I remember a conversation with my colleague and fellow Jesus-gal, Vanessa Myers, when she shared that the Lord was leading her to follow up her beautiful Advent book, Wondering to Bethlehem, with a resource for the season of Lent. I’m happy to say—it’s here!

Wondering to Jerusalem: A Wonder-Filled Lent Devotional for Kids is written especially for children and for parents of littles who aren’t yet readers. It gently invites families to journey to Jerusalem during the final week of Jesus’ life on earth, leading up to His death and resurrection. Through simple readings and thoughtful “I wonder…” questions, it opens the door for meaningful conversations about this historically true event on which our entire Christian faith is built.

With forty devotions—plus three bonus entries—we travel with Jesus as He makes this final journey to Jerusalem. Each day includes a Scripture “packing list,” a short set of “I wonder…” questions, and a guided prayer, followed by a full journal page and space to draw a visual snapshot of the scene.

But this book is so much more than a kids’ devotional.

It has inspired me to design and prepare Children’s Moments for our church-wide worship services. The spiritual depth is remarkable—grounded in Scripture and supported by historical writings—for all ages and stages. From detailed information about the temple to helpful layouts in the appendices, to insights about donkeys and daily life, there is so much here. Even as a long-time Christian, I learned new, trustworthy details about the story that defines our faith.

So, what am I going to do with it? Great question!

First, I placed a bulk order for every student in K5–5th grade, as well as for each family in our nursery, to encourage daily reading and response from Ash Wednesday through Easter Sunday. I also ordered several extra copies to share at the Georgia Preschool Association Annual Conference in February and at a community event we’ll sponsor with a local senior living center on Palm Sunday.

Second, Vanessa has created a simple and meaningful Family Event, now available on her website. Our church is partnering with a local senior living center to host this event on Palm Sunday from 3–5 pm, outdoors, bringing together our families and the families of residents. The senior living center is providing the staging, sound system, some door prizes, and food—charcuterie cups featuring Middle Eastern flavors. Their Bible study group will offer hospitality, take photos at the photo booth, and engage families with “I wonder…” questions throughout the event.

Our local church team will bring the activity stations, photo booth supplies, and volunteers to connect with both church families and residents. We’ll also invite the families of our students and adults with disabilities to arrive 20 minutes early. We’ll close the event with a viewing of the recording of our elementary students’ shadow presentation of the song “King of Kings,” which we’ll prepare and record during Lent at the Spring Hallelujah Camp.

Vanessa Myers has generously offered to give one free copy of Wondering to Jerusalem to a blog reader. If you’d like to receive the gift copy (mine is already written in!), please comment by Friday evening—wherever you’re reading this—and share one of your favorite Easter or Lent traditions.

You can find information about bulk book orders here. You can also find the Family Event resource here, along with many other scripturally true resources for families and kidmin leaders.

I’d love to hear how you plan to use this wonderful resource in your own context. A children’s sermon? An at-home family resource? Special weekly programming? A Family Event or community faith-formation gathering?

Vanessa has diligently and faithfully done the hard work. What might this resource inspire for you?

“When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” Matthew 21:10

My friend’s mother passed away several months ago. I never had the privilege of knowing her mother personally, but I learned she was a devoted wife, a loving mother, a faithful participant in her church’s women’s Bible study for many years, and someone who was deeply cherished by all who knew her. My friend and her husband have raised three remarkable young men—Eagle Scouts—and they are eagerly awaiting their first grandchild. The sudden loss of this wonderful woman of faith and family has been heartbreaking for them. The holiday season which followed has been difficult to say the least.

Because Mr. Bob and I couldn’t get back from a site visit for March’s R3 Gathering in time for the visitation the night before, I planned to attend the graveside service the next day. Well before any arrangements were made, we had already promised the big grands a weekend of Christmas decorating. Grand N stayed behind to help Pops with the heavier work, and Grand E, came with me—ready to serve as my plus-one as we offered a simple ministry of presence to my friend and her family at her mom’s funeral.

It became a meaningful opportunity to teach E the rituals, practices, and language of honoring a life well-lived within Christian community. E had attended her great-grandfather’s funeral at age four or five; she is eleven now, ready to understand more deeply.

E is a believer and Jesus is her King, so I can use language like ‘God’s people’, ‘the way of Jesus people’, and though we are sad at the loss of our loved ones, we have ‘hope in Christ Jesus, the writer and perfecter of our Christian faith.’

E’s mom helped her choose appropriate clothes, shoes, and jewelry. On our way to the graveside service, we stopped at Honey Baked Ham to pick up something to share and packed it in a cooler. E was in charge of the ice.

We talked about where to sit or stand, how to greet people, and how to introduce herself with eye contact and a gentle handshake. We talked about how services like this remind Christians that this world is not our final home, that Jesus prepares a place for His own, that God’s Word is true, and that the Christian community comes together in seasons of joy and in seasons of sorrow. This is our way.

We chatted that there will always be seasons when God’s people hold both tissues and confetti—grief for what we’ve lost, and hope for the wholeness and healing promised in Heaven. We are meant to walk through these moments together for strength, comfort, shared stories, and care.

Funeral services help provide a transition through practices, people, stories, and the start of new normals. These moments are difficult, and even more difficult when faced alone or without space to process. Such services are for the living—for those left to remember, to grieve, and to be supported by the Christian community through offerings of presence, food, and acts of kindness.

When we arrived, I quietly introduced E to the family members, their names, and how they were related. I quietly pointed out the items under the tent, explained their purposes, and shared how each element in the service was chosen by loved ones or the family to honor her life.

We talked about grave markers, dates, the meaning of the dash between them, flowers, vases, and the difference between settled and freshly placed sod. We noticed one gravesite decorated with garland, spinners, photographs, and colorful plastic flowers. E asked if she could visit it after the service. She did.

Throughout the service, she watched and listened with full attention—the message, the music, the poem written and read by my friend’s sister. E stood quietly and respectfully the entire time. After the pastor dismissed us, we walked slowly to retrieve the cooler, placed it by my friend’s truck door, and began our drive home.

In the car, she asked thoughtful questions: “Who decides who gets to speak?”, “How do people find out someone has died?”, and “What happens next?” We talked about the first funeral I attended and others I have experienced. She even began thinking through who should speak at my funeral—“a very long time from now,” she assured me.

She was respectful, steady, curious, and unafraid. I was grateful for this sacred teaching moment even as I stood quietly in support of my grieving friend.

Less than ten days later, E’s other grandmother passed away suddenly. Lots of feelings, lots of hugs, lots of stories, lots of decisions were made for the family to travel to south Florida to be present and celebrate the life of a beautiful mother, wife, sister, and daughter of the King of Kings.

Grand E spoke at her grandmother’s service with her daddy standing at her side. She knew exactly what she wanted to say.

We Jesus people do things differently.

And Grand E knows.

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” 1 John 5:13 KJV

Small talk builds trust. It signals respect and genuine interest. It creates a sense of belonging, opens the door for influence and collaboration, and is often the first step toward honest, meaningful connection.

I love small talk. Not everyone does—and that’s okay. Small talk is a skill that can be learned and practiced. More than that, it’s a simple but powerful act of presence.

Lately, I’ve been listening to some excellent podcasts and reading some great books on connection and conversation that have helped me grow in this skill, including:

• The Next Conversation with Jefferson Fisher – His book was one of my favorite reads of 2025
• The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett, featuring Harvard behavioral scientist Alison Wood Brooks
• The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett and Jefferson Fisher
• How to Talk to Anyone About Anything by James W. Williams
• BigDeal: “Stop Rambling: The 3-2-1 Speaking Trick”

A line that stuck with me from BigDeal: “Conversation is not a soft skill-it’s a science.”

One of the best takeaways? When you know you’ll be entering a situation where small talk will be necessary (as in every group setting), come prepared with one or two good questions to ask, and small talk becomes easy.

My prepared question for January is simple: What are you most excited about in 2026?

And just in case the question comes back to me, I’ve prepared a few answers, too.

Answer #1: Mr. Bob and I are heading to the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter with our big grands for my February birthday. It’s been on my bucket list, and sharing that experience with them means making memories—and enjoying great apologetic and historical conversations along the way.

Answer #2: Launching LifeWise Academy for 1st–3rd graders in my county. This has been more than two years in the making, and each Thursday starting this week, I’ll get to serve as the bus teacher and alternating 2nd grade Bible teacher. With limited time, the bus rides are a great time for music, games, and connection. Just last Sunday, our LifeWise Cherokee County team delivered swag bags—complete with bubble machines and great enthusiasm—to the families already registered. Lots of additional encounters took place when the big, red LifeWise bus came to their very front door with Christmas lights and more.

Answer #3: I’ve asked the Lord to grow in me this year the fruit of the Spirit of gentleness—responding with tenderness. Yes, my maiden name is Bull, but I’m choosing to live in a posture of love going first. God has gently convicted me not only to grow in small talk, but in gentle and tender conversational skills. I want to go deeper in conversations more quickly and to be bolder in sharing the good news of Jesus with my words. I want to be a better communicator across the table, on the phone, and with those I love. It’s less about the sage from the stage and more about the guide alongside.

Sooooooo, what are you most excited about in 2026?

“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

Andrew Forrest is a pastor and the author of Love Goes First. As soon as the audiobook was released, I downloaded it on Audible—and finished it within a week; some parts I listened to more than once. The book is rich with Scripture, each passage pointing the reader/listener toward a simple but demanding call: move toward one another in love. Act, don’t react. The stories Forrest shares—both past and recent—bring that call to life.

I’ve noticed a growing trend in Christian-living literature over the past few years: a renewed effort to equip believers with practical ways to live out our faith in Jesus in a culture that is increasingly hostile to a biblical worldview.

After years of hearing “be kind” everywhere—from classrooms to commercials—I expected compassion to flourish. Instead, Christians, law enforcement, and those holding culturally unpopular views are often met with open and even violent hostility. Feelings have been elevated over facts, and the results are painful.

Books like Mama Bear Apologetics remind me that God did not design the brain to host unchecked emotion and thoughtful reasoning at the same time. One part of our brain helps us survive—fight, flight, or freeze—while another allows us to pause, think, and problem-solve.

The Apostle Paul urged believers in 1 Corinthians to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ, even when our feelings are loud. Forrest echoes that truth: feelings don’t care about facts—facts don’t care about feelings, but faith trains the mind.

At the heart of Love Goes First is a courageous question: How do we live out Jesus’ command to love God and love our neighbors when our neighbors hate us?

Forrest reminds us that, as it is written in all four gospels, Jesus was deeply hated—and yet He moved toward others in love, palms up, arms open, fully vulnerable, even unto death. Love has always come with a cost.

As Christians—little Christs—we train ourselves through practices to live this kind of love. We choose it knowing it’s gonna hurt. Knowing we will likely be disappointed, embarrassed, rejected, or betrayed. And still, we move forward in love.

Forrest describes a clear cultural shift over the past several decades.

From 1964 to 1994, Christianity was viewed positively, so when Billy Graham invited people to “come back” to faith, there was a shared belief that sin was real and God’s grace was needed.

From 1994 to 2014, the culture grew more neutral, with Christianity becoming just one option among many for personal fulfillment, often expressed through social justice and acts of charity.

However since 2014 the culture has turned openly hostile toward core, traditional Christian beliefs. His cultural examples were shocking and I can recall the shift with my own personal examples.

Today, culture defines the “right kind” of Christian as one expected to tolerate all views simply to keep the peace, while the “wrong kind” is one who openly accepts and tells the world that Jesus as the only way to salvation. Traditional Christian truths are often dismissed with statements like, “I’m a good person— I don’t believe in a negative, judging God.”

Judah Smith and Dr. Les Parrott note in Bad Thoughts that the average person thinks about 60,000 thoughts a day—and nearly 80% of them are negative. So how do we break free from cycles of negativity and a tolerance for a critical spirit?

We practice palms-up, arms-open love. We expect it to be costly. And we choose it anyway.

This is the set-apart life—scriptural holiness. It’s not simply “love first.” It’s love goes first. Love that moves. Love that initiates and take the initiative toward sacrifice.

My dad used to call it “expecting the worst while hoping for the best,” all while continuing toward goals worth chasing: redemption, restoration, and repair. That’s where the Holy Spirit grows fruit in us—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I don’t fear failure nearly as much as I fear regret. My only fear of failure is that of disappointing my God and the clear scriptural commands of His own.

Jefferson Fisher writes in The Next Conversation that the purpose of our words should be to grow deeper in relationship—marked by trust, truth, and grace. Dr. Henry Cloud writes in Boundaries that the goal of healthy boundaries is to nurture and enable authentic and respectful relationships. Both are tools for love going first.

This past Advent, I felt the weight of unmet expectations. I said the wrong things. I misread situations. I replayed conversations in my head—hundreds of times—hoping for face-to-face moments that didn’t come. Until love went first.

I will keep walking with palms up and arms open—vulnerable, hopeful, not easily offended nor disappointed for the sake of love. Love is mostly an intentional action rather than a feeling. I can go with what I know and not with how I feel.

I can choose to go with what I know is true and set aside my feelings for the sake of love. I can choose to not be overcome with negativity. I can rebuke a critical spirit. Hostility and anger have no place here.

After what Jesus has done for me, can I do anything less?

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.”” Exodus 14:15