Devotion: Set the Captive Free

Set the Captive Free
A devotion by Alexis A. Goring

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy, instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” 

–Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV)

Harriet Tubman, born into slavery, was an American abolitionist and social activist. She is famous for not only escaping slavery but going on many missions to set slaves—including her family and friends—free through what American history books call the “Underground Railroad.” This was a network of anti-slavery activists and safe houses that assisted slaves on their journey to freedom.

Tubman is also known for this quote: “I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.”

I reflected on the meaning of this during a crucial time for members of the African Diaspora on American soil. A spiritual parallel formed in my mind: Jesus Christ wants to set sinners free from the shackles of sin, just like Tubman set the slaves free from that unjust and evil system. But do we know we’re sinners in need of a Savior? We are all sinners saved by God’s grace, but so many of us feel like we don’t need Him. We feel that we can live without Him. Many of us are so adverse to religion that we say things like “Christianity is just not my thing,” all the while we don’t realize that we are in a battle between good and evil.

The Bible is clear: in the end, God wins! He is forgiving and compassionate. He will forgive all your sins if you confess and repent. God wants to reconcile you so that you will spend eternity with Him. This eternity is completely free from sin, suffering and sorrow. It’s a perfect place where all is well and filled with goodness. But to do that, we have to first realize we are sinners in need of a Savior.

We must accept Christ’s gift of salvation and follow Him all the way to Heaven. We must know that Earth is not our home. The Bible says we are pilgrims passing through this Earth (1 Chronicles 29:15) and that Heaven is our final destination. Just like Tubman set many slaves free, the Bible says that God wants to set the captives free (Luke 4:18). That’s us. We need to be delivered from sin.

Our eyes must be opened so that we don’t fall prey to the devil’s wiles. We need to reject the ways of this world and allow Christ to renew our minds. Then we can know God’s will (Romans 12:1-2). We need our Savior more than we know. Time is short. God will not allow this sin parade to continue forever. A time will come when He tells Jesus to go get His children (all who chose God and lived for Him). When that happens, it will be too late to choose good over evil. The Bible says that God will say “Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.” (Revelation 22:11).

This is the real deal. God doesn’t play. He wants us all to be saved, but one day He will say, “enough is enough.” He will rescue His children and destroy the devil and all of his evil angels, along with humans who choose evil. He beautifully promised in Revelation 21:4 (NIV): “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

Place your hope in God, not humankind (Psalm 146:3-9). Remember that He loves you with all of His Heart! He’s done everything to reconcile your heart with His (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). All you have to do is accept Jesus Christ’s gift of salvation (John 3:16), believe in God, then follow Jesus all the way to Heaven.

Song of Reflection: “Just for Me” (song) by Donnie McClurkin. Listen to it here.

Sharing Our Stories: Series Cancellation

Dear Blog Readers,

I decided to cancel my blog's "Sharing Our Stories: Being the Change We Seek" series, effective today (Sept. 27, 2021).

I am sorry for any disappointment this decision may cause.

All of the previously published posts for this series will remain on this blog, always available for you to read and share at your convenience. 

I hope that you will continue to work on being the change you seek in this world.

Take care and God bless you!

Sincerely,

Alexis A. Goring, MFA

Founder of "On My Heart" (blog)

Sharing Our Stories: Pushing Past Despair

Goodness is Coming
A guest post by Amber Hoopengarner

“I would have despaired had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the Land of the Living.” – Psalm 27:13 (AMP)

When reflecting on my children’s school year thus far, it causes me to become saddened.

My heart hurts for them.

While it has been trying due to the pandemic, my children have been dealing with other factors such as racial slurs from classmates or racial jokes that are delivered by so called “friends”.

I remind myself that these children are just children and that it is probably what they are learning at home that causes them to say such things. But that does not change my feelings about the fact that it is not something I want my children to experience.

As a minority family we have experienced our share of racial incidences that prove to me that racism is still alive and well. I am thankful that I have a hope who I can lean on (Jesus Christ).

Like David in the scripture above (Psalm 27:13), I must believe that I will see goodness and that my children will see change. I must hope beyond hope and minister to my own soul that God will allow us to prevail. We will not be defeated; we will be made better.

I pray that we as people—especially those of us in the BIPOC community—can gather our emotions, our outrage, our tears, our fears, and bring them to God knowing that He has control of all things. We cannot control people’s actions or what they say or think. Nor can we change their perspectives.

However, we have the ability to hold on to the truth of God’s Word (The Holy Bible) that clearly states that if we keep hoping if we keep on believing in the God who has saved us and healed us so many times before…if we can just stay focused on seeing the goodness of the Lord in the Land of the Living in our own lives and experiences, then we will be strengthened day after day.

We will not despair though the circumstances may change and the battle rages on. The world may grow more violent, hateful and unkind. But we will rise up, push forward and focus on our Creator who is our Living Hope!

Let’s Pray: Dear God, You know what is going on in the Earth right now. You know the battles we have been facing and the injustices we are up against. Help us to believe that we will see Your goodness. Inspire us to believe that You will continue defending us and fighting for us. We thank You, dear God, for everything You do for us. We commit to pressing on because we know that we are victorious through Jesus Christ. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

Amber Hoopengarner is a writer and self-published author who is also a Certified Life Coach working with women who suffer from PMADs and children who suffer from mental health disorders.

She is a Maternal Mental Health Advocate and works to help raise awareness within the church of mental health disorders especially among BIPOC women.

Amber graduated in 2016 from the University of Phoenix with an Associates in Human Services Management and is currently in the process of obtaining her bachelor’s in psychology. She also has certificates in Mental Health Coaching, Bibliotherapy and CBT as well as in Perinatal Mood Anxiety Disorders.

Amber loves God and people! She enjoys making a difference through bringing up issues and challenges that sometimes would not otherwise be addressed. She believes that God wants His people to be loved where right where they are while they are working on who He has called them to become.

Sharing Our Stories: Kristen's Review of the book "White Lies" by Daniel Hill

Kristen Terrette’s review of Daniel Hill's book 

White Lies: 

Nine Ways to Expose and Resist the Racial Systems That Divide Us 

When considering curriculum for a church small group, my friend and fellow small group facilitator recommended I read White Lies: Nine Ways to Expose and Resist the Racial Systems That Divide Us by Pastor Daniel Hill of River City Community Church in Chicago. 

She said she probably preferred Hill’s book over Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison. This was kind of a shock, since I love Morrison’s book and its group curriculum! It’s one we’ve used at our church before. But after reading White Lies, I know exactly why she made the claim.

She and I are both White Christian women, currently living in the suburbs. We both are on a spiritual journey, as Pastor Hill calls it, learning and growing in knowledge of the reality of White privilege, White supremacy, and race divisions. We both have a strong desire for racial reconciliation and unity, and to see the world and especially the Church, awaken to these systems. And yet, she and I attend a (lovely) church whose desire is to be multicultural, but at the moment still very White.

This book, like the other ones I’ve read, challenges White supremacy in a want for reconciliation and speaks directly to me as a White Christian. But where this book is different (for me) is that it’s written by a White man. Being a White male, Pastor Hill has the backing to be brutally honest with his audience, because he is the very audience he’s speaking to.

Though the books I’ve read by Black authors gave unique insight to their struggles and heartache—pains and hardships that I cannot fully understand—reading a book on White supremacy written by a White man is very different because there is no sugarcoating. Even still, I must mention Pastor Hill does wrap is challenging words with love. He is very good in helping the reader take next steps on their journey.

Pastor Hill has written a book that, though its more intellectual in scope, was hard to put down. And it is the perfect book for the churches like mine (and like my White friend and I) to read and discuss. Every page’s depth, scope, and theology challenged me to process the ideas, claims, and resolutions proposed and taught. This meant it was not an easy, leisurely read for me. It was one where I had to sit down with intentional focus and quiet surroundings to fully understand Pastor Hill’s message.

I cannot accurately explain the impact this book has had on me, and I can’t wait to get going on a small group in my church with this curriculum. I already have the discussion guides! 

If you want to be challenged and grow, this book is for you. I give it 5 of 5 stars!

~*~
Reviewer’s Bio:

Kristen is passionate about storytelling and helping people take their next steps in their relationship with Jesus.

She lives forty-five minutes outside of Atlanta, GA. where she served as a Children's Ministry Director for many years. With the support of her husband and two children, she now stays home writing fiction and non-fiction.

She also serves on the women’s leadership team at her local church and writes for Crosswalk and Wholly Loved Ministries. You can check out her articles and novels at www.kristenterrette.com.

~*~
Connect with Kristen:
Website - www.kristenterrette.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/authorkristenterrette/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/KTerrette
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kterrette/
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16252020.Kristen_Terrette
BookBub - https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kristen-terrette
Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/kterrette2/

~*~
Book Blurb for White Lies:

What can you do to be a force for racial justice? 

Many White Christians are eager to fight against racism and for racial justice. But what steps can they take to make good, lasting change? How can they get involved without unintentionally doing more harm than good?

In this practical and illuminating guide drawn from more than twenty years of cross-cultural work and learning from some of the greatest leaders of color, pastor and racial justice advocate Daniel Hill provides nine practices rooted in Scripture that will position you to be an active supporter of inclusion, equality, and racial justice. With stories, studies, and examples from his own journey, Hill will show you:

· How to get free of the impact of White supremacy individually and recognize that it works systemically

· How to talk about race in an intelligent and respectful way

· How to recognize which strategies are helpful and which are harmful

· What you can do to make a difference every day, after protests and major events

We cannot experience wholistic justice without confronting and dismantling White supremacy. But as we follow Jesus—the one who is supreme over all things—into overturning false power systems, we will become better advocates of the liberating and unconditional love that God extends to us all.

~*~
Author Bio:

Daniel Hill is the author of White Lies, White Awake, and 10:10: Life to the Fullest. 

He is the Founding and Senior Pastor of River City Community Church, located in the west Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago. The vision of River City is centered on the core values of worship, reconciliation, and neighborhood development. 

Formed in 2003, River City longs to see increased spiritual renewal as well as social and economic justice in the Humboldt Park neighborhood and entire city, demonstrating compassion and alleviating poverty as tangible expressions of the Kingdom of God.

Prior to starting River City, Daniel launched a dot.com in the 90's before serving five years on the staff of Willow Creek Community Church in the suburbs of Chicago.

Daniel has his B.S. in Business from Purdue University, his M.A. in Theology from Moody Bible Institute, his certificate in Church-based Community and Economic Development from Harvard Divinity School, and his D.Min. from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Daniel is married to Elizabeth, who is a Professor of Psychology, and they are the proud parents of Xander and Gabriella Hill.

~*~
Buy Daniel’s book on Amazon, Barnes and Noble or Walmart

~*~
Connect with Daniel:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pastordanielhill
Twitter: https://twitter.com/danielhill1336

Sharing Our Stories: Perspective

This Hour’s Perspective
A guest post written by Stephanie Bankhead

Violence, disunity and death pervade the hour we are in. When this hour is over, what do I want to be able to say my posture was? When I look back in 10 years from now, 20 years — or even when I’m gone from here and living in the next life looking back — what do I want to be able to say about how I handled myself?

If the past eighteen months was the final answer, I would have to say that I was anxious and distracted. I allowed the madness of the world be the loudest voice in my heart and mind. But I do not want that to be my story.

One of the most eye-opening situations has been my inability to keep my focus on the Lord. Prior to March 2020, I would have told you that my relationship with God was deep, full and meaningful. I would have told you that I trusted God and followed closely to Jesus and His teaching. Along came 2020.

Fear became the dominant emotion and anxiety followed closely as well. I was surprised at how I was reacting to the situation. The old me would have said I wanted a “do-over,” but NO WAY do I want to experience any of this all over again.

Over a year later, my faith still feels terribly shallow. My thoughts are scattered. I can’t seem to go more than 15 minutes without getting on Facebook or checking my news app. Why? In complete candor, I really don’t know. Speculation swirls in my mind. The unknown is scary. Remember the old saying, “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know?” Maybe that is my underlying reason. Do I think that if I know all the facts that I won’t be as scared? If that’s the case, it’s not true. The facts scare me.

So where is God in all this? My relationship with Him feels like a miles long river that is only a few inches deep.

Deeper.

My heart’s desire is to be deeper with God. To know and love Him with all my heart. To be sold out for Jesus and His way. In a recent Bible study, it was mentioned that during first century Israel the disciple of a rabbi would be expected to follow the rabbi everywhere he went. The idea was to follow so closely the dust from the rabbi’s shoes would get all over the disciple.

That is exactly how I want my life to be defined, by the dust of Jesus’ shoes. How does that happen?

First of all, the noise has to be stopped. I have taken breaks from social media, and certainly from the news. That has helped. I’m also making exercise and sleep a priority. I found an app that reads bedtime stories to me while I drift off to sleep. And I’m keeping this one verse at the forefront of my mind.

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”— Matthew 6:33 (NLT)

There’s my answer. This Bible verse (Matthew 6:33) unequivocally answers my questions.

Seek God first and above everything else. Trust God to handle the rest.

~*~
Author Bio:

Stephanie Bankhead is a Bible teacher, mentor and author of several Bible studies. She has worked at a local church as the Women’s Ministry Leader since 2013. 

In 2018, she became an ordained Teaching Pastor. Before that, she worked as the director of a very successful youth volleyball club.

What both of these experiences taught her is that women are still little girls inside. Deep down we are all still asking the same questions, “Am I capable? Am I attractive? Am I enough?”

Stephanie delivers sermons and speaks at women’s events on a multitude of topics. Her favorite topic is teaching people what the Bible says about their own identity in God.

Stephanie lives in Amarillo, Texas with her husband of 32 years. They have a rescue pup who barks too much, and a bird abandoned when her two grown children flew the nest. Her four grandchildren are the apples of her eye.

Sharing Our Stories: A Call to Open Your Eyes

Open Your Eyes
A guest post by Amber Hoopengarner

Jesus told them, “If you would acknowledge your blindness, then your sin would be removed. But now that you claim to see, your sin remains with you!” – John 9:41 (TPT)

Reading over this scripture above I cannot help but wonder how many Christians today are blinded and have no idea or worse yet, think they see everything clearly and are really stuck in sin because of it. Sure, they do not attack those of other cultures or ethnicities, and they do not treat them as less than, but they do not get involved in making change either.

In a time where there is major shift happening in the world and where Christians and the church should be the first to stand up, they are not. If we, as disciples of Jesus Christ, could start having real conversations about what we do not know and do not understand then we could have major impact and create unity like we have never seen before. The time is up for the church to be divided for there to be “White church” or “Black church”. We need the body of Christ to rise and be “The Church”!

I need my Caucasian church partners to ask questions if they do not understand. I need the African American church to be open to answering those questions. We all need to start embracing other cultures in the faith so that we can encourage and empower one another. There is no more time to walk around thinking we are seeing clearly when we are really missing the whole picture altogether. Something powerful can and will happen when believers in Christ get together and start decreeing the goodness of God and sharing their testimonies.

Jesus Christ did not come to save one race of people. He came to save all humankind! Jesus loves us all like we are His best friend, brother or sister. It is time that the men and women of God who claim to be His disciples stand up and do the same.

Let’s Pray: Dear God, I ask that you bless the one who is reading these words right no. Please touch their heart God and do a supernatural work. If they have been blinded, touch them and help them to truly see. God, forgive us for the times we allowed what we thought we knew to block us from learning your truth. Let us walk hand in hand with other churches of other cultures and races so that we can help build your Kingdom the way you called us too. In Jesus’s Name I pray, Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

Amber Hoopengarner is a writer and self-published author who is also a Certified Life Coach working with women who suffer from PMADs and children who suffer from mental health disorders.  

She is a Maternal Mental Health Advocate and works to help raise awareness within the church of mental health disorders especially among BIPOC women.

Amber graduated in 2016 from the University of Phoenix with an Associates in Human Services Management and is currently in the process of obtaining her bachelor’s in psychology. She also has certificates in Mental Health Coaching, Bibliotherapy and CBT as well as in Perinatal Mood Anxiety Disorders.

Amber loves God and people! She enjoys making a difference through bringing up issues and challenges that sometimes would not otherwise be addressed. Amber believes that God wants His people to be loved where right where they are while they are working on who He has called them to become.

~*~
Connect with Amber:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/amberwha35/

Sharing Our Stories: Introducing the writers

Introducing Heidi Lewis-Ivey, in her words:

I had my dream job as an executive working in London helping clients identity their profitability strategies. I had a two-bedroom apartment around the corner from St. Paul’s Cathedral.

In the evenings, I visited the galleries and museums. On the weekends, I could be found in Paris at the Louvre. Back home in the USA, I owned a 3,000 square-foot brick Colonial house and drove the car I wanted. I am the girl who is a first-generation high school and college graduate from public housing that made good. I lived a life that was expected of me. My parents mapped out my life and I followed it to the letter. I carried their hopes and dreams.

However, this lifestyle came at a price to me. I wasn’t prepared for the White male-dominated world of finance. I’d never encountered wealthy people. They spoke differently and acted differently. For the first time, I was exposed to wealth and privilege. I learned their language and their behavior. As a result, I found myself code-switching. There were very few women, let alone women of color. I was the only Black Woman at the table. This meant that I had to prove over and over that I had earned the right to be there.

I experienced a great deal of racism and bias from other women. They would come to my office for meetings and would turn and speak to my manager (a White man) and not to me. They often pretended to marvel at how well I spoke or at my intelligence. Oh, did I forget to mention wanting to touch my hair? The environment was difficult. It was hard to go to work every day. But I could not disappoint my family. I introduced them to a middle-class lifestyle and taught them to invest their money. We dined in some of Boston’s best restaurants and ate food we never knew existed. I took my Mom to her first Broadway show.

Later in my career, I became frustrated with being the only woman of color in the room. So, I asked a question that I already knew the answer to. I asked a CEO how many people of color were part of his management team? He gave me the standard answer about the number of women in leadership. In my reply, I suggested that a committee be formed to discuss diversity across the firm. To my surprise, he agreed. This was my introduction to Diversity Equity and Inclusion.

Being the change I want to see is about doing the work.

I’ve become an ally for the PRIDE Network. I know this is unpopular with the faith communities. I provide consulting services to organizations helping them to define their DE&I strategies. I volunteer with nonprofits that provide programs that help young women find careers in STEM. I also have a new book project scheduled for release late summer where several women share their stories on how they’ve navigated racism and biases in their careers and communities.

More importantly, I’ve committed to examine my own prejudices and biases and change the way I show up. In doing so, I keep Micah 6:8 (KJV) in mind: He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

~*~
Author Bio:

Heidi Lewis-Ivey is an ordained elder, a prophetic minister, an internationally acclaimed speaker, and an award-winning and bestselling author. 

She is the author of Can I Rest Awhile? and a co-author in Soulful Prayers Volumes 1 and 2 and Soulful Affirmations. 

She has her Master of Business Administration in Organizational Leadership from Norwich University and a Bachelor of Science in Management from Boston University.

Heidi is a member of the Pentimenti Women Writers Group, a mentor with YearUp, a board member for Friends of Young Achievers, and a Diversity Equity and Inclusion Strategist.

She lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

~*~
Connect with Heidi:
LinkedIn: www.LinkedIn.com/in/heidi-lewis-ivey
Instagram: www.instagram.com/iamheidi01

Sharing Our Stories: Why we need to lament

A Call to Lament
A guest post by Kristen Terrette

Lament.

It’s a word I rarely used until about a year ago.

To lament means to passionately express grief or sorrow and, in my opinion, to go a step further in our repentance. When we repent, we feel sincere regret or remorse about our wrongdoing or sin and turn away from it. But lamenting brings a physical element to this sorrow, this guilt, this the feeling of shame. When we see people lament in the Bible, there’s an action to it. There is weeping. There is crying out. There is fervent prayer.

I use this word regularly of late. I’ve long thought slavery and the Trail of Tears, treating humans as property and “savages”, was sinful, shameful, and disgraceful. And in truth, there aren’t many Americans who don’t feel this way. But we’ve got a long way to go in lamenting and repenting for the hundreds of years of sin our country (USA) that our White ancestors were a part of.

When I look at our nation and finally truly see its sinful past against BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) groups, and its effects happening even today, I lament my role in perpetuating it.

And what baffles me is the push back from White Christians over lamenting our sinful past. This very idea causes many White people to react in offense and shock because they feel that they do not need to lament something they weren’t a part of.

But I believe that’s simply not true and impossible.

Since the beginning of history, ethnic groups have been conquered, their lands taken, plundered, and their people were placed under the rule of the conqueror. Sometimes the conquerors destroyed those they deemed “unworthy” so completely that entire villages, towns, even nations were wiped out forever. And, sadly, it is a historical fact that this cycle happened to the Indigenous people in the United States. They were conquered in horrendous ways. Oftentimes, by White Christians.

And then there is the history of slavery in our nation.

With the Transatlantic Slave Trade, individuals were kidnapped and trafficked. We talk a lot about the current trafficking atrocities in the world. We’re passionate about ending this sin against humanity. But why does the same passion seem to be now politically incorrect when describing the Transatlantic Slave Trade in our own country, by calling it what it really was—a people group trafficked by White Christians?

Innocent men, women, and children were kidnapped, abused, murdered, raped, chained, torn apart from their families, forced into labor, their human dignity stripped, and placed in situations totally out of their control.

Some people may say that they never had slaves, but we live in a country whose thriving economy and very existence was built on human trafficking.

You may say your ancestors came to America for a new life after the abolition of slavery (as some of mine did). But your family, and mine, profit from an economy that was established through the forceful enslavement of human beings.

What is stopping us from seeing and admitting our past? From being willing to lament? Why are White Christians not leading this charge by the hundreds of thousands?

Blindness.

Blinded by the enemy and blind to the devil’s generational curse on us.

I lament this. I cry over this. I tell God I’m so sorry my country hurt Him and His beloved so badly. I tell Him we have sinned against Him and to please forgive us.

Daniel is an excellent example of the power of personal and national lamenting. According to Daniel 9:4-5 (NLT), he said: I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: “O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands. But we have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations.”

And later in Daniel 9:16 (NLT), he pleads for God to turn His anger away again. The verse reads, “In view of all your faithful mercies, Lord, please turn your furious anger away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. All the neighboring nations mock Jerusalem and your people because of our sins and the sins of our ancestors.”

Daniel was a great and godly man. He likely did not personally sin against God in this way, but he prays and laments anyway. He was not alive when his people (his ancestors before him), sinned against God, yet he prayed and lamented anyway.

I want to follow Daniel’s example. I want to break the curse of blindness over our nation’s sins. I don’t want to be the source of any more abuse to people of color. I want to make a difference, taking strides to make things right for those who have been hurt.

This is my plea for all of us. That we pray and seek God, read and inform ourselves, and not only from people who are like us. That we seek to be informed with an open mind and spirit of love. That we are brave and open to change. That we are bold in tearing any veil the enemy has over our eyes.

Lament. Let us begin to use this word freely and sincerely. Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

Kristen's passionate about storytelling and helping people take their next steps in their relationship with Jesus.

She lives forty-five minutes outside of Atlanta, GA, where she served as a Children's Ministry Director for many years. With the support of her husband and two children, she now stays home writing fiction and non-fiction.

She also serves on the women’s leadership team at her local church and writes for Crosswalk and Wholly Loved Ministries. You can check out her articles and novels at www.kristenterrette.com.

~*~
Connect with Kristen:
Website - www.kristenterrette.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/authorkristenterrette/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/KTerrette
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kterrette/
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16252020.Kristen_Terrette
BookBub - https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kristen-terrette
Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/kterrette2/

Sharing Our Stories: God's Calling You

Get Your House in Order
A guest post by Kai A. Pineda

When the order came to stay in our houses in 2020, I was excited about the rest I would get. Little did I know God was not only calling us to a time of rest, He was seeking a time for us to get our houses in order.

Maybe you have heard the phrase “Get your house in order” before, but this is not about spring cleaning your home. I believe God was calling the entire world to get their houses in order! From the government, all the way down to the way businesses were ran and finances were handled. Everyone had to reevaluate everything pertaining to their lives and livelihood. 

For the follower of Jesus Christ, there was another house we had to get in order: our spiritual houses. It seemed like before the Coronavirus, I would have conversations with people who would talk about how they wished they had more time to pray and or study the Word of God. Some people who spent their days comparing their walk to another person’s walk with the Lord, craved for more intimacy with the Father. Then there were those who had felt disconnected from the heart of God and the ways of God. Now we had the time. Here was an opportunity to make all these wishes come true and a genie was not required.

I will be honest and share with you the journey I had been on before March 2020. The beginning of the year was going well and things I had desired were starting to happen. At the same time I knew there was a place within God I was longing to go and He was longing for me to come to. I was to release the second volume of my book Dear Church on my birthday. It was written, edited, and ready to go.

I remember reaching out to my book launch team manager and sharing with her that I did not have any excitement about releasing the book. She told me this was not uncommon for writers. I listened and thought maybe she is right. But something else was happening within me. I pushed the book launch date back to April 16, and then life started to change. Before I knew it, the book I had written which I knew was what God wanted, was not what God wanted to say now. He told me to hold that book and write about what the world and the children of God are currently facing.

It was then that I understood the lack of excitement in my spirit. It wasn’t because it was the second book, it was because God was showing me something was coming and I needed to pause to see what He was doing. While all of this was happening I was also teaching on discipleship for the year with our fellowships. The way in which God was revealing what it meant to be a disciple was wrecking me. Matthew 4:19 says, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”

As I began to study the word “come” in the text above, God told me that 2020 would be a year of being made into disciples and would require three things: commitment, consistency, and courage. Little did we know we would be faced with a pandemic which would test all three. Our commitment to God would be tested. Our consistency in our faith and relationship with God would be challenged, and courage would be necessary in the face of fear and the unknown. It was a year when everyone everywhere was feeling levels of pressure they were not used to. All I knew was we had to come to terms with where we were and forge ahead in faith.

Today, in 2021 the same is true. We are still being tested in these three areas as we are still confronted with racism within the world and within the church. In order for us to keep remaining the disciples Jesus calls us to be we cannot allow the world’s way and allow man’s sin to keep us from becoming and creating the Bride Jesus will come back for one day.

So what will your commitment be to the Word of God when someone hurls a racial slur? How will you remain consistent in the Word of God and the ways of God, when brothers and sisters in the faith are doing whatever they want? How will you demonstrate courage when you are confronted with doing the right things for your fellow man, when the wrong thing is so much easier?

Daily, we have to make the choice regarding who we will serve.

But for me, I agree with God’s disciple Joshua when he said, “For me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). This is my decision today, tomorrow and forever. What’s yours?

Let’s Pray: Father God, I pray simply for greater commitment, consistency and courage 

in my life. May I be like Jesus Christ and pause before doing anything that does not bring You (God) glory. I am your servant and I desire to please you through faith. Where I am wrong, correct me. Where I need to grow, challenge me, and were I cannot stay, show me the course you have laid. In Jesus’s Name I pray, Amen.

*Note from Alexis: Kai's message today reminds me a song by Steven Curtis Chapman titled, "For the Sake of the Call." Listen to it here. 

~*~
Author Bio:

I am a fire-starter and a passionate student of the Bible who helps others discover their identity and the beauty within the Body of Christ by leading them into an encounter with the Word of God. 

I am married to a man I am madly in like with and love more than I can explain. Together we plant home fellowships within the U.S. and abroad.

I am an author who released her first book, Dear Church: Vol 1: The Beauty of The Body, in 2019. The second volume will be released in 2021. 

I have recorded two praise and worship albums and love to travel.

I am an introvert who loves her family, people, rainy days, a chai latte from Starbucks, and my Maltipoo McLovin.

I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, nor challenging people to live lives based on a biblical standard and not personal preferences.

~*~
Connect with Kai:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kai.a.pineda
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamkaiapineda/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kai_A_Pineda
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/92920689-kai-pineda

Sharing Our Stories: Thoughts on being perfect

Complete and Christlike
A guest post by Amber Hoopengarner

“Since you are children of a perfect Father in heaven, become perfect like him.”

– Matthew 5:48 (TPT)

Reading through scriptures one serene morning. I stumbled upon the above verse and as I pondered the wording, I thought surely no one can be perfect like Jesus.

So, true to my nature I began to search Google and read through Bible commentaries to see what it meant, as you can see Jesus was not saying be perfect as only, He can be, we know that is not a task any human can accomplish. If you look at the news and read the paper and follow the world events for even just a moment or two, it is evident as to why Jesus stated that we are to be “perfect” (all-inclusive, well rounded, and spiritually mature).

This last year has indicated to us that there is still so much work to be done within the body of Christ when it comes to racial differences. We profess to love others but choose not to share in each other’s burdens, we say we will suffer with our struggling brothers and sisters but then choose to respond with ignorance and claims of not seeing color. However, Jesus tells us to be well rounded meaning to see, hear, and seek to understand how life is experienced from other’s perspectives and to love them while we inquire about their struggles and hardships.

All-inclusive and spiritually mature means to embrace all believer’s battles and not justify sweeping them under the rug for sake of keeping the peace, but to address it in love and compassion that is the way to do it as a spiritually mature Christian. God has not commanded us to overlook the racial injustices of this world but to speak on them, in fact as we can see from this verse, he has called us to inform ourselves, to get all the knowledge we can about all our brothers and sisters in Christ those who look like us and those who do not so that we can better represent him and pattern ourselves after his character.

We as Christians have a mandate from Jesus himself to care about the underdogs, the misrepresented, and those who are suffering persecution.

As you go throughout your day, I encourage you to ask yourself in what way are you helping these minority groups? I ask that you look deep within your heart of hearts and evaluate if you have been ignorantly breezing through life without trying to put yourselves in another’s shoes? If so, how can you begin to take steps to broaden your horizons and change your mindset?

When you wake up, beloved, how do you want to represent Christ? What legacy to do you want to leave on this world? When you meet the Savior of the world face to face, what do you want Him to say? When is your life examined by God, what deeds do you want to be acknowledged for?

I want to know I did all I could for those who could not do it for themselves, in a way that was complete and Christlike.

Let's Pray: God, as we look at the world around us, let us practice compassion and love for those not like us. You said God that we are all one body, yet we see so much division. Please bring complete maturity into your body so we can be light in this dark world. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

Amber Hoopengarner is a writer and self-published author who is also a Certified Life Coach working with women who suffer from PMADs and children who suffer from mental health disorders. 

She is a Maternal Mental Health Advocate and works to help raise awareness within the church of mental health disorders especially among BIPOC women.

Amber graduated in 2016 from the University of Phoenix with an Associates in Human Services Management and is currently in the process of obtaining her bachelor’s in psychology. She also has certificates in Mental Health Coaching, Bibliotherapy and CBT as well as in Perinatal Mood Anxiety Disorders.

Amber loves God and people! She enjoys making a difference through bringing up issues and challenges that sometimes would not otherwise be addressed. Amber believes that God wants His people to be loved where right where they are while they are working on who He has called them to become.

~*~
Connect with Amber:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/amberwha35/

Sharing Our Stories: A conversation with Robrenna Redl about race, faith and hope

Kristen Rimer Terrette’s interview with Robrenna Redl 

for Sharing Our Stories

Today, Kristen is sharing an interview that she conducted with her friend Robrenna Redl.

Read a bit about Robrenna below then enjoy her interview!

~*~

Robrenna’s Bio:

Robrenna is a wife, mama, writer, podcast host, coffee lover, and survivor. She describes herself as a real, raw, no-filters kind of girl, so she doesn't do small talk. Robrenna likes to dig deep and be a safe place to have real and hard conversations. 

She is a volunteer for the anti-sex trafficking organization I’ve Got A Name and an apprentice facilitator for the Trauma Healing Institute. Robrenna lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, with Troy who is her husband of 21 years, two young adult children, and her 60 pound labradoodle, Evie.

~*~

The Interview:

Kristen: Hi, Robrenna! Thank you for joining me on Sharing Our Stories. I’m fascinated by all you have your hands in. Your influence is strong and done with excellence, which is very hard to accomplish, so certainly God has His hand over you! Tell us a little bit about your background so we can get to know you, including something fun that’s not on your website.

Robrenna: Thank you for your kind words. Yes, God’s hand is in everything I’ve been doing. He’s challenging me to step out on faith while stretching and blessing me along the way. It’s interesting because I didn’t grow up a Christian. My childhood was a nomadic one. I was born in Chicago, but my stepfather was drafted into the Army, and our first duty station was Germany. I remember playing with the local kids on our cobblestone street, unable to understand a word of the language the other spoke, but still playing and having fun.

Our last duty station was in Texas, where my parents divorced when I was a junior high school. It was tough because we were homeless for a year. Since shelters weren’t available at that time, my mom made a difficult decision to split up the family to ensure we had a roof over our heads. My brother stayed in town with a teammate on the basketball team. My mom and sisters lived in another town 30 minutes away. After living with a cousin in another town for a few months, my friend Anne, who is still my sister-friend today, asked her mom to take me in. That experience shaped the way I see people, see struggle, and see the marginalized.

After quitting college for financial reasons, I joined the military, where I met my husband. I served in the Texas and Nebraska National Guard for 21 years. At age forty, I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. While in the military, my colleague Sergeant Gina Johnson asked me to lunch and invited me to church. I declined her invitation. I told her I didn’t want to be a hypocrite. I’ll never forget Gina told me, “Jesus will take you just as you are.” Although I never went to church with her, I remembered what she said. Ten years after Gina shared her love of God and His love for me, I professed my faith in Jesus Christ. Fun Fact: My friends say I’m the queen of GIFs. I’m also an avid true crime fan to see how detectives put clues together and solve the case.

Kristen: Thank you. You’re a Rockstar! Now, you have two terrific podcasts. Can you explain the purpose and your inspiration behind each one?

Robrenna: When my daughter entered 6th grade, I was a Bible teacher for her class. It was then I noticed girls struggling with the question of, “Who am I?” Therefore, I created a Bible study to help answer this and engage moms to join me in the quest. That’s the inspiration behind my “Mama Take Heart: Understanding Your GenZ Girl” podcast. It is my mission as a podcaster to help moms be the compassionate, gospel-centered, influential voice in their girl’s life. The first few episodes help parents understand the world of GenZ, such as what they value, fear, and their worldview. I also ask guests on the show to discuss different topics like the effects of screen time, social media, anxiety, and trauma, to name a few. I offer practical takeaways and resources to walk alongside their girl, graciously imparting truth.

The other podcast, GRIT-Getting Real while Immersed in Truth, started in response to George Floyd’s death. The first five episodes are Conversations in Black and White. Friends and acquaintances sit with me, a black woman, to have conversations about the state of race in our country. I like to talk about things the church is reluctant to tackle. I began the episodes with race because it’s relevant to what’s happening in our country and the church. The other part of GRIT is for those experiencing church hurt. I experienced this myself, so I want to help people process the anger or grief that accompanies it. It’s much more complicated than people think.

Kristen: You also blog, and one discusses the topic of color blindness. I admit to having used this term before but now believe what you say to be true: “I would rather hear that all our different races, ethnicities, experiences, and backgrounds are of value.” To people who have said this with good intentions, like me, but fell short in understanding the ignorance of it, can you lovingly explain and help us see the faults in the term color blind?

Robrenna: We’ve all used the term color blind during diversity training of the ‘80s and ’90s. Color blindness means acceptance. It falls short because it makes a person of color unseen by devaluing their experiences, culture, and heritage. For Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC), a lot of cultural heritage was stripped away to assimilate to the majority culture to be accepted.

As a black woman, the color of my skin has affected my ancestry. People who look like me were kidnapped from their homeland and enslaved in another country. People who look like me couldn’t drink out of the water fountain, sit at the counter in a soda shop, swim in a pool, or go to specific beaches. People who look like me couldn’t live in particular neighborhoods, receive equal medical, educational, and job opportunities, or even apply for a bank loan. All because of the color of their skin. When a person acknowledges the skin I’m in, he or she acknowledges my heritage, struggle that of my ancestors, meaning my parents, grandparents, and so on.

Kristen: Thank you. Great explanation to help us all learn and grow in unity. Okay, so here on Sharing Our Stories, we’re all about getting real and helping open eyes to racial disunity while striving to be a part of the “change we seek” in racial unity. So, get real with us, what are your current hot topics in regard to racial reconciliation? Where are we failing and where are we making strides in the right direction?

Robrenna: I have a family that is multi-ethnic and multi-racial so my husband and I purchased a DNA Ancestry test for our 20th anniversary. My husband is white with 99.6% European, comprised of French, German, British, and Irish. I’m 87% Sub-Saharan African, including West African and Nigerian, Ghanaian, Liberian, and Sierra Leonean. The fascinating part is I’m also 11% Northwestern European consisting of British, Irish, and Scandinavian, and 1.2% East Asian and Native American. I tell you this because one of the current hot topics surrounds the construct of Whiteness. People don’t realize God created ethnicity—which is where ancestry is derived. Race is shared physical qualities and assumptions about a group of people created by an Anthropologist/Biologist, a supporter of Darwinism, and an agnostic Thomas Huxley. It’s a man-made construct.

Whiteness refers to people setting aside their ethnicity as a primary form of identity for the benefits and normalization of being White. When the Irish first came to America, they were mistreated because of their ethnicity. It’s through Whiteness that acceptance is achieved. I say well done to those in the church who recognize all are created Imago Dei and function as such regarding justice, voice, position, and power. To those still grappling with this part of Scripture, to move forward, we must acknowledge and lament the sin of racism, unlearn, relearn, and repent to get to reconciliation. How wonderful would it be to see Revelation 7:9 as the church?

Kristen: You are so right! Thank you for taking the time to share with us. You are an inspiration!

Note to the readers: Follow Robrenna on Instagram or check out her website. Find her podcasts here: Mama, Take Heart Understanding Your Gen-Z Girl and GRIT-Getting Real Immersed in Truth.

~*~
Author Bio:

Kristen's passionate about storytelling and helping people take their next steps in their relationship with Jesus.

She lives forty-five minutes outside of Atlanta, GA. where she served as a Children's Ministry Director for many years. With the support of her husband and two children, she now stays home writing fiction and non-fiction.

She also serves on the women’s leadership team at her local church and writes for Crosswalk and Wholly Loved Ministries. You can check out her articles and novels at www.kristenterrette.com.

~*~
Connect with Kristen:
Website - www.kristenterrette.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/authorkristenterrette/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/KTerrette
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kterrette/
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16252020.Kristen_Terrette
BookBub - https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kristen-terrette
Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/kterrette2/

Sharing Our Stories: Creating Equality

Creating Equality with the love of Jesus Christ
A guest post by Amber Hoopengarner

“So I’m asking you, my friends, that you be joined together in perfect unity—with one heart, one passion, and united in one love. Walk together with one harmonious purpose and you will fill my heart with unbounded joy.” – Philippians 2:2 (TPT)

“I like this church.”

My 12-year-old whispered to me as we listened to the spirit-led worship.

This was our first time visiting a church that was predominantly Caucasian. Usually we attend a church that is mainly filled with African Americans. However, some recent life events led me to explore other churches to see if I could find another place of worship that offered sound Bible based teaching and a children’s program that would allow my kids the opportunity to learn and grow in their faith.

This new church seemed to have all. I enjoyed the praise and worship experience. I felt extremely accepted there. Yet it is not quite “home” where I worshipped with people who look like me and share similar life experiences. I found this feeling of not being home to be strange because of the fact that though people may not look like me here in this White church, I was still worshipping in a church building. So why would it feel different?

As a woman of color, I struggle between loving people the way God has called me to and staying quiet to keep the peace we are to seek. Standing up for those who have been oppressed is what the Bible calls us to do. But, when we decide to actually move in that scripture though, we meet resistance. We are called to love all people, but I realize that for reasons we still have yet to fully know or understand, not everyone will love me or my BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) brothers and sisters the way Jesus Christ has stated in the scripture above.

If the world is going to know and accept Jesus and His free gift of salvation then the church is going to have to unify Black, White, Asian, Indian, Latino and ALL people of color. All of us, regardless of our race, need to be pushing for the same goal: winning souls for Jesus!

We need to be glorifying and adding to the Kingdom of God, teaching people about Jesus, and telling the people in this broken world that there is a Man who is waiting right there to catch them. His name is Jesus Christ.

Let us come together as allies. Let us join hands and walk toward the cross of Christ together, creating equality while bringing along our brothers and sisters as we fight for the cause of Christ. Let us work in unison from our hearts for the kingdom. Let us create equality starting with the love we share of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen?

~*~
Author Bio:

Amber Hoopengarner is a writer and self-published author who is also a Certified Life Coach working with women who suffer from PMADs and children who suffer from mental health disorders.  

She is a Maternal Mental Health Advocate and works to help raise awareness within the church of mental health disorders especially among BIPOC women.

Amber graduated in 2016 from the University of Phoenix with an Associates in Human Services Management and is currently in the process of obtaining her bachelor’s in psychology. She also has certificates in Mental Health Coaching, Bibliotherapy and CBT as well as in Perinatal Mood Anxiety Disorders.

Amber loves God and people! She enjoys making a difference through bringing up issues and challenges that sometimes would not otherwise be addressed. Amber believes that God wants His people to be loved where right where they are while they are working on who He has called them to become.

~*~
Connect with Amber:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/amberwha35/

Sharing Our Stories: My heart's cry

A Cry of Lament
A guest post written by Stephanie Bankhead

These past several weeks have been exceptionally difficult. It is easy to read the news and allow frustration and grief to settle in like a rock sinking to the bottom of a pond.

To make matters worse, I have had several very tense conversations with White friends. I want so badly for them to understand and acknowledge the cry of our fellow humans of color. But I walk away from those conversations feeling like the road ahead is steep and rocky. It feels monumental.

In an effort to deal with all the mixed emotions that have plagued me lately, I have written this cry of lament. I’m sharing it with you in hopes that it will help you too. That God’s love will settle over you and bring a peace that passes understanding.

This is my cry…

O Most High and Holy God,

There is a chasm wider than any canyon on earth between Your children this day.

We are so self-absorbed and self-protective that we can’t see our fellow humans

for the beautiful images of You that they are.

We are angry and always ready for a fight.

We are killing and maiming each other literally and figuratively.

Even though Your Word clearly tells us that there is no distinction of hierarchy in Your Kingdom,

we classify and label in order to elevate ourselves to higher status.

We stand in pride, refusing to see our brothers and sisters who are hurting and in pain.

Because acknowledging their pain and oppression would be admitting that we have done wrong.

Lord God, we need You.

We need You to change hearts and mindsets.

Help us to be gentle in our conversations with those who aren’t ready to hear and to ask more questions than to argue.

Give us a heart of humility and repentance. We have done wrong.

We have sinned against you and against our fellow human beings.

Please let our convictions show through our words and actions.

We need Your Holy Spirit to bring peace and open our eyes.

You, Lord Jesus, went around doing good when you walked on this dusty earth two thousand years ago.

Empower us to do good too. We want to be like You.

You are the lifter of the oppressed. You set captives free.

Jesus, You are our freedom. Your death and resurrection has saved us and set us free.

We want to live like we believe that with all our hearts.

No matter the crazy circumstances of the world, we trust You, God.

We put our hope in You. You saved us before and You will save us once again.

We will shout with joy the new song of freedom and love that You have put in our mouths.

We will sing of Your goodness and mercy all of our days.

Your grace is sufficient.

And we thank You. 

In Jesus’s Name I pray.

Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

Stephanie Bankhead is a Bible teacher, mentor and author of several Bible studies. She has worked at a local church as the Women’s Ministry Leader since 2013. In 2018, she became an ordained Teaching Pastor. Before that, she worked as the director of a very successful youth volleyball club.

What both of these experiences taught her is that women are still little girls inside. Deep down we are all still asking the same questions, “Am I capable? Am I attractive? Am I enough?”

Stephanie delivers sermons and speaks at women’s events on a multitude of topics. Her favorite topic is teaching people what the Bible says about their own identity in God.

Stephanie lives in Amarillo, Texas with her husband of 32 years. They have a rescue pup who barks too much, and a bird abandoned when her two grown children flew the nest. Her four grandchildren are the apples of her eye.

Sharing Our Stories: Introducing the writers

Introducing Amber Hoopengarner in her words:

I want to share my story because I believe God gives us all stories to help others along their journey. As a mixed-race woman, I have faced various challenges socially and within myself and my own identity.

I want to be the change I wish to see by loving people how Jesus loved the church while educating them on the differences we all share that make us beautiful and unique the way God intended. I want to raise awareness by speaking up for BIPOC women who have been silenced for so long and bring voice and light to their truths.

For too long they have had to apologize and dim their shine to feel loved worthy and valuable.

It is my goal and desire to write words that remind women of all races that God has made them fearfully and wonderfully, while pointing out that others have not always treated us as the queens that God created us and all of His Daughters (regardless of race) to be.

I will continue to work with minority and mental health groups and minority groups in all areas to eliminate stigma and bring hope to the battles that have been fought in silence for too long.

We are all made by God and need to embrace our differences culturally, historically, physically, emotionally and eliminate the one size fits all approach to the things we do in our everyday lives.

I aim to bring about cultural sensitivity and education within my small community with the love of Jesus Christ and the understanding and wisdom that the Holy Spirit brings as I seek to do his work.

~*~
Author Bio:

Amber Hoopengarner is a writer and self-published author who is also a Certified Life Coach working with women who suffer from PMADs and children who suffer from mental health disorders.

She is a Maternal Mental Health Advocate and works to help raise awareness within the church of mental health disorders especially among BIPOC women.

Amber graduated in 2016 from the University of Phoenix with an Associates in Human Services Management and is currently in the process of obtaining her bachelor’s in psychology. She also has certificates in Mental Health Coaching, Bibliotherapy and CBT as well as in Perinatal Mood Anxiety Disorders.

Amber loves God and people! She enjoys making a difference through bringing up issues and challenges that sometimes would not otherwise be addressed. Amber believes that God wants His people to be loved where right where they are while they are working on who He has called them to become.

~*~
Connect with Amber:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/amberwha35/

Sharing Our Stories: A Life Lesson on Adversity

Strength in Adversity
A devotional written by Stephanie Bankhead

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” – James 1:2-4 (ESV)

“How long does this go on, God? Will it never end?”

Does this prayer sound familiar? If you are breathing then you have probably whispered this about the pandemic. For many years during any struggle or trial, this was my prayer. I wanted God to sweep in like a knight in shining armor and remove whatever it was causing suffering or trouble. And I won’t lie, there has been a time or two during this pandemic I’ve asked God to please remove the suffering.

I recently had a conversation with a young, Hispanic woman who is my friend. I asked her what it was like growing up as a Hispanic female in our city in Texas. She shared what I had suspected—stories of racism and sexism: being judged and shamed for being a teenage mom, having two years of fast food experience and still getting hired for a new job at a lower rate than her male friend who had no experience, being called racial slurs by men in places like parking lots and grocery stores for no reason.

What surprised me was her response when I asked her if there was anything that she would change about her circumstances growing up. She confidently stated she would not change a thing because all these situations have made her who she is today. When I asked her what she would change for her own daughter, she simply replied that she would have people treat each other with kindness rather than division and hatred.

I went home that day thinking about her comment about how the adversity made her who she is today. There is wisdom in her words. When I look back on times when my relationship with and faith in God has grown, they’ve all been times of adversity. Having a prodigal child will drive you to your knees at the feet of Jesus like not much else will.

I’ve come to believe that God has a different, higher perspective of adversity. In the book of James in the Bible, He says to count it all joy. And that trials produce steadfastness that leads to us being complete. I do long to be complete. I still don’t long for adversity, but I don’t shy away from it anymore either. If that is what God uses to bring us closer to Him, then let it be.

The next time you find yourself praying the “Will this never end, God?” prayer, I want to encourage you to stop and instead ask Him what He is trying to teach you through the situation. And for the courage and strength to keep your eyes fixed on who He ultimately is helping you to become.

Let’s Pray: Lord, Your love is steadfast and sure. Thank you for loving me enough to help me walk through the adversity in my life with Your power and strength. Help me to see what You’re trying to teach me in this and to come out of the other side a person of greater faith and more fruit for Your Kingdom. I ask this in the Mighty Name of Jesus! Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

Stephanie Bankhead is a Bible teacher, mentor and author of several Bible studies. She has worked at a local church as the Women’s Ministry Leader since 2013. In 2018, she became an ordained Teaching Pastor. Before that, she worked as the director of a very successful youth volleyball club. 

What both of these experiences taught her is that women are still little girls inside. Deep down we are all still asking the same questions, “Am I capable? Am I attractive? Am I enough?”

Stephanie delivers sermons and speaks at women’s events on a multitude of topics. Her favorite topic is teaching people what the Bible says about their own identity in God.

Stephanie lives in Amarillo, Texas with her husband of 32 years. They have a rescue pup who barks too much, and a bird abandoned when her two grown children flew the nest. Her four grandchildren are the apples of her eye.

Sharing Our Stories: Reading books and addressing racism in the stories and real life

How to Read Books from Different Eras
A guest post by Roseanna M. White

As a writer, I believe in the power of story. But before I was a writer, I was a reader who loved nothing more than being taken to a different time or place through the pages of a book. Books are powerful things—they have an amazing ability to create empathy in the heart of the reader, helping us to see things from new perspectives. Throughout history, books have moved culture and helped create change that we still see the effects of today.

Here’s the thing though—even books that were cutting edge for their time, that changed the world, are going to appear dated or even awful when we read them today. Why? Because the change has already happened. We’ve progressed, society as a whole has come to conclusions and taught those conclusions to the next generations. These are things that may not have happened if not for particular books…but the growth continued.

This is as it should be. But sometimes readers pick up a book written 20, 50, 80, 100+ years ago, and instead of seeing how this moved the culture, we simple gasp and are horrified. Sometimes people cry out against these books. Or sometimes they do the opposite—they say that because this book was world-changing, nothing within it could possibly be objectionable.

But how should we be reading these titles?

I believe this is a question worth asking. But more, we also have to judge not only the words on the page, but the intention of the writer. Mark Twain, for example, is famous for writing satirical passages that show the reader one thing, and then state another through the eyes of the main character, in such a way that the reader has little choice but to recognize the racism so common to a time period. I’m thinking specifically of the end of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, where Huck recognizes within Jim something far more than what he was taught a Black man should have. He doesn’t know how to reconcile his experience with what had been hammered into his head—but his struggle to do that invites the reader to examine his or her own biases and question what we’ve been taught. On the other hand, there are books like those written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in a similar time period, in England rather than America, where the narrator simply assumes that people with darker complexions must have darker hearts—an assumption never challenged within the pages. Ugliness equates with evil in these literary pages too.

Readers today obviously know this isn’t so—but we also choose not to toss out the entirety of Conan Doyle’s works, because we recognize good things within them too. This, my friends, is the beauty of the human mind and the beauty of literature. We can evaluate. We can argue. We can defend. We don’t need to censor—because we can think for ourselves and decide what is right and what is wrong. I’d argue that, in fact, we should and must do this with every book.

We stand on the shoulders of those who came before. I believe it’s critical to understand what that means, what they believed, where they were right, and where they were wrong. This is how we grow, and how our understanding grows with us.

But there are exceptions, and those exceptions are for when the reader does not have the ability to discern and judge for themselves. I’m speaking especially of children and children’s literature. I homeschool my kids, and we read primarily classics that have won Newbury Awards throughout the years. Stellar literature, to be sure—but even in these pages one can see evidence of prejudice, stereotyping, and racism. A fine example is Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink. 

It’s a wonderful book, and it’s a book in which the title character actually goes out of her way and risks her life to protect the American Indians in her area. She’s battling the assumptions of her entire family and settlement in that moment—this is worth reading about. Even so, the author chooses phrases that we today would never choose. She makes assumptions about the nature of the indigenous people that we shake our head over. Should we still read this? Yes…if. If we also engage our kids in conversations about it. If we talk about the beliefs of the time and how we’ve grown. If we show how loving, fair-minded Caddie still had room for growth, and how we do today too.

Then there are books aimed at kids too young to even participate in a conversation like that—picture books. Picture books are, in my opinion, a category all their own when it comes to what care we should take. Because these are the books that shape our worldview and show our kids visually what is normal, what is acceptable, what is fun, what is serious. The images in those pages are going to help form their minds, one way or another. And those minds aren’t capable of reason yet. You can’t show your kids racist images on the page and then just say, “But…” and explain it away.

A great example of this is with Dr. Seuss’s books—a major hot topic conversation as of the writing of this. Dr. Seuss was a pretty amazing man. He was writing political cartoons that called for racial equality even before WW2, at a time when it was far from fashionable or accepted to do so. Even so, he gave in to fear when Pearl Harbor was bombed and drew cartoons impugning Japanese Americans…which he came to regret. After the war, he traveled to Japan, made friends, and wrote Horton Hears a Who as a result of his journey. His ideas, like all of our ideas, grew and changed over the course of his life. He came to new understandings as the years went by. And he is quoted by his relatives as deeply regretting the work he did that was racist in his earlier days. So it’s not surprising that the foundation that runs his estate conducted a study in 2019 to evaluate each of his books. They came to the conclusion that six of his sixty works contained offensive imagery or language. So after much consideration, they announced in March 2021 that they were pulling those six books from publication.

The media on both sides went crazy. You probably saw some of the fallout. Each side began looking for a villain to blame. Some people wanted to censor all Seuss. Other people wanted to go buy every Seuss book they could get their hands on and accused the left of “banning” Seuss when it was really his estate that made the call. But it seems to me both sides were missing the point—that the estate recognized, as Seuss did himself, that each work, each image matters. They made a decision to keep in print only those titles that wouldn’t risk teaching young children that one person is worth any less than another—a lesson many of Seuss’s stories teach so beautifully. They did what we all do when we’re reading for ourselves, and what we as parents or grandparents must do when reading to our kids: they asked questions, they evaluated, they used their discernment, and they made a judgment call.

Too often we get so entrenched in our ideas that we either throw out the good with the bad, or refuse to entertain the notion that there could be any bad in what we’ve called good. But nothing in life or in literature is so simple. And so, I invite you to read widely…but also to read deeply. 

Read with a willingness to learn but also to question. Read knowing that your perspective comes from standing on the shoulders of those who came before, those who wrote before…and know that your journey isn’t over, and neither is literature’s.

Keep reading. Keep talking about what you read. And keep encouraging others to evaluate the words and pictures in the pages thoughtfully. Let’s not just read and judge—let’s engage.

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Author Bio:

Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award nominated author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes.

When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing for WhiteFire Publishing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself.

Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books … to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.

You can learn more about her and her stories at www.RoseannaMWhite.com.

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