Between the Barn & the Bible


Have you ever found yourself holding on tightly to something that God might be asking you to let go of?

Maybe it's something familiar. Something comfortable. Something you've come to depend on.

And when it starts to change, your first reaction isn't peace. It's panic.

Well, I had a little reminder of that recently, and it came from an unexpected place... out in the pasture, with a little lamb named Buttercup and she wasn't happy about it!

Isn't that just like us sometimes?

We get comfortable with the way things have always been. We have routines, relationships, plans, and things we depend on. Sometimes those things aren't bad at all. But there are seasons when God begins to change something.

Maybe He is asking us to release something we've been holding onto.

Maybe a door closes. Maybe a season ends. Maybe something we thought we needed is no longer available in the way it used to be.

And suddenly, we're crying out, wondering why God isn't giving us what we're asking for.

We keep looking for the bottle.

We keep asking Him to put things back the way they were.

But what if, instead of focusing on what God isn't giving us, we began to focus on the One who is right there with us?

Psalm 23:1 says:

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."

I love that picture of God as our Shepherd.

A shepherd knows his sheep. He knows what they need, when they need it, and how to care for them.

And sometimes, caring for them means leading them into a new season.

It doesn't mean the shepherd has stopped loving them.

It means he knows what is best for them.

Instead of striving, worrying, trying to figure everything out, or desperately reaching for the thing we think will make us feel better, maybe we need to simply sit with our Shepherd.

Spend a little time in His Word.

Be still long enough to listen.

Tell Him what's on your heart.

And remind yourself that even when your circumstances change, His character doesn't.

He is still good. He is still faithful. He is still present. And He still knows exactly what you need.

I don't know what season you're walking through right now.

Maybe you're in the middle of a change you didn't ask for. Maybe you're grieving something you've had to release. Maybe God is asking you to trust Him in an area where you've always wanted to be in control.

Whatever it is, I want to encourage you today:

Don't spend so much time looking for the bottle that you miss the Shepherd standing right beside you.

One kind word. One small act of kindness. One moment when somebody chooses patience instead of frustration.

Sometimes we never know how far those little moments will reach.

How often do we underestimate the impact of one small action?

We might think we have to do something big to make a difference. We need to help somebody in a major way, say something profound, or do something that everybody notices.

But what if making a difference starts with something much smaller?

A smile. An encouraging word. Helping somebody who is struggling. Choosing to be patient when things don't go the way we planned.

One little thing can lead to another, and before we know it, we've started a chain reaction.

Our Scripture for the day was Ephesians 5:1–2. It says:

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us…”

I love that this Scripture starts by reminding us that we are dearly loved children of God.

Before we talk about what we should do, we need to remember who we are and whose we are.

We don't have to earn God's love by being kind enough, helpful enough, or good enough. He loves us, and out of that love, we can learn to love others.

We can follow His example. We can walk in love.

Ephesians reminds us that we are dearly loved children of God. And because we have received His love, we have the privilege of sharing it with others.

So, as you go about your week, look for those little moments. The ordinary opportunities. The people God has placed right in front of you.

You never know when one little thing might lead to another.

And that one little thing might just be the beginning of a beautiful chain reaction.

Have you ever been so busy that you almost missed something?

Maybe somebody was trying to get your attention, but you were focused on what you were doing.

Maybe you were thinking about the next thing on your list, trying to get from one thing to another, and you almost missed the person right in front of you.

I think sometimes our relationship with God can be like that.

We're so busy doing things

And that brings me to the question I want us to think about today:

Am I close enough to hear His voice?

Couple of weeks ago , we talked about divine interruptions—those moments when God steps into our ordinary plans and gives us an opportunity to be the visible hands and feet of Jesus.

But this week I want to take it one step further.

How do I recognize a divine appointment when it comes?

And I think part of the answer is this:

I need to know His voice.

Jesus says in John 10:27:

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

Think about that for just a minute.

Sheep recognize the voice of their shepherd because they know their shepherd.

It's not just about hearing a voice.

It's about relationship.

You can't recognize the Shepherd's voice if you aren't spending time with the Shepherd.

And that's where Philippians 1:9–11 comes in.

Paul writes:

“I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.”

And then he says:

“For I want you to understand what really matters…”

I love that.

Because isn't that something we need?

To know what really matters.

To have the discernment to recognize what God is doing right in front of us and join Him!

You know God's voice. You love Him. You believe He is good.

But when you look at what lies ahead, fear begins to speak louder than faith.

"What if I get hurt again?"

"What if this doesn't work out?"

"What if I can't do what He's asking me to do?"

"What if I step forward and discover that I wasn't ready?"

Sometimes, just like Justice, we stop dead in our tracks.

And from where we're standing, we may not be able to see the greener grass. We may not understand why God is asking us to leave the place where we feel comfortable.

But here's something I love about the story of Justice.

I didn't expect her to figure everything out on her own.

I went to her.

And that reminds me of the heart of our Heavenly Father.

God meets us in our fear

God doesn't ask us to trust Him because He is a stranger.

He asks us to trust Him because He knows us, loves us, and has proven Himself faithful.

And when we are afraid, He doesn't stop being our Shepherd.

He doesn't stop being our Father.

He doesn't stop being the One who guides.

He meets us right in the middle of our fear and teaches us to trust Him again.

Proverbs 3:5–6 says:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

God is teaching us that trust is built one step at a time.

And perhaps today, He is reminding you that you can follow Him.

Not because you know exactly what is ahead.

Not because you are certain that nothing difficult will happen.

But because He is faithful.

Because He loves you.

Because He knows what is best.

And because you are never outside the reach of His love.

What does resilience look like when God asks you to keep moving forward—even when the trail gets steep?

In this episode of Between the Barn and the Bible, we're continuing the journey of A Life That Looks Like Jesus and talking about courage, resilience, obedience, and what it means to keep going when God calls us forward.

I'll share the incredible story of the Pack Horse Librarians—women who rode through the mountains of Kentucky carrying books, Bibles, and hope to families who had little access to reading materials.

They didn't ride because it was easy.

They rode because someone needed what they carried.

And maybe that's true for us, too.

You may never ride a mountain trail carrying a saddlebag full of books and Bibles, but God may still be asking you to step outside your comfort zone—to encourage someone who's hurting, sit with someone who's struggling, pray boldly, or simply carry the hope of Jesus into a difficult place.

We'll talk about what it means to see resilience as trust in motion and how courage grows as we draw closer to God.

And we'll come back to an important truth from Chapter 1:

First, He works in us. Then, He works through us.

God doesn't waste the places where we've been broken, healed, stretched, or restored. Sometimes the very things He's walked us through become what He uses to help us carry hope to someone else.

So maybe being “unstoppable” doesn't mean we never fall.

Maybe it means that when God says “Go,” we're willing to get back up, trust Him, and keep riding.

Be ready. Listen when He speaks. And be willing to ride wherever He leads—even when the trail looks steep.

🐴 Grab your Bible, pull up a chair at the barn, and join me Between the Barn and the Bible.

Stay close to Jesus. Keep learning from His Word. And keep growing in grace.

What if the interruption you're frustrated by is actually an opportunity God has placed right in front of you?

In this episode of Between the Barn and the Bible, we're talking about A Life That Looks Like Jesus by looking at one of the things that stands out about Jesus—He was willing to stop.

In Matthew 20, two blind men cry out to Jesus as He is passing by. The crowd sees them as a disruption, but Jesus sees two people who need Him.

The Bible says, “Jesus stood still.”

Those three words have been challenging me in my own life. I share a barn moment with Bella, my horse, who has a way of reminding me to slow down, put the list aside, and simply be present.

We'll talk about the interruptions that may actually be divine appointments, the possibility that some interruptions may even be God's protection, and what it means to hold our plans loosely enough to make room for people.

Because sometimes we're so focused on accomplishing the next thing that we miss the person standing right in front of us.

The question we'll sit with is:

If someone knew nothing about Jesus except what they experienced through me, what would they believe He is like?

Maybe today we need to slow down enough to notice.

Because sometimes the interruption isn't getting in the way of what God is doing.

Sometimes the interruption IS what God is doing.

Grab your Bible, pull up a chair at the barn, and join me Between the Barn and the Bible.

Stay close to Jesus. Keep learning from His Word. And keep growing in grace.