written beauty for the heart and life
 

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Receive our helpful resource, Hope in Transition, with 5 insights and tips on navigating the rocky terrain of change.

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Sweet baby, there are nights when it’s hard for you to fall asleep. You try, you really try, quietly rolling around, settling and re-settling. And every now and then, if you just can’t fall asleep, you finally cry from despair. . I come into your room, my heart moved by compassion, and I rock you. My heart swells with love for you as I kiss your fleshy cheek and rub your warm back. I praise and I pray, and my presence comforts you in a way that gives you rest. . It won’t always be this way. My gentle rocking and warm embrace won’t always be the relief your small frame needs to sink into sleep. And I want to prepare you for those days. . I want to teach you about the One whose comfort will find you anywhere. The One whose presence alone gives you rest. The One on whom you can set your little mind and always find the road to peace. . I pray He’ll make Himself known to you, and I pray I’ll give my life to knowing Him and helping you to know Him. . Thank You, Father, for moments like this to compel my mama heart by Your love. . #risenmotherhood #wordsworthnoting
What if I lived as if no one owed me anything? As if I deserved nothing, no apology, no explanations, no rights to decent treatment or consideration. What if I surrendered all entitlement to being thought highly of, to being praised and appreciated, to being known? . I’ve seen the way my pride has kept others at a distance. I’ve seen the way these expectations fail to deliver their vain promise of making me feel worthy, and I’ve felt the grasping for glory wither away just beyond my reach. I’ve experienced division, offense, and the heartache of making others tiptoe and feel insecure around me. . But as I watch Jesus, my heart is pierced of its pride. God Himself relinquishing all rights to any sort of honor aside from what the Father bestowed. To any sort of glory aside from the kind of glory that comes through humbling oneself. To any sort of service aside from the intimacy the Father gives when He served others. . As worship sets in, I want to join Him. Because when I do, I make room for the gospel to advance in the relationships around me. And when the gospel is seen and sensed and felt, others are freed up from self-concern or concern over me, and get to connect with God Himself. . (find this 1 Corinthians 13 art print in the shop!) . #preachingtomyownheart #1corinthians13 #thekingdom #lampandlight #wordsworthnoting
Counseling the tender heart of another is absolutely one of the most rewarding responsibilities the Lord has entrusted to me. I’m humbled to my core for the opportunity to see His grace manifest, His kindness rooted, His Kingdom come. . But honestly, I must regularly come to grips with the truth that if I will extend any sort of comfort from Christ to others, I must first receive it myself. And if I will receive it, it must come through my own lot of sufferings, my own eyes open to my sin, my own tottering of my little kingdom. . It’s the only space where His comfort can transform my heart, in the midst of sorrow, ache, repentance, and need. Fellowship with Christ in His sufferings affords me the comfort of Christ—the only kind of comfort that will bring ministry and healing to the beloved face in front of me. . (These Grief & Sorrow Cards were born in part out of my heart for Biblical Counseling. If you find yourself “counseling” your friends regularly, I highly encourage you to make a set of these your own to equip you in the ministry of the King!) . #biblicalcounseling #grief #2corinthians1 #womenintheword #wordsworthnoting
I held back tears when I came across this one in The Way of Wisdom. As my daughter transitions to one nap (and maybe you already know she’s not the best sleeper), receives tooth after tooth, and simply wants mama most of the day, I notice my prayers changing. . Because all the while caring for my beloved child, I’m carrying another one in the womb. I feel weaker than I’ve ever felt, more tired than I knew possible, and quite hungry all the time. So my prayers have begun to resound like this: . “Father, would you nourish me? I am weak, tired, and hungry. Only You can sustain and strengthen me.” . Then I read: “the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.” A feast! Oh how easy it is not to have a cheerful heart, to look at everything through the angle of sacrifice rather than gladness. To treat as impositions those things that are intended to draw me nearer to God and make me more like Christ. To grumble and complain when He provides even in the desert places. . To treat with contempt and apathy the good gifts our Father blessed us with—this leaves us hungry, searching for a quick fix rather than the Bread of Life. Grateful for this word that leads me to plead for a heart lived through the lens of Scripture, set on God Himself, and thus full of cheer. . #thewayofwisdom #proverbs #pregnant #lampandlight #womenintheword #wordsworthnoting
How easy it is to go the way of self-protection. When I’m not preferred, or really even considered, the temptation is ultra-enticing to sulk, to wall-up, to protect myself with bitterness and silence. . But not too long passes, and I start to grow dull. I notice that no life is seen in me, and the fruit of the Spirit become increasingly hard to produce in this unrepentant state. . But as long as I see my sin chiefly before my eyes and before the eyes of others, it will feel justified. My way is best. My will be done. . Then the Spirit brings to remembrance the second temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. How Jesus chose to believe that He was in the safest place, the kindest care, the wisest protection though He found Himself fasting in a desert and facing the taunts of His enemy. . The Spirit places my sin before the eyes of my God, and I’m broken. He tears down the walls of self-protection by His grace and gives me strength to endure mistreatment in the fellowship of His Son, in whom I have the forgiveness of my sins. . And in this place, life begins to sprout. I find rest that nothing falls outside of His sovereignty and wisdom. Nothing falls outside of His intent to always seek my good. . #marriageissanctifying #motherhoodissanctifying #preachingtomyownheart #thewayofwisdom #proverbs3 #wordsworthnoting