Tagged: Audrey Frank

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.Zechariah 4:10 I lay there in the dark, alert and ready to leap out of bed at any given second. The sound of the rat running back and forth on the bedpost inches from my head had me frozen in place, immobilized and afraid to breathe. What on earth is he carrying in his mouth with such dedication? I wondered to myself.  Back and forth, back and forth.  Scratch, scramble, swoosh, slip, patter-patter-patter over my head. Again. And again.  He was very busy and paid me no mind whatsoever.  All of my senses, however, were completely trained upon his every move. I was trying very hard not to scream. Turning my… Read More

Run and tell his disciples, even Peter, that he is risen.Mark 16:7 Even Peter. How curious that the angel sitting in the empty tomb on the Morning of all mornings would emphasize the disciple who denied Jesus in his darkest hour. The angel was a servant messenger of the Most High God, and he was doing just what the Master had instructed. His words conveyed Jesus’ heart. Do not forget Peter especially. He needs to know He is still loved. Times of fear and panic cause people to act in ways contrary to their deepest beliefs. Patriots abandon the battle. Mothers walk away from their babies. Fathers leave their families. Disciples deny their Lord. Jesus knows and understands. He loved us before we loved Him… Read More

"Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."Mark 11:22-23 I have a list in my journal titled, “Mountain, Go Throw Yourself Into the Sea.” Underneath is a long line of things I cannot control, cannot possibly budge on my own, impossible things. I have given them to Jesus, the One who makes the impossible Possible. I have replaced my to-do lists with He-Can-Do. There are things I can… Read More

A global pandemic is a good time for a relationship reset with Jesus. What does the forced halt in productivity reveal in your relationship with God?  The tribe I once lived with in East Africa called us outsiders “wazungu”, which literally means “people who spin around and around.” We sure did spin around and around in the beginning, running here and there with our fancy projects and new ideas, keen on doing something Important. But the gentle people surrounding us didn’t think much about lofty goals and productivity. Their identity was anchored in land, relationships, and spirituality. Living in their midst was like existing in quarantine in many ways, far from the material comforts and resources we’d always enjoyed. As I struggled with the question… Read More

Grab a cup of coffee and pull your chair up close. I want to talk to you, one mother to another. There are some things we need to get straight, and I think we can help each other. We are both pulling this load, carrying this bundle, pushing this cart, holding tight to this privilege called motherhood.  First, I want you to know that you can’t ruin everything.  You're powerful, that's true. You are mighty because you are a mother. But you and I don't have that much power. Power so great it can stop the always-pursuing, chasing-our-hearts, life-transforming love and grace of God. God is sovereign, girl! And underneath are the everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33:26-28). He doesn’t just go before us (Isaiah 52:12), He goes behind… Read More

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Philippians 1:27 We all glanced around, wondering who would go first in front of the dairy case. I needed cream cheese. After a woman finished her selection, I moved forward to grab mine. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed an elderly gentleman patiently leaning on his cart across the aisle.  Did I step in front of him? Oh, no, I didn’t mean to! Quickly I closed the cooler door and turned to apologize, expecting him to be impatient and irritated with me. After all, most everyone in the grocery store seemed to be buzzing around like angry bees ready to sting, intent on defending their space and getting their stuff,… Read More

You who are my comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me. Jeremiah 8:18 I sit by the water, watching a leaf trickle through the air on its journey to the rippling surface. The sky is blue and the clouds’ edges are so sharp they look frazzled and irritated. The perfection of their silhouette against brilliant azure seems to frustrate them. They want to frizz out a bit and break the blissful facade. Kind of like my naturally curly hair I work so hard to straighten. The wind kicks her heels, threatening to upend my coffee cup as if she agrees to help. Two people sit nearby and make me mad. I want to be alone. I don’t want to hear another human voice. I… Read More

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.Proverbs 16:9 We could go to town one day per month if the river wasn’t too high. Our four-by-four had a long exhaust, and if the height of the water allowed it to peek above the surface, we could cross. Tightly strapped seatbelts couldn’t stop our team of eight from bouncing around, leaning on each other and bumping along as we navigated the river’s murky depths.  Life in an African village on the equator was hot and sticky. During the rainy season, mud made it nearly impossible to travel. Even walking to a neighbor’s house would land you on your back in the mud, covered from head to toe, surrounded by an instant… Read More

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”John 8:12 From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.Matthew 27:45 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.  The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that… Read More

He will restore us in a very short time; he will heal us in a little while, so that we may live in his presence. Hosea 6:2 How strange, apocalyptic, it must have been for the people who entered our home and boxed up all our belongings after the fire. Room by room, they picked up every salvageable item and placed it carefully in cardboard boxes to be cleaned and restored. We were plucked up and removed from our life, as it were, in an instant. We did not know that morning when we threw the covers back to face another day that we would not be in our home that night to snuggle down again into our comfortable beds. Or for many, many long… Read More