Karen Ehman - Settle My Soul: 100 Quiet Moments to Meet with Jesus

Praise for Karen Ehman and Ruth Schwenk

Just one moment with Jesus is enough for our hearts to be transformed forever. Pressing Pause creates a space for this type of life-changing encounter to take place. In this collection of thought-provoking and heart-mending truth, Karen and Ruth have created an opportunity for women in any stage of life to meet with Jesus. Surely there is no sweeter thing.

B ECKY T HOMPSON, AUTHOR OF H OPE U NFOLDING AND FOUNDER OF S CISSORTAIL SILK

Pressing Pause is perfectly portioned for busy moms, ideal for a morning devotion or a quick perspective shift in the middle of a crazy day. Ruth and Karen understand the challenges of motherhood and speak right to the heart with truth, humor, and hope.

K AT L EE, SPEAKER AND WRITER AT I NSPIRED T O A CTION.COM

Too often moms get caught up in the daily chaos of managing home life, work, and children. Ruth and Karen meet their readers where they are in the hard reality of lifegently leading them to a God who waits to sit and give them rest.

S ANDRA E. M ADDOX, FOUNDER AND COORDINATOR OF T REASURED M OMS M INISTRY AT S ADDLEBACK C HURCH, AUTHOR OF T IFFANY AND T HE T ALKING F ROG , AND BLOGGER AT T HE A RTOF D OMESTICITY.COM

Hoodwinked reads like an encouraging letter from a friend. It is full of grace, biblical wisdom, and inspiration. Many books on motherhood leave me wondering if Im doing it all wrong. Karen and Ruth are bravely transparent and meet us moms right where we are. This book gives us the hope and encouragement we need in the midst of weary days.

C OURTNEY J OSEPH, AUTHOR AND BLOGGER AT W OMEN L IVING W ELL.ORG, HOME OF G OOD M ORNING G IRLS

Karen and Ruth understand what it is to battle the voices of guilt, anxiety, and inadequacy that plague many mothers who want to give their best to their children. In Hoodwinked, they share life-changing truths that all mothers can grab hold of, not just to survive the journey of motherhood but to thrive in confidence and joy.

C HRYSTAL E VANS H URST, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF S HES S TILL T HERE

Karen Ehmans blog was one of the first I ever read, and shes never stopped being a mentor to me. Her words here speak my heart languageand echo the heart of God.

A NN V OSKAMP , N EW Y ORK T IMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF O NE T HOUSAND G IFTS AND T HE B ROKEN W AY

Ruth Schwenk is an ambassador for us moms in the trenches. She knows the worries that weigh heavily on our hearts, and she gets the mom guilt that threatens to steal the joy from our parenting journeys. And she is passionate about helping us grow through it and find freedom in it.

J EANNIE C UNNION, AUTHOR OF M OM S ET F REE

A teacher at heart, Karen skillfully weaves together biblical examples, hard-earned wisdom, and real-life stories to create a resource our world desperately needs.

L IZ C URTIS H IGGS, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF T HE G IRLS S TILL G OT I T

Through vulnerability and sharing personal stories of her own motherhood journey, Ruth inspires moms to intentionally pursue becoming better moms as we all seek to be more like Christ. Ruths stories of motherhood and marriage are relatable, letting us know that none of us is really alone in our struggles.

J ENNIFER S MITH, AUTHOR OF T HE U NVEILED W IFE AND W IFE A FTER G OD

Karen Ehman is a breath of fresh air. She provides faith-filled inspiration and practical ideas for taking notice of others, using our words wisely, and scattering Gods kindness in an often negative world. I wish every one of my social media followers would listen to and follow the advice in her Keep It Shut message.

C ANDACE C AMERON B URE , N EW Y ORK T IMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR, ACTRESS, AND PRODUCER

Ruths [writing] will give you a counselor to listen to, a friend to walk beside you, and an experienced voice from someone who has learned to seek Gods grace and truth every step of motherhood.

S ALLY C LARKSON, SPEAKER, BLOGGER, PODCASTER, AND AUTHOR OF NUMEROUS BESTSELLING BOOKS INCLUDING T HE M ISSION OF M OTHERHOOD , D ESPERATE , AND T HE L IFEGIVING H OME

ZONDERVAN

Settle My Soul

Copyright 2019 by Karen Ehman and Ruth Schwenk

ePub Edition February 2019: ISBN 978-0-3100-9541-5

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc . Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc .

Scripture quotations marked AMP are from the Amplified Bible. Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version). Copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked CSB are from the Christian Standard Bible. Copyright 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible, and CSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version, public domain.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc ., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Authors are represented by the literary agency of The Fedd Agency, Inc ., P. O. Box 34173, Austin, Texas 78734

Art direction: Adam Hill

Interior design: Lori Lynch

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Please note that footnotes in this ebook may contain hyperlinks to external websites as part of bibliographic citations. These hyperlinks have not been activated by the publisher, who cannot verify the accuracy of these links beyond the date of publication.

To Courtney, for showing us how to let Jesus settle our souls, no matter what life may bring

Contents

Hi, friend. Is your day jam-packed with obligations and never-ending to-do lists? If youre anything like us, the answer is yes! If so, start here: Turn off your phone notifications. Ignore the dirty laundry for a little longer. Stop thinking about the work project thats on a tight deadline or what youre going to cook for dinner tonight. If these things leave you feeling frazzled, what you need most isnt better time-management skills or tips for worrying lessyou need a settled soul.