“Can I accept the invitation of suffering? I understand now what the invitation is. In our pain, God invites us to express our grief about the unraveling of life. At the same time, we are invited to unabashedly, unashamedly declare that we want it back. No more . . . pretending. Just the naked self, […]
“God never allows his people to curse; he encourages them to lament. God doesn’t expect us to bottle up our hurt and our fear, suppressing it unnaturally; he encourages us to turn toward him and pour out our hearts.”- Tina Boesch With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse […]
No More Faking Fine: Ending the Pretending (Zondervan, 2017) International speaker and writer Esther Fleece recently completed No More Faking Fine: Ending the Pretending. In her book, Ms. Fleece uncovers the biblical language of lament. Esther describes lament as a real-world way to deal with our raw emotions that moves us forward to healing. Furthermore, […]
“You will know you’re coming through a lament when you begin to hear a new song of praise.”- Esther Fleece “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in Him.”- Psalm 40:3 Esther Fleece concludes Chapter 11 […]
“How we walk with the broken speaks louder than how we sit with the great.”- Pastor Bill Bennot Esther Fleece concludes Chapter 10 of No More Faking Fine as she stresses the need for empathy and presence when someone experiences hard times. In the depths of pain, Ms. Fleece adds, none of us need correction […]
” . . . it’s actually a gift from God when our old coping mechanisms no longer help us get by. When our old standbys break down, it drives us to Him, and to the awareness that we need other people.”- Esther Fleece “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the […]
“Remembering is not a passive reflection, but a bold action of calling God’s truth into the present.”- Esther Fleece “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”- Proverbs 3:5-6 As Esther Fleece concludes Chapter 8 […]
“We can rejoice, even when we have unanswered questions, even when we have doubts and fears — and yes, even while we are still lamenting. . . . We can receive the peace of God and raise our hands to say Selah . . .”- Esther Fleece As Esther Fleece concludes Chapter 7 of No […]
” . . . we risk missing out on knowing God when we are intent on reaching resolution rather than appreciating the relationship. When we are too focused on outcomes, we. . . despise lament sessions and begin to question God’s heart toward us.”- Esther Fleece “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and […]
“God’s loving presence is an absolute we can count on.”- Esther Fleece Esther Fleece begins Part 2 (“A New Way to Pray”) of No More Faking Fine with Chapter 6 (“Why?”). As Esther opens the chapter, she notes that questions we’re afraid to voice don’t go away. The howl of the soul cries “Why?” Yet, […]
“When we are secure in God’s love for us, when we know how He really feels about us, we are free to ask and tell Him anything . . . . And that is His hope for us exactly — to come to Him even, and especially, when life falls apart.”- Esther Fleece Esther Fleece […]
“All my efforts to maintain some semblance of control over my life and my emotions did not keep the enemy out, but they did keep God out.”- Esther Fleece In Chapter 4 (“A Surprising Path to Healing”) of No More Faking Fine, Esther Fleece notes that putting your past behind you doesn’t make it go […]