Ann Voskamp's Blog, page 43

When You Really Want To Find Goodness in All the Places

When I found myself invited, now nearly 13 years ago, by DaySpring to write for their new online community – (in)courage, a home for the hearts of women, I found a true home with women who are to this day, some of my very closest friends. Since then, DaySpring has been a true companion with resources that seek to help every person experience the life-changing love of God. The (in)courage community has welcomed thousands of women to a space of empowering encouragement and honest sharing of God at work. It is a grace to welcome DaySpring and my friend, Anna Rendell, to the farm’s table today…

Guest Post by Anna E. Rendell

Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the person who takes refuge in him!
Psalm 34:8 CSB

I’ve been looking for goodness—for that which is sweet, good for the soul, joyful and light; for God’s goodness in everyday, ordinary places.

In the middle of our normal daily living, it can be hard to remember that possibilities and hope still exist. These days, it seems like the right move: to be on the lookout for good.

What I’ve found is that goodness is everywhere—all around, all the time, in all the places.

Last year, my baby sister had her second baby, and I had my fourth.

Our kids are head over heels in love with their little brother and their newest cousin. We prayed for these babies, waited for their arrivals, celebrated and decorated nurseries for them, and now they toddle around together.

“In a world that still holds that delicious newborn baby smell and the wobble of a confident toddler’s walk, there is still good.”

Bring on the snuggles, the onesies, the pacifiers and board books strewn about, the late-night texts from my sister while we’re both up with awake babies, the pure sweetness of a new little one.

In a world that still holds that delicious newborn baby smell and the wobble of a confident toddler’s walk, there is still good.

My big kids recently went back to school. Hard as I try to clench my fists around the slippery strands of time, it just keeps marching along. I think of when we attended each of their kindergarten round-up nights at our elementary school, absolutely giddy to be there.

Dizzy with the attention of both parents, the prospect of their own desk filled with pencils and folders, a new teacher, new friends, an entire library to browse, and the promise of riding a yellow school bus. Their joy was overwhelming, and I could not stop grinning big and silly at their happiness and hopefulness.

In a world that still holds freshly sharpened pencils and the joy and hope of attending school, there is still good.

In fall and winter, I make soup. When the temperatures dip, it’s time to drag out the stoneware, Dutch oven, and slow cooker. My knife finds a rhythm in slicing vegetables, my ears love the sizzle of browning meat, and my heart leaps as I shake seasonings into the pot and suddenly the soup is more than single ingredients standing alone.

Adding a fresh loaf of crusty-on-the-outside, squishy-on-the-inside bread and maybe a tossed green salad on the side, and dinner on a chilly autumn evening is ready. The satisfaction of cooking is a motivator for me, and the joy it brings me to set a table and welcome my family around it is palpable.

“In a world that holds tables to gather around, family to break bread, and meals to be made, there is still good.”

In a world that holds tables to gather around, family to break bread, and meals to be made, there is still good.

Daily, I sit at my computer. I type out words and create emails, check in on social media and schedule a few posts, attend video meetings and work with my team.

I dig into my laundry pile, sort whites and bright colors, add detergent, and swish-swash goes the washer. I vacuum up dog hair, fallen from our dog who loves to zoom and barrel dive into our legs. I load the dishwasher, unload the dishwasher, and load it up again, full of dishes on which meals and snacks were served and enjoyed.

I pick up tiny toys and stack books on shelves and go to the store for shampoo and bananas.

I check in with the family text thread, drive to sports and band practice, and place books on hold at the library. I collapse into bed at the end of the day, thankful for each task ticked off my to-do list and asking for help to finish the leftovers.

In a world that holds housekeeping tasks and work projects and joy in it all, there is still good.

“God, who loves us as much as He did on day one, makes all things work for the good of those who love Him.”

God, who loves us as much as He did on day one, makes all things work for the good of those who love Him.

He thinks of us constantly, more than there are grains of sand. He created the heat of summer, the colors of autumn, the glittering snow of winter, and the newness of life in spring. He went to the grave and back for us, for me and you.

In a world overflowing with reminders of God’s love, there is still good.

I find these reminders of goodness in all that He made, and within the pages of His Word. It’s evident, full of the words threaded together that show the depth of His love, evident on every page that I turn.

“On days when goodness is not as obvious, I can open that book and find Him still.”

On days when goodness is not as obvious, I can open that book and find Him still. And once my heart is back in line with what He is showing me, I see clearly again.

The walk to school. The sermon at church. The fresh-fallen leaves.

The width and depth of the ocean. The warmth of the sun.

The crisp pages of a new, blank journal.

A hot latte. A letter from a friend.

A daisy growing out of a sidewalk crack.

Your children, friends, and family.

A verse in Scripture that speaks straight to your heart.

Goodness isn’t hard to find, especially when you’re on the lookout.

May you taste and see the goodness of the Lord, from the pages to the lived-out glory of your daily life.

DaySpring, the Christian subsidiary of Hallmark, created the new Signature Collection Bibles with you in mind. It is their hope that throughout this book, you’ll experience the life-changing message of God’s love, feel His peaceful presence, and find a deeper connection with your loving Father.

Published with Tyndale House, the DaySpring Signature Collection Bibles incorporate great design with the clear and accurate New Living Translation to provide you with an exceptional Bible Reading Experience. The NLT will encourage you to dive deeper into God’s heart for you with easy-to-read text that relates to today’s world. Easy to carry and understandable for a variety of ages, this collection is equipped with the Filament Bible app, which puts devotional, worship, and study materials right at your fingertips.

As you read the DaySpring Signature Bible, may your faith fully embrace all that God has for you, and may every day of your life be filled with His reassuring love.

[ Our humble thanks to DaySpring and Tyndale for their partnership in today’s devotion ]

Only the Good Stuff: Multivitamins For Your Weekend [10.8.2022]

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:

Kyle Campbell – Sudden Journeys Kyle Campbell – Sudden Journeys Kyle Campbell – Sudden Journeys Kyle Campbell – Sudden Journeys Kyle Campbell – Sudden Journeys

meander the English countryside and inhale the gift of autumn with us?

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A post shared by Walter, Milo & George (@skateboardk9)

just something to crack your smile wide open this weekend!

I can’t stop thinking about this.
Words from a Pastor in Florida who lost everything —
Or did he really? This is worth really sitting with.

If you watch anything this week…
these might be the most edifying 8 minute watch on the internet this week.

Dare you to watch and not feel your faith wildly strengthened!
Watched with tears brimming and my heart aching with thanks to God for all of His ways.

want to know what really, truly matters this weekend? this right here!

So fun! This guy was just busking for pennies — when this woman asks if she can perform a duet with him.
Dubious that she’s any good — she grins that she’s actually singing Christine in “Phantom of the Opera” at Majesty’s Theatre.
MIC DROP.

Watching this, I couldn’t stop smiling —
and I want to be the person who takes the time to pause to be in awe —
and not just keep blithely walking by!

The Grace Case Get the Fall “Today’s Daily Bread” Grace Case

with all this beautiful goodness when you sign up for the Grace Case!

Join along with us collecting handcrafted heirlooms from around the world and
supporting artisans around the world – delivered right to your doorstep!

Read More About the Grace Case & Get Your Fall Box HERE

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A post shared by Good News Movement (@goodnews_movement)

the sweetest little duo!

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A post shared by Tamilyn and Christopher (@godsmiraclebabies)

now those are some powerful words for our weekend :)

oh this testimony of God’s wild, unending grace…
“Christ will hold you, even when your failing hands can hold onto nothing else.”

– on repeat, reminding us to run to God’s open arms –

“I’m replacing control for surrender
In Your kindness there’s joy to repent
So I turn my eyes up to the heavens where my song began”

Post Of The Week From Around These Parts

Want a Big Heart in a World that Can Be Self-Centered?

Want a larger heart, bigger joy, and make your one life more abundant?

THIS RIGHT HERE about makes my heart BURST AT THE SEAMS!

You’ve got to READ THIS!

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A post shared by April (@oak_and_ashes)

–watching fall unfurl before our eyes-

how to love your pastor well… YES!! especially this month during #ministryappreciationmonth

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A post shared by Rachel (@rachel.zimm)

God’s creation is just so unbelievably, breathtakingly beautiful, isn’t it?

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A post shared by justB ΩΨΦ (@nola_roots)

how about a peaceful, foggy morning stroll through the woods?

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A post shared by susanna april•artist•designer (@susannaapril)

this caption is GOLD worth savoring for each of us

On The Book Stack at the Farm Read Grace Fox‘s recent guest post: Life Detour? Don’t Miss This Turn Read Shannon Acheson‘s recent guest post: Why the Clutter in Our Homes is About More Than Just the Stuff-and How to Tackle It! Read Iva May‘s recent guest post: You Can’t Miss Out Reading the Bible Like This Read Jack Kuhatschek‘s recent guest post: Want the Real Key to Growing the Fruit of the Spirit in Your Life?

come along with us to rediscover the magnificence of our God and His creation? glory, glory, glory

“Honestly, the best book next to the Bible I have ever read is Waymaker.“
~Deborah L

Are you desperate for more than just a way through,
but The Way through?

When you’re praying for a miracle and you need to know that God is near:

For every person who is walking a hard way and looking for a way through, WayMaker is your sign.

Your sign that there is hope, that there are miracles, and that everything you are trying to find a way to, is actually coming to meet you in ways far more fulfilling than you ever imagined.

 Grab your copy of WayMaker — and begin the journey you’re desperately looking for… PICK UP YOUR COPY OF WAYMAKER

-literally cannot stop playing this on repeat-
this whole album of Taya’s is saturated with His Word… so rich

[ Prints FREE here ]

Come close here– It’s going to be okay…
That Mount Everest you’re climbing today?
God is greater.
Those obstacles you’re facing right now?
God is greater.
This storm you’re weathering through?
God is greater.
Today, just hold on to these three words, your refrain for the climbing,
the overcoming, the pressing through wind:
God. is. Greater.

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. 

Want a Big Heart in a world that can be self-centered?

Nobody has to tell you that, because you can honestly just feel it when you’re sitting somewhere you feel loved:

Abundance, the real kind, is an expansive ocean, and you’re an island surrounded by its unending grace.

There is blue as far as you can see — when you feel loved and seen.

All their eyes around the table were ocean blue at a Sunday dinner, all the kids and cousins. I felt like I was standing at the edge of something deep and wide and long that went on forever.

“Abundance is not something to be attained — abundance is something to awaken to.”

And our smallest, grafted into our family and our hearts grafted into hers, her eyes are an island of brown — and here we are all, surrounding her in a thousand ways, engulfing her in love, endlessly, forever, lapping up on her shores and feeling ourselves abundantly, wildly, lucky. Blessed.

This, you can do exactly this at Sunday dinner:

You can look around at your people, look at all the brave ragamuffins and beautiful misfits who you get to call yours, and you can feel it pounding like a tidal wave of truth in your very own chest:

Abundance is not something to be attained — abundance is something to awaken to.

Where you feel loved, you can end up wanting to memorize all the faces, memorize this waking to the smell of fried chicken and warmed rolls and the faint scent of polished shoes and perfumed wrists and old cologne.

You can hear a cat can meow from behind a bedroom door and the dog’s thumping his tail in the mat in the mudroom and there can be more than a basket or two of laundry there by the washing machine and the stove can need a deep scrubbing and there can be a splaying of bills across your desk.

“It is not what we get, but what we give thanks for, that gives us the abundant life.”

But there is breath filling your lungs and there is time, even yet, and there is still light and hope, and why did you get this one breath, let alone another two, and there is rising today, the sun, and all the possibilities, and resurrections everywhere, abundance rising out of ashes, and you can’t doubt it.

You can believe this, witness this. You can feel it like a rising tide that carries you forward even now:

It is not what we get, but what we give thanks for, that gives us the abundant life.

This is the surest truth: Overflow with gratitude, and it will quench every inch of your life.

How is there all this light?

How is there all this light in all their eyes?

How is there all this love and how could we want to live anywhere else but in the love that is this tsunami that can flood in unexpected places of grace,  because He who is in us is greater and His great love cannot stop rising in us.

You can watch how your people pass down the water pitcher.

“Overflow with gratitude and it will quench every inch of your life.”

And you can take that pitcher in hand, and you can fill your cup and I am telling you, that elusive abundant life that kinda runs through your fingers like water running on and on?

This can fill you, and you can feel it like an ending of emptiness:

Abundance is about riches, not about money. And if your hands are full of the riches of Christ, how can your heart not be full of the abundant life?

And you just might hear the cosmos murmur that:

If tired hands don’t feel full of the riches of Christ, those weary hands might take His, and long hold the tried and true Words of Christ, and linger longer at the nail-scarred feet of Christ, and feel the wounds of Christ trace all the tender scars like He is finding His people and you’re finding yours.

Scars speak a private language that only the wounded know ,and Christ wears His scars because He is abundantly fluent in broken hearts.

You could look around you right now.

Abundance is not about your hands being full, but your heart being full.

And your heart can fill with here and now, and there’s grace in this moment for those willing to wake.

“Abundance is not about having excess. Abundance is about realizing you have enough.“

Tilt your head on a tilted planet, and watch how the angle of light hits things really proves we don’t have to angle for things — there is enough if enough of us live given.

Honest to God, there’s enough breath in the lungs to murmur your thanks to God.

Get lost in people’s eyes any old time today, and in swaths of sun on any afternoon, and lose track of time and get lost in a good book, and smile abundantly, till your cheek hurts, because you are alive after all.

And you have time to feel wind on your face, and you have time to reach out to one person and remember how we all belong to each other and each of us gets a place to belong and the abundance of your life is not measured in the ways you gained — but in what you gave away.

I’d heard it said once that passion is the way to abundance and when I asked if she knew that passion literally means suffering — she nodded and I knew right then that I would give the rest of my life to understand how suffering is the way to abundance.

When I looked around a table full of my people, when I look into the faces of all the people, and I listen to their rabble and their laughter and their dreams and their brokenness, you can see how everyone is a hero every day because life is hard, and everyone needs a witness to their courage so none of us are alone.

And that’s what filled me at the table:

“The abundant life is only found in loving abundantly.”

I hold my cup and abundantly feel that for all of them, right now, just as they simply and wholly are.

Is that when it happens, not in my cerebrum, but in my gut, in the pounding chambers of my heart?

Yes, I can feel that’s when there’s a knowing in the core of being, what a preacher said once on a Sunday morning. Held up a cup up and poured it full of water– and then dumped it out. And said that this was genuine koinonia. Not sipping hipster coffee out of styrofoam cups out in the foyer. But actually pouring out of cups, being filled and emptied and filled with the abundant life.

This was what that Greek word for community, koinonia, literally looks like, what it literally means: a pouring out and a pouring into.

Isn’t that what happened in the beginning, all of the expanse of space rang with the words, “Let us make man in our image.” Let us.

Wasn’t that all our genesis and isn’t that the beginning of all abundance: We were made out of community, to be in community.

You were made out of an abundantly loving relationship to be in abundantly loving relationships.

The abundant life is only found in loving abundantly.

The water pitcher is being passed all down the table. It’s being poured out. Cups are being filled.

I am breathing, waking, witnessing, seeing, filling, feeling.

Can the abundant life be as simple and as profound as giving abundantly and letting yourself be abundantly filled to give and pour out?

It is loud around the table and there is love being poured out and passed around and empty places are being filled.

“The abundant life is about giving your thanks, giving your life, giving your heart. Only the given life is the abundant life.”

And this is the moment I understand it, how suffering is the way to abundance — because to passionately love is to suffer. Because to love is to live given. And this doesn’t make me afraid — it makes everything feel deeply right.

Abundantly right.

The little girl with the brown eyes in this ocean of blue, she taps my shoulder and says it loud over the din, “Mama? What about me?”

She’s holding out her empty cup to me.

And I pour some of my water into her cup. And the grace of it washes over me:

The abundant life is about giving your thanks, giving your life, giving your heart. Only the given life is the abundant life.

And I nod to her — but I am nodding to me.

If you want abundant life, give your life away. Anyone can do this, so anyone can have the abundant life.

She who gives abundantly, gathers abundance.

And then, all around the table, we take each other’s hands, hold each other’s hand, bow our heads.

And I know my farming man is praying at the end of the table, giving thanks for the food, for us gathered, but all I can hear, all you can hear, is this ocean of abundance kissing the shores of everything:

Abundance is about pouring out, because only what is poured out can fill with abundantly more.

You find yourself at a crossroads every day — and what you need to know is the way to abundance.

How do you find the way that lets you become what you hope to be?

How do you know the way forward that lets you heal, that lets you flourish, the way that takes your brokenness — and makes wholeness?

How can you afford to take any other way?

The Way of Abundance is a gorgeous movement in sixty steps from heart-weary brokenness to Christ-focused abundance.

The Way of Abundance — is the way forward that every heart longs for.

Life Detour? Don’t Miss This Turn

A career missionary and full-time sailboat dweller, Grace Fox is an ordinary woman who radiates love for her extraordinary God. She’s passionate about His Word and showing its relevance to everyday life. With transparency, warmth, and wisdom, she connects us by sharing life-changing lessons learned on good days and bad. Her new devotional book, Fresh Hope for Today, offers fresh hope to those walking a difficult path. We’ve all been there. No doubt some of us are walking a hard path at this very moment. It is a joy to welcome Grace to the farm’s table today…

Guest Post by Grace Fox

Sunshine beckoned that summery morning, so Sailor-Man (known to most as my husband, Gene) and I took a ninety-minute jaunt downriver in our liveaboard sailboat. We moored at a public dock, strolled the boardwalk, bought a fresh-caught salmon at the fish market, and sipped cold lemonade. It seemed a picture-perfect day until suddenly it was not.

On our trip home, we didn’t see the submerged log, but we felt its three jarring thuds. The collision bent our vessel’s rudder and knocked out her steering. Sailor-Man immediately set the anchor to secure our position, and then we waited nearly three hours for a rescue tug to come and tow us back to our marina home.

We had planned to return by late afternoon, but exhaustedly limped to our dock long past dark.

The damage displaced us for three weeks while our vessel underwent repairs onshore. It canceled a vacation with Sailor-Man’s siblings, whom we’d seldom seen in the past two years. It exhausted Sailor-Man as he juggled his daily workload with overseeing the repairs at the marina, an hour’s drive from our temporary accommodation.

It kept me up late at night as I tried to fulfill writing assignments while living in someone else’s space far from my office. And, when further damage was discovered, it thrust us into a place of uncertainty. The part needed to fix our sailboat home had to be custom-built in a different country.

How long would that take? Would supply chain issues be a problem?  

As we motored away from our dock that summer morning, we did not foresee our little journey taking this unexpected turn. But life’s like that.

“Circumstances can change so fast we don’t know what has hit us, but we are left with its jarring impact and the pain of its wake.”

Everything seems fine and good until suddenly it’s not.

Circumstances can change so fast we don’t know what has hit us, but we are left with its jarring impact and the pain of its wake.

Sailboat mishap aside, I’ve experienced a few other whiplash-inducing switchbacks in times past…

In our younger years, Sailor-Man and I moved to Nepal with a faith-based nonprofit organization. We’d devoted the rest of our lives to the Nepalese, but plans changed when our daughter was born with hydrocephalus (too much fluid in the brain). We returned to North America within days so she could receive necessary medical intervention, and her ongoing needs required us to stay there.One Christmas morning, my elderly widowed mother woke up anticipating a special day with those she loved. But our family’s journey took a devastating detour when mom ended up in a hospital emergency room instead and was diagnosed with a brain tumor.I attended a wellness retreat and was inspired to pursue a healthier lifestyle. I returned home committed to exercising daily, but within the week suffered two separate leg injuries that landed me in a wheelchair for three months.

“detours are often the path to spiritual growth.”

Each of these turnabouts caused intense personal pain. No doubt you’ve had a few such twists and turns of your own. And no doubt, more await. When they come and what they’ll look like remain a mystery to us all. But here’s what we can’t miss: detours are often the path to spiritual growth.  

Our human tendency is to view them as delays, disappointments, and difficulties, but Scripture gives us a more accurate perspective and guides us in how to embrace them and grow in them.

Twelve hours before I suffered my first leg injury, I had read James 1:2–4 in my quiet time:

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (ESV).

I read, agreed, and journaled, “These are great verses.”

“Choosing joy when my journey has taken undesirable turns has changed my life, but I’ll be real—it hasn’t always come easy.”

That night, wearing a new knee-high cast on my left leg, I hoisted myself backward up 15 stairs to my bedroom. The morning’s Scripture reading came to mind, and I had a conversation with myself.

“I want to be steadfast, perfect, and complete. I want to lack nothing. I choose joy,” I said, one step at a time.“I choose joy.” 

Choosing joy when my journey has taken undesirable turns has changed my life, but I’ll be real—it hasn’t always come easy.

There’s nothing joyful about a family relationship going sideways, watching a friend descend into the darkness of depression, losing a loved one to cancer, or facing unexpected expenses when the car (and boat-home) needs immediate care.

My natural response is to spew something like, “You’ve got to be kidding!” and succumb to frustration or fear. But thanks to the Holy Spirit’s help, choosing joy is possible even when emotions say otherwise.

Choosing joy in the hard places of life changes and refines us and that’s a good thing. But the reason we can choose joy even when our journey takes us in a difficult direction is because Jesus walks with us.

Before He ascended into heaven, Jesus promised to never leave us.

“No matter where our path leads, Jesus is already there.”

No matter where our path leads, Jesus is already there. The new road might be steep or scarred with potholes, but He steadies our feet as we walk (Psalm 40:2). When we grow weary, He carries us in His arms, close to His heart (Isaiah 40:11).

There’s no way for us to know what unforeseen challenges our journeys may hold, but we don’t have to be afraid. With the help of the Spirit, we can meet each moment with a grace that paves the way for growth. We can face the unexpected with confidence because Jesus is with us all the way.

Grace Fox has written 13 books and is a member of the First 5 writing team for Proverbs 31 Ministries. She also cohosts the podcast Your Daily Bible Verse and codirects International Messengers Canada, a missionary-sending agency with staff in 31 countries. Her passion is to connect the dots between faith and real life by helping others learn to love, understand, and apply God’s Word.

Sometimes the road we travel feels lonely or steep. It winds through dark valleys, follows unfamiliar ways, and leaves us weary from the inside out. In times like these, we need the hope God’s Word offers, in snippets our minds can absorb. Fresh Hope for Today delivers. Its 90 daily meditations offer nuggets of encouragement, a sentence prayer, a point to ponder, and a thoughtful quote by someone who walked a difficult journey and discovered joy along the way.

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

Scripture quotation marked ESV is from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Only the Good Stuff: Multivitamins For Your Weekend [10.1.2022]

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:

Meg Loeks – Photographer Meg Loeks – Photographer Meg Loeks – Photographer Meg Loeks – Photographer Meg Loeks – Photographer

may we fully embrace the wonder of fall and all the ordinary, wildly holy moments it brings

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A post shared by Ann Voskamp (@annvoskamp)

oh THIS for our hearts this weekend! we all need this, don’t we?

maybe you just need a little reminder that God sees you? yes, you!

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A post shared by iulia bochis (@iuliastration)

oh this! joy *always* comes in the morning

Not everything has to be sarcasm and anger and bitterness. Just enjoy.
#ChooseKindness pic.twitter.com/8M7aybkxhl

— SnarkTank (@SnarkkTank) September 27, 2022

*this one made me tear up–the power of being the GIFT for someone!*

wisdom comes with age! just ask THIS 90-year-old woman

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A post shared by Katie Grossbard (@katiegrossbard)

who can *we* welcome to share the wins with? this is kind of everything!

The Grace Case Get the Fall “Today’s Daily Bread” Grace Case

with all this beautiful goodness when you sign up for the Grace Case!

Join along with us collecting handcrafted heirlooms from around the world and
supporting artisans around the world – delivered right to your doorstep!

Read More About the Grace Case & Get Your Fall Box HERE

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Upworthy (@upworthy)

this kid gets it! #bethegift

– well this is just the BEST! being the gift in idea and design –

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A post shared by Animals Doing Things (@animalsdoingthings)

the cutest pup for your weekend :)

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A post shared by Good News Movement (@goodnews_movement)

when we really, truly *see* each other, we can take care of each other in the most beautiful ways!

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A post shared by @charissasylviawriter

the work He’s put in your hands is holy, no matter what

– ohh, the beautiful, powerful gifts we receive through the Lord’s Supper –

Post Of The Week From Around These Parts

Your Younger You Needed You to Now Know This
(instead of feeling discouraged)

Dear You,

Dear Self and me and you and us,

Really, it’s all going to be okay.

You’re going to be okay.

Promise.

These words & wisdom we ALL really need to hear

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A post shared by Ksenia (@ksenia_belanger)

oh to see life through the eyes of a child, what wonder we will find!

gather ’round! the kids giggled and oohed over this one!

Are you in a storm? Waiting on the WayMaker?
God hears your cries.

don’t skip this cheesy, autumn cranberry bread – the perfect excuse to invite people to your table!

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A post shared by Marijke Janssen (@hummingbirdsbysurprise)

who doesn’t just love a beautiful hummingbird?!

we’re so ready for all the glory and slow fall brings – come along with us and bask in this beauty?

“Honestly, the best book next to the Bible I have ever read is Waymaker.“
~Deborah L

Are you desperate for more than just a way through, but The Way through?

When you’re praying for a miracle and you need to know that God is near:

For every person who is walking a hard way and looking for a way through, WayMaker is your sign.

Your sign that there is hope, that there are miracles, and that everything you are trying to find a way to, is actually coming to meet you in ways far more fulfilling than you ever imagined.

 Grab your copy of WayMaker — and begin the journey you’re desperately looking for… PICK UP YOUR COPY OF WAYMAKER

this weekend let’s turn our gaze-our attention-to the One who changes everything

[ Prints FREE here ]

Today, that’s it: Smile & Enjoy!
You only have so many days!

Seize moments today: laugh with somebody, pause & watch the sky,
tell one person she is beautiful, run across grass & feel your heart beat,
find a way to ‪#‎betheGIFT‬‬ to someone, say the words out loud: I love you.

“Make the most of every chance you get.” Eph.5:15 MSG

We may have eternity — but we only have so much time.
Every day is a ridiculously special occasion to be alive—
and not to waste on grudges or bitterness or unforgiveness!

How you spend your moments — adds up to how you spend your one life.
So go ahead today – Smile & laugh & love large & don’t pick a side.

Pick a Person —
the Person of Jesus.
And go pick His ways.

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. 

Why the Clutter in Our Homes Is About More Than Just the Stuff—and How to Tackle It!

As an author and homeschooling mom of almost-grown kiddos, Shannon Acheson believes as I do that home is the most important place on earth. It’s where we go to be refreshed, to be our true selves, and to both give and receive the love we all need. In her new book The Clutter Fix, Shannon reveals that a cluttered home is about more than just the stuff. With wisdom and grace, she teaches why and how embracing the art of simplicity can help you create the peaceful home your heart and family long for. It’s a grace to welcome Shannon to the farm’s table today…

Guest Post by Shannon Acheson

For the last decade, I’ve written about home. How to decorate it, how to keep it organized, how to create projects, how to host holidays, and overall, how to make the home a place to love on friends, family, and neighbors.

Over that time, I’ve had many conversations with women about what their biggest struggles are with their homes. And time and time again, the answer has been clutter.

Repeatedly, women have shared with me how they feel overwhelmed, depressed, lack confidence, and are generally unsure of where to begin tackling the mess in their homes.

“clutter isn’t just about the stuff.”

All of this makes sense because clutter isn’t just about the stuff.

It’s about how we feel in our homes and how we live out our lives. It’s mental and emotional, not just physical. It’s about being good stewards of the time, resources and space God has given us.

But even when we are desperate to declutter and organize our homes, it can be hard to find the momentum to get the job done. We can get distracted, frustrated, and overwhelmed because we often make a bigger mess before we can actually make it better.

“It’s often difficult to keep the end in mind in the middle of the mess.”

It’s often difficult to keep the end in mind in the middle of the mess. Our mind and spirit will need help along the way.

One of the ways to do this is by creating and practicing affirmations.

Affirmations do not have to be weird. They are simply a way to remind yourself to think good things along the way. They are a valuable tool to help you reach your peaceful home goals.

Affirmations help you because they:

Make you more aware of your negative thoughtsHave the potential to change what you think and believe about yourself and your homeHelp you feel more positive, energetic, and motivated

Affirmations help us rewire old thought patterns and create new, more positive thought pathways. These in turn lead to better habits and actions in our lives.

The Bible emphasizes the importance and power of being aware and careful of what we think about.

“The scriptures encourage us not to get sucked into negative thinking but to bring our minds back to just, pure, and lovely thoughts, deliberately!”

“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”  (Philippians 4:8 ESV)

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2 ESV)

“As he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7 KJV)

The scriptures encourage us not to get sucked into negative thinking but to bring our minds back to just, pure, and lovely thoughts, deliberately!

We do this when we study scripture and read uplifting stories of faith and perseverance. And we can also do this by creating and focusing on positive words of affirmation regularly.

Words are powerful. And we can use them to help us with the clutter in our homes, just as we can use them to help us with finances, faith, and even encouraging our loved ones.

So, what are affirmations?

Affirmations are simply words that will help you make positive changes in your life and home – a few words strung together into a sentence or phrase that you find meaningful. They can be Bible verses, song lyrics, or quotes from your favorite author or book.

Once you’ve decided on the phrases or sentences that encourage you where you are in your season of decluttering and organization, keep them front and center.

Write them out daily in your journalPut them on notes where you’ll see them throughout your day (like on your bathroom mirror, your desk, or your car’s dashboard)Keep a list on your phone or by your bed and simply read them before you fall asleep or when you wake up each morning

To get you started, here are a few verses that make great affirmations:

“God is within her, she will not fall.” (Psalm 46:5)“God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

The way you begin the work of creating a clutter-free home, is to begin here: 

What kind and true and gentle words of God can you make a home for in your heart?

Because:

The words you make a home for in your heart — will be what makes real beauty in your home.

The words of God that live in your heart — will change the way you live in your home.

The best way to begin decluttering a home — is to first let God’s Words & truth fill our hearts.

Shannon is a mostly self-taught decorator and the editor and designer behind HomeMadeLovely.com. Her happy place is in the suburbs of Toronto, where she is a Homebody with a capital H, a Jesus girl, a happy wife to Dean, and a mom of three grown (or nearly grown) kiddos.

Shannon’s newest book, The Clutter Fix: The No-Fail, Stress-Free Guide to Organizing Your Home, is the only guide you’ll ever need to get your entire home sorted and organized for good—in a way that makes sense for you and your family’s unique, God-given personalities. With step-by-step instructions and checklists, you can discover your Clutter Personality and your Organizing Personality and create rhythms and routines to keep your home decluttered. Clutter is about how you feel in your home—and in your mind. And it’s about being good stewards of what our Father God has given us. This book will give you the peaceful dwelling you’ve always hoped for.

[ Our humble thanks to Bethany House Publishers for their partnership in today’s devotion ]

Your Younger You Needed You to Now Know This (instead of feeling discouraged)

Dear You,

Dear Self and me and you and us,

Really, it’s all going to be okay.

You’re going to be okay.

Promise.

Remember when you were about 21?

And how you’d thought that by the time you got to here, to now, it was going to be good? That by now everything would be all good.

That by now you’d know down in the very marrow of your bones, what it’s like to really live loved. That you’d be known. Fully known. And wholly embraced.

That the Big Dream would have happened, that the peace and the purpose and the Big Point would be under your skin, that the awkward would be gone and that you’d finally fit and that your life made a real difference, you’d made a real mark, and that you really mattered.

every day, with every word, we get to decide: Do we mar the world, or mark the world?

You don’t have to worry: We all get to take our life and make one unforgettable mark.

And every day, with every word, we get to decide: Do we mar the world, or mark the world?

In the midst of everything:  Why in the world disdain the small? It’s always the smallest strokes that add up to the greatest masterpieces.

Because the thing really is: Do we ever really know which mark we make — that will matter the most?

The extraordinary things happen nowhere else but in the everyday and today can always be the beginning:

That card you signed and sealed and put in the mail.

The way you smiled and nodded to the white-crowned woman bent over the still-green bananas, the way you dug around in the dirt and and left that seed or that gift of the knees and that prayer whispered for a stranger or that glass of water you handed to someone and winked because you just knew.

You’ve got to remember:

We don’t know when and how we are leaving the greatest marks on the world. It all matters.

Believe it: Every tremor of kindness might erupt in a miracle on the other side of the world.

Believe it: Every tremor of kindness might erupt in a miracle on the other side of the world.

And the only way to ever leave beauty marks on the world is with bits of yourself — and this will cost you some sacrifice. 

Dear you, and self, and me, and us, —  Just For Today —  take these words, words of Dag Hammarskjold, Secretary-General of the United Nations, words that you can take to the bank, take to eternity: “It is more noble to give yourself completely to one individual than to labor diligently for … the masses.”

Christ left the ninety-nine for the one.

Where you are — with that one child, on that one street, under your one roof, living with your one family —  it is a noble, Christ-called thing.

It only takes one person to change the world — and one individual, one soul, can be all your world.

Really, beautiful You: The most exquisite marks anyone makes with their life — are the marks done in secret. The mark that no one — but One — will ever see.

So in a hard season, when you feel forgotten and invisible and unimportant, gather yourself up with the truth of this: So the celebrities get their celebration here.

the wise are the hidden who hold out for heaven — and the applause that comes from God.

But the wise are the hidden who hold out for heaven — and the applause that comes from God.

This is to choose the far greater.

I know you’re brave … and you’re scared. Because you keep doing big things that seems so small and you wonder where all this is really going and you only get one life here —

And though you’re weary, you do hard things and you keep getting out of bed and this is always the hardest part — and you keep believing that Christ didn’t leave this world until He showed us His scars — and He won’t ever let you leave this world until you leave your most beautiful mark. To show Him.

So Just For Today — listen: you’ve got to keep going.

His Kingdom is Upside Down and in Him your part is large and lovely and needed and art.

So go get the milk and take out the trash and throw in the laundry and wave giddy to the neighbors because there is a plan and there is a purpose and there is a God in heaven who didn’t just ink you onto the palm of His hands but etched your name right into Himself with nails and He’s hasn’t just got your number, He’s got your heart.

He sees you, hidden in Him, and you aren’t ever forgotten because God can’t forget those right in Him.

You’ve never missed the boat when you’re holding onto the Cross.

So really — you’ve got to believe it for your 21 year-old-self and 41 year-old-self and for yourself right now: really, it’s all working out okay.

You’ve never missed the boat when you’re holding onto the Cross.

Because God’s writing your story and He never leaves you alone in your story, and His perfect love absorbs all your fear and His perfect grace carries all your burdens, and your story is a happily ever after because Christ bought your happily ever after so you always know how this story ends:

You’re going to be okay.

Dear Self, tuck this away to read again whenever you need to know it again — and promise me, you’ll laugh and sing and dance a bit today?

Heaven and His Kingdom and The Feast is coming!  — so go ahead and pass down a huge piece of cake and let’s just savor the grace of even here now.

Love,
Me.

~ excerpt from The Broken Way

“Honestly, the best book next to the Bible I have ever read is Waymaker.”
~Deborah L

Are you desperate for more than just a way through, but The Way through?

For every person who is walking a hard way and looking for a way through, WayMaker is your sign.

Your sign that there is hope, that there are miracles, and that everything you are trying to find a way to, is actually coming to meet you in ways far more fulfilling than you ever imagined.

Grab Your Copy of WayMaker — and begin the journey you’re desperately looking for…

You Can’t Miss Out Reading the Bible Like This

Iva May was often frustrated and did not know what she was missing as she faithfully read through the Bible year after year. She loved and taught God’s Word, but she couldn’t quite put together the Bible’s big story—until she was introduced to The One Year Chronological Bible, which arranges the contents of the Bible chronologically. Suddenly, the redemptive story of the Bible became clear. Iva discovered that there are no stand-alone books or stories in the Bible; all the pieces work together to tell one grand narrative. For Iva, understanding the story of the Bible is like putting together the best puzzle ever made, and when the image is revealed, you can’t help but be transformed. It’s a grace to welcome Iva to the farm’s table today…

Guest Post by Iva May

With puzzles, the picture on the cover acts as a guide, and the straight edges and corners provide the framework for the remaining pieces. Without this picture and framework, puzzle assembly becomes frustrating, impractical, and very difficult.

“Having no overview picture or guiding framework can lead to people giving up on reading it or even creating a distorted view of it.”

The same thing can happen when trying to understand the Bible. Having no overview picture or guiding framework can lead to people giving up on reading it or even creating a distorted view of it.

For several decades, my Bible reading had consisted of favorite passages or stories, verses that I had memorized, favorite authors, and the daily and annual discipline of reading through the Bible. I thought that was all I needed to do. I thought I understood the Bible. But then I asked myself three questions:

What is Bible literacy?

Why is Bible literacy critical?

How can I become Bible literate?

“To qualify as Bible literate, I needed to know the whole story, not just the parts of the Bible here and there that I really liked. I needed to understand it in its entirety so I could tell it to others.“

As I grappled with the first question, I found a definition from Celina Durgan from the Center for Hebraic Thought’s The Biblical Mind: “Bible literacy is thorough familiarity with the key narratives, people, order of events, and basic, clear themes throughout the whole Bible—yes, even the minor prophets.”

I realized Bible literacy is understanding, with the ability to tell, the story of the Bible.

To qualify as Bible literate, I needed to know the whole story, not just the parts of the Bible here and there that I really liked. I needed to understand it in its entirety so I could tell it to others.

This led me to my next question: Why is it critical for me to be Bible literate?

I began to realize that faith cannot exist in a vacuum. It is directly connected to the knowledge of the Scriptures. The apostle Paul addresses believers and connects faith to hearing God’s Word: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Bible literacy, however, isn’t merely a New Testament idea. For the people of Israel to become a people of faith, every generation had to become Bible literate. God laid out a Bible literacy plan.

They must know and trust the Originator of all creation, He who has no beginning. They must feel the failure of all humanity, beginning with Adam and Eve, to believe God and walk in His ways. They must trust in God’s promise of Redemption, beginning with Genesis 3:15. They must understand God’s ways with their ancestors. They must live lives of hope and expectation. They must tell others.

“God intended for Bible literacy—knowledge of His Word—to become a core value in Israel.“

God intended for Bible literacy—knowledge of His Word—to become a core value in Israel. Moses connected it to spiritual vitality (Deuteronomy 32:45-47) and instructed all the people to gather at the Festival of Shelters every seven years for a complete reading of the Book of the Law (Deuteronomy 31:9-13). Prior to the Exile, the only recorded instance of this happening comes during the revival of Josiah (2 Chronicles 34:29-30).

After Nehemiah registers the people according to their genealogy and opens the treasury to receive gifts for the rebuilding, Ezra leads a public reading of the Book of the Law. The Levites interpret the Book of the Law to help the people understand. Returning to the land requires a rebuilt Temple, a rebuilt city, and a rebuilt people—a people who know their God and know His Word.

Bible literacy makes the difference between ruin and revival.

Many years ago, I traveled to Myanmar.

Our host took our team to several significant sites for Buddhists. One was the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, a huge granite rock that sits precariously on the side of a mountain. Male devotees frequently paste gold leaf to the outside of the rock.  According to legend, it is held up by a hair of Buddha.

As I observed devotees bringing gold leaf, flowers, and fruit, I was reminded of the importance of Bible literacy. That morning I had read Psalm 138:2, which ends with the words “For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” I could not imagine anything more exalted than the name Jehovah God, yet the psalmist magnifies God’s Word above His name.

“Men without God’s Word will place their faith in idols and false narratives.”

I knew in that moment that men without God’s Word will place their faith in idols and false narratives.

During that moment on the mountainside, I understood that the world, those sitting in darkness, would remain trapped with no way out unless believers know and tell His story. We, the church, are stewards of God’s redemptive story. We must know it to tell it—from beginning to end, Genesis to Revelation.

Knowing I needed to take action, I dove into answering my final question: How do I move beyond Bible reading to Bible literacy? I started by reading a Chronological Study Bible . This helped me develop a framework of the metanarrative of the Bible. Then I added notes to the framework as I read through the Bible.

As I read, I started asking important questions such as: Where else in the narrative have I seen God? Is he revealing himself through this person? Where do I see his likeness? Is there a particular topic, place, or similar situation? What does this passage, person, or situation reveal about God? What does it reveal about human nature? What does it say about sin?

I added messages and lessons that I heard to the relevant place in the story framework and practiced telling the basic story of the Bible to others, adding details to the story framework when relevant.

I learned how to identify and follow a theme throughout the Bible, and finally, I decided to never settle for what I already knew.

The story of the Bible tells is far too important for me to read without understanding!

There is always something new God is wanting to reveal to us through His incredible story — more about His heart, our hope, the healing wholeness that is found in Him!

Iva May is the founder and CEO of Chronological Bible Teaching Ministries. Iva is married to Stan, a pastor, and they have three children and three grandchildren.

The One Year Chronological Study Bible is the perfect framework for not just reading but also understanding the Bible. Using the accurate and understandable New Living Translation, Scripture is split into 365 daily readings with Bible events arranged in the order they actually happened. Each daily reading also includes an introduction and three closing questions. In addition, this Bible uses the 14 eras timeline to help readers visualize where they are in the story and includes a flexible annual reading plan as well as helpful articles that explain themes throughout the Bible. Experience the whole story.

[ Our humble thanks to Tyndale House Publishers for their partnership in today’s devotion ]

Only the Good Stuff: Multivitamins For Your Weekend [9.24.2022]

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