Religious Wall Sits

We squat a lot in religion. We are neither standing nor kneeling, neither leveled nor lifted. We are in a wall sit, straining our muscles to hold the weight of our whole selves while also trying to acknowledge some greater deity. Religious squatting is tiring.

Yes, we are tired. Exhausted, really. We are like travelers in need of a long, hot bath. We need to rest and receive even more than we think we do. It is in the moments we confess the truth, He is God and we are not, that we begin to receive. The squatting posture breaks, the wall-sit collapses, and as we rest upon the earth we are brought back to the origin of our identity.

An outcropping on the Oregon coast overlooks the expanse of the Pacific. From that spot, that last inch of land on the western coast, I sometimes watch the Creator color the sky and animate the wind and the waves. Every time I sit there and watch the sun plunge into the sea, I learn it all over again. That’s my prayer: that witnessing His created world would lead us again and again to a deeper relationship with Him.

Nothing can give rest to our eyes and tune our ears to the Voice of the Creator like time in His studio. This is not a call to retreat from revelation but to be immersed in it. His beauty and our silence allow us to see. May it never be said of us that “those who need rest and clean snow and sky the most” were the last to move.

Where will you go?

Where is that place you long to discover or return to, to be unsettled, to feel small, and to remember who you are?

Author: Zach Elliott

Zach Elliott describes himself as an ordinary man who loves Jesus. Anyone who knows Zach Elliott would describe him as far from ordinary. Zach began his career with Oregon State Police as a Forensic Evidence Technician, then served as a church planter and a pastor before launching V3, a ministry committed to sharing the Gospel and loving the Church. He is a husband, father, speaker, author, and thought leader, engaging the world with a powerful message of hope and restoration in Christ. He has a contagious love of life, finds beauty in the most unlikely places, and loves people with an uncommon depth of respect and honor.

This excerpt is quoted from Zach’s book, Now I See.

Patience

There is an old saying, “Patience is a virtue.” I have found this to be a very true statement and one that is valuable to remember on a continual basis. In our world today, we aren’t used to waiting. Things move quickly, sometimes almost instantaneously. Our food can be microwaved, our entertainment is on-demand, and our mobile devices can access almost any answer we feel the need to find in mere seconds after we feel the need to find it. Two-day shipping is no longer good enough – we’ve moved to overnight or even same-day. Our society says, “I want it and I want it now.”

The reality is that although technology has greatly increased the pace at which we live life, there are still certain things that take an investment of time. For example, if I want to learn to play the piano, it’s a process. I will not take a lesson in the morning and be playing Mozart before lunch. If I have a burning desire to play the piano and I have set it as a goal, I need to be realistic about the type of time investment that will be required to get the result I want. When I set out on the journey, I must realize that I may have setbacks. Perhaps I will struggle with a certain technique, and I will need to put in extra hours, days, or weeks to work through my challenges. I must remember—in this scenario and in countless others—I need to have patience both with myself and with the process.

Here is what I observe about others and myself: we frequently give up on our dreams for no other reason than a lack of patience.

Now, playing the piano is a simple illustration, but the need for patience really applies to everything valuable in life. Here are 3 things that I believe to be true:

1. It takes time to change.
2. It takes time to grow.
3. It takes time to develop wisdom.

If there were a pill that we could take that would give us great wisdom, we would probably all take it. If there were a download that we could install in our brain to give us the positive kind of change that we are pursuing, we would probably accept it. If there were an oil or a smoothie or a video or a device or a meme that would make us instantaneously grow into the people we are meant to become, we would all certainly do whatever it took to get it.

Those things do not exist. What we need in order to achieve change and growth and wisdom is time.

So, if your dream requires change or growth or wisdom (which all worthwhile dreams are certain to require), then I suggest that you deliberately choose to be patient with yourself and with the process. Celebrate the setbacks and challenges and the time it takes to overcome them. That time invested is taking you ever closer to your dream.

Author: Skip Ross

Skip Ross was the owner, founder, and director of Circle A Ranch. He and his wife Susan dedicated their lives to making a difference in the development of teens through their ministry and spent over 40 years giving their summers to the work of Circle A. Skip authored the books Say Yes to Your Potential and Daily Disciplines and created the Dynamic Living Seminar and the Thrive Study Series. He traveled the globe teaching the principles of attitude development and leadership to millions of people for over 50 years. He also recorded numerous audio and video teachings that have been distributed around the world with the help of Network 21 and podcasts. He was a successful business executive, recording artist, and motivational speaker. He was founder and president of the OFIDA Project, on the Board of Directors of the Fred L. Hansen Corp., a Crown IBO with Amway, and a graduate of Westmont College and Fuller Theological Seminary. He worked with many different ministry organizations over the years but has most recently been working with the Equip Organization, founded by John Maxwell, to produce highly effective Christian leaders around the world. Skip Ross went home to be with Jesus on June 13th, 2021, at the age of 82.

This excerpt was taken from Skip’s book, Daily Disciplines.

Spotting the Light of Future Friendship

When my daughter was 3, she loved the Shine-a-Light books from Chick-fil-A kids’ meals. These mini books show what appear to be normal illustrations, but when you shine a flashlight behind each right-hand page, something new appears. In “Secrets of the Seashore,” a flashlight reveals a starfish hiding in a tide pool and an octopus camouflaged by sand. “Secrets of the Rainforest” shows a baby monkey concealed by huge leaves and a hidden hummingbird sipping from a flower. Light from the paper’s other side reveals what was there all along but hidden from initial view. In my experience, sometimes the Holy Spirit highlights new friends this way, as if shining light on a person of future significance. “Wait and pay attention,” the light says. “This person will matter to you.” When I have noticed this spotlight, I’ve sensed that I will develop a close friendship with someone after only briefly seeing them, long before we spoke. It was as if the person’s face just stood out more than everyone else’s, and I knew the Spirit was telling me to get ready for something new.

When I worked at a huge corporation in Washington, DC, a new employee named Liz had an office on my floor. Each time I saw her, she seemed to be outlined as a person of future significance. We passed each other in crowded hallways, and it was like there was flashing sign above her head saying, “Future friend.” Once we passed directly and said “Hi” to each other, and I felt like I should have said more. But in that work culture, such forwardness would have been weird. I didn’t know how a friendship with Liz would happen. Despite my premonition, I knew I should sit back and see how God would help the connection unfold.

A few months after she was hired, Liz emailed to ask if I would edit a document for her team. We met for lunch to discuss the project and soon found we had so much to talk about that it was hard to stay focused on work. The friendship was happening. As we spent time on that project, we quickly became confidantes who talked daily, about anything and everything. I discovered that Liz was also a Christian. She brought joy to a workplace where I felt mostly isolated and unknown. She shared top-secret news of an early pregnancy with me. Within two months, I was there to talk and give hugs following her miscarriage. A few months later, she supported me during my own miscarriage, on days when I barely made it to work. As life continued, we shared the joys and nervousness of our first full-term pregnancies. Our young friendship quickly solidified through life-changing personal events. Neither of us had known how much the other’s support would be needed, providing a safe place to be “real” in the halls of office life.     

Two years later, when my daughter was a baby, someone else saw a friend spotlight on me. My husband and I had moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and I was adjusting to life as a stay-at-home mom. Every Thursday morning at 10:00, I took my daughter to baby time at our local library. We rarely missed a week. I needed a routine, and this hour was awesome (and free) baby education. In addition to sharing wonderful books, the librarian provided a unique feast for babies’ senses. She played different styles of music or used a bubble machine. She brought bags of spices for the babies to smell. She provided animals to pet and tunnels to crawl through. I was living through my daughter’s eyes as much as possible, smiling in wonder at the world. I was so in love with her one-year-old self that I wasn’t looking around for friendship. I was entirely focused on enjoying my child, in new-mom heaven.

It was a complete surprise one Thursday, as baby time ended, when a mom walked right up to me to begin a conversation. She introduced herself, “I’m Joohee,” and asked if I was a Christian. When I answered a surprised, cautious, “Yes . . . ,” she said, “I knew it! You talk to your daughter with such joy and love. I thought you might be a Christian.” Joohee explained that she’d felt prompted to speak with me after bringing her son to baby time for several months. In addition to sharing my faith, she was also a former teacher, like me. I understood our friend potential and suggested that we meet sometime without our kids. The following week, one evening at a coffee shop was the beginning of an extraordinary friendship.

Another time, after being part of a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group for two years, I again sensed a spotlight on a future friend in the room. As a new school year began, a woman named Sarah started attending the group. For weeks, Sarah and I only spoke in passing at MOPS meetings, but I felt sure that we would someday be having deep conversations. One day in late September, my daughter and I ran into Sarah and her son at the park. We stopped to chat, and I almost—really almost—suggested a play-date. But I chickened out. We were still fairly new acquaintances. I wasn’t sure she was as ready to be my friend as I was to be hers. So I waited, continuing to trust that this new friendship was on the horizon and would arise in God’s time.

That winter at MOPS, Sarah and I finally ended up sitting next to each other and talked quite a bit more. Turns out we both didn’t enjoy doing craft projects, as the group was doing that morning. Turns out we both had the same sense of humor. Turns out we both had lived in bigger cities and were non-southerners in this Tennessee town. Most amazing—turns out we both lived in the same neighborhood. We soon were walking to play-dates at each other’s house. Another friendship had begun. Sarah and I have since shared the anxieties and joys of our kids starting kindergarten, adjusting to summer camp, and enduring a pandemic.  

Like light shining through the page of a kids’ flashlight book, God sometimes illuminates people in helpful ways . . . if we’re looking. The Holy Spirit can provide extra-vision goggles, steering us through the world using knowledge that is slightly beyond our own. Ordinary life becomes illuminated with extraordinary insight. This guidance can lead us into healing relationships and friendships we sometimes didn’t even realize we needed. I’ve learned to be ready when the spotlight seems to fall on someone new, and then to be willing to be vulnerable and share more about myself than usual. Even when I have to wait for life and friendship to unfold naturally, that divine flashlight provides preview of a wonderful new chapter, just hidden in the shadows, waiting for me to turn the page.

Author: Amy White Ziegler

Amy Ziegler has a Ph.D. in English and taught composition and literature for 14 years. She also worked as an editor for a research center in Washington, DC. She has published academic articles and a dissertation on psychological abjection in 20th-century American literature. Amy currently lives with her husband and seven-year-old daughter in the suburbs of Chattanooga, Tennessee. She leads church groups and field trips, organizes play dates and closets, and makes as much time for reading and writing as this season of motherhood allows. She is passionate about encouraging others to accept their role in shaping God’s ongoing creativity in their lives.

The Eternal Flame

The Eternal Flame

As a child, I never had much interest in Sunday school or catechism class. I thought I had the whole salvation thing worked out. I preferred to spend my time at church chasing after childhood crushes and hiding in the pews.

Catechism class was a bit of a walk. From my little parochial school room I would round the gym, pass by the big doors at the end of the hallway, go up some stairs to cross the choir loft and then back down some stairs into the fireside room. I knew just how to plan my trek to obtain maximum girl-chasing and pew-hiding time. I waited in the right places at the right times and then drifted back, hid, got a drink of water, forgot something – you name it. This allowed me to conveniently separate from the pack and linger alone until they finally came looking for me.

From my vantage point in those days, believing in Jesus was a get-out-of-hell-free pass. It kept me from going to the place of fire and brimstone someday. And if I wasn’t going to hell, I knew the flip side of that coin meant that I was going to heaven. Conversations about life, death, and Jesus usually revolved around place, not person. God Himself was never understood as the destination. All I knew was this: “If you’re good and believe in Jesus, you go to heaven. If you’re bad and don't believe the salvation prayer, you go to hell.” The Creator of the creature, the actual person, was not talked about. He was not the vision. Heaven was. I had never glimpsed or spent time with the idea of God and therefore had never thought about knowing God, or seeing Him in the flesh of His son. Somehow, I missed all of that.

I missed Jesus.

And yet ... He never stopped calling to me.

Many times, when I was trying to avoid class, I would find myself alone, lingering in the sanctuary, or hiding in a pew, avoiding the teaching about this religion that I had no interest in. And while I thought I was escaping God in those moments, even then I was drawn to something mysterious that compelled me to look up.

The sanctuary had an eternal flame that hung from the ceiling at the front– a single, red vase with a solitary candle, always burning. It captivated me. The soft, muted, constant light enchanted me. I often looked at it for so long that my vision was red. Even when my mind was disengaged, fully yet unconsciously enmeshed into the narrative of the cave, my vision was compelled upwards. Long before I knew that such a thing truly existed, I heard the whisper of Love.

I didn’t know Jesus was the One I was looking for, until the day I finally saw Him.

Author: Zach Elliott

Zach Elliott describes himself as an ordinary man who loves Jesus. Anyone who knows Zach Elliott would describe him as far from ordinary. Zach began his career with Oregon State Police as a Forensic Evidence Technician, then served as a church planter and a pastor before launching V3, a ministry committed to sharing the Gospel and loving the Church. He is a husband, father, speaker, author, and thought leader, engaging the world with a powerful message of hope and restoration in Christ. He has a contagious love of life, finds beauty in the most unlikely places, and loves people with an uncommon depth of respect and honor.

This excerpt is quoted from Zach’s book, Now I See.

Big Secret

And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.

Isaiah 25:7-8 ESV

There is something that Satan does not want you to know: a secret that is a game-changer if you realize it. Satan understands that the end to his effectiveness starts with this realization. He fights against you with all his dark powers to distract you from this. There are potholes and obstacles thrown into your life to trip you up, just to keep you from fixing your eyes on this truth. What is this secret?

It is not really a secret. It is proclaimed all through scripture. It just takes reading it and believing it. Are you ready for the secret?

The Creator of the Universe is FOR you!

In the text today, it shows God taking away the power of death and wiping the tears of all His people. He takes away your shame and restores you. He redeems you. He is for you. You will go through a lot of stuff trying to lead your family. Today, walk in the realization that God is with you. It is simple, but it is often overlooked. In your decision-making and everything you do, know that God is with you or wants to be with you. You only need to ask Him. Don’t allow Satan to distract you from the available unity with Christ. Put in the work this morning in prayer, reading, and meditation to make the connection to the Father. He wants to wipe your tears too.

Author: Patrick Wheeler

Pastor Patrick began his work in outreach ministry as a young boy, riding the church van with his father, transporting parishioners from local neighborhoods to church services. As a teen, alongside his parents, Patrick volunteered for various food distribution and tutoring services in at risk neighborhoods.

While obtaining his Bachelor's in Business Administration from Florida A&M University, Patrick answered the call to pastoral ministry at the age of 19. In 2020, He and his wife Keisha graduated together with their Master's in Biblical Counseling from Luther Rice College & Seminary. Over the course of the last 18 years, Patrick organized, spearheaded, and held positions in various churches and non-profit organizations in Alabama and Florida while also progressing in his career field of business and logistics.  

He lived as a doting and hard-working family man, a friend to all, and leader in the community. He had a wonderful sense of humor and was a light to all who knew him. His passion was in sharing the love and gospel of Jesus with anyone who would listen, and in helping those in need.  

Patrick passed away suddenly at the age of 39, going on to join Jesus sooner than anyone expected. His legacy lives on through his wife of 16 years, Keisha, and their seven children, family, friends, and community of faith.  

This excerpt is taken from Patrick’s’s book, Good Morning, Men of God!

Mums in the Middle of the Mess

I darted into the master bath, quickly glanced in the oversized mirror, saw something new, but had no time to really digest it. I had to be in and out. "I'll have to come back to that," I thought. These last several months since our loss have been a haze, and most things are done in robotic fashion. But, a couple days later, I was back in the master bath staring into that same mirror along with all of the clutter covering the countertops below. Nothing was unusual about that, though. 

Mad dash, madness, and messy have all become part of our norm in this season of unexpected, unrelenting grief. 

As I stood in the mirror, I was having another tough talk with one of the kids. This time, it was my eight-year-old daughter, Avielle. As I began my usual, "Honey, we have to make good choices...", I remembered the "something new" that I noticed the other day. It was a vase full of crimson mums. I never buy mums; and I never buy crimson anything. And somehow, I knew that she had been the one who placed them there.  So, I interrupted my mild scolding and asked, "Did you put those there?"

She quietly replied, "Yes." 

I realized something in that moment. The old me would have criticized, "Who would put fresh flowers in the middle of this mess? Look at this countertop! It has to be clean and clear first. No one places pretty flowers to decorate a mess!" However, in my new reality, I saw effort. I saw courage. I saw thoughtfulness. I saw someone standing in the middle of my mess, my agony, my brokenness and realizing that there's nothing that they could do to clean it up. Yet, being courageous and hopeful enough to place mums, in the midst of the clutter, just so that I could see something beautiful. A person loving me enough to dry their own tears, clear a space, and create a beautiful moment that would allow me to focus on anything other than the shambles left by life's sorrows. 

Today, my encouragement isn't to find the flowers, or silver lining in the middle of life's trials and challenges. I feel like there are enough blogs, reels, and self-help books shouting that message. Today, I implore you to acknowledge the brave and beautiful people God has placed in your path to place mums in the middle of your mess. 

Author: Keisha Wheeler

Learn more about Keisha as she leads her family on a journey of love, loss and legacy on her blog at servingwith7.com or instagram @servingwith7.

Shades of Color

One morning I arrived early at the place of my morning walk. My friend had not yet arrived so I walked a little way by myself. As I walked, the beautiful blooming magnolia trees along the path caught my eye, as I have a special place in my heart for magnolia trees. As young children, my sisters and I spent many hours ‘playing house’ underneath the magnolia trees across the street from our home. Magnolia blooms are a creamy, velvety white, and their leaves are large and a very dark, rich shade of green. The color combination is striking and beautiful.

Then my attention was drawn to the plants below the magnolia tree. The texture and coloring of the tall grassy plant was very different from the magnolia. The grassy plant looked wispy instead of strong and sturdy. The green color was much lighter and softer. My eyes were then drawn to the landscape behind the magnolias and the grassy plants. I noticed the many shades of green in the trees and landscape. And I marveled at God’s creation and how the colors blended together so beautifully.

Then I was struck with another thought. The many shades of green in nature made me think about the many shades of meaning in the Word of God. When we read a particular passage or verse it may have a special meaning at that time in our lives. Later, we may come across the same verse and it may minister to us in a different or deeper way. Just as nature has many shades of green, a verse may have many shades of meaning, and many applications to our lives. As we read, the Holy Spirit is able to apply the Word to us right where we are in our life and walk with Him. He is able to speak into our mind to minister to our needs, no matter what it might be. It is beautiful to see how that works in nature, and how He applies it to our lives spiritually.

As I walked another thought came to mind. I realized I had walked this path for months, and considering the many shades of green had never occurred to me. I usually walk with a friend and we talk. We share events in our lives and our families. We share prayer requests and the burdens of our hearts. We share things gleaned from reading the Bible, and we discuss spiritual things. Sharing is a beautiful part of the process of growing in Christ and encouraging one another, and that is good, wonderful, and much needed. I don’t mean to belittle Christian fellowship and sharing in any way. But I realized when I focus only on talking and sharing, I often don’t notice the subtle and glorious beauty around me.

So I asked myself, what parallel can I draw from this thought to my spiritual life? And this is what came to mind. Just as walking and talking with a friend can distract us from seeing the beauty of God’s creation around us, in the same way, when we read a passage or verse we can become distracted by good, familiar things and miss the beauty beneath the surface. A verse can remind us of a meaningful event or a special time in our lives. Those are good memories. But perhaps today God wants us to see something new. Often it is not bad things which may block new insight, but rather good or ordinary things.

An example of this to me is Psalm 23. The morning after I trusted Jesus as my Savior I was awakened very early by one of my children crying out. I got up to make sure he was ok, but he had settled back to sleep. Since I was already awake and out of bed, I sat down and picked up my Bible, wondering what to read. I opened my Bible and on the page was Psalm 23:1 and the words, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” Those words brought tears to my eyes! He is MY Shepherd. I had been in church for years but had just trusted Him as Savior for the first time. He is now My Shepherd! It became a special verse to me from then on because it was as if the Lord was affirming to me, ‘You are mine!”

Spring forward to the present. I am currently processing and dealing with the lengthy illness and heavenly homegoing of one of my brothers. He suffered much with his illness and it was difficult to watch. While I am so very thankful he is no longer suffering and has now received his ultimate healing, as a human I am grieving his passing. One morning as I was dealing with his illness I was seeking comfort from God’s word. I opened my Bible to read, and you guessed it, on the page was Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” Upon seeing the verse I could have just remembered how special that verse has been to me since that morning He affirmed to me He is my Shepherd. But God shifted my focus to the last part of the verse, and brought to mind another thought, that in Him there is no want, no lack. He brought me hope by applying the verse to my heart in a different and special way. No matter my need right now in relation to the passing of my brother, I shall have no lack of what is needed to comfort my hurting heart. Now that he is gone from the earth I am comforted to know he is in heaven with his Savior since he had trusted in the cleansing blood of Jesus for his sins. I am comforted to know that in heaven there is no more pain, sorrow, or tears. I am comforted to know that I will see him again in heaven. As I pondered these thoughts, once again the tears flowed. God used a familiar verse in a different way to bring hope and comfort to my heart.

So my encouragement is this: take the time it takes to glean God’s message to you from His Word. Don’t let good or familiar things distract you from the best thing. Just as one walks through God’s creation and pauses to appreciate the glorious beauty of it, pause as you read and let the rich depth of the beauty of God’s Word nourish your heart as you take it in.

Author: Clara NeSmith

Clara NeSmith has taught Bible study classes in her local church for over 40 years, and is currently working on her first book. She enjoys sharing from God’s Word the truths gleaned in her daily study, along with her hobbies of reading and sewing. Clara worked at her dream job of being a stay-at-home mom for many years. She then did Social Work in an elderly care setting for 20 years. She has four grown children and 9 grandchildren. She currently resides in Brandon, FL.

The Power of a Routine Task

I was looking for something in one of my old Bibles this morning and ran across a paper which was dated April 16, 1995. The date immediately caught my attention as it reminded me of my mother’s passing on April 1 of that year. What was recorded would have been written a couple of weeks after her death. My mother’s death was sudden and unexpected. An aneurysm in her brain was found which required surgery. The surgery was very lengthy, and the outcome was not good. A few hours after surgery she suffered a major stroke. The doctors informed us that her brain suffered irreparable damage, and she was alive only by means of life support. What we thought was to be a procedure which would bring healing had a very different outcome. Our family was shocked and devastated. We faced the heart wrenching decision to stop life support in accordance with her Living Will. We knew she would not want to just exist on life support, never knowing anyone or anything. 

In the days that followed, I faced a grief like I had never known. The sudden loss of my mother was indescribable. Twenty-six years later as I looked at the paper, I was eager to read what was written. What were my thoughts? What prompted me to write them down and keep them? Why did I find this paper today?   realized as I read the words written all those years ago that I wrote them when studying the resurrection of Jesus, because Easter was on April 16 that year.   

The thoughts are based on Luke 24:36-53 which records Jesus appearing to the disciples after His resurrection. Now think about this setting. The disciples had just witnessed the betrayal of Jesus by one of their own. They had witnessed the mock trial, the scourging, and the trip to Golgotha with Jesus carrying His cross on His bloody back. They had watched Him suffer on the cross. They witnessed the death of someone they loved. Surely it must have felt as if all their hopes for the Kingdom Jesus taught about were gone. They were grieving, discouraged, and disappointed. Was His message not true after all? Was He not truly the Son of God? If He was, why did He die?  

Jesus rose from the grave on the third day after his death, so this appearance to the disciples would have happened soon after. He knew their thoughts and their grief. He knew their questions and doubts. I think it is worthwhile to consider what He told them in those moments, and by looking at it, what He says to believers when we are faced with hard things. I know it helped me deal with the grief of my mother’s death back then, and still does today.

Luke 24:36 - He brought them peace.

38-40 - He comforted their doubts and fears with tangible proofs, asking them to touch his scarred hands and feet.

40-43 - They thought it too good to be true that Jesus was really alive, so He gave them a routine task to do.  He asked for food which he ate in their presence.

44 - He affirmed the Scriptures, and reminded them He had previously told them about His death and resurrection while He was with them.

45-48 - He opened their understanding of the Scriptures about His death and resurrection which would provide cleansing and forgiveness of sin.  They were to be His witnesses of these things. 

49- He promised them power from on high.

50 - He led them.

51 - He blessed them.

52 - He inspired them to worship with great joy.

52 - The result was continual praise to God. 

So what did these thoughts mean to me? Well, I remember perusing this passage back then and realized Jesus showed me concern when I was grieving.  He gave me peace and comfort (36-40).

He gave me a routine task to do (40-43). A friend asked me to alter a dress for her daughter, and sewing was something I usually loved to do. The time frame was short, and I wanted to refuse to help because of my grief. I questioned in my mind why she would ask me to do this so soon after the funeral. But then Jesus’ request for food came to mind. Just as the disciples had to find and prepare some food, I needed to do the sewing task my friend asked. Doing something routine enabled me to feel ‘normal.’  Through this routine task, Jesus showered me with comfort and let me know it was going to be okay.

He used Scripture to remind me of His promises about heaven and eternity (44-48). The day before my mother’s surgery I was with her in the hospital. We talked about many things, including eternity. She shared with me her salvation experience as a teenager during a revival meeting, and assured me she knew Christ as Savior. Knowing we would spend eternity together helped my grief.

Through His promises of power to live my life (49), His daily leading (50), His blessing on my life (51), and the inspiration to worship in spite of grief (52), I was enabled to live joyfully and praise Him even in the middle of my grief and pain.  

So, as we approach Easter Sunday, may we be ever mindful that because of His resurrection He is able to bring peace and comfort to our lives.  No matter what we are facing, no matter the circumstances, He is able. The disciples watched Him die a horrible death, then were encouraged and challenged by His resurrection to be witnesses to the world!  May our lives be comforted and challenged in a like manner. May our lives be a continual praise to Him who lives forever, and intercedes for us even when we are unable to express our prayers.  And in the middle of our routine tasks may we realize His power is all sufficient for our every need.

Author: Clara NeSmith

Clara NeSmith has taught Bible study classes in her local church for over 40 years, and is currently working on her first book. She enjoys sharing from God’s Word the truths gleaned in her daily study, along with her hobbies of reading and sewing. Clara worked at her dream job of being a stay-at-home mom for many years. She then did Social Work in an elderly care setting for 20 years. She has four grown children and 9 grandchildren. She currently resides in Brandon, FL.

Like A Candle

That I would be used up like a candle.

Enveloped with wax.

Formed in particular shape.

With a wick at my center ready to burn,

charring my insides for the benefit of others.

That I would be used up like a candle.

Picked up with intrigue.

Inhaled with deliberation.

Purchased with thought.

Placed with intention.

That I would be used up like a candle.

Lit for a purpose.

Love, light,

remedy, warmth.

Seeing, holding,

remembering, foreboding.

That I would be used up like a candle.

Temporarily giving until I reach my end.

Knowing I am finite.

Knowing I am short lived.

Being what I am.

No more, no less.

No other function

No other purpose.

No other best.

That I would be used up like a candle.

Author: Erin NeSmith

Erin NeSmith graduated from the University of South Florida in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in Interpersonal Communication and a minor in Music. She also earned her Professional Coaching Certification as a life coach in 2016. Mrs. NeSmith has spent the majority of her career serving at-risk populations as a Re-entry Counselor, Teacher, and Program Director at New Life Village, a intergenerational adoptive community. She has a strong desire to partner with at-risk teens through coaching and mentoring as they become the best version of themselves. To that end, she founded Grow Into You Foundation, Inc. in 2016, which seeks to plant hope, shift perspectives, and restore power to at-risk youth, particularly those in and aging out of the foster care system. Mrs. NeSmith enjoys spending time with her husband and three children, reading professional development books, clowning (no, really!), singing and songwriting and participating in karaoke nights with friends.

You Always Have a Choice

Human beings have a truly marvelous amount of potential.

The fact is that it really all comes down to the choices we make.

We are all overflowing with potential, yet some achieve amazing things and others struggle to keep their heads above water. What makes the difference? I believe that it is our choices. Some of those choices are large, full-scale life decisions, while others are small choices that simply pave the pathway to our success or failure. We make choices about career, marriage, family, homes, finances—and those are the big ones. Those are the ones that we already know will alter the course of our life one way or another. It is important to approach those choices with a solid plan for making good decisions.

But let’s think for a moment about the small choices—the things that don’t necessarily seem in the moment like they are going to have a lasting impact on your life. Things like choosing kindness or anger in the middle of a disagreement, or choosing to go to the gym rather than sleep in on a Saturday. Things like waking up in the morning with a deliberate intent to choose a positive attitude rather than a discouraged one, or choosing to invest some time with your kids rather than answering one more email; these small choices are constantly presented to us.

Choices are endless; you make them every moment of every day. The key is to remember that you do have a choice. You always have an option for how you will handle yourself in any given situation. And here’s a fact that can make a huge difference as you make choices in your life: successful, happy people do not base their choices on their emotions. They base their choices on what is best for the fulfillment of their potential.

So what will we choose today, tomorrow? My hope is that today we will choose to think about our choices.

Author: Skip Ross

Skip Ross was the owner, founder, and director of Circle A Ranch. He and his wife Susan dedicated their lives to making a difference in the development of teens through their ministry and spent the over 40 years giving their summers to the work of Circle A.

Skip authored the books Say Yes to Your Potential and Daily Disciplines, and created the Dynamic Living Seminar and the Thrive Study Series. He traveled the globe teaching the principles of attitude development and leadership to millions of people for over 50 years. He also recorded numerous audio and video teachings that have been distributed around the world with the help of Network 21 and podcasts.

He was a successful business executive, recording artist, and motivational speaker. He was founder and president of the OFIDA Project, on the Board of Directors of the Fred L. Hansen Corp., a Crown IBO with Amway, and a graduate of Westmont College and Fuller Theological Seminary. He worked with many different ministry organizations over the years but has most recently been working with the Equip Organization, founded by John Maxwell, to produce highly effective Christian leaders around the world.

Skip Ross went home to be with Jesus on June 13th, 2021, at the age of 82.

This excerpt is taken from Skip’s book, Daily Disciplines.

A Movement of Grace

A number of years ago, the world of basketball fandom witnessed a young girl who was rescued from a shame story. 13-year-old Natalie Gilbert had won the right to sing the national anthem on national TV before a playoff game at the Moda Center, featuring the Portland Trailblazers. She prepared for the big day with plenty of practice. As she walked out onto the stage she was beautifully dressed and truly captivated the crowd.

22,000 people in the stadium joined people everywhere watching on ESPN, and all eyes were on her. She stepped forward to sing the national anthem, and stage fright took over. She forgot the words; nothing came out. It was every performer’s worst nightmare!

As she stood there in a frozen panic, Maurice Cheeks, the coach of the Trail Blazers, came over to her. He put his hand on her shoulder and he started singing the words to the national anthem. And, just for the record, he cannot sing!

Immediately, the tension relaxed. Everyone in the stadium began to smile. Natalie looked at Coach Cheeks, and then she started singing along with him, and as they sang the song together the crowd went nuts. The footage of this rescue played everywhere. SportsCenter picked it up. Then Good Morning America. The kid turned into a celebrity for at least 15 minutes. All because someone chose to come alongside her.[1]

Later, in an interview, she said, “What started out to be the worst moment of my life, turned out to be the best!”[2]

Can you imagine what it might have been like for her in that moment? National television, in front of thousands of people. Imagine the humiliation she must have felt, and then imagine the relief when the moment was redeemed. That shame story that could have attached to her for the rest of her life was changed by a guy who stepped over and started singing, even when he couldn’t sing. 

Sometimes we have the illusion that if we're going to help other people, we’ve got to be perfect. We’ve got to have all our stuff together, and we can't have any problems. But that's not true. Sometimes the presence of someone in our lives makes all the difference in the world, even when they're a broken person, too. There's power in connection.

Part of the power and redemption of shame is connecting with somebody else who comes alongside and makes a difference in our life. A lot of times, it looks like Christ: kindness, empathy, mercy. Maybe it doesn't always have a spiritual dimension to it outwardly, but there's something powerful in that sort of compassionate movement towards another person. 

I call it grace. 

Author: Dr. Richard Shaw

Dr. Richard Shaw is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Mental Health Counselor. He is an ordained minister with the International Foursquare Church and he is an Associate Professor of Counseling at George Fox University. He has traveled extensively in the U.S. and overseas to teach and facilitate workshops for his groundbreaking work around shame and grace. Richard is originally from the great state of Nebraska and currently lives with his wife, Karen, in the pacific Northwest. He loves both college and pro football and he enjoys spending time on the Oregon Coast. He has two adult children in education and ministry.

[1]Deveny, Shawn. “Hall of Famer Maurice Cheeks recalls national anthem assist: 'I didn't know I would do that'”. https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/maurice-mo-cheeks-national-anthem-natalie-gilbert-video-coach-nba-hall-of-fame-trail-blazers/h749s8eomo4l1gy86ju2g9r26. Accessed 28 June 2021.

[2]Muldoon, Katy.“Dizzying Freeze Fame.”Oregonian, 2003.

An Invitation to Reconstruction

Deconstruction. With that word, some of you may have rolled your eyes and stopped reading. Some of you may have endured painful flashbacks or a battle you retreated from long ago. But spiritual deconstruction, or unlearning the religion that we’ve been handed, is real, and it has been happening across the cultural landscape for quite a while now.

Our culture is currently plunging headlong into a post-Christian landscape, and deconstruction is like the tsunami that is washing over that landscape whether we like it or not. The “nones,” or the group of people who have never or no longer see themselves as having any faith at all, are still growing, especially in the West.

Some of us, though at one time we felt like we were drowning, have learned to swim through the tsunami of deconstruction, navigate it, and have found solid ground again (though it most certainly looks different from the places we thought we were standing before). Those are the folks that have deconstructed toward the reconstruction of something better – something more true, more real, more genuine.

And some have deconstructed until there are only ruins. Or, like the Grinch taking even the tacks used to hang the stockings and leaving only a crumb that was too small for a mouse - there is nothing left of their faith.

At the end of the day, deconstruction is about questions. Think about it. If you’re reading this and believe that you have no questions about your faith or lack thereof…well, to put it bluntly, yes, you do. You may not be in a season of deconstruction, or post-deconstruction, but we all carry big questions, all the time – whether we spend much time thinking about them or not.

But in this moment in history, many, many people are doing just that: thinking about the big questions.

So, there is something about our big questions that we must choose the wisdom to see: our biggest and deepest questions are actually mirrors to our own hearts.

I experienced my own deeply painful and frustrating season of deconstruction, which followed an excruciating season of clinical depression and anxiety. Like anyone who suffers and has any idea of who God might be, I began to question God regarding the disparities I believed there were between my suffering and my construct of God.

My experience of suffering and my ideas about God’s nature seemed to be at odds. Perhaps you can relate, or could at one time.

But do you know what I was really asking through my deconstruction? Do you know what I was really feeling? I can look back now and see that I was really saying, “God, I have been to the deepest place of pain that I have ever experienced. Where were you? Why were you silent? What is still true about you? These were the questions behind the questions.

I was afraid to engage these questions, because I felt like I had to know the answers in order to grow in my relationship with God. What I was failing to see was that approaching God with my fear-based demands was the true obstacle to my relationship with him.

Pontius Pilate once asked Jesus, “What is truth?” But like Pilate, we miss the Truth when it is all we seek. Let me put it this way: we miss the truth when the questions become our masters and the answers become our idols. Because truth is so much more than facts to be understood. Truth is a Person to be known – a grace to be experienced. 

The death of these idols can feel like the death of parts of who we are. Each idol is connected with strong roots to our ego. Our egos have to know. They must control and categorize to make us feel safe. But faith, authentic faith, means not having to know. The release from these lesser pursuits frees us from our own constructs, which in turn (ironically) gets us to some of the answers we sought all along. It can also give us the wisdom to release the questions that mattered less. We are more able to sit with the tension of holding questions without being…tense.

The death of our idols of understanding a paint-by-number God can be so painful. But in the disillusionment of that death, a newer, truer version of God is born. A God who can be known by experience – not just by our own understanding.

When our fragile God-construct jar is shattered, His true nature begins to run rampant and wild and free all over our minds and our hearts. It is in that space that we engage God, possibly for the first time, in a truly open space. We surrender to the sacred dance in the places between questions and answers, between certainties and doubts.

I wrote a lot during my season of painful questioning, and here is one of the poems from that time:

untether me

from this station

from systemic constructs

of comforts and certainties

of convention and cruel devotion

of approved idols and sanctioned exclusion

and I will drift into oblivion

into the black void

and let me find you

not in clenched fist claims

not in a book of magic

but in the the terror of liberty

the fidelity of betrayal 

let me find you

wherever

whoever

you Are 

The terror of liberty. I hope you find yourself there sometime. Because if we can own our questions…if we can surrender our ego and its demands…if we can allow our post-enlightenment, post-modern, post-Christian minds to become reawakened to the enchanted reality of being the created, beloved creatures of Love Himself…then we may just find ourselves closer than we’ve ever been to the answers we were really after all along.

So, to the “nones” and the Pharisees, to the sinners and saints, to the deconstructed and the doubtful: there is a third way. It is the Way of grace. And the Way leads to Love.

Author: Benjamin NeSmith

Benjamin NeSmith has spent his life working with people. He put his social science education degree to use teaching students of all ages, including those with special needs, for over a decade. He spent years as a recording and performing musician and is now a Certified Professional Coach and Pastor at Element Church Tampa. Benjamin enjoys family time, hiking, interior design, and creating meaningful liturgical experiences for others.

Oh Story

Oh story, you have found me.

Found me wanting,

Found me desperate,

Found me unsure how to tell you.

So I will write and try,

And live and die,

To fashion words to fit the muse.

Oh story, you have caught me.

Caught me toiling,

Caught me guilty,

Caught me worried that I’ve wronged you.

For I wrote and wrought,

And bled and fought,

To tell the story true.

Oh story, you have left me.

Left me wondering,

Left me maddened,

Left me searching everywhere for you.

Did I force and fit,

And bridle and bit,

The wild from out of you?

Oh story, I have found you.

Found you waiting,

Found you hopeful,

Found you Finding me again,

As I fought to follow you.

Author: R.G. Triplett

This poem is quoted from R.G. Triplett’s book, The Coming Dawn.

Bobby, as his friends call him, is an artist at heart. He is a professional musician and author - not to mention a private chef, daddy of two, and self-proclaimed nerd. He is a church planter, and has served as Lead Pastor and Worship Pastor in several churches throughout his career, having earned his degree from Palm Beach Atlantic University. He is co-owner and founder of Lost Poet Press, and he is also the on-screen narrator for all of the THRIVE cinematic films. He is the author of the Epic of Haven Trilogy, an allegory/fantasy saga that expresses his passion for grand stories and his rather epic view of the world.

Creaturehood

Creaturehood is an inconvenient truth. In the cave, we mask this identity more and more with machines that conceal the vulnerabilities of the flesh. While true peace eludes our souls, we find physical and psychological safety in new “armor” that is fashioned for a world we are creating. These are the new coverings in which we hide to conceal even the memory that we are created.

Before we fully receive the love our Creator is longing to give us, this armor must fall. We must return to a world we actually inhabit, but did not create. We confess that we are creatures, unmasking the pride of our age. To look to Him is to return as creatures to His presence. This is what Jesus spoke of when He said that He came to give life to the full.

Colossians tells us that we were made by Him and for Him.  God himself created us for Himself. There’s a relationship that is set up with us as creature and Him as Creator. The whole story, the whole of our DNA, all of our desire and longing is for that source to be embraced. Until we, the creatures, find ourselves face to face with the Creator, we will be restless. Distractions will multiply, and nothing will satisfy.

But when we, the trembling, mysteriously curious creatures, find the way to this new place, we get a glimpse of something different. Not a glimpse of words on paper, or flannel pieces on a wall at Sunday school class, or a degree behind our name, or place on a pew in a cathedral. We glimpse the Creator himself. The reward is the relationship with the One who longs to be with us. 

Author: Zach Elliott

Zach Elliott describes himself as an ordinary man who loves Jesus.
Anyone who knows Zach Elliott would describe him as far from ordinary.
Zach began his career with Oregon State Police as a Forensic Evidence Technician, then served as a church planter and a pastor before launching V3, a ministry committed to sharing the Gospel and loving the Church. He is a husband, father, speaker, author, and thought leader, engaging the world with a powerful message of hope and restoration in Christ. He has a contagious love of life, finds beauty in the most unlikely places, and loves people with an uncommon depth of respect and honor.

This excerpt is quoted from Zach’s book, Now I See.

Chicken Nuggets

His name was Mike. He had a jolly smile and a laid back attitude. He stood just a few inches taller than me when I met him at 15 years old. It was the summer before his sophomore year and he was living in a group home made of white shimmery cinder block tacked on the backside of an octagonal church.

He was honest from the jump and made his intentions very known. When asked if he was ready to get some life coaching and mentoring, he half signed his name to the agreement because he was only half interested.

But whether he was all in or not, he gave it a shot. The boy had been truant upwards of 50 plus times the school year before. And he had a family legacy of drug dealing and drug use to live up to if he desired.

But he didn’t desire that.

What he desired was education. And helping others. And inspiring his peers. And excelling at sports.

So, when we set out that year to chisel away at his facade to find who he was deep down inside, I had no idea how inspired I would become as I learned who this young man really was.

He was smart. He got the grades, he finessed the teachers, he knew how to find a study buddy or two, and he pushed himself to enroll in the most challenging classes.

He was well liked. There was no higher compliment than your peers choosing you as homecoming and prom king in the same year. And the teachers saw that he was pretty special as well.

He was an athlete. He worked himself on and off the field. He would eat, sleep, and breathe football.

Besides growing up in a vast, sparse, boys locker room kind of a group home, Mike had bounced around from family member to family member. So, this made spending years in one place- even if it did have plastic mattresses, steel frame bunks, occasional fights and gang bathrooms- feel like a blessing to this young man who was a natural at seeing the glass half full.

As I got to know him, I marveled at his charisma, his deep seated joy, his enthusiasm for life and his “can-do” attitude.

As if that wasn’t inspiring enough, one day I went to see him for a coaching session at the group home shortly after we had worked to get him his ID, his social security card, and a bank account so that he could get his first job at Wendy’s.

When I was asking him about the job and how it was going- of course he had good things to say. But then he told me a story that floored me.

He said when he got his very first paycheck, he turned around and bought some chicken nuggets at the counter.

I was thinking that must have felt so good considering meals in a group home of 15 teenage boys are monotonous and definitely not what you want when you want it.

But then he says, “there is this homeless man outside of Wendy’s I always see when I am walking home, so I gave the nuggets to him”.

With his first hard-earned cash, with a hot meal that he chose, with the pride of getting what he deserved- he gave it away to someone else. Someone he viewed as more needy than him.

He walked the rest of the way home and ate the group home leftovers knowing he had just fed the hungry- and he was happy.

———

Mike, is now 20 years old and beginning the pursuit of his first entrepreneurial venture as a sports trainer for young athletes.

And I, cannot wait to see what he is going to do!

Author: Erin NeSmith

Erin NeSmith graduated from the University of South Florida in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in Interpersonal Communication and a minor in Music. She also earned her Professional Coaching Certification as a life coach in 2016. Mrs. NeSmith has spent the majority of her career serving at-risk populations as a Re-entry Counselor, Teacher, and Program Director at New Life Village, a intergenerational adoptive community. She has a strong desire to partner with at-risk teens through coaching and mentoring as they become the best version of themselves. To that end, she founded Grow Into You Foundation, Inc. in 2016, which seeks to plant hope, shift perspectives, and restore power to at-risk youth, particularly those in and aging out of the foster care system. Mrs. NeSmith enjoys spending time with her husband and three children, reading professional development books, clowning (no, really!), singing and songwriting and participating in karaoke nights with friends.

The Dark Room

THE DARK ROOM

Not too long ago I happened upon a fortune cookie that contained this statement: “Fear is the dark room where negatives are developed”.

Before the vast majority of pictures were taken on phones and stored digitally, we took pictures with a camera and the image was burned onto film. Then the film was taken to a room and placed in a chemical solution to print the images onto paper. This process had to be done in a dark room because the images would be lost if the film were exposed to light.

Let’s think about this in terms of life. Our mind is constantly receiving the input from all the experiences of our lives, and the fact is that we are going to have negative experiences. If we allow these negative experiences into the dark room of fear, then they develop into pictures that we accept into our visual narrative of reality. We allow ourselves to become more and more fearful of all the terrible things that may happen to us.

Let me illustrate this with a practical example. When I was young, I had an intense fear of the dark. It started one night when my mother put me to bed, tucked me in, and turned out the lights. I looked up through the blinds of my window and saw a pair of eyes looking back at me. I was so afraid that I tried to scream but nothing came out. Finally I was able to call for help, but by the time my father ran outside, the man had escaped – all that was left were his footprints in the flowerbed.

For some time after this, I had a fear of the dark, a fear that continued to grow based on other experiences that I allowed to affect me. My mind had taken a picture of the frightening experience and allowed that picture to develop into a debilitating fear that if I went into a dark room, something bad would happen.

Negative experiences will happen. That’s life. We are left with the choice of what to do with them. If we allow our thought process to focus on the negative experiences in our lives, our minds will turn into a dark room where the sketchy thoughts will be developed into full-blown experiences. These experiences will build a fear in us that will cripple us from becoming all that we are created to be. However, if we purposefully focus our thinking on the good, positive, creative, and inspiring experiences of life, our minds become filled with light. And in the light ... the negatives cannot be developed. It’s just not possible.

Author: Skip Ross

Skip Ross was the owner, founder, and director of Circle A Ranch. He and his wife Susan dedicated their lives to making a difference in the development of teens through their ministry and spent the over 40 years giving their summers to the work of Circle A.

Skip authored the books Say Yes to Your Potential and Daily Disciplines, and created the Dynamic Living Seminar and the Thrive Study Series. He traveled the globe teaching the principles of attitude development and leadership to millions of people for over 50 years. He also recorded numerous audio and video teachings that have been distributed around the world with the help of Network 21 and podcasts.

He was a successful business executive, recording artist, and motivational speaker. He was founder and president of the OFIDA Project, on the Board of Directors of the Fred L. Hansen Corp., a Crown IBO with Amway, and a graduate of Westmont College and Fuller Theological Seminary. He worked with many different ministry organizations over the years but has most recently been working with the Equip Organization, founded by John Maxwell, to produce highly effective Christian leaders around the world.

Skip Ross went home to be with Jesus on June 13th, 2021, at the age of 82.

This excerpt is taken from Skip’s book, Daily Disciplines.

The Bionic Ear

My dad was the best listener I’ve ever known.

As a director of Circle A Youth Camp for over 35 years, he learned the value of listening. He would listen to the campers, the staff, the parents. He would listen to his wife, my mom, who was the source of encouragement and energy to everything he did. He would listen to the Spirit of God and his own intuition. He would listen to his own mother, who had a direct line to God himself. He would listen to the volunteers who poured out their time and energy to keep the program going. He would listen to my brother and I, his own kids, who he still made time for in the midst of everything.

I am confident that each of these individuals he listened to would affirm my claim of his remarkable listening skills. I am certain that he made each of them feel as important, valued, and loved as he made me feel when he listened to me.

He modeled incredible listening, and people trusted him to teach it.

In fact, he held a specific class with the campers each summer called, “Communications”.  Really, it was a class about listening.

In Communications class he would teach those kids about eye contact, body language, and tone of voice. He would teach them the value of listening well, and then he would practice it with them.

If they left Circle A with one only piece of advice, it was probably this: “If you’re not looking, you’re not listening.” He would say it in Communications class, he would say it in seminar, and the leadership team would reinforce it in almost every activity. There is something palpably powerful about giving someone your eyes in an act of listening.

It’s funny, as I reflect upon it now, that’s probably why I still hate speaking on the phone for any sort of meaningful communication. There’s just something in me that knows how much I am missing without being able to see a person’s face and give them my eye contact in return.

When I was younger, I always wondered why Dad did that separate Communications class instead of just adding the teaching into what he taught in seminar. After all, the kids learned everything else sitting in a big seminar room all together. Why did this particular material have to be taught in a small group?

I finally realized it wasn’t about the teaching being in a small group. It was about what came after. After he did the teaching portion of Communications class, Dad did an exercise with each team called “The Shield”. He would have kids draw pictures of different things: their greatest accomplishment, their highest value, their biggest regret, and so on. Then, he would go around the circle and ask each kid to share the answers to those questions.

I always thought this was sort of a “team-building” exercise, where the team would draw together by hearing these stories from each other and by practicing listening to the best of their young abilities. And in some ways, it was.

But looking back on it, I can see the deeper intention.

My dad was listening.

My dad made the effort for every single to child who came to Circle A to have the experience of being loved by listening. They experienced an adult who looked directly into their eyes and listened to them talk about their hopes and fears and lives. Dad didn’t even have to say anything about what they said; what mattered to those kids was simply that someone was truly listening.

If I stop and think for a moment about how many lives were changed forever because of that one singular experience, I can scarcely take it in.

There is POWER in our listening. More power than we realize.

By the time each team had rotated through a session of Communications class with Skip, the camp had become something different. There was a respect and honor that those kids found for him; there was a desire to learn more from him.

He had taken the time to listen to them, and they in turn became open to what he had to say.

The skill of listening continued to be one of his greatest strengths. He knew how to ask questions – the right questions. And he knew how to listen to the answers. He knew how to find the truth, either that a person was intentionally hiding or that they didn’t even know themselves. He knew how to make every person feel respected and valued in a conversation.

It was his superpower. He knew how to listen.

He even claimed to have a “bionic ear”.

To be fair, the bionic ear thing was his mischievous side coming out a bit.

In the dining room at Circle A, there used to be a screen for a projector. It was concave, so the sound bounced off of it, and if you sat in just the right spot you could hear what someone was saying across the room.

My dad always sat in the right spot.

He would astound the kids by walking up mid-conversation at a table and adding a pertinent comment, or giving a loving correction, always with a giggle. Everybody thought he literally did have superhuman hearing.

In a way, I believe he did.

Author: Melody Farrell

Melody Farrell is the co-founder and acquisitions editor of Lost Poet Press. She also serves as co-pastor of Element Church Tampa and operations manager of Echo Media Group. She is associate director of Circle A Ranch, a program which teaches teenagers principles of leadership. She serves on the board of Grow Into You Foundation, a non-profit that provides coaching, mentoring, and housing for teens aging out of the foster care system. She is a wife, podcaster, musician, and mother of two from Sarasota, Florida.

Joy in Seasons

At the writing of this post, it’s the eve of the first day of December. We have just finished Thanksgiving and find ourselves knocking on Christmas’ door. I don’t know where you find yourself this holiday season. Maybe you are excited because this is the first of holidays with something new in your life. Maybe this past year has brought you a spouse, child, house, or something else your heart has been longing for. Maybe you’re reading this and you find yourself on the opposite end. This is the first holiday season of grief. It’s the empty seat, one less present to wrap, no job to go to season for you. You’ve experienced loss and the holidays are a reminder of what once was. Personally, my heart has been heavy as it seems this year, I personally know so many people who have lost a loved one and this is their first holiday season without them. My heart is also heavy as my family and I are a few days away from it being one year since we stepped out and left a ministry we had been a part of for almost eight years and had been the only home my kids could remember.

Over the last year, the Lord has been constantly showing me Philippians 4:4-7. To be honest, more times than not, I don’t want to see it or read it. What I thought would be a short season has not been. I’ve kept making my supplications known and it seems silent more than I hear God’s voice. For those that have lost a loved one, maybe it feels like your prayers hit that same silence. So how are we to rejoice always? I think for too long, I’ve envisioned rejoice with a happy smile on my face and being extremely excited and celebrating. Recently the Holy Spirit has been showing me that rejoicing has more to do with my heart’s posture than with an outward expression. It has to do more with my obedience than with my outcomes.

Probably the most widely used example in the Bible is Job. Job lost everything and even had his wife telling him to just “curse God and die.” And yet Job stayed faithful. Job trusted in God when He had no other reason to except that God is God. Job had lost his wealth and sources of income, Job had lost all of his kids and in these times his lineage and namesake. Job lost the friends who may have been close at some point. And what seems like the final straw, even loses the respect of his wife potentially or best-case scenario was wanting her husband to die so he wouldn’t be suffering any longer. And yet, Job stays faithful to God because he knows that God is always faithful to him. When I think about the circumstances surrounding Job, I know for me I would have been feeling like God was not only silent, but also angry with me. And yet, none of this was true. God restored and redeemed these voids in Job’s life. Job didn’t literally get the kids back that had died, but the grief was replaced eventually with joy again. I know in my life, my void of lost loved ones will never fully be replaced. However, I have seen God replace days of hopelessness and despair with joy once again.

Another thing I love so much about this story is that Job brought his raw feelings before the Lord. He didn’t hide them, he didn’t downplay them, he brought them and laid them at the feet of the Father. God is not only more than capable of handling our feelings ( he already knows them), He longs for us to bring them to His feet. Job didn’t know how God was working, but He knew that He was. Job couldn’t see down the road to what lie ahead, but He trusted God to lead Him there. As we’ve been on at this 15 month journey seeking the next ministry role for our family, I’ve seen God’s hand. Not too long ago, I saw the website of a ministry with whom we had interviewed. We had a pause in our spirit about it after talking with them, and couldn’t understand why and actually never had a follow up from them after a meal. Here we are almost ten months removed from that meal, and senior leadership is no longer at the church, numerous staff have left or resigned and from what I’m told it would not have been good for our family to be finding ourselves there. God already knew this, and shut the door for our protection.

I am thankful and joyful for this. And in this I am reminded to bring my emotions and lay them at Christ feet just as Job did. I’m reminded that I can rejoice in the Lord through anger, tears, and frustration. That I can question why while also trusting in that He is God and He never will change. Life will change, my circumstances will change, holidays and how they look will change, but He is the one and only constant you and I will ever find in this life. That is enough to have some joy about this holiday season. Since He is and forever will be constant, then you and I always have “a friend that stickers closer than a brother”, a God that “never will leave nor forsake us”, who is “near to the broken hearted”, and so much more. So whatever this holiday season brings for you, I pray that you have joy in your Spirit. For you and I are not alone. Merry Christmas.

Author: Jonathan Brantley

Jonathan Brantley has been in ministry for 20 years, serving in churches and camping ministry.  He does freelance writing and speaking for the North American Mission Board.  He, his wife, and his kids currently reside in Martinez, GA while seeking God’s next plan.

What Time Is It?

One day I tried to visualize a scene where someone would wake me suddenly from a sound sleep. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine someone standing over my bed, shaking me gently, yet urgently, and encouraging me to wake up. I imagined I would groggily open my eyes and say, “what time is it?” If you have young children, you may know what this is like. At times when my children were young, I would open my eyes and find them standing by my bed, staring at me. Again, the first thing to come to mind at these times was the question, “what time is it?” When awakened suddenly the issue of time seems important. The urgency of being awakened presupposes there is something we need to be aware of at that moment in time. The same thought may be true in our lives; the thought that being urgently awakened from our routines can cause us to become aware of time, and how we spend it.

All of us have many differing roles to fill in our lives, and these roles define our time. In relationships we are mother, father, daughter, son, sibling, cousin, aunt, friend, etc. In responsibilities, we are counselor, doctor, maid, chef, chauffeur, cheerleader, nanny, peacemaker, artist, student, teacher, employer, employee, volunteer, etc. Each of us could surely add several more titles to each list, for the possibilities are endless. We tend to define who we are by our relationships with and our responsibilities to those around us. The more ‘hats’ we wear dictates more responsibilities, and often it seems there is never enough time to get everything done. Day after day our lives may be run by what is most urgent at the time. And now that the Christmas season is upon us, the days and responsibilities are more full than usual.

To help us come to grips with this issue of time, let’s look in the scriptures and see what the wisest man, Solomon, was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write about time. It is found in the familiar passage in Ecclesiastes 3:1-14. The first line of this passage is especially fitting to our thoughts about time. “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” Solomon’s words seem to indicate that there is enough time to get everything done which should be done. Are there days you feel this is not true in your life, and there is never enough time in your day? I have to admit there are some days which feel like that for me. But each one of us has the same twenty-four hours each day. So, I must ask myself why I feel as if I do not have enough time? Do I spend minutes or hours doing things that are not the highest priority? Do I waste time by starting a project without checking to make sure the needed supplies are at hand? Do I get distracted and jump from one thing to another? Do I leave things unfinished until they become urgent? These may be signs that I am not using my time wisely.

In the first eight verses of this passage Solomon lists for us a variety of things which have a ‘time.’ Some of these are controlled by the Lord, such as birth and death. Some are controlled by us, such as weeping, laughing, being silent, or speaking. You will notice that things like getting to work on time, doing laundry, car-pooling, soccer games, dinner, and grocery shopping are omitted. Solomon didn’t specifically address some of the necessary things we face daily. But the principle of there being a time for everything is still true. If we are constantly frustrated by lack of time or outcomes of our efforts, perhaps we need to examine our lives and make sure we are doing the best things, and not just good things. Perhaps we need to analyze our tasks versus our time, and give some thought to certain areas of our lives.

What time is it in your relationships to your family and closest friends? Are you spending the proper amount of time necessary to maintain these relationships in a way that would honor the Lord? If you are married, does your spouse get your leftover time, that is, what is left after you have given your time and energy to children, work, home tasks, church, etc.? And if you have children, what kind of time is reserved for them? I’m not talking about doing their laundry or feeding them, but being with them.

What time is it in your home? Do you never seem to have enough time to do chores that need to be done regularly, but only seem to get those done when company is coming? If you are giggling or groaning, you may have a mental image of something that needs attention right now.

What time is it in your workplace? For some your workplace is your home. For others it is a place away from home such as an office or store. If you are an employee, your boss has expectations for your job performance. Are you a conscientious employee? As children of the Lord, we should be the best employee of all, for our work reflects our Lord.

What time is it in regard to your extracurricular activities such as church attendance, civic or school organizations, or your hobbies? Are you tempted to agree to take on just one more thing, even though you know your schedule is packed? Do you ask the Lord to show you His will when considering adding more responsibilities to your life?

We should examine each area of our lives to determine the answer to the question, “What time is it?” As we consider each area, let’s use the visual of a clock face. If you are examining a particular area of your life and clock face shows the hour is two or three o’clock, this might indicate everything is in pretty good order and is going well. On the other hand, a time of ten or eleven o’clock might indicate an area which needs to be examined more closely to see if it is being managed poorly, or perhaps should not be on your ‘to do’ list at all. Consider each area of your life, then ask the Lord to show you if there is anything which needs particular attention or perhaps less attention. Ask Him to show you what you can do to change the clock setting in that area of your life. Don’t wait until you are awakened urgently and suddenly realize your time has been misspent.

Now look at verse thirteen of Ecclesiastes 3, “That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil - this is the gift of God.” Another translation says, “...enjoy the good of all his labor.” Finding satisfaction or enjoyment in our lives is a gift of God. Satisfaction implies a sense of well-being, or a sense of peace. It is God’s intent that we have this peace in our lives. Consider then, what would be the opposite of satisfaction, enjoyment, or peace? Perhaps it would be confusion, unrest, anxiety, or worry. For a prescription for peace let’s look at Philippians 4:4-8. Verses 4-6 give us several directives: rejoice always, be reasonable with everyone, do not be anxious about anything, pray with thanksgiving, and ask God about everything. Verse 7 tells us that peace is the result of incorporating these things into our lives and prayers. This incomprehensible peace will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. And I believe this peace will enable us to wisely manage our time.

So in regard to how we spend our time, or feeling as if we do not have enough time, we must consider whether our prayers and our lives are marked with worry or anxiety, or marked with the peace that comes from Christ. How are we to put into practice the directives of Philippians 4? I believe the only way to have God’s peace is to spend time with Him regularly. As I rejoice and am thankful about everything, and as I refuse to worry but instead lift needs to Him in prayer, I will receive His peace. And that peace can be a springboard to enable us to go through our day with His direction and enablement, thereby making the best use of our time.

Ephesians 5:15-16 encourages us to “Look carefully how you walk…making the best use of the time…” And in Matthew 6:33 we are exhorted to “seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”  These verses indicate that if we seek Him first, He will provide our needs. I believe this would include how to manage the time He has given us! Don’t ask me how giving Him a segment of your day will add hours. I can’t explain it, but it is true! Not only can He flood your life with His peace, He can give direction to the activities vying for your time and attention throughout the day. He can tell you which responsibilities to relinquish, allow you to serve in the various areas of your life without frustration, and yes, give you time to do exactly what He tells you to do! For God will always keep His Word!

So, what time is it in your life? If time is an issue for you, or a source of frustration, I encourage you to seek the Lord. Let’s not be the person who is suddenly awakened with an urgent need and has to try to figure out the answer to the question “what time is it? Instead, let us lean into God and His wisdom in this Christmas season, and allow His grace to flow through us.

During the Christmas season we are decorating, baking, participating in or enjoying special programs, attending parties, giving gifts, spending time with family and friends, and many other things. We are very often busier at this time of the year than any other. So my encouragement is to make sure to take time with God. If you truly lean in and worship Him, He can and will flood you with peace and multiply your efforts, and give you all the time needed to follow His will and direction. Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us that “He has made everything beautiful in its time…”. May this be true in your life this Christmas.

 Author: Clara NeSmith

Clara NeSmith has taught Bible study classes in her local church for over 40 years, and is currently working on her first book. She enjoys sharing from God’s Word the truths gleaned in her daily study, along with her hobbies of reading and sewing. Clara worked at her dream job of being a stay-at-home mom for many years. She then did Social Work in an elderly care setting for 20 years. She has four grown children and 9 grandchildren. She currently resides in Brandon, FL.

O Great Mystery

What a beautiful time of year it is! Yes, in part because of the lights, music, candles, parties, and cooler weather. But at the center of it all is the love of Creator God, spoken into the person of Yeshua of Nazareth.

In some traditional early morning Christmas masses, parishioners participate in the singing of O Magnum Mysterium, or O Great Mystery. This sacred text marvels at the beauty and, well, mystery of the Incarnation that occurred in the most humble of circumstances. The Incarnation, where the Almighty drifted through our atmosphere like winter snow, all the way down into the mud of our streets and stables.

This week, I was given a simple yet powerful look at this mystery. My wife, Erin, works with teens who have aged out of foster care. She founded a non-profit a few years ago that provides coaching and mentoring and housing for these kids, and it is her life’s calling. A few nights ago, after a very trying week of pouring herself into her work, she found herself waiting with a very troubled teen in the ER for eight hours. She was texting me about the sights and sounds of the brokenness that surrounded her there in the waiting room. The stress. The chaos. The neediness. And that is when it hit me.

My wife looked so much like Jesus to me right then. There she was, walking right into the waiting, the pain, the noise. Entering it for the sake of another. Why would she arrange her life so that this would be where she was on a Monday night in December? It’s the same deep mystery of the coming of our Savior, which can only begin to be understood by starting here: it was for love. For the love of another. For the love of the Father.

Glory to God in the highest for the great and beautiful mystery of Love incarnate.

Author: Benjamin NeSmith

Benjamin NeSmith has spent his life working with people. He put his social science education degree to use teaching students of all ages, including those with special needs, for over a decade. He spent years as a recording and performing musician and is now a Certified Professional Coach and Pastor at Element Church Tampa. Benjamin enjoys family time, hiking, interior design, and creating meaningful liturgical experiences for others.