Life turned upside down quickly. I wish someone had said to me, You are holding onto meaningless things, and you are believing in yourself for the wrong reasons. Stop judging your life by your achievements or “blessings,” whether material or relational or reputational, because none of them will last. What you now consider blessings will be taken away, and when they are, you will discover that being blessed is deeper and more lasting than you can imagine.

There is no way I could have prepared my thirty-year-old self for what lay ahead. How does one prepare for the unknown? I’m glad I didn’t know what was coming, but I wish I had known that while God was taking away my earthly treasures, he was giving me something that could never be taken away — he was giving me himself.

I wish I had known that trusting God would never be a mistake and that he would use every ounce of my pain for my good and his glory. And I wish I had known that life in Christ would continue to get better, because Jesus always saves the best wine for the end.

Can My Mother See Me From Heaven?

A friend came across a sermon which declared John the Baptist came to promote social justice. Oh dear, God wouldn't have been pleased that the arrival of his Son, the saviour of the world, was sidelined by the belief that good works were more important. Listen to this to hear John's true commission from God.

"Hebrews challenges Jesus followers to remain faithful to him as the one who is the ultimate revelation of God's love and mercy."

[Picture and caption from BibleProject.com]

...and chance the consequences."  Who'd have thought a fictional pirate king in a comic opera (Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance) would give such scripturally based advice! Perhaps "trust" would have been a better word - but otherwise, these are words God would approve.