Sept&Oct, 2014

September&October2014

THE LORD IS MY

ROCK

Feminine page 8

Leadership page 32

l a p e N e 54

pag

IS MIN

TR

Y FO

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MUFFIN + BOOK the perfect pair: team recommends

page 58

Intentionally

Impacting Making Mentoring Practical page 26

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STAY CONNECTED

Copyright Š 2014, Daughters of Promise. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This magazine contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from Rachel Schrock or Daughters of Promise.

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inthisissue SEPTEMBER&OCTOBER2014

{open} 2 Contact Information 6 Contributors 7 A Word from Rae

daughters of God pursuing deeper intimacy with the Father

8 14 18

The Lord is My Rock Made for More Dying to Live

relationship exchange cultivating the sacred gift of friendship

26 32

Intentionally Impacting Feminine Leadership

life & style virtue in everyday living

40 42

Whimsical Letters Apartment Love: the kitchen

legacy & impact learning & living God’s heart for the world

46 50 54

Hosting Group Studies, part I Women in the Trenches Ministry Focus: Nepal

white spaces

creating rest, balance, & room to breathe

62

Food and Tips for Fall

{close} -4-

extras!

25 readers share 36 everest 40 square 48

featured blogger

58

team recommends

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Chief Editor Rae Schrock

Staff Writers Marlene Stoltzfus Brittany Shult

Dana Risser “Hi, I’m Dana. I love photography,

traveling, volleyball, and hanging out with friends. I believe in dreaming big and not just dreaming it but also living it! I recently started a photography business. You can check out samples of my work on my Facebook page: Dana Sierra’s Photography.”

Samantha Trenkamp

Columnists Luci Miller

Guest Writers Christopher Witmer Ervina Yoder Maribeth Herr Tara Heisey Wendy Good

BEHIND THE CAMERA

meet this issue’s guest photographers

Staff Photographer Carmie Sanchez Kristi Smucker

Guest Photographers Emily Lapp Dana Risser

Creative Design Rae Schrock

Cover Photo by Kristi Smucker

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Emily Lapp “I am a follower of Jesus Christ and have purposed to follow Him wherever He leads.

He has given me the passion to create and capture the beauty around me whether its in photography, painting, interior design or giving a sad piece of furniture a face-lift. I especially enjoy capturing the beauty in people. Nothing created is more amazing then a person, someone created in the image of God. It’s very important to me to capture a person’s personality and style. I love to hang out with my family and friends, drink coffee, chill in coffee shops and time in solitude. I love to revel in the small moments throughout the day and notice the amazing detail of the world around me. Check out my website: mphotographyii.zenfolio.com and Facebook page: M-photography.”

a Letter from Rae

I love the verse that appears on the back cover of this issue:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belongs wisdom and might.

He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who haveunderstanding.”

[Dan. 2:20, 21] As the seasons shift once again, our lives adjust also. Fall brings a new term of school, government elections, and the work of preserving garden harvests in preparation for winter. There is a feeling of things coming to a close, and this inner awareness that - ready or not - the times are changing.

In these changing seasons - geologically, relationally, spiritually, or economically - God’s hand moves the dial. With infinite wisdom, He watches the turnings and never moves His eyes from His beloved. This brings me deep rest.

Change is a normal part of life - and in my personal life, the changes have been many!

Recently, my nursing career shifted direction, and I was hired as Nurse Manager at a local crisis pregnancy center. What an incredible opportunity! A lifelong dream has been fulfilled in that I get to use my RN degree in a Christian environment to minister the love of Jesus to women in difficult circumstances.

What a gift.

Daughters of Promise continues to evolve, and I am continually amazed at the interest and support of readers. To you who are reading now - THANK YOU! I mean what I say when I confess that this publication would not be possible without the love, support, and generous contributions of you all.

One exciting change for DOP is the addition of our new staff photographer, Kristi Smucker.

Kristi lives in Idaho and is a woman of artistry and beauty. Her photography is splendid.

To read her complete bio, and find a link to her photography Facebook page, visit the DOP website and navigate to the “Meet the Team” page. It is a gift to have Kristi lend her photographic talents to the magazine.

This issue contains a unique mix of article topics written by some gifted and qualified ladies.

Take your time reading and seeking the Lord about the ideas that are shared. I have prayed for the written word and for the ones who read, and hope that you will find blessing and life within these pages.

Welcome Kristi!

Kristi Smucker has joined the DOP team as a staff photographer. Welcome!

Have a merry day!

Rae

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The Lord is My...

Part 1

in a 6 part series naming the attributes of God -8-

MY LABOR BEGAN LATE IN THE EVENING of the first day of spring.

Nine long months of pregnancy, many of them bed-ridden with acute morning sickness, had finally turned into the countdown we’d been waiting for. I was one week overdue. My husband was so excited to be a daddy; I was so excited to meet the cherished little person who had been forming inside my body for nearly a year, and our families were excitedly waiting by their phones for the announcement. After being awake all night with contractions, the sun finally rose on Friday, March 21. We put the finishing touches on our hospital bags, took a long walk, and headed for our midwife’s office.

The contractions were five minutes apart when we found out our baby no longer had a heartbeat.

I gave birth one day and the next I watched my husband shovel dirt onto a tiny grave. I went from the heights of expecting a perfectly healthy baby to the depths of shock, grief, and the unimaginable pain of never seeing my firstborn son take a breath.

I cannot describe the sorrow but I can describe the faithfulness of God in the midst of it. From the moment the ultrasound confirmed the silent heart and the doctor’s words of “your baby’s not alive”, a grace and peace were poured into my husband and me that is unexplainable apart from Jesus Christ. We would need this supernatural strength in the days and weeks and months to come. The scriptures I had meditated on, read aloud over my baby in my womb, and taped up in various places around my home to prepare for labor and delivery became alive and precious like never before. God had done so much in preparing my heart, removing my fears for childbirth, and strengthening me with His promises. Although the outcome turned out to be completely different than I ever dreamed, His Word never lied and His promises never failed.

by Ervina Yoder Photography by Kristi Smucker

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In Psalm 16:8, David talks about setting the Lord always before him and “because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”

Thousands of years later, I’m learning the same thing holds true if I build my life around Jesus.

But there are other scriptures more challenging: “As for God, His way is perfect.” (2 Samuel 22:31) Do I believe that - truly believe it - with a full-term pregnancy and a labor that turned into a mommy and daddy-to-be’s worst nightmare? No mistakes, no accidents, nothing outside of His control? I don’t believe the Lord took our son’s life - that is against His very nature and character - but I do believe He allowed it to be taken for reasons not yet known (and which may never be fully known) on this earth, except that He will work it for our good and for the honor of His Name. I believe that, because this is Who I know Him to be. Because I couldn’t survive such pain if I didn’t. Because His Word is consistent. Because He is the Hope that anchors my soul.

Because the way before me is not unwalked; Jesus was a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief. If He bore the weight of sin and endured the cross so grace would triumph; if God can turn the anguish of the cross into the place of love’s greatest accomplishment; how much more can He use any moment in our lives - including this one - for His glory and the good of His people? I think Charles Spurgeon sums it up beautifully: “Believing that God rules all, that He governs wisely, that He brings good out of evil, the believer’s heart is assured, and he is enabled calmly to meet each trial as it comes.” God’s sovereignty is the greatest source of our peace; it’s what sustains us, puts our unanswered questions to rest, leans the weight of all our happiness on Him, and fills us with the hope of heaven.

Life for my husband and me has changed completely. What I thought I’d be doing isn’t happening. I miss my son terribly and reminders of our life without him are everywhere. The nursery we spent hours preparing is empty. The adorable baby clothes I bought at Goodwill and washed and folded never clothed our child. Each tiny little pamper is still fresh and clean. We removed the carseat from our back seat and gave the borrowed bassinet back to our friends. I go grocery shopping and no one knows I’m a mommy. Accepting such an enormous change is agonizingly difficult.

I have wondered what kind of purpose remains, if any. I replay the details of my pregnancy, my overdue labor, my delivery.

I read the Psalms, over and over. I pray not to get lost in my grief but for Jesus to guide me through it. “The greatest good suffering can do for me,” Joni Erickson Tada said, “is to increase my capacity for God.” My desperate need for God and my daily dependance on His grace to sustain me and be my Rock has grown and deepened in incredible ways since we gave our baby back to God. I never wanted to be a woman who understands heartbreak at such a deep level. I never wanted to give my child back so soon to the One Who formed him within my body. I never wanted to be acquainted with this kind of

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intense sorrow. But there is no greater richness than to have life fall apart and still be unshaken because of a foundation of knowing Who God is. To have no other Hope but Jesus; to have only His truth and His promises sustain me has given me an assurance of His presence that is precious beyond words. In the agonizing grief of these last months, I have learned to lean all the weight of my soul on the Lord because He is the only solid rock I have, and have found Him to be so near, so faithful, so sufficient, so redeeming.

I’m realizing just how much of a shadow life on this earth is compared to the glorious reality of eternity. I’m also realizing – slowly – that just because I have suffered great loss and just because I mourn so deeply does not mean life has been stripped of purpose. The truth is Jesus is my life. And because He lives, for me to live is not motherhood; it’s not being a wife; it’s not being a woman known for ministry or hospitality, although all of those things are good and honorable. For me to live is simply Christ. He is how I survive pain that should strip a person down to their natural response of anger, bitterness and depression.

Christ is Who I wake up for in the morning, how I make it through the day, and why I can rest peacefully at night.

Trials and pain are why this earth groans for the return of the Lord and I groan with it. And the question for us as believers is how do we live in pain, in loss, in heartbreak, in unbearable sorrow?

How do we steady our hearts - not just survive - in a fallen world? How do we seek God’s face, His purposes, and His joy so that He is glorified through -12-

our earthly bodies? We search the scriptures to know the character and person of God. We ask Him to reveal Himself in our lives. We build a foundation of truth instead of allowing emotions and circumstances to dictate and dominate our theology. We understand everything the world offers as coping mechanisms and quick escapes from pain is only sinking sand and instead we stand on Christ the Solid Rock. We carry our burdens to Him and allow our broken, humble lives to showcase to the world how good and faithful and trustworthy our God is.

MEET THE AUTHOR Ervina Yoder is a twentyfive year old who never wanted to grow up but changed her mind because every new year of learning more about Jesus is the best.

She loves being married to her very tall, dark and handsome husband, and living in their brick home in the city. She’s mommy to the cutest little boy you’ve ever seen who’s waiting for them in heaven. Traveling is in her blood and she has the stamps to prove it (although her passport was stolen a year ago so she’s officially stuck in the country for the time being). Pretty things are her favorite and her husband is getting close to forbidding her frequent trips to Goodwill where the bargains are just too good to pass up. The reason she journals is to remember the faithfulness of God in her life.

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MADE

By Emily Sitzler Photography by Carmie Sanchez -14-

FO

OR

MORE The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10).

LURKING IN OUR MIDST IS A GREAT THIEF. He is the enemy. Can you see him? Do you hear him calling your name? Is he tantalizing you with forbidden fruit? Eve, the mother of all creation, knew him as the serpent. Cunningly, he deceived her by offering eternal life, but in turn, she found death.

Presently, you may be deceived by the unnecessary pressures of measuring up: wearing the best clothes, driving the newest car, having the most fit body, and the list goes on. If you are facing these unnecessary pressures, you are not unaccompanied. Women throughout the ages have been warring with the enemy. The modern church is not alone in the battle of true femininity. From the days of Eden until present, Satan still seeks to destroy the beautiful design of women. We find ourselves with tainted hearts and mixed desires. Within us a war is raging. Our desires are contrary to our nature, and thus, we constantly fight the battle over truth and pleasure. Find a place of solitude, and seek to unveil the freedom found in being the woman God desires and has designed you to be. May we find ourselves refreshed as we being to unlock the life-giving freedom God offers in His design for women.

You are beautiful. You are so loved by the Creator of

the universe. The enemy speaks lies to those truths so often. You may stand before the mirror and complain with, “If only…” or “Why this…” Trying the newest workout, latest diet plan, organic only, or whatever our culture is promoting at the time, we come up empty time and time again. Striving for more, and feeling more empty with each step. One of my favorite hymns states, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in light of His glory and grace.”

What a beautiful truth!

Proverbs 31 praises the virtuous woman. In Hebrew, this word virtuous means: “Might, strength, power; able, valiant, valor; army, host, forces; riches, substance, wealth.” (Note: This form of the word is only used three times in the Old Testament, and is only used in reference to a wife [or woman] of excellence).

Lemuel’s mother is stating that it is difficult to attain a woman of valor. This comes through seeking and savoring Christ, the Beloved. Lemuel’s mother then goes on to write that her value is far above jewels. The most beautiful jewel cannot compare to a woman of virtue, of valor. The valiant woman finds her identity in Christ, thus making her valuable and rare. Daily, the world bombards us with its ideal image of a woman.

Yet, if we revolve our lives around Christ, we can find

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ourselves flooded with His image. A woman pursuing the heart of her Beloved is not easily distracted by the world, and places Him as the lens through which she views the world. In doing so, her character aligns with God’s design, and others rest in her presence.

YOUR Beloved LONGS FOR YOU TO

COME AWAY

WITH HIM. HE DESIRES FOR YOU NOT TO SETTLE FOR THE FALL BUT TO LIVE IN REDEEMED

EDEN.

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Proverbs 31:30 states, “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” In Hebrew, ‫ ןח‬is the word for charm, and its literal meaning is favor. Praise among people can be deceitful, especially in our fallen world. Beauty is empty, for eventually it fades away. Yet, the woman who fears the Lord is to be lifted up. She seeks to please Him by loving and serving others well. Her heart is not bent on a focus of her own self, but rather she is focused on how she may be please the Lord in both her conversations and her actions as well.

1 Peter 3:3-4 states, “Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” Adorning comes from the Greek word κόσμος, literally meaning the world or totality. Therefore, the first portion of verse three could be stated as the following: “Do let your totality be external…”

A freely feminine woman does not dress poorly or untidy, but her she places her totality in Christ. Her emphasis is not on the external and material but on the internal and spiritual. In verse four, the word ‘hidden’ comes from the Greek word, κρυπτός, which means secret. In the eyes of our soul’s Husband, a heart considerate and humble toward others is very precious and most beautiful. A woman pursing the heart of her Creator does not seek to draw attention to herself, but rather she seeks to point people to Him through her actions and her heart of grace.

Remind yourself once more of Eden. Walk with your Beloved in the cool of the day. Look around at His beautiful creation. Draw near to the forbidden fruit. Now, my friend, discard the fruit; run from the forbidden straight to your Beloved.

Oh, that you would instead taste and see that the Lord is good! Resist the Enemy; he will take flight.

Once more enjoy the freedom of fellowship with your soul’s Husband. It is He who came to rescue your soul.

It is He who longs for you to live in the redemption.

Your Beloved longs for you to come away with Him; He desires for you not to settle for the fall but to live in redeemed Eden. At every turn, we are bombarded with images declaring our bodies should appear a certain way, our clothes must meet the latest fashion trends, or we are failing if we do not appear a certain way.

Once more we are plagued with lies, and the enemy is still seeking to destroy. Oh, but Jesus! He came that we may have life more abundantly. May your journey continue as you seek to love your Prince of Peace more! May you enjoy the loving fellowship He offers

you! For ultimately, God’s life giving design for women is found in the freedom of fellowship as you love Him more and more; it is found in Eden redeemed. Enjoy the journey of life abundantly, my friend. Enjoy the Beloved! Yes, enjoy Jesus more and more. |

BELOVED MEET THE AUTHOR

Emily Sitzler has been featured numerous times in Dughters of Promise, her words and passion for Jesus spilling over into writing as a form of ministry. Emily holds a B.S. in Elementary Education and an M.A. in Christian Studies, both from Bryan College. She currently works full-time as assistant administrator at Full Circle Medical Center for Women (a crisis-pregnancy ministry) in Athens, TN, and desires to see young people maintain purity in every aspect of their lives. In her spare time Emily enjoys crafts, cream with a side of coffee, hanging out with friends, and especially running.

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Dying to Live EMBRACING THE WAY OF SURRENDER

SOME HAVE NO DESIRE OR INTEREST IN SURRENDERING their lives to our great God. Maybe because they are rebellious, or maybe because they *think* they have their life under control just fine. I do not write for them. I write to you, my dear sisters, who long to follow Jesus with every fiber of your being. You hear him calling you deeper, but fear to give up all.

I mean, is it true that He has a plan for *my* welfare? Does He know my name, really and surely? Is He involved in my life at all? I *know* his promises are for me—in my head I’m supposed to know that – but what *feels* true is that those are for other people: everyone but me, maybe. What if He misses something that’s important to me or has a different idea about how this situation or dream should turn out? Because I know how it needs to turn out!!

Sisters, I can write to you about surrender on the basis of what I have given up and done for God; yet do not hear me for that, but because of WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN UP AND DONE FOR ME.

By Gwendolyn Good Photography by Dana Risser -18-

Part 1

What Surrender Is While growing up, I yearned to live my life for God, whatever the cost. I failed at times of course, but that heart desire was always there. I knew that was where I would find fullness of joy. When I was nineteen, I found this prayer by Betty Scott Stam and hand copied it on one of the first pages of my Bible, signing and dating it as my own. I encourage and urge you to do the same, if you can mean it! Lord, I give up all my plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all – utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt, send me where Thou wilt, work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever. I didn’t know what that cost would be, but in faith and trust, I gave over to him everything.

There are three types of surrender that we have to work through: One is surrender we do toward hypothetical situations in the future. At age 18, I thought of everything I desired and valued. “What if I don’t get married? What if I don’t have children?

What if I’m injured for life?” I mean, that happens to people! If we don’t surrender those things, we live in fear of harm or of our dreams not materializing. It must grieve God for us to live with these worries. Imagine if your own beloved son living under your protection had anxiety that you would give him no food tomorrow or that you would abandon him? Wouldn’t you wish him to be free of that?

In the same way, if we fully entrust our lives to God, we’re liberated from worry. Otherwise, our enjoyment of what we have is choked out by being worried and anxious about their

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“COME UNTO ME, ALL YE THAT LABOUR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST.”

ONLY THOSE WHO COME GET REST.

potential loss. And yet, what if it is *not* God’s will for you to marry? Do you suppose that you can plan your life better than he? Please believe me when I say, the dreams you wish for will be worse than the life you live now, if God is not in it. Life is too hard to try to blaze our own path, protect ourselves, and give ourselves our own expected end (Jer 29:11).

Secondly, there’s surrender we do toward our current circumstances. We have to be willing to accept those and say, “God, as long as you have me in this situation, I’m willing to walk through this. I’m going to trust you in it.” If we don’t surrender in that way, we naturally try to control other people and the situation to prevent loss or create gain. Because God might not do things the way I want him to, *I* need to try to make this happen. But God doesn’t want us to be burdened with having to control things and we are freed when we simply leave it in His hands. Or many times we lash out against another person who seems to be blocking our way, not acknowledging that their heart is in the hand of the LORD (Pr 21:1). Remember, people are not the enemy; we wrestle not against flesh and blood. Jesus gives an invitation: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Only those who come get rest. Not everyone. But we can’t come on our terms. The cost is surrendering and forsaking all else.

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Third, there’s surrender we need to do toward circumstances in our past: the family we grew up in or sins committed against us. We wonder, “God, why did you make me like this? or Where were you when that happened?” This can be really difficult, I know, but we have to surrender those wishes and losses to him too, and come to a place of acceptance. If we don’t, we’ll live in disappointment or bitterness. God longs for us to live free from depression and anger toward how he made us or things in our past.

I made it through the surrender of future hypothetical situations at age 19, as well as accepting the lot given me in life. Then, God gave me a husband and I experienced all the joy that comes with marriage.

After about a year of marriage, my husband began to question and deny God’s existence. I cried out to God but was met with silence. Looking back, I think God was testing me, as he did Hezekiah (2Ch 32:31). But at the time, I decided God hadn’t been faithful to keep his promise to give me the desires of my heart. After a struggle with suicidal thoughts, I made a conscious decision to put my husband first in my life and try to understand him in his new views.

I followed him in the pursuit of worldly pleasures and achievement. Then, after eight years of living the American dream, I lost my husband’s love. Then came another crisis of faith. To me, my choices were

to either follow God *all the way,* or die. I chose God, merely because I was out of options, and I wanted to see if his word really was true. My husband would end up moving out, divorcing me, and remarrying.

The first year after my husband moved out (but often coming home), was excruciating for me emotionally.

But I had peace and a deep sense that God loved me and I didn’t have to try to control anything. I tried to remember who I used to be, before marriage, and remembered I used to love music. So I sat down at the piano and wrote some songs, which God used toward much healing in me. Here are a few:

Let My Pain

LET MY PAIN BE A HUNGER FOR HEAVEN, LET MY TEARS BE AN OFFERING TO YOU. HELP ME BE STRONG THOUGH I FEEL I AM DYING, GIVE ME A HEART THAT IS FAITHFUL AND TRUE. LORD, HEAR MY PRAYER LEST I DIE. LORD, COMFORT ME AS I CRY. LORD, EARNESTLY DO I SEEK. HELP ME TO RUN, FOR I’M WEAK. LORD, I’M BROKEN AND LONG FOR YOUR HEALING; LORD, I THIRST FOR THE WATER YOU GIVE. LORD, I KNOW THAT YOUR PURPOSE IS PERFECT;

The H Prayer

LORD, GRANT ME HONESTY. LORD, GIVE ME HUMILITY. LORD, INCREASE MY HUNGER. HELP ME THIRST FOR HOLINESS. I LONG FOR HEALING, I SEEK YOUR HONOR. HOW I WANT A PURE, CLEAN HEART; MY HOPE IS IN HEAVEN.

I BELIEVE I WILL NOT DIE BUT LIVE. LORD, WHERE IS JOY? WHERE RELIEF? WHERE IS THE HOPE IN MY GRIEF? LORD, WHERE ARE YOU IN THIS TEST? WHERE IS MY PEACE – WHERE MY REST? HEAL MY PAIN, WIPE MY TEARS. HELP ME SEE WHAT YOU HAVE FOR ME. GIVE ME YOUR PEACE AND YOUR HOPE AND YOUR JOY AS MY STRENGTH.

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THE MORE OF A sacrifice

SOMETHING IS TO ME, THE MORE

valuable IT IS IN GOD’S EYES.

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Why Surrender Matters Do you love God? If so, why? John says, “We love him, because he first loved us” (1Jo 4:19). Do you know what it is to feel jealous? I know. But understand this: God is more jealous for your love than you can ever imagine. “The LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Ex 34:14b). Do you know what scripture calls you if you have other loves? “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (Jas 4:4).

He will take nothing less from you than 100% whole, total, complete, entire, passionate love. “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Lu 14:33).

God brought a brother my way, Zac Poonen, and his messages in The Fulfilled Christian Life* revolutionized my thoughts and cleared away much of my confusion.

He told a story about how he pictures himself as a poor beggar woman sitting by the side of the road in rags, with a few pennies in her tin cup. A prince in flowing robes, owning lands and palaces, rides up on a white steed, dismounts, kneels before her and, says, “I want to marry you. Give me everything you have and I’ll give you everything I have.” She pauses, looks at the three pennies in her cup and says, “But can’t I keep this?” That’s what we do when we won’t surrender. God is offering us his riches of the glorious inheritance in the saints. He’s calling us to marriage and a joint bank account and yet we presume to say, “That sounds good, but can’t I keep this?” It’s madness. If we despise his love, how do we suppose to gain his mercy in the last day? If we want to be pardoned on the basis of his love for us, then must we not also love him completely?

I believe if we really value something and give it to the Lord, it’s as precious to Him as it is to us. That encourages me. The more of a sacrifice something is to me, the more valuable it is in God’s eyes as well.

David said, “neither will I offer… unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing” (2Sa 24:24).

So when I feel the cost or weight of things I treasure that I’ve had to sacrifice to God, I know that God also values it that much. If I give my $10 in the offering, it really wasn’t that much of a sacrifice, and that’s about how much it’s worth. Yes, it’s good to do. But, if I give something so close and deep in my heart that I feel I can’t live without it unless God empowers me, those are the things that are most precious to Him and what He desires most because He is jealous for my heart.

Yes, the pain is there, but if it weren’t hard it wouldn’t be a cross. And, pain is not the enemy. What part of us doesn’t like pain? It’s our flesh. Since when are we supposed to try to comfort and satisfy our flesh?

Our flesh is crucified with Christ (Ga 2:20). When you think about what it is in us that recoils from pain, many times that is what needs to be purged from us, not protected. It’s not like we go out and seek hardship, but whatever God sends, whether joy or pain, we accept from His hand. Our goal is to be like Christ, NOT to live a delicate life. Heb 2:10 says, “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”

We, too, have to die. That’s the call of the surrendered life: to deny ourselves and take up our cross. I give up my agenda of what my life should look like, and I accept God’s. Even though it’s not comfortable, it IS exciting. When I turn in my dreams for me, I get to live out HIS dreams for me. As God’s own dear child, his dreams for me are so much bigger than my own!

God wants to make us like Jesus. “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross…” (Heb 12:2a) What was the joy that was set before Jesus? Jude says that he is able to *present us faultless* before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. If Jesus endured the cross for the joy of being reconciled to me, shouldn’t I endure my cross for the joy of being reconciled to HIM? Why would I shrink back? In Hebrews 10:38b, God says, “If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him,” and yet that’s what we are tempted to do. I am happy to steward what God has given me (not to possess, but merely as a steward, I Cor. 4:1-2; I Peter 4:10, Luke 12:42). But much more than that, I am happy that God stewards all that I give him! (2 Tim.1:12) Have this faith, my sisters! In my divorce process, I was so happy that my portion was the LORD (Lam 3:24). But even more than that, I have unending joy to know that the LORD’s portion is ME! Yes, and you too, my friend, if you will give yourself wholly to him! (Deut. 32:9)

MEET THE AUTHOR Growing up, I had one primary desire in life: to be a wife and mother. Even deeper than that, though, my heart longed to live out God’s purpose for my life, whatever the cost. After I married the man of my dreams, he voiced fundamental spiritual questions, and I thought God hadn’t been faithful to give me the desires of my heart. Disappointed, I placed my happiness in having a good marriage and pursued higher education and a professional career with its resulting money and prestige.

Seven years later, God sent a crisis my way, and, with it, a second chance at processing through whether or not I would believe his goodness and word. After trying every tactic I knew of resistance and control to change my circumstances (and failing), I chose absolute surrender to God instead of suicide. Since then, my life has been a journey of growing in love, grace, and joy. For seven years, I was blessed with the ministry of homeschooling my two sons and teaching music at my church school in Gladys, Virginia. I am currently an adjunct instructor for Liberty University Online.

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HOW

abundant

THAT YOU HAVE

bestow

THOSE WHO THAT YOU

stored fear

ARE THE GOOD THINGS

YOU,

refuge

IN THE SIGHT OF ALL,

ON THOSE WHO TAKE

Psalm 31:19, NIV

pearl of

promise

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UP FOR

IN YOU!

our readers share

Not Enough They told her that she wasn’t..

Very pretty and not the right size Her personality needed some help She was a mess in their eyes.

Her domestic skills were lacking And her relational ones were too.

Her job wasn’t so great either, Was there anything right she could do?

With being a third culture kid, She never did quite belong, She didn’t mind being different Just wanted to be accepted, was that wrong?

She hated that she lived in fear, That someday they would all know And turn away and leave her Again rejected by the ones she loved so.

She herself didn’t know…

All the pain and anger inside Til the tears began to flow When she remembered how hard she tried.

A poem in honor of the man who showed me a father’s love.

You taught me what a Dad is, you showed me it was safe, to be a girl, enjoy my world, to laugh to love and play.

You helped me want to fight again, you showed me that you cared, you never walked away from me, you spent time for me in prayer.

You spoke very often of the Father heart of God, talked of His justice and His amazing love.

You believed that I could make it, you encouraged me to dream, you told me I was worth it and you said you’d never leave.

All her life, or so it seems, She wanted to just be “good enough” Yet she never quite succeeded So she determined to just be tough.

She was told what she was, And what she was not.

Time and time again until..

Those lies she bought.

She tried so hard on her own to be, The part she thought she had to play, But inside she was desperately crying, Let me be me, God made me this way.

But just ya’ll hold on…

The story doesn’t end quite yet, This girl knows Jesus, And He forgives and forgets.

His perfect love casts out her fear, His mercy on her He bestows, In Him, she finds true freedom, And great joy she now knows.

His fire burns in her heart, And compels her to go on, His song fills her very soul, Her darkness has met the Dawn.

You taught me how to trust again, you encouraged me to be a woman after God’s heart, secure, loved and free.

She knows she’s loved unconditionally, As He holds her heart in His hand.

She sees His goodness each day, In Him, she can boldly stand.

-by Jewel

-anonymous

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Intentionally Impacting Part II of partnering to develop

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by Maribeth Herr Photography by Kristi Smucker

SHE NOTICED ME FIRST. I knew she was a visitor from Maine picking up my best friend from school. I was shocked that someone her age would be interested in someone as young as me. She didn’t even know me very well but her genuine interest in who I was and how I was doing intrigued me. She was twenty, I was fifteen. A year later, she moved to my area when my life got a little more complicated as I struggled with peer relationships. She was one of the key people in my life at that time that helped me follow God instead of my heart. I will be eternally grateful for her mentoring.

I’ve heard another friend ask, “Will the course of [girls’] future be different if just one person takes a personal interest in their lives and truly cares about them and affirms them? I think it could be.”

We see the call of mentoring on our lives when we look at the life Jesus lived. He allowed many to be close and share life with Him. Mentoring is integral to building God’s kingdom through the body of Christ. If we read what is recorded about Jesus’ life here on earth, we notice Him spending hours speaking into the lives of others. He spent time addressing the crowds in dynamic ways but it was often when He got alone with His disciples that the truth transformed their hearts.

Just as Jesus shared the wisdom imparted to Him by His Father, we are called to share what God has revealed to us through our relationship with Him. If you are following Jesus, you have something others need. We are not required to learn all our lessons from our own lives.

We experience God through other people, especially through their stories. You do not have to look far to realize people all around you struggle, often with the same questions and issues you’ve faced before or will face in the future. This is why mentoring is a serious call on our lives and not just something that is another good thing we can do. Jesus commanded us to follow His example and so have others before us.

[Older women] are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled…” (Titus 2:4-5, ESV) This passage answers part of why we are all called to serve as mentors; the way we behave as women matters.

The younger women are watching and learning from

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YOU CAN IMPRESS BY LIVING, BUT WALKING ALONGSIDE IMPACTS. our conduct and our conduct either honors or insults God’s Word. We need to be more intentional than just living our lives to be seen by others. You can impress by living, but walking alongside impacts.

“Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us” (Titus 2:7-8, ESV).

AM I QUALIFIED?

Becoming a mentor first involves taking a good look in the mirror. “Am I qualified?” can be a scary, but necessary question to ask yourself. There will always be things to learn, and we will never “fully arrive”, but there are ways we can prepare ourselves to serve faithfully in the role of godly mentor.

First, BE CONNECTED to the Holy Spirit who is our Counselor. The Truth living in our lives and doing a work in our hearts prepares us to live out the truth in an accurate, though not perfect way. This implies that we are not the

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Source of truth but we belong in a partnership with the Holy Spirit as we walk alongside others. This means we learn to recognize His voice and respond quickly. It is so important to Jesus that we learn to know Him and His ways through His Word. We cannot be products of another person’s wisdom about the Word but need to make things our own while walking with others. Prayer is a direct connection to the Father. You will receive communion with God through speaking with Him. Once you know His heart, then He will open your eyes and give you what you need in order to pour into the lives of others. Once you begin mentoring, younger women will get a glimpse of your prayer life as you share your spiritual journeys. Your connection with God will be an example for those you are impacting.

Ask to BE made SELFLESS. When investing in younger girls, I know I often struggle by replacing my love for Jesus and call to follow Him with good things; for instance, the blessings I receive from following Him. This struggle allows God to enable us to walk in humility. We can’t muster up the perfect motives. Humility requires radical obedience which affects how we relate to others. We are to take those around us to Jesus, and trust them to Him, not lead them to ourselves.

God wants us to encourage others to become more dependent

on Him. “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30, ESV).

BE VULNERABLE AND AUTHENTIC. You will only be able to mentor out of who you are. Often life lessons come through learning from our own mistakes. Sharing our failures with the younger generation helps us be real and allows them to realize there is hope even in the face of failure. It brings us down to their level; humans who struggle to produce an accurate picture of the Father. Once we find freedom in our lives, we are called to share what we have learned. You may become one of the first authentic people a younger woman has had walk beside her. It is important that our beliefs match up with our lifestyle in order for God to receive glory. If you are not you, walking closely with another will only point them towards something that is false. God is offering you grace to offer what you can: your time, your laughter, your skills, your experience, your wisdom, your hugs, and your tears.

In order to share stories of God’s faithfulness we must first BE FAITHFUL. We need to learn from God how to step out boldly and confidently into things we cannot see or make out clearly. We need to grow in confidence of who Jesus is for us. Faith needs to become a daily habit. When we experience God’s faithfulness first hand, then we can encourage others to grow in faith. Faith is made possible if followed by the call to be obedient. Circumstances affect us but they should not interfere with our ability to recognize the Spirit’s voice and take action based on what we hear. Our life will speak for God

when others see us continuing to walk in obedience.

Finally, we must BE ACCOUNTABLE to those around us.

You are not qualified to guide others if you are not willing to be guided by the body of Christ. The need for accountability is always present, but especially so when others are coming needing guidance. Pride says, “I can help her through this deep pain myself. I have all I need to be a mentor.” There will be ways God equipped you well to mentor but there will always be things that are outside of your scope of experience.

We must display responsibility to those God has placed in our lives on purpose. In fact, mentoring begins within our own families. Our own sisters should receive priority over other young women in our lives. That may mean leaving the door unlocked so they can talk if they need to or it may be including them in some of your social activities. Our authenticity is proved when we reach those inside our home.

AM I OLD ENOUGH?

So by now you may be asking the question, “Am I old enough?”

All of us who are walking with Jesus have something to offer to others. Young women should not shy away from mentoring because of their age. You cannot wait to begin mentoring until you reach the perfect age or you will never become a mentor.

However, there are limitations to age. A younger mentor will be unable to offer the depth or quantity of life experiences that

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someone older has under her belt, but that should not keep her from offering what she has experienced. Often younger women can reach out to those under them with greater ease because of time untouched by the responsibilities of an older person. There is energy in a younger mentor that the older generations cannot match. So how close to my age can the younger girl be? Most recommend five years. I find for myself that the larger the age gap, the more mentor separates itself from peer. You cannot mentor a peer. The majority of women reach a higher capacity to mentor in their mid-twenties. By then she’s had time to figure out more of who God is and what her response is to Him. Remember, we must allow God to refine us before we can be used by Him to reach others.

WHERE DO I START?

So when God has commanded and equipped, where do I start? One must first be approachable and available to those whom God brings into your life. When Mary approached Elizabeth with news of her pregnancy, she received a selfless welcome from a woman whom God had also called for His glory. Swing open the door of communication with those in your life and offer your time if they want it. Making yourself available communicates that you care. God may call you to take a step further and prompt you go find a need in her life. When a younger woman does approach you, whether officially or informally, God will confirm to you how He wants you to respond.

BE A SAFE PERSON. Ask God to develop you into a trustworthy person. Confidentiality really matters in mentoring. If trust is violated or never established, there are consequences that can have far reaching effects on a person’s spiritual journey. Safety provides a younger woman with confidence in presenting her need to be heard and validated with the hope of grace and guidance.

There is always a significant need for a mentor to BE A LISTENER. Processing happens before input. We are called to listen, and not just to their words, but to their heart. It is a gift to hear a heart. The more we listen, the more we understand, and the more effectively we can minister the way Jesus desires us to. Listening involves being able to ask good questions that help the younger woman process well.

Questions that are well framed can help her see what is really going on or point to what God wants to reveal to her.

BE A COMFORTER. One way love is expressed to others is through comfort. People in pain need vast amounts of energy just to survive. If we love with comfort, we can help them experience the way God desires to comfort them in their pain. Love experienced through the body of Christ brings the healing God wants to offer that person.

Everyone knows flattery is wrong, but how many understand how to be an encourager? Speaking words of affirmation to someone who is growing in their walk with God is powerful. As mentors, we are called to bring a God-honoring confidence into their lives so they can face the world. There is always good in someone’s heart, so tell her. Remind her of where she has been and how she has grown. God asks you to help her see herself through His eyes. Encouragement prepares the way to speak the truth in love.

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11, ESV).

BE TRUTHFUL. Once God’s love is present, there is relational trust for the truth to be spoken. God’s love motivates us to walk closer to Him. Guilt on the other hand is devastating. When a younger woman shares her true heart, the responsibility to respond like Jesus is great.

The goal is not to fix them but to partner with the Holy Spirit as He transforms their lives day by day.

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If you choose to walk along side another, BE COMMITTED. God never invites us to walk with Him and then forgets to follow through.

Being a mentor means we take responsibility to follow up and follow through. If she asked for prayer, write a reminder down to call her later. Ask how she’s doing next time you cross paths. Honor her for letting you see her.

Sometimes God just wants us to answer with a “yes” and stop stalling on the “why” or “how” questions. Look around you. The majority of mentoring happens just by modeling. Who is in your life now?

Are there relationships that just need a little more intentionality on your end? Be the initiator. Befriend someone you had not noticed before. Look at your schedule. You would be surprised how many opportunities appear when you consider just asking someone to join you in your daily living. Invite your younger sister to go shopping with you. Call up your peers. Maybe an outing to the park could be planned with the girls in the youth group. When is the last time you have gotten down on the floor and colored a picture with a little girl? Do you have the gift of writing? God can use your blog to mentor others. When I was in high school, we had a big sister little sister program. That is mentoring. So is that one night a week you spend with inner city kids.

Mentoring can also take a more formal approach. Recently I observed an older man studying the book of Mark with boys in their early teens in a coffee shop. I’ve spent many hours on my mentor’s couch with a cup of tea. There may be someone in your Sunday school class you do not realize you are mentoring. There is so much room for creativity, style, and Spirit-inspiration when it comes to mentoring.

There is blessing in mentoring as well as being mentored, as testified to by these women serving as mentors within the Anabaptist community: “It was a very rewarding experience and it really makes the mentor do some soul-searching of her own in order to be able to lead well. That was probably one of my bigger challenges but what made it so good.”

“I want to mentor those younger than me, because I long for them to have someone walk alongside of them as they ‘figure out’ life and face the struggles and challenges of life. I know how much it’s helped me to have the encouragement and support of other women, and I long to offer that to those younger than me.”

“The interaction with the young ladies is satisfying to me. It is good to give out of what I have learned; that is gratifying when someone wants to hear and is benefited.”

YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES!

You have what it takes: God, life experience, memories of joy and pain, and the desire to follow God in the ways He has revealed. Everyone has the time to mentor. Mentoring can be a lifetime friendship, a season of shared experiences, or a one-time encounter. You are the only one who can responsibly use your time to honor God. Be intentional.

God wants to use your story to redeem others and draw you closer to Himself.

MEET THE AUTHOR Maribeth Herr lives in Guys Mills, Pa where she plays a role as the oldest child in a family of seven and runs as a paramedic on her local fire department. Her repertoire includes: Lyme disease, college, barista, and a four month trip to Asia. She is passionate about helping people in crisis, human trafficking, and becoming fluent in American Sign Language. Some of her favorite things are: winter, traveling, fog, solitude, and reading life-changing books.

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Feminine LEADERSHIP

by Tara Heisey Photography by Dana Risser

WHILE CREATED TO BE A “HELP MEET”, HOW DOES A GODLY WOMAN FUNCTION IN A POSITION OF LEADERSHIP? How can she lead strongly, yet graciously? And how may she remain tenderhearted and meek while “on duty” and “in-charge”? I don’t know where you are in your journey, but if currently serving in a position of leadership, how do you find rest? Where do you go with struggle? Perhaps you find yourself feeling weary, alone, useless, and wondering if you even matter. Don’t give up. You’re invited to take a short break from the strains of responsibility and “follow” along for a glimpse into a few examples of feminine leadership.

What does it mean to be feminine? I appreciate the way Larry Crabb describes it in his book, Fully Alive; “…A woman is feminine when she relates in a way that invites others to see something about God that is irresistibly attractive, something about the relational nature of God that she was created to enjoy and reveal” (42). In a society that encourages bold women and an Anabaptist culture that teaches the biblical principle of submission, how can we as women model this in a position of leadership that God has called us to? If you are a sister, mother, nurse, teacher, mentor, dean of women, camp counselor, head cook, or the head secretary (just to name a few) you are a leader. It doesn’t take a great, outstanding position to be a leader, but someone who is willing to allow her influence to impact

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the lives of others. Through the following stories I would like to portray the way I believe that every woman uniquely brings her gifts, personality, and story to a position of feminine leadership, even in her weaknesses.

My first experiences in leading began with my birth order; I’m the oldest of five siblings, whom I love very much. Without them I don’t know who I would be today, and along with my parents, they are the ones who have welcomed me home from every venture and granted grace for transition.

When I was eighteen I had the opportunity to be a counselor at RUBIES Camp and begin modeling some of the feminine leadership that had impacted my life. My love for girls grew with girl’s club during missions in Guatemala, and continued with opportunities at RUBIES Camp in Pennsylvania. But by the time I was celebrating my 24th birthday, life hadn’t flowed the way I had expected, and my dreams lay flat. It was on that birthday that God began to reveal His plans and took me beyond my own imagination. I received a call to be the assistant resident advisor (a.k.a. dean) for Elnora Bible Institute (Elnora, IN).

For the next four years God used my time at EBI as a training ground for brokenness and a safe place to grow. In between those seasons of leading He continued to reveal more of His mercy and truth to me through places such as LIFE Ministries, Camp Andrews, the HAFT, and Girl’s Passion. The Holy Spirit began to gently work through the walls I had built around my heart and called me to places where I faced my deeper longings and fears. Gradually my nice, controlled life became messier than desired when deadened longings came to life and guarded fears came to the surface. Even my typical ways of dealing with stress became more obvious to me as I turned to comfort food. Leading was hard work.

Leading requires brokenness and vulnerability, but for a feminine leader to develop those qualities she must enter her fear and IT DOESN’T TAKE A acknowledge her desire to control. A feminine leader who is broken may find GREAT, OUTSTANDING herself asking, “Who am I? What am I doing here? And who is God?” She TO BE A can courageously face and admit her weaknesses, while also receiving LEADER, BUT SOMEONE grace and inviting others to know her in her struggle. Serving as a leader may WHO IS WILLING TO ALLOW be lonely, and vulnerability requires honesty. I like the way Allender states it in HER TO Leading With A Limp, “Honesty promises to remain tender and kind, full of hope IMPACT THE LIVES OF and desire for the other person’s growth.

The more we remain honest with the other, OTHERS. the greater our desire will be to know and to be known, to know truth and to be pursued and seized by what is true, by the One who is true. Honesty frees us to care.” (122)

position

influence

Vulnerability is the character trait of a good leader, and since it is also a unique character trait of femininity, I wonder how much more God’s glory could be revealed through the life of a vulnerable feminine leader. As a staff member at Girl’s Passion Camp I’ve had the unique privilege of witnessing God’s character among the committee and staff members. They are a genuine group of five beautiful women who plan camp and lead at the same level as the rest of the staff. They can be honest about their thoughts, -34-

emotions, ideas, and spiritual journey. Conflict doesn’t stop them. Their vulnerability and honesty in feminine leadership allows room for grace and questions and extends a warm invitation for me to be a part of them.

During my time at the Passion Girl’s Camp this past summer I thought I miserably failed my campers when I admitted to some of my own struggle during one of the sessions. After a brief pause, one of my caring and courageous campers asked if they could pray for me. I was surprised by her offer and the way she moved to care about me as their leader. I felt something pull inside of me and realized it was actually difficult to say yes! Tears began to flow when I felt the comfort of another camper who left her spot in the circle to place her arm around my shoulders, and I heard each girl pray to the Father for the struggle I had shared. I hadn’t expected all, or any of the care that they offered and some time later I was still critiquing myself with contempt for “falling apart” and leaving my campers with such a burden.

I still struggled to admit that I needed to talk with someone until a committee member asked if I was ok. I quickly spilled the frustration I held against myself and she calmly offered to pray for me before I ran out the door for another activity. At the end of the weekend, my campers blessed me with truth and grace by being honest about the strength and weaknesses they saw.

become susceptible to the lies of the enemy. We want to cast blame, form stronger opinions, avoid confrontation, hide, or just fix the problem. It will take a conscious effort and the help of the Holy Spirit for the feminine leader not to close her heart and create more disunity through gossip.

A feminine leader must not fall into the trap of comparing herself to others and must admit that it is easier to see the flaws of someone else than it is to see our own. One way we can grow to understand and appreciate our gifts and those we serve with is by the prophet, priest, and king concept. While Jesus perfectly lived and fulfilled all three, I will attempt to encapsulate how God has uniquely gifted each of us with a form of those characteristics.

A prophet will see and speak truth. She is willing to interrupt comfort with new challenges, call out faulty living, and invite one to move toward a greater vision. The priest is an intercessor and an encourager.

She connects with people through stories that remind them of where they’ve come from and offers rest by creating a safe place. The kingly leader creates order through detailed organization. She is bold and honest while willing to make unpopular decisions. One is not better than the other, and we need all three to bring balance to our team.*

SUGGESTED READING

Finally, quiet time is essential STRONG WOMEN, SOFT HEARTS, A vulnerable feminine leader for your spiritual and personal will also invite godly men to lead

by Paula Rinehart life, the position in which you with their protection and logical serve, and those whom you are insight. One of the blessings called to lead. Spending time THE CONVICTION TO LEAD, for me as a leader has been at the feet of Jesus, seeking the

by Albert Mohler growing to see God’s unique Father, and coming before His design for femininity by allowing throne of grace is where you may men to take care of things for me, LEADING WITH A LIMP, find true rest and joy, brokenness asking for their advice, and trusting

by Dan Allender and healing, and His strength in your them with the concerns I bring. It’s weakness. It’s good to have time off, been a long challenge for me to bring a safe place to go, and a trusted friend questions or concerns, and of course, or mentor to connect with. there’s the struggle of when to voice an opinion or withhold it respectfully. I believe it’s Wherever you find yourself today, may the Holy Spirit important for a godly feminine leader to respect the be your guide, comfort, wisdom, and understanding. men around her, allow their protection, and abide May He fill you, complete His good work in you, and by their decisions -even when she doesn’t agree. She bless you as you open your heart to His ultimate may bring helpful insight or opinions, but then it is best leading. for her to leave it in the care of masculine leadership.

As women it is incredibly difficult to trust and allow men to lead, but how can she honor and encourage men in their design to be leaders? How can she invite the strength of younger men, brothers, and little boys though she herself may be fully capable? Godly men will take responsibility, even own their mistakes, which Hello, my name is Tara Heisey allows the feminine leader to freely carry out her tasks and I am 27 years old. My that help, nurture, and care in the unique way God favorite fad foods include things like “salted caramel”, has designed and created for her. Not all of the men homemade iced coffees, and in your life may have been safe leaders you can trust, breads! I love connecting with and you may also notice that you like to be in control those around me through heartmore than what you realized, but I hope that you will to-heart conversations, sister also discover more of God’s glory through His created time, and caring for the elderly in my occupation as a order.

CNA. I enjoy traveling and embracing the differences

MEET THE AUTHOR

It’s easy to become discontent, discouraged, and disconnected in the position we serve. Sometimes there are external pressures and circumstances, weighty decisions, and other matters that bring pressure to the team you may be serving alongside.

Often these things will creep in unaware, and we

in various cultures. I feel very passionate about sharing Jesus through relationship as I learn more of His character, my love for Him, and His love for me. *Dan Allender, Leading With A Limp, p.185

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YOU ARE NOT A LIFE BOAT IMAGINE YOU ARE STRANDED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ATLANTIC. Your ship has sunk and now you are in a lifeboat with six other people, about to sink if you don’t get rid of some weight.

Someone has to be thrown over.

You look at the muscular sailor rowing beside you. He can’t be less than twenty-five with a decade of sea-experience behind his back: he is certainly not the one getting thrown over. In the bow sits a had-been vacationing, stay-at-home mom with three young children at Grandpa’s, clueless that they are now fatherless. A garbage man also escaped along with a millionaire and a hipster still holding his coffee cup. Who do you throw over? The garbage man or the hipster?

The stay-at-home mom or the millionaire—or you? Who has more value?

EVEREST

godly men encourage us on to the summit.

In his book, Searching for God Knows What, Donald Miller presents a similar scenario. He

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compares the basic struggles of humanity with the people in the lifeboat. He says that we are born desperate to prove to each other why we should not be thrown overboard. This explains our desire to be the most athletic or admired, to wear the trendiest clothes, or to write the most profound article the Daughters of Promise has ever published. Feeling a need to prove to those around us that we are better and more valuable than average, we will do anything to persuade the others in the lifeboat that we deserve to live.

Maybe this is why bullies pick on the weak: it is easy to prove yourself strong when compared to a weakling. “I’m stronger: throw him over.”

Maybe it is why we try so desperately to associate ourselves with popular people. “I am important: throw someone else over.” Maybe it’s why we pursue fashion, point out fat people, or drink coffee. “I’m cool, I look good, I’m hip: throw someone else over.” Maybe this is why we

make ministry a competition and instead of caring about individuals and their relationships with God we treat people like trophies. “I’m more godly, I’m more blessed, I have faith, I’m successful: throw her over instead of me. I have more value.” We look around, feeling the water around our ankles, sensing the pressure to perform or be disregarded as not fit-to-live. We feel this way because we think we live on a lifeboat.

But we don’t.

Jesus possessed an incredible sense of identity. He knew He was the Son of God and that nobody was

going to throw Him out of any lifeboat. The FatherGod Himself had declared His pleasure in Jesus and called Jesus His “beloved Son.” The Son of God had nothing to fear.

The Pharisees, on the other hand, walked around in fancy clothes, saying fancy prayers, despising anyone who did not measure up to their standards of excellence and perfection. As if to say: “We are better; you are worse: you get thrown overboard.” But Jesus was not fazed by them because He saw right through their façade. He saw the wickedness and pride in their hearts and He did not capitulate, which stirred up their fierce hatred for Him. Jesus knew exactly Who He was

by Christopher Witmer Photography by Emily Lapp

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FEELING A NEED TO PROVE THAT WE ARE BETTER AND MORE VALUABLE THAN AVERAGE, WE WILL DO ANYTHING TO PERSUADE THE OTHERS IN THE LIFEBOAT THAT

WE DESERVE TO LIVE.

and therefore did not have to play the lifeboat game.

And so should we know who we are. Jesus came to reveal to us our true identity, to adopt us back, like the youngest prodigal son. If I could, as a man, do anything for my sisters (that’s you), it would be to erase the lies that seem to define women. The lies that scream you need to prove yourself worthy of anyone’s approval, attention, or love, especially a man’s. I would silence the voice whispering to your heart lies about needing to look or cook better or have more refined fashion tastes. I would—and do—apologize for the lies often told or insinuated by us men. Lies about whether or not you are beautiful—as if it was even a question. I would squelch the lie that your role as a woman is, for whatever reason, less important or valuable than a man’s role.

I would tell you it doesn’t matter, none of it. “It” referring to your looks, your makeup, your shades, your trendy clothes. “It” referring to your spiced lattes or Pinterest “flops.” None of that defines you. How you look, how you act, what you wear, who you marry—or even if you marry—makes you neither more nor less of a person. It neither increases nor decreases your value because your value is immeasurable! It does not matter what “she” across the street or across the pew is doing or succeeding at or what friends she has.

“She” has nothing on you. Really, it does not even matter what positive truth I give you. What is more important is what God thinks about you.

God adores you: He sings over you because He’s so delighted in who you are (Zachariah 3:17). You are a daughter of God the Father, and that is all that matters (Galatians 3:26). You don’t have to compete.

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You don’t have to have a ministry or a husband, you don’t even have to drink coffee (surprisingly)—you are already accepted and loved. The Son finds you not just beautiful, but ravishing. Temporal desires are certainly not bad; in fact, many of them are very good and worthy of pursuit, but whether or not they become reality makes no difference in who you are. You are not defined by them. It may be hard to believe, but it is true.

When you die, Jesus won’t be concerned about what material possessions or social standing you had, or if you had a husband, kids or ministry. In fact, I believe that when we come physically before Jesus, He will ask “Did you believe that I love you?”* because anything that we do on earth with any eternal value will spring from a deep settled conviction that “Jesus loves me.”

Jesus told Nicodemus that He would rather die than to live without you (John 3:16; Romans 5:8).

Furthermore, He says that any love we give Him is a response to His incredible love for us (1 John 4:1819).

So, do you believe? It starts simple, like a small mustard seed, Jesus said, that grows little by little as it is watered, until it is a strong, flourishing tree who knows nothing about lifeboats. Maybe the question is better asked: “Will you believe?”

MEET THE AUTHOR Christopher Witmer is passionate about writing, missions, people, cities, and relationships. He is especially passionate for learning more about being a lover of Christ and of people and prays every day for faith to believe the simple words: “Jesus love me.” He lives in Los Angeles with his Dad and two sisters.

WHEN YOU DIE, JESUS WON’T BE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT MATERIAL POSSESSIONS OR SOCIAL STANDING YOU HAD, OR IF YOU HAD A HUSBAND, KIDS OR MINISTRY. INSETEAD, HE WILL ASK,

“Did you believe that I ?”

loved you

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compiled by Brittany Shult Photography by Carmie Sanchez

Creative Devotional Ideas 1. Write a letter to God. 2. Go on a praise walk. Take time to thank God for everything you see.

3. Praise Jesus from A-Z. Ex. Jesus, you are amazing….you are beautiful.

4. Write out and personalize Scripture by putting your name into promises that relate to your current situation.

Getting something in the mail other than bills or credit card offers is always exciting and something to look forward to. In today’s society, our communication comes primarily through text messaging and some form of social networking.

Let’s be more proactive in setting aside time to sit down and write a meaningful letter or card to someone special. Need something to help get your creative juices flowing? Here are some ideas!

There are so many fun and -40-

Whimsical

Letters

-Send pictures of memorable events -Make a pretty paper garland using scrapbook paper and ribbon.

-Use a hole punch to make colorful confetti.

-Include quirky elements like bottle cap magnets or a ribbon bow.

-Write down an encouraging Bible verse or inspiring quote.

-Find a tutorial online for making your own envelopes out of scrapbook paper. creative things you can do with snail mail. Let your imagination go wild and crazy!

Your efforts are sure to brighten someone’s day!

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apartment love LIVING SIMPLY IN SMALL SPACES

BY RAE SCHROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAE

the kitchen The way I feel about my house is largely defined by how I feel about my kitchen. Love begins in the kitchen, because food begins there. And food, as we know, is the clandestine gem around which we gather to experience some of our most meaningful interactions. It is important to me that the area of my home associated with rich fellowship be worthy of it.

When I lived at home in TN, the kitchen and dining room were always full of laughter and loud voices. My family has spent dozens of hours lingering around the dinner table, talking.

Meals are our time to be together; I think it’s safe to say we spent more time all together in the one place in the kitchen than anywhere else in the whole house. The pale green walls have seen hundreds of guests come and go, as Mom stirred love into every pot of soup and kneaded generosity into each loaf of bread. Around the delicious food we have gathered with family, friends, and even enemies, and learned about friendship and the value of those around us. Some of my most treasured memories have taken place in the warm, savory air of our Tennessee home kitchen. I bet yours have too, in your home.

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season everyth

with lov

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Since I moved away, things have changed some. I cook less frequently and certainly less extravagantly, because most meals, it is just me. Guests don’t come and go like they do back home and it is definitely a lot quieter: two things I miss quite a lot. Now, I have set about trying to carry on my mother’s legacy of hospitality. I enjoy people and it is high on my list of priorities to invite guests into my home. However, my apartment is quite small with very little storage area, and my kitchen is no exception.

Maximizing the tiny space has proven to be a challenge, but also great fun and I have learned a few things along the way.

One of the first things I noticed about the kitchen on my initial tour was the drawer situation.

There are only 2.

I also discovered that it is impossible to fully open one of those drawers without first opening the oven door. Ha! When it came time to find a home for my vast array of kitchen utensils, I ran into a problem: I have WAY MORE STUFF than will ever fit into two measly drawers – especially one that doesn’t open all the way! So I got creative.

I bought a lovely red crock and stuffed most of the vast array into it. The rest of the lot I hung on a 4’x4’ pegboard I purchased from Lowe’s for about $8 and painted bright red. It hangs in my very tiny dining room, which also doubles as the kitchen.

An old beat up bread box serves as my “junk drawer”; a place to store screws, extra lightbulbs, garden seeds, lighters, and other odds and ends.

hing

ve

The cupboard situation is not quite as dire. Still, I have been forced to flex my creativity muscles a bit to fit it all in. I’m a serving dish junkie and have amassed quite a collection. After a lot of shifting and rearranging, I finally got all my cool dishes to fit. I bought racks so I could have two-story levels in the taller cupboards, and demonstrated that it is indeed possible to stack serving bowls 7 high.

I’m also a huge fan of diverse spices, and again, have quite a collection. To free up cupboard space and because I can’t stand the domino effect that happens when you reach into the second row of spice jars, I found an alternative: baby food jars, meet the back of the stove.

Months ago, I relieved a friend of about 20 empty baby food jars. They gathered dust for a while til I remembered I had them and retrieved them to upcycle into spIce jars. A little Goo-Gone took care of the sticky labels, and some chalkboard paint over the lids created the perfect, eraseable canvas for marking the contents of each jar. I bought spices in bulk [to be thrifty, of course], loaded up the jars, and lined the back of the stove with them. It saves drawer space and looks awesome too.

It’s been helpful to think of my kitchen in terms of vertical space, rather than horizontal. Shelves and pegboards are a fun and effective solution for using open wall space. Small stands or tables with shelves have also been essential in expanding my limited counter space and storage space. By using them, I can double or even triple the available room in my kitchen.

My good friend Gert bought me a swanky green, shelved table which I use to hold my espresso machine and all my baking canisters. Voila!

Last summer I ripped apart an old pallet and made a nifty, rustic table which now holds the microwave, my wine bottle tiki torches, and utensils arranged in attractive containers. There is also room beneath to inconspicuously store the KitchenAid mixer, along with a plethora of vintage strainers and pitchers stashed in a primitive egg basket.

When you use vertical space, there is endless possibility. Simple crates, baskets, or decorative boxes stacked together provide lots of extra storage without giving the kitchen a tacky, disorganized feel.

Extra surface area can come from the top of the fridge also. Set an old crate on its side for an attractive way to store your collection of cookbooks or house small plants. Hide cereal boxes behind it – they don’t fit well into cupboards.

One of the lessons I learned from my friends in Brooklyn, NY, who fearlessly and frequently host large groups, is to offer generously what you have. Don’t fail to invite friends to gather round your dinner table because the space is small and the chairs will fit awkwardly. Instead, happily offer what you have, knowing that the largeness of your kindness balances the smallness of your home.

My own apartment kitchen is much too small to realistically hold more than about 6 people at a time. So, I have turned a lot of my energy to the large space I do have: my backyard.

Making it an inviting, colorful space gives me the flexibility to invite as many people as I want. We can all fit in the yard and have a merry time, too! Last week a whole crowd of local friends came over for an ice-cream party and outdoor movie in my backyard. It was phenomenol - a perfect solution to my tiny indoor entertaining options.

I must also put in a good word about stocking a kitchen on a budget. I’m a hard-core thrifter, and almost 100% of the items in my cupboards are second-hand. It is entirely possible to have a wonderfully unique kitchen on a budget. I love plain white dishware. It is simple and can be used for formal and casual dining. Did you know Dollar Tree sells it? Ok, so maybe the dishes aren’t made to last for 25 years, but you can’t beat the down-to-earth simplicity of a simple white plate that’s a little scuffed or even chipped.

One of my favorite parts of my kitchen stock is the silverware. A lover of diversity and pizzazz, I will never in my life put plain metal silverware on my gift registry. Instead, I’ve been slowly collecting plastic-handled silverware. Some of the pieces are new, some are cheap, some are vintage. It’s so much fun to eat with this stuff! It is colorful, unique, and vivacious - at only a fraction of normal cost. I urge you to get creative with your kitchen and dining purchases: upcycle, thrift shop, or build your own. It is satisfying to have a cost-efficient living space that is also uniquely you.

In conclusion, remember this: the fellowship and friendship shared over a good meal [even if it’s just ordered in pizza] begins in the kitchen.

Keep this space tidy and accessible, making creative use of however much or little area you have to work with. In the end, guests will appreciate most the love of a well-lived-in, orderly, and inviting space.

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Hosting

Grou A while back I read about a young lady who took Titus 2:3-4 seriously.

“The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness (KJV)…They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to be selfcontrolled, pure…kind. (ESV)”

Yeah, I know what a lot of you may be thinking, “Me, lead a group study?!”

So maybe you’ve never really thought about starting a study group. Or maybe you have and are waiting for “someday”. (A lot’s going to be piled up when “that day” finally comes around!) Or maybe you feel intimidated by the work involved or seeming lack of leadership skills.

I had a desire to minister to my sisters in Christ, both my peers and those younger than I, so I began a yearly study group for our youth girls, with a married lady friend as my co-helper. It has been such a blessing for everyone involved and I’m so glad that we didn’t wait around for “the right time” to become available.

Allow me to attempt to convince you to just jump right in if this is something the Lord may have in plan for you; the water’s fine.

The first question to consider:

WHY SHOULD I CONSIDER IT? WHAT MOTIVATES ME?

Wasn’t she an “aged” woman where her younger Christian sisters were concerned? She had experiences and insights that could help make the trip to adulthood a bit less precarious for her younger sisters, but only if she took the time to share those things. She reached out to these young women, and in blessing these girls she herself has been blessed with life-long relationships with them; so she will be able to invest in these girls to some extent perhaps for the rest of their lives! Talk about an influence!

That was such a challenge to me.

What was I doing for my younger Was I doing anything to invest in them?

sisters?

Consideration number two:

WHO HAS TIME FOR ANYTHING ELSE? I’m going to venture to say-YOU! I know… “Have you seen my pocket calendar?!” (or digital calendar as the case may be!)

In our day and age, women are more active than ever outside the home, so our time is slowly being lost to everything imaginable. Jobs, ministry, church activities, traveling, hobbies, sustaining relationships, the list goes on; and there’s nothing wrong with any of these as all are necessary to some extent. I have found myself thinking, “Next month. Surely next month there will be some down time on the schedule.” Yeah.

Right. As Ann Voskamp has said, “I just want time to do my one life well.”

If beginning a study group is something you are

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up Studies

by Samantha Trenkamp

tossing around and sense the Lord leading you to, then leave the time needed for the endeavor in the Hands of He who created it. The Lord’s grace reaches into our 24-hour restrictionedness of life and makes a way where we could not.

Consideration number three:

Isn’t it a lot of work?

Even though I began the study group as “my project”, don’t hesitate to delegate some responsibilities if and where necessary. It’s easy to want to have the control of everything and have it all just so. I encourage you to share your idea with other ladies in your fellowship and see if there is an interest in assisting. You may find that someone else has been considering just such an idea for a while too! My assistant was our deacon’s wife (also my mentor) and her help was invaluable.

She helped with organizing, she hosted our meetings in her home, and gave much needed input into different lesson plans. So if it looks too big for you, but you would still like to do it, put a hand out and you may just be pleasantly surprised at the response.

Number four:

mENTORING? If you head up a study group, you are going to be taking a place of leadership among your younger sisters. Are you ready for that? It is not a matter of superiority, but of being a mentor, being the example they will look too for what a godly woman should be.

For, indeed, they already are looking to you for an example! That is so very sobering to me. My sisters are watching me. We are human and so will make mistakes, that is the place of God’s grace. But just knowing that I can cause them to fall or fail in some way because of what I endorse through my actions, that’s heavy. You don’t need to be intimidated by that, but rather allow it to empower you to be what

you would hope to see in them! We have such a huge opportunity to be Light to our sisters (young and old!).

Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believer’s in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. -1 Timothy 4:12 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. -2 Timothy 2:15 If this is an endeavor that is of interest to you then I encourage you to prayerfully consider it before simply writing it off. Be it for the young women within your fellowship or maybe hosting group time for local girls in your community, it will be well worth the effort. And these girls will always remember that someone took the time to care about them, to take their hand and seek to guide them to the Truth that can become so obscure during the growing and questioning years.

We should never take the place of parental and ministerial council, but our love and attention will not go unappreciated as we work together with these authorities, by having a unity of purpose for the Kingdom in instructing these younger souls into the way they should go.

Next issue we will get practical in talking about how to host, choosing age appropriate discussion topics, etc.

YOU HAVE EXPERIENCES AND INSIGHTS THAT COULD HELP MAKE THE TRIP TO ADULTHOOD A BIT LESS PRECARIOUS FOR YOUR YOUNGER SISTERS -

IF YOU TAKE THE TIME TO SHARE.

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featured blogger

featur

Dough

MOM’S HOMEMADE DOUGHNUTS 1 quart of milk, heated almost to boiling 2 cup mashed potatoes 1 1/2 cup sugar 1 cup shortening 4 T yeast 1/2 cup warm water 1 tsp sugar 4 cup flour 2 eggs, beaten 1 T salt 8-10 cups flour 1. Mix milk, potatoes, sugar, and shortening. Cool to lukewarm.

2. Dissolve yeast in warm water with sugar.

3. After milk-potato mixture is cooled, add yeast mixture, plus 4 cups flour. Mix well.

4. Let stand for thirty minutes in warm place covered with cloth.

5. Then add eggs, salt, and as much flour as needed to handle. If dough is a bit sticky, the doughnuts will be lighter.

6. Allow dough to rise in a warm place until double in size.

7. Punch down and roll out to 1/2 inch thick. Cut with doughnut cutter.

8. Place cut doughnuts on

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lightly floured surface to rise until double.

9. Fry in hot fat at 350 degrees.

10. Dip in glaze while doughnuts are still warm.

Drip over pan until dry. For freshest doughnuts, freeze immediately. They thaw quickly for serving.

GLAZE:

2 lb powdered sugar 1 stick butter, very soft 3 tsp vanilla 1 cup hot water Stir all ingredients together until well blended. Do not heat. Dip warm doughnuts into glaze. Allow to drip on a cooling rack.

Every year since I was a little girl, my mom and I have spent a winter day making doughnuts. As years passed, sisters, sisters-in-law, and recently a few granddaughters, joined us in Mom’s kitchen.

This year we dumped a twenty-five pound bag of flour and untold amounts of sugar into numerous batches of my mom’s potato doughnuts. We never did count the doughnuts since we started eating them as soon as the first one came out of the fryer. (Neither did we count calories.) We filled containers for each family to freeze, plus some plates of doughnuts to share with neighbors, while our children ransacked Grandma’s house with their cousins. Soup was pulled out for lunch, for anyone who still had an appetite.

Last Christmas, my mom had sewn aprons for all the women and girls of the family with directions that we bring them to Doughnut Day. Surprisingly, none of us forgot. But this day won’t otherwise be remembered as an example of my good memory.

I arrived home in the mid-afternoon with a vanload of tired children and Tupperware filled with fresh doughnuts. I handed each child an armload to carry to the house and was looking longingly at the couch when I remembered. The chicken! On the way home, I had planned to pick up a case of chicken ordered at a local butcher shop for a sweetheart supper later in the week.

What could I do but herd the children back into their car seats and backtrack to the butcher shop? Arriving, I parked the van, reached for my purse, and found it missing. A thorough search of the van—and still no purse.

Then I realized the four year old, given the responsibility of carrying my diaper bag to the house, had done his duty.

Meet Gina Martin “You get the craziest emails,” said Ed to Gina earlier this summer. Gina accidentally fell into blogging five years ago as a way to share and archive snippets of life in her kitchen and garden. She is amazed that blogging about broccoli and bread has led to conversations with women from all over the world who are curious about the Mennonite lifestyle and searching for encouragement.

She is wife to Ed, mother to five children (ages 7 months to 10 years), bookworm, and one who enjoys healthful cooking- until she is offered chocolate or her mom’s homemade doughnuts. Whether it is to the women in her church or in her inbox, Gina hopes to show God’s grace in the joys of everyday life.

Whether you are looking for some garden tips, a new recipe or just some homemaking encouragement, stop by Gina’s blog:

www. homejoys.blogspot.com

red blog post:

hnuts and Lost Brain Cells Back in the van again, for another trip home. I was going to completely miss naptime. And I had no one to blame for this ridiculous afternoon but myself.

I forced myself to find a way to redeem the wasted time. I had been trying to teach the children they are responsible for the way they react to unpleasant circumstances.

We now discussed our choice between frustration and acceptance. It took all my will power to choke back my complaints and instead help the children sing.

A quick stop at the house for the purse, another trip to the butcher shop (this road was becoming far too familiar), and finally we arrived. That can’t be a “closed” sign in the window! It was. I had forgotten that the butcher shop closed early on Mondays.

By now, I was ready to bang on the door and force someone to give me my chicken. Or at least timidly knock.

An elderly lady came to my assistance, listened to my sob story, and graciously ushered me to the back room. There are advantages to supporting home businesses. Walmart would never have been so kind. But then, neither would Walmart close at 3:30 on a Monday afternoon!

Soon a man was loading my chicken into my van. I even had a fresh doughnut handy to express my thanks. I traveled the road home for the sixth, and thankfully final, time. If any neighbors were watching my frantic trips up and down our road, they must have wondered if I had lost my mind.

Maybe I have. Wonder where I left it?

Can a doughnut restore lost brain cells?

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TRENCHES

Kathy Zimmerman

For as long as she can remember, Kathy Zimmerman has loved babies. She remembers buying a doll at twelve or thirteen, but, embarrassed because she considered herself too old for such things, she got a sister to go through the check-out lane and pay for it. Even before she was married, Kathy prayed that she would someday have a baby, and today she is the proud mother of Jaxson Daniel Zimmerman.

There was a time when she worried that she would never even get married. “Before I ever met Kirby,” she says, “I remember Mom and I were talking while picking raspberries. Maybe I was kinda worried about the future at that time. I was worried that if you wanna get married and there’s no one around, you have to go out looking. Not that I had to get married or anything, but I guess I always wanted to. But that day we were picking raspberries, it was so beautiful outside, with big huge clouds in the sky. Looking at all that beauty, I just knew if God was such a great God, if He could control all that, He could take care of my future.

“I told Mom, ‘If I’m supposed to get married, God will bring someone to me. A person doesn’t have to go looking for someone in order to get married.’

“A while after that, Kirby just appeared and started going to our church. I didn’t notice anything about it at the time, never thought we’d get together. But I kept seeing more of him.”

In the summer of 2012, Kirby took a week off work to teach vacation Bible school--partly because he was interested in the children, but also because he knew Kathy would be teaching. He asked her if they could start dating, and six months later, he asked her to marry him.

“Marriage is something that’s natural in a lot of ways,” Kathy says.

“You marry your best friend. But in other ways, it takes getting used to. Some things I was scared about. You really don’t know what to expect until you’re married. As far as household duties, cooking was what I worried most about, but marriage is harder than just learning how to do everything. Back more at the beginning, I would sometimes get really mad and start crying. There were a lot of adjustments for me.

“Seeing how Kirby is--he’s a good example. Seeing the way he takes things makes me want to be a better person. He’s probably had his frustrating times, but I think he has more patience than I do.”

by Luci Miller Photography by Elizabeth Miller

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Kathy’s pregnancy with Jaxson came as a surprise--albeit a welcome surprise--to the couple. He was born a couple of days before their first anniversary. “I’m just glad I got through it,” Kathy says. “I was always worried about childbirth pain. I’ve never gone through something so intense.

We had a rough third night after he was born. Jaxson kept us awake all night. The next morning, I called Mom and started crying. I told her, ‘I just wish I knew what he wanted.’ That day was our anniversary, and I was so tired, and I didn’t get to spend time just with Kirby.

“Before we had Jaxson, I didn’t fully realize the realness of the responsibility. Your child’s always there, and you’re gonna have to teach him. Having Jaxson is gonna teach me patience, because I never had a lot of that. And it will teach me to let things go the way they go and to be okay with some things not getting done. I’ve learned lately that some days it might be enough just to get dressed and get the dishes done.”

Kathy has come through many learning processes so far in her life. One of the biggest was learning to overcome her deep shyness. “People always teased me to no end about being shy,” she says. “They would ask questions like, ‘The cat got your tongue?’ and that made it worse. When my friends got to know me better, they accepted me for who I am, and that helped.

“I got more confident when I worked as a CNA in the nursing home. I got to meet all kinds of new people. You know, talking with the old people, it felt like I was doing something worthwhile. They get lonely. I guess when you reach out to other people, it helps you. Like the old saying goes, ‘You forget about yourself when you help somebody else.’

“I never want my children to go through what I had to go through when I was a child. But my shyness made me depend more on God. When people made comments about it, I would always feel bad, and I would have to pray and do a lot of crying and stuff. If I would have been just right, had a really nice outgoing personality that other people flocked to, I would probably have gotten kinda proud. Maybe God gave the shyness to me for a reason.”

There may be no greater missionary work in the world than the work of parents who bring up their children for God. -52-

When she was younger, Kathy prayed that God would bring at least one person into her life whom she could really help. Now that she’s married and occupied with the business of caring for her family, she’s almost forgotten those early prayers. “To tell you the truth, some days it seems hard to even see God working. I guess there was a day when I felt really discouraged, and I texted my sister to tell her to pray for me. She was so comforting and nice and acted like she knew just how it was. She said, ‘God cares and loves you, even if it doesn’t always feel like it.’

“Sometimes it doesn’t feel like I see God, but when I think about it, there are lots of little ways that I can. I see Him in answered prayers, and I see Him in my little baby when he looks up at me with his bright little eyes. I see Him all over, through having the baby and just in the way He helps me from day to day with the things I need to do and in learning how to be a mom.

“I guess what I try to do for Him now are little things like deciding to be thankful--and you know, all the little things that come from day to day, even if they don’t seem big or significant.”

Kathy may not always feel that her work as a mother to Jaxson is significant, but history proves otherwise. There may be no greater missionary work in the world than the work of parents who bring up their children for God. Not only do they touch their children’s lives, they touch the lives of children for generations to come, and indirectly, the lives of everyone who comes into contact with those children.

Kathy’s earliest known ancestor, Andrew Martin, born in 1669, was imprisoned eighteen years in a Palatinate jail for his faith, a faith which he passed on to his children. There is also a possibility that two Martins mentioned in the Martyr’s Mirror, a Martin the Painter and a Martin of Vilgraten, were earlier ancestors of Andrew. These two men were martyred for their faith in the 1530’s. Theirs is a witness that spans five hundred years and many generations of children.

“My prayer now,” Kathy says, “is that I could be a good mom and that I could take care of Jaxson. Even if I’m not a very good vessel, everything he learns about God and about life has to come through his parents and through God helping. Even if we’re not perfect, I guess somehow we still have to try our best.”

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MINISTRY

FOCUS

NEPAL Home to Mount Everest, the Royal Bengal Tiger, and 339 unique people groups, Nepal has a population of 28,922,000 people. Of those, 28,697,000 remain unreached by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

very day during every year, generation after generation, people gather on the banks of a river that runs through the east side of Kathmandu. You would never be able to find the place on your own if it wasn’t for a helpful native or that tattered yellow brochure with the word “Attractions” printed in black letters on the front page and directions on the second.

It’s not a cool fast flowing river but a slow dirty brown one that moves lazily on its way to the ocean thousands of miles away. This particular part of the river runs through a large Hindu temple compound consisting of large gaudy structures and wretched crumbling ones, their age revealed beneath the bright paint and worn rocks. Monkeys play along the ridges of the roofs and hang from the points of the pagodas; the loud calls they make and the evil stares they give make one feel like an intruder in their temple home.

What sort of place was this, I wondered as I passed through the temple gate and began the long walk down the brick paved road toward the main temple. The ground was dry and dusty and the bricks were worn and smooth. Thousands had walked this road before me. The heat bore down on me and pressed against me. The air was thick like the air in a small valley where a breeze rarely blows. The smell of garbage, and waste, and smoke, all hung in the dank air like so much wet laundry hung out to dry. I could see the smoke now, it was white against the buildings on the other side of the compound.

It hung low, not traveling up but rather moved horizontally along the ground.

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It was difficult to see what was going on ahead because of all the people gathered on this side of the river and because the river itself was so much farther below me. On this side there were large white steps each about three feet high

that dropped steeply down to a row of pagodas.

Below the pagodas, there were three large gray rock steps down to the river. I say steps, but really, they must have been each about as tall as I. They looked like a staircase for giants.

Perhaps the builders made them for the gods.

On these steps, people were sitting and standing as they watched a group of people on the other side of the river. The other side was a flat patio like place along the river with a few small steps leading into the water.

As I watched, it became clear what was happening. It was a funeral, and we were watching them perform the last rites of a deceased family member - a mother, someone told me. The body had been wrapped in colorful cloth, and a ritual was being performed.

Flower petals were scattered around and on the body, water was brought from the river and poured over the body, and finally, the feet were submerged in the water. It all was very unusual to me, but there was definitely significance in each part of the funeral, though what that significance was, I did not know.

The screaming came then. The daughter of the dead woman had been crying loudly before, but now she was nearly hysterical, her wails echoing off the rocks and buildings. Those around her tried to comfort her but there was no comfort to be had. There was more than just sorrow in her screams, there was frantic pain. The pain I heard in her voice made something inside me constrict and left me with a feeling of desperation. It was the same feeling you get when you wake up from a terrible dream and something inside just feels off and unsettled, wrong. There was no peace for the screaming woman.

Next came the fire. They carried the body on a wooden plank and placed it on top of a log cabin stack of wood. A torch was placed on the wood and soon more white smoke hung in

written and photographed by Jonathan Schrock Nepal facts compiled by Brittany Shult

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What is the 10/40 Window?

Most of the world’s unevangelized countries are located in the 10/40 Window. This area makes up only about one-third of the world’s total land mass, however, approximately two-thirds of the world’s population can be found here. Approximately 5,840 unreached people groups live in the 10/40 Window.

Estimations put 2.91 billion individuals in those unreached people groups. The top fifty unevangelized megacities- those with a population of more than one million- are also located in this window.

What is a people group?

Again, according to joshuaproject.com, a people group is defined as “a significantly large grouping of individuals who perceive themselves to have a common affinity with one another.”

What is an unreached people group?

Joshuaproject.net describes an unreached people group as “a people group among which there is no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to reach this people group.”

the air and filled the temple grounds. Beyond this funeral pier was another, and another, and another. About ten fires burning at once. When that fire finally burned low, the ashes were pushed into the river where they disappeared if they were small and floated if they weren’t small.

With that finality, a person that once walked this lonely world with you and I, was no more. The unsettled feeling inside me was not quick to go away.

This is Nepal, with its different practices and different customs, but the same joys, the same sorrows, the same ache when a loved one is lost.

Nepal, it is a country full of people just like you in so many ways, but also different from you in so many ways because, unlike you, so many of these people are lost. They searching for hope and meaning in a broken world that has no mercy on them. Their cries echo through the tremendous voids among the hills and snow covered mountains, almost thirty million people with the foot of poverty on their necks and the weight of pain in their hearts.

They have had a tough time of it. War has claimed many lives and it doesn’t take long to notice that there are hardly any men in the mountain villages. There are some men, of course, very old ones and very young ones, but the ones in between are strangely absent. I asked my friend Keshab where all the men were.

Thousands died in the civil war a number of years ago. The ones that were left have moved to the city to find jobs or gone to India. Many more have moved to Saudi Arabia to work in the oil fields. “It’s not good” Keshab said, “they go to Saudi for three years and almost two years of that is to pay their travel agent for their ticket and work permit.” But they have no choice. Stay at home and remain jobless and starve, or take drastic steps to just to live. Families are split up

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in order to survive. But do they? Alcohol claims the loyalty of many too poor to support such a habit. Infidelity claims many husbands and wives separated by miles of jungle and desert.

Brokenness is everywhere. Eyes are filled with pain that is carried from one day to the next. I remember sitting on the small front porch of a young girl and hearing her story. She was the oldest of her brothers and sisters and her father had died or left the family. Her mother, tired of being alone, abandoned her, along with her brothers and sisters, for a boyfriend who wasn’t interested in having a family. The youngest child was less than two years old. They haven’t seen their mother since she left, and probably never will. What a terrible tragedy for this girl! The pain she felt was obvious and hard to hide. Though she did not want to cry in front of her guests, she did. Her world was crushed.

We listened, we cried, we prayed, but it felt so incomplete and so inadequate. Nothing will bring back her father or mother. I wanted to scream at the world for being so unjust. Why must one suffer for the wrongs of another? But then, my mind went to another, Jesus who also suffered for the wrongs of others and through that suffering was able to offer hope to this girl, the hope that he has gone to prepare a place for her, the reality that he has adopted her into a new family.

You see, she is a believer. One day, we’ll sit again on her front porch and this time we’ll talk about how her wrongs were made right, how her tears were held in the hands of a loving father, her Abba. We will talk about the peace that has been placed in our hearts by Jesus, peace not like the peace that the world gives, but peace that calms a troubled heart, and strengthens a fearful one.

There is pain in her eyes but there is something else too, there is hope, there is meaning, and

that is what strengthens her.

The new strength that she has been given is what Nepal needs! So many people are left in the gutter because Hinduism doesn’t care for the down trodden. Hinduism throws it in your face. The reason you suffer the reason bad things are happening to you is that you did something bad in your previous life. You are simply getting what you deserve. There is no freedom in that and a few people are turning to Christ for their hope. Christianity offers something completely different.

There aren’t many Christians in Nepal, but a small minority of people are walking in the footsteps of Christ. Incredible things are happening among believers and among Hindus. One pastor told me a story about some children that were coming to his churches’ VBS. The children learned that idols were false and couldn’t help anyone so they went home and took down the family idols. When the pastor heard this he was afraid that he would be persecuted for turning the children against their families’ and villages’ religion. However the whole family began coming to church and told the pastor that anything that made little children bold enough to tear down the idols must be worth seeing for themselves.

Nevertheless, there are so many people who have not been reached yet, so many that know nothing of God, nearly thirty million scattered in an area slightly bigger than the size of my home state of TN. Mountains and hills cover almost the whole landlocked country of Nepal, and people fill those valleys and mountains to the max. A few have heard, but thousands of villages have never once heard the gospel. These villages are remote, deep in the mountains that make up the base of the Himalayans. One

doesn’t just drive there. To get to these places requires a bus ride, and a truck ride, and finally a hike over steep mountains. Easy it is not. When will they hear the good news?

Imagine the hills and valleys -the arena where thousands go through life. Imagine the people lining the mud covered city streets as they walk to their homes. Ninety nine percent of these are lost. Imagine standing on the top of a mountain at night and looking out at the lights scattered below, little glowing patches, and each one a village that makes up someone’s world. There is one, and beside it another, and another, dozens of them. Beyond the next mountain there are a dozen more just the same as these, and beyond that another valley, and

another. On and on it goes and none of these villages have ever heard of Jesus. What will become of them? They don’t know the truth and so another generation will go by, the white smoke will continue to fill the valleys, and the lost will continue to die without hope until someone shares with them the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Nepal is a beautiful country full of people that need something you have: freedom in Christ.

Please do not forget the people of Nepal. It’s amazing how easily it can happen. I have shared meals of dal bhat with these people. I have stayed in their homes and walked their mountain trails and yet so many days I forget about their needs in deference to my own. But we have a responsibility to those in need and we now have an awareness of that need. Let it drive you to your knees in prayer for the lost. Let it push you to support. Let it build a change in your heart that in turn changes the world around you. If all would only pray, if all would only work a little bit then perhaps the one percent in Nepal will become two percent.

Maybe one day it will become three. The time is ripe for it and anything could happen. There are needs in Nepal, there is a need the world over, and you have a call. Answer. It’s why you are here.

Prayer Needs

DID YOU KNOW? -Hinduism accounts for 82.2% of Nepal’s population while only 0.6% is considered Christian.

-Approximately 2/3 of Nepal’s population consists of young people, making Nepal one of the world’s youngest and fastest growing countries.

-Nepal has freedom of religion, but this freedom is limited. Non-Hindus are restrained from proselytizing.

Doing so could mean fines, imprisonment, and possibly expulsion for those who are not natives of Nepal.

-Although Nepal has become a social democracy, it is still dominated by Hinduism.

As a result, the caste system oppresses many, even though it is technically illegal. Those

who convert from Hinduism to Christianity typically become outcasts as well.

-Nepal is one of the world’s poorest countries.

Approximately one-third of the population lives on less than $1.00 (US) per day.

-Nepal is home to Mount Everest as well as seven of the world’s highest mountains.

Pray for the Church in Nepal. Christianity in Nepal is seen as a Western influence that takes away from traditional culture and appeals primarily to lower castes. Pray for the Christians that they would have discernment and courage as they deal with negative opinions. Persecution still exists in Nepal, although not as much as in previous years. The religious majority at times metes out persecution, but it is also found in families and communities. Pray that the Nepali believers would have grace and perseverance. Pray for the large number of second generation Christians, especially as new believers are discipled and leadership is transferred.

Questions?

If you have questions or sense God

-There are five seasons in Nepal: spring, summer, monsoon, autumn, and winter.

Endangered species like the Royal Bengal tiger and the one-horned rhinoceros can be found in Nepal.

leading you to a particular unreached people group, but don’t know who to go to for more information, you can contact DestiNATIONS International. DNI’s desire is to minister to the unreached in North America and across the world. DNI is designed to provide mission and service opportunities for Anabaptists.

-Traditional marriages in Nepal are arranged by the parents after a boy or girl comes of age.

Allen Roth, DNI President Phone: 718-827-1036 Cell Phone: 917-617-6358 E-mail: destinationsint@gmail.com

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THE TEAM RECOMMENDS

THE PERFECT PAIRING

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Book

What better way to enjoy the crisp turning of fall than curled up in a cozy spot, your favorite book and a warm, delicious muffin in hand? Here, the Daughters of Promise team shares their reviews on favorite books and time-tested muffin recipes. We hope you enjoy!

Luci’s Perfect Pairing

BY THE LIGHT OF A THOUSAND STARS

by Jamie Langston Turner (Kindle Edition, $3.99)

Ever wonder what it feels like to live in the mind of a nagging old biddy?

Read this book and you’ll know. I love all of Jamie Langston Turner’s books for her intriguing and unusual characters and her eye for detail, but By the Light of a Thousand Stars is a favorite because, from Tom Swifties to snacking on chest hair, I find it highly amusing. Through the voices of four women: Catherine, Barb, Della, and Dottie, the reader will see the healing of relationships that comes to one family when they open their lives up to God. The story is set in a small southern town and is one of a series of books set in that same small area of the south. Though the series is chronological, the stories and characters do not build on each other and can be read in any order with equal enjoyment.

MORNING GLORY MUFFINS 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 cup flour 1 1/4 cup sugar 2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 2 cups grated carrots 1/2 cup raisins 1/2 cup nuts 1/2 cup coconut 1 apple, peeled and grated 3 eggs 1 cup vegetable oil 2 tsp. vanilla In a large bowl, mix flours, sugar, soda, and salt. Stir in carrots, raisins, nuts, coconut, and apple.

Mix eggs, oil, and vanilla together; stir into flour mixture until batter is just combined. Spoon into well-greased muffin tins, filling to the top. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

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Brittany’s Perfect Pairing THE VERITAS CONFLICT

by Shaunti Feldhahn

I love when I find a book that I can read multiple times and still not tire of the story line. This has been one of those books. The Veritas Conflict is a fictionalized account of good versus evil. Claire Rivers is a young college freshman and quickly discovers her Christian faith is in the minority. Unbeknownst to her, a spiritual battle is raging behind the scenes and it involves Harvard and herself.

Obviously we don’t know exactly what happens in the spiritual realm when good and evil collide, but I feel the author handled the subject well. She gives us a picture of what spiritual warfare may look like when Christians are faced with decisions that affect their spiritual growth.

Here is a quote by Dorothy Sayers that can be found towards the beginning of the book.

“In the world it is called tolerance, but in hell it is called despair. The sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, enjoys nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, but remains alive because there is nothing which it would die for.”

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and recommend it!

FUDGY CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS ½ cup applesauce ¼ cup butter, softened ½ cup white sugar ½ cup brown sugar 1 egg ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup all-purpose flour ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional) 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 2 tablespoons confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin cups with paper bake cups. In large mixer bowl, beat butter, sugar, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla until well blended. Add the applesauce and blend well. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add to butter mixture, blending well. Stir in chocolate chips. Fill muffin cups ¾ full of batter. Bake for 22-26 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool slightly in pan, then sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar.

YIELD: 12 Muffins

Rae’s Perfect Pairing HANNAH COULTER

by Wendell Berry

“This is the story of my life, that while I lived it weighed upon me and pressed against me and filled all my senses to overflowing and now is like a dream dreamed.... This is my story, my giving of thanks.”

Thus begin the reflections of Hannah, the heroine of Wendell Berry’s, Hannah Coulter. A thin yet incandescent novel, Hannah’s story comes across the pages rich and poetic. Hannah tells of her first husband Virgil’s gentle wooing of her young heart, and the shock of his going MIA during the Battle of the Bulge. She recounts how she quietly navigated the sorrow of his death, her consolation first being the gift of their daughter, and later, the firm yet kind wooing of another man, Nathan; a man who had survived the war. In delicate, graceful prose, Berry weaves together the story of Hannah’s living and doing, and with it, the essence of her people.

We come to love the Burleys, the Coulters, the Feltners, and to understand the deep love of home, landscape, and history that binds Hannah and her people together. We glimpse the strength she and Nathan find in loving their land and working it together.

I have been richly impacted by Berry’s unforgettable story. There is great wealth in the quiet, ordinary landscape of life. And even in tragedy, we do “live right on”, giving thanks for the “room of love” in which those who are gone, and those who remain, gather.

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CAPPUCINO MUFFINS 2 cups flour 3/4 cup sugar 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup milk 2 tablespoons instant coffee 3/4 cup chocolate chips 1/2 cup melted butter 1 egg beaten Combine dry ingredients. In separate bowl, dissolve the coffee in milk. Add melted butter & egg. Stir in dry ingredients and fold in chips. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes. Yield: 14 muffins.

For a yummy spread, combine 4 oz. cream cheese, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee, and 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Mix well and slather over one of your hot-out-ofthe-oven muffins!

Marlene’s Perfect Pairing ISLAND OF THE WORLD

by Michael O’Brien

My book club recently read the novel Island of the World by Michael O’Brien. The book traces the life of Josip Lasta, born on the brink of World War II in the tumultuous Balkan region. It is not for the faint of heart in both content and length, and reflects some Catholic thought; still, I found it to be a searingly powerful read. O’Brien deals honestly with deep questions of loss, suffering, humanity---and ultimately, the role of faith and redemption.

SPICED PEAR MUFFINS 2 cups flour 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 t. ginger 1 t. cinnamon 1/2 t. salt 1/8 t. nutmeg 1/8 t. cloves 1 egg 1 cup (8 ounces) plain yogurt 1/2 cup oil 3 T. molasses 1 1/2 cups finely chopped pears (about 2 medium) 1/2 cup raisins 1/3 cup chopped nuts Combine the first eight ingredients. In another bowl, beat egg, yogurt, oil, and molasses until smooth. Stir in dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in pears, raisins, and nuts. Fill greased muffin pans and bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes. Yield: 16 muffins

Carmie’s Perfect Pairing PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

FRENCH BREAKFAST PUFFS

by Jane Austen

It’s the classic love story without the shallowness of modern novels.

Despite a rocky beginning, Lizzie and Mr. Darcy learn to love each other with a deep commitment.

The story is interwoven with wit and well-developed characters, taking you back to an Old English household. Perfect for a fall afternoon of reading!

Samantha’s Perfect Pairing THE HAWK AND THE DOVE

by Penelope Wilcox

A novel series that I’ve been quite impressed with lately is “The Hawk and the Dove” by Penelope Wilcox. There are six books in all and they tell the stories and struggles of individuals within a community of monks in medieval England, as well as how these men must work toward a greater unity of faith and what true Christ love looks like. While I would recommend this series, I would say that it is for an older audience.

1/3 cup shortening 1/2 cup white sugar 1 egg 1 1/2 cup flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional) 1/2 cup milk Mix together shortening, sugar and egg. Stir in dry ingredients alternately with milk. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes. As soon as they come out of the oven, roll then in melted butter, then in a sugar cinnamon mixture. Serve warm.

ANYWAY YOU LIKE’EM MUFFINS 2 1/4 cups flour (fresh milled or white) 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. baking powder 1 cup buttermilk 1 egg 1/2 cup oil 1/2 honey 1/2 sour cream Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together dry ingredients. Add liquids and mix until just blended (mix too much and muffins get tough). Put into greased muffin pans and bake for 15min.

Now get creative! Add 1 cup of your favorite fruit plus some cinnamon and a bit of nutmeg, vanilla, etc. Or if you have a hankerin’ for somethin’ savory, add in some herbs and cheese!

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WHITE SPACES

Food and Tips for Fall I love fall!!

Where I live, winters are long and snowy with continual cloud cover, but the beautiful autumns make up for it.

The days are blue and sun-kissed, with the perfect blend of chill and warmth from sun up to sun down.

Fall is a lovely respite, a brief interlude between the outdoor work of summer and the house-binding temperatures of winter. It’s symbolized for me by the cozy sweater, the fireside hearth, and new beginnings in schools. It’s summer’s last hurrah before giving way to winter, a time of pleasure and change.

Even as a child, I felt the same urgency I observed in squirrels and other animals in this season: to store up food and prepare for the cold. I suppose humans have always felt it, hard-wired as we are for ingenuity and survival. I loved the description of Laura’s attic in Little House in the Big Woods, full of squash and pumpkins, onions and

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smoked meat. Today as an adult, I still feel that instinct to storehouse earth’s abundance. My survival is not strongly linked to how much I preserve; yet I feel an extraordinary sense of satisfaction and provision for my family when I look over the jeweled canning shelves and bursting freezer.

That’s the nature of fall. The blue skies and changing colors call us to experience and celebrate what has been and is. The crisp weather, which calls for steaming mugs and soups, naturally turns our thoughts toward hearth and home, and the different pleasure of indoor activities.

I’ve put together a smattering of seasonal things that I like to experiment with during fall.

Enjoy!

A new look at pumpkins.

Roasted roots.

Interestingly, Americans mainly associates “pumpkin” with “dessert” (or a certain drink from Starbucks). And they associate “pumpkin” with “canned stuff from the store” not “my current fall décor.” Take a new look at your décor this fall and, before you throw them out, consider cooking or baking those pumpkins into your own pumpkin puree.

Then delve into the world of savory pumpkin dishes instead of just desserts. You can find recipes for pumpkin soup, roasted pumpkin salads, and stuffed pumpkin. Or, like their relatives of summer squash and butternut, pumpkin cubes are delicious served simply with butter and salt. Explore new possibilities!

Pick up handwork.

You know those round orange orbs? Did you know they’re food, not just décor? Botanically, pumpkins are considered a fruit for the same reasons as cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, etc.: they develop from a flower and contain the seeds for the next plant. If you’re talking about taste, though, they are more closely associated with what we think of as “vegetables” (tomatoes and green beans) than “fruit” (strawberries and peaches). In other words, pumpkins are not very sweet on their own.

Eat your greens!

These are the other cold-weather stars, as well as nutritional powerhouses.

Experiment with kale, spinach, and chard by steaming, sautéing, adding to soups, using raw in salads or smoothies, or making into “chips” (tossed with oil and salt and baked for a few minutes at 350 degrees).

Cozy up space.

The

your

crisp weather makes me look at my house with new eyes; after all, I’m going to spend more of my free time here as the weather turns colder. It’s a good time to add a touch of warmth and variety with a candle, cozy throw, or accent pillows.

Enjoy the leaves.

Watch the colors change. Bring a few branches inside to enjoy the last leafy glory, or use individual leaves for a craft. Try to turn raking into fun by inviting friends to help, jumping in piles, and watching children throw leaves. If you don’t plan to compost your leaves or bag them for garden mulch next year, check whether local gardeners could use them before putting a match to the piles.

How do you like them apples? I’m so

lucky to live where I do. Apple trees abound, growing wild and free by the roadside, and I love it! Every year, I chop and slice these free apples, freezing and drying them for the later use. They can be baked into countless cake, cobbler, and muffin variations, sautéed and served over oven pancakes and ice cream, made into apple dumplings, or pressed into cider. I am continually amazed by how delicious the common apple is.

by Marlene Stoltzfus

Root crops (such as beets, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, and rutabagas) are humble workhorses that really shine during autumn. Roasting brings out roots’ natural sweetness, caramelizing them into a wonderful taste and texture. Toss a variety of chopped root vegetables with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast in a 425 degree oven for a delicious treat.

Fall is a great time to learn to work with needles and yarn. Knitting or crocheting is a relaxing way to use the longer evenings---and there’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of crafting a gift or something useful for yourself and your home. Fingerless mittens, scarves, throws, flowers, rugs---there are lots of options for creativity.

Immerse in literature. C.S. Lewis said, “You

can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” Long evenings with warm drinks are the perfect setting for catching up on the wit and wisdom of others’ minds in print. So as daylight dwindles, take a look at your reading list, ask others for recommendations, and peruse the local library.

Look for local U-pick orchards. And speaking of fruit,

find out what is growing locally and head over when it’s ripe for a fun evening picking. In addition to pears, there are phenomenal vineyards in my area. I love the bubbling smell of Concord grapes turning to juice and the nuanced flavor of pears. But it’s the images and memories from those outings that I remember most!

Get moving.

A Sunday afternoon bike ride is uncomfortable in the heat of summer. Hurrah for fall weather!

It’s the best of both worlds, cool and mellow yet not cold enough to really bundle up. The crisp undertone makes walks, hikes, and biking comfortable, even mid-day. Go outside and breathe in the last golden moments of warm sunshine!

Smart sips.

The crisp air of autumn makes a warm mug of tea or coffee especially inviting. But don’t forget to sip smart. Many hot drinks are packed with calories, especially when made commercially. You don’t have to give them up; just use them wisely and include lower calorie options, such as tea with honey.

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Blessed BE

THE NAME OF GOD FOREVER AND EVER, TO WHOM BELONGS WISDOM AND MIGHT. HE CHANGES TIMES AND SEASONS; HE REMOVES KINGS AND SETS UP KINGS; HE GIVES WISDOM TO THE WISE AND KNOWLEDGE TO THOSE WHO HAVE

understanding.

DANIEL 2:20, 21

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