Each of us is in a corner of the world the other can't reach.
I can't reach the people in a Georgia suburb like the people in the Georgia suburbs can.
I can't reach the neighbor in southeast London like the people in southeast London can.
You can't reach the people in northern Michigan like I can.
Social media has deceived us into believing we can change the whole world by shouting louder, by posting more, by adding to the cacophony of voices and opinions already overwhelming us. While I do believe speaking up matters (when it is guided by the Holy Spirit, and not by anxiety, proving others wrong, or an ever-restless cancel culture) most of our witness and work for the gospel doesn't happen online. It happens in real life.
I am far more changed across a table from a living, Christ-loving human than I am through a pixelated screen, and so are you. And so is your neighbor.
But that change isn't exactly the end goal. The goal, of course, is for people to experience Christ. Why? Because God made them, and His making left an immovable mark upon their soul. People seek meaning and purpose and spirituality because that mark remains, seeking to draw them back to their Maker. There is an innate need for purpose, meaning, and knowing why life is the way it is. As Christians, we have a framework to answer these questions, and our experience of a loving and holy God should motivate us to share him in our world.
Outward change wrought in people around us, then, is not the goal. But it is a byproduct of exposure to Jesus. When you meet Jesus, when you understand His love and sacrifice and what it cost for Him to give us grace, you desire to grow. You desire to have that peace. You desire to find that purpose in the midst of chaos and hurt and pain. Those desires are God-given, and they are drawing us to His heart.
So what's the job, as a Christian? Your job - based on Matthew 28:20, in Jesus' own words - is to make disciples of the nations. That starts with the nation you're in. And let's narrow that down further: it starts with the state you're in, the province you're in, the city you're in, and the street you're on. Making disciples is as simple as living life alongside people as they experience profound joy and the deepest pain. And when that joy needs sharing or that loss threatens to crush them, Christ, in you, is there. Truth in grace is there.
I'm not saying we rush into someone's pain with a Bible and a Romans-Road gospel tract. But the gospel is truly the good news. Jesus thought so. (If we don't think Jesus was right on this - that he really isn't enough, or he never intended to be, well, we have bigger problems to deal with theologically.) The problems may not be erased, the pain may not be lifted, but we can point to the God who grieves with humans, who carried their pain once, but not only once.
John Wesley said the mission of the Christian is to “do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.” That sounds like a lot of work. But Wesley isn't saying, ‘Fill up your calendar to the max and work until you can’t see straight.' Wesley is saying: “Listen to the Spirit's leading. Who can you love? Who can you serve? What obedience can you choose? How can you follow Christ today?”
Because really, we only have today. And we are given grace - favor and strength - just for the good we're called to in this span of time, in this nation we're in, in this city, on this street. You can't reach everyone. But you can reach the ones God has given you.
So will you do it?
Some news you can't miss:
Our Abundance tees, which bear the reminder I have written into my Bible: “May His abundance never scare you", are restocked! The slogan is written on the back and is a great talking point. All our shirts are ethically made by Known Supply and fit true to size. Grab yours here!
During inventory, we found an extra FORTY of our popular hand-thrown mugs in stock! These are our top sellers and we release a new design each year. Shop them here (and grab a Theologian blend coffee while you're at it!).
If you are in the Theology + Coffee Club, I completely missed our call this week! We are still catching up from two weeks of sickness. I will be emailing you an update on our call time!
Theology Basics Intensive Classes are coming back, and we might be expanding into something NEW! Theology Basics is a four week, live course with me. I teach through basic doctrines of Christianity in a small group format via Zoom. However… we are planning a few live classes here at the farm this summer! These workshops would be one day long, from about 10 AM-4 PM. Lunch included. Interested? Reply this email to be put on our waitlist!
While I know most of the U.S. is a LOT warmer than we are here in northern Michigan, but up here we can still wear sweatshirts around a fire in the evening! We have a few of our It Is Finished hoodies left in stock. Plan ahead for fall or if you live in the Arctic like us, rock it on a cool summer evening! It is Finished Hoodie (unisex, size up for roomy fit)
Some books to pay attention to:
Ours by Eric Schumacher:There are resources for women who have experienced miscarriage and infant loss, but not much for men. This book fills that gaping hole. It is designed much like Held by Abbey Wedgeworth, but for men.
What If It's Wonderful? by Nicole Zasowski: I love the concept of this book because, as many of you know, one of my life reminders is “May His abundance never scare you” - may God's goodness never be something I ignore or reject. May I never live anticipating evil instead of celebrating the good. And that's a whole lot of what Nicole's book is about!
Crossway Prayer Journals w/ Ruth Chou Simons: These stunning prayer journals use Scripture to walk you through the gospels or the topic of humility, encouraging you to prayer journal the truths you learn. You know I am passionate about prayer! These are designed for 30 days and have Ruth's characteristic, stunning art on the cover.
What I'm Loving
We just got the samples for the June shop's temporary tattoos, designed by my friend Josh Nadeau @swordandpencil! Josh designed my (real) forearm tattoo, so we are excited to bring his designs to you in a temporary version! Stay tuned June 23rd!
I loved your responses to last week's email, Prayer is War, and I am SO thrilled to hear that many of you are starting your own prayer/small groups to take this seriously and fight side by side in prayer!
This spelt biscuit recipe turned out very well. Spelt is hard to work with, but I grind ours myself and the fresh flour is lighter and makes for better results.
Cornhole and bocci ball have been the most popular games with the kids lately! Josh and I splurged on these because we spend so much time in the yard. Josh and I love corn hole for an at-home date by the patio. You can buy these off Facebook Marketplace pretty easily, but we got ours on Amazon.
Dear Pastor, Pride is a Subtle Enemy - I loved this updated and revised version of Baxter's original piece. Applicable to all church leaders: read it here
This two-part sermon series on prayer by Charles Stanley - I'm putting this here again this week because it's really that good. Your reminder to listen! (He also has sermons on assurance that I recommend for those who struggle with doubt about salvation.)
In Our Homeschool
Since we aren't really “stopping” for the year, I haven't had a specific date to celebrate Addie's first grade year or Eva's completion of pre-K. Some homeschool friends of mine were telling us about their end-of-year celebrations, and they had so many good ideas! We may have to do a little celebration… even though they'll still be doing schoolwork (lightly) until we restart in September.
Update on our narration practice - the girls LOVE it. We read aloud from Ancient World Echoes (ancient fables and tales from around the world) and while I read, they draw what they hear. Then they trace or write a sentence from the book in their copywork. I wasn't sure how this idea would go, but they both love it and it has really aided their retention!
Adeline has started DuoLingo French. She has always had an interest in French, so I downloaded the app and we do 10-15 minutes every day. She's very motivated by check lists, badges, awards, etc. so DuoLingo is a great option! It's also fun, easy to use, and playful. Even though it is designed for adults, it's very accessible to kids. We're pushing two weeks and she has quite a few words and sentences memorized!
I am already looking at curriculum for fall. We do Classical Conversations for our core, but we need to acquire a math and phonics curriculum outside of that. For both girls, I will be continuing Math U See (I reviewed a lot of math curricula when I worked in the homeschool world, and this was my first choice - it has worked well for us!). For phonics and reading, I am leaning toward All About Reading.
On the Farm
We have had a beautiful but pretty dry spring/summer so far, and I am once again battling our well to keep my garden watered. lol! Our well has lots of water (Michigan perks) but it puts out so much at once, we can't run the sprinkler while also running laundry, or the sink, or a bath. And if we do run the sprinkler, we run out of water around 15 minutes and have to wait another 15 for it to recalibrate. This makes gardening a bit difficult, but some of the seeds are coming up and the ones that don't, I'll buy plants for!
It's hoof trimming time for the goats, and they hate it, and my grand idea to put all the kids in the goat pen so I could “watch them” while trimming a squirmy goat hoof went about as well as you can imagine.
Our biggest garden project is continuing to mulch over the grass between the raised beds. This is a JOB. We have to lay cardboard, then mulch it. It looks so much better than it did but wow, a lot of work!
