Shining the Light, with Jessica Brodie

Have you heard the term “resurrection people”? That’s you and me… anyone who believes Jesus is their savior. When we believe Jesus is the Son of God and died for our sins, we get the opportunity to be resurrected, too. Death is not the end.

Easter isn’t just one day—Easter is an everyday message for everyone. No one is blocked. No one is denied. Everyone has the chance to believe and to be reborn in Jesus.

This week, I explore what Easter is really all about by taking a look at the first Easter, from John 20:1-18.

Thanks for watching! And I hope you'll also connect with me on social media and on my blog, which has a deeper reflection on this and other topics.

Have you ever been through something so difficult it feels like a physical blow? I’ve felt the punch of grief send shockwaves through every muscle in my body. It’s hard, and it can hurt so, so badly. My daughter went through something recently that make her feel, as she said, “Like an almost-bare winter tree, like one final gust could sweep through and strip her of every remaining leaf.” Others have described it like a tidal wave washing over them, smashing them to the ground in a tangle of broken parts.

When hard things happen, I can be tempted to tuck in tight, like an impenetrable ball, protecting and preserving myself against all harm. As humans, our survival instinct is so powerful, and that can be a good thing.

But I’ve learned the hard way that meeting that pain head on can also help. I remember once curled sobbing on my bathroom floor, feeling completely alone… knowing I was alone… and then realizing I actually wasn’t alone. No human being might have stood with me, but Jesus was right there next to me. I couldn’t see Him, but I felt Him there with me. He was there on His knees with me. That was a huge moment in my faith journey, for I’d finally let my wall down enough for Him to step through and meet me there.

Still, I often turn back to my old ways when rough things happen. I convince myself “everything’s fine,” or bury myself in work so I don’t have to think about it. I apply so many quick fixes that, if they were visible, it would look like I was covered in Band-Aids. I shut my walls tight and seal out the world and the pain right along with it.

Eventually, though, it happens. Like a boil pressing toward the surface or a volcano ready to erupt, that painful thing pokes its ugly tentacles out, and there it is. I’m broken once again.

And then I remember an important truth: yes, I’m broken, but I’m not alone. I’m broken, but that’s how Jesus uses His divine superpowers to put me back together again. I’m broken, but eventually, I’ll be whole—and better for it.

When we're on our knees, sometimes that's how we truly understand our need for Jesus. And make no mistake: I need Jesus. I do—I truly need Jesus.

My devotional this week explores whether feeling broken can help make me whole.

Thanks for watching! And I hope you'll also connect with me on social media and on my blog, which has a deeper reflection on this.

I hear it in my head on repeat—let the past go. Get rid of that baggage. Leave yesterday behind. Focus on the present.

Those are all good intentions, aren’t they? Scripture has a lot to say about leaving the past in the past. From Paul’s reminder in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that we are all “new creations in Christ” to his urging in Philippians 3:13-14 to forget what lies behind and “press on toward the goal” of heaven, it’s an important theme. Lot’s wife turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back at the destruction of her city, and Jesus Himself, when a potential disciple agreed to follow Him after he said goodbye to his family, said, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62 NIV).

And most of us would love to live that way, wouldn’t we? Do you ever have times where you know you’ve done wrong things and know you’re forgiven, yet you continue to beat yourself up over the years even though you’ve long since repented, as though forgiveness isn’t enough? You’ve got to go that extra step by berating yourself to truly be “punished enough”?

Or maybe something horrible happened to you many years ago, and while you know you’re safe now, you still find yourself triggered by trauma?

I’ve had some rough times in my life, and sometimes memories still come back in my dreams. I like to say I’ve let go of my “baggage of the past,” but it’s not always that easy.

A few months ago, one of my pastors at church mentioned in a sermon that sometimes, people need to go backwards in order to go forward. While the sermon was on something entirely different, that one question has stuck with me.

Is there a benefit to stepping back so we can move on?

What if I need to go backwards in order to go forward?

Thanks for watching! And I hope you'll also connect with me on social media and on my blog, which has a deeper reflection on this.

Most of us don’t claim only one “role” as our identity. We might be parent, spouse, employee or boss, and a dozen other things that seemingly define us. You might be a runner, or a yogi, or a fan of a particular sports team, and maybe you even have the clothing—and the bumper sticker–to prove it.

My “hats” might look different from yours. I’m the editor of the oldest newspaper in Methodism, a journalist, a novelist and freelance writer, a YouTuber, and a podcaster. I’m a wife and a mom and stepmom to a blended family of four kids and stepkids. I’m a daughter and a daughter-in-law, an aunt and a sister, a friend. I’m a hiker and a reader and an amateur photographer. A volunteer and a member at my church. A mentor. A teacher. A confirmation leader. A small-group Bible study leader. These are all good things and incredibly important to me.

But... what happens if I lose my job? If I move far away? If a parent dies or a relationship ends? If I change churches or lose my ability to write? Then what? Who am I then? What is my foundation when everything I thought I had is gone? Who am I when all else is stripped away?

We are so much more than our jobs. We are so much more than our relationships with other humans, whether that’s parent or spouse or employee. These are important, but they’re not as important as one key thing: Everything we are, everything in our lives, is rooted in God.

So let’s explore a few key mind-shifts about our real identity, the only identity that truly matters—our identity in God. We get so busy in life, and distractions can easily take our focus off the most important things. But remembering who we are—and Whose we are, as God’s precious and beloved child—crystallizes our priorities when the clamor of the world gets too loud.

My devotional for this week on what is my true identity? Six ‘I Am’ statements about who I am in God.

Thanks for watching! And I hope you'll also connect with me on social media and on my blog, which has a deeper reflection on this.

For the blog: https://www.jessicabrodie.com/shiningthelight/trueidentity

To learn more about me and my writing, editing, and writing coach services: https://www.jessicabrodie.com

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Love can be wonderful—until we sabotage it with unrealistically high expectations and comparisons that our partner can never live up to.

Authentic love isn’t always extreme black or white, up or down—it’s that lovely middle-gray space in the middle, too. Sometimes it’s wild, passionate, and all-consuming, while other times it’s like a soft, cozy blanket, a shelter from life’s thunderstorms. Knowing this helps us love our partner (or parent, or child, or friend) better, and pivot more easily in times of difficulty. It helps us grow and learn, as well as gain wisdom and compassion.

When it comes to our relationship with God, it’s much the same.

We all have a unique, special relationship with God. Sometimes it’s a father-child kind of relationship, and sometimes it’s a best-friendship. Sometimes it’s a beautiful, complicated blend, and other times (on our end!) it feels a bit hands-off, dysfunctional, or unhealthily weighted. But the negatives are all on us—not God.

Yet, as we sometimes do with our marriages and other important human relationships, we expect “me and God” to be this perfect unit. While it is perfect from God’s end, as sinful humans, it can get a bit messy sometimes on our end. That can lead to some unraveling and drifting away.

It’s important to know God’s love for us never changes—ever. But we humans are so fickle and imperfect. We float in and out of our love relationship with God over the course of a lifetime, even over the course of a single year. Sometimes we feel so close to Him it’s like bliss. Other times God feels so far away, and we start to doubt that love. “Does He really hear us?” we think. “Does He really care?”

The Bible assures us Jesus was God’s only son, and through faith in Jesus we get the honor of becoming children of God. As John 1:12 reminds us, “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God” (NRSV).

Here’s what I think “becoming” a child of God is: an evolution. A growth. A process.

My devotional for this week on becoming: How our love relationship with God is a work in progress.

Thanks for watching! And I hope you'll also connect with me on social media and on my blog, which has a deeper reflection on this.

Do you ever get those mine-mine-mine moments? Do you hoard your blessings, time, or other things for your own selfish pursuits or pleasures? (We’ve all been there!)

When I was younger, I was guilty of never, ever sharing my food. If I made a bowl of cereal and my sister asked for a bite, I’d give her the glare: “Make your own.”

Tithing? Forget it—the old me thought that was “my” money. The church didn’t really need it.

And when it came to work, younger me figured that was something you did to get paid or improve your life.

Over the years, my self-absorbed, self-centered, selfish self has considerably lightened up (thankfully!). Between becoming a mom and finally making enough money that I didn’t feel the need to count every last one of my pennies, my heart expanded and my soul began to embrace generosity. Sharing or doing things for others “just because” became a natural response.

As the apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Galatians, “Those who plant only for their own benefit will harvest devastation from their selfishness, but those who plant for the benefit of the Spirit will harvest eternal life from the Spirit” (Galatians 6:8 CEB).

Don’t hoard your gifts, Paul’s saying—use them for God!

My devotional for this week on “more than me”—the importance of not hoarding our gifts but using them for God.

Thanks for watching! And I hope you'll also connect with me on social media and on my blog, which has a deeper reflection on this.

Do you beat yourself up when things go wrong? I’ve been guilty of holding myself to extremely high standards—standards I can never hope to live up to—then mentally bashing myself when things go wrong.

“You know better,” I berate myself. “How could you have done such a thing?”

Ah, negative self-talk… we can be our own worst enemies, can’t we? And the sad thing is when we are forced to watch it happen in those we love.

Grace is such an extraordinary gift! And it’s something every single one of us gets thanks to the love and mercy of our Heavenly Father.

Most of us don’t spend a lot of thinking about how absolutely fortunate we are that we get the opportunity for salvation, that God offers us eternal life through His son Jesus Christ. And yet—how amazing that He does!

We are sinful people who often go directly against what God says. We mock Him, run from Him, and put other things before Him, from money and earthly pleasures to other “false gods.” Yet God still loves us, and He gives us a path to heaven anyway. He gave us His own son, who paid our sin debt.

Because of that, God tells us in Scripture, when someone else wrongs us in some way, we’re supposed to forgive as we’ve been forgiven. We’re to remember the grace we get and extend it to others in turn.

God calls us to forgive—not just once but again and again.

Be merciful. Be compassionate. Forgive in honor of how you were forgiven.

And while you’re at it, forgive yourself, too.

My devotional for this week on the gift of grace and power of forgiveness (even when it’s hard!).

Thanks for watching! And I hope you'll also connect with me on social media and on my blog, which has a deeper reflection on this.

Do you ever have those days where you feel utterly worthless? Maybe an encounter with a child went horribly wrong, ending in slammed doors and a screaming fit. Maybe you tried to mend a rift with a friend and it backfired, or a challenging work project crashed and burned, causing embarrassment and disappointment for you or your team.   Whatever the cause, every inch of you feels inadequate, useless, unimportant, and it’s a feeling no pep talk or dose of fresh air can fix.   I used to have low self-esteem. I didn’t feel good enough, didn’t feel anyone liked me, and I kept the world at arm’s length because I was afraid if people got too close they’d see me for the inadequate, boring, imperfect person I really was. It took me a long time to get over my self-esteem troubles (learning to like my own company and nix people-pleasing played a huge role, but that’s a whole other blog topic, ha!).   Today, I’m happy to say I genuinely like myself, and that low self-esteem seems to have disappeared. Yet every once in a while, when something bad happens, a flicker of worthlessness rears its head. Doubts loom.   Here’s what helps: Remembering that for everything I’m not, God is.  My devotional for this week on pushing insecurity aside to be all God needs.  Thanks for watching! And I hope you'll also connect with me on social media and on my blog, which has a deeper reflection on this.