Only God is a part of a quote I read in Meshali Mitchell’s book Restored, and I’m pondering it with you today.

For Lent 2025, I’ll be writing new blog posts every day. I’m writing for just five unedited minutes on a quote of the day to deepen our faith in this Lenten season.

Day 39 of Lent 2025 – April 12

I have been blessed to read an early copy of Restored, a beautiful book in many ways. It not only has an encouraging story of redemption but also gorgeous and peaceful photography.

Meshali writes about trauma recovery with gentleness and grace. She tells how restoring a farmhouse revived her soul and brought her closer to God. One of the stories, which I will not spoil for you, reveals how only God could use old wallpaper to show her how much he loves her.

I’m encouraged by Meshali’s story of redemption. She’s still in the process of healing, and so am I. I’m glad I found another Christian woman who is honest enough to speak about the pain yet also hold hope that God will fully redeem her story.

You’ll find much encouragement in Restored, which I encourage you to order HERE.

Join me again tomorrow for another reflection on a different quote.

Find all my additional resources for Lent on this page.

Are You Looking for a Book Launch Manager or Virtual Assistant?

If you’re launching a book in 2025 or beyond, be sure to book a call with me HERE to discuss your book launch. I’ve had over 50 clients since 2022, and I’d love to speak with you soon. I’m also taking on new VA clients. You can learn more and book a call with me on THIS PAGE.

If you liked this post, I would appreciate your shares on social media!

Also, if you make a purchase from any of the links on this post, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

I send my weekly newsletter Tea on Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m. Central time every Tuesday.  I write an exclusive devotion for you each week that I share with you first.

To receive the newsletter, please subscribe below. I can’t wait to share personally with you each week!

The unreasonable person is a part of a quote I read in How to Solve Your People Problems, and I’m pondering it with you today.

For Lent 2025, I’ll be writing new blog posts every day. I’m writing for just five unedited minutes on a quote of the day to deepen our faith in this Lenten season.

Day 38 of Lent 2025 – April 11

I first read How to Solve Your People Problems when I was still in relationships with several difficult people. It gave me the validation, insight, and strength I needed to stand firm on my boundaries.

Today’s quote helped me see the “why” behind their behaviors. I knew their childhood stories of pain, and I knew none of them had fully healed and grown from the traumas they had faced. They hadn’t taken steps to grieve, own their part, and learn better skills. Seeing them as emotional infants helped me show compassion while also reinforcing my boundaries.

If you have an unreasonable person in your life, this quote can give you perspective. It can help you view them with empathy but also remind you to stand firm in your right to be treated as an adult. However, you may need more help to learn how to deal with them. The book is packed with practical advice from a Christian perspective, and I recommend it to you for the difficult relationship you’re facing today.

More quotes from How to Solve Your People Problems:

• In the Bible, they are called “fools” or “the wicked.”
• Unreasonable people have an aversion to personal wrongness that extends far beyond anything experienced by reasonable people. To them, being wrong presents a threat to survival that equals most physical threats. Unreasonable people put all of their energy into safeguarding rightness – to staying safe – and none into solving conflict problems.
• Most unreasonable people missed attending Good Conflict Camp, but they all attended Drama School, where they developed into thespians of the highest order
• The unreasonable person performs his drama for self-serving reasons – to maintain rightness and avoid wrongness.
• The best alternative to a flight reaction is also honest civil conversation. Tigers need to be more civil, while turtles need to converse more. We can be tigers, turtles, or talkers.
• Rehearsing our responses, anticipating button pushes, and knowing how we will respond ahead of time alters our behavior.
• The Cold War ended not because the U.S. was nice but because the U.S. was strong…We didn’t change their minds; we changed the conditions. And when the conditions changed, they changed their minds.

You’ll find much help and encouragement in How to Solve Your People Problems, which I encourage you to order HERE.

Join me again tomorrow for another reflection on a different quote.

Find all my additional resources for Lent on this page.

Are You Looking for a Book Launch Manager or Virtual Assistant?

If you’re launching a book in 2025 or beyond, be sure to book a call with me HERE to discuss your book launch. I’ve had over 50 clients since 2022, and I’d love to speak with you soon. I’m also taking on new VA clients. You can learn more and book a call with me on THIS PAGE.

If you liked this post, I would appreciate your shares on social media!

Also, if you make a purchase from any of the links on this post, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

I send my weekly newsletter Tea on Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m. Central time every Tuesday.  I write an exclusive devotion for you each week that I share with you first.

To receive the newsletter, please subscribe below. I can’t wait to share personally with you each week!

Decrease so God can increase is a part of a quote I read in Sacred Rest, and I’m pondering it with you today.

For Lent 2025, I’ll be writing new blog posts every day. I’m writing for just five unedited minutes on a quote of the day to deepen our faith in this Lenten season.

Day 37 of Lent 2025 – April 10

I first read Sacred Rest when I was on a winter beach vacation a few years ago, and the book has changed my life since that time. I blogged about that experience in THIS POST, which I encourage you to read HERE.

What I learned from this book that revolutionized my life was that there are different types of rest we need, not only sleep. Once I started putting Dr. Saundra’s advice into practice, I experienced great changes that I keep to this day.

The most important advice is to observe a weekly Sabbath rest. I’ve intentionally cultivated this habit for the past 20+ years. Since I work from home full-time, it can be difficult to stop working. Surprisingly, I became more productive throughout the week as I chose to take a dedicated break each Sunday.

When we decrease the noise and busyness in our lives, we can hear God’s still, small voice more easily. As I spend time in Bible study, prayer, and corporate worship every Sunday, I remember that God comes first on my priority list. When I practice the spiritual discipline of silence on the Sabbath, his peace and guidance increase in my spiritual life.

This book has changed the way I observe the Sabbath. It’s no longer regimented but delightful. You’ll find much practical encouragement in Sacred Rest, which I encourage you to order HERE.

Join me again tomorrow for another reflection on a different quote.

Find all my additional resources for Lent on this page.

Are You Looking for a Book Launch Manager or Virtual Assistant?

If you’re launching a book in 2025 or beyond, be sure to book a call with me HERE to discuss your book launch. I’ve had over 50 clients since 2022, and I’d love to speak with you soon. I’m also taking on new VA clients. You can learn more and book a call with me on THIS PAGE.

If you liked this post, I would appreciate your shares on social media!

Also, if you make a purchase from any of the links on this post, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

I send my weekly newsletter Tea on Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m. Central time every Tuesday.  I write an exclusive devotion for you each week that I share with you first.

To receive the newsletter, please subscribe below. I can’t wait to share personally with you each week!

Interested in Spiritual Matters is a part of a quote I read in Contagious Faith, and I’m pondering it with you today.

For Lent 2025, I’ll be writing new blog posts every day. I’m writing for just five unedited minutes on a quote of the day to deepen our faith in this Lenten season.

Day 36 of Lent 2025 – April 9

I read this book when I was leading a Twitter chat for it. (You can join the #HealthyFaith chat on X – just search for the hashtag there, and the times for the chats will pop up).

Contagious Faith is so encouraging about a topic that scares most of us: evangelism. We know we should share our faith, but many of us are too intimidated to try. This excellent book demystifies this for us and gives practical, everyday tips for sharing your faith in natural ways.

An encouraging fact to consider: Gen Z, people under the age of 25, is the most open generation in American history to hearing about the gospel. Older Christians must be intentional in passing our faith to the next generation. The great news is that they are truly open to hearing about it!

Sharing Your Testimony

I’ve written other posts about how to share your testimony – you can read them here:

• 4 Tips for Sharing Your Testimony
• Why Your Testimony Matters More Than You Know

I’ll share my favorite tip from those posts here from my late pastor Mark Martin – tell your own story. Telling your own story of how God worked in your life is far better than preaching or even sharing relevant Bible verses. He said this is because no one can argue with you about your own story. That’s why it pays to consider your life experiences and how God has used them to shape your faith.

What I’ve learned in sharing my testimony is that people respond most strongly to these types of stories:

1. Times that I failed (more than times I succeeded) and how God used that experience to shape my character
2. Times God spoke to me and how that message became true years later (you can read the story of how God spoke to me at a James Taylor concert HERE)
3. Times of deep trauma that were impossible to survive without God’s help – this seems to speak most loudly to unbelievers

Another key tip is the more you meditate on Bible verses, the more naturally they will come up in your conversations. Your conversations will be sprinkled with salt and light as you weave those Bible truths wisely and intentionally into your words.

You’ll find great encouragement and more practical guidance for sharing your testimony in Contagious Faith, which I encourage you to order HERE.

Join me again tomorrow for another reflection on a different quote.

Find all my additional resources for Lent on this page.

Are You Looking for a Book Launch Manager or Virtual Assistant?

If you’re launching a book in 2025 or beyond, be sure to book a call with me HERE to discuss your book launch. I’ve had over 50 clients since 2022, and I’d love to speak with you soon. I’m also taking on new VA clients. You can learn more and book a call with me on THIS PAGE.

If you liked this post, I would appreciate your shares on social media!

Also, if you make a purchase from any of the links on this post, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

I send my weekly newsletter Tea on Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m. Central time every Tuesday.  I write an exclusive devotion for you each week that I share with you first.

To receive the newsletter, please subscribe below. I can’t wait to share personally with you each week!

How You Wait Is an Act of Faith is a part of a quote I read in The 10 Best Decisions a Single Mom Can Make, and I’m pondering it with you today.

For Lent 2025, I’ll be writing new blog posts every day. I’m writing for just five unedited minutes on a quote of the day to deepen our faith in this Lenten season.

Day 35 of Lent 2025 – April 8

I bought this book because my good friend Pam Farrel is one of the writers. I appreciated its wisdom in the past three years of being a single mom.

Here’s the quote in context:

Then the Lord spoke: How you wait is an act of faith. Do you want to wait in unbelief and doubt? Or do you want to continue to sing praises as strongly to my name today as you will when the blessings find you?

It’s difficult to wait this way. Since my whole life has been marked by abuse and trauma, I am not accustomed to looking forward with any hope. I was in survival mode for decades, and in that mode hope is too expensive. But I’m learning to apply this quote because I don’t want to stay stuck.

My counselor told me that when good things happen while I’m waiting in faith, I need to jump up and down with joy. He said I should praise God while I do that. The muscle memory will help me in my trauma recovery process.

So, I use my mini trampoline to do just that. Last week a client gave me an idea for a solution that will save me loads of time. I went straight to my trampoline and jumped while praising God. When I reflect on that moment, I pull up the muscle memory, and let it sink further into my psyche for greater healing.

Singing praise songs also helps heal me. They help me remember God’s unchanging character. They sometimes express my prayers in words I can’t form myself. Sometimes I combine the singing with the jumping for joy, and that supercharges my healing.

I want to wait well, and this book reminds me to do so. It also offers many practical ideas for single moms that are too numerous to mention. Get your copy of the book or gift it to a single mom you know HERE.

Join me again tomorrow for another reflection on a different quote.

Find all my additional resources for Lent on this page.

Are You Looking for a Book Launch Manager or Virtual Assistant?

If you’re launching a book in 2025 or beyond, be sure to book a call with me HERE to discuss your book launch. I’ve had over 50 clients since 2022, and I’d love to speak with you soon. I’m also taking on new VA clients. You can learn more and book a call with me on THIS PAGE.

If you liked this post, I would appreciate your shares on social media!

Also, if you make a purchase from any of the links on this post, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

I send my weekly newsletter Tea on Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m. Central time every Tuesday.  I write an exclusive devotion for you each week that I share with you first.

To receive the newsletter, please subscribe below. I can’t wait to share personally with you each week!