Jesus Calling Magazine - Issue 8 - Summer by Thomas Nelson

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BRETT YOUNG

SEEING GOD in EVERY SEASON

RYAN SHECKLER A Skateboarder Finds His Footing in Faith

Sarah Jakes Roberts SHAME DOESNʼT LIVE HERE ANYMORE

RICHARD LUI'S FIGHT for His Father

See something you like in the magazine? Most titles featured in this publication are available from your favorite bookstore.

Jesus Calling Books to Keep You Growing This Summer

Jesus Calling Botanical

Dear R eader

Summer is a time of preparing for transitions in life. Many parents are getting ready to send children oﬀ to school. It can be a time of both excitement and anxiety. As I think about parents releasing children to new experiences, I’m reminded of a time when our two children were young teenagers. My husband and I decided to let them travel alone from Nashville, Tennessee—where they were visiting my mother—to Melbourne, Australia, where we were living and working as missionaries.

Jesus Calling with Real-Life Stories

This super-long journey required them to change planes in major airports. I was feeling anxious about letting them make this trip by themselves, and I was praying about it almost constantly. However, as I prayed, I was actually worrying much more than I was trusting God. Eventually, I realized this kind of praying was displeasing to God—and it certainly wasn’t relieving my anxiety. So one morning I brought my concerns about the trip to Jesus, and He helped me find a better way to pray. Instead of continually restating my concerns to Him, I started thanking Him for how He was answering my prayers. This helped me relax and trust in His faithfulness. As it turned out, my children and I had parallel adventures on the day of their return. They made it all the way to Sydney Airport, but then they missed their connecting flight to Melbourne. When I met their flight and realized they were missing, I had no way to contact them. But God worked in amazing ways—in both airports. Later, as I pondered all that had happened, I had no doubt that my many thankful prayers for their journey had been wonderfully answered!

Jesus Calling Note-Taking Edition

PHOTO CREDIT: JEREMY COWART

Jesus Always Botanical

First Thessalonians 5:17–18 tells us to pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances. There is power in thankful prayers! They keep our focus on Jesus’ precious promises and His continual Presence with us—no matter what is happening in our lives.

Bountiful blessings!

THE

MAGA ZINE

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Laura Minchew SVP & Publisher

COVER STORY | 8 Country Music Superstar

Michael Aulisio VP & Publisher Editor in Chief

Brett Young Sees God in Every Chapter of His Life

Linda Tozer Marketing Director Mandy Wilson Marketing Director

CONTENTS

Stephanie Chalk Senior Marketing Manager

Dr. Don Wilton: My Indescribable Friendship with Dr. Billy Graham

Doing Good: The Bachelor’s Ben Higgins Mixes Coffee and Kindness

Ryan Sheckler: A Pro Skateboarder Finds His Spiritual Footing

Pastor’s Corner: Dr. Dharius Daniels – We’re Created to Do Good Work

Harold & Rachel Earls: A Veteran’s Risky Climb of Faith

Andrew & Shawn Johnson East: An Olympic Athlete’s Seasons of Loss

Sarah Jakes Roberts: Shame Cannot Define Us, Only God Can

Rebecca Alonzo: Letting Go of Anger and Embracing Forgiveness

Richard Lui: Committed to Caretaking – A Son’s Story of Alzheimer’s

A Jesus Calling Devotion on Friendship with God

Laura Neutzling Managing Editor Amy Kerr Copy Editor Abigail Nibblett Research Assistant Beth Murphy Senior Marketing Director Barbara Moser Creative Director Candace Waggoner Senior Operations Manager

Lathan Warlick: A Near-Death Experience Gives Way

to a Positive New Path

Designer Michelle Lenger

Jesus Calling Readers: Social Media Spotlight

Music Spotlight: Gordon Mote on Music and Making a Difference

Rooted Family: Creating Family Devotion Time with Jesus Calling

Games & Puzzles

Published quarterly by Thomas Nelson, Inc. P.O. Box 141000 Nashville, TN 37214 Printed in the U.S.A. © 2004 Sarah Young All rights reserved; no materials may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the publisher. The Jesus Calling Magazine is not responsible for problems with vendors or their products or services. Cover Photo by Seth Kupersmith

Ryan Scheckler |13

Sarah Jakes Roberts | 25

Richard Lui | 30

Saturdays with Billy A FRIENDSHIP FOR THE AGES Dr. Don Wilton is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and founder and president of The Encouraging Word television ministry. After many years of preaching and teaching in his native South Africa and later New York City, Dr. Wilton crossed paths with the one and only Dr. Billy Graham, and ultimately Dr. Wilton became Dr. Graham’s personal pastor. During their frequent meetings, they also forged a strong friendship—which Dr. Wilton talks about in his new book, Saturdays With Billy. Jesus Calling’s marketing director Linda Tozer had a chance to meet up with Dr. Wilton to talk about that

IMAGE © ISTOCK

special friendship and what he learned by sitting across from Dr. Graham every Saturday.

LT: So you were a follower of Dr. Graham, as many young ministers were, but you got the chance to become his personal pastor. Tell us about your unique relationship.

Linda Tozer: Before we get into your friendship with Billy Graham, tell me about your early life and what planted the seed for the work you do now. Don Wilton: I grew up with the wide open spaces

of Africa—a tremendously adventurous life—getting into everything. I was just eight years of age and made the decision to give my life to Christ. After that, I used to ride my horse among the Zulu people and play a little gramophone record with messages of the gospel from the Africa Inland Mission and tried to speak in the Zulu language.

DW: For almost twenty ﬁve years, I had the privilege

of sitting at his feet. Most of that time was on Saturdays at his home in North Carolina on that beautiful mountaintop, gazing over the beauty of God's creation. We would go for walks together, we would eat together. We would sit on the front lawn together and play with the dogs and munch on hot dogs. And we would laugh and talk about everything under the noonday sun.

LT: What ultimately carried you into full time ministry?

LT: What were your biggest takeaways from your time together?

DW: When I came out of the military, I got married to the most beautiful young lady, my wife, and she had such an inﬂuence on me. I was being promoted and the world was looking awfully good. But something was missing. One Easter Sunday with my young bride next to me, I fell upon my knees before the Lord and said, “Lord, what would you have me to do?” And it was there that I surrendered my life to whatever God wanted me to do. My wife and I sold everything we owned and bought two one-way tickets to New York City. That was forty-ﬁve years ago.

DW: Mr. Graham didn't just talk to me about how to

live. He enabled me to see my own life in a fresh way. He challenged me at the deepest level of my soul. He questioned spiritually the zones of my own pastoral leadership. Everybody knew him as a man of prayer. I watched him pray. I prayed with him. There was hardly a time we met that Mr. Graham wouldn’t reach out those beautiful hands and place them on my shoulders, on my head. He would hold them out to me even in his later years.

He would pray for me and intercede for me. And it would be the sweetest thing you've ever heard.

LT: That must have meant so much to you. Now that he’s gone to heaven, what do you think he would be doing now— or encouraging people to do—during the tough seasons our world has seen recently? DW: “Trust God and don't be afraid.” That's what Mr. Graham told people all around the world. “God is our Savior and Lord, He's almighty, He's the Beginning and the End. He’s the Alpha and the Omega. He's the First and the Last.” This is the message of Dr. Billy Graham, but it's also the message of the cross. It's the message of the psalmist, David. It's the message of the Old Testament. It's the message of the New Testament. God says to us, “Trust Me and and don't be afraid, for I am your strength and song.”

JESUS CALLING PODCAST

“An Incredible Light ” “Millions of people have been inspired by the words of this number-one, bestselling, 365 devotional Jesus Calling. Lives are being changed and people are being blessed in so many ways, as we listen to real-life stories of faith as told by those who have experienced the power of living in His presence on the Jesus Calling Podcast—it’s one of those incredible lights that shine across our world. I'm so thankful to the Lord for Sarah Young and for this incredible ministry.” – Don Wilton

Dr. Wilton’s book, Saturdays with Billy, is on sale now. 5

BEN HIGGINS’ PERSPECTIVESHATTERING MOMENT LEADS TO A COMPASSIONATE WORLDVIEW by Abigail Nibblett 6

D O I N G

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOUR LIFE is unexpectedly shattered—and you realize the story you’ve told about your life isn’t true anymore? For Ben Higgins, former star of ABC’s The Bachelor and founder of Generous Coﬀee, that ﬁrst lifeshattering moment happened his sophomore year of high school, the day he was pulled from class and told his dad had a heart attack. Growing up in a small Indiana town, Ben had loving parents and grandparents, a schedule full of school and sports, and a community steeped in strong faith. He’d never noticed anyone around him struggling on a fundamental level. But stepping into his father’s hospital room that day shook him to the core. “I didn't feel equipped at all to handle it,” he admits. “I didn't have the tools. Just a swirl of emotions, of confusion, of chaos.”

months later the team returned for a visit. Ben asked a woman who lived nearby how life had improved since the well’s installation and he remembers, “She looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, ‘Ben, for the first time in thirty-five years, I've woken up without a stomachache. For the first time in thirty-five years, I feel alive.’” That interaction became the second time Ben experienced a moment that shifted the story he would tell about his life. Ben realized in all the encounters he’d had with the people he met in Honduras, he never understood the challenges they faced every single day. In an instant, Ben’s calling became clear: to enter into stories that matter to fulfill a purpose greater than himself. “It has to start with us,” Ben says, “because the more I become vulnerable, the more I let people understand who I am, the more that I want to understand who others are.” In the days that followed, Ben and a friend had an idea for a company that could sell sustainably sourced products—in this case, coffee—and would donate profits to organizations like Humanity and Hope United. Generous Coffee was born, and three years later, business is booming. Today Ben’s reflecting on the moments that matter to him most: keeping his heart open to listen for new stories. “When I look at business or when I look at my life, it's just saying yes to new opportunities that will enter me into stories I never would’ve been part of unless I’d said yes.”

“ with us. It has to start

PHOTO COURTSEY OF BEN HIGGINS' PERSONAL ARCHIVE; ISTOCK

G O O D

After that pivotal moment, Ben began to see others in a new way: so many people, just like him, had experienced desperation, fear, and loneliness. He realized that loss and pain are a common denominator in the human experience, that we often have to suﬀer through painful moments so we can begin to see others who are struggling. “As I've gone on, I've experienced other traumas, and those things just continue to build character inside of me,” says Ben. “It changes my worldview. It tweaks the way I see God, the way I see others, and how I see myself.” Along the way, Ben has found another source of world-changing perspective in his life. “You know what I like about Jesus Calling? The relatable perspective of it. It opened my eyes to a world that maybe I didn’t see before, and reminded me of good truths about who God is. It never made me feel guilt or shame. It convicted me in a healthy way.” After his time on the ABC reality show The Bachelor in 2016, Ben set out to put post-Bachelor fame to good use. For ﬁfteen years, he’d been going on mission trips to Honduras with a foundation called Humanity and Hope United, and in his years of service, one moment in particular stood out the most. In 2013, Ben’s team installed a water well in La Carosa, Honduras, and six

Ben’s book, Alone in Plain Sight, is on sale now.

BRETT YOUNG SEES GOD IN EVERY CHAPTER The athlete-turnedcountry-artist shows how God expanded his plans in life, love, and faith

by Abigail Nibblett

C O V E R

education before taking the leap to play pro ball. Brett received an athletic scholarship to Ole Miss, playing for one season before transferring to Fresno State. On his opening night, ﬁve minutes before the start of the game, Brett threw a slider and felt his elbow pop. The split-second movement would take him out of the game permanently. Devastated, Brett wondered what was in store for the future and realized that sometimes, a chapter comes to an end before you feel ready. “When you have the thing you were going to do for your entire life taken away from you, you have to refocus,” Brett says. “And it’s really hard to do that if you don’t have faith that God has a plan for you. Without my faith, I wouldn't have been able to get over the injury, let baseball go, and be open enough to let something else come in.” And that “something else” happened to be an even greater gift for Brett: music. In the late 90s, during his sophomore year of high school, a buddy from the baseball team asked Brett to help lead worship one Friday morning at school. Brett sat behind his friend, playing guitar and “staying out of the limelight,” as the country star puts it. Leading worship was a great experience, and his friend told Brett that the following week, Brett would be leading all on his own.

There's no perfect life You can't hold back time But you hold on tight, hopin' you might find Every page you've turned is a lesson learned Ain't we all, ain't we all just tryna get it right? These are the chapters of my life Lyrics from “Chapters” SONGWRITERS: GAVIN DEGRAW / ROSS COPPERMAN / BRETT CHARLES YOUNG. CHAPTERS LYRICS © SUPER BIG MUSIC, CALIVILLE PUBLISHING, G DEGRAW MUSIC INC

IMAGES COURTESY OF ROB LOUD, ETHAN WIESE, DUKE IMAGES, SETH KUPERSMITH, AND BRETT YOUNG'S PERSONAL ARCHIVE; ISTOCK

S T O R Y

God has a habit of weaving Himself into every area, every phase, every experience we have, whether we realize it at the time or not. For 2018's ACM New Male Vocalist of the Year Brett Young, his chapters have been ﬁlled with ups and downs. But when he looks back, there’s one constant—Jesus. Growing up in southern California as the son of a pastor, Brett gravitated toward sports. He and his father shared an enthusiasm for the Bible and baseball—and Brett felt deep down that he was destined to play professionally. After pitching for the Calvary Chapel High School team, he turned down pre-draft selections by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Minnesota Twins, acting on a gut feeling to get an

“ I wouldn't Without my faith, have been able to let baseball go.

The next Friday, Brett found himself on stage facing an audience of 700 peers, about to sing in public for the first time. He was terrified, and doesn’t remember that first performance going very well, but he continued the gig through his junior and senior years of high school. After his injury, Brett picked up his guitar again and began to write songs—and the songs flowed so naturally. He recognized a gift in himself, and so did his friends. “Music ended up being something I love more than I loved baseball. And God stepped in and put people in my life who said, ‘Hey, you have to stop treating this like a hobby. There's a future here. There's

Brett pitching as a young boy 9

a potential career here,’ It took me a while to believe and trust them, like we do in our faith. It took me a while to remind myself to trust God.” Hindsight is 20/20, and now Brett, named ASCAP’s 2018 Country Songwriter-Artist of the Year, can see that music was God’s purpose for him all along. But the journey to success was not an easy one. Brett moved to Los Angeles and lived there for ten years, working diligently towards his new dream. He was the only one among his friends who was making money playing music, but Brett wasn’t happy playing in restaurants and bars, singing songs written by other musicians. He hadn’t met a single record executive or written an original song. As his frustration grew, he felt it was time to switch gears and write songs for other artists—knowing that he didn’t have the platform to get his message heard.

“ to remind It took me a while myself to trust God. Though he felt too old to be starting a career in a new city, Brett took the leap to move to Nashville anyway, singing on demos, writing songs and pitching them to a variety of artists. “If you want to make God laugh,” he says, “tell Him your plans. I moved to Nashville and God said, ‘Here you go, here’s your career!’” With only a couple months of Nashville living under his belt, Brett recalls how folks on Music Row started asking who “the demo singer” was. That was the launching pad for the new Nashvillian, who signed a record deal in 2015 with Big Machine Label Group, home at the time to stars like Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift, and Florida Georgia Line. To date, he’s racked up seven consecutive gold and platinumcertiﬁed number-one hits. Called “one of the country’s most consistent radio stars” by Rolling Stone, Brett’s West-Coast-meetsSouthern sound, combined with his authenticity and foundational beliefs, has brought him huge success in the industry. “I’ve spent my career trying to make sure that everything I said was true and a real-life experience for me so that I could have a really close connection to all my fans,” he says.

Brett’s Top 5 Ways to See God in Every Chapter: 1. Take each day one day at a time 2. Trust that God has a plan, even if you can’t see it 3. Appreciate the season you’re in 4. Look back and see how God has been with you on your journey 5. When a door closes, look for an open one

C O V E R

A self-described “giant softie,” his music shows vulnerability and heartfelt sensitivity that crafts a one-of-a-kind experience for his fans—and clearly it’s resonating. Brett’s ﬁrst self-titled album is platinum-certiﬁed, and his sophomore album, Ticket to LA, hit the number-one spot on the Billboard Country Albums Chart. He’s received nominations from the CMA, Billboard, Teen Choice, iHeartRadio, and CMT for songs like “In Case You Didn’t Know,” “Chapters,” “Like I Loved You,” “Mercy,” and one that especially hits home for him, “Lady.” The song is inspired by two special women in Brett’s life: his wife, Taylor, and his little girl, Presley. Thirteen years ago, Brett met Taylor through a mutual

friend on MySpace, and Brett was immediately smitten. Today, “B and T,” as they call each other, are still the best of friends: partners in life, love, and faith. “Jesus Calling has been a book that me and my wife have read together since early in our relationship,” Brett declares. “I think the messages that come from it are very, very important and need to be heard.” Together, Brett and Taylor are working to share their faith with their growing family. After welcoming Presley into their family in October 2019, Brett shares that, “My love for her pushes me to be a better person every single day. That has to be God’s plan in the whole structure of parent/child relationships.”

S T O R Y

Holding his daughter and watching her grow, Brett can see God’s ﬁngerprints in Presley’s very existence, and his upcoming children’s book, Love You, Little Lady, is a love letter to his daughter. And with a second little girl due in July 2021, Brett is preparing for a new phase of fatherhood, one where he helps to shape his girls into the people God intended them to be. Brett’s been spending recent days reﬂecting on each chapter of his life, and he can see just how God expanded Brett's plans into more than he could’ve asked for. The athlete-turned-artist believes that life is just a collection of opened and closed doors, and it’s up to us to get out of our own way and look for the opportunities God

Brett and Taylor on their wedding day 11

B W

Brett, Taylor, and daughter Presley

is placing in front of us. “I turned forty this year, and I heard someone say this is about the age where you have more summers behind you than in front of you. And I think the point is to treat each day like its own. God is

giving us this life and these unique days one at a time. It feels almost irresponsible to try to ﬁt them into a mold rather than living in this precious moment you’ve been given.”

Find Brett’s new children’s book, Love You, Little Lady, Lady when it hits bookstores August 24th.

And listen to his latest album, Weekends Look a Little Diﬀerent These Days, wherever you stream or buy music.

Skateboarding Champ

RYAN SHECKLER Finds Hope in the Now by Laura Neutzling

BE WHERE YOUR FEET

“ fell into My life literally shambles. There was just too much going on.

top: Ryan learning to skateboard with his Dad bottom: Ryan on the cover of Skateboarding Magazine

VISIT ANY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NEIGHBORHOOD, and you’ll likely see kids of all ages riding around on skateboards. This mode of transport is still going strong decades after someone, reportedly a California surfer looking for something to do while the waves were ﬂat, placed a board on a pair of roller skates so they could “surf the sidewalk.” Skateboards have since evolved into sleeker models, of course. And skateboarding itself has become an international phenomenon, with stars in the competitive world wowing us by going airborne oﬀ ramps and performing other feats of daring. Ryan Sheckler put his knee on his dad’s old skateboard when he was just eighteen months old, pushing himself around until he was able to stand. After that moment, he and the skateboard rarely parted. “I wanted to be as good, if not better, than my neighbors,” remembers Ryan. “My neighbors were all four years older than me, and I wanted to be like the big kids. A lot of them stopped skating. I just never stopped. I was hooked.” At thirteen, Ryan became one of the world’s youngest professionals in the sport, winning multiple competitions. At seventeen, he was the star of his own MTV reality show Life of Ryan. After growing up in a whirlwind of competitions, being propelled into the spotlight, and buying his own house at eighteen, Ryan woke up one day wondering where his childhood went and how he would navigate life as an “adult.” “I didn't realize that years went by where I had traveled six or seven months out of the whole year, and then I'm eighteen and I'm buying a house. I had no structure, no adult around, no one telling me, ‘Hey, guys, you shouldn't party, you shouldn’t stay up this late.’ My life literally fell into shambles. There was just too much going on.” Ryan’s party lifestyle began to escalate, along with his alcohol use. Ryan realized though he was still “functional,” he had developed a dependence on something that was slowly stealing his passion for the things he cared about. There was a moment Ryan discovered he was 14

IMAGES COURTESY OF OAKLEY, RED BULL CONTENT POOL, AND RYAN SHECKLER'S PERSONAL ARCHIVE

Captain America—Phelps’ moniker during his Olympic medal-winning season—went through what he was going through? The feeling that “none of us are alone in this world” really started to hit home for Ryan. Being vulnerable wasn’t something he was used to—but during rehab, the skateboarder learned that expressing his emotions would be the key to his healing. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the Lord,” Ryan says, “and it’s a struggle. But if you give your life to Christ and believe that you get another chance daily, you can make some good decisions.” One of the “good decisions” Ryan made was to launch The Sheckler Foundation, where he and his brothers teach autistic and diﬀerently-abled kids how to skateboard, do tricks in their wheelchairs, and express themselves through play. The foundation has been going strong for ﬁfteen years, and Ryan is happier than he’s ever been, determined to keep his focus forward. “You can't be hard on yourself. I made a dumb mistake. And I really, truly believe the Lord forgave me. It's just one thing at a time. I don’t overload myself. That's really all I can do. Be present. Be where your feet are, give it to the Lord, and take it one day at a time.”

starting to lose his love for skateboarding—and he knew it was time to get help. “I was an emotional wreck,” Ryan recalls. “I've been skateboarding since I was two years old. And all of the sudden, this alcohol is going to take me away from the biggest passion of my life? No. It wasn't acceptable to me.” Ryan wanted to escape from the grip alcohol had on him. With help from his mom, the young skateboarding phenom checked into rehab. And as he watched his mom turn out of the gate of the rehab complex, Ryan remembers getting chills and wondering what was next. But his mom had left him with something that started to give him a glimmer of hope that perhaps he was in the right place.

“ are alone None of us in this world. “My mom gave me Jesus Calling right when I got to rehab. And that ﬁrst night, I started reading it—I didn't even pick a day, I just started reading it. I wanted to feel something, and I started feeling it. I opened this book and saw that I wasn't alone. I saw I was in the right spot.” In rehab, Ryan heard from his friend, Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps, who called to say he was proud of Ryan and that he had gone through something similar. Ryan was astounded. 15

PORTRAIT COURTESY OFJASON GOOD MEDIA GROUP

Isn’t it amazing how God can use an interaction—or even a moment—to change the course of your life? For me, those meaningful encounters began while I was in college, deep in the trenches of studying to become a lawyer. I always knew I wanted to live a life of purpose, and I thought I was headed in that direction. But when I dove into how theologians have impacted our society over time, I started to examine how each of us is making diﬀerent contributions to the world—all with the goal of making it better. That’s when I felt called to pursue a new purpose.

“We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” —Ephesians 2:10 NIV

There is “ no area of our life that is not impacted by our relationships. There was a lady who came up to me and said she was embarrassed because she couldn’t read. I began to see the need for an expression of the gospel that did more than address people's morals, but addressed people's lives. And I knew if I was going to live life as the Creator intended, then I had to get this right. Change Church was born out of that conviction, and we place high priority on the source of our greatest joy and greatest pain: relationships. I cannot overstate the power of one person's ability to change someone else. Sometimes 17

Dr. Daniels’ book, Relational Intelligence, is on sale now.

C O R N E R

by Dr. Dharius Daniels

I made the switch from law and went to seminary in New Jersey, where I interned at a church and taught a class about what the Bible is and how to study it. And while I was there, I had one of the most important interactions in my life.

P A S T O R ’ S

Created to Do Good Work

you are planting seeds and making an impact, and you have no idea the fruit that's going to come later. I love talking about what I call relational intelligence, the ability to deﬁne and align your relationships. There is no area of our life that is not directly or indirectly impacted by our relationships, including our physical, ﬁnancial, and spiritual well-being. I look at it like this: people should be our purpose partners. That means our life is about assisting and adding value to others—a calling of the highest order. If you, too, are seeking to live a life of purpose, that journey starts with serving and lifting each other up.

CLIMBING for a HIGHER CALLING by Abigail Nibblett

The word sacriﬁce means something diﬀerent to

the military,” says Harold. “So we decided to raise awareness for PTSD.” When Harold decided to make the climb, he and Rachel were newly engaged—and he had no idea how his bride-to-be would react. “When your ﬁnacé tells you he wants to climb Mt. Everest and he’s not a climber to begin with, I think the easy answer is to be like, ‘What? No, that’s insane,’” Rachel says. “But I also knew if this were a dream of Harold’s and I went against it, then this would—in the very beginning of our marriage—cause separation between us. And I did not want that. I also knew there was a greater purpose. And I trusted that whatever the outcome was going to be, I was going to be okay. God was going to be with me every step of the way.” “I did not expect Rachel to respond how she did,” Harold admits. “I mean, especially climbing in our ﬁrst year of marriage. But the way she came around me and said, ‘I can see how badly you want to do this, and I’m going to do everything I can to make it happen,’ that meant the world to me.” The two were under no impression that the

everyone, but it carries a particular weight for military families—especially for former US Army Captain Harold Earls, and his wife Rachel. HAROLD AND RACHEL WERE INTRODUCED by Rachel’s cousin—who just happened to be Harold’s best friend!—while Harold was at West Point and Rachel at Florida State. And as Rachel says, it was “love at ﬁrst phone call.” While the pair started a long-distance relationship, Harold decided to add “climb Mt. Everest” to his bucket list. A mentor of Harold’s, Command Sergeant Major Burnett, told the young cadet he needed to attach a purpose to the goal, no doubt to give Harold a boost to see such a lofty goal all the way through. As Harold got to know his mentor a little more, he learned that Sergeant Major Burnett struggled with PTSD and with suicide. “Here this was a leader, a hero I looked up to more than anyone at West Point. And seeing him struggle with mental health, it became very clear that there’s a problem within our ranks in 18

A SOLDIER’S MORNING ROUTINE After his climb, Harold was appointed Commander of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, Virginia, an honor Harold calls “everything that makes me proud to be an American.” During his watch, Harold developed a particular routine

clockwise from top left: Harold's team on the way to Camp 2, Harold at Camp 3, Harold at the summit

to start the day: “Every morning, I would show up to work at 5:00 a.m. stat. I would do PT, then I would always do a devotional. I’ll tell you, when you start your day off with Jesus, you start your day off with Jesus Calling, with prayer, there’s just something about your day as your eyes

IMAGES COURTESY OF THE EARLSʼ PERSONAL ARCHIVE

are immediately fixed on Him.

journey Harold was about to make was going to be easy. But even through fear, they clung to faith as they moved forward. “There was just no way I could carry the weight of the fears and the what-if questions without relying on God and having faith that He would carry me through it all,” Harold says. “The year before, there were devastating avalanches on Everest that killed nineteen climbers and Sherpas. I’ll never forget, I was 20,000 feet at advanced camp, and I had to leave a message in case I didn’t come back. It was very, very difficult.” Despite the treacherous events the previous years on the mountain, Harold and his crew made the climb successfully. And Harold saw the fruits of his labor paying off quickly—both on the mountain and off. “We did an interview talking about the climb and the cause behind it—and the fact that twenty-two veterans a day commit suicide. Sergeant Burnett was one of our spokesmen. After we were done, a veteran reached out and said, ‘I need to talk to that man, I need to talk to that man!’ He was pretty frantic. What we didn’t know at the time is that man was planning on taking his life that day, and Sergeant Major Burnett was able to speak with him and get him the help he needed. I knew in that moment that’s how God is working through all of this.”

No matter the challenges you face, the leadership struggles I would face at the tomb, I always had my eyes fixated on God from the very beginning.”

Harold and Rachel’s book, A Higher Calling, is on sale now.

Faith on the Field, in the Arena, and Beyond Andrew & Shawn Johnson East on the faith that fueled their athletic careers and in their newest challenge: parenthood by Kaitlyn Hein

AS SHE STOOD ON THE WINNERS PODIUM at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, a gold medal hanging around her neck, gymnast Shawn Johnson felt strangely empty. Growing up in a small family in Des Moines, Iowa, Shawn’s parents recognized early that their daughter had an abundance of energy that needed to be channeled into something. They never expected her love and devotion to her after-school gymnastics class would blossom into a full-blown career as a gymnast—and a decorated one, at that. But as Shawn continued to grow in her skill, athletics began to eclipse every other part of her identity. “I was raised in a very faith-based family that always pushed a greater purpose,” she says. “And as a kid in elite athletics, it was so easy for me to strive for perfection and purpose as an athlete. But I got kind of lost in my career of gymnastics.” And when she reached Olympic gold, “I felt like I should have felt fulﬁlled,” she says. “And I didn't.” After leaving gymnastics due to a persisting knee injury, Shawn began working for The Today Show at the 2012 London Olympics, where she met a competing cyclist named Guy East. After chatting for a few hours, Shawn and Guy promised to meet up again, but next time with Guy’s younger brother Andrew in tow. “Guy just kept saying, ‘You need to meet my younger brother, you’d be perfect for him!’” Back in the US, Guy brought Andrew to a taping of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, where Shawn was a contestant. Nine months later, the two began dating, growing closer through their faith and devotion to one another—and they also connected over their love of a shared devotional book. “Jesus Calling has been in our relationship since day one,” Shawn says. “We would share the Jesus Calling book and read it together every single day. I think it’s a great devotional for the average person who might be overwhelmed by faith.” 23

Nash, Andrew, Shawn, and daughter Drew Hazel

That world-stopping day held the power to crush the young couple. But instead of staying silent about her pain, Shawn decided to share about her experience with her YouTube community. And there, she found healing and hope. “A lot of my friends and my mom had miscarried, but I didn’t know how to process it. I didn’t know how to move forward. But sharing about my miscarriage with my online community helped me heal so much, just seeing thousands of stories from people who had gone through the same thing. It was the ﬁrst time I saw our community as almost a family, and I saw so, so much good in people. When you truly need help, the world is good.” Now, a few years later, Shawn and Andrew have welcomed a little girl to their family and have a little boy on the way. Following the footsteps of their own parents, Shawn and Andrew are constantly praying for their kids and the big, beautiful lives they have ahead of them. “We’ve had the opportunity to go through so many crazy life experiences at such young ages,” says Shawn. “I think with our kids, it'll be fun to teach them and see them make mistakes and learn and guide them through what we went through, just in a diﬀerent way.”

“Yeah, it’s so approachable,” Andrew agrees. “It’s not overwhelming, but it’s kind of a good way to start a daily devotional quiet time. Having a little time in the morning to just sit and reflect is so valuable.” Over the course of their relationship, that foundation of faith has been challenged in many ways. While Shawn’s career was coming to an end, Andrew’s was just kicking off in the NFL. But as Andrew puts it, “My NFL journey was not what I was expecting.” As a long snapper, Andrew was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs, but eventually played on seven different professional teams over a five-year period. He remembers how hard it was to stay focused and determined during those years, especially when he moved through teams so quickly, unable to truly establish himself as a professional athlete. “It was tough, and I wanted to quit. But Shawn was super patient and was such a good listener, just letting me vent about, ‘I don’t know why I’m still playing football, because I’m not really enjoying not having a team to be on.’” Eventually, Andrew decided to leave the sport entirely, and he and Shawn found themselves immersed in the world of social media and YouTube. Shawn’s dreams were focused on starting a family with Andrew. When they found themselves pregnant, Shawn shared glowing videos about doctor’s appointments and dreaming of life when their little one was born. But then then unthinkable happened: Shawn had a miscarriage. 24

IMAGES COURTESY OF THE EASTSʼ PERSONAL ARCHIVE

Andrew and Shawn's Wedding Day

Sarah Jakes Roberts is co-pastor of The Potter’s House One L.A. and Denver, and founder of a movement called Woman Evolve. Daughter of beloved pastor Bishop T.D. Jakes, Sarah grew up in the shadow of her father’s popular ministry and wasn’t sure where she ﬁt in under the spotlight. She found herself running with a diﬀerent crowd and discovered she was pregnant at just 13 years old. Sarah shares how she battled with insecurity and depression, along with the stigma from her teen pregnancy, and that eventually she discovered a woman from the Bible whose own story of shame—and subsequent redemption—had much to teach her.

Free

UNCOVERING THE ROOT OF OUR SHAME SETS US by Sarah Jakes Roberts

God will help“us rebuild our lives. But the rebuild might not look like what we had in mind.

Once I was sharing my story at a women's conference, and there was a moment where I thought to myself, No one wants to talk about Eve at their women's conference, because she messed it up in the garden. But after that, I felt convicted to go look at her story again. Eve’s life certainly took a detour she didn’t want, and it wasn’t what God wanted for her, either. And yet, in Genesis 3, God stepped in. In the middle of the disappointment, in the middle of the shame, in the middle of the detour, God stepped in and He didn't just say, "You're going to be okay." He said, "I still have a plan." And He gave her a roadmap on how to make that plan a reality. That's why I want to share Eve's story with every woman: because I believe that if we rescue Eve, we could rescue ourselves and rescue any other woman who's seen her life go completely to shambles but still wants to rebuild it. God will help us rebuild our lives. But the rebuild might not look like what we had in mind.

Sarah’s book, Woman Evolve, is on sale now. The Jakes Family

IMAGES COURTESY OF SARAH JAKES ROBERTS' PERSONAL ARCHIVE; ISTOCK

So how do you start rebuilding your life? By looking at the fruit. What is the fruit of your life? And how did this fruit get there? I'll use my teen pregnancy as an example—that was my fruit. But when I examine that fruit, what I learn is that my feelings of not belonging, those watered the seed and produced that fruit in my life. That feeling of not belonging was the root that led to my teen pregnancy. So now that I understand that particular root, I can see how that root still shows up in my life. I still ask myself, Do I belong here? Do I ﬁt in here? So if I want to change some of the thoughts and patterns that are built on this insecurity, then I have to acknowledge this insecurity exists. I have to ask myself as I make decisions, Am I being the person who is watering that seed of insecurity? Or am I daring to step into the conﬁdence and assurance that can only come from stepping into my identity with God? A lot of times we get stuck on the fruit because we're so ashamed of what that fruit looks like. "I'm frustrated with my life,” or, “This marriage is falling apart." A lot of times we repeat the same cycles over and over again because we haven't examined the roots. But I feel like when we understand our roots and ourselves better, then we can protect ourselves and rebuild our lives better.

OUR FAITH SAYS THERE IS REDEMPTION for our shame, for our depression. When I found myself a mother at 14, it was diﬃcult for me to fully believe this same redemption was available to me. But when I began to look closer at the story of Eve, it began to all make sense.

Try Your Hand at Journaling! Take a few minutes of quiet time, and write down the answers to these questions.

1. Is there any “fruit” in your life that you’re ashamed of? A circumstance you’re not proud of, a habit you want to break?

2. Think about what might have caused you to behave this way. How did this behavior or circumstance come about? How did you feel in the middle of this?

3. It takes courage to acknowledge the fear or shame behind so many of our “root” behaviors. How can you ask God to help you heal this root?

RELEASI N G HATE T O GR AB HOLD OF FOR GI VEN ES S by Cynthia Stuckey REBECCA ALONZO BELIEVES that “forgiveness is the language of heaven.” Though many would agree, few have been given the opportunity to forgive as deeply as she has. Just before she was born in the early 1970s, Rebecca’s father had become the pastor of a small church nestled in the farming community of Sellerstown, North Carolina. The town and church welcomed the young family with unending support and Southern hospitality—except for one man. Mr. Watts was wealthy, powerful, and unwilling to relinquish his iron-fisted control over the church and its members. One day, Rebecca’s father discovered Mr. Watts was writing checks for the offering, getting the tax deduction, and taking the cash himself. The minister corrected the practice, and began to receive harassing phone calls at all hours, coordinated by Mr. Watts. But the scowling man in pew number seven would not remain content with merely verbal attacks for long. What began as thinly-veiled death threats quickly escalated to persecution and torment. Rebecca recalls bullets flying

through the windows of her home and being told to “get down!” until the regular driveby shootings subsided. Targeted dynamite explosions in the ﬁelds surrounding the home endangered the family and their neighbors, and Rebecca often went to bed fearing what else might come in the night.

“ His Jesus gave life for me, and I’m willing to do the same.

IMAGES COURTESY OF REBECCA ALONZO'S PERSONAL ARCHIVE; ISTOCK

–Rebeccaʼs Mother

For years the hostile attacks continued. And for years Rebecca and her younger brother, Daniel, watched their parents suﬀer greatly at the hands of Mr. Watts. The children asked why their family stayed in Sellerstown amid such persecution. Rebecca’s mother would respond by saying she would cling to the words of John 15:12 as reason enough to love those who hurt her, and testify that “Jesus gave His life for me, and I’m willing to do the same.” That strong faith, to love no matter the circumstances, would soon be challenged. One terrible night, a member of the church, coerced by Mr. Watts, came into the family’s home and shot both of Rebecca’s parents. Her mother died instantly, and her father would suﬀer for seven more years before also passing away. For years, the darkness of what Rebecca and Daniel had

endured remained their constant companion. At age fourteen Rebecca, without either of her treasured parents, held blame for God and a corrosive bitterness that refused to let her heal. When Rebecca began to realize that her deep need for God was greater than any hate she could harbor for another person, her path to recovery began. “I ﬁnally realized I needed Him more than I needed to be mad at Him. I needed His direction and comfort,” Rebecca recalls. “I realized how much energy it takes to hold onto anger.” Rebecca’s personal experience with resentment proved to her that bitterness rarely hurts the object of one’s anger as much as it injures the one who harbors it. Years later, she had the opportunity to share the power of forgiveness with Mr. Watts himself when he called from within the walls of a federal prison. As he desperately begged for Rebecca’s forgiveness, she was able to admit that she had long ago forgiven him. His acts of betrayal and terror held no weight compared to the unconditional love that God had given to her.

I ﬁnally “ realized I needed Him more than I needed to be mad at God. When asked how she could forgive a man who had been responsible for so much destruction in her family, Rebecca leans on the words

of Romans 8:28 to illustrate her peace: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Many years after she tragically lost her parents, Rebecca is now a wife and mother of two, and a celebrated speaker on the power of forgiveness. It is not an inheritance of tragedy that she wears proudly, but instead one that her parents instilled within her—a legacy of love for God and complete trust in Him, no matter what comes.

Find Rebecca’s book, The Devil in Pew Number Seven, at your favorite book retailer today.

THE REWARDS OF

PURSUING SELFLESSNESS by Richard Lui

Richard Lui has been in the world of television, film, technology, and business for over thirty years as an anchor at MSNBC and previously with CNN Worldwide. He is the first Asian American to anchor a daily national cable news program, and he is a team EMMY and Peabody winner. Throughout his career, Richard has always tried to model the example his father, a pastor, had demonstrated to his family—one of selfless sacrifice. This was put to the test when Richard and his family learned their father had Alzheimer’s Disease. Richard made the tough decision to take time away from his growing career and care for his dad. He shares how even the smallest choice toward selflessness, even in the midst of challenge and struggle, can lead to a more fulfilling life.

FIFTY-THREE MILLION of us are family caregivers in America. Fifty-three million, from ﬁve years old all the way up to 110. That's a 30

Richard with his parents, c. 1970

IMAGES COURTESY OF RICHARD LUI'S PERSONAL ARCHIVE

lot of us doing this stuﬀ. But we're not paid, we're not trained. My father came from a large family of thirteen siblings. Growing up poor, they knew each other really well, and when they got together, it was like old home week. It was beautiful to see. At one Christmas gathering, my father’s youngest sister asked, “Richard, your dad's forgetting my name. Is everything okay?” He went and got checked. And we discovered he was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. I began to wonder, What do I want to do? What does that mean for me, working at 30 Rock in New York when my family’s in California?

go, because most journalists work eight days a week, twenty-ﬁve hours a day. I'm saying I can't do that.” She said, “Guess what, Richard? I'm a caregiver, too. My mom's in Florida, and I'm up here. Let's see what we can do together.” That’s when I shifted my job to part-time. I started ﬂying back and forth across the country, sometimes up to 500,000 miles a year, to help

My dad“still had a lot to teach me without telling me. I walked into my boss's oﬃce, knowing this could be the end of my career—one that I had worked for quite a bit—and said, “I know you probably will have to let me 31

take care of my dad. The thing I learned along the way—number one, it was totally worth it. Number two, my dad still had a lot to teach me without telling me. My father was not a negative reactor to Alzheimer’s like some. The disease reduced his stress. He’d spent so much of his life worrying, I wanted to do more as a pastor, but I couldn’t. But he didn’t do that anymore. Instead, he was a smiley, joyful person and would wave to everybody. Here’s one story I like to tell: I'd come home for two or three days, three times a month, and I’d cook and do stuﬀ—and I don't cook, by the way—but I cook and I do other stuﬀ because Mom was working as the primary caregiver, and my dad was running around like a ten-year-old, and just getting younger and younger. As Alzheimer's progresses, you begin to not know you're full. I'd be cooking, and my dad would always want to eat and start repeating things. He’d keep on wanting to take a shower.

So one time, he saw me cutting food and said, “Ooh food.” But then he wanted to take a shower. He’d done this a few times, so we’d turn off the water. So my dad strips down, goes into the bathroom, realizes that we had turned off the water. Then he walked out and asked, “Can you turn on the water for me?” And I said, “No, you already took a shower.” Before I could even finish, he said, “Ooh food, can I get some of that?” I said, “No, I'm not done yet.” And this is definitely a tactic children use all the time—he hugged me and said, “Oh, I love you. You're so wonderful, Richard.”

“ I was doing, These little things they were important. There I was, standing in the middle of my kitchen with a knife and cutting vegetables with a stripped-down, eighty-two-year-old, Chinese-American pastor smiling and laughing with me. And it's one of the sweetest, nicest memories I have. It gave me a point of view that the little things I was doing, they were important. They were important for my father, my mother, my siblings. What an eye opener. What an eye opener. 32

Richard’s book, Enough About Me, is on sale now.

A devotion from Jesus Calling to invite you to relax into your friendship with God

July 10 ELAX IN MY PEACEFUL PRESENCE. Do not bring performance pressures into our sacred space of communion.

When you are with someone you trust completely, you feel free to be

yourself. This is one of the joys of true friendship. Though I am Lord

of lords and King of kings, I also desire to be your intimate Friend.

When you are tense or pretentious in our relationship, I feel hurt. I know the worst about you, but I also see the best in you. I long for you to trust Me enough to be fully yourself with Me. When you are

real with Me, I am able to bring out the best in you: the very gifts I have planted in your soul. Relax and enjoy our friendship.

2 THESSALONIANS 3:16 • REVELATION 17:14

JOHN 15:13—15

AN ALMOST-ENDING WAS JUST THE BEGINNING by Amy Kerr changed his life forever. Before he became a “positive music artist,” Lathan was a dancer who grew up in a rough part of town. “My grandma and my mama, they were always saying something about God or making us go to church,” said Lathan. “I didn't want to go to church. I was a hardheaded guy.” In 2011, he and a few of his friends entered a local talent competition and won with their dance set. They decided to go celebrate and headed to a club. What other place is there to celebrate than going to the club? thought Lathan. As he and his friends hit the ﬂoor, Lathan noticed a guy across the room who seemed to have his

LATHAN WARLICK KNOWS WHEN YOUR BACK’S AGAINST THE WALL, one of the most powerful weapons you have is asking God for help. It’s a lesson he learned while staring down the barrel of a .45 pistol. A self-described “positive music artist” from Jackson, Tennessee, Lathan shot to fame in early 2020 when the videos he made went viral, as he sang thought-provoking, positive lyrics on top of popular hit songs in the front seat of his car. He landed a record deal and began working with artists of all stripes, including country music favorites like Florida Georgia Line and RaeLynn. But Lathan’s rise to fame is studded with memories of a night ten years ago that 34

I'm a sinner saved by grace. To God be the glory. The end of 2011 Should have been the end of my story.

IMAGES COURTESY OF DUSTIN HANEY; ISTOCK

– Lathan Warlick

attentioned zeroed in on the crew. Little did Lathan know that his cousin, dancing beside him, had some tensions with the stranger. Soon, the man crossed the floor and made the first strike, stepping on the foot of one of Lathan’s friends. Sensing trouble, Lathan tried to grab his friends and usher them toward the exit when, all of a sudden, tensions boiled over. The club erupted in a brawling free-for-all. Lathan pushed his friends out into the parking lot while the fighting followed them and spilled out of the front doors. One of Lathan’s friends wandered over, a gash from the top of his forehead to the middle of his ear pulsing with blood. Horrified, Lathan pushed his friend into the car with plans to rush him to the hospital when two menacing figures walked up to the car. “Everybody scattered,” Lathan remembers. “When I turned around, everybody was gone. So I took off running. These two guys are chasing me, and I run right into a brick wall. The dude comes around with a .45 caliber pistol. The guy beside him is like, ‘Hey, man, go ahead and shoot him!’ “As I'm standing there, I can remember my grandmama saying if I was ever in a time of need, I should just call on God. I remember looking up and I told God, ‘Okay, if You’re really like everybody says You are, then just get me out of this situation.’ It was that simple.” The man pulled the trigger. The gun clicked. And the two men took off running. As he walked away from the scene, Lathan knew he’d barely escaped with his life. “It's a feeling I had never felt, like something was sitting on my shoulders, holding me. And the feeling was so powerful that it made me start weeping. That was my first encounter with God, and I really felt Him saying, ‘Since that happened, I want you to go tell people about Me.’ I got back in the car, and I was just looking up like, I'm changed. My life is changed. I don't want to do this any more. I don't even want to be in this environment. “I remember coming home that night. I told my daddy what happened, and I remember him weeping so hard. I've never seen him cry a day in his life. And he was just telling me, ‘I stayed up day and night praying for you.’ “And that's when I realized, Man, I got a second chance at life.”

Lathan’s new EP, My Way, is available wherever you stream or buy music.

SOCIAL MEDIA SPOTLIGHT We love to see how Jesus Calling inspires you! Here are some friends who recently caught our eye.

@kerryslittlehome Am trying to have a positive mindset today

@sunnie828 Rejoice and be thankful

@kristinrobins7 Each morning I get dressed to workout, read my devotionals, write down what I'm grateful for, my afﬁrmations, goals, and manifestations and then workout for 30 minutes. This has really helped set my tone for the day and puts me in a good mood with a grateful heart.

@alexswife2000 Starting off the day with Jesus.

@victorialeigh_us My happy place

M U S I C

GORDON MOTE An Overnight Success Years in the Making Gordon Mote’s first stroke of the piano keys came on Thanksgiving Day when he was just three years old. As the notes of “Jesus Loves Me” floated through the house in Gadsden, Alabama, his family wondered who on earth could be playing—and discovered little Gordon, barely big enough to reach the keys, playing his first song.

He comes into the studio and said, ‘My wife wanted me to come play a song for y’all. I don’t know if it’s any good or not, but I’m gonna play it so I can tell her I played it, and y’all can tell me what you think about it.’ He played ‘Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?’ And after that, it kind of went crazy for me. It was an overnight success that took years to make.” Two decades and many musical milestones later, Gordon is a GRAMMY-nominated musician who’s played alongside world-renowned country artists like Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, and Martina McBride. But Gordon credits his devotion to God as the key to his success, and uses tools like Jesus Calling to keep his faith strong. “I’m so grateful for Jesus Calling. There’s no encouragement like God’s Word, and I love someone like Sarah Young who can write so wonderfully and know that it’s God-breathed. I just have a great reverence for it and a love for it.”

PORTRAIT COURTESY OF RSI MUSIC GROUP

Lord, I'd love“to be able to make a difference somehow. Experiencing blindness from birth never stopped Gordon from pursuing the music he loved—or anything else, for that matter. In the mid-1970s, Gordon became one of the first blind students in the US to enter the mainstream school system. After the young scholar graduated with honors from Belmont University in Nashville, a school renowned for mentoring musical talent, Gordon was certain a career as a country pianist was the plan God had for him. Gordon’s big break into country music came as one of Music City’s most beloved producers, Mark Moseley, asked Gordon to play on several country music demos and records as a session musician. But it was only after one of America’s darkest days that Gordon’s path to critical success began to unfurl before him. After 9/11 rocked the nation, Gordon remembers watching the attack and praying, “Lord, I'd love to be able to make a difference somehow. “A couple of weeks later,” Gordon says, “we go in to do the second half of Alan Jackson’s album, Drive.

Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast.

You can ﬁnd Gordon’s latest project, LOVE LOVE LOVE, wherever you stream or buy music.

S P O T L I G H T

by Kaitlyn Hein

GUIDING LITTLE ONES TO HIM WITH JESUS CALLING Looking to start a devotional time with your child? Want to help a grandkid, niece or nephew to know Jesus a bit better? There are many Jesus Calling books perfect for kids of all ages, and one message ties them all together: Jesus loves you so, so much. We’ll help you find the Jesus Calling book that’s perfect for the child in your life!

JESUS CALLING: 365 DEVOTIONS FOR KIDS This 365-day devotional is adapted from Jesus Calling to a reading level that kids can understand and relate to their young lives. Each entry includes a Bible verse, a devotion written as if Jesus is speaking to the reader, and more scripture children can read on their own. HOW TO USE Each day covers the same theme as the devotional for adults, making this the perfect book for family devotions. AVAILABLE IN HARDCOVER, DELUXE LEATHERSOFT HARDCOVER, BOYS’ EDITION, AND GIRLS’ EDITION AGES 8–12

JESUS CALLING BOARD BOOKS These board books are shorter stories perfect for babies and preschoolers. Simple biblical messages help little ones know how much Jesus loves them. HOW TO USE Perfect to read as a bedtime story, or pack in a bag to keep little ones busy in a quiet place. AGES 0–4 38

JESUS CALLING BIBLE STORYBOOK This Bible storybook features more than 90 illustrated Bible stories paired with new devotions from Sarah Young. Little ones will learn God’s plan to send Jesus to save His children and prepare a place for them in heaven. HOW TO USE A wonderful addition to storytime at Sunday school or at home! AGES 3–7

JESUS CALLING: THE STORY OF CHRISTMAS JESUS CALLING: THE STORY OF EASTER These holiday picture books are beautifully illustrated to help children understand the Bible stories and true messages behind Christmas and Easter: that Jesus has always been near us, and God’s always had a plan to save His children.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY ROOTEDFAMILY.COM, THE ONLINE HUB FOR ALL THINGS PARENTING

HOW TO USE Start a new family tradition! Read The Story of Christmas on Christmas Eve, and read The Story of Easter on Easter morning (before the big egg hunt!).

Get instant access to the members-only RootedFamily.com community so that you can ask questions, get support, and feel inspired by people who are on the same parenting journey as you are. See more from Rooted Family by subscribing to their YouTube Page!

ALSO AVAILABLE AS BOARD BOOKS AGES 4–8

Facebook Group: @RootedFamily Instagram: @RootedFamily

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