Wayne Jacobsen

Any Questions for Luis?

5 Comments / Behind the Scenes /

Putting My Friend Luis together as a podcast has truly been one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. However, my friendship with Luis is the greater gift here. We continue to share God’s life together as we walk with each other through the twists and turns of life. Doing so continues to open up new vistas in my own God Journey.

Sharing it with the world and interacting with those who that story has touched makes me so grateful God dropped this serendipitous experience into my life. Here’s an example I received in the last week:

By the way, I loved the “My Friend Luis” podcast!  I’m listening again with my husband now because I want to start giving to him and we make those decision together. I believe all that Luis went through and how God was there for him because I know in so many ways God was there for me growing up through all the difficulties I endured until the day I met him!

My husband and I are realizing how extremely different and difficult people’s lives are in Mexico from ours here in the U.S.  While we think we have it bad at times, there is absolutely no comparison! We can become so rigid in our religious and political beliefs of what we think is “right” but this has helped us discover that what we think is right may not be right at all in God’s eyes.  It’s like you’ve mentioned before, when you start getting to know God’s character, you start seeing things differently.  I keep telling my hubby we aren’t from this kingdom, remember!  God can and will do whatever he wants, and I’m so very grateful for that.

For those of you who have already heard the podcast, I know you’re anxiously awaiting a future update, especially because Raphael returned to meet with Luis one evening in April. Unfortunately, we had completed the podcast by then, so it wasn’t part of the original story. However, we will do at least two additional podcasts to do justice to this new part of the story since it isn’t only about Raphael’s return but also why he returned.

We have tried to record, but the timing has just not been right. Before his appearance, Luis came over one day to share a harrowing experience from his childhood that he did not include in the original story. I’d never heard it before, and we have spent hours processing it and the incredible pain it has been to Luis’ journey. To help Luis work through that pain is why Raphael returned. The painful part isn’t ready to be shared yet, but we’re hopeful it will be in the next few weeks. With that context, you’ll see how Raphael’s return has brought a new climax to the My Friend Luis Story. It will be worth the wait.

In the meantime, Luis and I want to share some of our experiences making and releasing this story. So, for those who have listened to it, if you have any observations from listening to our story or questions you would like to pose to either of us, please email them to me. We will record that podcast soon and would love to include your thoughts or questions for him or me. We’ll try to work in as many as we can.

On a personal note, tomorrow Sara and I will begin the two-day drive home from Denver, where we’ve been spending some wonderful time with our son. It has been a welcome respite in the midst of some difficult circumstances and the challenging direction God seems to be asking of us. His ways are always right, even though they are rarely easy.

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A Divine Wink?

6 Comments / Uncategorized /

I had an interesting experience the other day that still leaves me tickled and touched.

The photo above was taken in the men’s restroom at a gas station off of the Wheeler Ridge exit of Hwy 99. I was returning from a trip to visit my dad in the hospital shortly after he had a fractured hip repaired with a number of other things on my plate.  Driving back I was reflecting on my dad’s pain at nearly 96 and what might be the best options moving forward. I stopped at that exit to get some gas and make a visit to the restroom.

There in front of me at chest height was the plumbing fixture you see above. The letters seemed to jump off the metal, “Arek.”  I’ve never seen that name anywhere except in a book written by a long-time friend of mine. I’ve been coaching her on the manuscript and the publishing process because I think she has a gift and her book is a great read. Some people say it’s Bourne Identity meets Hunger Games. It’s the story of a young woman discovering that who she thinks she is and who she really is are vastly different realities and it takes her on a  roller-coaster ride of conflict as she fights for her life.

The lead male character is named Arek. He’s a mysterious presence, to say the least, and in the early part of the book seems to live in the shadows. Here I am in the middle of nowhere, stopping for a quick break and right in front of me, at THAT urinal is the unique name of THAT character. I’ve only known Arek in the pages of a book, seeing his name out here in the wild was a weird moment. It made me smile and almost laugh out loud, which is something I don’t recommend in a public restroom.

Wow!  Just wow!  For the next few miles, it was all I could think about. How could that have happened? I suspected it was God’s way of letting me know that he was pleased by the help I was giving this childhood friend of my daughter’s and that this might all be part of a bigger plan than I was aware. I love moments like that when God plays on the fringes of my journey. He’s done it in song lyrics playing in the background at a store, or in a random comment overheard from a passerby, or even in a line in a novel or article. Each seems like divine confirmation that I’m on the right track, like the occasional tree mark on a mountain trail or a cairn beside it. And I suspect he was signaling that not only for this young woman I’ve been helping but also for my father’s situation as well. I sensed his pleasure and my heart was warmed by a divine wink, “I love you, Kid.  Keep going down this road.”

I know Jesus said it was an evil and adulterous generation that seeks after a sign. I never seek signs anymore because it proved a fruitless pastime. But that doesn’t mean he won’t wink at us from time to time to let us know we’re right where he wants us to be.  I’m sure I’ve missed a million of these for every one I have noticed. When I see them though I pause to take note and enjoy how God can be so playful in such subtle ways. I don’t chalk them up to mere coincidence, not when they are that dramatic.

The book with Arek and Willow in it will be released on June 15. It’s called Out of the Shadows and is the first of a three-part trilogy that I think many of you will enjoy, especially if you like mysteries and intense action. The author is Tessa Van Wade. She’ll be on a podcast soon so you can meet her. You’ll love the passion that fills her heart and how this story can help you walk out of the shadows of lies and illusions and embrace the true identity Father sees in you.  I’ll be sharing more about it up the road, but I do hope you get to meet Tessa, at least virtually and enjoy this amazing story that’s spilling out of her heart. You can see a trailer for the book here and pre-order it from Amazon here.

 

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Meet Me in the Middle

7 Comments / Culture Watch /

A couple of weeks ago on The God Journey, Kyle and I briefly discussed Tyler Perry’s invitation on the most recent Academy Awards TV broadcast:

“I refuse to hate someone because they’re Mexican or because they are black or white. Or LGBTQ. I refuse to hate someone because they’re a police officer or because they’re Asian. I would hope we would refuse hate. And I want to take this humanitarian award and dedicate it to anyone who wants to stand in the middle. Because that’s where healing, where conversation, where change happens. It happens in the middle. Anyone who wants to meet me in the middle to refuse hate and blanket judgment, this one is for you, too,”

In response to our discussion, I got this email:  “I was just thinking earlier this week about how hard it is to be in the middle.  That is one of the main reasons I have had to quit Facebook. Maybe in a future podcast, you and Kyle can give some tips on how to survive being in the middle without getting ripped to shreds.  For now, I am quietly sitting on the sidelines licking my wounds.”

My heart goes out to this man. Political dialogue on social media these days is a blood sport where bullies rule the day and where thoughtful conversation is almost always hijacked by political agendas with an air of superiority.  I am convinced, however, that most people want to meet in the middle where character matters and mutual respect wins the day, which is why I helped with A Langauge of Healing for a Polarized Nation.

Maybe Kyle and I will come back to this someday, but to answer his request, here’s how I find a way to lean into the middle as freely as I can.

  • Realize everything in the media is skewed toward fear. It attracts eyeballs and advertisers who find fearful people an easy sell. I don’t let it in.  Things are never as dire as the media wants us to believe. Regardless of what is going on in the news and wherever fear tries to find its way in, I reflect on the fact that God is bigger than any agenda humanity tries to exert and that his purpose is unfolding in our world behind the scenes. I know that in the end, Jesus gets the last word on everyone and everything (I Peter 3:22 MSG)
  • I rarely take in more than 30 minutes of news and commentary per day, and that includes days with “breaking stories.” Glance and move on; don’t wallow in the fear or hysteria the media works to foment. If you don’t have resources that can give you a good overview in that amount of time, find better ones.  And even then, I only believe about 70% of what I hear. I try to distinguish between facts I’m being given and the interpretation of those facts to manipulate my behavior. I try to recognize their bias and adjust accordingly.
  • I intentionally go to websites and read articles that do not agree with my point of view. I always benefit from hearing what the other side is actually saying, and it keeps the algorithms from serving me up a soup of my own biases.
  • I limit my input from one-sided think tanks, commentators, advocacy groups, and overtly biased media. If you think your side has all the facts and worthy ideas, you are part of the problem. We all have convictions about what is right and wrong, but these sources all have one purpose—to manipulate you so they can advance their agenda by exaggerating their perspective. It’s not so hard to see once you are aware of it. Hold fast to your convictions, but don’t let them be used to give you cause to hate or to fear those who don’t share them.
  • I have good friends on the opposing sides of every issue to keep me honest. They are people who can talk about different points of view with respect and graciousness.
  • I converse with people I don’t know on my social media the same way you would talk to them in person. I treat them with dignity and respect until they prove themselves toxic and destructive. Then, I no longer engage them and either block or delete their comments.
  • This may be the most important one. Take in at least an hour of beauty and peace every day. Go for a walk. Sit in a garden. Celebrate a friendship with someone that refreshes your spirit.

I love this perspective that Eugene Peterson offers his Introduction to Nahum in The Message:

The stage of history is large. Larger-than-life figures appear on this stage from time to time, swaggering about, brandishing weapons and money, terrorizing and bullying. These figures are not, as they suppose themselves to be, at the center of the stage — not, in fact, anywhere near the center. But they make a lot of noise and are able to call attention to themselves. They often manage to get a significant number of people watching and even admiring: big nations, huge armies, important people. At any given moment a few superpower nations and their rulers dominate the daily news. Every century a few of these names are left carved on its park benches, marking rather futile, and in retrospect pitiable, attempts at immortality. The danger is that the noise of these pretenders to power will distract us from what is going on quietly at the center of the stage in the person and action of God. God’s characteristic way of working is in quietness and through prayer.

This is what makes my heart soar even in trouble times. What is God doing at the center of the stage?

If we stay grounded in that reality, we’ll learn to live generously in a world that needs it so badly.

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You Are Not Who You Think You Are

2 Comments / What I'm Reading /

You’ll want to read this.  No, not this blog, the new novel I want to tell you about.

Out of the Shadows will debut in less than a month, and it will change the way you look at the world. It’s been described as a cross between Bourne Identity and Hunger Games and while those comparisons give you an idea of the mystery thrill ride it is, it doesn’t do justice to the depth of meaning you’ll find in this story. Willow is a young woman who is beginning to discover that she is not what she grew up thinking herself to be, and she holds a pivotal place in the future of the world.

I’m rarely this excited about a new book, and all the more because it was written by someone I’ve known since her childhood. Tessa van Wade was the daughter of a family I grew close to when she was four years old. I’ve watched her grow up alongside my daughter as a young woman, wife, and mother and more recently have watched her bloom as an author and someone with a powerful journey into the love and life of Jesus.

Here is what is on the back cover:

You are not who you think you are.

A seemingly ordinary existence is shattered when Willow is assaulted and left for dead near her San Francisco home. It is not a random attack, as she soon discovers. The stranger who rescues her tells her she’s part of a hidden race of people whose oppressive government is on the verge of a violent uprising.

Against her will, she is drawn into a maze of deception and conspiracy, which defies everything she has ever known. As she attempts to separate fact from fiction, she becomes too entrenched to retreat.

Her only hope is to discover the truth before it is too late.

You’ll find it is not only true of Willow but you too, and that’s what makes the adventure of this book so amazing.  If you’ve read enough, you can pre-order it here from Amazon or here from Blue Sheep Media.

Out of the Shadows by Tessa Van Wade, published by Blue Sheep Media
Release date: June 8, 2021. • Paperback  • 272 pages

Here’s a brief endorsement I wrote for the cover of Tessa’s book:

One of the most beautiful, deeply-layered stories I’ve ever read.
Out of The Shadows will hold you spellbound from first the page, and leave you craving for more after the last one.
Tessa van Wade has created an iconic woman in Willow who has to discover her identity to fulfill her destiny. 

Wayne Jacobsen, author of He Loves Me, Live Loved Free Full, and co-author of The Shack.

Wait!  There’s more.

Tessa is looking for avid readers who are connected on social media to join her Launch Team. So, if you’d like to read a pre-release copy of the book and help her make it available to your world, please follow these two easy steps.  (1) fill out this Google form and (2) click this link Out of the Shadows Launch Team | Facebook and answer the questions there.  That’s it.

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Embracing God’s Playfulness

3 Comments / Uncategorized /

Spring Newsletter 2021

Playfulness is not the first thing people think of when they think of the Creator of the universe. Our religious interpretations of him often paint him as an austere, angry, or even terrifying presence. Such views help keep the people fearful instead of faithful, which makes them easier to manipulate.

But how can that be an accurate portrayal of the God who made giraffes and hummingbirds, octopi and penguins, even sex, not have a pretty vibrant sense of humor?

Isn’t the playfulness of joy and laughter one of our most treasured human experiences? It draws our attention when children are shrieking with delight or when a conversation erupts in laughter. Wouldn’t these things be closer to the innocence of Creation than the despair and fear our more adult anxieties drag us into?

If you’ve been reading my blog of late or listening to the podcasts, you’ll recognize that Romans 8:19-21 had been close to my heart these days.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

While contemplating this Scripture, having recently visited the burn scar of a large wildfire, I sensed his Spirit whisper in my heart, “It’s time.”  My whole being shook with what I assumed was the same eager expectation the creation experiences. It’s time for the sons and daughters of God to be revealed on the earth. I don’t have a clue if this is that final, end-of-days revelation of his children. Still, I did sense in the wasteland of our virus-devastated, politically divided, and depression-rampant culture he wants to reveal himself more graphically in those who have come to rest in his love and express the joy of his delight.

Can you imagine how much a playful heart would stand out in this season of high anxiety and despair?  And by playful, I don’t mean frivolous or flippant, but one who has found a different source of life that transcends the events surrounding them. You know the kind, one who remains lighthearted even in the face of stress and expresses the kind of humor helpful in opening doors to people weighed down by the world.

Truly, God is the most playful presence I’ve ever encountered. Oh, there are times when he is somber and severe, that’s true. Truth can hurt. Jesus sweated great drops of blood in Gethsemane, and Paul reminded many of those who came to faith during his first missionary journey that it is through suffering that we often enter the kingdom. But that doesn’t discount the power of play, especially in our relationship with God and in times of extremity.

As a dad with his young son or daughter, God is playful, too. Some of the funniest thoughts I’ve ever had have come from him. I’ve often laughed out loud at an observation that completely flips how I am looking at a situation. Jesus often played with his disciples, whether it was calming a storm that scared them or telling them how easy it is to ignore the log stuck in their own eye while trying to plucking out a speck of sawdust in someone else’s. I love his playfulness with the Syrophoenician woman who reminded him that even the dogs get the crumbs from the master’s table.

People who are playful with God don’t trivialize him. It’s all the more glorious when it’s with the Transcendent God of the universe. It keeps us lighthearted even in the midst of struggle and brings the laughter that is a medicine for the heart. People who know God this way don’t fall into the perfectionist tone of an expert, but even though they haven’t figured it all out, they are confident in the One who does.

We took a lot of criticism for how playful Papa was in The Shack. Many complained that we didn’t give God his reverence, especially when he spills the pancake batter or tells Mack that he’s “messing with him.” Playfulness was Papa’s doorway into Mack’s great sadness. He wasn’t making light of his pain but finding a way through it to transform his heart and to unmask the lies of darkness that held him captive.

Sadly, so much of religion teaches us the opposite. Instead of lightheartedness, it weighs us down with shame and fear. Instead of helping us learn to rest in God’s work, it pushes us to try harder and do more for God. No wonder religion is so exhausting and so unfruitful. Learning to play with our Father is where we hear him best and are most free to respond to his desires for us. I suspect Father’s playfulness has a lot to do with keeping our hearts at rest in him, especially when circumstances can be so challenging around us. Lightness is not the way to avoid our pain but to transit through it to greater transformation and fruitfulness on the other side.

I’m convinced that this is the revelation of God in his children for which creation eagerly awaits. As you come to rest in his love, you too will discover how playful this God can be and why childlikeness is the attribute Jesus identified as most helpful to us in exploring his kingdom. If you haven’t discovered that yet, talk to him about it. Ask him to teach you and lean into those spaces where you can stake your trust in his love and how that can set you at rest in him.

As important as this is for all of us, I sense God is wanting to breathe this reality into a new generation of younger men and women who have been disillusioned and disappointed by religion and have yet to know how real and wonderful God is. He’s calling to them even now and those who respond will become a contagion for his love.

I am excited to see what the coming weeks and months might bring as God reveals himself in his creation. As I’ve begun sharing this, I have heard from so many others that say they have had similar insights about God making himself known through love, rest, and play.  This is not our work to do; it is his work in us.  Yield to him as best you see and watch what he will unfold.

Lifestream Updates

My Friend Luis
If you’re not listening yet to our newest limited-series podcast about my friendship with a man who came to America over the wall when he was twenty-one, you might want to jump in. Raphael is a recurring character in Luis’s childhood who seems to be an angel taking care of Luis through some horrendous circumstances. Just as I put the finishing touches on the last episode, Raphael returned and spent some time with Luis. He hadn’t seen him in over 30 years and what they share becomes the perfect conclusion to our podcast. So, we’re going to have to add an episode or two to our original plan to tell this part of the story.

Live Loved Free Full
Do you want some encouragement each day to lean into more relational space with God so that you can connect with his heart and learn to live in his love? Wayne wrote his latest book for you. It’s a daily devotional with 365 reflections to help tune your heart to Father’s frequency and allow your perception of him to grow.  If you haven’t got your copy, you can get it here.

Don’t Miss These
The trajectory of my heart has been shifting over the past couple of months, and if you want to know what that’s looking like, don’t miss these episodes of The God Journey:

Future Travel
I am in Amarillo, TX today as my first trip since the pandemic started. I meet with a college today and with Christ-followers tomorrow.  I’m not sure how fast or how soon I’ll plan other travel. I do have a couple of make-up trips for some that were canceled; then we’ll see what God has from there. If you’re hoping to put something together as this pandemic seems to wind down, please let me know.

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Embracing the Winds of Change

Behind the Scenes /

For those of you following this new story-telling podcast, episode 10 dropped this morning. This begins yet another transition in our story and sets up for what were to be the final two podcasts in this series.

However…

This story has taken yet another turn. I finished my part of editing the final podcast on the morning of Good Friday. I was well into the contentment of having finished a project that had been on my heart for some time. and had taken a lot of time to assemble.

Good Friday night, Raphael returns. Yes, THAT Raphael—the stranger, and most likely an angelic presence, who showed up in Luis’ life as a five-year-old boy searching the mountains for his family’s lost cow that we talk about in Episode 3.  They met many times over the next few years as Raphael cared for Luis when he was being abused in his own family. The same Raphael that returned when Luis was in his young teens and rescued him from the back of a trailer where he was being held as bait to lure Captain Herrera into an ambush.  Luis had not seen him since that night when he was fifteen years old.

Until a few weeks ago. As Luis was locking up a church building after a meeting with the youth and a prayer vigil that followed, to his utter shock he felt Raphael’s presence again and heard footsteps behind him. He turned around to see his old friend, who had not aged a day.  The things they talked about were incredibly timely and put some finishing touches on the story that we can’t leave out. So, there will be at least another episode, maybe two.

If you’re not in this story yet, you might want to be. You won’t want to miss this ending, nor any of it really. I’ve heard and been part of some amazing stories in my life, but this one has transformed my heart in some incredible ways.  You can hear all the episodes at MyFriendLuis.com, or subscribe to it through your favorite podcast provider.

So many people are already listening in and the conversations and emails I’ve received about it are heart-warming as well.  I love how it is touching so many people and helping them see Father’s work in their own life. Here are just two of them I’ve received in the last few days:

“I have soo enjoyed the My Friend Luis series.  The production is so well done and very encouraging. The story is a reminder of the reality of how God is here with us – right now and very present – not somewhere up in the sky and far away. It also serves as a reminder of God’s kindness, his faithfulness, his compassion, his realness, and his love in the life of one of his lambs that was so in need of love—his love.  The whole thing is just so encouraging. I can’t help but grin from ear to ear when I tell others about it. Thank you for taking the time in putting this together and for sharing it!”

*                                *                                *

“This is by far the best or near best you have put together. The story is riveting, compelling, raw, inviting, and full of drama. Hollywood would be eclipsed by this story. I have listened to them all as they have been released and have become immersed in the story. This has to be the backbone of a book!!! if so I would buy it. It is truly amazing! I found myself stopping, grabbing tissue as my own heart’s emotion inflamed within me, “God, you are good, very good.” This is a stunning story of calling and provision. Well done, very well done!”

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The First Moment of Freedom

3 Comments / Uncategorized /

Sara and I are reading through my new devotional each day.  Yes, it is a bit weird reading my own book and even stranger to be touched by it and freshly encouraged to draw into that space that makes my life more fruitful.

This one especially touched my heart the other day.

April 15 – The First Moment of Freedom

Some have labored for months or years under the oppressive burden of trying to earn God’s approval, trying to please abusive leadership or failing the expectations others have held for them.

The moment God’s love works its way past all those things and captures them in his sheer delight is a moment that knows no equal in creation.

Once people discover just how much he loves them, and that love is motive enough to allow God to do everything in their life that he wants to accomplish, you can see the weight lift from their shoulders. You can see in their eyes the renewed hope of enjoying again their relationship with Father.

Sometimes it is an immediate realization, at others a slow awakening until that wonderful moment when the penny drops.

Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you.
Christ himself wrote it—not with ink, but with God’s living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives…

2 Corinthians 3:1–3 (MSG)

I’ve tasted of this many times in my own journey when some new glimpse of him opens a wider door in my heart. I’ve also been graced to be with quite a few people at the very moment some broken place in their life or thinking gives way to the recognition that they are loved no matter what. It’s a moment! I love being in those moments with people, but I am also increasingly aware that I cannot orchestrate them in my time frame, and neither can they.

This is the work of his Spirit, who is constantly arranging things in our heart to give us such a moment. It’s so easy to unwittingly resist that work as we drill down in our guilt or press ourselves to try harder or do more. All we can do is tell him that we desire that revelation in ourselves or in someone we’re with and leave our hearts as open as possible so we can see what the Spirit is doing to bring God alive in us.

If you’re struggling in one of those seasons where his love seems distant, I am praying for you even as I’m writing this. God wants you to have such freedom even more than you want it for yourself. I know it doesn’t feel like that sometimes, but it is still true. Ask him to help you relax into that reality and let his Spirit sort it out in you.

 

The excerpt is taken from Live Loved Free Full, my new devotional that gives you a thought every day to help invite your heart and mind into more relational space where you can see better how he is at work in you.   You can order your copy here, or view a video about it here.

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It’s Time!

11 Comments / Encouragement /

The last few months have been a strange time for me. As I was working on the new My Friend Luis podcast, I kept getting insight from the Spirit, signaling there was something ahead he wanted me to be ready for. These insights came in nudges from within, dreams and visions from other people, and specific Scripture passages that would leap off the page into my heart when I was reading. While these inklings were encouraging, they were far from specific. However, the inspiration within and the growth curve it has sent me on is nothing like I’ve experienced before.  I’ve shared some of that on my podcast, especially some insights about prayer that are reshaping my life in so many ways. It started with the Embracing His Glory insights and has continued on about praying with a different perspective and with others that feels like a jig-saw puzzle fitting together.

Last week Sara and I were in the Sierra Mountains with my 95-year-old Dad to celebrate Easter. Earlier that week, my daughter and grandkids came up for a few days, and we took a walk through the burn scar of the Creek wildfire. Over the next few days, I had this nagging thought in my heart that there was something God wanted me to see there, that I had missed. I talk more about that in a video on my Facebook page that I posted yesterday. It was recorded on Good Friday as I re-visited that area to share with you what I felt God was speaking to my heart.  If you missed that video, you could view it here.

I talk more about this experience in the podcast that will air this Friday morning at The God Journey, called “Settled in His Spirit.”  Kyle and I talk about it in the first 12 minutes or so. Simply, as I contemplated what I had seen in the aftermath of the wildfire, my heart was drawn to Romans 8:18-21:

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

As I was thinking of this passage on my walk in the woods with my dog, Zoey, I was surprisingly surrounded by a rising sense of Presence.  Then, I heard two words in my mind: “It’s time.”  I knew instantly that the voice was referring to this passage. It is time for the children of God to be revealed. My body literally quaked. I’m not sure what all this means, but I am confident something is stirring. Every person I’ve shared this moment with sense has either already had something similar on the heart or felt affirmation when they heard it.

I’m not offering this as some kind of prophecy. I don’t know that it has any end-of-the-world overtones to it. But I do sense the undercurrent of those who have been learning to live at rest in his love over the past few years will soon become more evident than the religious voices that so easily disfigure the face of God to the world around us. Now, I’m not looking for that to change in the media or Christianity Today to do a story on it because I don’t think this is about new books, markets, and viral internet posts, but simply a stitching together of people loving selflessly those who cross their paths. God will make himself more evident to others, and we’ll see that over the next few months and years.

I honestly know nothing more than that, but my heart has an expectancy about God’s work in our world that it hasn’t had in a while.  I feel no angst to make anything happen or think some book or project from me will turn some tide here. As things begin to unfold, the usual suspects will try to market it for their own gain or try to systematize it to put it under their control. I can tell you now, avoid such people and such activities.

This is a work of the Spirit that will have the breath of Father in it. It won’t be in our control, though we can yield to his flow when we sense it. What is most important now is to keep learning what it means for you to be at rest in his love and to learn how he wants to play with you in the Father’s working. This rises out of that reality, not the somber, terrifying tones of human effort.  All he asks of us is to present a willing heart, to keep our eye on him, and to be ready when he nudges us into the next opportunity.  That will involve some prayer and watching, but the fun kind, not the laborious kind.

And for those who are touched by what I share in the video, or you have questions about it, Kyle and I will be hosting a God Journey After-Show this coming Sunday at 10:00 am Pacific Daylight Time. If you want to join us, email me for a Zoom link to that session. We’ll let in as many as we think we can manage, but it will also stream live on The God Journey Facebook Page for those who want to watch.

Please hear my heart here. I sense something stirring and am just putting it out there to see if others have similar insights. If God is in this, let’s see what he unfolds over the next few months and years.

_______________________________

As a side note, during our time at Shaver Lake, a local radio station played an interview recorded with my dad a few weeks before about his experiences in World War II. You can find it here, along with photos from that era. 

 

 

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Father’s Fingerprints

2 Comments / Behind the Scenes /

I’ve not been posting much here or anywhere else lately because most of my time these days is spent talking to people and stitching together My Friend Luis. For those of you who have missed this, it is a new, twelve-episode, story-telling podcast of one of my closest friends and how God has worked in his heart, and the friendship we share. I have two more episodes to finish up on my end. For you, episode six dropped today.  It has touched me deeply, and I am blessed by everyone who has written me about this story and how it has touched them too.  I’m so glad I could share it in this way.

Episode six completes the story that began in Episode One, the night Luis, as a twenty-one-year-old kid, tried to cross the border from Tijuana into the United States. This is the pay-off, and there’s so much that happens that night that has Father’s fingers all over it. It’s one of the best stories I’ve ever heard of God winning someone into his love. I don’t want you to miss it.

There’s a lot of that in this story, as it’s often easier to see looking back over a long story. My friend, Bob Prater, spends a lot of his days listening to people’s stories. He invites people out to breakfast or lunch with him, many he’s just meeting for the first time.  When they sit down, he often asks them, “Tell me your story, and don’t leave anything out.”  What a gift!

How many people are dying to tell their story to someone who will listen and care, and how rarely do they get the chance with someone who is not rushed?

I asked him one time what he’s looking for as they share. “I look for God’s fingerprints on their story, even if they haven’t recognized them yet.  I liked to connect the dots.”

Some of the emails I’ve received from those of you already listening to My Friend Luis are how his story helps you connect the dots in your own story.  I love that. There’s never been a moment in your life where God was not making himself known to you in ways that invite you into his love. Often we miss those moments because we are distracted by the world or our own guilt or pain. It’s so easy to ignore his approach or write off those serendipitous moments as mere coincidence.  It often takes the compassionate eye of someone else to help us see the thread of God’s love stitched into our lives.

But it is there, whether you see it yet or not. I pray we all come to see more clearly his fingerprints, not only in Luis’ story but, even more importantly, in your own. Once you begin to see that, anything can happen.

My Friend Luis can be found at most places you get your podcasts, or you can listen to it directly from the website.

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My Friend Luis Episode 3

Beyond Sundays /

Episode 3 of My Friend Luis dropped this morning. This is one of my favorite episodes of the story of the friendship Luis and I have shared, and it sets up a lot that’s still to come. One incredible story told over twelve episodes in an immersive format. What it shows about God and his ability to walk with us, even when we’re unaware at times, makes this story so compelling.

Here’s what some people have written me about My Friend Luis.

“It was a real treat to hear the first episode of My Friend Louis. We listened like we were in a movie. We were both disappointed to actually reach our destination before it ended. We wanted to keep it going. You guys did a fantastic job with this.” — Jeff

“You cannot listen to his story without being impacted on how unfair the world is and how lucky some of us are.” —Dwight

“Loved this!!! Can’t wait to hear the next one!” — Harvey

“I heard two voices in my head while I was listening. The first voice said: “It’s his own fault, he tried to come here illegally and suffered the consequences. This is the voice I used to believe was God’s (standing up for justice). The second voice said: “This is my son, with whom I am well pleased and love dearly.”  This is the voice I now know is Father’s and the voice of grace, which his true justice. I can’t wait for the rest of the story and see God unfolding through it!” — Isaac

“I am just captivated by this story! Now I think I see why Wayne was excited about 2021… This is much more than a podcast! I’m sending the website link to friends and family.” — Jack

“Oh, love it!  It’s going to be a great story … Planning on listening with my sisters. Didn’t realize it was going to be so professionally done!”  — Jaq

“I am so looking forward to hearing his whole story! Maybe people would have different perspectives, hearing the life of someone who comes from a country where there’s a lot of corruption and seems like surviving is a daily struggle! Wayne, so glad you’re sharing Luis’s story with us.”  — Nellie

You can listen to My Friend Luis on the website, or subscribe from your favorite podcast feed.

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