On Tuesday, we had a beautiful ordination ceremony for my son, Bo.
He’s been doing ministry on his own and with me for several years, and our Board of Directors voted this month to add him to our Board and officially ordain him for the Gospel Ministry.
To me, ordination simply means affirming and confirming people in the call of God that is already on their life, making official what God has already spoken over them.
As I shared in our service, I’ve seen God at work in and through Bo for years.
Bo then shared how he particularly loves to minister to people, by communicating God’s love to them in ways they can truly understand.
Bo read from Mark chapter 4 about how Jesus ministered to people in similar ways, where Mark explains why Jesus often spoke in parables:
“With many stories like these, He presented His message to them, fitting the stories to their experience and maturity. He was never without a story when He spoke. When He was alone with His disciples, He went over everything, sorting out the tangles, untying the knots” (Mark 4:33-34, MSG).
Bo also shared a song he wrote, Grace Upon Grace, worshiping along with his family and friends who had gathered for the night at our home and on Zoom.
At the end, I presented Bo with a Certificate of Ordination on behalf of our Board, and we anointed and prayed for him.
It was a beautiful service, a holy moment! I’d love for you to watch if you can! Here’s the link, plus a few timestamps below to highlights from the service. https://youtu.be/mPZYfQ4evM4
Links to highlights from the ceremony
0:00 My sharing about ordination and Bo’s friend’s prayer 3:00 Bo’s original worship song, Grace Upon Grace 6:10 My sharing on Bo’s journey and his gifts in ministry 18:40 Bo’s sharing on his approach to ministry 23:55 Scriptures that guide Bo’s ministry 26:40 My presenting to Bo his certificate of ordination 28:00 Our whole gathering anointing and praying for Bo’s fruitfulness ahead
Enjoy! And congrats to Bo!
Love,
Eric Elder writes for page, stage & screen to glorify God’s name so Christ may be seen! Reply to write to Eric. Use this link to subscribe or unsubscribe.
Last week I interviewed my friend Andrés who was working at a job he trained for, but didn’t love. What he really wanted to do was minister to people as a pastor at a church.
When I asked him last year what was keeping him from doing what he really loved, he said he thought he wasn’t qualified, he thought no one would hire him, and he thought that maybe when he was 50 or 60 or retired he might finally be able to do his dream job. I told him I thought he was qualified, that someone would hire him, and he could start applying now for jobs in ministry!
When I was in Texas last week, I had the privilege of dropping Andrés off on Sunday morning at the large church in Dallas where he now serves on staff as one of their many pastors!
I snapped this picture of Andrés entering the church before heading off to my own next adventure. For I was on a quest to pursue one of my own passions in a bigger way… painting art!
I had driven to Texas to paint art with my cousin Joan Moody, who is also my art coach. When I missed her official art retreat a few months ago, she said to come down sometime and hang out with her and her family, and we’d paint together anyway. So when the weather turned nice again, I did!
I spent a beautiful week with Joan and her husband, Kevin, and daughter, Amy. Art for me was just a side hobby, something I loved doing, but had never considered doing professionally. But like I discovered with my piano playing years ago, God can take our “loves” and turn them into our “lives”! So why not with my painting?
Here’s why not: I had heard others say in the past, you can’t make a living in music or art. I said that to Joan last week and she said, “We do! We tell people all the time!” Joan paints, teaches and coaches art and has her entire life, and her husband sings, teaches, and coaches music, and has his entire life! Haha… the joke was on me.
When my son Bo went to school to focus on songwriting and leadership, an older, mutual friend of ours told Bo, “Just don’t quit your day job!” It was a discouraging comment from someone who was a skilled musician himself. But not long after, I saw a plaque on a wall at a coffee shop. It said:
“Don’t quit your daydream.”
I sent it to Bo. He’s still writing, recording, and publishing his music today!
What about you? What are some of your dreams, your passions, your heart’s desires? And what’s keeping you from leaning into those desires and making them not just a living, but a life?
For me, sometimes it’s just myself! I don’t see a path from here to there. I can’t believe I could actually do what I really want to do full-time. For instance, when I was at Joan’s art retreat over a year ago, she made us all stand up at the end of our 3 days together, show the paintings we had created, and say, “My name is _____, and I am an artist.”
Almost all of us choked when we got to the “artist” part. As for me, I laughed it off and said:
“My name is Eric, and I am an artist. I’m also a liar.”
I couldn’t believe it in my head, my heart, or anywhere else. But I soon discovered that ART is in the middle of HEART. And within a week of that art retreat, I had two people commission me to paint some paintings for them… the first time I had ever been paid for painting.
This year, I have a bigger goal in mind. I’d like to hold an art show here in Illinois (and on Zoom) in September, featuring not just my art, but the art of several of my friends. And YOU’RE invited! Whether you’re a budding artist, professional artist, or an art lover or appreciator of art, I’d love for you to join us here or on Zoom. I’m planning a weekend of fun, fellowship, crackers and cheese, and enjoying art. As Joan says,
“The Earth without art is just Eh.”
It makes me laugh, but it’s true. God loves art, and I believe He loves putting our artwork on His refrigerator. Compared to His creations, all of ours are really just “refrigerator art” anyway, whether a skilled lifetime artist or someone offering their best creation of a picture of their mom and dad in stick figures. They all make Him smile.
God honored artists in the Bible, and called them to use their gifts to the fullest for His and their pleasure. When God told Moses to build a tabernacle in the desert, Moses said:
“All who are gifted artisans among you shall come and make all that the Lord has commanded…” (Exodus 35:10).
Then Moses named two people to lead this team of artists, saying:
“See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship,to design artistic works, to work in gold and silver and bronze,in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of artistic workmanship.
“And He has put in his heart the ability to teach, in him and Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.He has filled them with skill to do all manner of work of the engraver and the designer and the tapestry maker, in blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen, and of the weaver—those who do every work and those who design artistic works” (Exodus 35:30-35).
So, here I am, leaning into another of my lifelong passions at the age of 62, and trying to see what God can do with it if I open myself up to Him. Want to join me?
Here’s one of my creations from this week, a painting to be used on the cover of my sister Marilyn Byrnes’ upcoming piano album. That’s Marilyn at the piano, in an imaginary dress and field of wildflowers. I think it turned out great (with the help of my cousin Joan).
And here’s another of my paintings from last week, a painting of me painting a picture of my house. There’s a secret in the painting. You can watch the podcast to find it! It also hints at the theme of the art show, which is “Revealing.”
Here’s the episode summary and timestamps of highlights in the podcast…
📝 Episode Summary
Eric and his son Bo sit down fresh off Eric’s private art retreat in Texas to talk about the intersection of faith and creativity. Eric shares paintings he made during the retreat — including a portrait of his sister playing piano in a wildflower field and a whimsical self-portrait painting his own house — and announces an exciting upcoming event: the “Revealing” Art Show this fall, open both in-person and on Zoom.
The conversation explores how God gifts people as creators and appreciators alike, drawing from Exodus 35 to show that skilled artisans have always been called and Spirit-filled. Eric shares his personal journey from jokingly calling himself “an artist… and a liar” at his first retreat to now preparing 80 paintings for a show. Bo reflects on unity and diversity in the body of Christ as it relates to creative gifts. Together they challenge listeners not to limit what God can do through the talents He has placed in them — and invite everyone, whether creator or art lover, to join the show.
⏱️ Timestamps (direct links within the podcast)
0:00 – Introduction — Eric and Bo, talking about art
0:20 – Announcing the “Revealing” Art Show — in-person & on Zoom
0:54 – Painting from the retreat: sister’s piano and wildflower portrait
1:31 – Painting of his house — a self-portrait painting his own home
1:58 – Art as God-glorifying — “We are co-creators with our Creator”
2:27 – Bo reads Exodus 35 — God calls and fills skilled artisans with the Holy Spirit
4:11 – Bo reflects: God gifts us differently — unity and diversity in the body of Christ
5:57 – Creators AND appreciators are welcome at the show
6:02 – Eric at Joan’s retreat: “My name is Eric and I am an artist… and I am a liar”
6:56 – Setting a goal to sell a painting — and immediately getting two commissions
7:35 – “Refrigerator art” — how God views our creative offerings with delight
9:03 – Buying 25 canvases, aiming for 80 paintings by September
10:08 – The show’s theme revealed: “Revealing” — art with hidden layers
10:55 – The angels painting — clouds that lift to show what’s really underneath
11:33 – Magnetic canvas flaps — adding dimensions to the house painting
12:06 – Sister’s album cover painting — two perspectives, one canvas
12:54 – Painting of the pool scene with a revealing flap
13:46 – Eric’s children’s artwork on his books — Bo, Josiah, Kaleo, and Makari
14:31 – Joan & her husband as a model: making a living from art and music
16:22 – Stop limiting God — story of Andrés stepping into full-time ministry
17:12 – “Why are you paying to do what other people would gladly pay you to do?”
17:50 – Closing encouragement — don’t limit what God can do through your gifts
18:20 – Bo’s prayer for the art show and everyone’s creative gifts
19:10 – “In the middle of HEART is ART” — and “The Earth without art is just Eh”
Don’t quit your daydream!
Love,
Eric Elder writes for page, stage & screen to glorify God’s name so Christ may be seen! Reply to write to Eric. Use this link to subscribe or unsubscribe.
Andrés led worship for my men’s retreat last year in Illinois where he shared his heart’s desire to be in full-time ministry.
When we asked what was keeping him from pursuing that dream, the answer turned out to be HIMSELF!
Now he’s on staff at a wonderful church in Texas, where I’m visiting him and his family this week!
If you’ve ever felt like you’re being limited in pursuing God’s dreams for your life, watch as Andrés and his sweet wife Jéssica share their hearts—and a beautiful song and a prayer—for you today!
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
What’s the biggest obstacle standing between you and God’s calling on your life? For many of us, the answer is ourselves. In this deeply personal conversation, Eric Elder sits down with his friends Andrés and Jéssica Moncada—a Colombian couple who made a series of bold, costly steps of faith to follow God’s call into full-time ministry. From self-doubt and hidden job applications to surrendered visas and a religious worker sponsorship, their story will challenge you to stop limiting God and start walking in faith.
💬 Key Quotes
Andrés
“I just limited God at that time, because I knew God maybe wanted to do it—and I just said no to it.”
“Lord, even when we are so unfaithful, You remain faithful—because that’s who You are.”
Jéssica
“I feel that more than his abilities, or more than a title or role—God gave Andrés a special heart. A heart to love people, to give himself, and to understand them.”
“It’s not about if you’re prepared or capable. It’s what God can do in a heart that is willing to serve.”
Eric
“Sometimes it’s ourselves—just ourselves. We limit ourselves when God is calling us to do something, and we think other things are limiting us, but really it’s just inside us.”
“God actually does orchestrate our lives, and if we open our hands and open our hearts and say, ‘God, where do You want me?’—He moves and He directs.”
🎵 Featured Song
“I Depend on You” performed by Andrés and Jéssica “You’re the way, the truth, and the life. You’re the well that never runs dry. I’m the branch and You are the vine. Draw me close and teach me to abide.”
Eric Elder writes for page, stage & screen to glorify God’s name so Christ may be seen! Reply to write to Eric. Use this link to subscribe or unsubscribe.
25 years ago, a young man in Latvia sat at a computer, far from any church aisle, and quietly gave his life to Jesus on the prayer page here on The Ranch website.
His name was Andris Sproġis.
25 years later… we finally got to talk! The conversation was so rich, I asked if we could meet again this week to record his story, not only from long ago, but also from recently, as Andris has gotten a whole new burst of faith. I’ll let him tell you about it.
Here’s the link to our conversation. I hope you’ll watch! I’ve also included some highlights below, but hearing it from his own lips… it’s golden! Enjoy!
Highlights: What if one quiet moment—alone at your computer—could change your eternity? In this episode, Eric Elder reconnects with Andris Sproģis from Latvia, 25 years after Andris put his faith in Christ—not by walking an aisle in church, but by encountering God through a website and a simple prayer page. From deep introversion and fear to renewed faith through a global worship moment on the Baltic Sea… this story is filled with honesty, healing, and hope.
👉 If you’ve ever felt like you don’t fit the “expected” way of coming to God, this conversation is for you.
⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 – Introduction & 25-year connection 01:29 – Growing up introverted in an altar-call culture 02:29 – The inner struggle: wanting to respond, but unable 03:39 – The pressure grows — and the example of Nicodemus 06:45 – Childhood faith summary & moving to the capital city 08:55 – The “pull of the Father” 10:27 – The turning point: life not going as hoped 12:39 – The stunningly beautiful Christian girl & coming to God 13:55 – Coming to God out of “selfish ambition” — and why that’s okay 15:07 – Discovering The Ranch website 16:20 – Coming to faith privately — and then publicly 18:38 – Marriage, ministry, and early church involvement 20:56 – Drifting spiritually while doing “all the right things” 22:35 – COVID and a wake-up call 25:26 – Meeting Jules Riding at the Christian artists’ camp 26:46 – The Baltic Sea worship moment: “I Found Grace” 28:53 – Helping a stranded musician — and rediscovering purpose 32:22 – Returning to church and rekindling faith 33:45 – The men’s event in Holland: breakthrough and freedom 37:27 – Confession, healing, and seeing yourself through God’s eyes 40:14 – Overcoming fear and people-pleasing 42:41 – Encouragement: “Don’t lose hope” 43:02 – Prayer for those feeling stuck or isolated 46:59 – Eric reflects on the original email from Andris 52:22 – “Take the next right step” 54:04 – Closing thoughts & Jeremiah 17:14
🔑 Key Quotes ANDRIS: “Don’t lose hope… the Father’s pull is strong, and He’ll come for you.” “God is not only about your eternity. He also wants to redeem your humanity.” ERIC: “I’m so thankful God works 24/7, even while I’m sleeping.” “Take the next right step.”
Eric Elder writes for page, stage & screen to glorify God’s name so Christ may be seen! Reply to write to Eric. Use this link to subscribe or unsubscribe.
I read this every year at Easter. It’s a true story written by a woman named Eddie Ogan. It makes me cry and smile every time.
Happy Easter! Enjoy!
THE RICH FAMILY IN CHURCH By Eddie Ogan
I’ll never forget Easter 1946. I was 14, my little sister Ocy was 12, and my older sister Darlene 16. We lived at home with our mother, and the four of us knew what it was to do without many things. My dad had died five years before, leaving Mom with seven school kids to raise and no money.
By 1946 my older sisters were married and my brothers had left home. A month before Easter the pastor of our church announced that a special Easter offering would be taken to help a poor family. He asked everyone to save and give sacrificially.
When we got home, we talked about what we could do. We decided to buy 50 pounds of potatoes and live on them for a month. This would allow us to save $20 of our grocery money for the offering. When we thought that if we kept our electric lights turned out as much as possible and didn’t listen to the radio, we’d save money on that month’s electric bill. Darlene got as many house and yard cleaning jobs as possible, and both of us babysat for everyone we could. For 15 cents we could buy enough cotton loops to make three pot holders to sell for $1.
We made $20 on pot holders. That month was one of the best of our lives.
Every day we counted the money to see how much we had saved. At night we’d sit in the dark and talk about how the poor family was going to enjoy having the money the church would give them. We had about 80 people in church, so figured that whatever amount of money we had to give, the offering would surely be 20 times that much. After all, every Sunday the pastor had reminded everyone to save for the sacrificial offering.
The day before Easter, Ocy and I walked to the grocery store and got the manager to give us three crisp $20 bills and one $10 bill for all our change.
We ran all the way home to show Mom and Darlene. We had never had so much money before.
That night we were so excited we could hardly sleep. We didn’t care that we wouldn’t have new clothes for Easter; we had $70 for the sacrificial offering.
We could hardly wait to get to church! On Sunday morning, rain was pouring. We didn’t own an umbrella, and the church was over a mile from our home, but it didn’t seem to matter how wet we got. Darlene had cardboard in her shoes to fill the holes. The cardboard came apart, and her feet got wet.
But we sat in church proudly. I heard some teenagers talking about the Smith girls having on their old dresses. I looked at them in their new clothes, and I felt rich.
When the sacrificial offering was taken, we were sitting on the second row from the front. Mom put in the $10 bill, and each of us kids put in a $20.
As we walked home after church, we sang all the way. At lunch Mom had a surprise for us. She had bought a dozen eggs, and we had boiled Easter eggs with our fried potatoes! Late that afternoon the minister drove up in his car. Mom went to the door, talked with him for a moment, and then came back with an envelope in her hand. We asked what it was, but she didn’t say a word. She opened the envelope and out fell a bunch of money. There were three crisp $20 bills, one $10 and seventeen $1 bills.
Mom put the money back in the envelope. We didn’t talk, just sat and stared at the floor. We had gone from feeling like millionaires to feeling like poor white trash. We kids had such a happy life that we felt sorry for anyone who didn’t have our Mom and Dad for parents and a house full of brothers and sisters and other kids visiting constantly. We thought it was fun to share silverware and see whether we got the spoon or the fork that night.
We had two knifes that we passed around to whoever needed them. I knew we didn’t have a lot of things that other people had, but I’d never thought we were poor.
That Easter day I found out we were. The minister had brought us the money for the poor family, so we must be poor. I didn’t like being poor. I looked at my dress and worn-out shoes and felt so ashamed–I didn’t even want to go back to church. Everyone there probably already knew we were poor!
I thought about school. I was in the ninth grade and at the top of my class of over 100 students. I wondered if the kids at school knew that we were poor. I decided that I could quit school since I had finished the eighth grade. That was all the law required at that time. We sat in silence for a long time. Then it got dark, and we went to bed. All that week, we girls went to school and came home, and no one talked much.
Finally on Saturday, Mom asked us what we wanted to do with the money. What did poor people do with money? We didn’t know. We’d never known we were poor. We didn’t want to go to church on Sunday, but Mom said we had to. Although it was a sunny day, we didn’t talk on the way.
Mom started to sing, but no one joined in and she only sang one verse. At church we had a missionary speaker. He talked about how churches in Africa made buildings out of sun dried bricks, but they needed money to buy roofs. He said $100 would put a roof on a church. The minister said, “Can’t we all sacrifice to help these poor people?” We looked at each other and smiled for the first time in a week.
Mom reached into her purse and pulled out the envelope. She passed it to Darlene. Darlene gave it to me, and I handed it to Ocy. Ocy put it in the offering.
When the offering was counted, the minister announced that it was a little over $100. The missionary was excited. He hadn’t expected such a large offering from our small church. He said, “You must have some rich people in this church.”
Suddenly it struck us! We had given $87 of that “little over $100.”
We were the rich family in the church! Hadn’t the missionary said so? From that day on I’ve never been poor again. I’ve always remembered how rich I am because I have Jesus!
>>>
Sent to me each year by Mike Atkinson of “Mikey’s Funnies.” If you’re not on his list, and you like great jokes and touching stories, you can sign up at www.mikeysFunnies.com.
This week I received an email from Amazon saying, “We terminated your account due to violations of our Terms and Conditions.” This isn’t the Amazon account that I use for buying things. This is the Amazon account that I’ve used for the past 17 years to self-publish over 40 of my books!
As of Wednesday, all my books disappeared from Amazon in an instant. 17 years… gone overnight!
But I’m not worried. Why? Because God has a way of preparing us for tragic endings—and turning them into new beginnings—even when we may not see it at the time.
That’s what Bo and I talked about on our podcast this week. You can watch at the link below or keep reading and I’ll share some highlights.
As Christians, we know that death isn’t the end. In fact, death often leads to a resurrection.
When Jesus died on Good Friday, that wasn’t the end. That was the lead-up to His resurrection on Sunday.
For Jesus’ disciples, it wasn’t until after His resurrection that they realized He had been preparing them for both days all along.
As John says, Jesus told the religious leaders:
“Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:19).
And when Jesus said it, the religious leaders thought He was talking about the temple in front of them. They said:
“This temple took forty-six years to build, and You are going to raise it up in three days?” (John 2:20).
But John also adds this:
“But Jesus was speaking about the temple of His body. After He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this. Then they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken” (John 2:21-22).
Jesus said it even more clearly, on multiple occasions, in the books of Matthew:
“From that time on Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (Matthew 16:21).
“When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.’ And the disciples were filled with grief” (Matthew 17:22–23).
“We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” (Matthew 20:18-19).
Sometimes it’s only after the fact that we realize—and recognize—that God was preparing us all along. And what looked like a death was actually leading to a resurrection.
In my case, over the past 3 months, I have been working diligently on updating all 40 of my books, converting them into audiobooks, and uploading them to my own website to offer them for free to anyone, anywhere, at any time. I have a lifetime of stories about how God has worked in my life, and I’ve loved writing and sharing them in multiple ways over the years.
But toward the end of last year, I felt God was prompting me to put them all in one place, with no hindrances to anyone reading them at all… no paywalls, no specialty apps or accounts, no ads, no frills. Just pour out to others what He has poured into me.
So I’ve been rereading, updating, and in some cases re-covering all of my books. It’s been a monumental task. An emotional task. And a rewarding task.
When I added up all the words I’ve written and published, it came to 810,750. To give that some perspective, TheComplete Works of William Shakespeare has 835,997 words. I’m a mere 25,247 words away from catching up to the complete works of William Shakespeare! Wow! (And yes, I’m the first to admit there are many differences between his words and mine!)
But still, in terms of writing down what God has done in my life, I feel like I’ve only just begun to capture all the stories. I feel like I’m just getting started in sharing them with anyone who needs a boost in their faith, an encouraging word, or the confidence that He really is there, and that He really does care.
Rather than keeping my stories on a shelf or behind a paywall or printed on bits of wood and glue—God has made a way to set those stories free online to the world in bits and bytes that know no bounds.
Am I disappointed that Amazon terminated my account so abruptly, after all these years of what I thought was a win-win relationship for both of us? Yes. But had God been preparing me for that possibility these last 3 months? Also, yes!
In fact, just two weeks ago I finished updating and uploading all of my books to my website and ordered 1 copy of each of my books from Amazon as I had just updated them all. On Wednesday of this week, the same day I got the email that my account was terminated, I received the last 2 paperbacks of all those books I had ordered. The same day!
What could have been a death blow has been little more than a brush of wind that dissipated quickly. Perhaps they’ll restore my account. Perhaps not. But either way, I know this: God was preparing me for this moment. Now, I can either dwell on the “death” or look forward to the “new life” that God has in front of me. And in front of you! Because now you can read to your heart’s content. :)
“The old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthian 5:17).
I listed these as the year began, but then life happened. I had to do my taxes, write a will, rebuild my website, battle a cold… you know how it goes.
That’s when I saw my friend Ann McKitrick post a note on Facebook that she and my cousin Joan Moody were hosting a “vision board” retreat. What’s a vision board, I wondered?
I leaned in to learn more. Ann said it was “really just a visual representation of your goals and your values and your intentions for the upcoming year.”
She sent me some worksheets with some specific questions for me to answer about how satisfied I am, what brings me joy, 20 things I want to do, want to be, want to have, and love to do. I filled out my answers as they came to mind, without any editing or second guessing.
Then it was time to create my vision board. They normally have people flip through used magazines and cut out images or words or ideas that pull them in, provide a spark, bring them alive.
I didn’t have any magazines handy, so I went to a local bookstore and looked through the racks on every topic, taking pictures with my phone of things that drew my attention. Then I came home and started putting the pictures on a single-page document on my computer, arranging, rearranging, adding and deleting as the main ideas and themes began surfacing.
In the end, I had a one-page view of my vision for the year! I printed it out at a local Walgreens on a 20″x30″ sturdy poster board (for about $20, with a coupon!) And here it is!
Suddenly my one-page list on my yellow pad had taken on a whole new shape. Ann and Joan encouraged me to put it in a place where I would see it daily to keep my vision alive.
And just as suddenly, my vision for the year didn’t feel so overwhelming. It felt like a joy! Each activity on my list now looked like a box of chocolates. I just had to decide which one to reach for and taste.
Which ones are from God? Which are my own? Joan said, “Pay attention to where God is leading. Don’t dismiss those nudges.”
God is a creative God, and we’re created in His image. So it shouldn’t be surprising that when we create, when we dream, when we explore who we are and how we’re created, we’ll also find what He wants us to do. As the Bible says:
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).
My son Bo created a vision board, too, and a few days ago, we got together on zoom with Ann and Joan to look at our vision boards together. As Bo was looking at Joan’s, he said, “It almost felt like the board itself was a prayer.”
When I look at my board, it really is a prayer, too. “Lord, this is what I’m drawn to… what do You want to do with it?”
How often do we dismiss the very things that He could be guiding us into? We talk ourselves out of them. We minimize them. We assume they don’t matter.
But what if they do?
What if the things that make your heart come alive are there for a reason?
I’m not saying every desire is from God. They’re not! But even in our temptations, there are some nuggets of gold, some questions worth asking, and perhaps some treasure to behold. Part of this process is learning to discern, to ask, “Lord, what’s good here? What are You inviting me into?” And then having the courage to take a step in that direction.
The same God who created us has things for us to do. So it shouldn’t be surprising that He wants us to do them, oftentimes even more than we do!
What about you? What are your dreams and desires and things you love and want to do?
I’ve just posted my conversation with Ann and Joan and Bo on YouTube. You can watch it at the link below.
And if you’d like to talk more and create a vision board of your own, Ann and Joan and I have blocked out a couple hours on April 15th from noon to 2 pm Central Time, and again on April 22nd at the same time, to talk with you more about your vision, your dreams, and your goals. Bring your family or friends or kids and do it together!
We’ll walk you through the process they walked me through, and we can all encourage each other along the way. I’d love to do this with you!
If you’re interested, just reply to me at eric@theranch.org, and I’ll send you more details. I’d love to have 30 join us. Will you be one?
When our kids were young, my late wife, Lana, wished there was a Hollywood-style movie about the life of St. Nicholas. She thought it would be a great way to tell people about his deep love for Jesus—and point people to Christ at Christmas.
In 2009, I wrote the first draft of our book St. Nicholas: The Believerto flesh out his story for a movie. In 2012, Lana and I reached out to a friend and Hollywood producer to see what he thought, and he said when the book was ready, he’d like to read it (which he said he rarely offers to do even for friends because he has so little time to even read his own projects!)
Over the years, we began collecting books and stories about St. Nicholas, researching what was real and what was inspired by his life and legend.
Ironically, the day we called our friend was the same day we got the biopsy results from Lana’s doctor: she had breast cancer. Over the next nine months we continued to edit the draft of our book to get it ready. Lana finished her final edits two weeks before she passed from this life to the next.
It took me a year before I ever did anything with the manuscript. But for Christmas of 2013, I published the final version of St. Nicholas: The Believer, as both a novella and a 6-week series to the subscribers of my weekly emails.
Every year I republished it to my subscribers, and people kept telling me how they read it each year, alone or with their families.
In 2018, a ballet company in South Carolina wrote asking if they could turn our story into a full-length ballet with 250 of their students. They did, and the show ran every Christmas for 4 years. We filmed the production the 2nd year, and posted it online for all to see, called One Life: A Christmas Story Ballet.
In 2020, I finished writing both a script and score for a musical version of the story, and in 2021 gathered 100 friends and family to put on a production of the musical here in Streator, Illinois called His Name Was Nicholas.
In 2022, while scouting in Italy for possible locations for a movie version, I ran across a “puppet opera” company that staged historical shows in their mountain town of Sulmona. I asked if they’d be interested in creating a puppet opera about the life of St. Nicholas based on our book, and they said that would be a dream come true.
So in 2023, after 18 months of planning, carving, painting, and rehearsing, we premiered Saint Nicholas: An Italian Puppet Opera at the beautiful Maria Caniglia Theater in Sulmona, Italy. We filmed the production and put it on Amazon Prime for Christmas of 2024.
Also in 2024, I reached out to another friend and theater professor at Asbury seminary to ask if he would want to write the screenplay for a movie. He and his wife tour around the world doing live theater and have a knack for touching audiences with both humor and heart.
In 2025, he finished the screenplay and I read it with delight.
What’s next? The movie!
In 2026, we’re taking our next steps to bring Lana’s movie dream to life. Want to join us?
Here’s a brief pitch deck that tells more. Just scroll through the 10 slides or download to share with others!
I was looking through my pictures from 2025 and noticed a theme: there were highs and lows and God in the middle.
Sometimes I only see the highs. Sometimes only the lows. But when I look carefully, I can see God in the middle of them all.
And THAT makes all the difference.
For instance…
One of my highs was traveling to India to speak at some Bible college graduations. The students were so thankful that our team would come all the way from the US to see them graduate. I told them the story of the boy who walked a long way to gather some special shells from a remote beach. When he gave the shells as a gift, the recipient said, “They’re beautiful! But that was such a long walk.” The boy replied, “Long walk part of gift.”
Then on my last day in India, I got violently sick. I flew home sick, stayed home sick, and spent six weeks recovering from being sick. As I lay in my bed wondering if it was all worth it, I thought of what I had told those precious students: “Long walk part of gift.”
It gave me the perspective I needed on both the highs and the lows of that trip: God was in the middle of it all.
A second high last year was touring for six weeks with our Italian Puppet Opera in the U.S. and Canada. We performed for more than 1,500 people in 38 performances. It was exciting to share the message of Christ and the craft of Italian puppetry with audiences here in North America.
But two weeks before the tour, I was pulling out my hair. One of the producers who had committed to setting up more than a dozen shows for us had still only set up one. Two days before the team arrived from Italy, he had still only set up one. And two weeks after they arrived, he had still only set up one!
I felt like we were twiddling our thumbs! We had expanded the tour from two weeks to six weeks at his request to accommodate all the additional shows he wanted us to do. I called as many venues as I could think of to try to fill those days, but it was now so last minute that everyone, it seemed, said no. So I filled those weeks with shows at my farmhouse and shows at our small-town library.
The producer eventually came through by the end of our tour and booked us at several prestigious events. But my puppeteers said their favorite shows were the ones in our little town in the middle of the cornfields. It was then that I could see God was in the middle of it all.
A third high last year was getting an offer from some film producers to make a multi-million dollar movie of my St. Nicholas story, something I’ve wanted to do for 30 years. The talks progressed to the point where they sent me a contract and invited me to meet them for lunch and go over the details.
As I was flying to meet them, I was torn. Something felt off, but I wanted to follow it through. I knew they weren’t scammers; they were friends of a friend, and they had made a legitimate offer. But I just didn’t feel this was a good fit for our show.
I prayed for a clear answer… and I got it!
We had just started our appetizers when the conversation took a sharp turn south. In an instant, we ALL knew this wasn’t a good fit. One of the producers abruptly extended his hand, shook mine, and said, “The deal’s off. Enjoy your lunch.”
I hadn’t even touched my lunch. When they left, I asked the server to box it up, ordered a coffee, and sat in stunned silence, trying to calm myself down after what had just happened.
When the server brought my coffee, I pulled out my wallet to pay for it. She had seen our conversation. She just looked at me and said, “It’s on me, honey.”
I burst into tears. It was just one small act of kindness, but that meant so much. I remembered my prayer that God would give me a clear answer… and He did! Regardless of the highs or lows that I felt, I saw God was in the middle of it all.
Praise God! He can take our highs and lows and make level ground. And isn’t that what God said would happen in the days before His coming:
“Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all people will see God’s salvation.” (Luke 3:4-6, AMP)
As we head into the new year, I pray God will make your paths straight, your rough ways smooth, and you would see God’s salvation… in the middle of it all.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love,
Eric Elder writes for page, stage & screen to glorify God’s name so Christ may be seen! Use this link to subscribe or unsubscribe.
