Freely and Lightly

Emily Lex

Description

Your Invitation Awaits You've tried harder. You've been more intentional. You've done everything ';right.' In your search for meaning and purpose, you've placed your hope in many different thingsonly to find yourself at a turning point, quietly asking, Is this it? Is this all there is? If the direction of your life is leading you away from peace, contentment, and true fulfillment, Emily Lex has some great news to share with you: God is offering you a better way. A way of real rest. A way of quiet confidence. A way to free yourself from expectations. A way to become the person he created you to be. A way to learn his unforced rhythms of grace. Do you breathe a sigh of hope when you hear this holy and gentle invitation from Jesus? ';Come to me Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.' If so, then you are ready to accept his offer to recover and renew your life. Start your journey today.

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers
• Date de parution: 02 mars 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780736980388
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 6 Mo

Extrait

ENDORSEMENTS
Freely and Lightly blends a palette of depth, beauty, simplicity, real life, and rich truths to create an artful and compelling invitation to truly rest and enjoy refreshment for your soul.
-Marilyn Vancil, author of Self to Lose, Self to Find: Using the Enneagram to Uncover Your True, God-Gifted Self
We don t deserve Freely and Lightly , but we so desperately need this quiet masterpiece. In a time when life can be loud and abrasive, I m so very grateful for Emily s gentle, lovely, and profound words.
-Knox McCoy, author of All Things Reconsidered
I wholeheartedly believe this: The more you believe God, the more confident you will become. Emily s relatable words and gentle encouragement to let go of self-reliance and to trust who God is and who he made us to be is exactly what women of all ages need to hear.
-Alli Worthington, author of Standing Strong , business coach, and cofounder of Called Creatives
In a culture conditioned to turn toward the loudest voice in the room, Emily Lex shows us the spiritual heft of a gentle soul. Freely and Lightly is an invitation to lay down our burdens, trading the trendy, self-comfort sort of rest for a deep gulp of living water. This book is fresh air and freedom.
-Shannan Martin, author of The Ministry of Ordinary Places and Falling Free
When I celebrated a huge milestone in my life several years ago, Emily Lex sent me a small watercolor of flowers she painted to say congratulations. Every time I look at that small framed painting on my desk, I feel seen and loved. Now we all get an entire book of paintings from Emily! I hope this book will do for you what that painting did for me. With simple beauty and deep faith, Freely and Lightly is the book we need when we feel overwhelmed, overlooked, and undone. I m so grateful to Emily for this kind work of art.
-Emily P. Freeman, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Next Right Thing
This is my new favorite book to gift! Emily s watercolor art and hopeful insights offer grace and peace to all who read Freely and Lightly . You are going to love this little book.
-Jessica N. Turner, bestselling author of The Fringe Hours and Stretched Too Thin
Freely and Lightly is the friend who understands your weary soul, holds your hand, and walks you back toward the truth that brings true rest. Through vulnerable storytelling and exquisite artistry, Emily invites us to remember what it feels like to twirl-to be who we already are and to know the delight of our Father. Join me in reading and gifting this book again and again.
-Nicole Zasowski, marriage and family therapist and author of From Lost to Found
This book is sheer truth, goodness, and beauty-the hallmark trifecta of great art. The words and watercolors Emily has graced us with in these pages call to mind a deeper, more necessary truth than we normally see in the cacophony of life-that Christ reveals himself in the daily delights.
-Tsh Oxenreider, author of Shadow Light , At Home in the World , and Notes from a Blue Bike
Cozy up in your favorite chair. Emily s winsome storytelling will draw you in, and her grace-filled insights and delightful artistry will cause you to linger long in these pages. You ll be glad you did.
-Ruth Chou Simons, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Beholding and Becoming and GraceLaced , artist, and founder of gracelaced.com
As I read Emily s relatable, kind words, the tension in my shoulders relaxed, and I felt greater permission to be myself. Freely and Lightly is aptly named, offering a buoy for the tired soul.
-Kendra Adachi, New York Times bestselling author of The Lazy Genius Way and host of The Lazy Genius podcast
Emily has been bringing beauty into my life for many years now through both her art and her words. She has a unique way of pointing me back to Jesus over and over again in a style that leaves me feeling refreshed. Freely and Lightly is exactly what the world needs right now to help us fight the discouragement and disillusionment all around us. I know you will turn each page and feel your soul growing lighter and your faith becoming stronger.
-Melanie Shankle, New York Times bestselling author and speaker
As you read this book, you will feel your friend Emily s invitation to rest in all that Jesus has to offer. Her words are soothing, her stories are inviting, and her illustrations are beautiful. Grab a blanket, a cup of coffee, and this book, and prepare to be encouraged!
-Jamie Ivey, bestselling author and podcast host
HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Passion Translation . Copyright 2017, 2018 by Passion Fire Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Verses marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Verses marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Verses marked T HE V OICE are taken from The Voice . Copyright 2012 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Verses marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible , 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. ( www.Lockman.org )
Verses marked CSB have been taken 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.
Verses marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Verses marked HCSB have been taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible , Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible , Holman CSB , and HCSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
Verses marked ESV are taken 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.
Published in association with Illuminate Literary Agency
Cover and interior design by Connie Gabbert
Freely and Lightly
Text and artwork copyright 2021 by Emily Lex
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97408
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
ISBN 978-0-7369-8037-1 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-7369-8038-8 (eBook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Record is available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020025791 .
All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author s and publisher s rights is strictly prohibited.
DEDICATION
For the one who is tired and weary. He really will make good on his promise.
CONTENTS
Endorsements
Dedication
The Fine Line
Part 1: We re Invited to Recover Our Lives
1. All Tangled Up
2. Waking Up on a Bus
3. I m Fine (I m Not Fine)
4. Who Am I?
Part 2: We re Invited to Take a Real Rest
5. Pruning Plants and Purging Closets
6. Be Still
7. Measuring Up
8. Don t Forget to Breathe
9. At the End of the Comfort Zone
10. Grabbing the Life Preserver
Part 3: We re Invited to Learn the Unforced Rhythms of Grace
11. Pay Attention to See
12. 40 by 40
13. He Doesn t Throw a Stone
14. Into the Light
15. I Think I ll Get a Tattoo
Part 4: We re Invited to Live Freely and Lightly
16. Finally Twirling
17. Make Good Choices
18. Wear It Well
19. Good and True
20. Beautiful Feet
Epilogue
Thank-Yous
About the Author

INTRODUCTION
THE FINE LINE
I have a T-shirt, and across the front in white block lettering, it reads #TIRED. It is supposed to be a cheeky tee you wear on lazy weekends or with pajama pants to bed or something an adorably overprimped Instagram influencer would put on for a perfectly styled selfie as she hugs a cup of coffee on a Monday morning. I bought it because at that time, I was literally #tired. My iron levels were dangerously low: If I didn t stop and get intravenous drips of liquid iron, I ran the risk of passing out while doing dishes.
Our bodies are magnificently perceptive and often the first to inform us that something s off. Mine was throwing flags and waving its arms and yelling at me, Emily, this isn t working! You must slow down and pay attention. My actions, my pace, my lifestyle, and my way of being were leading me in the wrong direction. My body crashing was the messenger of a much deeper truth I had known but not yet acknowledged: My soul had grown weary, and the things I was throwing at it to try to find satisfaction were not making it better. Something needed to change.
I m beginning to believe that most people come to this turning point; it just happens at different times and seasons and for different reasons. Burdens are not spread around equally, just as our ability to adapt and deal is not equal. But I wonder if all of us eventually look at our lives and quietly ask, Is this it? Is this all there is? It sounds ungrateful, so most of us would never admit the dissatisfaction aloud, but it s th