Fisher of Men
Your Body is Good
“I love you for who you are.”– Jesus Calling, March 3 Living in a world where so much attention is placed on aesthetics, it’s hard to untie our value, identity, or worth from the external appearance of our bodies. We worry about whether we measure up to unrealistic body standards that are ever-pervasive in our diet-driven culture, and in turn, we fail to fully understand that there is so much more to us than meets the eye. A Painful Journey At 336 pounds I felt the sting of the world around me saying I was taking up too much physical space. I carried a deeply rooted belief that there was something innately wrong with me because I didn’t fit the mold of what society said was an appropriate body size. After a number of years, I did the thing that so many of us desperately desire t...
Jesus Christ: The Greatest Gift of All
One Christmas, just a few years after I graduated from Wellesley College, I went home to Richmond, Virginia to be with my family for the holidays. My brother, Tim, was there too. He had recently returned from studying at L’Abri, a Christian community in the Swiss Alps. Tim had been struggling for years to find his way, having dropped out of three universities even though his grades were excellent. The Tim I encountered that Christmas, however, was remarkably changed. I was amazed to find him so warm, loving, and—much to my surprise—very concerned about my spiritual well-being. He was a new person altogether! Tim had become a Christian. I was not a Christian. I had given up on my search for truth after majoring in philosophy at college—looking for answers but finding none. On the first nigh...
Five Reasons We Need Christmas
An old familiar song says that “we need a little Christmas,” but the way I see it, we need a whole lot of Christmas this year. Here are five things that make this season so merry and bright to me. And who knows—you might even find a few of yours mentioned! 1. Christmas puts us in a great mood. One of my favorite things is to walk around in December and just hear people greet each other. In the grocery store, as you pay for your items, the clerk looks up, and cheerily says, “thank you and Merry Christmas!” I’ve seen countless people readily react to this greeting with a grin responding, “Merry Christmas to you!” Think about things you could to do share your good mood with others, like paying for the coffee order behind you in the Starbucks drive-thru line. Instant smile! Your good moo...
Have You Ever Found Yourself Worrying While Praying?
The following article first appeared on FoxNews.com on November 26, 2021. When our two children, Stephanie and Eric, were young teenagers, my husband and I let them travel alone from Nashville, Tennessee to Melbourne, Australia, where we were living and working as missionaries. This was a very long journey, requiring multiple changes in major airports. I was feeling quite anxious about their making this trip by themselves, and I was praying about it almost constantly. However, as I prayed, I was worrying much more than I was trusting God. Eventually, I realized this kind of praying was displeasing to God—and it certainly wasn’t relieving my anxiety. So one morning as I brought my concerns about this trip to Jesus, He helped me find a better way to pray. He showed me that if I kept on...
Every Little Detail
I comprehend you in all your complexity; no detail of your life is hidden from me. I view you through eyes of grace, so don’t be afraid of My intimate awareness. –Jesus Calling, March 17 I was reading in Exodus today, in chapters 25–28. (Now, you might be wondering what Exodus has to do with the holiday season, but we’ll get there, I promise!) These chapters are where God is telling Moses exactly how the tabernacle is to be constructed. And I’ll confess that when I usually read through these pages of the Bible, I get a bit bogged down in all the details. Okay, I skim. A lot. But today—in that way that only the Holy Spirit can orchestrate—it was those details that left me laughing out loud in pure delight. You see, in Exodus, God meticulously listed out so many specific measurements a...
God Seems Most Present As We Are Climbing Life’s Mountains Alone
The following article first appeared on The Dallas Morning News on November 14, 2021. Every winter while living in Australia, my husband and I enjoyed going to a ministers’ family camp in the magnificent Grampian Mountains with our two children. Afternoons were free, and I usually went hiking with friends during that time. One year, when my friends were ready to hit the trail, I wasn’t feeling well, so I told my them to go ahead without me. Afterward though, I regretted my decision, and I decided to go for a little walk by myself. I found myself walking toward the closest mountain, one I had climbed several times in past years with others. My plan was to go just a short way up, enjoy the view, and then return to my room to rest. I realized it was a little risky to go hiking alone, especial...
The Heirloom Seed of Discipleship
“Through the intimacy of our relationship, you are being transformed from the inside out.”– Jesus Calling, January 25 Are you a fan of Tabasco hot sauce? You’re not alone. For more than 150 years, people have been grabbing bottle after bottle of the popular hot sauce to add a little zip to their food. But have you ever heard how Tabasco came to be? It started with seeds In 1868, a man named Edmund Mcllhenny was given seeds to a pepper called Capsicum frutescens, a special variety historians believe came from Mexico or Central America. Mcllhenny planted the seeds at his home in southern Louisiana, and after a couple years of cultivating, he decided to launch a pepper sauce company. And the rest, as they say, is history. Heirloom seeds What strikes me most, besides the fact that E...
What Are You Praying For?
Whether your prayers are ones of gratitude or prayers for help and healing, Jesus is eagerly listening. He wants us to turn to Him in all aspects of our lives; during times of celebration and times of struggle. We asked several guests of The Jesus Calling Podcast to share their personal prayers with us. Watch the videos below to see the importance of prayer to a variety of guests. And then head over to our social handles and tell us, what are you praying for today? Superstar singer and entertainer Patti LaBelle shares her daily prayer of thanks. [embedded content] Pastor Louie Giglio discusses his prayers for guidance, discernment, and courage. [embedded content] Watch author and businesswoman Sarah Jakes Roberts talk about her greatest prayer right now. [embedded content] Join Our Telegra...
God Cares for the Caregivers
“I will never leave you nor forsake you! My Presence watches over you continually.” – Jesus Calling, August 1 September 24, 2002, should have been a day of celebration. It was my wife Laura and I’s fourteenth wedding anniversary, and life was good. Laura’s to-do list that day included a doctor’s visit. She called me that afternoon with the news—the doctor had found a lump, and he could tell by the shape and texture that it was likely malignant. Our lives changed that day. While I had loved my roles as husband, father, lover, spiritual leader, provider, and friend, I now had to add “caregiver” to that list. A new role and a new dedication When Laura got the biopsy results, the first thing we did was to pray together. Praying together was a daily thing for us, and we certainly ne...
Living from the Outflow of a Thriving Prayer Life
I don’t want to be a better “pray-er.” Don’t get me wrong, I would love to pray “better,” but that’s not my end goal. My end goal isn’t a perfect fifteen minutes each morning sitting with the Lord. My end goal isn’t a really great formula that elevates my prayers. Prayer that affects your life My heart’s desire is to live from the outflow of a thriving prayer life. That nuance may seem small. Well, of course I don’t just want to pray better. I want prayer to actually affect my life. But those few words, “living from the outflow,” change the way I approach prayer. I no longer isolate my time of prayer to each morning but, instead, allow it to keep cropping up throughout my day. Prayer throughout your day This morning, I prayed the scriptures found in Ephesians 1:16–20 for several friends th...
Finding Joy Again After Loss
Once again, my heart was shattered into a million pieces. I barely noticed the gorgeous weather as I sat alone on our front porch steps, tears streaming down my face. My husband was still at work, but I needed to step away from our three young children as I wept over the devastating phone call I had just received. “Mrs. Mullett, the pathology report came back. The tumor we removed from your son is cancerous. We’re sending this on to his transplant team, and you will hear back from them on next steps.” I felt physically ill as I thought about how to break the news to our six-year-old cancer survivor. Austin had just completed one year of aggressive chemotherapy and was just beginning to enjoy life again, despite the lingering effects of his toxic medications. Compounded Loss I r...
God’s Light Shines Through the Darkest Storms
2020 and 2021 have been challenging years for the world. We’ve all had to endure loss after loss. I have, too. As a country music artist, my business revolves around people, and none of us had a backup plan for music gatherings coming to an abrupt stop back in March 2020. Artists were forced to cancel an entire year of shows in one day, something we’d never dreamed of. I found myself at rock bottom with no plan and no direction. I also had a wedding coming up in six short months. My fiancé and I had already paid non-refundable deposits for our big day, but it became obvious pretty quickly that our wedding day was not going to look the way we’d planned it—not even close. But nothing compared to the biggest blow of all: losing our best friend Greg to COVID-19. Change of Plans Fast forw...
