A weekly curated email send every Thursday with encouragement, Bible study tips, friendship challenges and more.

Social media has never been my favorite thing. (I’ve been writing about the challenges of it since 2014!) And after doing some research recently, I’m even less a fan.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not evil. I still believe it can be used for good because it’s an avenue for sending words into the world. And words can carry the gospel. But, I am making a significant shift away from it. This is for the health of my own soul and to find a more direct connection between me and those who want to read my writing. That’s where the idea for this weekly email came from! It’s a strategic effort I’m making to connect with people outside of social media and to keep doing what I love—writing and teaching about Jesus.

In each email you'll get:

• A personal note of encouragement from me

• A few featured blog posts from my website

• A bible study tip or challenge

• Book recommendations

• A weekly challenge to "be the friend you wish you had"

• Q&A, where I answer questions from you, my readers!

I’d love to give you a sneak peek!

Below you’ll see the email I sent out on October 1. My hope is that these emails will be a resource you can read through when you have time or save for later or send to a friend. Make sure you subscribe to get the next All Good Things email in your inbox!

Is there hope?

When evil seems to be winning? When corruption is the norm? When chaos and conflict surround us?

What is our hope?

It could be easy to feel hopeless about this world we live in. There’s COVID. The upcoming election. The ever-deteriorating morality of our culture. The increasing rates of suicide and anxiety and depression. The unceasing bickering between Republican and Democrat, liberal and conservative, this Christian blogger and that one, this viewpoint and that viewpoint.

When the world around us seems beyond repair and when the problems feel too big to solve, we tend to fall into one of two ditches. The first is the ditch of despair and detachment. We just give up on this present world with an “oh well,” and set our sights on heaven. Figuring there’s nothing we can do anyway, we withdraw into our private lives and shield ourselves from the world in our little Christian bubbles.

The other ditch is the fight-fire-with-fire ditch. We can’t just stand idly by and watch things go from bad to worse. We care about this present world and deeply desire to see change—as we should. But since the problems seem so huge, we respond in huge ways: visible solutions with big numbers and the potential for big effects. We either create our own large solution or pick someone else’s large solution and evangelize it like our lives depend on it. How else can we make a dent in the surmounting problems of our day?

Sometimes we bounce back and forth between these two positions. We desire to make a big difference, but we’re just too tired managing our own little lives. And so we retreat to detachment, not out of preference, but out of survival.

But there is another option. One that doesn’t require indifference or intensity. But instead requires faithfulness.

If you’ve been reading these emails I send out on Thursdays, you know I’ve been reading Judges. No other book in the Bible can match its quick descent into immorality and chaos. It literally begins on the heels of a massive victory—Israel has just moved into the Promised Land! The land flowing with milk and honey that God has been promising since the days of Abraham back in Genesis. And by chapter 2, things are already headed downhill. 

By the time we get to the last few chapters of Judges, we get some of the most gruesome chapters in the whole of scripture. An Israelite woman is abused and killed by her own people in a scene that is more horrendous than Sodom and Gomorrah. The Israelites have mixed their worship of God with with idolatry. There is a civil war in Israel, almost wiping out an entire tribe. It’s painful and shocking to read.

Reading Judges leaves you feeling… hopeless. What hope is there for the Israelites? Is there any recovering from this? The problems feel too big. Too bad. Too complex.

And then we turn the page to the book of Ruth and find that it opens this way…

“Now it came about in the days when the judges governed…”

The book of Ruth does not happen in isolation. It is not separate from this cringe-worthy time of Judges. It doesn’t happen after these events, it happens during these events. In the middle of the downward spiral of Israel’s idolatry and immorality we find hope in a young, immigrant widow from the despised land of Moab (Ruth).

It is because of Ruth’s actions that hope is restored to Israel as she becomes mother to Obed, who is the grandfather of King David. (You know, the man after God’s own heart who ushers in a golden time in Israel’s history? The man who wrote most of our Psalms? The man who foreshadows the coming of our perfect King Jesus?) Amidst the chaos and cruelty in Israel, there is hope for Israel and it is ushered in through Ruth.

But what exactly did Ruth do? Well, let me give you a list:

• she repented of her own idolatry, choosing to worship the God of Israel instead of the idols she grew up worshipping (Ruth 1:16)

• she volunteered to serve her mother-in-law (Ruth 2:2)

• she worked hard doing manual labor, gathering grain all day, for the entire season of harvest (Ruth 2:17, 23)

• she submitted to the wishes of her mother-in-law (Ruth 3:6)

These don’t seem like “world-changing” behaviors. Repentance. Submission. Voluntary service. The hard work of manual labor. But that’s exactly what these actions were: World-changing, Kingdom-altering, Hope-giving. Ruth, whether she knew it or not, directly opposed the work of sin and satan in her repentance and simple obedience. 

Don’t underestimate the power of repentance and simple obedience. They are missiles in the hands of God that obliterate the kingdom of darkness. 

You don’t need to despair that this world is broken and there’s nothing you can do. You don’t need to work hard to make a big splash to see change. There is another way to push back the darkness and it starts in the quietness of your own bedroom as you repent of your sins and idolatry. And then it moves from your bedroom to your living room, neighborhood, and office as you serve those you live with, live next to, and work with. And it continues as you pursue humility, submitting to others instead of serving yourself.

You won’t see the change immediately. You won’t know just how much your actions matter. This is the path of faithfulness, and it requires faith. Ruth likely never knew just how impactful and far-reaching the ripples of her life were. But we know, as we look back, that she ushered in hope, not just for her generation, but for countless generations after her. 

Don’t despair. Don’t believe bigger is better. Be a Ruth. Repent. Serve. Work hard in your daily, ordinary life. Be faithful. And remember that faithfulness is more powerful against the kingdom of darkness than you could ever imagine, because the faithful look to God, not themselves, as the hero.

Won’t you join me in pushing back the darkness today? Let’s repent and serve with our eyes set on Jesus!

The articles below are further meditations on the theme I wrote on above. I hope they help you continue to reframe your mindset on what is truly world-changing.

Pay attention to the “boring” details.

If you read the first section of this email about Ruth, then you might already get what I mean by this. God used the first phrase in the book of Ruth to bring about so much encouragement to my soul this past week. The first phrase I’m talking about is this one:

“Now it came about in the days when the judges governed…” (Ruth 1:1)

Those are the phrases we usually skip to get to the “important” stuff. But let me clear something up… if it’s in the Bible, it is important. Even if it doesn’t seem to be so to you. As Wayne Grudem has said, “Everything stated in Scripture is there because God intended it to be there: God does not say anything unintentionally!”

This “boring” detail reminded me that Ruth doesn’t happen in isolation as some random love story in the Bible. It is intentionally put there to remind us that during one of the darkest times in Israel’s history, God was at work. He was being faithful to his promise to provide a messiah, a redeemer, a king to his people. And he was answering through the private integrity of 3 people… Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz.

This “boring” detail reminded me of how impactful my private pursuit of holiness and faithfulness can be when I entrust it to God. I don’t need to doing something big to impact this world, I simply need to be faithful each day to repent, to serve, to obey God in each hour given to me and each task entrusted to me, whether making lunches, writing emails, or talking with a neighbor.

Don’t skip these types of details in your Bible. Even if you don’t at first understand their significance, pay attention. Note them. Don’t skip them. It’s there on purpose.

Since I’m spending so much time today advocating for simple and often-unseen obedience over the doing-something-big-for-God attitude, I have to again advocate for one of my favorite books of all time, Anonymous by Alicia Britt Chole. Seriously, if you need to spend more time meditating on why hiddenness is so important in your life, check it out. Short chapters, well written, Jesus-centered. You’ll love it.

Another great read on cultivating humility is Humble Roots by Hannah Anderson. It’s a great series of meditations on how humility works in our life and the importance of it. 

But, nothing will ever be able to top Humility by Andrew Murray as my all-time favorite book on humility. In my opinion, it’s the best theological treatment of humility out there. Especially because it looks to Jesus, the sinless one, as our model of humility, taking humility out of the realm of simply remembering how sinful we are. It’s an older book so can be harder to read at times. But so worth it.

Privately pray for a friend this week.

If you’ve read my book, Friendish, you know that sometimes I’ve wanted to look like a good friend more than I actually want to be a good friend. This means sometimes I’m more eager to share that I’m praying for someone more than I’m eager to actually pray for them. This way, I look like I care more than I actually do.

I know, it’s totally selfish and self-centered. But this is a real temptation I face, maybe you do too. But by God’s grace, he’s helping me grow out of this sinful pattern in my life and work to be a real friend to others. One of the ways I do that is choosing to privately pray for someone I care about. I will spend time praying for them on my knees at home or in my journal. I’ll keep a list of things I’m praying about for that person so I can rejoice when God answers (and if appropriate, tell them about it).

I don’t mean this to be some kind of legalistic rule. By all means, feel free to tell people you are praying for them! But for me, when I notice that I’m saying “I’ve been praying for you” more than I’m actually praying, I know it’s time to practice being a real friend, not just looking like a real friend.

Try it out! Pick someone who’s on your heart and commit to pray for them for 5 uninterrupted minutes every day this week. Set an alarm on your phone so you don’t forget. Make some notes in your journal of things you prayed for specifically so you can thank God when he responds. Love your friend by taking them to the feet of Jesus and resist the urge to boast by talking about it. =)

Question:

How can you start creating a routine to spend time with God and study His word daily? In general, what’s your suggestion to create a healthy rhythm in a daily schedule for time with God, marriage, work, family, etc?

I think this is such an important question. I can’t think of anything more important in all the world than setting aside time to spend with God. Our greatest command is to love him with all that we are! And just like a marriage doesn’t get better without one-on-one time, so our relationships with God don’t grow without that crucial one-on-one time.

Making time to sit with God is hard because it never seems urgent. Phone calls, emails, nagging children, work projects… these feel urgent because they have deadlines and are attached to physical people and sometimes to money. But sitting with God… there is no deadline for that, so we put it off. There’s no physical person to see, so we say “I’ll do it when I have time.” Honestly, we tend to treat time with God as an option, a privilege, something we might do if our schedule allows. So the first order of business is to change this mindset. To remind ourselves this is a command in scripture for us as Christians.

The second step is very practical: decide on a time and a place. This is crucial. Even if you decide what you want to study and how you are going to study, if you don’t have a time and a place, you will struggle to follow through. My time and place (currently) is on the couch in my living room at 6am. 

Third, I pick a backup place and time… because life happens. Sometimes I sleep in. Sometimes my kids wake up too early and need things from me. My backup place and time is at my dining room table right after lunch when my kids are usually playing down the hall. If I need my backup time, that usually means I don’t get to as many emails, dishes, or chores as usual… and so I have to remind myself, this is more important. The dishes will get done, the emails will get responses… but I will say with my time and my schedule that time with Jesus matters. He is worthy of this “tithe” of my time.

Fourth, readjust in every season. With every new job, new season of parenting, new relationship or global pandemic, our day-to-days change. And that might mean a new time and place to meet with Jesus. I end up shifting things around about every 9-12 months as my life changes as a mom.

Lastly, write it down! It’s amazing what writing it down does to help you follow through. And then tell those you live with about your plan. Ask them to help you. If you have kids, ask them to help by not interrupting or if they are older, ask them to be a form of accountability (“Will you ask me later today if I spent time with Jesus?”). 

The picture below is the last page from a document I wrote about how to study the Bible called “Life in the Word.” You are welcome to use it as a template. And, if you need help in how to read and study the Bible, the rest of this document is something you can work through on your own.