Plant the Seed
Every Creative Reminder is like a seed. As you spend time reflecting, journaling, and talking with God, that seed begins to take root in your heart. Each month's reflection is designed to help you plant it a little deeper.
Plant the Seed - Grow Joy
🌿 Plant the Seed
When we take time to slow down, reflect, journal, and invite God into our thoughts, that little seed begins to grow.
September's Creative Reminder
364 I am changing the need to have everything perfect, feeling uptight, unsure, and unwilling to move forward. Releasing the tendency to always second guess myself. Where I am right now is wonderful. I am relaxed, comfortable and energized in who I am. I set priorities and handle things and situations with a graceful flow.'
🎟️ THE STATE FAIR
Every effort is worth celebrating.
Share with the world what you have been growing.
Welcome to the September Village Post.
You received the little pieces in your envelope—the ticket, the lamb, the blue ribbon, the sunflower, the quilt and sewing machine. Each one carries a little thought for you.
This page is where you can linger a little longer.
You don't have to do everything here. Choose a question that catches your attention. Spend five quiet minutes with it. Make a journal page. Or simply let a thought sit with you.
There is no right way to use your Village Post.
💌 Read the Letter.
Want to read the whole letter?
The letter in your envelope is a shortened version of this month's thought. I've included the complete letter here if you'd like to read it again.
🌻 WHAT ARE YOU GROWING?
At the fair, we celebrate what people have grown, made, learned, created and cared for.
But sometimes the most important things we've been growing aren't things anyone can see.
Maybe you've been growing:
- courage
- patience
- wisdom
- creativity
- confidence
- faith
- resilience
- a new dream
- a willingness to try
- a new way of seeing yourself
Take a moment and ask yourself:
What have I been growing lately?
Don't think too hard about it. What comes to mind first?
Then ask:
How have I changed or grown, even if no one else has noticed?
What is growing in me that I want to nurture?
You don't have to write a whole page.
A few words are enough.
🐑 THE LITTLE SHEEPISH LAMB
He's a little unsure about being noticed.
And honestly, I understand.
Sometimes we want to be seen—but when someone actually notices us, we want to hide again.
Have you ever caught yourself saying:
“Oh, it's nothing.”
“It's not really that good.”
“Someone else does this much better.”
“I'm not ready yet.”
What are you tempted to minimize or hide?
What would it look like to let yourself be seen without needing to be the best?
And perhaps the most important question:
What would you bring to the fair if you weren't worried about what anyone thought?
🔵 YOU ARE THE PRIZE
This may be my favorite reminder in this month's envelope.
We can spend so much of our lives working toward the ribbon.
Finish the project.
Do it better.
Get noticed.
Get approval.
Accomplish more.
And then we tell ourselves we'll finally feel good enough.
But what if the blue ribbon isn't what makes you valuable?
What if you are already the prize?
Take a few minutes with that thought.
What do you tend to use as evidence that you're doing “enough”?
Where do you find yourself comparing your accomplishments with someone else's?
What would change if you could celebrate yourself before anyone else did?
And perhaps simply write this somewhere you can see it:
I don't have to accomplish something to be someone worth celebrating.
🧵 YOUR LIFE IS A LITTLE LIKE A QUILT
A quilt isn't made all at once.
It's made from pieces.
Some fit beautifully.
Some need to be rearranged.
Some pieces don't seem important until you see them in the finished quilt.
Your life is like that, too.
Look back over the past year.
What are some of the little pieces you've added?
A lesson you learned.
Something difficult you walked through.
A relationship you nurtured.
A new skill.
A small act of courage.
A decision you made.
A mistake you learned from.
A moment you were proud of.
A tiny beginning.
What pieces of your life are you tempted to overlook because they seem too small?
Write them down.
Every effort is worth celebrating.
🎟️ ADMIT ONE
Your little ticket says ADMIT ONE.
I think it's more than a ticket to the fair.
It's an invitation to come in and be part of it.
To stop standing at the edge.
To be curious.
To try.
To share.
To let yourself be seen.
So here's your invitation:
What is one thing you are ready to step forward with?
It doesn't have to be big.
Maybe it's something you've made.
Something you've learned.
Something you've been thinking about.
Something you've been afraid to try.
Something you've been keeping to yourself.
What would “stepping forward” look like for you?
🌱 PLANT THE SEED
You don't have to answer all these questions.
In fact, please don't.
Choose one that makes you pause.
Write about it.
Draw around it.
Make a collage.
Turn your answer into a Creative Reminder.
Or simply sit with the thought.
One question can plant a seed.
And seeds don't become sunflowers overnight.
Give yourself time.
Give yourself permission to grow.
☀️ BEFORE YOU GO...
Take one last look at your little fair ticket.
ADMIT ONE.
You don't need to earn your way in.
You don't have to be the biggest, best, most accomplished person there.
You belong.
You have something to bring.
You have something you're growing.
You have something worth sharing.
And you are worth celebrating right now.
Be brave. Trust yourself. Bring it. Share it. Celebrate it.
Every effort is worth celebrating.