It’s a blessing to be able to celebrate with others when joyful things happen in their lives. But it’s also an honor to be able to stand by someone when they are heavy with sorrow and joy seems nowhere to be found.
Popular Christian writer Karen Kingsbury and her son Tyler Russell help others celebrate the joy of their faith by writing stories for families through their Baxter Family children’s books. Pastor David Emmanuel Goatley, the sixth president of Fuller Theological Seminary, has traveled all over the world as a minister and has been inspired at how Christians from all walks of life hold each other up and bear each other's burdens, no matter how much or how little they have.
Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:
Past interview: Nikki DeLoach and Pat Bradley
Upcoming interview: Cleere Cherry Reaves
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Interview Quotes:
“The family that God puts you in are the ones who are going to be with you forever, so really foster those relationships and pour into those relationships.” - Tyler Russell
“I had a beautiful relationship with the Lord, but I was still seeing pain. I was still seeing people going through hard things. And I just didn't think that Christian fiction would be able to handle that. I want to tell stories that are real and true.” - Karen Kingsbury
“We really do both want to serve the Lord first. That's kind of our top thing in everything we do, we want to please God first.” - Tyler Russell
“Prayer is an all day, everyday thing for me. I am so thankful to be able to walk through this life not alone, but with Jesus, and knowing that I have His presence beside me.” - Karen Kingsbury
“I believe that we need to love and laugh often and look for the miraculous in the everyday and lean hard into our relationship with Jesus.” - Karen Kingsbury
“My father's orientation was that you always talked about church and community together. You never spoke of church in isolation from the community because the church should be embedded in community, and the community was informing the life of the church.” - David Emmanuel Goatley
“We were taught to be salt for the earth and light for the world, and so you have to engage the world that God puts you in so that you can bear good and faithful witness. I think that that kind of nurture helped to inform who I have become and how I see the world.” - David Emmanuel Goatley
“I think it's important for students to listen to and learn from the testimonies of people in the global church.” - David Emmanuel Goatley
“I don't recall ever feeling like the hard work of Christian leadership has not been worth it. There have been times where the weight of it has been heavy and wearisome and draining and fatiguing. There have been those times where it's been a headache, but I have not felt that it's not worth it. I've been fortunate to sense that I am where the Lord has sent me.” - David Emmanuel Goatley
“If we don't try to get out in front of Jesus and we let Jesus lead us, then we'll make it through the sleepless nights and we'll make it through the anxious moments, and then we will be able to look back on it and say, ‘The Lord both led me through it and taught me something in it.’ The Lord has been exceedingly kind. And for that, I'm grateful.“ - David Emmanuel Goatley
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Enjoy watching these additional videos from Jesus Calling YouTube channel!
Audio Episodes: https://bit.ly/3zvjbK7
Bonus Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3vfLlGw
Jesus Listens: Stories of Prayer: https://bit.ly/3Sd0a6C
Peace for Everyday Life: https://bit.ly/3zzwFoj
Peace in Uncertain Times: https://bit.ly/3cHfB6u
What’s Good? https://bit.ly/3vc2cKj
Enneagram: https://bit.ly/3hzRCCY
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