A bald eagle soars toward the sun's dazzling light.
I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

The purpose of the wilderness

Wilderness strips life bare. It knocks all the supports out from under us. Circumstances may scream at us - and we may scream at God - that he has brought us there to kill us. And yet, it's in the wilderness that we may hear him say, “I have carried you on eagles’ wings to bring you to myself.”

Set free: Closeup of woman silhouetted by the hazy sun behind her. Her upraised arms are chained, but the chains have just broken.

The truth will set you free

Since childhood, I’ve treasured Jesus’ words, “the truth will set you free.” Now I see this diamond in its setting. I hear the urgency in his cry to us all.

With the sun behind her, low in the sky, a woman mountain climber rests for a moment, hanging from the lines that attach her to the cliff.

Mary Magdalene stuck her neck out

Thank you, Mary Magdalene, for coming to Jesus. Your story shows: REST is humbly serving the One who always treats me with high respect, entrusts me with significant responsibility and involves me in things of first importance.

Seen through raindrops on glass, a hazy view of a weak sun in a sky full of gray clouds. Also hazy: the black silhouette of dark, hilly, overgrown terrain with what appears to be a church steeple rising behind it.

Witchcraft in the church

In the church, those obsessed with manipulating, intimidating and dominating can pose as those serving God. And we can be very fooled for a very long time.

Against a snowy background stands a black iron gate, locked with multiple padlocks of different colors and shapes.

Shunning in the church

Any group that shuns is withholding your deepest needs in order to control you. That’s the opposite of loving you. It’s people you trusted, trying to erase you.

White hatchback car, sitting at a gas pump in the dark

The most unwanted assignment

  • Post category:My Story
  • Post last modified:November 4, 2023

Sitting in my car at that gas station on that winter afternoon, staring at Isaiah 58:1, I began to cry ... Oh. Lord. Not. This. Assignment.