Below are a few short articles, video blogs, and more, that we think you might find useful.
“It’s all good.” I have heard this saying countless times, and I have said it many times myself. But today it snagged me - today I noticed the intention behind the saying.
We use the phrase “It’s all good” to hose down fear or concern in others. We use it to reassure. “Whatever concerns or fears you have right now, they don’t fit the moment, you don’t need to worry. There isn’t any problem.”
Read MoreAt any one moment in time you can see multiple storylines running in parallel with one another. Our storyline, other people’s storylines, the culture’s storyline, political storylines, and of course God’s storyline. Historically, God’s storyline has tended to be the one which is less noisy,less flashy, less ‘now’, and as a result has been the one which has been most neglected. But don’t let that fool you. God’s storyline is the oldest, the longest lasting, and is unstoppable.
Read MoreGuest post from Pastor Steve Nation.
A few years ago, I started writing out my prayers. I don’t usually do this. I don’t do it every time I pray. I don’t even do it very often. But when I do, I find it very refreshing as a response to what God has been showing me through His Word, His people, places around me, promptings within me. The following prayer is one that I wrote while wrestling with who I am, my fears for the day ahead, and striving to live out a right view of myself in view of being united to Christ. It’s a prayer I’ve gone back to again and again.
Read MoreButterflies and Jesus' death on the cross? What's the connection? Watch as Pete speaks to the beauty of nature, the beauty of Christ and how our sin can mar the beauty around us. But the story doesn't end in tragedy, but somewhere even more beautiful.
Read MoreAs I reflect, I can see I started the Coronavirus marathon at the speed my sons started their cross-countries – and I am gassed. But as I gasped for air, I noticed God the Father on the first bend - He was coaching me. He reminded me to settle into running the race the way He made me to run it. As I reoriented to the Father, I began to remember who He had made me to be.
Read MoreFear is probably a bigger driving force in your life than you might think. Think beyond what you are afraid of right now. Slow down. Look deeper. Consider how fear has shaped your life.
Read MoreDo you hesitate or overcomplicate asking God for what you need? When we overcomplicate asking God for what we need it results in us talking to Him less. Here's an encouragement for 2020: start asking God for what you need, for He is a good Father, who knows the needs of His children.
Read More‘You can be anything you want to be’, ‘You can do anything you want to do.’
These are sayings which you might hear thrown around in our culture from time to time. They normally come from people who have struggled hard and have accomplished something impressive. Their struggle either had to do with the size of the obstacle or their fear of attempting it. They are typically the statements of winners, not losers.
Read MoreThe internal noise generated by anxiety can be deafening. How do you silence it? Some people try to silence it through feverishly gathering more and more information, but it doesn't ultimately work.
Watch as Peter shares some thoughts on a better way forward.
Read MoreThere is a contest for people’s hearts. There is an ongoing moral contest in our culture. Every temptation you face is a contest, and every advance of the kingdom of God is a contest because it takes more of the enemy’s territory. Whether you like it or not – you were born into a contested space. You live in a war zone.
Read MoreWe live in a world of noise. There is an abundance of visual and audible noise, and there is the condition of a noisy self. A noisy self is perhaps the hardest noise to handle. Watch as Peter explains.
Read MoreWhen it all comes down to it, when you boil it down, the recipe for your day is pretty simple. Find something good to do.
Read MoreEver told someone not to worry and it didn't work? That's because anxiety has its own internal logic. It makes sense to the person struggling. Peter drills down into anxiety to see what we can learn and how we can help those who struggle with it.
Read MoreOne night last week the frustration was acute and I fell asleep lamenting. I woke up around 2 am the next morning with these words.
Read MoreHave you ever quoted a scripture to someone who was struggling and it didn't work? Maybe you told them the Bible says not to be anxious and they still were. What then? Watch as Peter explains how scripture malfunctions in the lives of others we we don't handle it well.
Read MoreSin contaminates. It makes you dirty. Sometimes you know it and sometimes you don’t. There are at least two different ways people react when they become aware they are contaminated – they either give up trying to be clean or get to work cleaning themselves.
Read MoreEver been overwhelmed by someone's pain? Has it ever stumped you? Ever wondered where to start in helping someone? Check out Part 2 of Restore Ministries 'What to do when you don't know what to do' series.
Read MoreIn a house with four sons, being strong is important. I don’t know how many times I have overheard conversations about who is the fastest or the smartest, who can jump the highest or who can make the best tackle, who can think the fastest or who has the most brute strength. In one way or another, being strong is the order of the day in the Sondergeld house.
Read MoreEver been overwhelmed by someone's trouble? Have you ever thought, ‘I don’t have a clue what to do next’?
In this three part series from Restore Ministries, Peter gives some suggestions about what to do when you don't know what to do.
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Series: What To Do When You Dont Know What To Do
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