July Reflection Journal

Yes, it’s August 5^th and I’m just now posting about July reflections but that’s how life has been for me lately. You too?

Something That Made Me Smile

In July, I tried something new. I joined an author’s challenge on Instagram. It’s been a lot of fun, and I’ve met some interesting people. (Authors are just naturally a different breed! I think I’ve found my people.) What is so exciting to me is the fact that I now have 3 times as many followers on Instagram as I do my blog. I’m smiling as I realize I am reaching more people with my words.

If you’d like to see what I’ve been up to over at Instagram, click here.

Something That Made Me Think

July is also the month we finished up our study of Daniel in our Adult Bible Study at church. What a powerful book! I’m going to be reflecting on Daniel for ages.  We then dove into the book of Nehemiah; and so far, have covered chapter one.

During our study of chapter 1, I encountered the principle of hesed. We don’t have an English word that adequately describes hesed; basically, in a nutshell, it means unfailing love based on a covenant relationship.

I was really struck by Nehemiah reminding the Lord of how He was a God of covenant. Digging deep and unpacking all hesed (or chesed) really means would take much more study than what I have done so far. Here are just a few nuggets from 4 different scriptures:

·        God demonstrates hesed in the form of unfailing love when we are being attacked. (Psalm 31:21-22 NLT)

·        Hesed assures believers of tender mercies and protection. Psalm 40:11 (NKJV)

·        Merciful kindness = unfailing love = hesed as Psalm 119:76 (NKJV) shows us

·        Hesed atones for sin! Don’t believe me? Look up Proverbs 16:6 (NLT)

Hey! I hear there are 247 instances of hesed in the KJV. I need to study more about this!

The thing is, when you realize just how important hesed is to the Lord, you realize how much He is interested in you! It gives you the ability to pray BOLD prayers.

A Win For The Month

One strategy I’ve been working on to feel a little less overwhelmed is to have some self-care goals set for every weekend. I might not be able to do them all, but they are little things to shoot for that make me feel better about my life in general. In July, I managed to do all 5 goals each weekend. (In August, the first weekend was my first time NOT being successful at achieving my goals. No matter, an overarching goal is this: don’t beat up myself! There is always next weekend!)

How about you? What's been going on in your world? Leave a comment and share!

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I'm linking up with the community at Inspire Me Monday, #TellHisStory, InstaEncouragements Link Up, Let's Have Coffee, and #TuneInThursday.