“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” — 2 Chronicles 16:9

Belonging doesn’t always begin with a grand gesture. Sometimes it starts with a very small yes — a seed in the ground, a rose by the front door, a whispered prayer of presence.

In this Rooted Moment, I share how God used two simple rosebushes to remind me that planting is always a declaration of belonging — and how He delights to strengthen the hearts of those who choose Him, even in the smallest ways. 🌱

🌿 In this short episode, you’ll be encouraged to:

See planting as a declaration of presence

Trust that God honors even the smallest yes

Remember that belonging doesn’t require permanence — it requires presence

Lean into the truth of 2 Chronicles 16:9: God strengthens committed hearts

📓 Reflection Prompts:

What’s one small yes of belonging you can offer today?

How might planting — in soil or in spirit — help you root yourself in God’s presence?

🙏 Closing Reminder:

🌱 Join the Free Prayer Garden Challenge 

🧾 Take the Garden Quiz → southernsoilsunshine.com/quiz

💖 Follow on Instagram → @southernsoils

💕 Join the Facebook community → Rooted Jesus Girls

“They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” — Isaiah 61:3

“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” — 2 Chronicles 16:9

✨Rooted Jesus Girls,✨

Belonging isn’t just about where we live — it’s about where our hearts rest. In today’s episode, we reflect on Chapter 9 of my book, Rooted in Grace, the second chapter in Part Three: Covenant Relationship.

If Part One was about opening your eyes, and Part Two about offering your hands, then Part Three is about yielding your heart. And this chapter — The Work of Belonging — gets to the very heart of covenant: presence, not performance.

🌿 In this episode, we’ll explore:

Why planting is a declaration of belonging

How every garden mirrors the state of our souls

Scriptural anchors for belonging — from Genesis to Jeremiah to Ruth and Jesus Himself

The truth of 2 Chronicles 16:9 — God strengthens hearts fully committed to Him

Five practical practices for cultivating belonging in body, soul, and spirit

How the G.R.O.W.T.H. framework ties it all together

A special invitation to join the upcoming Free 6-Day Prayer Garden Challenge 🌱

🌿 Encouragement for You

📓 Rooted Questions

What does belonging mean to you right now — in your home, your body, or your season of life?

Have you ever delayed planting because you weren’t ready to root?

What’s one gentle yes you could offer today?

Which plants or traditions connect you to your heritage or faith?

Where might God be inviting you to stop resisting and start relating?

🌿 Special Invitation

✨ Sign up through the link in the show notes — it’s free, and I’d be honored to walk this journey with you.

🙏 Closing Reminder

🌱 Join the Free Prayer Garden Challenge

🧾 Take the Garden Quiz → southernsoilsunshine.com/quiz

💖 Follow on Instagram → @southernsoils

💕 Join the Facebook community → Rooted Jesus Girls

“He has made everything beautiful in its time.” — Ecclesiastes 3:11

Every garden begins in hope, but it’s sustained by faith. And often, the most important growth is the slowest and the most hidden.

In this Rooted Moment, we pause to remember that slow is sacred—and that God is faithful in the long haul. Just like roots grow deep in darkness before fruit ever appears, so God does His deepest work in unseen places of our lives.

Even when the harvest feels far away, Galatians 6:9 reminds us: “At the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

So if you’re weary, waiting, or tempted to give up, let this be your reminder: you are not behind, you are not too late, and you are not lost. God is forming something lasting in you. 🌱

🌿 In this Rooted Moment, you’ll be encouraged to:

Trust that slow growth is still sacred growth

See the unseen seasons of your life as God’s root work

Stay faithful when fruit is delayed or invisible

Rest in God’s timing, not your own

📓 Reflection Questions

Where do you need to trust that slow is sacred?

What long-haul calling in your life are you tempted to give up on too soon?

🙏 A Rooted Prayer

✨ Ways to Stay Rooted

🌱 Take the Garden Quiz → southernsoilsunshine.com/quiz

💖 Follow on Instagram → @southernsoils

💕 Join the Facebook community → Rooted Jesus Girls

“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” — Galatians 6:9

Every garden begins in hope. But it’s sustained by faith.

In today’s episode, we step into Part Three: Covenant Relationship of Rooted in Grace. If Part One was about opening your eyes, and Part Two was about offering your hands, then this final part is about yielding your heart.

Together, we’ll reflect on Chapter 8, The Long Haul, and what it means to stay faithful when fruit feels slow or invisible. I share the story of my California garden, how God’s timing is never rushed, why unseen roots matter, and how quiet, repetitive faithfulness shapes us more deeply than quick results ever could.

This is the soil of covenant: belonging, abiding, and bearing fruit that lasts.

🌿 In this episode, you’ll discover:

Why covenant is about presence, not performance

The gift of slow, hidden growth (and why roots take time)

How ordinary, repetitive gardening tasks form extraordinary faith

Why your garden is meant to be shared as ministry and community

Five holy practices for long-term growth: planting legacy, documenting the journey, embracing pruning, leaning into rhythms, and trusting that slow is sacred

🌿 Special Invitation

Together we’ll walk through my G.R.O.W.T.H. framework to create a simple, sacred space where your faith can take root and flourish. Each day includes a short teaching, a Bible reflection, and a practical step to help you build a prayer garden—whether it’s in your backyard, on your patio, or even with a few pots.

It’s free to join, and I’d love for you to be part of it. Follow on instagram @SouthernSoils or on Facebook to get more info! 

📓 Rooted Questions for Reflection:

Where in your life are you being called to persevere, even when the results are slow or invisible?

How has staying rooted—physically or spiritually—shaped you over time?

What rhythms or routines keep you grounded in hard seasons?

What kind of fruit are you hoping for in this season—and what might lasting fruit look like instead?

How do you remind yourself that quiet faithfulness still matters when no one else sees?

🙏 May this episode remind you that you are not behind. You are not too late. You are not lost. You are right where you need to be. And the real garden God is cultivating… is you.

🧾 Take the Garden Quiz → southernsoilsunshine.com/quiz

🌱 Join the Free Prayer Garden Challenge → [link in show notes]

💖 Follow on Instagram → @southernsoilsunshine

💕 Join our Facebook community → Rooted Jesus Girls

Scripture Meditation

Rooted Jesus Girls,

This short but powerful episode invites you to pause and reflect:🌾 What is the cost of growth—and what are you gaining in return?

In Episode 13, we talked about how the garden (and life) requires more from us than we expected: time, energy, emotional labor, even grief when things don’t grow. But this moment reminds us of something deeper—

Even what costs you… can become your teacher.

In this Rooted Moment, we reflect on:

What’s being cultivated within you as you tend what feels slow, hidden, or fruitless

How to see your effort not as lost, but as planted

Why honoring your limitations is not defeat—it’s discipleship

What Psalm 90 teaches us about time, wisdom, and holy exchange

You’ll be reminded that God wastes nothing—not your sweat, not your waiting, not even your disappointment.

Where in your life or garden are you showing up without seeing results yet?

How have recent challenges grown you—even if the fruit isn’t visible?

What’s one area of effort that feels costly right now—and what might God be cultivating in you through it?

What does it mean to “number your days” in this season?

What are you learning to release so that something new can take root?

🎯 Don’t forget to take the free quiz:

This gentle quiz is your access point to the full GROWTH Workshop, launching soon—a 6-cycle, grace-filled experience that walks you through spiritual formation aligned with the natural growing seasons of Zones 8–10.

🛖 Join our private Rooted Jesus Girls Facebook group

📸 Follow along on Instagram: @southernsoils

📚 Haven’t read the Rooted in Grace eBook yet? Now’s the time

🌼 Take the quiz → southernsoilsunshine.com/quiz

Even this… is growing you.

Scripture Reflection

Rooted Jesus Girls,

Today we’re having an honest, grace-filled conversation about the real cost of cultivating a garden—and a faithful life.

This episode is for you if:

You feel tired from the weight of the work

You wonder if the slow progress is worth it

You’re navigating seasons of starting over again (and again)

Inside, you’ll hear:

Why gardening often costs more than we expect—emotionally, physically, spiritually

How to reframe “failure” as part of formation

Why slow, steady, unseen work often bears the most lasting fruit

How to return to your garden (and your life) with joy even after disappointment

And you’ll be reminded that the most beautiful harvest may not be what’s in your basket—but who you’re becoming along the way.

If today’s message stirred something in your spirit, take the next step:

This quick, thoughtful quiz will help you uncover your unique spiritual-gardening type—Rooted Dreamer, Graceful Grower, Quiet Tiller, or Creative Forager—and receive a printable that speaks directly to your season of soul.

It’s the beginning of your journey into the upcoming GROWTH Workshop, where we’ll walk through a 6-cycle framework for spiritual transformation rooted in the natural rhythms of the garden.

What has gardening cost you—not just financially, but in energy, time, or emotion?

What unexpected gifts has it given you in return?

Where are you investing effort that feels slow or unseen?

How do you define “success”? And how might God be redefining it for you?

What would it look like to trust slow, faithful work—even without instant results?

🌿 Join the Rooted Jesus Girls Facebook group for encouragement and reflection

📸 Follow along on Instagram: @southernsoils

📖 Grab your copy of the Rooted in Grace eBook if you haven’t yet

🎯 Take the quiz: southernsoilsunshine.com/quiz

You don’t have to be limitless to be fruitful.

Scripture Meditation

Rooted Jesus Girls,

In today’s short, soulful pause, we’re returning to the quiet center of our garden life—and our spiritual one.

Because when you’re surrounded by possibility—seed catalogs, Pinterest ideas, spiritual goals, dreams for your home and family—it’s easy to forget that you don’t have to grow it all.

Just because it’s beautiful… doesn’t mean it’s yours.

Let today’s Rooted Moment help you gently prune the guilt and cultivate clarity.

We’ll reflect on:

🌼 Why discernment isn’t about less, but about alignment

🧺 How to recognize what’s yours to carry and what can be laid down

🌱 The quiet power of asking, “What brings joy, memory, or nourishment?”

You’ll hear a story from my own garden (yes, kale makes another appearance), and you’ll be reminded that it’s okay to replant, to let go, and to trust what’s growing—even if it doesn’t look impressive on the outside.

✨ Take the What Kind of Garden Grows in Your Soul? quiz

This free quiz is the first step into my GROWTH Workshop—a soul-nourishing space for Christian women who want to root their spiritual formation in their everyday garden rhythms. 🌻

What are you growing (in your garden or life) that no longer aligns with your needs or values?

Is there something you've been tending out of guilt instead of joy?

What would it look like to plant just three things this season—and give them your whole heart?

🌿 Join our Rooted Jesus Girls Facebook group

📸 Come say hi on Instagram @southernsoils

📖 Haven’t grabbed the Rooted in Grace eBook yet? Now’s a great time

🎯 And of course, take the quiz: southernsoilsunshine.com/quiz

Scripture:

✨Rooted Jesus Girls,✨

This episode invites you to slow down and ask a sacred question:

We’re diving into Chapter 6 of Rooted in Grace, where I share one of my hardest-won lessons: not everything that grows in your zone belongs in your garden. The same is true in your soul, your calendar, your home, and your heart.

You'll hear about my stubborn kale (again), the cultural contrast between my childhood Romanian garden and my suburban one, and how I’m learning to plant for purpose—not performance.

We’ll talk about:

🌱 Discernment and alignment over expectation and guilt

🧺 How to choose crops (and commitments) that nourish your actual life

✨ Why your garden is a mirror for your season—not a to-do list

🐛 Why it’s okay to replant (or release) something that didn’t thrive

And most of all, we’ll explore how the act of choosing what to cultivate is a powerful, grace-soaked practice of spiritual growth.

If you’re craving a deeper connection between your gardening rhythms and your walk with God, I’ve got something for you:

Discover if you’re a:

🌼 Graceful Grower

🌳 Rooted Dreamer

🌾 Quiet Tiller

🌿 Creative Forager

Each result comes with a free printable and a gentle invitation to reflect on your current spiritual + gardening season.

This quiz is the first step into my upcoming GROWTH Workshop, a faith-based spiritual formation journey built around garden cycles and real life in Zones 8–10. (Launching soon!)

Are you growing anything—literally or figuratively—that no longer aligns with your values or needs?

What crops or commitments bring you genuine joy, beauty, or nourishment?

How does your current garden reflect the season of life you’re in?

What’s one thing you’ve been growing out of guilt or obligation—and what would it feel like to release it?

If you could plant only three things this year, what would they be—and why?

🌿 Join the Rooted Jesus Girls FB community for encouragement and conversation

📸 Follow along on Instagram @southernsoils

📖 Grab the Rooted in Grace eBook if you haven’t yet

🎯 Take the Quiz at southernsoilsunshine.com/quiz

Let me know if you'd like this formatted for Podbean, your website, or social captions!

“But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” — 2 Corinthians 12:9

What do you do when your plans fall apart again? When you’re tempted to spiral, shut down, or self-protect?

In this short Rooted Moment, we reflect on what it means to stay under the covering of Christ—even when the garden (or life) says, “Not today.”

Because when you're clothed in Jesus, you can respond with gentleness instead of frustration. You can pivot with peace instead of panic. You can keep growing… even when the plan didn’t pan out.

The power of being spiritually “clothed” for the unexpected

A quiet moment to reflect on disappointment and grace

How your garden rhythms mirror your soul’s deeper needs

A guided prayer + journal prompt to help you reset with Jesus

🪴 Take the Soul-Garden Quiz!

📘 Read the book: Rooted in Grace

👩‍🌾 Join the Rooted Jesus Girls Facebook Group

📷 Follow on Instagram

🎧 Subscribe, share with a friend, leave a review, and come back for more rooted moments.

“But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”

When your tomato plants are wilting, your calendar’s too full, and your energy is spent… what if that’s not failure? What if it’s faithfulness?

In this episode, we’re digging into the real-life tension between vision and capacity—both in the garden and in the soul. I’m sharing the story of a garden bed that nearly broke me, what I learned about asking for help, and why honoring our limits might be one of the most spiritual things we ever do.

You’ll also hear:

🌿 Late July gardening tips for tired gardens and fall prep

🌿 Five faithful practices for growing within your limits

🌿 A quiet invitation to grace—and what it means to be enough

🎧 This episode is rooted in Chapter 5 of my book, Rooted in Grace: A Christian Guide to Intuitive Gardening.

Curious what kind of garden grows in your soul?

Take the quiz and find out whether you're a Rooted Dreamer, Graceful Grower, Creative Forager, or Quiet Tiller—and get a beautiful free printable that matches your gardening and spiritual style.

➡️ Start here: southernsoilsunshine.com/quiz

📘 Rooted in Grace: A Christian Guide to Intuitive Gardening

🌿 Free Monthly Garden Calendar

💬 Join the Rooted Jesus Girls Facebook Group

🎵 Includes a verse of “I Need Thee Every Hour” and a closing prayer to help you breathe deeply and trust God’s presence—right in your limitations.

🪴 You don’t have to be limitless to be fruitful.