WHAT TO EXPECT ON THE THISTLEBEND BLOOM BLOG
Bloom! is a personal look into a few women’s lives as they participate in Thistlebend studies and follow the Lord as He tills their hearts. May you be encouraged as you experience the tilling, the Lord is doing in your own heart!
When You’re Stretched Too Thin
When I was growing up, I remember one cultural message very clearly: “Look out for #1!” We were constantly bombarded with the importance of putting ourselves first and taught that our personal needs mattered more than anyone else’s. I now know that messaging is untrue, but after a lifetime of hearing it, the words are […]
Why ‘Doing it All’ Isn’t Enough
I left my small group church training so encouraged and so very excited to begin this semester, but right along with the excitement came a creeping lie of feeling the weight of the responsibility that comes with leading a small group in our church—the call to disciple and love our group members well. As I […]
When Your Calendar is too Full
A few weeks ago, I looked at my calendar and was suddenly filled with anxiety. My schedule was just too full. I started to feel overwhelmed. Fearful. My first reaction was “what can I drop from my schedule to gain a few badly needed hours each week?” And sadly, Bible Study was the first thing […]
Map to Victory
Kids today just don’t know the joy of maps, or hand-written directions. I still remember being a passenger in the car and trying to help the driver navigate. I’m the first to admit I am map-challenged. GPS’s and Google Maps are awesome inventions and I am sure that arguments between drivers and passenger have had […]
When You Feel Unnoticed
I may have gotten in one of the dumbest arguments ever with my husband last night. I’ll spare you the details, but we argued over who watered the ferns last summer. Yes, you read that correctly, insert monkey covering his eyes emoji here! We’re almost finished with our most recent study Jesus, I Need You […]
Before Whom Do I Kneel?
One of the things I love about Thistlebend studies is the emphasis on taking God’s Word to heart. We do this by choosing a verse from our daily study that stands out to us, and then, each week, we choose one verse from the daily verses we have selected. This verse becomes our “Taking the […]
Your Best Friend
I recently had coffee with a very dear friend. I’m in a season of weariness, both physically and emotionally, so I haven’t been looking forward to many things, but I did look forward to spending time with this particular friend because I knew that I would truly enjoy our visit. I knew that I could […]
Very Present
The Lord is allowing a challenging season in my life right now. I have two sweet babes, one that is 18 months old and one that is almost three months old. I’ve struggled a lot with even saying that this season is hard because I find myself feeling a lot of guilt for that. These […]
Chocolate Cake Will Fail You Too
“You’re not going to find happiness in a piece of chocolate cake.” Ok, I am paraphrasing Laurie from last week’s lecture. But she did say something about chocolate cake not being able to provide lasting comfort when we are facing tough situations. Is that really true?! I thought chocolate solved pretty much all problems. Of […]