45 minute read
Baseball’s Daniel Ponce DeLeon Takes a Hit and Comes Out Swinging
Daniel, with his Dad
BASEBALL’S DANIEL PONCE DE LEON “I DON’T LET ANYTHING KEEP ME DOWN”
Daniel Ponce de Leon is a professional baseball pitcher who began his career with the St. Louis Cardinals organization in 2014. One spring day in 2017, Daniel was close to breaking through to the majors as a starting pitcher for the Cardinals’ AAA team, the Memphis Redbirds, when he was pitching against the Iowa Cubs and suff ered an injury that brought him closer to death—and to God—than he’d ever been before.
He shared his story with The Jesus Calling Magazine.
MAY 9, 2017, WAS A DAY GAME. When the second inning came around, I faced Victor Caratini. He’s a left-handed hitter. At the time, I was throwing sinkers, two-seam, so the ball’s supposed to go down and sink away from the hitter. Well, this one stayed straight. Caratini lined it right back up the middle. I went to turn out of the way, but I didn’t get out of the way in time. Hit me right in the temple, on my right side, and knocked me out for a few seconds I remember my trainer kneeling over me and asking me questions like, “What’s your name? What year is it?” I got them all right, but he didn’t like the way I was answering them, so he called for an ambulance. I told him, "Why are we doing this? I’m fi ne!" I get into the ambulance, I’m strapped down, and I start to get a little bit claustrophobic. I’m starting to realize, Maybe this is a little bit worse than I thought. Then immediately I thought, I need to pray. So I pray, “Please, God, just keep me in my right mind.” That’s all I could really think about at the time. My injury was an epidural hematoma. It’s a bleed between the membrane of the brain and the skull. So they had to remove my skull and stop the bleed, and also relieve some pressure in my brain because my brain had shifted. And if they hadn’t done that, then I would’ve had signifi cant brain damage. They were worried I was going to die at fi rst, and then after that, they worried if I would be able to walk, talk, and eat again. Thankfully, that didn’t happen.
The fi rst thing I remember after waking up is talking to my dad and asking him to pray over me. Now, my dad was the one who introduced me to God. He taught me who Jesus was, and he was a very big part in teaching me the Word. Every morning, he was up reading and would talk to me about it. And when my dad prayed over me that day, that was very comforting. It made me feel like a kid again, like my dad was shielding me. Helping a brain to recover is a lot diff erent than having to rehab an arm or leg. You could do exercise and stuff for that, but for a brain, you can’t do anything besides rest. I went home and spent a lot of time reading and I started thinking, If I were to die, what would happen to my soul? I wasn’t very sure. You know, I’d describe myself as a lukewarm Christian at the time. I knew I needed to douse myself in the Word daily, so I started doing that. I changed my diet to help my body heal. And in three months, I was able to resume activity. This near-death experience brought me so much closer to God—that’s what it took. It literally took a hit on the head to see God saying, "Hey, I’m right here." There’s a few times where baseball’s broken me in half, and my fi rst response is always, "Go to the Lord.” I come back the next day, and I feel new again. I don’t let anything keep me down.
Daniel in the hospital surrounded by cards from well-wishers, 2017
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast. Put your phone in Camera mode and hover over this code to hear more of Daniel’s story!
Daniel’s book, One Line Drive, is available at your favorite book retailer today!
WE’RE ALL CONNECTED
How Our Friends (and Animal Friends!) Support Us in Hard Times
by Barn Sanctuary’s Dan McKernan
In 2015 Dan McKernan left his tech job in Austin, Texas, to transform his family’s 140-year-old Michigan farm into a safe haven for farm animals called Barn Sanctuary. Now, Dan’s on a mission to add more compassion to the world. He spoke to The Jesus Calling Magazine about his brand-new children’s book called This Farm Is a Family, which follows the story of Buttercup the Cow, a real-life rescue at Barn Sanctuary.
By seeing how animals cope with some of the same things humans do, kids learn how to adapt to new environments and support friends during hard times.
Right now, we have more than a hundred rescued animals at Barn Sanctuary. Changing homes is stressful for any living being, human or not, and my team and I try to ease that transition as much as possible.
All living creatures are individuals, and each has a unique personality and ability to express emotion. And it’s up to us humans, the most intelligent of these living beings, to have the patience and desire to identify the unique personality that lies within each of them.
The book is about Buttercup the Cow, the newest resident at Barn Sanctuary, who is scared and shy. If you’ve ever been the new kid in school, I bet you can relate to what Buttercup is feeling: you’re frightened, nervous, or anxious about what the future holds.
When Buttercup came to the Barn, she was on stall rest. That meant she had to receive medical attention for a month before she could run around the pasture with her new bovine brothers and sisters. She could see them from afar, and they would moo to her through the fence. When we introduced Buttercup to the other cows, I had tears in my eyes: they welcomed her with hours of happy frolicking in the pasture.
Dan’s book This Farm is a Family is available at your favorite book retailer today!
There Are Blessings Everywhere
Roma Downey Sees Those Special Reminders From God
by Abigail Nibblett
GROWING UP IN DERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND, Roma Downey learned that some of the most beautiful blessings can arrive during our hardest moments. “I was just ten years old when my mother died unexpectedly from a heart attack. It was as if the lights had been turned out,” she says. “My father took me up to the cemetery to see my mother’s graveside, and a butterfl y fl ew out from behind the tombstone. My father said, ’Would you look at that butterfl y? That could be your mum’s spirit right there.’” Over the years, whenever she’s needed it most, Roma’s noticed a butterfl y shows up. It might be on a necklace, an image on a passing truck, even a tattoo. It’s grown to be a symbol that’s dear to the actor and producer. “Butterfl ies have shown up as a reminder of God since I was a little girl. They’re a reminder of my mother’s love.” The butterfl y isn’t the only “unexpected blessing” that holds signifi cance for her. Before she went to England for university, Roma’s father told his daughter, “Wherever you go, there will be a moon shining down. You'll look up at the sky and see the same moon that I do. I’ll leave you a message at the moon.” Every time she wanted to close the gap between the two of them, Roma looked to the night sky to pick up her “message” of paternal love. While she was away at school, Roma’s father passed away. But his message of love remains every single time Roma looks at the moon.
From a young age, Roma dabbled in creative storytelling, earning a double-major in art and drama. She moved to New York after college, funding her budding acting career by checking coats at a posh restaurant on Manhattan’s Upper West Side for a quarter a piece. (The fi rst celebrity she ever met? Regis Philbin. He tipped her a twenty.)
I got to deliver the most important message: there is a God, and He loves us."
– Roma on Touched by an Angel
Millions were watching her weekly on television only a few years later. “Every week, I got to deliver a most important and joyful message: there is a God, He loves us, and He wants to be part of our lives,” Roma says of her time on CBS’s Touched by an Angel. At its height, the series was watched by more than 21 million people each week. And during the show’s run from 1994 – 2004, Roma found another unexpected blessing: her friendship with co-star, Della Reese, the legendary, husky-voiced jazz and gospel singer. “I can’t say enough about how much I loved Della and how healing her love was for me. The fi rst day on set, I was so excited to meet her. I went into the hair and makeup trailer, and I put my hand out politely to shake her hand. She started laughing with that easy laugh and said, ’Oh, baby girl, I don’t shake hands. I hug!’ She wrapped me in the most enormous hug, and I can tell you, there is no safer place in the world than in the arms of Della Reese.” While the pair’s friendship was forged on a
Roma with Della Reese
foundation of faith, Roma was drawn to Della as a stand-in mother fi gure. But neither woman ever expected that Della would tragically lose her daughter while they were fi lming—and that Della would need a daughter fi gure just as badly as Roma needed a mother’s love. For the remainder of Della’s life, until her death in 2017, the women’s kinship was unparalleled. When Touched by an Angel wrapped after nine seasons, Roma—now an EMMY nominee—found herself wondering, What do I want to be doing with my life? That longing to live with purpose planted the seed of a dream: to make content that inspired others in a world that was often dark. In 2009, Roma along with her husband, producer Mark Burnett, founded LightWorkers Media, a division of MGM with a mission to uplift people and remind them that God loves them. So far, LightWorkers has succeeded in their mission, producing projects like the EMMYnominated series The Bible, viewed by more than 100 million people during its ten-week run on The History Channel, and acclaimed feature fi lm Son of God. Inspiring audiences comes as naturally to Roma in her writing as it does onscreen. An accomplished author, she has a new devotional coming this spring called Unexpected Blessings. It’s something she wrote during the pandemic when she rose early in the mornings, her favorite time of day. “I love the quiet of the morning, before anyone wakes up. It’s in that sort of half light, where it’s not quite night, not quite morning that I feel a special closeness to God. And every morning, I spend time with Jesus Calling. It strengthens me and prepares me for the day ahead.
“Speaking for myself, it’s very easy to get trapped in the busyness of our lives, and we can forget to take a moment for ourselves, for each other or for God. We forget to notice the sometimes surprising blessings He sends, like a kind word from someone, a smile or a tender touch. When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. And the great thing is, when you train yourself to look for blessings, you fi nd them.”
Adapted for print from an upcoming episode of the Jesus Calling Podcast. Put your phone in Camera mode and hover over this code to hear more of Roma’s story on April 14!
Roma’s devotional, Unexpected Blessings, hits bookstores on April 12.
STANDING UP TO THE ODDS
Chris & Emily Norton
by Cynthia Stuckey
CHRIS AND EMILY NORTON’S relationship has been marked by uncommon resilience against enormous odds. A defensive back at Division III’s Luther College, Chris admits he didn’t know exactly what he wanted for his future, but he did know three things: he wanted an all-American football career, he wanted to meet the girl of his dreams, and he wanted a lake house. But, as he says, “Life happens when you’re making other plans.” October 16, 2010, was a beautiful day for football. Luther College was mounting a comeback when the starting freshman lined up in his position. “The ball was kicked, and I sprinted downfi eld as hard as I could. I saw an opening, and I knew the ball carrier would run through the hole. I decided to drive my shoulder so hard through his legs that he’d drop the ball. Well, I hit him at full speed, but I mistimed my jump by a split second. My head collided right with his legs, and in an instant, I lost all feeling and movement from my neck down.” In that moment, Chris became a quadriplegic with a three-percent chance of ever moving below the neck again.
But something else happened that day: an iron will to beat the odds was forged. I’m not going to end up like the ninety-seven percent who don’t recover from this, Chris thought as he lay in his hospital bed. I’ll do whatever it takes to be that three percent who get through it. Chris’ determination was magnifi ed when he met Emily, the woman who became his most important teammate. Chris confi ded that he wanted to end his college career by walking to claim his diploma, and Emily matched his determination with her own. They spent countless hours training together, Emily coaching Chris to regain some of the strength and mobility he once had. Four years after his injury, Chris—standing shoulder to shoulder with Emily, who had just agreed to marry him the night before—walked across the stage at his college graduation to the sound of roaring applause. Those ten steps, the most he had taken in
more than 1,300 days, set him on the course for even greater determination. Newly engaged, Chris and Emily focused on a new goal: helping Chris to walk seven yards down the aisle at their wedding, a length several times farther than the one Chris had just walked. Once again, Chris and Emily spent hours in the training room. And on April 21, 2018—just seven years after Chris was told he would never walk again—he grasped his wife’s hand and walked the seven longest yards of his life. Today, Chris is a highly-sought-after motivational speaker, and together he and Emily have embarked on a new goal: raising their six adopted children and fostering several more in their home. “Opening our home to kids has absolutely changed our lives,” says Emily. “It’s the best thing we’ve ever done. Right after we accepted a sibling group of four girls, I saw Jesus Calling for Kids online and ordered it right away. And seriously, it got us through some hard moments with our oldest. It pulled us through a time where she was really struggling.”
God, I can’t carry this. It’s Yours.
With every obstacle that’s come their way, the Nortons have found a renewed trust in the God who can transform our greatest hardships into our most glorious gifts. “I’ll put things on my shoulders that aren’t meant to be there, and it weighs me down,” Emily says. “I have to get down on my knees and surrender to God. I say, ’God, I can’t carry this. It’s Yours. I’m going to do my part, but I know that the rest is up to You.’ That’s where we’ve been able to see the impact, when we just focus on what we feel like God’s calling us to do.”
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast. Put your phone in Camera mode and hover over this code to hear more of their story! You can fi nd Chris and Emily’s book, The Seven Longest Yards, at your favorite book retailer today.
Redeeming HEARTACHE
Facing the Truth of Our Stories with Dr. Dan Allender and Cathy Loerzel
Dr. Dan Allender and Cathy Loerzel are the founders of the Allender Center in Seattle, with a mission to foster redemption and healing by helping people tell their stories with awareness and integrity.
They spoke with The Jesus Calling Magazine about their latest book, Redeeming Heartache: How Past Suff ering Reveals Our True Calling, and how to fi nd freedom and healing from painful memories and relationships.
Dan: I grew up in a family that, I’ll just say, had its own deep levels of dysfunction. And in that intersection of broken and beautiful, it opened my heart to the importance of the story of where we’ve come from, the importance of engaging our story, because I was surrounded by very confusing, inarticulate, unaddressed stories. By the time I was probably ten or eleven, I was using drugs. By the time I was thirteen, I was involved in selling alcohol, and then drugs by sixteen. So my life was on a trajectory of death. Thankfully, my best friend had a family that gave me the fi rst sense of what a mom and dad and siblings might look like. And in some ways, I was adopted into their Christian world.
Truth releases the shadows that’ve held us away from God.
Cathy: When I grew up, my dad was in the military, so we moved around a lot. New schools, new houses, new friends, new churches. And I found myself navigating a lot of change very quickly. I struggled a lot with anxiety, eating disorders. I had physical abuse and sexual abuse when I was a child, but none of that was ever spoken to. And my parents were incredibly committed to caring for us and creating a good world, so it was very confusing. There’s more going on than what people are saying, especially in the church, because we’re so committed to believing that if we have the Spirit in our souls, then we’re healed and we never have to go back and actually deal with what was true about our backgrounds. What I love about this work is that it asks you to tell the truth, and the truth is actually more honoring than keeping things hidden. And it releases the shadows that have been holding us away from God and away from each other.
Cathy: Our work is helping people navigate how they’ve protected themselves from grief and suff ering and heartache, and how that’s set us up for dysfunctional patterns that keep us from experiencing the beauty and goodness that’s present on the Earth.
God meets us in the reality of our brokenness.
Dan: The gospel has always been something that has told the truth, and invited me into something more than I could ever fully comprehend, and that is forgiveness, and the notion that you are the light of God. I am received infi nitely again and again as a beloved son—not an orphan, not a stranger, not the eff ect of what my trauma has brought me to be. We can hold the reality of our brokenness and our renewed beauty as image bearers and as re-created in the image of Christ.
Dan: If we can courageously enter the reality of our own brokenness and the brokenness of this world, it’s where God meets us. The valley of the shadow of death is where the light of His goodness shows. So if we have the courage to meet Him in darkness, He is so good to off er us something of the light of His life. And in that light, we have the ability to begin to see.
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast. Put your phone in Camera mode and hover over this code to hear more of Dan and Cathy’s interview! Dan and Cathy’s book Redeeming Heartache is available everywhere books are sold.
“EITHER I THRIVE, OR I LEARN”
Chiquis Rivera’s Unstoppable Faith in God’s Plan
by Lauren Winfi eld
What makes Chiquis Rivera unstoppable? According to the Latin GRAMMY-winning singer and New York Times bestselling author, “It’s no secret: it’s my faith.” Every day, the multi-hyphenate powerhouse shares her faith and positivity with her fi ve million Instagram followers. On her NBC Universo show The Best of You with Chiquis, she connects deserving people who are down on their luck with life coaches and style experts so participants can have a fresh start. “Part of my mission is helping others through everything I do, to share my blessings,” she says. “That’s something my mom taught me.” Her mother, by the way, is legendary Regional Mexican singer and Latin pop star, Jenni Rivera. Chiquis remembers a time when her mother hadn’t earned those accolades yet, when after church on Sundays, their special treat would be to grab a couple thirty-nine-cent cheeseburgers from McDonald’s. “My mom always had her Bible on her desk, and she would write notes, always wanting to be a better version of herself.”
It’s clear that Chiquis holds a lot of admiration for her mother, who gave birth to Chiquis two weeks before her sixteenth birthday. “I knew she wasn’t necessarily ready for me, but she made herself ready for me. She was so focused on her education and wanting to fi nish high school, and she had so many plans for her life.” And Jenni delivered on those plans. While she earned high school and college degrees, she raised her daughter in Long Beach, California, while she also hustled to make a name for herself in the Regional Mexican music genre, one that had been traditionally dominated by men. She cut record after record, knocked on the doors of radio programmers who held the keys to the airwaves. She pounded the pavement to make her dreams come true. “She had to go out and travel and work. Sometimes she wasn’t here for holidays and birthdays. But I was her fan from day one,” Chiquis remembers. “I had a binder with a clear plastic sleeve in the front, and I used to put my mom’s picture there. I’d tell all the kids at school that my mom was going to be famous one day.” While Jenni was building her career, Chiquis was making her own plans. “When I was younger, I wanted to be a professional ice skater. Then I wanted to be a psychologist to help kids who’d been through what I had—I’d suff ered from sexual abuse from my father, and I wanted to help other kids who had experienced that too. My whole plan was to graduate from high school, join the Air Force, and have them pay for my education. But things didn’t really go that way because my mom needed me.” Around the time Chiquis was set to graduate high school, that’s when Jenni’s career, which she’d worked for since Chiquis was a toddler, began to take off , and she wanted her daughter as her right hand. Chiquis agreed to put her dreams on hold for her mother’s, which she was happy to do—at the time. “My relationship with my mom was a beautiful relationship. And like every relationship, we had our ups and downs. Sometimes I had to be her mom, because we were so close in age that I’d had to mature fast. I’d have to stay home and watch my siblings while she went out with her friends. I kind of resented her a little for that. And sometimes when she would step in and try to be the mother, I wouldn’t be okay with that.” By 2005, Jenni’s records kept climbing higher and higher on the charts, earning her multiple Latin GRAMMY nominations and leading her to become the fi rst female Regional Mexican singer to sell out the Staples Center. But her outward-facing success didn’t mirror what was going on behind the scenes. “My mom and I had stopped talking in October of 2012. She’d completely shut me out of her life. That was a very diffi cult moment for me, because I had literally put my dreams on hold to make hers come true.
Chiquis with her mother, Jenni
Jenni and Chiquis Rivera
How God Has My Back
This passage from Jesus Calling reminds me of something I read a long time ago: “Faith is intangible. It’s not something that you can touch, or see, or smell. It’s just something that you know because you know God has you, God has your back.”
Chiquis (center) with her four siblings
I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life helping her. I felt that I was born to be there for my mom.”
After that emotional tragedy, just two months later, Chiquis had to endure another one when she learned that her mother and fi ve others, who were fl ying to one of Jenni’s shows near Monterrey, Mexico, had died in a plane crash. Jenni was only forty-three years old. “I always say, when life drops you on your knees, you’re already there. You might as well pray. And that’s what I’ve always done in those moments. I always keep my eyesight focused at the light at the end of the tunnel, toward my faith.” Inch by inch, Chiquis began to step out of the shadow of her mother’s legendary career so she could fi nd her own voice. She wrote her fi rst book, a New York Times bestselling memoir called Forgiveness in 2015. In 2020, she won a Latin GRAMMY for her album, Playlist. And earlier this year, she released her latest book called Unstoppable: How I Found My Strength Through Love and Loss. And through it all, she credits God with taking her by the hand and helping her fi nd her path every step of the way. “It is super important for me to have that connection to God every single day. As soon as I open my eyes, I thank God for what I see outside my window—the sky, the sun, the birds, the trees—little things we overlook when we’re so busy. That, to me, is so important to just say, ’Thank you, God. Thank you for this day.’”
Jesus Calling, December 21
As you persevere along the path I have prepared for you, depending on My strength to sustain you, expect to see miracles— and you will. Miracles are not always visible to the naked eye, but those who live by faith can see them clearly. Living by faith, rather than sight, enables you to see My Glory.
I love this passage. It fi ts me perfectly.
Chiquis’ book, Unstoppable, is available at your favorite book retailer today!
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast. Put your phone in Camera mode and hover over this code to hear more of Chiquis’ story!
An exclusive excerpt from Sarah Young’s all-new, 365-day prayer devotional Jesus Listens
Faithful Savior,
April 26
I WANT TO LIVE as close to You as I can—moment by moment. But sometimes I let diffi culties distract me from Your Presence with me.
I used to think that my circumstances determined the quality of my life. So I poured my energy into trying to control those situations. I felt happy when things were going well—and sad or upset when things didn’t go my way. I didn’t question this correlation between my circumstances and my feelings. But the Bible tells me that it’s possible to be content in any and every situation.
Help me to put more of my energy into trusting You and enjoying Your Presence. Instead of letting my happiness depend on my circumstances, I long to connect my joy to You and Your precious promises—as You speak to me through Your Word:
I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go.
I will meet all your needs according to My glorious riches.
Nothing in all creation will be able to separate you from My Love.
In Your beloved Name, Jesus, Amen
PHILIPPIANS 4:12 • GENESIS 28:15 HCSB
PHILIPPIANS 4:19 • ROMANS 8:39
RECOVERY Meeting God in
The Warren Brothers on the Gifts of Sobriety
by Amy Kerr
“IF WE’RE HERE TOGETHER, WE’LL FIGURE THIS OUT.” It’s the motto, recording-artist-turned-songwriter Brad Warren says, that helped he and his younger brother (and songwriting partner) Brett Warren navigate writer’s rooms and recording studios of Nashville’s Music Row in the 1990s and early 2000s. Judging by their roster of eight #1 hits recorded by country music juggernauts like Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, and Keith Urban, that motto’s served them pretty well over the years. McGraw alone has cut more than thirty of their songs, including top hits like “If You’re Reading This” and “Highway Don’t Care.” And there’s one thread that connects all of their songwriting success: it all happened after the brothers got sober. “Ironically, we got sober the same week,” says older brother Brad, 52. “We tried it separately a few times, and it didn’t tend to work. But right then, everything was hitting the fan for both of us at the same time.” Brett, 51, agrees. “Our father passed away from cancer two days before Christmas. We lost our record deal. We almost lost our publishing deal—and we had little kids. The drinking and partying and just having fun turned into medicating pretty quick.” It was a lifestyle the brothers carried on with until Brad’s wife Michelle told him one day, “I’m done.” It was the wake-up call Brad says he needed. “I’m so grateful my wife had the guts to say that. We surrendered that addiction, and I found a diff erent doorway to God than I ever had. I love recovery. I don’t believe I would be here without it, to be honest.”
Brad admits he debated
whether he’d lose his creativity when he gave up his vices, but he needn’t have worried: the brothers scored their fi rst hit during their fi rst year of sobriety. And while Brett and Brad are grateful for their commercial success, they’ve discovered their purpose goes far beyond writing a hit song. “Being of service and helping other people—that what helps us to stay sober,” says Brett. “I always thought our purpose and meaning was songwriting, and I think that’s what we do, not who we are. The songwriting is more of a platform than a purpose.”
Songwriting is more of a platform than a purpose.
Through the years, the brothers have been a rock for each other that, along with their faith, has kept them steady through obstacles they’ve met in their professional career (“Anytime someone doubted us, we just dug our heels in and worked harder,” says Brett), and even in their darkest personal battles. For Brad, that was losing his twenty-one-year-old son Sage in May 2020, when he passed away from an accidental overdose. “Sage struggled with the same things I did. He’d had a great year before he passed, which was an amazing gift from God. I thought at the time, What a great beginning we’re having, but as it happens, that beginning wasn’t to be in the long term. “After Sage passed, my wife and I started reading Jesus Calling together every morning, and it just gave us an incredible amount of peace. Each day was exactly what I needed. It hits me right between the eyes every single day, and I can’t wait to read it. Sometimes I’ll read it again just to feel better.” Brett watched his brother cope with losing Sage and found himself in awe of the way he’s chosen to walk through his grief. “Brad chose to trust that God’s in control and that God is good. People always say ’God is good’ when something good happens to them, but Brad’s seeing that God is good in the worst thing that could happen to you.” Today, the brothers are still writing and still availing themselves to others. Brad’s started a support group for other men who have lost a child. Brett’s teaching a songwriting class at Lipscomb University, helping students “step over the same potholes we stepped in,” he says. They’re acts of service that come out of an attitude of thankfulness that shapes the foundation of who they are. “There’s a saying my sponsor says all the time: ’Gratitude and fear cannot coexist,’ says Brad. “And to be honest, we’re all dealing with fear: the fear of not measuring up, of being less than, of not getting what we want or losing something we already have. And if I can fi ll that hole with gratitude, there’s no room for fear. That’s really what I’m looking for nowadays.”
Brad's son Sage
Brad and wife Michelle
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast. Put your phone in Camera mode and hover over this code to hear more of Brett and Brad’s story!
SOCIAL MEDIA SPOTLIGHT
We love to see how Jesus Calling inspires you! These friends recently caught our eye.
@kaitlynjanemiller Three years ago, my friend shared this book. Little did I know how much it would change me, and just how much I would rely on it during one of the hardest times in my life @toniynes Love, love, love the devotional prayers in Jesus Listens @mypostalexjourney For it is He who is sovereign over all of my circumstances. It is He who is holding my precious son in the palm of His hand.
Extra Jesus Calling Podcast Stories, Just for You!
Stories have power. They give us new perspectives, and even the hope that if someone made it through a hard moment, we can too. Once a month, you’ll hear a “bonus” Jesus Calling Podcast episode featuring several of our podcast guests who share their experiences around specifi c topics to encourage and inspire you like: • The Power of Prayer • Gratefulness and Blessings • Coping with Grief
Listen and subscribe today to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcasts!
WE WANT TO SEE YOUR JESUS CALLING MOMENTS! Tag us and use the hashtag #jesuscalling so we can keep up with you.
Danny Gokey
Leaning on God Through the Struggle and the Restart
by Abigail Nibblett
Growing up, Danny Gokey had absolutely no desire to sing. But because his grandfather pastored their church, Danny and his siblings would sing while his dad played guitar—an act of obedience rather than passion. Danny’s musical gift would be called out by several of his pastors, and he started singing solos, duets, and trios until he got the hang of things— eventually becoming a worship leader, despite his misgivings about the role. He eventually fell in love with being a backup singer, only to be thrust into the spotlight again when a growing ministry required it. Looking back, Danny says, “I’m glad God kept pushing me, because I just didn’t see myself as the lead person or the lead singer.” By his late twenties, though he’d made himself content to be in the background, Danny began to feel like his life wasn’t what it was supposed to be. “God, I think I missed it,” he prayed from his truck. “I thought You had something bigger for me, but I’m twenty-seven now. I’m going to start working on other passions.” Then a spark came: a desire to try out for American Idol, a series that his wife (and one-time high school sweetheart) Sophia loved to watch.
Four weeks before Danny appeared on the show, Sophia tragically passed away from congenital heart disease complications. It was the singer’s last chance to audition before aging out of the competition, but the pain of losing his wife was so intense that he didn’t think he could make it through—until Danny’s community encouraged him to try anyway. “In the most diffi cult time of my life, all of a sudden there’s a wide-open door to fulfi ll a dream that God was giving me,” he remembers. Danny thought surely his music career would launch full-throttle now that he’d made it to the American Idol stage. But for the next fi ve years, he would see plummeting sales and the loss of his record deal. After half a decade of struggling to make his mark in the music business, Danny released a song that resonated with the listening public called “My Best Days Are Ahead of Me,” marking his fresh start. “I just kept moving forward, believing God, staying in peace. I think God was resetting the foundation so that I would know, and that people would know that this was Godbuilt.” Now, as Danny tackles new projects like his latest album, Jesus People, he asks God to write through him, to connect with people and speak life-changing truths. He’s tuning his ear to his faith so he can be the creative songwriter and the energetic performer he’s called to be.
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast. Put your phone in Camera mode and hover over this code to hear more of Danny’s story! You can fi nd Danny’s album Jesus People wherever you stream or buy music!
RELATING TO GOD THROUGH The Enneagram
The Enneagram is a growth and assessment tool—or a map, if you will—of the nine diff erent ways that each of us can view the world.
As we study the Enneagram type that captures us best, and while we also seek God in prayer and through scripture, we can learn so much about ourselves and how we can grow closer to God.
We talked with Mark Eaton, a pastor and an accredited Enneagram coach, who guides us through how God might use each of the nine Enneagram personality types in the world.
1TYPE 1 THE REFORMERS Who They Are: Often seen as perfectionists, these Reformers often equate doing things perfectly as being good enough in the eyes of others and of God. How God Uses Them: 1s can create muchneeded structure here on Earth. They can organize people and information so that we can create good things together.
3TYPE 3 THE ACHIEVERS
Who They Are: 3s are often seen as the ones who can get the job done, hoping their accomplishments will bring them affi rmation from other people and from God.
How God Uses Them: As 3s become adaptable and generous, they can motivate and inspire others.
2TYPE 2 THE HELPERS
Who They Are: 2s are driven to be close to others. These Helpers are willing to go the extra mile because they fi nd value in the supportive role they play in the lives of their friends and loved ones.
How God Uses Them: When 2s show compassion to the people around them, they show God’s love and help others recognize the gifts God gave them.
TYPE 4 THE INDIVIDUALISTS 4
Who They Are: 4s are driven to fi nd meaning and bring beauty into a world and restore life in places where beauty is hard to fi nd. How God Uses Them: 4s remind us to look for beauty, meaning, and hope in the big and small places. They also have a unique gift for empathy.
TYPE 5 THE INVESTIGATORS 5
Who They Are: 5s are driven to accumulate knowledge so that they can better understand the world God made.
How God Uses Them: 5s can share the wisdom they’ve gleaned from all their careful observations to help others. They can also show that sometimes they don’t have all the answers—and that’s okay.
6TYPE 6 THE LOYALISTS Who They Are: 6s are some of the most faithful companions you’ll ever have. They work hard to be committed friends and loving spouses. How God Uses Them: When 6s help to build loving communities, they set a wonderful example of how to be a faithful partner and friend.
TYPE 8 THE CHALLENGERS 8
Who They Are: Enneagram 8s are often driven to provide strength and protection on behalf of others. These Challengers aren’t afraid to say what they think or ruffl e some feathers.
How God Uses Them:
As iron sharpens iron, these Challengers give people around them the opportunity to rise up and become better versions of who they are.
Curious about what ENNEAGRAM number you are?
Visit yourenneagramcoach.com to take an assessment! TYPE 7 THE ENTHUSIASTS 7
Who They Are: 7s are full of visions and ideas to make things better and hope their sense of fun and spontaneity will bring freedom to themselves and others.
How God Uses Them: When 7s harness their ability to envision good in the world, their natural sense of enthusiasm and curiosity can embolden others, helping them to have the courage to pursue their dreams.
TYPE 9 THE PEACEMAKERS 9
Who They Are: 9s like to navigate their world harmoniously, living fi rmly in the present. They’re willing to go with the fl ow, seeking to preserve the most peaceful environment possible.
How God Uses Them:
When 9s tap into that resolve to engage with the world, even when confl ict is present, they can use their peacemaking skills to bring people together.
To learn more about the Enneagram, put your phone in Camera mode and hover over this code to watch our video series, “Relating to God Through the Enneagram” at jesuscalling.com!
A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE SPRING THINGS
LET’S CELEBRATE THE NEW SEASON! GRAB A PEN, AND SET A TIMER FOR TEN MINUTES.
WRITE DOWN A UNIQUE WORD FOR EACH LETTER OF EACH CATEGORY UNTIL THE TIMER GOES OFF.
EACH WORD COUNTS AS ONE POINT! You know what’s more fun? Playing with friends! To play with a group, give each player a copy of the grid. Set a timer for ten minutes, and come up with a word for each letter of each category. When time’s up, players take turns reading their lists. Cross out any answers that match another player’s, then tally the words each player got that aren’t crossed out. Each word counts as one point, and the player with the most points wins!
SPRING FLOWER
SPRING BREAK DESTINATION
TYPE OF BIRD
SOMETHING THAT GROWS
JELLY BEAN FLAVOR
BABY ANIMAL
GARDEN PLANT
EASTER EGG COLORS
SOMEWHERE WARM
SPRING ACTIVITY OR SPORT
BEST THING ABOUT SPRING
SOMETHING GREEN
RHYMES WITH SPRING
SOMETHING FRESH
