Like many, Jodie Bivens selects a word to focus on throughout the year. In 2022, her word was treasure.
“I borrowed it from the story of Mary found in Luke 2:19 & 51,” she said. “Mary was treasuring her moments — the joyful moments and the frustrating ones. This related to me because I had noticed a growing pattern of just going through my day, not really paying attention to all of the moments that I should be cherishing. So, I made it my goal to recognize every moment and hold onto them before they slipped away into yesterday.”
From there, Bivens took a small, unused notebook from her drawer, slapped a blank mailing label on it, and titled it “Tiny Treasures 2022.” Every night for a full year, she sat on her bed and thought through the day she was about to lay to rest.
“I closed my eyes, and I would remember the small victories, the frustrations, the laughs, the disappointments, the blessings, and I would write down at least three things in this little journal of gratitude,” she said.
After several months of writing in that journal in 2022, a dream she had always carried in the back of her mind started to emerge out of the shadows — to write a devotional book.
Tiny Treasures is a 40-day devotional highlighting 36 tiny treasures that she discovered, while 4 of the devotions were written by her husband Eric and three sons Ian, Isaiah, and Eli.
Inside the book, after each day’s devotion is a page titled “Today’s Treasures” for readers to write down their own treasures discovered throughout their day. It’s meant to be done at night as you reflect on your day.
“My prayer is that we become more aware of the moments in our day,” she said. “I want to inspire others that joy can be found in the big moments and the tiny ones, too. Joy is a choice. Every day we can choose to either roll our eyes to all the frustrations or find ways to treasure them.”
Currently, the book is available on Bivens’ website, freeandfancy.com.
“Free and Fancy is more than a blog site,” Bivens said. “It’s a ministry to me, to inspire others as a community of faith. Not only can you purchase Tiny Treasures from the website, but you can also read other devotions and ask for prayer.”
Back in the summer, Bivens started doing short video devotionals on social media, @JodieBivens on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram or Facebook. She has also recently spoken at local conferences, which she enjoys.
As far as her future, “wherever God leads me is where I go,” she said.
“If it’s His will for the ministry of Free and Fancy to grow, I will follow,” Bivens said. “I have a motto on my website: ‘Never stop trying. Never stay down.’ But if God gives me nothing else, I am so content with the opportunities He has already provided me. I’m very very grateful.”
