Keep On with Abigail Wallace

Leaves have no breath of life. They are passive props. We are the imago Dei. They have no choice but to reflect the sun’s rays. We are called to praise the Son’s name. They have no speech and still the leaves teach. In this “extra-delicious” Wisconsin autumn, I am learning.

Do you have a bad habit you have not been able to break? I do—or did? Over the years, I tried. Oh, how I tried. I tried and tried and tried. I tried all “5 Hacks to Stop Biting” but even the last one, the one that finally worked for the hacker, did not work for me. It’s embarrassing to admit, but even the thought of ingesting beastly bacteria from my fingers wasn’t enough. Neither the chemical-tasting polish, nor the more natural jalapeño, were bitter enough to break me of my bad habit. I’d pucker and bite right on. Carrying a nail clipper in my pocket wherever I went didn’t work either. It wasn’t enough.

Nothing worked. Neither did strengthening polish and a manicure deter me. The peeling polish only pushed me to “groom” my nails more. The book by the anonymous Stubbs Nomore taught me a thing or two about my bad habit, but it did not rid me of it. The aversive pairing of a snapped rubber band on my tender wrist didn’t work either. It had worked for Stubbs, but for me, it wasn’t enough.

But something happened. In this episode, I share the unexpected way that I kicked a bad habit. Be encouraged, friend. Bad habits are breakable and good habits are makeable.

Mama said there would be days like these. God said there would be mercy to match. In this episode Abigail describes a day she almost gave away, and how she defied herself, applied the truth and found new mercies fresh for the picking. As you listen, you will be encouraged to shift your focus from your troubles to the the promise that God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22), waiting to be picked.

The other Pastor’s Daughter, my friend Kirstin Tatagiri, ( @kirstencreates on IG), joins me in this BOTH AND series on biblical paradoxes. Join us as we explore how we strive to enter God’s rest, in the words of Hebrews 4:11. We examine the 4 biblical pathways we discovered that help us experience the most satisfying soul-rest.

How can score off our losses and get stronger in our pain? How can we possibly count it all joy when we face trials of all kinds? How in the world, right? Well, there is a way. Paul shows it to us in Philippians chapter 3. It’s all about learning to count right, about learning to make “fructifying” 😃 and “helpful associations” and train ourselves to reframe the pain. In this episode, Abigail uses examples from the world of exercise to show us how our souls can grow strong in our pain and loss.

In this episode, Abigail addresses a very daily, very real challenge that many of us face: ANXIETY. A natural worrier, Abigail takes us straight to Philippians 4 to unpack Paul’s anti-anxiety prescription before she describes its “cost” and effectiveness for bringing real contentment and peace.

💛 Good friends are hard to find, but oh how much we need them. 🔪 Iron-sharpens-iron friends (Proverbs 27:17) and “sandpapery” friends who run our rough sides off are a massive means of God’s grace. 🪵 Friends like this form us. God gives me so many friends, I think, because I have so many rough sides. In this episode, I introduce you to some of my soul-shaping friends.

Here I make peace between what seem to be lifestyles at odds. Can HYGGE, that cozy, creature contentment coexist in the life of a Christ-follower called to deny herself? And, what about Paul’s words about “Their God is their stomach? Their mind is set on earthly things?” What? Is that hygge I hear? Or is it not? 🤔

We love the verse that says, “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.” The words are found in Philippians chapter 1, verse six. But what is the good work God promises to complete? Is the good work that God will complete my spouse being saved, my friend being healed, or my book being published? What does Philippians 1 verse 6 really mean?

This episode was recorded on the eve of our 25th wedding anniversary. But it’s not just for married folk.

“You must take two bears to live with you—Bear and Forbear. That was Grandma Beth’s pithy wedding shower advice.

I won’t lie. I used to think forbearance was weak and acceptance meant beat. This last line in Amy Carmichael’s poem sounded like defeat: “In acceptance lieth peace.”

Tolerance is not weakness, or leaving your conviction at the door. Tolerance is the path to holiness. It is extending divine mercy to others.

I crawled out of my warm bed to care for a sick pitiful child. The Son of God left the glories of heaven and the warmth of his Father’s side to care for his sin-sick pitiful children for our sake love came down.

In this episode, Abigail shares a freeing truth for those who suffer and those who wonder why others suffer as they do. What secret sin is God punishing? What did they do wrong to deserve this? In this episode, Abigail explains why she—and why we—sometimes judge this way. Then she unpacks a few verses at the end of Hebrews 11 to describe why cannot assume. “You reap what you sow,” is biblical. However, “sometimes what looks like a harvest is not a harvest.”

To be thankful in affliction is a work peculiar to the saint. Every bird can sing in spring, but few birds will sing in the dead of winter. At the first Thanksgiving in 1621, the Pilgrims showed us how to sing.

He has the heart to criticize who has the heart to help. And criticism tethered to a helpful heart is how the world is changed. Hear how two helpful hearts, and too many typos to count, inspired this podcast.