Day 31 :: For your Weekend- Links to wrap it up

I always finish off these October series feeling relieved but also energized.  This is the fifth year I’ve participated in this writing challenge and it’s also the first year that I had absolutely nothing written in advance.  I had some post titles and a few random thoughts, but that was about it.  And I was a little apprehensive about how it would go.

I’m so thankful for the ones who graciously guest posted for me (Sherri, Heather, Martha, Callie, Bradley).  I love what each of them shared and it was especially helpful because I ended up being a single parent for the last two weeks of the month which significantly affected my alone time.

But it was also during those challenging weeks without Bradley that the Lord provided material for me to write about.  My writing often flows from whatever God is teaching me and most of the lessons I learn are during the hardest seasons of life.

Isn’t that gracious of God, though?  He gives us hard things, great and small, and then He gives us Himself.  We’re never alone in those struggles and if we lean into Jesus in the midst of them we get a beautiful gift in the form of Jesus’ strength and presence.

This weekend, may you experience the joy that can be yours in any situation because you are finding your joy in Christ alone.

He opens His hand and He satisfies our desires.  Sometimes with the things we’ve been longing for, but always with Himself.  May that be enough for us today.

For your reading pleasure….

Struggling in your parenting to find the right goals, or keep up with everybody else’s?  I found this post on Desiring God this week to be incredibly insightful, encouraging and a great reminder of what is truly important as we raise our children.  (It inspired yesterday’s post).

One of the things I love about #write31days is the opportunity to discover new (to me) blogs.  I’ve been encouraged by Amy’s writing on Sun Steeped Days.  Her topic this month was Stories of Loving God as an Introvert.  Yesterday’s post was a good reminder of keeping in step with Jesus.  

Ever struggle with wanting to have control over your life?  I sure do!  This post on Velvet Ashes this week was a fresh reminder to me of how wonderful it is that I am NOT in control of my life.

And, finally, remember that post I wrote and ran a giveaway a couple weeks ago?  I completely forgot to announce the winner.  Oops!

Happy Saturday, Sherri!  You are the winner!  I’ll be contacting you today and sending this out to you very soon.

Thanks to all who have followed along!

This is Day 31 of a series “Lessons for my Daughters” Click here for a complete list of posts.