Weekly Reflection | 40 Days of Faith

Hi Friends! It’s fun to see you guys here on a Sunday. First, I seriously cannot thank you enough for all of your love on my Lenten Journey post last week. I’ve said it before, but I will say it again because seriously I was blown away. Your comments and encouragement have kept me chugging along this week and have made this the beginning of a fun and exciting journey.

I got a lot of questions about how I would structure this…and quite frankly I didn’t have all of the answers right away…but this is how it’s playing out….

How and when will you post the daily images? I will post each on the selected day via Instagram Stories along with the Bible verse that I used to reflect on each word.

Are you following along with a certain devotional // Bible verses? Nope. I’m just taking each word and using this site to sift through lots of readings in context that contain that word. It may not be the most sophisticated way, but I love how the Lord has been speaking to me each day throughout my research.

Also, every Sunday, I’ll round up the week’s words + photos + a little journal-like reflection as to what was in my brain each day. This being the first of those posts. If you need a refresher on the list of words for each day here it is…

3/1 Ashes

Ashes, to me, is a symbol of the death of something old and the impending birth of something new. A fresh start and a humble new beginning in the making. These sweet little feet growing inside of me was the perfect portrait of how God renews us with new life daily…

“…therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” Job 42:6

I loved THIS video explaining Ashes and new beginnings.

3/2 Seek 

Last Sunday’s Gospel was MT 6:24-34 and, while it’s rare that I fully tune in and digest a Gospel, God didn’t give me a choice on this one. The words were so powerful to me and were what really committed me to seek something more during this Lenten season.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink,
or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky;
they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes?
Learn from the way the wild flowers grow.”

I had come to Church with so many worries that day…some were really serious and some were really stupid…but altogether they made my heart feel very heavy. It was so refreshing to have things broken down into simple terms…look at the damn birds, Mallory. God knows what they need, and he provides it. Do you think that he would do this for a bird and not do it for his own daughter?! He knows what I need and he will provide, but I am not seeking his help. Instead I’m worried about earthly concerns that only weigh me down. Seeking God first on my daily walk isn’t always easy, but his promise is that…

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given you besides.”

And then this song came on and #uglycry ensued…

3/3 Quiet

“Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong.” Job 6:24

Job 5 is so incredibly powerful to me, but I am going to save it for another day. In Job 6 Job is replying and finally surrenders to listening. I took this photo of Landry at nap time. Just like many moms, nap time is my quiet time. Time to work or recharge or do house work. It’s busy but refreshing to not have to answer to a little person for an hour or two. When Landry started sleeping in her big girl bed, I wasn’t able to just lay her down awake for nap time any more. It required me to lay down with her and selfishly that annoyed me. It was eating into my “me” time and slowing down like that mid-day was unproductive for me because clearly my to-to list wasn’t going to do itself as I laid down fighting falling asleep myself. Slowly but surely I started looking forward to my quiet time with her as we laid down for a nap. I feel like I fail so many times a day as a mother (honestly, it’s the hardest job on the planet and we are all our own worst critics) and as I scratch her back and sing her Amazing Grace until she dozes off I can feel God lift the weight of motherhood off of my shoulders for a few minutes. I lay there in the quiet and pray over her. I pray that I can be the mom she needs in every way possible and I ask God to renew my graces for when she wakes up. Seeing her innocence as she sleeps peacefully washes my heart clean daily.

I want to open my eyes to all of the other times throughout my day that God is calling me to be quiet and to listen. He’s made this little slice of my day (that I resisted for so long) such a beautiful conversation with Him that I can only hope to open my eyes and heart to more dialogue…

3/4 Wonder

“Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.” Isaiah 29:14 

3/5 Peace

“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Fear the LORD, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” Psalm 34:8-14

This was a hard one for me and one that I will be reflecting on all day. Of course I want the “big picture” of peace…a world with no wars, justice for all and for everyone to live in harmony…but I know that God is calling me to start within my 4 walls. To work on being more peaceful inside my heart…slower to anger, slower to judgement, and to seek peace above all in any situation. Patience has never been my strong suit and the lack there of easily draws me away from seeking peace in everyday situations, even with my own family. I pray that God gives me grace as I try to seek peace first in even the smallest situations throughout my day, because I know that creating a peaceful home is the very best thing that I can do for my family.

I’ll post an image in Instastories later today! I hope that you guys have a wonderful First Sunday of Lent! Thank you again for allowing me to share this very personal joourney here…xo