July 2022 Newsletter
Good morning, friends!

This email marks the two-year mark of my writing journey. Many of you have been here from day one, watching it morph and change as I figured out what direction it should take. Thank you for staying and encouraging me that way. When you start with one, every 'unsubscribe' is painful. :) Yet, it's a part of the process of finding who your people are. If you have joined the community because you find value here worth staying for, I hope that it has served you well.

I pray the focus is clear: building a confident faith and steady hope requires intentionality to pursue a relationship with God. Our job as believers is to help one another stand, growing up alongside one another in faith. Our wisdom comes from God through abiding in His presence through prayer and the study of Scripture. I want to encourage you to apply those biblical truths in the practical ways we need to be doers of the Word. We want to move beyond the shallow to the depths of grace and flourishing God always intended. Theology is empty without it reshaping every part of our lives.

Since giving my life to Christ at age 14, I have sought to understand who God is through reading the Bible. I would sit for hours writing down questions about what I was reading to ask my youth pastor. I am sure he was annoyed at times with my persistent questioning. lol But through all of the turmoil of my high school life, the peace of God sustained me through seeking Him. I would open my Bible and have more confusion than clarity about its meaning at times, yet I began to grow from merely showing up for a morsel of bread. It was the supernatural work of God illuminating my mind and growing my heart in His grace and love. And now, thirty years later, I have witnessed the ways God rewards our little efforts and desires to draw close to Him. It's been slow, steady growth gifted from faithfulness. If you are struggling in the day to day, remember the big picture. Love the Lord. Show up with Him so He can teach you to know Him and love others rightly. Ask questions! Are you afraid of asking a "stupid" question? Let me share an embarrassing question with you...

In our youth group, we had student leader positions, and I was the secretary one year. We would meet monthly at the youth pastor's house for training and planning. During one particular meeting, after the planning was done, the pastor asked if anyone had any other questions. I now know that he was referring to questions pertaining to the meeting, but in my deep-thinking self, there was a curiosity about something I had read that week that was bursting to be asked. Through reading the gospels, I had come across the word "circumcision" many times and couldn't understand what it had to do with anything that pertained to me. :) At 14, I probably should have known what circumcision was, but someone had dropped the ball on this. Ha! But even knowing the meaning of it wouldn't have explained why the Bible talked about it so much!

So, not knowing how the other kids would be mortified by this question, I raised my hand and asked him to explain to me what circumcision was. First, awkward silence. Heads and eyes began to drop to the floor. The pastor's lip curled, refraining a chuckle. A gasp or two. Some laughter. And then, an answer I hadn't expected. I willed for time to rewind...for wisdom to have led me :)...to have waited for a time when my peers weren't boring holes into my face with their discomfortable eyes. As I drove a friend home that night, she made fun of me for not knowing something I had never been taught. She asked me what in the world I had been thinking to ask that in front of the boys. It was a hard moment for me as the inner thoughts of stupidity attacked my self-esteem. Yet, here are the results:

1. Asked my parents for a Bible dictionary. :) I didn't have a computer/app for that.
2. Began to discern proper social settings and cues. :0
3. Refused to let one bad moment steal my curiosity and joy.
4. Learned that when in doubt, write it down and ask in private.
5. Learned to have grace for myself and others...we all have awkwardness in life. :)

There was also an understanding of faith and works that had left me frustrated previously that began to shape my life by grace in new and freeing ways that night. I don't suppose most teenagers desire to understand why Paul made a correlation between circumcision/law and freedom/grace. But I did...and that "stupid" question led to greater peace in my heart and mind over how to live with security in Christ. Embarrassing? Yes. Stupid? No. :)

If you have any questions, you can always email me back and ask. I may not have the answer, but I can help point you to one. This is a safe place to process life and faith, and I hope you get that. You are loved, friend. That is why I invest time and energy in this space. I want to help and encourage. If you want to help me sustain this, please share with others, reply with a comment, or purchase a book if you can. If you have made it this far, you can enter to win a copy of my prayer guide, Consider. If you already have a copy but want to enter to win one for a friend, feel free! (Must be in U.S. to win for shipping.) I will be giving away two copies on July 1st by drawing names from those who respond to this letter with a "hello". Letting me know what part of this monthly newsletter encourages you, will get you a second entry. I will email the winners on July 1st at 8 am. Thank you!

In Christ,
-Terri Prahl

New on the Blog:

3 Ways Reading and Praying Scripture Strengthens Our Faith

Let the Adventures Begin: Trusting Dad in the Midst of Mom Fears
A look inside my prayer guide:
6 Benefits of prayer
I don't see many clicking on the podcast, book, and music suggestions that I normally include in these letters, so I am rethinking using time to create it. If you enjoy that let me know! Otherwise, I will be changing the format going forward. Don't miss the free resources in the archive at the link below!
Click the member archive to check out any free resources you might have missed!
resources
A final note of encouragement:

"For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
Romans 15:4

If you need prayer, please send me a message, and I will be more than happy to intercede on your behalf.
facebook instagram 
Email Marketing Powered by MailPoet