Sweet Soul Sisters,
Remember that one of my 2018 winter bucket list activities is (and I quote) to “Create a blogging schedule and follow it”? Might not have done much else on my list (to this point) but by golly, I have been doing this! So proud of ME! Penciled in a Spiritual Sunday post for today and here we are. Nothing short of a little miracle.
Want to talk just a little about the direction my new devotions are taking in the first months of this shiny new year. But as with all of my Spiritual Sunday posts, I feel the need to start with a disclaimer. My journey is new (considering it began four decades into my life) and I am by no means a spiritual authority. Earlier Spiritual Sunday posts about little miracles in my life, my spirituality can be found here. Hope that maybe something I have experienced will resonate with you.
New Devotions for the New Year
Jesus Calling and Hope Filled Living
Several years ago…wow, maybe more than that…my BFF Sharon sent me a copy of Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. I loved it! And still do. It has become my devotional of choice because it combines Young’s spiritual wisdom with Biblical scripture.
Along my journey of rediscovery following my retirement in December 2013, I found Alison Lumbatis at Get Your Pretty On. She was launching the first of her style challenges in the spring of that same year. Alison and the other challenge fashionistas became my new friends and helped me through a difficult adjustment period. Through the challenges, I met Mary Clewley from Hope Filled Living, a self-described writer, speaker and inspiration seeker. Began adding some of Mary’s workbooks to my devotional time. Until just this moment, as I was preparing this post, I thought I had completed all of her workbooks and was impatiently awaiting the release of her latest new projects. Imagine my surprise to discover 101 Prayers and Affirmations for Spiritual Wellness! Ordered it immediately and look forward to working through it. Follow Mary on Facebook, here.
In the meantime, there are a couple of other books I am adding to my Miracle Morning.
Finding Your Balance
Sandy Cooper from The Scoop Balance asks, “Are you feeling overwhelmed? Frazzled? Exhausted?” To which I can answer, “Sometimes, sometimes, sometimes.” And to which Sandy would reply, “Have I got the book for you!” Finding Your Balance. Written for women. Women who:
- feel frazzled, over scheduled, and overwhelmed.
- [are] ready to dig deeply into the Bible to discover what God says about priorities, time, and choices–and how all those affect our balance.
- battle with the most common Barriers to Balance: perfectionism, comparison, people-pleasing, and busyness.
- are ready to self-evaluate their mindsets, tendencies, and schedules to uncover the root causes of their balance issues.
- know quick fix solutions and checklists offer only temporary relief.
- feel so defeated, they’ve concluded balance is a myth. [source]
This week, I will begin the 4th of 11 Bible lessons in this workbook. So far Sandy has covered ‘priorities’ and ‘balance basics’. Have a feeling that Chapter 4, ‘perfectionism,’ is really going to talk to me. Finding Your Balance is a combination of opportunities for self reflection and applying scripture to our lives. The author supports her study of balance with Biblical verse and encourages introspection through questions and answers. Follow Sandy on Facebook, here.
The 40 Day Journal For Her Morning Cup With Jesus
This book popped up in my search on Amazon for a Bible study workbook. The subtitle calls this a ‘Bible study notebook’. At first I was like…workbook? notebook? what’s the difference? But now that I have started completing The 40 Day Journal For Her Morning Cup With Jesus by Shalana Frisby, I think I know. This notebook doesn’t really supply the reader with passages of scripture to study in depth. Although there are suggested passages for those who don’t have a verse planned to read on their own. Instead, it is more a place for writing notes during independent Bible study. At first I thought I probably need more structure or guidance than this notebook provides. By Day 3, though, I felt more comfortable. Each day’s entry is a four-page spread with space for users to fill-in: 1) what needs to be left at Jesus’ feet, 2) thoughts on their Bible reading for the day, 3) one way to apply the day’s reading to life. And there’s a ‘my focus list for today’ where I have been writing to-dos and a space for doodling, drawing or pondering. Just need a Bible study frame work to use with this, I think. Watch a video clip from this book, here.
The Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude
This book was a Christmas gift from Carrie at Curly, Crafty Mom. Author Sarah Ban Breathnach provides a space for users to list 5 blessings from their day with a suggestion that by doing so, we will become more grateful for all that we have in our lives. She provides 150 simple blessings to use a springboard for writing our own. Things like ‘watching a sunset’, ‘the kindness of strangers’, “the sound of raindrops’. I am writing my 5 ‘gratefuls’ before bed each night. Always use a purple pen for my Bible studies and workbooks.
My blessings for yesterday were:
- 4 mile walk with my new friend/former principal Suzie and lunch afterward
- finding a tulle skirt on sale at Target (found one Carrie!!!)
- PC taking me to the ER for my sore foot
- Ice cream after the ER visit
- Sleeping well (despite my sore foot) lately
Follow Simple Abundance on Facebook, here.
New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional
Oh, I wish I had a photographic memory. Because I cannot remember anything these days. One of you guys…my sweet blogger buddies…suggested this book, New Morning Mercies. And I bought it promptly. Was it you? I haven’t begun using this yet. In fact, I hadn’t even opened it until just NOW. Looks just like what the doctor (pastor?) ordered for use with The 40 Day Journal. Author Paul Tripp combines a year’s worth of thought-provoking passages shored up by encouragement from the Bible. Today’s passage begins with: “God’s call to obey is itself a grace. In this call, he is actively rescuing you from you.” {pg. 29} Tripp suggests Romans 5:1-11 for further study. And by coincidence, except there really are no coincidences, Romans 5: 8 was suggested reading by The 40 Day Journal this week. Will be using these books together from now on!
Before I turn this over to you, let me clarify that I am a work in progress. I don’t begin every morning as I should. But I am beginning more mornings than not that way! As part of The Miracle Morning routine.
Your Turn
How do you begin your mornings? Do you have a tried and true schedule? Or new devotions? Is a period of quiet time built into your day somewhere? I am always looking for suggestions, won’t you share your routine in a comment below?
Wishing you peace this Sunday. Hope you can find a few precious minutes of solitude and reflection today. Thank you for coming to spend some of your precious time with me.
Hugs and kisses,
curlycraftymom
Aww! Thanks for the call out. 🙂 I am glad you’re enjoying the book and that’s a great idea to do it in the evening before bed. It’s always nice to reflect on the day… I love how you found some blessings, even though your foot is suffering. 🙁 I need to check out some of these devotionals you’ve mentioned. I have Jesus Calling and I’ve been through it 1.5 times and I’m just hohum about it, which I feel bad about, because everyone I talk to just loves it! Oh well!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I do love Jesus Calling but needed to try something different for awhile. And I do better with a workbook. Would recommend Mary Clewley’s workbooks highly. They make for a quick devotional, and work well paired with Jesus Calling. I started with Victorious Living: 101 Prayers and Praises. You can find them here. https://www.hopefilledliving.com/store/workbooks/ Let me know if you try them!
Wiki
Hello ,
I saw your tweet about animals and thought I will check your website. I like it!
I love pets. I have two beautiful thai cats called Tammy(female) and Yommo(male). Yommo is 1 year older than Tommy. He acts like a bigger brother for her. 🙂
I have even created an Instagram account for them ( https://www.instagram.com/tayo_home/ ) and probably soon they will have more followers than me (kinda funny).
I have subscribed to your newsletter. 🙂
Keep up the good work on your blog.
Regards
Wiki
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, for your comment and for coming by. I am following your Instagram account and love the adorable photos of your kitties. Precious. I love my kitties dearly. One is napping on the bed with me as I type this. They bring so much joy to our lives. Thank you for saying hi and look forward to getting to knowing you better in the future. Hugs to Tammy and and Yommo!
Shalana Frisby
Thank you for the mention of my 40 day journal. That’s exactly the use I had in mind while designing it…more of a guided companion notebook to help get the most out of your daily study & prayer. I’m so glad it is working well for you so far ❤ thanks again!!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I am really enjoying your 40 day journal. Glad to hear I am using it correctly. Pairing it with New Morning Mercies was perfect. I like that I can use your book as a part of my devotional but also to help get organized and in the right frame of mind for each day. Thank you for coming by to read my review. Hope you will return again soon!