Tagged: Audrey Frank

For my friends at the Soul Care Institute, with gratitude And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Jeremiah 18:4 “We don’t get just one chance to learn something.” This is how Stephen W. Smith begins Day 3 in his transformational guide, 30 Days with the Potter. His words are helping me make sense of this season of leadership in my life. I thought I knew who I was, who the Potter formed me to be. Storms came, pressures of the mind, soul, and body, and I charged through, sword in hand, shield up, Jesus present. Eyes on the prize. But in recent months,… Read More

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. 1 Peter 3:15 We returned from our honeymoon to the little four-room apartment as the sun set, casting its warm light over the cracked vinyl couch, green shag carpet, and homemade curtains. Our first home together was the loveliest sight I had ever seen. Wedding gifts were piled high in the living room, welcoming us like happy hosts. As a new bride, I was dazzled by the generosity of friends and family, overwhelmed by how much they had given to help us start our new life together. The beautifully-wrapped boxes beckoned and we couldn’t wait to open them. On our scuffed second-hand table, someone had carefully arranged a display of our wedding china, crystal, and silver.… Read More

...for my Mother-in-Love. Thank you. The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,      they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord,      they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age,      they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;      he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.” Psalm 92:12-14 She attacked the roots with a frenzy, her hair flying in all directions, brow crinkled in concentration.  We must help them let go. The little gardenias had become root-bound in their pots while they sat in the nursery waiting for a buyer. Then we came along, bright-eyed and… Read More

Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup, and have made my lot secure. Psalm 16:5 Everything that comes is assigned.  Elisabeth Elliot called this the great simplifier for all of life. Our loving heavenly Father has assigned everything that comes into our lives. Can I accept His assignment? Can you? The Israelites wandered in the desert, all ate of the same manna. But many did not please the Lord and died before seeing the Promised Land. How do you explain the difference between people who have been through the same experience, but with vastly different outcomes? The great simplifier invites us to trust God even when it’s hard. Maybe even when it seems impossible. His portion can be painful.  I have found… Read More

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice!  Philippians 4:4 When I can’t feel my feelings, even in times that should evoke joy, it might be a sign of something deeper going on. Paul can repeat his command two or twenty times, and it won’t get through to a brain that has been anesthetized by pain and sorrow. In long seasons of endurance and suffering, we shut down our emotions to survive. The amygdala, that tiny yet mighty bundle of nuclei deep in the brain, is no favoritist. In times of trauma, all feelings power down—not just the difficult ones, but the happy ones too. A physiological mercy, this enables us to press on through crushing circumstances. But once better days come, when danger… Read More

For our grown-up warrior, who helped us hear the sound of feet running.  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.  James 4:7-8 Some said we were living near the very gates of the enemy. Deep in the heart of the ancient walled city was an old mosque, made famous over the centuries by the pilgrims who journeyed there to ask Allah to open their barren wombs. Through ornate iron gates I could see thousands of colored strips of cloth, a flickering ticker-tape parade of faith and magic mixed with Islamic prayers. The spiritual darkness was suffocating at times. Even the local people warned us of the power… Read More

After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10 To my newest sisters and brothers, If I could erase myself, so all you could see is Jesus, I would. The words He gave me for you when we were together are His own, from His heart. I am just His servant, a steward of His Light Words. Remember Him, not me. It is He who asked me to go beyond my small borders and travel to a land I had not known before. It was His immeasurable love for you that compelled me to obey. Remember how precious you are to… Read More

This popular post has been updated from its original publication on audreyfrank.org  in March 2018. But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. Joshua 7:1 At times reading the Bible, beholding it, is like staring into a burning book. The words lick with flames like a ravenous fire, determined to burn away the perishable in my heart and soul. The text of Joshua 7 is searing, its flames rising ever higher, burning my gaze and drawing me in. The story of Achan’s sin. [bctt tweet="Achan acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things. He took some of them. Achan took God’s glory for… Read More

Afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and I will lay your foundations with sapphires. Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies, and your gates of crystal, and your entire wall of precious stones.  Isaiah 54:11-12 There is a fat-bellied bird in Britain who has two names. Ornithologists call him a Mistle Thrush, but in the countryside where he is often seen, he is known as the Storm Thrush because of his tendency to sing in the midst of strong winds. A story is told about a poet who was awakened in the night, not by the fierce storm that ravaged outside, for indeed it was enough to wake the deepest sleeper, but by a rich and… Read More

Written from a hidden ranch deep in the Kenyan mountains as my husband and I sat in Jesus' presence for examen among the wild creatures.   The Wildness of Your Presence   Sometimes Your presence is a wild place. Air thrumming with life Wildness As if I emerged into a sacred wilderness Where You and Your wild things Commune.   I am the tame one here, The one who thinks Instead of abiding, Who sits Instead of flying.   The common Kenyan pigeon Perches nearby Curiously appraising my composure, Inviting me to decompose.   Goats meander through A dry river bed, Their bells tinkling As they forage along the ravine. Your food is there waiting for them.   Monkeys chatter, Clamber along the acacia, Stopping… Read More