"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27
God loves orphans! They are precious in His sight and are made in His own image just like everyone else. My family and I wish we could help all of them. We know we alone can't but the Body of Christ can join hands and make it more plausible. At times, it may seem overwhelming and we might prefer to shut it out. But we're called to look after orphans. Praying...giving... adopting...advocating...doing whatever helps! My 18 year old daughter has been advocating for orphans posted on Reece's Rainbow website on her blog and Facebook.
I'd like to introduce you to Hope for AIDS Orphans (a ministry of Cross International). Their main mission is to care for the AIDS orphans (14,800,000...as of 2010) in Africa.Can you imagine almost 15 million kids suffering with AIDS and having no parents?I can't wrap my mind around this heart-wrenching fact! These are not just numbers; they're precious lives who desperately need Christ's love and our help. Please watch the video below (if the video doesn't work, please go watch it on the website) and consider the 3 ways you can help these orphans:Express Your Care (sign their Angel of Hope Photo Mosaic), Share Their Story (share the orphan video with your friends), and Give Them Hope (donate to this wonderful cause).
We're very excited to help provide for these orphans through Hope for AIDS Orphans. Would you please join us, too? Any amount helps! Please visit the website for details. Thanks for caring!
I love Selah, especially when they sing hymns :)! They have very beautiful voices. I was so excited to have an opportunity to review their newest album, "Hope of the Broken World" which is released today!
This album includes 12 songs:
On the Mountain
Hope of the Broken World (see a music video below)
Shelter Me
Coat of Many Colors (written by Dolly Parton)
He'll Hold You
Be Still
Moments Like These
I Turn to You
Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus (a hymn written by Louisa M.R. Stead, c.1850-1917)
Threshold of Glory
I Look to You
When Love Was Slain
My husband and I enjoyed listening to this album. It consists of various styles of music. Shelter Me (based on Psalm 91) is a fun song with country music feel. Coat of Many Colors is a folk song/story-telling song. Selah did a cool rendition of an old hymn, Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus, with a bonus of singing in African language (Did you know that Todd Smith, one of the singers, grew up in Africa?). Moments Like These is such a tender song about children and parents; it made me cry. On the Mountain is an upbeat, catchy song. Hope of the Broken World is a soothing song about Jesus who is the Light and Hope of the World. Some of my favorites are #2, #7, #9, and #12. All songs have great lyrics/encouraging messages. Selah is truly a talented group. I can listen to this CD over and over again :).
Note: Please turn off my music playlist at the bottom of this page before starting the video.
You Hold Me Now--written by Matthew Philip Crocker and Reuben Timothy Morgan; sung by Robert Pierre
I love this song. I can listen to it again and again :). It's so comforting to know what awaits us for eternity. "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:3b-4
Summary: No author in history has more material in print than Charles Spurgeon. During his lifetime, Spurgeon and his writings affected the world far and wide. Today, nearly 120 years after his death, countless people continue to have a passion for this London preacher, and more and more discover him every day. Some of Spurgeon’s most powerful sermons were those that he preached on the topic of Heaven. Up until now, however, very few of these sermons have been accessible to a mass audience. In what is sure to become an instant classic, best-selling author Randy Alcorn has compiled the most profound spiritual insights on the topic of eternity from these sermons and arranged them into an easily-accessible, highly inspirational devotional format complete with his own comments and devotional thoughts. Whether you are familiar with the works of Charles Spurgeon or not, you are in for a treat, as Alcorn invites you to sit at the feet of the Prince of Preachers and discover timeless pearls of wisdom from one of the greatest theological minds of all time.
My Thoughts and Review: This book is a treat for me, indeed! Charles Spurgeon and Randy Alcorn are two of my favorite Christian authors. I believe most Christians don't think much about heaven until they're old, dying, or losing their loved ones. But the Bible says, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory." (Colossians 3:1-4) Heaven is our permanent home and we should be storing up our treasures in heaven, not on earth (Matthew 6:19-21). We Shall See God will help you set your hearts and minds on things above. Randy Alcorn selected, arranged, and edited 50 of Charles Spurgeon's Biblically insightful sermons preached on Heaven. At the end of each day/devotional section, Mr. Alcorn shares his comments. Although Charles Spurgeon suffered from chronic depression (most of his life), gout, arthritis, and liver disease, he faithfully served God and his Christ-exalting passion shone through and through. God gifted him much and he glorified God much. This is a wonderful book that helps readers ponder the hope of Heaven and shed their fear of death.
"Oh! Let us not live in this world as if we thought of staying here forever, but let us try to be like a pious Scotch minister who was very ill and, being asked by a friend whether he thought himself dying, answered, "Really, friend, I care not whether I am or not, for if I die, I shall be with God. And if I live, he will be with me." (p.54)
It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!
***Special thanks to Audra Jennings, Senior Media Specialist, The B&B Media Group for sending me a review copy.***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
A writer and a poet, Dr. Wills is dedicated to the ministry of encouragement and helping people experience hope, wisdom, and faith in their spiritual journey.
She has written for a number of publications including The Journal of the Fort Smith Historical Society. She previously served on the board of the Arkansas Community Foundation. Dr. Wills makes her home in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
Dr. Wills knows from her own experiences that life is not simple and that we all need encouraging words and reasons to hang on to hope. She offers these in abundance in this deeply personal, beautiful, and thoughtful work that summons authenticity and contemplation while soothing the dark night of the soul with kindness and truth. With transparency and refreshing gentleness, Wills tackles universal fears, disappointments, wounded relationships, and even death and beckons readers to pull aside the veil and to see into that "thin space," as the Celtics called it, where all that separates heaven and earth becomes almost transparent. She invites readers to wrestle and be comforted by assurances of God's love and goodness even in the darkness.
Pressing into Thin Places is a collection of stories from the author's personal experiences, punctuated by her poetry and infused with biblical verses and rich truths. Wills answers questions like, "How do we keep from falling into despair when pain and suffering weigh heavily upon us?" and answers honestly questions about doubt, mystery, and the experience of not knowing. Wills offers insight for bringing biblical truth to life, wisdom to cultivate a listening heart, encouragement for the downhearted, reassuring words for the faltering, and comfort and rest for those in any stage of their faith journey.
Product Details:
List Price: $16.95
ardcover: 232 pages
Publisher: Brown Christian Press (May 2, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1934812994
ISBN-13: 978-1934812990
MY THOUGHTS AND REVIEW:
The world can always use more encouragers, don't you think :)? I'm thankful that Dr. Wills is one of them. In her book, Pressing into Thin Places, she shares from her own experiences what she has learned from God & His Word and she includes her beautifully crafted, Biblically insightful poetry. She covers a variety of topics common to everyday life such as death, (almost) divorce, doubts, disappointments, depression, and despair. She hopes to encourage readers to press into "thin places" (where and when you feel closest to God). The main spiritual truth the author wants you to take away from the book is: God is good and God loves us. I enjoy writing poetry and really appreciated Dr. Wills' lovely poetry. Some of my favorites are Faith in the Fire and Presumption. She also presents the Gospel message in a clear and concise way. This book offers hope and comfort to all who have weary and burdened hearts. I usually don't cry when reading books but I cried on page 178. It was a good cry; I believe I stepped into a "thin place". God is truly awesome!!!
"Life is short. Written between the lines here is joy, sorrow, and a lot we don't understand. But life is a love story between us and God, together forever with no end." (p. 47)
"Memories are lessons for tomorrow. They are fragments of a grand mosaic. All that is broken becomes potential When put into perspective." (p.156)
AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:
Chapter 1 – Thin Places
Aaron
Oswald Chambers in his book, Christian Disciplines, says that the “unexplained things in life are more than the explained.” I recall the time I flew to Phoenix to be present for the birth of my sister’s first child. Betsy is my baby sister, fourteen years younger than I am. I mothered her from the moment she was born. She was the flower girl in my wedding and she made me promise to step on every petal she threw on the floor. I was there as Betsy gave birth to her first child, a severely brain-damaged son, a son named Aaron. A baby was born. I grieved at the stillborn joy.
I recall standing in the hospital hall, peering into the nursery with my head and hands helplessly pressed against the glass. I remember back at her room standing at the head of her bed with my hand on her head while she kept repeating, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; I will run to it and be safe.” I grieved until I was sick. I wanted a miracle and not the trial. I beat down heaven’s door until Aaron died at age four and a half.
Aaron could never see, hear, or respond to anything except pain. At times he seemed to be a bundle of blank agony. Aaron had a bushy head of uncontrollable hair, and onto that head, his parents put earphones. Aaron heard music, and Aaron heard the Bible read through twice. When Aaron died, the Gift that pressure-tested our faith went to be with his Creator and his God, where he may have been all along. I went with Ed, Betsy’s husband, to select a cemetery plot. As we went out the door, Betsy said, “Find a tree.” The Lord gave us the last tree in that Arizona cemetery.
Aaron’s life and death raised questions. My faith had been challenged. Why didn’t God heal the firstborn of an “upright” man and a praying mother? Why didn’t God protect Aaron’s birth? Why does God heal some people and not others? I was not angry at God. I just wanted to understand. In seeking to understand, I realized that somehow I wanted God to prove Himself or be more predictable. God wanted me to know that I, a fallen child with a finite mind, will never comprehend His ways. He wanted me to know that He understands me and my wobbly faith.
When we ask why or say we don’t understand, we are reminded of the Last Supper when Jesus sat before His disciples with the bread and the wine and told them a mystery. He told them to eat the bread and drink the wine because it was His body poured out for them. He did not tell them to understand or to make sense of His strange request. He said, “Take and eat.” They did not understand. There is much we do not understand. The scriptures say God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are past understanding. But God says we can know Him. He longs to know us in a personal way. He invites us to contemplate His mysteries and to experience the power of His resurrection and the full measure of His grace.
Faith is a dynamic process. The endurance and strength that comes from pressure-tested faith does not come overnight. Betsy and Ed were not okay all of a sudden because they were Christians and loved the Lord. They grieved and questioned why and to what purpose this deep and lingering pain had been part of their lives. It was by faith they testified that the Most High God was their God. It was by faith they believed that He would lead them through the wilderness to His place of certain good and He would be a light for them in their “valley of the shadow of death” (Ps 23:4 NASB). In the process, from time to time, God gave Ed and Betsy small gifts of comfort, a small song of joy.
When Aaron died, Betsy and Ed were in Arkansas visiting me. My sister Shawn called saying she was at Betsy’s house because the caregiver had called to tell her Aaron was not doing well. Shawn, a nurse, went to check on Aaron. Then she called Aaron’s doctor and Betsy. About ten minutes later, Shawn called again. “Betsy, he’s gone.” I remember clearly the primordial sounds of parental grief.
We all immediately flew to Phoenix to prepare for a funeral. After the funeral, Betsy and Ed returned to Fort Smith to pick up their van and drive back to Arizona. Along the way, they stopped to eat. Isaac, their two-year-old son, was asleep. Not wanting to wake him, they parked the car in the front of the restaurant bay of windows so they could see him when he awoke. They had just sat down when Isaac popped up and Ed went to get him.
When he got settled in the high chair, he had a strange look on his face and Betsy asked him if he was all right. He said, “I just saw brudder.” Obviously, Isaac had a dream. “What was brother doing?” Betsy asked. “He was running and singing and playing,” Isaac replied. Isaac’s dream was a comfort, a reminder of what is truly real behind the veil. Every once in a while, God draws the curtain and lets us see. He gives us reminders that though we are tethered to this earth there is another realm of reality just as real. Every once in a while, He lifts the veil. He thins the space between heaven and earth. He lets us experience the “thin place.” He helps our faith.
Storm Exposed
I
A bruised reed He will not break
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish.
—Isaiah 42:3 NASB (italics added)
II
Father,
I feel like a flickering wick in the wind
I am poor in spirit and prone to stray
But You, O Lord, bless the poor in spirit
You say that Goodness and Mercy
Follow Your sheep, even when they wander
And You call them by name, even when they are lost
And they know Your voice, even
When they know nothing else.
Your voice is like a gentle, rolling thunder
It reminds me that my heart is deceitful
And the heart is the heart of the matter.
Unlock my self-guarded, reed-bent, broken, secret places
Dismantle my walls of self-deception
Search the deep resources of my being
Control the center and the corners of my mind
Let Your light shine, shine in a humbled heart.
Shine in this one who is poor in spirit,
Who perseveres under trial and
Whose faith is pressure-tested.
Prevail when my candle is storm-exposed
Raise up the fragile reed
When I bend beneath the gale.
Remind me of what I know:
God will not break a bruised reed
Or extinguish a flickering wick
God will stand between the wick and the wind
And lift up the one who bows beneath the load
God will ignite my flame again
I will shine as a Light in the night
I will shine and bless the poor in spirit.
Thin Places
In the Celtic tradition, a “thin place” is the place where the veil that separates heaven and earth is nearly transparent. It is a place where we experience a deep sense of God’s presence in our everyday world. A thin place is where, for a moment, the spiritual world and natural world intersect. There are moments when we do feel the divine breaking through into our world. We feel unified and connected with God. It is not an intellectual knowing, it is felt in the spirit. It can be a sudden momentary awareness or profound unexplainable experience. I would like to share a few “thin place moments” with you and encourage you to have eyes to see the gifts of thin places.
The phenomenon of a place where the physical and natural everyday world merges into a thin line is well rooted in biblical history, but it was the Celts who first gave the descriptive phrase “thin place” to it. I first understood the idea of thin places when I heard a minister from Tulsa speak to a group of ear, nose, and throat surgeons in Washington, D.C. His point was that he as a minister and they as physicians were in a unique and privileged position to witness “thin places” because both the physician and the clergy dealt in the realm of life and death. He gave an indelible example of one of his experiences.
He said he had been called to the hospital to pray for a dying woman who was in a deep coma. He went in and although she would not be able to know or respond to his presence, he went over and stood at the foot of her bed and prayed for her aloud. He began, “Our Father, who art in heaven . . .” About midway through the prayer, the woman, without waking up, began to join in with him: “Give us this day our daily bread . . .” She finished the prayer and died shortly thereafter. He knew he stood on the line of a thin place.
Another example was told to my husband and me by his senior partner when his wife died. She was in the hospital and the family had been called in because her death was imminent. As Charles and his two children sat by her side, she left her body in the early morning hours. Sherard, the daughter, said to her brother, “Chuck, did you see it?” He said, “What? I did not see anything.” She then asked, “Daddy, didn’t you see it?” He said, “No, baby, I didn’t see anything.” She said, “Just as mother died, I saw a mist rise from mother’s body, float to the ceiling, and disappear.” Sherard witnessed a thin place.
Thin places come in different ways and some can be subtle. I call them “Garden of Eden moments” because they remind me of the way things must have been in the Garden of Eden when the earth was perfect and at peace. I think we have all experienced them, kind of a time of unified joy. The bounty and beauty of nature can bring such joy: a sunrise or sunset, the coming of spring, or a deep winter snow.
Moments of a unified spirit can also come within relationships. One such Garden of Eden moment came when Paul and I went to Disneyworld with our children and grandchildren. After a long day of activity at the park, we headed back to our hotel room on the bus. Paul was sitting next to me with his arm around the back of the seat touching my shoulder. Across from us were our two sons and their wives, talking quietly and content with each other. Their children were curled up, lying in their laps and cradled in the crook of their arms. For one brief moment, I experienced the way it must have been in the Garden of Eden when peace and joy ruled, when all was perfect and everything was the way it should be.
We all have moments of thin places. They are holy places if we just pay attention and let our spirits see. Elizabeth Barrett Browning said:
Earth’s crammed with heaven
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees takes off his shoes.
I believe I had a less than subtle thin place experience when I went back to graduate school. Most days, I drove seventy miles to northwest Arkansas to attend the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Early on, almost every day, I would wonder what my brain was thinking when I began this task. My brain was rusty, and besides, I was driving a stretch of mountain road that was known for death-producing accidents. I remember questioning if this had anything to do with God’s will for my life. I reasoned that I could be using my time doing something more for Him or more beneficial to others.
Then one day I was coming out of a history class and heading across campus. I was somewhat protected under my umbrella but the rain was coming down in sheets and I was wading through puddles of standing water trying to navigate to my next class. When I was almost there, I saw a young man under a tree, sitting on a bench. His umbrella was propped up beside him, and despite the shelter of the tree, he was getting soaked. His clothes were wet and he sat with his wet head in his hands, sobbing, his shoulders shaking hard.
I slowed down and sloshed across the muddy grass and went over to him. I asked, “Can I help you?” He shook his head no. I thought about just walking away, leaving him to his private moment. But I stood there a second and said, “Can I pray for you?” He nodded yes. I placed my hand on his shoulder and said a very short prayer. He never moved, never looked up. He just said, “Thank you.”
I walked off and left the young man on the bench in the pouring rain. When I arrived at my building and headed up the steps, I turned around to look at him once again. He was gone. I did not see him walking away. He was just gone. I turned and walked to my class. But I was mystified. My thoughts were, Where did he go? Then I wondered if maybe he was an angel. Then I thought, Maybe I was his angel? I did not know. All I knew was that I had experienced a special moment that had a meaning, a thin place.
As I thought about the experience, the Lord began to speak. He reminded me that His work is everywhere, and everywhere we are, in every situation, He has plans for us if we have eyes to see. God reminded me He is not just in some planned “spiritual” activity but He is in the everyday sacred mundane of our appointed days.
It is in the flatlands of our everyday routine that we need to remember our thin places. We need to be aware that God has spoken and still speaks. Remembering is one of our greatest challenges. We forget too easily.
C.S. Lewis addresses this tendency to forget in The Chronicles of Narnia. In the book The Silver Chair, Aslan, the Christ figure, sends Jill and her friend Eustace on a mission. The last words Aslan speaks to Jill as he sends her on her journey is about remembering the signs or spiritual truths and heeding a warning not to forget what she learned on the mountain:
Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly. I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters.
—C. S. Lewis
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair
We are graced with thin moments from time to time, some profound, some subtle. They sneak up on us. So let us keep our eyes open for the gifts of the thinning of the veil as we walk on the mountains. And then let us remember the truths in the flatlands and in the valleys.
This Tuesday’s In Other Words is being hosted by Twinkle Mom of Sunflower Faith . This is my first time participating in "In Other Words"; I hope I'm doing it right :).
“Hope fills the afflicted soul with such inward joy and consolation, that it can laugh while tears are in the eye, sigh and sing all in a breath; it is called “The rejoicing of hope” ~William Gurnall
Hope and faith go hand in hand. "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1) According to the 1828 Noah Webster's Dictionary, hope (noun) means
"1. A desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable.
2. Confidence in a future event; the highest degree of well founded expectation of good; as a hope founded on God's gracious promises; a scriptural sense.
3. That which gives hope; he or that which furnishes ground of expectation, or promises desired good. The hope of Israel is the Messiah.
4. An opinion or belief not amounting to certainty, but grounded on substantial evidence."
A great example of how hope and faith work together is found in Genesis 15-21 and mentioned in Romans 4:18-21, "Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.' Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--since he was about a hundred years old--and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised."
Hope gives people the will/motivation/reason to live, to keep on keeping on, to get up after falling down, to face each day's challenges, to keep trying and not giving up, to get through tough times, etc. Hope is crucial in life! Without hope (even though "hope" always exists, they just simply don't see it or they perceive that their circumstances/their future are hopeless), people become depressed and many have committed suicide. Remember...we always have hope in Christ! He is our unchanging Hope. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8) And He never leaves you nor forsakes you. "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." (Hebrews 6:19-20) Don't forget our ultimate hope, either: that Christ will return and that we will spend our eternal life with Him! "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you." (1 Peter 1:3-4) God's Word/His promises give us hope because they are true and unchanging.
Do you know what usually makes people feel hopeless? Often, it's because they feel nobody loves them or cares about them, including God. That's why it's essential to rely on God's Word, not on our feelings. His love for us never changes. "But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our Help and our Shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. May Your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in You." (Psalm 33:18-22) Do you want to offer hope to others? Love them with the love of the Lord! "It (love) always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres....And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:7, 13) Where there is love, hope blossoms. Where there is faith, hope thrives.
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, Whom He has given us." (Romans 5:1-5) Why does hope not disappoint us? Because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit! When we're confident in His unfailing love for us, we have hope. When we love others and are loved by others, we have hope. And when we're filled with hope, it's easier to love others and to have faith. Again, we can see how hope, faith, and love fit together in Colossians 1:3-5, "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints-- the faith and lovethat spring from the hope that is stored up for you in Heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel."
I hope you are encouraged by my post and "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13
Yes, life is like the Emmaus road, and we tread it not alone For beside us walks the Son of God, to uphold and keep His own. And our hearts within us thrill with joy at His words of love and grace, And the glorious hope that when day is done we shall see His blessed face.
~Avis Christiansen
~ If you'd like to know what "In Other Words" is all about, please visit here.
Product Details
Format: Jacketed Hardcover
Trim Size: 6.40 x 9.40 x 1.30
Page Count: 256
Retail Price: $24.99
ISBN: 9780849948121
Book Description
We have questions. Child-like inquiries. And deep, heavy ones.
In more than twenty-five years of writing and ministry, Max Lucado has been the receiving line for thousands of such questions. The questions come in letters, e-mails, even on Dunkin Donuts napkins. In Max on Life, he offers thoughtful answers to more than 150 of the most pressing questions on topics ranging from hope to hurt, from home to the hereafter.
Max writes about the role of prayer, the purpose of pain, and the reason for our ultimate hope. He responds to the day-to-day questions—parenting quandaries, financial challenges, difficult relationships—as well as to the profound: Is God really listening?
A special addendum includes Max’s advice on writing and publishing.
Including topical and scriptural indexes and filled with classic Lucado encouragement and insight, Max on Life will quickly become a favorite resource for pastors and ministry leaders as well as new and mature believers.
MY THOUGHTS AND REVIEW:
Max on Life is a Q & A book: Max Lucado's answers and insights to important questions in life. Being a pastor and a well-known writer, Mr. Lucado has received all sorts of questions from all sorts of people. He includes 172 questions in this book. Some of the questions seem to be redundant. Some are excellent questions, especially for new believers. The questions and answers are divided into seven sections: Hope, Hurt, Help, Him/Her, Home, Have/Have-Nots, and Hereafter. The book covers various topics from faith, heaven, hell, prayer to parenting, relationship, money, fear, and more.
I didn't really learn anything new from this book and I don't agree with all of Mr. Lucado's answers. For example, on Page 19, Mr. Lucado said, "He (Jesus) paid the price for sin by becoming a sinner." Jesus paid the price for sin by becoming the sinless sacrifice for sinners. He is God; He can never be a sinner! Anyway, I still enjoyed reading this book. Max Lucado is so good with words that the content and style hold my attention. He often uses analogies to help readers think. I also love his sense of humor. I appreciate that Mr. Lucado bases his answers on the Scriptures and presents them with grace and gentleness. He gives Biblically sound advice. This book is easy to read. Each question and answer is usually only a page long. Concise and Christ-centered!
"When grace moves in, guilt moves out. God has forgiven us. There is no reason to hold on to guilt." Max Lucado (p.2)
~ I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions are my own.
About "I WILL PRAISE YOU" (Release Date: April 5th):
Rebecca St. James charts yet another new course with I Will Praise You, a new collection of worship songs she terms “ her most personal recording to date.” From the opening notes of track one, listeners are offered a welcoming connection with Rebecca’s recognizably authentic vocal warmth and delivery. More than anything, I Will Praise You represents the latest steps in Rebecca’s life long journey towards the presence of God.
MY THOUGHTS AND REVIEW:
I enjoyed listening to this worship CD. The theme that runs through the CD is praising the Lord and trusting Him even when things seem to go wrong...through trials/storms and being comforted by the presence of Almighty God and the hope of heaven. Beautiful lyrics to ponder. Most songs have upbeat tempos. It's fun to sing along with "You Never Let Go." My favorite songs are The Kindness of Our God and You Hold Me Now. I got teary-eyed when I was listening to them. "You Still Amaze Me" is great, too! I'm glad that Rebecca St. James included the Scripture reference for each song and her comment about each song on the lyrics leaflet. I also appreciate A Word From Rebecca regarding her ministry's mission statement: "Our mission statement as a ministry team is to serve the Church and point people to Jesus. We remind each other of this at our band devotions before our shows and as often as we can. We pray that this album will encourage you in your journey with God and that it will draw you to worship Him!"
This CD has 10 songs:-
1. I Will Praise You (Hebrews 13:15)
2. You Never Let Go (Psalm 23:4)
3. Shine Your Glory Down (Isaiah 60:1)
4. You Still Amaze Me (Ephesians 2:8, 9)
5. In A Moment (Revelation 19:1)
6. The Kindness of Our God (Titus 3:4, 5)
7. When The Stars Burn Down (Blessing and Honor) (Isaiah 34:4)
8. Almighty God (Psalm 46:7)
9. You Hold Me Now (Revelation 21:4)
10. You Make Everything Beautiful (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
If you're a Rebecca St. James fan or someone who likes to collect worship albums like me :), check out this CD, "I Will Praise You".
GIVEAWAY: You can win a copy of this CD. This giveaway is open only to U.S. residents. Ends 4/22.
To Enter: Leave a comment here letting me know which of Rebecca St. James's songs (from any album) is your favorite or who your favorite Christian musician/band is.
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Happy childhood. Deaths of friends and grandmother. Rape. Depression. Overwhelming pain. Train tracks. Failed suicide attempt. Amazing Grace. Miracle of her survival. New nightmare. God's transforming power. Life with a purpose and hope.
Wow...what a heart-wrenching yet inspiring true story of a young woman who wanted to end her life but instead discovered life (meaningful life), in spite of her! I didn't want to put the book down; her story from the very beginning really gripped my heart. Kristen was only 17 years old (same age as my daughter) when she lay down across railroad tracks and was run over by 33 freight cars at 55 miles per hour. Medically and realistically, she should have been dead. But God had other plans. Kristen courageously and candidly shares in this book her struggles, mistakes, depth of despair, challenges of living without legs, and a second chance to live in Christ who gives her strength and joy, hope and purpose. Against all odds, she lives to tell others of God, the Life Giver, encourage others to cherish life because it's a gift from God, and remind them that He has a special plan for each person. This book includes personal notes from Kristen sharing messages she wishes someone had told her when she was depressed and struggling with loss, shame from sexual abuse, and suicidal thoughts. At the end of the book, you will also find a message from Kristen's mom, Jan Anderson, and a list of suicide warning signs. Suicide is never the answer! Jesus Christ is! He turns tragedy into victory.
Life, In Spite of Me is a must read for anyone who is suffering from depression and/or suicidal thoughts. It seems that now more and more people, especially teens, are hurting, living aimlessly, and struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts. May the Lord use Kristen and her book to touch many lives with the truth of the Gospel and the eternal hope in Christ!
"He reached down from heaven and rescued me; He drew me out of deep waters. He led me to a place of safety; He rescued me because He delights in me." ~Psalm 18:16,19
~ This book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.
It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!
***Special thanks to Anna Coelho Silva | Publicity Coordinator, Book Group | Strang Communications for sending me a review copy.***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Best known as the powerhouse lead vocalist for one of Gospel’s most acclaimed and awarded groups, The Crabb Family, Jason Crabb’s career has already been an incredible ride. While garnering multiple Dove Awards, three GRAMMY nominations, and 16 #1 singles with his family, Jason has become one of the Christian music community’s most acclaimed vocalists. Crabb has become a “fan favorite” at the Grand Ole Opry, appeared regularly on the Gaither Homecoming Series videos, and was honored to sing for the Rev. Billy Graham’s final crusade in New York. He has sung with the legendary Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, among many other diverse and prestigious opportunities. His solo album debuted at #1 on Nielsen SoundScan’s Christian/Gospel Christian Retail chart the week following its release in 2009.
More than anything else, this book is about an amazing God who reaches down and touches ordinary lives. It is a testimony of all He has done for Jason Crabb's family and for the people he has been privileged to meet throughout the years on the road. He wrote this book because every soul walks through the fire of adversity. Most of us have walked that plank several times. Whether the life of your dreams is unfolding before your eyes, or you are losing hope that it ever will, you have tasted a trial or two. No human being with breath in his lungs can say, "Difficulty has never darkened my doorstep." You may have entirely different life experiences than Jason. Yet, when you look in the rearview mirror, you can see the high points and low points of days gone by. The important thing—the truly amazingthing—is that like Jason—you came through all of it. There may be a scar or two to remind us of the past, but the past is behind us. Jason Crabb wants you to know that you came through it for a reason.There is something God is yet going to do with you. The important things to remember is that you can go through the fire—any fire—with God's help.
Product Details:
List Price: $14.99
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Charisma House (January 4, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1616381744
ISBN-13: 978-1616381745
AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:
Just hold on, our Lord will show up
And He will take you through the fire again!
...Trust the hand of God, He’ll shield the flames again.
Facing Life’s Questions
So many times I’ve questioned certain circumstances
Things I could not understand.
Every song I sing has lyrics centered on a strong gospel message, although the sounds are similar to musical genres that are popular today. Sometimes those familiar styles open doors to exciting and unexpected opportunities to sing outside of mainstream gospel circles.
I’m jazzed by invitations to take part in nontraditional gospel events. One such invite led to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry, a place like no other in the world. Just being on that stage is an honor; how that particular night played out—well, it added to my amazement and demonstrated God’s willingness to use unusual circumstances in the fulfillment of His will.
Talk about irony! The sponsor of our portion of that night’s program was a watering hole in Nashville. You heard me right; our segment was sponsored by a bar—and what an amazing night it turned out to be. From that iconic stage I was privileged to share a
testimony that was fresh in my heart.
“Through the Fire” was part of my testimony that night. Like all my dad’s songs, it speaks to experiences that are common to all people. The song has run like a thread through the fabric of my own life. I told the audience at the Grand Ole Opry as much,
explaining how the song had ministered to Shellye and me during a painful season.
It was a poignant moment when I shared how God had brought us through the trauma of losing two precious babies in separate miscarriages. Although the shock of those losses was still fresh in our thoughts, fresher still was the miracle of God in bringing our season of heartbreak to an end. That night—February 14, 2003—I had the pleasure of sharing breaking news from our house: Shellye and I had just experienced the birth of our first child! Our daughter, Ashleigh Taylor, had been born the day before, and she and her
momma were doing just fine.
After the audience heard our songs and our testimony about Ashleigh’s birth, a woman stopped us outside the auditorium. Like most everyone else at the Opry, she had come to hear the music. But God had more than music in mind for her. With tears streaming
down her face, she said, “I didn’t have any idea I was coming here for this tonight, but I rededicated my life to God—right here at the Grand Ole Opry—sponsored by a bar!”
Life doesn’t always follow the script that makes sense to us. That was true for this woman, and it was true of our miscarriages. The birth of Ashleigh had come after many long days of testing and trial. So many times the dream of raising a family seemed bound
in thick layers of impossibility. Yet deep down, Shellye and I knew that we were not alone in the fight. God’s Word told us so. Many nights the Scriptures comforted and strengthened us. We had His assurance that He would bring us through:
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord, your God.
—Isaiah 43:2–3
Shellye and I walked through some fire. Yet God brought us out and blessed us—radically! Today we have two daughters, Ashleigh Taylor and Emmaleigh Love. They are as beautiful as can be, just like their mother. I will tell you more about them later, but first let me tell you about the love of my life.
My Cowgirl
My earliest awareness of Shellye came when someone brought me a picture of her and said, “You’ve got to meet this girl.”
My reaction was, “Yeah, she’s kind of cute. Yeah, I’d like to meet her.”
I guess I played down my curiosity in front of my friend, but I thought the girl in the picture was beautiful. Little did I know that someone had shown that beautiful girl a picture of me. It was a shot from the album Looking Ahead, a record our family made
even before we started singing full-time. I had a crazy hairdo at the time—a comb-over with a curl that dropped right down the center of my forehead. My hairstyle looked like a 1950s throwback. Shellye wasn’t impressed.
Her reaction was actually stronger than that. She looked at the photo and said, “No way. I don’t think I’d like him at all.”
She then pointed to my curl, saying, “I don’t know about that.”
Sometime later, the Crabb Family was invited by Kentucky Educational Television (KET) to be part of an outdoor concert in Rosine, Kentucky, the home of bluegrass and the birthplace of Bill Monroe, the man known to this day as the Father of Bluegrass
Music.1 KET asked us to sing for a documentary they were making about Kentucky music.
Friends had told me ahead of time that Shellye planned to come and see me at the concert. Things didn’t go exactly according to plan, however. She and her folks arrived after our set was over. We were headed off the stage when I spotted Shellye getting out of a car.
I never took my eyes off her; I watched her walk across the field and toward the stage. I might not be able to tell you what Shellye wore yesterday, but I can tell you exactly what she was wearing in Rosine. She cut straight across that field in blue jeans, a flannel shirt, and roper boots.
Shellye was the prettiest girl I had ever seen. She looked even more beautiful than her picture. My heart skipped a beat—maybe two—and I remember thinking, “Well, I’ve got me a little cowgirl with long, curly hair.”
I wasn’t the only one who noticed Shellye. Our drummer asked, “Who is that?”
I said, “Let’s go meet her.”
“Yeah, I want to meet her,” he said.
We talked to Shellye for a while. Then it hit me: I didn’t need to help the drummer get to know Shellye; I needed to head him off at the pass! Just as quick as you can bat an eye, I asked her, “Hey, what are you doing tonight?”
“I’m going to church,” she replied.
“Well, good, because I’m going with you.” I didn’t ask her if I could accompany her; I just told her we were going to church together. It was bold, but it was OK with Shellye.
She was comfortable knowing that her stepmom knew me. In fact, her stepmom was Kathy’s cousin. So, I wasn’t a complete stranger, and church seemed like a safe first date.
In the meantime, we tried to get out of the blistering heat. The only place that was even slightly cooler than that hot Kentucky field was the inside of our old GMC bus. It was our family’s first bus, and it burned almost as much oil as it did gas. It wasn’t pretty, but
it had places to sit and offered shelter from the sun. It even had a recliner that we had installed for on-the-road comfort.
Shellye sat in the recliner, and I stood in the stairwell. We just talked and talked until it was night. By the time we left for church, one thing was certain: our meeting was no accident. The hours I spent with Shellye were like nothing I had ever experienced. We
That night, Shellye and I went to church. At some point, I learned that she was seeing someone, but the relationship was not serious. The next day, the fellow Shellye had dated called her before I did. She refused to come to the phone. She had already decided that she didn’t want to talk to anyone but me.
When I finally called, it was Shellye’s turn to be bold. She asked me whether I was coming over and said she wanted to see me again. I didn’t have to think twice about my answer. I just said, “I’ll come over.”
When I got to Shellye’s house, she and her twin sister answered the door. Seeing the two of them caught me by surprise, but I got over it. There was no doubt in my mind: there was only one Shellye, and she was the girl for me.
The memories of those days are strong. The slightest reminder can trigger my senses and transport me back in time. During our courtship, I made it a habit to pick up some watermelon gum and a Dr. Pepper on my way to Shellye’s house. To this day, the
sight, smell, or taste of either one affects us, and each year the first October breeze reminds us of the day we met.
My Better Half
Years ago, I prayed and asked God to bring the right woman into my life. I knew it was important to find not just a good woman but the right woman. God answered my prayers. Shellye is everything I need and everything I am not. She helps me to remain rooted
in what matters. She helps me to strike a healthy balance between family and ministry. She helps me to stay grounded when I’m on the road.
Shellye is an amazing wife and mother and the perfect helpmate. Of course, she is much more than that. Ask anyone about Shellye, and they will tell you that she is a rock. In fact, that’s what they call her: the rock. She is content in life. She is comfortable with our
roles and all they entail. She is supportive of me while at the same time fulfilled as a stay-at-home mom. Her deep contentment brings me peace. I know that when I’m on the road, I don’t have to worry about her or my kids. Shellye has it all in hand.
Not everyone who travels enjoys the kind of homecomings I do. Not every spouse can deal with the things Shellye takes in stride. Keeping the home fires burning is not a chore for my wife. When I return from a stint on the road, I enter a home bubbling over with
warmth and love. It is inviting and reassuring and demonstrates Shellye’s wholeness. Her joy is a great blessing to our family. As a man,
I can’t imagine a better home life than the one I’ve got. As a father, I can’t imagine a better mother for Ashleigh and Emmaleigh.
One of my favorite pastimes is watching Shellye and our girls interact. She’s got a way about her that brings tears to my eyes. Whatever the activity, Shellye is right beside them. When they are learning their Scripture memory verses, Shellye is there. Already,
Ashleigh can quote nine verses of a psalm at a single clip, in part because Shellye is so supportive. As a mom, she is dedicated to helping both our daughters succeed in their endeavors.
Not that being a full-time mom is easy, especially when your husband travels as much as I do. Shellye is the nightly homework helper, the daily taxi, the resident chef, and keeper of all things domestic. Yet she relishes her life. She sincerely enjoys shuttling the girls to and from school and cheerleading practice—and not as a drive-by mother, either. Shellye is very involved at our girls’ school and finds ways to contribute and be a blessing to the staff and faculty.
As a life partner, Shellye is my perfect match, emotionally and otherwise. I value her opinion. She is smart, objective, wise, and knows me better than anybody else does. When questions arise as to the direction of ministry or the choice of songs for an album
or which producer or record company is right, I know I can go to Shellye for straightforward, reliable input.
Being transparent and at ease in our conversation is something we have been able to do since that first day in Rosine. There are no egos in the way. We just keep it simple and honest. That freedom allows us to grow individually and as a couple. After a two-andone-
half-hour concert, Shellye will say, “Honey, that set was too long.” I don’t try to convince her that a one-hundred-fifty-minute concert is a great idea. I take my wife’s advice seriously; I know she has my best interests at heart. At the same time, she knows I trust her and won’t be offended by the truth. In the end, if you can’t tell each other the truth, you have to wonder how solid your relationship really is.
One of the reasons Shellye and I came together in the first place has to do with transparency. At the very beginning, it was clear that Shellye loved me for who I was and not what I did. It wasn’t about the music, the recognition, or anything like that. In fact,
when we first fell in love, she didn’t know the extent of my musical and ministry life.
Shellye liked me as I was. As a result, she brought out the best in me. I had experienced relationships that lacked that kind of truth. In school, everyone had their crush and their reasons. I was a country kid with no fancy home or cars or anything to draw attention
to me. I wasn’t very popular with the girls. In fact, they usually gave me the brush-off. They weren’t interested in me—at least, not until I sang at a school variety show. Then, all of a sudden, the girls noticed me. Suddenly, I was in demand.
He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.
—Proverbs 18:22
Shellye did not operate that way. She loved me first and learned about what I did afterward. We were blessed in that when we started our relationship, we truly loved each other. We weren’t drawn by illusions or impressions or any other distractions. That has proved to be a good foundation for the rest of our life together.
Shellye’s Testimony: It’s Not About Me
I met Jason in Rosine, Kentucky, when I was sixteen years old. In all of Kentucky, I may have been the only person who hadn’t heard of the Crabb Family. All I knew was that my stepmom and my father were taking me to a concert. There was a guy there my stepmom
wanted me to meet.
Moments after I met Jason, he asked me, “What are you doing tonight?”
I said, “I’m going to church.”
Without the slightest hesitation, he said, “I’m going with you”— which he did!
That is where our relationship began. We hit it off from the start, but since we lived seventeen miles apart, it wasn’t easy getting to see one another. Not only that, but Jason was on the road a lot. Often he would come in during the middle of the week, wake up
at six in the morning, and drive over to Central City, where I lived. He would take me to school and return in the evening to pick me up and take me home.
Just about every time Jason came to get me, I would ask him, “What should we do tonight?”
Jason’s answer was always the same: “We’ve got to put up posters.”
The posters let everyone know when the Crabb Family would be singing. Once each month, they gave a concert in Owensboro, Kentucky. It took lots of posters to get the word out. That is how we spent most of our dates. And since the Owensboro concerts
happened every month, we were never done hanging posters. Jason and I dated for three years. In 1997, I graduated from high school, and on May 12, 1998, Jason and I got married in my home church. I was nineteen, and he was twenty-one. Our backgrounds
were very similar; my parents divorced when I was only four years old, and my dad raised me; my twin sister, Kellye; and our older sister, Leslie.
Because my dad worked on the railroad and was gone a lot of the time, my grandmother lived with us and cared for us kids. She was very involved with my sisters and me and played a very significant role in our lives. So did Dad. He worked really hard to make a living for all of us. My dad and grandmother did a great job raising us—and they made sure we were in church every time the doors opened!
After two years of marriage, Jason and I learned that I was pregnant. We were scared, yet excited. Starting a family was something we both wanted very much. But almost as soon as our dream was underway, it was threatened. Early in the pregnancy, I started having complications. Soon afterward, I had a miscarriage. Jason and I were devastated to lose our baby. We couldn’t understand why this had happened to us.
About a year and a half later, I got pregnant again. Our hopes were high, but we lost that baby too. It hit us hard. I remember asking the Lord over and over again to give me the strength to get through the ordeal. He did.
Yet getting through the miscarriages was only part of the process. For so long I struggled with the loss of our babies and the disappointment that followed. At times I almost questioned God; I wanted to ask Him why He allowed everyone but us to have babies.
The loss of our children did not make sense to me. Still, I kept praying. At some point I realized that my focus was centered on me and what I wanted. I was preoccupied with the way I thought things should turn out. What I really needed was to get to the point where it wasn’t about me.
Through prayer and dedication, I eventually got to where I needed to be. It wasn’t about us anymore. It was about what God wanted for our lives. The day came when I could agree with the psalmist who said, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness” (Ps. 115:1).
Emotionally and spiritually, the change in perspective was dramatic. It not only kept us grounded in our trust of the Lord, but it also helped Jason and me to mature. Needless to say, our growth in this area was not easy; we were being stretched and tested. When you are in a situation like we were in, you sometimes wonder whether it will ever end.
Then one day, God spoke to me! He promised me a child. His promise did not come about right away, yet I knew I had heard His voice. And I knew He was faithful.
Shellye’s Testimony: Look to the Future
When Jason is onstage, he often tells the story of an evangelist friend who told us to buy a box of Pampers—before we had even conceived. The man’s name is Jay Boyd. Jason has known him since childhood when Jason and his family attended Jay’s revival meetings. Jason played drums for Jay at some point, and they have kept in touch over the years. The way Jason tells it, Jay could preach wallpaper right off the walls. I don’t doubt it. Jay is fearless about saying whatever he believes God wants said.
We bought that box of Pampers. Every day it served as a reminder that our promise was on its way. It was a tangible symbol of God’s promise and involvement in our lives,much as the watch from Pastor Parsley is symbolic of God’s faithfulness in Jason’s transition
to solo ministry.
This pastor encouraged us to be proactive in our faith, thanking God in advance for the blessing of our children. Doing that forced us to take our focus off the past. Jason and I set our sights on what was yet to come. Before six months went by, I was pregnant again!
This time, I knew everything was going to be fine. In fact, there was not a single doubt in my mind. I just started thanking God for our baby, knowing that He was taking care of us.
He was and still is taking care of us—all four of us! Now, when I look back to the years before the births of Ashleigh Taylor and Emmaleigh Love, I understand why things happened the way they did. The Lord has shown me, and continues to show me, the good
that came out of our trial. Night after night, women with similar heartaches come to our table. They are hurting and wondering why, just as we were during those hard years. Now we have precious opportunities to minister to them. And because we walked through the same flames, these women realize that they can come through the fire too.
God is faithful. He will comfort others as He comforted us! He will help others to understand the things He helped us to understand. They too will come out of the fire knowing that “ . . . neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38–39). In His wisdom and because of our experiences, God has given us a special way to share His love.
There is one other thing God showed me after our trial ended. I learned that trials are often one part why and an equal part when. It is clear to me now that when Jason and I first conceived, it was not the right time for us. The first five years of our marriage helped
us to draw close and build a stronger bond between us. God had something in mind for that season, and it wasn’t children.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
—Jeremiah 29:11
Through the struggle, we continued to minister. At times, when Shellye and I were on the bus, I’d look over at her and see tears in her eyes. Those tears did the talking even when no words were exchanged.
There was a question in my wife’s tears. The question was, “Why?” To this day, I really can’t say why Shellye and I endured the devastation of miscarriages. At this point, I’m not sure I need to know. I do know this: our experiences have helped us to bless others. So many people suffer the heartbreak of losing a baby. The numbers are staggering. In fact, depending upon the statistical source, as many as one out of four women suffer a miscarriage.
There are a lot of hurting people behind those numbers. For Shellye and me, it is easy to relate to them. We know what it is like to lose a child. It is hard—really hard. Yet even in the midst of our losses, we were not without hope. Nor was I without a voice. I just
kept singing “Through the Fire” and “Still Holding On.” I knew I could trust God to show up and carry me past the pain again.
Those two songs encouraged Shellye and me when we needed it most. It was as though God was saying, “I am faithful, and I will continue to be faithful.” He was giving us, through whatever means necessary, the strength to heed the words David wrote during his
own desperate times: “Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord” (Ps. 31:24).
God used those songs to renew our hope and refresh our souls. He used people too. Shellye told you about Jay Boyd and the Pampers. Jay knew my family for years. His and my dad’s relationship dated back before the Crabb Family Singers to the days when my dad was a minister. I remember Jay in the pulpit—the man could preach! I am thankful that our relationship has continued throughout the years.
Jay told Shellye and me to thank God for the promise before it came to pass. He said we needed to do what the Bible says and call “things that are not as though they were” (Rom. 4:17). We needed to be like the men who tore the roof off a building because they believed Jesus would heal the paralyzed man they brought to Him (Mark 2:1–12). We needed to be like Jairus trusting Jesus, even in the worst circumstances (Mark 5:22–43). We needed to come to the place where no matter the setbacks we would remain focused on the love and power of God to bless and heal.
All of Christianity is built on that kind of faith. It is the faith that says, “When doubt comes, we’ll praise Him. When life comes apart at the seams, we’ll praise Him. No matter the outcome, we’ll praise Him. Whether the promise comes to pass or it doesn’t, we’ll praise Him.”
That last one is a tough nut to crack. It means selling out to God to such a degree that your dreams are not as important as the fact that you are His. It took Shellye and me time to get there. We were not satisfied with the outcome of two miscarriages. We were not
satisfied to be childless. I won’t kid you; after the second miscarriage,
I threw my hands in the air and said, “God, I may not be the greatest father, but I will be a grateful father.”
In the midst of an ordeal like that, there are moments when you feel hopeless and unable to push past the sorrow. We often minister to people who feel exactly that way. Our hearts break for them, because we understand. We are so privileged to pray for them. How blessed we are to hear their testimonies afterward! Some of them write us to say that they have given birth. Others are ecstatic when they tell us that God answered their prayers through adoption. Still, I know that some of them have yet to see their dreams fulfilled.
For those who have had miscarriages, there is good news: your babies are in heaven. So are our babies. As hard as it was to lose them, I get excited to think that someday Ashleigh and Emmaleigh will meet their siblings in heaven!
At some distant day, all six of us will be there together.
It is not easy to be strong and take heart when things happen in defiance of God’s promises. In those crushing moments, it is hard to know what to think or how to respond. Should we trust in silence and ignore our doubts? Or should we deny our emotions, as though we were not in turmoil?
Our responses to difficulty have a lot to do with how we were raised and what we have been told about God. Some people say we should never, ever question God. Yet some of the greatest leaders and prophets in all of history have asked Him tough questions.
When Abraham learned of God’s plan to investigate the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham pressed God to share His intentions. He wanted to know whether God would kill his nephew Lot and Lot’s family along with the depraved. Abraham asked God point-blank, “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” (Gen. 18:23). He continued to press God until God assured him that the handful of righteous people living in the forsaken place would be spared (Gen. 18:24–32).
Life is full of questions. Not all of them are as pressing as our questions about death, suffering, and loss. Yet, even if we had never experienced a day of adversity, we would ask our Father the curious questions children always ask their parents:
• “How many stars are in the sky?”
• “Why is grass green?”
• “Why do we park in the driveway and drive on the
parkway?”
• “Why is my last name Crabb?” (Imagine how much
adversity a name like that can generate at school!)
• “Why...what...how...when...where?”
My point is this: if you have taken oxygen into your lungs, you know that life is marked by trials and heartaches. We experience circumstances we don’t understand and don’t want to embrace. We have questions and will continue to have questions as long as we are breathing, and maybe even after that. Who is better able to answer us than God? He wasn’t surprised by Abraham’s questions, and He won’t be surprised by ours.
I have met people in all kinds of situations. Often I can almost hear their hearts asking, “Why, God?” Recently I prayed with a woman in the Midwest. She wanted me to ask God to help her keep her new job. She said, “I have an incurable disease.”
She lost her health insurance when she took the new job. That sounds like trouble enough for someone with an incurable disease. Yet she feared something worse. She feared being without work. She had a family to support and was worried about getting fired. I got the sense that she was a single parent. Whatever her status, she was obviously under a lot of pressure and had decided to make choices designed to improve her lot. She believed her new job would open a fresh chapter in her life.
She summed up her thoughts by saying something unforgettable: “I have to get back to living.”
As the tears streamed down her cheeks, I started praying for words of encouragement, something God would have her hear. In my mind, I imagined the questions piercing her heart.
“Am I going to make it?”
“Will I lose my job?”
“Am I going to die?”
“Will they find a cure for this disease, or will God heal me?”
Then I asked this dear woman a question: “Do you believe that God can heal you?”
“I am trying to,” she said. “I’m going to church and hanging on to every word the preacher says.”
Although her unanswered questions lingered, I knew she would be all right when she said, “I have to get back to living.” Her life had been as tough as nails, but she was not about to give up. Nor was she willing to accept the bleak picture the devil was trying to
present to her.
We must never forget that the devil is a liar. Lying is his stock and trade. Therefore it is up to us to take the offense where he and his lies are concerned. When he tempts me, I like to ask myself this question: What if Satan had to tell the truth about himself,
about God, and about our destinies? What kind of picture would he paint then? How successful would he be at killing, stealing, and destroying lives if he could suggest nothing but truth?
The answer is that he would fail miserably at deceiving us. Unfortunately, truth is not the enemy’s hallmark. He continues to seek those “he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8, kjv.) The sense I got from the woman who wanted to get back to living was that she refused to be devoured by a liar. She was determined to keep moving forward. I like to see that kind of tenacity. People like her are hard to forget. In fact, I will never forget her or that altar service.
There are so many memories like that. The people we meet touch our hearts as much as we do theirs, if not more. I remember an outdoor concert from some years ago, before “Through the Fire” was completed. In fact, at the time, Dad had only part of the song
worked out. He had started it at the piano, but after a year, he was still stuck; the rest of the song just wouldn’t come together.
We had a product table at the concert. On that particular day, Dad was behind the table, and I was standing nearby. A woman walked up to Dad with a child in her arms. The woman asked Dad, “When you get back on the bus, will you pray for me? My son needs an operation, and my husband just left me.” We prayed for her right there.
A prayer request like that can take your breath away. Yet this woman showed great strength; as she turned to walk away, she reminded us about faith’s bottom line. Her last words to us were, “I’m still trusting in the Lord that He’s going to help me through all this.”
Her parting words were as riveting as her prayer request. We were reminded once again that there is always someone who is going through something worse than what we are experiencing. God used her to put our lives and issues into clear perspective.
That night Dad wrote the rest of “Through the Fire.”
MY THOUGHTS AND REVIEW:
If you are a fan of the Gaithers, you probably have heard or seen the Crabb family, including Jason Crabb. In this book, Jason shares his personal experiences growing up in a Gospel-singing family with all its ups and downs. His parents' divorce. Being on the road most of the time. His trouble with drugs. Two miscarriages. Going solo. Winning a Grammy. With the backdrop of the lyrics from his father's song, Through the Fire, Jason offers his thoughts and insights from what he has learned along his life's journey. He hopes to encourage others to cling to God, trust Him, and press on no matter what. Never give in and never give up! God will get you through any fire you face. I could sense Jason's love for God, his love for his family, his love for people, his childlike faith, and his humility through the pages. This book is a great read and a great reminder of a great God who loves each one of us so very much and cares for us deeply.
"Don't quit! The biggest and brightest blessings are on the other side of the struggle." ~Jason Crabb
