Facing Pandemic with a Forgotten God

“But they soon forgot his works.” That’s what Psalm 106:13 says about the Israelites just after crossing the Red Sea. Though God consistently came through for his people, the psalmist repeatedly says of the Israelites, “They forgot God.” Israel continually forgot who God was and what he had done. And because they forgot God and all that he was capable of, they either exchanged his glory for inglorious things or they responded with fear and panic when they should have had faith. I couldn’t help but feel like that sounds a little like the world we are living in today, especially as we face the COVID-19 global pandemic.

They Forgot God

The world has forgotten God just as the Israelites did. This doesn’t mean that the Israelites forgot about him but rather that as they went along, they stopped remembering all the ways God had come through for them and stopped placing their trust in him. Many of us are guilty of doing the same. It becomes easy to forget God when your normal routine gives you the illusion that you are in control. When your life basically consists of waking up, going to work, punching the time clock with assurance of a paycheck, coming home, and doing it all over again the next day, it’s easy to forget God. If you’re honest, you may not even really feel like you need him.

It doesn’t take long for something to happen, big or small, to threaten the reality of the illusion of control. In this case, seemingly overnight, something as simple as a virus swept through the world and took away our sense of security. Major corporations like Disney, Hollywood, and the NBA, regarded as powerful, even invincible, by earthly standards, have been shut down in a matter of days. The whole world has been turned upside down. Suddenly we are all painfully aware of just how out of control of our lives we really were all along. You may not have even realized you were operating your own life and had “forgotten” God in it like the Israelites did. But if you were, you’ll probably find yourself doing now exactly what the Israelites did- panicking, living in fear, and exchanging God’s glory for inglorious things.

They Exchanged God’s Glory

Psalm 106:20-22 says, “They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.” Moses had been up on Mt. Sinai for some time and the Israelites started to get nervous. They forgot God and instead of trusting him, they decided to make a golden calf to worship. They exchanged God’s glory and worshiped an inglorious thing instead.

People have actually lost their sense of security over making sure they have enough toilet paper- talk about exchanging God’s glory for inglorious things! But seriously, what do you find yourself worshiping right now? Are you giving your time to God’s glory and his word? Or are inglorious things like your phone, social media, and the news ruling your life? Are you worshiping your worries by allowing yourself to spend all your time thinking about what might happen? Or are you worshiping God by spending time in prayer and trusting him to care for you?

God never wiped his people out but he did do what was necessary to get their attention. He often punished the Israelites in ways that seem harsh to us. But God’s glory is not to be taken lightly. After a trial, the Israelites, that had forgotten God and his works, remembered and turned back to him. They remembered his power and glory, his miraculous works, and remembered that he alone was worthy of their worship. I believe God is using this virus to get our attention. So use this time to remember God’s power and glory. Remember that he alone is worthy of our worship- not our money, our jobs, our cars, or anything else.

They Gave into Panic and Fear

Psalm 106:7 says, “They did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.” God had just led the Israelites out of Egypt with a mighty hand. But when they arrived at the edge of the Red Sea and saw the Egyptians pursuing them, they panicked and doubted why God had ever brought them out of Egypt. And later in history, Psalm 106:24-25 says, “They despised the pleasant land, having no faith in his promise. They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the Lord.” When they finally made it to the Promised Land, they disobeyed God because of their fear. The Israelites gave into panic and fear because they forgot that the same God that had led them out of Egypt was with them still in both these situations and didn’t trust him to come through for them in just as miraculous a way.

It’s not hard to see the panic and fear in our world today. It’s all over the news and social media. But if you are a born again child of God, and you find yourself panicking or afraid, you can be assured that the same God that always came through for the Israelites will always come through for you.

We have hope. Psalm 106:44-45 says, “Nevertheless, he (God) looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry. For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.” God did not turn his back on the Israelites. While they may have forgotten him, he did not forget about them. And likewise, though we have forgotten him, God is not turning a blind eye to our pain now. This trial may last for a while but God will use this for the good of those who love him and for his glory. I believe God will use this time to give us all some much needed rest. I believe God will draw desperate hearts to himself. I believe God will use this as an opportunity for his church to be the light of the world and step up to help in both spiritual and practical ways. I believe God will use this to remind us all of his power and that he alone is in control.

When this has passed and is nothing more than an event in a history book, we must continue to remember how God came through for us. We must remember his power and works. This won’t be the last time the world, whether the globe or your individual life, spins out of control. So when all this fades away, don’t slip back into the illusion of control. Continue to remember God and daily trust in him. 

Remember God and his works.

Why is God So Good?

“God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, 
He’s so good to me.”

I paused as the rest of the congregation sang strongly along with the worship team to the familiar chorus. At this moment in my life, I wasn’t sure if I could honestly sing those words. Sure I knew that God was good, but right then I wasn’t really feeling his goodness in my life.

“He’s so good to me…” That stuck out to me in particular. It couldn’t just be about that, could it? It couldn’t just be about how God had been good to me in life. I quickly thought back through God’s moments of faithfulness in my life so far. There were many moments I could remember where God had done great things for me. Even still, if God’s goodness only came down to the things he had done for me, his goodness seemed to fall short. Wow… what a statement… but that’s where my broken heart was at that Sunday morning. Even though there were definite highlights of God’s faithfulness in my life, they seemed to be overshadowed by the crushingly dark time I was walking through.

Many people turn away from God and church for this exact reason: “Why would a good God allow suffering?” Not wanting to lose faith in my time of struggle, I reminded myself, “God is good all the time. His goodness is not dependent on what happens in my life.” But my unbelieving heart challenged me, “Why? Why is God good just because he is?”

I dwelled on this topic for a while. It took a couple days of reading scripture and pondering, but I’ve come up with these reasons: 

God is good:

• Because of the cross
• Because he bears our suffering
• In a way that is not easily understood.

Because of the Cross

I have known since I was a little girl that Jesus died on the cross to pay the punishment for my sin. I was beginning to realize, however, that the cross was so much more than just a pardon for sin. Isaiah 53:3-6 is a good description of what Jesus went through on the cross and why. 

“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

This world is broken. It causes suffering, tears, pain, and sadness. God didn’t cause me to suffer. My suffering is a result of a broken world and broken people. But Jesus, knowing how broken this world was, willingly descended from Heaven, a perfect place with no suffering, tears, sadness, or pain. He could have lived comfortably as royalty in the finest palace but he chose to dwell among the least of us. He experienced suffering on our level: he was despised, rejected, stricken, tormented, troubled, traumatized, afflicted, distressed, and hurt. And he suffered the ultimate humiliation and pain by being put to death on the cross as a criminal to cover our sins and give us peace and healing.

Jesus suffered, not just in his death but in his life. He gave up everything to give his life on the cross. He did this so those who believe in him could be forgiven of their sins and restored to a right relationship with God. That alone is more than enough reason for us to declare God as “good” despite anything we may face this side of eternity. An inability, or even unwillingness, to do so in light of the fact that Jesus rescued our souls from eternal suffering and separation from God likely comes from a loss of appreciation for the gospel and a lack of grief over the true depravity of our souls (preaching to myself here).

He Bears Our Suffering

Because of the cross, we can now enter into true relationship with Christ. Evangelicals love to talk about relationship over religion, but I think few of us really understand what a relationship with Jesus really means. This passage on Isaiah touches on it when it says that, “He took up our pain and bore our suffering,” and, “by his wounds we are healed.” Because Jesus forgave our sins at the cross and the Holy Spirit dwells within us, Jesus can actually carry our pain and our suffering. Even more so, he actually invites us to give it to him!

In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” If you’ve ever drudged through the trenches of a hard time, you’ll know how awkward the question, “How are you?” is to answer. We have a natural social instinct to try not to burden others with our messy lives. But Jesus loves us so much that he actually desires to be burdened with our messiness!

Jesus invites us to give him our heavy burdens so he can give us his yoke that is easy, light, and will give us rest. He not only forgave our sins on the cross but also made it possible to “trade yokes.” Though there is no guarantee of a pain free life, Jesus understands and is able to help us through our times of suffering when we come to him with our burdens.

I’m writing this as one who is still figuring this out. I know it far too easy to say, “Take it to Jesus,” and much harder to figure out how to do that in the middle of the struggle. But these scriptures hold truth. Jesus has suffered himself, there is healing because of his wounds, peace because of his punishment, and he invites you to come to him and find rest for your soul. Perhaps “coming to Jesus” looks like more time reading your Bible or more time spent in worship. Perhaps it’s a mindful choice or a heart surrendered. Perhaps coming to Jesus with our burdens looks a little different for everyone. I hope that the Holy Spirit will guide you and show you how you need to give your burdens to Jesus.

His Goodness Is Not Easily Understood

Lastly, God is good in a way that we don’t easily understand. Our human minds tend to comprehend goodness as giving or doing as much or more than you take. God isn’t good in that sense. God is good in the sense that he gave it all, every bit of everything he had, and the things he takes are like nothing in comparison to all that he gave.

Paul writes about this in Philippians 3:8, “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.”

As I’ve walked through this crisis these past few months, I have lost so much. I lost valuable assets. I lost a lot of money. I lost a lot of pride. I lost a lot of independence. But Jesus gave it all and gaining him is everything. And because having Christ in the long run is so unthinkably great, I can consider everything I possess on this world of no value at all in comparison.

That’s really hard to understand on this side of eternity when our lives revolve around other people, possessions, and money. I admit I’m not there yet, it’s a perspective I’m still working on. But another reason God is so good is that he never tries to make us feel guilty for mourning the loss of our temporary, earthly possessions. Instead, Jesus invites us to come to him so he can help us through our times of mourning.

________________________________________________________________

I lost so much, not because God took it away, but because I live in a fallen world with messed up people. I’m still walking through a time of suffering, tears, and pain and I certainly don’t have all of this figured out. But I know that God is good, not because of the things he gives me or has provided for me, but because he gave me himself.

It’s because of these reasons that I can now truthfully declare…

God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, 

He’s so good to me.

Epilepsy Changed My Life

Nine years ago I had my first seizure, alone in the bathroom at church. Because I was so disoriented, my parents took me to the ER, having no idea that the doctors were going to tell them that I had viral encephalitis, a brain infection, right before I had my second seizure in the ER. After 18 days in the hospital getting treated, the next 8 years went by incident free and I lived a normal, mostly carefree life. I wasn’t prepared for March 13, 2017 when I unexpectedly had another seizure. I had 6 seizures total in 2017. After an EEG in December of that year, my neurologist determined that I had developed epilepsy as a result of the scar tissue on the temporal lobe of my brain left from the viral encephalitis.

Epilepsy has changed my life. This has not been a dramatic, 180 degree turn around kind of change. Rather this change is the result of many small and subtle changes. We have learned to live life with epilepsy. I’ve learned to make sure I take my seizure medication twice a day every day or else risk putting myself at higher risk of having a seizure. We’ve had discussions on what kind of seizures merit going to the ER and which are just a part of life now. I’ve given actual thought to who my emergency contacts are, keep the list updated, and make sure the list is in an easily discoverable place. I’ve educated the people I’m around regularly on what to do in the case of a seizure. Sometimes I think twice before doing some simple tasks by myself when no one else is around or home- like showering, taking the dog on long walks at night, working late at the office when everyone else has left, and even still, driving. Patrick now pays attention to noises I make in my sleep and gets concerned if I don’t answer my phone right away. I’ll now always be sure to pack an extra set of clothes in my carryon when I fly or travel just in case of a seizure that causes incontinence. I now pay attention to every headache, every woozy feeling, and any other feeling or sensation in my body that I probably never even noticed before because I’m still not completely sure what a seizure coming on feels like. And in spite of all of this, I consider my epilepsy to be mild compared to some other cases I’ve heard of. I had six seizures in a year; some people have more seizures than that in a day.

But the most significant way that epilepsy changed my life, is that through it, God strengthened my faith and as a result has given me peace that surpasses understanding. Problems, worries, and trials that have come up over the past year have not burdened me like they used to. Uncertainty of the future is not as scary as it once was. I haven’t spent time worrying about possible worst-case scenario outcomes. Rather than panicking when plans have changed, seemingly for the worse, I have been able to take a deep breath and adjust or make a new plan accordingly. I have not been consumed with worry over bad news, but rather through God’s strength, I have felt calm and assured that everything will work out. I am not sharing this to try and brag because it is not something I have accomplished or obtained. I share this because this is a kind of peace that even I don’t understand. It is not conjured up from deep within but rather is given to me through the Holy Spirit. It is so foreign to me and so “not of myself,” that I have to give all of the glory to God.

Good health is a wonderful thing and I would never wish sickness and disease on anyone. However, good health can give us false assurance in ourselves, our strength, and our abilities. And though we may not realize it, sometimes we put more trust in our health than we do in God. Looking back on life before epilepsy, I think that certainly described me. When I started having seizures again, it was a painful reminder that my strength was not enough. Epilepsy forced me to rely and trust in God more fully. As a result of relying on God rather than my own abilities, I have been given peace that even I don’t understand to face any circumstance. I don’t know if I’ll ever get back to “life without epilepsy” again, that would be nice but that’s not the ultimate goal. No matter what God has in store for me, epilepsy or not, my goal is to never forget how to live life relying on God’s strength so I can continue to have peace that surpasses all understanding.

 "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7

Faith vs. Fairy Tales

Faith vs. Fairy Tales: God's Hand is Not Shortened

Two thoughts were in my mind as I lay in bed listening to my husband snore: first, I didn’t feel the least bit tired; second, I needed to spend some time in God’s word. Admittedly, it had been far too long since I had spent some true quality time reading my Bible. I kicked around a few excuses, before finally realizing that they were all ridiculous and then got out of bed. I picked back up where I had left off in Numbers, admittedly a dry book in spots, thinking that I would just try to read a little bit before trying to sleep again. But then I came across Numbers 11 which tells of God sending quail to the Israelites in the desert. This summer, we have been teaching children the story of Jesus feeding the 5000 so it was already on my mind. As I read Numbers 11, I couldn’t help but see the parallels between the two stories.

In both stories, Moses and the disciples are in the middle of nowhere and have large groups of “hangry” people to take care of. In the beginning, Moses is crying out to God about this huge nation he’s in charge of that is sick of eating only manna and wants some meat. Likewise, Mark 6 starts off with the disciples going to Jesus telling him to send the people away to get food to feed themselves. Both God and Jesus respond with a seemingly outlandish solution. God says, “You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you…” Jesus says, “You give them something to eat.” Both Moses and the disciples try to get God/Jesus to be more reasonable. Moses says, “The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’ Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?” The disciples say, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” Essentially, both of them are saying, “There’s way too many people here, how the heck are we supposed to feed them all?” And that’s when things get real. God responds to Moses saying, “Is the Lord's hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.” While Jesus doesn’t outright confront the disciples’ lack of faith, he does tell them to go gather whatever food they can find, which in some ways communicates the same thing. In other words, both of them are saying, “Seriously!? You’re doubting me?” And then both God and Jesus without actually saying it, basically go, “Watch this.” God sends quail by wind to the Israelite’s camp. The Bible says their camp was surrounded on either side by a “day’s journey” (in other words several miles) of quail stacked about a yard tall. Jesus starts multiplying 5 loaves and 2 fish until everyone has had more than enough to eat and there’s still 12 baskets full left over. In both stories, God provides exceedingly beyond what Moses or the disciples had ever expected was possible.

Okay so what’s the point? Ephesians 3:20-21 is the point, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” We like to share these neat miraculous Bible stories in church but sometimes we subconsciously treat them like they are just stories, almost like Christian fairy tales, of what God used to do. Some of us like to quote Ephesians 3:20 like it’s a cute, comforting phrase. Many of us probably think we really believe this. But how many of us are actually more like Moses or the disciples when a crisis comes. Moses and the disciples had seen God do amazing things and provide in miraculous and abundant ways prior to this, and yet when faced with a crisis they doubted. They lived as though they believed “God’s hand was shortened.” 

But God’s hand is not shortened. The same God who sent miles of 3-foot stacked quail on either side of a camp and multiplied 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish for 5,000+ people is alive and working in your life today. Stop living as if you believe God’s hand is shortened, as if he is unable to provide for you in whatever situation you face. Don’t just quote Ephesians 3:20 like it’s a cute, comforting phrase. Don’t retell these Bible stories like they’re Christian fairytales. Realize this same God is taking care of you. This same God can provide above and beyond, immeasurably more, than you could ever ask or imagine. Realize it, and then live that way when crisis comes. Remember these stories as fact, not fairytale, when tempted to doubt God’s hand in your life. It may not look exactly the way you think it will, but God is always faithful to provide. God’s hand is not shortened. 

Where do you need to trust God to provide above and beyond your expectations today? 

Bring Back the Baby Bottle

“Don’t cry, I’m only taking it away for a bit, trust me, I’ll be back, trust me,” I told little 6 month old, Elliot. I was babysitting for the evening and had been in the middle of giving Elliot his bottle before bed when his older brother, Leo, had gotten out of bed to go to the bathroom and couldn’t get his pajamas back on. I had to take the bottle from Elliot and set him down so I could go help Leo. While I knew that I would be back in just a minute or so to give Elliot the rest of his bottle, he certainly didn’t know that and promptly began to cry because I had taken something so good away from him. Though I care for children and work in children’s ministry where I am regularly teaching children, it amazes me how often children are the ones that teach me- even without meaning to! As I told Elliot that his bottle would be back in just a minute, I realized that God was trying to tell me something very similar.

You see, a little over a week prior to this, side effects of my brain infection as a 16 year old popped up for the first time in the 8 years since it happened and I had unexpectedly had a seizure. I am still waiting to be able to get into a neurologist to find out what exactly happened and get checked out. At least right now, the doctors in the ER led me to believe that it may have been caused by high blood pressure or stress. The doctor also told me that because I’d had seizures in the past, I am more prone to get them now without it being as serious of an issue (such as a brain infection like before). Though the brain infection and seizures the first time around was a big test of my faith, and a lesson I thought I had learned, I found my faith being put to the test all over again this time. As I voiced several of these concerns to my husband, he tried to calm me down by saying, “It will all work out. Just trust God with it.” 

I knew I needed to trust God… but honestly, I didn’t want to.

I found myself in a fit a worry. Why did I have another seizure? Was this something I was going to have to live with and constantly worry about the rest of my life? But even more so, what would I do if they took my license away?  I’m not quite familiar with the laws and procedures in New York, but I do know that in Pennsylvania you automatically lose your driver’s license for 6 months any time you have a seizure. What was I going to do? What would that mean for my work situation? How was I going to continue the ministry with CEF? I drive everywhere in the summer, what were we going to do? How would I survive without my license, without my freedom to go places? All of this was still on my mind as I took that baby bottle from Elliot and found myself saying to Elliot what I believe God was trying to say to me through my lack of trust. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll bring it back, trust me.”

I was reminded of Psalm 84:11 which says, “The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right” (NLT). I had no plans to keep the bottle away from Elliot, I just had to set it down for a while. I know that he needs his bottle, so of course, as his caretaker for the night, I had every intention to bring that good baby bottle back to him. In the same way, I realized my heavenly Father wasn’t going to withhold anything good from me… but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to take it away for a while. After all God knows what I truly need more than I do. Elliot couldn’t understand that I had to step away to care for his brother, he didn’t have the whole story and so he cried until I brought the bottle back. I can’t see all the details and pieces of the story I’m in right now, I don’t understand why this had to happen. It’s scary to be without “the bottle” when you don’t know why it’s gone or when it’s coming back. But God knows. God is in control. And even when life is not, God is good.

I still don’t have all the details. I’m still waiting to find out why the seizure happened. I’m still waiting to find out whether or not I’ll be able to drive. And honestly, I’m still struggling not to worry and trust God completely. But I know that God will not withhold any good thing from me, though I might still do some crying when he takes it away. Nevertheless, my hope remains in him alone. I am learning to trust that soon enough he will either bring back the “bottle” or replace it with something even better.

Of course as if Elliot didn't drive this point home enough, I really listened to the lyrics of this song this week too and it brought me to tears as it perfectly sums this all up. I hope it ministers to you and whatever your "baby bottle" may be.

The Yarboros in 2016

Family and Friends, 

            What a year it has been for us! God has certainly filled it with many blessings. There were many changes and adjustments to be made in 2016, some easier than others, but God has been good through it all. We truly feel that we have experienced the wonders of God’s love as we have started our own journey of love in marriage this year. We hope and pray that God has been good to you as well in 2016 and continues to be as we enter into this New Year!

           

As you know, we got married on March 19^th. We were thrilled that many of our family members from both sides were able to make the trip to New York to celebrate our big day with us. Even my (Lindsey) cousin and his wife who live in Laos and had just made it to the States a few days before showed up and surprised us! The day was a whirlwind of love, friendship, and happiness but we were blessed by each other and everyone who made our wedding so beautiful. We left from our wedding and immediately drove down to Baltimore (stopping at Burger King on the way so we could actually eat something!) We stayed the night in the Hyatt Regency on the inner harbor and then boarded our cruise ship the next morning, spending ten days on a Western Caribbean cruise over the course of our spring break. We visited St. Thomas, St. Kitts, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. We had a great time! Two of the other three couples at our table got married on the same day as us! We had a blast connecting with them at meals. Our honeymoon was a wonderful getaway before heading back to mid-semester reality! We came back from honeymoon and dove right into getting moved, setting up the apartment with all of our stuff, and catching up on school work.

Lindsey graduated from Davis College on May 7^th with her bachelors of religious education in teaching English as a second language and Christian counseling. Through the summer she continued her work on a full time basis with Child Evangelism Fellowship of Broome County (where she had been working part time through school) as the Summer Ministries Coordinator. She was in charge of scheduling 5-Day Club programs for kids in the area and helping teens to lead those clubs. She also started working for our church as the Ministry Assistant in July several hours a week. Once the summer ended she went back to working for CEF part time, increased her hours at the church, and also picked her morning babysitting job back up. She is definitely busy but enjoys all three jobs very much.

Patrick is in his third year at Davis College getting his bachelors of religious education in pastoral studies. Patrick worked as the evening and weekend chef for the Davis kitchen until May but then went back to working at Panera full time for the summer. Between work and homework he stays busy volunteering at our church. Most recently, he has been helping our church to begin a Christian recovery program for the church’s community. It’s still in the beginning stages but he is excited to be a part of it as it is something he is very passionate about. In November, our pastor gave him the opportunity to preach his first sermon in service. He did great for his first sermon and looks forward to being able to continue to sharpen his preaching skills and getting practice for the future.

We were able to spend three weeks travelling in May. We spent one week visiting Patrick’s family in Wilmington, NC, one week visiting Lindsey’s family in Pittsburgh and having a wedding reception there, and then travelling to Nebraska to visit Lindsey’s extended family and attend to her cousin’s wedding. We were also able to take several weekends and day trips exploring New York in places like Syracuse, the Finger Lakes, and Niagara Falls. We are blessed to have flexible jobs that allow us to get away from it all and spend some quality time with each other once in a while!

2016 has been a year of blessing! We pray that you have a wonderful Christmas to wrap the year up and a wonderful year of similar blessings in 2017. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

-The Yarboros-

One a Day: Bible Challenge

I want to give testimony which means that I also need to be transparent and honest…

I really suck at reading my Bible regularly.

It is and always has been a struggle of mine. I so easily get caught up in the busyness of life, the busyness of ministry even, that I feel like I'm doing good if I can even manage to take 2 minutes out of my day to read a quick YouVersion devotional. And not that there’s no merit at all to that, but it definitely doesn’t impact my life with the word of God. Let me tell you, I felt the impact of this in my spiritual life.

I have definitely been in a spiritual dry spell for some time.

Recently we got a desk/bookshelf together and so I finally got around to organizing some of the boxes we had just left in storage in our second bedroom/office. In one of those boxes was an extra journaling Bible that was the result of an ordering mishap for our wedding. (We used one as a guest book but ended up with a second one because Patrick’s friend, Andy was concerned the one he ordered online wouldn't come in time). So we had this extra one lying around the house. As I picked it up and thumbed through it, I thought how convenient such a Bible made doing devotions because there was room to journal right next to the word, which is ideally how I like to have my devotions. So I decided to start using it for my personal devotional Bible.

This is how I know my brain is a weird place…

Just the idea that I could journal right in Bible was enough motivation for me to actually get into the word again. Knowing that I could hold one book instead of both my Bible and my journal made it seem easier. It makes no sense, because it still takes just as much time and sometimes I still write a reflection in my journal, but whatever… it works for me.

As I picked it up to decide which chapter I wanted to start in, Patrick suggested, “Just start in the beginning…” Immediately my brain starts coming up with excuses, “I already know so many of the Genesis stories…” “But I could be reading something from the New Testament…” But the more I thought about it, the more I decided that the beginning did in fact seem like a pretty good place to start.

Would you believe I made it through 5 years of Bible College, and I still have not read the Bible entirely?

It’s somewhat embarrassing actually, though I know many Christians are in the same boat as me. I actually had a non-Christian ask me one time, “How can you be sure you believe it if you’ve never read the whole thing?” Now of course I still have read much of it and know the themes and meaning of the Bible as a whole, but I have always known reading the Bible in its entirety is important.

I’m not a fan of one-year Bible reading plans.

They don’t work well for me and they often make me feel like I’m reading just to accomplish a goal of reading it. Plus it usually has me reading so much at a time that I have a hard time applying and gaining the meaning out of it. So I decide to make a simple goal for myself…

Read straight through the Bible at least one chapter a day, every day.

I know it may not be the most practical plan. I know it will take a long time (3.25 years). But I want to soak in the word of God. I want to take it one chapter at a time and truly meditate on that chapter. I don’t want to read it just to finish it in a certain amount of time, but read it to truly learn it on a personal level and to know God. I know there will be long days and short days. I know there will be painfully boring books and really exciting ones. But it’s all in the Bible for a reason, so I want to read it.

I’ve missed a few days already.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t been perfect so far. But I have done SO, SO, SO much better than before. So far I am on Genesis 5. And guess what, already I am noticing the power that being in God’s word on a regular basis has made in my life. I feel like I am hearing from God again. I am gleaning more from speakers of God’s word and I have a passion for living life for God again. I don’t feel like I am just going through the motions but rather that I am passionately living life for God. I’m actually finding that I want to spend time in the word and I look forward to reading the next chapter.

And that’s only after a few days.

Not only that, I am getting so much out of it. I mean I’ve read stories like the creation account, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel… all stories that I’ve heard time and time again. And with every chapter I read, I have gained something new out of it. I have been able to pull out an application for my own life from the Word of God. I feel like God is truly speaking to me through his word as I step out in obedience and challenge myself in this way.

At first I didn’t want to tell anyone about this challenge…

I was nervous to tell anyone that I had challenged myself to do this because I didn’t want people to know if I failed. Tonight, I changed my mind. On my own, I will most certainly fail. I need the help of others to hold me accountable. I need people to ask me how my Bible reading plan is going. I’m not going to prepare for failure but rather set up and plan for success. So please, hold me accountable. Ask me how the plan is going. Ask me where I’m at in the Bible. This is at least a 3 and a quarter year journey I am embarking on. I know I may miss days here and there, but I know I’ll stop altogether if no one helps me.

And maybe… MAYBE I’ll do blog updates as I continue on this journey.

If God has done this much work through just 5 chapters of his word, I’m interested to see what other changes I will see in myself as I continue reading. There truly is power in God’s word. It is definitely living and active. I wonder what it will activate in me.

Please join me in this.

Hold me accountable and ask me about it. Maybe you need to challenge yourself to read a chapter a day all the way through too. And you can also subscribe to a Daily Bible Message that I send out. I have been writing these daily devotions based on my reading for the day and based on my personal reflection of the word. And look for blog updates about what God continues to do in me as I stay in his word.