Just Between Us | Spring 2023

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Restoring Your

by Luann Budd

WHOLLY ALONENESS— THE PLACE TO FIND STRENGTH & RESTORATION

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God is

There!

by Lori Ann Wood

WHY BOTHER WITH PRAYER? FINDING YOUR SISTERHOOD OF FAITH PUT YOUR WORRIES IN GOD’S HANDS

spring 2023 | F I N D M O R E A T J U S T B E T W E E N U S . O R G

A SAINT PATRICK’S DAY

THE WHOLE FAMILY

Did you know that Saint Patrick wasn’t Irish?

This children’s book teaches families about the fascinating life of the real Saint Patrick and helps them discover a remarkable story of love and forgiveness along the way. Told in rollicking rhyme, this retelling also includes tools to help parents engage in conversation about the content so the whole family can learn the real meaning behind the holiday.

ivpkids.com

welcome from the editor SHELLY ESSER

Happy New Year! It’s always exciting to think about all the possibilities a new year brings. I am imagining sitting beside you on the couch with our favorite drinks in hand and talking heart-to-heart about our God-dreams. The places we want to grow more like Jesus and the difference we want to make in our families, communities, and world. What if we walk into this new year more expectant than ever before focused on bringing glory to the God who gave His all for us? I wonder what kind of year that would be. And what if instead of complaining and looking at all that isn’t, we ask God for a perspective shift, becoming known instead as women of joy—real joy—the kind produced and maintained only through the Holy Spirit! Doesn’t that sound exciting?

Our verse for the year is key to our joy journey, “I experience absolute joy in your presence” (Psalm 16:11, NET).

As we will see, real joy stems from all the rich blessings that are ours because of our relationship with Christ.

To kick off our joy journey, you won’t want to miss several pieces in this issue: “Let Joy Lead You to Jesus”— the place our joy is found—by Luann Budd on page 16. Then on page 34, Renee Smith helps us to “Seek Joy.” Our new year’s piece, “Uncertain Future?” on page 14 by Lori Ann Wood, will remind you that whatever happens this year, you can rest assured that God is already there and will give you everything you need.

Isn’t that comforting?

There is so much more awaiting you in this issue. Dig in, linger over God’s Word throughout the pages, and be asking the Holy Spirit to awaken joy in your soul, wherever you are on that journey.

Despite what happens this coming year, we will always have grounds for joy. Come along on this joyful journey with us. We can’t wait to see what God does.

Joyfully,

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We think so too. That’s why we’ve chosen JOY as our word for the year. I don’t know about you, but I think there are often a lot of misunderstandings surrounding that word. When I look at the list in Galatians 6:22-23 showcasing all the fruit we have as Christians because of the Holy Spirit, joy is the one that can so easily be skimmed over because it seems so elusive at times. In fact, if we’re honest, it often goes missing in our lives, doesn’t it? It is my prayer that by the end of this year, you will not only have a better and deeper understanding of joy—but that you will experience what real joy is and looks like in your everyday life.

“Joy is Jesus,” something our founder Jill Briscoe often says. He is the one that makes joy possible despite how our circumstances look. And when joy springs up from our relationship with God, it can’t help but overflow into the lives of others.

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Contents

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on the cover

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We can face the new year with hope knowing God is already there.

by Lori Ann Wood

Don’t let feeling disconnected from God unravel your faith.

by Luann Budd

The sacred place where you can be seen and given strength to return to the crowd.

by Bridget Gee

Uncertain Future?

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Wholly Aloneness

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Let God carry your burdens of worry and stress instead of you!

by Jill Briscoe

Every woman needs spiritual friends to do life with.

by Ann M. Cook

Reconciling God’s ability to answer our prayers with what we want to happen with His will and what He knows to be best.

by Denise Kohlmeyer

Put it in My Backpack

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Let Joy Lead You to Jesus

A Sisterhood of Faith

How Then Should We Pray?

About Our Ministry: Just Between Us is a vibrant and expanding not-for-profit ministry that continues to transform the lives of women around the world. Our heart-focused and biblically-based content in the print magazine, on the website, in the weekly digital mini magazine, on social media, and other products—all help women find hope and encouragement while growing their faith and deepening their love for Jesus.

Find Us in All Kinds of Ways:

T F I justbetweenus.org

features

in every issue

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3 Welcome from the Editor 6 Meet Our Team 7 Between Us 8 Happy Home 9 Word of the Year

What do you do when your joy goes missing?

by Renee Smith

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columns

faith chats

36 My Story

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37 Intentional Faith

Called to Build Bridges

Christine Harris is showing the love of Christ to the Afghan refugees in her community. interview by Gail Goolsby

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trengthening S Your Soul

40 Living Well Minutes 41 15in the Word 42

Marketing Julie Santiago

Editorial Assistants Ann Cook Constance B. Fink Gayle Gengler Cherry Hoffner Melinda Papador Danae Templeton

Director of Mission Advancement/ Social Media Ashley Schmidt Subscriptions Phil Perso Mary Richards Jan Schuldt Lin Sebena

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ADVERTISING Ellie Dunn For more information call (856) 582-0690 ext. 2# or email ellie@carldunn.com.

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Just Between Us (ISSN 1069-3459) is published quarterly by Just Between Us, 777 South Barker Road, Brookfield, WI 53045-3701.

Make all checks and money orders payable to: Just Between Us, Subscription Orders 777 S. Barker Road, Brookfield, WI 53045 To order by phone, or for more information: call 800-260-3342.

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veryday E Transformation

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Just Between Us is a member publication of the Evangelical Press Association.

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call toll-free 800-260-3342 or visit our website justbetweenus.org From Canada call 262-786-6478

Renewal Assistants Wayne + Sally Schlittenhart

Director Digital Media Mary Ann Prasser

Outside Your Front Door

43 for subscriptions

Renewals Manager & Software Support Rebecca Loesche

Assistant Editor Suzan Braun

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Seeking Joy

Encouraging WORDS

General Manager Mary Perso

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Transparent Moments

Advertising & Accounts Manager Sharon Vaught

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What would happen if you made it a goal to laugh every day?

by Patricia Cameron

Editor Shelly Esser

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Laughter is Good Medicine

Circulation Manager Suzan Braun

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Founder/Executive Editor Jill Briscoe

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When you follow the way of the Spirit, watch your doubts move to trust.

by Claire McCarey

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Growing in Our Trust in God

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meet our team

Our Just Between Us team is made up of incredible women with hearts to see you flourish in every area of your life, especially in your life of faith. They bring their collective gifts to make sure you don’t feel alone and that you are continually encouraged, so you can grow closer to Jesus and make an impact on His world.

JILL BRISCOE

SHELLY ESSER

MARY PERSO

SUZAN BRAUN

MARY ANN PRASSER Director Digital Media

ASHLEY SCHMIDT

Director of Mission Advancement/Social Media

REBECCA LOESCHE

SHARON VAUGHT

JULIE KRINKE

Founder

Circulation Manager & Assistant Editor

Renewals Manager & Software Support

Editor

Advertising & Accounts Manager

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Your Gifts are all About People!

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It’s so easy to think of giving in terms of dollars. We want you to know that your giving is all about people— women flung all over the world desperately in need of daily spiritual encouragement and help. In a world full of chaos and confusion, JBU offers God’s unchanging truth—His Word. Women in every season and situation in life are provided with something rock-solid to hold on to giving them peace, hope, and reminding them that they don’t walk alone. Thank you for making this possible! We thought you’d be encouraged by how your dollars are changing women’s lives:

General Manager

Creative Director

“JBU is truly like having a friend to sit and drink coffee with. Each issue keeps me returning, to again discover encouragement, compassion, and a kind companion for the hard and good in life.”

“It’s like a treasure I look forward to opening.”

“JBU means the world to me! It has provided unchanging truth in a changing world. I could read an article from 20 years ago and it would be just as relevant today.”

“It’s been like water in the desert for my soul.”

BETWEEN US

Naming the Tension We All Wrestle With

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Lysa TerKeurst

here is a word I haven’t dared to use when I’ve faced relationship tensions in the past.

I’ve avoided it. I’ve been afraid to name it.

I’ve ignored it when possible.

The word is dysfunction.

Let me confess something: I have dysfunctions.

Other people I know have dysfunctions. It shouldn’t scare us when we acknowledge that dysfunctions exist. But we should be concerned when someone lives as if dysfunctions are normal.

I’m pointing at myself here.

I’m reminded of a time when my sister came to visit.

We’d just finished a few renovations where some of the wiring in our house had to be reworked. For some reason, our hot water heater would no longer work unless the back floodlights of our house were turned on. So, if you were enjoying your hot shower and someone turned off the floodlights—wham!—cold water was very quickly making you yell downstairs for someone to turn the floodlights back on.

My sister said, “Lysa, you do know an electrician would fix that, right?”

Technically, I knew an electrician could fix the problem. But that wasn’t my automatic response.

As children growing up, that wouldn’t have been an option. So, this thought process got ingrained in me that it’s better to get scrappy and navigate around problems rather than to pay to fix them.

Hello, dysfunction.

But this isn’t just about floodlights and hot water. It’s about no longer being aware of just how dysfunctional things have become and reacting as if something is normal when it absolutely is not. Dysfunction means things aren’t working correctly.

But it won’t.

Appropriately addressing the issue is healthy. Ignoring the issue increases the likelihood of dysfunction. I love how 1 John 3:18 instructs us: “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” When this isn’t the case and you find yourself in a relationship in which truth is manipulated, denied, or partially omitted for the sake of covering up behaviors that should be addressed, dysfunctions may not just be difficult, they may become destructive. We then run the risk of a pattern of wrongs being tolerated as acceptable, because over time they start to feel less alarming, more acceptable, and eventually our version of “normal.”

Dysfunctions may be inevitable. All relationships can be difficult at times. But they should not be detrimental to our well-being.

Healed hearts and healthier relationships begin when we choose to stop ignoring dysfunctional patterns, and get honest. When we bring these issues into the light and address them in equal measures of both grace and truth. When we pursue healthy boundaries to love others well without losing the best of who we are.

We don’t have to be afraid of naming the tensions we’re already wrestling with. Healthy honesty isn’t trying to hurt us. It’s trying to heal us.

Lysa TerKeurst is the president of Proverbs 31 Ministries

and a #1 New York Times’ bestselling author. Her newest book is Good Boundaries and Goodbyes: Loving Others Without Losing the Best of Who You Are. And her new devotional, You’re Going to Make It, releases in March. She writes from her gray farm table and lives with her family in North Carolina. Connect with her at www.LysaTerKeurst.com or on social media @ LysaTerKeurst.

LysaTerKeurst.com LysaTerKeurst Lysa TerKeurst

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In other words, something gets in the way of how things ought to be. For example, a mother is supposed to parent her child. But it is a dysfunction when a child has to parent the mother.

When we trip over areas of our relationships that just don’t feel right, we have a choice: we can use the tension to make us more aware of our issues or totally ignore what the other person is saying and stay wrongly convinced that it will get better on its own.

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HAPPY HOME

What Kind of Heart Do You Have?

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Arlene Pellicane

here was a colorfully painted van in my neighbor’s driveway, a professional dog waste removal service. Think “Scoop Squad” or “Pet Butler.” Wouldn’t it be nice if we could outsource the unpleasant parts of parenting to someone else?

Taking care of children can be messy and never ending. While tending to our children’s physical needs, school projects, and sports, we can neglect the areas of the heart. Yet, the Bible tells us in Prov. 4:23, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” With that in mind, let’s reflect on the state of the hearts in our home. Does your child have a…

Hot Heart. Author Elizabeth George wrote in her

book A Woman After God’s Own Heart that “Our heart for God should be like a boiling pot. Our heart should be characterized by God-given and intense emotion and passion for our Lord. After all, when a tea kettle is boiling on your stove, you know it!” How can we fan these holy flames in our kids? Listen to worship music in the home. Read the Bible together at the breakfast table. As a family, write a thank-you note to God for what He has done today. Help your children remember times when God answered their prayers.

Trusting Heart. When my son Ethan was three, he

was very afraid of going into a swimming pool. But, in time, he could handle being in the shallow end as long as Daddy was holding onto him. My husband instructed Ethan to stand at the edge of the pool and jump into his arms. “Look into my eyes and trust me!” my husband said. Every time Ethan jumped, it got easier. Encourage your kids to trust in God and take baby steps and then leaps of faith. Don’t solve every problem for your child or protect them from everyday challenges. Tough situations present opportunities for your child to learn to trust in God for himself.

being overbearing. Your kids need to learn to obey your instructions—not only for their safety, but so they can learn to obey the laws of God too. If your daughter is having trouble obeying a simple instruction like “Stop hitting your sister,” how is she going to keep the commandments in God’s Word?

Being a mother is a humbling endeavor when I realize that it’s my heart that hasn’t been too hot, trusting, or obedient lately.

Regardless of what we did or thought 10 minutes ago, right now we can declare with the psalmist, “Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end” (Ps. 119:111-112).

Joyful Heart. When our hearts are hot for God,

trusting Him completely, and acting in obedience, we’re filled with joy. How would you describe the state of your heart today? How about the hearts of your children? Take your child by the hand this evening and pray together from Ps. 139:23, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious ways. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.”

This is the way we keep the backyard of our lives clean (remember the dog cleanup service?) You don’t have to call a professional cleanup crew to tidy up the rough spots of your home. You can’t outsource the work of parenting. You are the one who has the power to make positive changes and clean things up around your home—and that starts with the hidden places of the heart.

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Obedient Heart. You’ve probably had your two-

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year-old or twelve-year-old stare you in the face, and declare with sass, “No!” Usually, the no is accompanied with whining, complaining, and maybe even a temper tantrum if you’re really lucky. Maybe you grew up with an overly demanding, authoritarian parent and you’ve vowed never to act like that with your kids. Don’t confuse requiring obedience with

Arlene Pellicane is a speaker, host of the Happy Home

podcast, and author of several books including: Screen Kids, Parents Rising, and 31 Days to a Happy Husband. Arlene has been featured on the Today Show, Fox & Friends, Wall Street Journal, FamilyLife Today, and Focus on the Family.

She lives in San Diego, Calif., with her husband James and their three children.

arlenepellicane.com ArlenePellicaneAuthor ArlenePellicane ArlenePellicane

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WORD OF THE YEAR “I experience absolute joy in your presence.”

Joy

Psalm 16:11 (NET)

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TRANSPARENT MOMENTS

Stillness Confirms Direction

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Anita Carman

y friend Jill Briscoe helped me during a time of uncertainty by introducing me to the concept of “the new normal.”

Jill taught me that once I embrace that change as part of what’s normal, I will fret less when a plan falls apart. I also learned when I thought something was settled, it might be a work in progress—possibly in a state of flux. Are you in a place where you’re unsure of the future not just for yourself but for a whole community that is looking to you for direction? How do we thrive in times when we are unsure of anything or anyone?

Misguided Security

I confess that I found my security in familiar faces. But God reminded me that even Peter, James, and John abandoned Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Had Jesus looked to them for emotional support, He would not have finished His mission. As we serve in conformity to Christ, we can learn from His example.

More than ever before in my service to those in leadership positions, I find leaders in crisis. They put up a bold front while furiously looking for new markers to lead a community that is in flux. The pandemic, the economy, the changing mindset of those in the workplace, the aging of co-laborers who once were part of a stable labor force contribute to the overall uncertainty of leading a mission forward.

Some who insist the world is ending ask why invest in anything anymore, but wait for the fateful end!

What do we do when God has not changed what He originally called us to do, but the way we do things no longer works and the strategy of waiting for life to return to how it used to be is fast disappearing as a viable plan of action?

God wants to reign from His throne where all human service surrenders to His ultimate purpose. What freedom to finally settle that we were not created for our own agendas, but for His. We don’t have to scramble to make anything fit, but to simply know we are being obedient to what God wants to accomplish on earth.

Direction Comes from God

When life is consumed with what fulfills us personally, we have exchanged God’s bigger world for one of our own design. In our search for purpose or happiness, we will only find our peace when our heart beats in rhythm with that of our Creator. To search for direction independent of God is a futile exercise and a waste of the precious moments we have on earth.

God was teaching me that when we look to ourselves, to circumstances, or to the responses of those around us to discern our direction, we are building on sinking sand. Looking elsewhere rather than to God Himself will keep us in a constant state of anxiety and insecurity.

Are you in a place where you are ready for peace?

Jesus rebuked the storm in Mark 4:39 and said, “Quiet! Be still!” It is in God’s voice that we will find our stillness and build from a place of peace. The only question we need to ask is: “Father, do you want this?”

We will find certainty in our marching orders when we live in God’s answer.

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Be Still

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When I surrendered my questions to God, He led me to Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” What a reminder that we were never called to worship a plan or people, but to keep our eyes on our Creator. Something very fundamental is being offered to us in this verse. Our stillness comes from knowing life must be centered on God Himself.

Anita Carman arrived in America at 17, after her mother’s tragic suicide. Today, she is a walking billboard of how God transformed her pain into passion to build Inspire Women, a nonprofit that unites thousands of women of all races and invests in their potential to change the world. She has an MBA from SUNY and an MABS from Dallas Theological Seminary.

Anita has authored several books and lives in Houston, Tex., with her husband. She has two grown sons. Visit her at

inspirewomen.org.

(Anita Carman’s signature curriculum, being taught through Inspire Women’s Leadership Academy, offers an online option to teach women how to make decisions fitting for one who is the King’s daughter. To enroll, please email info@ inspirewomen.org.)

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Tyndale and Tyndale’s quill logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Ministries.

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encouraging WORDS

“Start the day with A GRATEFUL HEART & you get a day with A JOYFUL HEART.” — ANN VOSKAMP

“There is joy in

His presence

even before

the happy ending comes, even if it never comes.”

— KATIE DAVIS MAJORS

J THE

JOY

the kind of happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens.

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— NEHEMIAH 8:10

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— DAVID STEINDL-RAST

“Joy does not simply happen to us.

We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”

— HENRI NOUWEN

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A year’s worth of devotions written by women, for women The NIV Women’s Devotional Bible features hundreds of devotions written for a woman just like you. It includes guided reflections to help you apply Scripture to your daily life, and it will allow you to get to know the women of the Bible, helping you to see them in both their victories and struggles.

FEATURES: • 260 weekday devotions & 52 weekend devotions • Full year reading plan • Book introductions • Fresh page design and exclusive Zondervan NIV Comfort Print® typeface

Amazon.com/devotionalbibles 13

in a rt ce n U Future?

God is already there.

by Lori Ann Wood

D

ecades ago, my older, now-engineer brother constructed a complete, intricate N-scale model train. More than just an engine, train cars, and track, it was an entire city. My brother and dad spent countless hours planning and building on that plywood platform, the size of a banquet table, that resided in our unfinished basement all the years I was growing up. It was assembled with enviable precision and patience, strictly off-limits to clumsy little sister hands.

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Still, I would crawl into a chair, watching from an approved distance. Tiny buildings, waving families, intricate trees, even working streetlights—I was amazed at that powerful aerial perspective, taking in everything at once, down to the smallest detail.

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It intrigued me that I could see all the obstacles on the track, ones the passengers and even train personnel would be oblivious to. From my vantage point, I could see the piece of track missing in the loop before the mountain. I could see the pencil carelessly left too close to the train’s path several feet away. I could see the abandoned train car on the tracks just past the general store.

From where I sat, I knew about the impending trouble long before the train arrived.

God Knows Tomorrow

This is how I imagine God must perceive our lives.

Seeing it all, the decisions and the consequences, the natural disasters and the neighborhood gatherings, the celebrations and the heartbreak, the accidents and the accolades, from beginning to end, unbound by our concept of time or sequential order.

It’s a comforting picture, with God as the Creator and Sustainer of the world. Nothing is unknown to Him. He’s keeping tabs on my heart function, and even my hair loss. He knows everything before it happens, just as my brother could see the tipped-over miniature tree blocking the track long before the train engineer in that tiny world ever could.

God has been there during every uncertain minute of my struggle with heart failure. From my initial shocking diagnosis to my months with no improvement, to my sudden normalcy, to my heartbreaking decline then lower plateau over the past couple of years. Even though I sometimes doubted His care, doubted His involvement, doubted His power, He knew what was happening. He was watching, and He never stopped caring for me.

Even when all I could see was the obstacle on the track directly in front of me, God indeed held my whole lifetime in His hands.

God Has Always Been Ahead of Us

Even better than just knowing about the future, He exists there. Wherever we are headed, God has already been there. Cancer, divorce, bankruptcy, depression, heart failure. He’s ahead of each one of us, building a track, turning on the lights. And once He’s done that, our God stands above the concept of time, cradling our worries, because worries are simply fears of an unknown future.

No future is unknown to Him. Faith requires us to stretch our trust into that vast unknown—into a future unknown to us, but fully known to God. Corrie ten Boom said, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” A knowing God who’s always out ahead of us.

A daytime pillar of cloud and a nighttime pillar of fire guided the Israelite children during their exodus from Egyptian bondage. In order to lead them this way, God had to be out in front of what was currently happening in their trek. Through four decades, God was way out ahead of these fearful Jewish slaves. He was already in the Promised Land.

God mentioned this going-ahead idea to some other shaky believers, too. God told Moses in Deut. 31:8, “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

God was also ahead of Jesus’ Gethsemane agony at the empty tomb, ahead of Mary’s hometown shame in Bethlehem’s manger, ahead of Joseph’s slavery sale in the king’s castle, ahead of Naomi’s grief with Ruth’s new son.

God works above and apart from our human, linear timeline. He sees it all and He is in every moment. Even, especially, the future.

We have God’s eye views of these going-ahead stories through His Word. But our own stories are still being written, none less intricate or less beloved or less Spirit-involved than these. And yet, we often think of those as the main event, and our stories as footnotes—or less.

We think our lives are less God-touched, somehow less important to God—to God’s continuing story. We think He no longer bothers to go ahead of us.

And that hope is the responsibility of us all. Hannah Anderson said, “Hope is not the privilege of the naturally optimistic; it is the responsibility of all who believe.

Hope says He’s got this, and we can trust Him. Someone who loves us enough to die for us is way out ahead.

Love Put Him There

Long after the final work session ended and plastic sheeting permanently covered my brother’s railroad village, something new filled our basement. My aunt delivered cardboard flats of silk corsages and bouquets she had made for my wedding.

Weeks later, my mom catered my wedding reception. That’s right, the Mother of the Bride. Everything was homemade from scratch, even the bread. I had planned my ceremony in detail, but the reception was all her. Though I requested certain foods, I left it to her to decide since she’d already handled my older sister’s reception. I remember going from the church to the reception hall after photos, carrying my aqua blue rose bouquet, knowing everything was taken care of, even though I had not set foot in the hall to prepare it.

My mother, who loves me beyond reason, had already been there—somehow.

This God who lives in our todays and tomorrows is governed by love, too. He is a good Father. As we project into the foggy months ahead, it’s tempting to ask for certain things. But chronic illness has taught me that most days I don’t really know what I need.

I don’t want Him to give me what I think I need in 2023.

I’d much rather He provide what He knows I need.

Since He’s the only One who’s been in my tomorrows, He’s the only One who knows what I’ll need when I get there. And most importantly, He’s the only One who understands what will prepare me along the way.

So, whether that fresh calendar beckons or threatens, we can embrace a new year with hope. Like my brother, designer of the model railroad village, or a loving mother catering her daughter’s wedding reception, God sees where we’re headed.

And He’s already there.

Lori Ann Wood serves as founding leader of the Parenting

Education Ministry at the church of Christ in Bentonville, Ark., WomenHeart Champion Community Educator for Arkansas, and American Heart Association Ambassador. Her first book, Divine Detour: The Path You Didn’t Choose Can Lead to the Faith You’ve Always Wanted, along with a companion journal, is coming out this month (CrossRiver Media). Lori Ann is mom to three great young adults and one amazing son-in-law, and lives in Bentonville, Ark., with her husband. Find her new book (and more) at loriannwood.com and Amazon. (See ad on page 39.)

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These going-ahead stories are actually the foundation of every believer’s story and personal hope. Romans 51:4 tells us, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.”

Hope is the means by which we align not simply our plans but also ourselves with God. It is how we move toward the future he is preparing for us in order to join him there.”

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d e ct e n on c is d g in l Don’t let feenravel your faith. from God u

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by Luann Budd

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ecently, I set apart our guestroom as the sacred space where I would go each morning to meet with Jesus. I moved my mother’s wooden rocking chair there and placed my Bible and journals on a table nearby. I loved my leisurely early mornings with Jesus.

At some point, I started to feel spiritually numb. I found that I couldn’t concentrate as I tried to read my Bible.

Nothing seemed to go in. When I tried to pray, my mind wandered. None of my usual ways of connecting with God worked. I wasn’t depressed, but I felt disoriented, like I had lost my connection with God.

When we feel spiritually non-responsive, is there anything we can do? I can hear my mentors say, “Press on. Feelings aren’t important. They come and go.”

That’s true. And there have been times when I just had to press on and wait. But throughout Scripture, we’re exhorted to pay attention to our hearts (Prov. 4:23; Matt. 5:8). I don’t think it’s wise to ignore our feelings. If a wastebasket was on fire in my bedroom, I wouldn’t push it into the closet and go about my business.

I’d run to put out the fire before it burned down the whole house. The same is true for our hearts. We can’t pretend they’re not there. So, how can we run to our heart’s assistance?

When You Lose Your Connection with God

Twenty years ago, I lost my connection to God. I discovered it was helpful to reflect in my journal on what was happening in my life just before I began to feel disconnected. I uncovered that I was disappointed with God. He had called us to serve at a new church. I was looking for work but couldn’t find a job. Where was God? Doubt slithered into my garden and asked me a question: Is God good? I began to believe the lie that God did not have my best interest in mind. Graciously, help came over the next three months as the Lord led me to the cross where I could see His love demonstrated (Rom. 5:8). I camped out there, copying Scripture to reground my faith on the truth of God’s love for me.

Ultimately, reading about the character of God extinguished the lies. I realized I had foolishly let my circumstances, rather than the cross, define God’s character.

But this most recent time of disconnectedness wasn’t a result of doubt or believing a lie. Instead, I was overwhelmed by uncertainty and ambiguous losses.

The injustice and violence I saw on the news left me disoriented and grieving. During this time, God drew me close in surprising new ways.

Trusting God’s Spirit

I continued to spend mornings in my room. I’d just be there, trusting the Spirit knew my heart (Rom. 8:26-27).

At one point, I noticed in the corner, a box of framed portraits of our children. I took one out. As I looked at their innocence, I felt tears well up. I was filled with gratitude that the Lord blessed me with them and closed my eyes in wordless worship. Other mornings, I stood at my window appreciating the beauty of color as the first light of dawn graced the mountains. I couldn’t help but marvel. I was drawn into worship. Jesus seemed so close to me.

What was surprising was that for a month my heart could find a connection with Jesus in a moment of rich joy, in a portrait, the sunrise, the songs of birds, water coloring, or a vase of sunflowers, but could not focus when reading the Bible or praying for people. I learned to ask each morning: How is the Spirit inviting me to enjoy Him? What do I feel will bring me joy during our time? And I would follow His invitation as I discerned it.

If I discern God’s invitation by noticing what I feel drawn to, if I receive it as a gift God desires to give me, I will often experience a richness, a deep joy, a connection.

In those moments, there’s nothing I desire more. Beauty opens my heart and draws me near to God. I have a sense I’m standing on holy ground.

Finally, the mental fog lifted. Even now as I’ve been able to re-engage with Scripture and pray for others, I have continued to enjoy these activities. They open my heart to Jesus. He is behind the joy I feel (Matthew Levering and C.S. Lewis).

Joy Leads Us Back to Jesus

If we can discover those things that bring us joy (perhaps for you it’s a Brandenburg concerto, a delicious cup of coffee, the stillness of dawn, smelling an heirloom rose, hiking in the fall colors, gardening) and if we receive them as gifts from God, they will lead us to Jesus.

The touch of transcendence we experience is the touch of God. He is giving us the gift of Himself through them.

That is how He created us to receive Him. It is His design.

God is always with us. Even in grief, even in doubt, depression or despair, even when we are in the waiting room, even when we feel disconnected, God is there— sometimes in the dark but never at a distance.

Pay attention to your heart. Don’t let a sense of being disconnected unravel your faith. I can look back now and see how much I’ve grown during these times of disconnection. He uses them for a good purpose. When we go through a ‘dark night of the soul,’ or have to wait for a mental fog to lift, we can drive our stake down into the truths that God is good, and He is loving. We can be certain that God is for us because He has demonstrated His character at the cross. Don’t stop seeking the Lord—you will find Him (Matt. 7:7).

Our Creator God often uses the beauty of creation and the creative arts to give us a sense He is near. If you’re feeling spiritually disconnected, have the courage to share your heart’s challenges with a mentor who understands the dynamics of the Christian life, or begin meeting with a spiritual director. And if your usual ways of connecting with Jesus stop engaging you, seek new ways to enjoy Him. God is always near.

Reconnection Takes Time

Luann Budd is President of NEWIM (the Network of

Evangelical Women in Ministry), a Christian non-profit organization. NEWIM strengthens women who serve Jesus by providing opportunities for spiritual enrichment, connections, and resources. NEWIM provides free resources including handouts for guided silent retreats, handbooks for writers and speakers, and videos. Additonally, she is an author (Journal Keeping and All Creation Sings) and is married to Kevin who is a pastor. They have five children and eight grandchildren and live in San Jose, Calif.

Find more by visiting NEWIM.org, LuannBudd.com or NEWIM on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. or emailing: luannbudd@newim.com

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A godly mentor said: “Pray as you can, not as you can’t.”

My normal pattern would have been to draw near through the Scriptures and journaling, but I couldn’t.

I came to deeply value connecting with God in new ways. My devotional time began to feel heart-to-heart. I was enjoying God’s goodness and His beauty displayed in His creation. I consciously received His gifts as the gifts He was personally giving to me. But, I wasn’t sure this was biblical. Is it right to spend my quiet time looking at an old portrait of my children? My spiritual director surprised me when she called all of it my “prayer.”

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faith CHATS

CALLED TO

Build

Bridges Christine Harris is building a community of welcome for Afghan Refugees.

by Gail Goolsby

W

hen Christine Harris* was a young girl growing up in a small town, she felt the call to not only love Jesus but to serve Him overseas, anywhere in the world—someday.

“I found it interesting and even surprising to find my adult life in a mostly Christian environment, kids in Christian school, Christian friends and family, and strong church involvement. I asked God, really? I said I would go anywhere.”

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In truth, Christine had been serving as a missionary wherever she lived. When she was a newlywed, she started noticing her neighbors, a Mormon family here, an atheist Chinese family over there, a non-practicing Catholic family, and a Jehovah’s Witness family. She intentionally tried to connect in natural, friendly ways with spontaneous conversations when crossing paths in the small community.

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At Christmas and other times in the year, Christine, her husband and later their small children delivered cookies and looked for ways to help; to connect. One year they took a deicer to a teen driver across the street who had to scrape his car each morning before school.

Her family eventually moved to a large city, a resettlement city where immigrants first arrive to start new

lives in the U.S. Many diverse ethnic groups landed in Christine’s city in past years, including Afghan military families who had their Special Immigration Visa status from U.S. Armed Forces assistance and State Department employment.

agency to see how we could fit in with their programs, and if needed, fill in the gaps. There were typically around 300 people per year coming to our city and in 2021, 900 refugees were expected to arrive from all over the world, not just Afghanistan.

“I was kind of shocked to find Afghan refugees in my city. I wanted to learn more about them and see if there were ways I could get involved,” Christine recalled.

I believed this was a great opportunity and really almost a mandate for the church to get involved in loving our new neighbors. So, we put out the word to local churches and called a meeting in early September. Leaders and members from around 25 different church fellowships were represented, about 60 people altogether.

Then Afghanistan fell to the Taliban last year and set in motion the largest military evacuation in U.S. history—over 120,000 people in August 2021. More than 76,000 Afghan refugees came to the U.S. where most spent several months on eight military bases around the country. Over 400 were expected to arrive in Christine’s city.

Her life began to change drastically. She felt called to start building bridges of friendship between the incoming Afghans and the people in her city.

JBU sat down with Christine to find out more about her involvement with refugees and leadership of Afghan Friends Network (AFN), the local volunteer organization helping Afghans settle into their new lives.

JBU: How did you get started working with refugees in your city?

Christine: In January 2020, during the COVID pan-

demic, I heard of a couple of women who were teaching an English class for Afghan women, and I decided to go and see what it was like. I ended up playing games with the kids so the women could listen to the teacher.

Honestly, this is where I fell in love with the Afghan culture. Everything was new and attractive to me: their brightly colored dresses, jewelry, the henna on their hands and feet, and their laughter and eagerness to learn. I was captivated by it all. This began months of becoming acquainted with the same families, drinking lots of green tea, throwing baby showers, taking them to doctor’s appointments, and forming friendships.

I remember leaving the English group many times thinking, even telling my husband, that this is what I was made to do.

Other Afghan women started asking for English lessons and we did not have enough teachers to help them. So, a few of us began earnestly praying for more people to become involved.

JBU: How did things evolve to form the Afghan Friends Network?

was on everyone’s radar. Our Afghan friends started telling us about their family members who were planning to come to the U.S. We thought, we are only just a few people; we are going to need more help with so many coming.

We started making connections with the local refugee

Christine: I could see the vision of what needed to

happen. I had somewhat of an understanding of Afghan culture and the needs of the new families, and truly, at the time there didn’t seem to be others who felt called to lead what we knew could be an enormous task.

It started with small ideas that I thought, “I could do that.” Meaning I could gather donations, call a meeting, make others aware of the needs, and continue connecting with the resettlement agency and the refugees.

If I had really known at that time what the following year would require, I might not have believed I could do it.

JBU: Where did you start with this new group of volunteers?

Christine: After learning what the resettlement agency could offer, like housing, food, and medical support, we saw a couple of areas they weren’t able to cover.

We knew we didn’t want to duplicate efforts, so we asked, “Do you help with clothing?” They did not, so we decided to start with clothing, shoes, and a coat for every person.

Ideas started to flow with our newly forming team and because building relationships was the heart of what we wanted to do, we came up with the idea for welcome baskets.

The baskets contained a few plates, teacups, green tea, raisins, nuts, a wall clock, moisturizer, and lotions for the women, and a $100 gift card to a fabric store so the women could make their own dresses. We also collected sewing machines for the families who could use them. For the children, we included coloring books, crayons, stuffed animals, small cars, and such items as a soccer ball.

JBU: What are some ways you saw God’s hand helping you to care for the Afghans?

Christine: We continually used the phrase, “We are building the airplane while we are flying.” We were learning as we went. The families were coming in regularly, and the needs seemed enormous and time-consuming.

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Christine: When August 2021 happened, Afghanistan

JBU: When did you sense God calling you to be the leader of AFN?

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However, the way the Lord moved in the hearts of people in our community was incredibly humbling and awe-inspiring. We were hoping for 10-15 new English teachers and within a month we had 35 teachers and a curriculum that was perfect for illiterate women. We received over $6,000 in Hobby Lobby gift cards.

My home was overrun by donations of teacups, clothing, and household items. Many times, we would be looking for a particular shoe or clothing size and the doorbell would ring with a new set of donations for exactly what we needed. I felt that I (selfishly) had a frontrow seat to watch the Lord move in ways I wished that everyone could see.

JBU: How was it working with almost 100 volunteers from different churches?

Christine: This was another example of God’s amazing provision. To pray for two years for more English teachers and then to have dozens of people come forward with all kinds of skills and giftings was amazing. I didn’t find it hard to work with these wonderful people; I did find it harder to overcome my insecurity to lead them.

In the beginning, we created training sessions so our volunteers could navigate Afghan culture respectfully and curb any overly enthusiastic evangelist types. We wanted to make it clear our heart was to welcome and build relationships. There were basically two routes for volunteers, English teachers, or Friendship Partners. We offered guidance for both pathways so there was consistency without micromanaging.

For many people, this was way outside their comfort zone. I think most of our volunteers would say they have been touched in profound ways through connections with their Afghan friends and families. But many might say like I did, “If I had known what the year would hold in terms of time commitment and challenges, I might not have had the courage to do it. And yet, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.”

JBU: What parts of leading AFN have felt heavy or too much?

Christine: I felt completely overwhelmed at times.

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Even with all the volunteers coming forward, they needed direction and training for how to work closely with refugees. But with each new day’s challenges, I felt continually empowered, upheld by the Lord, and He always provided what was needed.

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My family has been incredibly encouraging and understanding. Many times, I would check with my children if they felt I was too busy and not available to them. They would say, “Mom, we know God wants you to do this.

You are helping people, and this is important.”

My husband is a gifted leader in the business world, so even though we were not serving in this together, I knew I had his generous support and grace. But it was still very hard to balance quality time with my family, tasks as a homemaker, and the endless needs of the

refugees. The phone rang all the time; there was always someone needing something.

One time around Christmas I asked my family to go with me to deliver clothing and a welcome basket to a family who truly had nothing, less than the average refugee family. That is a special memory for all of us.

The Afghan family was so sweet and grateful, and my children felt like Santa!

My children have gone with me to every type of home and neighborhood imaginable in our city. In the beginning it was an adventure. Now, they may ask to stay at home and that’s okay. I am learning to help create boundaries for all of us.

JBU: How has this involvement with refugees impacted your personal spiritual growth?

Christine: The inadequacy I felt so often as we tried

to figure out what we were doing, how to organize, and help others to be involved in such a new, unknown venture was overwhelming. I saw early on that it was all God, over and over again, not this insecure, untrained person. He brought strength to my weak areas, and I also saw the power of prayer all around me. I just felt that I was watching Him work, seeing how much He loved these precious refugees more than I ever could.

It has been such a great year, but also so hard. Seeing people suffering trauma daily weighs heavily on me.

What these people have endured, not just leaving their homeland and coming to a strange place, but what they lived through in Afghanistan in the past years is so incomprehensible to most Americans, definitely to me.

I am generally a fixer, a doer. I want to make things better for people. This experience has taken me to a place with the Lord I had not really known. Seeing Him provide, His goodness, and yet still seeing hard things that aren’t just going away or easy to take care of is difficult for me. I mean, most of these refugees are glad to be here, in a safe new place, but their country is in turmoil. Many of their family members are left behind in dire situations and so they are still suffering in emotional ways. You can see the sadness in their eyes that gift cards or new clothes don’t make go away.

Watching people start over is a heavy thing. Most of our refugees were military men in Afghanistan who are strong and capable. I remember a couple times when it was going to snow, we called the hotels where the families were staying temporarily and said we would take anyone to Walmart for food. Because when the snow came, they wouldn’t be able to walk the couple miles to get to the store.

Here were these men, leaders of their families, leaders back home, trying to navigate Walmart with their grocery lists in their own language, but trying to find the items in each aisle in English. We had to train them how to buy the produce, weigh bananas, go through the checkout, and figure out their food stamp card. Their need for help was very difficult to watch and yet inspiring at the same time.

JBU: What would you say about the challenges in refugee work?

Christine: I learned from other groups and the resettle-

ment connections that rarely are refugees evacuated out of their home country so quickly and relocated. This is a huge shock to endure. Now, the Afghans who have been delayed in “Lilypad countries” the past year like the UAE or other places as immigration services got overloaded and entrance to the U.S. stalled, will be coming with even different traumas and needs.

Each family is different; a few have been very needy. But, for the most part these have been former military families, coming right after August 2021, and you could see the shock, sadness, and sometimes desperation on their faces. The trauma combined with language issues made it hard to feel connected at first.

The English teachers recognized that after a time the women began to relax, smile, and laugh as they felt more comfortable, interacting more frequently, and showing their individuality and colorful personalities. This really encouraged the teachers to keep going when, at first, they felt the women did not respond much.

JBU: What would you advise anyone else who feels called to refugee work?

Christine: Find out what is happening in your city al-

ready to help refugees and who the ethnic people groups are. Study their cultures. Look around and see who is at the grocery store or walking to the local university or Walmart. Open your eyes to whomever is running your local gas station or ethnic restaurant. Chances are these people have never been to an American home or interacted regularly with Americans as friends.

What I am trying to say is be friendly, engage neighbors and those who cross your path in conversation. Show interest. People are not usually as needy as we might think.

But newcomers to our country need American friends, people they can ask questions to, someone they can call on to navigate systems that make little sense to them and could take hours.

Go out there and build a bridge. You will likely enjoy your new friends, learn about the wider world, and hopefully give them a taste of the love of Christ. *This story is sensitive, particularly for Christine Harris (not her real name) and her volunteers. Working with refugees or anyone from another faith requires respect, patience, much prayer, and willingness to live out more than speak out Christian beliefs and values. Details have been omitted or altered to protect the actual location and members of this ministry.

the award-winning book, Unveiled Truth: Lessons I Learned Leading the International School of Kabul detailing her seven years living in Afghanistan. She serves Afghan refugees in her own city and as Board Chair of Morning Star Development (msdev.org), an organization working the past 25 years on behalf of Afghans in and now outside Afghanistan.

f or Afghan Refugees

1. For trauma healing, homesickness, loneliness, and endurance for refugees as they navigate so many changes and unfamiliar customs.

2. For the Afghan women who are now encountering freedoms and opportunities they never experienced before and their husbands to be open to these changing cultural attitudes in the U.S. toward women.

3. For volunteers to be graceful and empathetic toward refugees who may not respond with gratitude or connection.

4. For all refugees to find American friends who will truly care about them and have a heart to help, especially for homebound women to have friends to come and visit them regularly.

5. For Afghanistan prayercast.com/afghanistan.html

Resources

f or Refugee Assistance

• Research government and local assistance programs to help refugees such as food stamps, WIC, Medicaid, school district enrollment, transportation, communication methods, DCFS, driver training, ELL/GED classes, and all manner of local resources available for free/low cost.

• Refugee/immigrant needs change, so flexibility and continual learning are essential for volunteers and leaders. Perhaps the group services will not continue to be needed as families settle in, but the hope is friendships will be formed that will last for years.

• Bridges USA (bridgesusa.us/) Training videos, vast collection of other online/organizational resources catalogued for easy access.

• Beginner ELL Curriculum (growingparticipation.com/) ~Gail Goolsby

ȷustbetweenus spring 2023

Gail Goolsby is a regular JBU columnist and author of

Praying

21

Aloneness Wholly

The place where you can be seen and restored.

by Bridget Gee

Alone is the most sacred place to be.

We see this all over life. When you’re conceived, there’s a time where only God knows you exist. When you die, no one goes with you. It’s just you and God at the beginning and the end of your existence.

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We also see all over Scripture that solitude is sacred.

God beckons so many of His people out into desert places to speak to them. Or He finds them hidden and isolated and makes Himself known. Hagar at the spring (Gen. 16). Jacob alone in the night, wrestling with God (Gen. 32:22‑32). Moses and the burning bush (Exo. 3). Elijah in the cave (1 Kings 19:1‑9). Jonah watching Nineveh from afar (Jonah 4).

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“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:1‑3).

When we are alone with God, we are whole. We are complete because without Him nothing was made that has been made. Without Him, nothing. Through Him, all things.

We need to be alone with Jesus, the Word, to let Him speak into our hearts. We need to get away from all the other voices. All other agendas and narratives. The only one that matters is the One that will call us into the light and into His love.

Alone with God is where you can be healed.

It’s where you are called.

It’s where you are seen and given strength to return to the crowd.

If we never go off alone, things will get murky. We will begin to confuse the voices of others for the voice of God. We will begin to build a life around them, not on a firm foundation.

True solitude is uncomfortable. I don’t mean being alone in your bed on a Friday night watching TikToks until 1 a.m. I mean alone, no distractions, paying attention to your body and mind and heart. Sometimes being alone is really about sifting through the real and difficult stuff before you get to deeper issues.

For me, hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain was so humbling. I did not have all this mental energy to hear God speaking huge revelations about my life like I thought I would. Instead, I was constantly present in my aching body, which every day was over it after six miles.

This meant that every morning, a couple hours into the hike, I had to fight against my will and my mind to go another seven to twelve miles. Hiking long distances brings you into your body and at one with your needs.

Honestly, I tried to make this trip to Spain into something super productive. I had these expectations that the Camino would be more than just me walking almost two hundred miles in eleven days across a country I’d never been to.

I was trying to accomplish more than that?!

I genuinely thought I would read and journal every day. Nope. I had no mental space for it. No desire. I just wanted to sit around when I got to my daily destination.

I wanted to eat and enjoy the people and the weather.

Every day was a lesson in my own capacity, a new chance to see how far my body would go and what new sights I would see.

It was always midday when I lost my friends Nick and Roshelle because I was no match for their pace on the trail. I’d learned to not let it bother me too much. One particular day after lunch, I took one of my afternoon breaks and got a Coke with lemon and sat outside a restaurant airing out my sweaty feet, so as to not get blisters. I sat in the shade, sipping my drink, watching the occasional pilgrim walk by, nodding and greeting them with the obligatory buen Camino benediction. It was quiet, and the weather was beautiful.

And all of a sudden, God was speaking to me.

Bridget, you are exactly where you need to be.

You don’t need to be one town back or two towns ahead. You need to be here right now, on the Camino, in Spain. You don’t need to be at home working and raising money. You don’t need to be going on a global program. You don’t need to be making money with all your part-time jobs in Tucson. You need to be here, right now, in the cool breeze, in the shade, drinking that Coke with lemon.

I gave you the legs you have. I want those legs for you. I want you here.

At the core of our discomfort in being physically or relationally alone, we long for this affirmation. That we are whole, no matter what we’re offering, no matter our limitations. We need to experience the freedom of simply existing, to not produce or strive or hustle for a bit. To be gentle with ourselves and treat ourselves with kindness.

On the other hand, being alone with God can be a crying out, a wrestling, a venting session. God wants both for us. He is the safe place. He is the One who will lift our burdens and give us His. He is the one who will listen, speak, and restore us.

Bridget Gee is the spiritual formation coordinator for InterVarsity’s Study Abroad programs, where she directs European pilgrimages to experience contemplative and historic followings of Jesus. She is the host of Soladarity, The Singleness Podcast and author of Single, Just Because.

Adapted from Single, Just Because by Bridget Gee. © 2022 by Bridget Patricia Catherine Gee. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515, USA. (ivpress.com)

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I didn’t anticipate that the Camino would give me a break from a life that was constantly outwardly focused on others’ needs and on what I was producing outside of myself. For those two weeks, I focused on me. My body. I know that for a single woman, you’d think I’d have a lot more “me” time, but that’s not the way I had set up my life. It wasn’t the way I approached my time. It was so nice to take a brain break for a couple weeks. It was wonderful to put everything at home on pause and just focus on putting one step in front of the other. A day or two in, I gave up on paying attention to big life revelations.

The Camino slows you down. The only reason you’d want to be early to your destination is so you have a bed to sleep in that night. You have to stop to get water, to eat lunch, to dry out your feet, to use the bathroom. You can only go as fast as your legs and stamina will carry you. And sometimes there are pretty places to linger.

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Put it in My

Backpack Let Jesus carry your burdens.

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by Jill Briscoe

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“Cast your burden on the LORD and He will sustain you.”

PSALM 55:22

W

hen I lost my husband, I found myself rereading and revisiting some of the lessons that God had taught me a long time ago. As I grieved, they strengthened and comforted me.

I especially remember the time, a few years ago, when Stuart and I were birdwatching in Wisconsin—one of my favorite things to do. We were taking a few days to celebrate my birthday (yes, I still actually have them once a year!), walking the trails in the beautiful forest of our state. That morning Stuart had shouldered his backpack loaded with water bottles, maps, bird books, camera, and so on, but I decided to carry just my binoculars and camera and no extra weight. We set off on that glorious morning and, oh, what a thrill to be alone with each other and with God and His incredible handiwork—and walk, walk, and walk. Joy! “It is so beautiful, Lord, I see You everywhere,” I said, quietly.

“Thank You!” And I remembered it said in the Golden Book: “The invisible things of Him are clearly seen in the things He has made.”

After lunch we set off again, and this time the trail was more isolated and hilly. By now I had accumulated a few items along the way, and my hands were full. (Don’t ask me ‘what things’—you know how we women do that—even in the middle of the forest!) The heavy binoculars got heavier still and the stuff in my hands more cumbersome. Added to that we were walking uphill.

I was dragging.

I walked behind my man and looked at his strong straight shoulders ahead of me, carrying his burden lightly, though his backpack was quite full. Suddenly, as if sensing my fatigue, he turned around, smiled at me, and said gently, “Jill, put it in my backpack.” So, I took all my stuff and put it in his backpack, and we continued to walk the trails. What a relief! What a difference! But, my joy was tempered with sorrow.

Stuart turned around to lead up the trail again, and in that moment, standing quite still, I acknowledged that along with all the paraphernalia of a birder, I had been carrying another unseen burden of worry that day. A burden that was spoiling the day and casting a shadow over everything. True, my hands were empty, but my heart was still loaded down with worry—my spirit still dragging up the hills.

“Joy is faith dancing. Peace is faith resting,” I heard Him say.

Is a grievous worry crushing you and spoiling the day?

Put it in His backpack!

Right here, right now!

Make yourself a quiet moment now and cast all your cares on Him. May you be conscious of the fact that you’re not walking the trail alone.

May you find yourself strangely lightened in the Spirit.

May “tranquility reign.”

All is well.

Jill Briscoe was born in Liverpool, England. She has been in ministry for over 60 years, has written more than 40 books, and has traveled on every continent teaching and encouraging ministry leaders. Jill is the founder of Just Between Us. She can also be heard regularly on the worldwide media ministry called Telling the Truth. She lives in southeast Wisconsin.

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“Why don’t you put it in ‘My’ backpack Jill?” the Lord whispered to my heavy heart. And there, walking along that beautiful Wisconsin trail, I did just that! It didn’t mean I didn’t have a burden anymore. It meant that He was carrying it instead of me: just as Stuart had carried all my earthly things—what a difference!

The problem hadn’t gone anywhere, but his strong, eternal shoulders were bearing the weight of it. My spirit breathed more easily, and my soul relaxed.

Tell me, are you walking the forest trails of life with a heavy weight on your heart?

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d oo h r e Sist

A SISTERHOO OF

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Faith

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I

didn’t intend for my week to turn out the way it did.

It just worked out that I had three different get-togethers scheduled with friends whom I hadn’t seen in quite some time. What a delight and surprise—an unexpected blessing!

A place to share your joys and sorrows.

by Ann M. Cook

In the beginning of the week, I met my friend Laura for coffee. What a joy to see her smiling face as we greeted each other. It had been several years since we had attended the same church together and our families had become friends. We had a lot of catching up to do.

We really did look about the same, except for maybe a few more gray hairs! As we gave each other a rundown of what we’d been up to and how our families were doing, it became apparent that, over the years, we had both experienced some joys but also some very challenging trials.

Some of our children were dealing with significant struggles in their lives, and there were no easy answers to their problems. Our discussion flowed easily, with tears of sorrow mixed with laughter and joy, and it became very clear one thing hadn’t changed—we both continued to love and serve the Lord.

I marveled at this, as it would have been so easy for us to turn away in the midst of life’s difficulties that were often hard to understand. My mind went to 2 Cor. 4:16-18: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” By God’s grace, we had been able to fix our eyes on the unseen God and not give in to despair or tough circumstances.

Faithful Through Blessings and Storms

My second get-together that week was a dinner party with a group of women from a Bible study of young moms I had been in over 30 years ago. This group had met together for a summer through a local church. We just happened to click, diving into a Luci Swindoll study, sharing our lives, and having some fun together as well.

It was the rare situation when you feel like you’ve known these people for a long time. Everyone wanted to learn together, encourage each other’s faith, and develop meaningful relationships.

A few of us had kept in touch over the years. My dear friend Helen decided to get as many of us together as possible. Walking into the room and seeing everyone made my heart glad—my joy overflowed! I could instantly tell that these women had the light of Christ shining in them.

The same truth became abundantly clear: through the blessings and the storms, everyone continued to

confess Jesus as their Lord. This reminded me of Paul’s letter to the Philippians where he says, “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil. 1:3-6). I saw the many good works God was bringing about in their lives as they related their stories. We ended our time together by sharing prayer requests and the promise to meet again soon.

Enduring Faith

A three-day visit from a cherished friend of 33 years concluded that unusual week. We hadn’t seen each other in a couple of years due to the pandemic. As always with a close friend, we picked up right where we left off. We had a wonderful time sharing meals together, meeting with a few other friends, and talking about everything. She had come through a very difficult marriage; she was in the process of healing her soul and becoming who God intended her to be. Through it all, she retained her faith in God and continues to seek His presence in her life. Again, her faith prevailed in the midst of trials and uncertainty.

What an amazing week! This remarkable sisterhood of faith was a blessing that snuck up on me. I was incredibly encouraged and affirmed through these reunions.

Each woman shared openly without denying the pain and grief she had lived through, but their trials didn’t define them.

As women, we need to share our hearts, trials, joys, and questions while building Christian community with each other. We need each other’s support as we continue to walk in faith with Christ. As Paul says, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Heb. 10:23-25).

Are you part of a sisterhood of faith? If not, consider building one. You will be surprised at the blessings you will receive.

Ann M. Cook, MSN, RN, is a retired

nurse and nursing instructor. She and her husband, Randy, enjoy three grown children, and a son and daughter-in-law, along with five delightful grandchildren. She lives in Waukesha, Wis.

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It was so fun to see them all after so many years.

During appetizers, we went around the room, giving an update on our lives. As I sat and listened, I had the same feeling I had with my friend Laura. These women shared many wonderful experiences they had lived through: a new marriage, several grandchildren, retirement, travel, meaningful work, and ministry opportunities, along with some heartbreaking stories: the death of a grandchild, divorce from an abusive husband, children who had walked away from the Lord, a spouse’s illness, and a child struggling with mental health issues.

rt o pp u s s ’ r the o ch a e d ee n e in “W k al w o t e u as we contwiinth Christ.” faith

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GROWING IN OUR

Trust IN GOD

The Holy Spirit chases our doubts away.

by Claire McCarey

W ȷustbetweenus spring 2023

hen I think about growing in my trust in God, I often focus on the difficult circumstances I have faced in my life. The times when doubts and questions come about God.

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In thinking about these times, I’ve realized that they have often solidified my trust in God. The challenge, though, is trusting God in the everyday frustrations and complexities of life.

For example, a while ago I lost it with my daughter. I had just arrived home, wanting to grab a few minutes of peace before I started dinner. She burst into my reverie with a list of demands, and I lost my temper. I felt awful!

In that moment, where was my trust in God? In my head I know nothing happens on this earth that takes Him by surprise. And I know in my head the truth of Rom. 8:28, He is working everything for good—to make me more like Christ and dependent on Him as my Father.

But in that moment, all that was forgotten. I wanted to be in control of my time. I knew what was best for me.

When I examine the behaviors that fill my days, I see a life that believes so many lies. Too often, I fail to trust in who God says He is and who He says I am.

What should I do about this? How can I grow in my trust in God?

Renew Your Mind

It starts with Rom. 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

This verse tells me transformation happens as my mind is renewed. So, what does that mean?

Let’s start with behaviors or attitudes that reveal a lack of trust in God. Let’s call these “areas of doubt.”

These areas of doubt are usually revealed in negative behaviors, attitudes, or thinking. It could be something that has just happened, like losing your temper, like me.

Or it could be something you see as a pattern in your life. That could be anxiety, despair, or fear. It could be negativity or selfishness. For me, it’s often anger, usually at losing control with people or my circumstances.

I’m learning to view disproportionate emotions as alarm bells that I am believing a lie. Not all emotions, even negative ones, are bad or point towards doubts.

We live as broken people in a broken world. But when we recognize a disproportionate emotional response, or a negative thought pattern, we should pause and reflect on what these emotions or behaviors are trying to tell us.

Instead of staying in these areas of doubt, we want to move to areas of trust. We want to experience the result of a life growing in trust in God. For example, patience, peace, and gentleness.

We Can’t Change Ourselves

So how do we see less areas of doubt and more areas of trust? Often, we end up following the way of the Law. This is when we believe we can change ourselves. If I make enough effort, if I am disciplined enough, then I can change myself into this trust-filled person I want to be. But the Bible says that “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out” (Rom. 7:18b).

When we fall into the path of self-effort and realize we haven’t changed, we can think God is failing us.

We think being a Christian works for some people but not for me. We go through the motions of faith, but we don’t experience the peace and joy that God has promised us.

The Way of the Spirit

The first step in the way of the Spirit is to determine the lies we are believing that lead to these areas of doubt.

This can be hard to do. Other believers around you who know you well enough can help with this task. Sometimes we can’t see the lies ourselves. The heart is the most deceitful of all things after all! So, what are the lies I am believing about God, and what He says about my life and His promises and purposes for me?

When I lose my temper in anger with my daughter, I am believing that God will not sustain me for the tasks He has for me that day. I am believing that God does not see my weariness. In that moment, I believe He is not my good Father, that He will not supply my needs.

Identify the Truths that Fight the Lies

The next step is to identify the truths that contradict these lies. For this, we go to the Word. Over the years, I have made lists of the lies I believe and the truths from God’s Word to fight against them. It’s a resource I turn to time and again, adding more as the years progress.

So, if I am believing the lie that God will not supply what I need that day, what is the truth? “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life” (2 Pet. 1:3).

Or what about the lie that God does not see or care about my weariness? “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken” (Ps. 55:22).

What about other doubts we might face? What about when I feel despair or hopelessness? What if I feel afraid, or insignificant, or a failure? God’s Word is filled with the truth we need for every doubt we face.

Help My Unbelief!

I can come before God and repent of my unbelief and ask for His Spirit to help me trust in His truth. The very act of agreeing with God that these things are true is key. When we do this, we give God permission to work in our lives. Remember Rom. 12:2. As our minds are renewed by understanding, and accepting these truths, the Spirit starts to transform us. This is the way of the Spirit. It is the continuous reliance, not our own effort, but on God’s unending, unconditional grace.

This is not a one-time event, unlike when we received the Spirit. This is a lifelong process. But as we follow the way of the Spirit, we will see the pattern of our lives move from doubt to trust, increasingly experiencing the peace and the joy God has promised. This is what growing in trust in God looks like.

Claire McCarey is a teacher, leader, wife, and mother living near Belfast in Northern Ireland.

This article is based on the book Trust Me

by Verna Birkey, Heather Craig, and Claire McCarey.

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But there is a better way: the way of the Spirit. Philippians 2:13 says, “’For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.’” We all believe that we are saved purely by the grace of God, but, then, once we have accepted Christ, we start to live as if we can complete the job ourselves. The way to a life of growing trust in God is by remembering that it’s God who does the work, by His Spirit, in our lives. Our role is just to not get in the way. So how can we do this? How can we allow His Spirit to change us into people who are growing in our trust in God?

Identify the Lies You Believe

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He will yet fill your mouth with laughter “and your lips with shouts of joy.” JOB 8:21

Laughter is Good Medicine

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and brings joy to your soul!

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by Patricia Cameron

r

Blessed are you “who hunger now,

for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

”

LUKE 6:21

I

wrote “Laugh every day” as one of my New Year’s resolutions. Yep, right up there with lose 15 pounds and write an encouraging note to someone every week. Crazy to think that I need to remind myself to laugh. But with my tendency to stress and worry, it fit.

My late husband loved to laugh. I mean, a good belly laugh most of the time. He teased, he laughed, he smiled. He loved being with people and laughing with people. I, on the other hand, have resorted to reminding myself—in writing—to laugh.

Sitting in my favorite chair with a cup of tea in hand, I researched Bible verses about laughter during my morning devotions. A quick Google search also informed me of the health benefits of laughter. What did I learn? I need to stop taking myself so seriously and laugh more.

Oh but it’s good to laugh. Research says that not only is laughter a result of comic relief, but it provides stress relief, among other health benefits. It’s good for us spiritually, emotionally, and physically. While high stress levels make us too revved up to sleep well—laughter can bust up that stress and bolster us into getting a better night’s sleep.

Sometimes that’s easier said than done. After the loss of my husband, holidays often are downright depressing. I try to stay upbeat but they can just get me down. I miss what I no longer have. I grieve for my boys because they’ve missed the influence of their dad. Seeing others enjoy holidays with all their family can sometimes lead to a downward spiral.

Have you been there? Are you in a season of disappointment and pain? Are you sleepless from worry?

Does grief have a grip on you? Maybe you’ve lost your joy, and laughter is a rare occurrence in your life.

Our mouths were “filled with laughter,

PS. 126:2-3

”

Funny thing is, now every laugh reminds me of the promise I made to myself. And that brings joy to my soul.

What makes you smile? Write it down; keep it close to your heart.

Live. Breathe. Enjoy the day and be thankful for God-given moments to laugh and de-stress.

Allow yourself moments of joy and laughter, even in your grief.

Restore the joy in your life and renew your mind— and laugh.

Patricia Cameron learned early on to cherish God and family. After her biggest trial of losing her husband tested her faith, she now aspires to help others see that God is worthy of praise, even in times of grief. She is mom to three sons.

Her daughter Ashlynn died at birth and is safe in the arms of Jesus. Patricia’s debut book, Grief Unwrapped: Discovering Joy in a Season of Sorrow, was published in November 2022. Connect with Patricia at patriciacameronwrites.com.

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our tongues with songs of joy.

Then it was said among the nations, ‘The LORD has done great things for them.’

The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.

Proverbs 17:22 agrees. “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” This “medicine” is free and available anywhere, anytime, and to anyone.

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Pray?

HOW THEN SHOULD WE

Trusting God to answer with what’s best.

by Denise Kohlmeyer

“Why?

Why didn’t God answer my prayers? He could have healed my brother. But He didn’t, and my brother died.”

This was the tearful lament of one woman in our evening Bible study. We were studying hope in the light of God’s promises. Mary shared how she had put her hope and expectation in God healing her brother, who was seriously ill and taken suddenly.

Mary knew God could have taken her brother’s broken body and made it whole again. But that was not what happened. After lingering on life-support for more than a week, her brother died.

Mary was now more confused and at odds with God’s answer to her prayers and her expectations.

Therein lies Mary’s (and our) problem: there is a cataclysmic difference between can and will.

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We know God can do all things, and nothing—nothing!—is impossible for Him. After all, we have a plethora of evidence in the Bible.

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• He created everything out of nothing: light, earth, plants, animals, humans.

• He parted a sea to allow two million refugees to flee from their enemy, then used that same sea to swallow up that enemy.

• He made a bush to burn but not be consumed.

• He caused a desert rock to gush forth lifesaving water.

• He opened the wombs of barren women (Hannah, Leah, Elizabeth).

• He turned ordinary water into vintage wine.

• He caused a young virgin to become pregnant.

• He cured many infirmed people.

• He raised numerous people from the dead.

Yes, God can do all things. Being omnipotent, He is more than capable.

But will He? That is the crux of many people’s dilemma when it comes to prayer and expectations, particularly with regard to pain and suffering, with seeking healing and wholeness.

God can heal. God can cure. But will He?

When the Answer is No

There are several instances in Scripture when the answer to a particular prayer was “No.” In Acts 12:1–5, James, the brother of John, was taken prisoner at the request of the violent, anti-Christian King Herod Agrippa, the son of King Herod, the very one who had all the baby boys murdered around the time of Jesus’ birth. The first-generation Christians in Antioch prayed fervently for James’ release. But he wasn’t. Instead, he was beheaded.

Why didn’t God step in? Why did He allow James to die a horrific death? God certainly could have prevented it; He had all the power at His disposal to thwart Agrippa’s evil. But He didn’t.

In another instance, possibly the most poignant of all, another man prayed and wept for release from death.

His own!

In the Garden of Gethsemane, a distressed Jesus fell face down and pleaded with God, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me” (Matt.

26:39). The “cup” was God’s wrath, which would soon be poured out on Jesus in the next 24 hours through a humiliating and excruciating crucifixion.

Jesus also knew it was possible for God to “remove” that cup, to prevent it from happening. Yet, with His next breath, Jesus whispered, “Yet not as I will, but as You will” (Matt. 26:39b).

These are hard, hard realities to accept. And knowing this, our minds and hearts are often in tension with praying for something or someone and our expectant answer (what we want to happen).

So, how do we reconcile the two?

The Answer is Always God’s Will… Regardless

Unfortunately, as finite humans, we cannot divine the will of God. We cannot know what God will do in any given situation. Yet, He graciously invites us to always make our requests known to Him, regardless. We always have the opportunity and privilege to ask—to petition and supplicate—with humility and thanksgiving.

Of course, we want our prayers answered our way. And sometimes that happens. Why? Because it was God’s will to begin with. He was going to do that very thing anyway, regardless.

But when the answer is the complete opposite of what we asked, like Jesus in the garden, then what? Well, either way—whether a divine yea or nay—the answer is always God’s will.

God will do whatever brings Him the most glory and honor, even if that means a cherished loved one dies, or leaves (in the case of divorce), or rebels (in the case of a prodigal), or if something does not happen (in the case of a dream, goal, or job).

How Then Should We Pray?

First and foremost, with humility. We must temper our prayers like Jesus, with, “Not as I will, but as You will, Father,” or, “Thy will be done.” Either way, we bow our will to God’s. We humbly accept whatever answer He gives, even though we want healing for ourselves or a loved one, as in Mary’s case. We must humbly acknowledge that God knows best and will answer accordingly.

We should pray, then, like this: “If it is possible, Father, let this _________ come to pass. I know all things are possible with You. I know You can make _________ happen; but I pray, not my will, but Yours be done. Do whatever brings You the most glory, God, and give me the grace and strength and humility to accept Your answer. Amen.”

Denise Kohlmeyer is a freelance

writer living in the Chicagoland area with her husband and three children. You can find her at denisekohlmeyer.com.

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Jesus knew what was coming. He knew what lay ahead for Him. He knew He would suffer physical, mental, and spiritual anguish. It was not going to be pretty, and He (in His most human moment) was dreading it. He did not want to go through with it.

God told His own beloved Son, “No.” God would not— and did not—remove the cup. Jesus would drink that cup. He would go through the ordeal. Why? Because God knew the bigger picture. God also knew His Son’s death would bring Him, God, the most glory and do the most good for mankind (you and me): that Jesus’ death would bring about reconciliation and eternal life.

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Seeking

JOY How can I experience more of it?

by Renee Smith

A ȷustbetweenus spring 2023

s a seasoned Christian, I have learned on more than one occasion that joy and happiness are distinctly different. Happiness is a feeling largely dictated by circumstances, but joy is rooted in who Jesus is rather than what is happening around us.

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not present within me? I thought that accepting Christ as Lord and having a right relationship with Him would result in a natural flow of joy, but that didn’t happen.

I have experienced some measure of frustration when joy hasn’t been my reality. Even in the absence of difficult circumstances, I have often lacked joy.

Strong’s Concordance defines the original Greek word for joy as “the awareness of God’s grace and favor; it is a matter of leaning into these gifts from God.” (A supplemental definition is “grace recognized.”) I couldn’t receive joy in my heart without first focusing my mind on God.

Knowing that joy was absolutely available and that I should be experiencing it as a Christ-follower only made me feel like I misrepresented God’s picture of redemption before a watching world. True joy was freely offered to me through Jesus (Rom. 15:13), so why was it

Reading God’s Word and learning to apply it has resulted in a growing measure of joy in my life. I found the word “joy” in several contexts throughout the Bible.

Below are some verses and personal applications for precipitating more joy in our lives.

Return and Respond to our Source of Joy

Scripture says that joy is found in God’s presence (Ps. 16:11) and our belief in Him as Lord (1 Pet. 1:8–9). We may have regular times of devotion and prayer, but the way we spend our time with the Lord may impact whether we are in a posture to receive His joy. Reading a portion of Scripture or a devotional book to “fill up” spiritually at the beginning of each day will not necessarily result in greater joy.

So, what can result in greater joy?

• Take time to acknowledge God’s presence in this moment. Rejoice afresh in the joy of your salvation and the Lord’s permanent and constant accessibility. Do this regularly for extended amounts of time while deliberately suspending petitions (requests for Him to act on your behalf). Allow your heart and mind to dwell on the ultimate gift He has given: Jesus.

• Listen to hymns or worship music when you’re at home or driving. Rich lyrics invite our hearts to dwell on the character of God, a habit that promotes joy (Ps. 16:8–9; 1 Chron. 16:27).

• Beyond meditating on God and His presence, acknowledge His goodness. There are several accounts of people who joyfully acknowledged God’s intervention throughout their lives. David danced with joy over the return of the Lord’s presence, the Ark of the Covenant (2 Sam. 6:12–23). And Exodus 14-15 recounts the parting of the Red Sea, where Moses and his people were saved from the Egyptians. After they were delivered, Moses and the Israelites burst into song to the Lord.

• Take time to respond to specific things God has done. We can “bookmark” God’s activity in our lives by recording it in a journal. Another way to do this is to place an empty jar somewhere noticeable; fill it with pieces of paper noting what the Lord has done for us, and periodically reflect on them. If we want to promote joy with the greater body, we can host an evening of tea and desserts and ask fellow Christ-followers to come and share ways God has been tangibly present in their lives.

Joy through Obedience

The Bible is clear that there is a direct relationship between our joy and personal obedience to God (John 15:10–11). Generally, conviction regarding our disobedience comes from God in two ways:

For example, I have been convicted recently about overusing my cell phone, and I’m working with God to create new parameters concerning it. Similarly, the Holy Spirit spoke to my friend that He wanted her to stop drinking alcohol indefinitely. My friend and I can attest that we have not initially felt joy regarding God’s directives, but joy comes through continued obedience, knowing we are honoring what the Father has asked of us. As the late Stuart Briscoe said, we must “resist the temptation to resent the hard edges of God’s will.”

Influential Joy

Fruit is visible by nature, hanging from a tree or cascading from a vine. While it adorns the one who bears it, fruit also blesses those partaking of it. Would others say that you inhabit the joy of the Lord?

When I ask myself this question, I end up thinking that the only example of genuine joy is a perky personality.

But joy is greater than personality.

Joy can influence our views and decisions. For example, Jesus chose to endure the cross because of the anticipation of forthcoming joy (Heb. 12:2). In my own life, hard circumstances have sometimes been the catalyst to rediscover my source of joy.

In one particular job, I worked extremely hard but felt perpetually unappreciated and criticized. Wholly dejected, I realized Christ felt the same way, yet persevered. In fact, He sought to extend goodness in the midst of His hardship. Identifying with Christ gave me new resolve at work and a fresh perspective concerning my coworkers. God enabled me to experience fresh joy and share it with others. From then on, I was mindful of fellow employees who worked hard but were overlooked. I periodically bought (modest) gift cards and wrote thank-you cards telling them they were appreciated.

As you seek to tap into true joy that only comes from Jesus, regularly identify your part in experiencing it.

Right now is always the right time to meditate on the gift of salvation and to consider whether anything in your life is out of step with His will. Even hardship is not wasted when we identify with Christ through it and, by His grace, share the joy He provides despite it. We are never disqualified from receiving the joy God offers if we pursue it through the means He has prescribed.

Renee Smith was born in Metro Detroit and moved to the Bible Belt after college. She is an administrative and HR professional who was an active foster parent when she met and married her husband in her late thirties. She shares candidly about her Christian walk in the book, Leaving My Megachurch Life: A Holy Unexpected Exit.

(Available on Amazon.)

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1. We read a verse and recognize that something specific in our life is contrary to what God prescribes (e.g., we read Jas. 1:20 and confess we are a person who is given over to anger and we need to repent).

2. We are aware of God’s Spirit, who convicts us of something that is not in line with His will for us (whether the behavior is explicitly stated in the Bible or not).

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My

STORY

Enough

Ashley Schmidt

A

s I sat at our kitchen table, I looked around at the school books piling up, the lessons that still needed to be taught for the day, the piles of laundry overflowing from their baskets in the laundry room, a dog barking at me to be walked, the meat on the counter ready to be prepared for dinner, the to-do list three-plus pages long, work emails binging, and the faint noises of my children begging for my attention and answers to all their questions. I felt overwhelmed! How can I do all of this? Can I really homeschool my children, work part-time, and still be a good wife, keeper of the house, and friend? The questions and what ifs continued to race through my mind. I wasn’t sure I was cut out for this job! Am I giving my kids the best education? Am I giving enough to my job? Am I nurturing the relationships near and dear to me? Am I doing enough? I’ve asked this question to myself so many times, and you probably have too.

I was recently listening to a podcast from Sarah Mackenzie and she answered this question in the most profound way. “We’ve never been called to do enough,” she said.

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In Matthew 14 when Jesus feeds the 5,000, Jesus said, “Bring me what you have and I will make it enough.”

WOW! Isn’t that freeing?

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If we just look at the miracle itself we see that five loaves of bread and two fish were clearly not enough to feed the very large crowd. And yet given to Jesus, it fed the multitudes, and there were still baskets left over!

When we shower our lives in prayer and ask God to multiply our efforts, we watch what little we have become enough. When I rely only on my strength, when I think I have only my small little heart from which to draw love for the people around me, when the waters

are rough and storms are real, when I am filled with fear of what is happening or not happening in my life, or when I worry that I don’t have what it takes to live as God wants me to live, I have forgotten about Jesus— my Jesus who is enough! Jesus feeds us, so we can feed others.

We offer our daily lessons and watch Him ignite them into a love of learning. We offer our daily devotional times and watch our kids’ faith flourish. We offer our relationships and watch Him tenderly strengthen them.

We give to Him our vocation and watch Him reach the world and energize us. We offer ourselves—imperfect, unqualified, and weary, and watch Him revive us from the inside out.

“God wants us to trust that He will take care of us and that He is enough!”

God wants us to trust that He will take care of us and that He is enough! Trust that the Lord is able and willing to meet all of your needs. Find time to read His Word, and let His words build your trust in Him. Maybe it is as simple as reading a verse of the day online, or picking a quick devotional suited for those whose season does not allow for hours of reading and studying. Or maybe reaching out to a friend and asking them to simply text you once a day with a Bible verse or quick quote of encouragement. God encourages us through His Word, and reminds us that He still works miracles to make even our smallest offerings “enough.”

Ashley Schmidt is the Director of Mission Advancement,

Social Media, and Marketing Design at Just Between Us. She is a homeschool mom to two young children, wife to Scott, and lives in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wis.

INTENTIONAL FAITH

How Loyal is Your Loyalty?

by Jen Allee

T

here’s a verse that keeps circling back to my heart, confronting me with a pointed and uncomfortable question. You might be familiar with it. Normally it hides in the shadow of the resurrection, tucked away, serving only as a detail designed to establish the setting. But it’s a weighty truth worth considering year-round. “When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body” (Mark 16:1).

This simple act is an unsuspecting biblical gem mentioned in all four gospels. It doesn’t command our attention, but don’t let its unsuspecting nature fool you. It is deeply applicable to all of us.

The women arrived that morning to anoint the body, which is a fancy way of saying they wanted to suppress the stink of decaying flesh. Bringing spices to a burial site was considered a final act of devotion toward a loved one. And these women were devoted. But the deeper message is what they believed that morning. They were absolutely convinced that Jesus was dead. Otherwise, they would have left the aromatic herbs at home. So, why is that important?

Simply put: Despite confusing circumstances, these women remained loyal to Jesus.

They continued to love and serve Jesus even when it didn’t make sense to do so anymore. They, like the disciples, believed Jesus was the Messiah. His death, however, dashed their hopes. Can you imagine their distress when their three-year journey ended at the cross? If anyone had reason to be confused, or even angry at Jesus, it was these early followers.

Yet, these women showed up at the tomb with spices.

Though life went topsy-turvy, they were not deterred.

Likely, their emotions were all over the map, but their loyalty wasn’t.

That last question is the one that continues to confront me.

I want to say I would have shown up that morning with spices, but I fear I would have rolled over and gone back to bed. Who wouldn’t need more sleep after a weekend like that? If everything I believed about Jesus had been abruptly turned upside down, I am not sure my loyalty would have remained intact.

These women humble me. It took courage to go to the tomb and face the uncertainty looming around His death. It also took a selfless commitment to Him. Clearly, Jesus had done enough for them already. Enough!

They didn’t need Him to do one single thing more.

That’s why confusing circumstances didn’t derail them.

What about me? Don’t I need more, expect more, and often feel entitled to more? What if Jesus never did another thing in my life from this point forward? Would what He has already done be enough?

I am sure these women would have welcomed His reign as an earthly king. They would have appreciated another miracle or some life-altering healing, but none of that was necessary. Jesus had already done enough.

Their loyalty was not conditional.

These women have challenged me, and hopefully you, too! Let us learn to face our tombs of uncertainty like them—with a fistful of spices.

➜

Be Intentional

What uncertainty are you facing today?

What is one tangible way you can display your loyalty to Him?

Jen Allee is an author and speaker who believes a strong faith

is built one intentional step at a time. For encouragement in taking your next step, visit her at Living Intentionally at jenallee.com.

jenallee.com

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This beautiful act of devotion leaves me pondering tough questions. What do I do when dealt with confusing circumstances? How do I respond to unmet

expectations? Especially painful ones? How conditional is my loyalty to Him?

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STRENGTHENING YOUR SOUL

Consistency is the Key

by Melva L. Henderson

E

ver met someone who is the same all the time?

No matter what the circumstance, this person’s personality and outlook on life remains unchanged. My husband is that way. He is one of the most consistent people I know. Even if he gets upset, there is consistency in his pattern of behavior.

His disposition rarely changes. I remember times when I would “act out” and thought, “Surely he’s going to ignore me or shut the conversation down.” But surprisingly, he woke the following day with the exact words as always, “Good morning, Beautiful.”

I would be thinking, Good morning, Beautiful? Shouldn’t he be packing his clothes to leave? Not when you live by the loving, spiritual force of “consistency.”

Consistency is the ability to hold together and retain one’s form or firmness. It’s disciplining yourself to be the same no matter what happens around you. When you are consistent, you are firm, and your commitment doesn’t change with the circumstances.

The Impact of Inconsistency

An absence of consistency often contributes to the reasons many relationships have gone wrong or ended. People simply don’t want to go the distance when it gets rough. My husband and I have experienced firsthand the division inconsistency can bring into relationships. We have seen how it impacts children, marriages, businesses, and ministries. When times get tough, the inconsistent “get going.”

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The Inconsistency of John Mark

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Acts 12:25 gives the account of the mission ministry of Paul and Barnabas. A man named John Mark, whom many believe was also the cousin of Barnabas, was taken on the journey with them. Everything seemed to be going well until chapter 13. The difficulties of ministry came, and instead of staying the course, John Mark left Paul and Barnabas and went back to Jerusalem, altogether abandoning the ministry journey. Sometime later, in chapter 15:36-41, Barnabas wanted John Mark to reunite with the group.

Because of John Mark’s previous abandonment of the mission, Paul didn’t feel he was profitable for the ministry and would not allow John Mark on the journey. The Bible tells us that the dispute concerning John Mark became so intense that it split the ministry of Paul and Barnabas, and unfortunately, after the conflict, nothing further is mentioned about the ministry of Barnabas.

We Can Overcome Inconsistency

Years later, as recounted in 2 Tim. 4:11, Paul told Timothy to bring John Mark to him because he had become profitable for the ministry. It’s safe to say that John Mark developed a life of consistency. In every task or relationship God places before us, we can never forget that consistency is the key.

Like John Mark, inconsistency will disqualify us in life from places of blessing that God has for us. “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58).

The Message Bible says: “With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.”

Stand your ground. Don’t allow the circumstances of life to toss you around. Keep your footing, and God will reward your consistency.

Father, today I will live my life based on the Word of God and not on the circumstances surrounding me.

I thank You for Your strength to stand firm in truth and not be given over to the swaying of emotions. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Melva L. Henderson is an author, speaker, and regular

columnist for Just Between Us. She is also the founder of The Milwaukee Give, a humanitarian outreach, and co-founder and president of World Bible Training Institute, an accredited Bible college. She is wife to pastor Ervin, mother of five, and a grandmother.

melvahenderson.org

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F Melva Henderson T Melva Henderson

Joy

LET THESE VERSES ON

LIFT YOUR HEART

“Be JOYFUL in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

— Romans 12:12

“Always be JOYFUL. Never stop praying.

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for your who belong to Christ Jesus.”

— 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me JOY.”

— Psalm 94:19

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

— Galatians 5:22-23

“Consider it pure JOY, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

— James 1:2-3

“Weeping may endure for a night, but JOY comes in the morning.”

— Psalm 30:5

“My soul shall be JOYFUL in the LORD; it shall rejoice in his salvation.”

— Psalm 35:9

Why don’t you put one of these verses to memory this year and/or encourage a friend who needs a little JOY in her life.

Why Trust a God Who Disappoints?

A serious diagnosis took Lori Ann Wood on a faith detour she never saw coming. She felt profound disappointment in the God she thought she knew. Amidst risky questions, she shares her hard-won insights through relatable stories in her new book, inviting you along on a forty-day journey deep into the heart of a God who often doesn’t always behave as we’d like.

AVAILABLE AT: Loriannwood.com/books/ CrossRiver Media (crossrivermedia.com) Amazon

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This Statement of Ownership will be printed in the Spring 2023 issue of this publi­cation.

I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including multiple damages and civil penalties). Mary T. Perso, General Manager Date: 9/29/2022.

LIVING WELL

Thinking Versus Feeling

by Gail Goolsby

W

henever I try to stand up for myself, I feel badly if I disappoint someone or possibly hurt their feelings. I know I need better boundaries, but it just doesn’t feel right at times,” my thirty-something client reported her constant battle.

“So many thoughts whirl around, I get overwhelmed.

They all can seem correct or good decisions. I don’t always know how to choose,” the young mother said.

Feeling Our Thoughts or Thinking Our Feelings?

Which comes first—thoughts or feelings? Does the heart or the mind dominate our ability to live well?

Medical and psychological research continually investigates the link between the head and heart, now utilizing detailed scans that give windows into brain operations and how information travels throughout the body. Both thoughts and feelings are keys to physical and mental health.

In Hebrews 10:16, we are told of God’s original plan for His people, “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds” (emphasis added). Our Creator God knows both heart and mind need to be engaged for a deeper understanding.

Red Light–Green Light

How should we handle emotions? I like to use a traffic light analogy, with emotional responses as signals: • If you feel angry or upset, that is like a red light, telling you something needs to change.

• If you are confused, mildly irritated, discouraged, or suspicious, that is a yellow warning signal to slow down and look at the situation carefully.

ȷustbetweenus spring 2023

• If you sense peace, delight, or joy, the light is green, and you can proceed.

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Pay attention to these signals, but don’t make hasty

decisions based on emotional responses alone. Take time to analyze the details surrounding these emotional reactions, coming up with a clearheaded solution.

Scripture Therapy Manual

Two verses in the Bible give us excellent counsel about setting your mind, the Control Center. Harnessing thinking can bring emotions into proper alignment and allow our behaviors to produce positive results.

Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Second Corinthians 10:5 (ESV) says, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

The apostle Paul teaches how the full concentration of our mind on the truth found in God’s Word and the life of Christ forms the healthy basis for living.

We can’t deny our feelings; they change due to circumstances, hormones, weather, physical ailments, and people’s behaviors around us. How we respond to these emotional signals should be based on something more concrete, less fluid, a sure foundation.

When we get a proper understanding in our minds about who we are in God’s family, how much He loves us, and how He wired our emotions and personality, we can move toward properly handling our feelings.

We can read our emotional traffic signals and think about what we should do. Eventually, we can change our responses for the better. This will not be a quick cure and we will need guidance from Scripture and perhaps a trusted counselor, but we can do it with God’s help.

Gail Goolsby, MA, MEd, ACC, is an author, speaker, and career educator, including serving overseas as detailed in her book, Unveiled Truth: Lessons I Learned Leading the International School of Kabul. She is a mom and grandma, and lives in South Central Kansas, with her husband.

gailgoolsby.com

% gail.goolsby@gmail.com F Gail Wettstone Goolsby T Gail Goolsby

15

minutes in the

WORD

Fullness of Joy

By Dorie Etrheim

H

Once again, read John 15:4-11. This time, circle the word “bear.” The Greek word for “bear” means to carry or bring from one place to another. Reread these verses and insert the word “carry” for “bear.”

Thankfully, God’s Word doesn’t leave us guessing what to do. In John 15, Jesus, knowing His disciple’s hearts would be troubled with His upcoming arrest and crucifixion, says to them, “I have told you these things so that My joy and delight may be in you and that your joy may be made full and complete and overflowing” (John 15:11, AMP).

We bring this joy into every situation we face. Happiness depends on our circumstances, but joy can always be present (1 Thess. 5:16). What would this look like in your life?

ealth issues had taken away many of the activities I loved. No longer was I able to hike, eat out, or travel to visit my daughter. I completely lost my joy. Have you been there?

When circumstances are not what we planned, where do we find joy?

Look at that! We don’t produce joy or find it; we carry it from our relationship with Jesus, and it’s displayed in our life.

Take a deeper look at “these things” Jesus told His disciples.

Back up a few verses and read John 15:4-11. As you read it, circle “remain.”

In Scripture, repeated words emphasize the meaning of the text. Jesus says “remain” 11 times. Yes, 11 times!

Remaining in Christ and His love are keys to overflowing joy.

How can you remain in Christ in your day-to-day life?

Go even further back to John 14:16-27. What does Jesus say about our relationship with Him?

Digging Deeper The Greek words joy (chara), rejoice (chairis), and grace (charis), all share the same root meaning “to lean towards.” Grace is intricately tied with joy. Grace is God’s love and favor leaning toward us, and joy is our response to this gift of grace.

When health issues took away the things I loved and looked to for joy, I was compelled to spend more time with Jesus. Now, I not only meet Him in His Word and prayer, but we also walk, talk, cry, and laugh together.

I enjoy His presence and rejoice in all He has done for me.

Psalm 16:11 says, “In His presence, there is fullness of joy.”

For Your Journal Where do you look for joy?

What does it look like for you to delight in Jesus and enjoy His presence?

Journal your praise to Jesus for all He has done for you.

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Jesus is in the Father, we are in Jesus, and He is in us.

We share in His life. Joy comes from our shared experience of His love. We don’t have to find joy; it’s a gift to us in Jesus. The Holy Spirit living in us produces the fruit of joy; we are merely the branches that display this fruit (Gal. 5:22).

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OUTSIDE YOUR FRONT DOOR

Influencing Your Culture

by Ashley N. Thomas

L

ife is about showing up. Showing up with our mess and brokenness and being willing to bump up against other people’s mess too. It’s acknowledging our own need for grace, and relentlessly seeking to see others through that grace too. The beautiful part is each of us also brings with us a reflection of His redemption. And His redemption changes things, everything.

I typically share what it’s like to step outside your front door and how to best embrace or engage the world around you. In today’s world, we don’t have to go very far to experience the world, or to at least be heavily influenced by it.

Who do you follow? What comes to mind when I ask you to consider that question?

Unfortunately, for most of us, our favorite “influencers” on Instagram come to mind. Whether it’s the easiest Instant Pot recipes, the perfect way to decorate your house for the holidays, or the best new way to care for your children. The saying used to go, “there’s an app for that” but now, there’s that and for sure some “well-informed” individual coming to you live from the comforts of their home—helping you become mini versions of themselves.

We have moved beyond how many people are following us, to “Are you following the right people?”

We are easily influenced.

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It’s important to realize that now, more than ever, our biases, prejudices, and opinions are often formed subconsciously through our mindless scrolling. We feel more informed than ever before but, unfortunately, that information is often used as a weapon or dividing marker when it comes to engaging with those around us.

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I am still learning this dynamic that is at play in every area of my life. Experience has taught me that influencing culture falls into “both and” as opposed to “either or.”

“Either or” doesn’t leave much space for meeting people in their mess. It says, “have it together, or else.”

It’s black and white, and leaves very little room for the gray, which is most often where we find ourselves in life.

“Both and” leaves space for the redemption of a broken world. It holds in tension broken pieces in the process of being made whole. It says, “Don’t have it all together, but show up anyway.” It uses the gray parts of life and makes it an accent color to the bright colors of transformation our Father is able to do in the soft hearts of people willing to make change.

In the world, but not of it. Part of influencing culture is allowing yourself to be influenced by it, too. We try so hard to be “outside” of it sometimes that we miss out on the transformative work that can take place when we acknowledge some things are bigger than us, and that sometimes we just don’t have all of the answers, no matter how often we scroll through the “right” influencers. Our best guide is the Word, and asking Christ to show you, where you may have blinders up. How is He asking you to engage in the culture around you?

Is it more about Him and less about you? If so, people will leave your presence experiencing more love, grace, and the proper dose of truth.

Praying for your influence.

Yet, Jesus calls us to positively influence culture; to be part of culture change. To quite literally be counter-cultural (in this world, but not of it) as He was.

Ashley N. Thomas is the Executive Director of Hope Street

ministry in Milwaukee, Wis. She enjoys teaching, writing, learning, and being present with broken people as each discovers the grace that allows us all to be known and loved still. She is a wife, mom to a baby boy (Jedidiah) and fur baby (Belle).

fromsmashtoash.com

EVERYDAY TRANSFORMATION

Cultivating Your Husband’s Confidence

by Laura Sandretti

M

y husband Chris is a successful businessman who leads people and makes major financial decisions every day. Our adult children often articulate their love and respect for him to me, their friends, and to him. Chris is hardworking, selfless, and able to fix almost anything in our house that breaks. Given that, you can imagine my surprise when I realized recently that he sometimes struggles with confidence.

As a Christian speaker and author, women frequently talk to me about questioning their worth and “enoughness.” We often wonder if we’re smart or pretty enough. We wish we were more patient and genuine in our relationships. Although I and many women I know struggle with confidence, for some reason I thought my husband didn’t.

Husbands Question Too!

Although men rarely talk about or admit it to other men or even to us, they too question their “enoughness.” Will they provide enough for their family, now and in the future? Are they doing enough at work and home? Have they been a good enough father and husband? Will they get that project done at work on time and will it be good enough?

As I’ve started to realize the stress and fears my husband regularly experiences but rarely articulates, I’ve also realized the unintentional ways I can crush rather than cultivate his confidence. God, in His love, is helping me realize how my sometimes critical and disrespectful responses can diminish Chris’ view of himself. When I use a belittling tone or have a condescending disposition which I rarely, if ever, have with my kids, friends, or even strangers, it chips away at my husband’s worth and value. And although I want to cultivate Chris’ confidence by responding lovingly and encouragingly, doing so is easier said than done.

How Can Wives Help?

Another way the Lord’s helping me cultivate Chris’ confidence has been reminding me of our son, Casey.

Recently when Chris did something I had repeatedly asked him not to do, I remembered Casey doing something similar. When I started scolding Casey, he looked at me with apologetic and remorseful eyes which made me pause long enough to remember he had a lot going on at school and work. I became more grace-filled in my response when I realized he wasn’t intentionally trying to upset me or be inconsiderate.

Sometimes the Lord answers my prayers to be a nicer wife by helping me see Chris like He does—as a son.

Jesus is the Confidence Builder

How do we cultivate our husband’s confidence so that it is built up and rooted in the identity Christ died to give us—that we are loved, chosen, and equipped?

How do we encourage our husbands when we’re quick to criticize and correct? The thing that’s helping me most is repeatedly asking God for help. He knows the places of our deepest desires and regrets, and He longs to meet us there.

His Word reminds us that when we’re weak, Christ’s strength is made perfect. In His great love, His Spirit will prompt us to close our mouth when we want desperately to open it and help us treat our husband as Christ treats us—with grace, acceptance, and unconditional love. These are the responses that slowly help cultivate deep and genuine confidence, as only Jesus Christ can do.

Laura Sandretti MATS, is an author, faith coach, and active

conference and retreat speaker. She is a former high school teacher who uses humor and real-life examples to challenge women to think more deeply about what they believe about God, the Bible, and themselves because of the cross of Christ. Additionally, she has four adult children and has been married for 30 years.

laurasandretti.com

F @laurasandrettiblog # @laurasandrettiblog

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So, I’ve started praying for help. As I have, the Lord has answered in various ways. He’s prompted me to be quiet when I’m about to correct Chris for something

minor, that in the moment feels monumental. Rather than demeaning how he loaded the dishwasher or washed his hands, I’ve felt the Spirit stop me. Instead of suggesting a different or “better” way to parent, drive, or pack the car, God’s been prompting me to instead look for and express specific things I am thankful for about my husband.

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FAITH AT WORK

Refreshing our Hearts and Renewing our Minds

by Danielle Thomas

S

pring is a busy season in the world of work— returning from the restfulness of Christmas break and back to the hustle and bustle of new projects and goals. For some, spring brings new job opportunities, but for most of us, we’re still in the same role as the year before. How can we bring a fresh perspective to our work, and even more importantly, to our hearts?

Refreshing our hearts and minds starts with a commitment to actively pursuing our relationship with Jesus—spending deliberate time in prayer and reading our Bibles. If you’ve not yet set aside regular time to sit down and dig into the Word, could now be the season you commit to a daily quiet time with Him?

Dig Into God’s Word

ȷustbetweenus spring 2023

As you consider your objectives for work, the projects that lie ahead, why not intentionally lay each of them at His feet and talk to Him about them? As Paul says, being thankful instills the right mindset in us when we’re praying, because we know that God is the ultimate provider of the skills we have and the money we take home—they are all gifts from Him.

Psalm 119:105 tells us that God’s Word is “a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” The Word is not only a guide to how we should approach life as Christ-followers, but also a wellspring of encouragement to our hearts in this challenging world. The Bible is what brings us closer to Jesus by showing us who He is and who we are in Him.

Thanking God for those things and acknowledging His providence gives the glory, rightly, to Him. We can bring our jobs, our coworkers, our projects, our goals, and everything having to do with our work to God in prayer and talk to Him as a friend, to ask for His guidance and help to honor Him.

Studying the Bible rejuvenates our soul and gives us different perspectives on life—and this includes our work lives. When we’re feeling weary, the Holy Spirit can bring us energy. When we’re feeling stressed, the Word reminds us that the Lord is our strength. When a big deadline is looming and we need direction, we can commit our next steps to God. And if the Bible is our lamp to illuminate, then prayer is our path forward as we walk in step with our Creator.

Throughout the Bible, God speaks to us about renewing our minds, that seeking Him transforms us to be more like Jesus. Romans 12:2 says that we are set apart from the world through this transformation, not bound by earthly things. Psalm 51:10 talks about us needing God’s help to have a clean heart created within us and a renewed spirit. And 2 Corinthians 4:16 assures us that even though our bodies grow old, our inner selves are being renewed through the knowledge of our Savior.

Commit to Prayer

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by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving.” Isn’t that a wonderful reassurance, that we can never bother God by praying too much?

If you’re anything like me, you probably pray too often in the midst of something going wrong, in a bit of a panic, reaching out to God to provide guidance or fortitude. But the Bible tells us there is no such thing as praying too often even about the little things in life including our jobs. In Philippians 4:6, Paul encourages us “to present our requests to God in every situation,

Let God Renew You

So, this spring, as we commit ourselves back into the flurry of our work and ambitions for the new year, let’s set healthy habits of prayer and time in the Word to bring us closer to Christ. Only He can bring true renewal to our spirits and refreshment to our hearts.

Danielle Thomas works in internal communications for

the UK’s largest water utilities company. She lives with her British husband, Caleb, and Cavapoo puppy. She enjoys hiking, exploring the countryside, and learning UK history.

thethomases2020@gmail.com

BETWEEN FRIENDS

There is Joy in Serving

by Shelly Esser

I

grew up in a home where my mom was always volunteering us girls for stuff—and almost always we didn’t want to do it! We greeted at women’s events, watched people’s kids in the nursery, gave our testimonies, and everything else you can imagine.

Serving at our house was a family affair. She even got my grandfather, who lived with us for 15 years, assembling packets for a marriage conference!

My tween and teen self did a lot of complaining at the time. But what I didn’t realize was the gift she was passing on to us. As she served, she brought us along to see how it was done. We were in training, and we didn’t even know it. And as a result, when we were on our own and out from under my mom’s pushes, we all found ourselves serving—because we wanted to!

It was part of our discipleship and in the process our complaining turned into joy.

Everyone is needed to build up the body of Christ. In fact, as Paul later says, each person is indispensable, and everyone suffers if we don’t work together joyfully sharing our gifts with the people God puts in our lives.

Do you know what happens when you serve? You discover gifts you didn’t know you had, develop deep and lasting friendships, experience blessings galore, and discover joy. Acts 20:35 says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive”—and it really is.

Other Blessings of Service:

• Serving surrounds us with other believers who help us follow Jesus.

As a Christian, serving is part of our discipleship—a natural overflow of living a life of gratitude for all Christ has done for us. We have the privilege to partner with God in His work here on earth—specifically in the church home where He has placed us.

• Serving grows our faith.

Just like in our blood families, there is also a role for everyone to play in our spiritual family—something for everyone to do. Without everyone’s gift of service, the body is incomplete—wanting.

Something happens to us when we serve. I love what Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth says, “We are never more like Jesus than when we are serving Him or others.

There is no higher calling than to be a servant.”

Paul expounds on this so eloquently in 1 Cor. 12:15-20:

“Now if the foot should say, ‘…Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.”

Our time isn’t our time; our resources aren’t our resources; and our gifts aren’t our gifts. They’re meant to be shared to bless the body of Christ.

• Serving allows us to experience God’s presence in new ways.

• Serving is good for our souls.

Look around. There are so many wonderful, lifechanging, joy-filled opportunities for you to serve. For those of you who haven’t taken that step yet, ask God to help you get off the sidelines and get out of your comfort zone in faith—your life will never be the same and you will never experience more joy or look more like Jesus!

Additionally, she has been involved with leading and nurturing women in Christ since college. She and her husband have four adult daughters, two sons-in-law, a new grandson, and live in Menomonee Falls, Wis.

ȷustbetweenus spring 2023

Shelly Esser has been the editor of Just Between Us for 30 years.

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You Can Thrive in Ministry!

Let Lisa Elliott be your guide as you explore the joys and challenges of being a pastor’s wife. Her real, relatable storytelling along with survival tips will help you thrive not just survive in ministry.

Lisa Elliott is a pastor’s wife of 40 years, gifted speaker, and award winning author. Visit her at lisaelliottstraightfromtheheart.wordpress.com.

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Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

(Matthew 25:40, NIV)

Give the gift of hope to a child.

Seven Saves is a new initiative from Food For The Poor that helps your church change the lives of children living in extreme poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean.

When you give just $7 a month, you feed a hungry child and give them the blessing of a brighter future. As we give out of the blessing we’ve received, we can bring that hope to those in need.

We have everything your church needs to share the joy of giving. To learn how to introduce this program to your congregation, visit SevenSaves.org today.

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