Hope Lyda - What Do You Need Today?: Simple Encouragements for Real-Life Moments

HOPE LYDA

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

I am grateful to Harvest House for partnering with me on this book. Thank you to those who were my generous readers in the processDawn Cadwell, Carolyn McCready, Ruth Samsel, Kimberly Shumate, and special thanks to LaRae Weikert for her life-coach perspective.

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Cover and interior design by Studio Gearbox

Cover photo Allexxandar, Alexander_Evgenyevich / Shutterstock

is a federally registered trademark of the Hawkins Childrens LLC. Harvest House Publishers, Inc., is the exclusive licensee of the trademark.

What Do You Need Today?

Copyright 2021 by Hope Lyda

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97408

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

ISBN 978-0-7369-8201-6 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-0-7369-8202-3 (eBook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020948476

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Contents

W e arent often asked this question. And we rarely ask this question of ourselves. So take a moment before you follow the impulse to move things along quickly by saying, Oh, nothing. Im good. Im fine.

Ill repeat it. Slowly. Kindly. Invitingly. Sincerely.

What do you need today?

Hold the question up to the light. Cradle it like a gift. Present it to your heart, spirit, and mind and see which part of you longs to answer.

When is the last time someone asked you this and waited to hear the answer? If you are unsure how to respond, youre not alone. I believe we arent able to access the answer immediately because we become distanced from our heart needs by busyness, worries, demands at work and home, guilt, years of suppressing what our needs are, or years of feeling overlooked.

For the sake of time or energy, we put aside our needs to deal with what immediately requires attention, and then we forget to return to the tender work of exploring what our spirits seek for refreshment, hope, and joy. God welcomes you to intimately know the landscape of your heart and to enter this place of sanctuary with him.

Your answer matters. Your need might be for peace and quiet while you take a bath. Or maybe you desire direction in your vocation. Or a sense of restoration. Every one of the heart needs is important.

Im here to help you tap into those needs. Ill be right beside you throughout this journey. I want to hold this space as you discover how it feels to have your needs heard and received by a gentle listener who responds with empathy, openness, and humor. Thanks for including me. Okay, I invited myself along... but I have the best of intentions. In life, when Im not here with you, I am a writing companion and coach for authors, a caregiver, a spiritual director, and an author of books of prayer, comfort, and life and faith exploration. I come alongside you to offer encouragement that is born of a prayerful spirit.

For this journey, think of me as a spiritual and life concierge who is at your beck and call. Ring the bell. Buzz the buzzer. Snap your fingers. Yell yoo hoo like a longtime neighbor. Or wave me over. Im ready to sit with you and...

hold the questions and answers with hope

help untangle strands of hard words or struggles

be in silence until discomfort becomes ease

wait with patience for buried needs to surface

laugh about the awkward times and silly moments

pray with you and for you

drape a blanket across your shoulders

offer care packages for each need

deliver gifts to your heart

notice Gods presence

encourage your next steps

celebrate the gift of today with you

After needs repeatedly get buried beneath the demands and distractions, we lose touch with who we are and the value of our days, our lives. I wonder what brings you to self-care. What signaled your soul that its time to listen within, witness your longings, or cry, laugh, or rant? A personal transition, a worldwide pandemic, or anything in between can be what illuminates a vital truthto recognize your simplest need is to recognize your deepest need for the Creator.

When you draw from the mercy of Gods presence, you partake in the sacrament of the present momenta sentiment from the seventh-century Jesuit priest Jean-Pierre de Caussade, who wrote:

O, all you who thirst, learn that you have not far to go to find the fountain of living waters; it flows quite close to you in the present moment; therefore hasten to find it. Why, with the fountain so near, do you tire yourselves with running about after every little rill?

Why do we tire ourselves? Grab your journal to gather insights and comforts, and lets head to the abundant fountain of living waters for refreshment in this moment.

Jean-Pierre de Caussade, Abandonment to Divine Providence (Northport, AL: Regimen Books, 2018), 49.

To recognize your simplest need is to recognize your deepest need for the Creator.

I ts the perfect day for a new beginning. Clear the way, sweep aside hesitations, and set your sights on the hope of something compelling and brilliant. No need to look back and keep checking to see if a few bad days or moments or even years are trailing behind you like a clumsy detective. You can shake the past and place your purpose and intention in the hands of the one who will make a way for you. God is eager to whisper words of hope to your spirit. Hes been preparing your way and awaiting this moment for a long time.

Say goodbye to anything that wont serve you in the days to come. You might be surprised how hard it is to break up with a bad habit, a nickname you always hated as a kid, or a burden youve carried so long that it rests naturally on your hip. (You started to assume it was supposed to be there. Its not. Give it over to Godhe is made to carry this weight.) If parting ways with a worry is tough, promise to write it a letter from a better viewpoint up ahead. You can even sign it xo if that makes you feel better.