Tinged with Confession
My April Newsletter
Whew, it’s been a while since I sent a real-life update, friend.
God’s goodness sometimes leaves me reeling, amazed at the answers to prayer that come quick and specific. My prayer of thanksgiving ends up tinged with confession that I expected so little! He’s God, after all. I know that he is sovereign, good, faithful, and that he hears and answers prayer. I wonder at my little faith as I shake my head and grin.
Jim and I are thanking God for what feels like a fulfillment of Joel 2:25—he has “redeemed the years the locusts have eaten.” There were some tough years in our past, a time when I couldn’t have envisioned future ministry. But God! He has breathed new life into us in this season. By his grace, he keeps bringing us more and more young people to pour into...including a future daughter-in-law.😊Our son and his fiancée are planning an August wedding.❤️Life is full and rich, and we are humbled by God’s blessings.
Still, there are things we see every day that remind us we live in a fallen world. Within hours of drafting the first paragraphs of this newsletter, I had a reason to return to my knees before the Lord.
Life on this earth will always be a blend of rejoicing and weeping, dancing and mourning. The dark valleys stand in stark contrast to the glorious mountain top views. But what if those areas of disappointment or frustration are where God intends to meet us most deeply?
With these real struggles in mind, I’ve created a devotional that explores five areas in life that will never be perfect—people, the world, our past, our bodies, and even our faith—and the biblical truth that speaks into each one. It will be available soon on my website, but I wanted you to have it first. 😊
This resource gently shifts our focus from our expectations back to Christ, where we find the grace, strength, and hope we truly need. If you’ve ever felt discouraged by how far life falls short, this devotional will help you rest in the One who never does.
5 Things that will Never be Perfect in this Life
and the hope we have in Christ
Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever
-Psalm 30:5, 11-12
Writing Update
My novella, Mother of the Year, is still very much in process, with the help of my monthly IRL (in real life) writing critique group. I am determined to see it through to publishing, and hopefully you will be able to read it soon!
I continue to work on my devotional for parents of children with special needs, tentatively titled “Even Here We Sing.” As you read this, I am holed up in my happy place in northern Michigan, working on it!
Other goals I’m holding loosely are to continue to submit to online publications for the encouragement of Christian readers in broader spaces, and maybe, just maybe, a published book of poetry one day. 😊
Have you ever danced this dance of bittersweet balance? Projects and hopes and longings fill up your heart ... but there are real people right in front of you who don’t need your completed project or words on a page, but a listening ear, conversation, laughter, and presence. They need the wisdom God has given you. They need the hope of Christ. This is where I find myself.
Would you pray for me, friend, that God’s leading will be clear, that I won’t hold too tightly to my own desires but surrender to his good and perfect will in every moment? Reply to this email and tell me what you’re balancing, and I will pray the same for you. 🙏
Grace and peace,
Cheryl
But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
-Acts 20:24