It was a sunny California afternoon in 1976 when God opened my heart to receive Christ. I was five years old then, and I can still recall the sunlight streaming through the window as I sat on the living room floor with my parents. I understood that I was a sinner, that Jesus died for my sins, and that because of his sacrifice I could be forgiven and receive eternal life. I trusted in Christ as my Lord and Savior, and in that moment the simple faith of a child rested in the infinite grace of God.
I don’t remember much about my spiritual life as a child, but I do recall one incident that gives a glimpse into my newly awakened heart. Star Wars had just come out in the theaters, and my parents took me to see it. For the next couple of days I was distraught, and my mother eventually called me into her bedroom to ask what was wrong. Crying, I explained that if I could tell Luke, Leia, and Han Solo about Jesus, then all their problems would be solved! Obviously, my immature mind had trouble distinguishing between what was real and what was pretend. But God's Spirit was already planting in me a love for his Word and a desire to share it with others.
In the following years, I attended schools and a church where I heard God's Word faithfully taught, and the Lord began forming my convictions and changing me from the inside out. Usually the “good girl" on the outside, there was plenty of sin in my heart that needed to be rooted out—pride, anger, worry, and discontent. I can now see that with every mistake I made and struggle I faced, God was breaking me down to build me up. He was working in me to make me more like Jesus, just as he promises to do for all who belong to him. As a teenager, Philippians 1:6 gave me much hope, and it’s a promise that still encourages me today: “For I am confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
In 1994, I married my husband, Phillip, and soon afterward we moved from the Los Angeles area to San Diego for him to attend seminary. Two seminaries, three kids, and thirteen years later, both of us were seminary graduates. Our long years of graduate school stretched my faith to the limit. Multiple moves, living far from family, financial setbacks, physical exhaustion, infertility issues, the challenges of early motherhood, and keeping our marriage healthy under the strain—well, all of it was overwhelming and felt like more than I could bear. And yet, God was always faithful even when I was faithless. Through every difficulty, he was showing me that he's both sovereign and good. He was teaching me—as he still does today—to persevere, to love through sacrifice, and to trust him without fear.
Fast forward to today. Our family now lives near Houston, Texas, where Phillip is a professor of biblical languages at Houston Baptist University and an associate pastor at Founders Baptist Church. My days are full caring for our family and home, and I also serve part-time as the Director of Women's Counseling at our church. And that’s where the idea was born for When Words Matter Most: Speaking Truth with Grace to Those You Love.
A few years ago, I asked the women in a bible study I was teaching to share why they had signed up for the study. A few of them said that they wanted to better understand God’s Word so they could share it with loved ones who were struggling spiritually. A short time later, a woman stopped me in the hallway at church and asked me which Scriptures she might share with her daughter-in-law to comfort her after a recent miscarriage. As I thought about these and similar conversations, something stood out to me: throughout the years, women have not only asked me for biblical advice for themselves; they’ve also often asked for advice for how to speak God’s truth to those they love.
My friend, Caroline Newheiser, and I wrote When Words Matter Most: Speaking Truth with Grace to Those You Love to encourage and equip you to speak God's truth to those you care about, according to their spiritual need. Is your friend anxious about her future? Is your neighbor weary under many burdens? Is a family member straying from the Lord? Is a co-work grieving a loss?
When someone you know is struggling spiritually, you may feel uncertain about what to say and how to say it. You might sense her need to hear biblical encouragement or advice, but you feel inadequate for the task. Not knowing how to respond, you might simply commiserate with her or say nothing at all. But it doesn't have to be that way! God is calling you to something more.
When Words Matter Most is a thought-provoking and practical book that shows you how to share Scripture and biblical principles in a faithful, helpful, and meaningful way with others in your sphere of influence who need the transforming truth of God’s Word—those who are worried, weary, wayward, or weeping.
In addition, I speak at women’s events with the goal of helping women know the truth of God’s Word, live it out in their daily lives, and give it to others in love—all for the glory of Christ. If I’m ever in your area, I invite you to join us as we search Scripture together and discover its life-changing power for all who believe.