Ann Voskamp's Blog, page 64

How To Begin Again After Shattering Devastation

When Sheri Rose Shepherd’s life shattered into pieces, she was left with a choice. Would she give her pain to God or try to pick up the pieces in her own strength? Don’t miss this — as Sheri Rose shares her experience of moving from shattered devastation to divine rescue. It’s often in our most desperate moments that God does some of His most transformative work in our hearts and lives. It’s a grace to welcome Sheri Rose to the farm’s porch today …

guest post by Sheri Rose Shepherd

Five years ago, my life completely shattered right before my eyes.

“There is life after shattering devastation.”

After 25 years of ministry I was diagnosed with stage four cancer and given eight weeks to live; my marriage fell apart; my mom got cancer and moved in, and I took care of her while I was fighting cancer myself—

in addition to some personal things that happened that are too painful to even put into words.

As devastated, broken, and desperate as I was feeling at that time, I’ve discovered: There is life after shattering devastation.

Today, through Christ, my joy has been restored and a new season has begun.

When my whole world came crumbling down and the enemy broke into my life, his goal wasn’t just to steal something, it was to steal everything—including my faith in God.

“It was hard to let go and let God throw away the old pieces of my past that were beyond repair.”

John 10:10 tells us the thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy, but Jesus’ purpose is to give us a rich and satisfying life, new life.

The pain felt impossible to bear, impossible to process. I became desperate to find a piece of myself.

I even tried using the painful pieces of the enemy’s work, believing I could make something beautiful out of the devastation, kind of like a stained-glass window.

It was hard to recognize while I was going through it, but now I can see that I was trying to rebuild from the painful pieces I felt were beyond repair—in my own strength.

I ended up creating a stained-glass memorial which became a continual reminder of the death and destruction from the devil.

It was hard to let go and let God throw away the old pieces of my past that were beyond repair.

“I eventually reached a point where I needed to allow my Heavenly Father to install a brand new, beautiful window so I could see His goodness and not Satan’s destruction.”

But the truth is, as long as I continued trying to piece my life back together with the shattered pieces of the enemy’s work, I would remain in pain.

I eventually reached a point where I needed to allow my Heavenly Father to install a brand new, beautiful window so I could see His goodness and not Satan’s destruction.

I threw out the memorials of the enemy’s work; those died when Jesus died on the cross! The truth is, our Savior paid too high a price on the cross for us to live powerless lives. I can decide to live the life I have now because today is all I have!

Isaiah 43:18-19 says, “But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”

I’ve learned one of the hardest ways to live life is to try to plan my own course. I may think that I am in control of my own destiny, but it is God alone who holds my life in His hands. The sweetest life is the one surrendered to the Lord’s plan.

Jeremiah 10:23 says, “I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own.” 

I don’t need to fear anything in this world. When I’m devastated or discouraged and wondering if God is with me, I can ask Him to reveal Himself and strengthen me. No matter how often I ask, God will help me because He never grows weary of me needing Him.

“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” Isaiah 41:10, NLT

When everything is removed and God is all I have, I find that God is all I need.

Nothing feels better than waking up refreshed after a good night’s sleep. God wants me to wake up every morning knowing that He has covered what happened yesterday and holds in His hands what will happen today.

“When everything is removed and God is all I have, I find that God is all I need.”

If I really trust the Lord, I will embrace the fresh start He extends to me each day and choose to live in the freedom a fresh start offers.

God is a powerful God, but He is also a personal God whose love lasts forever.

I never have to be afraid of His love running out.

God’s love is like a fountain that flows endlessly. Praise God for His goodness!

Even in the painful places of heartache and despair, I’ll never lose my way when I follow God’s directions.

 

Sheri Rose Shepherd is the bestselling author of the His Princess books, a beloved speaker, an online Bible life coach, and the author of the THRIVE Bible devotional content. 

Tyndale’s THRIVE Devotional Bible for Women has daily devotionals and other special features written by Sheri Rose Shepherd to help women draw near to God through His Word. It is available in regular or wide-margin editions.

God’s plan for us is that we will thrive by having a deep relationship with Him, turning to Him every day and relying on Him for each need. Whether we need comfort, hope, rest, renewed vision, or someone to share our day with, God is always there for us. God communicates with us in many ways, but He has given us a special book—the Bible—filled with His words to help us know and understand Him intimately. Any time spent genuinely engaged with God’s Word has the potential to change our lives. The THRIVE Creative Journaling Devotional Bible is for every woman who wants to know God more deeply and follow Him more closely. God’s design for His children is that they live flourishing, fulfilling, joy-filled lives in Christ.  Sheri Rose has devoted over 30 years of her ministry to helping women learn how to thrive in Christ, reflect God’s glory, and gain an eternal perspective.

In the THRIVE Bible, Sheri Rose encourages women to leave all of their concerns and struggles at the foot of the cross so they can truly thrive as the women God created them to be.

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

How Your Question Marks & Unknowns & Life Feeling a Bit Up in the Air — Can Still Be the Best Kind of Life

I’ve got no idea who went ahead and pulled out a Sharpie marker and circled a bunch of dates on the calendar, but there it is, dates with Sharpie ink ringing around them like circling vultures.

Dates for maybe doctor appointments, and drop-dead deadlines, and dream days that have sort of been lifelines, but who knows what is going to happen when these days? 

“Who even knows if…what looks like it’s falling apart — is actually falling together?”

My shoulder’s been dislocated like a bad set of scraping tectonic plates all week and I’ve been walking around with soggy ice packs that keep leaking down my back.

“I know why you’re shoulder’s out, Mama,” some clever, grinning kid pipes up at the dinner table as I keep shifting this dripping bag of snow. “It’s cause you keep going around shrugging your shoulders over and over again, saying: ‘Who knows?’“

Yeah, kid, let’s go with precisely that. 

Who knows if things can come together for this dream or that plan or in time to make that date?  

Who who knows what’s going to happen next week, or next month, who knows if people on the other end of phone calls will say yes, who knows if things are just going to up and fall apart and who even knows if… what looks like it’s falling apart — is actually falling together?

I crawl into bed with a ice bag under my shoulder pressed, this pack that keeps leaving spreading wet circles everywhere like it’s up and relieved itself.

“It’s kinda feels like — our whole life is up in the air.” I whisper it to the Farmer like I’m looking for relief of my own.

Levi Voskamp

Resource: our heirloom Lenten Wreath Levi Voskamp

“Life’s about pulling skin on Jesus on earth — and about pulling out all the stops against the powers of the air. “

“Life’s kinda sorta supposed to be up in the air, isn’t it?” He murmurs it in the dark like he’s turned on a light.

“Yeah—maybe…” I’m chuckling in a melting puddle of icy-shoulder-numbness. “The abundantly good life is supposed to feel kind of up in the air.”

He finds my hand.

Life’s about pulling skin on Jesus on earth —   and about pulling out all the stops against the powers of the air.  

“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

The house is a stilled quiet. I can hear the dog breathing out on the mudroom mat.

The real good life is meant to be up in the air — because life’s real battles are being fought up in the air — up in the heavenlies. 

There’s a message from our boy: “Can you pray for me? Please?”

There’s a child in a hospital bed who we love with all our heart who is turning blue because her heart can’t keep going on like this. There’s cancer gnawing away at a mama whose house I can see from my kitchen window, whose name is there in my prayer journal.

“You’ve just got to do the next thing even when nothing feels like it’s changing anything.”

There’s women who I’d bleed for, who look numb and empty and who are going through the brave motions because you’ve just got to do the next thing even when nothing feels like it’s changing anything.

There’s a beautiful world of hurting crazy out there, and our brave kids are in the centre of it, and our people are the bloodied wounded because of it, and our dreams and our hopes and our futures and our communities and our countries are hanging in the balance through it, and there is a war in the heavenlies and the man laying beside me is believing that if our lives aren’t up in the air where the battle is, our lives on the ground fail.

The tap’s dripping in the kitchen and I’m listening to the thrum of things.

The more indifferent we are to prayer, the less God’s power makes any difference in our lives. 

That ice pack’s bleeding cold into the knots of my shoulder.

Prayers makes us slayers. 

“The more indifferent we are to prayer, the less God’s power makes any difference in our lives.”

No weapon is more formidable to slay the dark and the demons, and prayer’s the weapon we wield to make everything else we do survive fire. 

She who commits to pray, she goes the narrow way: her prayers circle demons and slay.

So go ahead, let our life be all up in the air. I can hear the wind out in the trees. The night sky’s stretching far above those spruce trees, like a shadowed battlefield.

Do not work so hard for Christ, that you make no time to pray to Christ.  

He is the lifeblood of all prayer, all work, all being, all communion.

“No weapon is more formidable to slay the dark and the demons, and prayer’s the weapon we wield to make everything else we do survive fire.”

There’s moonlight catching the cross on the wall across from the window.

The calendar squares out there in the kitchen say we’re moving into the next week of Lent.

What had Andrew Murray said? “Prayer is reaching out after the unseen; fasting is letting go of all that is seen and temporal. 

Fasting helps express, deepen, confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves, to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God.”

What of earth do I need to let go of,  fast from, sacrifice completely, to reach for what is unseen, to reach for the One more life-giving than air? 

Levi Voskamp Resource: our heirloom Lenten Wreath

Resource: our heirloom Lenten Wreath

Resource: our heirloom Lenten Wreath

Resource: our heirloom Lenten Wreath Levi Voskamp

I lay there in the night quiet for a long time…  resolving, letting go.

I can hear the wind from the north whistiling through the orchard from the north.

I’d heard it once from an old farmer’s wife, how an eagle never takes a snake on the ground. An eagle always tears into the reptile with its talons and flies it into the sky. An eagle knows:

The way to win is to change the battlefield. 

“Take every battle to the air in prayer —and God will take over your battles on earth.”

It’s from the heights, the eagle flings the snake into the air.  A snake has no strength, no power, no way through air.  Dashed upon rocks, the snake’s food for the victorious bird. When the battle’s taken to the air, there’s winning on earth. 

I exhale in the darkness and I didn’t even know I was holding my breath.

Take every battle to the air in prayer —and God will take over your battles on earth.

The Farmer’s already asleep but I almost shrug, say it anyways, say what the universe knows:

“A life up in the air — can be a life up to the best things.”

Out in the orchard, the wind shifts toward the east.

There is a changing of everything —

when breath becomes prayer.

 

Resources for your Lenten Easter Season:  

Keep company with Jesus with a Lenten to Easter wreath… and keep company with Jesus by turning the pages of these soul healing books 

 

When You Find Yourself in the Wilderness

Angie Smith is one of the most hilarious, down-to-earth people I know, and she is passionate about helping people better understand and love their Bibles. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering what on earth was going on in the storyline of Scripture and how all the stories fit together, then Angie is the perfect guide! She helps not only paint the one story of Scripture, but also reveals Jesus as the hero throughout. He is what the story is all about, and it’s impossible to spend time with Angie and not leave with fresh eyes to see Him and a fresh aroma of the joy that is to be had in His presence. It’s a grace to welcome Angie to the farm’s front porch today…

guest post by Angie Smith

Have you ever found yourself in a situation that should be joy-filled, only to hear your mouth complaining?

“Remember this truth when you go through seasons where you’re grumbling. You’ve been set free.”

Today, we jump into the biblical story at just this moment with the Israelites. They were finally walking in the direction of the land that would ultimately be theirs! They’d been rescued. Their God had just opened up the sea to save them from being killed. And he’d put these incredible cloud-and-fire navi-thingies in the sky, showing them which way to go.

Can’t you just hear them praising and cheering and shouting their gratitude into the sky? You’d think, right?

No. They were grumpy. They were hot. They were hungry. They were thirsty. And I bet you can guess who they were mad at. Poor Moses—just a guy who floated in a basket as a kid and took a job he never wanted as a grown-up.

Let’s give him some grace.

Because do you know how long it had been since they’d walked through water?

Three days. THREE! And yet . . .

Joy Prouty

“Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” (Exod. 16:3)

Yeah, they told Moses they wanted to go back into slavery, where at least they had leeks and melons. They had onions. They had garlic. And fish. How on earth does freedom hold a candle to some fresh cucumbers?

So, basically, it took them less than half a week to forget their God was all-powerful. Cool. Good job, chosen people. Way to give it the old college try.

“So, basically, it took them less than half a week to forget their God was all-powerful.”

But listen: again, it’s not like I haven’t done the same. I’ve been given freedom in Christ, and yet I often look back on the things I used to have, and they can seem pretty appealing.

But they aren’t ultimately good, and I know that. We know that!—even though sometimes we wish we could forget the rules and live without any boundaries.

That’s okay. We’re fallen. It’s just part of life. But remember this truth when you go through seasons where you’re grumbling. You’ve been set free.

To go back would be to bind your own wrists and ankles. And trust me, you’d regret it. That’s not to say there won’t be standards to be upheld for disobedience.

But what are the rules? Glad you asked.

I didn’t mention it when we were there before, but back when God spoke to Moses at the burning bush, He made the following pledge:

“I’ve been given freedom in Christ, and yet I often look back on the things I used to have, and they can seem pretty appealing.”

“I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” (Exod. 3:12)

And now they were back. Back at the same mountain where the bush had burned. All those months ago, it had been just God and Moses here; now it was God and Moses and (I don’t know) maybe a couple of million Israelites. The Lord had led them as promised to the very place where he first appointed Moses as their deliverer.

That’s some strong proof, I think, of both His power and His faithfulness.

And here on this mountain, God gave to them the ground rules for what He expected of them, written by His own hand on a pair of stone tablets.

Here’s the deal. We’re going to learn them here, but we can’t leave them here. Write them down. A lot of Christians don’t even know all of them.

So here you go: The Ten Commandments, as given in Exodus 20:

“You shall have no other gods before me.” (v. 3)“You shall not make for yourself a carved image.” (v. 4)“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” (v. 7)“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” (v. 8)“Honor your father and your mother.” (v. 12)“You shall not murder.” (v. 13)“You shall not commit adultery.” (v. 14)“You shall not steal.” (v. 15)“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” (v. 16)“You shall not covet.” (v. 17)

Is that all? It’s still cool to eat leeks as long as we don’t gorge ourselves, right?

But let’s be clear about what these commandments are for.

They are the standard for how we live obediently as God’s people.

The first four commandments deal primarily with how we relate to God; the remaining six commandments deal with how we relate to others. That’s why when Jesus was asked (we’re going to meet Him later, and you will LOVE Him), “Which is the great commandment?” He answered, “love the Lord your God” and “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:36–39).

And yet these few commandments—whether ten or just two—are impossible to keep. The standard is too high for us, sinful as we are. We can’t do it. We can never be that good, not to that level of goodness. Not the way God is good.

So, what’s the point? Just hand out a bunch of things we can’t obey? And then tell us we have to obey them? That seems a little shady.

“In His fulfillment of the law—in our place—we become free to follow, not forced to follow.”

But actually, that’s the point. He is the only One who is good.

He doesn’t want to see us fail, but we can only succeed if we have His power—because ours is just as useless and fickle as the leek-lovers.

We are utterly dependent on Him. But don’t miss this part: there isn’t some heavenly chart that docks us every time we wish we had our friend’s house. Or our friend’s summer body. (I offer these as hypothetical examples.) He knows we cannot do this without Him.

But Christ sacrificed Himself on our behalf.

And in His fulfillment of the law—in our place—we become free to follow, not forced to follow.

This is where we find Jesus – the One who has set us free and the One who has fulfilled the Law on our behalf.

He is our Rescuer; our good. When we forget His goodness, He is patient, kind, and compassionate.

He is here, long before we see Him come as a baby into the world.

 

Angie Smith is married to Todd Smith, lead singer of the Dove Award winning group Selah.  Angie desires to walk with Jesus authentically through the inevitable joys and sorrows of this life in a way that reflects His faithfulness to never leave us and never forsake us, and to encourage other believers to do the same. This passion, along with a deep desire to understand and help others to understand the Bible, has fueled her writing since 2008.

Angie’s latest book, Woven, traces the biblical story from start to finish in a way that is relatable and accessible for all, building a deeper understanding of God’s Word for both the new reader of the Bible and the one who has read it for decades.

If the Bible feel confusing and complicated to you, this book is for you. In her unique and remarkably readable way, Angie Smith—bestselling author of What Women Fear, Mended, I Will Carry You, and Seamless—helps you tie together all the loose, disconnected threads you find in the Bible, weaving them into a beautifully crafted storyline.

After reading Woven, when it comes to reading Scripture, you’ll go: from confused to confident, from lost to knowledgeable, and ultimately, from God’s heart to yours. Because once you see the big picture, you’ll see it on every page. Every time.

[ Our humble thanks to B&H for their partnership in today’s devotion ]

 

Only the Good Stuff: Multivitamins for Your Weekend [03.13.21]

Happy, happy, happy weekend! 
Let’s not let the everyday routines numb us to the miracle of living every day! Some real, down in the bones JOY to celebrate today! Links & stories 100% guaranteed to make you smile a mile wide & believe like crazy in a Good God redeeming everything. Never, ever give up…there really is hope, even for us.

Serving up only the Good Stuff for you & your people right here:

lucybee985 lucybee985 lucybee985

“God has opened my eyes to His amazing beauty and how very much He loves us.” ~Lucy

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Good News Movement (@goodnews_movement)

nikicolemont

for self-trained photographer, it’s all about the squirrels

we circled ’round this one!

she wrote a book to share hope with other kids coming behind her

Kilátás – Panoráma Galéria

Turns out the world is fascinating when you look at it from a close perspective: this photographer takes macro images of everyday items

pause right here for this Hymn Medley

…he had a lifelong hobby of writing to newspapers and magazines: he’s seen more than 2,000 of his letters published of the 10,000 he penned.

Through his letters, he tries to bring Biblical thinking and opinions into the public square. Sometimes he’s able to speak directly about his Christian faith.

because we all need a hug

How to discover beautiful things in a broken world

 her words could literally change a generation, change the trajectory of our culture, change a whole world of broken toward hope

In the first pages of the Bible, we’re introduced to God and humans as the main characters. But there’s also a whole cast of spiritual beings who play an important role throughout the Bible, though they’re often in the background. In this video, we begin to explore these beings and how they fit into the unified storyline of the Bible.

Thank you, BibleProject

Study after study found? Nothing, absolutely nothing interrupts anxiety like gratitude. The research indicates that recording just 3 gifts a day is a kind of cognitive training, a way of reorganizing your brain around a focus on goodness, that it increases an individual’s positive outlook by 25%.

“Whatever you do, do everything…giving thanks” Col. 3:17 God’s will is for us to give thanks in all things…because this is how we can live with joy through anything… This is the year to take the Joy Dare — which just gives you 3 prompts a day, to notice, find, feel the joy of seeing 3 ways God is loving you — and dare to give thanks in all things, dare to look for the good, dare to notice God’s grace, dare to pay attention to all the ways God love you.

(P.S. Print the 2021 updated Joy Dare right here under “Free Tools”

And P. P.S.: The little book that started this habit of gratitude for us — One Thousand Gifts — turns TEN this year (!!!) and we have some big things coming soon to celebrate how thankfulness has changed our lives.

What better way to kick off a new month than by renewing the life-changing habit of daily gratitude. You in!?!

it’s so often just a matter of perspective

11 Warrior Women With Unshakeable Faith

Parenting is difficult, especially when raising kids in a world that says only certain kinds of achievements are worth recognizing.

some good thoughts to ponder on raising kids well

Let’s resolve to put faith over fear today. Even when its dark and dim and when we cannot see, let’s choose to place our trust right here, where there is hope in the dark:

When We‘re Trying to See a Way Through

never, ever give up

Why Do You Want to Go to Heaven? Thank you, Jon Bloom

Priscilla Shirer on the best way to communicate with God

come along for a virtual tour? glory, glory, glory

“I Never Thought I Could Have a Life Without Anxiety Attacks”

Courtney Smallbone shares her story

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Good News Movement (@goodnews_movement)

cheering for those helping others

Books for Soul Healing:

One Thousand Gifts

Joy is actually possible, right where you are.

Take the dare to discover: Life is not an emergency…Life is a GIFT. Life is too short to do anything but truly savor it — to count all the ways you truly loved.

The Broken Way

What if Brokenness is the Path into the Abundant Life?
You don’t have to be afraid of broken things — because Christ is redeeming everything.
There’s no other authentic way forward — but a broken way — right into a profoundly abundant life.

The Way of Abundance

Journey into a deeply meaningful life with this devotional and take sixty steps from heart-weary brokenness to Christ-focused abundance. The Way of Abundance — is the way forward every heart needs.

Be The Gift

Be the Gift is a tender intivation into the next step of deeper transformation, less stress, more joy and abundantly more peace & purpose. You only get one life to love well…to Be The Gift.

on repeat this week: almost home

[ Print’s FREE here: ]

I don’t know how, but somehow?…maybe our hearts are made to be broken. Broken open. Broken free. Maybe the deepest wounds birth deepest wisdom. We are made in the image of God.

And wasn’t God’s heart made to be broken too? Wounds can be openings to the beauty in us.

And our weaknesses can be a container for God’s glory.

Hannah tasted salty tears of infertility. Elijah howled for God to take his life. David asked his soul a thousand times why it was so downcast.

The thing is? God does great things through the greatly wounded. God sees the broken as the best and He sees the best in the broken and He calls the wounded to be the world changers.

Never ever be afraid of being a broken thing. And maybe—this is the way to freedom?

You’ve got to remember to just keep breathing—keep believing.

Brokenness can make abundance.

[excerpted from our little Facebook family … come join us each day?]

‪ Dare to fully live!

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 discover beautiful things in a broken world

Children are a gift and blessing from the Lord. They are His—His creation, His delight, His reminder to the broken world that He makes beautiful things. In Creative God, Colorful Us, my dear friend Trillia Newbell instructs us toward the heart of Jesus and helps us learn to view each other as we ought to. If there’s one book every young family and church needs right now, it’s this one. This book could literally change a generation, change the trajectory of our culture, change a whole world of broken toward hope. And it all starts here, where she leads our kids in understanding they are made in the image of God. It’s a grace to welcome Trillia to the farm’s front porch today…

guest post by Trillia Newbell

My daughter is fascinated with outer space. She loves to try to find constellations like the Big Dipper and gets excited when there’s a full moon. The universe is massive and diverse. That means it’s huge and filled with many different objects. There are stars and moons and planets and black holes and a bunch of other stuff I can’t even imagine!

When you look up at the sky, what do you think about?

“God made you. And He loved making you.”

Looking up at the sky reminds me of Psalm 8:3–4:
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? (NIV)

At the beginning of time, God created the heavens. He set it all in place. He thought of the idea of Mars—the planet that’s also called the red planet. God created the moon that shines bright in the night. God created stars that appear to twinkle. God created the sun that warms the earth throughout the year. God did all of this.

Have you ever created something from scratch? It’s hard to create from nothing (only God can do that!). Whether it’s drawing a picture or writing a story, creating is a lot of work. Because God is powerful and full of knowledge, I don’t think it was hard for God to create the world, but it was a lot of work.

And He kept creating.

He created water that would cover the earth—oceans, rivers, and lakes. He created land with mountains and valleys and deserts and plains. And He made sure the land had plants and flowers and trees. And He didn’t create just one type of plant or flower or tree; there are thousands of different types!

And He kept creating.

God created animals, lots and lots of animals. He created the giraffe with an incredibly long neck. And He created elephants with their massive trunks. He created lions, which are just really, really big cats. He created fish in the sea, too many to number. He created every insect and bug—those that slither on the ground and those that fly in the air.

God created all of these things, and the Bible tells us that when He was done creating these things, He said at least three times that what He created was good. (Genesis 1:10, 18, 25)

God could have stopped creating. God was happy and didn’t need anything. But the land needed to be taken care of, kind of like a farmer or a gardener cares for their land (Genesis 2:5). Because God is good and kind, He decided to create people to work the land and care for the animals and begin having children and families to fill the earth.

“The idea that you are made in the image of God might be hard to understand, but it’s true.”

Maybe you’ve heard the story of Adam and Eve. God created Adam, the first man, out of the dust on the ground. After Adam was created, God placed him in a garden known as Eden. Eden had everything Adam needed for food and for living a good, long life. Eden was beautiful. Adam got to work caring for the land and all that God had given him. But Adam needed some help and couldn’t take care of all the responsibility the Lord gave him on his own.

So, God kept creating.

God took one of Adam’s ribs and crafted a woman. When God was finished, Adam was so happy! Adam and Eve were the first man and woman, and they were also the first husband and wife. They enjoyed each other so much. They loved each other perfectly. They had so much fun in the Garden.

God wanted Adam and Eve to take care of the Garden of Eden so that it could grow and grow to become even more beautiful and big. Eventually, the whole earth was supposed to be like the Garden of Eden. The whole earth would be filled up with God’s truth and beauty and goodness. Even though God didn’t need anything, He didn’t want to do this special job by Himself.

That’s why God did something very special when He created humans. Adam and Eve were not like the other creatures He created. God made humans different from the animals. He made them in His own image. That means you and I reflect different characteristics of God Himself!

“We are all important to God because He took time to create us. He is a good God!”

So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:27 niv)

The idea that you are made in the image of God might be hard to understand, but it’s true.

Since God made everything—the earth, the stars, the whole universe—He gets to be in charge of everything.

God is the King of all creation. And when God made us in His image, He gave us the amazing task of being His partners in His special mission.

What’s His special mission? God wants to fill the whole earth with His glory! That means that God wants the whole world to know and love all of His perfect ways.

Every person walking on this earth and every person that ever lived is made to reflect God. Like a mirror reflects our own image, we reflect the image of God to one another.

For example:

God is kind—you can be kind too.
God is loving—you can be loving too.
God is fair—you can be fair too.
God is forgiving—you can be forgiving too.
God is truthful—you can be truthful too.
God is wise—you can be wise too.
God is good—you can do good too.

God is all those things and more, and we can be all those things too. That is how we reflect God.

Animals can be fun to play with or loveable or even gentle, but they can’t really be truthful or forgiving or fair. Only we can be those things. That’s what makes us a special part of God’s earth. We are not like other animals. We reflect God.

A friend of mine once wrote, “The Bible does not begin with the creation of a special race of people.”

You know what that means? Every person, from every background, no matter what their skin color is or what they look like, no matter whether they can walk, run, or crawl . . . every person is made by God and every person is made equally. God doesn’t have favorites! Isn’t that such good news?

God made you. He loved making you.

“Understanding that God made you, your friends, your family, and every person you’ll ever meet should help you see others as God sees you.”

God makes some people tall and some people, like me, short. He makes some with lighter skin. He makes some people with straight hair and some people with curly hair. He makes some people with big eyes and some people with small eyes. He makes some people with birthmarks and some people with freckles. He makes some people with different abilities. God makes all sorts of people. God makes boys and God makes girls. God made everything about you—you are wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).

We are all important to God because He took time to create us. He is a good God!

We are all made in the image of God, so we all have value and are important to God.

Understanding that God made you, your friends, your family, and every person you’ll ever meet should help you see others as God sees you.

But as you probably already know, all true stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

The creation of Adam and Eve is a wonderful story. But it isn’t the end of their story. What happened next is the reason why it is so hard for us to see each other the way we should.

Sometimes we don’t like each other. Sometimes we get angry. Sometimes we are mean. This is all because of sin.

But God always had a plan to rescue us.

Let’s pause and really ponder what we just read.

 

Trillia Newbell is the author of several books and Bible studies—some for adults (like If God Is For Us and A Great Cloud of Witnesses) and some for kids (like God’s Very Good Idea). When she isn’t writing or speaking, Trillia is encouraging and supporting other authors as they make their own books. Trillia is in an interracial marriage to her best friend, Thern, and inspired by the love she has for teaching her own biracial children and those around her comes Creative God, Colorful Us, a chapter book for kids ages 6-12 about God’s diverse creation and how we can love one another.

If there’s one book every young family, every church, needs right now, it’s this one. This book could literally change a generation, change the trajectory of our culture, change a whole world of broken toward hope. Trillian Newbell is the voice to lead us and our families and I can’t remember reading a children’s book with as much hunger as I read this one — for such a time as now. Creative God, Colorful Us, is a colorful book (written with grade-schoolers in mind) that shares the truth of God’s Word with them.

God could have made us all exactly the same, but He didn’t. And our differences are good! As His children, those called by God to belong to His family, we can actually use our differences to help each other. Here’s some more great news: There are no rules about how we look or sound to be in His family. We have a delightfully different family on purpose. Every person is made by God, in His image, and therefore is equal in value and worth. Kids, somehow, already know this to be true.

The truth about how we were made with differences, how we sinned, how God rescued us, and how—if we understand that God’s diverse creation will be together in Heaven—it should motivate us to love one another on earth!

 

How to make your intolerable marriage (SO much) better

It’s a joy for me to introduce you to my friend, Toni Nieuwhof.  Although she has worn so many hats, as pastor’s wife and divorce attorney and church planter, one I love dearly is her voice that speaks into a marriage gasping for breath. Toni shares what it took to heal the heartbeat of her near-dead marriage. As a farmer intimate with planting and seedlings and reaping, I know what she knows. The principle of the harvest offers us all real hope. You reap what you sow, later than you sow, with joyful abundance. If your marriage harvest now is not to your liking, sow some new seeds and keep on sowing and fasten your eyes on the Creator of the harvest. Your marriage can change. Dramatically. It’s an absolute grace to welcome Toni to our farm’s front porch today…

guest post by Toni Nieuwhof

D

o You Have the Courage to Serve?

Staring away from Carey and through the living room picture window to the end of our driveway, I surveyed the silhouette of our neighbor’s barn across the way, silo black against the ink-blue twilight sky. It was such a familiar sight, having stood unchanged over these eleven years since we moved to this hamlet of rural Ontario.

“I didn’t know how to engage our differences anymore.”

I found myself whisper-yelling my retorts to what Carey was saying during yet another argument.

Angry, but not wanting to rouse our kids to our raised voices, I wrestled my voice down. Then all the competing emotions in me spilled over each other and blended into a bland numbness that had no more words to speak.

Should I ignore what Carey is saying? I wondered. Should I walk away and focus on something more constructive? 

I didn’t know how to engage our differences anymore. I wondered whether I should reach out and let the people close to us know how deeply we were struggling. Should I get our counselor on the phone and ask for help? Or how about just driving away?

I let the force of my feelings spill over my face as I sat there, weeping and in a daze.

In the middle of our living room, Carey turned toward me. As he usually did, when I emotionally moved into my own world and away from him, he resisted.

What he said next jolted me back to the moment. Of all the seeds we’ve planted in our marriage since the drought years, this one perhaps carried with it the greatest promise.

Carey drew a deep breath, looked into my eyes, and said, “You know what? You deserve better than this. You deserve someone who cherishes you. And cherishing you is what I’m going to focus on from now on.”

I was stunned. And the truth was, I didn’t really deserve it.

I hadn’t been very loving, or engaged, or available to Carey. I’d had an antagonistic attitude toward him. But Carey stepped away from his dashed expectations and his own hurt, his own disappointment and his own fear, and took a courageous step. He planted the seed through the tears.

He chose to set his own emotions of the moment aside and decided to serve. He committed to focus on cherishing me.

“Tiny seeds have the potential to bear the richest harvest when we keep on and keep on planting over time.”

Since that day, we’ve lived out the cumulative effects of the moment-by-moment decisions, actions, kindnesses, undeserved acts of forgiving, and on and on.

Tiny seeds have the potential to bear the richest harvest when we keep on and keep on planting over time.

There’s an understanding of tenacity that comes from ancient wisdom explained with the analogies of planting and harvesting: “Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.” Psalm 126:6

Tenacity and the principles of the harvest have something to say about taking the lead to help save your marriage. The principles of the harvest say that you reap what you sow, you reap later than you sow, and you reap more than you sow.

You Reap What You Sow

Are you sowing seeds of kindness, patience, and love? Or are you sowing indifference, criticism, or suspicion? What is the quality and nature of your words and actions—the seeds you’re sowing in your relationship? Don’t be worried about the size of the seeds you’re sowing.

“Every little kindness, every little gift, every small apology, and every overlooking of a slight has the potential to create results that vastly outsize what you planted.”

Every little kindness, every little gift, every small apology, and every overlooking of a slight has the potential to create results that vastly outsize what you planted. 

Remember that a tiny mustard seed can give birth to a splendidly spacious tree.

You Reap Later than You Sow

Don’t expect instant results when you start planting the seeds of new life in your marriage. Enter your willingness to wait. Anyone who’s had experience with planting knows it’s futile to keep eyes fixed on the spot where you planted.

Don’t plant the seeds of generosity and kindness, and then watch your spouse to measure the response. Don’t stare at the spot! You’ll only set yourself up for disappointment if you expect your partner to spring into action once you’ve extended yourself for him or her.

Watching doesn’t make the seed grow faster. But fastening your hope to the promise of your harvest and your joy in the future will make the waiting easier.

You Reap More than You Sow

Your more grace-filled attitude toward your spouse and your new, loving habits will have a cumulative impact over time. People and marriages may sometimes appear static, but they really aren’t.

“Chances are, you have the potential to build a richly satisfying future marriage by sowing the seeds of love now. Even if you have to sow the seeds into the cold, hard ground.”

A marriage is either building and growing or it’s deteriorating and declining. Habits of love consistently practiced between two people over time will build into a deeper and more abundant relationship.

Chances are, you have the potential to build a richly satisfying future marriage by sowing the seeds of love now. Even if you have to sow the seeds into the cold, hard ground.

Hatred and indifference accumulate over time too, and they do so in such a way that sucks the life and joy out of those involved. Carried on over time, these destroy both self and others.

Even if your partner doesn’t reciprocate while you’ve been planting seeds, you will reap a harvest when you authentically sow seeds of love and keep on sowing.

The harvest may not appear where you intended, but the promise stands, and you will experience a reward that is worth your waiting.

You can be the leader your marriage needs. But it takes courage.

Don’t play it safe. Take a risk. Act. Be tenacious.

Plant seeds for a good and rich marriage harvest and hold out for joy.

 

Toni Nieuwhof has served alongside her husband, Carey who led Connexus Church for many years.  From roles as diverse as hospital leader and prayer warrior, collaborative divorce lawyer and defender of the vulnerable, she distills broad perspectives on being human into healing wisdom for your marriage.

In her book Before You Split, Toni speaks to the brokenhearted whose marriages are starved for love.  During the dark days, she barely dared to ponder their own future. Have I signed up for a lifetime of misery? Is it even possible to ever be ‘in love’ with Carey again?” She and Carey now attest to the answer, after more than 30 years together. The pathway back to love was cobbled with the learnings she openly shares. Through the surges and setbacks, they found their footing on the Rock. Toni writes, “Would Carey and I share the intimate connection we have today if we hadn’t held tightly to our faith? Ancient wisdom says, ‘A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.’ At times, Carey and I were two broken strands. But Jesus was the only one left intact, holding us together.”

In Before You Split, you’ll see the options for your future through the vantage points of a divorce lawyer and a pastor’s wife. Discover how it may be possible to leave your unhappiness behind instead of your spouse.

 

When We’re Trying to See a Way Through

As a former co-host of The View and Fox and Friends, Elisabeth Hasselbeck has sat at the cusp of unprecedented moments through over a decade of working with the daily news cycles. From this work, Elisabeth intimately knows that in shaking times, it can be easy to begin to think God is hard to find, or wonder if He hears our cries to Him at all. Her resolve to put faith over fear sparked a creative way she and her family can remember what is real and true even when it seems as though God isn’t working. It’s a joy to welcome Elisabeth to the porch today…

guest post by Elisabeth Hasselbeck

As parents, we want our children to pray with confidence about both the big and the small things. That nothing is impossible for God, and that He is never too busy with big things to hear their small requests.

We want them to believe that God hears their voices all the time. But even for us as adults, it can be hard to trust Him in the waiting.

“Sometimes worry creeps into our prayers. Things seem a bit quiet on God’s end, and we start to wonder, ‘Does God actually hear me?’ And our kids wonder the same.”

Sometimes worry creeps into our prayers. Things seem a bit quiet on God’s end, and we start to wonder, “Does God actually hear me?” And our kids wonder the same.

My husband Tim and I wanted to assure our kids that they didn’t need to be afraid to share the disappointment in their hearts with the God who loves them dearly. We wanted to create a safe place where all of us can be honest about what’s weighing us down with anxiety or fear, a place to talk about what it means to depend on God, a place where we get real—really real—about what’s going on in our hearts.

Our family had been praying for two dear friends—little children—who were battling cancer needed a miracle. We held onto hope. We prayed for their families. We prayed, and faced heartbreak alongside many who had asked for their lives to be way longer here with us on earth.

Had our cries to God for their healing gone unheard? Did God not hear us? And if He heard us why would that prayer not be answered?

Our children needed to be reminded of the power of faith, and guess what – we needed it too. And they needed to see that we needed it.

Joy Prouty

How could we ever explain that God is hearing us, that He is working… even when it looks like our prayers have gone unanswered? 

I prayed. And bought some paint. Chalkboard paint.

And one day, I boldly painted a wall in our home into a chalkboard. Then I called my kids in and handed them each a piece of chalk.

“Do you see the wall?” I asked.

“Yes, Mom,” they all answered.

Then I turned the lights off, and the room went dark. “Do you see it now?”

This time the answer was no.

“Is the wall still there?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“So even when you can’t see the wall, you trust it’s still there? And that wall is doing it job to hold the roof up, right?”

Another yes.

I hold some chalk tight in my hand and think and think and think and stand, with that piece of chalk I write with all my heart with all my might … all that keeps me up at night.

I turned on the light, and we took our chalk and began writing our prayers on that wall. Together we wrote the worries in our head, the hopes and fears in our hearts, and the prayers that have gone seemingly unanswered. Doing this as a family became precious in more ways than one.

As we wrote, we became more connected, because we were all holding something in. “Wow, you have those worries too?!” We felt drawn close to one another, safe and comforted, as we realized we did not have to carry the load of concerns or temporary disappointment alone.

Soon after we wrote our prayers, I called everyone back to the wall and turned out the lights again. “Even when the lights are off,” I reminded them, “our chalkboard wall and our prayers are still there. The darkness does not cause them to disappear, it just makes them harder to see.

“We’ve come to treasure prayer as an adventure that brings our family together, points to the hope we have in Jesus, and candidly shows that even grownups are waiting on God for answers.”

“So let’s shine a flashlight on where we have seen God work,” I continued, “and when you get to one of your prayers that still feels dark and unanswered, we will be honest – really honest – and shut the flashlight off. We’ll pause and admit that we don’t see what God is doing, yet we trust that He is good and working on it.”

As we reviewed our prayers, the truth of each situation quickly became apparent.

Things are changing, hopes are being realized. Flashlight on. God is listening. So many blessings that were worthy of noting, and noticing, and celebrating too!

Prayers yet unanswered, nothing seems to happening. Flashlight off. God is still there, and listening… we just have not seen the answer …yet.

Since we started this prayer experience together, big times of uncertainty have marked our lives. Yet we’ve been able to come together as a family in prayer rather than deal with these things alone. This safe space, with its permission to be real, has become a gift.

And guess who the gift is addressed to?

A mom and dad who could know exactly how to pray for their children.

“I’m learning that depending on God as we wait in the dark of unanswered prayer is an exercise in trusting His greater plan.”

A brother and sister who could see that their sibling had a hope too.

And a child who saw that even grownups need to trust in the waiting.

This chalkboard wall full of prayers regularly reminds us that we all are working on trusting God. We’ve come to treasure prayer as an adventure that brings our family together, points to the hope we have in Jesus, and candidly shows that even grownups are waiting on God for answers.

When your prayers seem to go unanswered, or even unnoticed by God, it’s easy to feel lost in the dark. Is He there? Does He hear this prayer?

I’m learning that depending on God as we wait in the dark of unanswered prayer is an exercise in trusting His greater plan. Just like our flashlight exercise, we can admit that we don’t see what God is doing, yet we trust that He is good and He is working all things together for our good too.

Sometimes we see God’s yes and other times we don’t. But just because it has not happened doesn’t mean it won’t. 

We can be honest about the unanswered prayers and recognize our need for God’s provision. And in the times of waiting, we can declare that, even in the dark, He is working. We can move through uncertain times with a certain God. This is hope in the dark.

“We can move through uncertain times with a certain God. This is hope in the dark.”

Even when its dark and dim and when we cannot see, let’s choose to place our trust in God, He’s close to you and me.

None of us imagined what this past year would hold, but we know who holds each day.

This flashlight night adventure in faith gave us a way, before the pandemic, to be real about trusting God, and what it requires.

While we cannot fully anticipate what lies ahead, God invites us to give our hopes and fears to Him, and to share honestly with those we love the process of trusting.

Even when we cannot yet see or understand how He is at work, we can find a gift in the waiting, together.

 

In her first picture book, Daytime Emmy award winner, New York Times bestselling author and mother of three Elisabeth Hasselbeck reminds us that little hearts can be anxious too–and that God is always listening to their prayers.

Flashlight Night: An Adventure in Trusting God invites kids – and parents – on an adventure in faith; giving them a place to share their worries and prayers in a brave, fun way. Grab some chalk, a flashlight, and give your worries up to God…who never changes, is ALWAYS there, and hears ALL of your hopes, fears, and wishes. Flashlight Night is narrated by a boy whose parents have used chalkboard paint to create a wall where he and his siblings can write out all their fears, cares, and concerns: Will I learn to blow a bubble? Tie my shoes? Stay out of trouble? Be the friend they choose?

The boy shares the wall with a friend, who records her own prayers. Later, they visit the chalkboard wall at dusk with a flashlight. His mom shines the light on some prayers and turns it off at other times, pointing out that their prayers (and the children’s faith) are still there, even in the dark, and that God hears every request.

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

Only the Good Stuff: Multivitamins for Your Weekend [03.06.21]

Happy, happy, happy weekend! 
Let’s not let the everyday routines numb us to the miracle of living every day! Some real, down in the bones JOY to celebrate today! Links & stories 100% guaranteed to make you smile a mile wide & believe like crazy in a Good God redeeming everything. Never, ever give up…there really is hope, even for us.

Serving up only the Good Stuff for you & your people right here:

Mary Anne Morgan Mary Anne Morgan Mary Anne Morgan

my world kinda slows and rests when she invites us to her front porch…

smiling at the friends she’s met and made

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A post shared by Good News Movement (@goodnews_movement)

dancing into the weekend like…

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A post shared by EarthPix (@earthpix)

this one’s for every book lover who loves to browse

Tragedy can rob us of so much, but it can also be a great teacher if we choose to respond to it with hope.

Experiencing both horrific loss through the tragedy of widowhood and miraculous healing, can now sing these words with a deep honesty. They’ve been tested to the brink and found bedrock true: “All Your ways are good”.

Christian Vieler Christian Vieler Christian Vieler

can you even?!? he so brilliantly captures dogs and their beloved treats (!!)

because we all need to love and be loved

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A post shared by Good News Movement (@goodnews_movement)

to the parents who give and love with all that they have

because sometimes we need to remember: Amen and amen

…if you’re a light chaser, a creative with a camera, listen to how to do it for the Glory of God.

Esther Havens and Austin Mann are are deeply faithful, artful guides towards His light

the moment they met the woman who saved his life

… I’m really convinced that this is the best fuel for our weekend — a powerful way forward through whatever the hard roads we’re facing. We no longer need to live under shame or guilt. And here’s why:

When God Seems Distant and Shame Seems So Close

Study after study found? Nothing, absolutely nothing interrupts anxiety like gratitude. The research indicates that recording just 3 gifts a day is a kind of cognitive training, a way of reorganizing your brain around a focus on goodness, that it increases an individual’s positive outlook by 25%.

“Whatever you do, do everything…giving thanks” Col. 3:17 God’s will is for us to give thanks in all things…because this is how we can live with joy through anything… This is the year to take the Joy Dare — which just gives you 3 prompts a day, to notice, find, feel the joy of seeing 3 ways God is loving you — and dare to give thanks in all things, dare to look for the good, dare to notice God’s grace, dare to pay attention to all the ways God love you.

(P.S. Print the 2021 updated Joy Dare right here under “Free Tools”

And P. P.S.: The little book that started this habit of gratitude for us — One Thousand Gifts — turns TEN this year (!!!) and we have some big things coming soon to celebrate how thankfulness has changed our lives.

What better way to kick off a new month than by renewing the life-changing habit of daily gratitude. You in!?!

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come along for a ride? just another beautiful day in Switzerland

he aims to make people happy…

“when you deliver to someone, you may be the only face they see all day”

11 Remarkable Photos of “Tiny Homes” in the Developing World

Beyond grateful for the life saving work of Compassion International 

The book of Psalms is the largest collection of poetry in the Bible. In this video, we’ll explore the design shape and main themes of this marvelous book, which was crafted to be read from beginning to end. The Psalms are an invitation to a literary temple where you can meet with God and hear the entire biblical storyline retold in poetic form.

Thank you, BibleProject

Why Everyone Needs Compassion Thank you, Scott Sauls

How to Build a Life: Go Ahead and Fail

“Perfectionism can make you miserable. Here’s how you can muster the courage to mess up.”

sometimes it’s all a matter of perspective

Honestly, I know of no conversation more important, or more direly needed than this one, especially during Lent.

If you have ever longed for the practice of your faith to include an authentic, intimate prayer life or if you have longed for your life to become prayer, I highly recommend their words…

Where Prayer Becomes Real

tears here… because we all need someone to rescue us

you’ve got to meet her: what a message she has…”God doesn’t make mistakes”

glory, glory, glory

Post of the week from these parts here

… hey, you aren’t at all alone in feeling overwhelmed at what’s coming at you right now.This crushes to smithereens the mountain that you’re facing:

Mountain In Front of You? How to Get Through When You’re Overwhelmed

Hebrews says, “We do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and are saved.”

If you persevere through your failures and disappointments, you are one of “those” who has faith. Don’t shrink back! Follow Christ and persevere!

Thank you, Joni Eareckson Tada

Books for Soul Healing:

One Thousand Gifts

Joy is actually possible, right where you are.

Take the dare to discover: Life is not an emergency…Life is a GIFT. Life is too short to do anything but truly savor it — to count all the ways you truly loved.

The Broken Way

What if Brokenness is the Path into the Abundant Life?
You don’t have to be afraid of broken things — because Christ is redeeming everything.
There’s no other authentic way forward — but a broken way — right into a profoundly abundant life.

The Way of Abundance

Journey into a deeply meaningful life with this devotional and take sixty steps from heart-weary brokenness to Christ-focused abundance. The Way of Abundance — is the way forward every heart needs.

Be The Gift

Be the Gift is a tender intivation into the next step of deeper transformation, less stress, more joy and abundantly more peace & purpose. You only get one life to love well…to Be The Gift.

believe it: Help is On the Way

[ Print’s FREE here: ]

Lord, when I don’t like me, You still love me, You still like me, You still lavish me with acceptance.When I am fed up with me, You invite me to Your feast, When I am done — with me, with life, with everything, You whisper, “Hang on — I am making all things — you — new.” (Revelation21:5)

And when I want to quit, You cup my face: “This great work I started in you? I won’t stop that beautiful work until you are fully, completely, gloriously beautiful” (Philippians 1:6, 1Corinthians 2:7)

So this becomes our brave & broken-hearted hallelujah, the one we sing into the dark, even when it’s hard to believe:

I am His Beloved, His Beloved, His Beloved… and even now I will be held.

In the name of the only One who loved us to death & back to the real & forever life… Amen.

[excerpted from our little Facebook family … come join us each day?]

‪ Dare to fully live!

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. 

When God Seems Distant and Shame Seems So Close

Were you afraid of the dark as a child? I was. My over-active imagination morphed shadows into monsters and darkness into deep fear. And yet, with the simple flip of the bedroom light switch, those monsters disappeared. As adults, we may be less afraid of the dark. But there are other monsters that creep into our quiet moments. Shame. Resentment. Insecurity. These are just a few of the monsters we face as adults. My friend John S. Dickerson has a gift for “flipping on the light switch” to chase those monsters away. The “Light,” of course, is the Light of the World, the only One Who can outshine our deepest regrets and mistakes. John’s new book weaves stories and Scriptures to shine the Light of Jesus into your heart and mind. “Jesus Loves Me: Christian Essentials for the Head and the Heart” is a tool for you, your children, anyone you want to experience the Light of the World and live Jesus’s way of life. To that end, it’s a grace to welcome John to the farm’s front porch today…

guest post by John S. Dickerson

G

od has called me to be the daddy to three amazing elementary-aged kiddos. Parenting them gives me momentary glimpses of how God the Father must see us. Like all kids, my three do some silly things. Sometimes they even do foolish things, but I never stop loving them.

“When my children are tired, hungry, excited, happy, or a hundred other emotions, I get to see what God the Father’s view of us must be.”

When one of my littles was a toddler, that child would sometimes say, “I don’t love you anymore,” or “I don’t want to play with you ever again.” Those impulsive moments and words never stopped me from loving them. In the same way, our impulsive failures cannot stop our Father from loving us.

When my children are tired, hungry, excited, happy, or a hundred other emotions, I get to see what God the Father’s view of us must be. After all, we are His children in Christ.

Some years ago, when one of my littles was finishing up with potty-training, I got to experience how God’s love enters into our yuckiness, into the mess of our lives.

I walked into my child’s bedroom, and this child was sitting on the floor, changing their clothes. Of course, it’s normal for potty trainers to have lot of “accidents” during those first weeks.

It was in this context that I looked down at the bedroom rug and saw a little pyramid of toilet paper and baby diaper wipes that appeared to be covering something.

“What’s that?” I asked, pointing down to the pyramid that was clearly covering up some kind of accident.

My child said, “That’s nothing, Daddy.” Then, looking ashamed, my child said, “Can you please leave?”

I sensed embarrassment. And while I was pretty sure there was a soiled mess sitting on the rug, I tried to play it cool. It was one of those parenting moments when I was thinking, Okay, fragile little ego. Learning moment. Important moment. How do I handle this?

I walked out into the hall and thought for a moment.

I remember thinking, I don’t want to shame my child and give them a complex about going to the bathroom.

I formulated a plan and walked back into the room.

“Hey, first of all,” I told my child “I want you to know that you are really doing a good job with the potty training.”

The child forced a small smile.

“I realized that every time I feel ashamed or embarrassed about my mistakes or failures, my Father in heaven feels the same way about me as I felt about my child.”

“And also, it’s normal to have some accidents while you are still getting this figured out. I just want you to know that if there is something under that toilet paper . . . if there is something under there, well, do you maybe feel embarrassed that there might be something under there?”

My child nodded.

“If you feel a little embarrassed, here’s what I want you to know. Your mom and I love you, and any time you feel that embarrassed feeling, you need to know we are here to help you.”

Now, I have this quirk as a parent. Sometimes my wife mocks me for it. As soon as my children can mumble words, I begin talking to them about grown-up ideas. I continued talking to this preschooler.

“What you’re feeling, people call it shame or embarrassment. And whenever you feel those feelings, you don’t have to run away or hide. You can run to mom and me, and we will always help you. We are here to help you clean up your messes, and we are here to help you learn.”

I have no idea how much of that interaction my child remembers now. But I ended up learning something in the process. After I cleaned up the mess that was indeed hiding under the toilet paper, and after my child was dressed in clean warm clothes, I realized something.

I realized that every time I feel ashamed or embarrassed about my mistakes or failures, my Father in heaven feels the same way about me as I felt about my child.

“When Jesus came to earth, He stepped into our mess. On the cross He willingly laid down His life to do the cleanup.”

As children of God, why is it that some days we don’t feel God’s love for us? In my experience it’s usually because we have things in our lives that we are embarrassed about.

We have things in our lives that we are ashamed of.
We have guilt, or we have insecurity or shame.
And, whether we have the words for it or not, we assume God wouldn’t want to be near us in our mess. We feel there is something between God and us.

When Jesus came to earth, He stepped into our mess.

On the cross He willingly laid down His life to do the cleanup.

God promises, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NASB).

At the cross, Jesus took upon Himself every shameful and embarrassing thing we’ve ever done.

He took our evil upon Himself.

Every moment of jealousy. Every resentment. Every moment of rage and hatred. Every lie. Every stolen convenience store candy bar. Every little white lie.

“As a child of God, you no longer need to live under shame or guilt.”

Jesus said, essentially, “I willingly take upon myself the cleanup duty. I take the consequences for your shameful things, so that all who humble themselves and repent can be made right with God, can be restored to God.”

This is what it means that God loves you.

The moment you believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, God says you are welcomed into His family. Now, Almighty God sees you like I saw my potty-training child with the accident on the rug. That is, God loves you no matter what mistakes you make.

As a child of God, you no longer need to live under shame or guilt.

Your Creator desires to help you any time you feel those emotions. He has paid the price to wash your sins away.

As a result, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

And so, we run to Him.

 

John S. Dickerson wants to help you know Christ’s teachings—and live like Jesus. A bestselling author and seminary-trained pastor, John makes the Christian essentials easy-to-understand in his new book, Jesus Loves Me: Christian Essentials for the Head and the Heart.

John serves as Lead Pastor of Connection Pointe Christian Church in Indiana. More importantly, he is a husband and dad to three elementary-aged kiddos. He’s giving away a free Jesus Loves Me video study and small-group guide that you can use with your family, book club, or church group.

In this winsome book, bestselling author John S. Dickerson clearly and faithfully explains essential Christian beliefs, using simple stories that have resonated with his congregation of thousands. He guides readers into these basic beliefs, and most importantly, he illustrates why these beliefs matter.

The result is an easy-to-read primer, designed for a time when Christianity is questioned and challenged. It is a great study for young adults, new believers, and long-time believers who want to reclaim the essentials.

For anyone who wants to embrace the authority of Scripture and the nonnegotiable doctrines of Christianity.

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

Mountain In Front of You? How to Get Through When You’re Overwhelmed

In times like these?

When you stand in the dark and keep lighting the candles, keep moving the candle ahead through Lent, keep trying to move ahead even though you don’t know what’s up ahead?

In times like these you keep thinking: 

“Because our God moves, these mountains can move.”

To scale that mountain ahead of you, you have to silence the lies in your head.

You know the lies. 

The lies that tell you that mountain you’re facing is greater than the God who is facing you — God who has never turned His back on you for one moment ever, so you’re never facing anything insurmountable, so you’re always facing the One who is unstoppable.

The lies that tell you that don’t have what it takes to keep going — when the Mover of Mountains takes you, and He has you, and He keeps you so nothing can keep you from moving this mountain.

The lies that tell you should just lay down and give up now — when God’s giving you His hand right now to help you up.  

Because our God moves, these mountains can move.

Resource for our heirloom Lenten Wreath

Resource for our heirloom Lenten Wreath

Whatever mountain you’re climbing can stretch out into a road — because Jesus didn’t climb down from the cross, but stretched out His arms and made Himself into your road right through mountains.

“Prayer does more than change the mountain in front of us — it changes us.“

God flattens mountains to build our faith.

God doesn’t move mountains to make things easy, but to make everything about Him because it’s our hearts that get to move.

In times like these?

We can light all the candles and get to be like the people of ancient of Cairo and that unforgettable story of faith:

In the late days of the 9th century, the Caliph of Cairo threw down a literal ultimatum to Christian Abraam literally enact the words of Matthew 17:20:

“If your faith is the size of a mustard seed you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’, and it will move; nothing will be impossible for you.”

And if no mountain moved?

The Caliph of Cairo threatened to expel, enslave or execute every single Christian in the city.

“Our cries never fall on deaf ears, but are caught by His soft, open heart. God hears our cry, because He is right here.”

Abraam gathered Cairo’s entire Christian community at the foot of Mokattam Mountain, and for three long days, the faithful prayed and fasted and raised one unified, repeating cry, “Lord, have mercy.”

In the middle of this Lent, in the middle of times like these?

We can be the people who gather to pray because prayer does more than change the mountain in front of us — it changes us.

We can be the people who fast — because when we fast, we find ourselves holding so fast, so close, to God, that we see how the God we face is infinitely larger than any mountain we face.

We can be the people who raise one unified cry to God — because our cries never fall on deaf ears, but are caught by His soft, open heart.

God hears our cry, because He is right here.

 

My Word for the Year: h o p e …. Bracelet: at The Keeping Company Resource for our heirloom Lenten Wreath

Resource for our heirloom Lenten Wreath

Honestly? Your cry can be a whisper because your God is carrying you close.

“The way you ask God to move your mountain is to not focus on the height of your mountain but the depths of God’s mercy.”

And even before we cry for the Lord to have mercy — His mercies come new every morning.

Let the mercies that come new every morning — come right in and stay with you.

Because: The way you ask God to move your mountain is to not focus on the height of your mountain but the depths of God’s mercy.

After three days of all the people of faith gathering to pray, to fast, to cry out to the Lord, with the Caliph of Cairo present, Abraam prayed again: Lord, have mercy.

And the dirt beneath the thousands of bowed knees shook.

The earth quaked.

With thousands of feet standing witness at the foot of Mokattam Mountain:

THE. MOUNTAIN. MOVED.“It’s never the size of our faith that moves our mountains, but the strength of our God.”

The believers rose to their feet — and the mountain rose right off the ground.

When your faith is fully grounded in Christ — mountains in your way move fully off the ground.

When you have even mustard-seed faith, it can grow a tree whose roots crack apart the largest rock.

It’s never the size of our faith that moves our mountains, but the strength of our God.

And: When your world feels rocked, it’s because God’s moving your mountain.

Not once, not twice, but three times, the ancient story goes, the Caliph and all the gathered Christians of Cairo witnessed Mokattam Mountain lift directly from the earth, sun beams wedging right between the space between mountain and earth, like the mountain was suspended in light above the terra firma.

“Mountains can lift, burdens can lift, you can keep lifting your feet, forging forward, because Christ is lifted higher than the heights of any mountain.”

There is light even now at the end of your tunnel, even now, lifting your mountain.

As sun rays swept under the moved mountain, the Caliph looked down to see those rays of light sweep across his feet, and could only murmur: “I see.”

See light at your feet.

See light: Mountains move! The Light of Christ pries out your mountain!

See hope! Feel rays of hope warm your darkest places of despair.

Mountains can lift, burdens can lift, you can keep lifting your feet, forging forward, because Christ is lifted higher than the heights of any mountain.

What is your mountain to your Messiah?

My Word for the Year: h o p e …. Bracelet: at The Keeping Company

“You can scale any heights because Jesus carries the weight of everything — He is carrying you.”

You can take on any steep incline — because Jesus’s heart is inclined to yours. 

You can scale any heights because Jesus carries the weight of everything — He is carrying you.

You are made to move mountains — because your heart is made to be determined to move whatever it needs to get closer to Him.

Egyptian Christian tradition says that after watching Mokattam Mountain move, the Caliph of Cairo turned and converted to Christianity.

In the dark, I keep lighting the candles.

Keep turning to see light in these wild, dark days in the middle of Lent.

Turn and believe with your entire heart that even these mountains can entirely move.

Because God moves with you — moves so close.