April is here, and we are hoping for nice weather with showers that bring about May flowers!
To celebrate the start of April, I have partnered with Celebrate Lit for a giveaway just for you!
Here is your chance to win 35 books or a $500 Amazon card to buy a ton of books for yourself in Celebrate Lit's April Showers Bring May Flowers Multi-Author Giveaway.
Click here to enter: https://promosimple.com/ps/29ac1/2024-april-showers
The giveaway is going on now through April 21.
Spring is almost upon us and it is the perfect time to curl up with a good book! With this in mind, I have partnered with Celebrate Lit for a giveaway just for you to build up that spring TBR pile!
Here is your chance to win over 35 books or a $500 Amazon card to buy a ton of books for yourself in Celebrate Lit's Hop into Spring Giveaway.
Click here to enter: https://promosimple.com/ps/294ea/2024-hop-into-spring
The giveaway is going on now through March 24!
One of my favorite words that is used in conjunction with God is 'lavish'. There's something in that word that just speaks to my soul about the quality of God's affection for me. It's so easy for me to believe the lie that God tolerates me, that He loves me because He has to, but that's not the case. God loves me with a lavish love.
"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him." (1 John 3:1, NIV) To be adopted by the King of kings is a privilege indeed, and He doesn't adopt us out of obligation, but out of His great love for us. He was absolutely thrilled when that adoption was finalized, and we know that the Bible says that there was a celebration in heaven on that day. (Luke 15:7)
Because of this love, He also lavishes grace upon us. "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us." (Ephesians 1:7-8a, NIV) His measure of grace isn't skimpy or insufficient. It never runs out. He never gets tired of giving us grace or forgiveness. There will never be a time when we have used up our allotment of grace, or when we have done something so wrong that God throws His hands up and abandons us. He has an abundance of grace and from that abundance, He gives it to us lavishly. How amazing is that?
I spent so many years knowing that God loved me, but feeling like I had to prove myself worthy of His love and grace. I knew how unworthy I was and that I mess up all the time. In my head, I told myself that my best wasn't good enough (which is true) so I needed to try harder to prove I was worth it (which was not true). The very definition of grace claims that I can't earn it and the same is true with love. The fact that I'm not worthy of it makes it that much more precious.
God's resources of grace and love never run out. He is rich in both commodities. He is the author of both commodities. They are not dependent on me in anyway. I can't be good enough to earn them, and I can't be bad enough to lose them. There is a limitless supply, and God has no need to hoard it or save it, so He lavishly gives to all who believe. Hallelujah!
Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/seashore-269583/
Valentine's Day is here, and I wanted to take a moment to tell all my readers how grateful I am for your love and support. In light of this, I have partnered with Celebrate Lit for a giveaway just for you.
Here is your chance to win 45 books or a $500 Amazon card to buy a ton of books for yourself in Celebrate Lit's We Love Our Readers Giveaway.
Click here to enter: https://promosimple.com/ps/28cdb/2024-we-love-our-readers-multi-author
The giveaway is going on now through Feb 18
It started when I got a gift card for Christmas to Barnes & Noble. I was looking up books on my wish list and decided that one of my purchases would be Fervent by Priscilla Shirer. It had been on my list for a long time, and I thought it would be a good one to start the year reading.
For the month of January, my church has been focusing on a series called "Habits" about different things we should make a habit of in the coming year. One of the topics being prayer, of course.
Then our new Bible study started up. The study that was chosen is called When You Pray. Our leader has us paired randomly with a new prayer partner every week. We exchange numbers and text one another with prayers, requests, and encouragement throughout the week.
My principal started something new for our staff this year, too. She had all of us pick a verse for the year, then printed them out so that we could pray those verses for each other. In staff meeting, we take a some time to do it all together as well.
This past Sunday, when I was looking up a verse to share on social media as I do every week, what verse should just happen to pop up? Luke 18:1, "And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart."
I don't believe in coincidence. I believe that when things like this line up over and over and over again, that God is at work, guiding and directing my life. Obviously something that is weak in my life right now is prayer, and it's something that God wants me to grow in.
Here are some things that I have become aware of:
- I often jump straight to my requests and don't take time to praise God.
- When I make an effort to praise God first, my heart settles and becomes less anxious as I'm reminded of the God who is listening to my prayer.
- It's easy to say that I will pray for others, and harder to follow through.
- Having a specific focus (a prayer partner for the week, a verse to pray for someone) helps me to take the time to pray for others.
- It can be convicting when I pray, and God uses that time to align my heart to His, and to make me aware of the sins and wrong attitudes that I have so that I can confess them and repent.
I know that God is faithful to finish the good work He began, and that He will continue to grow me in this area. It will be interesting to see where He leads this year.
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-white-sweater-and-blue-denim-jeans-sitting-on-bed-5199759/
As the new year begins, we wanted to say how thankful we are for all your love and support throughout the year! What a better way to celebrate you than with an awesome giveaway just for you. I have partnered with Celebrate Lit Publicity Group to giveaway over 45+ books or a $500 Amazon card to buy a ton of books for yourself in Celebrate Lit's Happy New Year Readers Giveaway.
Click here to enter: https://promosimple.com/ps/285a7/2024-happy-new-years-readers
The event and giveaway is going on now through Jan 21
