Sometimes I wonder, when Mary was making bread, doing mom stuff and chasing a 5-year-old Jesus around, did she ever doubt that the divine and miraculous really happened or if she made it all up? I wonder if in the 30 years leading up to Jesus beginning his public ministry if Mary questioned the calling on her life. And I wonder, have you?

I’ll never forget the classic television commercial for Life Alert. It would show an older woman walking through a dark hallway or reaching for a high shelf in her kitchen. Then, it would cut to her lying on the ground, struggling, crying out: “Help me! I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!”

As a kid, I thought it was funny. The dramatization seemed over-the-top, and the repetition of the commercial made it ripe for parody. But as an adult—after spending a few years working in an assisted living facility—I understand that a fall can be a life-threatening situation if there’s no way to get help. The Life Alert necklace became a lifeline, a simple button to summon assistance when someone couldn’t help themselves.

If only we had a button like that for ministry.

I’m sitting across the table from someone who has given their life to God, and the experience is both humbling and inspiring. This person makes daily sacrifices in pursuit of what they discern to be God’s calling on their life. They are filled with love and compassion—not just for their family and neighbors, but also for strangers, both near and far. They have weathered many storms, endured great pain with perseverance, and grieved with hope and faith.

Patience grows where it is given space to stretch out and root deep. In the testing, we find what is really inside of us in the moments that we haven’t prepared for. I admit, I am the person at the grocery store who often scans the check-out aisles like a hawk, trying to do the store calculus of number of items times number of people in line divided by how fast the checker seems to be moving. A number of times I have jumped in a line to then move over to another line that looks like it will move faster. Inevitably, the person in front of me has to do a return or had more in their cart than I initially thought, and I would most likely have been out of the store sooner if I had just remained in my original line. In the quest for expediency, I do sometimes pause my patience.

Whenever I get to interact with children, an opportunity inevitably presents itself for at least one child to exclaim “Come look!” Sometimes it is for a work of art (possibly resembling something familiar), and the expectation of the child’s heart is for delight to be experienced as others gaze upon the work of their hands.

Have you ever heard of the doldrums? In the world of maritime sailing, it's a region near the equator known for its calm, windless days. Ships that enter the doldrums can find themselves stranded, their sails hanging limp, and their progress halted. It's a frustrating place for sailors, and in many ways, the doldrums resemble some of the seasons of ministry we all experience.

The creation story in Genesis is bursting with good news, overflowing with truths that speak directly to our lives today. If you long to partner with God in creating a world reflective of His kingdom, desire to find hope in challenging circumstances, or need a renewed imagination for what God can do through broken and fragile people, the creation story holds profound insights for you.

Remember, the same God who uniquely knit you together in your mother’s womb is carefully crafting the whole body of Christ.

From creatives and doctors to homeless ministers and missionaries, pastors, caretakers for addicts, and the elderly—there's a rich tapestry of the Body of Christ represented within our organization. Makes me think about our physical bodies like the Apostle Paul did when he was writing what we know today as 1 Corinthians. In chapter 12 verses 14-26 he tells them (paraphrasing) that the human body consists of many limbs and organs….

There are many times in our lives when, in the midst of serving others, we find ourselves in great need of hope. We face great adversity, suffer the challenges of ministry, and even experience deeply personal heartbreak. In those moments, we must hold onto our hope in Christ Jesus!

Have you become disoriented as the chaos unfolds?

Whether burdened by weighty leadership decisions, grappling with the devastating effects of war, confronting the fallout of betrayal, or wading through the depths of loneliness, the collective yearning for clarity, peace, and hope has never been stronger…

I personally have been deeply challenged and inspired by the faith of men and women who have followed Christ throughout the millennia since Jesus ascended, and I find special satisfaction when I turn over a rock of history and uncover gems that I’ve never seen or heard of before. Margery Kempe, a woman born in England in 1373, is one of those recently discovered characters for me.

In a fuel letter I don’t have time to share her own story – so you’ll have to look that up if you are interested. In short, her deep and personal encounters with Christ led her to a deep sense of personal repentance, and also compelled her to weep frequently as an act of worship. Her weeping often led to words that convicted those who heard them to produce repentance in their own lives. However, a lot of the people who she met didn’t get it…

We've all heard it said, "He's really walking in his anointing," or "She's so anointed to do this or that." And while it's true, and this language is rooted in God's word, and it's pretty cool when we feel like we're right there, smack in the middle of God's plan for our lives.

We often tie that feeling of being "anointed" to doing things right or ticking off divine to-do lists or to some kind of demonstration of spiritual power. When it comes to assessing anointing, let’s shift our eyes away from us and our performance, and onto the shepherd…

We often hear that David was a man after God's own heart, and it rings true. The question that often puzzled me was, "weren't all the heroes we read about in the Bible pursuing God's heart as well?" The answer is yes, but David stood out because he understood …

Imagine a flower. A yellow flower; a daisy. Imagine it comfortably swaying in the wind, securely anchored in the ground. A gentle breeze causes it to ripple along with the nearby grass as butterflies dance around the other wildflowers. Then suddenly without warning, alas! The lovely flower is plucked from its place of comfort…

As I write this letter, I am reminded of the first time I heard the voice of the Lord call me to ministry. The year was 1996, and I got locked up in a tiny jail cell. On the third day, I stumbled across a newsletter…

“She don’t know she’s beautiful” was a 1993 hit country song. It’s an ode to a beautiful woman who doesn’t see herself in the same way that other people see her – exceptionally, captivatingly, and wholly beautiful. Though most of you who will read this letter will be surprised to hear it: This is a song that Jesus sings over you. Until the final curtain of eternity is torn, and judgment day exposes the true nature of things, you may not know how beautiful you truly are.

We can’t do it all, and that’s okay!

We aren’t superhuman beings that never need to rest or eat or can go for days without having to recharge. We aren’t supposed to be all things to all people, only God can be that. God has surrounded us with a Network of amazing people along with the blessing of family and friends that we each have in our corner. It’s okay to ask for help…

Jesus has called YOU. He knows you aren’t qualified. He knows you weren’t invited by man to face this foe. Your expertise was not requested.

No one said, “Oh! You know who we should call…[insert your name].”

But here you are, facing Goliath because Jesus called your name.

Do you feel alone or isolated in the work that God has called you to do? Do you ever feel weak, afraid, or discouraged?

If so, you share something in common with many of the heroes of faith we read about in the scriptures: You need a word from God.