Lynn Cowell - Loved and Cherished: 100 Devotions for Girls

ZONDERKIDZ

Loved and Cherished

Copyright 2020 by Lynn Cowell and Michelle Nietert

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ISBN 978-0-310-76997-2 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-0-310-76998-9 (ebook)

Epub Edition July 2020 9780310769989

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, 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.

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Lynn Cowell is represented by the literary agency of The Fedd Agency, Inc., Post Office Box 34193, Austin, Texas 78734.

Michelle Nietert is represented by the literary agency of The Blythe Daniel Agency Inc., Post Office Box 64197, Colorado Springs, CO 80962.

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Ebook Instructions

In this ebook edition, please use your devices note-taking function to record your thoughts wherever you see the bracketed instructions [Your Notes]. Use your devices highlighting function to record your response whenever you are asked to checkmark, circle, underline, or otherwise indicate your answer(s).

To my delightful, talented, God-seeking daughter Sophia. May you hold tight to the love of God you know and may it grow in and through you as each day of your life passes. You are the child I begged God for and He gave me, in you, a gift beyond what I could have asked or imagined.

Love you to the moon and back, Mom

To Abigail and Emma,

With Love, Aunt Lynn

CONTENTS

Hi, Friend!

Im Lynn! Im so excited youve decided to join me in discovering Gods love! Ive been on this journey for a while and do you want to know a secret? The more I learn about how much God loves me, the more I love me! My confidence grows as I discover just how deeply I am loved and how much I am cherished.

Over the years, Ive had a lot of questions about Gods love. And trying to figure out the meaning of love by myself hasnt always gone so well. I didnt come up with the right answers. I thought the amount of love God had for me depended on how often I got it right. If I was doing good, His love went up. If I messed up, His love went down. (I can see this type of love in people around me, so God must be that way too, I thought.) I didnt understand Gods lovehow deep, wide, and perfect it is. He couldnt love me any more than He did right then or does right now!

I think that if I had understood His love better, I would have felt a lot better about myself as I got older. Maybe I wouldnt have struggled so hard to be perfect and get everything right. Just knowing that God loved me no matter what would have relieved a lot of pressure.

Thats why I wrote Loved & Cherished for you! I want you to know now just how crazy God is for you so you can become the best version of yourself!

Ive invited my friend, Michelle, to join us on this journey as well.

Hi! Im Michelle!

Im so excited to join you and Lynn as we all learn and remember how much God loves us and that He loves us more than we could ever imagine. I have been a school counselor and now have my own counseling office. Sometimes girls come talk to me about how they feel about love and not feeling loved. I am so thankful each one of us has God, who loves us like no one on Earth ever could. Im excited to get started, arent you?

Lets go!

STEP 1: READ

Each day, youll find a new devotion with a Bible verse at the very beginning. Read the devotion but take your time! Let God speak to you through the words on each page. If something interesting stands out, grab a pen or highlighter and mark it to remember!

STEP 2: REFLECT

When youve finished the devotion for the day, youll see a section called Living Cherished. This part will help you apply what you read to your own life. It might ask you a question or offer a thought to think on for the day. If you cant answer the question right away, thats OK! Come back to it when youre ready.

STEP 3: PRAY

After youve completed the Living Cherished section, youll find another section called Talking with God. After all, thats what prayer is, right? This section includes a prewritten prayer that you can pray today. If you feel led to pray more than whats written on the page, go for it! This section is to help you grow confident in talking with God each day.

STEP 4: MEMORIZE SCRIPTURE

At the beginning of each section (on ) youll see a page called Meditation Matters. Meditation is simply thinking about something. So when we meditate, or think about Scripture, its a really cool way for us to connect with God! You can refer back to these pages at the end of each day to read, meditate, and try to memorize Scripture.

Praise the LORD! He is good. Gods love never fails.

PSALM 136:1 CEV

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

1 JOHN 4:16 NIV

The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.

JEREMIAH 31:3 NIV

DAY 1

LYNN

So God created humans to be like himself; he made men and women.

GENESIS 1:27 CEV

I wish you and I could go get ice cream together and hang out. (That is if you love ice cream as much as I do!) Id ask about when and where you were born so I could learn about the very beginning of you.

Have you ever thought about why you were created? Well, from the very first verse of the very first book of the Bible, we get a glimpse into why God created you and me. Lets read a few verses from Genesis to find out more!

Genesis 1:1 tells us, In the beginning, God created... Later in Genesis 1:26 (NLT) it says Then God said, Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us... The us in this verse is God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit; the whole God family was there. This is the family we have been born into. Yes, from the very beginning, we have been invited to belong to Gods family. When we were created, God opened the doors of His family wide to us all; for this perfect God loves everybody. That is why we were created. We were created because this loving God had so much love to share He wanted to share it with you and me. That is how John 3:16 starts out, For God so loved the world...