how the light gets in

by Andrea Smithberger
how the light gets in
  • November 1: Honoring
  • Day 2: Signaling
  • Day 3: Revealing
  • DAY 4: Reminding
  • Day 5: Reflecting
  • Day 6: Changing
  • Day 7: Surrounding
  • Day 8: Healing
  • Day 9: Filtering
  • Day 10: Spreading
  • Day 11: Unveiling
  • Day 12: Distinguishing
  • Day 13: Challenging
  • Day 14: Nourishing
  • Day 15: Unassuming
  • Day 16: Leading
  • Day 17: Delighting
  • Day 18: Reaching
  • Day 19: Shining
  • Day 20: Reviving
  • Day 21: Growing
  • Day 22: Comforting
  • Day 23: Holding Space
  • Day 24: Beckoning
  • Day 25: Stunning
  • Day 26: Igniting
  • Day 28: Introducing
  • November 2020
  • Tag: aussiedave

    • Compass in the Chaos

      Posted at 4:18 pm by How the Light Gets In, on March 19, 2020

      Where the heck are we right now? What is going on?

      I feel a little lost in all the Coronavirus updates and state mandated restrictions and empty grocery shelves. It’s all so disorienting.

      How are you?

      Since you can’t be student, boss, employee, non-teacher, hostess, room-parent, coach… how are you?

      It’s weird and slow. 

      I know. I feel it too. Right now, I want to sit next to you (virtually) and offer you a compass in the chaos.

      Because I’ve been here before.

      From 2016-2019, we were swirling in a medical mess and I felt lost in a sort of wilderness. Just like you now, I wasn’t able to be all the things I’d signed up for like coach, room mom, hostess, tennis player, volunteer, etc.

      My calendar was wiped clean of every layer of identity I’d wrapped myself up in. They were all taken without asking my permission. 

      As you read this; COVID-19 has wiped your calendar clean. And you didn’t get a say. We’re back to basics with no clear path of what lies ahead. So, what next?

      First, let’s get our bearings. Friends, we are IN the wilderness.

      And, I can tell you from experience and from reading lots of scripture, the wilderness is where God does His thing.

      This is where He works.

      Behold, I am doing a new thing;
      now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
      I will make a way in the wilderness
      and rivers in the desert.
      – Isaiah 43:19

      Rachel Held Evans wrote “…some of Scripture’s most momentous events occur not at the start of a journey, nor at the destination, but in between, in the wilderness.” Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water and Loving the Bible Again

      We are IN BETWEEN right now.

      And God is in it with us offering “a way.” In all this uncertainty and pandemonium, why not, WHY NOT invite God into it and ask for direction.

      How does this work in real life, like right now? Well, if you were lost in the literal wilderness; you would keep your eyes open for signs to point you in the right direction. Same applies to you and God in the metaphorical wilderness. Really.

      Here are a few “signs” in the wilderness to point you in the right direction: Read the Jesus Calling Devotional, sign up for a reading plan on the Holy Bible App, follow Aussie Dave or Priscilla Shirer or Bianca Olthoff or Bishop Jakes on Instagram, listen to 95.1 Shine-FM, look up She Reads Truth and join the community, tune in to mass on Church of the Nativity’s website.

      We’re feeling a little lost right now but we have a God who loves to show up IN the wilderness in remarkable ways. He’s full of promise and hope and relief.

      Point the compass His way, ask Him for help and TAKE NOTES! {You might not be able to see God in the moment but being able to look back at what you asked for can be a powerful way to see He was working all along.}

      Just yesterday, I was journaling about my worry with the news of even more closings and my anxiety over my daily routine being swallowed up with the needs of all the kids home now. The “Jesus Calling “reading for March 18 was from Matthew.

      “Refuse to worry about tomorrow, but deal with each challenge that comes your way, one day at a time. Tomorrow will take care of itself.” – Matt 6:34

      I’ve seen it before. I know I’ll see it again and again. You might be lost but you are not alone.

      Let God be your compass in the chaos.

      Posted in March 2020, Uncategorized | 1 Comment | Tagged 95.1 Shine FM, aussiedave, Bianca Olthoff, Church of the Nativity, compass in the chaos, coronavirus, covid-19, Holy Bible App, How the Light Gets In, Isaiah 43:18-19, Jesus Calling, Matthew 6:34, priscilla shirer, Rachel Held Evans, She Reads Truth, Wilderness
    • Day 3

      Posted at 2:12 pm by How the Light Gets In, on December 3, 2019

      This time of year can feel loud. Sometimes (even for me), words can be too much.

      Since we started this journey with Psalm 119:105 and the image of a lamp for our feet; the photo @aussiedave shares today is meant for you and me.

      Light

      Look him up on Instagram and on Facebook ‘Aussie Dave Adamson.’

      As Dave says, he offers you the Bible in photos. And my goodness, are they beautiful pictures.

      Everyday Dave posts. And every post is a deep dive look into scripture, wrapped up in 2 paragraphs with the bonus of a spectacular picture.

      Today, Dave gives us this scripture.

      “She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel which means ‘God with us.’” – Matthew 1:23

      @aussiedave makes me smile thinking God can use Instagram to reach you and me showing us He is with us.

      Today, I’m writing in all caps GOD WITH US.

      Posted in DECEMBER 2019 | 0 Comments | Tagged aussiedave, God with us, How the Light Gets In, Matthew 1:23, Psalm 119:105

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