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Stephanie J Thompson

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Advent

Why I Embrace the Thrill of Hope in a Year That Didn’t Conclude as Expected

December 20, 2020 by Stephanie 7 Comments

Infant Messiah

Sometimes the reminder of why we celebrate Christmas looks like nothing expected. In fact, it may feel like the sting of sin in the midst of dazzling decorations. And that’s when we sit in the tension of living in a place that is aching toward reconciliation and restoration. Weary souls are still seeking their soul’s […]

Filed Under: Advent, five minute friday

Jesus’s Birth was Not Reason for All to Rejoice

December 21, 2019 by Stephanie 4 Comments

Not everyone was happy. “In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising,[b] and have come to pay him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard […]

Filed Under: Advent, five minute friday

Holding on to a Generational Deep Hope in our Brokenness

December 2, 2018 by Stephanie 3 Comments

The wounds cut deep; both physically and figuratively. Several Decembers ago, I fell down the stairs. People sometimes talk about traumatic events as experienced through a surreal slow motion reality at the time. That would perfectly describe how it played out for me. Returning from a late church meeting, I longed for rest. While snuggling […]

Filed Under: Advent, five minute friday Tagged With: Advent, Christmas, control, generations, God, hope, Jesus, restoration, waiting

What the Shepherds Teach Us About Responding When God Speaks Into Our Lives

December 2, 2017 by Stephanie 10 Comments

I resonate with the shepherds. God’s manifestation in our lives can be terrifying at times. Oh, they would have been familiar with the various ways God’s presence is revealed: God spoke in a whisper to Elijah, appeared as a cloud to lead the Israelites, and spoke through a burning bush. God’s use of special effects […]

Filed Under: Advent, five minute friday

Overcoming Restlessness on Those Long Detours: Learning From Mary

November 30, 2016 by Stephanie Leave a Comment

Several years ago, my preschool son drew a picture of Mary and Joseph. Not just any picture, mind you. Usually, the manger scene as represented through the eyes of a child wielding a crayon finds its place on a paper canvas.  But Eli’s mind captured a different scene in the narrative. He captured what he believed to be […]

Filed Under: Advent Tagged With: arriving, Bethlehem, danger, destination, detour, fear, God, Immanuel, Jesus, Mary, milestone, newimage, restlessness, road.path, surrender, trust, waiting, walk, weary

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When my first child was born 20 plus years ago, I envisioned taking just a few years off from my role as Pastor of Youth and Family. While that didn’t exactly unfold as expected, God used my gifts and skills in other ways. Read More…

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"This moment for Jesus is a far cry from the one o "This moment for Jesus is a far cry from the one on the mountain. There, he stood with his two closest friends- Peter and John. There, God’s presence was affirmed in the bright cloud which appeared overhead. There, God’s voice proclaimed publicly, ““This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”

Now, God’s presence does not appear in such a tangible form. God’s voice is silent. No public affirmation of his identity. No reminder that he is God’s beloved." Read the rest: www.stephaniejthompson.com

#goodfriday #stephaniejthompson
“Then Jesus went with them to a place called Get “Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” Mark 14:36-39.

He arrived at this moment baring his vulnerability. The implications of his possible next steps weighed heavily upon him. All of his being: mind, body, spirit. Divine yet human. Sitting in emotions does not equal sin. Crying out to his father demonstrated trust even in this dark moment. It witnesses to the intimacy of their relationship. God can hold us in all spaces and places.

The question Jesus asks sits with us because we have all been there. As Tish Harrison Warren writes in Prayer of the Night, “We don’t get to choose our preferred crosses or resurrections.” Embracing life in the Kingdom Jesus ushered in transforms us. Like Jesus promised, it is an abundant life. But not without it’s sorrows. Because the identity of being Theotokoi (God Bearers) means laying down our lives as daily rhythms.

 So we demonstrate, by transparently living our moments, the tension of living in this place of in between. But sometimes, the reality of the tension overwhelms our senses. We cry out in our anguished humanity for the cup to pass from our hands in the midst of fear, and uncertainty about the path forward.: Illness, loss, advocating for the marginalized, death.

But we can also cling to the hope in God who hears us, holds us, and sees the redemption at work in ways we cannot. All while entering into our moments of despair with a love that knows no bounds of time, space, expectation. Jesus took the cup. And we can because he did.

#Redbud writer #gardenofgethsemane #maundythursday #trustingod #stephaniejthompson
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s2thomp

#redbudwriter #stephaniejthompson #imagodei #surre #redbudwriter #stephaniejthompson #imagodei #surrendertogod
Instagram post 17913282691674085 Instagram post 17913282691674085
"This moment for Jesus is a far cry from the one o "This moment for Jesus is a far cry from the one on the mountain. There, he stood with his two closest friends- Peter and John. There, God’s presence was affirmed in the bright cloud which appeared overhead. There, God’s voice proclaimed publicly, ““This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”

Now, God’s presence does not appear in such a tangible form. God’s voice is silent. No public affirmation of his identity. No reminder that he is God’s beloved." Read the rest: www.stephaniejthompson.com

#goodfriday #stephaniejthompson
“Then Jesus went with them to a place called Get “Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” Mark 14:36-39.

He arrived at this moment baring his vulnerability. The implications of his possible next steps weighed heavily upon him. All of his being: mind, body, spirit. Divine yet human. Sitting in emotions does not equal sin. Crying out to his father demonstrated trust even in this dark moment. It witnesses to the intimacy of their relationship. God can hold us in all spaces and places.

The question Jesus asks sits with us because we have all been there. As Tish Harrison Warren writes in Prayer of the Night, “We don’t get to choose our preferred crosses or resurrections.” Embracing life in the Kingdom Jesus ushered in transforms us. Like Jesus promised, it is an abundant life. But not without it’s sorrows. Because the identity of being Theotokoi (God Bearers) means laying down our lives as daily rhythms.

 So we demonstrate, by transparently living our moments, the tension of living in this place of in between. But sometimes, the reality of the tension overwhelms our senses. We cry out in our anguished humanity for the cup to pass from our hands in the midst of fear, and uncertainty about the path forward.: Illness, loss, advocating for the marginalized, death.

But we can also cling to the hope in God who hears us, holds us, and sees the redemption at work in ways we cannot. All while entering into our moments of despair with a love that knows no bounds of time, space, expectation. Jesus took the cup. And we can because he did.

#Redbud writer #gardenofgethsemane #maundythursday #trustingod #stephaniejthompson
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  • Advent
  • Easter
  • five minute friday
  • Help! This was not in the book!
  • Sacred Connections

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