Story
Being A Good Steward
“How I rejoice that Your kingdom is not about earning and deserving! It’s about believing and receiving. Instead of balking at accepting Your gracious gifts, I want to receive all Your blessings with a grateful heart. Then Your pleasure in giving and my pleasure in receiving can flow together joyously.” – Jesus Listens, August 26th Have you ever wondered why you work so hard to accumulate wealth? Why do we work so hard for stuff that will go out on the curb when we’re gone? What is our ultimate purpose in working so hard and for accumulating things that don’t last? It makes me wonder if we are living for this world or the next. I certainly think it is okay to take care of ourselves, to save, invest for the future, and even become wealthy. But what do we do with our wealth? Is it for ...
Faithfulness Over Fame
“Your unfailing Love is better than life itself! I’m grateful that there’s no limit to Your Love— in quality, quantity, or duration. How priceless is Your unfailing Love! It is infinitely better than anything this world can offer, and it will never run out.” – Jesus Listens, May 30th “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” —Matthew 6:33 “I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on your laws.” —Psalm 119:30 Have you read the parable of the lost sheep in Matthew 18:12–14? It talks about how the shepherd leaves his ninety-nine sheep to find the one that is lost, and likewise, God does the same with us. Every time I (Britt) read these words, a sense of comfort washes over me. It’s not just the idea that He searche...
The Future Us
“My future stretches out before me, all the way into eternity, and You are the Companion who will never leave me— the Guide who knows every step of the way ahead.” – Jesus Listens, December 31st A few weeks ago, a friend of mine hosted a beautiful gathering for her daughter’s high school graduation. She had a wonderful celebration planned for her senior, including a lovely round table filled with all the things that represented eighteen years of life for her precious daughter on the brink of adulthood. Photos of family and friends, tiny stamped footprints, baby rattles, playbills, vinyl records, a pair of old cowboy boots, faded summer-camp t-shirts. The cherished treasures that make up a young life. Tears immediately sprang to my eyes as I glanced over each item on her table, and a questi...
The Light We Need In Dark Times
“Please help me stay in communication with You through my spoken words, thoughts, and songs. When I spend ample time absorbing Your Word—letting it soak into my mind—it changes the way I think and live. As I ponder who You really are, Your Light shines warmly into my heart and blesses me with Peace.” – Jesus Listens, October 31st “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.” (Psalm 42:5) These are the words I’ve been saying to myself. Words on repeat. Words I need. But here’s the funny thing: if you looked at me from the outside, you’d probably be surprised that words like these resonate with me at all. Words about being downcast or disturbed don’t seem to fit. In fact, if you peered through ...
Seeing Yourself as God Sees You
“Though My blood has fully redeemed you, your mind is the last bastion of rebellion. Open yourself to My radiant Presence, letting My Light permeate your thinking. When My Spirit is controlling your mind, you are filled with Life and Peace.” – Jesus Calling, April 21st Did you know that you look like God? Genesis 1:27 explains that when God crafted mankind, He did so that man may bear resemblance to Him. It states, “So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.” With that being said, do you realize that when you look in the mirror what you see is truly a reflection of the Creator of the cosmos Himself? Why then do we allow a hurtful bully to enter the picture too often when we look in the mirror...
Overwhelm or Abundance?
“I come to You weak and weary—on the verge of feeling overwhelmed. It’s comforting to know that You are perfectly aware of the depth and breadth of my difficulties. Nothing is hidden from You.” – Jesus Listens, March 25th Anyone else struggling to stuff the demands of the day into the twenty-four measly hours we’re given, or is it just me? The busyness of the last year of my life has bordered on ludicrous, even for someone like me whose self-satisfaction is directly linked to the fullness of my schedule. But it’s time to admit that I have officially reached capacity. The fever pitch began rising late last summer when my family moved houses during a weekend between the disability summer camp sessions we host every year in a remote corner of Alabama. (I think I once read that moving houses i...
Don’t Waste Your Season
“The nature of time can make it difficult for me to fully enjoy my life. On those days when everything is going well, my awareness that the ideal conditions are fleeting can dampen my enjoyment. Even the most delightful vacation must eventually come to an end. Seasons of life also come and go, despite my longing at times to stop the clock and keep things as they are. I don’t want to look down on the temporary pleasures You provide, but I do need to accept their limitations—their inability to quench the thirst of my soul. Please help me remember that my search for lasting Joy will fail unless I make You the ultimate goal of my quest. In Your Presence there is fullness of Joy.” – Jesus Listens, December 23rd Apparently, I’m really not a winter person. Every winter, without fail, I start ques...
Grace Upon Grace
“You’ve shown me that even my mistakes and sins can be recycled into something good—through Your transforming grace.” – Jesus Listens,April 12th Some experiences from our teenage years we can remember as if they had happened yesterday. I still remember with stunning clarity the day I learned a powerful lesson about grace. I was working my first job over the Christmas holiday season at a local department store in the gift-wrapping department. For some reason, I was running late. I rushed around the house getting everything together and jumped in my car. I quickly put the car in reverse and backed out. Immediately, I felt the impact and heard the crash. In my hurry, I had completely forgotten to open the garage door. As I got out of my car and assessed the damage, my mom came rushing outside...
Three Hidden Lies of Comparison Teens Face
“Instead of comparing my circumstances with those of others, I need to turn to You and listen as You instruct me, ‘You follow Me!’” – Jesus Listens,June 24th Think of your life like a measuring cup—the glass kind with the lines on the side. Inside that cup are all of the things that make your teen girl unique. Her personality, her cute smile, the way she tells a story, her ability to outsmart you in chess, or impress you on the tennis court. Maybe there was a time when she gave you a toothless grin every time you told her she was the prettiest, cleverest, and most amazing little girl in all the world. But if she’s like most teens, there was a point when her eyes fluttered open to comparison. Her sunny giggle faded, and her carefree grin fell as she began putting her measuring cup next to s...
Embracing Courage
“I can find courage through remembering who You are— pondering Your awesome Power and Glory, delighting in Your unfailing Love. I rejoice in knowing I’m on an adventurous journey with You and my ultimate destination is heaven!” – Jesus Listens,August 18th Are you ready to embrace a more confident and courageous life? Is it time for you to set aside your doubts, reservations, and hesitations, and step into a more courageous faith? Then let today be the day you begin implementing seven practical steps that can set you on a brand-new course, one that is directed and empowered by our Heavenly Father. For most of my life, I considered myself to be strong and courageous. I believed that courage centered solely around the ability to face challenges and conflicts with personal strength and stern d...
Last Picked Has Its Perks
“When I prize You above all else, delighting in You as my First Love, I’m protected from feeling fragmented. You are the One who completes me, and You’re training me to bring my thoughts back to You whenever they wander from Your Presence. Thank You for Your patient work in me, Lord.” – Jesus Listens,March 12th Have you ever been picked last? Or not picked at all? Maybe classmates didn’t choose you for their dodgeball team, or you were never asked to the prom, or you sat out the songs for couples at the roller rink. After two decades of living sober and following Jesus, I’ve learned great news: we can surrender every hurt and offense to Almighty God. Although this type of submission can be difficult, it produces supernatural results. Years ago, I was a small-market news anchor in Duluth, M...
When You Serve Them, You Serve God
“Because of Your amazing sacrifice for me, I want to serve You with every fiber of my being. I know that my service is woefully inadequate. Nonetheless, when I yield myself to Your will, You bless me with Joy.”– Jesus Listens, July 4th And the King shall answer and say unto them, “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” Matthew 25:40 (KJV). I grew up reading the King James Version of the Bible, which, although a gift to the world for four hundred years, was not very helpful for a child trying to comprehend the storyline, and even worse when developing your own nascent vocabulary. Speaking Elizabethan English to your peers in elementary school is a quick pathway to being shunned like Esther Prynes, if only for y...
