Jesus Calling Magazine Summer 2022

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MAGAZINE

TIM TEBOW

A MAN WITH A MISSION

GLO ATANMO’S Secrets for Healing, Purpose, and Peace

MARK WAHLBERG Focuses on Faith

NIK WALLENDA Wired for Courage

FINDING GOD IN OUR NATIONAL PARKS

Words unite inspire hope Lord, thank You for choosing to call us your children. Show us how to live so that this country may be a better place.

Words to help children thank God for all we have as a nation while encouraging us all to come together and heal the hurts that divide us so we can model God’s love to one another and create a strong, unified future.

From US Senate Chaplain Barry Black | Available wherever books are sold

See something you like in the magazine?

Most titles featured in this publication are available from your favorite bookstore.

Jesus Calling Titles Just for You!

Jesus Listens

Dear Reader, When my husband and I lived in Melbourne, Australia, with our two children, we all enjoyed vacationing at a ministers’ family camp in the magnificent Grampian Mountains. On one of those vacation days, I decided to walk partway up one of the nearby mountains. I hadn’t told anyone where I was going, so my plan was to go up only a short distance and then come back down. Surprisingly, there were no other people on the trail that day, and this solitude freed me to enjoy Jesus’ Presence exuberantly. The higher I climbed, the more spectacular the views became—and the harder it was for me to turn around and go back down. So I just kept going!

Jesus Calling for Moms

When I got near the summit of the mountain, the trail became steeper and rougher.

So I climbed just far enough to get my head over the uppermost rocks, feeling amazed that I had made it to the top. As I gazed at the glorious views all around me, I was keenly aware of Jesus’ loving Presence. The joy I experienced was indescribable!

Later, as I pondered my delightful experience, I wrote about it in my journal. This eventually became the October 6 devotion in Jesus Calling. Although this entry describes the time I climbed a real mountain with Jesus as my only companion, the message is relevant to the challenges and opportunities we all face at various times. Whether we’re on a mountaintop, in a valley, or somewhere in between, we can rejoice in knowing that Jesus is continually with us—lovingly involved in every part of our lives.

Jesus Calling with Real-Life Stories

PHOTO BY JEREMY COWART

Jesus Calling Note-Taking Edition

Bountiful blessings!

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MAGA ZINE

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COVER STORY | 8

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Laura Minchew SVP & Group Publisher

Tim Tebow’s on a

Michael Aulisio VP & Publisher Editor-in-Chief

Mission to Serve and Love Others

Robin Richardson Senior Marketing Director Mandy Wilson Marketing Director

CONTENTS

Stephanie Chalk Senior Marketing Manager

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Sam Acho: God Loves Us Just As We Are

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Doing Good: Taylor Tippett Spreads Joy on a Wing and a Post-it®

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Mark Wahlberg: God Is the Giver of All Good Things

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Glo Atanmo: When a Door Shuts, Look for an Open Window

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Pastor’s Corner: Tom Phillips, Billy Graham Evangelical Association

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Florence LaRue: God’s Blessings in Our Second Act

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Seeing God in Our National Parks

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Gary Chapman: Celebrating the Five Love Languages

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Lt. Col. Dan Rooney: Prayer Gets Us Through Life’s Battles

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Michelle Hord: A New Outlook After a Terrible Loss

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Nik Wallenda Chases Fear on the Line

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A Jesus Listens Prayer for Summer

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Fisherman Jimmy Houston Reels in a Blessed Life

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Jesus Calling Readers: Social Media Spotlight

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Music Spotlight: Mica Paris Gets a Chance to Start Over

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Summer Adventures for Kids!

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Family Games & Puzzles

Laura Neutzling Managing Editor Amy Kerr Senior Editor Abigail Nibblett Content Coordinator Beth Murphy Senior Marketing Director Barbara Moser Creative Director Candace Waggoner Senior Operations Manager Michelle Lenger Designer

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 Mission Driven Studios

Mark Wahlberg | 12

Glo Atanamo |14

Nik Wallenda | 30

For advertising inquiries, visit JesusCalling.com/magazine

SOMEONE WORTH KNOWING The NFL’s Sam Acho Doubles Down on His Relationship with Others—and with God

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SAM ACHO’S PERSONAL ARCHIVES; ISTOCK

by Amy Kerr

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AS AN ESPN SPORTS analyst and nine-year veteran of the NFL, Sam Acho knows the value of a good highlight reel.

He also knows a highlight reel doesn’t tell the whole story.

Growing up in Dallas, the son of Nigerian immigrants, Sam spent most of his time on three things: diving deep into academics, going with his family to church on Sundays and Wednesdays, and spending as much time as he could on sports. Football, basketball, baseball, track—he loved them all, but excelled at football and basketball. “If I would have grown taller, I may have been in the NBA, but I stopped at six-foot-three,” he says. So Sam decided to make football his focus.

He received numerous offers from colleges across the country, but when he received an offer from the University of Texas Longhorns, just a few hours south of his hometown, he visited the campus and met fellow Nigerian players like Chris Ogbonnaya and Brian Orakpo, along with head coach Mack Brown. He knew UT was the place for him.

Sam excelled at defensive end all four years in the Longhorn uniform and signed a four-year contract with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals in 2011, working his way to starting outside linebacker.

Along the way, Sam made fast friends both on and off the field.

“My next-door neighbor, his name was Jerry Price. He was more than a neighbor, more than a friend—he became my mentor.

Jerry and his wife Judy had been happily married for forty years.

They had kids and grandkids.

They threw parties for their friends. They would hold hands, go on dates.

And I wanted that. I wanted that to be me when I was sixty-five and and almost seventy, like Judy and Jerry. He became someone I stayed really close to and learned from.”

Sam signed with the Chicago Bears in 2015, which meant leaving Jerry and Judy behind. One day he heard Jerry was battling cancer and didn’t expect to live much longer. Sam called Jerry to check up on him, but he had one last question for his mentor.

“I said, ‘Jerry, please share something with me, anything you’ve learned about life—just talk to me.

You are worth “ getting to know.

“He says, ‘Sam, there’s two things I want you to know. Number one, the most important thing you can do is get to know Jesus intimately. The second thing is: you are worth getting to know. Never forget that—you are worth getting to know.’ Those would be the last words I heard from my friend Jerry. He died peacefully in his sleep a few days later.”

It was advice that struck a deep chord with Sam. “I’ve made money, and I’ve been around people who have made money. The things you think about acquiring, I’ve either had them or seen people who had them—and many of those people are empty. At seventy years old, when Jerry had lived a full life, for him to say there’s nothing of greater value than getting to know Jesus? That meant something.”

A short time later, Jerry’s words still rang true for Sam when he was released from the Chicago Bears. It came as a shock. Months before, he’d signed a contract going into his eighth year in the NFL, everything seemed to be going his way. Struck by the news, Sam went to say goodbye to a friend in the organization.

“I said, ‘Hey, Katie, I just want to say bye. I just got released.’ And I said it with a smile, right? I’m usually smiling and laughing and always got it together.

“She did a double take and said, ‘Wait, hold on. Say that one more time, Sam.’ “I said, ‘Yeah, I just got released from the Bears, so I just want to say bye. Thank you for everything.’

“She said, ‘I was looking at your face as you were talking and you were smiling. I thought you were telling me good news. Sam, I am so sorry. That has to be devastating.’

“And in that moment, I realized I had been pretending.”

In the days that followed, Sam thought about that interaction and realized: he didn’t believe he was worth getting to know—the real him.

He’d spent years with a mask on, conforming himself to who he needed to be in the moment. “In friendships and relationships, I always wondered, Do you really want me because of the things that I have? Or do you really want me because of me?”

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Sam (93) leading a Chicago Bears in-game huddle

When your job is wrapped up intimately in your identity, it’s a hard thing to lose both at once. But Sam remembered the words of his mentor.

He decided if he was going to show someone the real him, if he was going to get to know anyone first, it was going to be Jesus.

“ me because of Do you really want the things that I have? Or do you really want me because of me?

“Right around this time, I stumbled on Jesus Calling,” Sam remembers.

“And every single day I would read it, and it would remind me, Oh wow, I am worth getting to know. Jesus does see me and know me, even in my ups and downs, in the setbacks and being released, in arguments and disagreements. God still sees the best in me. So my faith in Jesus, some good people around me, and Jesus Calling the devotional got me through a really tough time.

“A lot of people think, If they knew the real me, they wouldn’t want to get to know me. Jerry reminded me you are worth getting to know. Your pains, your joys, your fears, your hurts—all of you. Why? Because you’re already fully seen, fully known, and fully loved by Jesus.”

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Sam’s book, Let the World See You, is available now.

WORDS FROM THE WINDOW SEAT How a Flight Attendant’s Small Notes Are Making a Big Impact

by Abigail Nibblett

HAS SOMEONE EVER SAID SOMETHING TO YOU that’s turned your whole day around? Maybe a coworker said you looked nice on a day you weren’t feeling confident, or your spouse thanked you for making a delicious dinner. Kind words have the power to spread a little sunshine, and flight attendant Taylor Tippet uses that power to brighten the days of her passengers.

After a season of uncertainty about what to do with her life, Taylor decided to pursue a childhood dream to become a flight attendant. She moved to a new city, excited for new opportunities, but after a few months she found herself back in a slump. She wasn’t happy with the person she was, how she was taking care of herself, or the relationship choices she was making. To help her make sense of it all, she pulled out her journal and found herself writing these words: “If I’m not going to be kind to myself and love myself, how am I going to do that with other people?”

One day, as Taylor was sitting in the back of a plane before an early morning flight, she noticed a small notebook sticking out of her bag. “I saw it sitting there,” she remembers, “and I was like, You know what?

Maybe somebody else needs to hear, ‘Be kind to yourself.’”

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She grabbed a black Sharpie, tore a piece of paper out of the notebook, and scribbled, Be kind to yourself. Then she grabbed a roll of tape from her drink cart and posted the note to a window seat for a passenger to find when they boarded the plane.

“I’m a very big believer in things happening for a reason,” says Taylor. “So I was like, What if someone finds this and really needs this? Then I was like, What if somebody else needs to hear this too?

What if I posted this on the Internet?

Taylor snapped a quick picture of the note and posted it online. The image resonated

D O I N G

You never know “what someone is going through, so always be on the lookout to be kind.

“Through this, my whole understanding and love for people has changed a lot,” Taylor explains, “because I’m always on the lookout for s mall kindnesses I can offer people. I think that’s so much of the heart of this project, and I think that’s reflected in the relationship I have with my passengers. I’m not perfect. I have my bad days. I know it’s almost cliché, but you never know what someone is 7

going through, so always be on the lookout to be kind and to be graceful. Having patience and grace with people who seem different from us is so important.”

Throughout the project, one of the biggest surprises for Taylor was how she sees God show up in her day—and it’s not in the way she would’ve guessed.

“We think something God does has to be this big, crazy thing that happens in our lives. And so often, God is in the small things. He’s in the tiny nooks of kindness and the tiny interactions we have with people. Just ask Him to have eyes that see beauty in small moments.

Just keep asking and showing up, and He’ll do it.”

Taylor’s book, Words from the Window Seat, is available at your favorite book retailer today.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TAYLOR TIPPETT’S PERSONAL ARCHIVES; ISTOCK

with her followers so much that she kept writing notes, placing them on window seats, and snapping photos. She watched with astonishment as her follower account ticked higher and higher on Instagram, eventually topping more than 100,000 as she built an online community spreading kindness in their own small ways.

Today, Taylor still leaves encouraging notes on planes, but she hangs them as she’s leaving so she can keep an air of mystery—that way, she won’t know who received the note, and the recipient won’t know who left it for them. An entire ministry of positive encouragement has blossomed from what was once a negative spot in Taylor’s life—all because she was trying to be kind to herself.

G O O D

NO ORDINARY MAN, NO ORDINARY MISSION

TIM TEBOW Through all the highs and lows, Tim stays true to himself

by Laura Neutzling

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baseball and earned a minor league contract with the New York Mets, stunning many in the sports world.

After a respectable four-year run, rising all the way to the Mets’ spring training roster in 2020, Tim hung up his cleats in 2021.

Throughout his sports journey Tim has been questioned, criticized, glorified, and vilified by sports pundits, in social media, and in the press. Yet the athlete remains true to himself with an uncanny ability to keep pushing ahead, no matter what people are saying about him, and to stay firmly entrenched in what he believes. As for the wild swings his popularity seems to take in the public eye, Tim keeps a grounded view.

IM TEBOW IS NO STRANGER to the concept of being “in the world, but not of it.“ As a high-profile NFL quarterback, in 2011 Tim famously let his faith be known when, after a winning play, he kneeled in the endzone and bowed his head in a prayer of thanks to God. The move caused waves in the media (the internet took to calling the move “Tebowing“), but it didn’t matter to Tim. He’s believed from an early age that it’s okay to be exactly who God made you to be.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES/GARRETT ELLWOOD, MISSION DRIVEN STUDIOS, AND TIM TEBOW’S PERSONAL ARCHIVES; ISTOCK; GETTY IMAGES

“ says I am.

I am who God

“The same year I was voted one of the most popular athletes in America, I was cut from my team. So in that same year, am I going to be at the high, or am I going to be at the low? I’m so grateful that when I hold on to God’s truth, I don’t have to be either—I am who God says I am, and I’m so grateful for that along the way.”

Growing up as the youngest of five siblings whose parents were missionaries, Tim’s competitive spirit came naturally—and his parents helped him lean into it. As Tim’s talents began to blossom, they also saw the need to temper that competitiveness with humility.

Their method of keeping arrogance in check was having all their kids memorize scripture verses.

“The first verse my parents made me memorize as a five-year-old boy,” Tim remembers, “was ’The greatest among you will be a servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.’ I didn’t understand it, but my parents knew I was so competitive, and I wanted to play and I loved it. And so before we would play, we had to memorize scripture verses, and for me, they were primarily on humility. And it was crazy, because along the way, these verses would pop into my head.

Sometimes it feels like you’re on a rollercoaster, but we get to get off and hold on to a firm foundation—and that’s the Word of God.” That first scripture Tim memorized would typify the kind of man he would try to become. In sports and in life, Tim’s always been a man on a mission—and as he likes to note, “My biggest mission is so much

Tim, quarterback for the Denver Broncos, 2010

“If I didn’t know what God says about me,“ Tim explains, “then it would be so easy to get caught up with the highs and the lows.“ For Tim, those “high“ moments began during his breakout college career where he emerged as the Florida Gators’ most winning quarterback of all time, while also becoming the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy during his 55-touchdown season in 2007. Tim’s path to the NFL seemed clear after his record-setting college career, and he was snagged by the Denver Broncos in the 2010 NFL draft.

But the lows had their time in Tim’s life too.

Despite the fact that Tebow jerseys sold more than any other player on Denver’s roster, the Broncos decided to trade the young quarterback to the New York Jets when they signed Peyton Manning in 2012.

After short stints with the Jets, the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles, Tebow finally departed the NFL in 2016. Undaunted that his football career might be over, Tim set his sights on professional 9

human trafficking. Just one month later, over $1 million in support had been raised and a “Rescue Team“ was launched in October, equipping people to fight against trafficking all over the world.

I want to “ tell people how valuable, worthy, special and awesome they are.

Tim with wife, Demi-Leigh

more important than a game would ever be: it’s to love Jesus and love people. More specifically, I want to fight for people who can’t fight for themselves.”

“ is so much more My biggest mission important than a game would ever be.

And Tim’s been doing just that through the Tim Tebow Foundation, an organization that’s been in the background during much of his sports career but never on the backburner. Tim is hands-on in the foundation’s mission “to bring faith, hope, and love to those needing a brighter day in their hour of need.“ With events and initiatives geared to create resources for children with special needs, profound medical needs, and orphan care, Tim is seeing the fruits of exemplifying the servant-like attitude he learned about in his very first scripture memory verse. In July 2020, the foundation announced they would turn their attention to the fight against

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Tim is committed to removing barriers to allow those in need to attain the kind of life he thinks we all deserve. But he knows it doesn’t come easy, and that differences of opinion or theology can sometimes get in the way of that mission of love. Tim’s in the business of fostering unity, and his hope is that God’s people would “rally, instead of fighting over how we worship or how we don’t.”

His work centers around bringing people together to live out the most important mission as he sees it: loving God and loving people.

“One of the things I really appreciate about Jesus Calling and Jesus Listens is that they remove so many barriers. They’re easy and accessible. When people pick them up, they find truth and they find encouragement, and that can help lead them to the next step of their walk with Jesus.“ As for Tim’s next steps in that walk, most days find him working diligently for the foundation, hanging out with his wife of two years, former Miss Universe DemiLeigh (and their three adorable dogs), along with speaking and

C O V E R

writing. He’s passionate about encouraging people who are lonely or who don’t feel they have anything to give, reminding them their lives have worth and value.

“I want to tell people how valuable, worthy, special and awesome they are by showing them how much God loves them.

I got to see my mom and dad live out their mission my entire life. I believe every single one of us has been given a mission. I believe that God has a divine design for everyone, and I believe that the mission is possible for us to have a life that counts. We’re not here by accident. We’re here to love God and love people.“

Celebrating 300 Episodes of the Jesus Calling Podcast Tim sat down with the producers of the Jesus Calling Podcast and TV show for a special appearance to talk about his life and his new book Mission Possible. ”The podcast is an encouraging platform with stories of real people living out their God-given mission. From successes to setbacks, I believe listeners will be inspired by the people who are trying to make their life count.”

– Tim Tebow

You can find Tim’s Book, Mission Possible, at your favorite book retailer today.

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S T O R Y

Mark Wahlberg Knows All Good Things Come from God

by Amy Kerr

MARK WAHLBERG’S EARNED MANY TITLES OVER HIS THREE-DECADE CAREER: actor, producer, Academy Award nominee, businessman, former music artist. But when he introduces himself, he doesn’t choose any of those descriptors.

“I’m a normal, regular guy from Boston, Massachusetts, who’s been extraordinarily lucky,” he says.

“And,” he adds, “I give all credit personally and professionally to my faith and my relationship to the Lord.”

Wahlberg is devout in his Catholic faith—before the pandemic, he’d never missed a mass. While a foundation for the actor since childhood, faith became life changing for him in his teen years.

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“When I was a teenager, I got into some trouble, and the only place to turn was to the Lord. There was really nobody else there. And once I did that, all of these wonderful people started popping up who were also influenced by the Lord. Messengers and people who were serving in various ways, they all came and touched me. And when I started focusing on my faith, good things started to happen.”

Wahlberg’s focused on sharing the “good things” faith brings with his recent film Father Stu. The movie tells the story of Stuart Long, a boxer-turned-priest who inspired countless people during his journey from self-destruction to redemption.

“Father Stu was a very special individual, and he touched a lot of people: the way he dealt with adversity, the way he transformed himself when he found his calling, how committed he was and unwavering in his service to God under the most difficult of circumstances. He tried to communicate the importance of having a relationship with God to people like him who were hurt and angry and upset.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES/NBC; CJ ENTERTAINMENT

“ I encounter, The more people the more people I want to pray for.

For the actor and producer, it’s a message that resonates deeply with his past, and the way he wants to reach others today.

“The more people I encounter, the more people I want to pray for. We cannot turn our backs on anybody. This is about opening our hearts and our homes and everything else to love people and care for them. And when people know they’re loved and not forgotten, especially when threy're in hard times, that means a lot to them. No person is beyond redemption.”

Learn more about Mark’s film Father Stu at fatherstumovie.com.

TOP AND BOTTOM:

Mark as Stuart Long on the set of Father Stu,

Mark with Sally Hoffman, SVP Sales, HarperCollins Christian Publishing

MIDDLE:

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TRAVELING TOWARD

e s o p r u P

Blogger Glo Atanmo Finds a New Outlook

by Lauren Winfield

GLO ATANMO WAS BORN IN CALIFORNIA and raised by Nigerian immigrant parents. And having both feet in two different worlds sparked her lifelong pursuit of finding a place to belong. “At a young age, I felt like I constantly had to straddle between two identities. ‘Am I Nigerian, or am I more American? Which one do I belong to? Am I doing American right? Am I doing Nigerian right?’”

Her parents pushed for a traditional career, but Glo decided to bet on her dreams and her tenacity.

With only $500 and a suitcase, she boarded a plane with a one-way ticket to the UK. Her goal? To tell the stories she found while traveling all over the world.

“I never gave myself a plan B, and that gave me such a relentlessness to be like, ‘Glo, figure it out.’ At my

Editor's note: This article discusses thoughts of suicide. If you or someone you love is struggling, help is available. Please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

When you’ve worked hard to build your dream life, it can be difficult to slow down and acknowledge the signs that something might be . . . off. Instead of turning toward the potential problem, sometimes we ignore it, hoping the nagging feeling will go away. But problems don’t disappear when we don’t give them our attention. They snowball— sometimes into extreme proportions—before they can’t be ignored any longer.

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lowest, I went days without eating. I slept on a park bench because I couldn't afford a hostel for the night.”

But figure it out, she did. At the height of her success, Glo landed six-figure deals with brands that flew her all over the world. “For seven years, I was a full-time travel blogger. I went to eighty countries across six continents—that was my life. I felt like I was living the dream.”

Over time, Glo began to notice pains in her stomach from time to time and watched a bulge expand across her abdomen. Over the course of a year, she radically altered her diet, hoping her body would heal itself and the problem would just go away. But nothing worked. When her stomach pain escalated while she was traveling in Malta, she finally went to the hospital. “I felt like my organs were just being squeezed, and it was so painful,” she remembers.

Doctors finally diagnosed her pain was due to an ovarian cyst pushing her organs out of place. After an emergency surgery, Glo was placed on eight weeks of bedrest—unfathomable for a young woman who’d spent nearly a decade traveling the world in her twenties.

As she began to cancel contract after contract, Glo spiraled into despair. “I was feeling so drained physically, mentally, emotionally, financially. And for eight weeks I felt like, ‘Who am I if I can't travel and I can't post?’ I was literally bent over, teaching myself how to walk again. I felt so useless. It was just so traumatic that I remember I was looking at the painkillers like, ‘Why am I here anymore? I have nothing left.’”

Thank Me for“the conditions that are requiring you to be still.

– Jesus Calling, FEBRUARY

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When her world felt hopeless, Glo looked over and saw her Jesus Calling devotional. “I turned to the page on February 16th, and it was so, so powerful. I just needed something to validate me, like, ‘Glo, there's something else that has to come out of this.’ I needed to know there was purpose in my pain.”

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The realization was the catalyst Glo needed to transform her pain into a new path. She now uses the skills she acquired through travel blogging to serve others.

“I don't care about what I can do for myself. How can I heal the world? How can I speak to those who are also going through a traumatic experience?”

By switching her role from “influencer” to “teacher,” Glo now heals through her words and teaches others how to survive tough situations and build a life worth living. Along the way, she’s also found her spirit healing the way her body has. “The way I show up in the world now feels so much more fulfilling because when you have purpose and legacy behind what you do, you feel more called and led in your work.”

Find out more about Glo at theblogabroad.com

What Solo Travel Taught Me THE WORLD IS 99.9% GOOD. You‘d never think that, because any time you hear of another country on our news, it‘s because something bad happened. Our judgment is clouded with all the negative news.

SOLITUDE IS NOT LONELINESS. Solitude and isolation are very different. You can isolate yourself and throw a pity party, or you can spend time in solitude. God is with you in solitude.

JOURNALING SOLIDIFIES THE MOMENT. When a moment is so raw, you‘re never going to remember it as intimately as you do in that moment.

Write down your feelings or capture them in a video.

MY TOP THREE FAVORITE COUNTRIES ARE… They have to be Japan, Norway, and Sri Lanka.

They’re all my favorite for different reasons, but each environment felt so clean, and I felt so welcomed there.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF GLO ATANMO’S PERSONAL ARCHIVES

“ have When you purpose and legacy behind what you do, you feel more called and led in your work.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TOM PHILLIPS’ PERSONAL ARCHIVES

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Charlotte, North Carolina I grew up on a Mississippi farm, where work ethic goes hand in hand with trusting in the Lord.

When planting was done, then came the laid by season, when we had to trust God would send an early rain. I remember going out in the afternoon sun with my uncle, watching him run soil through his fingers. When he’d look up at the sky, I knew he was saying to the Lord, “Now it’s Yours.”

When the crops came in, there was potential for mountains of debt if it wasn’t a good year, but there was also a possibility for joy if the harvest was bountiful. As we watched soybeans, corn, and cotton

I planted the seed… but God has been making it grow.

—1 Corinthians 3:6 NIV I believe the church itself is in the early phases of a latter rain, which will cause the greatest fruit that’s ever been borne by the church. And it’s all about Him, not about the church. Jesus said, “When you put Me first, everything else falls into place.”

When I was fourteen or fifteen, I realized I loved telling people about the Lord. I also buried myself in books and thought I should become a surgeon and use that platform to tell people about the Lord. I went to Ole Miss and majored in pre-med.

That’s when it was like a light bulb came on in my heart: I wanted to surrender to whatever God wanted me to do. I made a deal with Him, though: I didn’t want to give up medicine, so I thought I’d surrender to medical missions. And He said, “I didn’t ask you to surrender half 17

Dr. Phillips’ book, Ignite Your Passion for Jesus, is on sale now.

C O R N E R

by Dr. Tom Phillips

come up, we prayed for latter rain, which causes the fruit to grow to its greatest extent.

P A S T O R ’ S

Give It to God, and Watch How It Grows

of yourself. I asked you to surrender your whole self.”

I read in my local paper that Billy Graham had a habit of praying before he parked, asking God to lead him to someone who needed ministering. I thought, Well, that’s interesting. I can do that. And without fail, God always led me to a person in need. I knew that He was using this habit to change my life for the sake of others.

I went back to Ole Miss and dropped all the courses that had to do with medicine and picked up all the things pastors should learn. It didn’t take long before I was handed a church of 250 congregants to lead when I was only nineteen years old. I loved every moment of it and learned a tremendous amount.

When you give your time, your talent, your resources over to God, He will provide the increase.

“

Life is a beautiful journey of discovery.

An inevitable part of that is growing older, so let’s once and for all stop this pursuit for eternal youth.

Don’t fight aging, embrace it!

– Florence LaRue, in her book Grace in Your Second Act

FLORENCE LaRUE Finds Grace In Her Second Act

by Laura Neutzling SINGER FLORENCE LARUE KNOWS THAT IF YOU’RE IN LOVE WITH LIFE every day, it shows up in how you treat other people—and yourself. At eighty years old, Florence makes a practice of being grateful for the wisdom of her years and all the experiences she has been able to take in over the course of her life. One of those experiences was joining an iconic music group whose songs topped the charts in the 1970s: The Fifth Dimension.

Florence, one of the original members, began singing with the group in her early twenties.

The group enjoyed great success with number-one hits, world tours, and a revered status in the history of music (their meteoric rise was shown as part of the 2021 Oscarwinning documentary 18

believes in the power of music to change people’s lives, and she wants to be a good ambassador of the gift she’s been given.

“God has shown me the importance of music,” Florence says, "and also my responsibility as a musician. Music has a big influence, especially on our young people.”

You can be“eighty and still live, not just “exist.”

Summer of Soul on Netflix). Her work became more intertwined with her life after she fell in love with and married her manager, Marc Gordon. When their son Geoffrey arrived, Florence and Marc didn’t put the business on hold. The couple took their baby on the road as they traveled all over the world.

As she continues to entertain audiences in her eighties, Florence has no regrets about being a different performer than she’s been in years past. On the contrary: her maturity as a performer has released her from the pressure to have a “certain image” or exemplify a level of “coolness” the music industry often demands.

“I began being true and honest on stage,” she says, “and that’s when I began to enjoy it the most. I even tell people on stage how old I am, because I want them to know that you can be eighty and still live, not just “exist.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FLORENCE LARUE’S PERSONAL ARCHIVES

“ of singing I enjoy the exchange songs and making people feel things—making people happy!

Though performing came naturally to Florence, she considered herself to be shy and relied on her stage persona (whom she calls “Miss LaRue”) to give her confidence to stand in front of crowds every night.

But as she approached her second act of life, Florence wanted to share her real self with her audience, and began communicating more than just the music. In recent performances, she reflects that, “My whole perception has changed, and I enjoy communicating with people. I enjoy the exchange of singing songs and making people feel things—making people happy.”

Florence admits the showbiz bug bit her at a young age and that she had starry-eyed dreams of fame and fortune. But as someone who grew up in church and had a strong faith, at some point, she felt prompted to ask herself some hard questions: “What are you doing with what God’s given you? How are you spreading the gospel? What are you doing with your lyrics?”

These are questions the singer been actively answering over the last several years, because she

Florence’s book, Grace in Your Second Act, is available at your favorite book retailer.

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SEE GOD’S BEAUTY IN AMERICA’S NATIONAL PARKS

by Amy Kennedy and Dave Degler

NEW RIVER GORGE BRIDGE

CUYAHOYA VALLEY NATIONAL PARK

PARK TIPS TRY A PARK YOU’VE NEVER VISITED BEFORE.

When you’re surrounded by tall leafy

PLAN AHEAD!

trees, cool mountain lakes, or wild and

Summer’s the busiest time for the parks, so if there’s something specific you’d like to do, make sure you do your homework. Some campgrounds book months in advance, and many popular destinations—like Cadillac Mountain in Maine’s Acadia National Park, or Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico— require you to reserve your visit time in advance. When in doubt, go to that park’s website to find out more.

rocky desert terrain, it’s hard not to see God’s fingerprints on His creation.

Amy Kennedy and Dave Degler see this every day in their work.

They’re the co-executive directors of A Christian Ministry in the National Parks, a faith community for people working in, living in, and visiting the national parks. If you find yourself near a park this summer, Amy and

GO WITH THE FLOW. Some of the best moments we’ve had in the parks are ones that happen off the cuff. Maybe you turn the corner on a hike to see a family of mountain goats. Maybe you run into someone on the trail and have an incredible conversation. Be open to what God has for you on this trip.

It might be different than what you expected.

Dave have a few tips to make your outing a bit more enjoyable.

BE KIND TO OTHERS. Whether it’s saying a friendly hello to park staff or being courteous to others on a busy trail, make sure you spread a little kindness while you’re in the parks.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF ISTOCK PHOTO, ELIZABETH BAUR, AMY KENNEDY AND DAVE DEGLER’S PERSONAL ARCHIVES

There are 63 national parks in the US, and there are more being added all the time! Have you ever been to Capital Reef in Utah? How about Cuyahoga Valley in Ohio? Ever heard of the latest national park, New River Gorge in West Virginia, just added in December 2020? Explore new places, and make new memories.

ALL-TIME FAVORITES  AMY: Glacier National Park If you’ve never been to Glacier, I highly recommend it. There are so many hikes, from major backpacking hikes in the backcountry, to short boardwalk hikes up at Logan Pass. Being out on Two Medicine Lake is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. Going-to-theSun Road is magical. This park is truly beautiful.  DAVE: Big Bend National Park

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

If you want to be remote, this is the park for you. It’s really pristine, very wild and rugged.

One of the things I love about Big Bend is you can cross the border into Mexico and visit a village called Boquillas. Take your passport, and if the border crossing is open, try to go for a visit. Meet the people, eat some tacos, go into the shops, and experience life on the other side of the river.

CAPITAL REEF NATIONAL PARK

WHAT TO BRING FOR A DAY IN THE PARKS Water, water water!

Many national parks are at higher elevations, and people forget they need more water when they're at altitude. Bring more water than you think you need.

Energy bars and snacks.

You’ll need some nourishment if you’re out and about for a while.

A flashlight.

Just in case you get lost!

A journal and a Bible.

The parks are one of the few spaces left where we can truly disconnect. So find a rock in the woods or a spot on the lake, and spend some quiet time in nature with God. A friend!

Always travel in pairs or groups, just in case you meet an animal on the trail. Plus, it’s more fun that way!

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BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK

G A RY C H A P M A N

Celebrating 30 Years as Translator of

THE 5 LOVE LANGUAGES

WHEN DR. GARY CHAPMAN WAS WORKING as a counselor over thirty years ago, he noticed a common theme in the couples who would sit across from him. One would share their spouse “didn’t love them,” and the other partner would be mystified, wondering where they had gone wrong in conveying their love.

As he began to see more couples blindsided by similar revelations, Gary realized there must be countless people having trouble connecting with their partners, that perhaps they weren’t communicating love in a way the other could understand. And the first idea around “love languages” between couples began to take form.

Gary began to test the theory that we all can be reached through our own personal language of

love with the couples in his counseling sessions. He encouraged them to learn what their partner’s love language would be, then to start communicating and connecting with them within that language.

As couples reported the results of this experiment, Gary began to see a pattern of success. “Sometimes, they would say, ‘In three weeks, this is changing everything!’” he recalls.

Gary continued to work with couples while shaping and honing the love languages to their current five categories. But it would be several more years before he’d think of bringing this concept to a larger audience by writing a book about it. “I just thought maybe I could help a lot more people I’d never be able to see in my office,” he says.

Gary’s idea in book form did help a lot of people— 22

1

WORDS OF AFFIRMATION

to the tune of 30 million books sold, translated into fifty languages and scores of other books and resources around the concept.

So why have the five love languages resonated with so many couples and continue to be used far and wide in counseling settings? Gary says it comes down to something that is common among all of us—the desire to have one of our deepest emotional needs met.

“I think when you understand another person's love language, you now have information on how to really communicate on an emotional level. What we're trying to do is meet what almost everyone agrees is one of our deepest emotional needs as humans, and that is the need to feel loved by the significant people in your life. It creates a positive climate in a marriage where both of you are choosing to speak the other person's love language.”

Gary is grateful the book and its principles have had staying power to this day, and believes the simplicity of the concepts will make it appeal to generations to come.

“I really wrote the book because I wanted everybody to have better relationships. I think we need to have more empathy with people in general and say, ‘I can see how you feel that way,’ and then share some things with them—Jesus Calling is a great book to share with people. Whether you're Christian or not, we’re all made in God's image. And because of that, we have the ability to love, and we have the capacity to receive love.”

“You look nice in that outfit!”

Or, “I really appreciate what you did.”

2

ACTS OF SERVICE

Cooking meals, mowing the grass, washing the car.

WHAT’S YOUR LOVE LANGUAGE?

In his own words, Gary explains the five categories he uses to identify how we each like to receive communication and connection from our partner.

34 5 RECEIVING GIFTS

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ENVATO ELEMENTS AND GARY CHAPMAN’S PERSONAL ARCHIVES

“It can be anything—it’s the thought that counts.”

QUALITY TIME

“Our phones are off, the TV is off. We’re giving each other our full attention and simply sharing life together.”

PHYSICAL TOUCH

“Hand-holding, hugging, kissing, the sexual part of marriage—bascially affirming touches.”

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Try Your Hand at Journaling!

Giving and Recieving Love

1. When was the last time you felt truly loved? Write about that moment and where the feeling came from. Why was that moment so special to you?

2. Have you ever noticed that people in your life “light up” differently, depending on ways you show them love? List two or three simple ways you might convey your love to the people closest to you using a “love language” that might resonate with them.

3. As you reflect on giving and receiving love, write down a few thoughts about why it’s important to show (and be shown) love, and why it might make all the difference for someone who needs it.

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25

GO BEFORE YOU’RE READY Chasing Dreams with an “I Will” Attitude

Lieutenant Colonel Dan Rooney has achieved not one, but two goals that many dream of: becoming a US Air Force fighter pilot and a PGA golf professional. Lt. Col. Rooney shares the defining moments that pushed him far outside his comfort zone and the daily spiritual practice that helped him summit mountains that many would deem impossible to climb.

WHEN I WAS TWELVE YEARS OLD, I had a moment of what I call synchronicity, when God puts someone or something in your life that has a dramatic impact.

I played a round of golf with a fighter pilot named Steve Courtright, and he was the coolest

adult that I’d ever met. Later that day, I told my dad, “I know what I want to do with my life: I want to be a golf pro and a fighter pilot.”

And he asked me a question I’ll never forget. “Son, can you tell me which way an airplane takes off?”

“Is it into the wind?”

He said, “That’s exactly right.”

With only a few words, my dad was preparing me for the headwinds that would stand between a twelve-year-old kid and this unlikely dream.

A few years later, I went to the University of Kansas to play golf, where another moment of synchronicity occurred. I was signed up for what I thought would be the easiest class at the University of Kansas, sports psychology 101. On the first day, the professor goes to the front of the room, writes the word volition on the whiteboard, and says, “Can anybody tell me what this word means?”

It’s crickets, right? Not a word.

Then he said, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the most powerful word in the world. Volition is the power of choice. Every day you wake up, you are free to choose. But the choices you make will culminate to write the legacy of your life.”

Then he goes back up to this whiteboard, and he writes down what he calls the volition matrix. He said, “Every choice you make follows a logical path. And it starts with, I won’t do that. I can’t do that. I’d like to. I’ll try. I can.

I will. And if you can make it to I will, nothing can stop you.”

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF DAN ROONEY’S PERSONAL ARCHIVES

by Lt. Col. Dan Rooney

I made the choice, right then and there, that I was going to chase my crazy dream with everything I had in my heart.

I left the University of Kansas and applied for the Air Force pilot training program. Thankfully I got in, but I’ll never forget arriving at pilot training. The colonel comes into the room and says, “You’ve made it to this moment. You get to chase your childhood dream of being a fighter pilot. But most of you aren’t going to make it. Only 4.8 percent of the people who start the program will successfully complete the fighter pilot course.”

It was a defining moment in my life where I realized I couldn’t do this by myself.

The next morning, I woke up thirty minutes early—it was really early, because we’d go to work at 4:30 in the morning—and I dedicated myself to thirty minutes of daily prayer. It was a life-changing gift the Air Force gave me, and this routine of prayer has never stopped. I read Jesus Calling every single day, and it all started because I had this impossible mountain to climb at that point, which was to become a fighter pilot.

I would say the defining thread of true greatness is when you get to a place in your life where you have to choose to go before you’re ready. So often, people wait for everything to get perfectly aligned. I’m going to move when this happens. I’m going to quit this job and do something I really love when I get this much money in the bank, or after we’ve had kids. I really think that’s the purest form of your faith, when you have to push yourself past these stopping points.

Today, I’m the only guy in the history of the world to be a PGA professional and a fighter pilot. And I’m thankful for the challenges the good Lord has put in my life and the way they’ve transformed me.

Lt. Col. Rooney’s book Fly into the Wind is available at your favorite book retailer today.

Lt. Col. Rooney’s Ministry: Folds of Honor Folds of Honor is where I feel like I’m truly serving God in my life.

Thirteen years ago, I’m on a flight from Chicago to Grand Rapids. The captain announces that we’re carrying the remains of an American hero who was killed in Iraq, Corporal Brock Bucklin. And his identical twin brother, Corporal Brad Bucklin, has brought him home.

That night, I saw Corporal Bucklin’s four-year-old son watch his father’s flagdraped coffin inch down the cargo ramp when it hit me: This little boy is never going to play catch with his dad or get tucked in at night. That was the inspiration to start Folds of Honor.

Our mission is to honor the sacrifice by educating the legacy. We provide scholarships to spouses and children who’ve had someone killed or disabled while defending the freedoms we enjoy. It’s been so humbling to know He’s truly using you as an instrument for good.

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Shines HOPE

T H RO U G H the B RO K E N P I EC E S Light Can Be Found After Loss

by Cynthia Stuckey

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MICHELLE HORD KNOWS THE POWER OF WORDS, and that stories take twists and turns we can never imagine when we start them.

A thirty-year media executive who walked the halls of Good Morning America and The Oprah Winfrey Show, Michelle started her career as a journalism major who landed her first job at a show that wasn’t quite what she expected to end up on her resumé: America’s Most Wanted.

“It’s funny,” Michelle reflects on her unexpected employer.

“We have our course, and then God provides what we think are detours, but instead are actually the great path. My time at America’s Most Wanted truly taught me compassion, because I spent a great deal of my time working on missing children's stories.”

Michelle never anticipated her own story would be thrust into a similar arc years later.

In her early thirties, Michelle married her first husband, and though their story and wedding reflected love, “The pictures and the words did not always align,” Michelle describes. The two soon sought counseling but to no avail, and Michelle came to the realization that the marriage could not be repaired.

The one binding tie in the fracturing union was a love for their daughter, Gabrielle.

At seven years old, Gabrielle was a light to all who knew her. Michelle remembers that, “Classmates and principals all felt she had this unbelievably warm, loving spirit. She was so excited to engage and to learn.”

God gives us to say, ‘This does not take away anything that happened. It doesn’t take away the pain and suffering. Yet says that God can take what was meant for evil and use it for good. Yet says that we can evolve from a mindset of scarcity to a mindset of abundance.

Yet says we can potentially find love again and find ways to trust again.’

PHOTOS COURTESY OF REGINA FLEMING PHOTOGRAPHY AND MICHELLE HORD’S PERSONAL ARCHIVES; ISTOCK

“ We have a choice to live in pain, or we have a choice to say, ‘Yet.’

Michelle also found a lifeline in her devotional practice, something she had been cultivating in her life for years. “After my daughter was murdered, Jesus Calling became part of a toolkit of army equipment, frankly, to survive. There were several devotionals I read, but my relationship with Jesus Calling, the intimacy of how the passages are written, was familiar in a time when there wasn’t much that still felt familiar.”

To Michelle, the tiny word yet has propelled her journey as a missionary to those who grieve. “My ministry is this: I’ve survived. There is a complete vulnerability and weakness and brokenness that takes us to Him in a unique way, where He truly can shine through all of the broken pieces. The heinousness of my story only speaks to how loud the hallelujah is.”

Adoration for her daughter prompted Michelle to push through agonizing negotiations and divorce, and on June 5, 2017, Michelle and her then-husband signed divorce papers. It appeared they had turned a page and stepped into a new season. But Michelle was mere hours away from the most heart-wrenching day of her life.

Less than twenty four hours later, Gabrielle's life tragically ended at the hands of her own father.

For many parents, such a loss would push them to utter despair. But instead of a retreat into darkness, Michelle ran straight for the arms of Jesus.

The first days following Gabrielle’s death would set the course for Michelle’s hope in brokenness. “I remember as if it was yesterday: I was on my knees in the living room, praying and holding hands with family and friends and saying over and over like it was a battle cry: ‘Though He slay me, yet do I trust Him? Though He slay me, yet do I trust Him?’” The verse from Job 13:15 became a life preserver for the grieving mother, the words spoken by a father who also found himself grieving lost children. But as Michelle reflected on the verse in days to come, she realized there was an important word that shed new light on her experience.

“We all have dark, unexpected, painful chapters of our lives where we have a choice. We have a choice to live in that space, stew in that space, or we have a choice to say, ‘Yet.’ And to me, yet is a courageous gift

Michelle’s book, The Other Side of Yet, is available wherever books are sold.

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WALKING THE LINE OVER FEAR Tight-Rope Walker Nik Wallenda Follows Tragedy with Bravery

by Michael Scott Overholt

30

NIK WALLENDA KNOWS WHAT IT MEANS to face fear every single day he gets up. As a funambulist (a fancy way of saying “tight-rope walker”) confronting fear is a normal part of his job.

He also knows a thing or two about working through the trauma of tragedy.

Coming from a family of circus performers stretching back to the 1780s, Nik began to play on the practice wire when he was eighteen months old, his parents holding him steady as he walked two feet above the ground. Since those first steps, Nik has earned the title “King of the High Wire” and eleven Guinness World Records, including the highest blindfolded walk, the steepest incline, the highest “wheel of death” performance, and the longest tightrope crossed by a bicycle.

For him, the high-wire life has been a platform for a higher cause. “I know God has opened doors for me to get to where I am in order to bring glory to His name,” the seventh-generation performer says.

But life on the wire doesn’t always move in a straight line.

In 2017, Nik saw a funambulist’s greatest fear materialize in front of his eyes. He and a team of seven others had been rehearsing a complicated eight-person pyramid walk for over two months when the pyramid suddenly began to collapse. From the base of the pyramid, Nik watched as five of his family members fell thirty feet onto the ground.

His sister Lijana had broken every bone in her face and slipped into a coma. She barely survived.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NIK WALLENDA’S PERSONAL ARCHIVES

“ implanted in my A seed of fear had head right after the accident, and I just wouldn’t acknowledge it.

Though Nik was able to cling to the wire when the pyramid collapsed, the accident shook his confidence. In fact, he felt terrified to step onto the wire again. “What I didn’t realize was a seed of fear had implanted in my head right after the accident, and I just wouldn’t acknowledge it.

I was experiencing a form of PTSD,” he admits. “We had to go to New York, and I had such a spirit of fear I’d never experienced before—I was trembling. I told my wife, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ And she said, ‘I will support whatever decision that you make, but don’t forget that your life is about inspiring people to overcome their greatest challenges.’

“I think that happens to a lot of people. The seed of ‘I’m not good enough, I’m not smart enough, I’ll never make it through this’ is planted, and they continue to water that seed. I think that holds people back from their greatness and their calling.”

As a seventh-generation funambulist, Nik fell back onto his training in order to grow his confidence to get back on the wire. He also relied on a relationship that’s been a rock-solid part of his life ever since he could remember.

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Nik and his Mom practicing on a tent wire, Nik and family rehearsing in pyramid formation, Nik walking an arena

FROM TOP:

Nik (foreground) and sister Lijana walking over New York City's Times Square

time, I didn’t realize that’s called life, and I was living the consequence from the decisions I made. But as my relationship with God has grown more and more, I can see it took those valleys in order for me to get to those peaks.”

“Tightrope walking is so similar to our walk with God. We’re supposed to constantly be praying and in the Word. When we do those things, we’re preparing for what we’ll inevitably face at some point.

When I walk across Niagara Falls, I’m not focused on the heavy mist, or the wind, or the waves—to be honest, the roar of the falls is more intimidating than anything—but I’m focused on the solid rock at the other end. That’s really about fixing our eyes on Him. That’s really what I do when I’m walking the wires.

So we might have wind and waves on each side. But the reality is, if we can gaze our eyes on the other end, that’s where we’ll go.”

That laser-sharp focus has helped Nik earn records and acclaim across the world. It’s also helped him move through seasons of pain to give him a perspective that goes higher than than his life on the wire.

“There were many times where I was in the valley going, “God, why would You do this to me?” At the

Nik’s book Facing Fear is available at your favorite book retailer today.

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An exclusive excerpt from Sarah Young’s all-new, 365-day prayer devotional

Jesus Listens

September 22 My ardent Lord,

YOUR LOVE CHASES after me every day of my life! So I’ll look for signs of

Your loving Presence as I go through this day. You disclose Yourself to me

in a variety of ways—words of Scripture just when I need them, helpful

words spoken through other people, “coincidences” orchestrated by Your Spirit, nature’s beauty, and so on. Your Love for me is not passive. It actively

chases after me and leaps into my life! Please open the eyes of my heart so I can “see” You blessing me in myriad ways—both small and great.

I want to not only receive Your bountiful blessings but also take careful note

of them—treasuring them and pondering them in my heart. I’m thankful for

the countless ways You show up in my life. I like to write down some of these

blessings so I can enjoy them again and again. These signs of Your Presence strengthen me and prepare me for whatever difficulties I’ll encounter on the road ahead. Help me to remember that nothing in all creation can separate me from Your Love!

In Your conquering Name, Jesus, Amen PSALM 23:6 THE MESSAGE • PSALM 119:11 NKJV LUKE 2:19 • ROMANS 8:39 EXCERPTED FROM JESUS LISTENS, COPYRIGHT 2021

BY SARAH YOUNG. USED BY PERMISSION OF THE

IMAGE © ISTOCK

PUBLISHER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Jimmy Houston Lives for Faith and Fishing

by Michael Scott Overholt

CATCH A BETTER LIFE name “Jimmy Houston” has become synonymous with fishing success. But it hasn’t always been that way.

“When I was growing up, there was no such thing as a professional tournament fisherman, period,” he remembers.

As a child, Jimmy’s father had a place on Lake Tenkiller in eastern Oklahoma, where Jimmy fished as often as he wanted. Even after he went to college, Jimmy fished about two hundred days out of the year so it’s likely that, he jokes, “I probably spent way more time on the water than I did in class. And that shaped what I’ve ended up doing for a living. All of my life is fishing and things built around fishing.”

After college, Jimmy turned down jobs with lucrative companies like Phillips 66 that would have taken him away from Lake Tenkiller. Instead, he and

THE EARLIEST METAPHOR of following Jesus is fishing.

“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men,” Jesus tells brothers Peter and Andrew, two literal fishermen, in Matthew 4:19. Jesus takes their language and invites them to be his students.

Two thousand years later, it’s a message Jimmy Houston has taken to heart.

Houston is one of the most well-known anglers in the country. Famous for his ready laugh and limitless banter with fishing partners, he’s fished over one hundred events in the prestigious Fishing League Worldwide and finished in the top ten on three separate occasions. He’s won the B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year title twice and earned a spot at the Bassmaster Classic fifteen times.

After four decades on television airwaves, the 34

his wife, Chris—also a Freshwater Hall of Fame inductee—opened a nearby insurance agency and still spent time on the water. “Through all of that, we fished in local tournaments, maybe one national tournament a year,” the angler says, “but that was all.”

For a while, the setup worked. Jimmy and Chris spent their days in the office and as much time as they could by the water. But after a while, the balance began to shift. Jimmy found himself winning fishing tournaments, gaining notoriety and more opportunities to compete, leaving Chris to run the agency alone. Something had to give.

“I said, ‘Why don’t we sell this agency and just make our living fishing?’ And I could see that stress lift off of her in a big way.”

God was always “able to pick us up and take us to that next step, whatever that next step might be.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PAT TURNER, JIMMY HOUSTON PRODUCTIONS

E

Not long after they decided to make fishing their full-time business in the late 70s, they started the television show that lifted Jimmy to a new level of fame that’s stayed with him for the past four decades.

But the path to success hasn’t always been a straight line. “A lot of times we've been at the top of the mountain. Sometimes we’ve been dead broke. God’s had a big hand in all of it throughout the way.

When we stumbled and fell, when we hit those broken roads, when we got in those valleys, God was always able to pick us up and take us to that next step, whatever that next step might be.”

Houston sees life through a spiritual lens, one that he shares along with fishing tips in his highly anticipated new devotional called Catch a Better Life that just hit store shelves. He’s passionate about sharing his faith with anyone he meets, whether it’s on the page, on the screen, or in the stream. And he has the same message for all of them: ”When you look back and see similar circumstances happen that you’re facing now, God will remind you through His Spirit how He took care of it. ‘Do you remember when that same circumstance came back? Do you remember how I handled it? I'll handle it again.’

It gives you a peace and a joy.”

With a heart like that, there’s no telling how many souls he’s caught—and changed for the better.

Fishing Tips from a Pro

WANT TO CAST WITH MORE ACCURACY?

Using an underhand cast is the best choice.

FISHING IN SHALLOW WATER?

Pitch the lure so it makes a soft landing on the surface so you don’t spook the fish (and keep your scent off the bait, too).

NEED A GOOD FISHING SPOT WHEN THE WEATHER TURNS COLDER?

The lower end of lakes—especially near a dam—are your best bet.

Jimmy's devotional Catch a Better Life is available everywhere books are sold.

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®

SOCIAL MEDIA SPOTLIGHT We love to see how Jesus Calling inspires you!

These friends recently caught our eye.

@palomavillicana Good Morning God

@senteramy I love buying this book for people going through something hard because it makes you feel like you are completely seen and heard by the God who loves you

New Jesus Listens YouTube Series!

Feeling overwhelmed? See how others moved through hard moments

with the power of prayer. Host Susie McEntire-Eaton talks with guests about how they found joy and peace through talking with Jesus.

Hear stories of prayer from guests like Stephen Miller (entrepreneur & YouTuber), Rob Kenney (viral sensation “Internet Dad”), and Emily Ley (creator of The Simplified Planner®) more!

Watch Jesus Listens: Stories of Prayer only on the Jesus Calling YouTube channel! Subscribe today so you can catch every new episode as it drops.

SUSIE EATON COURTESY OF MICHAEL SCOTT EVANS

@la_vida_es_fabuloso Devotion time #jesuscalling

M U S I C

A Legacy of Faith Gospel’s Mica Paris on the Power of a Praying Grandmother

a bit. The records weren’t selling as much. At those moments, that’s when faith comes in.

“Every single disappointment I’ve been through, my faith got me through it. Grandma always used to say, ‘Whatever you’re going through, Mica, just get on your knees. Just get on your knees, girl.’ I have to tell you: if I never had that, there’s no way I could still be here thirty-three years later and still have my faculties intact.”

After her music career cooled off, Mica looked for new opportunities in the entertainment industry and decided to produce a documentary about the origins of gospel music. Aired during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the program was a huge hit for the BBC. Music producers began calling again, and Mica signed her first deal in eleven years. The singer acknowledges things have changed a bit since the last time she’s cut a record.

“People say to me now, ‘Mica, your voice sounds so different.’ And I’m telling you, what you’re hearing is the journey. You can’t learn that. You are your living testimony. Your life is your voice.”

IMAGE COURTESY OF WARNER BROS RECORDS

“ Every single disappointment I’ve been through, my faith got me through it.

And it was in those churches where Mica developed her talent. At eleven, she was winning awards. At sixteen, she was discovered singing in church and signed her first record deal. A year later, she crossed over from gospel to pop, and went straight to the top of the charts. Television appearances began filling her schedule. The young singer found the overnight fame a bit dizzying.

“Fame is like a psychosis—you feel like you go a little bit mad,” she admits. “Suddenly, you’re like the second coming, and that’s really intoxicating. You’re so important to everyone. Everything you say is right.

I had about a fifteen-year run of everything just being amazing. And then suddenly, it started to go down

Mica’s latest album, Gospel, is available wherever you stream or buy music.

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S P O T L I G H T

Mica Paris is a powerhouse in British entertainment.

She’s a beloved singer in multiple genres: gospel, pop, and jazz. She’s starred in theater productions on the West End. She’s been a television actor and host. She’s even a member of the prestigious Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her services to music, entertainment, and charity.

None of it would’ve been possible, she thinks, if her grandmother hadn’t caught her at six years old singing the theme song to the children’s cartoon Rupert the Bear.

“Basically, she had a meltdown and told everyone, ‘She’s got an amazing voice!’ And then she started sort of dragging me all around the churches to sing.”

Mica grew up in London, the granddaughter of immigrants who moved to Britain from Jamaica as part of the Windrush Generation. From 1948 to 1970, half a million Caribbeans brought their food, culture, and faith to the UK, and Mica’s grandparents were no different. They became pillars in the Pentacostal church community when they arrived.

o t s e Y y Sa

Summer Adventures!

by Greta Eskridge

A

N O T E

T O

Host a Meteor Slumber Party

P A R E N T S :

I love to go on adventures, especially with my family.

It’s a time for us to talk, grow, laugh, learn, and

E

very summer from mid-July to mid-August, a beautiful meteor shower lights up the night sky. It’s incredibly exciting, and you never know when the next one is coming! These tips will help you enjoy your meteor slumber party:

make memories together.

I wrote a book for kids with 100 adventure ideas to get

outside their normal routines (and away from screens).

But these ideas aren’t just for kids. When we see new

sights, smell new aromas, taste new foods, and hear new

• Research the nights when astronomers predict the meteor shower will peak.

sounds, we’re changed by what we encounter. But that only happens when we say yes to adventures!

• Travel to a place in the country away from lights, where you have a wide open view of the sky. Don’t forget to bring a thermos of something yummy—lemonade if it’s warm or hot chocolate if it’s cool—to sip while you wait!

• Sit back and enjoy the beautiful fireworks display that God made for you.

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Put on a Talent Show

T

alent shows are a lot of fun, no matter which side of the stage you’re on. It’s inspiring to see all the different things people can do.

Need some talent ideas? You’re probably good at one of these!

Tell jokes

Lip-sync to a song

Do magic tricks

Do jump rope tricks

Share a piece of art

Perform a puppet show

Do a dance Do tricks with a pet Sing Share homemade food

Share a LEGO build Tell a story Hula-Hoop Juggle

Play an instrument Dribble a soccer or basketball

Create a Chalk Art Masterpiece

O IMAGES COURTESY OF GRETA ESKRIDGE, TOMMY NELSON

ne of the best ways to be a better artist is to study the works of famous masters and re-create them yourself. But instead of drawing your favorite artwork with pencil and paper, grab some chalk and use your driveway or sidewalk as your canvas!

You can choose a painting by a modern artist with big blocks of color, or find an artist who drew simple things around the house, like flowers or fruit.

You could even try a landscape scene.

No matter what you choose, you’ll have fun comparing your own work with the piece of art that inspired it!

100 Days of Adventure is available at your favorite book retailer today.

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G

A

M

E

S

j

P

U

Z Z

L

E

S

HAVIN' FUN in the SUMMER SUN

Make Some Words! l

HOW MANY WORDS OF THREE LETTERS

Summer Days a Word Scramble I N S T R U C T I O N S : Unscramble each word. Once that’s complete, use the highlighted boxes to decode

OR MORE CAN YOU FIND USING THE

the secret message (which is also scrambled!)

LETTERS BELOW? GRAB A PIECE OF PA P E R T O P L AY A G A I N S T A F R I E N D O R F A M I LY M E M B E R , A N D S E E W H O C A N G E T T H E M O S T P O I N T S T H E FA S T E S T !

T H E R U L E S : You can spell a word using letters that

AHCEB

appear together horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. No letter square may be used more than once within a single world. You may use plurals. After two minutes, score one point for each three-letter word, two points for four-letter

OPOL

words, three points for five-letter words, and so on. Keep a dictionary handy to point out words that aren’t, um, real.

NECNSSURE

LBEABLAS

TAC I V N OA

What's the Secret Message?

D Copy the

Sandcastle

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