{"id":280324,"date":"2024-02-27T10:15:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T15:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/when-life-isnt-what-you-hoped-elizabeth-woodson\/"},"modified":"2025-05-06T13:10:28","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T17:10:28","slug":"when-life-isnt-what-you-hoped-elizabeth-woodson","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/when-life-isnt-what-you-hoped-elizabeth-woodson\/","title":{"rendered":"When Life Isn\u2019t What You Hoped: Elizabeth Woodson"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Does life continue to knock you down&#8211;hard? Maybe there&#8217;s a never-ending cycle of financial struggles, or every time you get close to someone, things fall apart. Whatever it is, Elizabeth Woodson offers gentle guidance through tough, disappointing realities. She provides a fresh perspective\u2014one that embraces genuine joy amid searing setbacks and loss of control. Find peace, hope, and the strength to move forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Does life continue to knock you down&#8211;hard? Maybe there&#8217;s a never-ending cycle of financial struggles, or every time you get close to someone, things fall apart. Whatever it is, Elizabeth Woodson offers gentle guidance through tough, disappointing realiti&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47000,"featured_media":280866,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"https:\/\/traffic.omny.fm\/d\/clips\/cbd16f10-ac60-4f09-b4df-b15400ce35aa\/33aaac7e-3581-4e21-a3df-b154011ba58c\/b761405f-5a46-4015-81a0-b154011c38af\/audio.mp3","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:33:44","filesize":"30.92M","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"2024-02-27 10:15:00","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[],"tags":[2169],"podcast_series":[8733],"cwp_profile":[9908],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-280324","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-loss-of-control","podcast_series-you-are-not-your-body-image-issues-rachel-campbell-faulkner-brown-with-sissy","cwp_profile-elizabeth-woodson","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/04\/image-scaled.jpg?w=1024","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/280324\/when-life-isnt-what-you-hoped-elizabeth-woodson","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/280324\/when-life-isnt-what-you-hoped-elizabeth-woodson","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"5QSYjP5W87\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/when-life-isnt-what-you-hoped-elizabeth-woodson\/\">When Life Isn\u2019t What You Hoped: Elizabeth Woodson<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/when-life-isnt-what-you-hoped-elizabeth-woodson\/embed\/#?secret=5QSYjP5W87\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;When Life Isn\u2019t What You Hoped: Elizabeth Woodson&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"5QSYjP5W87\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"spectra_custom_meta":{"secondline_imported_guid":["MS-016381"],"audio_file":["https:\/\/traffic.omny.fm\/d\/clips\/cbd16f10-ac60-4f09-b4df-b15400ce35aa\/33aaac7e-3581-4e21-a3df-b154011ba58c\/b761405f-5a46-4015-81a0-b154011c38af\/audio.mp3"],"duration":["00:33:44"],"filesize":["30.92M"],"_thumbnail_id":["280866"],"show_notes":["<p>Connect with Elizabeth Woodson and catch more of her thoughts at her <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewoodsoninstitute.org\/\">website<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/pod.link\/1042740607\">podcast, Marked<\/a>.<br \/>\nAnd grab Elizabeth Woodson's book <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.familylife.com\/product\/embrace-your-life-how-to-find-joy-when-the-life-you-have-is-not-the-life-you-hoped-for\">Embrace Your Life<\/a> in our shop!<br \/>\nOr we'll send it at no cost to you with a donation of any size this week, as our way of <a>saying a huge \"Thank you!\" for partnering with us toward stronger families around the world.<\/a><br \/>\nIntrigued by today's episode? Think deeper about Feeling Stuck in our FamilyLife episode, <a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/how-to-be-all-there-in-your-marriage-jonathan-pokluda\/\">How to Be \"All There\" in your Marriage.<\/a><br \/>\nWant to hear more episodes by Elizabeth Woodson, <a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/guest\/elizabeth-Woodson\">listen here!<\/a><br \/>\nFind resources from this podcast at <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.familylife.com\/product-category\/radio-resources\/\">shop.familylife.com<\/a>.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/shop.familylife.com\/product-category\/past-radio-resources\/\">See resources from our past podcasts.<\/a><br \/>\nFind more content and resources on the <a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/app\/\">FamilyLife's app<\/a>!<br \/>\nHelp others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303\">Apple Podcast<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm?si=d6dfa8d2415f4750\">Spotify<\/a>.<br \/>\nCheck out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the <a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/familylife-podcast-network\/\">FamilyLife Podcast Network<\/a><\/p>\n"],"transcript_url":["https:\/\/transcript.familylife.com\/fl2024-02-27.pdf"],"transcript_content":["<p>FamilyLife Today\u00ae National Radio Version (time edited) Transcript<\/p>\n<p>References to conferences, resources, or other special promotions may be obsolete.<\/p>\n<p>When Life Isn\u2019t What You Hoped<\/p>\n<p>Guest:Elizabeth Woodson<\/p>\n<p>From the series:When Life Isn\u2019t What You Hoped (Day 2 of 2)<\/p>\n<p>Air date:February 27, 2024<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: We tell ourselves a lot of things that are not true! [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: One of them is, \u201cThey don\u2019t want to hear this. They don\u2019t want to be bothered with this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: \u201cI\u2019m still talking about this. I haven\u2019t gotten over it. They don\u2019t want to be here for me.\u201d And that\u2019s not true. Your friends and your community love you. They want to hear; they want to be able to help. Sometimes, we need someone to give us a hug, and sometimes, we need someone to give us that hug and a hard word of, \u201cOkay, sis! What are you going to do today?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We rob ourselves of the beauty of that when we stay by ourselves.<\/p>\n<p>Shelby: Welcome to FamilyLife Today, where we want to help you pursue the relationships that matter most. I\u2019m Shelby Abbott, and your hosts are Dave and Ann Wilson. You can find us at FamilyLifeToday.com.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: This is FamilyLife Today.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Dave: Going to bed last night, late, [with] a big day ahead of us [Laughter], I was literally so ready to go to sleep, and Ann says, \u201cHey,\u201d\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014you were just crawling in bed.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Oh, I was literally\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014and I said, \u201cHey, you know, I heard the furnace, and I opened the door. It\u2019s dripping water.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I said, \u201cNo!\u201d Sure enough, there was water dripping out through the filter into the pan, and you know, we\u2019re in Florida. I didn\u2019t know this about Florida, but you have to get a shop vac and suck out the drain line that goes outside [about] every two months.<\/p>\n<p>They run so much, it gets stuck!<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I don\u2019t know, but I just closed the bedroom door, and I could hear banging; I could hear him outside.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I mean, I had to do it! I was [thinking], \u201cWe\u2019re not going to have any AC all night.\u201d I was out there at midnight, and I remember thinking, \u201cI did not sign up for this! This is not the life I want! I do not want to do this! I could do this at 8:00 a.m. or 7:00 a.m.\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014I\u2019m so grateful that you did that!<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u2014but I got it done, didn\u2019t I?<\/p>\n<p>Ann: You did! Think about this:<\/p>\n<p>Dave: What?<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Think about if you had to do that over and over and over, and after two weeks, you were still doing it.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Well, I probably will be in two weeks. That\u2019s all I know! [Laughter] I mean, all of that to say, we\u2019re talking about hardship today. That\u2019s really not a hardship.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: No!<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I mean, getting a shop vac out took care of everything, and we were good in 20 minutes; although, I had to jump in the pool because I was full of sweat, and I couldn\u2019t sleep.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: We have Elizabeth Woodson back with us\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u2014you\u2019re like, \u201cStop talking, Dave!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I know! [Laughter] \u2013in the studio. Elizabeth, welcome back to FamilyLife Today.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes, thanks for having me!<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Your book is called Embrace Your Life. And here\u2019s the subtitle (it\u2019s so good!): How to Find Joy When the Life You Have is not the Life You Hoped For. Every single person, at some point in their life, will feel like that; like, \u201cI never expected this. I never wanted this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dave: The subtitle\u2014How to Find Joy; come on! How to Find Peace, or How to Be Okay. You picked the word \u201cjoy\u201d in the middle of hardship! [Laughter] Okay, you\u2019re laughing. I\u2019m sure you thought about this for hours, days, and weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: If you didn\u2019t hear yesterday, go back!<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Because we got into some really practical things, too.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: But you\u2019re taking it a little too far. Come on! Joy?<\/p>\n<p>Ann: And you\u2019re an author; you\u2019re a speaker; you\u2019re a communicator; you\u2019re a Bible study writer. So, you\u2019ve thought about this for a while.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes; so, why the word \u201cjoy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes, I laughed, because that\u2019s the last thing people want\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Dave: --right!<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: \u2014in a place of hardship. It\u2019s like, \u201cI don\u2019t want joy! I don\u2019t want to be happy!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Exactly!<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: But I think that is the key for us: to not lose ourselves when we\u2019re in those places. To me, joy encompasses the other things. It encompasses hope; it encompasses the things we need to move forward.<\/p>\n<p>So, to me, joy is this anchor. People who have joy in the midst of difficulty handle it differently than people who don\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: And aren\u2019t they attractive?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: They are.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: When you talk to somebody whose life is falling apart, [or] they\u2019ve lost someone they loved, there\u2019s not a happiness; but there\u2019s a trust and a contentment in their soul, and you\u2019re like, \u201cI need that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: How do you get that?<\/p>\n<p>Dave: You said the other day [you were] going to live with your grandparents, and they both died; were you able to find joy?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes, on the way, I would say.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Right, right.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Because everything, to me\u2014and what I want people to know is that I\u2019m not suggesting it\u2019s something immediate\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: You\u2019re not a \u201cquick fixer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: I\u2019m not a quick fixer! After everything happens that is causing us disappointment, it\u2019s [not], \u201cOh, you know!\u201d or that I have this superficial joyful attitude. But what I knew was that my grandparents were with the Lord. So, for me, in my situation, there is this anchor to my faith in God [that] my joy\u2019s attached to.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s like, \u201cGod, you\u2019re going to be with me in this place. Thinking about all the wonderful memories I had with them\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My one grandmother; she had cancer. So, at a certain point, cancer, I would say, is just mean.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: It is mean!<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: It\u2019s mean!<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: And I don\u2019t want you here, suffering.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes, yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: So, it\u2019s knowing that my grandmother is healed and she\u2019s with the Lord. It\u2019s not easy; it\u2019s not a quick fix; but I do believe the Lord brought me joy in that place that\u2019s not this bubbly happiness, but it is this deep-seated contentment in the things of God.<\/p>\n<p>To me, that\u2019s where the joy comes from.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: How is the journey to joy through the tunnel of lament?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Are there moments when we\u2014hopefully, we get the joy; but we\u2019re not there yet. Is it okay to just cry out and be mad or angry\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014yes, how would you\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u2014or complaining to God?<\/p>\n<p>Ann: How would you even define lament? That, and anything else?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: I think it\u2019s crying out to God.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: And I think, many times, it\u2019s crying out to God for things we believe He has not done that He said He was going to do.<\/p>\n<p>What we have in Scripture, which I love, is the book of Psalms. The psalms\u2014sometimes, you read through them, and you\u2019re [thinking], \u201cMan, that sounds a little wild!\u201d [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes, exactly.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: No kidding! [Laughter] \u201cHe sounds depressed!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: He sounds depressed. It\u2019s like, \u201cAre you talking to God like that?!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes, angry\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: \u2014angry; and saying, \u201cGod, You said You were going to be faithful to us.\u201d So, Israel has real, covenantal promises that they are holding onto God for. What you see is that, the fact that they\u2019re present there, to me, is an illustration from God that this is okay.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: It is okay for you to be a little frustrated; it\u2019s okay for you, even, to be a little angry. We do everything in honor of the sovereignty and bigness of God, but we\u2019re honest with our emotions, because He already knows what we\u2019re thinking anyway. [Laughter] So, we would just have the space to process that with Him. I think of lament\u2014this crying out to God: \u201cLord, You haven\u2019t met my expectations. You haven\u2019t filled Your promises.\u201d Psalm 13, to me, shows this really beautiful journey that David takes in that place of lament.<\/p>\n<p>It starts with frustration, and it ends with worship. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s immediate; but I do think that shows us something about what it means to process big feelings with God.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: You talk about people\u2014how people are important, too, as we walk through lament or just hardship.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Embrace help.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: How do you do that?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: I think that, sometimes, it is the last thing you want to do, because sometimes, people can be unhelpful [Laughter] in those difficult places. People say some crazy stuff when bad things happen. We make promises that are not things that we\u2019re in control of.<\/p>\n<p>So, I get it! When people [say], \u201cI don\u2019t know if I want to tell people about what\u2019s going on.\u201d But what I have seen is, sometimes, just being present with someone\u2014I don\u2019t have to have all the answers, but I am just physically present; I bring a meal; I sit; and I just listen. Being able to share, without shame and judgment, what\u2019s going on in your life; [being] able to express all those things, to me, is healthy, probably, for reasons that even science would tell us. If it\u2019s not just bottled up inside of us, but I get to have someone who just grieves with me [through] something that was really bad.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re [saying], \u201cWe\u2019re not going to sugarcoat this. We\u2019re not going to put a bow on it. We serve a God who is grieved with this, too. He doesn\u2019t want this world like this. That\u2019s why He sent Jesus.\u2019 So, I think there is power in that. I\u2019ve seen a lot of lament happen in song.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Singing together; singing worship songs, or even, I think about the old hymns that I grew up on, or even Negro spirituals that I grew up on. We were singing about the hardships of life, but also singing about the true-ness of God. It\u2019s the voices of the people around me that give me strength.<\/p>\n<p>I think something happens there that I don\u2019t have the full words to explain, but going through difficulty with other people gives us the strength that, to me, I believe, is grounded in who God is.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: How do we go to people when we don\u2019t want to?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: I think there\u2019s an element of being courageous. Again, these aspects of community are hard to jump into when it\u2019s non-existent in your life.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Good point.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: So, I think it\u2019s easier\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u2014build that before!<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Build it before!<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Even still, if we are part of a community of believers, where we can go to a minister or a leader and say, \u201cI just need to talk with you.\u201d We go to people who we know love us and care for us.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: We tell ourselves a lot of things that are not true! [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: One of them is, \u201cThey don\u2019t want to hear this. They don\u2019t want to be bothered with this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: \u201cI\u2019m still talking about this. I haven\u2019t gotten over it. They don\u2019t want to be here for me.\u201d And that\u2019s not true. Your friends and your community love you. They want to hear; they want to be able to help. Sometimes, we need someone to give us a hug, and sometimes, we need someone to give us that hug and a hard word of, \u201cOkay, sis! What are you going to do today? What step are you taking today?\u201d Because they know us and know what we need.<\/p>\n<p>We rob ourselves of the beauty of that when we stay by ourselves.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: How do you embrace loss and embrace hope?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes. [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Good question.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: It\u2019s like they\u2019re contradictory.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes, yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I mean, first of all, I don\u2019t want to embrace loss.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I almost want to deny it. \u201cI lost a child.\u201d \u201cI lost my marriage.\u201d \u201cI lost my future,\u201d or whatever. It\u2019s like I just want to move on!<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: But, no! You\u2019ve sort of got to embrace that; but at the same time, there\u2019s hope. It\u2019s like, \u201cNo, they don\u2019t go together until later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: But you\u2019re saying\u2014how do you do it together?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes; in the book, I take that journey with Joshua, and Joshua has a really neat story. He comes into a pivotal moment of leadership after Moses dies.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m almost thinking, \u201cHow was that?!\u201d Right? [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: You have served with this person for 40 years, and they\u2019re not here anymore. What you have in Joshua 1 is, I feel like, God [taking] Joshua through these movements. How do they process? Israel grieves the death of Moses, but God gives all of these promises about Who He is and what He\u2019s going to do for Joshua.<\/p>\n<p>To me, it is hope and the loss; between those are me moving through these things of lamenting my pain, remembering what\u2019s true about God, and really understanding that He says He will be with me forever. At that moment, you find God say to Joshua: \u201cIt\u2019s time for you to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And I think there\u2019s a moment where the Lord does that for us. He says, \u201cI\u2019ve given you all the truth. It\u2019s time for you to move forward into things, because there\u2019s still life for you to live.\u201d To me, that\u2019s where the hope is found. It\u2019s found in, \u201cWhat do I have in Jesus?\u201d But to me, it\u2019s not immediate. For some folks, it\u2019s immediate; but I think for many of us, it\u2019s this process of time with the Word, time in prayer, living in community; and the flickering flames of hope start to emerge, and we can walk in that.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: But I can imagine the listener thinking, \u201cI have nobody. You don\u2019t understand. I don\u2019t know anybody. Even my family is estranged.\u201d Where do they even start if they\u2019re in the valley by themselves?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: I remember a situation during the pandemic, and it was one of those weepy days. I said, \u201cLord, I just really need You to show up for me.\u201d At that moment\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: So, you asked that? You prayed that?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: I prayed that: \u201cLord, I need You to show up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I\u2019ll pray that same thing: \u201cLord, I need something today!!\u201d [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: \u201cI need something today!\u201d You do the \u201cright now\u201d answer: \u201cI need it right now!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: And I had a friend, at that moment, text me. She said, \u201cHey, do you need prayer?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Come on!<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: \u201cI just feel like the Holy Spirit put you on my heart. Is there anything you need prayer for?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m a voice text person, so a voice text later\u2014a whole paragraph! [Laughter] I was [thinking], \u201cYou should have just called her!\u201d [Laughter] And I just shared, in that moment, what was going on; and she prayed for me. It was great.<\/p>\n<p>But what was encouraging to me was that God reached out, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to someone else across the country.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Really? She was across the country?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: She was across the country, in a totally different state.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Wow!<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: She was in D.C.; I was in Texas. She responded to the Holy Spirit, and she just reached out to me. So, what I believe is, when God says He is with us\u2014He can bring somebody.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: That\u2019s who we are, His hands and feet. So, when God prompts\u2014the Holy Spirit prompts\u2014us to go talk to someone, and to be encouraging to someone, [we] don\u2019t know what they need. So, even if you don\u2019t have anyone, you have God. God can move anyone to come to you.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Oh, that\u2019s good!<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes, I think we forget Who God is in trial; in hardship. You have a whole section [saying] you\u2019ve got to remember who you are and who God is.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Ooh, let\u2019s talk about that.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Talk about that\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014who is God?<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes, how do you\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014remind us.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Walk us through that.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Remind us.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: There are a couple attributes of His that I unpack in the book. The list is endless, but first, He\u2019s sovereign, which means that He\u2019s all-powerful, and nothing is outside of His control. So, I think about the lies we tell ourselves.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes! Like, \u201cWell, then, why did He let this happen!?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Right; it\u2019s a question of, \u201cWhy do bad things happen to good people?\u201d It\u2019s a complicated question, but what we need to know is that bad things don\u2019t happen because of God; bad things happen because of sin that we will do ourselves, or sin that we experience from other people. God doesn\u2019t turn a blind eye to that. He is able, both now, to deal with it; but we know that He also deals with that in an ultimate way through Jesus. That\u2019s what our Scriptures tell us.<\/p>\n<p>The Scriptures say, \u201cGod\u2019s arm is not too short.\u201d [Isaiah 59:1] Nothing is impossible for Him! What will stifle us is believing He can\u2019t do it. \u201cHe\u2019s not going to do it. He\u2019s not going to come through.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I have too many stories of doors opening in my life, that had no handles on the outside. So, there was nothing I could have done to get that job, or to get that interview, or to get that opportunity. He worked something out, and His power, to me, encourages me in different seasons when I need to be reminded that He can do it. He\u2019s sovereign!<\/p>\n<p>Another one is His love for us. Scripture tells the story of how God created us out of the overflow of His love. [He] pursues humanity. And, ultimately, through the power of Jesus, [He] saves us for eternity. All of that so that we could experience\u2014I like to call it\u2014shalom. It\u2019s wholeness; it is His perfection that we see a glimpse of in Genesis, and we see it in the ultimate sense in Revelation. God\u2019s love for me is that deep, that He\u2019s never going to let me go. Nothing that I could do is going to make Him kick me to the curb.<\/p>\n<p>Those are two things, you know? There\u2019s a sense of, \u201cHow do we deal with God being eternal?\u201d All of these things: omnipotence; all of the \u201comnis,\u201d we could talk about. [Laughter] To me, it\u2019s that He is powerful enough to do anything, and His love means that He\u2019s also compassionate. He cares. He cares about my sad moments, and He cares about me when I just\u2014I always say\u2014\u201cwalk with a limp.\u201d You just [know], \u201cI can\u2019t be at full-speed, because I\u2019m a little broken.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: His love is present with us in those moments, too.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes; and you\u2019ve mentioned before, there has got to be a surrender to the sovereignty of God.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: That doctrine, sometimes, is really hard to wrap my arms [around], to embrace. When everything\u2019s good\u2014yes, \u201cGod\u2019s sovereign;\u201d but when it isn\u2019t, it\u2019s, \u201cSeriously?\u201d It\u2019s almost like you want to throw away the theology: \u201cCome on! That\u2019s a childhood belief, that He\u2019s really all-powerful and in control; because these bad things keep happening.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>How do you hold onto that?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: For me, I\u2019m a person who\u2019s always going to come back to the stories of Scripture. What I\u2019ve learned is: God is a lot more patient with us than we are with ourselves. He is more patient to change people slowly over time than situations quickly. That frustrates us to no end, but He is [patient]. And His plan\u2014I don\u2019t understand it. Scripture says, \u201cHis ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.\u201d [Isaiah 55:9]<\/p>\n<p>And I don\u2019t want to say that, sounding super-spiritual and sugary sweet. It legitimately is that God is changing things. Scripture shows me that; the way He changes things over time. Even in the things He doesn\u2019t change now, Scripture points me to an eternity where all of those things will be shifted into goodness. As a believer, that\u2019s the path I\u2019m called to walk on. Life outside of that gets difficult, when I can\u2019t embrace the timing of God.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I lost my little brother when I was seven. He was five; [he] had leukemia. A single mom; dad was already gone, so I was raised by just my mom. She tended to sort of not talk about it, like, \u201cIf you don\u2019t talk about it, you don\u2019t have to deal with it.\u201d Yet, as I look back, she somehow embraced hope. You know, losing a child has got to be one of the hardest things ever. Recently, in a church that we started in Detroit 30 years ago, a family that is just a pillar of our community; their college-aged son was standing on a curb on the campus at Michigan State, and someone hit him and killed him and drove off.<\/p>\n<p>This is what Gina, his mom, wrote (and it was read at the funeral)\u2014she wrote this: \u201cEarly Sunday morning, on November 5th, the enemy of my soul, Satan, launched a violent attack against my family and community. Our camp is severely wounded. It was an act of war. Jesus warned us of this war in Ephesians 6:10-17. We are told to put on the full armor of God so that we can stand against the schemes of the devil. It explains who and what we are actually fighting against. It isn\u2019t flesh and blood like we think, but the powerful, dark forces in the spiritual realm that we cannot see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis Scripture also promises that after the battle, we will be standing firm. Jesus Himself says in John 16:33 that \u2018in this life, you will have many trials and sorrows,\u2019 but to \u2018take heart, because He has overcome the world.\u2019 I have placed my faith and trust in Jesus as my God and Savior, and I have been following Him for a very long time. He has been so good and faithful to me, even though hardship has come. I have no reason to believe that His everlasting love, goodness, greatness, and grace will ever run out in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile I cannot explain the why\u2019s and how\u2019s of what has happened, I have learned enough to know that I can trust Jesus with my pain, and that He will use His resurrection power to bring beauty from the ashes. I will see the promised victory over this battle that God has prewarned me about, and I will be reunited with my sweet Sal again when God receives me in His timing. Until then, I will battle onward, knowing that I will never be alone, because Jesus is with me always. I am wounded and weak right now, but I will bring my hurt to the Great Physician and let Him prescribe my healing. I will accept the comfort of His Holy Spirit who He has promised. I will claim the peace that surpasses understanding, that is promised to those who are in Christ Jesus. I will commit to comfort others who are hurting with the same comfort I have received from Him. Jesus, let me see and feel you, close to the broken-hearted like You promised.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I mean, that\u2019s hard to say and write in the middle of that valley, within days of the death of her son. Any thoughts?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes; to me, when I hear you read that, I hear where our hope is girded in.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: There is this reality of a war that we\u2019re in. The hard stuff that we experience is ultimately connected to the enemy and the things that seek to thwart the things of God. But she also connects to this reality that all those dark things have an end date on them. There\u2019s an end date to our pain; there\u2019s an end date to our sadness; there\u2019s an end date to the grief. There\u2019s not an end date to life with the Lord. She will be reunited with her son. Until then, we war on, knowing that the Great Physician will provide her the healing that she needs.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s just really powerful! The humanity of it, but [also] the perspective that we have based upon the truth of Scripture.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: It\u2019s our foundation.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: The Rock and the hope in Jesus.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I\u2019m just wondering if you\u2019ll pray. I\u2019m sure there are so many people who just need prayer. They\u2019re battling right now.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Father, we just thank You that we have the opportunity to speak to You. I pray for the listeners who are going through their own valley; a dark night of the soul; of things\u2014the unimaginable has happened to them. I pray that You would be the Comforter. I pray that You would bring a balm to their soul. I pray that You would show up and bring them the comfort and support of tangible things, even in Your people; that You would have the people of God show up and provide them with the things that they need; that their hope would be grounded in You and they would see You do what you always do, which is provide, which is sustain; that their eyes would ultimately be on You. There\u2019s an end date to all the hard things that we deal with in this life, but there\u2019s never an end date to the life with You. That is what we find joy in! In Your Son\u2019s holy Name, we pray.<\/p>\n<p>Ann and Dave: Amen!<\/p>\n<p>Shelby: There\u2019s an end date to the hard things, but there\u2019s never an end date to life with You. Wow! What a poignant and practical way to help you in the present, then give you hope for the future. I love how she ended that prayer!<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m Shelby Abbott, and you\u2019ve been listening to Dave and Ann Wilson with Elizabeth Woodson on FamilyLife Today.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth has been with us for the last two days, and she has written a book called Embrace Your Life: How to Find Joy When the Life You Have is Not the Life You Hoped For. I think, to some degree, almost every person can relate with the subtitle of that book. We\u2019re all in a position where we think to ourselves, \u201cThis is not really what I hoped for. This is not turning out the way I wanted it to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This book really addresses that gap between what your desires are, for what you hoped your life would be, and where you are, practically, in the here and now. So, this book is going to be our gift to you when you give today. You can get your copy now with any donation by going online to FamilyLifeToday.com and clicking on the \u201cDonate Now\u201d button at the top of the page. Or you could give us a call with your donation at 800-358-6329; again, that number is 800-\u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in life, and then the word, \u201cTODAY.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And feel free to drop us a donation in the mail if you\u2019d like, too. Our address is:<\/p>\n<p>FamilyLife<\/p>\n<p>100 Lake Hart Drive<\/p>\n<p>Orlando, Florida 32832<\/p>\n<p>You know, Psalm 34:8 says, \u201cOh, taste and see that the Lord is good.\u201d I think a lot of times, we aren\u2019t able to see that the Christian journey is really the opposite of what we think. Now, what do I mean by that? It can feel like, when you\u2019re walking with God, there are these little deaths that you experience all the time; but it\u2019s really in those little deaths, leading us to life, while the road to destruction through sin\u2014basically, if we make sinful choices\u2014it feels like these little bursts of life, but it\u2019s really leading to death.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve found that these little deaths that God calls us to really lead us to life; to deeper communion with Him. One of those ways that things can hurt is by giving. Giving hurts sometimes. But in those potentially painful moments of our own generosity, we\u2019re really seeing that it leads to life; not only by blessing the recipient of the gift, but by blessing the giver, too. In these moments of generosity, we are tasting and seeing that the Lord is good.<\/p>\n<p>When you give to FamilyLife, not only are you able to experience tasting and seeing, but you\u2019re also able to know that God is using your gift to bring Jesus into the homes of thousands of people. So, thank you for giving! And if you want to start giving, becoming a monthly partner with us, you can head over to FamilyLifeToday.com.<\/p>\n<p>Now, coming up tomorrow, what is the actual impact of digital technology on personal relationships and parenting? Well, Silicon Valley pastor Jay Kim is here with Dave and Ann Wilson tomorrow, to talk about that and the underestimated value of being present with people. That\u2019s tomorrow. We hope you\u2019ll join us.<\/p>\n<p>On behalf of Dave and Ann Wilson, I\u2019m Shelby Abbott. We\u2019ll see you back next time for another edition of FamilyLife Today.<\/p>\n<p>FamilyLife Today is a donor-supported production of FamilyLife\u00ae, a Cru\u00ae Ministry.<\/p>\n<p>Helping you pursue the relationships that matter most.<\/p>\n<p>We are so happy to provide these transcripts to you. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider donating today to help defray the costs? Copyright \u00a9 2024 FamilyLife. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<p>www.FamilyLife<\/p>\n"],"_edit_lock":["1746551509:47000"],"_g_feedback_shortcode_85c9e757a4de490bba23f08d034ff51b606e3b4b":["\n\t\t\t\t[contact-field label=\"Name\" type=\"name\"  required=\"true\" \/]\n\t\t\t\t[contact-field label=\"Email\" type=\"email\" required=\"true\" \/]\n\t\t\t\t[contact-field label=\"Website\" type=\"url\" \/]\n\t\t\t\t[contact-field label=\"Message\" type=\"textarea\" \/]"],"_g_feedback_shortcode_atts_85c9e757a4de490bba23f08d034ff51b606e3b4b":["a:17:{s:2:\"to\";s:29:\"margaret.coyle@familylife.com\";s:7:\"subject\";s:81:\"[FamilyLife - A Cru Ministry] When Life Isn\u2019t What You Hoped: Elizabeth Woodson\";s:12:\"show_subject\";s:2:\"no\";s:6:\"widget\";i:0;s:14:\"block_template\";N;s:19:\"block_template_part\";N;s:2:\"id\";i:280324;s:18:\"submit_button_text\";s:6:\"Submit\";s:14:\"customThankyou\";s:0:\"\";s:21:\"customThankyouHeading\";s:26:\"Your message has been sent\";s:21:\"customThankyouMessage\";s:30:\"Thank you for your 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life continue to knock you down--hard? Maybe there's a never-ending cycle of financial struggles, or every time you get close to someone, things fall apart. Whatever it is, Elizabeth Woodson offers gentle guidance through tough, disappointing realiti...","meta_box":{"show_notes":"<p>Connect with Elizabeth Woodson and catch more of her thoughts at her <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewoodsoninstitute.org\/\">website<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/pod.link\/1042740607\">podcast, Marked<\/a>.<br \/>\nAnd grab Elizabeth Woodson's book <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.familylife.com\/product\/embrace-your-life-how-to-find-joy-when-the-life-you-have-is-not-the-life-you-hoped-for\">Embrace Your Life<\/a> in our shop!<br \/>\nOr we'll send it at no cost to you with a donation of any size this week, as our way of <a>saying a huge \"Thank you!\" for partnering with us toward stronger families around the world.<\/a><br \/>\nIntrigued by today's episode? Think deeper about Feeling Stuck in our FamilyLife episode, <a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/how-to-be-all-there-in-your-marriage-jonathan-pokluda\/\">How to Be \"All There\" in your Marriage.<\/a><br \/>\nWant to hear more episodes by Elizabeth Woodson, <a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/guest\/elizabeth-Woodson\">listen here!<\/a><br \/>\nFind resources from this podcast at <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.familylife.com\/product-category\/radio-resources\/\">shop.familylife.com<\/a>.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/shop.familylife.com\/product-category\/past-radio-resources\/\">See resources from our past podcasts.<\/a><br \/>\nFind more content and resources on the <a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/app\/\">FamilyLife's app<\/a>!<br \/>\nHelp others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303\">Apple Podcast<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm?si=d6dfa8d2415f4750\">Spotify<\/a>.<br \/>\nCheck out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the <a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/familylife-podcast-network\/\">FamilyLife Podcast Network<\/a><\/p>\n","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylife.com\/fl2024-02-27.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>FamilyLife Today\u00ae National Radio Version (time edited) Transcript<\/p>\n<p>References to conferences, resources, or other special promotions may be obsolete.<\/p>\n<p>When Life Isn\u2019t What You Hoped<\/p>\n<p>Guest:Elizabeth Woodson<\/p>\n<p>From the series:When Life Isn\u2019t What You Hoped (Day 2 of 2)<\/p>\n<p>Air date:February 27, 2024<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: We tell ourselves a lot of things that are not true! [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: One of them is, \u201cThey don\u2019t want to hear this. They don\u2019t want to be bothered with this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: \u201cI\u2019m still talking about this. I haven\u2019t gotten over it. They don\u2019t want to be here for me.\u201d And that\u2019s not true. Your friends and your community love you. They want to hear; they want to be able to help. Sometimes, we need someone to give us a hug, and sometimes, we need someone to give us that hug and a hard word of, \u201cOkay, sis! What are you going to do today?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We rob ourselves of the beauty of that when we stay by ourselves.<\/p>\n<p>Shelby: Welcome to FamilyLife Today, where we want to help you pursue the relationships that matter most. I\u2019m Shelby Abbott, and your hosts are Dave and Ann Wilson. You can find us at FamilyLifeToday.com.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: This is FamilyLife Today.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Dave: Going to bed last night, late, [with] a big day ahead of us [Laughter], I was literally so ready to go to sleep, and Ann says, \u201cHey,\u201d\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014you were just crawling in bed.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Oh, I was literally\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014and I said, \u201cHey, you know, I heard the furnace, and I opened the door. It\u2019s dripping water.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I said, \u201cNo!\u201d Sure enough, there was water dripping out through the filter into the pan, and you know, we\u2019re in Florida. I didn\u2019t know this about Florida, but you have to get a shop vac and suck out the drain line that goes outside [about] every two months.<\/p>\n<p>They run so much, it gets stuck!<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I don\u2019t know, but I just closed the bedroom door, and I could hear banging; I could hear him outside.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I mean, I had to do it! I was [thinking], \u201cWe\u2019re not going to have any AC all night.\u201d I was out there at midnight, and I remember thinking, \u201cI did not sign up for this! This is not the life I want! I do not want to do this! I could do this at 8:00 a.m. or 7:00 a.m.\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014I\u2019m so grateful that you did that!<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u2014but I got it done, didn\u2019t I?<\/p>\n<p>Ann: You did! Think about this:<\/p>\n<p>Dave: What?<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Think about if you had to do that over and over and over, and after two weeks, you were still doing it.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Well, I probably will be in two weeks. That\u2019s all I know! [Laughter] I mean, all of that to say, we\u2019re talking about hardship today. That\u2019s really not a hardship.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: No!<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I mean, getting a shop vac out took care of everything, and we were good in 20 minutes; although, I had to jump in the pool because I was full of sweat, and I couldn\u2019t sleep.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: We have Elizabeth Woodson back with us\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u2014you\u2019re like, \u201cStop talking, Dave!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I know! [Laughter] \u2013in the studio. Elizabeth, welcome back to FamilyLife Today.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes, thanks for having me!<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Your book is called Embrace Your Life. And here\u2019s the subtitle (it\u2019s so good!): How to Find Joy When the Life You Have is not the Life You Hoped For. Every single person, at some point in their life, will feel like that; like, \u201cI never expected this. I never wanted this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dave: The subtitle\u2014How to Find Joy; come on! How to Find Peace, or How to Be Okay. You picked the word \u201cjoy\u201d in the middle of hardship! [Laughter] Okay, you\u2019re laughing. I\u2019m sure you thought about this for hours, days, and weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: If you didn\u2019t hear yesterday, go back!<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Because we got into some really practical things, too.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: But you\u2019re taking it a little too far. Come on! Joy?<\/p>\n<p>Ann: And you\u2019re an author; you\u2019re a speaker; you\u2019re a communicator; you\u2019re a Bible study writer. So, you\u2019ve thought about this for a while.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes; so, why the word \u201cjoy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes, I laughed, because that\u2019s the last thing people want\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Dave: --right!<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: \u2014in a place of hardship. It\u2019s like, \u201cI don\u2019t want joy! I don\u2019t want to be happy!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Exactly!<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: But I think that is the key for us: to not lose ourselves when we\u2019re in those places. To me, joy encompasses the other things. It encompasses hope; it encompasses the things we need to move forward.<\/p>\n<p>So, to me, joy is this anchor. People who have joy in the midst of difficulty handle it differently than people who don\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: And aren\u2019t they attractive?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: They are.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: When you talk to somebody whose life is falling apart, [or] they\u2019ve lost someone they loved, there\u2019s not a happiness; but there\u2019s a trust and a contentment in their soul, and you\u2019re like, \u201cI need that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: How do you get that?<\/p>\n<p>Dave: You said the other day [you were] going to live with your grandparents, and they both died; were you able to find joy?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes, on the way, I would say.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Right, right.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Because everything, to me\u2014and what I want people to know is that I\u2019m not suggesting it\u2019s something immediate\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: You\u2019re not a \u201cquick fixer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: I\u2019m not a quick fixer! After everything happens that is causing us disappointment, it\u2019s [not], \u201cOh, you know!\u201d or that I have this superficial joyful attitude. But what I knew was that my grandparents were with the Lord. So, for me, in my situation, there is this anchor to my faith in God [that] my joy\u2019s attached to.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s like, \u201cGod, you\u2019re going to be with me in this place. Thinking about all the wonderful memories I had with them\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My one grandmother; she had cancer. So, at a certain point, cancer, I would say, is just mean.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: It is mean!<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: It\u2019s mean!<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: And I don\u2019t want you here, suffering.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes, yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: So, it\u2019s knowing that my grandmother is healed and she\u2019s with the Lord. It\u2019s not easy; it\u2019s not a quick fix; but I do believe the Lord brought me joy in that place that\u2019s not this bubbly happiness, but it is this deep-seated contentment in the things of God.<\/p>\n<p>To me, that\u2019s where the joy comes from.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: How is the journey to joy through the tunnel of lament?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Are there moments when we\u2014hopefully, we get the joy; but we\u2019re not there yet. Is it okay to just cry out and be mad or angry\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014yes, how would you\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u2014or complaining to God?<\/p>\n<p>Ann: How would you even define lament? That, and anything else?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: I think it\u2019s crying out to God.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: And I think, many times, it\u2019s crying out to God for things we believe He has not done that He said He was going to do.<\/p>\n<p>What we have in Scripture, which I love, is the book of Psalms. The psalms\u2014sometimes, you read through them, and you\u2019re [thinking], \u201cMan, that sounds a little wild!\u201d [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes, exactly.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: No kidding! [Laughter] \u201cHe sounds depressed!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: He sounds depressed. It\u2019s like, \u201cAre you talking to God like that?!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes, angry\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: \u2014angry; and saying, \u201cGod, You said You were going to be faithful to us.\u201d So, Israel has real, covenantal promises that they are holding onto God for. What you see is that, the fact that they\u2019re present there, to me, is an illustration from God that this is okay.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: It is okay for you to be a little frustrated; it\u2019s okay for you, even, to be a little angry. We do everything in honor of the sovereignty and bigness of God, but we\u2019re honest with our emotions, because He already knows what we\u2019re thinking anyway. [Laughter] So, we would just have the space to process that with Him. I think of lament\u2014this crying out to God: \u201cLord, You haven\u2019t met my expectations. You haven\u2019t filled Your promises.\u201d Psalm 13, to me, shows this really beautiful journey that David takes in that place of lament.<\/p>\n<p>It starts with frustration, and it ends with worship. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s immediate; but I do think that shows us something about what it means to process big feelings with God.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: You talk about people\u2014how people are important, too, as we walk through lament or just hardship.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Embrace help.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: How do you do that?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: I think that, sometimes, it is the last thing you want to do, because sometimes, people can be unhelpful [Laughter] in those difficult places. People say some crazy stuff when bad things happen. We make promises that are not things that we\u2019re in control of.<\/p>\n<p>So, I get it! When people [say], \u201cI don\u2019t know if I want to tell people about what\u2019s going on.\u201d But what I have seen is, sometimes, just being present with someone\u2014I don\u2019t have to have all the answers, but I am just physically present; I bring a meal; I sit; and I just listen. Being able to share, without shame and judgment, what\u2019s going on in your life; [being] able to express all those things, to me, is healthy, probably, for reasons that even science would tell us. If it\u2019s not just bottled up inside of us, but I get to have someone who just grieves with me [through] something that was really bad.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re [saying], \u201cWe\u2019re not going to sugarcoat this. We\u2019re not going to put a bow on it. We serve a God who is grieved with this, too. He doesn\u2019t want this world like this. That\u2019s why He sent Jesus.\u2019 So, I think there is power in that. I\u2019ve seen a lot of lament happen in song.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Singing together; singing worship songs, or even, I think about the old hymns that I grew up on, or even Negro spirituals that I grew up on. We were singing about the hardships of life, but also singing about the true-ness of God. It\u2019s the voices of the people around me that give me strength.<\/p>\n<p>I think something happens there that I don\u2019t have the full words to explain, but going through difficulty with other people gives us the strength that, to me, I believe, is grounded in who God is.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: How do we go to people when we don\u2019t want to?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: I think there\u2019s an element of being courageous. Again, these aspects of community are hard to jump into when it\u2019s non-existent in your life.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Good point.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: So, I think it\u2019s easier\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u2014build that before!<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Build it before!<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Even still, if we are part of a community of believers, where we can go to a minister or a leader and say, \u201cI just need to talk with you.\u201d We go to people who we know love us and care for us.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: We tell ourselves a lot of things that are not true! [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: One of them is, \u201cThey don\u2019t want to hear this. They don\u2019t want to be bothered with this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: \u201cI\u2019m still talking about this. I haven\u2019t gotten over it. They don\u2019t want to be here for me.\u201d And that\u2019s not true. Your friends and your community love you. They want to hear; they want to be able to help. Sometimes, we need someone to give us a hug, and sometimes, we need someone to give us that hug and a hard word of, \u201cOkay, sis! What are you going to do today? What step are you taking today?\u201d Because they know us and know what we need.<\/p>\n<p>We rob ourselves of the beauty of that when we stay by ourselves.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: How do you embrace loss and embrace hope?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes. [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Good question.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: It\u2019s like they\u2019re contradictory.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes, yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I mean, first of all, I don\u2019t want to embrace loss.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I almost want to deny it. \u201cI lost a child.\u201d \u201cI lost my marriage.\u201d \u201cI lost my future,\u201d or whatever. It\u2019s like I just want to move on!<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: But, no! You\u2019ve sort of got to embrace that; but at the same time, there\u2019s hope. It\u2019s like, \u201cNo, they don\u2019t go together until later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: But you\u2019re saying\u2014how do you do it together?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes; in the book, I take that journey with Joshua, and Joshua has a really neat story. He comes into a pivotal moment of leadership after Moses dies.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m almost thinking, \u201cHow was that?!\u201d Right? [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: You have served with this person for 40 years, and they\u2019re not here anymore. What you have in Joshua 1 is, I feel like, God [taking] Joshua through these movements. How do they process? Israel grieves the death of Moses, but God gives all of these promises about Who He is and what He\u2019s going to do for Joshua.<\/p>\n<p>To me, it is hope and the loss; between those are me moving through these things of lamenting my pain, remembering what\u2019s true about God, and really understanding that He says He will be with me forever. At that moment, you find God say to Joshua: \u201cIt\u2019s time for you to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And I think there\u2019s a moment where the Lord does that for us. He says, \u201cI\u2019ve given you all the truth. It\u2019s time for you to move forward into things, because there\u2019s still life for you to live.\u201d To me, that\u2019s where the hope is found. It\u2019s found in, \u201cWhat do I have in Jesus?\u201d But to me, it\u2019s not immediate. For some folks, it\u2019s immediate; but I think for many of us, it\u2019s this process of time with the Word, time in prayer, living in community; and the flickering flames of hope start to emerge, and we can walk in that.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: But I can imagine the listener thinking, \u201cI have nobody. You don\u2019t understand. I don\u2019t know anybody. Even my family is estranged.\u201d Where do they even start if they\u2019re in the valley by themselves?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: I remember a situation during the pandemic, and it was one of those weepy days. I said, \u201cLord, I just really need You to show up for me.\u201d At that moment\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: So, you asked that? You prayed that?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: I prayed that: \u201cLord, I need You to show up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I\u2019ll pray that same thing: \u201cLord, I need something today!!\u201d [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: \u201cI need something today!\u201d You do the \u201cright now\u201d answer: \u201cI need it right now!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: And I had a friend, at that moment, text me. She said, \u201cHey, do you need prayer?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Come on!<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: \u201cI just feel like the Holy Spirit put you on my heart. Is there anything you need prayer for?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m a voice text person, so a voice text later\u2014a whole paragraph! [Laughter] I was [thinking], \u201cYou should have just called her!\u201d [Laughter] And I just shared, in that moment, what was going on; and she prayed for me. It was great.<\/p>\n<p>But what was encouraging to me was that God reached out, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to someone else across the country.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Really? She was across the country?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: She was across the country, in a totally different state.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Wow!<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: She was in D.C.; I was in Texas. She responded to the Holy Spirit, and she just reached out to me. So, what I believe is, when God says He is with us\u2014He can bring somebody.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: That\u2019s who we are, His hands and feet. So, when God prompts\u2014the Holy Spirit prompts\u2014us to go talk to someone, and to be encouraging to someone, [we] don\u2019t know what they need. So, even if you don\u2019t have anyone, you have God. God can move anyone to come to you.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Oh, that\u2019s good!<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes, I think we forget Who God is in trial; in hardship. You have a whole section [saying] you\u2019ve got to remember who you are and who God is.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Ooh, let\u2019s talk about that.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Talk about that\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014who is God?<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes, how do you\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014remind us.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Walk us through that.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Remind us.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: There are a couple attributes of His that I unpack in the book. The list is endless, but first, He\u2019s sovereign, which means that He\u2019s all-powerful, and nothing is outside of His control. So, I think about the lies we tell ourselves.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes! Like, \u201cWell, then, why did He let this happen!?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Right; it\u2019s a question of, \u201cWhy do bad things happen to good people?\u201d It\u2019s a complicated question, but what we need to know is that bad things don\u2019t happen because of God; bad things happen because of sin that we will do ourselves, or sin that we experience from other people. God doesn\u2019t turn a blind eye to that. He is able, both now, to deal with it; but we know that He also deals with that in an ultimate way through Jesus. That\u2019s what our Scriptures tell us.<\/p>\n<p>The Scriptures say, \u201cGod\u2019s arm is not too short.\u201d [Isaiah 59:1] Nothing is impossible for Him! What will stifle us is believing He can\u2019t do it. \u201cHe\u2019s not going to do it. He\u2019s not going to come through.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I have too many stories of doors opening in my life, that had no handles on the outside. So, there was nothing I could have done to get that job, or to get that interview, or to get that opportunity. He worked something out, and His power, to me, encourages me in different seasons when I need to be reminded that He can do it. He\u2019s sovereign!<\/p>\n<p>Another one is His love for us. Scripture tells the story of how God created us out of the overflow of His love. [He] pursues humanity. And, ultimately, through the power of Jesus, [He] saves us for eternity. All of that so that we could experience\u2014I like to call it\u2014shalom. It\u2019s wholeness; it is His perfection that we see a glimpse of in Genesis, and we see it in the ultimate sense in Revelation. God\u2019s love for me is that deep, that He\u2019s never going to let me go. Nothing that I could do is going to make Him kick me to the curb.<\/p>\n<p>Those are two things, you know? There\u2019s a sense of, \u201cHow do we deal with God being eternal?\u201d All of these things: omnipotence; all of the \u201comnis,\u201d we could talk about. [Laughter] To me, it\u2019s that He is powerful enough to do anything, and His love means that He\u2019s also compassionate. He cares. He cares about my sad moments, and He cares about me when I just\u2014I always say\u2014\u201cwalk with a limp.\u201d You just [know], \u201cI can\u2019t be at full-speed, because I\u2019m a little broken.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: His love is present with us in those moments, too.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes; and you\u2019ve mentioned before, there has got to be a surrender to the sovereignty of God.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: That doctrine, sometimes, is really hard to wrap my arms [around], to embrace. When everything\u2019s good\u2014yes, \u201cGod\u2019s sovereign;\u201d but when it isn\u2019t, it\u2019s, \u201cSeriously?\u201d It\u2019s almost like you want to throw away the theology: \u201cCome on! That\u2019s a childhood belief, that He\u2019s really all-powerful and in control; because these bad things keep happening.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>How do you hold onto that?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: For me, I\u2019m a person who\u2019s always going to come back to the stories of Scripture. What I\u2019ve learned is: God is a lot more patient with us than we are with ourselves. He is more patient to change people slowly over time than situations quickly. That frustrates us to no end, but He is [patient]. And His plan\u2014I don\u2019t understand it. Scripture says, \u201cHis ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.\u201d [Isaiah 55:9]<\/p>\n<p>And I don\u2019t want to say that, sounding super-spiritual and sugary sweet. It legitimately is that God is changing things. Scripture shows me that; the way He changes things over time. Even in the things He doesn\u2019t change now, Scripture points me to an eternity where all of those things will be shifted into goodness. As a believer, that\u2019s the path I\u2019m called to walk on. Life outside of that gets difficult, when I can\u2019t embrace the timing of God.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I lost my little brother when I was seven. He was five; [he] had leukemia. A single mom; dad was already gone, so I was raised by just my mom. She tended to sort of not talk about it, like, \u201cIf you don\u2019t talk about it, you don\u2019t have to deal with it.\u201d Yet, as I look back, she somehow embraced hope. You know, losing a child has got to be one of the hardest things ever. Recently, in a church that we started in Detroit 30 years ago, a family that is just a pillar of our community; their college-aged son was standing on a curb on the campus at Michigan State, and someone hit him and killed him and drove off.<\/p>\n<p>This is what Gina, his mom, wrote (and it was read at the funeral)\u2014she wrote this: \u201cEarly Sunday morning, on November 5th, the enemy of my soul, Satan, launched a violent attack against my family and community. Our camp is severely wounded. It was an act of war. Jesus warned us of this war in Ephesians 6:10-17. We are told to put on the full armor of God so that we can stand against the schemes of the devil. It explains who and what we are actually fighting against. It isn\u2019t flesh and blood like we think, but the powerful, dark forces in the spiritual realm that we cannot see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis Scripture also promises that after the battle, we will be standing firm. Jesus Himself says in John 16:33 that \u2018in this life, you will have many trials and sorrows,\u2019 but to \u2018take heart, because He has overcome the world.\u2019 I have placed my faith and trust in Jesus as my God and Savior, and I have been following Him for a very long time. He has been so good and faithful to me, even though hardship has come. I have no reason to believe that His everlasting love, goodness, greatness, and grace will ever run out in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile I cannot explain the why\u2019s and how\u2019s of what has happened, I have learned enough to know that I can trust Jesus with my pain, and that He will use His resurrection power to bring beauty from the ashes. I will see the promised victory over this battle that God has prewarned me about, and I will be reunited with my sweet Sal again when God receives me in His timing. Until then, I will battle onward, knowing that I will never be alone, because Jesus is with me always. I am wounded and weak right now, but I will bring my hurt to the Great Physician and let Him prescribe my healing. I will accept the comfort of His Holy Spirit who He has promised. I will claim the peace that surpasses understanding, that is promised to those who are in Christ Jesus. I will commit to comfort others who are hurting with the same comfort I have received from Him. Jesus, let me see and feel you, close to the broken-hearted like You promised.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I mean, that\u2019s hard to say and write in the middle of that valley, within days of the death of her son. Any thoughts?<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes; to me, when I hear you read that, I hear where our hope is girded in.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: There is this reality of a war that we\u2019re in. The hard stuff that we experience is ultimately connected to the enemy and the things that seek to thwart the things of God. But she also connects to this reality that all those dark things have an end date on them. There\u2019s an end date to our pain; there\u2019s an end date to our sadness; there\u2019s an end date to the grief. There\u2019s not an end date to life with the Lord. She will be reunited with her son. Until then, we war on, knowing that the Great Physician will provide her the healing that she needs.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s just really powerful! The humanity of it, but [also] the perspective that we have based upon the truth of Scripture.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: It\u2019s our foundation.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: The Rock and the hope in Jesus.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I\u2019m just wondering if you\u2019ll pray. I\u2019m sure there are so many people who just need prayer. They\u2019re battling right now.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Father, we just thank You that we have the opportunity to speak to You. I pray for the listeners who are going through their own valley; a dark night of the soul; of things\u2014the unimaginable has happened to them. I pray that You would be the Comforter. I pray that You would bring a balm to their soul. I pray that You would show up and bring them the comfort and support of tangible things, even in Your people; that You would have the people of God show up and provide them with the things that they need; that their hope would be grounded in You and they would see You do what you always do, which is provide, which is sustain; that their eyes would ultimately be on You. There\u2019s an end date to all the hard things that we deal with in this life, but there\u2019s never an end date to the life with You. That is what we find joy in! In Your Son\u2019s holy Name, we pray.<\/p>\n<p>Ann and Dave: Amen!<\/p>\n<p>Shelby: There\u2019s an end date to the hard things, but there\u2019s never an end date to life with You. Wow! What a poignant and practical way to help you in the present, then give you hope for the future. I love how she ended that prayer!<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m Shelby Abbott, and you\u2019ve been listening to Dave and Ann Wilson with Elizabeth Woodson on FamilyLife Today.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth has been with us for the last two days, and she has written a book called Embrace Your Life: How to Find Joy When the Life You Have is Not the Life You Hoped For. I think, to some degree, almost every person can relate with the subtitle of that book. We\u2019re all in a position where we think to ourselves, \u201cThis is not really what I hoped for. This is not turning out the way I wanted it to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This book really addresses that gap between what your desires are, for what you hoped your life would be, and where you are, practically, in the here and now. So, this book is going to be our gift to you when you give today. You can get your copy now with any donation by going online to FamilyLifeToday.com and clicking on the \u201cDonate Now\u201d button at the top of the page. Or you could give us a call with your donation at 800-358-6329; again, that number is 800-\u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in life, and then the word, \u201cTODAY.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And feel free to drop us a donation in the mail if you\u2019d like, too. Our address is:<\/p>\n<p>FamilyLife<\/p>\n<p>100 Lake Hart Drive<\/p>\n<p>Orlando, Florida 32832<\/p>\n<p>You know, Psalm 34:8 says, \u201cOh, taste and see that the Lord is good.\u201d I think a lot of times, we aren\u2019t able to see that the Christian journey is really the opposite of what we think. Now, what do I mean by that? It can feel like, when you\u2019re walking with God, there are these little deaths that you experience all the time; but it\u2019s really in those little deaths, leading us to life, while the road to destruction through sin\u2014basically, if we make sinful choices\u2014it feels like these little bursts of life, but it\u2019s really leading to death.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve found that these little deaths that God calls us to really lead us to life; to deeper communion with Him. One of those ways that things can hurt is by giving. Giving hurts sometimes. But in those potentially painful moments of our own generosity, we\u2019re really seeing that it leads to life; not only by blessing the recipient of the gift, but by blessing the giver, too. In these moments of generosity, we are tasting and seeing that the Lord is good.<\/p>\n<p>When you give to FamilyLife, not only are you able to experience tasting and seeing, but you\u2019re also able to know that God is using your gift to bring Jesus into the homes of thousands of people. So, thank you for giving! And if you want to start giving, becoming a monthly partner with us, you can head over to FamilyLifeToday.com.<\/p>\n<p>Now, coming up tomorrow, what is the actual impact of digital technology on personal relationships and parenting? Well, Silicon Valley pastor Jay Kim is here with Dave and Ann Wilson tomorrow, to talk about that and the underestimated value of being present with people. That\u2019s tomorrow. We hope you\u2019ll join us.<\/p>\n<p>On behalf of Dave and Ann Wilson, I\u2019m Shelby Abbott. We\u2019ll see you back next time for another edition of FamilyLife Today.<\/p>\n<p>FamilyLife Today is a donor-supported production of FamilyLife\u00ae, a Cru\u00ae Ministry.<\/p>\n<p>Helping you pursue the relationships that matter most.<\/p>\n<p>We are so happy to provide these transcripts to you. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider donating today to help defray the costs? Copyright \u00a9 2024 FamilyLife. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<p>www.FamilyLife<\/p>\n","theme_header_position":"Sticky","post_header_is_sticky":"default","is_header_overlay":"0"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/280324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcast"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47000"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280324"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280324"},{"taxonomy":"podcast_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast_series?post=280324"},{"taxonomy":"cwp_profile","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cwp_profile?post=280324"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=280324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}