0
Art Prints Verse Cards Bible Studies & Resources Coffee Mugs Christmas Art Prints
written beauty for the heart and life
0
 

Stay Connected

Studying the Word can feel overwhelming. Receive our FREE One-Page How to Study the Bible resource when you connect with us!

Name *
Name
 
 
 
It was such a unique grace to me, that time in the dark with him. I never would have chosen it, and I couldn’t see it until I was deep into it, but that season of intense, behind the scenes faithfulness was tailored just for me. . In a way I’d never been pressed to know before, I learned to pray. I found the end of myself quicker than I wanted, but it’s where I met with God in raw vulnerability and experienced sanctification like the sanding of my inner core. The Scriptures had to find their way deeper into me, and they did, sometimes with sweetness and sometimes with pain. . Taking these memories to heart as I wade into a new season with this boy. My limits are new and different, and my comfort zone is being done away with. I’m tempted to let my vulnerability lead to insecurity rather than the throne room of God for mercy and grace. . I’m remembering that even when I’m not spending hours being able to do nothing but pray, the Lord intends I meet Him here. That even this season—though I can’t see it now—is a unique grace to me because it presses me into Him.
In your present difficult or “dark” place—that place that’s hard and pressing and particularly challenging or sanctifying—how are you prone to respond? Do you Despise Dread Disengage Despair? Beloved, do not give into these false refuges. Your dark place will not consume you as you walk by the light of His Word and press into the gospel even here. Answer the call to come to Him and Die to sin and self, Draw near and Deepen your fellowship with Christ, and Depend on His Word, Spirit, steadfast love, and faithfulness, on His mercy to forgive sin and strengthen those who hope in Him.
I’ve been trying to embrace the practice C.S. Lewis talks about—letting everything become a channel for adoration. He says it’s different than simply giving thanks, though gratitude is important in its own right. Adoration cultivates awe and quickens our worship. . Those moments that grab my heart and make me want to grab my phone for a picture, I’m pausing to consider—what is it here that has captured me? I’m often led to marvel over the wisdom, delight, and beauty of the Creator. . Those moments I want to escape because they’re hard or mundane—I’m leaning in and fighting to adore. It’s keeping me present instead of chasing a channel to the left or right to what appears to be more desirable circumstances. And better still, it gives me insight to God and lets me know more of Him. . Tears have come to my eyes more often than usual because there’s something about adoration that makes us tender, a lovely respite from the things of this world that make us hard. And by ascribing glory where glory is due, God returns with beauty to gladden my heart and humility to increase my endurance. . 📷 @morganhibbsphotography
I sat through the entire sermon on Sunday. I took notes. I pondered deeply. I prayed for those around me. None of that may sound significant, but it is because it was only the third time in six months where, from start to finish, I was not needed by my child. . I had mentioned to the nursery workers that I fully expected to be called and not to worry if they needed me. When I picked him up, a seasoned woman had him wrapped up asleep, snuggled on her chest. She’s only the second person outside of family who’s had that rare, sweet victory of seeing him surrender. . I stood with dropped jaw, overwhelmed with gratitude. In this season of church-going, the challenge has not been so much the actual getting there as it has been giving up that subtle notion that I’m entitled to how I spend it once I’m inside those doors. That lie that church is more about my experience than about the worship of God. . In worshiping Him no matter the room or hallway I find myself, He consistently meets me where I am. I’ve met many a mama in the nursing mothers room who either ministered to me or gave me the privilege of ministering to her. . And this nursery worker—this kind woman who wouldn’t be swayed by his resistance—she couldn’t have known that this was the first time in a while I’d gotten to take communion with my husband and how vital that time is to our marriage. But God did. He used His Body to serve me in a vulnerable way, and I’m grateful for the deeper love this season has fostered for His Bride. . 📷 @morganhibbsphotography . (just as an aside, I love the article “When Church is the Hardest Place to Go” in the recent issue of @deeplyrootedmag)
**Book update!! A couple of weekends ago, my toddler and I labored through an hour long process of disobedience and discipline. At the end of it all, I sat with a blank stare, completely depleted, marveling over how it transpired. I went to the Lord, bent on worshiping Him, knowing it to be the only thing to truly restore me. . I reflected over our interaction, and what rang in my ears was the phrase she used over and over: “I don’t want to.” Her will persisted despite prayer, persuasion, and discipline. She was unmoved by her strong desire for her way, and I trembled with awe over this thought: how powerful are You, O God, to change our self-bent wants to a Godward desire for obedience. . God has done this kind of powerful thing in my heart in regards to this book—I want to write it. It’s not that I didn’t want to before, but some of my self-bent wants were larger than my desire to devote myself to the work this book will require. Yet in God’s kindness, here I am today blazing with a fiery desire for courageous obedience. And this is utterly supernatural. . It’s been a year since I’ve given an update. The six months following that update were devoted to specific content for different speaking/teaching opportunities. The six months after that were swallowed up by the pressing needs of my newborn. Though neither were specifically for the book’s sake in my finite awareness, God used them both to discipline, chisel, and change me for the present call to write. To compel me beyond my resistance rooted in fear and deeper in to abiding rather than producing. . So here’s the update—I am actively preparing a book proposal in delightful, consuming obedience to the Lord to begin pitching to publishers as soon as it’s completed! (Lord willing!) . If you’ve read this far, I trust you care, so I must ask—would you pause to pray, for the message of this book and my endurance in writing it? . 📷 @morganhibbsphotography . (Also, I would be lost on this journey without the wisdom and faithfulness of my people @maggie__combs @gentle_leading @writercaroline) . #amwriting #wordsworthnoting