Happy post-Memorial Day! For my family this day means eating leftover blue-and-red cake for breakfast. As I sit at my kitchen table wiping cake crumbs off my wrists, I’m really trying to think of something quippy and funny to say….but I’d really rather just be honest about where I am right now. 

I’ve been taking responsibilities off of my plate for a variety of reasons. One of them is so I can do more writing, but sometimes I sit down to write and a voice I’ve listened to far too often whispers, “Who do you think you are that you have anything to say? You’re only going to embarrass yourself.” Insecurity has been a struggle of my life. I was the teenager in the group who would turn red and have no response when someone said, “Hey, you’re turning red.” I’m probably turning red just thinking about it. 

My pastor is doing a 5-week sermon series on the names of God. Pastor Jim began with the name Yahweh, which God first used when He was talking to Moses from the burning bush. The point of this series is to deepen our understanding of who God is, and turning my eyes to Him is the one thing I need to do when I hear that whisper. It’s not about who I am when I sit down to write. It’s about who He is and what He’s asking me to do. 

I wanted to include my kids in this powerful truth, so I adapted Pastor Jim’s sermon to be a 10-minute devotional I could do with them. I’m sharing it so you could do it with your family if you want to. Each week I’ll post the next portion of the series. I also created a kids page so they can write notes and color.

Pastor Jim is one of the best preachers around. He’s authentic, and he communicates profound truths in simple ways. Here’s a link to the original sermon. Trust me that it’s worth the 18 minutes to listen to it. Pastor Jim’s sermon, Names of God: Yahweh

Jill