He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you to but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8. ESV

I have a confession to make. I sometimes overthink life. The should’s, the could’s the what if’s try to sabotage my peace, my direction and my life. This verse is one of my “reset” verses. It brings me back to what actually our God does actually require of us, as His children. He wants us to follow Him.

Years ago my daughter graduated from then, Whitworth College (it is now an university). The President of the school gave an impactful graduation message. He admonished the students: some of you have chosen to follow Jesus Christ and His ways, others for whatever your own reasons have chosen not to follow Him. I would encourage both sets to make sure that it is the real Jesus you are following, or it is the real Jesus you have chosen not to follow. He went on to encourage those who chose not to identify with Jesus to make sure they weren’t rejecting Him because of His representatives on earth. It is my heart cry to be such an example of a believer that I wouldn’t hinder others from knowing our precious Lord by my behavior. But this week I began to examine maybe there are flaws in my thoughts about this REAL Jesus. Do I really comprehend Him in His fullness?

This week I meditated on Luke 12:49-50: I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning. I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No. I have come to divide people against each other. When I pray and think of the Lord, I don’t think of Him as a divider. But, obviously, He is.

As I read these verses I found myself praying Father, will you show me the real Jesus? Who you actually are, instead of maybe the one I have pieced together for my own benefit. I used to think of you first and foremost as Savior and friend. Savior from my sins and myself. Friend so I would not be alone, a friend is someone we can talk to, share with and if needed cry with. Each of these are very self centered and immature. They are all about me. Very self-centered.

Then I began understanding His Lordship. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. I Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV. I am only beginning to understand what this means. Sunday morning I surrendered this week to the Lord in a different manner than usual. I simply prayed: Father lead and guide this week for me, to do much or little. I thank you for ordering my days and interactions as you will. In Jesus’ name, amen. The interesting thing was I wasn’t (anxious about this week. I wasn’t concerned or worried about anything. But the peace that descended on my heart went to a new level. Surrender is such a key part to a life that includes the REAL Jesus. If you love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15. NIV.

As Monday came around, I found myself making phone calls, meeting with people and flowing from one thing to another. The same thing happened on Tuesday. A chance encounter led to going to the movies and watching Young Washington! What a surprise blessing. I haven’t been to a movie theater in years. Wednesday plans got switched and my son’s in-laws brought lunch over so we could eat together, and then I was able to help my sister. So far today, Thursday, I had a surprise blessing from one of my granddaughters. So surrendering to the Lord and His will is not always denial, hardship and limitations. I don’t know if all of these blessings would have happened if I hadn’t prayed, but I do know I was much more aware of HIs leading because I did. The REAL Jesus we follow leads us through valleys and up to mountain tops. The good news is He shows up as Savior and Friend when we allow Him to be Lord. Keep on my fellow believers. As for God, his way is perfect. Psalm 18:30. NIV

No matter your circumstance, He is with you my friends. Stop and take a moment, seek Him in the midst of your circumstance and ask Him to show you what is good, how to act justly, to love mercy and most of all walk humbly with your God. You will never go wrong.

Father, I thank you for helping us understand how to follow the Real Jesus. Not one we make in our own hearts, but the one you truly are. Thank you for helping us be a light in the darkness to lead others to this real Jesus, In Your Name, amen.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 NLT

Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. This is not easy. My mind has been assaulted lately with regrets. Memories of things I can’t change. Wanting do overs in so many areas of my life. I mentioned one particular regret to my Life Group ladies last night. They were very quick to remind me to put on the helmet of salvation and let it go. The blessing of surrendering our regrets to the Lord is freedom! James 4:7 instructs us so humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. These condemning regret thoughts are definitely not my God’s thoughts toward me or the situation. As I humbled myself before the Lord, resisting the devil’s taunts he ran. The Holy Spirit began to show me God’s perspective, what a shift–from death to life! My choice: surrender to the condemning thoughts, or to the freedom of forgiveness and release? The end of Romans 12:2: then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. I know I have dealt with the issue of regrets before–but the learning obviously was not complete. I am grateful our teacher keeps on teaching us!

Another blessing of surrendering can be found in James 4:10. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. Our brother Joseph is such a good example for us. Sold into slavery by his brothers. Exalted to leadership in Potiphar’s house, then jailed on false accusations. Historians think he was in prison for 13 years, before he was given the opportunity to interpret Pharoah’s dreams. Here is a man who served humbly no matter where he was. As we learn to serve the audience of One–our Savior, He will advance us to where we need to be. Do your best and trust Him with the rest was one of my husband’s mottos. It brings the best peace into your lives.

Surrendering trust in His lifting you up or promotion frees us from competition with our brothers and sisters. It allows us to celebrate their wins and achievements. We become a better teammate because it is not about us, but about Him and His Kingdom, not ours.

The blessing of surrendering to His will not our own means we have access to His wisdom not our own. Many years ago, Darryl and I felt a change in the air. We spent time before Him asking for clear direction. It was such a difficult season with our choices affecting not only our family, but our church family in Oregon. During this season, my mom passed away. While we were meeting with her pastor, he said, “why don’t you come and help us here?”. He knew nothing about our prayer, but it ended up being the answer to our prayer. It has been thirty six years since we went through that door. We served and supported that church for twelve years, when once again the Lord said it was time to move. In 2002, we followed His leading to Lighthouse Christian Center (now Life Church). The blessing of surrendering to the field He calls is priceless.

The best blessing of surrender is no matter how difficult, we have the opportunity to fellowship with Him and His sufferings. That I may know him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, begin conformed to His death. Philippians 3:10.NKJV. There is something that happens when our surrender brings us to the opportunity of suffering. I watched my husband endure physical assaults twice while loving someone. It was hard. I have cried with the Lord over poor choices His children have made, knowing it broke His heart more than mine, was just a very small taste of fellowshipping with Him. Praying for our brothers and sisters in other lands who are being outright persecuted for His namesake, is part of fellowshipping with Him. Denying yourself because He said to use your finances differently is a blessing–then watching Him repay with untold joy and even more finances is an amazing blessing of surrender.

His road is the best road, no matter what it feels like. His road always leads to life eternal. Choose to surrender to His will, there will be no regrets in the end. He knows the cost for us and His knew the cost for himself. I believe it is always worth it…who else has the words of eternal life?

Father, I thank you for the blessing of surrender. No matter what my friends are facing, I ask you to give them the grace to say yes to your will. Thank you for the promise as we say yes you will change our thinking. We will learn to know your will and that is good and pleasing and perfect. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Pip: Faith Encounters is the kind of site that hands you a verse, a personal story about a lost blog draft, and a Greek word — and somehow you come out the other side thinking harder about your own week.

Mara: Martha Rodman has been writing her way through a wide stretch of territory here — trust and courage when trouble stirs, joy and what depletes it, and the whole texture of how Christians live and grow together in community.

Pip: Which, when you lay it all out, is basically the entire interior life plus everyone around you.

Mara: Let's start with what she returns to most — what it actually looks like to trust God when your heart is already troubled.

When Trouble Stirs: Choosing Trust Over Fear

Mara: The anchor question across several posts here is this: when bad news arrives and the heart starts to boil over, what do you actually do with that?

Pip: And the answer comes straight out of a personal disaster — a blog post that didn't save. She frames it against John 14, where Jesus tells the disciples, "Don't let your hearts be troubled," right after warning Peter he'll deny him three times.

Mara: The post "Faith and Choices" traces exactly why Jesus said it when he did. The disciples had just heard that one of them would betray him, that Judas had slipped away, and that Jesus was leaving somewhere they couldn't follow. Then comes the instruction: "Trust in God, and trust also in me."

Pip: So the command lands in the middle of maximum disruption. That's not coincidental placement.

Mara: She unpacks the Greek word for trouble — tarasso — which means to stir or agitate, like roiling water. Her point is practical: "If we continue to let the pot boil, it may boil over and others can be hurt by it."

Pip: The grocery store smile is doing real theological work there.

Mara: "Faith and Dealing with Discouragement" extends the same territory — she names discouragement as something Satan uses deliberately to stop forward movement, and she's specific about the tools: identify where it's coming from, replace the lie with truth, use worship, ask for prayer from other believers.

Pip: The Elijah-needed-a-snack moment is in there too, which is both accurate and deeply relatable.

Mara: "Faith and Distress" adds the Hebrew root — tsar, a sense of tightness or a narrow place — and holds it up against David in Psalm 18 and Paul in 2 Corinthians, both of whom cried out and were delivered. The through-line is: don't wait to call on him.

Pip: And "Faith and Trusting Faith" puts Moses at the Red Sea — army behind, water in front — and lands on God's response: why are you crying out to me? Move. Lift the staff.

Mara: She connects that to her own broken car and her college-bound grandchildren navigating choices. The instruction is the same in every scale of problem: take the first doable step and trust him for the next one.

Pip: From Red Seas to zip ties — which brings us somewhere worth pausing.

Joy Levels and What Depletes Them

Mara: The question these posts are asking is whether joy is something that just happens or something that requires active maintenance.

Pip: And the answer is firmly: maintenance. She uses a car oil light as the entry point in "Faith and Your Joy Level" — the warning wrench that says oil at fifteen percent — and asks why we don't pay the same attention to our own joy level dropping.

Mara: The anchor quote comes from "Faith and Restoring Joy," where she describes waking up feeling heavy and the Holy Spirit cutting through: "What would the outcome be of your cowering under the covers? You still have to face those things. Why not deal with it now?"

Pip: That is a very direct internal voice.

Mara: She traces the path back — prayer, worship music, gratitude for already-answered prayers — and lands on the song "Way Maker" as the thing that broke it open. Walking in joy, she writes, is contagious: "It not only helps strengthen ourselves, but also others."

Pip: "Faith and Healthy Eyes" takes a different angle on the same problem — where you fix your gaze determines what you see and where you drift.

Mara: She describes watching a children's talent show, growing bored and critical, and then hearing the Holy Spirit say: look at them, really look at them. The vision shifted. The point is that an unhealthy eye isn't just a vision problem — it shapes what flows out of the heart.

Pip: Joy and sight, it turns out, are the same conversation. Which opens directly into how we live that out alongside other people.

Rooted Together: Community, Resilience, and Christian Life

Mara: This is the widest stretch of ground — what it looks like to build a life of faith not just internally but in relationship with a church, a marriage, a neighborhood, and the next generation.

Pip: "Faith and Developing Resilience" kicks it off with an adult summer camp in February, which is exactly as cold and challenging as it sounds, and exactly as useful.

Mara: She defines resilience as the capacity to bounce back and adapt — then quotes Paul directly: "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed."

Pip: The physical therapy analogy earns its place — keep doing the reps even when you want to stop, because the strength comes from not quitting.

Mara: "Faith and Sowing and Reaping" is where the stakes get very personal. She describes her husband Darryl's stroke at an airport — the strangers who began CPR, the friend who drove her to the hospital, the church family who prepared the house, the occupational therapist who moved in and helped him learn to walk again.

Pip: That is an extraordinary catalog of the body of Christ showing up in real time.

Mara: Her point is that she spent years as a sower and then had to learn to be a reaper — and that both require faith. "Don't be afraid to sow, and don't be too proud to reap."

Pip: "Faith and Marriage Thoughts" is her fifty-second anniversary reflection — she shares the unlikely story of how she and Darryl met, and then pivots to the practical: see your spouse as God sees them, watch your tone, forgive quickly.

Mara: "Faith and The Gift of the Church" argues that the local church is a gift people too often walk away from wounded, and she takes that seriously — she asks anyone carrying church hurt to go back to the Lord rather than stay away.

Pip: "Faith and The Blessing of Kindness" makes the case that kindness benefits the giver, not just the receiver — Proverbs 17:11, and apparently also dopamine.

Mara: "Faith and Attitude" is built around Philippians 2:5 — have the same attitude Christ had — and she's honest that keeping a right attitude toward God is easier than keeping it toward his people.

Pip: "Faith and Listen" is a quieter post, almost a list of modes of listening — through the Word, through prayer, through pastoral teaching, through the still small voice — each one paired with a scripture.

Mara: "Faith and National Day of Prayer" comes out of her being asked to pray for the media at a local gathering. She's candid about the disillusionment in that space, but the post is ultimately about releasing faith in prayer rather than giving in to cynicism.

Pip: "Faith and Rooted" returns to the stroke story — this time her brother-in-law Mike — and uses her mother's hydrangea cuttings as the image: roots need time, care, and tamping down before they can hold against the elements.

Mara: "Faith and Generational Hope" closes the loop by asking what gets passed on. She points to Psalm 22:30-31 — "Our children will hear about the wonders of the Lord" — and presses the question: how do they hear if we don't share?

Pip: And "Faith and My Savior, Jesus" is the most personal of the group — a straightforward account of her own faith history, from a nine-year-old asking Jesus into her heart to the moment at the University of Washington when she asked him to be Lord, not just Savior.

Mara: It reads as the foundation underneath everything else in this collection.

Pip: What holds all of this together is that the interior work — trust, joy, healthy eyes — and the relational work — church, marriage, generosity, the next generation — turn out to be the same work.

Mara: You can't separate them. The roots that hold you steady in a stroke storm are the same ones that make you capable of showing up for someone else's.

Pip: More from Faith Encounters next time — same territory, more ground to cover.

Mara: We'll be back.

Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness. Luke 11:35 NLT

Wow…This is quite a statement. The NIV version says: See to it then, that the light within you is not darkness. Our natural eye lets in light. God created our natural eyes to to take in light. That light is then focused by the cornea and the lens, which in turn is detected by sensors in the retina which sends nerve impulses to the brain. Our brain is wired in such a way that it interprets what all that means and we comprehend what we are looking at is a delicious cookie!

It is quite a gift He has given us–the gift of sight. Your eye is the lamp of your body (Luke 11:34 NIV). As I have gotten older, my eyesight has changed. I need prescription glasses to see both near and far. Soon I will need cataract surgery. It’s part of aging. But the good news is with adaptions I can still see to go about my life. Because of my glasses, I can drive safely, read warning labels on my medications and enjoy God’s creation. Vision is a gift from the Lord we should never take for granted. However, there are warnings embedded in these verses we need to heed.

Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Luke 11:33-35.NIV. When we receive Jesus, the Light, our eyes are opened and the light comes in. We see things in new ways. Our perception shifts and we truly “see” for the first time. The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. Psalm 119:130. ESV Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105. These two verses are so true, but only if we allow the Word of God to enter our hearts.

The truth is where your eye looks, it is where you go. Trying riding a bike and look to the left–you will naturally drift to the left. It is the same with our spiritual walk. If we do not keep our eyes focused on Jesus and His ways, we will drift away from Him. Our eye must be single, not focused on the ways and things of this world. Too many Christians today try to live with one eye on Jesus and the other eye on the ways of the world. We can try to fool ourselves, but our vision will begin to be polluted-thus partial blind. However, Jesus is very clear that either we will be full of light or dark. The Bible Commentary uses the term: there is no twilight Christians. In other words we will not be able to see clearly. We may think we are, but it takes the Holy Spirit to interpret correctly what we see.

A few weeks ago I attended a Home Connection Talent Show. My granddaughter was on the program to sing one of her original songs. This program opened with the students from the tumbling class. As I watched I became bored and critical. Watching children performing similar variations on the forward roll became monotonous.I wanted the program to move on so I could hear my granddaughter. I started timing this act. Then very quietly, I heard the Holy Spirit speak to me. He said, “Look at the students. Really look at them”. My vision shifted and I began to see that most of these students would never be able to be on a stage, performing for their loved ones if they did not have this opportunity. It stopped being about me, and began to be about them. My friends, when our eyes are not focused on Jesus and His ways, we will often misinterpret what we should be seeing. Like me, your world vision may become critical, negative and harmful. Words of doubt and unbelief will flow from your heart, because is what you are seeing. Definitely and “unhealthy eye”. The only way we can keep clear vision is if we allow the Word of God to enter our hearts and illuminate all the dark corners. The truth of God’s Word can only set us free if we know it, trust it and walk in it. Developing faith eyes is the best way to walk through the valleys and mountains of life, my friends. Please stay in the Word…all of it. Take the time to read and study the convicting parts as well as the uplifting parts. It is the only way to develop healthy God vision.

Father, please help us develop healthy eyes. We want to see how you see. Forgive us for trying to develop dual vision. You are the Light that we need. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Don’t let your hearts be troubled. John 14:1 NLT.

Choices: we love them and we hate them. It all depends on what they are, right? I finished this blog about an hour ago–but for some reason it didn’t save. So here I am choosing to re-write it. My choice! But my choice is to do it with joy and peace, or with anger and frustration. I admit I was troubled! I took a break when I realized I hadn’t saved it. I reacted with frustration and disappointment. I had to rearrange my schedule. As I walked into the grocery store, I began to smile and laugh at myself! Here I had just read, studied and prayed about not allowing our heart choose trouble and hear I was reacting with frustration.

In order to really understand this scripture, we must back up and see what caused Jesus to tell His disciples to not let their hearts be troubled. In John 13, we find the disciples celebrating the Passover as every good Jew was doing. While Jesus was washing their feet we find the first clue that could cause their hearts to be troubled. A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you. (John 13:10). Not all of you are clean.

What do you think they were thinking? What does He mean by that. It became even more ominous when He said: I will tell you the truth, one of you will betray me! I am sure they were confused and concerned, as they asked “who is He talking about?” Then after, Judas slipped away, Jesus said even more troubling things. Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but your can’t come where I am going. These faithful disciples had been with Jesus for three years. Traveling together, learning from Him, feeling safe with His wisdom and instruction. Now He tells them they can’t go with Him. Our dear brother Peter, wasn’t having it. But why can’t I come now, Lord? he asking, “I’m ready to die for you”. Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter, before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me. More confusion, more troubling thoughts–especially for Peter must have come flowing in. Then Jesus spoke these amazing comforting words: Don’t let your hearts be troubled. John 14:1.

Bad news brings choices. Are we going to go to fear and anxiety, or run to Jesus and let His comfort presence and comforting words calm our hearts. His next words: Trust in God, and trust also in me.” Every difficult challenges brings opportunity to trust or doubt. The smaller ones are the same, but sometimes we by pass their importance. It was really a small thing that I did not notice my blog was saved. I was troubled for a bit, but then remembered the Greek definition of trouble: tarasso which means to stir or agitate (roil water). Was I going to stir the pot with my thoughts, or simply trust Him. So often we go to the worse case scenario–which usually doesn’t happen and make the concerns bigger than they are. If we continue to let the pot boil, it may boil over and others can be hurt by it. Let’s practice turning down the heat and letting the peace of God rule in our hearts, it is the mature thing to do! If you catch yourself with boiling water thoughts, go back to Him. Forgive yourself and make the choice to trust Him and His ways, especially for things we can’t change.

Father, I thank you for teaching us the right way to make the choice not to let our hearts be troubled. Thank you for understanding us and our tendency to make poor choices. I am so grateful you that we can make better ones when our hearts are not troubled. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27. ESV

How do you “hear” the voice of God? What kind of tone do you “hear” when you read God’s Word? Do you hear a commanding voice? The voice of the Lord is over the waters, the God of glory thunders, the Lord over many waters. Psalm 29:3 ESV. As a child I could always tell the level of my parents irritation with me by how they said my name. I’m sure my children would say the same. The frustration tone, the endearing tone or the I’m about over it tone all aided in communicating my feelings.

I was reading John 15:1 the other day. I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. The amazing thing to me is I heard in my spirit a different tone than I had ever thought about. I imagined Jesus sharing this news with his disciples. I am the true vine. This was a true fact. But then I heard an excited, delighted rest of the verse. And my Father is the vinedresser. In the manner that He was so glad for them that they (we) had the Father as our Master Gardener. It was one of the first times I thought about Jesus and how his tone of voice might have changed when He was talking about His Father. Reading it “flat”, “factual” sort of like the voice of Dragnet, without any emotion now seems off to me.

I want to encourage you to read the whole chapter from the viewpoint. It makes me want to get to know and trust our vinedresser even more. His intimate pruning, fertilizer and cultivating brings him along side–especially when I think about the relationship between the Father and the Son. I hope this Point of View perspective will draw you closer them both.

Last week, in Faith and Trusting Faith, I mentioned my car issues. The wonderful news, is that after a suggestion from a friend, I took my car to our local Les Schwab shop. The problem turned out to be a broken splash guard, which they fixed with a zip tie! I leave today for a 1200 mile trip. I am so grateful to know my car is safe and sound for the trip. Trusting faith helps us keep on going till we get to the other side of the problem. We serve such a great, great Father.

Father, I ask you to help us grow in understanding how You and Your Son relate to each other. I thank you for helping us hear the correct tone of voice when you speak to us through Your Word. Let not our own hurts and perspectives taint how we hear You, for Your character stays the same, no matter what. In Jesus’ Name, amen.