Paint With Me

~ alicia.ruth.yoder

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)

It’s an invitation to paint with Him, His hand holding mine, as we run the brush across the canvas to make something beautiful. It’s an invitation to get messy, not worrying if the paint gets in my hair or rubs on my face, because He loves me and enjoys being with me and has time for me. 

Each of my days can be a beautiful painting, offered for His delight, but also a process of doing something beautiful with Him. My paintings have looked different depending on the season. If each activity were a different color, some paintings would use many more colors than others. 

When I had baby Faith, her color of paint covered much of the canvas for a while, and there was less Bible study color, less housekeeping color, less phone conversation color, and less cooking color. God enjoys all the different kinds of paintings filled with the colors of loving my husband, the colors of planning meals, shopping, preparing, and cleaning up, the colors of caring for and training and teaching my children, and inviting them to enjoy God. And the colors of writing, and Bible studies, and music and watching a fun show. Some of the color is added when I am doing nothing but being held by God, and some strokes get interrupted before I think I’m finished. 

But each painting gets stuck to God’s fridge, part of all the paintings of my brothers and sisters in Christ, a mosaic of kingdom beauty. And when we stand together and look at the fridge, we praise Him for giving the paints and the ability to make something beautiful, remembering that He is guiding our hands to help us paint. And that even the splotches where we tried to pull our hand away from His get redeemed as He guides our hands again, reminding us of how much we need Him. 


Second Bonus Episode

~ alicia.ruth.yoder

Finn and I finished editing our second bonus episode where he tells the story of David and Jonathan’s friendship from 1 Samuel 20 and we discuss why Jesus is the best. If you’d like to listen and help sustain the podcast at the same time, you can swim over to my page.

Finn the yellow tang fish

Close to His Heart

~ alicia.ruth.yoder

What does it mean for my Shepherd’s goodness and lovingkindness to follow me all the days of my life? It means that when I look behind me, I see God in every moment of my past. (Or I ask Him to show me where He was.) When I look forward, into the future, I can see how my Good Shepherd is shielding me from the wind as He goes before me, leading me to the good works He has for me. And when I just feel tired or discouraged, I picture Him carrying His little lamb, close to His heart. 

He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young. (Isaiah 40:11, Psalm 23)


Episode 100: 1 Kings 21 Ahab Steals Naboth’s Vineyard

~ alicia.ruth.yoder

In this episode, Finn and I talk about Ahab’s choice to listen to Jezebel and take what he wanted and how we can trust God to give us what we need and find joy in His presence with us. 

With your kids: Who are two of your closest friends? How do they help you in your walk with Jesus?

P.S. If you haven’t had a chance to access the first bonus episode by supporting the podcast, you can hop over to https://www.patreon.com/aliciayoder

Abide

~ alicia.ruth.yoder ~ 1 Comment

What does it mean in John 15 for Jesus to be the Vine, the Father the Gardener, and me as a branch? Does the branch produce its own food? That’s the Vine’s job. Does it measure its fruitfulness? That’s the Gardener’s job. So what is my job? To drink in the Living Water coming through the roots of the Vine. Soaking in the truths of Scripture. Looking more like the Vine by obeying and repenting and knowing that I’ll never be cut off but only pruned with the pruning shears of transforming grace. And the grapes produced will be the grapes the Gardener shares with anyone who comes near so that when they take a bite, the juice dripping down their chins will be the sweetest thing they’ve tasted–the love and joy and peace of Christ. 

First Bonus Episode!

~ alicia.ruth.yoder

Finn and I have been working on a new series where Finn tells one of his favorite Bible stories in his own words and we talk about why Jesus is the best.

It’s only available to patrons, so if you’d like to listen and help sustain the podcast at the same time, you can jump over to my page.

Finn the yellow tang fish

Jump

~ alicia.ruth.yoder

What does it mean for God’s peace to guard my heart and mind in Christ? He’s showing me that hope and trust are the opposite of anxiety. When I’m not leaning on my own understanding, it means that His peace will be beyond my understanding, too. When I believe my Sovereign Lord is in control of all my circumstances, locations, and relationships, and that He’s working it all together in a perfect harmony of my good and His glory, everything no longer has to make sense to me. When I’ve climbed a tree and see no way to get down again, and my Daddy opens His arms and says, “Jump,” His grace sends me into the air. (See Proverbs 3:5-6, Philippians 4:6-7)