Bible

May 11, 2018

The Three Prayers of Motherhood

I am far from having a PhD in motherhood; in fact, this is my first Mother’s Day with a child in my arms. But that’s long enough for me to know this: being a mom comes with all the feelings.

There’s something about being a mom that takes any given emotion and injects it with steroids. Sure, I experienced worry before I became a mom. But now if my baby so much as sneezes, I’m convinced that this is the twenty-first-century version of the bubonic plague. I used to feel pain, too, but that was nothing compared to the vicarious pain I felt on his first trip to the ER. I felt delight before, but nothing could have prepared me for the way my heart would swell the first time he smiled at me (even if was just gas). . . .

You can continue reading (and find out the three prayers every mom should know) at the Tyndale blog.

***

Happy Mother’s Day to you this weekend, whether you have children of your own or you share your maternal love with other children. You are beautiful, and you are loved.

October 21, 2016

Friday Favorites for October

friday_favorites_header1

Happy Friday, everyone! Here are a few of my recent favorite finds, from literary costumes to the most popular book the year you were born to the oldest picture book. Enjoy!

For anyone still looking for a Halloween costume . . .

These literary-themed costumes are adorable (and some aren’t that hard to pull off). Will someone please try the Curious George/Man with the Yellow Hat combination? 19 Book-Inspired Halloween Costumes for Kids and Adults

For anyone who likes to trace trends . . .

This is a fascinating glimpse into what Americans have been reading, year by year, since 1930. (It’s also interesting to note the changing book cover trends.) What Was the Most Popular Book the Year You Were Born?

For anyone who likes old things . . .

The oldest picture book for children dates back to the 1600s and featured—believe it or not—animal sounds! I guess some things don’t change. (Although apparently animal noises do: 17^th-century ducks said kah kah, and chickens said pi pi.) The Very First Picture Book

For anyone who has pinned a pretty verse on Pinterest . . .

This post is simultaneously hilarious and sobering. “Beware the Instagram Bible, my daughters—those filtered frames festooned with feathered verses, adorned in all manner of loops and tails, bedecked with blossoms, saturated with sunsets, culled and curated just for you…” The Instagram Bible

For anyone who has wondered about the mystery of marriage . . .

This post is a poignant and honest glimpse into one couple’s relationship: “Marriage is not one + one = two. It isn’t even one + one = one. Marriage is (one – one) + (one – one) = one.” The Strange Math of Marriage

February 24, 2015

10 Minutes with God

I’m excited to be writing the devotions for my church again this week! (See this post for last week’s devos.) My favorite musician (aka Daniel Rische) wrote a new musical interlude for this week, and if you want to check it out, you can listen to the audio version here.)

This week I’m writing about Acts 14 and how success can bring opposition.

***

We had just finished eating lunch with a pastor from a country in Southeast Asia. He had come to the States for a few weeks to give an update on the small but vibrant church that met in the basement of his home. In his country, it was illegal to convert from another religion to Christianity, and he and his fellow church members had faced the kind of persecution that seems unimaginable to most of us in the West. One member of their congregation had lost his job due to religious discrimination. One woman had been disowned by her family. Another man had been thrown into jail without cause.

When he had finished giving us the update about his church, one of my friends asked, “Pastor, how can we pray for you?”

The room was filled with palpable silence as we awaited his answer. Would he ask us to pray for religious freedom in his country or an overthrow of the current government? Would he request safety and physical protection for his family? Would he ask for financial provision for his church? Would he ask for the means to move to a safer place?

“Actually,” he said, his voice thick with emotion, “my church prays for you.”

“For us?” We were incredulous.

“Yes, for the church in America.”

No one could formulate a response. We just stared at him.

“We are worried for you in America,” he said. “You are so comfortable here. If you do not face trials because of Jesus, how will your faith be proven true? How will you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ?”

Here I’d been wondering how his faith could stand up under so many trials, and he was wondering how my faith could stand up without them. Clearly I had a lot to learn about suffering for Jesus.

Reading the accounts of the early church in the book of Acts can feel like a cross-cultural experience for us—it turns our preconceived notions about faith upside down. As Western Christians, it’s easy to think that if we’re facing opposition, we must be doing something wrong. If we are criticized, we wonder if it’s time to throw in the towel. If we run into conflict, we decide maybe this wasn’t God’s will. If we feel the pangs of doubt and discouragement, we figure this must not have been our calling after all.

But the book of Acts lets us in on a secret American culture will never tell us: success doesn’t automatically lead to smooth sailing. In fact, sometimes success leads to opposition.

When Paul and Barnabas embarked on their missionary journey, the very fact that people were listening and responding to the message of the gospel was what got them in trouble. If they’d just been coasting along, not making waves, the Jewish leaders no doubt would have left them alone. It was only because God was at work through them that they found their lives in danger: “At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers” (Acts 14:1-2).

As difficult as this opposition was, there were some unexpected upsides to this time of hardship: it deepened their reliance on God and solidified their relationship with other, giving them an even more unified bond in Christ.

The same is true for us. For all that opposition is uncomfortable and frightening, it unites with the God who can protect us in the midst of trials and with our brothers and sisters, who walk through it with us.

February 17, 2015

Breaking through Impossible Barriers

For the next few weeks I have the privilege of writing 10 Minutes with God, the daily devotions put out by my church. We are going through a series on the book of Acts right now, and I am finding myself bowled over by the drama of everything that happened as the church was being born.

Below you’ll find the first devotions from this series on Acts 13. If you’re interested, you can catch up on more of the devotions here.

I’ve also recorded these devotions on audio, which you can access here. (As a special bonus on the audio version, listen for the musical intro and outro, composed and mixed by the one and only Daniel Rische!)

***

For decades after the first airplane was invented, aviators and scientists believed it was impossible to break the sound barrier. They were convinced that any aircraft that flew faster than the speed of sound would be instantly torn apart.

And so, for about forty years, the speed of sound was an accepted boundary in aviation. Pilots didn’t question it. They didn’t flirt with it. They didn’t cross it. It was a firm line, deeply entrenched in flying culture.

This idea of a deep-seated, uncrossable barrier is perhaps not so different from the religious culture in the book of Acts. For centuries, ever since God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 15:5, the Jews had been God’s chosen people. He had revealed himself specifically to this nation and had promised that the Messiah would come through their Jewish line. But when Christ came, he redefined what it means to be chosen by God. Now, in Christ, “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

The book of Acts recounts the birth of the church, and with that beginning came some birth pains. God’s plan for the church was—and is—to create a unified community out of diverse individuals. This includes men and women, old and young, Jews and non-Jews, people from all races, cultures, languages, and countries.

This revelation was difficult for the Jewish believers to take in. After all, it was a barrier that had been in place for generations. Was God really opening his family to include people who weren’t part of the Jewish line? It was an idea as revolutionary and impossible as crossing the sound barrier.

Yet this passage in Acts shows how the early church began to demonstrate unity in their diversity. They accepted God’s vision for including people of all backgrounds, and they immediately put that vision into action.

Let’s take a closer look at the list of leaders in the church in Antioch in Acts 13:1. Barnabas was a Levite, a descendant of the Jewish line of priests. Bible scholars believe that Simeon’s nickname, Niger, indicates he was of African descent. Lucius was from Cyrene, meaning he was likely Greek. Then they had in their mix someone of dubious political background, who had close ties with the emperor partially responsible for Jesus’ death. And finally there was Saul, a former devout Jew who had spent most of his career before his conversion persecuting Christians. If ever there was a recipe for church conflict, this was it.

And yet even with all these racial, cultural, and political differences, the church remained unified. How was that possible? Quite simply, what unified them was more powerful than what divided them. And what united them was Jesus Christ.

In the years just after World War II, some people started to question the commonly held belief that the sound barrier was impassible. And after some trial and error, Bell Aircraft Company created a rocket plane, which was modeled after a 50-caliber bullet, in an attempt to achieve supersonic flight. In October 1947, Air Force captain Chuck Yeager flew the aircraft, dubbed Glamorous Glennis. He took the rocket plane higher and faster until, at 662 miles per hour, history was made: the sound barrier was broken.

From that moment, the entire landscape of aviation changed.

And so it is with God’s chosen ones. History is forever divided by this barrier that was broken in the book of Acts. This has significant implications for us as part of the church today. If these followers of Jesus could remain unified amid their radical differences, then we, too, must strive for Christian unity. With Christ as our common ground, all other differences will fade away.

September 16, 2014

A Book for the Little Princess in Your Life…

If you have little girls in your life, you know that princesses are everywhere—in the dress-up box, at birthday parties, on TV, at the store. And there are good things about this princess era we live in, because it’s important for girls to feel special and beautiful.

But most of us long for more than pretty dresses and tiaras for the girls we love. Our desire is for them to become beautiful on the inside as well. We want them to know where their real identity is found—that since God is their Father, they are daughters of the King. That makes them true princesses.

To read the rest of the article and to find out more about my new book about princesses, bullying, and Queen Esther, you can check out Tyndale’s blog here.

April 1, 2014

The Yoke’s on Him

I am weary. Is anyone with me?

The laundry is piling up. The sink is full of dirty dishes. The work deadlines are looming. My to-do list is spilling off the page. The technology that promised to make my life easier has just added more items to my list. Oh, and apparently dinner is a thing again today.

Maybe that’s why I’m drawn to Jesus’ words about how our souls can find rest in him:

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

—Matthew 11:29

As hopeful as that sounds—rest for my soul!—I don’t entirely get it. Isn’t a yoke a symbol of work, not rest? I picture the oxen working the field with that wooden bar across their backs. If I wanted to paint a picture of rest, I’d describe a hammock gently swinging between two trees or a lounge chair on a tropical beach. Somehow the image of oxen doing heavy plowing doesn’t seem to me like the picture of soul-rest.

But recently I attended a conference by Lysa TerKeurst, who described what Jesus’ audience would have understood when he described this scene. Apparently when Jesus said “learn from me” in this context, he was referring to the process where a young, untrained ox would learn to pull a load from a more experienced animal. They shared a yoke so the younger ox could get a feel for what it felt like to pull, but the entire burden was placed on the older ox. Then the two oxen would walk together, side by side, until the young animal gradually grew stronger.

And so it is for us. Soul rest doesn’t mean we escape our reality and our responsibilities. God doesn’t give us a free pass from the things we’ve been called to do. But it does mean he carries the weight for us—the burden is on him. Our job is to walk closely with him, right by his side. It means we are never alone as we carry out the big and small tasks he asks us to do.

There may not be fewer loads of laundry. The dirty dishes may not go away. But maybe I can do these tasks with joy, knowing he’s standing right beside me at the sink, in the laundry room. Maybe my to-do list will seem less daunting, knowing that he’s helping me task by task, day by day.

My burden may not be smaller. But someone stronger is walking through it right beside me. And he’s the one doing all the heavy lifting.

March 10, 2014

FREE art giveaway

In honor of my website launch, my friend Julie Chen at Life Verse Design is graciously sharing a FREE piece of her art today! She is amazingly talented, and I encourage you to go to her site to find lovely notecards, inspirational art, plaques, and personalized pieces for your home.

Go to this link to download your printable copy of the piece above.

March 3, 2014

Announcing the Winner for the Bible!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our conversation about childhood dreams and the visions God is breathing into your life right now.

Congratulations to commenter #3 . . . Sally! You are the winner of the Everyday Matters Bible for Women! I will send you a private message about getting the book to you.

Stay tuned tomorrow–I’ll be announcing the book club choice for March!

February 28, 2014

Unearthing Your Buried Dream

Picture yourself when you were a kid—say, ten years old. Old enough to have discovered a bit about who you are, but young enough not to be jaded by things like pragmatism and budgets and the real world.

What did you dream about?
What did you hope for?
What visions did you have for the future?

When I was ten, I had aspirations of becoming an astronaut and an author. The intergalactic dream died a quick death when I realized I didn’t like any classes ending in “ology,” but the writing dream was harder to shake. I fantasized about putting words onto paper in a way that clicked with people and made them think and prompted them to say, “You too?”

And so, with some help from Mom and her cabinet full of craft supplies, I managed to put together my own book—a gripping tale about Molly the Mouse, who is deeply misunderstood, gets lost in the countryside, and eventually finds love and a home. (I think this title is actually the first in a two-part series about Molly Mouse, if I could only dig up the next book somewhere in my box-o-treasures.)

When I grew up, I shelved the writing dream, immersing myself with words and books but not believing I could write. That was for people who were smarter than me, more creative than me—people who had something important to say. But that little nugget of a dream never went away.

I think that’s how it is when God plants a desire or a passion or a dream in us. It may get buried for a while, but he never forgets about that dream-seed.

So what are the dreams planted inside of you?
What is buried in your heart under the layers of sediment and years?

It can be scary to dig down and excavate those places, because when we do, we expose tender, vulnerable pieces of ourselves to potential hurt. And we open ourselves up to potential disappointment and failure.

But you know what is worse than failing? Never finding out what God would do with those dream-seeds if we gave him a chance. Never tasting the joy that comes with doing what we were made to do. Never giving other people a chance to be fed by our gift.

“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

Frederick Buechner

Twenty-five years after writing that first book, I am a little stunned to see my name on the cover of a real book real book. (It’s in small letters, but look closely—it’s there!) This book wasn’t handwritten and photocopied, and it required none of Mom’s craft supplies. But the feeling inside is the same, a quarter of a century later.

Whatever passion is burning inside of you, whatever dream is hiding there under the surface, I encourage you to chase after it—to go after that place where deep gladness and deep hunger collide.

And if you do, I’d love to hear about so I can be there, cheering you on.

***

In honor of launch week for StephanieRische.com, I’m giving away a copy of the Everyday Matters Bible for Women. To be eligible, simply answer this question in the comment section:

What was one of your dreams as a kid? What did you want to do or be someday?

Submit your answer by Monday, March 3, to be eligible to win.

February 11, 2014

10 Minutes With God: The Way of Salvation

This week I wrap up my writing of the online devotions for my church. After being immersed in Psalm 119 for the past six weeks, I have a new appreciation for this longest chapter of the Bible and a deeper love for God’s Word.

Here’s a peek at today’s devotion:

Imagine you’re a pilot, taking your small plane out for a quick flight. When you took off earlier in the day, the sun was shining and conditions seemed ideal for flying. But now the wind is starting to pick up, and before you know it, a dense fog has rolled in. Visibility is low, and it’s becoming more difficult to see landmarks—particularly the horizon.

Then it happens: suddenly your body is saying you’re going one direction, while the instruments are telling another story.

You’re heard warnings about this before—spatial disorientation, they call it. Which voice will you believe? Your inner ear, which is convinced that you’re flying straight, or the plane’s instrument panel, which clearly says you’re banking left? What will you use as your standard to determine which way is up? Your choice could very likely mean the difference between life and death. . . .

To keep reading, click here. And to hear the audio version, read by me and recorded by the talented Daniel Rische, click here.

May you, too, fall in love with God’s Word!