Cultivate by Lara Casey

Week 1: Introduction — Tired of Striving

Read the Introduction of Cultivate by Lara Casey.

Before diving into what it means to cultivate an intentional life, Lara Casey asks us to stop and honestly name the exhaustion we have been carrying — and consider whether there might be a better way.

Discussion Questions

7 questions

1.Casey opens by confessing that she spent years chasing a picture-perfect life — the right look, the right career, the right image — only to find herself empty. What is your version of that pursuit? What have you been striving after that has left you feeling more depleted than fulfilled?

2.She describes the moment she realized that 'making it happen' on her own terms was actually working against her. Have you had a similar moment of recognition — a point where your own striving clearly wasn't working? What did that feel like?

3.The gardening metaphor is introduced early as the book's central image. What is your instinctive reaction to that metaphor? Does it feel hopeful, frustrating, or something else — and why?

4.Casey is honest that cultivating a good life is slow work and that most of us are not patient people. On a scale of 1–10, how patient are you with slow growth — in your garden, your relationships, your own character? What does your answer reveal?

5.She distinguishes between a 'perfect life' and a 'good life.' In your own words, what is the difference? Which one have you been more focused on building, and why?

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Closing Prayer

Full guide

Lord, we confess that we are tired — tired of striving, tired of performing, tired of trying to grow something perfect in our own strength. We come to this study with worn-out hands and hopeful hearts. Teach us what it means to cultivate rather than force, to trust Your timing rather than demand our own. Give us the courage to be honest about the soil of our lives — the hard places, the depleted places — and the faith to believe that You can grow something good there. We surrender our grip on perfect and ask You to root us in what is true and lasting. Amen.

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