Deeply Rooted

By Candle L. Barnes

We often walk around feeling disconnected, misunderstood, or frustrated with where we are in life. Sometimes we are going from place to place taking bits and pieces of experiences or lessons but not truly applying all that we have learned in those places. Just as a tree is planted and its roots start to really connect with the soil to grow, we need this same thing in our relationship with God. When a tree is rooted in fertile soil, you will see the fruit of that soil. It is receiving all that it needs to grow such as nutrients, water, and sunshine. We can tell by the fruit or the leaves the tree is producing that it is well nurtured and taken care of. This is what happens to us when we deeply root or connect ourselves to God and his Word. Join in on this journey of life lessons and how being deeply rooted in God in every area of your life will cause you to grow and create beautiful fruit.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9781639619641

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Deeply Rooted

Candle L. Barnes

ISBN 978-1-63961-963-4 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63961-964-1 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Candle L. Barnes

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction

Acknowledgments

Day 1

Rooted in Peace

Day 2

Rooted in Peace

Day 3

Rooted in Peace

Day 4

Rooted in Faith

Day 5

Rooted in Faith

Day 6

Rooted in Faith

Day 7

Rooted in Value

Day 8

Rooted in Value

Day 9

Rooted in Value

Day 10

Rooted in Focus

Day 11

Rooted in Focus

Day 12

Rooted in Focus

Day 13

Rooted in Giving

Day 14

Rooted in Giving

Day 15

Rooted in Giving

Day 16

Rooted in Identity

Day 17

Rooted in Identity

Day 18

Rooted in Identity

Day 19

Rooted in Worship

Day 20

Rooted in Worship

Day 21

Rooted in Worship

Day 22

Rooted in Forgiveness

Day 23

Rooted in Forgiveness

Day 24

Rooted in Forgiveness

Day 25

Rooted in Prayer

Day 26

Rooted in Prayer

Day 27

Rooted in Prayer

Day 28

Rooted in Purpose

Day 29

Rooted in Purpose

Day 30

Rooted in Purpose

About the Author

Introduction

Welcome, and thank you for picking this up and deciding to make it a part of your day! God gave me most of these devotionals during a time where I was mailing out monthly encouragement from my ministry CircleConnect7. I was working toward month four, and I felt led to save some of the encouragement that would later turn into Deeply Rooted.

I believe the best way that people connect is through honesty. I know it's hard for us sometimes to be transparent and present our authentic selves, but I believe that's where the deepest bonds are formed. I've connected so deeply with people who have walked in the freedom of who they are unapologetically. It took me a while to get there! It takes some work to strip off the persona you have built up and open yourself up to be fully exposed, but at that moment, that's when God uses you. He didn't create you to be someone else. He created you to be just who you are! I hope that through this devotional, you learn to embrace who God created you uniquely to be and grow closer in His Word. When you put your trust in God and deeply root yourself in Him, not only will He guide you, but He will also fill you with His peace so that no matter what you are facing, you will stand strong and sturdy just like the roots of a tree. Root yourself in Him. He's the anchor to all that is you and your journey to living the most amazing life.

Acknowledgments

First and most importantly, I want to thank God. I thank Him for choosing me to create and share something like this with others. Not a single part of this devotional could have come together without God's guidance and blessing. I am so grateful, and I hope that it really blesses others the way it has blessed me. Next, I would like to thank my husband Cecil CJ Barnes. He is by far the most supportive person in my life. He believes in me more often than I believe in myself, and for that, I love him deeper and consider myself the most blessed woman in the world. Thank you to each and every person that has supported me, encouraged me, or poured into me over the years. It's through you that I was able to grow, heal, and learn and was able to accept the things that God laid in my heart to do. Lastly, I want to thank my beautiful children: Samara, Arianna, and Micah. You guys motivate me to be the best version of myself. I hope and pray that you've learned from me the importance of loving God, yourself, and others. Thank you for loving me just as I am. I love you.

Day 1

Peace

Rooted in Peace

Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–7 NLT)

We all worry. It's a natural part of being human. But do this, think about something that you have stressed out over. I mean you worried yourself silly. You couldn't sleep. You couldn't eat. You just thought about it day and night. You worried about the outcome. You didn't know how it would come together. You tried to figure it out, and everything you came up with didn't quite work. Then fast-forward to when the moment has passed. Did it work out? Did it come together? Maybe not perfectly, but somehow it all just kind of fell into place or maybe it didn't fall into place how you thought it would, but still you're not worried about it anymore. Be honest, half of what you worried about in your head didn't even happen, did it?

When my ex-husband and I first got divorced, part of our divorce decree was for the girls to go with him for six weeks in the summer. For a mom who has always been with her kids and had never spent more than a day away from them, this was more than nerve-racking. I worried, not because their dad wouldn't take care of them. I was sure that he was going to feed them, bathe them, and meet all their other basic needs. Moms tend to care about more than just the physical needs, but the emotional needs are important as well. I worried that he wouldn't understand what they needed, he would misinterpret something, or he would ignore certain little things that were important to them—things I always did for them like how I cut the crust off their PB&J sandwiches. Maybe he would forget to give my youngest her little bear that she needed nightly to go to sleep with. The list was endless of the things I worried about. I didn't want them to be sad. I didn't want them to think that Mommy left them. But I also recognized the importance of them being with their dad. So they went. It was the longest summer of my life. The first three weeks were torture. I didn't know what to do with myself. I would work and then come home feeling lost. I didn't have little people to worry over or chase after. I wanted to call them every day all the time but refrained from doing so.

Then we moved into week four, and something about that week made me start to relax a little. The girls were doing fine. I had more freedom than I had ever had in years. I started realizing I didn't have two little people to worry over and chase after. I could eat what I wanted when I wanted to. I could stay up as late as I wanted and sleep in on a Saturday. I could go hang out with my friends any time of the day that I wanted to. I started taking myself out to dinner or lunch, going to the movies, and I even took a trip to Florida to see my best friend. For the last three weeks, I fully committed to