Hall Family News | Winter Journal

For 2025 I heard the Lord say “advance” and “accelerate.” With words as powerful as these it might surprise you that they were accompanied with the directive to slow down. But it didn’t surprise me. I have learned to love God’s upside down kingdom where the last are first, the least are greatest and the humble are exalted. To receive we give, to truly live we must lay down our life, and to speed up we first must slow down. 

Andrew Murray says, “Here is the path to the higher life: down, lower down! Just as water always seeks and fills the lowest place, so the moment God finds men abased and empty, His glory and power flow in to exalt and to bless.”

January was a month of emptying. While I reorganized my closets, God reordered my priorities. During my 5th trip to Goodwill to donate stuff we don’t need, God worked to declutter my soul. There are rhythms to each season and January’s rhythm of reset is one I always look forward to. Despite the predictability of seasonal rhythms, life is never without a fair share of unpredictability.

I thought I would publish my book by the end of 2024, but with over 300 pages, 13 full page illustrations and lots more custom design elements, it should not have surprised me that preparation for publishing took longer than we anticipated. 

We thought we would sell our car last November and buy a different one that was a better fit for our family the same week. Instead the van we bought was a lemon that we wasted three months trying to get delivered and fixed. We thought we were getting better and God had us go without. The process has taken much longer than we anticipated.

“Longer than anticipated” is a phrase we all feel the sting of no doubt connected to a stream of memories that involved delay. The fear of wasting time and the lie that there is never enough time, is a trap from the pit of hell to keep us bound to stress and striving. I’ve decided to take the word “wasted” out of my vocabulary. 

God says time is a gift and I can be wise investors. Being faithful is my responsibility, timing is His. What I am tempted to label as wasted, is waiting to be redeemed.

With my book release and search for a new van it’s easy for me to measure the situation with the metrics of speed. I am tempted to prioritize what can be produced quickly. I know I am not the only one who chooses Amazon Prime for their free two-day shipping over another website with a longer wait time. Fast can too easily become my priority but faithfulness is God’s. I hope I can learn to rejoice when things don’t go as I anticipate because in the pressing of disappointment, inconvenience and learning to go without, that the fruit of the spirit is produced in us. The reward for faithful perseverance isn’t the perfect van, or published book with accolades; the reward is love, joy, peace, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. 

In December I heard the song “Break the Bottle” by Stefanie Gretzinger and Tiffany Hudson for the first time while I sat on the beach watching the waves welcome the sunrise. Ever since then the lyrics have continued to pierce my heart.  

“I’ll never waste what’s spent on you” 

Maybe your year also started with loss of investments that from your perspective feels wasted. Let me remind you what the Holy Spirit reminded me. When our why is worship nothing is wasted. 

Our why has the power to turn any task into worship or warfare. We chose. When our why is worship, we can’t mess it up. What’s done for Love is sustained by Love. We remain connected to His power source of Love through our ongoing surrender. 

When our why is rooted in anything else (approval of people, selfishness, control, pride, etc) we welcome warfare into our lives with the rotten fruit of exhaustion, frustration, complaining, anxiety, anger and strife. 

Or as James puts it in James 1:6, “the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” I’ve learned the hard way that burnout creeps in when there is mixture in my motives.  

Instead of worrying over unexpected situations and timelines this winter, Jesus offered me the invitation to worship. As I surrender, He works.

I am happy to report we now have a working new-to-us van, and Flourish: a Field Guide for Spiritual Growth will be available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble April 4, 2025!

God is faithful! What’s done as an act of worship is never wasted.