Summer is in full swing around here! We have had a flurry of activity. It has been fun but also wearing. Maybe you can relate? One place I love to go for encouragement when I am in a busy season is the Bible. Here are five of my favorite scripture verses to help you to thrive in this busy season.

Bethany Turner is hands down one of my favorite authors! I am going back and reading her books I haven't read yet. The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck is quite the page-turner. I love how Sarah's story reminds us that no matter what our past God redeems it and uses it for His glory. Sarah and Ben's love story is swoon-worthy. I loved this book and highly recommend it!

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10 is one of the most quoted bible verses of all time. It’s easy to find plaques, pillows, mugs, t-shirts, etc. with this verse on it. Psalm 46 is a powerful reminder of who God is and the power that He has. For example, in verse one, we read “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” As the psalm goes on, we learn about God. And then we get to Psalm 46:10. In this verse we stop hearing about God and instead hear directly from God.

Join me at the Printed Letter Bookstore for a beautiful story of healing, hope and friendship! Katherine Raey weaved an incredible story where Madeline, Claire, and Janet felt like my dear friends. I cried with them, cheered them on, and even told them what to do. I grew in my walk with the Lord as a result of their story. I loved this book and highly recommend it!

Last week our four children went back to school. It’s hard to believe we have a week of school done already. The week before our family prepared for the school year by going on a prayer walk around our children’s schools. As parents, we have the amazing privilege of praying for our children. This is something my husband Jonathan and I take very seriously. Especially when the school year begins.

A new school year has begun. Let’s use God’s Word to pray over our children as they head back to school. This is one of the most powerful ways we can pray. Our kids face challenges every day at school whether they are at school or doing homeschooling. It may be a challenge to learn new things. Maybe there is a student in their class who is difficult to be around. Or maybe they don’t get along with one of their teachers. Whatever the challenge may be, we can do one of the best things for our kids and that is to pray for them.

She arrived that morning to help in the classroom. That in itself was a huge blessing. But the even greater gift was this parent brought me my favorite fruit smoothie from a local coffee shop. God used this parent to bless me.

“I can’t believe she said that about me!” I cried in exasperation to my husband. After talking about the situation with Jonathan, once again, I needed to turn to God’s truth. Have you ever received a text or email from someone who accused you of something you haven’t done? Or maybe someone attacked your character. This has happened to me a couple of times these last several weeks.

“Oh my goodness. That man just called me forward. And in front of everyone! What do I do?” I imagine something like these thoughts was going through the crippled woman’s mind when she heard Jesus call her forward. Have you ever been afraid to go forward? This woman choose to go forward and it changed her life forever.

Summer break is in full swing! One of our favorite activities is to have reading time each day. But, what do you do when your child doesn’t like to read? Here are four strategies I used with my kids who didn’t like reading. Now, there are times I can’t get my kids to stop reading.