“There are so many unknowns. . . . Risk is the only way forward.”- John Piper, Risk is Right: Better to Lose Your Life Than to Waste It (Crossway, 2013) In Chapter 8 (“When Waiting Is Risky”) of Still Waiting, Ann Swindell notes the consequences of her failure to risk. First, Ann’s fear coerced he […]
“Shame can be silenced. Even as we wait in unwanted realities and sickness and broken relationships, unwhole and unwell, we can still silence shame.”- Ann Swindell “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured […]
“I didn’t know how to bring the knowledge in my head — the awareness of my brokenness as a baseline reality and a starting point for my need for Jesus — in line with the motions of my heart and my deep desire to feel whole . . .”- Ann Swindell In Chapter 4 (“When […]
“Yes, we spend ourselves on what we value the most. Whether it’s money, time, energy, or emotions, we pour ourselves out on the thing that we deem most worthy of our devotion.”- Ann Swindell In Chapter 3 (“When Waiting Costs You Everything”) of Still Waiting, Ann Swindell discusses the high price of hiding. On a […]
“All of us live with brokenness in our lives. To varying degrees and in various ways, brokenness is more normal than foreign in the human experience.”- Ann Swindell in Chapter 1 (“When Waiting Makes You Broken”) of Still Waiting, Ann Swindell states she began to clearly understand brokenness at the age of eleven. Up until […]
“God calls us to resist succumbing to readily available distractions and instead to press into these thirsty moments, our weakest seasons. Thirst is our ally. We want to be thirsty for God.”- Sara Hagerty “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground.”- Isaiah 44:3 (NIV) Sara Hagerty concludes […]
Brokenness is the antidote to shame.”- Dan Allender and Tremper Longman, The Cry of the Soul (1994) “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”- Psalm 34:18 (ESV) As Sara Hagerty continues Chapter 5 of Unseen, she admits she doesn’t relish thinking of herself as vulnerable. Therefore, she explains: “Really, […]
“Each of us has a me that we think we should be, which is at odds with the me that God made us to be. Sometimes letting go of that self may be a relief. Sometimes it will feel like death.”- John Ortberg In Chapter 2 (“The Me I Don’t Want to Be”), John Ortberg […]
Grace explained is necessary, but grace experienced is essential.”- Kyle Idleman “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”- Hebrews 12:15 (NIV) In the Introduction to his latest book Grace Is Greater: How to Overcome Your Past, Redeem Your […]
“We all want to know the answer to the question of why we experience brokenness. It is human nature to wrap our heads around why something so terrible could happen to us. But when we do not lean into lament to wrestle with God over these questions, we will often turn to blame.”- Esther Fleece He […]
“Such is the snowball effect our coping mechanisms create as we try to avoid pain and instead fall into unhealthy patterns.”- Esther Fleece Esther Fleece concludes Chapter 2 of No More Faking Fine as she presents the fourth and fifth coping mechanisms used to short-circuit the healing process. 4. “I’ll just put my past behind […]
“Reclaiming the language of lament allows God to infuse His very being into ours and equip us to face the challenges of life with perseverance, trust, and a sense of purpose.”- Esther Fleece As Esther Fleece concludes Chapter 1 of No More Faking Fine, she asserts we must reclaim the lost language of lament. In […]