Ministry Summary 2017
Ministry Summary 2017
At the start of 2017 God gave me a word for the year: expectation. I think I can confidently say that God has indeed exceeded my expectation and you have been a huge part of our story. Allow me a few minutes to remember all God has done here at LWP in 2017:
This year was the year of our app launch. What a huge milestone this has been for us. Our resources are now literally available at your fingertips. The potential in this app is awesome and wait until you see all that’s coming here next year. I am so proud of Irina for making this happen.
This was also the year we launched Morning Minutes. We’ve studied three books of the Bible together so far: James, Ruth and Esther. We’ve gotten more positive feedback about this Bible study format than anything we’ve done to date. Around the same time Morning Minutes started we dropped our first FaithBooster which has been such an awesome project to encourage many of you guys.
In the books department: ‘Resolved’ came out in Arabic in October. I also got to contribute to “Utmost Ongoing,” honoring the legacy of Oswald Chambers.
In Bible study production: we recorded a 5 week video Bible study series of the book of James that will launch next year. We also put together the Change Series which continues to impact so many.
Today’s Single Christian continues to air on over 180 Moody affiliate stations in the US. Speaking of Moody Radio, their support of me has been overwhelming. I’ve been a regular on many featured shows including Chris Brooks who highlighted Resolved as his October resource of the month, Chris Fabry and Karl Claussen.
The speaking ministry has been busting at the seams: I honestly can’t keep track of all the opportunities I had to speak all over the world in 2017. Many of you were present at the conferences/retreats. I hope we got to meet in person. I can testify of thousands of lives impacted for the Lord through the speaking ministry and so many who gave their lives to Jesus for the first time.
The global ministry continues to expand and get stronger in focus. We had the honor of serving thousands of Syrian refugees in 3 medical mission clinics last year in Lebanon. This wouldn’t have been possible without your support and donations. Thank you!
This last year has been special as my team has continued to grow. Irina continues to be a huge support and basically makes everything happen. Kim Klaver joined our team recently too, heading up the prayer ministry. I also hired an agent this year: Karen Hardin. I am so grateful for her. She has been a huge help to me and was the reason Thrive made it to YouVersion. I’ve also been working with Dave Jones at M is Good marketing. Dave is behind so much of the focused messaging at LWP. You might have noticed the Dave effect on some of the positive changes on the website. Oh, and I joined the Judson University board in 2017. I love Judson.
As for me personally, this was a year of major transition as I moved from Emergency Medicine to Telemedicine. This is the year I became debt free and able to dedicate more time and focus to the ministry. What a gift to be able to write this. I have had no regrets in my decisions and continue to figure out how to balance all the balls God has allowed me to juggle. And in case you’re wondering, nothing has changed for me personally personally! Still single and loving it.
Finally, as I wrap up this short summary of a very busy year let me confess to you that there is nothing greater than living a life fully surrendered to Jesus. I feel like I’m on the most thrilling adventure I could ever ask for. This year God has strengthened my resolve to reach even more people with the hope of the gospel. I feel energized for what’s to come and excited about the future like never before.
I love each of you and hope we’re serving you well. We read every email you send us and pray for you as personally as we can. We are grateful for every word you’ve sent to encourage us, every prayer you’ve prayed on our behalf and every dollar you’ve sacrificed to allow us to do more for God’s kingdom!
Please let us know how we can better serve you in 2018. We have so many awesome things coming for you in 2018. Let’s do this together! Let’s keep pointing to Jesus. He’s the reason we do it all and He’s the reason we breathe. I hope you love him more today than you did this time last year!
Your friend,
Lina
#MeToo
#MeToo
Hey.
Do you ever wonder what God thinks about sexual assault and harassment? The Bible is clear, God hates it! But there is hope in the darkness.
In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, I can’t help but share a few thoughts on what we as Christians can do to support victims of sexual assault.
The Miracle Of John 11
Miracles. We all love them, hope for them, wait for them, pray for them.
How many of us haven’t been inspired by the story of Jesus raising his friend Lazarus in John 11, and hoped for God to move the stone in our life and bring our Lazarus back to life?
Why do some see their miracles come to life while others stare on with painful longing? Why does Jesus seem so far when you want him to be near? Why does he seem so silent when you want him to speak?
What I have learned in my life is that there is a greater miracle than the miracle of getting what I want. And it is the miracle of receiving exactly what I need.
Listen to this talk I recently gave at Simply Jesus Gathering. I hope it will encourage and comfort you greatly.
Lina
How To Live A Life Unleashed
Hey,
I’ve just been on the Living A Life Unleashed Podcast with Lisa Bishop.
Listen in as we unpack what it means to live unleashed.
We’re touching on tons of relevant topics, such as comparison, the fear of failure, the need for affirmation, disappointment, self-worth, vulnerability, obstacles, courage, how to live out your calling or dream, how to believe for visions bigger than yourself, God’s intervention on our path.
You’re gonna be inspired to live unleashed!
A Personal Update On My Life
Hey guys!
Today is a great day to fill you in on what’s been going on in my life. I covet your prayers and look forward to what the future holds!
Do You Really Want to Change?
What would you change if you could?
Deep down everybody wants to change something.
Would you change a habit you’ve tried hard to quit and failed?
Would you finally put your past behind you if you could?
Would you follow through on that diet you’ve been putting off forever?
Would you change your job? Your relationship statuses? Your reactions to difficult circumstances?
Deep down we all want to change. We just need help doing it.
Did you know that God is a God of change? He is in the transformation business. All you need to do is ask.
I am so on board with God’s plan to change us that I put together a 4 week online teaching series for you to help you change.
You don’t have to live in frustration anymore.
You don’t have to give in to your negative emotions.
You can change!
Here’s how I’m going to help you do it:
First, watch this video that will help motivate you.
Then Click HERE to get the Change Series.
We’re in this with you!
I’ve poured my life to help you get stronger in the Lord. I believe this Change Series will help you do it. We’ve priced it at $20 for you but we believe the series is worth much more for you. We believe this series is truly priceless and will help you finally see the changes in your life that you’ve longed for.
You need to know that every dollar we get for this series will go towards our medical work with Syrian refugees. Our next trip to Lebanon is September 8-15.
So do me a favor?
Then share this with your friends. Retweet it. Share it on FB. Email it to someone.
Spread the word that change is possible. Let everyone know that God is for us. He wants us to change and grow and become stronger.
Do you still have questions? Go ahead and leave me a comment or email me [email protected].
Ready to get the change series?
Click here to get it. Once you purchase it you’ll get an email with a link to the 4 week teaching as well as a Study Guide that goes along with it.
Oh, yeah, you can do this study with your small group too.
Or just do it on your own.
But know that you’re not alone in this.
We’re for you. I’m for you. But more importantly, God is for you!
All right. Before I start sounding like an infomercial, I’ll stop.
Can you tell I’m pretty pumped about the Change Series?
It’s because I’m pumped about you!
For all you list makers out there: why the list must go.
I am a list maker.
I love everything about the list.
I love crossing things off and seeing the list shrink.
I love the organization of the list and the visual management of my life on paper.
I really love the list with all of my heart.
And when it comes to the list, I've been programmed for decades with a certain criteria for my list.
It's a non negotiable. I'm sure you'er familiar with it.
It's the idea that Jesus is at the top of my list.
This idea has given me a false sense of comfort and peace. It's driven me to strive harder to please him. It's held me by the noose and worn me out.
And I'm finally beginning to understand why the list must go.
I bet you know what I'm talking about. Here, let me illustrate my point to you.
If I were to ask you to list the top 5 priorities in your life right now, what would you say?
Ya. See what I mean? You would make a list that might look a lot like mine: God, family, friends, church, work, play.
I used to commend myself for having God at the top of my list.
I used to revel in the fact that God was numero uno in my life.
I started my day with God religiously, and gave him my best self exhaustingly. I even felt guilty when other things crept in on occasion to bump God.
But I started noticing a problem that was eating up my soul.
I noticed that once I gave God his morning time, I would sort of forget about him until the next day. I mean, unless I had to prepare a Bible study. Then I might think about him again. But once my feet hit the ER? Forget about it. I was too busy to even look at my list.
But even worse was that I started really missing God. I mean, I missed Jesus deeply. And for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why I didn't feel this sense of closeness and intimacy with him.
For a while I did what most list makers might do. I gave God a bigger chunk of time on my list.
I even doubled him up on occasion.
But eventually even that didn't work.
See, despite what you and I have made Matthew 6:33 to be, God never intended to be the top of our list.
God is not satisfied to simply occupy first place in your life.
Somehow, in my effort to make a God honoring "list" I'd missed the heart of what it means to be a Christian.
Maybe you're there now. You believe that God is the most important person in your life, but for the life of you, you can't figure out why you can't keep him at the forefront of your mind.
You miss God.
You don't feel connected to him.
I have the answer for you today and it's easier than you might think.
You know that list that you've been holding on to?
Do me a favor and get it out. Then rip it up. Shred it to pieces. Burn it up completely.
The list must go.
The list is over.
The list is destroying you.
Today, you move from life by the list to God at the core.
Jesus at the center of it all.
So that whether you're eating today, or drinking, or running, or writing, or painting, or doctoring, or mowing your grass, you're not working on your list anymore.
You're simply letting Jesus be the center of it all.
The minute you gave your life to Jesus, he moved into your heart. Christ in you became your hope of glory. You have been crucified with Christ, you no longer live on your own. He lives in you.
He is in you. He is never leaving you. He is with you.
I don't know when I forgot the secret to the Christian life - or maybe it's a point of maturity.
But these days, you'll catch me without a list in hand.
These days, you'll catch me listening more, watching more, yielding more, and on occasion, you'll see my lips move.
I haven't lost my mind.
But I have lost my list, and I have no intention of ever bringing it back.
These days, I'm reveling in the abiding presence of Jesus in my life.
I'm waking up to what's real and loving every minute of it.
Won't you get rid of your list too? Won't you start living this life God has dreamed for you?
Two words that will Kill you
There are 2 words that will kill you if you let them:
What's new.
As in: "What's new?"
You know those words?
Have you heard them before?
Someone asks them innocuously, but they will kill you, I mean, literally kill you if you let them. I mean like take a nail and twist it slowly in your eye ball kill you.
I hate those words with a passion.
What's new, you ask?
I'll tell you what's new.
Nothing.
Nothing is new.
Not one single thing.
That's what's new.
Almost every time someone asks me this 2 word question, an avalanche of discontent is unleashed.
What's new, you want to know?
No, I'm not pregnant. And no I'm still not dating anyone. And no, I didn't buy a new house or a new dog. I don't have a vacation planned and I'm not getting a raise anytime soon. And no, there are no new book deals on my deck.
So, what's new, you ask?
I'll tell you exactly what's new.
I'm 14 days behind on my Bible reading plan. And I'm back to eating healthy again this month - which is new. But I still I hate it - and that's not new.
See what I mean? Two simple words but they'll kill you if you let them.
The reality is that most of life is the same with a few fluctuations over time. We live in the same houses and eat the same foods and go to work at the same places.
It can get monotonous.
Everyone else's life can sound so much more exciting than mine.
It's why we check our Facebook at least 14 times a day. It's why Netflix is so huge now and why we thrive on controversial news stories.
But when you stop and think of it, monotonous can be a welcome reprieve if you're the parent of a child with a headache who was just diagnosed with a brain tumor.
Monotonous is a gift for a Syrian family who now finds themselves displaced without home.
Monotonous is also a gentle reminder that our God never changes.
That his love is the same yesterday today and forever
and that His mercies - thank God - His mercies, they are new every morning.
So what's new, you ask?
Go ahead. Leave a comment and tell me. I got all day to listen.
And that, my friend - now that's new.
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A Possible Cure for Negativity
Have you ever met a sick doctor?
Trust me. You don't want to.
In the last 2 weeks I'd diagnosed myself with 17 different diseases and come up with a few still unnamed ones to explain my symptoms.
And I still felt like poop.
I tried taking one of every pill I had in my house to help cure what I had.
Didn't work.
I finally did what any normal person would have done.
I slept.
For 12 hours straight.
While my cough this morning still suggests the remote possibility of TB or lung cancer, at least I don't feel quite like death marched all over me anymore and that's a start.
Anyway, I'd written a blog post during my illness that in hindsight sounded grim (read it here if you want to feel a little bit depressed).
I'd also tried to record a podcast in which I sound like my pet turtle died. Thank God I had the mental fortitude not to share it with the world.
All this physical turmoil got me thinking that perhaps much of our negativity these days is due to fatigue.
We have mental fatigue and the result is that we sound grim.
Right now if there's one thing that every human (including you eeyores out there) agree on is that the negativity on Facebook is through the roof.
Some are suggesting that people are quitting Facebook like never before (don't hold your breath, but can you even imagine life without FB? A dream that alas might never be fulfilled in this lifetime).
The thing is, we don't have to quit FB.
We don't have to stop talking.
But we might benefit from taking a nap.
Tired of the never ending avalanche of opinions.
Tired of the continuous stream of 140 characters.
Tired of the 24/7/366 ongoing barrage of argumentative "must make a FB update or else" need to speak all the time.
I'm tired even thinking about it, aren't you?
We're told that we ought to engage. That we must speak up for what we believe in.
I don't disagree.
But I wonder if we would do it better if we did it out of a place of clarity and rest.
If perhaps we would find better solutions by weighing our opinions more carefully, sometimes choosing not to speak, occasionally deleted a post that might simply be too grim.
If perhaps we fought the pressure to always have to say something about everything.
If instead we chose to fix our minds on all that is good in our world.
We are living in the best days possible.
Think about it: this week I literally had 55 options of pills to take when I was sick - right there in my own medicine cabinet. I had the freedom to actually sleep for 12 hours (is that even humanly possible??). That I have a blog and a podcast and the means to talk to any of you anytime anywhere is incredible. Unbelievable. Totally awesome!!
We are living in the greatest days imaginable.
I know that right now the world feels dark and chaotic.
But remember that the darker the world the brighter the light of Jesus can shine through us.
We've been given a gift - but I wonder if we're too tired to recognize it.
Oh, and come to think of it, I haven't even coughed once the entire time it took me to write this blog post!
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