The beginning of Lent.

God Wants Our Whole Heart By Lysa Terkeurst “Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.” Hosea 10:12 (NIV) God wants us to settle some things in our hearts. Especially whether we are all-in when it comes to our relationship with Him. Do we want to walk in the fullness of His love and His plans? Or do we want to spend our lives chasing after the world’s empty pleasures? Why not push the limits, live for the now and worry about eternity later? the enemy whispers. The enemy is very strategic with his plans to derail and distract us. He cleverly makes his temptations seem so harmless. The problem is that, by “living for the now,” we miss the whole point of our existence, the very purpose for which we were created. God made us for the relationship of His perfect love. But if we’re always chasing after other things, we’ll never experience the fullness of that love. There’s a big difference between a halfhearted approach to God and wholehearted devotion. That halfhearted approach is where we find God’s people in a passage of Scripture I have been studying recently. Hosea 10 opens with the initial appearance that all is well for the Israelites. They’re flourishing and in a season of plenty. (Hosea 10:1) Anyone looking at them from the outside would probably assume God is pleased with them and greatly blessing them. But Hosea lets the Israelites know God is anything but pleased with them, and their season of plenty and fruitfulness is about to be replaced with one of destruction and barrenness. Why? Hosea 10:2 explains the reason: “Their heart is deceitful, and now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will demolish their altars and destroy their sacred stones” (NIV). The Hebrew word for “deceit” is חָלַק, ḥālaq (pronounced “Ha-Lack”) and means “divided, smooth or slippery.” God didn’t have their whole hearts. Their hearts were deceived and divided. Instead of worshipping God with their whole hearts, the Israelites turned to their pagan altars. (Hosea 10:1) Instead of trusting in the Lord, they put their faith in their rebellious and evil kings. (Hosea 10:3-4; Hosea 10:7) They ignored God’s warnings to tear down their altars — failing to realize that divided affections will always be detrimental to a life of devotion. And as they chased after their idols, they wandered away from their covenant relationship with the Lord. Thankfully, God is gracious in the midst of our wandering — beckoning us back home, calling us to repentance, offering us the chance to begin again. He holds out hope to the Israelites and to us in Hosea 10:12: “Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.” I don’t want us to miss the original Hebrew meaning of the word “seek” in this verse. The word דָּרַשׁ, dāraš (pronounced “Da-Rash”) is translated as “turning to the Lord.” I love that! Can’t you just hear the Father’s voice calling out to His people? Calling out to us? As if He’s saying, My wayward and wandering children, turn back! Turn to Me! The path you are on is one that leads to destruction. One I cannot bless. But it’s not too late! You haven’t wandered too far. You can stop right now, right where you are, and return to Me. You can make wise and holy choices. Starting now. You can sow better seed. Today. Draw near to Me once again, and I will draw near to you. Repent of your sins and receive the fullness of My mercy, grace and forgiveness. Welcome Me even into the parts of your heart that have perhaps been hard and resistant to Me. Turn to Me. Seek Me. You will find Me waiting and ready to move in your life with amazing grace, unending love and incredible power. Oh, how I pray we will answer His call today. Let’s seek God like never before. Let’s turn to Him, follow Him and offer Him all that we are and all that we have. Father God, please forgive me. You know how my heart can get so divided and stretched and pulled in a million directions, especially in a hard season. Thank You for reminding me that You want every single piece of my heart. Please reveal anything I have been turning to instead of You. Teach me to rely on Your strength and power in the areas where I am weak. My deepest desire is to fully follow after You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Lately, our headphones have been a welcome tool to help us refuel. Whether heading out for a walk or cleaning up the kitchen (again!) podcasts and audiobooks give us life! A few notes before we begin: If you've never done podcasts before, if you have an iPhone, search "podcasts" and prepare to enter a whole new world! Mom, this tip is for you! Also, this mom just pulled the "quarantine" card and invested in some airpods for Mother's Day. They're already changing my life, that is, when my seven-year-old hasn't stolen them for his Zoom calls... Here's what we're loving: Podcasts: That Sounds Fun with Annie Downs Less like a podcast and more like coffee with friends, Annie’s podcast, released on Mondays and Thursdays, features her favorite things and favorite people. Pretty much, if it sounds fun to Annie, she wants you to hear about it. Made For This Podcast with Jennie Allen Short. Fun. Truth. Real conversation about the struggles we face and the God that sets us free. Rhythms for Life with Gabe and Rebekah Lyons From artists, nutritionists and psychologists to thought leaders, advocates and entrepreneurs, listeners will meet expert guides that will help them keep stress and anxiety at bay and pursue everyday moments of abundance by establishing four life-giving rhythms: rest, restore, connect, and create. Apps for audiobooks: Hoopla--link this to your library card and you can get up to 10 free rentals a month. We suggest starting with Beth Moore's latest book, Chasing Vines (she reads it!), or Lysa Terkeurst's book, It's Not Supposed to Be This Way. Moms with kids, we love The Read Aloud Family by Sarah Mackenzie. Scrib'd--sign up for a free trial and get even more audiobooks. We'd start with Jennie Allen's Get Out of Your Head (read by the author!), or maybe re-live a classic like Jane Austen--the sky is the limit!

Below, we've compiled some of our recent favorite books, several which seem especially pertinent to the current season we're all walking through. Suffer Strong: How to Survive Anything by Redefining Everything by Katherine and Jay Wolf (past Changing Seasons speaker) Suffer Strong offers readers the bold invitation to trust a known God with an unknown future, as well as practical insights into surviving anything by redefining how we think about everything. Rhythms of Renewal: Trading Stress and Anxiety for a Life of Peace and Purpose by Rebekah Lyons (past Changing Seasons speaker) Daily struggles with anxiety and stress make it difficult to receive God's peace. Rhythms of Renewal will help you trade your anxiety for the vibrant life you were meant to live through four profound rhythms: rest, restore, connect, and create. With encouraging stories and practical steps, Rebekah Lyons will help you begin an intentional, lifelong journey toward sustained emotional, relational, and spiritual health. Chasing Vines by Beth Moore In Chasing Vines, Beth shows us from Scripture how all of life’s concerns—the delights and the trials—matter to God. He uses all of it to help us flourish and be fruitful. Chasing Slow: Courage to Journey off the Beaten Path by Erin Loechner Chasing Slow models HGTV star Erin Loechner's journey to help you break out of the faster-better-stronger trap and make small changes to refresh your perspective, renew your priorities, and shift your focus to what matters most.

A blessing of these weeks has been time to slow down and savor cooking and eating as a family. So here are a few recipes we've been making again and again: Restaurant Style Salsa--this makes large quantities and can be made again and again--and use "mild" rotel tomatoes for kids to enjoy! Crispy Pork Carnitas (Mexican Slow Pulled Pork)--if you can still get your hands on a pork butt (we still can't believe it's called that and we eat it), this is worth the time! Chicken Parmasean--we use Rao's Marinara sauce which is a pantry MUST. (Stock up at Costco if you can--it's not cheap!) Sweet, Sticky, and Spicy Chicken--omit the spice for a kid-friendly chicken stir fry they will request again and again! Bon Appetite!

Happy Ash Wednesday! A day that frequently tends to sneak up on me. Unlike Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s day, or even Groundhog’s day, Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and Easter wander around February, March, and April, making it difficult for me to keep up. You may or may not know that today marks the beginning of Lent. A forty-day period on the Christian calendar leading up to Easter. Often, Christians use this time to prepare their hearts for Easter in the form of fasting, praying, or reflecting. One reason Lent always has a special place in my heart, is because nine years ago, the start of Lent was what propelled me into the blogging world . Starting with a group of women spending 40 days to say, “God, more than anything else in this world, I just want to love you.” So as I've thought and prayed through Lent, the word cultivate came to my mind as if God was whispering, “take these 40 days and cultivate your relationship with me.” If you’re anything like me, it’s easy to arrive to church on Easter Sunday clad in your cutest, brightest sundress, but feel completely spiritually ill-prepared for the sacred, celebration of Easter. The good news is this year, each of us have been given a forty-day period where we can get ready, so when Easter Sunday rolls around, as our favorite Atlanta Housewife, Kim, sings, we won’t be “tardy for the party.” I’m no gardener, but as the word cultivate has been mulling on my heart, I was thinking about a garden, and how when caring for a garden on any given day, you can weed, water, or plant. So that’s my challenge to us: that each one of us will practically consider one way we can cultivate our spiritual gardens over the next 40 days. Not because we feel pressure to do something, not because of guilt, but because we want this to be a season where we cultivate our relationships with God and take some time to take care of them. A few ideas for “weeding”:

Lent, we meet again. My experiences from Lent have included a wide array of sentiments and experiences, from using it merely as a way to shed a few pounds before summer to using it as a season to dig into more of who God is and deepen my relationship with Him. Last year, I read an excerpt on Lent via She Reads Truth that I fell in love with: Lent should never be morose - an annual ordeal during which we begrudgingly forgo a handful of pleasures. Instead, we ought to approach Lent as an opportunity, not a requirement. After all, it is meant to be the church's springtime, a time when, out of the darkness of sin's winter, a repentant, empowered people emerges. -Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter Lent shouldn't be approached as a requirement that we dread, but rather, an opportunity ; a time to return to God and dig into Him . Lent is not a mandate, it's an invitation. I don't know about you, but I'm in a place in my life right now where I need more of God. I'm not just saying that to sound holy and cliche, but I really NEED Him. Let's be honest, who doesn't need more of God? If you find yourself in a similar place, Lent can be a great time to go deeper and experience more of who God is Need some suggestions? Last year, I did a Lenten study from She Reads Truth that was amazing. They have short little devotions that coincide with a daily scripture reading. Last year, it was a great way to turn my eyes away from myself and put them back on Jesus. Another friend told me she's trying to spend some time each day praying on her knees. There's something about praying on your knees in a posture of prayer that can be so powerful. Granted, today, mine was literally for 45 seconds, before I was up and running again, but I'm starting to see that taking the time to get on your knees to pray has helped to focus my heart and strengthen my prayer life. Then there's the notion of fasting or sacrificing something. My only caution would be to ask yourself why you're giving something up-is it for your own self-improvement project, or is it because you see how it's hindering the way you come to know and encounter God? I'm all for fasting, just make sure it's for the right reasons! I'm not trying to add one more thing to your growing to-do list, rather to encourage you to see Lent as an invitation to come closer to God . A chance to return to God, get your heart ready, and simply be with Him. This way, when Easter Sunday rolls around, it won't just be about your cute, new sundress (though I DO think those are highly important!), but you can celebrate Christ's resurrection and the forty days you spent encountering Him in fresh, new ways.

One of our favorite past speakers, Katherine Wolf, has a brand new book out this month with her husband, Jay: Suffer Strong: How to Survive Anything by Redefining Everything. In Suffer Strong, Katherine and Jay invite us into this new story as they share universal lessons and helpful practices that will help us to: Recognize we are being equipped for an uncommon assignment, not cursed by our story. Transform our unmet expectations into brave anticipations. Disrupt the myth that joy can only be found in a pain-free life. Rewrite the narrative of hard circumstances by turning our definitions of suffering into declarations of strength. And, ultimately, thrive even in the lives we never imagined living. If you missed it, watch Katherine's Changing Season's talk here. Also, check out their podcast, Suffer Strong, here. Or hear them share on That Sounds Fun With Annie Downspodcast.

We absolutely LOVED welcoming Rebekah Lyons to Virginia Beach last fall! We wanted to pop on here to let you know about her podcast that she and her husband, Gabe host called Rhythms for Life. Each week, "Gabe and Rebekah Lyons invite listeners to journey with them and expert guests into transparent conversations brimming with practical advice. From artists, nutritionists and psychologists to thought leaders, advocates and entrepreneurs, listeners will meet expert guides that will help them keep stress and anxiety at bay and pursue everyday moments of abundance by establishing four life-giving rhythms: rest, restore, connect, and create." In a season where there is SO much noise, this is worth your time! Check out past episodes here. And if you haven't already, be sure to grab a copy of Rebekah's latest book, Rhythms of Renewal: Trading Stress and Anxiety for Peace and Purpose--it will change your life!