Tagged: Audrey Frank

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7 Waiting patiently is hard, especially when we can’t see what’s happening. Farmers know something about this. My daily walk takes me through a valley of farms. Tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, squash, strawberries, grapes, and potatoes all grow in their seasons. One garden will be lush and green, while mere yards away, a plot lies plowed and ready for new seed. Yet another garden just beyond stands at attention, its earthen rows tidy and straight, planted, yet no sign of growth. My neighbors know how to make the most of the earth God has given them in all seasons.  But there is one thing hidden from the farmer and from us. Something he or she… Read More

Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”  John 21:18 Sometimes we are carried where we do not want to go.  No one wants to lose a child. No one wants to be let go from a job just before retirement. No one wants to discover a spouse is addicted to pornography. No one wants to be forced out of home and… Read More

Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? At the highest point along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand…  Proverbs 8:1-4, NIV There is a towering hill in our village, and those willing to make the climb will reach the highest point where three roads meet. Each road spills recklessly over the ridge in a different direction, but on that small summit, they are level for a while, joined as one. I often walk there with my dog and today as I crested the heights, the words of Proverbs 8 1-4 resonated in my AirPods as I listened to the Dwell Bible app. At the highest point along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand…… Read More

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. Lamentations 3:22 Compassion is directly connected to power. Our human power has limits. For some, compassion can morph into workaholism and exhaustion. Others, looking at the widespread trauma in the world today, feel powerless to help at all. Then compassion becomes despair. Despair becomes avoidance, even as the needs of the world grow greater. There is a compassion that never fails, and it is powered by limitless love. I don’t know about you, dear reader, but my compassion has limits because my love has limits. Does yours? I didn’t want my love to have limits. I once thought I could love endlessly. It took a mere six months among a… Read More

  Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. Ecclesiastes 9:10   Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord. Colossians 3:23   As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. John 9:4 We can be immobilized or mobilized by today’s headlines of war and trauma in the world. Jesus had no paper to read, no text messages barraging His phone, no phone! He had no widescreen, thin screen, folding screen to flash the latest deaths of innocent people across His consciousness, ruining His day. He carried it all, every single war, every innocent child killed, every weeping… Read More

The Good Shepherd Mosaic from Galla Placidia, Ravenna, Italy But you, Oh Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. Psalm 3:3 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 Little sheep, can you feel the strength in the Good Shepherd’s hand? He holds your head up, though you want to hang it low and weep. His gentle firmness keeps your face fixed on His, though fear bids you look away. Little sheep, though His eyes do not look upon you right now, His heart is set upon you. See how He turns to you,… Read More

And God is able to make all grace overflow to you so that because you have enough of everything in every way at all times, you will overflow in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8, NET If life is going okay for you right now, you might skim this verse in less than four seconds (I tested it.) If life is crushing, you might not be able to get through it at all (admittedly, I tested that one, too.) 2 Corinthians 9:8 is a whopping promise.  All grace. Enough of everything. In every way. At all times. In every good work. God’s promises can make us skip and sing with joy when all is well. But when we’re immobilized and overwhelmed by life’s most crushing… Read More

Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Psalm 37:6 The last thing I want to do is be still. I have so much to do, so many tasks mounting, so many urgencies clamoring. How can I possibly be still? Is that even responsible? In some circumstances, being still is life-saving. Reminds me of a true story, as usual.  The sun shone like joy as I made my way down Mt. Kenya after an epic climb with friends to the summit. I happily led the way, some distance ahead of my companions. The terrain on Mt. Kenya is surreal in parts, like something out of Perelandra by CS Lewis. We had just passed over spongey, mossy tufts, past… Read More

There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord. Leviticus 23:3 Come visit me on Sabbath; The bed will not be made. My coffee cup will sit half-full; The table won’t be laid.   Sabbath is our freedom day, The one we do no work. We give ourselves permission To let the laundry lurk.   Alarms are silenced, schedules closed; We rise without the stress Of rushing out, of rushing in,  Of tidying every mess.   We gather with our family To worship and to hear The One who speaks on Sabbath  To all… Read More

For those from one of my favorite nations who allowed me to learn from them this week. You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. Genesis 50:20 Why wouldn’t the majority of house church leaders throughout persecuted nations of the world be women? Nations that see the world through the lenses of honor and shame? Women are leading house churches by the thousands. God has raised them up and they are bringing HIm much glory. In honor-shame cultures, from an early age, women are responsible for teaching children how to avoid shame and cultivate honor. During adolescence, girls become women and take on their roles as honor burden bearers. Their… Read More