I believe wholeheartedly in the glory of the everyday ordinary.
The morning light through the window on the hardwoods of my kitchen floor. The coolness of clean sheets after a long, weary day. The colors of peppers and onions caramelizing in a cast iron skillet.
In her new book of everyday devotions, Lucinda Seacrest McDowell distills the great ordinary graces of this world into one word a day.
Sleep. Flavor. Resource. Restore. Story. Weary. Carry. Baggage.
Sustain.
I’ve been reading out of order, choosing a word that suits my early morning, sipping my first cup of coffee, dark-thirty before everyone’s up mood. I guess you can tell some of my struggles just from some of those words.
But each day, Lucinda’s reflections speak to me. She pulls out a verse, such as Psalm 3:5–
I lay down and sleep; I will wake again because the Lord sustains me.
Then in only a few short paragraphs, she unpacks its simple wonder and reminders that first and foremost, I am God’s beloved, and He is mine. Sometimes there are statistics (apparently I’m not the only one whose anxiety rears up during sleep), references to movies, pop culture, or great theologians. Always, the reading closes out with a short prayer, a moment when I close my eyes, breath in my coffee’s steam, and open my heart.
A lovely devotion perfect for any one, in any circumstance, Ordinary Graces will bless your heart. In the good way of course.
Want to win a copy for yourself or a friend? How about $75 for Etsy? I’m delighted to be participating in this awesome blog tour giveaway with LitFuse Publicity. You can enter to win below.
Are you ready to receive gifts of ordinary grace and abundant life from God and His Word? Join Lucinda in focusing on one word a day through devotional readings and short benedictions in her new book, Ordinary Graces. God has given us many gifts, such as his grace—the gift we don’t deserve and can never earn. Promises from the One who declares we are already loved, already accepted, already created in his image. The question becomes, will we truly receive that gift? Will the reality of it actually change the way we think and notice and reach out?
Celebrate the release of Lucinda’s new book and grace your holiday season with a $75 Etsy gift card giveaway!
One grand prize winner will receive:
- A copy of Ordinary Graces
- A $75 Etsy gift card
- A grace bracelet
- A set of Ordinary Graces greeting cards
Enter today by clicking the icon below, but hurry! The giveaway ends on November 24. The winner will be announced November 27 on the Litfuse blog.
Lindsey P. Brackett 