Hey everyone!

It’s been a hot minute since I last posted. How are you doing??

I decided to take a bit of a break over the holiday and just spend my time with my loved ones. Now that uni has started again, I am super excited to be back at it again and am planning to continue posting our weekly newsletters.

Some of the main values of The Growing Seed is growth and equipping women with skills and knowledge to live a God-centered life. In my boyfriend’s words:

In light of this, I thought it would be a great way for us to start of ‘Season 2’ of the newsletter by being reminded of all the lessons that have already been shared on this platform.

I have written little summaries on all the newsletters that have already been posted and links to those newsletters if you want to learn more. I want to encourage you to reflect on how far you have come this year and how these lessons can impact your life in a deeper way. Even if it is simply by being reminded of what you already know. Hope you enjoy!

This newsletter shares the lessons my boyfriend and I learned from a Bible study. We looked at the passage of 1 John 4 and focused on the dynamic of love that John describes. He creates this image of an ecosystem where God’s love for us, our love for God and our love for one another interact with each other and depend on each other.

If you want to understand the details and roles of this ecosystem of love, read further here: https://thegrowingseed.beehiiv.com/p/the-ecosystem-of-love

Can you tell which of your parents made dinner simply by the taste of the food? Or just know that the flowers in your room could only have been put there by your mom?

When we have a close relationship with someone, we pick up on their character and notice the invisible traces of their presence that would not be identifiable by anyone else.

Do you truly know Jesus well enough to notice His traces in your life?

read more here: https://thegrowingseed.beehiiv.com/p/something-short-and-sweet

Present bias is a concept that describes the human tendency to prioritize our current situation over the long term gains. The Bible speaks about looking forward to the rewards that lie before us. This newsletter equips us with knowledge of how we think and how to change our behavior in order to be obedient to the Lord.

Biologically, instant gratification used to be a way to increase survival as hunter-gatherers. This was achieved through the way our brain works and the hormones it releases. Understanding how the systems in our brain works can help us prioritize long term gain.

Economically, the concept of hyperbolic discounting explains our tendency to prioritize short-term rewards and how our perception of value is impacted by the timeline.

Psychologically, we can imagine short-term rewards more vividly and future outcomes are harder to depict. This leads us to misjudge how we will feel after achieving something (usually overestimating short-term and underestimating long-term rewards). Emotions can also override logical decisions and our self-control abilities are a limited resource that can be depleted through constant use.

Read more here to understand how this relates to faith and how we can apply this knowledge to our lives: https://thegrowingseed.beehiiv.com/p/growing-through-knowledge

This newsletter was a throw back to where the idea for The Growing Seed initially started: a devotional I was part of for my youth group.

This is a powerful message that reflects on Mary anointing Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume and the aroma that filled the room as a result of her worship.

If we follow Mary’s example in laying all our lives at the feet of Jesus, His Spirit fills us and there is this outward result of our inner world being transformed. Like the fragrance of sweet perfume, His aroma radiates from within us and is noticed by others. Standing out in a crowd with the light of the Lord is such a special way we get to share the gospel with those who are curious about where our joy comes from.

Have you truly laid your life down at the feet of Jesus?

Read more about the fragrance of Christ here: https://thegrowingseed.beehiiv.com/p/the-fragrance-of-worship

As exams approached, I shared some lessons I’ve learned on how to continue to keep God at the center of our lives despite the demanding season of writing exams. I explored the idea that we do not need to put our entire lives on pause during exams but rather can use it as an opportunity to truly rely on God’s providence with our marks and success.

During my matric final exams, I took Sundays as a full Sabbath regardless of what was ahead of me on Monday. I shifted my mindset of feeling the pressure of needing to achieve by my own strength to being faithful and dedicated with my work and trusting God with the results. Needless to say, God is good and provided more than I could've asked for!

How can you turn your focus to God during the seasons where He feels like the least of your priorities?

Read more about taking a God-honouring approach to exams here: https://thegrowingseed.beehiiv.com/p/growing-during-the-exam-season

One of the member from our community encouraged us to continue finding our hope and strength in Christ despite being in seemingly hopeless situations. Paul honours God despite his struggles and we can do the same by acknowledging that He is so much bigger than any of the struggles we face.

Read more about Paul’s experience here: https://thegrowingseed.beehiiv.com/p/graves-into-gardens

Another member from The Growing Seed, Chelsy, shared a beautiful poem about the call for us to surrender our lives to Jesus.

Is there an area in your life you’re struggling to lay at the feet of Jesus?

Be encouraged by the poem shared in this newsletter: https://thegrowingseed.beehiiv.com/p/i-found-my-life-when-i-laid-it-down

As Easter approached we reflected on how much God loves us.

Consider the pain and turmoil Abraham felt when God called him to sacrifice his promised son. While Abraham didn't have to follow through with it, God did. His Son died for our sins because of how much He loves us. Let us live by the love of God and let it be our Northern Light.

Read more about being compelled by love here: https://thegrowingseed.beehiiv.com/p/no-greater-love-than-this

We all experience hardships and suffering. It’s so easy for us to get caught up in the difficulty in our lives and feel abandoned by the Lord. But what if God is working through our pain?

How would our lives change if we saw Jesus as our sun during our suffering?

Consider the encouragement God gave Joshua to be strong and courageous (Josh 1:9) when he was facing difficulty.

Read more about my story here: https://thegrowingseed.beehiiv.com/p/sun-and-suffering

I started university this year. Before I began this journey I asked some of the women in my life for advice to help me adjust. These are some of the things they told me:

Along with these tips, I shared some of the lessons I learned through experience.

If you want to find out more about that, you can read about it here: https://thegrowingseed.beehiiv.com/p/growing-in-a-new-season

Thank you so much for sticking around and I am so excited to start a new season with all of you. I hope you have a blessed term and I know God is going to do incredible things.

We’ll chat again soon, love Cailyn xx

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