Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Review: Cultivate: A Grace-Filled Guide to Growing an Intentional Life By Lara Casey








  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Thomas Nelson (June 27, 2017)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0718021665
  • ISBN-13: 978-0718021665



Book Description

A flourishing life is possible—no perfection required!
Women often feel like they have to have it all together in order to live a meaningful life. Instead they feel inadequate, overwhelmed, and exhausted as they to figure out how to do it all. Author, business owner, and mom to three Lara Casey offers sound and grace-filled advice: “We can’t do it all, and do it well. But, we can choose to cultivate what matters.”

Welcome to the journey of getting messy in the rich soil of possibility—embracing imperfect, grace-filled progress to grow a life of joy.

Written as part encouragement anthem and part practical guide, Cultivate offers wisdom from God’s Word alongside lessons Lara has learned in her garden. Woven throughout is her personal story that helps release readers from the pressure to achieve and gives them freedom to move from planning to planting a meaningful legacy. “It’s in the imperfect—the mess of the dirt--that good things grow,” Casey reminds readers. “Peonies grow through the dirt, and so do we.” Readers will learn to embrace the season they’re in, finding balance as they interact in fresh ways with their current life scenarios, with God, and in the communities where they are planted.

Special features include

  • Actionable Cultivate It prompts throughout the book
  • A ten-week Cultivate Together discussion guide with questions for small groups
  • “Grace from the Garden” vignettes provide encouragement and inspiration
Find the joy and the freedom that comes in cultivating what matters, little by little, with God’s transforming grace.

Cultivate is delightful and breathes grace through every page. Lara gives inspiration to nurture life through the seasons in which we find ourselves. Reading this book will make you feel that you have a personal friend standing by your side to give you encouragement to live your life well.”
SALLY CLARKSON, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF OWN YOUR LIFE, THE LIFEGIVING HOME, AND DIFFERENT

Cultivate is rich soil for the soul! Whether you are a new sprout, just beginning to brave life in the light; a tender shoot fighting for space among rocks and weeds; or a mature plant in need of nurture and pruning, this book will help you thrive. With her characteristic honesty, humility, and patience, Lara Casey uses her spiritual ‘green thumb’ to gently nudge us toward an intentional life of godliness and growth. Scriptures and stories from Lara’s own spiritual journey inspire us to self-reflection without self-sabotage and progress without perfection. Journal prompts and reflection questions help to demystify the growth process and break it down into manageable steps. If you are ready for a new season of spiritual growth, dig into Cultivate and get ready to bloom!”
ELIZABETH LAING THOMPSON, AUTHOR OF WHEN GOD SAYS “WAIT”

“Lara’s commitment to growth, in both her personal life and in business, has long inspired me. To lead an authentic life, we must look inward for answers. In the pages of Cultivate, she candidly shares her triumphs and failures, and her secrets to success for growing a purpose-filled life. What an incredible gift to the world!”
ERIN BENZAKEIN, FARMER-FLORIST AT FLORETFLOWERS.COM, AUTHOR OF CUT FLOWER GARDEN

“I loved Cultivate. Through these pages, we learn to embrace the season we’re in: when to get our hands dirty, when to rest, when to prune, and when to wait. Lara shows us through examples and actionable steps that the best things—whether that’s a garden of colorful zinnias or an intentional life focused on what truly matters most—are not created all at once, but through the little-by-little.”
INDIA HILL, TWENTYSOMETHING WRITER AT BOOKSANDBIGHAIR.COM

“Are you exhausted, weary, or worn out from trying to keep it all together? Cultivate is a life-giving read that invites you to pause and choose a different path. Lara’s authentic voice will encourage you to let go and embrace the messiness of a truly abundant life. You’ll be refreshed and ready to step toward an intentional life rooted in what matters most.”
EMILY ENOCKSON, RELUCTANT FARM GIRL AND SERVANT LEADER AT ZACHARIAH’S ACRES

“This book will help you know about God and growing things. I like the part about the butterflies and bees.”
GRACE ISAACSON, AGE 5



About the Author

Lara Casey is a mom to three (one through the gift of adoption), a grateful wife, and a believer in the impossible. She created the PowerSheets grace-filled goal setting planner and the Write the Word journals, and she founded Southern Weddings Magazine a decade ago. Lara is also the author of Make It Happen: Surrender Your Fear. Take the Leap. Live On Purpose. She lives in Chapel Hill, NC, and loves getting her hands dirty in the garden.

My Review

Cultivate: A Grace-Filled Guide to Growing an Intentional Life by Lara Casey is the just released book by the creator of PowerSheets which is a Christian goal setting planner.

I love how the author Casey uses gardening to define the goals of this book. Check out the table of contents:


PART 1: PREPARE YOUR GARDEN
1. Cultivate What Matters —Grace from the Garden: Garden Company
2. Embrace Your Season —Grace from the Garden: Be the Bees
3. Dream Like a Gardener —Grace from the Garden: All the Plants I’ve Killed
4. Nourish Your Soil —Grace from the Garden: Mama Bird Knows Best 

PART 2: DIG IN
5. Plant Your Seeds —Grace from the Garden: U-Pick Memories
6. Grow in the Wait —Grace from the Garden: Metamorphosis
7. Tend Your Garden —Grace from the Garden: Celebration! 

PART 3: SAVOR THE FRUIT
8. Harvest Contentment —Grace from the Garden: Heirloom Plants
9. Flourish with Others —Grace from the Garden: Garden Markers
10. Preserve the Fruit —Grace from the Garden: The Day I Thought I Would Lose the Garden


I am reviewing the ebook edition which has a note-taking function to record your thoughts wherever you see the bracketed instructions [Your Notes] or [Your Response]. And you can use your device’s highlighting function to record your response whenever you are asked to checkmark, circle, underline, or otherwise indicate your answer(s). What an excellent tool to use on your iPad, etc.

Be sure to check out the goodies to go along with this book at:  http://laracasey.com/cultivate/

Cultivate:  A Grace-Filled Guide to Growing an Intentional Life by Lara Casey would be a wonderful woman's bible study book. I will definitely recommend this one if asked. Highly recommend.

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