“To have [an expectant] posture, to believe that ‘there are far better things ahead than any we leave behind.’ requires a present mind that isn’t determined to overcome our limitations, isn’t fixed on them. . . . We start to expect that what is within reach, not what is out of reach, is going to […]
“I believe there’s a day ahead for us when the fence line looks the same but our hearts are different. Our hearts are alive. They know where to turn when the fence line catches their attention. They know their maker and they rest where they are.”- Sara Hagerty “The boundary lines have fallen for me […]
“Our limitations are often invisible but unyielding fences in our lives until we are forced to notice them. . . . the wire fence — the limitations you’ve been resenting or working fiercely to overcome, often subconsciously.”- Sara Hagerty “Fixed layers, consequences unfolding by casual necessity, the whole natural order, are at once limits within […]
Untangle Your Emotions Waterbrook/Multnomah recently published Jennifer Allen’s latest book. Jennifer titled it Untangle Your Emotions: Naming What Your Feel and Knowing What to Do About It (2024). Jennifer, the founder and visionary for IF:Gathering, earned her master’s degree in biblical studies from Dallas Theological Seminary. First, the author underscores, you can’t beat back, ignore, […]
“Let’s fight for joy. . . . But let’s surprise the world and also be sad and angry and scared when it’s fitting — not because our God isn’t big enough to conquer those things, but because He’s big enough to hold those things. Our faith is big enough to hope in the midst of […]
“The moment we learn how to feel our feelings and not run from them or judge them, we free up all that energy we were pouring into not feeling them all those years. We’re then able to live life as it was meant to be lived, complete with highs and lows and joy and grief […]
“Eugene Peterson wrote so beautifully that the aim of the person of faith is . . . to live as deeply and thoroughly as possible — to deal with the reality of life, discover truth, create beauty, act out love.’ Yes, this is living. This is the redemptive work of God through us on earth. […]
“Now, we nearly all have strings that, even when they’re untangled, we’d still rather forget. But when they’re untangled, we can work with this thing. What was just a mangled mess of unusable Christmas lights . . . becomes something beautiful and life-giving and connected and has the hint and promise of connection between us […]
“Here’s the truth: That sweater [of unfelt feelings] needs to come unraveled, because it’s keeping exactly nobody warm. . . . Instead of thinking of those unfelt feelings as a nice, comfy sweater, better to think of them as a knotted rope hanging around your neck. Only good will come from untangling it.”- Jennifer Allen […]
“Many times we emotionally hit a wall because . . . our bodies are broken and they just don’t function how we wish they could. Because it is all so broken. But the Bible issues hope for the brokenness. . . . God isn’t afraid of the brokenness, and we shouldn’t be either. He has […]
In Chapter 7 (“The God of Entertainment”) of Gods at War, Pastor Kyle Idleman tells of a mission trip one of his friends made to India. His friend had a picture of what served as the family room in an Indian home. The centerpiece, somewhat like a mantel on a heart in our country, featured […]
“Faith isn’t summoned, it grows. It grows because of a relationship, not your willpower. . . . A relationship with God — it changes everything. He untangles the chaotic knots in our souls — but probably not in the way we expected. . . . He untangles the knots through seasons of tears and raw […]