KIRK COUSINS
Defying Odds, Defining Success
Faith Broussard Cade Rises from the Wreckage
CAREGIVING 101 with Dementia Coach
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Sacrificed for His Freedom
17 Music Spotlight: Sarah Kroger Experiences God’s Presence Through Song
18 Shattered But Not Broken: Faith Broussard Cade Rediscovers Herself Through Recovery
20 Revitalizing Relationships: Christa Hardin Taps into the Enneagram for More Fulfilling Connections
22 Football Mom Sabrina Greenlee Forsakes Bitterness to Embrace Healing
24 Pastor’s Corner: John Andrew Bryant Believes Your Suffering Is Not the Final Word 25 A Dementia Coach’s Personal Caregiving Story
28 Jesus Listens: Stories of Prayer with Bible Teacher Rachel G. Scott 30 Wellness Expert Caroline Fausel’s Tips to Slow Down and Rest This Winter
32 The UPPERROOM’s Michael Freeland Miller on Praying Without Ceasing
34 Turning Negative Thoughts into Nurturing Thoughts with Patsy Clairmont
36 Baker Kendall Vanderslice Meets God in the Kitchen (And Shares Her Comforting Oat Bread Recipe!)
38 Dr. Alan Weissenbacher Merges Biblical Wisdom with Neuroscience
40 Go Sports! Games & Puzzles
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HAS IMPACTED MORE THAN 46 MILLION LIVES.
This deluxe commemorative edition celebrates decades of lives impacted by Jesus Calling and the life of beloved author Sarah Young.
The Jesus Calling Commemorative Edition includes twelve never-before-published bonus devotions, letters from Sarah to start each month, and so much more.
Dear Reader, Happy New Year!
New
beginnings bring to mind a sense of renewal and hope for what is to come. For many, this is a time of making New Year’s resolutions. I haven’t done that for years, but I do find it helpful to jot down a few items in my “Thanks Book” every day. This practice helps me look for and find little treasures that brighten my day—beautiful bird songs, a cardinal in flight, a “coincidence” that highlights God’s involvement in the details of my life. Sometimes I write down more momentous blessings—answered prayers and eternal gifts such as salvation by grace through faith. Taking time to express gratitude to God helps me trust that His plans for me are good—giving me hope about the future.
I pray that you will approach each new day as a precious gift from God— remembering that Jesus is with you always and He loves you immeasurably more than you can imagine!
Bountiful blessings!
Featuring a deep-blue design and deluxe packaging, this special keepsake includes a loving tribute from Sarah’s daughter celebrating her mother’s legacy and even samples of Sarah’s handwritten devotionals.
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Jesus Listens
Tasha Cobbs Leonard’s Unexpected Gospel Breakthrough
by Scott Mason
THE DIVINE SETUP
THERE AREN’T MANY PEOPLE WHO KNOW exactly what they’re going to do when they grow up or what kind of gifts they may possess. But when Tasha Cobbs Leonard was fifteen years old, she knew a few things about herself: that she was going to share the gospel, and that there was power in her voice.
But the artist Billboard called the “top gospel artist of the decade” in 2020 didn’t know initially that power included her singing voice, too.
Tasha spent her childhood in Georgia, watching her father preach every week while her mother, aunts, and cousins honed their beautiful singing voices. When Tasha was about ten years old, her father noticed she could communicate a message powerfully and effectively. “So at a young age, he began to cultivate me to preach and share the gospel of Jesus,” Tasha explains. She also showed her musical chops early, but mostly as the keyboardist at the church. She didn’t think her voice was “front and center” material—she thought she was a background singer.
“
There is power in the name of Jesus to break whatever chains might be binding you.
But music had a hold on her and wouldn’t let go. The budding artist began to write worship songs her church would perform, sometimes leading that worship herself on stage, singing her heart out. It didn’t take too long for a surprising message to get back to her: other churches were inspired by her music, and they began singing her songs, too.
What came next was the furthest thing from her mind.
“An album was nothing I ever thought about,” Tasha remembers. “Let me take this and do an album that was not my thought at all. I call what happened ’a divine setup.’”
And like most setups, this one started with her friends.
One afternoon, Tasha found herself sitting across a lunch table from two of her friends, talking about her music when they stopped Tasha and blurted out, “So when are you going to make an album?”
Tasha was not only surprised by this question but confounded by the mere suggestion. She was happy with simply being a musician in her church. But in that moment, Tasha realized that perhaps she could use her voice to reach others in a way she never would’ve imagined.
Later that evening, Tasha found herself writing a plan to record a live album. “That was about twelve years ago now,” she remembers. And in that season, she was struggling. During the day Tasha ministered and shared God’s love with those around her, but at the end of the day she’d go home and sit in the dark, plagued by depression and feelings of rejection. In those dark moments, she turned to scripture, reading and choosing to believe the verses telling her that God would never leave her nor forsake her, that He’d be near to her broken heart and bind up her wounds.
Through her struggle, Tasha pressed on, determined to keep writing and recording. “ I believe that even in that season, though many days I was discouraged and I didn’t know what I was doing, God was with me every step of the way. Plus, there were people who jumped on board from around the world, and they believed in what God was calling me to do.” Pausing to take in this miracle, Tasha adds, “I’m still honored God would put His grace on my
Young Tasha with her mother
life to do ministry in this manner.”
And that album she recorded? She released it in 2013 and named it Grace, as a nod to the many gifts she had received from God. The album instantly connected with listeners and became a breakout hit, thanks to its chart-topping, platinum-selling single “Break Every Chain.” Not only would Grace garner a GRAMMY and three Dove Awards, in the years that followed Tasha would rack up more than two billion streams across multiple platforms, earning three more #1 singles and five #1 albums.
Today, when Tasha sings “Break Every Chain,” she’s reminded of that season where she couldn’t see the road in front of her, but chose to keep putting one foot in front of the other, knowing God was by her side every step of the way. She echoes the lyrics of the song as she declares, “I really believe there is power in the name of Jesus to break whatever chains might be binding you.”
As Tasha walks onto stages around the world, she is keenly aware that she’s not only a vessel pouring out to others—she has an opportunity to experience God in a new way each time she steps to the mic.
“I just pray that God will use me, and that I would experience Him in a fresh way each time.” And Tasha will gladly tell you, “Every single time, He does.”
for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast
Find Tasha’s book Do It Anyway Devotional at your favorite book retailer.
Adapted
BUILDING DIGNITY, ONE BAG AT A TIME
The Mission of My Bag My Story
by Scott Mason
GROWING UP IN LUBBOCK, TEXAS , Cara Finger always felt special. Cara’s parents, who adopted Cara and her brother, took great care to create an environment that ensured their kids that they had a special place in the family.
As family legacies would have it, Cara and her husband adopted two children after having their “homegrown” daughter, as they call their oldest child. But something inside Cara told her there were ways she could serve more children, so in 2018 the couple decided to become foster parents themselves.
“When we became foster parents, every child who came through our door was carrying their belongings in a grocery sack, a trash bag, or no bag at all,” Cara remembers. “And it kept bothering me.”
Cara began reaching out to other parents in the foster care community and quickly realized they were all experiencing the same thing: no child ever had their belongings in a bag that wasn’t designed to be thrown away. This does not have to be common, she thought to herself.
The nonprofit My Bag My Story was born from this need, and for Cara the mission is personal: to improve the lives of children in foster care, elevating their sense of dignity and self-worth. My Bag My Story accomplishes this by providing high-quality backpacks and duffel bags for children in foster care. “Giving a child something to call their own, something they can store and carry their stuff in so that it doesn’t get mistaken for trash—that makes them feel valued and seen,” Cara says.
And these bags aren’t hand-me-downs that children in foster care receive so often; they’re brand-new bags chosen at the request of recipients, which was intentional for Cara. “When I started My Bag My Story, I had no idea how important it was for children in foster care to have a choice. ’Do you want a backpack or a duffel bag? Do you want a red one or a green one?’ Children in foster care don’t ever get choices. And after they get one of our bags, they say all the time, ’Are you sure I get to keep this?’”
These bags can even deliver a sense of order during a time of upheaval.
“
It’s important to give our lives away somehow.
“Early on, I was wondering if what we were doing was making a difference. A case worker called and said, ’I’ve got to tell you a story.’” Cara was so moved when she heard about a teen girl who met the case worker carrying her belongings stuffed in a trash bag. Understandably, the girl was upset and expressed how “out of control” she felt. It wasn’t until the case worker handed the teen a custom backpack and duffel bag from My Bag My Story that she began to calm down. She spent two hours folding her clothes and organizing her belongings into her new
beautiful bags. Finally the girl looked up and said, “I’m finished. And I’ve got to tell you, I feel so calm. I’m so organized—finally.”
What a gift to give another human being: a sense of dignity and calm.
Cara knows that not everyone is called to be a foster parent, but shares a rich perspective on this idea of how humans can support one another. “It’s important to give our lives away somehow. If you know a foster parent, bring them a cup of coffee, mow their grass, make a meal once a month. There’s something that everyone can do. We are meant to live in community—everybody needs everybody.”
Find out how you can help My Bag My Story at mybagmystory.com.
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast
“I
by Michael Overholt
My football journey is over.
That was Kirk Cousins’ anxiety speaking when he broke his ankle in the fall of 2005 during the first game of his junior year of high school. Sure, he played three sports at Holland Christian High School in Holland, Michigan, but football was his favorite. And this was his junior year, the year when recruiting really happened. Suffering a broken ankle meant seeing his profile go from health to the injured list.
It’s really easy to slough off Cousins’ “my football journey is over” self-talk as teenage immaturity in light of what has happened in Cousins’ NFL career. Currently the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, Cousins’ list of accomplishments is approaching legendary: a four-time Pro Bowler, an NFL completion percentage leader, and winner of the Bart Starr Award who shares two NFL records with Matthew Stafford for most game-winning drives in a single season and most fourth-quarter comebacks in a single season.
But anxiety never feels ridiculous in the moment: no matter your age, no matter the context. Every one of us has felt dread, doom, and disparity. We’ve experienced loss mixed with grief, frustration, and outright rage. It’s a test of our character to endure and eventually overcome the moment.
And all this was true in terms of how Cousins felt. All seemed lost. All seemed wasted. And the last thing that Cousins was thinking in the emergency room after breaking his ankle was, This is the beginning of a storied NFL career.
So, the question most people want to know is: how did Cousins—aka “Captain Kirk”—come through this broken ankle injury to become a star quarterback in football’s premier league?
There are at least two ways to look at this. One is to see how Michigan State University’s then-brandnew coach Mark Dantonio was desperate to find a quarterback after failing to sign his top prospects. He needed someone who could throw the pigskin decently enough and decided to offer a scholarship to the equally desperate Cousins, who had spent the last year of the recruiting calendar attending camps to say, “I’ve got what it takes to play college ball.” At the time, Cousins had two options on the table—Toledo and Western Michigan—which meant that MSU would be a third.
In 2007, the choice was not an easy one. MSU was not the football school it is today. It was, as Cousins describes it in an article he wrote about Dantonio, “a basketball school with a football team,” and Cousins notes that “there was a distinct sense of pessimism surrounding our football program” when he arrived. Nevertheless, Cousins would choose MSU, and it was during Cousins’ and Dantonio’s first four seasons that MSU would, for the first time ever, post a 4-0 record against in-state rival University of Michigan, play in the inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game, and defeat the University of Georgia—a football school with a basketball team—in the 2012 Outback Bowl.
All of this is factual. Every statistic is reproducible. You could say that Dantonio and Cousins simply got lucky.
But there is another way to tell this story.
Kirk warming up for a Vikings vs. Giants game, 2022
Let’s go back to that junior year at Holland Christian High School in the weeks following the broken ankle. The seventeen-year-old Cousins is in bed with his lower leg in a cast. His face wears a glum expression. He’s angry. Perhaps even some tears streak his face. He’s having a conversation with his father Don, who has coached many of his son’s athletic teams.
Here are Cousins’ own words: “I started to kind of have that victim mindset and get angry at God that He would allow it to go that way. And that’s when my dad reminded me of the truth of God’s Word. And he brought up Proverbs 3:5–6, which says, ’Trust the Lord with all your heart. Don’t lean on your understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your steps.’”
Don would challenge his son to use these verses as the foundation for building his expectations about the future. If football didn’t end up being part of young Kirk’s story, he had to trust that whatever would transpire would be infinitely better than playing football. And if football did end up part of his story, then Kirk would learn to see God as so much bigger than a broken ankle, and capable of using
Kirk’s life in ways he never could’ve imagined.
This conversation would prove to be a watershed moment for Cousins. Some dreams, he realized, need to be tested, challenged, and even let go of before they’re able to be resurrected with greater vibrance than he could have ever imagined on his own.
As Cousins describes it, “I really can’t explain my journey apart from God. If I had been a big recruit and if I’d have stayed healthy in high school, I’d be able to point and explain on my own efforts why I made it to the next point in the journey. Whereas with the broken ankle, I can truly look back and say, ’No, God was involved, because in my own understanding, I couldn’t have made it.’”
Now, after thirteen seasons in the NFL, Kirk’s journey continues to evolve. He and his wife started the Julie and Kirk Cousins Foundation years ago, supporting the ministries of several organizations including Compassionate Heart Ministries and International Justice Mission. Kirk also embraces the joys of being a dad, spending as much time as he can with his sons Cooper (7) and Turner (5). “It’s an absolute privilege to be a dad,” Kirk says. “One of my biggest prayers is that my boys would grow
Kirk and Julie with their sons
into the men God wants them to be, and that they would remain close to each other. I’m so excited to help guide them on that journey. But I certainly need God’s grace to be able to do that well.”
For Cousins, it’s just another day of leaning into his dreams, accepting that there will be challenges along the way, and trusting God through it all. “I think it is a daily walk,” he reflects. “Your prayers become a very powerful thing over time. And certainly the Jesus Calling book is a great resource as a devotional and as a quiet time, whether it’s early in the morning or late at night. So many times the message of that day can apply to what you’re dealing with.”
When Cousins talks about the lasting impact of Proverbs 3:5–6, he turns to the language of construction. To build a truly great house, you have to have a solid foundation. It’s how he built a successful football career in high school, and it’s how he’s continuing to build an NFL career, raise a family, and give back generously to his community.
And it’s laying the foundation for a truly great life.
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast.
Gathering on the Field, Gathering to Pray
“Every week during football season, we as players on the team began Thursday workdays with a little prayer gathering. We pray about our day of work, we pray about our season, about our organization, our team, our locker room. We also pray about our families and really give it over to the Lord, and then allow Him to work. That’s a tangible way that we, as a team, see the benefits of prayer.”
—KIRK COUSINS, with the MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Kirk reading to his sons
LETTING GO TO LET LOVE IN
A Hospital Chaplain's Guide to Grieving Well
by Cynthia Stuckey
TO J.S. PARK, GRIEF IS NOT ABOUT LETTING GO , but letting in. That’s why he chooses to spend his days among the suffering. A hospital chaplain for nearly a decade, J.S. provides grief support, crisis assistance, and end of life care at a large Level I trauma center.
Despite growing up an atheist, in college J.S. was enveloped in the love of a small Korean American church. “They asked me, ‘Can you play drums for our praise team?’ I asked them, ‘Is it a problem that I’m an atheist?’ And they said, ‘No.’ I started to play drums for them, and everyone was so supernaturally loving that at some point I began to extrapolate backwards and say, ‘This love doesn’t make sense. It’s superhuman. I want to know how they love so well.’”
After going to seminary to become a pastor, J.S. found that though he struggled with administrative parts of a pastor’s role, he found he had a useful gift. “When somebody was in the hospital, or I got the 3:00 a.m. call from a college student, at that moment something in my body activated, and I was able to step up and step into that.” As J.S. pivoted from pastor to chaplain, the intersection of mental health and faith proved to be exactly where he was meant to be.
“
Being a loving presence through grief makes the unbearable a little bit more bearable.
As a chaplain who attends to every trauma situation within the hospital, J.S. can bridge the gap between the “sacred and the system,” and what he has found to be the most vital component is not an effort to alleviate the person’s suffering. “What I try to remember in these rooms is that being present for that person doesn’t fix them. It can’t fix their issue. It can’t cure, can’t solve, or resolve anything. But being a loving presence through grief makes the unbearable a little bit more bearable.”
For Park, knowing the variable ways that humans grieve and the often twisty timeline of grief has helped him be a more compassionate chaplain. J.S. remarks on the common misperception that grief should be a linear path, with an easy-to-define end date to find happiness again and move forward. “When we lose someone, it’s devastating. The story of that loss stays in our body, and it is hard to embrace it and to speak about it and to process it, and to catalyze it in our bodies. But it’s also much harder not to.”
J.S. also gives helpful insight into loving the ones in our lives who are grieving and truly attuning ourselves to their needs. “We can look internally and say, I don’t need a response from them. I don’t need this to go well. I just want to be available and to offer them things. If they say no or if they
reject me, that’s okay. If I don’t get it right this time, that’s okay. I just want to, as best as I can, attune my satellite toward their needs and just keep trying.”
Without a doubt, what makes J.S. Park ”the chaplain of quiet comfort” is his ability to know the gift of presence and to share that generous presence with both the grieving and the grateful alike. ”I don’t want a faith that I need to hold up, but a faith that holds me—not one where I feel like I need to prove that it’s right, but instead one that is going to be able to wrap around my questions and continue to hold me. I believe in a Christ who holds us through all of it.”
You can find J.S. Park’s book As Long as You Need at you favorite retailer.
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast
FROM HORROR TO HOPE: JOCHEN WURFL’S HOLOCAUST SURVIVAL STORY
by Abigail Stephens
IN HIS NINE DECADES, Jochen Wurfl has seen more than his fair share of suffering. A Holocaust survivor, Jochen was only a young boy when he was forced away from his home, away from his parents, away from the life he knew, and into the horrors led by Adolf Hitler.
Jochen and his brother Peter were born to a Catholic father and a Jewish mother. The family was forced to leave Austria during the Anschluss in 1938, fleeing to Berlin to live with Jochen’s grandparents, but they weren’t safe there, either. “Every day, our neighbors or our friends were gone—put on a train and sent east,” Jochen remembers.
Jochen’s parents knew they had to do something to protect their sons. They baptized the boys in the Catholic church and put them in the Hitler Youth, the
youth organization of the Nazi Party, with many of the nation’s children. Then, they sent the boys to a summer camp on the North Sea run by a sympathetic German woman, Irma Franzen-Heinrichsdorff— “Tante Irma,” as Jochen fondly remembers her. Countless times, the Gestapo would stop by the camp, and when Jochen and Peter’s heritage was called into question, Irma would claim she’d adopted the two young boys. They lived with her for twelve years, struggling to keep their real identities a secret while enduring bombing raids, police surveillance, and food shortages.
Meanwhile, back at home, Jochen’s parents struggled to survive in a toxic new world order. Before the war, Jochen’s father had worked for the president of Austria, so he was sent to the
Sachsenhausen concentration camp, about twenty miles north of Berlin, as a political prisoner. He was young and strong, so he was ordered to work every day building airplanes. As punishment for trying to escape the camp, the guards made Jochen’s father and other prisoners wear wrong-sized boots, burdened them with heavy packs of rocks, and forced them to walk all day in a circle. Usually after a week of this suffering, the prisoners would perish. The reason for this torture? To find out what kind of leather worked best to manufacture military boots.
Eventually, Jochen’s mother fled to Prague and lived in hiding until Hitler took over Czechoslovakia. She then went back to Berlin, where she had the boys temporarily leave the summer camp to be near her.
One day, Jochen’s mother tasked her sons with
delivering an envelope. She gave them specific instructions that once they reached their destination, an SS man with a code name would be waiting for them. The boys did as their mother told them, and they exchanged envelopes with the guard, which the boys eventually discovered was illegal correspondence between their parents. When they returned from their errand, there were Gestapo vehicles outside their building, so the boys decided to wait on the corner until they left. “All of a sudden, there came the Gestapo with my mother,” Jochen
FROM TOP LEFT: Hitler Youth Badges; Jochen with Tanta Irma, Day of Citizenship Frankfurt; Normandy Color Guard; Jochen's Wedding Day. NEXT PAGE: Jochen with his grandchildren
recalls with sadness. “They put her in one of their cars and drove off.”
After tracking their mother for three days, Jochen and Peter found the prison where she was being held, and snuck past the guards to find her. Jochen remembers the last words his mother would ever say to him: “Boys, be good at school. Learn as much as you can. I know you love me, and I love you.” She implored them to make a hasty departure, as she didn’t want her boys to be taken to prison as well. Very soon after that visit, they got the news that their mother had been killed in the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Jochen’s father was transferred to Mauthausen concentration camp, where he was kept for a year until American soldiers freed him. Weighing a mere eighty-five pounds, Jochen’s father was weak and sick, and he only lived a short while after liberation. “Eventually, our entire family was killed in the concentration camps, or somewhere by the Nazis. My brother and I were the only two people who survived,” Jochen shares emotionally.
After the war ended, the US Committee for the Care of European Children brought the boys to live in America. Jochen was seventeen years old, and defines his arrival in New York as the happiest day of his life, knowing he was in a free country. After a stint in the US Army, Jochen seized every opportunity to soak up that freedom. He became a skier, a pilot, a deep-sea fisherman, a racehorse owner, and a world traveler. He married a former Miss El Salvador and together they had three daughters. Jochen even started his own business, which grew to be one of the top 200 insurance agencies in the country.
Throughout his life, Jochen’s honored the
Holocaust Remembrance Day
On January 27th, we commemorate the victims of Nazi persecution that took the lives of six million Jewish people. We honor them by keeping their stories and memories alive.
sacrifices of his mother, father, and Tante Irma who kept him safe and alive, and allowed him the opportunity to live in freedom. Today, Jochen enjoys spending time with his grandchildren, and sums up his life now in just a few words: “I was so blessed in this country and by my life as a whole. I feel I had a very good life.”
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast
You can find Jochen’s book, My Two Lives, at your favorite retailer.
FROM SILENCE TO SONG
Sarah Kroger Finds Her Voice Through Worship
by John Furr
SINGER/SONGWRITER
SARAH KROGER
was born into a musical family. Hailing originally from Florida, Sarah’s childhood was steeped in melodies, from Disney tunes to Christian hymns. Her parents, who were involved in music ministry, surrounded her with music that sparked a passion from an early age. “There was music playing in our house all the time, literally nonstop,” she recalls.
However, Sarah’s childhood wasn’t the picture of perfection. After her parents divorced when she was ten, her life changed dramatically. Moving to a new city, she found herself grappling with loneliness and bullying, withdrawing into her own world. Although music was her solace, it became something she guarded closely. “I knew that it was a special thing to me. I just kind of locked away this gift,” she says, sharing how she refused to sing in front of others for years.
It was at a youth conference where Sarah experienced contemporary worship music for the first time that her perspective shifted. At that moment,
she realized, “Jesus was a real person, and He wanted access to my life.” This awakening reignited her desire to share her voice with the world, and she began leading worship at her local church. “I felt like God was lovingly tapping me on the shoulder and just saying, ‘Sarah, I gave you this gift not just for yourself. I gave you this for My kingdom.’”
Through her music ministry, Sarah has witnessed the power of worship across the globe. In a time when many are disillusioned with the church, she finds encouragement in seeing this body of believers coming together every week. “It’s such a gift to see the gospel still at work in the world,” she reflects.
Sarah realizes that things don’t always turn out as we would like, even when we pray diligently. She truly believes that “God’s silence does not equal His absence.” In her recent song “No Filter,” she bravely addresses doubts and questions, yet discovers that God’s love endures through it all. For Sarah, music is both a sanctuary and a gift to the world, a reminder of God’s presence even in the silence.
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast
Check out Sarah’s music, including her latest album A New Reality, on your favorite listening platform.
Shine Bright Anyway
Faith Broussard Cade Finds a Lifeline Through Healing Words
by John Furr
ON THE MORNING OF January 9th, 2018, Faith Broussard Cade was on her way to work in Johns Creek, a suburb of Atlanta, when a tractor-trailer collided into her car at full speed while she was stopped at a red light.
“I didn’t hit my head on anything, I wasn’t bleeding," she recalls. But the collision jolted her body so severely that her brain was shaken inside her skull, which resulted in a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and a diagnosis of post-concussive syndrome.
Soon headaches escalated into severe migraines, accompanied by vertigo, balance issues, and overwhelming sensitivity to light and sound.
Faith suddenly found herself in a state of constant pain and overstimulation that disrupted her ability to function in her everyday life. Even simple tasks like shopping became insurmountable challenges, thanks to the sensory overload of fluorescent lights, background music, and multiple conversations. “There were several times I would abandon my entire cart and just bolt out the door,” she remembers.
A Louisiana native now living in Atlanta with her husband and two children, Faith’s career began as a school counselor, and it seemed her life’s path was securely set. However, the accident drastically shifted her course, leaving her frustrated and questioning “what next?”
“
When God places a gift inside of you, He will also provide you with the right opportunities to share it.
Despite her efforts to continue working, Faith’s condition worsened. Forced to choose between returning to work without medical clearance, resigning, or being terminated, Faith made the difficult decision to leave her job as a school counselor. “It was devastating,” she admits, acknowledging that losing her job also meant losing
the family’s financial stability. The household now had to survive on a single income, which meant that self-care in its typical forms—luxury spa days or vacations—was out of the question.
This painful period, however, became the catalyst for an internal shift. With her neurologist warning that her brain needed time and rest to heal, Faith found herself at a crossroads: continue living with the facade of being “superwoman,” or letting go of those societal pressures to prioritize her own healing. “I was doing a subpar job, at best, in caring for myself in that way,” Faith admits, referring to her role as a
You don’t have to have something on your calendar to be unavailable. Rest is a perfectly good reason. No explanation necessary.
Today, Faith continues to use her platform to advocate for mental health, encouraging others to embrace their own healing journeys. Her story is one of surviving trauma, but more than that, it’s about reclaiming life with intention, faith, and resilience. “When God places a gift inside of you, He will also provide you with the right opportunities to share it with the world.” It’s a sentiment that encapsulates Faith’s journey and the message she offers to all those who follow her: healing begins with Him, then stretches out to meet others.
For the way you show up everyday, for the way you persevere, and for the way you take a break instead of giving up—you are an incredible person, and I just thought you should know.
counselor giving mental health advice to others while neglecting herself.
It was at this juncture that Faith turned back to something she had always loved—writing. She embarked on what began as a personal fifteen-day self-love challenge. Each day, she would write a positive affirmation on a small Post-it note and upload them on Instagram for accountability. What started as a tool for her personal recovery soon blossomed into a movement that now spans seven years.
The impact of Faith’s notes has been profound, not only for herself but for countless others. She recalls one follower reaching out, sharing how the affirmations helped her recognize and break free from an abusive relationship. Another follower had decided to take her own life but was moved to seek help after reading one of Faith’s posts. “Your note was the first thing that popped up,” the woman wrote, expressing gratitude for the lifeline that Faith’s words had provided.
Spending time with God is therapeutic. Begin your day with Jesus Calling and a gratitude journal, and your day will inevitably feel different from the start.
Faith s Affirmations
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast Check out Faith’s new book Shine Bright Anyway at your favorite retailer.
STRENGTHENING OUR SPIRITUAL BONDS TOGETHE R
Enneagram Coach Christa Hardin Helps Couples Rejuvenate Their Connection
by Laura Neutzling
IN RECENT YEARS, MANY COUPLES have sought deeper connections through the insights offered by the Enneagram, an ancient personality typing system. Christa Hardin, a relationship coach and Enneagram expert, has facilitated meaningful transformations by integrating this tool with spiritual faith. According to Christa, “The Enneagram helps couples understand each other’s intrinsic needs and motivations, allowing for more authentic and compassionate relationships.” Couples are encouraged to embrace the journey inward, exploring both light and shadow aspects of their personalities in a faith-based context.
This method also stresses the importance of fostering a strong individual relationship with God, which Christa believes is essential for a resilient partnership. “Thinking of marriage as a ‘three-strand cord’ highlights the role of divine support alongside personal and relational growth,” she explains. Through practices like journaling and prayer, couples are invited to engage in grace-filled conversations about their shared goals and life aspirations. Christa’s unique approach offers a pathway to navigating life’s complexities with love and understanding, bolstered by a foundation of faith.
“
The Enneagram creates a safe space to express your truths.
Christa emphasizes that the Enneagram is not merely a tool for self-discovery but a catalyst for spiritual growth within relationships. She points out, “When couples begin to see the Enneagram as a map to their soul’s journey, that’s when true transformation begins.” This perspective encourages partners to approach each other with empathy and openness, fostering a robust environment where vulnerability is celebrated rather than feared.
Moreover, Christa highlights the role of honest communication in fostering a faith-based relationship. “It’s about creating a safe space for each partner to express their truths,” she says, “knowing that their faith will provide the grace and strength to hold those truths.” By engaging in regular dialogues that focus on understanding and grace, couples often experience a rejuvenation of their connection.
Christa also advises that while the journey to understanding one’s Enneagram type can be enlightening, it is the application of this knowledge through the lens of faith that brings lasting change. “Recognizing and embracing one’s type is just the beginning,” she insists. “The real growth happens when couples apply these insights to nurture their spiritual bond.” Through this holistic approach, individuals within a relationship can pursue personal growth without fear or resistance, knowing that they are supported by both their partner and their faith. By encouraging couples to nurture their spiritual foundations, Christa ensures that the love they share is resilient and deeply rooted in mutual understanding and divine support.
Jesus Calling and the Enneagram
As we study the Enneagram type that captures us best, we can simultaneously see God in prayer, through scripture, and through daily devotions. There’s a special series of videos on the Jesus Calling YouTube channel that highlights each Enneagram type and uses scripture and thoughts from Jesus Calling to help us know ourselves, how we interact with others, and how we can grow closer to God.
/JesusCallingbook • Search: enneagram
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast.
Christa’s book, The Enneagram in Marriage: Your Guide to Thriving Together in Your Unique Pairing, is available at your favorite retailer.
FINDING GOD’S GLORY IN YOUR STORY
An NFL Mom’s Path to Redemption
by Cynthia Stuckey
FROM THE EARLIEST DAYS of her upbringing in Central, South Carolina, Sabrina Greenlee, mother of NFL wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, has faced many trials, including navigating the world through blindness. Yet, by the grace of God and an unwavering trust in His plan, Sabrina has transformed her struggles into strengths.
In 2002, a problematic relationship led to a brutal attack on Sabrina’s life—a noxious concoction of boiling bleach and liquid Drano was poured on her by a romantic rival. The young mother landed in the hospital and battled a month-long coma, extensive skin grafts, and total blindness. It was an excruciating season. “I was suicidal. I reeked of depression and bitterness,” she remembers. The days that followed were filled with despair
until one day a thought hit her: she was the sole provider for four young children, who desperately needed her. “I began to start repairing my life. What that would look like, I had no idea. But I made up my mind that what happened to me, I didn’t want my kids to use as an excuse for not succeeding in life.”
Though Sabrina wrestled with bitterness for a long time, she eventually laid her burdens down and gave her life fully to God, declaring, “I surrender. I trust You wholeheartedly. I truly believe that You gave Your only begotten Son for me.” That act of surrender marked the turning point when Sabrina began to experience healing and a new outlook.
“
Give God your life. In the end, He’ll give you the glory for your story.
“I began to do little things to repair my family and get them back together. I began to call family meetings. I began to apologize and tell them, ‘I’m sorry,’ because as a parent, sometimes we forget these children are little human beings who need to be apologized to. Our family began a healing process, and eventually I began going to their activities. I started getting out of bed and cooking. And they began to see me differently—not as the weak mother who allowed men to come in and out, who put other people before our family, but the mother who was determined to take her power back and be present every day.”
Little by little, the family grew stronger, and Sabrina’s children kept pushing as they watched their mom keep pushing herself. In 2013, Sabrina’s son DeAndre was drafted as a first-round pick by the Houston Texans, and today plays for the Kansas City Chiefs. Sabrina describes her hard working son as “one determined kid with a great work ethic.” She cheers him on each week from the end zone, her favorite place to sit, waiting to greet her son at halftime and give him some encouragement.
“Once I found the presence of God and He met me where I was, everything turned around. If I can do that—a little girl from Central, South Carolina—then I feel like everyone has the chance to redeem themselves. But you first have to surrender and give God your life. In the end, He’ll give you the glory for your story.”
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast
can find
You
Sabrina’s book Grant Me Vision at your favorite book retailer.
Sabrina and DeAndre during a Texans game
Sabrina and her family
Jesus Understands Our Scars
Facing the Pain of OCD and Anxiety
by John Andrew Bryant Chaplain in Beaver Falls, PA
I tell people the best picture I have of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is to imagine you’re in your car and the siren is going off, but you know everything’s fine. There’s nothing wrong, but the siren won’t stop.
I think there’s a resilience we have in our mid-twenties, where maybe we know we’ve got a little something going on in our brain, but the ways of dealing with it seem manageable. I would say up until my late twenties, I just thought I was anxious. I didn’t really learn I had OCD until I had my breakdown. My career was ramping up, and I had a lot of pressure in terms of church work. I was also getting to the place where I was afraid to leave the house. You really don’t know how powerfully your
brain can crush you until it does, until it makes it so that you cannot move.
At that point, my usual thing I had relied on my whole life, which is my ability to think my way through things, was gone. So I checked myself into a mental health facility. The psychologist at the facility told me, “You have OCD, and you need to get on some meds.”
Your mental illness is not the final word.
Even as much as I loved knowing I had an actual diagnosis, it still wasn’t everything that was wrong with me. Having a condition like this deeply affects both your mind and body. But here’s the thing: Jesus cares about both of them. And you
have to love your mind and your body back to health.
“Getting out of your head and back into your life” is one phrase people talk about with OCD. And I know I needed Jesus to make that pilgrimage out of my head and back into my life. After I was diagnosed, it took me three years to feel like I could function in my normal job and have a normal life, and it took me five years to really feel myself again.
When Jesus shows His hands to the disciples, He’s showing them that He is still carrying the scars of the worst that can happen to a person. He kept the scars, I think, as if to say, “Your suffering is not the final word. Your mental illness is not the final word.” In fact, the pierced hands by which He took responsibility are now the final word. That just sounds like good news to me.
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast
With Love Determination
AND Dementia Coach Diane’s Perspective on Self-Care for Caregivers
by Abigail Stephens
WHEN DIANE CHEW’S HUSBAND Ben began dealing with agitation, paranoia, hallucinations, mobility limitations, short-term memory loss, and claustrophobia, the couple had no idea the mountain they were facing. Diane was constantly living in a state of crisis and emergency as she tried to get Ben an accurate diagnosis. Eventually they got one: Lewy Body Dementia.
While Diane transitioned into her new role as Ben’s full-time caretaker, she was grieving the loss of the life she thought they’d have together. Ben could no longer be left alone, so Diane became responsible for all of the tasks that make up daily life. And because his language skills were practically nonexistent, simply figuring out what he needed was hard. Diane started to pray for a shift in perspective and realized that she hadn’t lost her life with Ben—it just looked different than she imagined. And their fifty-plus years together means that most days, the pair doesn’t even need words to communicate.
Instead of lamenting what could have been, Diane’s chosen to see the good that fills their days. “We go for drives in the mornings, sometimes again
in the afternoon,” she says. “We have these sweet and lovely car rides together, and I’m just grateful for a car that works.”
But as for anyone in this position, there are days it gets hard to count the blessings, and Diane hit that point about a year ago. She felt like she was “bleeding money” for Ben’s medical care, trying to balance his physical health with her emotional and spiritual well-being. “I was crying out to God one day, and I got a clear question back: ‘Diane, am I a God of expansion?’” She knew the answer was yes, and realized that God had placed the internet at her fingertips as a place to process and connect to something bigger than her own thoughts and feelings.
Diane began posting about their story, and to her surprise, an entire community formed, which has been a gift she can turn to and be reminded she isn’t alone. “I’m in awe of God’s power and might. There’s no way I could have formed this community from my own strength.”
As Diane became more immersed in the role of a full-time caregiver, she knew she had to find a way to stop living in fight-or-flight mode, and consider
what actual self-care might look like for her life. Gone were the days where she could go to a spa, or take a vacation, or even just a long walk in the name of taking care of herself. She’s come to accept that there is no such thing as balance in this phase of life, so she’s decided to find a blend, dubbing these pockets of time “oxygen-mask moments.” These moments usually begin when she wakes up before Ben, so she can do diaphragmatic breathing to start the day in a peaceful manner. In the five-to-ten-minute bursts she uses to get herself through the day, Diane utilizes affirmations, acupressure points, singing in the shower, dancing, and journaling to bring herself peace. When the stress compounds and is too much to bear, Diane takes a bowl of ice cubes out to smash on the driveway: “It’s actually highly satisfying to take something and just smash it, just feel the energy flowing out of your body.”
“
There are ways we can take care of ourselves, even as we’re taking care of somebody else.
Diane also engages in devotions to help her become stronger than her circumstances―particularly Jesus Listens, which Ben picked out for her in the bookstore just before his symptoms started to progress. She says, “I have been given this role and this opportunity to find out just how enough I am as God’s child, and how enough Ben is. It’s worth it to take care of myself for my sake and for his.” Diane’s goal is to help caretakers live a life parallel to their dependents, instead of feeling like they’re giving up life altogether—because that’s not what their loved ones would want.
Ben’s disease is degenerative, so the Chews have a long road ahead of them. But as Diane shares, “There are ways we can take care of ourselves, even as we’re taking care of somebody else. It does take intention. It takes willingness. It takes stubbornness to not go down with the ship.”
Amid the challenging and often exhausting moments of their lives, Diane reflects on one of the beautiful things that’s come from Ben’s illness: the
continual reminder to live in the present moment, because that’s where he is. And even though sadness will sometimes jump up and grab her, or memories of the past will come flooding back, Diane’s learned to just experience moments with Ben in the here and now, “because honestly, that’s all we have.”
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast.
Taking a Leap Trusting God Through Uncertainty
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME God called you to do something that felt . . . scary?
Whew! That’s not the most fun question to ask yourself, is it? I’ve been there a time or two, and I bet you have too. Because it doesn’t matter who you are, whether you’re a student, a stay-at-home parent, an executive, or enjoying retirement—when you feel God nudging you to leave what you know and try a new path, that can feel scary. What if I make a mess of things? What if I get lost?
I get it. And so does my new friend, Bible teacher and author Rachel G. Scott. If you find yourself wrestling with doubt and questions around taking a leap to something new, Rachel has some advice for you:
There’s more than one way to make the leap. So often we’re tempted to think that to follow God’s call, we have to throw away our lives and start over. But Rachel’s found that the Bible is full of stories of people who followed the nudge differently: the fisherman, the tentmaker, the builder, the shepherd, and the trailblazer.
We’re meant to keep leaping, no matter how old we are. “I believe that we are called to take these leaps consistently,” Rachel declares. “When we’re children, we’re so accustomed to leaping. We switch grades, we meet new people, we go to new places. It doesn’t bother us. But when we become adults, all of a sudden we’re like, Okay, that’s it. I get to settle. But I’ve been teaching my children that we’re always on a new adventure with Jesus, no matter how old we are.”
God can do more with your willingness than He could ever do with your worthiness. “Sometimes we feel we’re not qualified to take a certain leap. But all God really needs is a willing heart. Throughout the Bible, He did so much with someone who was simply willing to do what He asked.”
As we flip the calendar and leap into this new year, I’m taking Rachel’s advice to heart—or maybe, more accurately, to my feet. I can’t wait to see where I land.
RACHEL G. SCOTT
Susie McEntire -Eaton HOST OF THE JESUS LISTENS: STORIES OF PRAYER YOUTUBE SERIES
Rachel G. Scott
Watch Susie and Rachel’s full conversation on YouTube!
You can find Rachel’s book Taking the 5 Leaps at your favorite book retailer.
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BeBe Winans
Nicholas Sparks
Savannah Guthrie
Patsy Clairmont
Embracing Rest
A Conversation with Wellness Expert Caroline Fausel on Health and Spiritual Wellness
Caroline Fausel is a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, and the owner of Olive You Whole, a health and wellness website designed to help people live with vitality and purpose. Caroline sat down with the Jesus Calling Magazine to talk about the importance of resting, and how vital it is to our well-being.
Q: You’ve spent the last decade researching what it takes to live a healthy and fulfilled life. Tell us about that research process, and some of the things that surprised you along the way.
A: Since my childhood, I’ve been living with digestive and health issues that have, at times, left me feeling out of control. Since then, I’ve been on a path to find out how to live a healthy and intentional life. The more I researched and asked questions, the more our family changed our lifestyle in response to what we found. There were so many areas of our lives we would’ve considered to be “normal” and “what everyone else is doing,” but actually they weren’t super healthy, and there was so much room for improvement. In reality our bodies, our minds, and our spirits want to be well. Sometimes it just takes some digging and a few tweaks to get there.
Q: What are some of your tried-and-true spiritual practices that help you grow deeper in your relationship with God?
A: The spiritual formation practices that have made the most massive impact on my life are silence, solitude, and the Sabbath. As a chatty Enneagram 7, these practices do not come naturally to me, but I also think that’s why they’re the most crucial.
Typically, the spiritual practices you need the most are what are called “upstream practices.” They may seem hard for you. Hosting and community are my bread and butter, and they come very naturally to me. But for someone who’s very introverted, practicing silence and solitude might be easy to them, but forming a strong community might feel harder. I have found it’s good for me to practice both my “downstream,” or more natural, spiritual practices along with my “upstream” practices. When we create space in our schedules to rest and just be with God, I find that’s when I can hear His voice most clearly.
Q: Despite how frenetic we often tend to make the holidays, winter symbolizes a time for rest and renewal. How are you utilizing this season to cater to your emotional, spiritual, and physical rest?
A: I love considering how our ancestors lived in harmony with the land and its natural cycles and seasons. These connections were not just agricultural, but held cultural and spiritual significance as well. The cold, snowy weather where I live in Denver helps me slow down. Winter can be a great time for family nights, paired with a steaming cup of hot cocoa. It’s also a time of preparation for the spring, a season of rebirth, renewal, and growth.
In our fast-paced society, I encourage everyone to see what practices they can incorporate into their lives to slow down and rest. Maybe that looks like a longer prayer time, less commitments, or incorporating a Sabbath into the week. Whatever you choose, I know you’ll feel refreshed, renewed, and ready when the busy season of spring comes!
Easy Steps for a Healthier Life
1. Household cleaning products and personal care items can be toxic. As you use up what you’ve already purchased, consider swapping to a cleaner alternative when it’s time to refill.
2. Sleep makes a huge impact on how you feel throughout the day. Set a sleep schedule and practice healthy sleep hygiene so you can feel your best.
3. We feel most alive when our relationships are healthy at home, and when we are deeply rooted in a Christ-centered community. Focus on little steps you can take to improve all the relationships in your life, and see the difference it makes!
Caroline’s latest book, A Simply Healthy Life, is available January 7th at your favorite retailer.
C O N N E C T I N G PEOPLE TO GOD
T H R O U G H
P E R S I S T E N T
P R A Y E R
by Michael Overholt
MENTION “PENTECOST” AT A CHURCH service, and many will think of “tongues of fire” and “violent rushing wind.” They might remember Peter’s moving sermon that caused more than 2,000 to be baptized that day. Pentecost was the nexus between the physical ministry of Jesus and the beginning of the Christian movement.
And whatever emotions may have been swirling on the day of Pentecost, Jesus’ followers likely felt a mixture of uncertainty for the future, perhaps of expectation, and of something more—hope.
To foster that hope, in Acts 1:14 we read that these followers “joined together constantly in prayer.”
In 2010, Michael Freeland Miller could—to an extent—empathize with what Jesus’ followers were experiencing between His ascension and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Michael had grown up in church, attended at least three times a week, and had served as a youth pastor for years. But in 2010 he began to feel a different swirl of emotions.
“I was at a crossroads in my life,” he relates, “trying to figure out what the Lord had next for my wife and me. I was interviewing at churches, and I had a heart for prayer. I thought this would be a great opportunity to pray for our city.”
He gathered with others in a small prayer meeting in the urban downtown area of Dallas, Texas, sensing that something had passed within him—a chapter had ended, and a new one was about to begin. It was a mixture of uncertainty and hope.
“There was a local coffee shop where we would go often,” explains Michael, “and we just started running into believers who had a similar passion and heart for prayer. That meeting grew from six people to a dozen, and we decided to press through the summer and keep praying.”
What they didn’t know in April of 2010 was that God was growing a movement of prayer and worship that would have global reach. “Jesus said His house will be a house of prayer,” Michael reminds us, “and I think prayer is a means to God’s presence, His spirit.” Which is why the Millers started a community of prayer called UPPERROOM.
“Our prayer room is open from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM, and it probably has two to three people who serve in it: a lot of musicians, worship leaders, and
prayer leaders,” he explains. “And the main phrase describing the UPPERROOM then and now is ‘God’s here. I encounter God when I go to that place.’ And to me, it’s probably the neatest and coolest testimony.”
“
Prayer is a means to God’s presence, His spirit.
Another way Michael has seen a connection to God is through engaging with devotions. “I think resources like Jesus Calling are so needed. My wife loves Jesus Calling. She has been so blessed by the simplicity and accessibility to the Lord she finds in the book. Also, I spend a considerable amount of prayer time in thanksgiving—it does something to my heart. I pray prayers of thanksgiving until I actually start to believe them.”
Perhaps this is why prayer is so powerful. If we are persistent, we can recognize that we’re standing on the threshold of profound potential for something amazing to happen. Even if, initially, we can’t see it.
An uncertain space is a place where faith can thrive, where new beginnings can take shape—if we’re willing to stand in that uncertainty in prayer.
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast.
Check out Michael’s book His House, His Presence at your favorite retailer.
From Isolation to Inspiration
Patsy Clairmont’s Defiance Against Despair
by Laura Neutzling
IT’S ALWAYS A SURPRISE when people learn that Patsy Clairmont, the bubbly speaker and author who graced hundreds of stages at Women of Faith conferences across the country, had a time in her life when anxiety shadowed her every move.
Married at a young age, Patsy gave birth to her first son and, in the throes of postpartum, found herself disintegrating emotionally. “I began to become unhinged, because I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to be different or to be well. And so I withdrew from society, thinking that if I could manage myself at home, then maybe I could grow
into managing myself in society.”
However, the struggle continued. More and more of her days were consumed by depression, leading her to isolate herself and even plead with God for a nonfatal illness, just to justify her hiding. Taking to her bed, Patsy began begging God to tell her what to do. As she looked at the room around her, she felt a thought tug at her attention: “Make your bed.”
It wasn’t exactly the message she was looking for, but she did it. And that small, simple act became a part of each day. “When I began to appropriate that direction I felt came from God,” Patsy recalls, “it led
to this act of defiance against despair. And I realized that even when I didn’t feel courageous enough to do anything, it gave me that much-needed first step, which started my journey toward healing and purpose.”
As Patsy leaned into these nudges, she discovered the power of words and wisdom shared by God-sent friends who introduced her to scripture. “I needed to learn how to refuse unloving, unkind, ungracious thoughts, replacing them with things that were healthy and true.” She gradually began to substitute negative self-dialogue with nurturing thoughts and felt her confidence grow. Before long Patsy was running a small bookstore from her home, directing others to books that could help them navigate their own challenges. This provided not only a personal sense of dignity, but also confirmed her intrinsic worth and ability to impact others.
“
When tragedy strikes, it’s our spirit that sustains us.
Her natural humor and newfound passion for storytelling earned her a place as a book reviewer at a retreat, and she eventually expanded to speaking engagements across churches and conferences. Patsy’s success grew, eventually becoming one of the founding voices of the hugely popular Women of Faith conferences that began in the mid-nineties.
Alongside conference pioneers like Barbara Johnson and Luci Swindoll, Patsy took to the stage in giant arenas all across the US, where she spoke to thousands of women and offered inspiration drawn from her personal battles and victories. “People began telling me what helped them, and that was how I began to understand how my story could apply to someone else’s pain and help them with their own recovery.”
Reflecting on her prolific career, Patsy says, “Who He chooses, He uses,” which vividly portrays how her response to God’s prompting at her lowest point led to a career and life path she never thought possible. “When tragedy strikes, it’s our spirit that sustains us,” she adds, emphasizing how her personal trials and losses became a testament to overcoming obstacles and discovering God’s faithful love.
Through each phase of life, Patsy has sought to appreciate the divine echoes that show her God’s presence in her life is real. “God’s creation speaks volumes if we take the time to listen. I think if I had not been such a needy soul, I wouldn’t have sought to hear Him. When people say to me, ‘I haven’t heard from God in so long,’ I say, ‘Have you seen a sunrise? Have you celebrated a sunset that lit up the sky like the colors of sherbet? If you’ve done that, you’ve heard from God, because He speaks to us every day’. The heavens are declaring Him, and they’re telling us who He is.”
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast.
Check out Patsy’s book You Are More Than You Know at your favorite retailer.
BAKE & PRAY
Kendall Vanderslice Finds Peace in Making Bread
Kendall Vanderslice has been baking bread for over a decade, and is continuously surprised at the spiritual lessons she’s been shown through the practice. Here, she shares some of the peace she’s found in the process of making bread.
“It is such a joy to share what I have learned through the process of baking so that others can meet God in the kitchen with dough between their fingers.”
Discovering an Inner Transformation
Bread is both incredibly simple and infinitely complex. At its most basic, it is made of four ingredients: flour, water, salt, and yeast. When you mix those ingredients together, they immediately undergo a series of transformations. The entire process of baking bread is this series of transformations that lead to new life. I think it is no small matter that Jesus chose bread as the central element of the communion table.
Learning to Release Control
Recipes often give the idea that if you use the exact ingredients in their exact measurements and follow the exact same steps, you’ll get the same result every time. Bread does not give us that same sense of control. Bread varies with changes in the weather. When it is warmer, when it is more humid, when it is cooler, your bread is going to behave differently. Baking bread is a process of learning how to read with your sense of smell, sight, touch, taste, and how the bread is responding to changes in temperature and humidity. I like to think of bread baking more in terms of liturgy than a recipe—the words and rhythms of our worship. And in the process, you can begin to understand more fully why God uses bread so often throughout the story of Scripture.
Saint Brigid’s Oat
Bread
Makes 1 loaf
INGREDIENTS
¾ cup (2.5 ounces) rolled oats
½ cup (4 ounces) buttermilk
¾ cup (3.2 ounces) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (1.1 ounce) whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, frozen and grated
1 egg
DIRECTIONS
1. In a small bowl, soak oats in buttermilk for 20–30 minutes.
2. While the oats soak, preheat the oven to 350°F. Then, in a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Add the butter to the bowl and rub together with the flour, working quickly to avoid warming the butter. The mixture should be mealy, not smooth.
4. Add the oat mixture and the egg to the flour mixture, and stir until combined.
5. Pour the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat, or pour it onto a castiron skillet. Moisten your fingers and smooth the dough into a circle about 8 inches in diameter. Cut a ¼-inchdeep score in the shape of a cross across the top of the dough.
6. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool and serve, smeared with butter, drizzled with honey, and sprinkled with salt. This recipe is a great excuse to splurge on golden Irish butter!
Adapted from Bake & Pray by Kendall Vanderslice. Copyright © 2024. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a division of Tyndale House Ministries. All rights reserved.
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast.
Kendall’s latest book, Bake & Pray, is available at your favorite retailer.
Praying Forward
Transforming your mind to find more peace, love, and self-control
in the New Year
by Michael Overholt
NEW YEAR’S COMES EVERY YEAR —and so do aspirations, best intentions, and promises to make this year’s resolutions stick. But the hard truth is, most resolutions will fizzle within weeks. Just like every other year. Why? Because most people focus on external actions without addressing the internal, mental patterns that drive them.
So what major change would you aim for if you knew you couldn’t fail?
Dr. Alan Weissenbacher, author of The Brain Change Program, explains that real transformation isn’t about willpower. That’s an overrated strategy that’s tired and proven incompetent. Real transformation is about rewiring your brain. After all, Romans 12:2 tells us to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Now, we have a better understanding of how our minds can be reshaped.
For one, your brain is wired for change. And that’s a good thing.
“Your brain is constantly learning. It’s constantly growing. It’s constantly changing at a physical level,” explains Dr. Weissenbacher. This process, called neuroplasticity, means that no matter how old you are, your brain can form new pathways and connections.
Think of the neurons in your brain as tiny road builders, constantly creating new "roads" based on what you focus on most. “When a new neuron is made in your brain, it goes to the places of the most activity,” Dr. Weissenbacher says. The more you focus on certain thoughts or behaviors, the more those pathways in your brain are strengthened.”
The problem is, many of us spend too much time focusing on what’s wrong—our fears, frustrations, or bad habits. This creates negative pathways, which makes it harder to break free from destructive patterns.
But there’s hope.
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Replace problem thoughts with good ones, turning yourself in that direction.
By intentionally focusing on what is good, noble, and pure—as Philippians 4:8 encourages—you can reshape your brain. Dr. Weissenbacher puts it simply: “Replace the problem thoughts with good ones, turning yourself in that direction.” Over time, this practice can lead to real, lasting change.
The key to starting is imagining the change and being compassionate toward yourself in the process. The mental rehearsal of harnessing the power of your imagination is training your brain to take the right path when those challenges arise in real life. But it takes time.
This should not surprise us in the least, right?
Think about the athlete, who’s training their body to react instinctively. You can train your brain to respond with peace, patience, and faith when life throws its inevitable curveballs. This is not about trying harder. It’s about training the mind first, creating a new mind with new neural pathways so that the right behaviors follow.
Dr. Weissenbacher calls this “praying forward,” and it’s a profound shift.
How often have you focused on what you don’t want when you pray? “Lord, don’t let me be angry,” or, “Help me stop being anxious.” While these prayers come from a genuine desire for change, they are still rooted in the problem.
Dr. Weissenbacher suggests a different approach. Instead of praying not to be angry, we might say, “Lord, help me be a person of peace.”
By focusing on the solution rather than the problem, you are training your brain to move in the direction of peace, love, and self-control instead of problem, failure, and guilt.
Over time, these strengthened positive pathways naturally start to respond with more peace and faith in your daily life. Which means this year’s resolutions may actually be different.
As Dr. Weissenbacher reminds us, “Your brain will take the pathway that you trained in your imagination. Hopefully it is the good one.” The challenge this new year is not to pray harder or try harder, but to think smarter— focusing on what is true and good, allowing God to renew your mind and transform your life in the process.
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast.
You can find Dr. Weissenbacher’s book The Brain Change Program at your favorite book retailer.
CREATE YOUR PAPER FOOTBALL!
Paper Football Game Sports Edition!
Research instructions on how to make a paper football. You will need a piece of printer paper and sissors.
HERE’S HOW TO PLAY:
1. You’ll need two players at opposite ends of a table.
2. Begin the game with a kickoff by flicking the paper football towards the opposite end of the table.
3. Each player will take turns pushing the football back and forth across the table with their fingertips.
4. A touchdown is scored when the paper football hangs just over the other player’s side of the table without falling off.
5. To score a field goal, hold the paper football on its side and try to flick it through your opponent’s goal post, which they’ll make with their hands.
Basketball Maze
Sports
Word Scramble
Celebrate His Resurrection
Make time for prayer and reflection this Easter Season
Inspire your family’s prayer journey and nurture a daily connection with God that will last a lifetime. Perfect for Easter, baby showers, dedications, and holiday gifting, this joyous board book will become a cherished part of your family’s spiritual path. Embrace the stories, feel the courage, and watch as prayer becomes a treasured family tradition.