what would it be? The one thing that you wish you could create and put on your wall? Maybe something for your kids room? A painting of your favorite vacation spot? I teach beginner classes on Sunday mornings. Come join us! Painting for Drawing Dropouts.

Someone you love is going through something difficult. You care about them. You want to help. You want them to know they’re not alone. And then you notice that you’re having a perfectly lovely day while they’re still struggling. That feels so uncomfortable, doesn’t it? I’ve been thinking about the difference between empathy and over-sympathy the last few years. Romans 12:15 encourages us to celebrate with those who celebrate and weep with those who grieve. But where does sharing someone’s sorrow end and carrying their burden begin? I’m curious how others navigate this. Can you feel genuine compassion for someone who’s hurting and still feel completely at peace yourself? 💗

I love that today’s Quiet Time doesn’t ask us to become less compassionate. We’re reflecting on what it looks like to love people with both gentleness AND wisdom. Our Scripture is Romans 12:15. Celebrate with those who celebrate and weep with those who grieve. There’s such a beautiful picture of empathy in those words. We can enter into someone’s joy. We can sit with them in their sorrow. We can genuinely care about what they’re experiencing. And we can do all of that while remaining grounded in the peace Holy Spirit has given us. That’s what we’re exploring in today’s Cheshvan Quiet Time and Colouring Page. The colouring page is a gentle opportunity to slow down, meditate on the Scripture declaration and give Holy Spirit room to bring something to our attention. And the complementary Quiet Time Reflection takes us a little deeper with this question. 🦋 When was the last time you were tempted to resist true Empathy because you felt Overly Sympathetic? Sometimes the answer surprises us. Sometimes we recognize how much has already changed in the way we love others. I’d love for you to enjoy tomorrow’s colouring page, which I’m sharing here for FREE. 💗 And if you’d like the complementary Quiet Time Reflection to go with it, comment 🙋‍♀️ and I’ll share it with you!

There’s a difference between sitting with someone in their sorrow and feeling responsible for making their sorrow go away. And sometimes that difference is surprisingly hard to recognize. Especially when we love the person dearly. Over-sympathy can make another person’s pain feel like something we’re supposed to carry ourselves. We may find ourselves thinking about their situation long after the conversation ends, trying to find a solution or feeling uneasy about enjoying our own blessings while they’re struggling. Today’s Quiet Time focuses on Over-Sympathy resisting Empathy. And one thing I love about this focus is that we’re invited to notice whether our compassion is coming from a place of peace or whether we’re taking responsibility for something Holy Spirit hasn’t asked us to carry. That can be a very different conversation from simply asking ourselves whether we’re being loving enough. Have you noticed a difference between supporting someone through a hard season and feeling responsible for getting them through it? 💗

I've been thinking about this question lately. We can read Scripture, underline a verse, listen to a sermon, or finish a Bible study—and still move into the rest of our day without allowing what we learned to change anything. But what if we asked one more question before moving on? "Lord, how do You want me to live this today?" Maybe the Scripture we read changes how we respond to someone who irritates us. Maybe it affects a business decision. Maybe it means apologizing. Maybe it means waiting instead of rushing ahead. Maybe it simply reminds us to include Jesus in an ordinary part of our day where we normally wouldn't think to. This is something we've been talking about as I've been building Hungry 4 Jesus: not simply learning more about Jesus, but knowing Him more deeply and putting what we're learning into practice. I'm curious: What helps you take something you've read in Scripture and actually carry it with you into the rest of your day?