“God Of All My Days”
by Casting Crowns
In my searching, God You are my answers
In my blindness, God You are my vision
In my bondage, God You are my freedom
In my weakness, God You are my power
You’re the reason that I sing
‘Cause You’re the God of all my days”
Thank You
to anyone and everyone who recommend
links, books, quotes, etc.
ABCs of Jesus’ Love
Visit this page anytime and let me know if you’d like to add to the words describing Jesus’ love along with a verse supporting it. Remember, there is also a print-out of the original list.
This month I have added an “S” Word:
❤︎ Saving Love ❤︎
“For God did not send His Son into the world
that He might condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through Him.“
John 3:17
Books
I am not always able to keep up with the abundance of books that promote hope, healing, and freedom, so I haven’t always read every one I post here and on the Books Page. Though many are on my long wish list. 🙂 Many will be from recommendations of online friends. If you ever know of a book that is not listed and that supports this website’s mission, please let me know. 🙂
Hope When It Hurts by Kristen Wetherell & Sarah Walton
This has been on my wish list for some time, and I finally ordered it. I have only read the first chapter, but I am already loving it.
“Life hurts. We’re no strangers to this fact. It’s why we wrote this book. And not simply because life hurts, but because there’s hope even when it does.
Sarah and I have walked through, and are walking in, difficult times. So these thirty biblical reflections are full of realism about the hurts of life—yet overwhelmingly full of hope about the God who gives life.
We wrote this book for you, to point you to hope, because there’s more to our suffering than meets the eye. This book is about the God who offers hope, even joy, in suffering. It’s a journey through 2 Corinthians 4 and 5, where we see that God wants to give us hope not just beyond our hurts but in our hurts; that he wants us to see how he is able to work in and through suffering and ultimately give us himself.
With a foreword by Nancy Guthrie, Hope When It Hurts contains a biblical reflection for each chapter, along with questions, prayers, and a space for journaling.
We pray this book greatly helps you, as you cling to the God of all hope.”
– Kristen & Sarah
Hope Harbor
💞 Links That Inspire Hope and Healing 💞
💞 They Ask How You Are And You Say Fine But Are You? – “Even though depression affects millions of people throughout the U.S. alone, it’s still difficult for people with depression to talk about it. Sometimes, your friends and family mean well when they ask how you are and you say fine, but are you? Individuals with depression tend to write off their depression, both to other people and to themselves. So, we’d like to explore why that is and why it’s okay to say you’re not fine.” (BetterHelp)
💞 What To Do When Childhood Trauma Holds You Back – “Once you experience childhood trauma, your life is forever changed. Children who are abused or neglected or suffer a major loss may continue to have serious psychological problems even after they are adults. If you find you have difficulty having healthy relationships or being successful at work, it may be childhood trauma that’s holding you back from having the life you want, even if you don’t recognize the signs that you were abused, neglected, or suffered some other kind of trauma. The good news is that you can identify and heal from childhood trauma. When you do, you can move past the trauma and create the life you want most.” (BetterHelp)
💞 You Can’t Rush Grief by Kimberly Key – “‘I’m trying to get to acceptance as soon as I can.’ That was a brush-off line that someone told me one day after their father died. They didn’t want to expound on the feelings they had just shared and said they didn’t want to talk because they were trying to get to acceptance as SOON as they could. I understand it and do the same thing. I don’t want to feel pain or linger in any sadness for too long. I don’t want to feel out of control and am probably afflicted by that same universal fear that lies deep within all of us…what happens if I feel the pain and I can’t come out of it? So my reflex is to take control and move through it. FAST.”
Nature Retreat
“If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures
from the shelter of compassion and pity,
you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.”
~ Francis of Assisi
I don’t take many new nature photos during the winter, so I’m always delighted to see and share what my brother, John, from Arizona captures. These are some of his more recent photos: a Chihauhaun Raven, a Crested Caracara, a Great Horned Owl, and a hummingbird in her nest.
🐾 NANPA’s Showcase Gallery 2018 – A variety of breath-taking photos of North American Nature Photography Association’s top 250 showcase images
🐾 3649 God’s Creatures Great and Small – Explore Toni Mayben’s pinterest collection of amazing photos of God’s creatures great and small
🐾 Butterfly Photos – Over 3 million beautiful butterfly photos on Flickr
Quotes
New quotes this month are about Truth.
❤︎ “Where I found truth, there found I my God, who is the truth itself. – Augustine
❤︎ “The only way to speak the truth is to speak lovingly. – Henry David Thoreau
❤︎ “You were only meant, created, commanded to be who you are.” – Shauna Niequist
Freed to Fly 
Thank you, Trudy, for all your wonderful recommendations, and for sharing your brother’s magnificent photos. Wow! The book about hope sounds amazing, too. I’m currently reading Whispers of Rest by Bonnie Gray as my Lenten devotional. Oh, what healing it is bringing to me! I highly recommend it.
Blessings always!
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Thank you, Martha. Blessings always to you, too! I’m so glad Whispers of Rest is bringing healing to you. The last time I read it, I took more time with it and typed out the verses and favorite quotes, also my own reflections and one-word prayer. I love her books. Have you ever read her first one – Finding Spiritual Whitespace? May we learn ever more deeply to listen to God’s whispers calling to us to experience Him and to surrender wholly to Him!
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I have not read her other book, but certainly plan to. Thanks, Trudy!
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You’re so welcome, Martha. And thank you for sharing!
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good morning, friend. thanks for sharing Casting Crowns … a favorite group with a new-to-me song. i’m listening even as we speak.
thanks for the encouragment.
bless you …
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Good Morning, Linda. I’m so grateful the song spoke encouragement to your heart. It really speaks to my heart, too. We can sometimes feel like we’re drowning in our questions or fears until we again look up to God and take His offered hand to lift us up again. May we daily remember He will always be the God of all our days and that in our weakness, He is our power!
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Praying for you today, dear friend … “The God of All My Days” is a favorite of mine right now and “Hope When It Hurts” looks wonderful. Love and hugs, Trudy!
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Thank you so much for praying for me, Lois. That really touches my heart. Love and hugs to you, too! I love how “Hope When It Hurts” uses Biblical reflections to help us to grasp God’s purpose in our suffering. I’m going through it slowly, also looking up and reflecting on the additional verses at the ends of the chapters. I can easily see how the song is a favorite of yours right now. In all the struggles of life and when our hearts are in pieces, He is our only hope, isn’t He? May we fix our eyes on Him and trust Him with all our questions, doubts, and fears!
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Dear Trudy,
Thank you again for gathering such a beautiful collection of hope-thoughts, images, and music! Those photos of the great horned owl from your brother, brought such sweet memories of my brother. When he was going through cancer treatments he took up sketching and drawing, and on one of our last visits with him, he had been working on a beautiful sketch of a great horned owl. On the evening that we came back from that visit, there was a pair of great horned owls calling to each other in the tops of our spruce trees! It was such a beautiful promise to me then, and now to see that photo of the owl soaring so freely, brought tears to my eyes today. Thank you dear sister! Hugs, love and blessings to you!
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My heart swells with tears, Bettie, that God confirmed His promise to you through these photos of a great horned owl. It’s amazing how God works, isn’t it? I’m sorry about your brother. Was he able to finish the sketch? It’s so touching that you saw a pair of owls calling to each other after that visit. Almost like God saying He’s got your brother in His hands and you, too. May we, like the owl, soar freely in the love and grace of Jesus! Someday we will be completely unfettered, right? Hugs, love, and blessings to you, too!
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I am really not sure if the owl sketch was finished or not. His daughter has saved and framed many of his sketches. I have one that he gave us of a rugged homesite, that always touches my heart as I long for the beauty of Heaven. Perhaps I need to ask my niece about the owl sketching, now that the Lord has brought it back to my memory? Hmmm good thoughts again! *Hugs!*
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That’s wonderful that you have one of his sketches and his daughter has many of them, Bettie. I’m so with you in longing for the beauty of Heaven! Hugs to you, too!
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What a lovely collection, dear friend. Thank you for sharing. I especially enjoyed your brother’s pictures! I can’t believe it is the end of the month already! Blessings on your week!
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I can’t believe it’s the end of the month already either, June. Time seems to fly by, doesn’t it? I’m glad you enjoyed this collection. I knew you would love my brother’s photos. 🙂 Blessings on your week, too! May we keep soaking in the beauty of our Creator in His creation!
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I love your monthly posts. You chose some amazing photos to share. Your brother is very talented. The book “Hope When it Hurts” also sounds like it will be the perfect book for you. I pray it brings peace. Lastly, each of the quotes were perfect especially Shauna’s. It is nice to be reminded that I just have to be me. Good to see you this week. Blessings and hugs!
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Thank you, Mary, for your kind words and your prayer. Blessings and hugs to you, too! I so need the reminder in Shauna’s quote, too. I’m such a work in progress of being who I am. May we together remember God wants us to relax and be who we are created and meant to be!
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I love the Casting Crowns song, Trudy, and I read “Hope When It Hurts” last year and would definitely recommend it too. As always the photos are amazing- I especially liked the owl ones- and the articles are helpful too. This is a great selection! Love and hugs to you!
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It’s such an encouraging song, isn’t it, Lesley? That you recommend the book tells me a lot. I just read another chapter of the book, and I know already it will benefit me. Love and hugs to you, too! May we keep reaching up to Jesus’ outstretched hand when the storms of the effects of past abuse try to sink us beneath the waves!
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Oh my gosh, those shots are gorgeous. Being from the western part of Canada, I know many ‘snowbirds’ who spend our winters in Arizona, or at least a few weeks! My daughter just got back from a week visiting her grandparents who are in the Scottsdale area for the winter months. Would I love to go there bird watching with my camera now some time! That first book recommendation on Hope is hitting my TBR list. Thank you Trudy for the sunshine here today.
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Yes, they are gorgeous, Lynn. I so love it when my brother shares them with me. Now that he’s retired, he has time to learn more about nature photography. He has always loved nature, too, and also enjoys taking photos. 🙂 Like you and me. 🙂 I hope you can go there, too, some time! My brother and his wife live in Green Valley. I see that’s a couple of hours south of Scottsdale. They love living there. As for the book, I am glad I bought it. It warms my heart to think you actually found sunshine here today! Thank you for encouraging me. May we keep finding hope and comfort in God’s creation, knowing that the same God who has the power to create such beauty has the power to get us through anything!
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Hi Trudy, I’ve been “out of it” lately but wanted you to know how much comfort I take when reading your posts… THANK YOU! Hoping to get back online soon…
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It’s so nice of you to stop in, Jema. I’m so glad you find comfort here. I hope your back is healing more and you’re able to be with your beloved donkeys more! May God give us strength day by day for whatever comes our way!
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I love the music of Casting Crowns! Thank you for posting this song! And I really enjoyed seeing your brother’s photography. What magnificent photos! So many jewels in this post. I love your monthly “round-ups.” 🙂 Love you, too, of course! ❤ ❤
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I love their music, too, Lynn. I’m so glad you enjoyed this song and the photos. Thank you for your kind words about the monthly “round-ups.” 🙂 I love you, too! May we daily trust in the God of all our days and His power to get us through anything!
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Hope When It Hurts sounds like a great read. Definitely one to add to my ever growing wish list! Shauna’s quote is reassuring, if only I can work out just who I really am and who God is asking me to become. Hmm… 🙂 I love the new to me Casting Crowns song and how it reminds us of God’s immanence with us, as He oversees all our days. Your brother’s splendid photos are a delight! I especially love the owl ones, making me think about a close encounter with them in my childhood. It’s always a joy to read your monthly round ups, Trudy! Thank you for the effort you put in to make them so varied and interesting to your readers. Sorry I’m a bit late in responding. My eyes are a bit overtired and screen-unhappy these days, so I have to limit my time online. Blessings, love and hugs! xo ❤
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No need to apologize, Joy. Definitely take care of your eyes! Hope When It Hurts is definitely a great read. Though it’s for anyone who hurts in some way, both authors deal with chronic illness, so I can feel they truly understand. I’m glad reading these monthly roundups gives you joy. 🙂 Blessings, love, and hugs to you, too! May God help us to discover more deeply who we are and who He wants us to be!
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Beautiful, Trudy. Thank you so much for all these links and beautiful photos. I especially love that baby bird in the nest. So precious. The very last quote is a beautiful encouragement to me too. Thank you for all this goodness.
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Thank you for your kind words, Anna. I’m so grateful you were encouraged. May God help us to be who we are meant and created to be, giving Him all the glory!
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