Ann Voskamp's Blog, page 31

Yearning for a Feast of Faith

Evie Polsley is a foodie wannabe. Though you won’t see her at many five-star restaurants (who can afford that?), she is known to visit specific towns just to try out Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives recommendations. But more important than her appetite to explore new types of food is her increasing appetite to grow in her understanding of Scripture. There is nothing like sitting down and enjoying a rich meal from God’s Word. It’s a grace welcome to Evie to the farm’s table today…

Guest Post by Evie Polsley

My husband and I discovered an amazing, authentic, extremely small Mexican restaurant near our first home. It was one of our favorite places to eat, and though we now live fairly far away, we still eat there every chance we get.

We were both raised on Americanized Mexican food, so when we were exposed to the real thing, there was no going back.

Though small, this place has a vast menu, and we were able to experience all kinds of new flavors, textures, and food combinations we would never have thought possible. In our attempt to share this amazing experience with our then four-year-old daughter, we took her often. It was a favorite of hers as well, but every time we walked into the restaurant, she would order chicken nuggets and french fries.

I have to give it to her—even the chicken nuggets and french fries were delicious.

But she was missing out on so much.

There was a wealth of flavors she could be experiencing, but without fail she chose chicken nuggets. It didn’t matter the cartwheels we performed to get her to branch out of her culinary safety zone; the child wouldn’t stray from her consistent order.

There was a great big flavorful world to explore, and she remained steadfast—chicken nuggets.

There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen.

You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. (Hebrews 5:11-14, NLT)

Here was an incredible, full buffet of growth, learning, and maturing. But they were missing out on it because they were unwilling to go beyond their chicken-nugget faith.

I wonder: Does our frustration at our daughter’s lack of culinary growth give us a small understanding of the concern the writer of Hebrews had for the letter’s recipients?

I have been reading through the book of Hebrews, and when I got to chapter five, I was struck by the sudden pivot starting in verse 11.

In the middle of an amazing meditation on Jesus as High Priest, the author stops—without warning or even a transition—and suddenly starts addressing the spiritual dullness of the readers. It’s as if the author is so overwhelmed by all that the readers are missing, he or she just can’t take it anymore.

Here was an incredible, full buffet of growth, learning, and maturing. But they were missing out on it because they were unwilling to go beyond their chicken-nugget faith.

What is even more shocking is that these believers weren’t new to the faith.

Instead, they were stuck in a spiritual mud pit. When they should have been moving forward in their faith—encouraging and teaching others, becoming spiritual leaders—they were slogging through the basics.

They had plenty of opportunity and teaching, but they were so stunted that they couldn’t even distinguish between right and wrong, a defining characteristic of spiritual maturity.

What about me? Am I experiencing all the flavors of Christ?

But as I commiserated with the author’s frustration, the Holy Spirit stopped me in my tracks:
What about me? Am I experiencing all the flavors of Christ?

Am I stepping out in faith? Am I going deeper, exploring my faith, encouraging others?

Or am I limiting myself to chicken nuggets and french fries?

Though it’s been a while since I was a student, I have never lost that yearning to learn and grow.

Recently, I have been using the Student Life Application Study Bible, the same Bible my then four-year-old daughter—now in high school—is using. In this Bible, a chart placed near Hebrews 5 has helped me evaluate whether I am making mature Christian choices.

Even if we have been following Jesus for most of our lives and feel an earnest desire to follow him, it’s important to evaluate our spiritual maturity.

Here are a few questions I am chewing on:

Am I teaching others, or am I only being taught?
Am I developing depth of understanding, or am I getting stuck on the basics?
Am I seeking unity, or am I stirring up disunity?
Am I seeking spiritual challenges, or just entertainment?
Am I careful with my study and observations, or am I leaning on unfounded opinions and using halfhearted efforts?
Do I evaluate my experiences in light of God’s Word, or in light of my own feelings?

To be honest, there are times when my answers to these questions are discouraging. More often than I’d like to admit, I am more adventurous in my food choices than in my faith steps. My taste palate is more mature than my spiritual palate.

Even if we have been following Jesus for most of our lives and feel an earnest desire to follow him, it’s important to evaluate our spiritual maturity. Have I lost that first love? Do I have an unsatiable appetite to know and live for Christ? Am I willing to give up my chicken-nugget faith for a chance to taste and see how good the Lord really is?

Leave the chicken nuggets behind. Let’s start feasting!

The Student Life Application Study Bible has over 27,000 in-app and in-print notes to help you grow in your faith and closer to God through his Word. This full-color Bible brings serious study to life with in-depth study and life-application resources right on the page. Ready to go further? Scan any page number with your phone or tablet to access the innovative Filament Bible app—a vast library of content packed with study notes, devotionals, interactive elements, videos, music, and more.

Evie Polsley is a member of the Bible Team at Tyndale House Publishers. She is a huge fan of the New Living Translation (NLT) and found her dream job as part of the NLT marketing team. She loves being able to help people find ways to engage with the Bible so they can grow in their understanding of Scripture and build a deeper relationship with Christ. She fully believes that when people understand the Bible and apply it to their lives, it changes everything. The only thing she loves more than talking about the NLT is talking about her two amazing daughters and fabulous husband. Evie is active at her church, where she leads the preschool choir and helps with planning worship services.

[ Our humble thanks to Tyndale for their partnership in today’s devotional. ]

Only the Good Stuff: Multivitamins For Your Weekend [6.3.2023]

Happy, happy, happy weekend!
Come along with us here because who doesn’t need a bit of good news?

Let yourself smile, be crazy inspired, laugh, love & really live the gift of this life
just a little bit more this weekend…
Serving up only the Good Stuff for you & your people right here:

Ewout Pahud – Photographer Ewout Pahud – Photographer Ewout Pahud – Photographer Ewout Pahud – Photographer Ewout Pahud – Photographer

the glory of these flower fields. just stunning!

THIS!! “I Stand in Awe”
“the heavens declare His glory” (Psalm 19:1)… will we step outside and find Him too?

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A post shared by Ann Voskamp (@annvoskamp)

eternally grateful for this stunning man’s life and God’s work through his willing, serving, faithful hands. deeply indebted

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A post shared by 𝑨 𝑴𝒂𝒏 𝑨𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒅’𝒔 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 (@tonygotpepperoni)

– what a courageous and beautiful way to love their city –

For moms of all ages – Wise Women Build Homes
“More is happening in the small moments of motherhood than meets the eye…”

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A post shared by Sarah E Koch (@sarah.e.koch)

these words! tears! hope in the middle of an unfinished story – for all of our hearts this weekend

oh this song! don’t miss this one!
“I need you to slow me down
Tell me not to worry
…I know You’re here and now”

don’t miss these powerful words… Hospitality from the Front Porch

Whatever you do, don’t skip past this one. This is deeply thoughtful, deeply reorienting.
Do I know God or do I just know about God? “Knowledge without intimacy is creepy and unsatisfying…” A very needed recalibration.

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A post shared by MISHA GILLINGHAM | FARMLUXE (@farmluxe)

this beauty – just wow! let yourself be inspired and in awe

A Summer Gift Guide: Give Gifts with a Message 

The Birthday Gift: Silver Bracelets

Featuring several different engraved word options, these beautiful silver bracelets make a striking birthday gift and will last for years to come. Choose a word based on how the recipient inspires you —
hope, Grace, Jesus, share, peace, or eucharisteo.

The Get-Well Gift: The Clinging Cross

For those in a season of illness, heartache, or difficulty, the Clinging Cross is a tangible reminder of Christ’s presence and faithful witness.

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A post shared by Rich Villodas (@richvillodas)

a really great reminder. there’s no off-limits with God in prayer

the single best thing you can do for your reading life, and how to become a happier reader

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A post shared by 𑁍 JoJo 𑁍 (@jklamlam)

you just really have to see this… a mother’s love…

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A post shared by Julie Jones (@julie_jonesuk)

I’ve never seen anything quite like this! The intricate pieces on this PIE? This is wildly inspiring.
Now who’s off to try something creative this weekend?!

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A post shared by Tracy Wilson Writing Life (@tracy_wilson_writing_life)

these words right here – linger with them, let them settle and stir something beautiful in you

Strawberry Poke Cake – now this recipe just looks delightful & perfect for serving up after dinner

– It’s never too late to get back on track and focus and press on!! –

For your weekend listening: Overcoming Grief.
And this podcast features stories of those who have endured unimaginable hardship. And we all need to lean in with the Overcomers.

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A post shared by The Perfect Wedding (@bridesdaydream)

< tears > when this dad with dementia recognizes his daughter on her wedding day? this just makes the heart crack wide open.

72 year old man graduates college and becomes the first of his 7 siblings to earn an undergraduate degree. let this be our reminder: it’s never too late to go after dreams. don’t you ever let time stop you.

On the Book Stack at the Farm

Read Heather Holleman‘s recent guest post: When There’s No Seat Left for You

Don’t miss Brad and Marilyn Rhoad‘s recent guest post: Day-to-Day Grace for Your Marriage

glory, glory, glory! what a world He has made!

“Whatever comes, whatever falls…
I’ll lift my hands and I will worship You”

[from our Facebook community – join us?]

…yeah, true, it may not feel like it, but really —
Today’s a new hope, and you’re being remade & made new,
and He’s cupping your chin right now & turning your face toward His and the sun:

“My loyal love for you can’t run out,
My merciful love for you could never dry up.
They’re created new for you every single morning.
My faithfulness to you is great.” [Lamentations 3:22 MSG]

And it’s right out of His Word, what all us Brave will just keep saying today:
“I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).” [Lam.3:24MSG]

Yesterday’s packed away with grace,
and Today’s a fresh day with fresh hope,
fresh possibilities, a new you, a new falling in love with God,
a new refrain playing on gentle repeat in our head —
‘We’re sticking with you, God.’

When morning breaks,
it breaks all of the mistakes of yesterday,
breaks right through our dome of dark —
so all His fresh mercies can flood in.

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. 

Day-to-Day Grace for Your Marriage

Brad and Marilyn Rhoads wed after a brief courtship and were quickly confronted with intense marital challenges. Although that first year of marriage was extremely difficult, God began to transform their relationship as they learned to build their marriage on a foundation of grace and intentional investment in one another. In today’s post, Brad and Marilyn Rhoads share what grace looks like in the day-to-day struggles and frustrations of life. It’s a grace to welcome Brad and Marilyn Rhoads to the farm’s table today…

Guest Post by Brad and Marilyn Rhoads

Sometimes it is easier to extend grace during deep trials than in the day-to-day grind. 

God’s grace is needed in the day-to-day moments because this is where we live most of our lives. 

During the hard times, whether family deaths or health crises, Marilyn and I have found it easy to cut each other some slack. We get closer when the going gets tough.

Great marriages are made not just in pulling together during the lows of hardship or the highs of celebration, but also in the flat days of doing laundry, packing lunches, and cleaning out closets.

Many marriages unravel not because of a landmark fight or extreme difficulty, but because of the slow accumulation of resentment and distance that was never scrubbed away by grace.

God’s grace is needed in the day-to-day moments because this is where we live most of our lives.  

There are several reasons why the dailiness of life can be so hard on marriages, but personal differences and external pressures are two of the most significant.

No two people are exactly alike, and this is a major source of friction in nearly every marriage.

No spouse behaves exactly like the other wishes they would. Priorities are different; tolerance levels are different. I once told Marilyn, “I bet you wish I came with a remote control!”

I’m guessing you could list some things your spouse does that drive you bonkers. Does she crunch her cereal loud enough to wake the dead? Do his gym clothes smell like a small animal died in the hamper? Does she always comment on your driving? Does he have an incredible capacity to tune you out?

Each of us has areas of weakness, sin patterns, and foibles that get on our spouse’s nerves. And are you ready for the really bad news?

For most of us, those patterns rarely disappear entirely.

As I’ve said, I was messy when we first got married—like, college dorm messy.

I’m now much better than I used to be, but without thinking, I’ll still sometimes lay my sweaty workout clothes on the kitchen counter.

Instead of expecting her to live like I would, I’ve learned to extend grace and allow her to be her.

So, the key to harmony and peace can’t be behavioral consistency. No matter how hard we try to appease our spouse, we are bent a certain way, for better or worse.

The answer is an easygoing, everyday grace.

Learn not to hold little annoyances against each other. Trust me, this is much more effective than trying to teach, train, motivate, or manipulate your spouse to be more like you want him or her to be.

I’ll give you an example from our marriage.

I like lists, routines, and schedules. They are my path to productivity and peace. Marilyn hates them. She likes to go with the flow and get stuff done on her own time.

For a while, I tried to show her that my approach was more effective. I thought her productivity would skyrocket with a little coaching. But do you think she jumped on board with my checklists?

No. I got on her every nerve. She told me, “If I did life like you, I’d be absolutely miserable all the time!” Our debates over her way of doing life were never fruitful. But instead of expecting her to live like I would, I’ve learned to extend grace and allow her to be her. And she allows me to be me.

This can be hard to do.

Each of us thinks we are right. As Proverbs says, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes.” Deep down, each of us thinks that if our spouse just bought into our program, life would be better.

One time, I (Marilyn) forgot to pick up a very important prescription for our daughter.

By the time I remembered, the pharmacy was closed. I felt sick to my stomach. How could I do that? She needs that medicine to prevent seizures! What kind of mom am I? There’s no excuse for this.

When Brad came home, I choked up as I told him how I’d blown it. I was prepared for a lecture on the importance of being more organized, of keeping lists so I didn’t forget things like this. I certainly deserved it.

We needn’t get bogged down in our spouse’s humanity when we’re focused on Christ’s sufficiency.

Instead, Brad hugged me tightly, then took my face in his hands and told me, “Marilyn, you do a thousand things every week. It is amazing you don’t forget more than you do. I’ll pick up the prescription on my way to work, then drop it off at school. And she’ll be just fine. Don’t worry about it.”

What a tangible gift of God’s grace!

Brad’s response set me free from feeling condemned as a terrible mom. If he had gone into lecture mode, I would have agreed with him. I might have even tried the list system (for a week or so). But that would not have benefited me; it would have increased the pressure I already felt and been unhelpful to our marriage.

Guilt and condemnation are poor building blocks for relationships. Love covers a multitude of sins . . . and slip-ups.

We needn’t get bogged down in our spouse’s humanity when we’re focused on Christ’s sufficiency. We don’t tend to get hot and bothered over trifling offenses when we have an eternal perspective. 

Paul was speaking of much greater persecution than a frustrating spouse when he said, “this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). 

Keep heaven in your sights. Don’t make your spouse’s annoying tendencies into more than they actually are.

You are bought by the blood of Christ, loved beyond measure, and bound for endless glory. There aren’t many bad moods that don’t brighten when we’re walking in that truth.

Brad and Marilyn Rhoads are cofounders of Grace Marriage. Brad left the practice of law after 22 years to go into full-time marriage ministry. As an attorney, he saw widespread marriage and family breakdown first-hand in the courtroom. As a marriage and family pastor at their local church, he noted the lack of an intentional and ongoing strategy to keep couples on a growth curve. Marilyn, a counselor with a masters in social work, saw the impact upon children and youth when families fall apart. In 2015, they founded Grace Marriage as a solution to help churches and couples. They have five children and live in Owensboro, Kentucky.

In Brad and Marilyn’s new book, The Grace Marriage, they share how a revelation of God’s grace and conviction for the need for intentional investment transformed their hearts and relationship. The Grace Marriage is an essential resource for couples who desire to thrive—not just survive—and want a marriage that showcases the grace of God to the watching world.

[ Our humble thanks to Moody Publishers for their partnership in today’s devotional. ]

When There’s No Seat Left for You

Heather Holleman remembers the exact moment she wasn’t invited to sit with the popular girls in middle school. Her new middle-grade novel, This Seat’s Saved, introduces young readers to a girl who can’t find her seat in the lunchroom. We journey alongside 7th grader Elita Brown as she realizes she’s at the best table already with Jesus. Moms and daughters alike will love this novel, a perfect summer read! It’s a grace to welcome Heather to the farm’s table today… 

Guest Post by Heather Holleman

Excerpt from This Seat’s Saved, a novel

“The tables. Yes. It starts in the lunchroom,” Mrs. Burgley’s sitting in the library, telling, me, young Elita Brown about how to heal from the wound not having a seat at the popular in school.

You don’t have a seat with the popular girls. Then you don’t have a seat at whatever table you think will make you happy.

“You don’t have a seat with the popular girls. And you don’t have a seat at whatever table you think will make you happy—like with the athletes or the singers or the rich or famous people. And you keep thinking that if only you had a seat there, you’d be truly, truly happy. You’d be okay inside.” 

I nodded. I had been thinking that. So far, I understood everything she said. 

“And the seat you want changes. You’ll wonder why everyone else is seated with a boyfriend and later a husband. You’ll wonder why people have better houses or better careers or better children. It’s a terrible, terrible way to live.”

She looked at me a moment to see if I was following. 

I nodded. I sipped the tart cider. 

“And then I read something that was like a lightning bolt in my soul. I was sitting right where we are now when God spoke to me through the Bible.” 

I had goosebumps all over my arms. The room felt cold. I both wanted to run away and stay right where I was forever. God spoke? Right here?

I took a deep breath and looked out the window. I tried to imagine the voice of God and couldn’t. Does God speak to people?  

Mrs. Burgley reached for a tattered green book.

You are marvelous just as you are; you don’t need to try and be like any other girls.

She read slowly: “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else” (Ephesians 2:1-4).

She peered at me over her reading glasses.

“Do you understand that part? We’re spiritually dead inside without Jesus. And we’re full of sin—we cannot do the right thing.” 

“I think so,” I said. This wasn’t fun to think about. I couldn’t help feeling bad about myself.

Then my thoughts were even worse. It was like a parade of memories of how bad I was marched through my brain. Ugh. I’m not a good person. 

“It gets better,” Mrs. Burgley promised. “And we’re not to the part where I heard from God.”

She read very slowly and emphasized each word.

“But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. . . . For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” 

She closed the Bible and folded her hands on top of it. “Did any pictures come into your mind when I read that?” 

“The masterpiece part. It’s like a painting.” 

“Yes—you are a masterpiece! But what about that other image?” 

“Um—God raising me up to be with Him?” I guessed. 

She read Ephesians 2 again and told me to listen for the word “seated.” 

“God seated us with Christ in the heavenly realms. That’s the secret! It’s already true of me right now. I am seated with Jesus at the greatest table—the one my heart really longs for. He’s saving a seat for you, too, Elita. He makes you a new person inside and has good things planned for you to do with your life. I was sitting right here when Jesus told me He saved a seat for me. ‘This seat’s saved for you,’ He said.” 

He’s saving a seat for me. Goosebumps. Sparkles, but in my soul. 

I closed my eyes.

I did like that part where Jesus was saving a seat for me.

It’s already true of me right now. I am seated with Jesus at the greatest table—the one my heart really longs for.

I thought of walking to Jesus toward those high-top tables and instead of Margo’s voice, I heard Jesus say, “This seat’s saved . . . for Elita.” I felt my eyes filling up with tears. 

“You don’t need to have shame, Elita. God doesn’t want you to hide. God forgives us and makes us clean inside. And you are marvelous just as you are; you don’t need to try and be like any other girls. Jesus wants to be with you.” 

With me? And marvelous just as I am? I thought of the list of all the ways I was supposed to improve. 

Mrs. Burgley continued. “It’s hard to picture. But it’s true. You’re seated with Jesus when you ask Him to come into your life, forgive your sin, and make you a new person.

Remember, He cleans up your heart. You get a seat at His table. He saved it for you.

I wish I would have known that, Elita. I could have walked into that seventh-grade lunchroom and seen all those popular girls, and I could have known in my heart that I already had a seat at the best table with Jesus.” 

I tried to picture my seat with Jesus.

“But I’m right here,” I finally said. “How can I also be there?” 

“It’s a mystery. I don’t know—Paul was most likely in a Roman prison when he wrote that. That was his here. But he experienced himself as there with Jesus in that special seat.” 

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. I was trying to picture my seat with Jesus. 

“Elita—take this advice and put it in the middle of your heart. For the rest of your life, no matter what classroom, no matter what happens at a friend’s house, no matter where you work or where you go, remember you are already seated with Christ, and He has a special place saved for you. 

Heather Holleman is a writer, speaker, and college professor who speaks regularly on having a seat at the table with Jesus from Ephesians 2:6. In This Seat’s Saved, readers meet 7th grader Elita Brown who can’t find her seat in the middle school lunchroom. Things only get worse for her. What will she do when she’s terrorized by the meanest girl in school? How will her science project on the red fox turn out? Will Elita find her way and take her seat at the best table? Full of suspense and divine moments, readers will be captivated by this story.

Parents and teachers who loved Heather’s nonfiction book, Seated with Christ, can invite their middle school reader to This Seat’s Saved. With great discussion questions and a main character who learns to read her Bible, trust God for the first time, and understand what it means to be seated with Christ from Ephesians 2:6, This Seat’s Saved will help young readers on their journey with Jesus.

A perfect summer read!

[ Our humble thanks to Moody Publishers for their partnership in today’s devotional. ]

Only the Good Stuff: Multivitamins For Your Weekend [5.27.2023]

Happy, happy, happy weekend!
Come along with us here because who doesn’t need a bit of good news?

Let yourself smile, be crazy inspired, laugh, love & really live the gift of this life
just a little bit more this weekend…
Serving up only the Good Stuff for you & your people right here:

David Bartus – Photographer David Bartus – Photographer David Bartus – Photographer David Bartus – Photographer David Bartus – Photographer

it’s just simply astounding! the work of our Creator and the beauty He gifts us

Really thoughtful encouragement — for the times you carry more dread than delight — cause let’s be honest, we all have those days.

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A post shared by Kathleen Cantwell (@kathleencantwell)

on courage and venturing outside our comfort zones –great words to ponder this weekend

For moms of all ages – Wise Women Build Homes
“More is happening in the small moments of motherhood than meets the eye…”

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A post shared by 𝗦𝗮𝗺 𝗛𝘂𝗿𝘀𝘁☆𝗛𝗮𝗶𝗿 + 𝗣𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 (@sam_hurst)

absolutely adorable!!

What a recalibration for our hearts–this song

11 warrior women with unshakable faith from our friends at Compassion

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A post shared by Good News Movement (@goodnews_movement)

THIS MOMENT!

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A post shared by Brooke Ligertwood (@brookeligertwood)

this is so good! and the wisdom Brooke carries is just such a gift to be treasured and always deserves a listen

just cannot get over how these people love so extravagantly! #BeTheGift

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A post shared by Upworthy (@upworthy)

oh oh oh! this sweet munchkin! you don’t dare to miss this one.

okayyyy! This is just too good not to share. Maybe you’ll even find a little inspiration?
7 Specific Ways I Simplify My Life

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A post shared by Must Love Herbs – Lauren May (@mustloveherbs)

Lemon and lavender tart recipe – if you’re looking for something delicious to make this weekend, look no further.

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A post shared by MISHA GILLINGHAM | FARMLUXE (@farmluxe)

Some extra beauty for your weekend. Isn’t it glorious?

On the Book Stack at the Farm

Read Roger Helland‘s recent guest post: Presence-Centered Homes

Don’t miss Jodie Berndt‘s recent guest post: You’re on the Same Team: Handling Conflict in Marriage

glory, glory, glory! what a world He has made!

“These days are gonna make you stronger
You’ll find purpose in the pain
Hold on just a little bit longer
Deep down there’s a well of faith
…And just hold on”

[from our Facebook community – join us?]

Make prayer your absolute non-negotiable
to make your life absolutely navigable.

The soul needs prayer or it suffocates.
Prayer is oxygen for the soul.

Life stabilizes when prayer is prioritized.

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. 

You’re on the Same Team: Handling Conflict in Marriage

Jodie Berndt’s books have been a faithful companion in my prayer life for years. She’s a beach girl and I’m a farm girl, but we share a big love for the Bible and the power it has to shape our thoughts, our desires, and our conversations with God. We’re also both in a season of welcoming new in-law children to our families, and I could not be more excited about Jodie’s latest release, Praying the Scriptures for Your Marriage. It’s a grace to welcome Jodie to the farm’s table today…

Guest Post by Jodie Berndt

When Christopher proposed to our daughter Virginia, he arranged for both families to be there to celebrate. As I looked around the room at two sets of parents and four pairs of married siblings, I realized we had more than one hundred years of marital wisdom between us.

What, I asked, was everyone’s best piece of advice? 

The group offered up plenty of pearls, from caring about your partner’s interests to finding new ways to serve each other, but the takeaway I remember most came from our son-in-law Geoff, who talked about how to approach conflict in marriage. 

“Remember,” he said, “that you are on the same team.

It’s easy to forget that in the heat of the moment, but ultimately, a win against your spouse is actually a loss because if you’re winning an argument, then they are losing—and that is a loss for your team. Your team is bigger and more important than any individual victory.” 

Approaching marriage with this mindset—that you are a team and you want each other to win—becomes even more powerful when you realize who your adversary really is.

Approaching marriage with this mindset—that you are a team and you want each other to win—becomes even more powerful when you realize who your adversary really is.

It’s not your spouse.

You may think they are the problem—they never help with the housework, they spend too much money, they always make you late, they whatever—but those issues are just spillover symptoms of our self-centered nature. The real problem—the real enemy—is Satan. 

Jesus calls him the thief, the one who “comes only to steal and kill and destroy.”

Satan hates marriage, plain and simple, because it reflects God’s love for his people.

It doesn’t matter how conflict-riddled your relationship is. Satan’s purpose—his goal—is to completely destroy it. And when we buy the lie that our spouse is our adversary, we play right into Satan’s hands. 

The apostle Paul knew we’d come up against Satan’s schemes.

“Be careful how you live,” he wrote in Ephesians 5:15-16. “Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.”

So what does that look like, in practical terms? How do we live like those who are wise, making the most of the tension or quarrels we share? Can conflict become a catalyst for growing in grace? 

If we hit stormy seas and think we’ll survive, we will do what’s needed to “right the ship, patch the holes, and keep sailing.

Growth will look different in every marriage, but let’s look at five things we can do to protect our marriage and fight on behalf of our team.

1. Believe you will make it.

The average couple argues about 312 times per year. And according to researcher Shaunti Feldhahn, how we think about conflict can make all the difference. If we think things will never get better—if the ship is going to sink anyway—we may decide to stop bailing and just work on escaping the wreck. But if we hit stormy seas and think we’ll survive, we will do what’s needed to “right the ship, patch the holes, and keep sailing.” 

2. Don’t go to bed mad.

Getting angry isn’t a sin; it’s a normal human emotion. But holding on to that anger—letting it fester and put down roots in your heart—is a no-no. “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,” Ephesians 4:26-27 says, “and do not give the devil a foothold.”

Sometimes we won’t be able to resolve differences before the sun sets. When that happens, don’t keep talking, lest you say something you’ll later regret. Table the discussion until the next day, when your heads are clear. 

3. Don’t fight in public.

Don’t argue in front of other people. Bring a trusted professional counselor into the mix, but don’t complain about your spouse to your friends. And if your friends are people who trash their spouses (to their face or behind their back), get new friends. The writer of Proverbs might well have had married couples in mind when he dished up this pointed advice: “Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces” (Proverbs 13:20).

4. Be kind.

Being kind doesn’t mean we can’t express anger. Rather, kindness can shape what our anger looks like. You don’t have to throw spears at your spouse; just put into words why you’re hurt, disappointed, or angry. It may sound impossible to be kind during a fight, but don’t let contempt or aggression get the better of you. 

Conflict can become a catalyst for grace—and that’s always a win for your team.

5. Pray.

My mom tells the story of how irritated she was when her husband repeatedly left dirty dishes in the sink—until God prompted her to time herself as she loaded the dishwasher. Thirteen seconds. Thirteen seconds was all it took to clean up after her husband—and to pray. “Now,” she says, “John sometimes loads the dishwasher on his own, but even if I have to do the dishes for the rest of my life, I’ll cherish the chance I get to pray for him for those few extra seconds.” 

As she prioritized prayer over provocation, Mom discovered what researchers have long known to be true: Prayer takes the edge off.

Studies show that it calms our nervous system, makes us less reactive, and shuts down the fight-or-flight response that can cause a conflict to escalate in a flash.

Not only that, but when you pray for the spouse who hurts or offends you, it’s hard to stay mad. When you commit to bringing someone before the Lord—asking God to bless them, protect them, and pour good things into their lives—you begin to have a vested interest in their well-being. A warmth starts to soften your heart. It may not be full-on love, at least at first, but it will grow.

Conflict can become a catalyst for grace—and that’s always a win for your team.

Jodie Berndt is a popular speaker, Bible teacher, and the bestselling author of the Praying the Scriptures series for Children, Teens, Adult Children, Life, and the just-released Praying the Scriptures for Your Marriage.

The new book covers twenty different relationship topics, from handling conflict to improving communication to navigating differences in your faith. Complete with discussion questions, easy scripture-based prayers, and a guided 31-Day Prayer Challenge, this book offers the help and the hope you need to step into greater intimacy with each other and with God.

[ Our humble thanks to Zondervan for their partnership in today’s devotional. ]

Presence-Centered Homes

A former southern California pagan, Roger Helland is a Canadian pastor, pray-er, and pursuer of God’s presence. Committed to a fusion of the Scripture and the Spirit, Roger explores how to seek, experience, and host God’s manifest presence in all dimensions of life. His new book, Pursuing God’s Presence, is a practical guide to daily renewal and joy to transform you and the world. It’s a grace to welcome Roger to the farm’s table today… 

Guest post by Roger Helland

I recall valuable advice a pastor offered to my wife and me about couples with young children: “Don’t let the children become the center of your family life. Let Christ be the center.”

Easy to say, but tough to do—like wrestling with an open umbrella as the wind rages.

It’s a spiritual strategy to place Christ, not the children, at the center.

Couples with young children (and teens) can barely manage the mayhem and velocity of those kids. They get them out the door and back to the dinner table, into the bathroom and off to bed as they administrate the merry-go-round of homework, friends, music lessons, sports, birthday parties, sibling rivalries, chores, church, and interruptions, matched with endless needs for hugs, talks, and godly discipline!

Where’s Jesus in it all?

Jesus stated, “Make your home in Me as I do in you” (John 15:4 MSG). Jesus is a homebody in the home of our hearts. It’s a spiritual strategy to place Christ, not the children, at the center. What I call a “home-based Bethel.” The Hebrew bethel means “house of God”—a place of God’s presence.

Home-based Prayer

There were times as parents when Gail and I ran out of gas and slammed into brick walls.

One evening we sat on our couch after a stressful season with our teens and mused how we ever got there. We felt like dead batteries and dry wells. That occurred when we failed to pray together and allowed our packed lives to crowd Jesus out.

Jesus announced, “My house shall be called a house of prayer” (Matt. 21:13 ESV). Our homes flourish when we make them houses of prayer that host God’s presence.

Our homes flourish when we make them houses of prayer that host God’s presence.

Parents are to be home-based disciple-makers.

Paul says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right” (Eph. 6:1 ESV). May dads not exasperate their kids but bring them up in the instruction and discipline of the Lord (Eph. 6:4 ESV). Love, affirmation, and consistency, mingled with gentle but firm words, make it easier for children to obey their parents.

We discovered we couldn’t use force, correct, or lecture godly values, attitudes, and conduct into our kids. Through example and godly discipline, unconditional love is the top way to shape their character, centered in prayer and God’s presence.

Pray the fruit of the Spirit into their lives. Pray they would hear God’s voice, love and obey His Word, and respond to His Spirit. 

Home-based Holiness

Homes that gleam with God’s holiness host God’s presence.

How? Not through a catalog of rigid rules pinned to the refrigerator door or through endless correction.

It happens when you settle the question: What’s my center? Your center can’t be the children, the parents, the rules, the activities, or the church. Peter urges, “But in your hearts honor [consecrate] Christ the Lord as holy” (1 Pet. 3:15 ESV).

A home-based Bethel will house holiness in the hearts of Mom and Dad that cultivates an atmosphere of peace.

Hebrews 12:14 can fuel home-based holiness. “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (nkjv). 

What’s your family culture like?

Like ours was, most families are busy and bustling with energy. The TV’s on, the pot’s boiling over, Mom’s talking to her sister on her cell, the kids compete for the iPad, the doorbell rings, the dog wants in, and Dad’s mowing the lawn.

Dinner times can become pit stops in the race of competing food preferences, running late for Girl Guides, and a senior sibling bugging a junior one. Weekends buzz with friends and fixing the toilet, shopping, and doing the laundry mixed with chores and church.

But in the chaos, is there peace? Or are there tension and tempers?

A home-based Bethel will house holiness in the hearts of Mom and Dad that cultivates an atmosphere of peace.

Home-based Fear of God

How can you encounter God’s presence and flourish in your marriage and family?

Psalm 128 trumpets the answer: fear God—revere, worship, and obey Him.

As an ascent psalm, where families traveled up to Jerusalem for an annual worship festival, “The quiet blessings of an ordered life are traced from the center outwards in this psalm, as the eye travels from the godly man to his family and finally to Israel. Here is simple piety with its proper fruit of stability and peace.”1

“Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.” Psalm 128:1-2 ESV

“Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. The Lord bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life! May you see your children’s children! Peace be upon Israel!” (Ps. 128 ESV)

Those who fear the Lord enjoy blessing, prosperity, and well-being in their work and personal lives. The man who fears the Lord relishes the finery of a wife and children pictured as fruitful grapevines and olive shoots.

In the ancient world, these symbolized the fruitfulness and vitality of God’s blessing (Deut. 8:8; Jer. 31:5). When my wife and I enjoy Christmas feasts with our family, we bask in the savor of God’s favor and feel Psalm 128.

For men who fear Him, God blesses their families. May the Lord bless you from Zion—the place of His presence. May you see the church, the heavenly Jerusalem, and the Israel of God prosper and know peace, wealth, and well-being. May you see your grandchildren thrive, considered a chief blessing in the ancient world. 

May we luxuriate in home-based bethels.

 1 Derek Kidner, Psalms 73–150, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 1975), Logos.

Roger Helland is the prayer ambassador for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, and previously served as district minister of the Baptist General Conference in Alberta. The author of seven books, he has over 35 years of experience as a pastor, denominational leader, adjunct professor at several theological schools, and renewal catalyst. He lives with his wife, Gail, near Calgary.

Roger’s new book, Pursuing God’s Presence, explores how to seek, experience, and host God’s manifest presence—his glory—to transform you and the world. Sorting through common fears and misunderstandings about God’s presence, Roger offers biblical and practical teaching to help you pursue God’s presence and holiness in everyday life, live a presence-centered life at work, home, and church, enjoy a deeper biblical fullness of the Holy Spirit and experience God’s supernatural strength, vitality, renewal, and joy.

[ Our humble thanks to Chosen Books for their partnership in today’s devotional. ]

Only the Good Stuff: Multivitamins For Your Weekend [5.20.2023]

Happy, happy, happy weekend!
Come along with us here because who doesn’t need a bit of good news?

Let yourself smile, be crazy inspired, laugh, love & really live the gift of this life
just a little bit more this weekend…
Serving up only the Good Stuff for you & your people right here:

Lydia George – Photographer Lydia George – Photographer Lydia George – Photographer Lydia George – Photographer Lydia George – Photographer

oh the sheer delight in these details!

If you feel too broken to build or make art–this is a must read

oh oh oh! THIS! what these kids do for their classmate who was unable to be there the whole school year?

How Grace is Plausible… “a rich conversation on suffering, how we tell our stories, and the meaning of empathy”

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A post shared by Christine Caine (@christinecaine)

He hears you when you pray… it’s a promise.

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A post shared by DeborahJ.Flora~ADelightfulGlow (@adelightfulglow)

Where & how does love show up? Good heart encouragement

– this song for your heart this weekend –

What You Really Want Most Is More God for Your Whole Home…
and What A Way to Make Your House A House Of Prayer…
A Free Gift For You! Print out Your Own Little House of prayer, to pray for your Family —

Grab your FREE House of Prayer gift here, from our hearts to yours:
Just pop your email in this link and you’ll get access to our whole library of (free!) printables, sticky notes and other goodies. Just as a thank you to YOU!

Find your own House of Prayer printable right HERE

Katherine Paterson on creating safe space through art and literature to work through grief & difficult emotions & experiences

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A post shared by Whitney Newby Brighter Day Press (@brighterdaypress)

THIS! Such a great idea! Might we look for little changes that bring big changes in our kid’s hearts?

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A post shared by The Donkey Principle ~ Rachel Anne Ridge (@thedonkeyprinciple)

beautiful encouragement & a really great question to ask this morning!

practical (& simple) ways to celebrate Kingdom diversity

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A post shared by Upworthy (@upworthy)

When we take even a moment to show compassion… this little boy is the sweetest!

Post Of The Week From Around These Parts:

What happens when you’ve kinda reached your limit? When you’re kinda at the edge of things? When you’re right there at the edge of hope, at the very brink of dreams, at the cliff of prayers…

And we’ve found that unwavering faith splits the waves to make a way right to where we really want to be, right into the arms of God…

This way forward is changing everything:

Read for your heart this weekend…

oh oh this is just the best! Remember the Christmas blizzard and these neighbors who took in stranded tourists? You just have to read what they’re doing now!

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A post shared by Upworthy (@upworthy)

okayyyy! now this is just the best!

this Harvard student? going out of his way to help with the refugee crises in Ukraine, Turkey and Syria. just wow!

Brainstorming the Perfect End of School Year Gift?
Needing a Brave Song for Your Little or Grandchild?
We’ve got you covered!

Life is full of plenty of reasons to cave to insecurity or fear, to forget the love of God…
But THIS, this is the brave song we ALL need!

Gift your little grad our
first-ever Children’s Book, Your Brave Song,
paired with this heirloom, wooden music box from the Keeping Company

Gift “Your Brave Song” and give the gift of a new bravery songOrder your very own heirloom music box gift hereOn the Book Stack at the Farm

Read Christine Caine‘s recent guest post: Mourn to Move Forward

Don’t miss Christie Purifoy‘s recent guest post: How to Bring Your Home to Life

enjoy a refuge of peace & quiet this weekend with us?

“There’s work here that only You can do
So God hear our prayer breaking through
Come, breath of God”

[from our Facebook community – join us?]

…you know how you’re sticking with it & doing that hard thing?
You’ve just gotta know, you don’t stand alone, you don’t walk alone, you don’t go alone:
“But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength” 2. Tim4:17

And nothing can happen today that will stop Him from sticking right there with you
& giving you strength to do this thing.

There is nothing to fear today —
because there is nothing, not mess-ups, not distractions, not less-than-hoped-fors, nothing in the universe that can happen today to separate you from the loving hands of God.

There is nothing to fear no matter what —
because there is nothing, not sickness, not pain, not diagnosis, Not Even Death, nothing in the universe that can ever separate you from the loving hands of God.

There is Never. Anything. to fear —
because there is Nothing in the universe that can Ever. separate. you. from the loving hands of God.

So Go Live Brave! His Love Makes You Brave!

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. 

How to Bring Your Home to Life

Christie Purifoy is a writer who loves to grow flowers and community. Her latest book, A Home in Bloom is poetic and practical inspiration for rooting our lives in the goodness of a garden all four seasons of the year. It’s a grace to welcome my dear friend, Christie Purifoy, to the farm’s table today…

Guest Post by Christie Purifoy

How do we grow a house into a home? For ten years, I have asked this question on behalf of a red brick farmhouse which sits in a typical suburban neighborhood in the rolling, green countryside of Pennsylvania. But I asked the same question when I lived in a tiny apartment in small-town Texas, and again in a condominium on the Southside of Chicago, and yet again in a seashell-stuccoed house in north Florida.

If the whole earth is a garden made by God, then our homes are also gardens within a garden.

In each of these very different homes, I found that when I lived according to the seasonal rhythms of creation, houses really did become homes and bricks and mortar bloomed as surely as the pink geraniums I once tended in a third floor window box.

The poet farmer, Wendell Berry, famously wrote that “There are no unsacred places; / there are only sacred places / and desecrated places.”

That word desecrated conjures bleak landscapes scarred by war or natural disaster, and yet I think it also applies to the kinds of contemporary landscapes with which most of us are familiar: the asphalt sprawl of the suburbs, the endless fields of modern agribusiness, and the proliferation of chain stores that make it hard to tell the difference between one city and another.

We are so accomplished at making functional places for waiting, for passing through, and for consuming, but how do we make places able to embrace the fullness of our human selves?

We all know how dead we feel after too many minutes in a sun-deprived waiting room or too many hours in stop-and-go traffic. What if our homes could be places that brought us back to life?

If you long for beauty in a world that rarely has time for such nonsense, then consider this permission to pursue nonsense.

For that is what sacred places do. They restore us and renew us and resurrect our spirts. They help us reconnect to our own souls, and to other souls, and to the living ground beneath our feet. And they do this because, in some sense, they are themselves alive.

I’ve been reading C.S. Lewis’s Narnia stories to my youngest child, and it has surprised me to realize that the Narnia held frozen by the White Witch’s spell is not an enchanted place. It is a nearly dead place, asleep under all that snow. There is no birdsong, and there is no life.

When Aslan returns, the spell breaks, and Narnia is re-enchanted. The whole country comes awake again, and the trees clap their hands for sheer happiness. It is a little like the words we read in an ancient song from our world: “Let the fields be jubilant … let all the trees of the forest sing for joy” (Psalm 96:12).

If the whole earth is a garden made by God, then our homes are also gardens within a garden.

We are used to thinking of a garden only as an accessory to a house, but gardens are much more than backdrops.

Gardens are where our food comes from. Gardens are where beauty grows. Gardens are shelter. Gardens are also sacred spaces for private prayer and community celebration. Gardens are where we walk with God and work our muscles. They are living works of art.

What if you could live in a painting or a song? What if you entered a chapel or cathedral every time you stepped out to fetch the mail?

If you long for beauty in a world that rarely has time for such nonsense, then consider this permission to pursue nonsense. Brought together, house and garden tell a better story than either one alone.

The earth is singing a beautiful song. Why don’t we open our door and sing along?

And they can even help us to live a better story, one in tune with the praises of the trees. It is a universal story yet highly personal and particular, never quite the same from one place to the next. I am tending an utterly unique story here at an old farmhouse in Pennsylvania, for these clods of clay soil, these red bricks, and these exact plants are found only here. And you, too, are invited to care for the particular ground beneath your feet in order to tell your own, entirely singular, home story.

With a little effort and intention, it is possible to fill our homes with the music of life all year long, but it is so easy to do in summer, we almost have to work to keep the life out. And as a mother of four, I have worked at it. I have complained about the puppy’s muddy footprints and the pile of gravel—I mean, precious jewels—my daughter has piled on the table.

I have been annoyed when young children pick the flowers I call mine, and I have chosen not to bring a bunch of lilies inside because no matter how I trim the stamens new flowers will open and drop their bright orange pollen everywhere. Life is so messy sometimes.

“Clean and orderly are good things, but my tight-fisted control is not. A home in bloom is beautiful but rarely pristine.“

Clean and orderly are good things, but my tight-fisted control is not. A home in bloom is beautiful but rarely pristine. A home in bloom is always growing and changing in ways I can’t quite predict.

If we want to see our homes bloom, we don’t need to decorate. We simply need to live.

Cut the lilies we grew even if something becomes stained. Make the bouquet even though we’ll be picking up browned petals in a few days. Dig in and plant some seeds in that space between house and home. Sing a song and let the flowers sing theirs.

Do you know that the word enchanted holds the Latin word cantare inside of it like a seed? And cantare means to sing. There are those with a natural talent for music, but I am not one of them. I suppose there are those with a natural talent for horticulture, but I am not sure I am one of them either. It hardly matters when the abundance of life—not the stasis of perfection—is the goal. The earth is singing a beautiful song. Why don’t we open our door and sing along?

Christie Purifoy is the author of two memoirs, Roots and Sky and Placemaker, and now two full-color books of garden inspiration, Garden Maker, and the recently released A Home in Bloom: Four Enchanted Seasons With Flowers. She earned a PhD in English literature from the University of Chicago before trading the classroom for an old Pennsylvania farmhouse called Maplehurst, where she loves to welcome guests to the Maplehurst Black Barn and its online community the Black Barn Online. Each Wednesday she co-hosts a new episode of the Out of the Ordinary podcast with her longtime friend Lisa-Jo Baker, and she also shares her gardening expertise with members of the online gardening community the Black Barn Garden Club.

A Home in Bloom is your invitation to cultivate a way of life that is rooted in the vitality of a garden. There will be triumphs. There will be failures. There will be ordinary, daily miracles. But in all of it, and in every season, we will be growing a house into a home in bloom.

[ Our humble thanks to Harvest House Publishers for their partnership in today’s devotional. ]

When You’ve Kinda Reached Your Limit, Try This:

I keep asking to myself: “What happens when you’ve kinda reached your limit? When you’re kinda at the edge of things?”

You know, when you’re standing there with your promising calendar and brave to-do lists and begging prayer journal. When you’ve got your dog-earred how-to books and your determined jaw and scuffed up knees and weary shoulders. When you know exactly too well what it’s like to live at the edge of hope, at the very brink of dreams, at the cliff of prayers.

I know it in my bones, what is like to come to the end of yourself, at the end of the world as you know it, and stand there on the last inch of land, and witness the surrendered way of waves, and long to go deeper, long to go all the way straight through.

Straight through with the straight-up impossible with this one child.

Straight through the storm of one exhausting, tumultuous relationship.

Straight through and out of what you’d do just about about anything to find any exodus out of.

And what I keep finding right there, in the surging surf of my life that keeps slapping up at my feet, is this waking to ways way beyond your depth.

Painting: Looking Far, Hyatt Moore Painting: WayMaker, Kristi Hall

There’s a story I return to often that the Jewish Midrash tells.

That there was a guy named Nahshon ben Aminadab, who was a slave among a people of slaves bound to hopelessness in Egypt.

Turns out Nahshon had escaped Egypt with his people with next to nothing in hand, but gripping to God for all he was worth, only to turn and see the red dust clouds of Pharaoh’s chariots storming across the desert floor — and the expanse of on endless sea crashing right there at his feet.

When I am up against all the things, I think of how some scholars say that Nahshon and the Israelites actually may have outnumbered the Egyptians 10,000 to 1. Sometimes when I feel overtaken by all the things, I need to take another look, because fear is the con artist that stretches things, the clever magician that always dupes, and the Israelites see the approaching hundreds of Egyptians as more like an entire horizon erupting into a horror.

Nahshon could feel it under him, the ground quaking with the rumble of the coming Egyptian chariots. And yet, Nahshon’s heart pounded braver and it’s true and you know it too:

Your knees may quake, but not your faith.

I breathe easier when I linger a moment with it, how the Jewish Midrash says that Nahshon, his heart steady, surrendered, deeply stilled in God, trusting — he rejected the notion of drowning in fear, he rejected the inaction of outrage, he rejected the paralysis or bitterness of feeling abandoned — and he not only believed it, he chose to be living it.

Instead of freezing, instead of fleeing — he stepped forward toward the Red Sea. The man walked toward what was in the way.

“The only way forward is to step into your sea — because you’ll drown in despair if you don’t follow Hope Himself forward.“

Put one foot in front of the other — and walk toward the impossible water. Drench yourself in Hope.

There are days that I actually let it be a refrain in my head to quiet all kinds of lurking fears: Only Forward. Only faith. Only fervent hope that refuses to shrink back.

The only way forward is to step into your sea — because you’ll drown in despair if you don’t follow Hope Himself forward.

The Midrash says that the man Nahshon, who turns out was actually the brother-in-law of Aaron, he walks straight into slamming waves up to his waist.

I’m discovering, the man’s not wrong: You only find a way through waves — when your faith isn’t as fickle as waves.

It’s only a leap of faith when you feel how the water is actually very deep.

The Midrash says cold water of the Red Sea kept rising up Nahshon’s neck.

I can feel it too, every time I keep taking the next step forward into the impossible:

Steady, steady.

Comfort your doubts with courage in Christ.

The Midrash says waves lapped up to Nahshon’s chin.

I’ve known it too on some pretty slogging hard days:

Waves can rise right up over lips sealed with a kiss of unwavering hope.

“When you’re hope-formed, you see that your fears are formless, and void, and the Spirit of God hovers over your soul with a hope that makes you brave.“

I am deeply in this process these days: Abandon yourself to the One who never abandons. Be hope-formed, not fear-formed.

And when you’re hope-formed, you see that your fears are formless, and void, and the Spirit of God hovers over your soul with a hope that makes you brave. And that makes you walk toward waves.

“And the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Speak to the Israelites, that they journey onward.” (Exodus 14:15)

Nahshon heard this, and we know this, in the face of all of our wild impossibles:

Ankle deep….. waist deep…. neck deep….. chin deep — nostril deep.

Deep calls to deep. Deep faith calls to deep waters.

Deep faith means being you’re in far deeper than neck deep.

“When you are out of your depths — you touch the depths of God.”

Deep faith for the bruised relationship, deep faith for the aching grief, deep faith for impossible change of diagnosis, deep faith for the child lost, deep faith for the dream that seems just beyond reach.

Drown all panic in Trust.

Sink all fears in a sea of Faith. Breathe through waves — and trust there will be a way. The Way Himself.

When you are out of your depths — you touch the depths of God.

Painting: WayMaker, Kristi Hall Painting: Looking Far, Hyatt Moore

“God often waits till the end of the eleventh hour — to fill all our hours with trust.”

I keep comforting my own heart, when I feel overwhelmed by some impossibles:

God often waits till the end of the eleventh hour — to fill all our hours with trust.

God asks for faith to the last second — so He has first place in our hearts.

And yet — what if God doesn’t?

That is your Nahshon moment:

Even if God doesn’t — we will not even waver.

Unwavering faith splits the waves to make a way into the arms of God.

“Unwavering faith splits the waves to make a way into the arms of God.“

Sometimes God lets the waves rise — to drown all our other wants.

I believe. Sometimes: God holds back so we grow stronger in holding back our fears — and so there can be no holding back on giving Him all the glory.

Sometimes: God holds back until the last possible second — so we hold on to Him until the end of time.

Who hasn’t known the Eleventh Hour God?

Hadn’t Sarah laughed at the possibility of a child long after it seems her biological clock has struck the last minute — because sometimes we find laughter’s a shield when we’ve lost hope.

But there’s a time for Sarah-certainty, to “[believe] the One who made a promise would do what He said” (Heb. 11:11).

Job kept waiting for things to turn around — yet catastrophe after catastrophe, things kept turning for the worse. But there is a time for defiant Job-faith that drives a spear through despair and the doubt: “Though He slay me, yet I will trust Him” (Job 13:15).

Abraham’s faith is stretched to the nth degree on Mount Moriah, holding a knife in his hand over the incomprehensible sacrifice — but yet — there’s a time to be holding on tighter to Abraham-hope that there has to be another way.

I keep a little carved ram on the windowsill in the kitchen, so I keep my heart focused: We only find a ram in the thicket at the last possible second. And the ram God gives may not be any ram you ever imagined.

Nahshon waited on God up to his nostrils. He kept moving toward God with all his heart.

And at the moment’s Nahshon is about aspirate in the Red Sea right there at his nostrils — the sound of his every breath, sounding out the name of God, YWHW, YHWH, YWHW, his very life-breath calling out the name of his Maker — and God, set to make His way to us — God, in a tempest of love, with a blast of His nostrils, tears the sea in two to make a way out of bondage to fears for His own and into bonding.

As the waters fill Nahshon’s nostrils, the Midrash says — a blast from the nostrils of God piles up the waters of the Red Sea.

The man breathed trust — and the water split into a road of dust.

When breath becomes prayer, God comes.

I lay in bed in the middle of the night, not being able to sleep, longing to breathe trust like this.

“Only God can divide seas. And it is only ours to have an undivided heart.“

“… and the LORD held back the sea with a mighty east wind all night, and He made the sea dry ground, and the waters were split apart.

And the Israelites came into the sea on dry land, the waters a wall to them on their right and on their left. “ (Exodus 14:21-22)

Only God can divide seas. And it is only ours to have an undivided heart.

And that is what’s right there, in how Nahshon waited on God, and yet kept moving toward God:

“even when everything is falling apart, you are always walking a Red Sea Road through parted waters if you are walking closer to Him.”

Joy isn’t a place on a map, it’s a movement in the soul toward the person of God.

Joy is always, simply, an inner movement toward meeting more of God. God is the goal. Home is Him. The Promised Land isn’t a place — but a Person.

And even when everything is falling apart, you are always walking a Red Sea Road through parted waters if you are walking closer to Him.

Every exodus out — is only to enter in.
Every exodus out of bondage — is for bonding.
Every exodus isn’t for an escape out of a situation — but for attachment to a saving Savior.

Painting: Looking Far, Hyatt Moore Painting: WayMaker, Kristi Hall

And what holds me in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep is that, while Scripture doesn’t tell this story that is found in the Midrash of Nahshon who was the one who willingly took those first steps first into the waves of the Red Sea, faith up to his eyeballs — what Scripture does definitely tell is that this very same Nahshon, he has a son too. A prince.

The Prince of Judah.

Nahshon, ended up being the father-in-law of Rahab, was the grandfather of Boaz, and was the great, great, great Grandfather of King David. And if you linger in the opening lines of the New Testament, there you read: “This is the genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah, the son of David: …. Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon.” (Matthew 1:4-5)

Nahshon was part of the line of faith that gives us Jesus.

There is a Son who splits the seas and makes a way and is the Way and He is worthy of a whole ocean of faith.

He is worthy of trusting enough to take the next step. To keep walking forward. To walk with faith right up to your eyeballs.

There are moments where it feel like life is kinda at it’s limits.

“Where we run out, the promises of God run on, and will carry us on.“

And I confess, you can stand at the very edge of the shore, at your very edge, the very limit of your hope, and you can look out at your impossible and you can boldly take your Nahshon step into the waters and know:

Where we run out, the promises of God run on, and will carry us on.

And straight on through into greater depths of His love.

How do you practically, actually live in Jesus — instead of just merely believe in Him?

What does it personally look like to form your mind, your days, your life, into the deeply meaningful, cruciform love of Jesus and entrust everything into His hands?

What does it powerfully look like to have a new way of life, a new way of being?

The practical tool to begin true life-transformation for a different way of life start here:

WayMaker