Ann Voskamp's Blog, page 116
September 15, 2018
Only the Good Stuff: Multivitamins for Your Weekend [09.15.18]
Happy, happy, happy weekend!
Some real, down in the bones JOY to celebrate today! Links & stories this week 100% guaranteed to make you smile a mile wide & believe like crazy in a Good God redeeming everything — and that there’s love everywhere & for ((you))!
Serving up only the Good Stuff for you right here:
wanderingnotlost_
wanderingnotlost_
wanderingnotlost_
just captivated by all this wonder right here
they’re on to something here: going above and beyond at this senior community
brilliant: this architect is crafting homes from trash
how dog training is helping these troubled teens get back on track
what a gift!?!
Here’s something for anyone who’s ever felt the nagging frustration of wondering if her life is too small, too boring or too ordinary to make a difference. Join longtime friends and bestselling authors, Lisa-Jo Baker and Christie Purifoy on their new podcast, Out of the Ordinary, as they explore the surprising ways that cultivating ordinary life leads to extraordinary stories.
because we all need to be loved
so the experts weigh in: Parents Who Raise Successful Kids Do These 7 Things
breathtakingly beautiful: the most amazing glass sculptures we may ever see?
daniela_rodriguezph
daniela_rodriguezph
daniela_rodriguezph
this photographer? too good not to share: “I always wanted to be a writer, I even wrote short stories when I was 13 years old. Life took me down another path and I discovered that not everyone who reads can actually write. So I became a storyteller without writing.”
they come running to her call
it would be a joy to meet you at one of these upcoming events here in Canada!
We are living in the midst of a world refugee crisis, and there is real opportunity to make a difference – specifically in Canada.
Join me at one of these events? And come learn how you can be a part of resettling a refugee family from crisis to community. #BeTheGift #TheBrokenWay
she needed to clean up the messes that she made — and they tore down some walls together
cheering: this school janitor’s closet? she’s turned it into one huge act of love for the students
an unlikely pastor with an extraordinary story and calling
I Wish Someone Would Have Warned Me About Mommy Meltdowns for every mama
the calm at Wrightsville Beach… just days before the storm
What Is the Place of Faith in My Unanswered Prayers?
you’ve got to meet this 9 year old artist – wise beyond her years
How to Love Like Jesus in 5 Steps
maybe the best story this week? she’s dressing men looking for work — “It’s a battle I wouldn’t change for the world”
kinda never gets old
How Do I Know if I Love God?
There may not be a more important question to ask yourself than, “Do I love God?” In this lab, John Piper explains how you can know the answer.
bethany.seibel / Instagram
livingrealmag / Instagram
How do you live a genuinely abundant life?
In sixty vulnerably stories, the tender invitation of The Way of Abundance moves you through your unspoken broken — into the abundant life.
Pick up your own Way to Abundance & start your journey to the abundant life
on repeat this week: Trust in You
At the end of the day, Lord — Cause us to see how You moved today. Set everything inside of us at peace now.
We trust You’re doing what’s best — when we can’t see Your hand, we’ll trust Your heart.
Keep us alive with what we need & let us give away the rest because this is what makes us fully alive.
Keep us in close company with You & keep us in forgiving company of others because we are in close company with You. Keep us bold enough to keep taking leaps of faith.
Keep us from safe lives — they are the most dangerous to our souls.
You’re in control & we take our hands off our lives! And as the world spins in Your hands tonight, we look up at stars & know You’re always all our Beautiful Light — Yes. Yes. Yes.
In the name of Jesus’ who loved us to death,
Amen
[excerpted from our little Facebook family … come join us each day?]
That’s all for this weekend, friends.
Go slow. Be God-struck. Grant grace. Live Truth.
Give Thanks. Love well. Re – joy, re- joy, ‘re- joys’ again
Share Whatever Is Good.
The post Only the Good Stuff: Multivitamins for Your Weekend [09.15.18] appeared first on Ann Voskamp.
September 12, 2018
How to Love Like Jesus in 5 Steps
Les Parrott (often with his wife Leslie) has written some of the most practical marriage and relationship books I’ve ever read. And in his new book, Love Like That, Les takes this same down-to-earth approach in showing us how to love others like Jesus – including our friends, family, colleagues and even strangers. Love Like That makes this lofty and too often our-of-reach ideal more attainable, and more doable. It’s a grace to welcome Les to the farm’s front porch today…
I’m not a softhearted poet. I’m not a people-pleasing idealist.
I live with full-throttle ambition and no shortage of self-interest.
I’m impatient and sometimes insecure.
I jockey for position and I like exclusive privileges. I can be judgmental, insensitive, petty and resentful.
Oh, and I can be cheap and stingy.
But I want to love like Jesus.
Why? Because I know it’s the best way to live.
When we love like Jesus we are lifted outside ourselves.
We shed self-interest. His brand of love sees beyond the normal range of human vision – over walls of resentment and barriers of betrayal.
When we love like Jesus we rise above petty demands and snobbish entitlement. We loosen our tightfisted anxiety and relax in a surplus of benevolence.
Most of all, the Jesus model of love inspires our spirit to transcend who we are tempted to settle for.
It insures that we are following the best way to live, “the most excellent way.”
I want to love like that.
Getting Real
But can anyone really love like Jesus?
After all, He raised the bar of love to extraordinary heights. Love your enemies? Walk the extra mile? Turn the other cheek? Seriously? This is love beyond reason, isn’t it?
Of course. And that’s the point.
To love like Jesus we need to think and feel. We need reason and emotion. We need both our head and heart, working together.
It’s the only way to bring perfect love into our imperfect life.
Here’s the truth: when you open your heart, love changes your mind. Let that sentence soak in.
Your mind can do an about-face when it receives a divine impulse from your heart. Your mind can be transformed when it listens to your heart. You’ll experience a revolution in your thinking when you allow your heart to enter the conversation. It’s what Paul was getting at when he said, “You’ll be changed from the inside out” (Romans 12:1 MSG).
If you are looking for a reasonable love you’ll miss out on an extraordinary love. You will miss out on the power to find a love you didn’t know you had.
Five Practical Steps
I’ve been on a long quest, truly for decades. I’ve wanted to know how the ideal model of love could rub off on my imperfect life. And here’s what I’ve learned: Loving like Jesus is more obtainable than you might imagine.
His teaching and example reveal at least five distinct and practical qualities of His love:
If you want to love like Jesus, you’ve got to…
become more mindful– less detached
become more approachable– less exclusive
become more grace-ful– less judgmental
become more bold– less fearful
become more self-giving– less self-absorbed
Is this an exhaustive list of how Jesus loved? Of course not. But it’s a way to get an earthly handle on this heavenly ideal. Time and again, Jesus demonstrated these five qualities and spoke about them, not as unreachable ideals. These are doable.
The Payoff
One of my biggest concerns in writing about this is that you might feel that loving like Jesus means becoming a doormat.
A weak wimp. It’s a common misperception. And it’s not true.
Nor is it true that when you love like Jesus you miss out on all the fun.
Some people think that loving like Jesus means sacrificing happiness. They think it’s all about self-denial. They think it will squash joy.
They are wrong.
Numerous studies find that the ability to practice love in our daily relationships is the defining mark of the happiest of human beings.
When people engage in self-giving love by doing something extraordinarily positive, they use higher-level brain functions and set off a series of neurochemical reactions that shower their system in positive emotions.
God designed us to have a driving desire for happiness. It’s bred in our bones. It’s in our DNA. God wants us happy.
But too often what we think will make us happy, what will give us abiding joy, won’t.
In fact the great hindrance to true enjoyment is our willingness to settle for pitiful pleasures. We become accustomed to such meager, short-lived pleasures that we miss out on the deepest enjoyment of all.
I’m optimistic about you and me. I believe we can both become better at loving like Jesus.
Why? Because this love isn’t illusive. It isn’t pie-in-the-sky. It isn’t out of reach or relegated to untouchable saints.
It’s real.
Jesus gives us practical steps to love in extraordinary ways.
He calls us to embody these five qualities.
Are they difficult? You bet.
But not insurmountable.
Will you and I fail in living them out? Absolutely.
But don’t be discouraged.
For it’s in our failed attempts that we learn to better travel the most excellent way.
Les Parrot, Ph.D. is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and psychologist. He and his wife, Leslie, live in Seattle with their two sons.
His new book, Love Like That, just might revolutionize all of your relationships. In this inspiring, utterly practical new book, Dr. Les Parrott writes a viable prescription for becoming more loving with family, friends, coworkers, and even strangers. In his trademark approachable style, he takes the latest findings from psychology and sociology and blends them with biblical teaching to reveal five transformative ways of relating to people demonstrated by Jesus himself: being mindful, approachable, grace-filled, bold, and self-giving. Les puts the cookies on the bottom shelf and makes doable what so often feels beyond our reach. Incredibly practical and extraordinarily helpful.
[ Our humble thanks to Thomas Nelson for their partnership in today’s devotion ]
The post How to Love Like Jesus in 5 Steps appeared first on Ann Voskamp.
September 10, 2018
How Relational Cynicism Snuffs Out Hope, and the Antidote
This man is not only a brilliant, fresh voice on the subject of personal growth and health, and a powerful one — he has become one of the kindest and wisest of friends and mentors to the Farmer and I, he and his wife coming to the farm for dinner, and us having the best BBQ at his home with his prayer warrior wife, Toni. Carey Nieuwhof has spent decades leading people in ministry, overcome obstacles that we all face in one season or another, and endured a season of personal burnout of his own, Carey writes with intimate wisdom. I could not esteem this man more. It’s an absolute grace to welcome Carey to the farm’s front porch today…
Great friendships are life-giving and amazing.
And when they go bad, they can be devastating, piercing the heart like few things can.
Ever have one (or two, or five) go bad on you?
I have.
I never expected to be a pastor. But in the middle of law school, I experienced a call into full time ministry. Fast forward a few years, and we found ourselves in some little churches. And like all young couples, among all the things we were searching for were some friendships.
We found some. Great ones.
These were the kind of friends you do life with: concerts, dinners, holidays. You know the kind of people you just can’t wait to see.
As a guy, I’ve always found friendships a little challenging. Many guys can relate to that.
But these were good, laugh-till-you-cry, hang-out-all-day-long relationships.
But within the span of a year, half of our closest friendships disintegrated. For some strange reason, the relationships imploded. Before long, they didn’t go to our church anymore, and worse, they weren’t our friends anymore.
It hurt. Deeply. And I’m still a little confused as to how it all went down. Attempts to make things right didn’t work.
I know I had a role in the painful situation, but it’s all a bit mysterious and murky. And for the first time in my adult life, I felt cynicism harden my heart like quick-set concrete.
All of this led me to decide (for a season) to go down the road every cynic travels. I’m pretty sure you can relate because something similar has happened to you.
Eventually, the wariness makes you weary. Your guardedness and suspicion evolve into anger and bitterness.
After those friendships dissolved, I told my wife Toni, “I don’t need friends. Really. Friends were a bad idea. I’m fine on my own.” Dumb, I know. But that was my pain speaking. And at the time, it made perfect sense, especially to a guy.
In fact, it was far safer than the risks new friendships would involve.
It’s rarely the first round of anguish that breaks your heart permanently.
For me, there had been a few previous friendships that had also faded over the years. Eventually, I questioned whether people were worth the bother. At times I even wondered if I had some fatal flaw embedded in my personality that doomed friendship.
The problem with generalizing—applying one particular situation to all situations—is that the death of trust, hope, and belief is like a virus, infecting everything.
You think you’re protecting yourself from the future, when in reality your new stance infects your present.
The people you care about most in the here and now suffer.
That’s because the cynic projects his newfound suspicion on everyone and everything. Your current relationships stall out or dial back a few notches. The withdrawal isn’t just from the future; the cynic retreats from the present as well.
So you become numb to the people you claim to love most, even your spouse and kids.
You find yourself predicting cynical endings to moments that used to fill you with joy. You might also find yourself becoming jaded at work. You don’t really want to get to know the new guy because, well, you already know what he’s like.
Cynicism is so cruel that way. When I was at my most cynical, the thing that died within me was hope—hope that the future would be better than the past, hope that the next time could be different, hope that my heart would feel again. Hope that new friends could be trusted.
Cynics find hope hard because hope is one of cynicism’s first casualties.
And that leads us to the ultimate antidote for cynicism, which happens to be the foundation for the Christian faith: hope.
The concept of hope is a thread that runs through the scriptural narrative and is at the epicenter of what people call the gospel (literally, “good news”).
The remarkable part of Christianity is not that we have a Savior who came to deliver us but that we have a Savior who sees us for who we really are and loves us anyway.
Instead of letting our inhumanity be the final word, God entered into the mess in human form through Jesus and conquered hate with love. We threw the worst of humanity directly at Jesus: hatred, abuse, ridicule, rejection, and death.
And God turned it into life. And not just life for Himself but also life for us, for humanity, for the very people who killed His Son.
The cynics thought they were winning on the last Thursday of Jesus’s life. They were certain they had the final word on Friday. They were in control. Despair had won. Even the disciples thought so.
They went home, back to fishing. But nobody saw Sunday coming.
Nobody saw hope rising.
No one saw love breaking out from the ashes of hate.
Nobody saw Jesus coming back.
Nobody saw that the man they were trying to destroy would become the friend of sinners.
The remarkable part of Christianity is not that we have a Savior who came to deliver us but that we have a Savior who sees us for who we really are and loves us anyway.
Jesus stared hate in the face and met it with love. He confronted despair and made it abundantly clear it wouldn’t win.
The thrust of the gospel is that Jesus sees your hate and meets it with love.
He sees your despair and counters it with hope.
He sees your doubt and lobs belief back at you again and again.
Cynicism melts under the relentless hope of the gospel.
Your past isn’t your future. Not if you get Jesus involved.
Bitterness can’t linger under the relentless assault of love.
Hope cannot die if an empty tomb empowers it.
After a year or so of running, I decided to do one of the most vulnerable things I’d done: to open myself up again to new friendships, to hope again, to believe again.
My faith insisted on it.
Of all people on earth, Christians should be the least cynical.
After all, the gospel gives us the greatest reasons to hope.
We don’t just cling to an intellectual claim or proposition.
Our hope isn’t based on an emotion or a feeling. It lives in a person who beat death itself and Who loves us deeply enough to literally go through hell to rescue us.
So what were you discouraged about again?
Because hope is anchored in resurrection, it is resilient.
It can withstand failed friendships. It can outlast a dozen or a hundred frustrating jobs. It can outmaneuver ten thousand broken hearts.
If you want to kick cynicism in the teeth, trust again.
Hope again. Believe again.
That’s the hope found in Jesus Christ.
And that, in the end, is what defeats cynicism.
Carey Nieuwhof is founding Pastor of Connexus Church and the best-selling author of several books. Carey speaks to church leaders around the world about leadership, change and personal growth. He writes one of today’s most widely read church and leadership blogs and hosts the top-rated Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast where he interviews some of today’s best leaders. His podcasts and blogs are accessed by millions of leaders each year. On a recent visit to the farm, I had the humbling privilege of interviewing Carey for his Carey Nieuwhof Leadership podcast. In a wide-ranging, intriguing podcast, Carey and I talked about his background as a lawyer prepared him for ministry and life and we both discussed the seven things Carey believes every leader, which is every single one of us, needs to overcome to thrive. I could listen to Carey’s wisdom for hours: Feel free to listen here.
His new book, Didn’t See It Coming, is a page-turner that will show you how to be free of the very things that threaten your most important relationships, your biggest dreams, your career and your life. He helps you avoid and overcome life’s seven hardest and most crippling challenges: cynicism, compromise, disconnectedness, irrelevance, pride, burnout, and emptiness. These are challenges that few of us expect but that we all experience at some point. If you have yet to confront these obstacles, Carey provides clear tools and guidelines for anticipation and avoidance.
[ Our humble thanks to Waterbrook for their partnership in today’s devotion ]
The post How Relational Cynicism Snuffs Out Hope, and the Antidote appeared first on Ann Voskamp.
September 8, 2018
Only the Good Stuff: Multivitamins for Your weekend [09.08.18]
Happy, happy, happy weekend!
Some real, down in the bones JOY to celebrate today! Links & stories this week 100% guaranteed to make you smile a mile wide & believe like crazy in a Good God redeeming everything — and that there’s love everywhere & for ((you))!
Serving up only the Good Stuff for you right here:
Romain Jacquet-Lagreze / Instagram
Romain Jacquet-Lagreze / Instagram
Romain Jacquet-Lagreze / Instagram
these extraordinary photos? they’re taken in one of the world’s densest cities glory, glory, glory
so these two?!? can you even?
at 94? he volunteers at the hospital – and is so loved
so we circled ’round this one!
seriously?!? this anonymous kidney donor? turns out to be surprise of a lifetime
because we all need a friend to just sit and listen
this one’s for every teacher – what a great idea?!? A sensory path hallway
we can all do this: On this teen’s first day back, his school life changed thanks to one act
best: This veteran had his dogs taken away while he was in the hospital. The video shows him with regained health, and coming in to place a deposit to buy them back. He’s surprised to find that someone has already paid the bill in full and he gets to take the dogs home with him.
Goran Anastasovski
Goran Anastasovski
Goran Anastasovski
just wow: brilliant photos captured in sepia mode
a breathtaking view from space: all of the earth is full of His glory
fun ideas! 25+ Rock Painting Ideas to Transform Ordinary Stones Into Dazzling Art
heart exploding over this one
it would be a joy to meet you at one of these upcoming events here in Canada!
We are living in the midst of a world refugee crisis, and there is real opportunity to make a difference – specifically in Canada.
Join me at one of these events? And come learn how you can be a part of resettling a refugee family from crisis to community. #BeTheGift #TheBrokenWay
have you ever heard Psalm 23 recited in quite his way? kinda undone
Simona Siniauskaitė
Simona Siniauskaitė
Simona Siniauskaitė
her stunning photography ‘saves her from depression’
at nearly 100 years old, and more than 55 years into his marriage — he still longs to be by her side
When You’re Tempted to Give Up: 6 great points to refer to again and again
a very brave young girl defying so. many. odds.
this chorus knows the heartbreak of fading memories
he’s a man on a mission – to end loneliness #BeTheGift #TheBrokenWay
Want the gift of light breaking into all the broken places, into all the places that feel kinda abandoned?
These pages are for you. It’s possible — abundant joy is always possible, especially for you.
Break free with the tender beauty of The Broken Way & Be The Gift …
And if you grab a copy of Be The Gift? We will immediately email you a link to a FREE gift of THE WHOLE 12 MONTH *Intentional* Acts of Givenness #BeTheGIFT Calendar to download and print from home or at your local print shop! Just let us know that you ordered Be The Gift over here.
You only get one life to love well.
Pick up Be The Gift & live the life you’ve longed to
an unforgettable story on friendship and forgiveness
on repeat this week: Living Hope
God is at work. He does not slumber.
Christ intercedes. He does not fail.
The Spirit comforts. He does not forsake.
Be at rest. Be at peace.
Your name at the end of the day is Beloved.
[excerpted from our little Facebook family … come join us each day?]
That’s all for this weekend, friends.
Go slow. Be God-struck. Grant grace. Live Truth.
Give Thanks. Love well. Re – joy, re- joy, ‘re- joys’ again
Share Whatever Is Good.
The post Only the Good Stuff: Multivitamins for Your weekend [09.08.18] appeared first on Ann Voskamp.
September 5, 2018
The Gift of Becoming a Woman Who Reads
Sarah Clarkson is a writer who yearns to bring beauty, imagination, and great books to women around the world. Her blog is a source of contemplation and comfort, a place where readers can find spiritual courage and beauty for the road. Sarah is passionate about the power of reading to strengthen faith and form all sorts of goodness in the minds and souls of readers. She’s spent a decade writing and teaching on the power of stories to form children, but in Book Girl, her latest book, she writes about the profound grace that reading has been to her as a woman, a gift she cannot wait to share with women around the world. It’s a grace to welcome Sarah to the farm’s front porch today…
I sat in the rainy half-light of my tiny English living room, in the blank silence of the loss of my first child, a “little bean” I would never meet.
The world had gone so quiet.
My heart was so, so cold.
I found I could not command my feelings, either of sorrow or of hope.
Grief felt like the suspension of normal life—as if my entire being had been tossed up in the air and I was waiting to see what would crash to the ground and what was still safe.
The old things I loved—cooking, walking, writing—there was no help or joy in those for now.
I simply sat.
a woman who reads has learned how to hope
But reading was so deeply part of my habits that I found myself skimming a book brought by a friend before I really thought about what I was doing.
In that gray light I read about Julian of Norwich’s vision of something that looked “small as a hazelnut” but was actually the whole world, cradled in the palm of God’s hand, and her knowledge that “God made it. . . . God loves it. . . . God preserves it.”
I remembered that my baby was about the size of a hazelnut when he died.
I read on and found Julian’s luminous affirmation, chanted down through the war-torn ages, that because of the love of God “all shall be well, all shall be well, all manner of things shall be well.”
And I began to weep as my mind filled with the image of my own lost babe, held like the hazelnut of the world in the palm of God’s hand—not lost, but found, and waiting for me.
And in that moment I lived afresh the knowledge that a woman who reads has learned how to hope.
She understands that the grief of the present, small sorrow or searing pain that it may be, is not the final word.
“Love,” as Chris Rice croons in his ballad, “has the final move,” and the best stories teach a woman who reads how to frame her sorrow within the larger tale of both human endurance and divine redemption.
A good story, a piece of true theology, a radiant poem help us to look beyond the darkness of the present toward what Tolkien called “joy, joy beyond the walls of the world,” the light that endures beyond all pain and one day will invade our broken world to “wipe every tear from [our] eyes” (Revelation 21:4).
But a reading woman is also a realist; she lives in this broken place, and she grapples with the daily stuff of life in a fallen world.
Broken bodies, shattered relationships, a world in which wars and flat tires and miscarriages are daily realities—this is her story, and the great works of fiction and theology show her what redemption looks like in ordinary time.
I find it ironic that the reading of novels is sometimes criticized as an escapist activity, because some of the novels I love best are the ones that have taught me how to accept and survive the most grievous facts of my life.
It was Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country that first made me honest enough to admit the way personal pain made me doubt God’s goodness or the way grief made ordinary life feel pointless.
But it was that same book that showed me the possibility of a creative, stubborn faith that could endure even in total tragedy. Set in South Africa, in the era of apartheid, with two fathers grieving two sons, Paton’s story confronted me with this conversation:
“This world is full of trouble, umfundisi. Who knows it better? Yet you believe? Kumalo looked at him under the light of the lamp. I believe, he said, but I have learned that it is a secret. Pain and suffering, they are a secret. Kindness and love, they are a secret.
But I have learned that kindness and love can pay for pain and suffering. There is my wife, and you, my friend, and these people who welcomed me, and the child who is so eager to be with us here in Ndotsheni—so in my suffering I can believe.”
I needed those words…
some of the novels I love best are the ones that have taught me how to accept and survive the most grievous facts of my life.
Those words were the first in a series of novels that helped me to understand and see in character and plot that redemption isn’t something zapped down upon us but rather is rooted in the “deeper magic” (in Aslan’s terms) of God with us in the broken place, bearing our sorrow and turning death backward.
In the vision of Sam Gamgee, exhausted and alone in the deserts of Mordor, I learned that hope isn’t found in the absence of suffering but in glimpses of “light and high beauty” that help us to believe that “the darkness is a small and passing thing.”
Through the works of George Eliot and her tale of an abused and desperate wife who discovers God’s love through a preacher’s compassionate words, I learned that my small sorrows don’t leave me unable to help in “the blessed work of helping the world forward,” if only I will choose to act, to hope, to work.
Her words that “the real heroes of God’s making” come into their action “by long wrestling their own sins and their own sorrows” was a rallying cry to me, a challenge to rise from discouragement and learn to love, work, and hope again.
In your own journey, I’m sure you have discovered ‘comfort books’, those whose words have spoken light and hope to you as you sojourned in the shadowlands.
Whatever they are, I hope that they have taught you, like me, that we have the power to choose a gentle and holy defiance.
I can resist despair by choosing instead tiny, daily acts of creativity, kindness, beauty, and prayer, acts rooted in “the greater love that holds and cherishes all the world,”
and makes our lives a story whose ending is anchored in hope.
Sarah Clarkson is a writer fascinated by the way that beauty, imagination, and great books inform and inspire the life of faith. Through her blog, books, and current studies as a student of theology at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford, she explores the spiritual significance of story, the intersection of theology and imagination, and the capacity of beauty to give us hope. Her previous ‘books on books’ (Read for the Heart and Caught Up in a Story) explore the power of reading to profoundly shape a child’s heart and mind for good, while The Lifegiving Home, the book she wrote with her mom (Sally Clarkson) considers the powerful gift of home and the belonging and hope it brings.
In her newest release, Book Girl: A Journey Through the Treasures and Transforming Power of a Reading Life, Sarah explores the gift of the reading life and its power to shape and grace every season of a woman’s experience. Through personal essays, themed and unique book lists, and stories exploring her own journey as a reader, Sarah invites women – long time book girls and those new to the reading life – to discover books as companions whose wisdom and beauty offer hope, comfort, and joy in every phase of life’s journey.
[ Our humble thanks to Tyndale for their partnership in today’s devotion ]
The post The Gift of Becoming a Woman Who Reads appeared first on Ann Voskamp.
September 3, 2018
The Work of Suffering that Brings Hope
Nabeel Qureshi’s ministry is one marked with a courageous passion for God and a commitment to making His name famous. It all began with a bold decision to convert from Islam to Christianity, and recognizing the potential of losing his devout Muslim family in the process. Despite hardship, Nabeel chose to fulfill his calling, sharing the truth in love through speaking, writing, and debating. The hope and power of God were evident in Nabeel’s life, and he remained fully devoted to Jesus until he drew his final breath in September of last year. Nabeel’s wife, Michelle, is dedicated to the continuation of his ministry. She shares with us today poignant lessons learned these past several months as well as excerpts from her contribution to the third edition of Nabeel’s memoir, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus... it’s a grace to welcome Michelle to the farm’s front porch today.
guest post by Michelle Qureshi
“Nabeel will give you a ring…I want you to be with him.”
I had been dating Nabeel Qureshi long-distance for a mere four months at the time.
On May 30th, 2007, God spoke clearly to me, making known His intentions regarding our relationship. I was unreservedly committed—my heart was smitten, and my spirit trusted my Lord’s desires. Eight months later, we were engaged.
On September 16, 2017, after nine years of marriage, Nabeel was welcomed home to heaven for eternity.
God knew full well from the beginning what He asked of me.
But while the cost of obedience to the Lord can be high, it will always result in fruitfulness.
In my obedience to marry Nabeel, which was happily in line with my desires, I found myself becoming beautifully refined: my faith deepened as exposure to Christian apologetics taught me to ask myself why I believed what I believed, my hardline personality loosened up in response to Nabeel’s carefree manner, and my tendency to be a homebody was challenged in a healthy way by Nabeel’s adventurous spirit.
Similarly, Nabeel’s obedience to his call to ministry saw many lives changed: his speaking engagements encouraged Christians and non-Christians alike to further investigate their beliefs, his teachings on Islam brought well-rounded clarity, and his writings transformed countless people around the globe.
On August 24, 2016, the cancer diagnosis struck. But not just any cancer: stage 4 stomach cancer, with a 4 percent chance of survival.
Blue Barn Photography
Blue Barn Photography
As the treatments progressed and Nabeel’s condition worsened, I came to realize that, apart from Jesus, I really can’t do anything.
But I also realized that I really can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
When I finally submitted to the fact that a sovereign, good, and trustworthy God was the one in control, not me, I was set free from the hold that fear and anxiety had on me.
God was for me, so, regardless of my circumstances, what could be against me?
Nabeel spent the majority of his remaining weeks hospitalized and in a state of decline.
I began to feel less like his wife and more like just his caretaker; my expectations of him became exposed.
As I cried out to God during that time, He reminded me of how scripture says, “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
That has been true all of my life. All along, even when I wasn’t seeing it that way, God was supplying the needs, sometimes through Nabeel.
He allowed Nabeel to be a conduit for a period of time. It never was a right of mine to have a husband, but rather a privilege.
Even now that Nabeel is no longer here, God is still here and God is still supplying.
His word doesn’t change. He doesn’t change.
While I am finding strength and security by going to God for all of my needs, however, it doesn’t mean I don’t have uncertainties to face.
I felt tremendous peace during Nabeel’s struggle with cancer, and I truly believed I would see him healed.
I obviously find myself in different circumstances now, and I’m going to have to wrestle with that.
There is a lot I don’t know.
But what I do know is that God is big enough to handle our questions.
He is compassionate enough to bring us to greater and deeper truths.
He will lead me through the wrestling.
Nabeel Qureshi was the author of the New York Times bestsellers No God But One and Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, the only book ever to win Christian Book Awards for both “Best New Author” and “Best Nonfiction.”
Raised as a devout Muslim in the United States, Nabeel grew up studying Islamic apologetics with his family and engaging Christians in religious discussions. After one such discussion with a Christian, the two became friends and began a years-long debate on the historical claims of Christianity and Islam. Nabeel chronicled his resulting journey in his first book, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus. Providing an intimate window into a loving Muslim home, he shares how he developed a passion for Islam before discovering, almost against his will, evidence that Jesus rose from the dead and claimed to be God.
Following a year-long battle with stomach cancer, heaven welcomed Nabeel home on September 16, 2017. He leaves behind his wife, Michelle, and a young daughter who aspire to honor the ministerial legacy Nabeel established during his brief 34 years on earth. This revised 3rd edition of Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus is now expanded with new bonus content, including a section of reflections from his wife, Michelle.
[ Our humble thanks to Zondervan for their partnership in today’s devotion ]
The post The Work of Suffering that Brings Hope appeared first on Ann Voskamp.
September 1, 2018
Only the Good Stuff: Multivitamins for Your Weekend [09.01.18]
Happy, happy, happy weekend!
Some real, down in the bones JOY to celebrate today! Links & stories this week 100% guaranteed to make you smile a mile wide & believe like crazy in a Good God redeeming everything — and that there’s love everywhere & for ((you))!
Serving up only the Good Stuff for you right here:
the whole earth is full of His glory
Marla Michele Must / @EnchantedPhotographyMichigan
Marla Michele Must / @EnchantedPhotographyMichigan
Marla Michele Must / @EnchantedPhotographyMichigan
What’s more fun than a barrel full of monkeys? (A bucket full of frogs, of course!)
some help for when we’re feeling stretched too thin
for the past 10 years? at 94, this Veteran Shares Fist Bumps with Middle School Students
“He’s like an angel, you can’t help but feel calm and peace when you go near him.”
she’s always full of great ideas: Hosting Tips for Introverts Like Us
Freedom of speech on full display after family fights for mural for their autistic son
we’re smiling at these brave first steps
might you consider attending this worthwhile event?
a special daddy daughter dance after her first round of chemo
this nonprofit lifts spirits of lonely seniors, logging more than 1 million phone calls who can we call today?
they’re on to something here: On the outside, King’s Kitchen is a regular restaurant. But inside, the owners share their faith by hiring people considered “unemployable” and giving back to their community.
just so grateful for the work of Seed Company
There are still over 1 Billion people without the complete Bible in the language they understand best. It is Seed Company’s mission to translate the Bible into every language of every people group, to the ends of the earth.
Where I’ll be this fall, Lord willing? It would be a joy to meet you!?
they’re living large and proving you’re never too old to keep moving
Yawning at Majesty: How to Fight Boredom with the Bible
Honest answers by children to the questions (1) Why do kids need families? (2) What does the word “orphan” mean to you? (3) If you had one wish for orphans, what would it be?
Every child in this video was once an orphan. But they are now cherished sons and daughters on forever families
tears…This woman is helping grieving parents heal
Video of 2-year-old boy learning to walk inspires millions
Want the gift of light breaking into all the broken places, into all the places that feel kinda abandoned?
These pages are for you. It’s possible — abundant joy is always possible, especially for you.
Break free with the tender beauty of The Broken Way & Be The Gift …
And if you grab a copy of Be The Gift? We will immediately email you a link to a FREE gift of THE WHOLE 12 MONTH *Intentional* Acts of Givenness #BeTheGIFT Calendar to download and print from home or at your local print shop! Just let us know that you ordered Be The Gift over here.
You only get one life to love well.
Pick up Be The Gift & live the life you’ve longed to
one of the most beautiful stories you’ll see on the internet this week?
Grace Arrives When You Need It
on repeat this week: I am Not Alone
So this is the thing:
Instead of focusing on the hurdles ahead of you,
Focus on Him beside you,
Instead of depending on your plan for this week,
depend on His power for this moment.
Instead of being tempted to give up, or give into fear,
give thanks — this gives Him glory.
Instead of trying to do it all
Simply let Him be your all.
Lord, cause me to live an INSTEAD kind of life —
because One loved me enough to give Himself in my stead.
[excerpted from our little Facebook family … come join us each day?]
That’s all for this weekend, friends.
Go slow. Be God-struck. Grant grace. Live Truth.
Give Thanks. Love well. Re – joy, re- joy, ‘re- joys’ again
Share Whatever Is Good.
The post Only the Good Stuff: Multivitamins for Your Weekend [09.01.18] appeared first on Ann Voskamp.
August 29, 2018
When you’ve got to figure out how to live loved
Teaching children about God’s never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and Forever Love is something that my dear friend Sally Lloyd-Jones has done well. You can’t help but fall in love with this woman of deep theological truths and endearing warmth. She has a way of preaching the gospel to children (and adults too) that I’ve never experienced before. And our kids have literally been raised up on The Jesus Storybook Bible (over a million copies sold!) and now Sally is giving little ones their very own introduction to the Lord’s Prayer in her new board book Loved. It’s a humbling grace to welcome Sally to the farm’s front porch today…
guest post by Sally Lloyd Jones
I’ve just returned from our annual family vacation in Cornwall.
Cornwall is the landscape of my childhood. We’ve been coming here since I was 6. (And now my nieces and nephews have been coming here since they were tiny, too.)
In the very early morning, my little sister and I would set off with our nets in search of ponds, and tadpoles, and adventures.
I love Cornwall. It’s wild. It’s romantic. And stunningly beautiful.
We can bring everything to Him. Nothing is too small.
The beauty has to do with the glorious landscape, of course—the dunes, the cliffs, the rugged coastline. And it has a lot to do with the golden light, too. It is always changing. Every day it makes the landscape new. New every morning.
Like His kindness to us.
And that’s the other thing I love about the landscape of Cornwall. It is filled with symbols like that, pointing you to truth—everywhere you go, reminders of God’s care.
The great, granite rocks reminding you of the Rock that is higher than you, stronger than you, where you can go to shelter from the storm. (And, this being Cornwall, of course, we get plenty of those.)
The sheep grazing in the fields, reminding you of your Shepherd who loves you.
The signposts on the footpath, reminding you of your Guide who leads you in the way you should go.
The tiny swifts on the wing, reminding you of the one who feeds and cares for all that He has made—even the smallest.
Sally Lloyd Jones / Cornwall
Sally Lloyd Jones / Cornwall
Sally Lloyd Jones / Cornwall
Sally Lloyd Jones / CornwallThe wildness of the landscape, the wind, the ocean, the power—all of them reminding you of the depth of His love, and the greatness of His Power.
The beauty all around you—evidence of His creation and His care.
It’s like walking in a landscape of love. A landscape made by the one who asks us to call Him Father, Abba, Papa.
Daddy, basically.
Think about that for a moment.
The Mighty One, the Creator of the Universe, the great King of Heaven asks us to call Him … Daddy.
My pastor, Tim Keller, often reminds us: who has the right to wake up the King in the middle of the night for a glass of water?
Only one person.
His child.
We have that kind of access to the King of Heaven.
And it’s why I wrote my new book—a paraphrase of the Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6. It’s called Loved and it’s illustrated by Jago.
The Lord’s Prayer is all about the access we have to the King of Heaven.
Every day, He feeds us, guides us, leads us, protects us. He provides all that we need.
Every day He gives us a new start. And every day He says we can come to Him as a child to her father. Any time.
Even in the middle of the night. And He will hear us.
We can bring everything to Him. Nothing is too small. He loves us like that.
Oh, there’s one other thing I didn’t tell you about Cornwall. It is actually the setting of Loved. (The landscape is close to Jago’s heart too, you see, because he lives there. Exactly where we have been going all these years. How great is that?)
If you look, you can spot the landmarks of North Cornwall: Pentire Point, Gull Rock, Stepper point. The Camel Estuary. The beaches of Rock and Polzeath.
In the book, we follow a group of little children as they go exploring together. Setting out in the morning (much like my sister and I, with our nets in search of adventures), and heading home at dusk. Talking to their Heavenly Father. Walking in a landscape of love.
One of my heroes, Corrie Ten Boom, said faith is simply this: “The Fantasic Adventure In Trusting Him.”
I love that. Don’t you always want to live like that?
Every day, setting out on the fantastic adventure in trusting Him, walking in a landscape of love.
This woman? She writes words that makes my heart split the happiest relief. Sally Lloyd Jones is a British children’s book writer who was born in East Africa, raised in England at a boarding school, studied at the Sorbonne and moved to the states in 1989 “just for a year”. She’s still here.
She is New York Times bestselling award winning writer—and sometime performer of her work—who has written over 25 children’s book, including: the critically acclaimed, How To Be A Baby, By Me, the Big Sister and The Jesus Storybook Bible,which has sold over 2.5 million copies and has been translated into 35 different languages; Thoughts To Make Your Heart Sing winner of the ECPA Devotional Book of the Year; and Baby Wren, a 2017 Christopher Award winner. Her now newest and highly anticipated book LOVED, illustrated by Jago, based on the Lord’s Prayer. Little ones will fall in love with this padded board book that shows even the youngest readers how to talk to God.
[ Our humble thanks to Zondervan for their partnership in today’s devotion ]
The post When you’ve got to figure out how to live loved appeared first on Ann Voskamp.
August 27, 2018
When Life is Still in the Midst of a Fallow Season
Before Grace P. Cho and her family left their home in Las Vegas to move back to Southern California, she knew the coming season would be one of fire and wilderness. It was to be a time for healing and sanctifying, for finding her worth and identity in who God made her to be, as a Korean-American woman leader and writer. The most painful parts of that season ended a year ago, and now she’s learning to live in the season that comes after the fire. It’s a joy to welcome Grace to the farm’s front porch today…
The clouds of smoke have thinned out, and the sky is clear again.
It’s back to the pale blue of a hot summer day, and the sun shines as it did before, unfiltered and bright.
I don’t see them when I look up, but when I look down, black and white ash flit down from the sky and speckle everything around me.
Fire is burning thousands of acres across Southern California right now. They’re calling the one closest to us the “Holy Fire,” an apt name for what it represents for me as I write this. It consumes all that it touches, moving wherever the wind blows, and it leaves behind a land that lies charred and fallow.
I didn’t know how to have room in my life, to hold space and emptiness and be still in the quiet of not being rushed.
There is a stillness that comes after the fire, a period that stretches longer than we’d like with nothing happening on the surface.
I’m sitting in that stillness now, in my own fallow season of life.
I thought I’d be in the middle of spring or summer by now, bursting with vibrant shades of green.
I came out of a wilderness season last year, where I felt like a seed under a winter’s ground, lying cold and dormant, waiting to thaw and die to birth new life.
I assumed it had been winter and so expected spring, choosing cultivate as my word for this year and arming myself with books and plans to grow.
But now I look back and see it was more like God had set a fire to the land, turning me inside out and exposing what needed light and air. It was a sanctifying, all-consuming flame, intentionally set and controlled by His hands of grace but a fire nonetheless.
And what came after was fallowness — a season to rest and reset, to be replenished and renourished.
But I was so used to having my hand at the plow, my knees dirty from the work, that I didn’t know how to do nothing.
I didn’t know how to have room in my life, to hold space and emptiness and be still in the quiet of not being rushed.
I hadn’t learned to rest while in the wilderness season before, so preoccupied with simply making it to the next day.
I became bewildered by the lack of momentum in my life. I didn’t know what to do with my arms and hands. They felt awkward and unsure of themselves. I didn’t know if I should raise them in praise for the rest I was to enjoy or move them at twice the speed to be productive.
But every attempt to start cultivating anything felt like striving, like Adam toiling away at the land after it had been cursed.
But the lack of cultivation in my life wasn’t a curse; it was meant to be a blessing.
Yet I resisted and wanted evidence of labor instead — sore muscles in my body and soul and tangible fruit from it. I wanted God to till the soil in me deeply and quickly. Dig out all the weeds, God! Let everything be upturned so Your work can be done through me!
I wanted to learn and transform and grow in all the ways I needed, as fast as I could learn it.
I wanted to hurry up and know how to rest well so I could be ready for whatever work God had in store for me and for the harvest that was surely to come.
But God was inviting me to watch His ways and learn from Him, to sit and see what He could do out of the ashes left from the fire.
And like a gentle mother, He pried my fingers off the plow. It wasn’t mine to hold anymore.
He whispered to my soul that fallow seasons aren’t meant for hurry. They’re meant to undo the hardwired muscle memory of labor, to reorient our bodies, minds, and souls to the unrushed pace of God. They’re meant to teach us to dance to the unforced rhythms of grace.
Fallow seasons are meant to bring life in a way it hadn’t been before. They aren’t seasons of death though it may look like it on the surface for a moment. Instead, they are the transition period between death and new life, between ashes and beauty.
The transition is slow. When all the sanctifying of my character and the healing of old wounds in the wilderness season didn’t magically turn into blossoms, my impatient self was confused. I expected it to be more like a time-lapsed video where a seed sprouts into a flower in just a couple of minutes.
But God has the clarity of seeing things from eternity to eternity. He is not bound by time, and so He is patient.
He is never annoyed with the slowness of transformation but always delights in the intricate care of redeeming burned things.
And He is not done with us in the midst of fallow seasons.
We are the land being cultivated. We are the farmer, sitting and watching His grace do its work.
We are the wildflowers that will bloom. We are all these things, but we are not the sower.
God is the one who does the work of cultivation.
He is the Good Sower — not of plants grown in perfect rows or roses that grow in neat flower beds.
He is a Sower who flings the seeds of wildflowers into the field, cares for them, and delights in their unpredictable beauty.
He is the one who invites us to rest as He does the work and to wait in peaceful expectation for what’s to come.
He burns away the old with fire and cultivates the land for the new things He is doing in our lives, allowing light and water to reach down deep, awakening and breaking open the seeds that have laid dormant before to thrive in the soil He has made good.
What will come is a mystery, and we gain nothing when we rush into seasons we’re not ready for.
So sit with Him, rest with Him, watch Him do His good and holy work while the land still lies fallow.
Grace P. Cho is a writer and editorial manager at (in)courage. She has written for The Mudroom, GraceTable, Inheritance Magazine, and is also on the writing team at (in)courage. In the middle of her years in church ministry, she sensed God moving her toward writing, to use her words to lead others in a broader context. Aside from her work online, she does this through speaking, discipleship, and one-on-one mentorship. She also uses her editing skills to help authors on book projects and entrepreneurs with their websites.
Grace and her husband James live in Southern California with their two children, Autumn and Peter. You can find her at www.gracepcho.com and on Instagram (@gracepcho).
The post When Life is Still in the Midst of a Fallow Season appeared first on Ann Voskamp.
August 25, 2018
Only the Good Stuff: Multivitamins for Your Weekend [08.25.18]
Happy, happy, happy weekend!
Some real, down in the bones JOY to celebrate today! Links & stories this week 100% guaranteed to make you smile a mile wide & believe like crazy in a Good God redeeming everything — and that there’s love everywhere & for ((you))!
Serving up only the Good Stuff for you right here:
Anton Gorlin
Anton Gorlin
Anton Gorlin
oh to feel the gale winds, to smell salty sprays, and to enjoy the raw, raging sea
Visarute Angkatavanich / Instagram
Visarute Angkatavanich / Instragram
Visarute Angkatavanich / Instagram
this photographer? captures aquarium fish like no other
this panda doesn’t realize she’s given birth to twins… a beautiful plan was made to help them both survive
The invisible work of a stay at home mom
all creatures great and small: This abandoned ant colony revealed how genius these tiny creatures are
love this: When Goalie Loses First Game 11-0, His Dad Posts Clip of His Saves and Prompts Outpouring of Support
can you even imagine the wonder of this!?!!
We can’t wait for the new (in)courage Devotional Bible to be available on October 1st! ( Here’s the devotional I wrote which will be included in this Bible: Give Thanks for Storms)
But you don’t have to wait until October to peek inside — sign up here for a FREE sampler! You’ll receive two full books of the Bible (Esther and Romans), several devotions, reading plans, and more!
a special place for all of the book lovers out there
in this back-to-school season? a salute to the many unsung heroes
consider joining me here next month? The Justice Institute Immigration and Advocacy
The Justice Conference believes that every Christian should pursue justice as a consistent lifestyle. At this event, we will teach you the practical steps to advocating for better national policy regarding immigration and other issues that affect marginalized people groups. Learn more here.
there are birch trees everywhere in this city: more than 18, 700 of them! come see why…
this woman pays for stranger’s coffee — and never expected this #BeTheGift #TheBrokenWay
…because kindness matters
Sebastian Magnani, Artist & Photographer / Instagram
Sebastian Magnani, Artist & Photographer / Instagram
Sebastian Magnani, Artist & Photographer / Instagram
just too good not to share? he’s capture the beauty of nature in mirrored reflections
tears: how one man’s anonymous act of kindness rippled in huge ways #BeTheGift #TheBrokenWay
Jessica Marie Photography
Sometimes Real Superheroes Live In The Hearts Of Little Children Fighting Big Battles
he captures mountains in a different light
family grateful beyond words: teacher is donating his kidney to his 12 year old student
“I know God has a plan, regardless of the outcome”
The Grace Case offers you a beautifully inspiring way to not only experience grace, but give grace forward. Will you join us?
We are excited to tell you there are a few spots open for our September Grace Case!
This Night-Out themed box will be filled with gorgeous fair trade treasures, each hand picked and designed by Ann Voskamp, that will bless you and enrich your life. Every item is hand-crafted by a beautiful sister artisan on the other side of our world– You are apart of her story when you buy her creation, create a job for her, and share her story with others.
All profits from your box directly fund Mercy House’s transition home in Kenya, where young, teenage mothers and their babies have been rescued and their lives are being changed by God’s Grace, community, education, job skills training, and so much more. Because embracing Grace always changes the world. Touch her life, her story, all while receiving amazing treasures!
Sign up today or bless someone with this gift?
Veteran gives young diver a lesson in courage
they’re inspiring their community by filling one basket at a time what can we go do today?
kinda undone: we all need somebody to talk to
Post of the week from these parts here
When You Need A Survival Guide for the Soul
you’ve got to meet her: she offers a slice of hope for the homeless #BetheGift #TheBrokenWay
How do you live a genuinely abundant life?
In sixty vulnerably stories, the tender invitation of The Way of Abundance moves you through your unspoken broken — into the abundant life.
Pick up your own Way to Abundance & start your journey to the abundant life
on repeat this week: God of the Impossible
…just for today — DO. NOT. WORRY.
“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” Matt6:34MSG
Just for today: Be a prayer warrior — not a panicked worrier. You either leave your worries with God . . . or your worries will make you leave God.
Worry is just the facade of taking action — when prayer really is.
Bottom line — keep breathing deep and give your worries to God — He’ll give you His peace.
His Word gently lifts our chins:
“The Lord bless you & keep you;
the Lord make His face to shine upon you & be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up His countenance upon you & give you peace.” Nu.6
[excerpted from our little Facebook family … come join us each day?]
That’s all for this weekend, friends.
Go slow. Be God-struck. Grant grace. Live Truth.
Give Thanks. Love well. Re – joy, re- joy, ‘re- joys’ again
Share Whatever Is Good.
The post Only the Good Stuff: Multivitamins for Your Weekend [08.25.18] appeared first on Ann Voskamp.
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