Ann Voskamp's Blog, page 65
March 1, 2021
Where Prayer Becomes Real
Honestly, I know of no conversation more important, or more direly needed than this one, especially during Lent. Because frankly, prayer, though we know it’s paramount in a life of faith, seems to be something we have all struggled with at some point. We pretended that prayer made sense, but it didn’t. Prayer was dry, boring, and, while we’re being really honest, something we avoided at all cost. Prayer at meals was fine. A quick prayer for others was great. But being with God in the deep realities of life felt like wandering in a desert. After I read their book on prayer, which I couldn’t put down, I’ve been keenly anticipating welcoming my brilliant friends Kyle Strobel and John Coe to the farm’s front porch today. 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…
As Margery Williams depicts in her beloved children’s story The Velveteen Rabbit, the process of becoming “real” often entails a journey we did not expect—a journey that often feels more like being worn out than becoming something new.
But something new is made through this journey of love. This is the reality of prayer.
As the Skin Horse tells the Velveteen Rabbit in the nursery,
“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”
“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.
“Sometimes. . . . “It doesn’t happen at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
Becoming real is a confusing journey that, at times, can hurt.
For Rabbit, it will prove to be a journey of love that meant losing his fur and being made shabby. Yet, even as he appeared shabbier, Rabbit became, in a sense, sturdier.
This is the reality of prayer. It too is a journey that often feels confusing.
We often go looking for answers, for hope, or some sort of acknowledgement of our pain and brokenness, and instead we can often find a relentless silence, a wandering mind, and a body that simply cannot stay awake.
For much of my Christian life, prayer felt like Rabbit’s journey.
It did not seem like prayer was becoming more real. I didn’t seem to be better at it. Prayer was something that I did in obedience, but not in joy. Prayer was often driven by guilt, but it wasn’t fueled by love.
“Prayer was something that I did in obedience, but not in joy.”My mistake was to miss that even this was a part of prayer becoming real. I wanted something quick and easy – something that would make the difficulty go away – but the Lord offered love in the midst of my pain, brokenness, loneliness, and struggle.
The Lord offered a journey into the deep places of my heart, where I could discover the truth that the Spirit of the Lord is already in those places, groaning in my soul, beckoning me to follow Him into truth.
Prayer only truly becomes real if it follows the Spirit into these places, discovering His love precisely where we need it.
What this journey of prayer reveals is that it is about the deep in all of us. As the psalmist calls out to God, wondering why God has seemed to forget him, he says, “Deep calls to deep” (Ps. 42:7). Most of us do not know exactly what that means, but we resonate with it. It calls to our souls. It calls to who we really are, to the honest part of us. We know something within us must come out to meet God.
“Prayer only truly becomes real if it follows the Spirit into these places, discovering His love precisely where we need it.”The longer we are Christians, the more we recognize this, maybe even long for it, but are unsure if we are willing to embrace it. Regardless of this uncertainty in ourselves, this journey of prayer is all about love. Only love can guide us into the deep places of our souls, to attend honestly with God in the truth of ourselves before Him. Only love can sustain this honesty in the life of prayer.
My prayers became real once I realize that prayer was not a place to bypass my pain, but enter it.
Once I understood that prayer was not a place to be good, but a place to be honest, I came to see that I was judging my prayers poorly. The path to becoming real – where one’s fur is loved off and where one’s joints become shabby – is the path to being seen and known in the truth of one’s heart.
The Skin Horse notes that once you become real you can no longer become ugly, except to those who don’t understand.
I’m not sure I would have understood prayer when I was a younger Christian. It would not have seemed good and cleaned up like I assumed all devotion was supposed to be.
“My prayers became real once I realize that prayer was not a place to bypass my pain, but enter it.”But prayer in goodness is not prayer in reality.
The good news is that God knows we don’t know how to pray (Rom. 8:26), and has provided a path for our prayer to become real in forgiveness, mercy, and love.
Now, the truth of my heart is the fodder for my prayer. The desires of my heart, the longings in my life, and the struggles I am led into become the place to know God’s presence.
It turns out that the good news is good only as it meets us in reality, and prayer only becomes real in the reality of our lives.
This is where prayer becomes real, and where we know that we are those loved by our heavenly Father.
Kyle Strobel is a speaker, writer, and professor of spiritual theology and formation at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University. A popular speaker, Strobel is the author of Formed for the Glory of God and coauthor of Beloved Dust and The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb.
John Coe is director of the Institute for Spiritual Formation and professor of spiritual theology and philosophy at Talbot School of Theology and Rosemead School of Psychology at Biola University. A leading expert on spiritual formation, he is a popular speaker on the topic at churches, retreats, and seminaries across the nation.
Kyle and John’s new book Where Prayer Becomes Real show you how to fearlessly draw near to a holy God, pray without ceasing (and without posturing), and delight in the experience of being fully known and fully loved. Each chapter ends with prayer projects or practices to help you see a difference in your prayer life, starting now.
Where Prayer Becomes Real is not only one of the very best books on prayer I have ever read, but it is one of the most practically transformative books I have ever read, full stop.
February 27, 2021
Only the Good Stuff: Multivitamins for Your Weekend [02.27.21]
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:
Jessica Walker
Jessica Walker
Jessica Walker
Jessica Walker
Jessica Walker“The heavens declare the glory of God…”
sometimes we need to be rescued…
oh, my heart: sometimes there is nothing a dad won’t do for his daughter
A British choir has come to the rescue of a little American girl suffering from ‘night terrors’—by singing her to sleep with a special lullaby from 3,500 miles away… come read more of this story here
30 of the most interesting maps you may ever see… that just might change your perspective on things
tears….because we can all step up to help another
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Good News Movement (@goodnews_movement)
cheering for her! She hopes to inspire all the children in the hospital where she works— the same place she once received treatment as a patient.
As we enter this last week of “Heart Month” we’re sharing some very special and courageous children – heart warriors who were adopted into loving families and now reside in Heaven. We hope you’ll embrace this video tribute to these precious souls and to their families.
Every one of those parents, if given the chance to go back and do it all over again? They would. Because love always wins.
30 Extraordinary Photos That Won The 2021 Underwater Photographer Of The Year Competition
could not love Liz Curtis Higgs more — she shares some really good words here: please don’t miss
Guilt, Guilt, Go Away!
… classic loveliness in our Fair Trade store, Grace Crafted Home:
using these items every day here on the farm
Your home and life can tell a story — that’s changing the story of the world.
(100% of proceeds go to help fund Mercy House Global’s work in Kenya)
come along? Glory, glory, glory
So you know all those new dreams and habits you had bravely planned for a new year? How’s that going for you?
Yep, I’m with you: The human habit is so prone to forget again and again. All the neurological research places habit at the center of human behavior; we are what we do repetitively. What this woman — one of the absolutely most brilliant thinkers I know — practically shares right here about life-defining habits is truly life-changing:
The Dailyness of the Dishes—and a Habit Called Faith
what this dad created for his community? standing ovation…
Misha Martin
Misha Martin
Misha Martincome along for a stunning virtual tour of Iceland
The Story of the Bible:
This video summarizes the overall story of the Bible as a series of crossroad decisions. All humanity, followed by the Israelites, redefine good and evil and end up in Babylon. They are followed by Jesus, who takes a different path that opens up the way to a new creation.
Thank you, BibleProject
lean in and listen…
How this Nurse and Mom in Texas Stayed Behind to Help Neighbors: I Had to ‘Make Sure They Were Still Alive’… doing pulse checks every morning and bringing them food
“I think that for us, it was just really important to recognize the needs around us…I think the situation could have been far worse had we not stayed. I think knowing your community, knowing the needs, being able to respond is really important when it comes to an event like this.”
#BeTheGift #TheBrokenWay
Why God is worth trusting…
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Winn Collier (@winncollier)
have read this several times… convicted and repenting…
what a story here – life changing and one to share with a friend for sure
come join us from wherever you are? This year we’re hosting IF:Gathering 2021 digitally on March 5-6! We’ll be coming to you live for a full IF experience.
His kingdom is coming. We want His will to be done on this earth as it is in heaven and our heart and prayer is that “on earth as it is in heaven” starts with us. And we would stop wondering if it is possible to change the world. It’s possible.
This year, at IF:Gathering 2021, we are going to talk about how we do that. The theme of those two days is going to be “Even If.” Even if the worst happens, we won’t lose hope. Come join us as we remember that together. Saving a place just for you.
Take it to God First – listen in here – so good
quietly pause and rest with the words of this one…
Priscilla Shirer discusses how to be more proactive and intentional as we aim to hear the voice of God
…if we’re honest, at some point, we understand that there is an enemy of our soul working hard to keep us from living our truest selves. In fact, you and I both are in the middle of a battle…and this may be our best defense right now:
How to let go of the hustle and achievement and find the rest you really need
Books for Soul Healing:
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.
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.
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 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: Holy Water
…so yeah, there are things right now that look like the Gigantic Impossibles — and change seems slow & small & practically invisible.
But Change is a Seed. And Gigantic Beanstalks grow from seeds that are small & don’t look like they’re doing anything at all. Growth is a slow & sacred process, not some abracadabra magic show.
Every minute of faithfulness is a seed that God will faithfully grow into profound change.
“Grow in grace….” (2Pet3:18) By His grace — let Him grow just one faithful minute & then one more seed-minute of faithfulness & then just one more….And God grows each of those seed-minutes into the Gigantic Possible.
It’s not what we do every now & then —but what we do Every day that changes everything.
[excerpted from our little Facebook family … come join us each day?]
That’s all for this weekend, friends.
Go slow. Be God-struck. Grant grace. Live Truth.
Give Thanks. Love well. Re – joy, re- joy, ‘re- joys’ again
Share Whatever Is Good.
February 24, 2021
How to let go of the hustle and achievement and find the rest you really need
Authentic. Humble. Gracious. Wise. Kind. These are the words that come to mind when I think of my friend Christy Nockels. She’s written songs we sing loudly and has stood on stages leading thousands of fellow believers in the most beautiful worship. Yet when God called her to lay down her ministry for a season, Christy was forced to confront how her sense of purpose and worth had become tangled up in her work. God then lovingly invited her to discover true rest in His presence as she learned to live as the Beloved. And now, she shares how that pivotal lesson shapes all she is and all she does, and even all she does not do. It’s my joy to welcome Christy to the farm’s front porch today…
At the end of 2017, I found myself wanting to hold on to every last bit of cozy that celebrating Christmas brings but also ready to kick to the curb all the clutter that I could see piling up in my house.
I began to crave the clean slate of remembering Jesus in the form of a fresh year and a new beginning. So I made plans.
Like, hit-the-ground-running kind of plans for the new year: Word for the year? Check! Game plan to purge my house of clutter? Check! Themes laid out for my podcast for the next six months? Check! I was going to get organized, study, and create as I thrived my way into the new year!
“The MRI, a few days later, produced only more questions as I was told that I’d need to have a neurosurgeon look at a spot on my brain.”Yet only eight days into 2018, I found myself sitting in an ENT’s office while he dropped on me the diagnosis of sudden sensorineural hearing loss.
I’d gone in to address what I thought was a possible ear infection. I remember how the doctor’s mouth moved as he spoke but I was grasping only about every other word, not because of my hearing loss but because I was in disbelief. I did gather that an MRI might be a good idea to rule out the big stuff that could be causing the hearing loss, like a tumor.
The MRI, a few days later, produced only more questions as I was told that I’d need to have a neurosurgeon look at a spot on my brain. So much for all that clear direction on what my year was supposed to look like!
I remember scrolling through Instagram, feeling sidelined while watching everyone else suit up and take the field.
Most afternoons that winter you could find me tucked beneath my bedcovers, watching snow fall outside, while my ears roared with tinnitus. It was borderline maddening, as well as physically and emotionally alarming, to hear this persistent swish and hum in my ears.
All kinds of fears surfaced. Will I always hear this roaring in my ears? Could I lose my hearing completely?
I imagined the loss of so many beautiful sounds that I love: the music of my husband’s soothing voice, the harmony that I hear in my children’s laughter, and the gentle rush of the wind through the trees that surround our country home.
Yet God met me here in this big change of plans. I don’t know why I didn’t see it coming because He’s been meeting me like this over and over through the years.
For a multitude of reasons that I may never understand, God used the brokenness of my physical ears to compel me to place the ears of my soul against His heart, desperate to truly hear from Him.
“For a multitude of reasons that I may never understand, God used the brokenness of my physical ears to compel me to place the ears of my soul against His heart, desperate to truly hear from Him.”If I had started that year full speed ahead, with healthy ears, I shudder to think about all that my spiritual ears would have missed out on.
Imagine if you and I were to sit down together to get acquainted, and before we begin, someone gives us specific parameters for our conversation, guidelines to help us skip the small talk and go straight to the meaningful stuff. You and I are challenged to introduce ourselves without alluding to anything we do or have done in terms of a vocation or trade. We are told to focus only on our interior lives and matters of the heart.
I believe that at some point in our conversation, our Belovedness would inevitably start spilling out. Beloved.
This is the one big something that I know is true of you: you are God loved, which is essentially what the name Beloved means. I find it beautiful that God both made us in His image and named us in His image. First John 4:8 says, “God is love,” and then all throughout Scripture you and I are called Beloved—or as the Greek says, “loved by God.” It’s as if we’re the response to who He is, and right from the start, He is the fulfillment of our greatest need: to be loved.
“As the Beloved of God, we can be sure that He is relentless in revealing places in our hearts that He’s not done fighting for. He loves us that much.”As the Beloved of God, we can be sure that He is relentless in revealing places in our hearts that He’s not done fighting for. He loves us that much.
When I think about all the hurry-up-and-wait and the things-didn’t-go-as-planned seasons of my life, I’m suddenly aware of how those seasons have brought more forward movement and fulfillment than anything else I can remember. I have to believe it’s because those seasons drew me back into remembrance not only of who I am but, most important, of whose I am. Throughout my life the Lord has shown up in relentlessly loving ways to draw me in and show me who and whose I am.
I’ve come face to face with the fact that there is an enemy of my soul working hard to keep me from living from my truest self.
In fact, you and I both are in the middle of a battle with this enemy.
“Worship is simply our response to God, and learning to live as the Beloved is a beautiful response. It’s always our best defense against a soul-killing, identity-stealing enemy.”I can’t help but think of a home movie from when I was about three years old, singing my favorite song. I was a ’70s baby, so this movie is silent. But because I was doing little hand motions to the song, I can tell that it was the first worship song I ever learned, which says, “I’m my Beloved’s and He is mine; His banner over me is love.”
The most endearing thing about the whole picture is that I have a toy rifle strapped around my chest as I’m singing! It makes me giggle because it’s such evidence that I was the only girl being raised with all brothers and boy cousins. But recently as I watched it again, I couldn’t help but be filled with the truth that worship is a weapon.
Worship is simply our response to God, and learning to live as the Beloved is a beautiful response.
It’s always our best defense against a soul-killing, identity-stealing enemy.
And once we start to live from our own Belovedness, we begin to fight on behalf of others so that they can live and rest in it too!
Beloved, hear me fighting for you when I say God’s banner over you is love!
In fact, I believe that He’s calling you to come and rest and live underneath that banner even now.
You and I actually have a real-life mediator who is here to help us get to the heart of the matter. His name is Jesus.
He was the first one to be called Beloved by His Father, and we have been called by His name.
Christy Nockels is a worship leader and singer-songwriter with a passion for writing and speaking. She has toured nationwide, recorded seven #1 radio singles, and eight acclaimed albums. Her podcast, The Glorious in the Mundane, inspires listeners to see both their big dreams and the seemingly small things in a whole different way.
Her new book The Life You Long For shows us how to let go of hustle and achievement and instead find our identity in the quiet center of God’s love. As we delight in being with Him, we are filled to overflowing with contentment and love that propel us into an entirely new way of being, one in which every act of service and every encounter with the people around us arise from a heart at rest.
[ Our humble thanks to Waterbrook for their partnership in today’s devotion ]
February 22, 2021
The Dailyness of the Dishes—and a Habit Called Faith
Jen Pollock Michel was 16 when she began following Jesus. Someone told her then about the importance of the habit of daily Bible reading. Thirty years (and five kids) later, she wishes she could thank them for their wise advice. In her fourth book, A Habit Called Faith, she invites both the convinced and the curious into a 40-day habit of reading the Bible to find and follow Jesus. Jen takes readers through the wild, unfamiliar landscape of Deuteronomy into the Gospel of John to explore how faith, small as a mustard seed, might grow into a life-defining habit. It’s a grace to welcome Jen to the farm’s front porch today…
guest post by Jen Pollock Michel
Before the pandemic upended life—spinning it, stilling it, setting it on its head—it was my job, every morning, to unload the dishwasher. I’d pad downstairs, make coffee, and set the kitchen to rights. It was just enough time to clear the fog before meeting with God.
“Faithfulness is built on the ordinary things we do faithfully every day.”With everyone working and learning from home these last many months, our household responsibilities are more equally shared between the seven of us. Dishwasher duty has become one twin son’s responsibility. Most days he’s dutiful about the chore. But sometimes I’ll find him, nose buried in a book, scowling in the corner of the family room.
He’s discovered the unrelenting dailyness of the dishes.
“You’re learning something about faithfulness,” I told Andrew a couple of mornings ago when a storm brewed on his face.
“Faithfulness is built on the ordinary things we do faithfully every day.” I wanted him to know something about life—but I also wanted him to know something about faith.
Our life, hidden with Christ in God, has as much to do with habits as it does with epiphanies.
Faith is built by repetitive motion.
Joy Prouty
Joy Prouty
Joy Prouty
In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses reminded Israel that they had a habit of forgetting God, and he constantly commanded them to “remember.” Take care, Moses commanded, to remember God’s grace once the wilderness is behind you. Otherwise, the blessings of the land you’re set to inherit might become a curse.
“We are given to forgetting that every ray of sun, every hint of spring is a gift from the Creator and Sustainer God. The human habit is to forget God.”When life is moving placidly along, when the diagnosis is negative and the mortgage is paid, we are easily lulled into habits of self-reliance and self-congratulations. Without clouds in the sky, we are given to forgetting that every ray of sun, every hint of spring is a gift from the Creator and Sustainer God.
The human habit is to forget God. This is why Moses provided a means for remembering, a practice that is still in force today in Jewish synagogues and homes across the globe. It was the twice daily recitation of the Shema: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Rehearsed like lines from a play, these words from Deuteronomy 6:5-8 reminded the people of who God was and what their obligations to Him were. God was a God of rescue, and their obedience to Him was offered as a response of love.
The Shema had none of the stiff formality of classroom learning. It demanded no emotional hype. It was an education woven in the hum of the ordinary and the motion of the everyday: as parents talked to children at the house and on the way, from their waking until their sleeping. The Shema was a habit of remembering for God’s habitually forgetful people.
“In the Gospel of John, like the Book of Deuteronomy, we’re reminded to keep at the repetitive motion—or the habit—of faith.”The Shema had all the dailyness of the dishes.
In the Gospel of John, like the Book of Deuteronomy, we’re reminded to keep at the repetitive motion—or the habit—of faith.
As John closes his book, he explains his purpose for writing: “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name,” (John 20:31). In the Greek manuscripts, “believe” can be understood as “come to believe” or “continue to believe.” This is to say that faith is a journey to begin—and a road to keep traveling.
We must turn to God as often as we turn toward the dishes.
In my own life of faith, daily Bible reading has been a keystone habit for continuing in belief—one small practice effecting incremental, if also monumental, change. I’m not as faithful as I’d like to be in studying or memorizing the Bible, and I find myself far more forgetful in middle age, struggling to recall references to familiar passages learned long ago. Still, most mornings, before the sun rises, I can be found sitting in an armchair in my living room, imbibing the words of Scripture.
“I am learning to trust; however I may feel on any given day, that this daily habit of faith is rooting me deep.”I’ll be honest to say that there are days—and strings of days—when I seem to be impervious to God’s words. They sit on my skin like glistening drops of water, and I feel myself disinterested, distracted by the errant jogger I glimpse from the front window.
But there are other days, not altogether rare, when I hold audience with the Creator of the universe—or rather, He holds audience with me.
Stilled, I become “the tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit” (Jer. 17:8).
I am learning to trust; however I may feel on any given day, that this daily habit of faith is rooting me deep.
Jen Pollock Michel is the award-winning author of Surprised by Paradox, Keeping Place, and Teach Us to Want as well as the recently released book, A Habit Called Faith: Forty Days in the Bible to Find and Follow Jesus. She’s an American writer living in Toronto with her husband and children.
A Habit Called Faith is a 40-day Bible reading experience for the convinced and the curious. It vividly translates ancient truths of faith for a secular age, inviting readers to see, know, live, love, and obey. The daily reflection questions and weekly discussion guides invite both individuals and groups, believers and doubters alike, to explore how faith, even faith as small as a mustard seed, might grow into a life-defining habit.
Today’s neurological research has placed habit at the center of human behavior; we are what we do repetitively. When we want to add something to our life, whether it’s exercise, prayer, or just getting up earlier in the morning, we know that we must turn an activity into a habit through repetition or it just won’t stick. What would happen if we applied the same kind of daily dedication to faith? Could faith become a habit, a given–automatic?
So well done and needed today: A Habit Called Faith, invites both the convinced and the curious into a 40-day habit of reading the Bible to find and follow Jesus.
[ Our humble thanks to Baker for their partnership in today’s devotion ]
February 20, 2021
Only the Good Stuff: Multivitamins for Your Weekend [02.20.21]
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
lucybee985just too beautiful not to share…step outside and exhale this weekend
found her stunning photos on Instagram this week —
“God has opened my eyes to His amazing beauty and how very much He loves us.” ~Lucy
because we all need to be encouraged
can you even?!? THIS, this, this: A single mom shared her financial woes on TODAY. A viewer found her to offer help.
“I was just inspired by her perseverance and the fact that she had two jobs, and I said to my husband, Owens, ‘I saw a lady this morning that just is such a great role model for everybody…’, She’s working so hard to be a good parent and to provide for her family. She really touched my heart. Parenting to me is the most important vocation any of us can be blessed with…”
so who knew?!? In search of the humongous fungus
Ruurd Jelle van der Leij
Ruurd Jelle van der Leij
Ruurd Jelle van der LeijWildlife Photographer Reveals How Elegant Birds Look a Lot Sillier From the Front (!!)
we circled ’round this one
BibleProject teaches us about The Book of Proverbs…
Proverbs is the accumulation of wisdom from generations of godly insightful people. It promotes a life of virtue and “fear of the Lord,” so that you can truly experience the good life.
yes: 6 Weekly Prayers for Children in Poverty This Lent
Beyond grateful for the life saving work of Compassion International
Do the world a favor — and Be You! encouraging words for you here…
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Good News Movement (@goodnews_movement)
she gave the coat off her back… literally
#BeTheGift #TheBrokenWay
they’re stranded on separate shores, waiting for land crossings to open: perhaps their situation, will illuminate your blessing…
Make it a practice to daily count all the ways He lavishly loves you not because counting blessings is a cliche practice, but because counting gifts is how you practice waking up to the the love your whole life is longing for.
(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.
A Place Called Earth
“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” -CS Lewis
by rescuing 145 drivers who became stranded during winter storm Uri.
because we all need to be found: How Penguin Moms Find Their Chicks in the crowd
Even now, you are entirely safe to open the palm of your hand & let go — it’s the only way to keep going, the only way to keep joy’s flame going.
You can hear it right now, in the dark recesses of the worried places, your very own invitation this Lent, to let go of all you’re gripping tightly — so you can feel the freedom of knowing He has you in His grip and is never letting go.
That is all now: Let go — and let Love Himself come fill your open hands.
Come join us on Instagram or Facebook — for a Living Lent: a Lent that does more than believe in Jesus — but lives in Jesus.come along for a virtual visit? glory, glory, glory
Lessons from John Owen on Assurance
never, ever give up
again & again: The God Who Sees
Is Faith a Gift of God? Ephesians 2:8–10
Favourite Easter Resource: Resource: Lent Wreath available here
Post of the week from these parts here
So just before Ash Wednesday, I leaned up against a window sill and wept, sick of the cult of personality, sick of supremacy (of anyone, over anyone), sick of celebrity, sick of sin, sick of hypocrisy, sick of the sin in me.
And come Ash Wednesday, there is this desperate need for an entirely different life-giving way:
About Celebrities & Living Small: A Lent to Repent & Live in the Universe of JesusFrancis Chan & Lecrae read Ephesians 2
Books for Soul Healing:
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.
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.
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 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 here – The Prayer
…it’s Ash Wednesday — and maybe, if we’re honest, it feels like there’s been a lot of burned down hopes & dreams & we’re walking through a whole lot ashes lately, and in the midst of our honesty & brevity maybe all we can murmur is just “Create in us a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit with us” (Psalm 51)
And in the midst of our honesty and repentance, there’s His Gentle Word: “God will supply every need of yours” Philippians 4:19
You don’t need to be perfect,
You need to simply feel His perfect love.
You don’t need to be in control
You need to simply be in Christ.
You don’t need to be more —
because He is all you need.
Revel in how loved you are today.
Yeah, sure, you’re infinitely messier than you dare admit but that doesn’t change the Truth one bit:
You are infinitely more loved than you ever dared dream.
“Do you think anyone can drive a wedge between you & Christ’s love for you? No way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred —
absolutely NOTHING can get between you & God’s love because of the way that Jesus has embraced you.” Romans 8:31MSG
That’s Real Love today: Jesus. has. embraced. you.
So no matter what Hallmark may be selling today, Jesus wraps you close: You are infinitely more loved than you ever dared dream.
Feel the forever embrace of that.
It’s sorta the greatest relief: You don’t have to be awesome & do everything today.
You simply have to believe that the One who is Awesome loves you through everything.
Full stop. That’s it. Takes the pressure right off!
“Make yourselves at home in My love.” John 15:9 MSG
[excerpted from our little Facebook family … come join us each day?]
That’s all for this weekend, friends.
Go slow. Be God-struck. Grant grace. Live Truth.
Give Thanks. Love well. Re – joy, re- joy, ‘re- joys’ again
Share Whatever Is Good.
February 19, 2021
Is There More to Life Than This?
Is this it? Have you looked at your life and asked that question? Emily Lex did, and the eye-opening answer she received from God has put her on a path toward a life of true fulfillment, real rest, and quiet confidence. She chronicles her spiritual transformation and the lessons she learned in her new book Freely and Lightly: God’s Gracious Invitation to a Life of Quiet Confidence. Emily stops by the farm’s front porch today to share how she started her journey and to hand-deliver your personal invitation from Jesus to a more abundant life. It’s a grace to welcome Emily to the farm’s front porch today…
I have a t-shirt and across the front in white block lettering it reads #TIRED.
It is supposed to be a cheeky tee you wear on lazy weekends or with pajama pants to bed or something an adorably over-primped Instagram influencer would put on for a perfectly styled selfie as she hugs a cup of coffee on a Monday morning.
“My body crashing was the messenger of a much deeper truth I had known but not yet acknowledged: my soul had grown weary and something needed to change.”I bought it because at that time, I was literally #tired. My iron levels were dangerously low—like if I didn’t stop and get IV drips of liquid iron, I ran the risk of passing out while standing at the kitchen sink doing dishes.
Our bodies are magnificently perceptive and often the first to inform us that something’s off.
Mine was throwing flags and waving its arms and yelling at me: Emily, this isn’t working! You must slow down and pay attention.
What I was doing, the pace I was moving at, how I was living, and my way of being were leading me in the wrong direction.
My body crashing was the messenger of a much deeper truth I had known but not yet acknowledged: my soul had grown weary and something needed to change.
I’m beginning to believe that most people come to this point of exhaustion; it just happens at different times and seasons and for different reasons.
I wonder if we all, at some point, look at our lives and question quietly is this it? It sounds terribly ungrateful so most of us would never admit the dissatisfaction aloud, but it’s there, nevertheless.
This life that I’ve made for myself is not quite as I thought it would be.
“If we live as if our identity—the very essence and value of us as a human being—is determined by what we do, then we’ve set ourselves up for a life of lonely exhaustion.”This job is not as fulfilling as I dreamed.
My marriage is not making me happy.
I have a closet full of clothes with nothing to wear.
I didn’t know parenthood was this hard.
The kids have grown and I’m not sure what to do with myself.
I’m dizzy but if I stop for a second, the spinning plates will all come crashing down.
The problem is that none of these things were made for true, long-term satisfaction.
No title, husband, accomplishment, dollar amount will truly be enough. When we put our hope in them to fill us up, to give us purpose and meaning and call it our identity, well, that’s when we find ourselves in a pit of trouble.
If we live as if our identity—the very essence and value of us as a human being—is determined by what we do, then we’ve set ourselves up for a life of lonely exhaustion.
Then we open our Bibles to Matthew 11:28 and read Jesus’s words: “Are you tired? Are you worn out? Burned out on religion?” (MSG).
Yes. Yes. We answer. And we lean in, so weary and wanting, toward this compassionate recognition. We are so hungry for rest.
“Thankfully, Jesus is not bound by our broken ways of doing life and He offers a holy invitation freely extended to us whether we’re striving or hiding.”If Jesus were a modern-day motivational speaker, He’d offer this advice: “Well then, try harder! Be more intentional! Create a vision board and follow the 15 steps. Hustle! It’s up to you!” If He were a modern-day skeptic, His best advice would be said with a hopeless shrug of the shoulders: “Don’t let anyone tell you what to do. Quit the hard things. You do you.”
I’m poking fun, but it’s true, right? These are the mantras of our current culture, and upon reflection, they’re the innate impulses within all of us.
We either grit our teeth and try harder or give up altogether. Thankfully, Jesus is not bound by our broken ways of doing life and He offers a third option – a holy invitation freely extended to us whether we’re striving or hiding.
“Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly” (Matthew 11:28-30 MSG).
It’s a beautiful invitation, isn’t it? So gentle and full of promise, not demanding or critical or based on my own effort.
If you’re anything like me, I read this verse at the height of my tiredness and thought to myself: I want to learn how to recover my life! I want to take a real rest. I don’t know what the unforced rhythms of grace are, but they sound wonderful. And, more than anything I wish to live freely and lightly because living bound and heavy is not working out very well.
Accepting this invitation changed my life. It’s not only an invitation to live eternally with Him when our time is done on earth, but an invitation into abundant life now.
We don’t have to live from a place of insecurity, self-protection, numbness, and striving.
“He restores us and shows a better way to live, exchanging insecurity for quiet confidence, anxiety for peace.”He ushers us out of darkness and into a rich and satisfying life, offering freedom and a secure sense of who He is and who He created us to be.
Jesus reorients us so we can live from a place of love, purpose, belonging, and identity instead of working for these things.
He restores us and shows a better way to live, exchanging insecurity for quiet confidence, anxiety for peace.
He gives us our identity and purpose and in response, we gratefully offer ourselves back to Him for His glory and the good of others.
Never in my wildest, childhood dreams would I have imagined that my name would appear on a book as author and illustrator.
Only recently have I accepted that I truly am an artist. I suppose that’s how a lot of us feel about the gifts we’ve been given; we think the space is reserved for the more qualified, better trained, the expert and elite, all the while missing out on being the person God created us to be.
I didn’t want to miss that chance.
I don’t want you to, either.
Emily Lex is a watercolor artist and author. In whatever she does, Emily’s desire is to shine a light on the beauty, goodness, and truth all around us so that we might see more clearly who God is and who we are.
Are you tired of searching for meaning and identity in places it will never be found? If so, you’re not alone. Her new book Freely and Lightly: God’s Gracious Invitation to a Life of Quiet Confidence details Emily’s journey toward becoming the person God has created her to be. Emily’s shares the lessons she’s learned to equip and inspire you in your own spiritual walk toward a Christ-directed life filled with profound purpose and meaning.
Preorder Freely and Lightly and receive an exclusive art print in the mail, as well as digital gifts including printable scripture cards, a desktop wallpaper, phone lock screen, and more! Learn how to redeem these pre-order gifts here.
[ Our humble thanks to Harvest House for their partnership in today’s devotion ]
February 17, 2021
About Celebrities & Living Small: A Lent to Repent & Live in the Universe of Jesus
My mother lives round the corner from a graveyard, and when I drive by in the falling white of a winter night, I look at headstones in snow and it’s true:
Celebrity or saint, scoundrel or steward, there’s a plot of dirt waiting for us all just the same. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, is the way of all of us.
On a Wednesday in February, the Wednesday where we bow and humbly wear our mortality with a smudge of soot, I think of the Body of Christ hurting in all the ways, as I set out our Lenten Wreath. Set out the carved wooden silhouette of Jesus who carried the weight of the cross, the whole aching span of history, on His back.
Favourite Easter Resource: Family Advent to Lent wooden candle wreath“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, is the way of all of us. So don’t follow anybody made of flesh, because flesh will fail & fall. Follow Jesus alone, who alone can save.”Honestly, on the Shrove Sunday before Ash Wednesday, I leaned up against a window sill and wept, sick of the cult of personality, sick of supremacy (of anyone over anyone), sick of celebrity, sick of sin, sick of hypocrisy, sick of me. I am the very chief among sinners, the one who says with Chesterton: “What’s wrong with the world? Dear World, I am.”
Sitting at the frayed edge of a Lent in a hurting world, preparing to repent and follow Jesus, the Antithetical Celebrity, through the next 40 days, toward an altar to surrender all, I reach over and pick up that cruciform silhouette of cruciform Jesus and I just keep returning to what this last year has ignited in me:
I no longer just believe in Jesus, I live in Jesus and He is not some optional addendum to my life but my only atmosphere to stay alive and I repent of all the days of living in the Universe of Self, instead of living in the Universe of Christ. If you exit the Universe of Self to live in the Universe of Christ where Jesus is your every breath, you never stop saying it with every breath:
Don’t follow me.
Don’t follow anybody but the Perfect One who had to take on a body.
Don’t follow anybody made of flesh, because flesh will fail & fall.
Follow Jesus alone, who alone can save.
Favourite Easter Resource: Resource: Lent Wreath available here
And all of us have a responsibility to not build any pedestals.”
When the church exits the Universe of Self to live in the Universe of Christ, we repent of our idols and our celebrities, repent of our ways that are Babel’s ways, repent of our addiction to pedestals and golden calfs and grind them all down to dust because we know that which we are made of.
All celebrity has a responsibility to tear down pedestals,
And all of us have a responsibility to not build any pedestals.
All of us: Tear down our pedestals with daily transparency and vulnerability, lest we fall with pride. We limp bruised. We keep turning, and turning around, turning and repenting from the Universe of Self and Celebrity, to turn toward the Universe of Christ that operates with an entirely counter-mentality:
Celebrity has platforms to grow brands, Christianity has altars to come and die.
Celebrity seeks visibility. Christianity seeks self-invisiblity so only Christ is visible though everything.
Celebrity rises to be untouchable. Christianity kneels low to pour out for those mistreated as untouchables.
Celebrity may have all the blue checks, but someday we will all tremble and stand before God for a character check, and the only hope for any of us will be the Scarlet Grace of Christ.
“Celebrity may have all the blue checks, but someday we will all tremble and stand before God for a character check, and the only hope for any of us will be the Scarlet Grace of Christ.”We, the church, repent of raising up celebrities instead of celebrating in our Maker who made all equally in the image of God.
We turn from our idolizing ways to care more about the marginalized and poverty-stricken and the sacrificing ways of God.
We, the church, repent of the way we have done church instead of humbly being the church.
We turn from our dependence on microphones and big lights to share the message, and turn toward serving in micro ways and being the light, by sharing all that we have so that our very lives become the stronger message.
We, the church, repent: Personal sin never stays personal; personal sin grows into horizontal cancer. That only shrinks when it’s brought to the Light, and we stay in the Light, breath in the Light, live in the Light.
We repent: The root of all kinds of evil in the world is entitlement in our hearts.
We repent: Never let any hypocrisy of a leader hinder any of your intimacy with God.
We repent in sack cloth and ashes, turn to witness God raise beauty from even these ashes.
“We repent in sack cloth and ashes, turn to witness God raise beauty from even these ashes.”On the cusp of Lent, we turn and return again to the season where a year ago, the world came face to face with the pandemic of COVID. And maybe a limping year later, we enter this Lent walking more of the humble Way of Jesus:
Mega church has become micro church, microphones and platforms have given way to micro-communities that are spiritually formational and, in these strange days are we becoming more of what Jesus has always modeled:
Small is the real great. Local is where it’s at. Micro ministry reaps macro growth. Local and small is the greatest of all. Because: Ministry is not about going big or go home. In ministry — going big can blow up your home in Christ.
We repent: Travel itineraries with little accountability can lead to great misery. Go Big at the peril of your own soul. The Jesus Way of Ministry turns to walk another way: Go small to Go Home.
Just look at the Way of Jesus.
Favourite Easter Resource: Lent wooden candle wreath
This is why we repent and turn, to turn and look to the Way of Jesus, to the face of Jesus.
We bow and bend and enter Lent and whisper:
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, we live in the Universe of Jesus, where the hand of God sculpts bits of soil into souls, where the breath of God kisses dust to life, where we do more than believe in Jesus, we breathe in Jesus, we live in Jesus.
There are headstones in graveyards round the corner. But we repent and keep company with Jesus, through our days, through Lent, through to the end, more than only believing in Him, but actually living in Him, in the Universe of Christ — where even dust can resurrect.
Come join us on Instagram or Facebook — for a Living Lent: a Lent that does more than believe in Jesus — but lives in Jesus.
February 15, 2021
When you’re yearning for the crazy happy way of love
“Blessed are the meek…” and “The fruit of the Spirit is love…” So begin The Beatitudes and the Fruit of the Spirit, two of the most beloved passages in the Bible. Each provides incredible wisdom about what makes for a good life. But what happens when we bring these nine teachings and nine fruit together? Daniel Fusco, author of Crazy Happy: Nine Surprising Ways to Live the Truly Beautiful Life, believes an incredible biblical synergy forms a beautiful and surprising invitation to the deep happiness we desire. It’s so simple and so profound we might even be tempted to call it “crazy.” It’s a grace to welcome Daniel to the farm’s front porch today…
Obadiah, Maranatha, and Annabelle. Those are my three amazing kids.
And let me tell you—I have yet to experience another joy equal to the joy of parenting. Don’t get me wrong, it can be hard…but it’s the best thing I’ve ever poured my heart and energy and life into.
“There’s a simpler way of seeing the world. Kids have it. Most grown-ups don’t.”That said, getting my kids out the door and headed to school is actually one of the most excruciating things my wife and I do on a daily basis. It’s not for lack of trying.
But no matter what we do, I’ll just be honest with you. To quote David Bowie, “It ain’t easy.”
But once the kids are in the car, and we pull out of the driveway, then, like the calm after the storm, our morning gets really fun.
You see, morning car rides have become one of our favorite family prayer times. We take time to bring our day before God, and prepare ourselves for what it will hold.
In Matthew 18 when Jesus talked about entering the kingdom of heaven like a child, I believe He meant more than we usually think. It’s more than just having childlike faith. I think He meant that kids are simple, and we need to become like that too.
There’s a simpler way of seeing the world. Kids have it. Most grown-ups don’t.
As we get older, we become more complex. We become more self-aware. More insecure. Life spirals from there, seeming to get more complicated every day. Sooner or later we wind up realizing that relationships seem so much harder than they used to, so much more painful.
Sometimes all this “growing up” keeps us from experiencing all that God has for us in Jesus. This is the drama of life. It’s also the problem of life. It, for good reasons or bad, becomes why it seemed so easy once (for most of us) to be crazy happy. It’s why it feels so much harder now.
But deep down, we all remember a better way. But what’s hard to own sometimes is that our biggest source of complexity is us.
Jesus was strong in His simplicity. So is it any wonder that this real Jesus launched His famous sermon in the Beatitudes by reminding us of this crazy way of life? He paints a beautiful but shocking picture of what a really blessed life is, starting with how we enter the kingdom of heaven.
“Deep down, we all remember a better way. But what’s hard to own sometimes is that our biggest source of complexity is us.”Matthew 5:3 (NKJV) reads: Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
What’s fascinating about Jesus is only He would start out with, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Think about this! Let it sink in. He’s saying, “Oh how lucky are the poor in spirit!” Can we all agree that nobody talks like that today?
None of us feels lucky when we’re being humbled, do we? Talk about crazy happy!
This is one of the primary reasons our Western society today has issues with the real Jesus.
Somebody who is poor in spirit is by definition acknowledging their spiritual bankruptcy—they know they aren’t enough. In our highly individualistic, “work hard, play hard” society, the idea of spiritual poverty flies in the face of our value sets, especially the cultural movement to value our sense of self above anything else.
When we love ourselves the way culture encourages us to, we end up narcissistic and self-obsessed.
Yes, under the banner of God’s love for us, we should love ourselves. But that love isn’t a self-focus—it comes from walking in the reality we are loved by God. Ironically, it’s by taking our eyes off ourselves that we can see and value who we really are.
Humility calls us to see things the way God sees them….and see ourselves the way God sees us. That we are broken and flawed. That we don’t get everything right. And we are helpless to heal ourselves on our own…(Ouch!)
God’s beauty rises up from the ashes of our humility. Then, humility throws open the gates of the kingdom of God and leads us into the potential of a truly beautiful life.
When we let go of our desperation to be right, we grow in our willingness and desire to walk in what is right…when that shift in our mindset happens, now all of a sudden we begin to say, “Lord, I need you”—and really mean it.
“Humility gives us access to the kingdom of God, which is just another way of saying humility gives us access to Jesus.”We start to recognize the reality that He who began a good work in us will continue until the day of Christ Jesus—so He’s not done with us yet, in other words.
So humility gives us access to the kingdom of God, which is just another way of saying humility gives us access to Jesus. In other words, without humility, we have no access to Jesus. Being proud is not just a sin. It’s the root of sin. It is distance from our impossibly humble God.
Here’s the deal: if you would not call yourself poor in spirit or humble today, then you’ve actually left the place where Jesus meets you.
He starts with humility, and the beauty that comes from loving others. We’re supposed to dwell forever in humble gratitude for our salvation, at the foot of the cross, and share that with everyone around us.
“When we come to Jesus in poverty of spirit, He is faithful to bear the fruit in our lives He wants to bear.”That’s how Jesus works. When we come to Jesus in poverty of spirit, He is faithful to bear the fruit in our lives He wants to bear.
He doesn’t leave us as orphans. He helps us love others in the way He’s directed us to live. The fruit of the Spirit is love. (Galatians 5:22)
But as good as this beautiful life is, this is only the beginning.
Poverty of spirit is the doorway to the kingdom of heaven, where we begin to walk in love for God and humanity.
That means that when love begins to take root in our hearts, we’re only standing on the threshold of all the beautiful fruit God wants to unfold in our lives.
Daniel Fusco is an author, a church planter, and the lead pastor of Crossroads Community Church in Vancouver, Washington. His radio program, Jesus Is Real Radio, is broadcast across the country, and his TV show, Real with Daniel Fusco, airs weekly on the Hillsong Channel. He’s written articles for CBN, Preaching Today, Relevant, and USA Today, and is a regular contributor to Roma Downey’s LightWorkers.
There’s no shame in wanting to be happy, but true satisfaction often eludes us. Here’s the truth: wherever we hunt for happiness, we’ll wind up shortchanged. Why? Because plain and simple, the only reason we’re so often unhappy with our lives is because we don’t see our lives as beautiful. But God wants something better for you.
In Crazy Happy: Nine Surprising Ways to Live the Truly Beautiful Life , Daniel Fusco unlocks the happiness we’ve always longed for in a place that seemed too obvious to look: the teachings of Jesus and the apostle Paul.
[ Our humble thanks to Waterbrook for their partnership in today’s devotion ]
February 13, 2021
Only the Good Stuff: Multivitamins for Your Weekend [02.13.21]
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:
Meg Loeks
Meg Loeks
Meg Loeks
Meg Loeks
Meg Loeks
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Good News Movement (@goodnews_movement)
YES, YES, YES: Amen. Tears here… just so beautiful…
How Great Thou Art
When you’re forced to face your biggest fears
Be inspired and empowered each week with this new podcast available on Apple and Spotify
Some love stories last even longer than life itself. For six years now, at 94, he’s visited his late wife’s grave every morning at 6:30 a.m. sharp.
“God will tell me when I’ve had enough.”
A new discovery confirms this about butterflies … amazed! love this one!
they’re living off the grid on their own homemade island? yup, really!
The word ’emet’ is a common word used to describe God in the Bible. It can be translated as “faithfulness” or “truth.” So when the authors say that God is “full of emet,” they are saying that He is trustworthy and faithful—we can trust Him. But trusting isn’t always an easy thing.
In this video, BibleProject looks at why we can trust that God is full of emet. so good!
Hey, you feeling it too, the whirl of all the distractions? Crazy how this one simple action help us focus our eyes and hearts on what really matters most:
How to disconnect in order to reconnect: exchange your on-line distractions for real-life devotions
she vulnerably shares her powerful story…
When everything Hannah staked her identity on was taken away from her, she felt like she had nothing left. Then, the truth changed her…
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%.
Make it a practice to daily count all the ways He lavishly loves you not because counting blessings is a cliche practice, but because counting gifts is how you practice waking up to the the love your whole life is longing for.
(P.S. Print the 2021 updated Joy Dare right here under “Free Tools”)
oh my heart: this one’s for those who adore their 4-legged friends
Extraordinary Teens in Ethiopia Help Farmers Save Crops During Locust Crisis
As children and families living in poverty around the world continue to face multiple layers of crisis even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Compassion’s local church partners are right there with them.
Beyond grateful for the life saving work of Compassion International
God may allow hard things in your life, but they are never intended for evil. Suffering, and your response to it, serves as a platform for the saving of many lives. Keep the Gospel on your lips, and pray for the people watching you as you face trials with courage.
thank you for this, Joni Eareckson Tada…
Your Spouse Should Complete You
What It Means to Become One
just – wow. Humbled by their love and support…could we do this?!?
There are still over 1 billion people without the complete Bible in the language they understand best. But God wants everyone to know Him personally…
Lives change when God speaks to the heart
It is Seed Company’s mission to translate the Bible into every language of every people group, to the ends of the earth. Thanks be to God for their work.
honestly – stop everything and watch this one: NO words.
His story reminds us to never, ever stop trusting God’s plan for your life…
…and the Farmer and I were honored to have Jason visiting on the blog this week… what a story
Post of the week from these parts here:
…so about all the talk of love this time of year? And your love story can feel like not enough? Not as passionate as someone else’s? This weekend? START HERE:
How to Wildly Flirt & Stay Deeply in Love: A Guide for all the Old Lovers (& for all who want to someday be the Old Lovers)YES, yes, yes! 1 Corinthians 13 – like maybe you’ve never heard!?
thank you, John Piper
The beginning of Lent is Wednesday, and we as a family are considering what is meaningful to us this year and what gives us strength – the former being intimate traditions with loved ones, the latter being Christ’s incredible gift of salvation.
If you are searching for a way to observe Lent and practice a season of thoughtfulness in anticipation of the much-needed joy of Easter, there is still time to purchase a Cradle to Cross Wreath for your family. You can start a new tradition with your loved ones, or gift one to a friend! We have a handful available here and – Lord willing – we can get those to your doorstep in time to use for the first few days of this beautiful, contemplative season.
This and more resources available at The Keeping Company
Thanks Be to God
Books for Soul Healing:
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.
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.
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 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: I’m Praying to a God Who Listens
…a thousand ways the winds blow hard.
Stay, Soul, just stay on Jesus.
Let the winds hurry on, let the worry blow away. In the still, you’ll know His will.
Breathe slow — stay anchored in His love, so no storm can sting, no wind can move you:
“You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in You.” ~Isaiah 26:3
Stay, stay on God. Feel the weight of His love, the gravity of His goodness, let the closeness of God weigh you down in the blasting storm, so you simply stay unmoved.
Stay the mind on God, and there is no storm in the world that can move you from the peace of God.
“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts & your thoughts in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
Pray for a peace that passes understanding —
and pray for an understanding that brings peace.
Peace isn’t the absence of the dark.
Peace is the assurance of God’s presence in the midst of the dark.
Rest in His peace tonight.
[excerpted from our little Facebook family … come join us each day?]
That’s all for this weekend, friends.
Go slow. Be God-struck. Grant grace. Live Truth.
Give Thanks. Love well. Re – joy, re- joy, ‘re- joys’ again
Share Whatever Is Good.
February 12, 2021
How to Wildly Flirt & Stay Deeply in Love: A Guide for all the Old Lovers (& for all who want to someday be the Old Lovers)
Want Ann to read this post to you? Listen to the Post
When the teenagers here say he and I flirt too much, I love the way he throws his head back and laughs, like even now, he knows how to win me to him.
“Are you guys saying you’d actually like us not to?” I’m asking the kids in the kitchen, but I’m slipping into his lap, there in his chair at the end of the table, his arms wrapping around my waist, his laughter lingering there at my ear as he pulls me close. He smells like sandalwood and leather and us.
“Old love is the most suggestive love of all because it suggests that the whole of us is actually known and we are still wholeheartedly loved.”And I turn in his lap to smile into those twinkling eyes of his. And I linger. He knows.
He knows the edges of my story that bruise when touched, the places that are fractured and fraught, the spaces within me that ache tender with emptiness. He knows what shames me. He has seen all of me. And I don’t just mean the sagging and the flabby and the cellulite — I mean my ugliness that’s spewed words that can’t be stuffed back into any bottle, and the sins that have marred and scarred long stretches of my soul. I mean, he’s bore witness to my selfishness, and he can testify to where pride still rears its twisted head.
Looking into his eyes, I know that he knows, and he knows that he knows, and this is what it means to be naked and unashamed.
Old love is the most suggestive love of all because it suggests that the whole of us is actually known and we are still wholeheartedly loved. It is only in being really known, in ways that we wish nobody ever knew, that we can ever really know love.
What could be more risqué than risking aging with someone and being worn down to just to your bare souls?
I lay my hand on his weathered cheek, rough with a week’s worth of well-earned stubble. His eyes, like fine art framed with decades of wrinkles, they don’t leave mine, and this is something that the young kids know nothing about:
“Old love sees with a kind of holy double vision — seeing your aged lover in all their humanity, and remembering them as a young lover in all their infallibility. To see, and be seen, with a holy double vision is to know what love really is.”
Old love sees with a kind of holy double vision — seeing your aged lover in all their humanity, and remembering them as a young lover in all their infallibility. To see, and be seen, with a holy double vision is to know what love really is.
Old love is the most sensual of all because it’s moved beyond the sense to hold the soul.
His dark blue eyes are still smiling into mine —and then he winks. And I lean forward to gently brush those lines of his forehead with a kiss, he and I writing another line in our love story that I never want to end.
Though, to be honest, there have been days and how do you tell this bunch of fresh-behind-the-ears-kids in the kitchen:
You only really know how to wildly flirt, when you’ve flirted dangerously close more than once to the idea of throwing in the towel and walking out.
I know it: Keep walking along any fence, thinking the grass is greener on some other side, and you’ll wear down one long rut that’s something mighty hard to get out of.
Sure, all the fake love gurus may tell you that if you imagine something better, it means you’re meant for something better. And while all our sacred stories have tender turns, and only us and God know what we each need to be safe, I am not afraid to show you my very real life-scars and say it aloud:
The root of all kinds of evil is entitlement.
Wherever you’re entitled, you’re going to find yourself holding title to a whole world — or eternity — of pain. Ask me how I know.
And if you think that imagining more and better means that you’re meant for more, you’d do better by your soul to realize that the more you’re endlessly looking for in this world, ultimately means that you’re made for the more of the world that never ends — and that’s the world you’re best to be living for.
My man’s hand gently turns my chin back to face him, and his lips softly brush mine. I’ll be his and he’ll be mine, till time winds down and we inhale the rarified air of forever.
I may not know what all the cool kids want, but I know what I want to tell our kids in the kitchen, what I want to tell him:
Flirt with your own man, instead of flirting with the novelties of all kinds of other possibilities — or you risk wrecking your own house — and all of eternity.
“Addiction to novelty is making this age and all our souls sick.”This is one of the truest things I know: Addiction to novelty is making this age and all our souls sick.
Always looking for the next hit of the newest novelty — the novelty of the new order in the mail, the new item in the closet, the new post in the feed, the new notification on the screen, the new glittery thing somewhere — makes our souls too sick to see the beauty in the old things, the familiar things, the worn things, the tried and true things.
It’s true: old love can make a wide-awake heart race right here.
It’s familiarity that incubates the kind of real love novelty can only dream of.
Can he read my eyes?
You always grin and know that when I say that I am not going to say something, that I always actually will. And I always half smile and wait for it, knowing that when the alarm goes off first thing, you’ll reach for it first, and then for me.
You always leave your socks on the floor by your bedside chair and you like your pillow cold and your feet warm, and your large coffee with an extra dollop of cream, and the vows were, in sickness and in health, so we keep turning to stay in each other’s eyes, because this is how to stay in love.
If our addiction to falling in love with novelties is making us soul sick, then this is the truest too:
Wholeness is falling in love with the same rhythms, the same place, the same miraculous people every day all over again. Wholeness is loving the oldness of here.
This is the way of Love Himself. The One who is Love can’t stop loving the same sun dancing across these same skies, day after day, can’t stop wooing this same world around in the same spinning choreography of moon and stars and space and infinite grace.
It never grows old for Love Himself to keep falling in love with the same old loves.
“You be mine?” His smile is slow and easy — familiar. “Valentine?”
The kids in the kitchen groan. And I laugh and lean into him and don’t really care what the kids think because, contrary to their own popular opinions, they don’t know:
“Passionate love is far more than falling in love. Passion literally means to suffer —which means the old lovers are the most passionate of all.”Passionate love is far more than falling in love. Passion literally means to suffer —which means the old lovers are the most passionate of all.
It’s the old lovers who have suffered tenderly through crisis and kids and the countless blur of days and untold heartaches who live a the most genuine non-stop passion.
It’s the old lovers whose willingness to suffer for each other that’s made all their other suffering bearable.
It’s the old lovers who have passionately suffered long for each other, with each other, who have grown the most passionate companionate love of all. And it’s the suffering passionate, companionate love — the easy laughter and sure reliability and steadiness of companionship and friendship — that makes for the happiest love of all.
And after more than three decades of waking up beside each other, and stumbling through and still somehow finding each other’s hand, I can testify:
“It’s the old lovers whose willingness to suffer for each other that’s made all their other suffering bearable.”It is not the absence of infatuation that makes a marriage unhappy, but the absence of deep attachment. I wish I had learned it a few decades sooner: Make your spouse your person and you make your marriage happy. What turns a marriage around is choosing in a million small moments, that instead of turning toward some distraction, some screen, someone else, to turn toward each other.
My eyes don’t leave his and his don’t leave mine and we don’t ever want to stop seeing each other with this kind of holy double vision.
The art of marital bliss isn’t falling in love, but the staying in love. The passion of the Christ is the ultimate passionate love; Stay in Christ, so it’s possible to stay in love.
Falling in love is only the wild rush before landing in a deep canyon of companionship that leads the way into real bliss.
Joy Prouty“Falling in love is only the wild rush before landing in a deep canyon of companionship that leads the way into real bliss.”I find his hand, lace my fingers through his, grin like we are young kids all over again.
A kid in the kitchen, who shall remain nameless, gives me these rolling eyes — and just to tease said nameless kid, I cup my husband’s face and give him a long kiss worthy of decades of covenanted vows.
Give me flirting till we fade away, give me old love that tastes like fine wine, give me old love that’s weathered howling winds that about drove us apart, give me a passion that’s persisted and persevered until we’ve fused, one heart.
Give me a man who’s a puzzle piece different than me but gently fits me, because two sames never made a complete. Because: Who needs a man who fits some Hollywood mold — when you can have a man who fits the curves of your own soul? Why want a man quick with all the smooth lines, when there’s a man whose soul aligns with yours, becoming one with God?
Yeah, yeah — can he please read my eyes:
Give me the darkest part of your soul, dear, and let me give you all the love you need there. Let me cherish you especially there.
How could I want anyone but you, because who could have made me who I am now but you?
Our clothes tangle in the dryer. Our feet catch in twisted cotton sheets. I am yours and you are mine, time melding us and Divine Love into a holy three.
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