by Misty Phillip | Sep 21, 2022 | Christian Living, Encouragement, Podcast
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Welcome to the By His Grace Podcast!
Misty Phillip sits down with author Judy Dungan in this episode of the By His Grace podcast to discuss her new book published by Moody Bible Publishers, The Loudest Roar: Living in the Unshakable Victory of Christ. Do you often feel stuck battling the same fears, temptations, lies, and doubts, wondering if you’ll ever overcome them? Does it seem as if you’re in that battle alone? Author Judy Dunagan has been there. In this episode, we discuss practical ways to silence the enemy’s voice.
Key Takeaways
“Sometimes the enemy’s voice seems the loudest in our lives. But the Lord is a bigger Lion – His power, majesty, and authority are what gives us courage.”
“The Roar of Prayer is a mighty weapon.”
About Judy Dunagan
Judy Dunagan is an acquisitions editor for the women’s Bible studies and books at Moody Publishers. A wonder seeker of God and His Word, Judy is passionate about discipleship and making God’s Word and prayer come alive in everyday life. She is a speaker and Bible teacher and serves on the Board of Deeper Walk International, the ministry her father, Mark I. Bubeck founded. Judy and her husband Rick live in Colorado.
Connect with Judy Dunagan
Resources
The Loudest Roar: Living in the Unshakable Victory of Christ
Take heart, my friends. The enemy’s roar is but a whisper in the presence of our mighty God. In The Loudest Roar, you’ll marvel at the power, majesty, and authority of our Lord Jesus and learn how to stand in the unshakable victory He’s already won for you.
Read an excerpt
In that victory, you will:
– Discern God’s voice over the lies of the enemy.
– Stand firm in faith rather than give way to fear.
– Dwell in the cover of God’s armor over you and your
loved ones.
– Keep your thoughts captive to the truth.
– Find victory over cycles of sin in your life.
God’s roar over you will become your roar, diminishing the lies of the enemy . . . to a whisper.
Get the Free Guide
Deeper Walk Ministry Conference
Ephesians 6
Misty recommends:
The Listener’s Bible on Audible.
by Misty Phillip | Mar 28, 2022 | Christian Living, Podcast
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Misty Phillip sits down with Shannon Popkin at the CPE – Christian Product Expo to discuss influence and comparision. Shannon is the host of Live Like It’s True podcast, and author of several amazing books.In this episode, we discuss the Kingdom of Heaven is the opposite of this world. Satan schemes to destroy us through comparison. In God’s economy, the first shall be last, and the last shall be first. Social Media exacerbates comparison. It causes us to pull away from one another by either making us feel inferior or superior. Comparing ourselves to others is a trap. Shannon uses a measuring cup analogy as an example for us to live a life poured out, instead of measuring ourselves against others.
Comparison is not good.
Comparison is dangerous.
Comparison is a thief.
Comparison steal our joy.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
“If social media is the window, it is really hard to come away from the window”
“We are better together”
“God arranges the parts of the bodily His design and gives us different gifts, different resources, different parts of our lives and he gives and fits us together not to be uniform, but united.”
“Our unity is born not of our uniformity. I need what you have, and you need what I have”
“Sideways glancing can be such a distraction”
“Emptying myself and lifting others up”
“As Christians we step up on the platform to serve”
“Jesus poured Himself”
“We are teammates”
“Stay low. Grow Slow.”
WISDOM FROM ABOVE
James 3:13-18 ESV
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
On social media, in the neighborhood, at church, or the school drop-off lane, do you drive yourself to prove that you measure up? Do you feel ashamed when you don’t? Measuring yourself against others isn’t healthy. And it isn’t God’s plan. In fact, the way of Jesus is completely upside down from this measure-up world. He invites us to follow him and be restored to freedom, confidence, and joy. Leave measure-up comparison behind and connect with those around you by choosing Jesus’s me-free way of living: lifting others up and pouring yourself out!
Shannon Popkin
Shannon Popkin is a wife and mom, and an author, speaker, and Bible teacher.As an author and speaker, she loves combining her gifts for humor and storytelling with her passion for Jesus and the truth of God’s Word. She speaks for ladies’ events, retreats, and conferences, and she is the host of Live Like It’s True Podcast. Her latest book is Comparison Girl, published by Kregel (visit ComparisonGirl.com to learn more). Her work has been featured on FamilyLife Today, Revive Our Hearts, Proverbs 31, and other ministries and she was a contributing blogger at Revive Our Hearts for many years.
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Thank you for listening to the By His Grace podcast today!
by Misty Phillip | Feb 12, 2021 | Christian Living, Featured
Am I being faithful to God’s call in the small?
by Anthea Kotlan
Am I being faithful in the small? Am I taking on those kingdom assignments that involve just one or two other people? Is this a season of preparation? Am I willing to allow for interruptions? (I’m not sure if we really have a choice on this one.) Am I willing to take a long obedience in the same direction even when the destination seems unclear? This is all part of hearing the calling on our lives as believers and those who follow after Jesus.
- Listen for that still small voice
Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire a still small voice.
(I Kings 19:11-12 NKJV)
When God spoke to Elijah, it was not the sky parting, booming voice of overwhelming power, it was the still small voice that came after a demonstration of God’s power. Am I listening for that voice closely or allowing the noise of the world to drown it out?
- Let your words be small (few)
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore, let your words be few.
(Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 ESV)
Am I so eager to tell God how it is that I miss out on His message for me? Can I be willing to wait to hear His voice? It simply takes time to hear from God. For some of us, it takes time to reach a point of being able to be quiet long enough to hear from Him, rather than the voice inside our head that keeps barking out directions. Take five minutes to sit in silence, ask the Lord to speak, and really listen. Set a timer if necessary
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
(Micah 6:8 ESV)
Small steps in obedience in pace with God is a demonstration of humility. Am I willing to wander as I travel with Him? I can’t all be so hyper-focused on the destination that I miss the journey. How often have I missed some of the gifts God had for me by rushing ahead to what I thought was the finish line? Staying in step with God may appear to be small progress to the others but walking close is most essential.
Join me on the journey in being faithful in the small,
Anthea Kotlan
Anthea Kotlan writes her blog on tending her soul at: https://antheakotlan.com/
Find her on social media
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/anthea.kotlan
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/antheakotlan/
by Misty Phillip | Jul 8, 2020 | Christian Living, Faith, Healing, mental illness
Blessings from Brokenness: Five Scriptures to Cling to in the Dark
by Baylee Dunn
Many people love the summer time – the sun is shining, children are laughing, and there are memories to be made. For me, summer brings with it joy and sorrow interwoven into one. It is as if the summer breeze brings a palpable heaviness.
Yet, there is so much joy to be found in that space.
I remember the date as if it were yesterday – July 20th, 2018. I laid still in bed unable to stop the spiral of thoughts from encircling in my mind. “Why can’t I just sleep?” I wondered. It had been sixteen days without it, and, unfortunately, I would soon discover the consequences of stress, sadness, and grief when coupled with such drastic sleep deprivation. For me, this cycle of sleeplessness, delusions, paranoia, and panic would ultimately lead to two psychiatric hospitalizations over the course of that summer, and an eventual diagnosis the next fall. “You have Bipolar Disorder with Psychotic Features,” are words that I will not soon forget. They are etched into my memory and with every breath I take, I carry them. That is my clinical diagnosis, but my identity lies deep within the scriptures. You see, I am not my diagnosis. I am a daughter of the king
Here are five scriptures that I clung to during this season.
I hope and pray that each one of them encourages you in your walk with the Lord. May you always know that whatever you face, you are never alone. May the Lord shine his light upon you today and every day! Friend, you are loved.
Isaiah 26:3-4 “ 3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. 4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Proverbs 31:25 “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Hey y’all, I am Baylee Dunn. I write on faith and the struggles that we face in life from a Biblical perspective. I am a college student, daughter, sister, friend, and lover of Chick Fil A.
Blessings From Brokenness
So excited to welcome Baylee Dunn to By His Grace as an intern! I met Baylee through Hopewriter’s and instantly fell in love with her. She is a precious young woman with a huge heart for the Lord. If you don’t know Baylee, you should she is a ray of sunshine! Baylee is a college student who will be working with me as she pursues her dreams of one day writing a book.
Much Love, Misty
by Misty Phillip | Apr 9, 2018 | Christian Living, Encouragement, Featured
Happy Monday Friends!
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! This weekend I participated in my first 5K and had a great time in support of Shield Bearer Counseling centers.
Shield Bearer has been on the front lines championing healthy relationships, strong marriages, healthy families and strong communities. Shield Bearer promotes individual growth and development, preserves and enriches marriages and strengthens and unites families.
They believe that strong communities are built by healthy families. Shield Bearer focuses on restoring broken relationships and building on the strengths of existing relationships.Their trauma specialists work with survivors of human trafficking. veterans, crime victims and their families and disaster survivors (such as Hurricane Harvey survivors.
Today, I would love for y’all to check out my post on my writing sister’s Kelley Ivey Johnson’s blog in her series on What Being Brave Looks Like!
What Being Brave Looks Like: When You Feel Helpless
While you are there be sure to check out, her newly released book on Being Brave: A 40- Day Journey to the Life God Dreams for You!
Every day I am getting one step closer to my own book becoming a reality. This week I am crafting a book proposal that I will be sharing with some publishing industry experts this Spring and later this summer. Later in the week, I will be attending the Well Summit – Launch Well Publishing Event in Dallas, Texas, and can’t wait to tell y’all about it when I return next week!
Later in the week, I will be attending the Well Summit – Launch Well Publishing Event in Dallas, Texas, and can’t wait to tell you all about it when I return next week!
Also, I am collaborating with some amazing writing sisters on a new project, and can’t wait to share it with you very soon! Until then…
Coming soon! I have another book review and give away on Lies Moms Believe: And How The Gospel Refutes Them by Rebekah Hargraves, along with the Companion Bible Study! I just got these in the mail and can’t wait to dig into them and let you know what I think.
One last thing, would y’all mind doing me a favor? If you like what I am doing here on the By His Grace Blog would you mind sharing it with your friends or posting about it on Social Media to help me spread the word? That would mean the world to me!
Much Love,
Misty
by Misty Phillip | Feb 22, 2018 | Christian Living, Featured
Life is a lot like a roller coaster ride filled with excitement a little scary and when you least expect it you soar sky high then plunge down into great depths followed by a series of twists and turns. Last week was quite a ride for me!
My week began at a gathering of women to pray, worship and hear a word of encouragement. The evening was orchestrated intentionally to invite us into the presence of the Lord in a very tangible way. Between praising with my arms outstretched wide and my soul eager for a touch from God, I hit the floor and cried out to Jesus to do what only he could do for me. Little did I know at the time how desperately I needed that time.
Valentine’s day is sandwiched in between my mom’s birthday and Peter’s mom’s birthday which made it super convenient to remember their birthdays when they were alive. But now that they are gone it makes for a somber week of remembrance.
On Valentine’s Day, I sent my first manuscript off to the editor for review. Releasing a book to someone is much like birthing a baby. It is a labor of love filled but comes with all kinds of emotions. Since my manuscript was due on Wednesday, we decided to celebrate on Friday evening. My husband Peter and I had a transcendent evening gazing at one another in love celebrating 25 years of Valentine’s Days together, complete with the best meal I think I have ever eaten in my entire life.
Thrown in with the gamut of highs and lows this week was regular life stuff, like dishes, laundry, school, work, grocery shopping, meals, exercise and shuttling kids.
Sometimes it is hard to find space to grieve or rest in this crazy world we live in, but it is crucial for our souls to find peace and solace to make sense of life. Making time to escape the daily grind and get alone with God to pray is imperative. Even Jesus had to break away from the crowds and get alone so he could pray.
But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray. Luke 5:16 ESV
Rounding out the end of this week I had the pleasure of gathering with a group of women in my home who are walking through different seasons in life, some are going through deep waters and others who feel like a mess and are in need of a special touch from the Lord. We have all been there. We are all busy, so we compartmentalize the problematic stuff and keep moving on. Life is hard and at times it can be soul crushing!
I looked one woman straight in the eyes and told her what I wish someone would have been brave enough to say to me at various times in my life when things were spinning out of control and I felt like a complete mess. “Go get flat on your face before the Lord and pray and don’t get up until you have peace because He is the only one who can change you!”
As women, we lead hectic lives often caring for everyone but ourselves. Although, we can’t care for anyone else well if we don’t first make time to get alone to a quiet place and do the soul work necessary to care for ourselves.
Cast your cares friend, because He cares for you!
by Misty Phillip | Feb 16, 2018 | Christian Living
We are in the second week of the second month of the year. How are you doing so far with your dreams, goals, and aspirations for 2018? I am amazed at how God is showing up in my life and new and refreshing ways through the lens of my focus word Presence so far this year!
Today I would like to talk to y’all about being intentional. What does being intentional in our callings mean, and what does that even look like?
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. -Colossians 3:23-24 ESV
It will probably look different for each of us because we are all at different stages in our life. We have different challenges and responsibilities with our home, our families, and our careers. We also have varying degrees of giftings and talents. But I think there are some similarities and principals that we can all use to help us be intentional in our callings, and that is what I want to talk to you about today.
Intentionality is your secret weapon in a war against mediocrity. – – Brian P. Morgan The 12 week Year
Since I am a word nerd lets begin with a few simple definitions.
Intentional – done on purpose, deliberate.
Synonyms include: Conscious, intended, planned, studied, knowing, willful, purposeful, preplanned
If we are to be intentional in our callings, then we are doing things on purpose. They are deliberate. We are not being tossed about from one thing to the other. Instead, we are purpose-filled and make conscious decisions on how to plan our day, weeks, month and year.
If we take care of the minutes, the years will take care of themselves. – Benjamin Franklin
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:10 ESV
God has specific work for each of us to do, and those things are good things. He has specific things planned for each of us, that only we can do.
Have you read the book Start with Why by Simon Sinek?
The premise of the book is that anyone can explain what they do, and some people can explain what differentiates them from others, but very few people can articulate why they do what they do. Why is what we believe, at our core and when we can articulate that in a meaningful way we inspire those around us. This is why knowing our why will also drive our what and how. However, if we know our core beliefs and our why we can motivate ourselves and others in radical ways.
If you have a free 15 minutes watch his TED Talk on start with why, or if you have longer read the book or listen to it on audible. This concept is taking off like wildfire in corporate America, and I think we can learn a lot about ourselves and our calling if we truly understand our why.
Ted Talk Start with Why
As Christians, we all have a similar why. We have a calling on our life to make Jesus known and to shine our lights to an increasingly dark world. God has called us to love him and love others, and that is our why. Our purpose is to love God with all our mind, soul and strength, and love others.
It is Valentine’s week and love is in the air, but when God tells us to love others it is not a romantic type of love, it is a love that is patient and kind. This kind of love serves others and doesn’t insist on its own way.
Last year I reviewed Karen Ehman’s book and Bible Study Listen, Love, Repeat! This book is jammed packed full of ways that we can live aware of those around us and serve them in love.
1 Corthinians 13 is our Christian roadmap that show us the way we should go, and what love looks like.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. – 1 Corinthinians 13
So as we plan and prepare for all of the wonderful things, we would like to do this year let’s be intentional with our time, talents, and resources, and choose to love and serve others well!
What are some ways that you and your family are living intentionally this year? How are you loving and serving the Lord and others? I would love to know how God is using you to shine His light! Leave me a comment below and let me know what good things you are doing!
Much Love,
Misty
by Misty Phillip | Jun 20, 2017 | Christian Living, Featured
This past weekend I went to meet up with His Girls Gather, a group of authors, bloggers, speakers, social media marketing and technical support girls from Texas and Louisana. Many of us are members of Compel, a writer’s training program which is part of Proverbs 31 Ministries.
We had a wonderful time of prayer, fellowship, and training. While I was there I met an adorable millennial Jesus girl named Shelby Howe. We struck up a conversation about how to impact the millennial culture for Jesus.
Many faith communities and Christian organizations are struggling with how to make space for Millennials—not just appealing space in their buildings and gathering places, but also space in their institutional culture, ministry models and leadership approach. – Barna
If we want to impact future generations for Christ then we need to know how to reach them. I have asked Shelby Howe to share her thoughts with you on today’s blog concerning what the Lord has put on her heart in regards to reaching millennials.
10 ways to reach Millennials
We’re a generation connected in all the wrong places. Consumed with what’s happening on a screen, the majority of millennials miss the richness of real life. Being one of them, and living the struggle of screen-time versus face-time, I’ve often been asked – how do you reach millennials? What gets us off our phones and listening intently to the person before us? I hope it’s to your delight to know it’s not another piece of tech or a silly video.
- Speak my language
When my phone rings, I automatically think something’s wrong. Phone calls are for dire situations, just send me a text. Keep it short, sweet, and to the point. Once I forget what you told me, I can go back and read it again. Friend me on Facebook, follow my Instagram, that’s where you can keep up with what’s going on with me. Speak my language.
- Meet me on my terms
Unfortunately, I struggle with accountability so if we’re going to meet face to face, it’s got to be on my terms. Be prepared to cancel and reschedule ten times before we actually meet. Once I know that you’re committed, I’ll get committed too, but I need grace at first.
- Don’t ask me what I’m doing, ask me what I want to do.
The first thing people always ask is, “So what do you do?” What I’m doing right now is not what I want to be doing, and it just reminds me of that when you ask. Start with “What do you want to do with your life?” then follow up with “So what are you doing now?” This tells me that you care about my dreams, but it’s okay that I’m not there yet.
- Don’t tell me what I should do unless you’re going to help me.
I don’t respond well to “you should do this” or “have you tried this?” Someone has probably already suggested that and I probably have some lame excuse you don’t want to hear anyway. If you think of something that I should do, help me do it. If I need to study for a certain test, schedule a time to study with me. If I need to make a resume, sit down with me and show me how which leads to our next one…
- Show me instead of telling me.
It’s one thing to throw words at me just for them to bounce off the rim like basketball, but if you actually practice what you preach, I’ll take notice. If you want me to read the Bible, let me see you living it. I’m a newlywed, and I want to cook made-from-scratch meals for my husband, but I don’t know how. Invite me over one day and show me how you make homemade biscuits. I need to see it. Let me see you do real life and I’ll want to live it with you.
- Be consistent.
My world is fast paced and ever changing, having a constant helps keep me grounded. If I know when you’re available, I’m more likely to turn to you. When you respond quickly to my call for help, I’ll remember. The next time I’m in a sticky situation, I’ll crave that relief and look to you. Then, hopefully, I’ll work to avoid sticky situations.
- Hold me accountable.
Remember when I said I struggle with accountability? Once I’ve seen that you’re consistent, I’ll answer your call for accountability. The next time I cancel or reschedule our meetup, I’ll care about your frustration, and it won’t make me feel good. Give me some time to get to this point, but hold me accountable for my actions.
- Be real, transparent, honest.
Talk is cheap, and I know it. I don’t sugarcoat things, and I don’t want things sugarcoated. If you’re upset with me, let me know why. If you’re having issues with something in your own life, don’t hide it from me. I need to see you solve problems, so I know what to do when I face them.
- Cover me in prayer.
I’m probably not doing this for myself so cover me in prayer. Pray with me before we eat or when we’re talking about a hard situation. Let me see and hear you pray so I can take note. Pray for me until I know how to pray for myself.
- Don’t give up on me.
Please, please, please don’t give up on me. If you give up on me, I give up on me. Speak life to me, encourage me at my lowest point, reach out your hand when I’ve fallen down. I will fall, time and time again. I will let you down. Love me anyway. Show me, Jesus.
The overarching theme here is love. Love me like Jesus. I’m not so different from his followers when you think about it. Learn my love language and speak it back to me. Walk the hard road with me, and I’ll meet you on the other side. But most of all… Love me like Jesus.
Hey, Y’all! Just another Millennial here and one southern raised, Bible-believing Christian. The soil I call home is in Shreveport, Louisiana. I know the love of a good family but was transformed by the love of a Savior. The love I receive from him I try to duplicate to others. A passion for God’s word and advancing his kingdom is what compels me to write. Growing in the knowledge of Him is what I hope you, and I accomplish. Connect with me on Facebook and Twitter.
FB: Shelby’s Facebook
Twitter: Shelby’s Twitter
Please like and share this post if it ministers to you, and make sure to visit Shelby on her social media channels. I would love to hear if you have other ideas about how to reach millennials for Christ. Please leave me a comment below with your thoughts.
by Misty Phillip | Feb 13, 2017 | Book Review, Christian Living, Featured, Healing, Life
Life can be so complicated and unpredictable. Today has been one of those days for me. My day started off with three MRIs: one for my brain, one for my neck and one for my back. My dear sweet husband took the morning off from work to hold my hand, comfort me, and pray for me because he knows that I am claustrophobic and that MRIs cause me great anxiety! Today was one of those days when I just needed my husband’s presence. As I went further into the MRI tube, he held my leg, and just knowing he was there brought me tremendous comfort. While sitting in the waiting room before my MRI and filling out my paperwork, I realized that today is February 13, my mom’s birthday. If my mom were still alive today, she would have turned 77!
We think we have to do something, but presence is a powerful action of its own. – Sarah Beckman
I have been thinking a lot about my mom lately. She died a few years ago after she was taken off of life support just days after Christmas. Family relations and emotions were all running high. Many friends called, texted and offered support. Whenever anyone offered to help I would simply ask for prayer. I would say that I was alright when in reality I wasn’t.
In trying times, people tend to say they are okay and don’t need anything, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth! I will never forget the loving kindness of a friend who offered to stop by the hospital to bring food, and she would not take no for an answer. Not only did she bring me food, but she also took the time to listen to me. We prayed, we sang, and she sat with me as the Lord called my mom home. Her presence at that moment in my life was powerful and it is a gift that I will forever cherish.
How do we walk alongside someone in the midst of trying circumstances?
There’s a unique opportunity to love our neighbor when they experience a time of trial in their life. – Sarah Beckman
We all experience difficult trials in life, and we know people close to us that suffer hardships. How do we love and care for others well in their crisis? The answer to this question is the purpose of Alongside: A Practical Guide for Loving your Neighbor in their Time of Trial. This must-read book is an invaluable resource for walking alongside those in need.
This book is filled with questions to consider. It offers practical ways to love people through the storms of life and will help you figure out the best way to respond to the individual’s needs. You will learn to know your place in relationship to the person in need, and what you should do accordingly. It will also give a good understanding of possible needs and how people may be feeling, including general guidelines to consider and questions to help prepare for the journey ahead.
Part 2 of the book is dedicated to taking action. Know when to go, and when to pray. When I went to the hospital to give birth to my son whose heart had stopped beating in my womb, my sweet friends wanted to come to the hospital. While having my friends at the hospital that day was a kind gesture, what I needed most was time to grieve alone with my family. There is a chapter dedicated to respecting the person’s journey and includes information on privacy and dignity, and other chapters offer specific help, including being present, showing love through food, listening well and much more.
Finally, the book concludes with chapters on special circumstances, including: messy situations, when faith isn’t shared, when you’ve been there, when someone is aging, and terminal illness. In the appendix, there are scriptures for loving your neighbor which are divided into categories and a list of websites, books, and other helpful resources like meal coordination and online fundraising.
For more information visit Sarah Beckman’s website.
A special thank you to The Blog About Network, The Blythe Daniel Agency and publishers for providing a copy of this book for review and one to giveaway.
I have one autographed copy of Alongside: A Practical Guide for Loving your Neighbor in their Time of Trial to give away!
From now until February 28th, leave a comment below with either a way that you have come alongside someone in need or how someone has blessed you in a difficult time, to be eligible to win. Also, if you enjoyed reading this blog post please share with a friend.
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a fantastic week!
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