Leading Hearts Winter 2024 Issue

“One

LINDA

Subway Surprises

FROM THE PUBLISHER linda evans shepherd

I’d just landed at John F. Kennedy Airport for a writing weekend when my friend Eva suggested, “Let’s take the subway to our hotel.”

“Are you sure? I’ve got a lot of luggage,” I said, eyeing her one suitcase.

“It will be an adventure,” she assured me.

Later, deep in the bowels of the New York subway, we were surprised with an announcement over the loudspeaker, “End of the line.”

Eva and I filed out of our subway car and eyed a steep staircase. I watched as Eva bopped her suitcase up the steps while I hung my 25-pound tote bag around my neck, balanced two suitcases on top of each other, then lifted them up one step at a time. That worked until I began to teeter on the narrow steps.

A teen boy bounded to my side. “Can I have your suitcase?”

Going Nowhere?

FROM THE EDITOR amber weigand-buckley

Afraid of falling, I agreed, “Yes, you can have it!” The boy grabbed the biggest bag and ran to the top of the stairs where, to my surprise, he waited for me.

When we stand on the staircase of life, grappling with our pressing burdens, Jesus is there, asking, “May I have that?”

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 NIV).

If we hand our burdens over to Him, we’ll find the strength we need to continue our journeys and to accomplish all He has called us to do. Let go. You can really trust Him, He’s got it.

Love, Linda

Linda Evans Shepherd, publisher of Leading Hearts, is the CEO of the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, a national speaker, YouTuber, and author of 38 books, including Praying fhrough Hard Times (Baker Revell). Find Linda at www.gotopray.com

Have you ever found yourself in a season where it feels like you’re going nowhere? Uncertain about your purpose, spinning your wheels, or simply paralyzed by fear of taking the next step.

Perhaps you lost a job or a loved one, and your world flipped. Maybe you have big dreams but struggle to act. I’ve been there. My life as a magazine editor of 16 years seemed over when the publishing industry collapsed in the 2010s. After I was hospitalized for a mental health breakdown, I landed a fundraising job.

But God answered a prayer: “Let me do a magazine again, paycheck aside.” More than a decade later, this magazine where I serve as editor has won numerous awards. I now also run a business, #barefacedcreative media, which helps many world-changing women find their wings, hone their skills, and elevate their God-calling to the next level. This journey wasn’t overnight, however, starting with uncertainty and less knowledge. I continue to learn each day the value of every small step. While we’d love God to drop a fully-formed plan in our laps, He often reveals it gradually as we walk in faith. Start by asking God for one small way to move forward today—serve, use your gifts imperfectly,

brainstorm. Growth happens through action, however small. Also, remember your life impacts those around you, even if you can’t see it right now. Ask God to open your eyes to the good He wants to do through you, then take courage and say yes!

“He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return]” (Philippians 1:6 Amplified Bible).

God promises to complete the work He started in our lives. He will direct our steps if we let Him.

I hope as you read this special edition of Leading Hearts, you find that there is great purpose for you in this season, sister—whether you are feeling it or not! Keep walking. Keep trusting. God will lead you right where you need to be.

Love, Amber

Get a free download of project single “Lead Me On” from Michaelah Weaver of The Keepers Co. from Amber and Lisa Burris Burns. Their latest book, Leading Ladies: Discover Your God-Grown Strategy for Success, is available wherever books are sold. Find out more on page 28 and at www.leadingladies.life

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17 BECKY REESER TERRY

Apron of Praise

19 PATRICIA BRADLEY

Will

The Power of Story: Unlikely Heroes, Unexpected Hope

20 LINDA EVANS SHEPHERD

Worshiping through ‘Batty’ Times

Never

27

Finding Harmony in Your Busy Life

29 WANDA McKNIGHT BROCK

Ready to Maximize Your Prayer Life?

31 DR. SHARON NORRIS ELLIOTT

Bringing His Light through My Fight

33

TERESA JANZEN

Influencing Life

35 CHERIE DENNA

Discover Your Belonging through Your Calling

37 JACQUELYN MARUSHKA

Don’t Let Imposter Syndrome Steal Your Shine

39 DR. DONNA KINCHELOE

The 4 Cs of the Gaslighter’s Playbook

PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING Linda Evans Shepherd

EDITOR/ART DIRECTOR ...................... Amber Weigand-Buckley

Information

Leading Hearts magazine for Christian Women is published bimonthly by Right to the Heart Ministries 2023. ISSN 2380-5455

COPY/LAYOUT EDITOR Joy Dunlap, Virginia Grounds, Rebecca White and Tom Young

PROMOTIONS Rebecca White

AWSA ADMINISTRATIVE ASST .......... Carla Wicks

CONTRIBUTORS

Patricia Bradley, Wanda McKnight Brock, Cherie Denna, Sue Detweiler, Dr. Sharon Norris Elliott, Pam Farrel, Teresa Janzen, Donna Kincheloe, Jacquelyn Marushka, Janet Holm McHenry, Mabel Ninan, Linda Evans Shepherd, Dr. Mel Tavares, Becky Reeser Terry, Amber Weigand-Buckley, Karen Whiting,

ARISE

Dawn Damon, Host

Linda Evans Shepherd (President), Dianne Butts, Edie Melson, Karen Porter, Linda Goldfarb, Sharon Norris Elliott, Karen Whiting, and Joy A. Schneider

ADVERTISING | Display rates are available at leadinghearts.com. By accepting an advertisement, Leading Hearts does not endorse any advertiser or product. We reserve the right to reject advertisements not consistent with the magazines objectives.

MANUSCRIPTS | Leading Hearts contributors are exclusively members of the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (awsa.om). Writers guidelines are available at leadinghearts.com.

Leading Hearts | PO Box 6421, Longmont, CO 80501 email: lindareply@gmail.com fax inquiries: (303) 678-0260

MEMBER 2023 Evangelical Press Association Award of Excellence. 2014-2022 Award of Merit Winner. Christian Ministry Digital Publication, Evangelical Press Association Best in Class 2022

Photos courtesy of: Canva

Copyright ©2024 Right to the Heart Ministries. All rights reserved. Copyrighted material reprinted with permission.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Faith Kimberley Woodhouse

BEYOND MEASURE

Kimberley Woodhouse was a storyteller long before she was a published author, scribbling on papers late into the night while she stayed up with sick babies.

“I didn’t tell anyone,” Kimberley said. “Not even my husband.” After all, she was already a musician, and musicians are strange enough. The last thing her husband needed was to know he’d married a writer!

Hidden Treasures

Of course, secrets never stay secret. Several years later, during the process of moving, a dear friend came over to help and discovered Kimberley’s drawer of stories.

“She was supposed to be helping me pack,” Kimberley said. “My friend picked up that huge stack of papers and literally clobbered me over the head with them. She told me I was hiding my light under a bushel and had better do something about it.”

But how could Kimberley pursue a writing career? She was a musician, not a professional author. She wouldn’t even know where to start. Her friend, however, wouldn’t hear her objections. In fact, her friend had some hard-hitting truth to share. “She reminded me that I had no trouble performing in front of thousands,” Kimberley said. “Because of my training and life of musical competitions, I was comfortable in that arena. But I’d come to rely on that comfort—that experience.” Kimberley had earned a scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music, although God led her to attend a different college. A musical prodigy, she’d graduated high school at 15 and had her pick of the highest rated music schools in the nation. She’d practiced for hours each day, practiced her lines for theater,practiced her performances, but she didn’t know the first thing about writing.

Her friend suggested maybe that was exactly the point. If she had to trust God for every step of the process, perhaps He would do something in her life bigger than she could imagine.

“Writing a book would mean I’d have to completely rely on God, not myself,” she said. “It changed my perspective on ministry as a whole.”

So Kimberley kept writing.

“I had stuff out that was at pub boards,” she said. “I had books getting looked at, but nothing had been picked up yet.”

An Unexpected Turn

In the midst of the journey from musician to mom to aspiring author, the Woodhouse family’s lives took a surprising turn with the birth of their daughter Kayla.

One of only a few dozen cases in the entire world, Kayla was born with HSAN (Hereditary Sensory Autonomic Neuropathy), a rare nerve disorder that limits her ability to feel pain and regulate her body temperature.

Once they were able to find a doctor who could even give them a diagnosis, there were no real answers. But Kimberley and her family have always held tight to the truth of the Bible, finding comfort, joy, and grace when they needed it. And, oddly enough, even though the Woodhouse family had experienced more than their fair share of trouble by this point in their lives, their story was only just beginning.

“I’d been speaking around the country since my daughter was born,” Kimberley said. “My husband is a pastor, and churches knew I was a musician. So they would ask me to come and share our story.”

His Miracle in the Making

As Kimberley traveled and spoke about her daughter, the people who listened were so moved that they did something no one expected.

“One day I got an email from a television show called Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” Kimberley said. “I thought it was spam.”

It wasn’t.

Throughout the years, as Kimberley had been sharing their story, people all over the country had been nominating their family for the show.

“We had no idea,” Kimberley said. “We found out that we had more nominations than any other family in the show’s history.”

God orchestrated every moment of the Woodhouses’ experience with the Extreme Makeover television show. Their home was built in fall 2007.

When their episode aired, she received more than 100,000 emails the next day. Of all of those emails, around 8,000 of them asked the same question: “There’s something different about your family. What is it?”

Because time was short, the show edited out most of Kimberley and her family’s references to God throughout the episode, but God’s light still shone through them strongly enough to capture the hearts of the entire audience.

“People were fascinated with the story,” Kimberley said, “because they saw what massive struggles we went through and yet we were still joyful. And we were still together as a family.”

The story didn’t stop there, though.

Staying True to His Story

“The episode came out,” Kimberley said, “and 15 million people watched it the first time on a Sunday. The following Wednesday, all the big publishers called me. They all wanted me to tell our story.”

There was just one problem.

“Each one of them wanted me—in essence—to take God out of the story,” Kimberley said. “I was surprised how easy it was to tell all of them no. I said no five times in one day. I told them that they just didn’t get it. God is the story.”

Even Greater Things

Even though Kimberley said no to the big New York publishers, God had a plan for her author career.

“A few days later, I had a call from the lady who would become my agent,” Kimberley said.

Since then, as a best-selling author of contemporary and historical fiction, nonfiction, and devotionals, Kimberley has won multiple awards, such as the Carol Award and the Holt Medallion. What’s more, in 2024 she will release book number 40.

“I want to point those who don’t know the truth to God,” Kimberley said, “and I want to challenge believers to walk with Christ.”

God’s plans for Kimberley and her family didn’t make sense at first, but in His timing, He put all the pieces together. He worked out His plans for their lives, just as He promises in His Word.

“Our story is all about God’s joy, no matter what,” Kimberley said. “Would I have ever signed up for it had I known the hardships that were coming? No. Not a chance. But it’s beautiful to see what God has done through His story.”

Fun, & Fascination Faith, Award-Winning Titles & New Releases

The launch of Wren and Bear Books, a specialty children’s book imprint by Michelle Medlock Adams in partnership with End Game Press, is the culmination of years of experience and expertise in the book business.

Michelle brings her unique style and special touch in putting together a list of books that will encourage a child’s faith, provide fun within its pages, and cause a child to look at a familiar subject with new eyes — wonder and awe.

I Made the Earth written by Shannon Cook and illustrated by Richard Watson won a 2023 Moonbeam Children’s Book Gold Medal for Environmental Issues.

You Are My Dream Come

True written by Cecil Stokes with Michelle Medlock Adams, illustrated by Penny Weber. It released in January 2024.

Just in time for Easter—

The Dance of Easter written by Sally Cressman and illustrated by Angela Edmonds will release in early March 2024.

Love Connects Us All, written by Michelle Medlock Adams and illustrated by Sandra Eide, won the 2023 Christian Market Book Award Nonfiction Children’s Book of the Year.

sue detweiler | suedetweiler.com

Desperate for a Downpour of Healing Rain?

Have you ever been thrust from the quiet of night into a battle between life and death?

I vividly remember dropping to my knees when my house was engulfed in flames, a consequence of an arsonist’s cruel hand. My prayer was simple but profound in that desperate moment: “Help!” Little did I know that this cry for help would set in motion miracles by God.

Miraculously, angels guided my husband home in time, and amidst the flames, a fireman found me, calling out, “Come toward the light.” My husband rescued our baby, but we showed signs of smoke inhalation. The ambulance rushed us to the hospital.

When I called my mother from the hospital, she replied to my frantic story about the fire: “Oh, you’re the one I’ve been praying for!”

She had taken a month to pray and fast, focusing on the Scripture which says, “When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (Isaiah 43:2 NIV).

These words, a promise from my mother’s prayer, became the anchor of hope that saw me through the trial. The miracle was that our baby, Rachel Joy, emerged unscathed, defying the odds of oxygen deprivation. She survived and excelled intellectually, a testament to the healing and deliverance through this trauma.

Catalysts for Spiritual Growth

Trauma has a way of revealing the depth of our relationship with Jesus. After the fire, we desperately sought a deeper connection with God. We were already pastors of a local church but needed help to heal our hearts. The trauma of rebuilding our home put undue stress on our marriage. However, God used that fire in our lives to reveal the weak areas in our faith walk.

My journey led me not only to forgive the arsonist who set

our house on fire, but also to receive more profound healing from past abuse in my life. In the process, our marriage was revitalized. Revival broke out in our hearts and homes.

Hearts Ablaze for Jesus

With newfound freedom, our hearts ignited for Jesus. Revival had come to us and through us, compelling us to share this transformative experience with others. Ministering healing became a regular part of our lives, not just within the church walls but on the streets where everyday miracles unfolded.

Cultivating the Soil of Your Heart for Revival

God uses the difficult things in our lives to pull out the weeds of wounding from our past.

The presence of Holy Spirit breaks up the hard ground of our hearts, shows us how to remove weeds of sin, and soaks the soil with a downpour of His healing rain from Heaven.

I first pondered this concept of God pouring out His healing rain on us when we were part of a pastoral team in Nashville. A woman working on our staff was dealing with breast cancer and trying to heal from a rocky marriage. In my prayer for her, I began to pen lyrics of a song called “Healing Rain.” God is our healer. When we immerse ourselves in Christ’s love, He brings wholeness to our mind, body, and heart.

Reviving Hearts, Homes, and Communities

Pursuing an intimate journey with Jesus is an antidote to religious performance. It’s a call to avoid self-reliance and religious rituals and embrace an intimate relationship with Jesus. As believers pursue Jesus daily, extraordinary miracles promised by Christ become a reality.

Sue Detweiler ministers globally, imparting healing and freedom. Sue is an author, speaker, and host of the Healing Rain podcast, listened to internationally. Sue serves as Executive Director of Life Bridge Global, equipping individuals, churches, and communities through events, training, and online media, broadcasts, and courses.

Sue’s latest book, Healing Rain: Immersing Yourself in Christ’s Love to Find Wholeness of Mind, Body, and Heart (Chosen Books, 2023), is available where books are sold.

GOD HAS AN IMPORTANT ROLE FOR ISRAEL AND FOR YOU!

Are You Ready?

In Explore God’s Heart for Israel, you will discover how you can play your part in God’s plans for the coming days. Bible studies and prayer guides empower you to participate in God’s great design for you, for Israel and the world.

Learn more and get a free resource kit on God’s heart for Israel with Bible studies, devotionals and more at www.GodsHeart.info.

Gaylyn Williams is an award-winning author of 41 books and a soughtafter speaker. She encourages and equips people through her story from tragedy to triumph and lives part-time in Israel.

Relationship Resources, directed by Gaylyn, empowers people in their relationships with God and others, through practical biblical books and training. Discover powerful, proven resources for you, your family, media outlet and ministry at www.RelationshipResources.org.

7 Ways to Reclaim Your Joy!

The shock of the news left us numb. Jim had discovered a lump months ago and consulted a doctor, who told him to return in a year.

Now it was too late. Jim had developed stage four breast cancer with the possibility of only a few months left to live.

In times of profound challenges, many Scriptures beckon us to reconsider things from a godly perspective, such as considering joy when we encounter trials (James 1:2). The call to rejoice in our suffering (Romans 5:3). These verses suggest more than simple difficulties, encompassing times of enduring pain that God uses to shape our inner selves.

But, it’s vital to consider the entire passage, not just a single Scripture.

Our outlook should help us recognize our faith is being tested and God is shaping our character within our response to the trouble we face. Additionally, we should realize God is there with us and will give us the wisdom we need if we ask for it. Amid these reflections, Jim and I rejoiced over the years we’d had and the blessings of family.

Life includes many challenges of losses, disasters, accidents, physical illness, and more. Thankfully, we are never alone. The moment trials come, if we can look above the trouble with hope, it’s much easier to bear and find the continued joy that can sustain us. It’s a hope, an expectation, of something that will make us better and draw us closer to God.

Here are 7 ways to step into His joy perspective:

1. Develop a grateful heart. Rejoice and give thanks to God, not the circumstance. That helps us look above the trial, trusting that God will love us during and through it.

2. Let the Holy Spirit direct and redirect you. Some difficulties pivot us and bring a change of course in our lives. Look for those opportunities, and see how to respond like Christ.

3. Look for moments of joy even in the hard times. Look for the sun to break through a cloud and unexpected smiles. Listen for encouraging words.

4. When you feel your heart breaking, let God in. He is the healer who can bring comfort and refill you with joy.

5. Recall past struggles and consider how God used them to shape you.

6. Sprinkle joy in the lives of others.Giving joy in sorrowful moments redirects your mind and gives you joy in return.

7. Remember, God loves you. He is always with you.

With a God-view of life and its challenges, it’s easier to consider joy. This doesn’t imply skipping pain or avoiding the work required to overcome struggles, but a lighter heart and joy will help you manage your journey. Following the doctor’s visit, we prayed and realized we could live with any outcome, whether a miracle, death, or a difficult life with cancer. God blessed us with thirty months, most of it with Jim doing well. We viewed each day as a gift, even the hard ones toward the end with home hospice care.

When it was hard to consider joy, you can also draw strength from people in the Bible who struggled:

• Nehemiah 8 reminds us that the joy of the Lord is our strength (verse 10). After rebuilding the wall, God used Nehemiah to rebuild the people’s hearts.

• Ruth and Naomi lost so much, but kept their faith. As Ruth served Naomi and sought a humble job of gleaning, God redirected her path to be an ancestress of Christ.

• Paul was imprisoned numerous times and sustained beatings, stoning, and more. Still, he praised God, thanked supporters, and even sang in prison.

• Poor Macedonians (2 Corinthians 8:1–12) gave even though they had so little. Their circumstances did not define their hearts or curb their joy.

• Moses led God’s stubborn people for forty years and sang a joyful song at the end of his life.

After Jim’s funeral, I discovered joyful surprises, from favorite candies tucked in Jim’s shoes to money and tiny hidden gifts. It lightened the loss and felt like Jim shared in those joyful moments, reminding me to keep my joy perspective.

Karen Whiting (www.karenwhiting.com), international speaker, former television host, and award-winning author of thirty-four books for women, children, and families, nurtures the growth of wholesome families to promote strong bonds.

Wisdom for Discerning God’s Will

Is Your Prayer Life More Is Your Prayer Life More

famine famine Feast? Feast? or or

Come to the table to dine with Jesus as you

Your Apron in the Kitchen of Prayer winning book is chockfull of helpful resources, inspirational stories to nourish your soul.

Apron of Prayer

I love aprons. These humble, yet venerated, pieces of fabric carry the irreplaceable stories of those individuals, like my grandmother, whom I rarely saw without one.

Her apron was of the white butcher variety, as she worked in her son’s restaurant, but she always gussied it up with a brooch. Her apron carried a history of crafting countless soups and puddings six days a week for decades, along with chasing drunks out of the 24-hour diner in the wee hours of the morning with a frying pan.

If my grandmother’s apron could talk, it would tell of my grandmother’s loss of her four-year-old daughter to electrocution, watching her home destroyed by fire, raising children during the Depression, and being a single mother with no source of income. The legacy of this apron would be one of hard work, endurance, suffering, and grace.

Aprons hold a rich history involving the most critical points in humankind. If we returned to the beginning of time, to that fateful day on which Adam and Eve changed the world, we would see that even in those days the definition for apron was “apparel for covering the front of the person.”

We read in Genesis 3:7 (KJV): “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” But the problem is that the legacy of Adam and Eve’s aprons carries both sin and death.

Thankfully, later in the story of humanity we see the legacy of an apron of unsurpassed love, service, and redemption.

At the Last Supper, Jesus, the Christ, donned a makeshift apron when He wrapped a towel around His waist before He washed the disciples’ feet (John 13:4–5).

What will your apron’s legacy be? It doesn’t have to be a physical apron. The irony is that, although I have an

extensive apron collection, I rarely wear one unless it is the apron of prayer. What is that, you ask?

Once, when I was planning a women’s retreat on the subject of prayer, I asked the Lord for His help to bring the women a fresh and meaningful way to talk to Him.

The insight the Lord showed me through that prayer took the form of an acrostic, incorporating essential prayer elements and using the word “apron.”

A Adoration (Who God is)

P Praise (Who God is to me)

R Repentance

O Offering of Thanks

N Needs and Intercessions

One of my favorite truths about prayer lies in the Scripture verse Revelation 5:8: “And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.”

Did you notice the word “are?” This verb signifies that our prayers transcend time.

E. M. Bounds says it beautifully. “Prayers do not die. The lips that utter them may close in death, or the heart that felt them may cease to beat, but the prayer lives before God and God’s heart is set on them. Prayers outlive the lives of those who utter them. Outlive a generation, outlive an age, outlive a world.”

It would bring me great joy if the legacy of my apron included my children and grandchildren cherishing memories of me filling bowls with delicious cookie dough.

That is not going to happen, as I do not spend much time in the kitchen of my home. I’m OK with that. But I do hope my apron’s legacy is one in which it fills the golden bowls of the Throne Room. Won’t you join me and tie on your apron in the kitchen of prayer?

Becky Reeser Terry is an award-winning author with a heart for encouraging women in their faith. Becky served in women’s ministry for many years, and planning women’s retreats was a favorite.

Unlikely Heroes, Unexpected Hope

“Hi, my name is Patricia, and I’m the author of 17 inspirational murder mystery novels.”

If that sounds like a recovery group introduction, it may be because sometimes I feel like the red-headed stepchild of Christian literature.

When I wrote my first book, I intended to give Christians an alternative to romantic suspense available in the general market—stories that were riveting but often wove profanity, sex, and violence into books.

An example is in my first romantic suspense novel released in February 2014. In March a reader emailed me that she’d found an error, that I had called a respiratory therapist a respiratory nurse. No way. I knew there was no such thing.

An Unlikely Calling

When I checked, she was right. I thanked her and then, because she had been a nurse for thirty years and the book I was working on featured a doctor, I asked her to read it for errors. She agreed and did a fabulous job ensuring I had my terminology right.

Once I turned the book in, I wanted to reward her somehow. She refused, saying, “No. I was supposed to meet you and read this second book because your heroine’s problem is one I’ve had all my life.”

My heroine had overheard her mother telling her father: “I told you we never should have had another child.” My heroine was that second child. She felt unloved.

My reader continued, “Seeing how your heroine resolved that problem gave me hope that I could do the same thing. Your book changed my life. It changed my children’s lives because they no longer had a bitter and angry mother.”

I read her email with tears running down my cheeks. At that moment, all the hard work of

writing that book was worth it—more than worth it.

It was the whole reason I was a writer—to bring hope and healing to a hurting world in a way that will magnify Christ.

Following in Famous Footsteps

I’m not the first to desire this outcome in fiction. In 1979, inspirational fiction emerged when Bethany House published Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke. In her biography, A Heart for the Prairie, she writes, “Writing was not just a dream, nor a great commodity of words, It was a ministry for a world hungry for the knowledge of the God who loves them.”

Like so many other authors, Oke understands we are wired for story. It’s why Jesus used stories to teach His disciples and the crowds. Those were parables—short fictional stories with heavenly meanings—but they were stories nonetheless. Stories that listeners were caught up in because Jesus used characters, items, and events from their everyday life. His listeners could relate.

Christian fiction writers do the same thing. Christian romance offers stories of love and relationships seen in God’s way, not the world’s. Suspense, mysteries, and thrillers are often ripped from the headlines—evil people doing evil things.

The difference between our fiction and those headlines is hope.

Hope Springs Eternal

No matter the genre, inspirational fiction offers hope to a desperate world, including Christians. Contrary to what some people believe, Christians have problems just like the world; it’s the way we solve them that is different.The characters in inspirational fiction live their testimony to God’s goodness through the pages of our books, realizing that when bad things happen, it’s not because God has abandoned them but that He is with us through the bad times.

What motivates us to write? The answer is simply HOPE. Patricia Bradley is the award-winning author of 17 romantic suspense books, including the latest Fatal Witness, Pearl River Book #2 (Revell). When a grandmother Dani Collins doesn’t remember reaches out to her, she sets out on a journey to uncover the secrets of her past and reclaim her true identity.

It was a crisp October evening in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.

As darkness fell across the conference center grounds, the women and I gathered in the pineraftered lodge to worship.

When the all-women’s band began to sing praise songs, the crowd responded by lifting their voices. As the music swelled, the women closed their eyes, lifted their faces and sang.

The band was magnificent and the musicians worshiped with their whole hearts. After a couple of awe-inspiring songs, one of the women approached the microphone. In a hushed tone of reverence, she said, “God is here. The Lord’s presence is with us like never before. He’s going to do something new. Keep your eyes focused on Him.”

As this woman stepped away from the microphone, the worshipers resounded joyfully. I closed my eyes; my intent was to focus on God. And I did so until I felt a new presence.

An Unwelcome Visitor

Something was in the room with us. I peeked out of one eye. Yes! Something was hovering above the band. Was it a dove?

I squinted until I realized, No, no, that would be a bat.

The women in the band didn’t seem to mind that a bat hovered over them. Their eyes were closed and those without instruments raised their hands in total worship.

God made bats, I reasoned. Bats are part of His creation. We can worship God with a bat.

I closed my eyes and continued to worship. But then I felt my heart skip a beat. Something was happening near me.

I squinted my eyes open again to see the bat was now dive-bombing me and the entire front row.

I was impressed by the lady next to me. Though she, too, saw the bat, she kept right on worshiping. With her hands raised in praise, she stood crouched, her elbows flapping as she dodged the bat as it swooped at her head.

This was something new; she was still worshiping, though under attack from a bat!

“Keep standing,” I whispered, “it’s not going to hurt you.” She nodded and stood a little straighter, still praising God but with her eyes on the bat.

I closed my eyes again and tried to focus on God. I tried until I felt a shiver, so I peeked again. Though the praise band was still enraptured in worship, the bat had expanded his territory and was now dive-bombing the entire room of worshipers.

The women crouched and dodged, but to my amazement, they kept singing. Incredible. God certainly was doing something new.

In the Heat of ‘Bat’tle

I closed my eyes again to focus on God. And I did until a disturbing tingle fingered down my spine. I turned again, this time, to see two women with raised brooms, each standing across the room from the other, playing what appeared to be a game of badminton with the bat.

Whack. One would knock the bat over the heads of the worshipers to the other player. Whop.

Wow, I thought, that must be what spiritual warfare looks like. How unusual to see it. I turned around and tried to worship again. I tried to focus on God this time, but now the hair on the back of my neck bristled. I turned to see that one of the women had slapped the bat against the far wall of the room with her broom and was sweeping the bat down. I could see her bare hand reaching to grab the bat.

Before I knew it, I ran down the aisle shouting, “No! The bat could have rabies!”

Too late, the woman grabbed the bat and threw it into the night.

“Did it bite you?” I whispered.

The woman shook her head no, but her eyes said yes. The worship song was ending and the lady who’d instructed us to focus on God was heading back to the microphone.

As I took my seat and prepared to speak, the woman gave us a look of disgust as her pointed finger swept the room.

“Shame on you. You did not focus on God.”

I felt my face burn. Wait a minute, I wanted to argue, these women were under attack. They could have scattered, they could have screamed, but they kept right on worshiping.

My self-righteous inner response was suddenly pierced when one of the band members asked, “Did something happen while we were worshiping?

It Finally Hit Me

Even though the band endured the same attack as the rest of us, they were so focused on worshiping God that they hadn’t even noticed.

When I took the mic, I told the women, “Let’s take our cue from the worship team. No matter how batty our circumstances become, the more we focus on God, the less chance our circumstances will bite us.”

And it’s true, the only worshiper who had to get rabies shots that night was the only woman who did hand-to-hand combat with the bat.

So keep your heart focused on God, and you will discover He will fight your every battle.

Linda Evans Shepherd, publisher of Leading Hearts, is the CEO of the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, a national speaker, YouTuber, and author of 38 books, including Praying Through Hard Times (Baker Revell).

When crisis strikes, does God truly care?

Back by popular demand, awardwinning bestseller, Praying Through Hard Times by Linda Evans Shepherd, compassionately guides readers to see God amid difficulties. Linda offers practical prayer strategies to survive hurt, release worries, and rediscover hope.

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Rediscover faith in hardship with Praying Through Hard Times.

mabel

Never Far from Home

“Did you go home during the summer?” a friend asked. I knew she wanted to know if I visited my family in India.

The answer to her simple question was complicated because, unbeknownst to her, I had been wrestling with the idea of home. Where was home?

India, the country where I was born and raised? Or the United States, the country where I have been living for the past fifteen years?

Before I immigrated to the United States, home had a straightforward meaning—a house with four walls. Home was a place where I lived with my people. Home was a safe space where I belonged. I was born and raised in Hyderabad, India, and my family moved in the same city only once. After I got married, my husband, Simon, and I emigrated to the US to begin a new chapter of our lives together. But Simon’s job as a consultant made us nomads who pitched tents rather than put down roots.

In three years, we set up homes in California, New Jersey, and Arkansas before returning to India for a year.

When we returned to the US with our newborn son, we spent seven years in southern California, residing in three different homes. Simon quit working as a consultant and took up a job in Silicon Valley, where we now live.

At the time that my friend asked me if I’d visited home, I was grappling with both emotional and spiritual crises triggered by the temporary nature of my stays and my struggle to cope with change.

A longing for familiar sights, sounds, tastes, and people made me homesick. Loneliness became my companion. I felt as if I had left behind a piece of me in every home I lived in. I grieved the loss of friendships and community. I craved stability and rootedness.

Questions about belonging and identity rarely left my mind.

I started to feel distant from God and struggled to find purpose and joy.

When I hit rock bottom, I signed up for a women’s Bible study to nurture my faith in the community rather than struggle alone. As I meditated on God’s Word and spent time in conversation with Him, I rediscovered the pleasure of His presence. Joy and hope returned as God recalibrated my perspective, reminding me that, as mentioned in Hebrews 11:13, I am a sojourner on earth, called to pursue His purposes.

How could I feel at home anywhere here? No place or person can satisfy my need to be rooted and belong because I’m made in God’s image, imprinted with a desire to cohabit with Him.

After becoming an immigrant, I realized that I felt completely at home in God’s presence. Intimate fellowship with God is home.

When we love God and set our heart on pleasing Him, we invite Him to take charge of all areas of our lives. His presence inhabits our entire being. “Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them’” (John 14:23 NIV).

Amidst unfamiliar surroundings or unprepared transitions, we can feel overwhelmed, alone, or abandoned. But when we make our home with God, His presence will see us through in a supernatural way, strengthening and refining our faith as we press on. Our home with God is secure and permanent, just as He himself is immutable and eternal.

Writer and podcaster Mabel Ninan is the author of the 2023 Christian Market Book Award: Christian Living Book of the Year, Far from Home: Discovering Your Identity as Foreigners on Earth. Drawing from her immigrant experience, Mabel sheds light on how to find purpose and joy as citizens of heaven.

Find Your Praying Personality

We’ve probably all heard enthusiastic presenters, friends, or family say something like this when it comes to strengthening your prayer life:

• You should have a prayer closet and go there every day for an hour.

• You should write out all your prayers in a journal.

• You should keep a notebook with sections of prayer requests for each week.

But this feels like something other than what would fit your personality.

Frankly, I felt like a prayer failure because I couldn’t keep up with the regimen I thought I should. But I even said something similarly enthusiastic when I started prayerwalking twenty-five years ago. When I found the practice life-changing and saw so many visible answers to prayer, I thought everyone should also prayerwalk for their communities.

However, when I spoke at events, some lovely lady would come up to me and say, “But Janet, I can’t walk. What should I do?”

That started a quest to find how biblical prayed. What I found was reassuring! Moses debated—even argued—with God to try wiggle out leading the Israelites out of slavery. Hannah with God to give her child in 1 Samuel 1 and then praised God joyfully in the next chapter. Daniel prayed three times a day.

In our devotional practices and for the sake of those we influence, we can grasp that because God has created each of us with a unique personality, we can find a praying practice that syncs with our God-given personality and the life we lead.

While we may have a good sense of our personality type or combinations of types, other considerations could influence how we pray. We may have natural prayer practices because of the generation in which we were born and raised.

Learning styles also influence how people pray. Those styles are visual, auditory, physical, linguistic processing, logical,

social processing, and solitary. I participate in a conference call with National Day of Prayer leaders each Saturday morning for an hour or more. Because I learn best with audio information, I am glad we met over the phone rather than a video Zoom meeting. Others who write their prayers may be linguistic or physical processors—or both! Our learning style(s) can affect how we communicate with God.

Here are four praying personalities and just a few glimpses of the hundreds of prayer practices I offer readers in Praying Personalities: Finding Your Natural Prayer Style. May we all someday soon find we are “praying without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV).

Problem Solver

• approaches prayer quickly from a problem-solving perspective.

• keeps prayers purposeful, succinct, and focused.

Prayer Suggestions: Go on a prayerwalk, pray while exercising, post reminders and start setting aside time to fast.

Friend of God

• approaches prayer as relational time with God.

• loves praying with others.

Prayer suggestions: use worship music, round up the family to pray daily, and speak to God out loud.

Organized Prayer (Lamenter)

• sees prayer as an emotional yet disciplined practice.

• needs a quiet place to pray away from the world.

Prayer Suggestions: use a notebook system, keep a journal of prayers, create a prayer spot in your home.

Peace Seeker

• goes to prayer to restore personal peace.

• sees prayer time as an informal but steady practice.

Prayer Suggestions: consider using prayer books to jumpstart a quiet time, use prayer apps, develop a simple prayer routine using an acronym such as ACTS (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication).

Janet McHenry is author 26 books—including the bestselling PrayerWalk. She is the director of The Bridge Church (Reno, Nevada) prayer ministries.

Experienced Communicator -

broadcast, print and podium

Award-winning Blogger - Speaking Joyfully

Certified P.O.W.E.R. Speaker - Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA)

Worked as VP, Radio Operations - National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)

WHAT'S BEING SAID...

Joy Dunlap’s "Speaking Joyfully" messages always encourage and uplift, bringing hope and truth in each one. She takes everyday things we often overlook or count as “that’s just the way it is” and turns them into opportunities for her readers to experience more fulfilled lives.

Practical, thoughtful, and always applicable, Joy has a remarkable way of bringing biblical truth to light by sharing the observations she makes in daily life.

I marvel at how (Joy) has taken personal experiences and turned them into teaching moments...and, most importantly kept it interesting and funny, albeit at (her) own expense in some cases.

("Speaking Joyfully") is thoughtful and fun, and always a reminder of our Loving God and His presence in both the simple and the miraculous.

speakingjoyfully.com

joydunlap.com

Finding Harmony in Your Busy Life

Musical harmony is found when simultaneous musical notes blend together in a chord.

Some songs have complicated harmonies and rhythms; others are more simplistic.

As a writer, I might describe harmony as interweaving stories and accounts into a single narrative. In the corporate world, personal harmony is often described as finding a work-life balance.

I’m a recent empty-nester and not too far removed from the struggle to find the often precarious balance in daily life. I see and feel those of you raising a family and working. I harken back to a particular day when I was late to a legislative committee meeting. Quiet as a stealth fighter, I slid into my seat and opened my briefcase.

The gentleman to my left leaned over and said, “Congratulations on your new baby.” Surprised, I asked, “How did you know I have a new baby?” He responded, “You have the formula down the back of your suit. Guess someone had an upset tummy this morning.”

We all walk the tightrope throughout the day.

The car doesn’t start, the train is late, and the coffee spills.

Lunch hours are often used for running errands or making personal phone calls. The meeting gets moved to later afternoon and causes a time conflict with after-work plans. You’re exhausted and wish to use some of your 40 days of accumulated PTO time, but project deadlines are looming.

God First

God did not create us to live a life out of balance. He knows how much we have to accomplish during any day, yet He wants us to keep first things first. Jesus modeled a prioritized life for us. Mark 1:35 (NIV) says “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

Whether you opt for a quiet place in your home, go out for a

morning walk, or find another place of solitude, establishing your day with prayer and a time with the Lord is essential to your overall well-being and finding the harmony you seek.

We need God’s wisdom in prioritizing the day’s tasks in our personal lives and at work.

Reading a correlating chapter of Proverbs throughout the month is valuable in finding harmony in life.

Family Second

If you are married, your relationship with your spouse, biblically speaking, should only be trumped by your relationship with the Lord.

If you have children, “family second” includes your relationship with your children. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old, he will not depart from it” (NASB).

Training up a child involves more than putting food in a Bento box or showing up at the sidelines for the last few minutes of a game. It takes intentional time each day to diligently teach precept upon precept.

Work Third

In today’s world, the pull of our jobs can easily become the day’s priority. Our intentions to keep God first in our lives and our family second can wane in the light of a career. Achieving harmony becomes a distant desire and we are lulled into thinking all is well.

We give our best to the one who writes our paycheck instead of the One who gives us the ability to earn the paycheck.

Harmonized Living

Wisdom says each of us should assess how balanced our daily life is. God knows all we need to accomplish during a day and, in His wisdom, reminds us to maintain a status of mental well-being by keeping our relationship with Him first each day, our family second, and our jobs third. I pray you find harmonized balance in all you are doing.

Dr. Mel Tavares is a professional Christian life coach, author, and speaker. She is passionate about helping others achieve and maintain balance, not forsaking their mental well-being.

21 Days to Improved Mental Well-Being is an award-winning book helping people regain harmony and balance in life.

Craving Balance Between Faith, Family, and Career?

Fill Your Tank with Wanda!

Ready to Maximize Your Prayer Life?

Have you ever felt like you’re just going through the motions? You know, same prayer, different day?

It’s something we all experience at times. Demands at home and work can be overwhelming, putting us on autopilot in various aspects of life—work, home, marriage, and even spiritually. An organized prayer life can bring renewed energy to all areas of your life.

Whether you pray consistently every day or less frequently, organizing your effort can be beneficial. When prayer becomes a routine part of your daily life, it may become somewhat generic.

Are You Stuck in a Prayer Rut?

• Do you find yourself praying for the same things day after day—like you are stuck on repeat?

• Are your prayers squeezed into your morning rush, or something you trail off thinking about as you fall asleep at night?

• Despite your best intentions, does life keep getting in the way of your prayer time?

Create a Customized Prayer Plan

When did you last take time to organize your prayer topics? I elevated my prayer life to the next level by creating a Custom Designed Prayer Plan that fits well with my busy career and life. It’s something I can take on the go when needed. Amidst fatigue and distractions, having the plan at hand helps me to find each day perfectly laid out. If I’m interrupted, it brings me back into focus right where I left off. The plan is customized to my needs, family, and relationships and encompasses many issues in my community and the world around me. No one is accidentally left out.

Put it in Writing

Having a written prayer plan format is crucial. With the following ideas, you can build your customized plan. It’s not only easier, but it’s also a more effective use of your prayer time. I begin with expressions of praise and gratitude,

incorporating things I often take for granted. When did you last thank God for your five senses—taste, smell, hearing,

Focus on a different family member or group of such as dedicating one day to each child, setting aside a day for single friends, and another for

Reflect on my job and my employer, including the Also, pray for my neighbors, community (schools and first responders), elected and appointed leaders, my country (all government leaders, regardless of political views, and the Christian church), and any concerns related to current

Address a social concern like sex trafficking or

Direct prayers toward clients or anyone I plan to —from my manager and repairmen to hair stylists, house cleaners, dog walkers, babysitters, and landscapers. I pray for them by name

this encompasses anyone such

There’s something special about praying for people by name. I use their names when I pray for my clients or leaders of my company, community, or country. I include any specific

Please consider making copies of your prayer plan. You should keep a physical copy in your briefcase or car. The busier you are, the more you’ll find this tool helpful. Your customized prayer plan lets you move from generic to specific prayers. And that, my friend, changes everything.

Wanda McKnight Brock is a podcaster of Fill Your Tank, a podcast about helping ladies find the perfect balance between family, faith,

But as your highly-educated But as your highly-educated and articulate children enter and articulate children enter mainstream society, you mainstream society, you discover they’ve developed discover they’ve developed mores and ideas very mores and ideas very different from yours, different from yours, spiritually and emotionally spiritually and emotionally knocking you off your feet. knocking you off your feet.

Didn’t See That Coming: Didn’t See That Coming: When How They’re Living’s When How They’re Living’s Not How You Raised Them Not How You Raised Them is is an oasis of consolation amid an oasis of consolation amid your present storm. your present storm.

Dr. Sharon Norris Elliott | authorizeme.net

Bringing His Light through My Fight

My car radio introduced me to the Christian publishing and broadcasting world. A friend had told me my current Bible study would make a good book.

Although I’d been a reader devouring books all my life, it did not occur to me to write a book. A day or two later, the car radio announced that a Christian writers conference would take place on the campus of my alma mater, Biola University. Okay, I thought, at least this event will be something I can trust. If Biola was fine with it, I could be fine with it. All I knew about what happened at a writers conference was what the radio told me and what I read in the colorful brochure that arrived a few days later.

That conference 30-some years ago launched me into the writing and broadcasting world. How exciting! Articles I wrote were being printed in popular magazines, devotions I submitted appeared in devotional publications, and books I authored started being picked up by publishing houses. I became a religious broadcaster on HSBN.tv.

But something else accompanied my inclusion in this world—a full-fledged attack from Satan, the enemy of our souls. I once heard in church that if the devil leaves us alone, we must not be making a significant impact for the Kingdom of God. And the devil does not fight fair. He and his imps will attack us as he attacked Job to keep us from effectiveness.

Job was minding his business, trying his best to serve God as we do, and he never saw the attack coming.

Satan accused Job of serving God because of God’s blessing on him. Then God allowed Satan to shoot as long as he didn’t kill Job.

So, the devil wasted no time. In one day, just for loving and serving God, Satan had a hand in four devastating tragedies for Job. Job’s oxen and donkeys were taken by raiders, his sheep and servants were burned, and more raiders took his camels and killed the servants who were watching them.

For the cruelest cut of all, the devil caused a great wind that knocked down the house where his kids were and killed all ten of them at once. Not a fair fight. This should have been enough to cause Job to stop worshiping God, but Job’s faith did not waver.

When we’re in the public eye sharing the gospel, Satan has some special weapons specifically designed to make God look bad through us. Can God trust us in the face of the enemy’s unfair onslaughts? How would we handle it if our books, articles, and devotions were “raided”? I once had a devotion stolen and placed on the internet with my son’s name changed and the attribution given to “Author Unknown.” We must keep writing, keep broadcasting, and keep preaching, even when our

most precious heartthrobs—our kids—are doing and saying stuff we never saw coming.

Even though Satan doesn’t fight fair, he cannot out-fight our God. He lost the showdown he perpetuated in Heaven that got him kicked out, and he’s been fighting God ever since. Remember First John 4:4, “My children, you are a part of God’s family. You have stood against these false preachers and had power over them. You had power over them because the One Who lives in you is stronger than the one who is in the world” (NLV).

We are fighting from victory. Our fight with our books and over the airways has already been won.

Dr. Sharon Norris Elliott says, “Live significantly!” An engaging speaker, award-winning author of 15 books, editor, agent, and licensed minister, she’s the founder and CEO of the successful AuthorizeMe® Literary Firm. www.AuthorizeMe.net

Find Your Purpose. Live Fully.

CERTIFIED COACH TERESA JANZEN HELPS WOMEN GAIN CLARITY, PURSUE THEIR PASSION, AND LIVE GOD’S RADICAL ABUNDANCE.

Get a free 30-minute strategy session to start your transformative journey.

SEEKING CLARITY IN YOUR PURPOSE?

Teresa Janzen is your Abundance Coach on a transformative journey toward a life filled with God’s Radical Abundance. As a certified Mental Health and Personality Coach, Teresa empowers women to find and pursue their passion. Strengthen relationships, deepen your understanding of yourself and others, and embrace a full and free life.

Go to the website to sign up for a free 30-minute strategy session with Teresa today.

teresajanzen.com/freesession

Get a dose of encouragement with the Radical Abundance podcast. Tune in on your favorite podcast platform. Radical-abundance.com

INFLUENCING LIFE

“You thought I’d be eaten by cannibals?” I laughed as my mom shared the memory of her feelings when I announced my desire to be a missionary.

She never told me of her concern. Instead, she supported me to the best of her ability, as she has done my whole life.

She was a single parent of four rowdy children. I was stuck in the middle of the bunch but ended up taking on the role of oldest child after my oldest brother left home at the age of sixteen and my second brother was in a debilitating motorcycle accident a year later when he turned sixteen. Still, Mom did what she could to keep the pantry stocked and the heat on in our drafty farmhouse. During it all, Mom decided to return to school and get a college degree. She became the first college graduate in our family and inspired my lifelong desire to learn.

We were poor, though we hardly knew it. Mom taught me to embrace challenges and learn from them. That lesson served me well along my life’s zig-zaggy road that wound through the dark forest of an abusive marriage and subsequent divorce, a desert of depression, and a valley of doubt. But I persevered and kept learning from each trial.

School as a Single Mom

Thirty-five years after my original proclamation of God’s call on my life, I was boarding an airplane with my husband to live as a foreign missionary in East Africa. Though I was never eaten by cannibals, I certainly found myself in hot water on more than one occasion.

Ironically, my life overseas prepared me for the next leg of my journey—establishing a purpose-filled life in the U.S. in a post-pandemic world.

Achieving My Missionary Dream 35 Years Later

I realized that many people in the U.S. were experiencing the same challenges I had when I first entered the mission field. They lived in a world that had become foreign and didn’t know how to connect with their co-workers, neighbors,

and sometimes even family members. Though they spoke the same language, they had difficulty understanding one another.

Learning to Thrive

Relationship and communication challenges can be exhausting; we often respond emotionally over the smallest things. We spend all our energy on issues that don’t have a lasting impact.

Jesus told us we can live a full life—in fact, an abundantly full life (John 10:10). We are designed to have a purpose in life and embrace the adventure of the day with passion. Of course, every good adventure has a challenge and some conflict. That is where the growth happens. Don’t shy away from it—embrace it and learn. Don’t worry if you don’t get it right the first time. The one thing you can count on regarding challenges is that you will get another opportunity.

Designed to Live an Abundantly Full Life

When you learn and grow, you will naturally inspire and influence those around you. People will see something different in your life, and they will be drawn to find out more. You will, in effect, become an abundant life influencer. The more you learn and grow, the more people will take notice. As you interact with people in your sphere of influence, God may lead you to connect with specific people. That is how you find your purpose. Watch what God is doing in your life and where it intersects with other people. Find three people with whom you can invest some of your time and energy and equip them with what you have learned.

Inspiring LIFE

As my mom influenced my life, you can encourage those around you. Remember the acronym L.I.F.E.

L – Learn from the challenges you encounter.

I – Inspire and influence those around you with sincerity.

F – Find someone to invest your time and energy in.

E – Equip them by sharing what you have learned.

Teresa Janzen is an international speaker, award-winning author, and host of the Radical Abundance podcast. She is a certified coach and is pursuing her DMin (Doctor of Ministry) in adaptive leadership and change management. Learn more at teresajanzen.com

4

PRINCIPLES TO HELP YOU

Discover Your Belonging Through Your Calling

Early in my healing journey, I was shocked to learn that one in nine girls and one in twenty boys under the age of 18 experience sexual abuse or assault. When I went to my pastor with a proposal on how our church could get involved in identifying and helping kids in crisis, he said,

“Don’t you think you need more healing from your own past before you tackle something like this?”

Over time, I accepted that my past put a unique crack into what would become my jar of service. I discovered my past and my talents actually put me in a position to help organizations that reached out to help marginalized communities.That’s why I founded The Justice Writer Group, a nonprofit that offers grant writing services to 501(c)(3)s. Here are four principles that empower me to serve others and honor God despite my brokenness:

1. Remain in Step with the Holy Spirit

Nobody arrives at the fullness of their calling overnight. When I stepped into my writing ministry, I came upon this quote by Dallas Willard: “Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” It is in the waiting when the Holy Spirit is doing most of His work behind the scenes.

When you align your passions, dreams, and desires with Him, God will equip and provide for you.

2. Remember Your “Why”

I encourage you to write down why you do what you do. That

way, you will remain steadfast when the enemy attempts to steal, kill, and destroy your God-given dream.

3. Do No Harm

While writing my hard story, God pressed “pause” several times. The process was truly cathartic. Checking the motive and condition of your heart is essential. Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue has the power of life and death.” Allow the healing balm of God’s love to cover you if you want to help others through their suffering with words of life.

Let only love return you to the page, podcast, or platform.

4. Find Your Tribe

Loneliness and lack of purpose are common realities. According to writer, producer, and story consultant Zena Dell Lowe, “The people who are the most formidable, who have a chance to change the world, do not make poor decisions to alleviate loneliness.” Serving others through kingdom work unifies the body of Christ. This is where we discover true belonging in our calling. Leverage your strengths to meet a need within your circle of influence.

When you concentrate on nurturing partnerships with similar goals, collaborations arise that profoundly impact the world.

No matter the cracks in your jar, remember the apostle Paul said: “But he said to me, ’My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10 ESV).

Cherie Denna empowers audiences, helping them find a deep sense of belonging through their unique and often stigmatized stories.She loves Jesus and frothed coffee. Follow Cherie at cheriedenna.com In February 2024, Cherie’s debut book, Beloved Outcast: The Quest for True Belonging, hit the shelves with Bold Vision Books.

My inaugural address on publicity in the music and entertainment industry marked an electrifying moment. Though a veteran, this was my maiden voyage speaking publicly on the subject. I was thrilled and prepared, my expertise ready to shine. After my talk, I received a round of applause and a line of people waiting to ask questions.

Everyone’s a Critic

I wasn't expecting what happened next. A woman I respected pulled me aside to offer me advice for my next speech. Not only did she pick apart my talk, she also questioned my judgment regarding the stories I’d shared about my professional wins.

She even critiqued my basic black, completely professional, new Anne Taylor suit I’d invested in just for the occasion.

The final blow was one I’ll never forget. She said, “I don’t know what makes you think you can speak on this topic. I mean, you’re barely a seven-year publicist.”

I Couldn’t Get Past It

Her relentless criticism shattered my confidence, overshadowing any positive praise. The echoes of her words haunted me, affecting my every teaching or speaking opportunity. I internalized her judgment, questioning my worth and dismissing the importance of my voice. Despite her lack of expertise in my field, her negative evaluation paralyzed me, leading to missed opportunities and a damaging blow to my self-worth.

What is Imposter Syndrome?

It’s the feeling of being a fraud and fearing the world will discover. Imposter syndrome isn't about a particular situation; it’s about feeling more inadequate than others in the same situation. This results in a feeling that we don’t belong even if the evidence is to the contrary.

In my life, imposter syndrome made me question everything from what I wore to what I volunteered for, and what promotions I applied for. I used to have a bold God-given certainty that was humble, fearless, and never questioned who I was called to be or do.

Her words shattered that. But I let them.

Even my spiritual joy, my “shine” in my walk with Jesus, was impacted. I started questioning how and where I shared the gospel, inadvertently letting self-doubt infiltrate this aspect of my life. The turning point occurred on a bustling red carpet

surrounded by celebrities with diverse beliefs.

It hit me like lightning—this was the moment to cast off the doubts and let my light shine.

“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).

Never before had these verses struck me as clearly as they did in that moment, and that’s all it took for me to step into WHO I was called to be in Christ.

That day I became myself again. I humbly spoke kindness to many who did not know Jesus. Many asked to hear more.

I can’t say whether I led anyone to Jesus on that red carpet, but I do know seeds were planted as I pointed to Him as my Light.

Since my confidence came back, I love guiding others to find their way out of the dreaded imposter syndrome. If the cat’s got your tongue and you’ve lost your ability to shine, here are a few tips that will help.

Seven tips for dealing with imposter syndrome

1. Understand the voice. Assess the evidence: create a two-column list, "Inadequacy" vs. "Competence," to help you acknowledge the proof of your competency.

2. Refocus on values. Reevaluate what truly matters as you set goals around that.

3. Get out of your head. Stop allowing your thoughts to circle. Find someone to talk to, or write down your fears so you can conquer them.

4. Practice self-compassion. Don’t beat yourself up for feeling like a fraud. Now that you understand where the doubt comes from, credit yourself for how far you’ve come.

5. Keep failure in perspective. Take time to write down likely outcomes if some of your effort fails. Learn from your failures; don't let them define you.

6. Seek trusted feedback from your network. Make a practice of periodically getting meaningful feedback from people you trust and respect.

7. Stay in the Word. Verses you study will come back to you when you need them.

Continue to pray and ask God to guide you. Be faithful, knowing He may be trying to teach you something bigger than the moment you’re in. I learned it’s NOT all about me, but about Him. Consider what His lesson may be for you and how you can grow from the experience.

New Mexico native Jackie Marushka is a veteran entertainment publicist, entrepreneur, brand builder, mentor, author and speaker. To connect with Jackie, visit marushkamedia.com/contact

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Linda Evans Shepherd

Dr. Sharon Norris Elliott

Michelle Medlock Adams

Liz A. Pittman

Loretta Eidson

Patty Mason

Kimberley Woodhouse

Patricia Bradley

Jarm Del Boccio

Dr. Donna D. Kincheloe

Dr. Donna D. Kincheloe

Teresa Janzen

Teresa Janzen

Lee Ann Mancini

Lee Ann Mancini

Gaylyn R. Williams Gaylyn R. Williams

Becky Terry Reeser

Dr. Saundra Dalton Smith

Karen Whiting

Mabel Ninan

Cherie Denna

Jane Hampton Cook

Dawn Damon

Wanda McKnight Brock

Victoria Chapin

the Gaslighter’s

Playbook

To me the word “gaslighting” brings back sweet memories of baking with my Gram—when she was lighting her old gas stove.

She turned on the gas, struck a match and the heat from the woosh of orange flames erupted from the oven door. Learning to bake and cook beside an expert included strict safety measures. Gram set boundaries, and I respected and kept them.

Nowadays, the word “gaslighting” has taken on a much more sinister context. Gaslighting is a manipulative controlling tactic used by narcissistic people to create internal chaos, which can blow up close relationships and damage internal personal peace. The roots of this behavior sprouted from a play from the 1930s titled “Gas Light.” An abusive husband manipulated the flames of gas lamps and devised other schemes to destroy his wife’s mental stability.

Over time, he stole her sanity and inheritance by consistently discrediting her accurate assessments, perceptions, and thoughts.

The abuser uses verbal manipulation, bizarre lies, and empty threats to gain control over the victim.Here are the four Cs of the Gaslighter’s Playbook that uncover his or her sinister agenda.

1. Confusion—This confusion is a result when an abuser feeds a steady diet of false information deliberately and systematically. This behavior creates doubt, diminishing the victim’s sound judgment.

2. Criticism—The abuser directs criticism to the victim for anything that makes them unique, stand out, or things they do well. Any idea, feeling, or creativity is constantly ridiculed.

3. Counter—This is a tactic where the abuser constantly tells a victim that their specific memories are not true.

The abuser disgustedly repeats, “That’s a lie. That never happened,” making the victim question their memory as well as the reality of a situation.

4. Convincing—This strategy can be tragic as the abuser uses others as a comparison to shower feelings of inadequacy while stressing their superiority. A victim can be persuaded to believe the unbelievable, which can lead to collateral damage to other innocent people.

Narcissistic abuse is on the rise. Being able to identify gaslighting tactics is especially important for Christian women.

We may have personal experience with this type of abuse or desperately want to understand how to counsel others.

Proverbs 6:16–19 states, “These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren” (NKJV).

Seems our loving Heavenly Father identified abusers long before they jumped into our lives.

I am confident He does not intend for us to be victims.

We can set boundaries. Seek wise counsel. Please keep yourself safe and healthy. Let the flame of God’s love ignite your only life.

Tips if you suspect gaslighting:

• Trust your instincts if something feels wrong.

• Confide in a friend or counselor you trust.

• Create an exit plan to safely leave the relationship.

Dr. Donna D. Kincheloe is a Christian author, nurse educator, and speaker who uses the power of storytelling to help people consider new perspectives by weaving hope into life circumstances. In

A Life Just Like Mine, Dr. Donna shares the journey of overcoming narcissistic abuse. God flips pain to peace.

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