The Big Breakup Posted by Ashleigh Slater on February 7, 2010

I'm not feeling in top form today -- a virus seems to have gotten the better of me. To spare you from jumbled thoughts, I'll keep this blog post short and simple.

This week we have a six-part series from Christina Holder titled "The Single Girl's Guide to Breakups." It's purpose is to encourage those of you who, like Christina and even myself, have suffered the heartache of a broken dating relationship. It offers you practical tips on how to navigate this new season, along with the hope that God can bring good out of the brokenness you may feel.

We'll be publishing one installment each day this week. So join us as we dive into this series.

Fresh Brew Friday Posted by Ashleigh Slater on February 5, 2010

My middle daughter was born in 2005, about the same time my grandpa's health worsened and he began his lengthy stay at the hospital.

My grandpa never got to meet her in person, but he was so excited about her. When my parents visited him that December, my mom took him pictures of her so he could see her. She hung these pictures up in his room. I talked to Grandpa for the last time shortly after that year's Christmas. During our conversation he told me that she was his little companion in the hospital. I think she brought him joy as he lay in the hospital experiencing severe pain.

Many times during the grieving process I cried while I held and fed her. During those times she looked up at my face and smiled and cooed, as if to say, "It's OK, Mommy." She brought me unexplicable joy in a difficult season.

I'm reminded that God's timing is perfect. I found out I was pregnant with her when Ted was unemployed and we had no health insurance. Back then the timing didn't make sense. But we trusted that God knew what He was doing -- that He had a purpose for me becoming pregnant at such a financially difficult time.

As I grieved my grandpa's death, I began to see how God was already using my daughter, even at her tiny age. She became a source of joy and comfort to those around her. For my grandpa while he was still on earth, and for me and my family while he was sick and in the months following his death.

Four years later, her life is still characterized by joy. And I'm freshly grateful, to quote Steven Curtis Chapman, that God is God and I am not. His timing, unlike mine, is always perfect.

How have you been encouraged this week? To join me in sharing, read this first. It explains the guidelines for participation and how to grab the Fresh Brew Friday button.

Transformed Posted by Amy Storms on February 3, 2010

Transformation is one of my favorite aspects of Christianity, and the apostle Paul is one of its best examples. To go from a Christ-hater to a Christ-follower -- a proponent of the law to an advocate of grace -- talk about life change! Paul experienced firsthand the life-giving transformation of Jesus.

It still happens today, in the lives of those who submit to his lordship. One of the kindest, most tenderhearted men I know used to be angry and short-tempered. I also know a woman who traded in bitterness for forgiveness. Now she walks in joy and freedom. Another friend was unfaithful to his wife, but Christ reconciled and restored their marriage, making them closer than ever.

Paul wrote in Romans that God "calls things that are not as though they were" (Romans 4:17). He told the believers in Corinth, "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18). Transformed into his likeness...talk about life change!

Blessed Anvil Posted by Ashleigh Slater on February 1, 2010

I'm a compulsive furniture mover. Every few months I rearrange a room in our house. Fortunately, Ted has grown accustomed to this personality "quirk."

Perhaps my constant "redecorating" stems from my need for change. In the last 31 years, I've lived in seven different states, not to mention multiple houses in each of those states. For me, change is normal and expected. When it doesn't happen, I create it in small ways by moving the couch, our coffee table, and my favorite lamp.

This month on Ungrind, our topic is change. Dictionary.com defines change as "to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone." Change -- for example, the rearrangement of furniture, the first day of a new job, the start of married life, the addition of a new baby -- can be welcome. Change can also be painful, though. Our articles this month look at both aspects, discussing how God can transform us through change.

We kick off our discussion with the article, "Blessed Anvil," by Sarah Forgrave. During the delivery of her son, she experienced 4th-degree tears. Over a year of symptoms and multiple surgeries sent Sarah into a depression characterized by suicidal thoughts. She writes:

Despite my surgeon's reassurance that it would take time for my body to fully heal, I allowed the demons of worry and worthlessness to consume my being.

They haunted me most at night after I went to bed. In the quiet house, dark thoughts popped in my head, urging me that my life no longer held meaning. My mind flitted to the pain pills stashed in the kitchen cabinet, and I wondered what would happen if I took them all at once. I never climbed out of bed to find out. Deep inside, I knew those voices didn't come from God, and I recited scripture to shatter their influence.

But it was during this time that God also revealed to her a new passion and purpose: writing.

I readied for bed one night and came the closest I've ever been to hearing the audible voice of God. He said, "I want you to write. I want you to chronicle the struggles you've faced and overcome, as a channel of hope for others just like you." I questioned God's sanity. After all, I worked in the analytical field of accounting. Sure, I loved to read, but did that really mean I could write?

As I embarked on this new path, I discovered a defining purpose for my life. Writing not only provided an outlet for my emotions, it allowed me to understand my true self, the person God weaved together in my mother's womb. He knew about gifts and desires that hadn't yet revealed themselves to me.

On those days when I move the couch across the family room, creating forced change, I remember those instances in life when, like Sarah, change has been hard, unexpected, and unwelcome. I definitely prefer small, controlled change. Yet I also realize, as this week's article shows, that a day may come when the anvil we despise can be called "blessed."

"Dug Down Deep" Winner Posted by Ungrind Webzine on January 29, 2010

Thanks to the Integer Generator over at Random.org, we have a winner in our Dug Down Deep book giveaway.

Drum roll, please .....

The winner is Sarah Rideout. Congratulations, Sarah! I'll be sending you an email to you in the next couple days.

To everyone else, thank you for participating in our contest.

Fresh Brew Friday Posted by Ashleigh Slater on January 29, 2010

"I don't like to drive when the roads are snowy," I informed my daughters as I did just that -- carefully maneuvered our mini-van along the snow-covered streets near our neighborhood. "For me, driving in the snow is being brave."

Laugh, if you want, but it's the truth.

I'm a scaredy cat when it comes to being behind the wheel in winter weather. I spent my formative driving years in Florida and California, no snow required. In the last four years here in Colorado, I've simply opted to stay home when the weather turns bad. But yesterday made no allowances for cowardice. My daughters had well checkups that I'd scheduled months prior and rescheduling would have pushed them off a few months more.

Out we went. And the good news is it wasn't as bad as I anticipated.

Sure, I won't be the first or maybe even the tenth to volunteer to drive in winter weather in the future, but I did discover I can do it. I stretched myself out of necessity and grew in the process.

Baby steps.

How have you been encouraged this week? To join me in sharing, read this first. It explains the guidelines for participation and how to grab the Fresh Brew Friday button.

Adventures Within Reach Posted by Jessica Boling on January 27, 2010

When I consider the word adventure in relation to my life, I think of several events.

Foremost, I think of Germany. In 2006, I moved to Europe without knowing anyone at the missionary school where I would work. For two years, I served as a resident assistant in a dormitory full of teenage missionary kids, a job that was as fulfilling as it was unusual. Those years were packed with new experiences. Adventures.

I also think of college. Transitioning from a homeschooled childhood to a bustling campus of 28,000 students felt like an epic adventure. The onslaught of new ideas, people, and expectations sent me into short-lived shock. Soon, I appreciated the challenges and embraced the experiences. Adventures.

An adventure takes me out of my comfort zone. Travel is an adventure. School is an adventure. Relationships are adventures. So are friendships, new jobs, and volunteer opportunities. So are marriage and parenthood (although I have yet to embark on either of those adventures).

But there is another source of adventure: perhaps the one that has played the largest role in shaping my personality, beliefs, and awareness of the world. It is a source that is nearly endless, and can be accessed at any time, anywhere in the world. It is the adventure of reading. Books carry me to foreign lands, explain customs and opinions different from my own, and teach me how to do things. Written language has tremendous power to communicate thoughts and emotions, and it can reach thousands or millions of people at a time. Good books are adventures waiting to be discovered.

So when my bank account says "no" to foreign travel and my day-to-day life hums along routinely, I can still find adventure on my bookshelf. In the times when I am not challenged physically, I can choose to challenge my mind with someone else's thoughts, experiences, and feelings. It is good to be challenged: it is good to embark on new adventures.

Win a Copy of "Dug Down Deep" Posted by Ashleigh Slater on January 25, 2010

Too often terms such as orthodoxy, doctrine, and theology get a bad rap. They're perceived as dry and boring. But, as Joshua Harris explains in his new book Dug Down Deep: Unearthing What I Believe and Why It Matters, this couldn't be further from the truth.

"Our faith is not just a state of mind, a mystical experience, or concepts on a page," he writes. "Theology, doctrine, and orthodoxy matter because God is real, and he has acted in our world, and his actions have meaning today and for all eternity."

In an engaging manner, Harris spends 231 pages unpacking this statement. He defines orthodoxy, doctrine, and theology using a down-to-earth, easy to understand approach peppered with humor. He clearly shows their meaning in our day-to-day lives and why they should, if they aren't already, be important to us.

Have I captured your interest? If so, keep reading.

We have one copy of Dug Down Deep to give away to one reader. To enter for a chance to win, leave a comment on this post. We'll randomly choose one winner on Friday, January 29th and announce the winner here on Fresh Brew. My apologies to our international readers, but this contest is only open to those residing in the United States.

This contest is now closed. To see who won, click here.

Adventure ... A Way of Life Posted by Lynette Kittle on January 24, 2010

Moving over 30 times (I stopped counting a few years ago) has made my everyday life an adventure. Living far away from my Ohio roots in places like Alaska and Hawaii, I have enjoyed the day-to-day challenge of starting all over again (and again) in new places.

But I didn't always view moving as an adventure. As a child, I relocated around the Midwest with my mom and dad as a pastor's kid. I remember declaring one day to them, "When I grow up, I'm going to stay in one place." So much for that declaration!

I wonder if God smiled when I announced it to my parents, knowing the delight I would someday experience in the new adventures He had planned for me? I'm truly grateful for His divine interference in my childish plans. I've learned that facing a new location and new people requires that adventure truly be, as Sarah Jaggard notes in her article "Everyday Adventure, "a state of being." Sarah writes:

My suspicion is that adventure can actually occur in everyday life. That's right -- everyday, sometimes-mundane life. Perhaps I need to open my mind a little more and think about how adventure is more of a state of being than it is about experiencing out there somewhere. Perhaps adventure is not found on a private island in French Polynesia. Perhaps adventure can be a way of life.

How have you found adventure in your everyday life? Perhaps, like me, your day-to-day has included moving a lot. After reading Sarah's story join us back here at Fresh Brew. We'd love to hear from you.

Fresh Brew Friday Posted by Ashleigh Slater on January 22, 2010

Facebook has taken on a new purpose for me over the last week and a half. Like Dwayne and Christin Taylor, this social networking tool has become an information hub with the latest news on Haiti and what I can do to help my friends who are personally affected.

Each day, I've frequently checked for updates from my friends Mark and Jodie on their Haitian adoption. In response to status updates, I've written our senator and congressmen and continually pleaded with God to protect and bring home the Haitian orphans.

My friend Michele's status updates have kept me informed on the search for her friend -- local Compassion worker David Hames -- who, last I heard, was still somewhere in the rubble of Hotel Montana. She's helped me know how to specifically pray for David's rescue and for his family as they wait.

In the midst of all the uncertainty, it's been easy to worry and even feel angry that processes, such as the orphans being transported to safety, haven't occurred more swiftly. There have been moments when it's been difficult to feel encouraged. I've watched my friends walk through these experiences, feeling less than helpful as I've been at home caring for three sick kids.

But there is encouragement in this: God is in control. Nothing that happens is a surprise to Him. Even in those moments when it appears that He may be resting, He is at work. He is a God who neither sleeps nor slumbers (Psalm 121:4).

Today I continue to hold on to the God who is hope. The God who holds my friends in His hands and cares more than my frail heart can ever comprehend.

How have you been encouraged this week? To join me in sharing, read this first. It explains the guidelines for participation and how to grab the Fresh Brew Friday button.