It's another giveaway day to celebrate the launch of my book A Heart Set Free: A Journey to Hope through the Psalms of Lament

But before I tell you about the giveaway, I want to share an excerpt from my book:

"If you are human, then you are an emotional being. Some emotions are pleasant, like happiness, contentment, and excitement. Others are burdensome and bear down heavy, like sorrow, shame, worry, and envy. For some of us, negative emotions can be ﬂeeting and for others they are constant companions. They can rule our days, govern our choices, and steal our joy. What’s more, we know we shouldn’t be slaves to our emotions but we just don’t know what to do with them. Do we reject them? Try to never experience them? Give in to them?

We live in an age where there is a quick ﬁx to every problem. Answers to our questions are found at the strike of a key. There’s a Wiki page, Pinterest board, and YouTube video for every quandary or issue we can imagine. We can like, pin, tweet, and share countless ideas and solutions to all our problems. Some of those solutions and answers are helpful. Some indeed make an impact. But seldom are they long-lasting and rarely do they provide the real hope we desperately need.

What happens when we don’t ﬁnd the answers to our problems, when we can’t ﬁnd peace through our Google searches, or when the solutions we have found fail us? What do we do when we are worried about our children or fearful about the unknown future? What do we do with those emotions? When the sorrow just won’t lift and the loneliness is more than we can bear, where do we go for help?

For some of us, we seek comfort in food, shopping, or Facebook to quell the emotional turmoil stirring in our hearts. We might busy ourselves with projects or work long hours to keep our mind oﬀ our pain. We might look at our circumstances and seek to change our situation in the hope that we will ﬁnally feel at peace once our life has changed.

The truth is, there are many ways we seek relief from the pains and problems of this life and there are many sources that seek to sell us the solution to all our problems. But the question I want to raise to you is, in the midst of all your painful emotions, how often do you look to God in His Word for help and hope? How often do you turn to Him when you feel anxious, distraught, or abandoned? How often do you bring your burdens to your Savior?

God’s Word, in particular the Psalms, is a rich resource for help when we are hurting. They provide comfort and hope. In fact, the Psalms, especially the Psalms of Lament, give us a structure for how to express our feelings. They remind us what is true. They point us to God’s love and faithfulness. They help us journey through the dark valleys until we can emerge on the other side and bow in grateful worship." (pg. 15-17)

Today's giveaway is a copy of my book, a hand painted journal by Sara Vrooman Designs, and an ESV journaling Bible.