Cue the Confetti

I’m SO excited!
Today we begin SUMMER IN THE PSALMS!!

{If you don’t have your Bible Word Search/Devotional yet – it’s available in paperback on Amazon here or get the digital/printable version RIGHT AWAY here.}

Psalms is one of my favorite books of the Bible and I don’t think I’m alone. Down through the centuries, believers have turned to the book of Psalms, as one of their favorite books of the Bible too.

The depth of emotion expressed by the writers makes the book of Psalms relatable, encouraging, and comforting in every season of life. It is a collection of poems, hymns, songs and prayers and they express deep and sincere faith in the midst of trials and tribulations (which is exactly what my soul often needs on repeat).

The Hebrew word for “psalms” means “to pluck”. This implies that the Psalms were to be accompanied by a stringed instrument. The poetic rhythm and figurative language used, clearly expresses the emotion the writer was feeling.

In the New Testament, believers are instructed to sing psalms:

Ephesians 5:19 says, “address one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.”

Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

So let’s get started!
Before every study begins here at Good Morning Girls, we take a look at the background of the book. Let’s start there…

WLW Overview of Psalms

The Purpose: The book of Psalms was to be used as a hymnbook to sing praises to God. The word psalms is associated with playing instruments to accompany these songs.

The Author: The name of the author is at the start of each psalm. David is the most frequent writer. Other authors include: Solomon, Moses, the Sons of Korah, Asaph, Ethan and Ezahite. Some psalms have no designated author.

Time Period: This book was written between 1410-450 B.C.

Key Verse: Psalm 8:9
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

The Outline:
Originally, the book of Psalms was divided into 5 different books according to what was found within them.

Book 1 – Psalms 1-41
Book 2 – Psalms 42-72
Book 3 – Psalms 73-89
Book 4 – Psalms 90-106
Book 5 – Psalms 107-150

Types of Psalms:

Psalms of Thanksgiving and Praise
Psalms of Lament
Psalms of Meditation, Prayer and Petition
Psalms of Confidence and Trust
Wisdom Psalms that Teach
Historical Psalms
Psalms of Suffering and Tears
Imprecatory Psalms – Psalms that invoke judgment on their enemies.
Kingship Psalms – Psalms that point to the future Messiah – the King of Kings or speak of David as a king.
Acrostic Psalms – These psalms are written with special patterns using the Hebrew alphabet.

The Psalms remind us:
to worship.
To rest.
To pray.
To remember.
To look up.
To trust.

Today is Day 1 and I’m so thankful we get to begin together!

Let’s set aside 15 minutes a day and grab a cup of coffee, an iced tea or your favorite drink and open your Bible and SOAK IT IN! As you search for each word from the verse, you will naturally slow down and linger over the Scripture a little longer. Enjoy this time with the Lord!

And be sure to join me daily out on the Good Morning Girls Facebook page where we’ll discuss each day’s verse and devotional together starting at 7am EST. (but you can join in anytime).

Please Note: Unlike my normal studies, there will not be any videos for this series.
This month, I wanted to keep things slow, simple, and focused. No extra screens, no long teachings, just Scripture, reflection, and quiet space to meet with the Lord.

Have a wonderful week in God’s Word!

Keep walking with the King,
Courtney

If you haven’t ordered your copy of Summer in the Psalms yet, there’s still time to join us!
Grab your journal and come spend the next 30 days resting in God’s Word with us!

You can find it on Amazon HERE!
Or get the printable version right away
at half price on Etsy HERE!

This post contains an affiliate link.

The post 🏖️ It’s June 1st and Time to Begin! ✨ appeared first on Women Living Well.

In just 5 days we begin
Summer in the Psalms!

THIS Monday, June 1st we begin!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO BEGIN:

1. Your Bible

We’ll be spending time in the Psalms each day, so have your Bible ready.

2.) The Summer in the Psalms: Word Search/Devotional Book

This will guide you through the daily Scripture, devotional, reflection time and word search.

The Paperback version of Summer in the Psalms can be found on  Amazon.
If you want it right away – the Digital/Printable version is available on Etsy on Sale –> find my Etsy Store here.

3.) A Pen, Pencil or Highlighters

For journaling, underlining verses, writing prayers, and completing the puzzles.

4.) Subscribe to the blog

I don’t want you to miss the weekly blog posts! So if you are not subscribed to the blog yet, I encourage you to do that now -> HERE!

5.) Follow the Good Morning Girls Facebook Page

I will be posting every morning through out the 4 weeks of our study on the Good Morning Girls Facebook Page. I’ll post at 7am EST and then you can chime in anytime during the day! This community is wonderful! I REALLY hope you will join us.

PLEASE NOTE: I have two facebook pages – I will not be posting daily for this study on the Women Living Well page. The discussions will take place on the Good Morning Girls page only – just like when we do our Bible Studies.

Are there sign ups?

Nope. All you need is your Bible and a copy of Summer in the Psalms and everything else will be provided here for you!

So find a quiet place, take a deep breath, and come with a willing heart. Whether your summer days are full or slow, peaceful or unpredictable, the Lord will meet you right where you are.

I can’t wait to open the Psalms together and spend these sweet summer days resting in His Word.

Keep walking with the King,

COURTNEY

Order now to get it in time
for the start of our Study from
 Amazon in Paperback or
if you are short on time –
get it right away as an
Etsy Printable!

Here’s to a peaceful, purposeful summer in the Psalms!

This post contains an affiliate link.

The post ⏳ 5 Days Until We Begin! 🌸Summer in the Psalms🌸 appeared first on Women Living Well.

Summer is ALMOST HERE!

There’s something especially sweet about summer mornings with the Lord. The slower pace. The sunlight pouring through my window. Coffee beside my open Bible. And the quiet stillness before the day begins. There’s just nothing like it!

Some of my favorite moments with God have happened in the most ordinary places – at my kitchen table, on my porch, in my rocking chair, on the beach with my Bible on my lap, or a late night when the house is FINALLY still.

That’s the heart behind
SUMMER IN THE PSALMS

Beginning June 1st, I want to invite you to spend 30 days in the book of Psalms with me slowing down and taking Psalms just one verse, one devotional and one word search at a time.

Summer has a way of filling up quickly. But before the schedules get busy and the days slip by, I want to invite you to intentionally make room for time with God. Not out of duty but out of delight!

Why Word Searches?

1. They are a fun way to get into the Word!
2. They slow us down and help our minds to focus on each word of the verse.
3. They are a tool to help us remember what we just read through the repetition of searching for each word.
4. They are a great “off-line” activity for our minds (cognitive health) and soul (releasing stress and anxiety).
5. It’s just another tool to help us meditate on God’s Word – just like using the SOAK Method or the Bible Coloring Method.

Each puzzle is built around a single verse from the book of Psalms.

I’ve handpicked peaceful, worshipful, strengthening and meaningful verses to guide your focus through the summer months. Every word you search is directly tied to that verse.

Each devotional and puzzle will take around 10–15 minutes a day.

  Mark Your Calendar!
Begins Monday, June 1st

We’ll begin Volume 1 on June 1st, and I will be showing up daily on the Good Morning Girls Facebook page at 7amEST to share the verse of the day and discuss the devotional.

Let’s Do This Together

You can invite a friend to join you or If you’d like accountability or simply want to know you’re not doing this alone – I would love for you to join our AMAZING GMG Community on Facebook! There’s something really special about knowing other women are opening their Bibles alongside you each morning.

Consider This As Your Personal Invitation

Whether you’re sitting on your porch in the quiet morning , at the beach with your toes in the sand , or winding down at night after a long day …this is for you!

Keep walking with the King,
Courtney

Here’s to a peaceful, purposeful summer in the Psalms!

Grab your copies today!
Available exclusively on Amazon.

Find the PRINTABLE/Digital Versions
on Sale over on my
ETSY SHOP HERE!

Summer in the Psalms is a 3-Part Series

I’ve created Three Volumes, each with 30 Devotionals and Word Search Puzzles. That means you’ll have 90 devotionals and puzzles total, covering dozens of Psalms over the summer.

Volume 1: Psalms of Praise, Creation, God’s Majesty, Rest & Peace
Volume 2: Psalms of Salvation, God’s Care and Protection, & Meditation
Volume 3: Psalms of Dependence, Strength, & Worship

  If you haven’t subscribed to this blog yet – you can do that HERE. 

this post contains an affiliate link

The post 🌺 Your Summer Invitation 🌺 appeared first on Women Living Well.

This June, I want to invite you to join me for 30 Days in the book of Psalms!

It’s called
Summer in the Psalms!

This series is designed to refresh your heart and help you slow down in God’s Word throughout the summer.

Each page includes:

– A Verse of the Day from Psalms
– A Devotional based on that Psalm
– A Reflection Question and space to reflect
– A Large Lettered simple Word Search
A list of 10 words from the Verse of the Day to find in the Word Search

HERE’S A LOOK INSIDE

Why Word Searches?

1. They are a fun way to get into the Word!
2. They slow us down and help our minds to focus on each word of the verse.
3. They are a tool to help us remember what we just read through the repetition of searching for each word.
4. They are a great “off-line” activity for our minds (cognitive health) and soul (releasing stress and anxiety).
5. It’s just another tool to help us meditate on God’s Word – just like using the SOAK Method or the Bible Coloring Method.

Each puzzle is built around a single verse from the book of Psalms.

I’ve handpicked peaceful, worshipful, strengthening and meaningful verses to guide your focus through the summer months. Every word you search is directly tied to that verse.

Each devotional and puzzle will take around 10–15 minutes a day.

Summer in the Psalms is a 3-Part Series

I’ve created Three Volumes, each with 30 Devotionals and Word Search Puzzles. That means you’ll have 90 devotionals and puzzles total, covering dozens of Psalms over the summer.

Volume 1: Psalms of Praise, Creation, God’s Majesty, Rest & Peace
Volume 2: Psalms of Salvation, God’s Care and Protection, & Meditation
Volume 3: Psalms of Dependence, Strength, & Worship

Let’s Do This Together

We’ll begin Volume 1 on June 1st, and while I won’t be creating teaching videos for this study, I will be showing up daily on the Good Morning Girls Facebook page to share the verse of the day and discuss the devotional.

You can invite a friend to join you or If you’d like accountability – or simply want to know you’re not doing this alone – I would love for you to join our AMAZING GMG Community on Facebook! There’s something really special about knowing other women are opening their Bibles alongside you each morning.

You may be wondering…what about the other two volumes? Will we continue into July and August together?

I’m thinking and praying about that. If there’s strong interest and many of you are enjoying our time together, we can absolutely continue into July with Volume 2 together. I’ll be watching and listening throughout June, and we’ll decide together as we go. Either way – you can do this with us or on your own. So for now, let’s begin with these 30 days and see what the Lord does.

  Mark Your Calendar!
Begins Monday, June 1st

This is Your Summer Invitation

Whether you’re sitting on your porch in the quiet morning , at the beach with your toes in the sand , or winding down at night after a long day …this is for you!

Let’s slow down this summer and make space for the Lord and His Word. I’d love for you to join us. .

Are you in?

Keep walking with the King,
Courtney

Grab your copies today!
Available exclusively on Amazon.

Find the PRINTABLE/Digital Versions
on Sale over on my
ETSY SHOP HERE!

Here’s to a peaceful, purposeful summer in the Psalms!

  If you haven’t subscribed to this blog yet – you can do that HERE. 

this post contains an affiliate link

The post 🌿WHAT’S NEXT AT WLW?🌿 (Begins June 1ST) appeared first on Women Living Well.

I saw this quote on instagram the other day: “You don’t need a perfect life to live a beautiful one with God. ” And it’s absolutely true!

Because if I’m honest… life right now is not what I would have written. Not what I would have chosen. And yet – God is here.

It has now been 10 months since my husband Keith was diagnosed with blood cancer called Multiple Myeloma. When it first began, everything felt heavy, uncertain and I was emotional. I feared the worst and mentally started preparing myself for the worst.

His disease burden was high, his kidneys shut down, and he was hospitalized multiple times for a total of 14 days (3 different times), along with an ambulance trip and multiple visits to the ER in those first few months.

It was scary.

The following months, we went from being in a state of shock to accepting our new reality of treatments (4 days a week) and around the clock medications (pills first thing in the morning, before every meal, and before bedtime), a calendar filled with doctor appointments and medical bills non-stop in the mail. It has been a massive adjustment BUT now here we are (Praise the Lord ) …10 months later – it’s spring and Keith is still fighting.

Keith still has cancer but the cancer burden is dramatically lower now. The treatment is working very well but he is still in treatment – three weeks on, one week off – and continues kidney dialysis three days a week for about 4 hours each time and the pills continue (I carry them in my purse now everywhere we go).

Our lives have drastically changed. Every Monday he has multiple blood tests and so we move from test to test. There are days when the weight of it all feels really hard – for him, for me and for the children.

And yet… we have experienced God’s grace. In January, Keith was able to return to work part-time (16 hours a week). That sense of normalcy has been such a gift.

Keith has had several complications and minor surgeries over the past few months – December, January, and February BUT Keith has walked through them like a champ! His chin is up, his faith is strong and he keeps pressing on. Honestly, if you bumped into him at the grocery store today, you would not know from his big smile and hearty hello that he is daily fighting this battle.

Right now, we are waiting.

Waiting for remission.
Waiting for healing.
Waiting for the next step toward a kidney transplant.

He is scheduled to continue chemotherapy and immunotherapy through August, so treatment will carry him through the summer. We had hoped he would be in remission by now, so that part has been discouraging at times. But God is faithful and we keep moving forward…one day at a time.

We had a wonderful Easter together (pictured below) and are thoroughly enjoying the gift of a grandson and all of his firsts – his first Thanksgiving, first Christmas, first Easter – his first time to roll over, first tooth and now he is starting to crawl! He is such a blessing!

We have a family beach vacation planned for June that we are all looking forward to but… even that looks different now. We’re currently lining up a dialysis center near where we’ll be staying so Keith can continue treatment while we’re there. He’ll have to go four times during our vacation.

It’s not ideal.

This is not the life we imagined. But it is the life God has given us in this season.
And I’m learning… it can still be beautiful.

Because God IS WITH US IN IT.

It’s messy. Uncertain. Sometimes exhausting. But I am bound and determined to live well with the Lord’s help.

As I write this update, Psalm 28:7 comes to mind:

“The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me.”

Not – He might help me.
Not – He used to help me.

He. Helps. Me.

Right here. In the middle of the pills, appointments, the waiting, the unknowns, the disappointments. He is WITH us .

I don’t know what you are going through today but whatever your life looks like, know this:

God is with you.
God will help you.
God is faithful.
And that is simply beautiful!

Thank you SO much to everyone who has reached out with words of encouragement and prayers. They mean so much!

Keep Walking with the King,

Courtney

Many of you have asked out on social media:
WHAT’S NEXT AT WLW?

***I wanted to share my husband’s health update before jumping into our summer plans so that it made sense as to why things have been a little different here at Women Living Well.

If you are looking for encouragement from me in this season, you can find me regularly out on my Instagram and Facebook pages.

So, as I was praying about what we could do together, I kept coming back to last summer when we went through the book of Jonah AND I had also created a light Summer in the Psalms: Bible Word Search Devotional series that we did not do together.

And so I thought it might be fun to do SUMMER IN THE PSALMS together this summer!!

SUMMER IN THE PSALMS is a beautiful Bible Word Search Devotional created to help you slow down, reflect, and spend time in God’s Word in a peaceful way. Each puzzle includes a Psalm, a short reflection, and a thoughtful question to help you draw closer to God – one word at a time.

If you’d like to join me, mark your calendar!
We’ll begin on June 1st!
I’ll be sharing more details here soon…

The post 10 Months In: An Update on Keith’s Cancer Journey appeared first on Women Living Well.