I’m convinced that May is really December with fewer layers. At the end of the school year, we have just as many parties to attend, choir concerts to endure, and teacher presents to wrap. It feels like a race to the finish line, which as moms we know is really the starting line in disguise. We trade in the rigors of schedule for the long and lazy days of summer.
I love summer, but every year I find myself unprepared for it. In all the countdown madness, and all the preparations and celebrations, I forget to ready my soul. So this year, as we seek to enjoy the freedom and fun of summer, let’s not lose sight of what our thirsty souls really need, constant refreshment at the well of his Word.
I invite you to ready your hearts and hands this summer as you set your mind on the things above. Here are 10 of my favorite articles to help you do just that. I hope you enjoy!
Ready Hearts: Center Your Affections on God
This is How to Get Your Prayers Answered, Sue God!
Chances are you pray with a measure of fear and reverence, and so you should. But there’s also a time and place to pray with importunity. Importunity is a brash, shameless, demanding, annoyingly persistent, even impertinent type of prayer. If you want to get your prayers answered, sue God for it!
Pray Hardest When It’s Hardest to Pray
After an exhausting time of non-stop ministry, Jesus still got up early in the morning to pray. Often it’s in the times of extreme busyness, that we let our prayer times slip past. Could it be that our busyness is snuffing out the real business God has for us? If we’re too busy to pray, we’re too busy to experience God’s power.
His Eye Is on the Sparrow & 11 Reasons You Are More Valuable Than They
If you doubt that you are important, known, or seen by God, look no further than the sparrow. Not one of the billions that fly around the earth falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. If he so knows the birds, how much more valuable are you than they? There are countless ways, but consider these 11 reasons and know you are loved by God.
How to Find Peace in the Midst of Your Storm
How can you accurately see God at work in the storms of your life? The first step is to recognize that no matter how fierce the winds and waves beating against your boat, they are nothing compared to the power of Jesus. In the instant Jesus calmed the storm, Peter and the disciples realized it was more frightening to have God in their boat than the storm that ragged outside of it.
5 Easy Steps to Spiritual Ruin, and How Being Sifted Can Give You Hope
From the Garden of Gethsemane to the courtyard of the High Priest, Peter took five perilous steps that sifted him to his core and almost led to his spiritual ruin. Here’s what not to do when confronted with trials and temptations.
Ready Hands: Dedicate Your Creativity to God
When Reeling in Empty Nets Means You’re Doing Everything Right
Peter understood what it was like to fish all night and catch nothing. We, too, can become frustrated when our consistent efforts don’t yield the results we crave. But when Jesus enters our boat and asks us to cast out into the deep, we learn to trust him and rely on him to rearrange the fish to fill our empty nets.
Your Life & Work Are a Masterpiece: How to Unlock Your Creativity
Ephesians 2 tells us that we are Christ’s masterpiece, his poiema. With such an elevated status, we are free to reflect the Master Artist in our creative efforts. The next time we stare at a blank screen or a blank canvas use the acronym POIEMA to ignite your creativity for the kingdom of God.
Shadows and Spirit: How to be a Creator Who Aims for Eternity
The first time the Holy Spirit is endowed to anyone in the Bible, it’s to the master craftsman, Bezalel. He was given extraordinary abilities to create art that pointed the hearts of the Israelites to the Creator of the Universe. Is your art aiming for eternity? Find out how to use your art form, whatever that may be, which can be your spiritual act of worship.
5 Copywriting Commandments and How to Implement Them On Your Website
Thou shalt know thy reader and keep thy reader before thyself all times on thy website or blog. There is a lot of advice about how to grow your website, but perhaps the most overlooked and under-appreciated advice are these 5 copywriting commandments. Follow them, and thou shalt be blessed.
52 Surprising Lessons I’ve Learned from Blogging 52 Weeks In a Row
After completing a personal challenge to blog every week or a year, I compiled 52 axioms about writing, process, social media, platform building, and more. Here’s some encouragement for your creative process and how developing a consistent practice of writing can reap some wonderful rewards.
Let’s be S-O-N Worshippers this Summer
For all the wonder and enjoyment summer brings, it is but a prelude to the eternal rest that awaits us in glory. Let’s enjoy the temporal summer with our sights on the eternal one, soaking up as much of the S-O-N as possible.
Hello Summa!
Cara
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