Guesting on Another Podcast
First, from the deepest place in our hearts Sara and I want to express our gratitude to all of you this Christmas season. Thank you for your engagements with us over the year and your love and support for Sara’s journey through trauma and now mine through a bit of cancer. I tell people all the time that I know some of the best people on this planet, who take their life in God seriously, but themselves not so much. That’s the best combination. We have grown so much in our conversations with you and how openly you share your own stories with us. In recent months we’ve been especially grateful for all the prayers, meals, encouragements, and kindnesses so many of you have directed our way, many from great distances, in our time of trial.
We are truly blessed to have you in our lives and pray that you have a very special Christmas with family and friends, and that Jesus will lead and guide you through the year ahead. Our hearts especially go out to those who because of family break-ups or grieving someone’s passing that you deeply loved. Finding yourselves grieving while others are celebrating, is especially lonely. We are praying that Father’ make himself and his comfort known to you and fill you wit his peace and joy. f we can be an encouragement there, please get in touch.
Merry Christmas, and a Blessed New Year to you and yours
from Wayne and Sara
Now on to some fun stuff—
A couple of weeks ago, I recorded an interview with Jason and Matt, who co-hosted an episode of Rethinking God with Tacos PODCAST. I love when I’m not the host and others get to probe my life and thoughts as it helps them. This is a special conversation and it dropped last week. This is how they described it:
In this conversation, Wayne Jacobsen shares his transformative journey of understanding God’s love, the impact of his book ‘He Loves Me’, and the challenges he faced in his personal life, including health issues. He also shares a deeply personal story about trauma and breakthrough. The discussion also touches on theological shifts regarding atonement and the nature of true peace in the face of adversity. In this conversation, the guys explore the complexities of reconciliation, trauma, and the nature of justice in relationships. They discuss the importance of navigating personal trauma, recognizing toxic relationships, and the role of good counsel in healing. The dialogue emphasizes the need for trust in God’s justice and the transformative power of living loved, ultimately leading to restorative justice that heals both victims and perpetrators.
Also, a couple of weeks ago I wrote about a resurgence of interest in He Loves Me, and requests to publish new versions in Russia, Ukraine, and Israel. Now I get this email from Denis in France:
In April 2021 I discovered your book He Loves Me in French and it changed my perception of God’s love. Then I discovered the Shack too and I looked for nudges in my life like you! Now I share this around me, and two people have already done a full sharing (about a year) and 3 others people are just starting now. It’s like a stone that you throw on a calm lake, there are visible rebound of course but also and above all the wave that continues to propagate…it is the work of God through you! I pray for you and Sara in this new part of your life
I got this about another book from a friend in Wales:
Something that we hope will encourage you, my wife has a home visit from a medical professional, who often opens her heart as she longs to break free from obligations and duty that her church expects from her. She has read several of your books that we have given her and recently on a flight back from Israel was reading Finding Church, so also was a fellow passenger sitting behind her over her shoulder. A conversation ensued, and some of your books are now hopefully being read in Cornwall!
And this from someone in the States about his journey to live loved:
For me it was very, very, very, very hard to get God’s love for me because as a recovering Pharisee, the slant of righteousness and justice that I was presented with most of my life made being loved by God hard to imagine. It was your book about So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore” that got me thinking about Jesus being loving. I didn’t get it, but I wanted to. That led me eventually to talk with you in person while you were in Massachusetts, and I still didn’t get it until God spoke to me personally.