultivate the spirit of prayer lets define cultivate first- to prepare and use, to develop. In order for our prayers to transform our lives, the relationship, the faith in Christ has to be put to use, and we do that by talking to Him, calling upon Him, thanking Him, praising Him.
"Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us."
Ephesians 3:20
Have you ever been in a place in your prayer life where you didn’t feel equipped in your walk with the Lord to turn to Him, or maybe you didn't think you had the “right” words? Maybe prayer is not your go to? With that, I want to challenge you and ask you why? Prayer is one of the powerful tools that the Lord gives us to connect with Him. It is a way for us to experience His fullness and know that He is at work in our lives. To cultivate the spirit of prayer lets define cultivate first- to prepare and use, to develop. In order for our prayers to transform our lives, the relationship, the faith in Christ has to be put to use, and we do that by talking to Him, calling upon Him, thanking Him, praising Him. Do you hold back from the Lord, I pray that in learning to cultivate a spirit of praying and talk to our Savior all the time that your relationship with Him will open you up even more to how powerful He is. Our Lord knows everything, even before we show up to Him, so let us not shy away from Him for any reason at all. Let’s show up before Him, and thru this we are His vessel for the world to experience His abounding love.
How did people of the Bible pray? What can we learn from the ways people prayed in the Bible?
The blessings that we read about in the Bible fall nothing short of being connected to obedience, perseverance, and willingness. It is important to mention that when we talk about blessings, that also included times of frustration and confusion, yet their posture to abide in the Lord remained. They positioned themselves to understand how He might reveal Himself to them. As we look a people in the bible, people such as Elijah, Hannah, Moses, Hezekiah, Jabez, and David. We saw that each were in a different place in their lives yet all calling on the Lord. All of them were seeking the overall presence of the Lord. Exactly what we seek as well don’t we?
When we really break down the purpose behind prayer and the connection, it is Him. We so badly want to know, feel, hear, the Lord. Prayer gives us His presence. He tells us that His presence will go with us. Prayer allows us to know our Savior, it connects us in such a way that we are transformed by His abounding love for us. When we cultivate a spirit of prayer in our lives asking, proclaiming, rejoicing, thanking, fully trusting, we grow spiritually in such a way that we might not know or understand the work He is doing in our lives, but we know that fully laying it all down for Him and for His glory His goodness is abundant. We cease to be hungry when we are only filled with Him, moment after moment.
As we look at how people of the Bible prayed we can dig into three areas:
A spirit of obedience
They partnered with Jesus, there was not a lot of room for argument when they spoke and prayed with Him-- we see many times in the Bible, “they followed”.
They let Jesus take a hold of their lives when they prayed
Although there were times in the bible where they might have shown some frustration, they ultimately knew that Jesus would bless them for what His ultimate purpose was.
They listened to the word, He was/is the Word!
A spirit of surrender
We see people who came open-handed to the Lord, with hearts ready to be taken over by Him
They were open to Jesus taking them to the harder, lower places of their lives so that He would be glorified.
They poured out their bodies to make Him known
A spirit of trust
So many times in their prayers they mention words like known, presence, to know-- all situations where they put all their trust in their faith that He would make himself known.
We see Jesus actively present in their prayers.
They placed it all in Him, in the end.
They believed that He was always a good Father, even when their circumstances were not changed.
How can we apply that to our own lives?
Prayer is our undoubting faith in Him. We must not put limits or boundaries on it-- Obedience, surrender, and trust need to be placed in the Lord as we seek Him in prayer to have a posture to abide.
We are going to go into the deep end of the pool many times in our lives, and we will not know what He is doing there until we are fully obedient, surrendered, and trusting.
We must shift our hearts and minds to be fully aware of the Lord, who He is, the power that He is capable of.
We need to be open to the unlikely circumstances where He might be at work.
Our faith is built with prayer, which then draws us closer to the Lord.
Our thoughts need to move towards a God that seeks to use us as a vessel to be glorified-- the Word gets into the world this way-- through all that Jesus journeys with us.
To apply prayer is also to make Him know-- living in Christ, as we die to the flesh.
There are times when we need to be still in prayer and there are other times when we need to move in prayer!
The more acquainted we are with prayer, the more we are attuned to hear His whispers
He reserves so much of His glory in the broken areas of our lives.
We shall practice being aware of ourselves and WHO and WHERE He is in our lives.
He accepts us as we are, He will not love us any more than He has today, and will tomorrow. God is showing up, He is always there, are we always showing up to Him?
“My grace is sufficient for you [My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough—always available—regardless of the situation]; for[My] power is being perfected [and is completed and shows itself most effectively] in [your] weakness.” Therefore, I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ [may completely enfold me and] may dwell in me. 10 So I am well pleased with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, and with difficulties, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak [in human strength], then I am strong [truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God’s strength].”2 Corinthians 12:9-10
What He gives us in prayer is still really His to use, for Him to work thru in our lives. Prayer is the way to the word, the word that is God. Prayer is infinite, there are no boundaries to the Lord, and therefore no boundaries in praying-- our faith in Him, our relationship has no limitations. We have to know WHO our God is, who WE are in Him, and then live in Him. When we are inclined to box our prayer life in, we are closing Him off, we are in fact saying that we got this, when in fact that only way possible is thru Him. What would it look like if you connected with Him in a way where you walked thru each day allowing Him to overtake you, live inside of you? If your prayers were not “what more could I get out of God”, but instead were “to get more God”, we then acknowledge Him. We fail to give Him the credit for who He is when we only go to the Father for the more we can get out of Him, instead of a hunger and a thirst for more of Him. Jesus can do such deep work within us, that pours out onto others for them to see His abundance, His victory, that He paid for us.