Hopeful Words – Friday Favorites 07.31.20

Are you tired? The last 5 months have left my soul feeling that way. There has been a lot to absorb and it can leave you totally exhausted searching for the truth out there when there are conflicting stories on all the things impacting our society right now. When I fall down the rabbit trail of news it leaves me feeling stressed, anxious and utterly exhausted. It does not make me feel more in control but, instead, makes me lose some of my hope.

Some of us are meant to be activist and some of us just aren’t born that way. There have been times when I could take on a cause and fight passionately for it but right now is not the time for me. What I can do is search for the light and continue to have hope. When I saw these two opportunities I knew I had to share them with you because I know they are both going to do their part to fill up the hope jars for someone!

100 Days to Brave has been around for a bit but Annie Downs is hosting #100DaystoBrave2020 on Instagram beginning August 3rd. She will be releasing more info soon so order your books and go follow Annie on Instagram. This is a great opportunity to have a little accountability and work through this devotional. The 100 days will drop you off mid-November and I can’t think of a better season to head into with hope than the holidays.

Lysa is offering a 6 week online study of It’s Not Supposed to be this Way which will start next week. I read this book in 2019 and it hit me in ways I did not expect. I’m excited to follow along with the study and dig deeper as this is definitely something I’m struggling with in one area right now. If you are interested, you can sign up to follow the study online here.

Of course just like new gym clothes make workouts more fun, a new set of journaling pens can really get me excited to write some stuff down! This set looked like a win for writing in my bible with no bleed. I’ve used the stabilo pens for years for journaling and love them for a fine point but also highly recommend the papermate pens if you like a medium tip and I use these often as well.

If you are just looking for a fresh devotional with no pressure to follow along or “study”, I would also recommend Everyday Holy. I love Melanie and her stories are always so easy to relate to but also tie you back to the word.

A friend shared this on Facebook earlier this week and it was such a great reminder. We can all take the opportunity to practice the pause. I think right now when tensions get high it’s really easy to confuse intentions with actions and sometimes a quick pause allows me to remember the persons heart behind the words or actions.

You know what else is giving me life right now? This little angel girl! Every time I start to feel in a funk at all I just head for some snuggles with Miss Haisley and the world is a better place.

Hope you all have a great weekend!