Exemplify Magazine

May 2010

HUGE
ANNOUNCEMENT
ON PAGE 4

HOW TO TALK
YOURSELF DOWN
FROM A TANTRUM

CULTIVATING FAITHFUL
HEARTS IN OUR
CHILDREN

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR
WHEN GOD IS SILENT
 content

May 2010
Faithfulness

2 © exemplify magazine
 features
GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS P.
12
Natalie Snapp feature.
ALENE SNODGRASS INTERVIEW
P. 38
ROCKS IN MY POCKETS P.60
Patty Wysong feature.
in the word
FAITHFUL TO ALL HIS PROMISES
P. 22
Devotional
REBUILDING AFTER BETRAYAL
AND SEX ADDICTION P.24
Marriage column.
TAKING OFF THE ROSE COLORED
GLASSES & FINDING HIM P.26
Single Journey Column
LORD UNTO ME P. 43
FAITHFULNESS & AN UNEXPECT-
ED VISIT P. 56
Women in the Word Column
interactive
CANONIZATION: HOW THE BIBLE
CAME TO BE P. 15
Apologetics Column
FOSTERING FAITHFULNESS P. 28
Moving Toward Holiness Column
BOOK REVIEWS WITH DEBORAH
P.32
A look at I Will Carry You
©IrisNelson
CROSSING OVER THE LINES THAT
DIVIDE
Faith Applied Column
THE TIMES OF MY LIFE P. 52
In the kitchen with Holly
in Exemplify
EDITOR’S NOTE P. 4
Huge announcement! Unless otherwise noted
MEET THE TEAM P.6
Scripture taken from the
Get to know Exemplify’s writers. HOLY BIBLE, NEW IN-
TERNATIONAL VER-
CHRISTMAS FEATURES NEEDED SION®. Copyright © 1973,
P.37 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by
Details on submissions needed. permission of Zondervan. All
A WEEK OF PRAYER P.51
rights reserved.
June 1-7, 2010
front
HOW TO TALK YOURSELF DOWN
FROM A TANTRUM P. 10
7 ways to calm down.
CULTIVATING FAITHFUL HEARTS
IN OUR CHILDREN P.20
Family Column
A GOD I DON’T UNDERSTAND P. 44
What to do when the rain comes.
 Exemplify is happy
to announce...
www.inspiredheartsmedia.com
4 © exemplify magazine
This is a big month for Exemplify.

Our May issue is filled with articles on the theme of faithful-

ness. I am happy to feature the writing of Natalie Snapp, Patty
Wysong and an interview with Alene Snodgrass.

While working on this issue I learned: how to talk myself down

from a tantrum, how to make a mean stromboli, how the Bible came
to be, the importance of crossing over the lines that divide and
just why I should be carrying rocks in my pockets. If that is not
a well-rounded issue, I don’t know what is!

On top of this beautiful issue I am joyed to release, I am

thrilled to have the privelege of announcing to you, our loved and
prayed for readers, Exemplify’s newest venture.

As of August 2010 Exemplify will be putting out a magazine for

teen girls! 2:21 Mag is going to be the go-to resource for teen
girls to get encouraged, equipped and excited about all the con-
tent relevant to their daily lives. I invite you to check us out
at 221mag.com - we’re still getting ready for our first issue so
bear with us.

As we begin to build this new team and ministry, I ask you to pray
for us. It is my heart’s hope that we will serve your girls with
excellence, purpose and a holy passion for Christ’s renown.

May you take something eternal away from these

pages. May our God’s faithfulness surround you
and spur you on this month.

In King Jesus,

Kristen Schiffman

“You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you.”

5 © exemplify magazine
Psalm 89:8, NIV
Meet the Magazine Team
Kristen Schiffman
Founder & Ministry Director
A New Yorker living in Texas, Kristen is just trying to make sense of sweet
tea and A/C units. Together with her best friend & husband, Eric, she en-
joys sketching out new ideas over Starbuck’s.

Kristen’s passion is equipping those in leadership to serve with excel-

lence, encouraging women to get to know God through His Word and
challenging women to live out their God-given purpose.

Andrea Mitchell
Editor-in-Chief/Director of Web Content/Family Columnist
Andrea Mitchell is a coffee drinking, Jesus-loving wife and stay-at-home mom of
three in constant search of just the right mug for her brew. You can find her at her
blog, UnderGraceOverCoffee.com where she shares the love she has found in Je-
sus, along with the caffeine-laden randomness that makes up the majority of her
day. Grab your cup and come on over!

Christy McGraw
Director of Social Networking/Single Channel Editor/Columnist
Christy is on a journey to becoming a woman after God’s own heart. She
delights in books, photography, her family and her friends. Christy has
a heart for young women and single women. She also loves emails!
thesinglejourney@gmail.com

Christine Johnston
Director of Communications/Titus 2 Columnist
Christine is a self professed “knitster” who loves watching a scarf come to life. She is the mother
of four children, three of whom are full grown and one still making her way through high school.
She is married to her high school sweetheart and loves going on lunch dates with him during the
week. Christine’s steady and sure faith in Christ, her value of justice and her compassion for that
which Christ has compassion on daily shape her Titus 2 calling.

Tara Guy
Director of Ministry Support/
Fiction & Apologetics Column/ Web Editor
Tara Guy is a born-and-bred Southern girl who loves sweet tea, Jesus, and
football - and not necessarily in that order. Visit her at Musings of a Future
Pastor’s Wife, where she blogs about her day-to-day life as the wife of a
seminary student/youth pastor and mom to a precious toddler girl, and the
daily truths the Lord teaches her.
 Joanne Sher
Magazine Editor
Joanne Sher is a mother of two, wife of one, and, most importantly, daughter of the
King. She was raised in the Jewish faith, coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus in
her early 30’s. Her passion is for writing and encouraging, and editing actually helps
the team
her relax. She is in various stages of progress on two novel-length manuscripts: one
about God’s provision during her husband’s serious health issues, and another Bibli-
cal fiction set during the time of 1 and 2 Samuel. She also loves to share her insights
at her blog, www.joannesher.com, where she shares the “Open Book” of her life fol-
lowing Christ.

Karen Lowe
Feature Editor
A native of Kentucky, Karen is a country girl at heart. She currently
resides in northwestern Illinois where she divides her time between being a
wife, homemaker, homeschooler, mother, writer, and Bible study teacher. She
loves a good cup of coffee and very rarely turns down chocolate. Karen has a pas-
sion to write Bible studies and teach women God’s Word. She
began Truth and Grace Ministries to encourage women to grow in God’s truth
and grace. You can find her writing at her blog, Living Life, where she shares
God’s Word, devotionals, and various other posts about life as she strives to live in God’s truth and grace.

Judith Roberts
Interview Columnist
Judith Roberts has been married to her college sweetheart for four years, and both
she and her husband are active in their church. She is a college instructor pursuing her
doctorate and hopes to mirror Jesus in her everyday life.

Kara Cox
Devotional Columnist
Kara is a single, thirtysomething follower of Christ who loves to laugh and makes
others laugh in the process. She is devoted to all things Autumn and thinks that
pumpkins, fallen leaves and fall TV premieres are a highlight of life. She would also
like you to know she is the most extroverted introvert you will ever meet.

Wendy Miller
How-To Columnist
Wendy Miller is a butcher (of words as she edits her novels), a baker (of birthday cakes
and treats for her beloved family members and friends), and a candlestick maker (not
quite, but she enjoys crafts of all kinds). She appreciates the outdoors, writing and laugh-
ing with loved ones. Wendy’s mission statement is to a live a passionate life filled with
compassion, grateful to be called daughter of the Most High God. Visit Wendy at http://
thoughtsthatmove.blogspot.com/ or http://wendypainemiller.wordpress.com/.

7 © exemplify magazine
 Amy Bayliss
Ministry Online Columnist
the team
Amy is a true Cajun princess who is on a mission to minister to women via the
World Wide Web. She has a heart for encouraging and equipping women and she
does so by utilizing many different venues. Writing, speaking, blogging, pioneer-
ing… visit her at amybayliss.com.

Alison Hunt
Columnist
Alison is a twenty-something single woman living in the now and hoping for
the future. Based in North Florida, she an administrative assistant by day,
and dreamer by night (literally). She can also be found reading under trees,
Zumba-ing, spending time with family, and catching up with friends over cof-
fee. Visit her blog at http://alisonlhunt.blogspot.com.

Brooke McGlothlin
Columnist
Lover of God and the man I’ve dreamed of since the 3rd grade...mommy of two
little boys born just 23 months apart...CEO of the McGlothlin Home for Boys (my
house)...passionate about life issues and finding Jesus in the everyday. Director
of Clinical Services for a local Crisis Pregnancy Center with a BS in Psychology
and MA in Counseling.

Deborah Boutwell
Book Reviews
Married for 23 years, 2 children (21 & 15 years of age), working outside
the home in a Christian publishing house, serving in a small Southern Bap-
tist church in various keys roles, hobbies include reading, writing, needle &
thread handwork.

Iris Nelson
Photographer
Born and raised in Germany, Iris now resides with her husband Mark and
Chihuahua Corky, in Arizona. Their grown son Daniel works as a software
consultant in Arizona, living close by. Although the move from Germany to the
US was not easy, God’s hand was evident. In Arizona, God called Iris back
into His flock. Her ministries in the past included leading women Bible stud-
ies; leading worship once month with the contemporary praise team.

Iris enjoys encouraging women by sharing His Word through the devotional
team-blog ‘Laced with Grace’ (www.lacedwithgrace.com), which she ‘birthed’
with a friend from California in 2006.

8 © exemplify magazine
Lori MacMath
Moving Toward Holiness Columnist

Having grown up in the church, Lori knows that her ‘true spiritual journey’ began with an experi-
ence with infertility and surrendering to the Lord, allowing HIM to break her and remake her.
The smile she wears tells that she is so happy to be on the journey that she is on now. A journey
that includes homeschooling 3 wonderful children! Lori is the co~owner of Internet Cafe Devo-
tions, an online daily devotional site for women. Praising HIM every step of the way, she encour-
ages you to enjoy the journey with her at her personal website, All You Have to Give, where she
can be found daily, enjoying each and every season to its fullest!

Holly Smith
In The Kitchen Columnist

My name is Holly Smith from Monument, CO. I am the wife of Chris and mother of Noah, Kylie,
Tabor and Sydney. I am a stay at home mom, who very much loves her job as a mom. On the
side, I design web pages and marketing pieces. It is a great way to pour out creativity! God
has gifted me with a love of all things creative--from painting and wall-papering to scrapbooking
and design-work. Also I write a couple of blogs, which you can read online if you want. One
is a cooking blog called What Would Martha Cook? It’s about Martha in the Bible not the other
Martha. The other is a devotional writing blog called Crown Laid Down. I began blogging in
February 2007.

Chrystie Cole
Closet Issues Columnist
Chrystie lives with her husband and stepson in the beautiful upstate of South Carolina.
She is a woman who was once lost, broken, desperate and hopeless. Yet because of
a gracious and loving God, she was given a brand new life. She has personally experi-
enced the power of His transforming and redeeming love. As a result, she is passionate
about sharing His love with others and ministering to broken and hurting people.

Tracy Knowlton
Women in the Word Columnist
Tracy Knowlton is a Texan by birth, curious by nature and crazy about her husband of
three years. She reads scripture and loves on her dogs, simultaneously. Tracy looks for
Jesus in the ordinary, adds in scripture and waits to see what happens. Loving the Lord
is her privilege and writing about Him on her blog, JesusWomanWords.com, is her joy.
Consider yourself invited.

Jenifer Jernigan
Faith Applied Columnist
Jenifer makes her home in North Carolina with her husband of ten years, three children,
and English black lab, Bella. On a typical day, if there is such a thing, you will find her
sipping a cup of coffee, home schooling her children, and digging into the Word. A former
pit-dweller who has been saved by God’s amazing grace, Jenifer has a burning passion
to share with women of all ages His unconditional love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness.

This Month’s Marriage Article

Marsha Harwood
Marsha Harwood lives deep in the woods of western North Carolina with the love of her life, Mike, their
dog, Lucky and an occasional bear that comes by to visit. Married for 36 years, they are blessed with
3 adult children and 6 grandchildren.Marsha and her husband started Snowbird TEAM Ministries in
1998 to reach the Cherokee Indians and the poor of Appalachia for Christ. Her ministry is with at risk
teen girls, pregnant teens and counseling women and children who have been abused. Growing up
as a battered child, she understands the shame and fear that fills the hearts of abused women and
children. She blogs at Marsha’s Musings.
 I’ve had a slew of unusual run-ins this
past week. A snarky lady made a rude

How to Talk
comment to me about my parenting
skills in the grocery store. Another indi-
vidual didn’t hear me say excuse me at
another store. He felt the need to bark

Yourself
at me to say it again. My inclination in
both circumstances was to throw up
my hands and shout, “How rude!” I re-
sisted. I still can’t decide if I held back

Down from a
out of shock or because I’ve trained
myself how not to lose it.

We face countless times throughout

our weeks when we could fall into the

Tantrum
temptation to bang our fists on some-
thing and flail in a tantrum. But we’re
adults, right? And God is working His
good in us. So how do we, in these mo-
ments of high tension, talk ourselves
Written by Wendy Miller down from a tantrum?

I’ve provided several trusty ways that

have proven to work for me.

Pray
When dealing with a high stress level
one of the greatest resources to tap
into is talking to God. He can handle it if
we need to vent to Him. In Matthew 11
we are instructed to come to Him if we
are weary and burdened. David was
famous for spilling his every thought out
to the Lord. The next time someone dis-
respects you or drives you to a point of
fist-clenching frustration remember you
have someone to confide in; someone
willing to take the burden on.

“Because God has made us for Himself,

our hearts are restless until they rest in
Him.”— Augustine of Hippo

Go For a Walk
image: © michael lorenzo | sxc.hu We aren’t meant to be doormats. There
are times when walking away is entirely
appropriate. As with the woman in the
grocery store I did just that. (It wasn’t
10 © exemplify magazine until I got to the checkout line that
I cried.) This one is also great for when
you start to slip into a slump. There’s
nothing like a brisk walk to get your cre-
ativity flowing, your energy boosted,
and even your libido revved up (you
are welcome, husbands). Exercise is a
natural de-stressor. And this one works
as a two for one deal. Not only can
getting her heart pumping smooth out
your thoughts and calm your synaps-
es, it serves well in those times you just
need to walk away from a Tasmanian
devil moment.
“A fool shows his annoyance at once,
but a prudent man overlooks an in-
sult.” Proverbs 12: 16
Peaceful Place
I’ve seen TV shows make fun of going
to your happy place, but I’m willing
to bet those TV producers and writers
have tried it during 5:00 o’clock rush
hour when the car in front is a big time
brake-tapper. Imagining a peaceful
place can be as simple as remember-
ing moments from your last vacation,
thinking of your favorite hike or the
most beautiful natural setting you’ve
ever seen. It helps temporarily remove
you from the stressful situation so you
don’t go ballistic and say or do some-
thing you’re bound to regret.
Music
One of my favorite things to do when
I’m exhausted from refereeing fights all
day is to turn the music up loud. The
Bible mentions how David played his
harp for Saul to relieve him. There’s just
something about a smooth melody, a
great beat or powerful lyrics that set-
tles me. Praise music works exception-
ally well at times when I’ve reached
my limit.
Breathing
You’ve heard this before I’m sure. If
you’ve had a baby you know all about
the special breathing techniques you
can try to make the process more
peaceful. Peaceful? As a mother of
three little ones I laugh. Really though,
say you’re standing in line and some-
one abruptly cuts you off with no
apology or even a glance your way.
There’s a time to take a stand. And
then there is a time to breathe—to let
the person go and take that moment
to collect yourself and swallow some
air and simultaneously some pride.
Mental List of
Blessings
Okay, so little one dumped out the en-
tire gallon of milk on the kitchen floor
two seconds before the play date is
supposed to arrive. You could cry over
spilled milk. I’ve certainly had those
moments. But, I also had a shocking,
but oddly peaceful thing happen
the other week. I woke to a horrible
stench. I got out of bed, flipped on
the hall light to see our eighty pound
Samoyed had “issues” downstairs in
the front hall. Excuse the detail, but
these weren’t minor issues; these were
elephant-sized issues. I gathered my
Resolve carpet cleaner, an entire roll
of paper towels (I used every last one)
and some Shout stain remover for
good measure. I scrubbed. I sprayed.
I pat, pat, patted. And somewhere in
the midst of my foggy 2:00 a.m. clean-
ing I began to sing a praise song to
God. Not quite sure why, but at that
moment, taking care of the elephant-
sized “issues” I felt overwhelmed with
gratitude that I was alive.
“Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything by prayer and peti-
tion, with thanksgiving, present your
requests to God.” Philippians 4:6
Recall Scripture
Memorizing Scripture is one of the
wisest paths to growth and maturity.
If you’ve taken the time to remem-
ber verses, as you find yourself being
snapped at by the PTO president or
brushed off by your best friend, you
can divert yourself from heading to
Tantrum Central and instead arrive
at Tranquil Land. I can’t tell you how
many times the following verse has de-
fused me in elevating times of crisis:
“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart
and lean not on your own understand-
ing; in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
We’re only on this earth for a glimpse
of time. Each moment we live has the
potential to influence the following
moments. We are responsible for our
reactions. How easy would it be to lose
ourselves to the temptation of flying
off the handle in a fit of rage, or telling
someone off when they’ve hurt us, or
lashing out when our pride is wound-
ed? Stress is temporary. Even our mo-
ments of ongoing stress are but a blip
on the eternal timeline. God calls us to-
ward disciplined, thoughtful reactions.
In order to fight our natural inclinations,
we need to rely on Him and His Spirit so
we respond in glorifying ways. As I was
putting on my make up this morning
my three-year-old let out a wail in the
other room which crescendoed to a
full fledged tantrum. I empathized with
her feeling. But I don’t run on feelings.
I run on faith.
“If you look at the world, you’ll be dis-
tressed. If you look within, you’ll be de-
pressed. If you look at God you’ll be
at rest.”
— Corrie Ten Boom
Great is Thy
Faithfulness Written by Natalie Snapp

Faithfulness. How great is God’s faithfulness? In 2001, I wasn’t so sure. In fact, I didn’t even know the scope
of God’s love. I wasn’t sure if He was really there when I needed Him or even when I didn’t. How could He
possibly know my anguish…my heartbreak? I just didn’t quite understand how He worked. I didn’t “get”
God.

I was 27 years old. My husband at the time had just admitted that he had a drug problem he just couldn’t
shake. Our savings was gone. He had lied to me and betrayed me. To make matters worse, he said he didn’t
have any plans to stop. In addition to this sadness, my father died unexpectedly around the same time. He
had been sober for only six years prior to his death after a lifelong battle with alcoholism. I was just getting
to know him.

At this point, I was literally on my knees. I had been raised as a “Chreaster” – we went to church on Christ-
mas and Easter and when it was convenient; but I had never been told much about Jesus or what it meant
to really be a Christian. To me, God was just a “being” – someone you spoke with when you needed or
wanted something. He was there to serve you.

After a sleepless night, I woke the next morning and made the decision to start running. I had never been
a runner but for some odd reason, I felt a pull to begin. I wanted to train for something that allowed me to
focus on something positive. Like Forrest Gump, I just started running long distances and, metaphorically,
it was a fitting hobby to acquire at the time. I needed to run far, far away from the pain. I needed to push
myself beyond the limits I had known. I needed to be in control of something…anything.

After a sleepless night, I woke the next morning and made the decision to start running. I had never been
a runner but for some odd reason, I felt a pull to begin. I wanted to train for something that allowed me to
focus on something positive. Like Forrest Gump, I just started running long distances and, metaphorically,
it was a fitting hobby to acquire at the time. I needed to run far, far away from the pain. I needed to push
myself beyond the limits I had known. I needed to be in control of something…anything.

12 © exemplify magazine 12

A beloved aunt had given me a copy of Michael W.
Smith’s Worship CD and I listened to his powerful
music as the miles passed me by. I was running
away from the pain, but slowly I began to realize I
was running to God.
I was running to embark upon a relationship with
Him.
I was running to His unconditional love.
I was running to His grace.
I was running to his mercy.
I had no idea that my decision to start running
would result in a transformation of my faith but
it did just that. It allowed me to be still and focus.
God placed a wonderful woman (who worked for a
group that is an extension of Campus Crusade for
Christ) right before me precisely at the time when
I started to ask some questions that I needed an-
swered. Marcy and I met over coffee often and she
taught me about Jesus. She told me about God’s
love for me. Most appealing of all, she spoke of His
unfaltering grace and mercy for us all. He sounded
like someone I would want to have in my life.
During that torrential downpour of my life, I ac-
cepted Jesus as my Savior. I asked Him in and He
began to heal. He began to rehabilitate. I started
to learn about the unbelievable scope of His love.
Most importantly, I stopped carrying around the
baggage that was getting too heavy to carry alone.
I discovered Matthew 11:28 which says, “’Come to
me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and
you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is
easy and my burden is light.’” (NIV) I felt the iron
gate open and the weight upon my chest release.
I walked right through to Him and felt for the first
time that I could breathe…really, truly breathe.
In retrospect, it is obvious to me that God was
pruning me for something great. I kept running. I
sought counseling and began to forgive my soon-
to-be ex-husband. I forgave my deceased father. I
started to attend church regularly and really lis-
tened. I joined a Bible study. The burdens were get-
ting lighter. Christ’s yoke was indeed proving to be
easier than the heavy burdens I had been carry-
ing all those years. I was a work in progress; but I
was indeed progressing. These were all steps in the
right direction because I was running to God.
Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, “‘For I know the plans I
have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘Plans to prosper
you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope
and a future.’” (NIV) In addition, Romans 8:28 says
“…we know that in all things God works for the
good of those who love Him…” (NIV)
These two passages gave me the steadfast faith-
fulness and hope that literally pulled me through
those very dark days. God is my light. He is my
compass…my true north.
He did have a plan for me and it was indeed very
good. In fact, His plan was better than I could have
ever imagined. I met a God-loving man, married
him, and we have been entrusted with three beau-
tiful and healthy children. I would not have arrived
at this destination if I hadn’t walked through the
storm and been down on my knees searching for
God. How great is God’s faithfulness? Greater than
I ever thought possible. Thank you, thank you,
thank you my Heavenly Father.
We all go through trials. We can sometimes walk
into deep valleys that make us feel like we will never
emerge. In those times, may we remember that God
is faithful and He has a plan for His children. Let’s
cling to Him and trust Him. He will not fail us. His
plans for His children are always good.

Natalie Snapp is first and foremost a lover of Jesus, a lover of her husband, Jason, and a
lover of their three children. She is a freelance writer whose work appears in Blissfully
Domestic and at her blog, www.mommyonfire.com. She also has a passion for women’s
ministry and therefore is busy as the Co-Coordinator of her Mothers of Preschoolers
(MOPS) group. In addition, she is an obsessive reader who loves to “talk books” with
other book-loving friends. Natalie resides in the Midwest with the aforementioned family
that teaches her the extent of God’s love on a daily basis. She is constantly thankful for
God’s grace and mercy as she raises her young family to love Him and share their love
for Him with others.

13 © exemplify magazine
 Canonization:
How the Bible
Came to Be
Written by Tara Guy

Now He [Jesus] said to them, “These are My words which I

spoke to you while I was still with you, that all
things which are written about me in the Law of
Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be ful-
filled.” - Luke 24:44
image: © Iris Nelson
One of the biggest questions you will face from
critics and skeptics is this: ”Who decided what
books should and should not be in the Bible?”
This is extremely important because one of the
leading arguments against Christianity is that
the early Church fathers and the early church
“picked and chose” what books to include to
suit their own purposes (i.e. gaining power, es-
tablishing a dominant religion, etc.).
It is important for us as believers to know how
the Bible was put together for two main reasons.
1, it affirms our own faith knowing how and why
certain books were selected; and 2, it gives us
the ability to dialogue with our critics and pres-
ent a defense for God’s Word. I’m excited about
today’s topic because this is really the first time
we’re going to start diving into Scripture for our
answers. The last two posts have been historical
in nature. Today we get to open God’s Word
and take in the beauty of the jewels found with-
in. So grab your Bibles and let’s get started!
Lord God, we thank you for the awesomeness
of Your Word. We thank You that You cared
enough to place Your very Words into the hands
of Your children, that we may know You and
Your heart and Your mind. We ask Your bless-
ing over this study, that through learning more
about You and Your Word we would grow to
love and cherish You more than ever. May our
lives be an offering of praise and devotion to
You. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.
Before we begin examining each testament,
let’s pause for a moment to study the word can-
on. Canon is the term most often used to de-
scribe the books of the Bible that were deemed
divinely inspired. The word “canon” comes from
the Greek kanon and Hebrew qaneh. In Eng-
lish it means “reed” or “cane.” In ancient times,
reeds were used as forms a measurement, so
the Greek kanon became a standard. When
the Bible was put together, there was a certain
standard the Scriptures had to meet in order to
be deemed holy. We use the English word can-
on to describe the books included in the Bible.
15 © exemplify magazine
THE OLD TESTAMENT
There is Scriptural evidence that the canon of
the Old Testament was in place before the time
of Christ. Let’s examine some of Jesus’ words
and see what we can discover about God’s
Word during His life.
Read Luke 24:44. What three sections of Scripture does
Jesus reference?
• __________________________
• __________________________
• _________________________
We know that as a man, Jesus was very familiar
with Jewish Scripture. We see in this verse His
reference to three main sections of Scripture,
and asserting that the words of those portions
indeed referred to Him.
Read John 7:38, Matthew 21:42, and John 5:39. What
word do each of these verses have in common?
__________________________
Jesus’ casual reference to the Scripture or
Scriptures is very similar to our saying “Bible” to-
day. The fact that Jesus could say these words
and not be questioned shows that there was
an accepted Jewish canon that was com-
monly known among Jewish people.
Also testifying to the Hebrew canon are the
ancient Jewish historian Josephus and early
church writers Origen and Jerome. All three
testify in their writings of the twenty-four books
of the Hebrew Bible. (Lightfoot, 155-156)
>>>
But how does this support the canon for our Old
Testament? The Old Testament as we know it
has 39 books. These guys only testify to 24.
In the first few centuries before Jesus came to earth, THE NEW TESTAMENT
the ancient Jewish writings stated that there were
three sections of the Hebrew Bible: the Law, the Shortly after the resurrection, inspired writings
Prophets, and the Writings. The following breakdown began circling around to the growing young
shows how the books of the Old Testament in Jesus’ church. There were letters from all kinds of
time (and still today for the Jews) are grouped (Mc- apostles, ranging from Paul, the former Chris-
Dowell, 27): tian persecutor, to Peter, the righteous Jew, to
Barnabas, the early church planter. As the Gos-
The Law (Torah): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Num- pels along with these letters were copied over
bers, Deuteronomy and over for the churches, it became evident
to the early church fathers that it was time to
The Prophets (Nebhim): The Former Prophets – get a canon in place. Then came the question
Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings; and the Latter of how to determine what was divine and what
Prophets – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and The Twelve was not.
(this included Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah,
Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Based on your knowledge of the early church, can you
Zechariah, Malachi grouped together in one book) think of any reasons why a New Testament canon was
needed?
The Writings (Kethubhim): Poetical - Psalms, Proverbs,
Job; The Five Rolls – Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamenta- _____________________________________________
tions, Esther, Ecclesiastes; Historical – Daniel, Ezra-Ne- ______________
hemiah, Chronicles

Next time you are in a large bookstore, head back

to the religion section and pick up a Jewish Bible According to Josh McDowell, there were six
(called the Tanakh). Flip through and you’ll see this reasons that a canon for the New Testament
arrangement of books is still used today in Jewish had to be collected. (McDowell, 23) They are:
Scriptures.
• The books were prophetic and therefore
Read Luke 11:51 and Matthew 23:35. What are the two names needed to be collected together for a re-
He mentions in each of these verses? cord of prophecy
• The early church needed an answer to what
• __________________________ they should and should not be reading
• __________________________ • The rise of heretics propagated a need for
set Scriptures to counteract it
Jesus’ recalls the names of Abel & Zechariah. These • False writings began to circulate, with sup-
two men are significant martyrs in the Old Testament. porters claiming they were inspired
Abel is, of course, the first martyr listed in Genesis • The spread of Christianity required a missions
4. The account of Zechariah’s martyrdom is found need to spread and translate the Bible
in 2 Chronicles 24:21. To someone who has grown • As persecution rose (for example, the edicts
up studying the current Christian canon, this might declaring all Christian books be destroyed),
not seem very significant. However, to a Jew in the there had to be an understanding of what
time of Jesus, this is extremely significant. By creat- was sacred and what was not
ing a time frame between the blood of Abel and
the blood of Zechariah, Jesus is referencing the first With the reasons for a canon recognized, then
martyr and the last martyr in Jewish Scripture. Since came the question of what should be included.
Chronicles is the last book in the Jewish canon, the Some questions used to determine this are (Mc-
account of Zechariah’s martyrdom would signify to Dowell, 21-22):
any listening Jew that Jesus is making a “beginning
to end” reference of Scriptures.

• Was the book written by a prophet of God?
• Was the writer confirmed by acts of God?
• Did the message tell the truth about God?
• Does it come with the power of God?
• Was it accepted by the people of God?
An example of how certain books were elimi-
nated from the canon due to the above listed
reasons would be the elimination of the Epistles
of Barnabas. A copy of the Epistles of Barnabas
is included in the Codex Sinaticus; however, his
epistle is not included in the New Testament
canon. Now anyone who has read the book
of Acts knows that Barnabas was a companion
of Paul and sought to expand the early church.
However, his writings had anti-Semitic under-
tones, and he even went as far the claim that
the new covenant in Christ was not extended
to the Jews. Therefore, his epistle was not con-
sidered divinely inspired, because it did not cor-
relate with the teachings of Jesus.
Contrary to popular belief, there was not a
council enacted to decide the canon. The New
Testament canon was developed through the
first and second centuries, referenced by many
early church writers such as Athanasius of Alex-
andria, Jerome, Polycarp, Justin Martyr, Iranae-
us, and Ignatius. The accepted canon was
very similar in the order it is today, starting with
the Gospels, followed by the History (Acts), the
Epistles of Paul (Hebrews included), the General
Epistles (James, Peter, John, and Jude), and the
Prophecy (Revelation). (McDowell, 23-24)
But what about the Apocrypha? Why do Cath-
olics have more books in their Bible than Protes-
tants, and how is that reconciled among Chris-
tians?
This question is often asked by critics and is used
not only to undermine the Christian Bible, but to
also highlight the differences between Catho-
lics and Protestants, which is then used to point
out how Christians can never seem to agree on
anything.
17 © exemplify magazine
Apocrypha literally means “hidden books.” The
Apocryphal books were written between 400
B.C. and the time of Christ. Protestants and
Jews alike do not consider these books divinely
inspired and authoritative. However, in 1546,
the Roman Catholic Church included some of
the Apocryphal writings into their accepted Old
Testament canon.
Now obviously your denominational affiliation
will determine whether or not you view the
Apocrypha as inspired and authoritative or not.
So rather than get into a denominational argu-
ment, I’d just like to highlight some support and
critiques of the Apocrypha.
First, while Protestants do not consider the
Apocryphal books inspired, the books give
great insight into the time between the Testa-
ments, approximately spanning 400 B.C. to the
time of Christ. Critics argue that there are his-
torical and geographical inaccuracies within
the books (one of the reasons cited by scholars
why they should not be included in the Protes-
tant canon). However, the information found
within them might be beneficial to a Protestant
simply trying to gain a greater understanding of
the time, place, and people leading up to Je-
sus’ birth.
Criticisms against the Apocrypha are the inac-
curacies listed above, the lack of prophetic na-
ture commonly found in other Old Testament
books, and the fact that some doctrines found
within the Apocrypha go against doctrines
found in the Jewish Scriptures.
To study this from a basis of Scripture, one would
need to examine some of the verses we high-
lighted earlier when discussing the OT canon.
First, Jesus only mentions the Law, Prophets, and
Writings in Luke 24:44. The Apocryphal books
are not included in these sections. Two, when
Jesus makes the reference from Abel to Zecha-
riah, He is only referring to the accepted Jewish
canon, which does not include the Apocrypha.
Third and finally, the New Testament authors do
not quote from any of the Apocryphal works.
An argument against this critique is that they do
not quote Joshua, Judges, and Esther either.
 The counter-argument to that would be that
those books were already accepted within the
Jewish canon during the time of the New Tes-
tament writings, whereas the Apocrypha is not.
(www.carm.org)

Rather than start an argument amongst Chris-

tians over whether or not the Apocrypha is di-
vinely inspired, I would simply advise you to
move the focus off of this topic when/if you are
debating this with a non-believer. If a non-be-
liever brings this point up, it is only to put you on
the defensive and to try to criticize the dissen-
sion within the Christian denominations. Make
Any questions?
it your goal to always uplift Christ, and move
the focus of the conversation back to Him. If
you say you don’t believe the Apocrypha is in-
spired, it will lead you down a rabbit trail of why
Please email them
Catholics need more books than you do. If you
say you do believe the Apocrypha is inspired, it
will put you into a rut of defending and explain-
ing why you believe the books should be in the
to
canon. While these topics are good to know
and even to discuss, arguing them too inten-
sively in effect moves the focus off of Christ and
exemplify@me.com.
onto other less important topics.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our study today. I hope

you were encouraged seeing Scriptural evi-
dence for the canon. Join us next month as we
discuss translations – why they matter, why they
are important, and what biblical critics have to
say about them.

For footnote information, please see the Apolo-

getics Column in the February issue for works
cited.

18 © exemplify magazine
 221mag.com

I like clothes.
I play sports.
I have fun with my friends.
I totally text.
I rock out with my iPod.
I flip my camera.
I type faster than my Mom.
More than anything,
I love my Jesus.
I Exemplify.
19 © exemplify magazine
I am Team 2:21. 19
in the trenches: family column

Cultivating Faithful
Hearts
in Our Children

Written by Andrea Mitchell

20 © exemplify magazine
Last summer we introduced a new little family mem-
ber into our fold.
Weighing in at barely 3 pounds when she came home,
Maggie quickly wormed her way into our hearts, from
her cute little fluffy face, right down to her puppy way
of falling over her feet every single time she tried to
keep up with the kids.
While each family member adores Maggie, and she
in turn adores them, it quickly became apparent just
whose dog this dog is. Even though the responsibili-
ties of feeding, walking, grooming, and playing are
more or less equally shared, it seems that Miss Mag-
gie has decided that she is a Mama’s girl.
Where I go, the dog goes. I can’t leave a room with-
out the clicking of Maggie’s nails following behind me
shortly afterward. If she wants to be picked up, I’m
the one she comes to. If she wants to go outside, she
stares me down until I tell the kids to get her leash.
She’s even given herself the job of my protector, bark-
ing wildly at my Roomba vacuum if it comes too close
to me (of course, she runs away in terror the minute it
turns on her, but that’s a story for another day!).
Somehow, I have earned our dog’s unconditional, un-
dying love. Maggie may love to play with the kids and
say hello to every new person who walks through our
door, but she is unendingly faithful to me.
When I think about the kind of relationships I want my
children to have with Jesus, it closely resembles that
of my dog and me. I want my children to experience
His unending and undying love for them personally.
But I also want them to be unendingly faithful to Him.
Proverbs 22:6 (NLT) instructs us to “direct (our) chil-
dren onto the right path, and when they are older, they
will not leave it.” In order to cultivate faithfulness, we
need to get our children started on the right course.
We need to show them the way to go and how to get
there.
It’s not enough to take our children to Sunday School
and read their devotions with them every day. As Deu-
teronomy 6:7 in the Message puts it we need to talk
about God and His ways continually, to “get (those
ways) inside of you and then get them inside your
children.
21 © exemplify magazine
Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home
or walking in the street; talk about them from the time
you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed
at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as
a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your
homes and on your city gates.”
As parents, we need to make talking about God as
natural as breathing. We need to show our children
by our own faithfulness to Him just how important
He is to us. We need to follow on God’s heels, from
room to room, even if He leads us somewhere we’ve
been a hundred times before. We need to go to Him
when we need picking up, when we need to be fed,
when we just simply need.
We ourselves become more faithful as we grow in
intimacy in our relationship with God. By spending
time daily in His word, daily in prayer, by seeking
His face in everything we do, we begin to become
more and more like Jesus. We begin to be filled with
the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), to grow in
faithfulness to our loving Father.
There is no formula for cultivating faithfulness other
than being faithful. The more time I spend with my
Maggie, the more faithful she is to me. The more
time we spend with Jesus, the more faithful we our-
selves become.
We need to be real, live examples for our children
to emulate.
It doesn’t matter which parenting books we read or
which parenting methods we implement while rais-
ing our children. It doesn’t matter if we choose to
give our children an allowance, if we choose to dis-
cipline with spanking or time-outs. It doesn’t matter
which translation of the Bible we read to our chil-
dren, what kind of devotionals we do with them, or
which VBS program we have them attend.
What matters is that we work at cultivating a heart
for Jesus, a faithful and devoted heart that doesn’t
turn from Him when the going gets hard (and we all
know it will), that praises Him continually and gives
Him the glory for everything.
A heart faithful to Him.
September 2008 magazine 21
 I love to hear my mother recount the story of my father
proposing to her. I listen to her tell all the details and
devotional

I try to picture them in my head: she had just turned

twenty, with pretty long blonde hair and he was tall,
with a football player’s build and stories of life in the
Navy. Mom was sweet and shy, dad was a good old
country boy who never met a stranger and their first
meeting was one of those “by chance” stories.

They hadn’t known one another long: just a couple of

months. My dad, same then as he is now, wasn’t one

Faithful
to mince words or be very sentimental and his pro-
posal to my mom was true to form. “I don’t want you
to answer me now,” he told her. “I want you to think
about it. Because if you say yes this is for life. We will
never get a divorce.”

What makes his proposal so much sweeter is to know

their respective stories. My mom’s parents divorced
when she was a teenager, which of course devas-

to All
tated her. My dad was given up for adoption with four
of his siblings when he was 6 years old. They had
both experienced broken promises in deep, tangible
ways. So for my dad to make that kind of promise of
abiding faithfulness was huge for my mom. Even now,
37 years later, it means the world to her.

Mom has told me, time and again, that she has never
once doubted my dad’s words to her that day. Re-

His Promises
gardless of the struggles in their marriage, from the
little annoyances to the BIG issues, she has trusted
my dad’s promise that they will never divorce.

I love this picture of faithfulness that my parents’ mar-

By Kara Cox riage has painted. What occurred to me as I pondered
faithfulness for this month was how the intention of
my dad’s heart had to be walked out, proven, and
verified over the day to day, year to year, decade to
decade life he’s spent with my mother. What was a
hopeful promise that reassured a child of divorce 37
years ago is like a steady, sure fortress for her to rest
in today. She heard words and built hope on them all
those years ago: a foundation for a marriage. Now,
it is a well structured house that will not crumble. My
dad has proven himself. And I can see the parallel
in how God’s faithfulness builds something secure in
me as well.

22 © exemplify magazine
 My father is just a man. He makes mis-
takes and sins and falls just like all of
us. But if I can look at his faithfulness
to my mom over these last 37 years
and trust that their marriage will never
fail, how much more should I be able to
trust in the faithfulness of my perfect,
holy, limitless heavenly Father?
Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a
man, that he should lie, nor a son of
man, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act? Does
he promise and not fulfill?” My father’s
promise certainly has been proven by
his faithfulness, and it means so much
to my mom, though it was made by a
man who is certainly capable in his own
humanness of breaking that promise.
My God, however, is absolutely incapa-
ble of not fulfilling a promise. Talk about
faithfulness!
One of my favorite passages of scrip-
ture is Psalm 145:13, which in the NIV
says, “The Lord is faithful to all his
promises and loving toward all he has
made.” I love words like all, don’t you?
I hope, one day, I get to stand next to
my parents at their fiftieth anniversary
party and listen to them recount that
same proposal story along with count-
less other stories of a long and faithful
life together. The sweetness of a long
marriage is all those little stories and
little moments lapping over one anoth-
er in a glorious life together. I wonder
if some stories will catch my mom by
surprise, her never even realizing what
my father had done in this instance or
that situation.
The beauty of having a lifelong walk
with God of the universe is that we get
daily opportunities to see His perfect
faithfulness in action in much the same
way. I love looking back at different pe-
riods of my life and seeing how God
performed a work here and a miracle
there, and yet I know I haven’t truly
even glimpsed into a fraction of them. I
can’t even imagine what it will be like to
one day meet my heavenly Father face
to face and have Him recount to me, in
vivid detail, all those faithful promises
fulfilled.

One Day!
The Lord is faithful to ALL his promises.
When it comes to faithfulness, God su-
persedes anything man can attempt.
And throughout a life with God we get
the opportunity to see those promises
proven day to day, year to year and de-
cade to decade.

What comfort to not only read, but

then experience the amazing truth
that God never leaves us or forsakes
us (Hebrews 13:5). Or, that He works
out everything for the good of those
who love him and have been called ac-
cording to his purpose (Romans 8:28).
What about discovering His peace that
passes understanding (Philippians 4:6)
or our every need being met out of his
glorious riches(Philippians 4:19)? He is
faithful to ALL his promises.

23 magazine may 2010

image credit: microsoft
Rebuilding After Betrayal
& Sex Addiction
In the midst of all the media attention given to Tiger Woods
regarding his sex addiction, I became aware of many couples
struggling in the same area. Sadly, some of these couples I
know personally. Others I know through blogging or have
sent me an email asking for advice.
Recent surveys reveal that 50-70% of Christian men are strug-
gling with some form of pornography and sex addiction. Sadly,
this includes clergy. Another survey done by an online Chris-
tian magazine for women revealed that 34% of the women are
either involved in pornography, talking about sex online with a
man, or having online/phone sex.
We are in the midst of a spiritual pandemic affecting our mar-
riages today. It’s time we sound the alarm and take action to
protect our marriages.
Can a marriage survive an affair or multiple affairs? What
about pornography and other forms of sex addiction? Yes, by
God’s grace marriages can not only survive but thrive. But it
takes time. Forgiveness can happen, brokenness and surrender
can occur. But neither of you can do it alone. You each need to • Be honest with your husband. God gives us our hus-
deal with your hurts, shame and pain with a Biblical counselor.
Some clergy counselors unwittingly insinuate that if the couple
were more sexually active at home with their own spouse this
wouldn’t have happened. Usually, that finger is pointed at
the woman. “You must not be giving him enough sex. That’s
what’s caused this.” Don’t believe this lie. The seed for sex
addiction was more than likely sown long before you were mar-
ried. Not only that, each of us is responsible for how we re-
spond in a given situation. There’s no room for blame shifting.
Most men that are recovering from sex addiction have shared
that it began for them when: 1)They were exposed to porn
between the ages of 8-10 years old, usually by uncovering their
father’s stash of magazines, or 2) They were sexually molested
as a child.
If you are the spouse that was shocked by your husband’s adul-
tery or sexual addiction, remember two things:
• It’s not your fault. It’s not because you didn’t give him
enough love, or you are too fat, or not “overly endowed”
enough. It was his choice to break the marriage covenant.
He broke the vows, not you.
• Look at this as a huge opportunity to look into the face of
suffering and find out who Christ really is and see first hand
that all those promises of God you’ve let roll nonchalantly
off your lips are absolutely true.
image credit: microsoft
What if you are the one struggling with the addiction or
had the affair? Here are 4 steps to rebuild your marriage
after making poor choices.
4 Steps to Rebuild Your Marriage
• Be honest with yourself. Never underestimate the
power of attraction. Realize these feelings could poten-
tially grow. Turn the other way and RUN, don’t think
it couldn’t happen to you. Realize that by flirting with
another man or allowing yourself to be attracted to him
but thinking you are in control of the situation, you are
actually being deceitful. Proverbs 12:20 – “Deceit is in
the heart of those who devise evil.” Close the door to
the danger of flirtation.
• Be honest with God. Nothing has the power to trans-
form your mind more than being in the Word daily.
The key element in protecting your marriage is your per-
sonal time alone with God. There are no substitutes.
Then when temptation comes, you can stand in the face
of it and not fall.
bands as an umbrella of protection. They’re prayers for
us are our covering of protection. There should be no
secrets between you.
• Place a hedge of protection around yourself. Set up
guidelines to guard against being alone with a man
other than your husband. Here are some great ideas.
Meg Wilson thought she had a picture perfect
marriage. And then her husband came to her and
confessed his sin of sex addiction. Two years later
he came to her again and confessed he committed
adultery the week before while on a business trip.
After eight years and lots of wise Biblical counsel
and continuing with accountability groups, they have
written a book, “Hope After Betrayal.” Her husband
Dave wrote the last chapter where he answers ques-
tions that wives most often ask about sex addiction.
You can read some of those questions and answers in
an article he wrote for Family Life Today.
Another great site is called Pure Intimacy sponsored
by Focus on the Family.
Marsha Harwood hosts a monthly marriage Q
&A on Exemplify’s Marriage Channel. If you
would like her to continue to address the
tough subjects like this, please let her know.
You can email her at
ExemplifyMarriageEditor@gmail.com.
 I was a band geek in high school. I was and

Taking
am okay with that label. It was my identity. It
singles column
was my way of life. Most of my friends were
band geeks too. Marching band was the big
thing in the summer and fall; then concert
band for winter and spring. My life revolved

Off the
around it. I remember a great deal about that
season in my life. As I sat down to write this
article, one conversation kept playing over in
my mind. The conversation happened my ju-
nior year of high school. At this point bitter-

Rose
ness ruled my life.

I had a great guy friend that was my bus bud-

dy. We would either sit together or have two
seats next to each other. One day on a trip to

Colored
an away football game we talked of life after
high school. I took my wallet out and showed
him a photo of my cousin and her then boy-
friend. They had gotten married that summer
and I thought it all wildly romantic. They had

Glasses
dated in high school and now she was 20 and
married. I told my friend that is what I wanted
in life. I wanted to meet the guy of my dreams
and get married soon after high school. He
listened. I told him of my romantic dreams

& Finding
and how I wanted them to come true and I
knew they would.

I remember him looking at me, smiling, and

saying: “Christy, is that all you want from life?

Him...
What about a career? What about living your
life for you?”

I laughed and said this is what would make

me happy. It was the only thing that would
make me happy.

Oh how simple I thought life was as a sixteen

year old girl.

If I still had the mindset of my 16-year-old self,

I would deem my 31-year-old self a complete
failure. You see, now my identity is often
found in my marital status. Single.

Written by Christy McGraw

image credit: © Stephen Davies | sxc.hu
26 © exemplify magazine
I have learned a great deal since
then. I don’t know about you, but
I have a tendency to look through
certain aspects of life with rose
colored glasses. I have learned
life is not what we think at times.
Marriages are not always happy.
There are secrets that will shock
you. Marriage takes a lot of work…
from both spouses. Through my
rose colored glasses I only saw
the great aspects. Having some-
one as a partner. The romance. In
my rose-colored-glasses view ev-
erything was perfect. Yet I know
life is often far from that.
Yet even knowing that ,I want it. I
want it to a point that sometimes I
put other things on hold.
As a single girl we can get so
caught in the trap of waiting for
more that we forget more is al-
ready here! Last month we talked
about the beauty of the time and
place we are at. Once we under-
stand that and even welcome it we
can move toward more. I keep
thinking back to that question my
friend asked me. Now it is a ques-
tion I often ask myself: Don’t you
want more for your life? For the
longest time I didn’t. I wanted mar-
riage. I wanted children. I could
not see past that. Now that I can
I have the hardest time deciding
what to do! Why? Because once
I stepped out of that mindset I saw
all the things He had before me!
When we focus on one thing and
one thing only we are missing all
of the other things He has for us.
If you are struggling with this know
that others are there. Many peo-
ple would say that moving forward
is letting go of your dream. I don’t
find that true at all. We can have
many dreams all at once.
That is a gift God gave to us. Moving Read them together.
toward other dreams is not forgetting
about the ones we already have. First we must realize that He does
have plans for us. Wonderful plans.
God wants more for us. I am so glad He has created you uniquely for a
He is so patient as He waits. Because purpose.
my rose-colored-glasses phase was
a long one! Second we must accept that His
plans are what give us a hope and
This is where I am going to admit a future.
something hard to you. Because I let
my dream for a husband take over my And finally we must go to Him. We
vision, I left God out. A lot. It started must seek Him out. Even more than
out small but soon I was leaving Him that, when we seek Him with our
out because what I wanted was more whole heart we will find Him. He
important than what He had for me. will bring us back to Him. The key
I was disappointed in what He had here is our whole heart. I think this
planned. I loved my dream through is probably the hardest part. For our
my rose colored glasses more than I whole heart includes that dream of
wanted His plans. I was so over that marriage. That dream of children.
verse in Jeremiah. Mostly because
I felt like His plans were not as good My sassy single sisters. It’s time.
as mine.
It’s time to take off our rose colored
I am going to invite you to take a fresh glasses.
look at those verse in Jeremiah.
It’s time to go forth and seek Him with
For I know the plans I have for our whole heart. To give Him every
you,”declares the LORD,” plans to single thing in our heart.
prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future. Our own dreams can hold us cap-
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) tive. We deserve to no longer be
held captive.
You know that verse well. Have you
ever read on? We deserve it all.
Then you will call upon me and come He is the one who can give it to us.
and pray to me, and I will listen to The only one.
you. You will seek me and find me
when you seek me with all your heart. Won’t you join me in the invitation?
I will be found by you, “declares the
LORD,” and will bring you back from Listen. He is calling you. Right now.
captivity. Jeremiah 29:12-14a (NIV)
Will you come?
© exemplify magazine
moving toward holiness

Fostering
Faithfulness
Written by Lori MacMath

image credit: © Danicus ;)

28 © exemplify magazine
 Morning by morning I wake up to find the
power and comfort of God’s hand in mine.
Season by season I watch Him amazed, in
awe of the mystery of His perfect ways. . .
All I have need of his hand will provide.
He’s always been faithful to me. . .
I can’t remember a trial or a pain He did
not recycle to bring me gain.
I can’t remember one single regret in serv-
ing God only and trusting His hand. . .
This is my anthem, this is my song, the
theme of the stories I’ve heard for so long.
God has been faithful, He will be again. His
loving compassion, it knows no end. He’s
always been faithful to me.
Sara Groves, He’s Always Been Faithful ~
Conversations (Copyright 2001: Integrity
Music)
“I can’t remember a trial or a pain He did not
recycle to bring me gain.”
She looked me in the eye and proceeded to
tell me that she had faith; complete, confi-
dent faith in God. We stood in a classroom,
and she had just finished telling me that by
the end of the month her family would no lon-
ger have a home. Due to the loss of her hus-
band’s job, they had run out of reserve funds
and would no longer be able to pay the rent.
I’m certain that the look on my face revealed
the question that was cycling through my mind
because she answered a question I had not
asked aloud. “I have faith in Him. He will open
doors for us; I know that. I believe it and that
is why I don’t wear a frown or show the signs
of stress on my face. Girl, THAT would be
silly; that wouldn’t be faith now, would it? He
will be faithful, He always has been; I KNOW
there will be a powerful testimony when He is
finished.”
29 © exemplify magazine
This is her anthem.
It is her song.
She knows the stories and she confidently
clings to the mere fact that she is part of His
story. He’s always been faithful; He will be
again. She smiled in the midst of the trial of
her life; she smiled with a confidence that can
only come from God.
I left that encounter thinking about the times in
my life where instead of moving in the certain-
ty of God’s faithfulness, I reduced myself to
a grown up sized temper tantrum. I sounded
much more like Veruca Salt: “Daddy, I want
you to move my way, NOW!” I am humbled
when I say that I’ve sounded more like Veruca
when dealing with God than a woman of grace
and faith. Thankfully, He is a patient fellow.
It’s becoming my anthem as well, but it’s been
a journey. That is what it is all about…moving
toward faithfulness, right?
“If we are faithless, He remains faithful.” 2
Timothy 2:13 NKJV
Sixteen years ago I stood squarely in a place
that I did not want nor choose to be. I found
myself rising at 5 a.m. to head to a fertility clin-
ic in a Chicago suburb to have daily injections
and treatments. I left the clinic and headed
to my day job at a day care. It was insult to
injury. Working all day with the children that I
could not conceive. I was not joyful. I certain-
ly was able to navigate my way through these
waters, “put on a happy face,” and get by; but
joyful? Certainly not. It saddens me to admit
that I was not trusting His faithfulness, I was
not a witness, I was not embracing the “testi-
mony” that would come of this pain. I was not
a vision of a faithful servant. He, on the other
hand, was and always has been faithful.
 He had plans unknown, and He revealed His
plan according to His will. With time in the
feature article
rear view mirror, it became clear to me that
this journey was all about me, but not in the
ways that I once thought. This journey was
the beginning of my surrendering to Him. It
was the continuation of His faithfulness and
the beginning of mine. It was in that journey
of infertility that I began to understand, for the
first time, just how faithful my God is. At the
same time it was a pivotal point in my life as I
began to reflect deeply as to just how faithful
I was NOT.
Have you ever feared God’s faithfulness?
Have circumstances ever presented them-
selves as “so big” that you’ve doubted the
very God who created you? Doubted that He
only wants the very best for you and your life?
I have. I lived those days. I doubted that He
would “recycle this pain to bring me gain.”
It astounds me, truly astounds me that while
God was revealing His faithfulness, He was
helping me move to the very center of my soul
to find where my faithfulness was. It was a
season of excruciating pain, and growth. It
was a season of renewal, much like spring.
The Lord revealed, in the midst of my own
pain, so much to me. He revealed that He and
I were not best friends. He revealed that I was
not a faithful servant, but rather a part time
participant. He revealed that clearly my faith-
fulness affected OUR relationship. If the Bible
taught that I was to be consumed with Jesus,
to faithfully live out the life that He taught, then
I clearly had some work to do.
“How thankful I am to Christ Jesus our Lord
for….giving me the strength to be faithful to
Him.”
1 Timothy 1:12 (TLB)
30 © exemplify magazine
Faithful was a word that I heard growing up. It
was a word, quite frankly, I became immune
to it. It wasn’t until I understood the “Faithful
One” that I could ever understand how living
it out was to be the center of my own life. I
have learned, on this walk of life, that faith-
fulness is not reserved for those in your life
who have been faithful or loyal to you. Jesus
didn’t operate that way, nor should we. If we
have a vision of faithfulness the way God
views faithfulness, then we will remain faithful
to those who are disloyal to us. We will also
be equipped to remain faithful in dire circum-
stances. That is where our “movement toward
holiness” meets us this month. It meets us in
faithfulness, in fostering faithfulness.
I extend to you an invitation. An invitation to
download the “Fostering Faithfulness” Jour-
nal pages and spend some time this month
going deeper in your own faithfulness walk.
We’ll wrestle with our feelings toward God’s
faithfulness, as well as the faithfulness we
display in our everyday lives to those that God
has purposefully placed on our path. Perhaps
we too will be in a place where we will confi-
dently stand, as my friend does, in the midst
of a life crisis CERTAIN of God’s faithfulness,
and thus becoming a reflection of faithfulness
herself, when it would be much easier to turn
from those who have been disloyal and hurtful
and become bitter. In faithfulness she stands
CERTAIN that the testimony on the other side
will only confirm what she already knows.
“He’s always been faithful to me.”
The PDF of the Journal can be read and
downloaded from HERE.
 Did you know Exemplify
is on Facebook?

We’d love to connect

with you there.

{Click here to visit our page.}

31 © exemplify magazine
 I Will Carry You
If you are a Christian woman
blogger, it’s almost a given that
you know who Angie is. More
than likely you are one of the tens of
thousands that visit her blog, Bring
the Rain, on a regular basis.

You know her story: you’ve cried tears over your computer as she
Book opened her heart, laughed at her desire to buy a bundle of sticks from
Target, and prayed her through the worst thing she had ever experi-
enced. If you don’t know her, there’s no better time to met her than now.
Review by May brings the release of her first book, I Will Carry You, the Sacred
Dance of Grief and Joy. Angie Smith, the wife of Todd Smith, led singer
Deborah in the Christian music group Selah, shares the entire story of the life,
death, and ministry of their daughter, Audrey Caroline.

Boutwell
Publisher: B&H Publishing
Group
Release Date: May 1, 2010
“If there is one thing I have learned about raising three daughters, it is
this: It is an unspoken law that if you are running late, you will not be
able to find the sixth shoe.”
With these opening lines, Angie opens her heart even further and lets
us see a life that is just like any other wife’s and mother’s: struggling
to just get through a normal day and make it to gymnastics class with
all matching shoes. Yet in the midst, God asks Angie and Todd to take
a journey that will forever change them. With these words, Angie be-
comes an inspiration to anyone that hears the story.

32 © exemplify magazine

“I think my Jesus is the same as He was before I
walked through that door.”
The Smiths learn that the child Angie carries has medi-
cal issues: “many conditions that are not compatible
with life.” They decide to carry the child as long as the
Lord allows them and live life with Audrey as much as
they can. In the process, Angie and Audrey begin their
ministry to other women and families going through
similar situations.
It was during an initial exam that Audrey began her
ministry. One of the technicians, convicted by Angie’s
and Todd’s faith, committed to practicing fetal medi-
cine. “He went on to say that Audrey would forever
be a part of his career and would remind him every
day that every life is a life worth fighting for…..thank-
ing Audrey for changing his life.”
In sharing her story, Angie also shares how the story
of Lazarus helped her through her difficult pregnancy.
Scattered throughout the book are numerous refer-
ences and insights drawn from Lazarus, Mary, Martha,
and Jesus.
Comparing her desires to that of Martha and Mary,
Angie prayed each time she went into the doctor’s of-
fice: “Even now, Lord, I believe You can heal her; even
now when she is as good as gone to the world.”
Angie shares how she decided that she was going to
use her and Audrey’s story to share the Gospel. “The
beauty of this situation was that people were so moved
by the fact that I had chosen this route that they want-
ed to understand why. What better way to talk about
the Lord?”
Including some of her blog posts, Angie reminds of us
why she started her blog to begin with. “I need to be
transparent before you in this moment, because I so
covet your prayers during the next several days.”
Angie not only had to deal with a child that was dy-
ing; she also had to prepare her children for the loss
of a sister they had already come to love. She shares
resources and insights to help parents assist their chil-
dren through the grieving process.
33 © exemplify magazine
This is not just a reprinting of Angie’s blog. She
gives details never shared before, “some of the
most intimate details…trusting that the Lord will
use them to minister to others who may be where I
was.” She opens her heart wide and lets us see all
the pain, all the sorrow, all the tears, all the an-
ger….all the peace, all the healing, all the joy, all the
faith.
“And when the wind blows through my soul and
tempts me to despair over the lot I have been giv-
en, I cling to the truth that the Lord has something
better for me.”
I learned more about Mary and Martha through
this book than I had through any in-depth study
I’ve done before. Angie has a way of applying the
Word of God to daily life so that the Word comes
alive through her applications. “Rather than ques-
tioning whether or not He could heal, they were
expressing their curiosity about why He didn’t.”
We’ve all gone through situations where we didn’t
understand why God allowed a certain turn of
events. Who hasn’t sat at a hospital bed, grave
site, banker’s desk, or lawyer’s desk and asked the
question: “Why did God allow this to happen?”
We know that He could have saved a life, cured a
disease, provided the financial resources needed or
saved a marriage, and yet He didn’t.
Angie assures us that it’s okay to say “I have no
idea” when faced with these questions. We don’t
have to understand. We just have to “press into
Him despite them.”
I recommend this book to any person (man or
woman) who is going through a situation they
can’t understand why God has allowed, especially
if it is the loss of a child. I cried for their pain. I ap-
preciated the honesty of both Angie and Todd (as
he shares his personal insights also). I came away
from the book with what I will need for the next
situation I must go through.
“…accept what happens next with the grace that
says that circumstances will define neither God’s
love for us nor our love for God.”
 “If you think you are standing strong, This is where this passage of scripture begins
be careful not to fall. The temptations to get real for me. A couple weeks after the
“incident” in life group, I was visiting with a
in your life are no different from what friend I had not seen in almost 10 months.
others experience. And God is faithful. She’s the kind of friend that no matter how
He will not allow the temptation to be much time has passed, we pick up right
more than you can stand. When you where we left off, and the bond of our friend-
are tempted, he will show you a way out ship has not been weakened by the passage
so that you can endure.” 1 Corinthians of time or physical distance.
10:12-13 (NLT) About five minutes after I got to her house
she said she needed to tell me something. I
A few weeks ago I was in my life group at knew this wasn’t just about new music she
church and the group leader asked me bought or a book she’s reading. It was go-
to read 1 Corinthians 10:10-16. So, I be- ing to be a serious conversation. She began
gan reading and when I got to the part in to tell me about a recent struggle in her life,
verse 13 where it says, “And God is faith- and as I listened I thought “Wow! I’m not the
ful.” my life group leader stopped me and only one!” When she finished sharing with
said “Wait, I told you the wrong passage. me I told her I understood, and I had experi-
I meant 1 Corinthians 1:10-16. At that enced something very similar earlier in my life.
moment, I laughed to myself because I had carried it as a secret until that moment
it was not a mistake she had me read and suddenly I was set free. Not only did we
from chapter 10. God was showing me both experience freedom by casting light
the scripture I needed about faithfulness. into a seemingly dark place, but our friend-
Little did I know that these verses would ship instantly grew stronger and went deeper
come to life in such a real and meaning- than before.
ful way.
“AND GOD IS FAITHFUL. HE WILL NOT ALLOW
“IF YOU THINK YOU ARE STANDING THE TEMPTATION TO BE MORE THAN YOU CAN
STRONG, BE CAREFUL NOT TO FALL.” STAND. WHEN YOU ARE TEMPTED, HE WILL
SHOW YOU A WAY OUT SO THAT YOU CAN
I think as Christians we can get comfort- ENDURE.”
able in our lifestyle and think “I’ve got this.
I know my standards and they will not be Lets look a little more closely at this part of
compromised.” It’s easy to get confident the passage. When Paul wrote this to the
in our “goodness.” When I find confi- Corinthians he was basically saying “God is
dence in my “goodness” and not God’s faithful and this is why: your temptations are
Goodness, I fail, and usually it is a pretty in proportion to your strength. Remember
spectacular failure. We find our strength you are strong! He promises to show you a
when we recognize our weakness; only way out. Open your eyes and see the Hand
then will we truly know our need for God. that will pull you from darkness to light, if
you will grab it. Your endurance comes from
“THE TEMPTATIONS IN YOUR LIFE ARE NO choosing God.” Friends, God is faithful to
DIFFERENT FROM WHAT OTHERS EXPERI- measure our life in proportion and to show us
ENCE.” a way out. What I love though is the way out
requires an action on our part.
34 magazine may 2010
Written by Alison Hunt

The Way Out

>>>
35 magazine September 2008
>>
 That weekend my friend and I discussed at length the ways God has shown us a way
out of temptation and sin. One clear conclusion that we came to is that it is impossible
alison hunt

to see God’s way out without knowing Him and that our armor must be put on daily
so that we can have the strength we need to combat the temptations that will come.
God does not promise a temptation or battle free life, but he has given us the weap-
ons we need to survive.

Ephesians 6:13-17 (NLT) explains the pieces of armor and one weapon we are given:

“Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy
in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.Stand your ground,
putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.For shoes, put
on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In
addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.
Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of
God.Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in
your prayers for all believers everywhere.”

Friends, the Word of God is a weapon that will knock down the devil in any fight he tries
to pick with you.

Lets get practical: How can we use scripture though? Oh friend, there are so many
ways!

Read it – Memorize it – Post it every where!

I have scripture taped to my computer monitor at work. One friend tapes scripture
to her steering wheel (We all need help in those moments of road rage. Don’t tell me
she’s the only one!), and other friends keep key scriptures on their blackberry or written
on index cards. If you know you have a particular weakness, find your key scripture and
pray it over your life! There are endless ways to use scripture as your weapon in spiritual
warfare. It is using the words from God’s mouth against the enemy and we know he
can’t stand up against the power of God!

It is time take action: If you do not already have key verses to help you in the battle, I
want to encourage you to scour the Bible for the words that will help you win the fight
against temptation. For those of you that have key scriptures, I want to encourage you
to take a step further and memorize them and/or read them daily. Tuck them into your
heart so that the overflow of your heart are God’s Words (Matthew 12:34-35 NLT).

How can our hearts and minds not be transformed when they are filled with the scrip-
tures? God uses the very thing the enemy tried to bring us down with to draw us closer
to Him when we choose to see the way out. God is faithful.

36 © exemplify magazine
 We’re getting ready for Christmas!

We are thrilled to announce this December
we will be putting out a Christmas Issue
specifically for your features! Last year we did
one and it was a huge success. You can view
it here.
Due to the amount of submissions we re-
ceived last year, we’re starting early this
year!
We’re looking for strictly Christmas season
themed-type articles for this issue.
The deadline for Christmas submissions is
September 10th.
Submission Guidelines can be found here.
Questions on the submission guidelines or
on specific themes can be directed to Karen
Lowe at submissions@exemplifyonline.com.
We will also be rolling out our 2011 Feature
Opportunities very soon. Stay tuned!

For example:

•How to Decorate on a Budget

•Crafting projects/tutorials
Happy Writing!
•How to Plan a Christmas Feast & Keep Your
Sanity
•Recipes for cookies, desserts, dinner
•Keeping the right focus in the season
•Shopping Lists & Tips
•Reflections on the birth of Christ

37 © exemplify magazine May 2010 magazine 37

spotlight on...

Alene Snodgrass Interview by Judith Roberts

Serving
Him
Image crediit: Microsoft
38 © exemplify magazine
The woman at the door who greets you as you walk “I’ve come to realize time is such a precious
through the doors of the church. commodity – you know, you can’t get back even
one moment of it,” she said. “Does that make
The woman behind the scenes in the kitchen, mak- juggling everything easy? No. But it does give
ing sure everyone has enough food at the Workers’ you a sense that you have a purpose and it
Appreciation Banquet. should be lived out.

The woman who studiously places inserts into the
church bulletins, week after week.
The woman who is a witness in her workplace by
just not doing what everyone else does.
The woman who loves Jesus with all of her heart.
“If you are a Christ follower, then you are in min-
istry – day in and day out.” Alene Snodgrass is a
motivational Christian speaker, Bible teacher and
author, her most recent book being “I’m a Fixer-Up-
per.” She said no matter what women and men are
called to do for God’s kingdom, just to make sure to
do it.
“We all have many roles to play in ministry,” Alene
said. “Our generation seems to see the sacred and
the secular as separate. They are inseparable. Our
lives moment by moment – no matter what we do –
are to be lived out to glorify God and bring others to
know Him.
“Once you’ve determined that, and you feel God
calling you deeper into service for Him, then it is
time to bathe yourself in prayer. Once you have
a clear direction from God and know where He is
leading, then it is time to step out. The stepping out
seems to be the hardest step for many. They spend
so many years ‘feeling called’ to do something, but
yet never act upon it. I’m here to tell you, if God is
leading you – then, girl, you better get to steppin’.
He needs you!”
Alene said while sometimes it is hard to juggle
everything – family, ministry, and all the other parts
of life that jump out at us unexpectedly – time is
something that needs to be balanced, and if God is
not part of that time, life will be unbalanced.
“I read a great book called, ‘Can I Have and Do
it All, Please?’ by Christine Caine from Hillsong
Church. Instead of describing our lives like a pie
where everything is evenly balanced and sliced,
she describes our lives like a cake. It takes each
ingredient to make that cake taste so good and
yummy! That was an eye opener for me. Life will
never be balanced when we are running hard,
but it can be a life that glorifies God and inspires
our family and friends.
“I know I’m talking light about it here, but, in truth,
the discipline to get it done is something I strug-
gle with daily. My personality would much rather
be having lunch or a Starbucks with friends than
sitting diligently behind a computer crafting Bible
lessons or messages.”
(Mine, too.)
Alene said she grew up in church with a blessed
family that never had to go through relationship
or financial trials.
“All I could see is that I was so blessed,” she
said. “I didn’t think others who were struggling
would relate to that. It seemed kind of boring to
me.
“Then to top it off, on the inside I felt so ordinary.
It was those feelings of being inadequate and
ordinary that played more of a barrier in my life.
I struggled with this for years and the feelings
only got stronger when I became a stay-at-home-
mom. All my friends had incredible careers and I
felt like an ‘ordinary mom.’ Because I was a mili-
tary wife for 25 years, I never finished my degree
because we were always on the move.”

39 © exemplify magazine
 Alene said in the midst of these wrong as-
sumptions, God led her to her life verse:
Romans 12:1.
“The NIV says ‘to be a living sacrifice,’ but
I love the Message translation: ‘Take your
everyday, ordinary life — your sleeping,
eating, going-to-work, and walking around
life — and place it before God as an offer-
ing,’” she said. “It was through that verse
that I realized that God uses the ordinary.
I began to train my thoughts to see myself
in a new light. I might be ordinary, but God
could surely do something extraordinary
through me if I’d let him. If you are alive,
you have a story. That story – no matter
how big or small – is meant to be used for
God’s glory.”
However, even with these disciplines,
Alene said she’s learned, as we all have
learned or will learn, that our walk with God
is a continual event, something that should
grow each day.
Everyone endures trials. How you face
them and who you call on, to put it into a
journalist’s perspective, edits the person
you are.
“Through that ordeal, I held fast to God’s
specific calling on my life,” Alene said. “I
began to write and then doors opened
up for me to speak. I’m amazed how
God honors obedience. As I share this
story I’m always amazed at how God
uses it to comfort those who have been
taken advantage of physically, emotion-
ally, and financially. His glory surely
shines out of this story.
“Remember, just step out somewhere.
God will move and guide you where He
needs you. He will give you confidence
to serve. But He needs you to do what
He can’t — and that’s take that first
step. He will meet you there.”

“After I got over my ordinary self, I began

to sense God leading me to step out far-
ther,” Alene said. “Through my prayer and
time with Him I felt called to write. I had not
written anything bigger than a devotional at
that point and I was really struggling with
why, what and how.

“It was soon after this that my hubby and I

were taken by a scam artist for everything
we had. It was a long haul and journey
with the FBI and IRS involved. After eight To learn more about Alene and her
years in court proving our innocence, let’s
just say I have a testimony. God worked ministry, visit
me and my marriage over good through www.alenesnodgrass.com
this experience. We can now say we were
blessed through it all. However, that was
hard to see when we were filing bankruptcy
and didn’t have money for the kids.”

40 © exemplify magazine
 Embracing our call
to grow the found.

Visit Exemplify’s Ministry Channel today!

EXEMPLIFYONLINE.COM/MINISTRY/
41 © exemplify magazine

written by brooke mcglothlin
Lord
Unto
Me
I watched the young girl in front of me.
Pregnant, scared, overwhelmed with
financial troubles, no support from her
family or from the father of the baby. To
her this baby meant death. Death to her
dreams, death to her plans, death to her
hopes for a better life.
image credit: © Hilde Vanstraelen | sxc.hu
42 © exemplify magazine
Born the baby of five children, my client had
the unfortunate opportunity to watch each
of her siblings follow the path of destruction
that had been laid for them by her parents.
But she had plans for change.
She was going to be the first to go to col-
lege.
She was going to make something of her
life. Leave it all behind. This baby changed
everything.
Destroyed everything.
Advancing pregnancy would mean losing
her sports scholarship to the local University.
It would mean a forever alliance with this
father, a man she didn’t even love. It would
mean living on welfare, working a job instead
of a career, changing diapers instead of the
world.
From deep down inside of the pit, my cli-
ent could only see two choices: becoming
a member of the world she so desperately
wanted to escape, or abortion.
She chose abortion.
Many women today choose abortion be-
cause they feel they have no other choice.
That day, as I watched her process the
positive pregnancy test…as I watched the
tears begin to flow and the choice begin to
take shape, I knew I was seeing a picture
of hopelessness. She had placed every
ounce of hope in her ability to create a differ-
ent future from her past. And as that future
threatened to slip away, so did her hope. I
wonder, in that moment, if she felt a little like
the Lamenter from Lamentations chapter
three (ESV):
“I am the man who has seen affliction un-
der the rod of His wrath; He has driven
and brought me into darkness without any
light…He has made my flesh and skin waste
away…He has besieged and enveloped
me with bitterness and tribulation…He has
walled me about so that I cannot escape.”
No escape.
Two words that provide nourishment to the root of
hopelessness.
When you feel besieged, bitter and hopeless, how
do you get out of the fog? How do you claw your
way out of the pit?
My client from that day placed her hope for change
in a procedure she thought could erase the con-
sequences of her choice. But our choices have a
way of finding us out in the end. And sin has con-
sequences that go on forever, even in the face of
forgiveness.
Left to themselves, kept in the dark, the secret
choices begin to grow, and wrap themselves
around our hearts like a vine wrapping around a
trellis. Squeezing tighter, and tighter…until the
wood threatens to snap…shatter.
“He has made my chains heavy…”
No escape.
“He has walled me about so that I cannot es-
cape…”
Cannot escape…Where can I go? Who will help
me?
“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His
mercies are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.”
Do you trust in God’s faithfulness? My client that
day didn’t…couldn’t trust in a God that she had
never seen, never known, to make a way for her.
She didn’t know Him. Didn’t know that He met her
greatest need on the cross, so that she could trust
in His faithful provision in all other things.
She didn’t call Him Father. Didn’t know that there
is no shadow of turning with Him. She didn’t know
that He changes not. She didn’t know that His
compassions…they fail not. She didn’t know that
as He has been, He forever will be.
Great is His faithfulness…but she thought, “not unto
me.”
Later she came back…broken and bruised. And the
mercies of God led her to His faithfulness. Another
period missed.
Distraught over her decision to abort, she was filled
with joy at the thought of another…determined to
choose right this time. Tenderly we placed the ultra-
sound probe on her protruding belly. Slowly and care-
fully the nurse moved…searching…gazing in amaze-
ment at what she saw on the screen.
Ten weeks before my client made the choice to end.
At nine weeks of pregnancy a piece of her died. Or so
she thought.
Before our eyes that day was a perfectly formed,
completely unharmed miracle of God’s faithfulness.
A nineteen week baby boy kicked and squirmed with
delight in his mother’s womb. Somehow spared from
his mother’s choice.
Our God is faithful.
I wish I could tell you that this story happens over and
over again in pregnancy care ministries around the
world. But the reality is that in almost ten years of
service…I’ve only seen it once. Most of the women we
serve who choose abortion find out about faithfulness
through the merciful healing God offers through His
Son. It’s a painful learning…a healing forged over the
fire of great loss.
“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope…”
I don’t serve the god who always does, but I do serve
the God Who always can. And that’s enough for me.
Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I hath
needed Thy hands hath provided. Great is Thy faith-
fulness, Lord unto me.
*This story is a conglomeration of several client stories,
but is true. Are you dealing with the pain of an abortion in
your past? God sees and He loves you. And He’s made a
way for your forgiveness and healing. Please contact the
safe and confidential services of your local Crisis Preg-
nancy Center to learn more about post-abortion recovery
groups in your area.
closet issues column

A God I
Don’t
Understand
Written by Chrystie Cole

44 magazine may 2010

If there is one thing I have learned this year, it is this:
Life has a way of turning up the heat and exposing what
is buried within the recesses of our hearts.
When stress kicks in, pressures mount, and the
battle rages both internally and externally, we
have two choices: unconditionally trust in a sover-
eign God or slip into a vicious cycle of fear, doubt,
bitterness and self-reliance.
I regret to say that, all too often, my response is
the latter rather than the former. Instead of living
intentionally, I often live in default mode, allow-
ing my circumstances to determine my response
rather than choosing to determine my response to
my circumstances.
Over the last year, I have wrestled with unmet
expectations and unfulfilled desires and found
myself at odds with God, with myself and with ev-
eryone around me. Believing that I had obediently
followed His prompting, I couldn’t understand why
things were so difficult and weren’t working out
quite like I had expected they would.
To put it simply, I was not getting my way, God
wasn’t acting like I thought He should, and I was
having myself a good old-fashioned temper tan-
trum. I wasn’t walking around, shaking my fists
toward the sky and hurling angry remarks at God.
But, I was sulking, discouraged, and despairing.
Instead of living with an attitude of praise for a
faithful God who is in control and working every-
thing to my good, I questioned His character, His
plan and His timing.
What was exposed in my heart during this past
year was a volatile concoction of fear, pride,
insecurity, unbelief and a desire to be in control.
Horatius Bonar says that, “in all unbelief there are
these two things: a good opinion of one’s self, and
a bad opinion of God.” And in my case that was
true.
I thought I knew better for me than God. Not con-
sciously, mind you, but nevertheless this belief
was expressed through my actions. Deep down
I just couldn’t understand why God wasn’t do-
ing anything, and so I thought it was up to me to
make it happen.
But the problem wasn’t God; it was me. The
problem began months before with assumptions
I made of God’s plan and expectations I placed
on Him. I had predetermined the outcome in my
own mind and when it didn’t work out that way,
I was frustrated, disillusioned, and riddled with
doubt.
The fact is, we all do this to some degree when
life isn’t going according to our plan and God
seems to be nowhere in sight. Fear, doubt, and
lack of trust are often exposed in us when:
• We’ve been unemployed for months with
no promise of work on the horizon.
• Our loved one is losing their battle
against cancer.
• Our marriage is in shambles.
• Our child is in full-blown rebellion.
• We just can’t break free of the
stronghold that has imprisoned us.
• We suffer social ridicule and persecu-
tion.
• We see the wicked seemingly living it up
without consequences.
• We’ve been stuck in the same dead end-
job for years.
 And sometimes, in the
midst of it all,
God is silent.
And sometimes, in the midst of it all, God is silent.
We see no signs of Him coming to our rescue. We
receive no whispered assurances of His faithfulness
or our security. And we begin to doubt and wonder,
“Where is God? Why isn’t He doing anything about
this? Does He even care? Why is He silent?”
A.W. Tozer said, “What comes into our minds when
we think about God is the most important thing
about us.” What we believe to be true about God will
be evident in our actions and nothing has the power
to expose what we think about God, what we believe
about His character, than times of trial.
I wonder if that could be some of what John the Bap-
tist felt when he found himself imprisoned and facing
execution. Could it have been his own fear, doubt,
and frustration over unmet expectations of the Mes-
siah that caused him to send his disciples to Christ
with the message, “Are you the one who is to come,
or shall we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3 ESV)
The truth is, I have expectations of God. They may
be buried deep within my subconscious. I may not
be aware of them at all. But, when things in my life
go awry, those beliefs of how I think God should act
surface in my actions.
46 © exemplify magazine
In those times, my eyes shift to my circumstances
and I become “me-centered” and “me-focused.” I
can no longer see that great things are happening
in God’s kingdom all around me. I can’t see that
“the blind receive their sight and the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the
dead are raised up, and the poor have good news
preached to them.” (Matthew 11: 5 ESV) Instead,
the cry of my heart is stayed on, “What about me
God?”
Christ’s answer to John reflects that there are
bigger things going on in the kingdom, things
that John just can’t understand. His answer is a
reminder that no matter what our circumstances
are, He is still God, He is still on the throne and
He is still working all things, both good and bad,
for our ultimate good and for the glory and ad-
vancement of His kingdom. His answer to John in
essence says, “I am He. Now trust me.”
But, sometimes God’s answer is not what we
want to hear. He doesn’t always respond in ways
we understand or expect. To which He says,
“Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
(Matthew 11: 6 ESV)
When we find ourselves frustrated with God for not
meeting our expectations, we have to ask ourselves,
“Am I living my life in a way which indicates I believe
I exist to serve God and live for Him and His glory or
am I living my life in a way which indicates I believe
God exists to serve me and cater to my needs,
wants, expectations and desires?”

When we recognize that God’s role in our life is not

to please us, to give us everything we want, or to
make our life comfortable, but to instead make us
more into the image of His son and to bring glory to
Himself, we will be less likely to take offense when
things don’t go as we think they should.

The Lord tells us in Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV, “For my

thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your
ways my ways…For as the heavens are higher than
the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

The ESV Study Bible says of this passage, “…God,

the incomparable Creator, is far above his finite
creatures and beyond their ability to describe him or
comprehend him fully; though they may know him
truly, such knowledge is always impartial and imper-
fect. Because God is perfectly wise in all his thoughts
and ways, his people can take great comfort amid
hardship and when inevitably they are unable to un-
derstand the mysteries and tragedies of life.”

The truth is, we will never fully understand God on

this side of heaven. And His call to us is to trust Him
even when we don’t understand. “Faith is being sure
of what we hope for and certain of what we do not
see.” (Hebrews 11:1 NIV) Faith is not based on my
external circumstances. It is not based on what I can
see, touch, hear or feel. According to Elton Trueblood,
“Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without res-
ervation.” It is trust without knowing who, what, why,
when, where or how.

The sooner we accept that we will never comprehend

an incomprehensible God, the sooner we will find
peace and rest that surpasses all understanding. We
will find our faith is strong in the midst of the storm.
We will praise in moments of trial. We will trust with-
out reservation in moments that beckon doubt. We
will rest in the shadow of His wings, trusting in the
one true God, the faithful God who keeps His cove-
nant of love to a thousand generations who loves Him
and keeps His commands. (Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV)
 Crossing
Faith Applied

Over
The Lines
That
Divide

Written by Jenifer Jernigan

48 © exemplify magazine
© ALICE HERDEN | DREAMSTIME.COM
“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teach-
ing in their synagogues, preaching the gos-
pel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of
sickness and all kinds of disease among the
people.”
Matthew 4:23, NKJV (emphasis added)
I’ve thought about this verse for weeks now.
Found myself reading it over and over and
over again. Studying the words. Visualizing
the actions of Christ as He walked this earth.
Listening to hear the words flow like healing
waters from His lips. Reaching out to Him,
myself, in order to feel the warmth of His em-
brace.
Let’s take a journey together for a few mo-
ments, back to those days. To the days
when the feet of Jesus carried Him from one
synagogue to the next, from one town to
the next town, and from one home to an-
other for the sole purpose of fleshing out His
calling here on earth.
In those days, much like our day and
age, there were lines…dividing lines that
placed families, friends, and acquain-
tances on opposing sides. Religion divid-
ed. Race divided. Social status divided.
Gender divided. Marital status divided. Dif-
ferences of opinion divided. And on and on
the list could grow. Very seldom would one
find these differing parties conversing with
one another, unless it was to debate an is-
sue or try a man, as was the case with Jesus.
Enter into our story Jesus Christ. Watch Him
as He steps across those dividing lines. Look
into His eyes; eyes that reflect the compas-
sion and love that flow from the very depths
of His heart. Remember Matthew the tax
collector? Not a very popular gentleman
among the people. Jesus crossed over that
line and called him to be a follower, a dis-
ciple, and spreader of the Gospel. What
about the Samaritan woman at the well?
For a man to speak to a woman was not
appropriate in the least. For a man to speak
to a Samaritan woman was definitely unac-
ceptable. Jesus crossed that line of division,
too. Not only did He talk to her, He shared
with her, and provided her with the living
water of life.
And what about the leper: an outcast driven
from his own town because of his disease?
Jesus not only stopped to listen to this man,
but reached out and touched him, granting
the leper healing and new life. Then there
was the woman with the issue of blood. No
doctor had been able to heal her. Because
of her uncleanness, she had been shunned
from her family and was not allowed to en-
ter into the synagogue or the temple. “Just
the hem of His garment,” she thought,
“that’s all I need to touch to be made
well.” And touch Him she did. And heal her
He did. Jesus crossed over that dividing line
and drew her out from the crowd, proclaim-
ing that her faith in Him had healed her that
day.
There were the two blind men who sat on the
road the day Jesus left Jericho. The crowds
pushed Jesus onward, but the voices of the
blind men stopped Him in His tracks. “Have
mercy on us, O Lord!” they cried. With com-
passion in His heart for the blind, Jesus, not
bothered by their pleas, crossed over the
line and granted them their healing.
Lazarus. Dead for four days. His body lay
cold in the tomb. Jesus crossed over the
lines of death and called him forth to life.
And, then there is the thief on the cross.
Looking into the eyes of Christ that day as
Christ Himself hung on that tree sentenced
to death for fleshing out His calling here on
earth. “Remember me,” he said. His purpose
of redeeming the lost still at the forefront of
His mind in this the darkest hour of His earthly
life, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise,”
was His reply to a sinner whose sin had cost
him his very life.
Jesus Christ. God made flesh. Sent to
earth to comfort the hurting, heal the
sick, bind up the wounds of the bro-
ken, and redeem the lost.
There were tremendous obstacles for Him to
conquer, mountains for Him to climb, lines
for Him to cross over. But, conquer He did.
Climb He did. And, cross over He did. All for
the sole purpose of restoring mankind into
right relationship with His Father.
Before He left this earth, Christ commis-
sioned His disciples to carry on His work of
reaching the lost, the hurting, the broken,
the dying, the outcast, the lonely, the sick,
the unlovable, the untouchable. He com-
missioned them to cross over and erase the
lines that divide and share His message of
love, grace, mercy and forgiveness.
“ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All
authority has been given to Me in heaven and on
earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the na-
tions, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to
observe all things that I have commanded you; and
lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Amen.”
Matthew 28:18-20, NKJV
As children of the Most High God, saved
by His grace alone, this same commission is
given to us this very day. God is calling us
to go into our neighbors, our communities,
our workplaces, our schools, our churches,
our homes for the sole purpose of making
new disciples. He is calling us to cross over
those racial lines, gender lines, socio-eco-
nomic status lines, those lines of religion and
differing of opinions and share His message
of hope and healing. He is calling us to flesh
out our faith in Him by stepping out of our
comforts zones, opening up our mouths and
letting His message of healing flow from our
lips.
50 magazine may 2010
Sharing the Gospel isn’t always easy. Yes,
there are plans to go by- FAITH, the Net,
the Romans Road. You can buy tracts from
Christian book stores that will take you step
by step through the plan of salvation. Those
are all great resources, but the best plan
for you to use in fleshing out your faith in
the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is
to share your own story: your story of how
Christ saved you.
“What is my story?” you ask.
Oh, I’m SO glad you asked. Very simply put…
your story is how you came to know Christ as
your personal Lord and Savior.
I encourage you to put your story on paper
by completing the following statements.
Reflect on all that Christ has done for you.
Thank Him today for crossing over the lines
that divided you, the sinner, from God, the
Almighty God.
• MY LIFE BEFORE CHRIST…
• HOW I CAME TO KNOW CHRIST…
• HOW MY LIFE HAS CHANGED SINCE COM-
ING TO KNOW CHRIST…
Yes, there are lines that divide, but you and
I have been commissioned to flesh out our
faith by crossing over those lines and sharing
the message on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It is a message that heals, that re-
stores, and that makes all things new.
Flesh out your faith in Him today by
sharing your story of faith with those
in need.
 “I mean this. When two of you get together on
anything at all on earth and make a prayer of
it, my Father in heaven goes into action.”
-Jesus, Matthew 18:19, The Message

Join the Exemplify Channel Teams for a

week of purposed prayer.

June 1-7, 2010

 The Times of My
in the kitchen

Life...Neverending
Written by Holly Smith

52 © exemplify magazine
Some of my favorite foods to prepare are
the ones with stories behind them. Even
more than that, I love foods when they are
full up with memories. Going beyond fur-
ther, I love the people with whom the mem-
ories over food were made. It’s the stuff of
life–faithful, life-to-the-full.
Can you see it with me? The time a friend
brought you a meal…the time your grand-
mother made your favorite food…the time
you shared a meal with an old friend–these
are treasures of faithful life. It’s life we can
experience any day of the week, but it seems
to come in seasons farther apart.
I remember the morning like it was yester-
day…the night before, I had found out my
friend’s husband had had an affair. I had
no idea what to do–what to say. So that
morning after my time with the Lord, I pre-
pared some cookies for her and placed them
on her car with a note that said, “I’m pray-
ing for you.” Honestly, I still am praying for
her. But with food that morning, I wanted
to show her she had a faithful friend who
cared.
Why should we have a quiet time? Let’s look
at several reasons why we should have dai-
ly time with God.
On another occasion, I remember being so
very, very ill. When I get sick, I go down
fast. My whole body is weak–often I can
barely lift my head. My friend called to
check on me and soon after she brought my
very favorite clam chowder, a roll and a pea-
nut butter cookie from Golden Corral. I can
still taste it, like it just happened today. It’s
the flavor of caring and love from a faithful
friend.
One summer afternoon, I began my prep-
arations early–marinating the beef and
chicken, preparing guacamole and refried
beans–anticipating a visit from one of my
dearest friends and her family. We lived a
good distance from the highway and as I
prepared the fajitas, I kept glancing out the
kitchen window to our driveway–looking for
her Honda minivan. It seemed like forever,
but they finally came. And we shared faji-
tas and hugs and laughter together. I can
still see the whole occurrence, as if it were
a slow motion movie in my head. I can also
smell the smoky smell of the fajitas, onions
and bell peppers. A faithful friend is some-
one who makes this kind of memory the
very sweetest kind.
It was my birthday and my grandmother
had made strawberry cake for me–just the
way I like it! Instead of water, she used
strawberry juice. Of course at age 7, I didn’t
know this. It just tasted like the best meal
in the whole world, as my faithful and loving
grandmother showed her care for me. She
always took time to listen to me ramble on
and on. I can still feel the cold, booth-like
bench in her kitchen, as we visited and she
peeled avocados that we ate together. More
faithful time spent over food–these are the
together-times we remember.
Then there was the fourth of July party we
hosted before we moved to Colorado. I can
smell the scent of the candle–pineapple good-
ness at its finest. This smell still makes me
think of our swimming parties at our pool in
Texas. I can smell the chlorine and the bil-
lowing smoke from the grill–making some
wonderful Texas-sized burgers and nearly
foot-long hot dogs. I can hear the sounds
of our friends talking and laughing. I can
also hear the squeals of excitement from the
kids in the pool. It nearly makes you forget
the almost 100% Texas humidity.
 As it grew dark, we gathered on the roof
faith applied column
our our Mediterranean home, anticipat-
ing the show. Kids carried popcicles and
adults their sweet tea. We ooo-ed and
ahh-ed over the display my brother had
probably spent over $300 on. It is a faith-
ful and wonderful memory with friends…

Like I said, we could probably do this any

day of the week, but these times tend to
come spread apart in various seasons.

t
They are the kind of faithful memories
that stir your senses. They are the kind
of memories that will bring tears to your
eyes–you could really have a good, senti-
mental cry over them.

But they are the stuff of life that our good

God has given us–life that is meant to be
savored and not just spent. I believe He has
given us these times to point our hearts to-
wards Heaven. Can you even imagine the
times together we will spend? I wonder
what the food will taste like…what the
smells will be…what sounds will fill the
air…and what friends will gather. I hope
you’ll come along with me there! Jesus is
just a faithful prayer away–He makes it
simple enough for a child to utter. Let’s
make a memory together, shall we? I’m
not sure of the date…but the time will last
for eternity. I like that kind of party, don’t
you–the kind that will never end and you
don’t want it to either?

Here’s a couple of recipes you might want

to share in faithfulness with your friends.
Why not make a memory today?

54 © exemplify magazine
 Stromboli
1 pkg. frozen loaf bread dough with three
loaves
3 T. flour
1 1/2 lb. ground chuck, cooked completely
1 small pkg. pepperoni
1 pkg. sliced roast beef (in the lunch meat
dept.)
1 pkg. sliced turkey
1 pkg. sliced ham
1 pkg. Genoa salami (optional)
9 slices cheddar cheese (we like sharp)
9 slices provolone cheese
9 slices Colby cheese
1 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
Let frozen loaves rise according to package
directions. Roll each loaf out flat in a rectangu-
lar shape (about 12 by 4 inches) on 3 T. flour
that is spread out on the surface. In the center
of the dough (with an inch and a half-edge
exposed all around), layer 8 oz. cooked ham-
burger, 9 sliced pepperoni, 3 slices Colby, 7-8
slices roast beef, 3 slices cheddar, 7-8 slices
turkey, 5 slices salami, 3 slices provolone, 7-8
slices ham.
Fold dough over to cover the whole length of
it–pinch it together carefully, trying not to have
any holes in the dough covering. Pinch both
ends together and fold once or twice.
Flip the roll over onto a greased cookie sheet.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese on top.
Repeat the above for the other two rolls (each
with a separate cookie sheet). Let dough rise
for one hour in warm oven (110 degrees).
Cook for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees. Slice
and serve with marinara sauce. Serves 15-20
people.
Cinnamon rolls
2 pkgs. yeast
3 c. flour plus 1/2 c. separated plus 4 c. also
separate
1 c. sugar
2 t. salt
2 c. milk
1/2 c. water
1 c. margarine plus 16 T. separated plus scant
amount for greasing bowl
4 eggs
2 T. lemon juice
1 c. cinnamon sugar mixture (made from 4 t.
cinnamon and 1 c. sugar) in a shaker
Thoroughly mix undissolved yeast with 3 c.
flour, 1 c. sugar, 2 t. salt. In a sauce pan heat
2 c. milk over low heat and add 1/2 c. wa-
ter and 1 c. margarine. Heat to 125 degrees.
Add liquid mixture to dry mixture. Beat for two
minutes at medium speed, scraping the bowl
occasionally.
Add 1/2 c. flour, 4 eggs, 2 T. lemon juice. Stir
in additional 4 c. flour. Knead on lightly floured
surface (or pastry cloth) for about 8 minutes.
Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning the ball
of dough to grease the top. Cover with warm
damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until
doubled in size (about 2 hours).
Punch down. For each handful of dough, into
a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Spread 2 T. melted
margarine and sprinkle 1/8 c. cinnamon sugar
mixture. Roll up in jelly-roll fashion and slice
about 1″ in length. Place in greased pan, cut
side down. Makes four pans.
Let rise again until double in size. Cook at 350
degrees for 20 minutes.
Remove from pan and drizzle with frosting
made from 2 c. powdered sugar, 2-4 T. milk
and 1 t. vanilla. Needs to be of consistency to
pour from spoon. From an old family friend with
whom we have shared some wonderful mem-
ories, Edna Stevens.
 Faithfuness
&
An
Unexpected
Visit

56 © exemplify magazine
“And blessed is she who believed that there would be a
fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
– Luke 1:45, NRSV There might have been a moment when Gabriel’s
words lingered in the air. They mixed with Elizabeth’s
pregnancy, the baby John, rejoicing. A baby was
coming with the spirit and power of Elijah before him,
turning hearts at the coming of the Lord.

Luke tells the story of two people. Nestled inside But wait…that was an old prayer. That was a hope
the same chapter, they give a picture of faith un- from youth which was no longer assured, no longer
noticed by me, previously. During Christmas they possible. Elizabeth was old. Zechariah was old. The
did not tell me of any assurance in things hoped unseen, the Lord, had not shown His power to them in
for, or conviction of the unseen (Hebrews 11:1). this way. Zechariah had followed this brokenhearted
Instead, they seemed to explain the presence of barrenness to its conclusion many times, and at least
tinsel and a lovely nativity. Contrary to their tradi- by now the days of mourning were less frequent.
tion, and my negligence, their stories are not told
in the shadow of a birth, but preceding the birth. The only response borne from hopes destroyed and
Theirs is a story of faithfulness and an unexpect- impossibility was, “How can I be sure of this?”
ed visit.
Enter Mary ( Luke 1:26 – 38).
Enter Zechariah (Luke 1:5 – 20).
Like every teenager’s response, Mary thought the
Zechariah was a priest and today he and his sec- angel of the Lord was a little unusual. She was per-
tion would attend to their duties. He and his wife, plexed about the nature of a visit to a girl not even
a descendant of Aaron, faithfully obeyed each married yet. There was not a less powerful demo-
law, each rule, each regulation. Zechariah and graphic in all of Israel.
Elizabeth righteously poured themselves over
their faith. Mary did not know of God mistaking his people, so
Gabriel was probably in the right place. His voice was
By lot, Zechariah was chosen to enter the sanctu- not like her family, and the way that he spoke seemed
ary and offer incense to the Lord. This duty tied different. She had never heard that greeting, “Greet-
the senses together in worship. He was offering ings favored one! The Lord is with you.” Formal,
the smell of holiness, pleasing to God. awkward, special.

But he had never felt terror in the sanctuary be-
fore this day.
Zechariah was not alone at the altar, and al-
though Gabriel assured him not to be afraid, little
could quiet his visceral response to the angel of
the Lord. Gabriel came with one message. The
most wonderful news that could reach a human
trickled into Zechariah’s ears: “Your prayer has
been heard.”
57 © exemplify magazine
Image credit: © letteringdelights.com
Mary knew about babies, although it seemed an odd
topic of conversation in this moment. She hoped it
was in her future with Joseph.
There might have been a moment when Gabriel’s
words lingered in the air. They mixed with conceive,
the baby Jesus, Son of the Most High. He will reign
over the house of Jacob.
There was one thing she knew, she could not make a
baby on her own and logistics become important with
this type of news. “How can this be, since I am a vir-
gin?” Gabriel seemed to have all the answers, includ-
ing news about Elizabeth.
Then, the most comforting words came from his lips. These are the corners in which faithfulness cannot
“For nothing will be impossible with God.” live. They are self-constructed parameters, common
to us as humans, yet as different as a fingerprint.
Gabriel was able to assuage every fear in one phrase.
Mary’s young voice said, “Here am I, the servant of Elizabeth defines the two sides of impossible, which
the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” placed Zechariah on one side and Mary on the other.
When Mary sees Elizabeth she praises her saying,
It turns out that Gabriel was right; nothing would be “And blessed is she who believed that there would
impossible to God. He lived a sinless life in a human be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord
body. He was resurrected from the dead to sit at the (Luke 1:45, NRSV).”
right hand of the Father. He defeated the power of
death. He took a girl and made a Savior. Faithfulness is the belief that there will be fulfillment of
whatever God speaks.
The impossible appears to be the difference between
Zechariah and Mary. It pulls them out of Christmas It is important to note that their stories diverge in the
and into May. The crux of the story is in the question middle, but they start and end the same. The path of
that both asked Gabriel, “How can this be?” Clearly, it Zechariah was not a failure; he was blessed as prom-
produced different results as Zechariah became mute ised. This is what a gracious God looks like. When a
and Mary celebrated with Elizabeth. broken heart is laid bare, there are no harsh words or
retractions. Instead, God gives something to grow our
There is no doubt that Zechariah was faithful. Scrip- faithfulness, to clean out our corners. He shows us
ture showed his faithfulness, from his work to his His power and gently speaks words of promise over
home; but when Gabriel met Zechariah at the altar he our brokenness until we know that He will fulfill what
was not talking about a show of faithfulness: he was He said.
talking about that corner, the corner of his heart that
was injured and bruised. In it were stacked the broken Zechariah and Mary show us a day that everyone will
images of Elizabeth each month, and the disgrace at have, eventually. It will not be like others. It might
the hands of their neighbors. While his faithfulness smell holy, look holy and sound holy; or, it might be
defined him, there was a corner blockaded from the completely unexpected. On this day we will be called
rest; and who would expect God to ask for that corner, to bare our whole heart in faithfulness, exposed and
on this day? fragile, to a gracious God.

On this day,
We are human and, to our folly, we insist on sectioning
off our hearts. We build corners of brokenness and

everything will
disgrace. Shame and torment crawl to the dark edges
and nest, knowing that they are safe from exposure;
and to our astonishment we find only fragments of a

change with a
heart, once whole, when we lay ourselves bare before
the King.

visit.

58 magazine February 2010

 Encouragement for the heart
of the family:
You.

The Exemplify Family Channel

exemplifyonline.com/family/
59 © exemplify magazine
 60 magazine © exemplify magazine
Rocks in my Pockets
Little boys have nothing on me.
They may carry rocks in their pock-
ets for a few hours, but I’ve been
carrying one in my pocket for even
longer. The same rock. For three
years. And I have no plans of quit-
ting now.
Why would I carry a rock in my pock-
et for three years? Because it’s my
Ebenezer, reminding me that thus
far the Lord has helped me.
In Old Testament days we see peo-
ple like Jacob, Samuel and Joshua
setting up memorials after impor-
tant events in their lives. Those
memorials were often stones. They
didn’t create elaborate monuments:
just simple stones to remind them
of God’s faithfulness.
Look at Jacob. The guy had just
tricked his father and received the
blessing his brother should have
received as firstborn. He’s high-
tailing it out of the country so
his brother doesn’t kill him and
God appears to him in a dream. And
what a dream it is! He sees a lad-
der connecting earth to heaven and
angels are going up and down on it.
The the Lord stands above it and
talks to Jacob and gives him some
promises—the same promises He had
given to Abraham and Isaac. (Gen-
esis 28:10-22)
Can you imagine how Jacob felt when
he woke up? He set up a stone as a
physical reminder and made a vow to
God. But that’s not the end of the
story. Years later, Jacob returned
to the stone he’d set up and he
built an altar to God there because
God had been faithful to His word.
(Genesis 35:14)
Written by Patty Wysong
Then there’s Joshua, the man who
led Israel into the Promised Land.
One of the first things he faced
after Moses died was getting all
those people safely across the Jor-
dan River, which was at flood stage.
God was faithful. He provided a way
for His people to cross, and He
wanted them to remember. Look what
He told Joshua to do. “Take up for
yourselves twelve stones from here
out of the middle of the Jordan,
from the place where the priests’
feet are standing firm, and carry
them over with you…” (Joshua 4:3)
Joshua took those twelve stones and
built an altar to God and said, “Let
this be a sign among you, so that
when your children ask later, say-
ing, ‘What do these stones mean to
you?’ then you shall say to them,
‘Because the waters of the Jordan
were cut off before the ark of the
covenant of the Lord…’ So these
stones shall become a memorial to
the sons of Israel forever.” (vs.
6-7) Those twelve stones were a
memorial, a physical reminder of
God’s faithfulness to His people.
Days later Israel would face Jeri-
cho, a formidable foe that I’m sure
made them fearful. But they had
that physical reminder of God’s
faithfulness, just as He wanted
them to.
But what about today? Is God as
faithful as He used to be? Yes, He
is! We’re like His people were in
Old Testament times, and we need
reminders of His faithfulness be-
cause when fear overcomes us, one
of the first things that happens is
that we forget God’s faithfulness.
I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve
stuffed my hands in my pockets in fear, and
encountered my reminder of God’s great
faithfulness to me. I wrap my fingers around
that stone and remember God’s faithful-
ness throughout my life, and as I remem-
ber, fear is replaced with courage that
comes from knowing my God is faithful and
will never leave me nor forsake me. Cour-
age that comes from knowing that He who
called me is faithful and He will do it.
(1 Thess. 5:24) Courage that comes from
knowing that thus far the Lord has helped
me. (1 Samuel 7:12) That little rock in my
pocket is my Ebenezer, my stone of help,
reminding me of God’s faithfulness.
Look how many times the Bible recounts
Israel’s history—not because God wanted
to give us the history lesson over and
over again, but to remind us of His faith-
fulness. Israel had an oral tradition of
passing down the stories of their forefa-
thers: they sang songs recounting their
history, and God also had them write those
things down. “For whatever was written
in earlier times was written for our in-
struction, so that through perseverance
and the encouragement of the Scriptures
we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)
We can stay focused on God’s faithfulness
in similar ways.
• Talk about it. Don’t keep stories of His
faithfulness to yourself! Sharing with
others will encourage not only you, but
them as well.
• If you like to have physical reminders,
collect them and place them in stra-
tegic places—even in your pocket. It
can be as simple as a stone or a small
knickknack to remind you of a certain
incidence of God’s faithfulness. Use
your imagination and use what’s there
when you saw God’s faithfulness.
• Sing about it!
© exemplify magazine
• If you journal, be sure to include
as many stories of God’s faithful-
ness as you can. That way, when you
flip back through the pages you’ll be
reminded of all those little (and
not so little) things you would have
otherwise forgotten.
• God’s faithfulness is the key to
unlocking the fetters of fear, and
it’s the key to forming us into wom-
en God can use. God’s faithfulness
is the key to living fruitful lives.
When we intentionally focus on God’s
faithfulness, not only does our fear
flee, but our faithfulness to God be-
comes greater and we can follow Him
where He leads because it’s no longer
about us. It becomes all about God and
His faithfulness.
Having physical reminders of God’s
faithfulness helps us refocus and re-
mind us of all He’s done for us. It
helps free us from fear and gives us
courage to take the next step God has
for us—even if it’s crossing a Jordan
River at flood stage. When you’re cross-
ing through that river bed, be sure to
slip a stone from it into your pocket.
Then, when you’re circling Jericho’s
walls with shaking knees, it will help
you remember God’s great faithfulness.
“THEN SAMUEL TOOK A STONE AND SET IT
BETWEEN MIZPAH AND SHEN, AND NAMED IT
EBENEZER, SAYING, ‘THUS FAR THE LORD
HAS HELPED US.’” (1 SAMUEL 7:12)
So you see, maybe I’m not so strange
for carrying a stone in my pocket.
g
Since Patty quit running from God’s call on her
life, she’s been happy. Life is never dull for
her as she juggles being a wife, a homeschooling
mom of five, bookkeeper of their family busi-
ness and her writing. As long as she’s obey-
ing God’s leading, she figures that sanity is a
novelty and not a necessity. Patty clings to the
promise that God will enable her to do what He
asks of her, otherwise you would find her liv-
ing at the Funny Farm and not just occasionally
visiting, like she does. In addition to drink-
ing black cherry kool-aid from china tea cups,
she loves weaving lessons that she’s learned into
short stories and devotionals, most of which can
be found on her blog pattywysong.blogspot.com.
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