by Kori Yates

 

God wants us to FLOURISH.

His desire is for us to FLOURISH in every aspect of life all the time, which is a great idea. Applying that to real life is completely different.

I don’t know about you, but I have fabulous intentions. When real life happens around me, though, I wonder what ever happened to FLOURISHING and figure I’ll just stick to survival.

God has so much more for us.

To that end, here at Planting Roots this year, we are going to be on a mission to see how the Lord might teach us and grow us in all areas of life so we can learn to FLOURISH.

When we FLOURISH even in the hard and difficult, we share with the world a bit more of who Jesus is.

Since I don’t have all the answers of how to FLOURISH and you probably don’t either, we’re going to learn from each other this year. Through you sharing your knowledge and experience and me sharing mine, the Lord can grow us to become more like Him.

Each month this year we will be looking at a different aspect of life and digging into ways we can FLOURISH there.

Here is a list of areas we’re going to tackle:

  • January – Flourish
  • February – Marriage
  • March – Friendship
  • April – Finances
  • May – Deployment
  • June – Prayer
  • July – Transition
  • August – Parenting
  • September – Labor/Work
  • October – Health
  • November – Celebration
  • December – Faith

I know we all long to FLOURISH in just these places, maybe some areas more than others, but I, personally, have plenty of room to grow and learn God’s plan and direction for each one. I am done with a life of simple survival and am ready to FLOURISH, becoming more and more of what He has made me to be every day. In so doing, I truly leave a legacy of Jesus, bringing honor and glory to the God I love.

Do you have experience and knowledge in any of these? Might you be willing to share?

The desire of Planting Roots is to take military women from around the world, allow them to pour in their gifts, experience, and knowledge, and through the sharing, teaching, and equipping the Lord grows us all to be more like Him.

Together we are truly stronger. We would love for you to pour in your gifts, knowledge, and experience. Might you want to guest blog? Maybe you’d be up for being a podcast guest? Maybe you’d like to become involved in our events? Maybe the Lord is leading you simply to comment and share on the social media channels? Maybe you have knowledge and experience, but writing or speaking isn’t your gift. We can help with that too! Just give us a hollar!

Psalm 92:12-13 says, “The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God.”

We can FLOURISH, as His children, in desert places and arid environments as well as we can in fertile fields and forests. The second part of the verse talks about being “planted in the house of the Lord.” This was a common custom back in the day, to plant trees in the courtyards of their homes. There the trees could be protected and nurtured.

It applies to us too. When our roots go down into our Savior, when our strength is found in our God, we too are planted in a place that nurtures and protects. He is our source. In military life we can feel like we don’t really have roots anywhere, causing us to feel unstable and uncertain, bringing with it fear, anxiety, and loneliness. Planting our roots in our Savior instead of the dirt where we are makes all the difference.

As we look to FLOURISH this year in all areas of our life, may we be reminded that our source, our strength, our stability, our hope, our life only comes from one place. Through His wisdom and His Word, He can grow us to be a little more like Him every day and FLOURISH in all areas of life.

Join us this year. Share what the Lord is teaching or has taught you. Together He will grow us into the mighty trees we long to be.