Issue
06 Summer
Glorifying God in Womanhood
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” | Matthew 5:14–16
A Note From the editor The hustle and bustle of businesses and tourists began to slow down as the sun set and streets darkened in Fisherman’s Warf, San Francisco. My husband and I had just finished celebrating his birthday by having dinner in the big city. As we walked back to our car, we passed a tarot reader who was sitting on the side of the street. “Your wife has a great aura about her. May I offer you a free reading?” If you have ever been to this part of San Francisco, you may be very familiar with the sheer amount of street entertainers and homeless people. We passed a number of faces that day, but in these moments my husband felt led to share the Gospel with this woman. As he engaged her in conversation, one of her “friends” across the street (who appeared to be keeping tabs on her performance) yelled and asked what was going on. “He’s talking about God,” she replied. She continued to listen, and for the brief moments we talked she seemed to be quite interested in what he had to say. Shortly after, a man dressed in business apparel walked by. In the midst of his fast paced walk back to his hotel, his ears caught wind of the conversation, and he stopped immediately. What followed from his lips was a series of curse words. He demanded that my husband leave the woman alone and that we go “sell” his “stuff ” somewhere else. My husband continued the conversation, but the woman’s demeanor had completely changed. She was closed off, and she told my husband to leave her alone. In the midst of the dark San Francisco streets, the Gospel message was like a light. It both attracted and repelled. And that is what we are called to be. We are lights in the midst of a dark world, anticipating that the
truth we speak may very well offend those who choose to reject its message. John 3:19–20 says, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” What started as a joyous celebration for my husband ended with the sobering reality that this life is really a battle of spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:12). There are souls on the line, and it is our job to be a light and share the Gospel—no matter how they choose to receive it. Dear reader, that is what this issue theme is about. It’s about being a light. Ephesians 5:8 tells us to “walk as children of the light,” and 1 Peter 2:9 says that if we are in Christ, we are “called out of darkness into his marvelous light.” It’s also about grasping hold of the light God has given us. Jesus tells us in John 8:12 that he is the light of the world and that whoever follows him will not walk in darkness but have the light of life. Psalm 119:105 makes the statement that God’s word is lamp for our feet and light for our path. Whether we are studying “lights” before us, like Mr. C.S. Lewis in our article “Seeing Life Like Lewis,” or we are learning how to be a light in our professions, like our article “Being a Light in the Everyday,” this issue aims to encourage us to live our lives in the light that God has called us to. May you be encouraged, challenged, and pointed back to the light found in the Gospel. For His Glory,
Dianne Jago Editor & Founder
Seeing Life Like Lewis Words by Mandalyn Renicker | Illustration by Corrie Wessman | Original Photographer: Wolf Suschitzky
C.S. Lewis is no stranger to most of us, and his life and writings have influenced countless Christians in the last century. He had an uncanny ability to see the big picture as well as the small miracles of life through eyes of both reason and romanticism. That twofold vision is what makes Lewis and his writings so meaningful to Christians, and he used his numerous gifts to help us see our world in the same way. Clive Staples Lewis was born in Ireland in 1898. He attended numerous boarding schools after the death of his mother when he was 10 years old, and he recalls a love of reading throughout that time. Lewis considered himself an atheist in his teens, and later, in Surprised by Joy, he writes, “I maintained that God did not exist. I was also very angry with God for not existing. I was equally angry with Him for creating a world.” He became a Christian in 1931 and spent most of his professional life as a professor at Oxford and Cambridge. Lewis wrote nearly 75 books and essays. Lewis was a respected intellectual, and was considered the expert on Medieval Literature in his day. As a professor, he was reputed among chief scholars, and his gift of thoughtful reason shaped his writing to be logical and orderly. Lewis was equally a romantic—many of his fictional works and children’s books reveal his imaginative side. He uses an astonishing number of word-pictures and imagery in all of his published works, most apparently in his well-loved Chronicles of Narnia. Perhaps the most gripping attribute of C.S. Lewis, and the one that has caught and held the attention of so many Christians, is the way he saw the world—both its grandness and its simplicity. He not only saw it, but he communicated it by writing; now, decades later, we can learn from his perspective. Lewis was able to distinguish the big picture of the world, and he noticed how humanity was interacting and reacting to it. He viewed his entire world through his faith: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen not only because I see it but because by it I see everything else” (The Weight of Glory). To Lewis, Christian was not simply another item in the list of things he called himself. His faith was overarching and encompassing—it colored his entire world. He writes in a letter, “Remember [God] is the artist and you are only the picture. You can’t see it. So quietly submit to be painted. . . . Walk—don’t keep on looking at it” (The Collected Letters of C. S.
Lewis: Volume III). Lewis’ ability to see the grand scheme was a gift that helped him understand his place in the Christian life. That big-picture perspective didn’t drown out his appreciation for the small moments, however. In God in the Dock, Lewis calls the small moments “miracles” and explains that they are “a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.” Seeing the big picture clearly actually makes the small miracles brighter. Time Magazine published a cover article on Lewis in 1947 praising his “talent for putting old-fashioned truths into a modern idiom.” Lewis spent his entire life combining reason and romanticism into literary works that have stood the test of time—but why? In his own words, his goal was “evangelistic, addressed to tous exo [those outside the faith]” (God in the Dock). Lewis knew what it was to be “outside the faith” because he was once an outsider himself, and now realized that “the salvation of a single soul [was] more important than the production or preservation of all the epics and tragedies in the world” (Christian Reflections). He thought of his life’s task as “simply that of a translator—one turning Christian doctrine . . . into the vernacular, into language that unscholarly people would attend to and could understand.”
Seeing life like Lewis did is both a simple & magnificent task that combines the big picture & the small miracles into one great Story. There is much to learn from the imaginative and intellectual life of C. S. Lewis. Seeing life like Lewis did is both a simple and magnificent task that combines the big picture and the small miracles into one great Story. We can understand the big picture of Christian life most clearly by an accurate understanding of Scripture and having the roots of our faith deep into the truths of God’s Word. Once we have the big picture in sight, the small miracles of life will point us back to God. As we begin to see the world the way Lewis did, there will be a joy, a happy longing within us that will testify of The Story of the Ages.
“I have come,” said a deep voice behind them. They turned and saw the Lion himself, so bright and real and strong that everything else began at once to look pale and shadowy compared with him.” (The Silver Chair)
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Daily Digging Habits Words by Carissa Belford | Images by Meghan Holloway
Recently I asked a question to two groups of people, one through Facebook and the other to an 11th grade class at a Christian school. The question was simple: “Why don’t people read their Bibles?” The answers were similar between the 20 women who answered on Facebook and the 10 students. Laziness. It is inconvenient. I don’t have time. I don’t know where to start or how to study. I don’t know what it means. Why should I read it when I go to church and have Bible classes already? Americans don’t see their urgent need for it. It isn’t their lifeline. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Why wouldn’t we make time for such a great light for our lives? Could it be that we have wrongly believed that the Bible is a book about us, when in reality, the Bible is a story about God?
Although the Bible contains many smaller stories, they must be interpreted in light of the metanarrative of Scripture. God is the main character in the Bible. Though it’s so easy to read and teach these stories emphasizing the little great heroes, we must remember that our God is really the one great hero! The Bible begins and ends with a perfect creation. The sinless world was created, and Adam and Eve lived in it. Then they chose to sin. The fall could have and should have been the end of them. But God, who is rich in mercy, said that the woman’s seed would crush the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15). From that point on, we see a plan to redeem what was fallen and broken. What mercy and grace! Even in the books of Leviticus and Numbers, God is the main character, giving laws and ordering the Israelites to cross into Canaan as he would be their God and they would be his people.
Some people find it sufficient to simply read the Bible or a devotional book & check it off their list of things to do for the day. Like a quick bread recipe that says '" '“just add water,”'' we can approach the Bible passively. There is a big difference between reading the Bible and studying it. If we want to be deeply rooted in the Word, we must become students of this powerful book. Some people find it sufficient to simply read the Bible or a devotional book and check it off their list of things to do for the day. Like a quick bread recipe that says, “just add water,” we can approach the Bible passively. The thoughts I want to share are not a quick
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recipe to growth. To be a student of Scripture, we have to be willing to learn what the text said to the original audience and learn what it says about God. This may mean that we read the text multiple times or in other versions to understand it properly. Then we will apply it properly to our daily lives. I want to share with you some basic principles that will help you develop daily digging habits. These habits will transform your mind and heart over time, but digging requires work and patience. If we want to love him more, we must be willing to dig into a book that was written by him. In Women of the Word, Jen Wilkin writes, “A heart cannot love what the mind does not know. Yes, it is sinful to acquire knowledge for knowledge’s sake, but acquiring knowledge about One we love, for the sake of loving him more deeply, will always be for our transformation” (33). When we learn to look for God in his book, we start seeing ourselves and our sin properly, and we desire to change and look like him. Wilkin’s book offers key tools to teach us to dig well.
“Digging is hard work, especially when it must be done with respect to historical and cultural context. We live in a time when the Bible is largely regarded as a book for our own edification, through which the Holy Spirit will simply reveal truth to those willing to give it a few minutes’ attention a day. The intellectual muscles that our faith ancestors once used for digging have grown atrophied in the modern mind.” (63) First, we must keep the big picture in view. This is a book about God. There are various genres of writing, such as historical narrative, poetry, wisdom literature, law, prophets, parables, and epistles. God’s theocracy is seen in all sections of the Bible. As you become a diligent student you will learn that “exegeting” the text is most important. To exegete is to discover the original meaning of the passage to its original audience. Second, we need to have a plan, whether it’s reading through the Bible chronologically or picking a book or chapter to dig into. Printing off a copy of the passage that you are studying is a great idea.
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There isn’t enough room in your Bible to write all the new discoveries you will make through study and marking. An important point to note is that there are no legalistic time requirements for digging. Over your lifetime, the time for studying or asking key questions will vary. Third, you can buy colored pencils, highlighters, and pens for your new toolbox. You get to choose how creative you want to be. Certain words, phrases or ideas that are repeated should be marked. A specific attribute of God should be noted in the margin and praised. You can number lists or points in a row. If there are words you don’t understand, write a big question mark and look them up in a dictionary or commentary. There will be key transition words like if/then, therefore, but, because . . . draw an arrow to connect them to the beginning phrase. The possibilities are endless, and digging is exciting. It’s so fun to look back at a book like 1 John and see words like abide and love highlighted. You will see
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the treasures appear. Fourth, write down questions like these: Who wrote it? When was it written? To whom was it written? In what style was it written? Why was it written? An ESV Study Bible is a great tool to use here. Finally, you will become a wise student when you learn to comprehend the text by discovering what it says. You will learn to interpret the passage by knowing what it means. Application is the last step in digging. Ask, “How should it change me?” The jewels that are discovered shine through the person who has been committed to faithful study. This person is transformed and conformed to the image of the God of the book. His Word truly is a light for our lives! When we decide to embrace the habit and work of studying the Bible daily, not the easy “just add water” method, we turn from a hurried reader into a steady student. This student realizes that this book
is about God, and she sees her part in God’s redemptive plan. The transformation takes place in the mind of a diligent student who does what she can to dig. Some days, you will just have time to write some key words and meditate on them or circle attributes about God to ponder. Keep in mind that God wants you to understand his Word, and the Holy Spirit will help you know where to begin. His Word is powerful. You may feel that this is a slower process for growth at times, but it will prove to deepen your understanding and desire for God as you form this new habit.
You may feel that this is a slower process for growth at times, but it will prove to deepen your understanding & desire for God as you form this new habit. So I’ll ask again, “Why don’t people read their Bibles?” Could it be that we’ve used our emotions or circumstances to dictate how much we think we need God? In reality, the proper study of the Bible actually trumps our emotions. The more we learn about God, the more we will love him. “Home, church, community, and country desperately need the influence of women who know why they believe what they believe, grounded in the Word of God. They desperately need the influence of women who love deeply and actively the God proclaimed in the Bible” (Wilkin 46).
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Made to
C R E AT E Words & Images by Candice Hackett
As a photographer, creativity is an integral part of my daily life, and I know that I’ve been made to create. But recently I’ve been poring over what those words really mean to me. Made to create. We read in Genesis 1:1,“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” And Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” God is the Creator and he created us in his image; therefore, creativity is in us. This all makes sense to me at surface level; however, I want to dig deeper, take my time, and think through these things. It’s important to understand why this creative life I’m pursuing is good and purposeful. In the process of exploring the idea of creativity and purpose, I keep coming back to the following three points: Creativity connects us to ourselves, developing who we are called to be in Christ Jesus. Creativity connects us to community, identifying our function as one member of the whole body. And ultimately, creativity connects us to God, as his workmanship created for good works.
Creativity connects us to ourselves.
To create is to bring something into existence, and creativity is the use of the imagination or original ideas in the process of creation. In other words, when you create, you bring into existence something that is uniquely a part of you—a feeling, an idea, or an expression. Whatever is in your heart becomes tangible through means of creativity. I like to think of this as feeling from the inside out. Creativity helps me process my emotions. As a photographer I use light as my guide. For example, when I’m feeling introspective I am drawn to deep shadows and a more dramatic light. Using light in this way helps me articulate externally where I’m at internally. Once a feeling exists on the outside, I am more enlightened to what is on my heart and where I need growth. In the Psalms, David wrote his feelings all over the pages, using lyrical poems to declare, in words, his heart in seasons of joy, fear, and sorrow. “Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.” (Psalm 51:6)
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Creativity connects us to community. “For the body does not consist of one member but of many.” (1 Corinthians 12:14) I appreciate how this verse conjures up an image of the creative community. Each person brings forth their own artistry that connects them to a feeling of fellowship with others. This community cultivates relationships, locally based to distant camaraderie, founded by means of shared sentiment, passion, and ambition. As a photographer I spend a lot of time collaborating with other artists. This is some of my favorite work because I can see a tangible image of how the body of Christ works together. When we each bring our resources and skills together we are able to create a work of art that is not possible to accomplish alone; it requires all the members of the body to participate. When we give freely, we build each other up, making each one’s craft complete. On the other hand, creating in community can be difficult at times. It can bring up bouts of insecurity, doubt, fear, or jealousy, and if anyone does not do their part, or if they tear another person down, it hurts the whole group because we are all working together for one purpose. This visual of community as many members of one body has taught me the gravity of what it means to be a part of something much bigger than myself. “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” (1 Corinthians 12:26) Another aspect of creativity in community I’ve come to lean on is the overall influence it has on my life and my work. Austin Kleon paints a great picture in his book Steal Like an Artist: “Just as you have a familial genealogy, you also have a genealogy of ideas. You don’t get to pick your family, [but] you can pick your teachers and you can pick your friends and you can pick the music you listen to and you can pick the books you read and the movies you see. . . . You are the sum of your influences.” This is a beautiful reminder of how creativity isn’t limited to a particular medium or style, but each person’s trade plays an instrumental part in the work of the whole body. “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” (1 Peter 4:10)
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Creativity connects us to God.
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” (Psalm 139:13–14) In my creative space I’m attentive to every detail of my work. I come up with a vision and predetermine a purpose for my art, and I want it to represent the best parts of me. When I think about the care and effort I put into that work, I think about the way God formed each one of us exactly the way he wanted us. He formed the way we think and feel, and when we create, our feelings are a reflection of God’s character in us. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we would walk in them.” The words made to create once had me thinking that my creative work had to fulfill a greater purpose directly impacting the people I worked with. Now I see that creativity is a vehicle to understanding my identity and establishing my position in the body of Christ, so that I can walk in the good works that God has prepared for me.
DIY
Words by Daniel Caughill | Images by Marisa Albrecht Cyanotype Illustrations by Meghan Caughill
In 1843, a British botanist named Anna Atkins became the first woman to illustrate nature with light. By taking the method previously used for creating blueprints—painting a simple chemical compound onto paper and exposing it to sunlight—Atkins revolutionized the future of photography. Photography comes from the Greek words phōt- (light) and graphos (writing)—literally, “writing with light.” Using an early form of photography, called cyanotypes, Atkins wrote with light the first botanical photograms for her book British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions. Atkins’ photograms showed the world that photography could be simultanesouly a scientific resource and an artistic medium. You can easily reproduce Atkins’ process at home to make original creations in the medium of light. be intimidated by
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Supplies: Cotton-based watercolor paper Wide paint brush Safety goggles, gloves, and mask Glass pane Liquid cyanotype kit, or Green ferric ammonium citrate & Potassium ferricyanide Distilled water Flowers, ferns, or other botanical specimen
Don’t be intimidated by the supplies in the list; you don’t need to be a chemist to figure out the process. This project is easy, inexpensive, and safe. (But seriously, don’t go sniffing the stuff.) Also, in lieu of buying, measuring, and mixing the individual chemicals with water yourself, you can find liquid cyanotype kits with pre-mixed solutions online, although they may come in larger batches. Please note that you need to do this project indoors and away from any UV light until you’re ready to expose your prints. That means you’ll need to mix the solution and apply it to your paper in a room with no windows, or after dark (indoor lights are okay).
Instructions
1 | In a non-sunlit room, mix 12.5g of the ferric ammonium citrate with 50 ml of water. In a separate container, mix 5g of potassium ferricyanide with 50 ml of water. Distilled water works best. Then combine equal parts of the two mixtures to make your sensitizer. A little bit of goes a long way, so don’t mix too much at first, maybe just a half-tablespoon of each mixture to start. If you have a cyanotype kit, follow the mixing instructions that came with the kit. Be careful not to spill the solutions, as they may burn your limbs stain. 2 | Coat your paper with the sensitizer and allow it to dry thoroughly, typically overnight. Once the paper dries, you can add a second coat, if you want, to create layers in the background color. 3 | Once your paper is dry, compose your print. You can use anything you want, from paper shapes to plants to photograph negatives printed on transparancies. If using plants, ferns work especially well. Lay a pane of glass, such as from a picture frame, over your print to press the plants and block wind. 4 | Set composed print in direct sunlight. You may want to experiment with exposing your images at different times of the day, since intensity of sunlight and moving shadows will affect your print. Exposure times vary from 2–30 minutes, depending on the time of day, season, and location. Consult “The Big Cyanotype Exposure Survey” online or experiment to see what works best for your unique situation. 5 | Once your print has turned from yellow-green to olive-gray, it’s ready to be rinsed. Gently rinse your print under water until any unexposed, yellow-green portions are washed off. If you have particularly “hard” city water in your area, try rinsing in a distilled water bath instead, as the tap water may alter your image. 6 | Lay out your prints (out of sunlight for best results) or hang them up to dry. As your paper dries, it should darken to a rich Prussian blue, and the image will be fully exposed once the paper is dry.
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Light is remarkably difficult to explain. It’s all over the place. You might describe it as the gentle glow emanating from the hearth, or the twinkle in your loved one’s eye. You might say it’s what gives the world its color, or a diamond its luster. You could take a more literal approach: microscopic waves of particles hurling themselves against the objects around you at an incredible speed, then bursting into little photons that give you the sensory phenomenon we call “sight.” You might say that light is what turns paper blue. Light embodies hope. It generates life. It warms us; indeed, sometimes it burns. It exposes hard truths about the world around us, but by it we can fathom what is darkness and what is not. Different people receive and reflect light in different ways. However, meditating on the nature and power of light can only point us in one direction—over the horizon, toward its creator.
What pattern of light, what print of glory do you bear?
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Marriage Makes Words by Brian Sauvé | Illustration by Karen Schipper
Coca-Cola®. African Tribal music. Renaissance architecture. Existential philosophy. On the surface, these things might not seem to be cousins, but they definitely are. They’re all the offspring of the instinct of people to take raw materials and make them into something greater than the sum of their parts. In other words, people create culture. This is a basic fact of the world. We take things and turn them into something else. This instinct of people is as important as it is ubiquitous. We see it in everything from folk music making to urban garden planting to optimistic city building. We take the raw materials of earth and turn them into beauty, into vibrantly diverse culture. The question isn’t whether you will make culture, but what kind of culture you will create. God intended for this culture-creating instinct to spark in the human imagination. God created people for culture shaping. But more specifically, he created the married pair to be the fundamental building block of image-bearing, God-reflecting culture creation. This is the sentiment of Genesis 1:28, where God blesses the freshly minted married couple. He commands them to go out into his creation as fruitful stewards and to shape it into something beautiful and useful, to exercise dominion over it. It wasn’t long, however, before the perfect image bearers became sin corrupted. Rather than exercising loving and God-reflecting dominion over creation, they would be dominated and enslaved by sin. They wouldn’t cease to make culture, but when two sin-corrupted people become one flesh, forming a powerful culture-creating union, they simply will create sin-corrupted culture. Countless generations later, that’s what we see in everything from an epidemic of fatherlessness to wealthy retirees frittering their lives away on insignificant vapidity. So while we display flashes of redemptive beauty and reflective glory in this process, our culture making ultimately serves as an amplifier of depravity. Suffering is married to human culture because sin is systemic in humanity, affecting and infecting every atom and molecule and plant and animal and person and marriage and family and town and city and state and nation and continent. Marriage, rather than being an instrument of God-glorifying culture making, becomes a further amplification of the problem as two sin-enslaved people each seek satisfaction from the ultimately empty wells of each other and the world. But Jesus comes as redeemer of all things, renovating the image of God in the unlikeliest of people, making new creatures from the old. The abusive husband, a product of an alcoholic father, becomes a champion of servant leadership by the radically transformative grace of Jesus pumped into his veins. The nagging, dominating wife, a product of a broken home, becomes a picture of gracious, loving, husband-nourishing strength and submission. The porn addict, the impulsive spender, the harsh speaker, the lazily unhelpful, and the coldly unloving all
become something new, something lovely in the blood of this Christ. And when God makes two redeemed into one flesh, new ground can be broken for the Kingdom of God. These redeemed marriages—your marriage—are to be centers of redemptive culture creation within the fallen culture of earth. When Jesus saves you and renovates the image of God in you, he does so not just for your good, but for the good of the wider world. In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus describes his disciples as preserving salt and illumining light. They are to be agents of sin’s defeat in God’s plan, and just as marriage served to amplify the problem of sin for the unredeemed couple, it can serve to amplify the redemptive power of two regenerated saints. Marriage can then be like the magnifying glass that focuses light into fire, focusing the grace of God into something white-hot and transformative. Husband. Wife. Believe this: your marriage can be the headwaters of a radically redemptive stream of cultural creation as God uses your greater-than-the-sum-of-itsparts union to create new patterns of grace in this world. You can be the first (or second, or third) links in a chain of God’s faithfulness that stretches through the next 500 years of history, rippling his amazing grace into culture through your children’s children’s children. You might call this legacy-building aspect of the Christian marriage redemptive culture creation. Here’s why this is possible. People take things and turn them into greater things because they are made in the image of a God who takes things and turns them into something greater than they were. He makes loveliness from ugliness, joy from evil. You, creator, were created in the image of the Creator. And guess what: marriage was God’s idea. And it wasn’t just God’s idea for your sake, but for the world’s sake. So pursue a marriage of redemptive culture creation. By God’s death-defeating grace, may our marriages be pencil and plow in the hands of the Redeemer. The single greatest way in which your marriage can radically engage the culture of earth is through a culture of loving grace. Put the love of Christ on display in your working and dishwashing and toddler bathing and fighting and lovemaking and home building. We do this when we consider ourselves as less than our spouses, when we die a thousand small deaths to self for them to live. When a redeemed husband and a redeemed wife redeem their time by loving each other with otherworldly, self-sacrificial love, something new is crafted. A new kind of home emerges. A new kind of parenting peeks its head out. A new kind of legacy takes shape. A Gospel legacy forms and flowers and casts off seeds that take root in the soil of fallen culture and grow into something altogether new. Don’t waste your marriage recreating the broken culture of the world. Press into grace and see a new culture of redemption spring up.
is he
the one? Qualities of a Man Worth Marrying Words by Mel Hennegan
There are so many important decisions in life: What school should I attend? What job should I pursue? What about relationships? What kind of friends should I have? Should I date? Whom should I date? When or should I marry? The list is endless. As children of the all-wise, all-loving, and sovereign Father, we can rest assured that God is there for us and will give us exactly what we need to make these tough decisions. Two means of grace that God gives us to discern his will are his word and his people. Yes, the Bible may not tell us exactly what we must choose in every situation (for example, “Should I buy the blue car or the red car?”), but it does inform us on how to choose wisely by giving us a treasury of knowledge and principles that will guide us to make such choices. Alongside God’s revealed Word, he has also graced us with a multitude of counselors with more experiences and different perspectives that can guide our decisions. These counselors come as pastors, friends, parents, mentors, teachers, and fellow church and family members. One of the important safety nets of having counselors is that they are outside of the situation, looking in. When we are in (or desire) a relationship that could lead to marriage, we may not be as objective as we would like. Having extra eyes and voices can bring insight to our blind spots. Nonetheless, it must be noted that all the voices that we hear are not equal. Apart from Scripture, it is essential to decipher which voices must bear the most weight. In this article I hope to add another biblically informed voice, among many important voices in your life. When it comes to biblical womanhood, we have all heard the mantra of the Proverbs 31 woman: “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” (Prov. 31:30). But, as a man, I’ve always wondered, what is the male equivalent? What would the “Proverbs 31” man look like? In the light of 1 Samuel 16:7 and Jeremiah 9:23–24, I would say: “Looks are deceptive; intellect, strength, and wealth are vain, but a man who fears God is praiseworthy.” Although there are thousands of opinions when looking for qualities in a spouse, Scripture gives insight on qualities to look for in a godly husband. Though not an exhaustive litmus test for finding a future spouse, these are three qualities that contribute to what biblical manhood looks like in a marriage.
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Responsible.
If a man desires to be in a relationship with a woman, he must have the capability to lead himself and live responsibly. If a man cannot lead himself and be responsible, then he can’t be a leader in marriage, let alone a family. Ephesians 5:23 tells us that a husband is to be the head of his wife just like Christ is the head of the church—this means that the husband must provide for and protect the home, both physically and spiritually. Ask yourself: “Is this the type of man I desire my children to be like? Is he responsible at home, at work, and at church? Does he have the capability to provide for me physically and spiritually?”
Selfless.
Just as Christ loved his church and gave himself for her, a husband must selflessly love his wife (Eph. 5:25). Being the “head of the home” does not mean that he can lead his family with an iron fist. He is called to treat his wife and children with love and respect, and not in a way that would provoke them to anger (1 Pet. 3:7; Eph. 6:4). We must also remember that Jesus—the greatest leader on earth—submitted himself to his Father’s authority and only did what his Father wanted him to do. In the same way, a man must lead under the conviction that he is subordinate and accountable to God as his highest authority; he doesn’t merely do what he wants; his family follows him as he follows Christ.
Repentant.
Spoiler alert! The man you are thinking about marrying is a sinner. He’s not Jesus, and he’s not perfect, so please don’t think he should be. But there are some men who don’t think that they are ever wrong; they make excuses, never take the blame, and always have to be Mr. Right. Please just do him a favor and don’t marry him! On the other hand, a man who knows his faults, repents, seeks forgiveness, and learns from his mistakes is a man worth keeping. He’s not perfect; and he doesn’t think that he is. He asks for forgiveness, and he extends it as well. He knows that marriage is a union between two sinners who need to repent on a continual basis. Although he is not like Jesus in every way, he strives to be.
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Again, this is not to be a definitive list on how to find “the one.” In fact, sometimes having too specific of a “checklist” for a future spouse can blind you to the qualities God wants you to develop in your own life. Pastor Kevin DeYoung gives advice on such lists in the book Just Do Something: “If everyone was praying to be the right spouse, it wouldn’t matter nearly so much who is the ‘right’ spouse. Dump your list of the seventeen things you need in a wife and make yourself a list of seventeen things you need to be as a husband.” Pray that God will help you be a woman who is responsible, selfless, and repentant. And as you are praying, pray these biblical qualities over the men in your life, be it your husband, father, or brothers in Christ.
Summertime Crab Cakes Recipe by Kansas Long | Images by Elizabeth Ferguson
Crab Cakes 1 lb Crab meat, picked free of shells and flaked ⅓ cup Bread crumbs 1 Egg ¼ cup Mayo 1 tbsp Dijon mustard 2 Green onions, finely chopped ½ Fresh lemon, juiced 1 clove Garlic, minced 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp Each, salt and pepper 1 tbsp Butter 1 tbsp Olive oil, plus more for frying 1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar ⅓ cup Yellow onion, finely chopped ½ cup Red bell pepper, finely chopped Tartar Sauce 1 cup Mayo ½ tbsp Pickle relish 1 tbsp Yellow mustard 1 tbsp Red onion, minced 2 tbsp Lemon juice 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
This is a quick meal to make on a hot summer’ day. These crab cakes go perfectly with tartar sauce & a strawberry spinach salad. To keep things simple, you can either use crab meat from a can or get it fresh from your local seafood store. Serves: 4–6 | Prep time: 20 minutes | Total time: 30 minutes In a small bowl, stir together all the tartar sauce ingredients until combined, then let the sauce chill in the fridge until the crab cakes are ready. In a large bowl, mix the first ten of the crab cake ingredients above and set aside in your fridge. In a large, hot skillet combine the butter, olive oil, and vinegar. When the butter melts, add in the onions and bell pepper. Cook between low and medium heat until they are
tender. Take out the bowl of crab meat mixture and add the cooked peppers and onions. Stir well. In the same skillet heat 1/3 cup of olive oil at medium heat. Meanwhile, start forming your crab cake patties. The mixture will yield 4–6 patties, depending on the size you make them. Place the crab cakes in the pan and lightly fry them for about 3–4 minutes on each side. Allow them to rest on a paper towel for a minute and enjoy them while they are hot, served with the chilled tartar sauce.
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After-Sun Spray & Gel
Words by Heather Craven | Images by Sadie Culberson I love the sun! I love hot weather, a nice golden tan, and everything that comes along with it in my little East Coast world—the shore, sandals, warm summer nights, and so much more. What I don’t love is the lobster I become if I make the sun too much of a priority and forget about what perpetual sun exposure can do to the lasting condition of my skin. Sometimes, no matter how often I apply the heavy-duty sport lotion, I just can’t win. Like all good things, too much of it can quickly become a bad thing. In the case of my undying love for the sun, I usually have to live and learn at least once when the weather heats up. I know this obsession with the sun may sound a little funny, but somehow the yearly ritual of sunburn pushes itself a little farther than just skin deep. Since the beginning of time, the sun has held the utmost significance in most, if not all, cultures. It is regarded as the source of life, marker of time, and sustainer of all things. Its significance is noted in the creation story when God created light on that very first day. I just can’t help but be drawn to it. It can be easy to get so caught up in all the sun sustains that we completely forget that someone far greater causes it to rise and set each day. Even the sun has been created and is being sustained by our great God. My prayer is that the sun would be a reminder—a reminder that our Creator saw the need for a source that would give life. He desired for us to be drawn to the warmth and life-giving power of the sun. More important than God giving us a sun to rule each day, God sent us his son, the sustainer and giver of life, so that we could have eternal life in him.
“From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!” (Psalm 113:3)
DIY: After-Sun Spray & Gel For the ones who spend a little too much time in the sun
I love this recipe because it can be made into a spray or a gel. The aloe vera is excellent for healing burns, as it is an anti-inflammatory and mild pain reliever. The witch hazel helps to reduce itching, inflammation, and peeling. Lavender essential oil works as a skin soother, and the peppermint oil brings cooling relief to your hot and toasty skin. This spray or gel is quick and easy to throw together, and it will last you a while if refrigerated.
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Spray
Gel
¼ cup Water (distilled is best)
2 tbsp Water (distilled is best)
¼ cup Witch hazel
¼ cup Witch hazel
2 tbsp 100% pure aloe vera gel
¼ cup 100% pure aloe vera gel
20 drops Lavender essential oil
20 drops Lavender essential oil
10 drops Peppermint essential oil
10 drops Peppermint essential oil
4 oz. Spray bottle (preferably glass)
4 oz. Jar or squeeze bottle
Combine all ingredients in the spray bottle or jar & mix well. Store in the refrigerator.
Glimpses of Grace by Gloria Furman A Book Review
Words by Théa Rosenburg | Image by Kelly Kee As I write, it is high tide in our kitchen: the detritus of life with small children has washed in and covered the counter, the table, and the floor with everything from single socks to sippy cups. The baby is in her crib (chattering in the birdlike language of babies, so I know that she is not sleeping); the four year old plays quietly in her room upstairs. And I am seated at the kitchen table, writing—or thinking about writing—this article, which is due in four days. All of these things are true right now. But as I write, it is also true that I am a new creation in Christ. I am, at this moment—in this squeaky office chair at this kitchen table—being made more and more like him by my Father in heaven, who loves me and paid a high price to rescue me from death. His grace governs my life, whether I see it or not: it is by his grace that I woke up this morning, that I am breathing, that I sit here listening to the baby escalate, in stages, from songbird to screech owl. At 1:59 on a Friday afternoon in March, I am both a beloved daughter of God and a mother responsible for that sinkful of dishes, this article, and each one of those little girls. I can know that both of those things are true at once without having any idea at all how to use that information. In her book, Glimpses of Grace, Gloria Furman examines the relationship between these two threads of our lives—the ever-changing circumstances of our daily lives and the one great circumstance of life in Christ.
She writes, “This book is about how we experience the grace of the gospel as we go about our daily lives in the home. It’s not about how to transcend to a ‘happy place’ above the reality of life in the home. It’s not about how to relish our mundane existence and cherish it as if it were an all-satisfying fountain if we would only soak it in for its own sake. Glimpses of Grace is about how God’s power in the gospel can transform us for his glory as we live by faith—right where we are in the mundane of our homes.” To read Glimpses of Grace is to be reminded, page by page, that we do not have to wait for a quiet moment when the chores are done and the kids are busy elsewhere to sit down with our Bible and be with the Lord. Furman is insistent (and she has the Scripture to back up her claim) that those moments when the sink is full and the baby is fussy and the day seems formidably long are gifts to us from a Father who wants to sanctify us now, right where we are. The first few chapters of Glimpses of Grace are dedicated to laying down a theological foundation for the rest of the book, beginning at the very bottom with the Gospel—defining what it is and what it isn’t—and working up to the way we relate to God because of it. Furman then builds upon that foundation in the remainder of the book by holding the light of the Gospel up to the things that we tend to consider insignificant or outside its scope: the Cheerios stuck to our bare feet and crushed into the crevices of the kitchen floor; the comment made by a well-meaning friend that left us feeling
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small and judged; the realization, at five o’clock, that dinnertime is coming (again) and we’re woefully unprepared to meet it. She reminds us that these are daily opportunities to delight in God: “We’re surrounded by the circumstances he has ordained for our sanctification. God’s grace to us in Christ gives us assurance to follow him where he leads, even when it’s into awkwardness, hard work, and pain.” Furman doesn’t limit this perspective to powdered Cheerios: she is a woman working alongside her husband in the Middle East—planting a church in Dubai, raising four small children, and caring for him as he copes with a debilitating nerve condition. She writes candidly about the intense struggles that arise in each of these situations, yet she never misses an opportunity to guide her own story back to the Lord’s story, recognizing that her life is held in place by the hope promised in the Gospel. Those personal details and her persistence in returning to the Gospel again and again anchor Furman’s theology in the grounds of an actual life, and give the impression that we are walking alongside Furman as we read, gleaning from the things she’s learned through experience and study, rather than sitting before her in a lecture hall, taking notes on the doctrine of sanctification. So how does believing the Gospel shape the way I respond to my four-year-old when she comes downstairs (again) to ask for help tying the ends of a necklace she’s made and stays to chat with me—I am, you remember,
seated at the table, writing this—about her favorite scene from her favorite movie, Robin Hood? I remind her, ungently, that she should be upstairs right now, playing quietly and not interrupting people.
those moments when the sink is full & the baby is fussy & the day seems formidably long are gifts to us from a Father who wants to sanctify us now, right where we are. But then I remember: Jesus took the punishment for my pride (that is, the belief that my writing is more important than my daughter’s conversation) and my ingratitude (for the little person sitting opposite me, bright-eyed and forgiving)—those sins no longer enslave me. I remember Gloria Furman’s words: “The gospel keeps me relating to God on the basis of Jesus’s perfections, not on the illusions of my religious achievements. God strengthens me and protects me according to his faithfulness, not mine” (emphasis added). The Gospel, in this moment, exhorts me to rest in the faithfulness of Christ, knowing that he lived perfectly on my behalf, and that frees me to close the laptop and listen as my daughter recounts—in whispers, so as not to wake the now-sleeping baby—the scene where Lady Cluck runs down the tournament field, tossing rhinoceri aside with her feathered elbows.
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Put on Love: Applying the Gospel to the Modesty Debate Words by Lindsay Cournia | Images by Dianne Jago | Lettering by Baylee Hart
My family spends a lot of time playing outdoors. We are Minnesotans transplanted to Florida (by way of Alaska), and the perpetual sunshine never grows old. My kids explore every inch of our yard daily, and my three-year-old son Lincoln is never without a stick in his hands. Every good explorer needs a sturdy stick for prodding bugs, overturning rocks, and bossing sisters. One day at the park, though, Lincoln and his stick found an irresistible mound of dirt with a curious hole at its peak. It only took a moment of consideration before the point of his stick jammed down deep into that sandy volcano, and I will never forget the eruption that followed. Tiny red fire ants were suddenly everywhere, covering everything. Miraculously, Lincoln escaped the angry ants with only a few stings and a lesson learned. That erupting ant pile is the picture that comes to mind when the topic of modesty comes up—a swarm of red-hot stinging opinions and accusations. Even among followers of Christ, the modesty debate is volcanic, re-igniting every time someone mentions bikinis or yoga pants. It finally drove me to study what God’s Word says (and doesn’t say) about modest dress. In an ultra sexualized, consumerist culture, amidst a flood of “what not to wear” opinions from all sides, how is a Godfearing woman to approach her appearance? Does the Gospel have anything to say about our clothing? In his “Ask Pastor John” series, John Piper said this about where we are to begin in our pursuit of modesty: “Until God has become your treasure, until your own sin has become the thing you hate most, until the Word of God is your supreme authority that you feel to be more precious than gold—sweeter than honey, until the Gospel of Christ’s death in your place is the most precious news to you, until you have learned to deny yourself short-term pleasures for the sake of long-term joy and holiness, until you have grown to love the Holy Spirit and long for his fruit more than man’s praise, until you count everything as loss compared to the supreme value of knowing Christ, your attitude toward your clothing and your appearance will be controlled by forces that don’t honor Christ” (#342). This is where we must begin, with the Gospel. The Gospel must be applied to every area of our life—even clothing—or we end up either bound by a list of rules and self-righteous pursuits, or selfishly indulging our flesh. Two New Testament passages that address modesty are in 1 Peter and 1 Timothy. In 1 Peter 3:3–4 Peter writes, “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.” The “holy women” Peter describes in these verses and in the surrounding text were called so because they were different from the world; they stood out in hope and in heart, marked by submission, gentleness, and meekness. We, likewise, are to find our hope, our satisfaction, and our confidence not from our outward appearance, but from inwardly reflecting the grace of God, which is imperishable (1 Cor. 15:53, Isa. 32:17).
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In 1 Timothy 2, Paul gives instructions for worship gatherings, to promote unity and to eliminate distraction, since both men and women were doing things to hinder peace and order. In verses 9–10 Paul says, “Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.” While sexy, revealing clothing was not the issue of Paul’s day, he was speaking to a culture of excess—a flaunting of status and possessions while people around them lived in poverty. Their clothing and adornment choices identified them with the world rather than setting them apart. The theme of this passage echoes the previous one: the elaborate hair and glittering jewelry weren’t the real problem, but mere symptoms of an ugly heart issue. A believer’s testimony and Spirit-borne fruit should speak louder than her clothing.
I believe that it boils down to this: while the call to modesty is clear in Scripture, the specifics of what modesty looks like are gray areas. We see plainly in Scripture that we are called to modesty. It is irrefutable. So what causes the volcanic eruptions of debate and disunity? Why can’t followers of Jesus just agree on this issue and others like it? I believe that it boils down to this: while the call to modesty is clear in Scripture, the specifics of what modesty looks like are gray areas. You won’t find hemlines and necklines in the pages of Scripture. And those are the things we argue about. It has helped me immensely to look at issues like this through a hierarchy of truth, conviction, and opinion: Truth: includes the non-negotiables of God’s Word—the building blocks of our faith and theology, and clear commands we must obey. The Trinity, the doctrine of Salvation, and the commands to “do all things without grumbling or disputing” (Phil. 2:14) or “be subject to the governing authorities” (Rom. 13:1) are just a few of many. The Body of Christ is to be unified around these truths found in God’s Word (Eph. 4). Conviction: includes those tricky gray areas and the “minors” in Scripture that foster so much debate in interpretation. Our convictions are important, and the Holy Spirit works powerfully in the lives of believers by shaping our convictions, but what so often leads the Body of Christ into disunity is when we raise our personal convictions to the level of truth and try to impose them on others. Convictions include the specifics of modest dress and other sensitive issues like alcohol consumption, the types of TV and movies we watch, or methods of disciplining our children, among many others.
Opinion: the bottom of the hierarchy, where personal taste and preference live. Our opinions hold no spiritual weight, yet sometimes we try to throw them around like they bear the weight of truth. When churches divide over music styles or carpet color, our opinions are carrying far more weight than they ought. One of the places in Scripture where we see this hierarchy in application is the book of Galatians. Paul penned this powerful letter to the church of Galatia to chastise them for straying from the truth of the Gospel. At first glance it doesn’t seem like a book that talks so much about false teaching and circumcision could have much to do with modesty, but it does. The false doctrine Paul addresses in Galatians is coming from Judaizers—Jews who had converted to Christianity but were now trying to add Jewish law to the Gospel. The Judaizers were convincing Gentile converts that they needed to be circumcised and follow the Jewish customs in addition to the Gospel of Jesus (Gal. 5:1–12). But throughout his letter, Paul reminds the Galatians that the Gospel plus anything is not the Gospel. Christ’s atoning work is sufficient! To add works to it is to nullify it completely. So if we say that to be a Christian—to be godly—means you have to dress a certain way, we are falling into the same trap as the Galatians. Paul says, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1). But this grates at the self-righteous legalist in all of us, doesn’t it? We love standards by which to measure our righteousness, and a list of rules to follow to assuage our guilt. We want the comfort of thinking, “If I only wear one-piece swimsuits, shorts that are longer than my fingertips, and don’t show my cleavage, then I am godly.” We might not think that exactly, but if we are honest with ourselves, we’ve all gone there. And we have probably imposed those same regulations on others, at least through mental comparison. But what we don’t see is that when we add qualifications to righteousness, we are enslaving ourselves all over again to the very law Christ freed us from. We’re strapping the chains back on ourselves.
when we add qualifications to righteousness, we are enslaving ourselves all over again to the very law Christ freed us from. Paul continues later in chapter 5, however, with these weighty words: “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (5:13–14). Yes, we are free in Christ. But, as Martin Luther wisely said, “Freedom is not the right to do what you want, but rather the power to do what you ought.” If we think freedom in Christ is a license to do whatever we want (or dress however we want), we are mistaken and we will only find ourselves enslaved again to our sinful desires, not truly free (Rom. 6:1–2).
This is where the powerful work of the Holy Spirit comes into play. The Spirit indwells each of us at the moment of salvation (Eph. 1:13–14), and the fruit of the Holy Spirit is evidenced in the life of a maturing believer. Paul contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit in the last portion of Galatians 5: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for they are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (5:16–18). Followers of Christ are no longer ruled by our sin nature, but we still battle fleshly desires daily by the power of the Holy Spirit within us. It requires effort, but we don’t do it on our own. Colossians 3 contains a powerful picture of this, instructing us in what we are to “put off ” and what we are to “put on”—like clothing. Verse 5 says, “Put to death what is earthly in you . . .” We are to peel off the things of this world, shed the desires of our flesh like dirty clothes. Instead we are to clothe ourselves with “compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience” (v. 12). And above all, we are to “put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (v. 13). We are to clothe ourselves in love. I understand, however, that there can be a chasm of confusion between hearing the biblical admonition to “put on love” and standing in front of our closet or in a dressing room wondering what to wear. Or, for moms, teaching our daughters to make appropriate clothing choices. This is the reason so many of us turn to legalism in our approach to modesty, or go to the other extreme and say, “It’s my body, my decision, and my life. I’ll wear what I want.” Neither is correct, and both bring bondage.
The Gospel should be held higher than any of our views on one- or two-piece bathing suits. The name of Christ is to be proclaimed louder than our opinion on leggings as pants. There are three important questions to begin with as you consider your approach to modest dress: 1. Am I being honest with myself ? I don’t know about you, but I am an expert at justifying my thoughts and actions. I can put a gloss on the ugliness in my heart to make it appear presentable. I’ve tried on plenty of dresses and shorts, knowing they were too skimpy by my convictions (which happens a lot because I’m tall) and tried to justify buying them anyway. We can tell ourselves all kinds of pretty things to convince ourselves that what we’re considering is okay even when we know it’s not. Let’s be honest with ourselves in front of the mirror. What is my true heart motive for wearing what I’m wearing? 2. Am I maturing in my walk with God? As I grow in my relationship with the Lord through studying his Word, communicating with him through prayer, and fellowshipping with other believers, my desires will align more and more with his. The fruit of the Spirit will be more and more evident in my life, and he will shape my convictions to honor him. My appetite for the things of the world will dull.
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This question is important to consider in others’ lives as well. Though we can’t truly know where a person stands with God, we can recognize believers by their fruit (Matt. 7:16), and our expectations should be appropriate. We should not expect an unbeliever to dress modestly; the Word of God is not her standard! We should have reasonable expectations for new believers and extend grace as they grow in their convictions. And as for our fellow maturing believers, our role is not to police and judge, but to pray and encourage as we all walk by the Spirit and grow in our convictions. 3. Am I promoting unity within the Body of Christ? At one point in Paul’s argument against adding law to the Gospel in Galatians 5, he warns the Church, “But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another” (v. 15). Differing views cause rampant disunity among believers if we allow it. The Gospel should be held higher than any of our views on one- or two-piece bathing suits. The name of Christ is to be proclaimed louder than our opinion on leggings as pants. Our enemy Satan rejoices when we allow disunity to creep in and turn bondservants of the cross into an anthill of bitingand-devouring chaos. Let us choose instead to put on love, lay down our rights, and serve one another in the freedom Christ has won for us.
Interview with Katie Beer of Kippy Skateboards Words by Angela Washeck | Images by Kippy Media
Aiming to be a light in the midst of modern skateboarding culture, Katie Beer is not your typical twentysomething. She knows and loves the Father and has made it her chief mission to impact young thrill-seekers through her business, Kippy Skateboards. With every skateboard designed and constructed, Beer prays that skateboarders would see the glory of Christ, proving that Christians can make whatever their life’s work is a rich ministry opportunity.
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Tell us a little about yourself.
1
My name is Katie, I am 22 years old and the founder of Kippy Skateboards. I love to surf and skate and eat and drink coffee. I love traveling overseas because most people seem to like the Aussie accent (ha ha), and it makes it easy to talk to people. When I was about 15, God just brought some new friends into my life (they knew Jesus, and I didn’t), and we got on really well straight away. Basically, I just began seeing how differently they lived, and God was working in my heart, causing me to desire a different life, which he knew he would give to me. Then I got saved a little bit after and just wanted to follow Jesus forever.
Can you explain how Kippy got started? Why did you get into the skateboard biz?
2
Kippy started just as a bit of fun. I fixed up an old skateboard that was wrecked and loved working with the timber. So I decided to shape a few myself, and then slowly but surely, Kippy became a little company. I grew up surfing and skating and just really liked skateboards and timber.
What is your business mission statement?
3
Putting John 14:6 as part of your company logo is quite bold, especially by the world’s standards. Have you been well received in Australia and elsewhere?
4
This was the verse I felt God put on my heart when starting the business. To be honest, I only ever really receive amazing encouragement from Christians and even unbelievers around the world. I think when the norm is a self-promoting company, maybe Kippy is sort of like fresh air for people, which we are completely honored to be for people. We are really thankful for all the support people give us; it is so encouraging.
What caused you to be so bold when you know you are marketing within a secular industry?
5
Just being reminded constantly by the Lord that it’s all for him. It’s not about skateboards and numbers and things like that; at the end of the day, skateboards are nothing compared to Jesus, and I have never wanted to separate my business from [my] faith. I need them to be intertwined because God is the founder and sustainer. And if I have a bad day or week or get shut down, he picks me right back up.
I don’t know if it’s much of a mission statement. But I always think of something Bethany Hamilton (a fellow Christian and shark attack survivor) said about her attack, to sum up why Kippy exists simply—I think because we believe this is God’s way for us to reach and embrace more people than if we didn’t exist.
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Yep! I love it. That’s like the heartbeat behind Kippy, I think. I hope I can be bold and loving in these conversations always and not shrinking back from the truth of the Gospel. [I also hope] people will be pointed to Christ or at least left with “a stone in their shoe.” Sometimes it’s so hard to not worry about these sorts of things when running a business. I have times where I forget to even acknowledge God in different aspects, and then it becomes super stressful because I am trying to do it alone. I have found that trusting God and working hard go hand in hand. I need God to direct and provide for all aspects in the company, but I also know he has provided resources already to work with and use for other aspects.
6 7
Have you ever found that your company’s deep Christian faith & mission opens up conversations with non-believers? How do you handle that? How do you approach the different aspects of your business, such as finances, with the Gospel as your cornerstone?
It’s cool to think of all the little and big opportunities I have had with Kippy already. Sometimes I don’t even realize what happened until after. I have been able to travel to the Hillsong Conference and some other smaller events as a sponsor, meet amazing new people and get to do new things with them, work with other labels, and just the company itself growing and sending boards overseas is like an adventure in itself.
8
In your “About Us” section, you write: “We believe the greatest adventure to bear, the highest and deepest we can travel, the most marvellous experiences to be had and the most joy to be found is in Jesus Christ.” What kind of adventures has the Lord taken Kippy on so far?
I am big on names, so I like naming the boards in our range something special—they usually have a cool, purposeful meaning (El Jadida is a word for New in Morroco—which we are in Christ). We have done artwork before that has been inspired from the Bible, [for example], Mt. Olive stencils, maps of biblical scenes and stuff, but nothing like crazy specific.
9
Are there any particular ways that you incorporate biblical principles into the design of your skateboards? We’d love to hear about them!
I hope Kippy will continue to grow as a company and have a really fun, creative team producing goods, and to proclaim the Gospel and let Kippy be a ministry. Ultimately, I hope people are encouraged by our culture and lifestyle in Christ. [I hope] that we can make special skateboards as long as we can.
10
Where do you hope Kippy will take you in the future? Any ultimate goals that you have?
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It’s not about skateboards & numbers & things like that; at the end of the day, skateboards are nothing compared to Jesus, & I have never wanted to separate my business from [my] faith.
Serving military members, families and Christian groups from around the world as a vacation retreat and conference center in the heart of the Rocky Mountains since 1962.
For more than five decades, guests have participated in exceptional retreat and vacation experiences through the ministry of Officers’ Christian Fellowship at Spring Canyon. Nestled in the beautiful Collegiate Peaks on the edge of the famous Arkansas River Valley, Spring Canyon is one of the highest operating retreat centers in the award-winning town of Buena Vista, Colorado, with an elevation of 9,026’. We provide signature programs for military members, veterans and families in summer, fall and winter. Available for private rentals and group events year-round.
Spring Canyon is owned and operated by Officers’ Christian Fellowship.
Signature Programs: Summer Celebration (May–Aug) Aspen Time Retreat (Sept) Winter Sports Retreat (Dec–Jan) Rocky Mountain High (Mar–Sept) – rmhbv.org Father Teen Adventure (July) – ftabv.org
www.springcanyon.org
Hand-Picked Favorites Artists, entrepreneurs, and ministries inspire us here at Deeply Rooted Magazine, and we think they might inspire you too. Here are a few of our Hand-Picked Favorites.
If you’d like your business to be considered for next issue’s Hand-Picked Favorites, go to deeplyrootedmag.submittable.com.
Atelier Nausika
Sturdy Brothers
The Hive Studio
Porcelain Jewelry & Ceramic Sculptures
Rekindling American Craftsmanship
www.sturdybrothers.com
Illustration & Calligraphy Studio www.thehivestud.io
The English Standard Version
Kippy Skateboards
Purpose Jewelry
Which ESV Bible is right for you? www.esv.org
Cruise Kippy | John 14:6 kippyskateboards.com.au
Empowering survivors of modern day slavery to build a bright future.
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