Worship leader Kari Jobe is adding another award to her collection. This week she received The Dove Award for “Recorded Music Packaging of the Year” for her latest project, The Garden.

“That’s the first time to win an award for the packaging so it’s kind of a cool thing for me,” said Jobe in an exclusive interview with Studio 5’s Efrem Graham. 

Jobe also shared the story behind the album’s title track, “The Garden.”

“Right when I was starting to write for this album, I didn’t know the theme yet or anything, I was pregnant with Canyon. my one-and-a-half-year-old, and my sister was pregnant at the same time,” Jobe recalled.

She continued, “Right at the end of her pregnancy, she gave birth to a sleeping angel who was already with Jesus before we got to meet her.”

Jobe, who was still pregnant at the time, said the experience sent her “entire family into this season of extreme disappointment, heartache and trauma.”

“I was just feeling really disappointed,” Jobe added.

She says an “an incredible mentor” reminded her she had to keep moving, “She [said]. ‘You have to grieve this, of course, but I’m not going to let you stay here and shut down.'”

Jobe recalls asking, “God, why didn’t you answer our prayers? Why didn’t you do a miracle?” 

After some time, Jobe said she learned God had indeed done an “incredible miracle” in reaching her sister’s heart through the experience.

“I wrote ‘The Garden’ song for her,” said Jobe.

She added, “It was just a prayer for her.” Jobe said the prayer “was that faith would rise up in her heart again.” 

Jobe said her sister’s “daughter that’s in heaven is named James Ivy,” and in the song, she uses the plant and name as a metaphor for faith.

“Faith is rising up like ivy/Reaching for the light/Hope is stirring deep inside me.”

“God has just used Ivy to remind us that He’s in control, He’s not forsaken us, we’re not forgotten,” said Jobe.

She continued, “Sometimes we just experience difficult stuff on this side of heaven, but God takes it and turns it into something beautiful every time.” 

{eoa}

Copyright The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., All rights reserved.

It happened during an expectedly spiritual journey to Israel.

As my friend Michael S. Tyrrell sipped a cup of joe in a quaint, orthodox Jewish coffee house—listening to a piano player named David—the Holy Spirit spoke to him.

All at once Michael realized this was no ordinary evening—and David was no ordinary piano player.

In fact, David was playing Christian music “under the radar” and locked in to Michael’s astonished expression.

With a nod from David and ensuing conversation, Michael made a connection he never dreamed he would.

Read the full story here.

Thousands of people, including me, have benefitted greatly spiritually and even physically from Michael’s meeting that night.

You see, Michael is a very talented guitar player and worship leader.

Now, because the Holy Spirit put him in that coffee house with David, Michael was able to create seven amazing pieces of healing music that have filled listeners with peace, joy and most important—the Lord!

Now I’ve known Michael a long time; we go way back.

And where I’ve never known him to “put one over” on me or anyone else, I freely admit to you that I was skeptical about the power of this music.

Once I heard the beautiful, angelic sounds, and once I saw how everyone I knew—including me—responded to this music, it didn’t take long for me to understand that this was something that was brought to us directly from the Lord.

I can’t explain it. I can tell you all day long how this music has been praised and how reports have poured in from folks all over the world who’ve been healed, soothed and altogether moved by the Holy Spirit through these seven amazing songs.

But I can’t explain this in words.

All I can tell you is it’s real—and it will move you to tears.

Are you ready to hear the sounds of healing and feel His Spirit guide you from within?

Welcome home to Wholetones: The Healing Frequency Music Project. Listen here for free.

{eoa}

The America that I love, with all its warts and blemishes, voted for a black man to be our president eight years ago and welcomed a black family into the White House. The America that I love, with all its faults and failings, reveres the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King and regrets the legacy of slavery and segregation. That same America is being torn apart today by race baiters and race agitators. We must not let them divide us.

We will always have racists and haters in our midst. We will always have provocateurs who feed on discord and strife. We will always have those who call for separation and division.

But that doesn’t mean we need to listen to them. To the contrary, we need to isolate them and marginalize them rather than make them mainstream.

Unfortunately, today, it appears that the secular media is determined to mainstream the margins and to highlight the hate. This will bring nothing but destruction, deepening our divides rather than healing our wounds.

Let the alt-right and the Neo Nazis and the White Supremacists rage. They will hold their rallies and make their speeches, and within certain bounds, they have the constitutional right to do so. But rather than magnify them, we should ignore them. The less attention they get, the better, since they represent a small fringe of the population at best.

In the same way, rather than making every conflict in America a conflict about race, we should focus on the real justice issues in America—and that means real race-related issues where they exist. Otherwise, when talking heads on TV constantly pull the race card, they blunt the point they want to make, creating more opposition than solidarity.

Take, for example, the claim that the recent remarks of White House Chief of Staff John Kelly were somehow racist. Yes, as bizarre as it seems, Gen. Kelly was accused of making a racist comment when he referred to Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson as an “empty barrel” for her attack on President Trump’s call to a Gold Star widow.

According to Wilson, “That’s a racist term. We looked it up in the dictionary, because I had never heard of an empty barrel. And I don’t like to be dragged into something like that.”

Racist? Seriously?

Others joined in the fray as well, including MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell, who claimed that the insult was racist because it was intended to “dehumanize Frederica Wilson,” herself a black woman. And MSNBC’s Joy Reid went even further, suggesting that Kelly himself was racist, being raised in segregated Irish Boston.

Fox’s Tucker Carlson was right to lambast them, stating, “According to Joy Reid, the problem isn’t just General Kelly. It is the Irish, they’re the problem. This is grotesque, obviously. The morons making these arguments are sick. It’s the centrum of disease to imagine racism behind every disagreement. This also by the way the death of traditional political debate. You can argue with people who disagree with you who are just wrong, but there is no reasoning with bigots, you can only crush them. Your opponents suddenly become your enemies. They must be destroyed. And that by the way is how many on the left now see General Kelly not to mention you and me.”

I happened to turn on CNN, where a panel of talking heads was debating this very question, namely, whether Gen. Kelly’s rebuke of Rep. Wilson was racist, thereby fueling the fires of racial division and strife and, quite literally, making something out of nothing. (Go ahead and study the reference to an “empty barrel” to your heart’s content. You’ll find nothing racist about it.)

One of the panelists, an African-American male whose name I didn’t see, stated that, if you’ll look at those whom President Trump criticizes, you’ll see that he criticizes black Americans much more harshly than those who look like him.

This is just plain crazy, not to mention inciteful and dangerous.

Just think back for a moment. How did candidate Trump treat the other Republican candidates? Did he not try to savage Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, none of whom were black? One could even argue that he was the least harsh with Dr. Ben Carson, the one black candidate. And did he hold back in his criticism of Hillary Clinton, a female, but a white female at that?

What about his attack on “Psycho Joe” Scarborough? Correct me if I’m wrong, but he’s not black either. And on and on the list goes. To claim that Trump attacks black Americans more harshly than white Americans is to expose one’s own racism, not expose his (alleged) racism.

Unfortunately, the race-baiters are winning the day, and now everything is seen through the lens of “white privilege,” to the point that universities are reevaluating their curricula lest too much emphasis be given to major white voices in history. (For a case in point, last year,  reported that, “Some Yale University students are demanding changes to the English Department curriculum: specifically, they don’t think it should feature so many English poets who were straight, white, wealthy and male.”)

The tragedy in all this is twofold. First, racial tensions are being inflamed and, in some cases, manufactured out of thin air, since rhetoric like this only produces negative reactions. Second, the real issues—I mean issues of racial inequality where they still exist in America—get ignored.

So let’s refuse to be drawn into the fray. Instead, as fellow-Americans and fellow-human beings, let’s work together for the good of all our fellow-citizens, listening, learning and serving.

Together we stand. Divided we fall.

“I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem, who shall never hold their peace day nor night. You who remind the Lord, do not keep silent; give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a glory in the earth” (Isa. 62:6-7).

I think it is clear to all of us who are pressing into the Lord presently that we are in a final act of restoration for His church, as though He is forming a new wineskin through His body with a good number of reforms and adjustments in order for His Kingdom to be more effective upon the earth. These reforms will once again properly mobilize God’s body into the works of the ministry and away from the old pew focus that has had most of the ministry works fall upon its leadership. This is one of the major advantages of the church moving back towards a fivefold ministry focus.

From within this context, I would like to address the prayer focus and directives that are already arising in and through us, as many of the reforms in His body are already beginning to take place without us necessarily fully recognizing them as such. This is what is so amazing about this time, whether we agree or not. God is in charge here and moving His body into position. He is bringing these reforms to pass and ultimately as His children, we have a choice to make, speaking metaphorically, to either get on the train or to be left at the station. It’s not that He will love us any less, but that there is so much more for us to gain by fully trusting Him with these changes for His church. In fact, hasn’t it always been like this when God moves in a new and fresh way and many of us get left behind? May it never be this time around in Yeshua’s/Jesus’ precious name, Amen. But the train is already on the move: “All aboard!”

Isaiah 62:6

Regarding this new corporate prayer focus, I have felt impressed of the Holy Spirit that there are two directives in Isaiah 62:6 that relate to prayer and intercession that are significant to our understanding. One in particular, is for the watchmen/women and the other is for everyone else, noted in the above bolded text. One can compare this to the gift of evangelism. While we may not be an evangelist or have this gift, we are all called to witness and share our faith. And the same is true for prayer, for those who are called into the watchmen/women focus and for everyone else.

We are all called to prayer (and not just individual prayer), which must now take a greater priority in His church, more than ever before. In fact, this is one of the main areas of adjustments in the church, among God’s leadership who not only need to lead by example in this most significant area, but also to more fully recognize the call of prayer with these differing focuses.

What’s important to us:

• Not only to recognize the differing focuses of prayer but also the various giftings among us, so we are properly shepherded and guided into them by our leadership. For example, everyone can contribute towards a 24/7 worship and prayer event; or any other type of prayer meeting such as early-morning prayer. That way, the watchmen/women can be called to a more strategic type of intercession that the Holy Spirit is calling us into that requires a greater prayer focus.
• To more effectively empower everyone who is called to know how and where they can serve in prayer and not feel intimidated in any way by those who have a deeper calling in the area. We will emphasize that those who call on the Lord be trained up with this focus in mind.
• To better recognize the calling of prophetic intercession in the church; to raise up more effective training, teaching and equipping in this area for all those called to be watchmen/women, which will have dramatic effects on this end-time reformation that Mashiach/Christ is leading us into with these directives.

For these reasons, I believe this new focus and directive for prayer should be foundational to our approach, and in this light, can help to develop much greater fruit from our works, teaching and training in prayer, as we more effectively guide our brothers and sisters into the right areas of prayer.

The Watchmen/Women Call

In this day, there is a greater call and focus for His watchmen/women through our various prayer assignments and strategies. There is a call to be brought into a greater dependence on the Holy Spirit and to create more Spirit-led environments for these prayer strategies to come forth. For the Lord to put the strongholds of the enemy under His feet through His prayer saints (Eph. 6:12). The Holy Spirit is already leading me into this with a good number of other intercessors with our Reconnection Ministry focus, and we are beginning to receive a small taste of what is to come into this area, as we move into it in greater depth.

Jerusalem

Another major principle that also needs our attention is our focus upon Jerusalem itself. While every prayer need is important to God, the kingdom of God has been established with certain positions; and none greater than our focus on the gospel, which is to the Jew first; then to the nations (Rom.1:16).

As the church reconnects spiritually towards Israel, which appears to be the final act in this reformation, I believe this adjustment and principle also needs to be reestablished in and through our prayer strategies. It will be the same with the kingdom’s outflow, the natural response of which is greater power and blessings into the nations, ultimately bringing the end-time harvest and Israel’s spiritual awakening. This is part of the unveiling of the mystery that Paul refers to in Romans 11:25 along with the power equation of Israel’s spiritual restoration: life from the dead (Rom. 11:15).

However, regarding this realignment, in a sense, it is like David moving the ark back to Jerusalem (2 Sam. 6), which had to be done in accordance to the Word of God in order for God’s full blessing to be upon it. The same is true of our spiritual realignment  to Israel, as this principle of the kingdom written in Romans never changed and must now be restored. This is significant to our understanding in this place, as in this day, of Israel’s spiritual awakening and restoration; it will help to lay the foundation for world revival.

Look also at the directive of the Scripture in Isaiah related to this positioning, never to be silent and to give both God and ourselves no rest until He makes Jerusalem the praise of all the earth. We must not spiritualize this Scripture, as Jerusalem is not the church here. It is a holy city where our King will come back to reign, and one that we are very much going to have to contend order for Yeshua/Jesus to return. We must consider all that this means means to us as He fully restores us in the one new man, between Jew and Gentile and Israel and the church. {eoa}

Grant Berry is a Jewish believer in Yeshua/Jesus and author of The New Covenant Prophecy and The Ezekiel Generation. He founded Reconnecting Ministries with the specific focus to help the church reconnect spiritually to Israel and considers it vital to the kingdom of G-d in the last days. His message focuses on the unity, love and healing that the Father wants to bring between Jew and Gentile, yet clearly points out the differences and misunderstandings between the two groups. Now is the time to look more carefully into this mystery to make way for healing and reconnection in the Spirit. For more information, please visit .

Prayer can be the answer to society’s problems. In the music video for “When We Pray,” Tauren Wells asks, “What if we could be a people on our knees?” The song and video celebrate the power of intercessory prayer.

Job is a dense epic of beautiful Hebrew poetry. But for many modern readers, that makes it hard to fully understand the book’s message. This video by The Bible Project depicts the entire story of Job and, in the process, clears up some major misconceptions.

Why is it that God so often speaks the language of mystery?

Our Father wants to be understood when He speaks; however, He frequently communicates in “dark speech.” (See Num. 12:6.) This means He speaks in ways that are veiled, or mysterious, and we need revelation if we’re going to understand what He’s saying. Dreams fall into this category all the time.

“Even when things without life give sound, whether flute or harp, how will it be known what is played unless they give a distinction in the sounds? If the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for the battle? So also you, unless with the tongue you speak words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you shall speak into the air” (1 Cor. 14:7-9).

God sets a principle in 1 Corinthians 14 that He Himself abides by: You can’t expect someone to respond to something they don’t understand.

We need understanding for our dreams—but how do we get it?

Where to Go for Dream Answers

As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:10–11, interpretation is a gift of the Spirit, not a process of human intelligence. Technically, this passage is talking about tongues and interpretations, but the principle holds true for all spiritual communication, including dreams.

Only God can interpret spiritual communication. In other words, there is only One who can tell us what we need to know.

Because God Himself is the answer to the dream question, we can study principles of interpretation and develop a skill set that will help us understand dreams, but we won’t be able to grasp the full understanding God has for us if we depend solely on what we’ve learned. Joseph understood this concept when he asked, “Do not interpretations belong to God?” Yet he also understood he had a role to play in the process of interpretation, for he added, “Please tell the dreams to me” (Genesis 40:8, author’s paraphrase).

In later blog posts, we’ll talk about the skills that can help you position yourself to interpret the dream, but these skills can only position you for the interpretation—revelation is still required.

The Difference Between Disciples and Crowds

Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables and veiled speech, and His disciples asked Him about it in Matthew 13:10b: “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He told them the understanding belonged to them—but not to the crowds.

What set the disciples apart? Why did the understanding belong to a select few but not to everyone? As we read the rest of the chapter, we realize the answer: It was their relationship with Jesus. The crowds would hear the parables and be entertained; they would go back to their lives feeling like they had an experience, but the disciples would return to Jesus and ask Him to explain what He meant.

The Key to Interpreting Dreams

The key to interpreting dreams is relationship with the author of dreams. When you have a dream or someone shares a dream with you, go back to God and ask Him what He was trying to say. It can be helpful to ask questions like these:

• “What did You mean by that?”
• “What were You trying to say to this person?”
• “What are You accomplishing in my life?”

As you engage with God about His revelation, He will speak to you in greater detail. Most revelation is an invitation to engage God for more.

Develop friendship with the Holy Spirit. Deepen your ongoing conversation with Him. Speak to Him constantly, and you will find He is already speaking constantly to you. Expect Him to clarify what He is saying. As Bill Johnson succinctly says, “He doesn’t hide stuff from us. He hides stuff for us.”

Seek Relationship

God’s veiled speech reveals our hearts: Do we really want to understand, or do we just want to have an experience? Are we looking for relationship or entertainment?

Our response to dreams can reveal the kind of soil we’re working with (See Matt. 13:3–23). We can treat dreams lightly, without paying much attention to them, or we can see them as invitations to seek God and listen for His voice.

“And He answered them, ‘To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him'” (Matt. 13:11-12). {eoa}

John E. Thomas is the president of Streams Ministries and the co-author of The Art of Praying the Scriptures: A Fresh Look at Lectio Divina with John Paul Jackson. Teaching on prophetic ministry, dream interpretation and the Kingdom of God, he travels internationally and works to help restore the awe of God to a world that has lost its wonder. John and his wife, Dawna, live outside of Dallas, Texas.

To learn more about dreams and dream interpretation, check out Dream Foundations as well as other resources from John E. Thomas and John Paul Jackson at .

Many problems between the LGBT and Christian communities come because the two groups don’t interact with one another. Jackie Hill-Perry, a former lesbian who is now a Bible teacher, tells The Gospel Coalition the biggest thing that Christians misunderstand about LGBT people. Her insight could dramatically change how you witness to them.

Last week, I decided to do some baking on my day off. I grabbed the pile of bowls in the cupboard and instead of taking out a couple at a time, I went for the whole stack. As a result, the heavy glass one at the bottom got away from me and crashed down on my little toe.

I’m not sure if I screamed or cried, but whatever I did, it was dramatic and appropriate for the situation. It was a classic “me” move, trying to do everything at once and in a hurry.

Story of my life.

Well, my past life. I’ve been trying (bowl incident aside) to set a new tone for my everyday living.

Slow Down

I’ve always tended to go through life in a rush. Carrying all my groceries into the house in one trip. Frantically doing all the things I should have done on my day off, in the last hour before everyone gets home. Powering through tasks because of procrastination and poor planning, and leaving things until the last minute.

A big mess, trying to get through the day.

But why?

How about slowing down?

Is that even possible?

Anything is possible, especially if you’re tired of dropping bowls on your feet.

So, here are four things I’ve been trying to do in my slow-down experiment.

Look at the week ahead and plan accordingly. Time management has not always been my strength. For years, I would take work home with me every weekend and cause stress to my family. My weekend was me running out and trying to get things done that I should have done at work. Now, I get everything off my list by Friday so I can be present at home. When you look at the big picture of what you need to get done (at home and at work), you can break it down into manageable portions. Get the big things off your list at the start of the week to allow for balance throughout the rest, this naturally slows your week down.

Make time for people.  How often do we tell people we’d love to get together, but we never do? I feel guilty about how often I’ve said that and it’s never happened. Of course, the reason is always busyness. So, I’m trying to slow down and make time for relationships and connection, setting aside a specific time in my week/month with scheduled connecting time. People matter, and neglecting that leads to isolation and loneliness. It’s OK to schedule in relationship time; it means those relationships are a priority.

Set a pace. My natural pace is fast and furious. That has been what gets me in trouble. I lose things, I forget what I’m supposed to do, I lock myself out of places, wear shoes that don’t match and the list goes on. I am literally learning to talk myself down to a pace that is manageable where I’m still effective and productive. Otherwise, I’m a hot mess running through the streets. If you get into the habit of reminding yourself to slow down, you can do it. Take a breath and step back. You won’t get behind if you walk instead of run, and often you can think more clearly and get more accomplished.

Care for myself. There are a lot of things I like to do, things that fill my heart and soul. This summer, I got obsessed with our local beach, and I just wanted to be by the water. So, we did that a lot. There are small, easy things in life that give me joy, and I’m trying to slow down and do more of those things. We can race through life with all of its responsibilities, but it’s important to make time for yourself and the activities you love. Put those things on a calendar if you have to and make time for heart-filling joy and fun.

Slowing down doesn’t come natural to me. It feels too confining and goes against the free-spirit part of life that I have always loved. However, the more clearly I can see things around me, the more effective my life is.

I don’t do less, but I do things better.

The more we slow down, the more we actually see.

The pace we set helps us define what we value.

Making time for others and ourselves an investment that matters.

So, take a step back. Don’t try to grab all the bowls at once; they will just crash in a mess.

Take your time. Take a breath.

Slow down. {eoa}

Shelly Calcagno is a Toronto-based author, blogger and speaker.

This article originally appeared at .

Have you ever noticed that people who are content with life have a contagious positivity? They seem to have an undercurrent of peace running through their souls, along with a deep well of joy. What’s their secret? I believe contentment begins with a few good choices.

Even though life is challenging, contentment is an attitude God wants us to develop in our lives. It is His will that you be content. The great news is that contentment is an attitude that can be learned with the help of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul wrote, “For I have learned in whatever state I am to be content” (Phil. 4:11b). The incredible thing about those words is that Paul wrote them from prison. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to feel content in a jail cell. But Paul had learned to make some choices in the secret places of his heart. So, how can we cultivate contentment?

5 Positive Choices You Can Make

Choose to praise and thank God. Life happens, and sometimes it’s frustrating. But instead of complaining, try praising God for who He is. Think of His character traits and spend some time praising Him for His Almighty character. Or make a “thankful list” and write down the good gifts God has given you. David writes, “I will bless You while I live” (Psalm 63:4a). We should seek that same spirit.

Sing! Yes, you read that correctly. Bust out some tunes in your car or bellow out a song in the shower. Don’t worry if you can’t carry a note—God hears in perfect pitch. It’s all good. He loves your singing voice. It’s amazing how singing will lift your spirits and cultivate a deep satisfaction in your soul. David writes, “I sing in the shadow of Your wings” (Ps. 63:7, NIV). Because we are loved and sheltered by God, we have the freedom to sing and be satisfied in Him.

Listen to friends. When life feels hard, it’s easy to become self-focused. Instead, next time you feel discontent with your life, why not call a friend and go for coffee? Then, intentionally ask your friend questions about their life. If they share a problem, don’t try to “relate” or dive in with your problem. Instead, make your focus listening to understand. Here’s the exciting thing: When you offer empathy, you benefit as well. Why? Because God hard-wired your brain with mirror neurons. Those neurons are wired to respond to the emotions of others so that we can mirror their feelings. When you connect with another person by offering them empathy, your own mood will be boosted—and you might just walk away more contented.

Memorize a verse or two. When life feels difficult, refocus your thoughts on God by rehearsing His Word. David writes in Psalm 63:6 (MEV): “I remember You on my bed, and meditate on You in the night watches.” If you have a few good verses memorized, you don’t have to turn on the light in the middle of the night when you can’t sleep. Instead, rehearse the verses in your mind and refocus your brain on the goodness of God’s Word.

At the end of every day, remember the good. During a particularly rough season in my life, right before bed, I reflected back on the day and wrote down three good things that happened. By remembering the good ways God had blessed me, I was able to sink into a restful sleep rather than obsess on what went wrong that day. In Psalm 77:11, Asaph writes, “I will remember the works of the Lord; surely I will remember Your wonders of old.” Every day is filled with tiny miracles; if you don’t take the time to pause and reflect on those, you’ll miss the opportunity to nurture your contentment.

I’d love to hear from you! How have you cultivated contentment in your life? Leave a comment. {eoa}

Becky Harling, an author, certified speaker, leadership coach and trainer with the John Maxwell Team, is an energetic and motivational international speaker inspiring audiences to overcome their greatest life challenges and reach their full God-given potential. Her most recent book is How to Listen So People Will Talk. Her husband, Steve Harling, is the president of Reach Beyond, a nonprofit organization seeking to be the voice and hands of Jesus around the world.

This article originally appeared at .