Creativity is evident in everyone but when you look inward, it’s easy to succumb to comparison and extinguish your creative spark because of fear or disbelief. Creativity takes courage. And sometimes courage shows up with a little encouragement.

I’m wondering if you have ever had someone tell you that you are creative. I sure hope. I’d love to remind you and speak a blessing for creativity over you and your life.

Because God is the ultimate Creator, we as his children have that same creative gene inside us because we are made in his image. Expressing creativity is much more than the final product – practicing creativity is about falling more in love with the one who created you. 

SHOW NOTES

• For more, listen to Creativity as an Antidote for Anxiety
• And Creativity as Spiritual Practice
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A couple years ago, I wrote a letter to Thanksgiving. Kind of an apology, kind of a letter of gratitude. Kinda both. I wrote it because every single year – Thanksgiving has to share crowded space with Christmas. And in my mind they each hold such valuable space in our calendar.

My little love letter to Thanksgiving reminds me of the need to be present. To not be all caught up in the next thing and the next thing and the next thing – and find that we’re rushing past the achingly gorgeous gift of today. Because one beautiful day at a time, with all the small graces and gratitude, equals one big beautiful life. And I’m all about living this one life God has for me. 

Psalm 90:12 says: Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Another version says: Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well!

Having wisdom is living well. Living well is about being present. Being present to all the wonder and awe. It’s waking up and thanking God for for breath to live another day. It’s about being present to the people God has in your life. It’s about living with discernment about how to spend time. It’s about all these things. And inside that presence, there is a joy. 

So let’s pray and count our days so we may have a heart of wisdom.

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Thanks, God. You are good.

I’ve been living this prayer in all kinds of different ways these days. Like first thing in the morning, coffee in hand,"Hi God. Thank you for this one beautiful life you’ve given me. You are good!" And I can pray with others at the table and agree that God is so good. 

But I’m also giving thanks in a new by using my words and doodles and sketches to thank God for his faithful love and care. Calling this my JOY Journal. And it’s something anyone can do. Basically just find a journal. I really love the Hobonichi Tech. It's something you could easily do too. 

And at the end of the day, think over who you saw, what you did and jot some notes. After that, sketch out what you saw and color it in. Suddenly, it’s a book of gratitude. A reminder of his faithful love and goodness. Check out my reel on Instagram for inspiration on what a journal like this might look like.

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What do you pray when you don’t know what to pray? Especially when it’s a prayer for a person you love who is experiencing difficulty? What do you do when you run out of words and wonder if God is falling silent?

One of the best promises I know is tucked in the Bible, reminding me God sees and hears me - and the person I love.

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Romans 8:26

When you run out of words, know that the Spirit is interceding. And when you run out of words – may you take my dad’s words and tuck them in your heart.

“I love you. And I’m praying for all your friends. And golly gracious me, I’m praying for you. I love you so much. Amen.”

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• Stay at The Franklin our treasure in small town, Texas! Airbnb link here.
• Listen to more of Sara Davis Regan’s music

Curiosity can change your life. It allows you to reframe your past, your present, your future. It leaves room for the realization that God does things his way – which doesn’t always coincide with our ways. But when we step away from our own way of seeing and believing … we just might experience his ways as higher, more amazing, awe inspiring.

I ride a pony named Derby. He is an angel of a fella. A good citizen. Stable and reliable. One of my favorite things about him is that he responds to me in a curious way instead of a fearful or aggressive way. 

In today’s episode, I talk a little about Derby and horses. I talk a little about Moses in the Bible. And then I connect those because I believe our God given creativity is a key component in perspective and courage. 

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• Check out my shop for some goodies! Little loveys show up there all the time. 
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• Stay at The Franklin our treasure in small town, Texas! Airbnb link here.
• Listen to more of Sara Davis Regan’s music

I’ve heard from so many of you. The worried mom in Texas, the anxious attorney in California, the fearful daughter in Florida. You are my people. I love you. You need to remember you’re not crazy. I understand. And you are not alone. God is right there with you. Hearing you, healing you. And He’s the one who is totally able to keep you from being an active fear-er all your life.

Here are a few powerful verses I pray when I am afraid. Keep them close, take deep breaths, and remember you are not alone.

God is home.

Lord, through all the generations you have been our home! Psalm 90:1

God is my hiding place.

For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory. Psalm 32:7

God is on my side.

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Psalm 56:3

Peace for me begins by remembering that God is not half way round the earth engrossed in some natural disaster and unaware. Instead, he is active and present on my behalf even when I feel the rise of all kinds on uncertainty. God is home. God is my hiding place. God is on my side. 

Okay, couple ways little things…if you appreciate this podcast, could you share it with a friend? That way the Simple Prayers Podcast will get legs of her own and march about into peoples space. And they’ll find the rest that comes in prayer. 

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• Listen to more of Sara Davis Regan’s music

Here we are at the start of a new school year. I see the school bus rolling down the road and I’m thinking back to teachers throughout my life— and the teachers my kids had growing up. I am so grateful for each and every one of them.

Teachers hold such a special place in our lives and are in such an important position to develop tender hearts and minds. With the start of the school year kicking off, let’s bless the teachers that so willingly step into the classrooms everywhere.

Let’s pray this again and again for our teachers. Let’s be the kind of people that makes muffins, delivers gift cards, fulfills Amazon wish lists and support our teachers. Sound good? YAY! 

Okay, couple ways little things…if you appreciate this podcast, could you rate and review it? Or share it with a friend? That way the Simple Prayers Podcast will get legs of her own and march about into those quiet spaces in a person's life. And they’ll find the rest that comes in prayer. 

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On Saturday, after dinner, Will and I were sitting in the family room. I was watching a movie and he was on his computer. He simply said, “Someone just tried to kill Trump.” What …? “Someone shot and hit Trump at an event.” I rushed to where he was sitting and in less than one minute was able to see Trump, hear the gun shots, see blood on his face, and watch secret service pounce onstage. Instantaneous coverage. On a worldwide stage, a gunman makes news. Rattling us all.

I have a history witnessing gun violence and murder. For me it was in a classroom when a student – a 13 year old neighbor kid – walked in my English class and shot and killed my teacher. I relate the whole story in a book I wrote almost 10 years ago called Unafraid: Trusting God in an Unsafe World.

Incidents like this and more, touch that trauma inside my soul deeply. So I’m sharing the prayer that I needed; rather, the declaration I needed when I completely broke down in a most debilitating post traumatic stress episode. (It’s a section highlighted in Unafraid – a chapter’s worth – so if this doesn’t set with your soul, I encourage you to get the book for a more gentle approach.)

I hope you'll pray with me. 

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• Stay at The Franklin our treasure in small town Texas! Airbnb link here.
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A couple of weeks back, my son and his two oldest sons (my precious grandsons :), came to visit. We enjoyed a rainy June morning following a small frog hop around our patio. Then we curled up on the couch watching a show the boys love. I loved listening to them gush about their favorite characters, trucks, and other things little boy things.

As I moved at my grandson’s pace, I learned about their lives. Slowly. Joyfully. It made me remember that life doesn’t need to move so quickly. Especially when there is such glorious wonder in moving at the pace of children.

If you have trouble with moving slowly, let's ask God together for something to rattle and wake us to the importance of it all. 

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Will and I recently celebrated our 39th anniversary. We met when I was 16 years old, got married when I was 21, and two years into our marriage we started our family. We basically grew up together – and we’re growing still. Marriage is refining work!

The word refine means to free something from impurities or unwanted material- another meaning behind it, is to improve or perfect something by pruning or polishing. These descriptions aren’t the most sunshine-y, but they do give us a great depiction of what refinement can look like in a marriage. Often, the most crucial and delicate of refinement comes through those who knows us best (like our spouses!). They see us in every circumstance, including short comings and suffering—and these times are ones when refinement can show up best.

For these times, I wrote a prayer based on a couple of verses found in Ephesians. I hope it gives your courage to embrace refinement and grow your marriage.

With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. - Ephesians 4:2-3

SHOW NOTES:

• Check out my shop for some goodies!
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• Stay at The Franklin our treasure in small town, Texas! Airbnb link here.
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