Last week we looked at how to find grace, joy, and peace in chronic illness based on Elisabeth Elliot’s short devotional about the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” by Horatio G. Spafford: by receiving what God has given us and by relinquishing what He takes from us. As I meditated on Elisabeth Elliot’s […]
I recently started reading Elisabeth Elliot’s book Secure in the Everlasting Arms, a collection of short devotional thoughts from the newsletter she wrote for almost twenty years. The very first entry hit me square between the eyes. The Lot We’re Dealt The entry is titled “Whatever My Lot” and, after giving a brief, personal backstory […]
Two weeks ago we looked at the context for Jeremiah’s letter to the Jewish captives and God’s message to them (and us): stop panicking, pick up your hammer, and make yourself at home. In other words, don’t fight what is part of God’s plan for good. We also saw how part of making ourselves at […]
Last week we looked at the context for Jeremiah’s letter to the Jewish captives and God’s message to them in Jeremiah 29: stop panicking, pick up your hammer, and make yourself at home. In other words, don’t fight what is part of God’s plan for good. But God had another message to give to His […]
I recently read through the book of Jeremiah in my morning devotions, and God gave me a load of encouragement from Jeremiah 29. I took tons of notes and am excited to share those notes with you in the hopes they can encourage you too. A Message for the Needy First of all, let’s set […]
One of the things I’ve noticed in the almost-five months since my move, more than ever before in my life, is the juxtaposition life can offer of hard and good at the same time. Some weeks ago I was talking about it with my mom, and she said (in paraphrase, since I don’t remember her […]
3. Jesus has suffered as we have…and more. If you’d said this to me during the darkest of my wilderness days, I would have probably gotten very cranky. Sometimes it feels like Jesus is that perfect older brother who does everything right and, more importantly, never does anything wrong. When we lean into that bitter […]
by Jasmine Originally published on http://www.jjfischer.com If you are at least twenty years old, you have probably heard of “Footprints.” There are shorter and longer versions, but the one on my dresser reads like this: “A man dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. He noticed two sets of footprints. However, during […]
Last week we looked at four encouraging themes from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings that parallel Scripture truths for us in our valley of chronic illness. This week we look at the last four: 5. Our needs will be met along the way All now seemed dry and silent; but refusing to despair Sam stooped […]
I just finished re-reading The Lord of the Rings again. Each time I read this masterpiece I gain a new layer of appreciation for the story, the writing, the characters, the themes, and the language. While all those things impacted and inspired me afresh this time around, I also found a new connection with Frodo […]
The Valley