Join me this Thursday night for cookies and cocoa! It’s Christmastime, and I’d love to host you as my guest for an online party!
I’ll be live online from 7-8:30 PM CST, this Thursday, December 18th on Zoom. Just send me a note if you’d like to join and I’ll send you the link. Since we’ll be online, I’ll have to ask you to bring your own cookies and cocoa!
Here’s what I’m hoping for our 90 minutes together...
I’d like to share a life and ministry update with you, including 3 recent stories of “divine encounters” that left me shaking my head in praise to Jesus.
I’d like to give you time to make new friends and maybe reconnect with old ones.
I’d like to enjoy cookies and cocoa and share some Christmas cheer!
If you’d like an inspirational night with friends old and new (plus cookies and cocoa!), I hope you’ll join the fun.
Again, just send me a note if you’d like to join and I’ll send you the link.
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.
I was reading the Christmas story this week in the Bible, and I was surprised at my reaction to the opening words. In Luke, chapter 1, an angel appears to Zechariah, telling him that he and his wife Elizabeth are going to give birth to a son named John.
This was good news, as they had been barren for years. Yet my immediate thought was:
“Yeah, great. And one day, John’s going to get his head chopped off by a crazy king.”
“What?!?” I thought. “What happened in my heart that made me jump to the end of the story, where the king’s wife asks to be given the head of John the Baptist on a platter?”
Somehow I skipped the entirety of John’s fruitful and productive life. I went straight to the ending. Why did I skip over all the good stuff? I knew exactly why.
I’ve recently gone through my own “bad ending.” I was in a relationship that began so beautifully, yet ended so abruptly after only a few short months. My head was reeling, as if someone had brought it out on a platter, too. What began as good news soon filled me with tremendous grief and disappointment, so much so that I considered giving up on ministry completely.
I must not have heard from God, I thought. I must have messed up somehow that caused my dream world to burst. And I am now looking back on the relationship through the lens of its ending, leaving me with feelings of pain, shame, and despair.
So I understood why I responded to Zechariah’s “good news” that the angel had brought him. Remembering how the story ended, I filtered it through the lens of the ending only, as if the ending was the most important part.
But John’s story is more than its ending! As I kept reading the Christmas story, I saw a much fuller view of the “good news” the angel had given to Zechariah even before his son John was born. The angel said:
“Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God is showing grace to you. For I have come to tell you that your prayer for a child has been answered. Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son and you are to name him John.
“His birth will bring you much joy and gladness. Many will rejoice because of him. He will be one of the great ones in the sight of God. He will drink no wine or strong drink, but he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even while still in his mother’s womb.
“And he will persuade many in Israel to convert and turn back to the Lord their God.
“He will go before the Lord as a forerunner, with the same power and anointing as Elijah the prophet.
“He will be instrumental in turning the hearts of the fathers in tenderness back to their children and the hearts of the disobedient back to the wisdom of their righteous fathers.
“And he will prepare a united people who are ready for the Lord’s appearing.”
Luke 1:13-17, TPT
Now that’s a life well-lived! And John did do all of those things, even up to his final breath, when he was beheaded because of his warning to the king to turn away from his adulterous and incestuous relationship with his brother’s ex-wife.
And then there’s this: listen to what Jesus had to say about John’s life:
“Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist…” (Matthew 11:11a).
Now that’s the RIGHT perspective! My initial reaction to the passage was skewed by the pain of what I had recently been through myself. I had jumped to the end and skipped all the good stuff in between. My lens was askew.
I thought again about my relationship that ended. I thought of the joys and blessings that have come from it, despite its ending… and some blessings even because of its ending.
I thought again:
Maybe the ending isn’t the most important part.
I prayed: “Lord, help me to have Your perspective on the people and events in my life. Help me to not skew my memories through a lens that’s distorted. Help me to have a clear view of the whole story, especially the parts that are most important to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Here’s John’s story in a nutshell, as foretold by the angel… the parts that matter most of all:
“His birth will bring you much joy and gladness. Many will rejoice because of him. He will be one of the great ones in the sight of God.”
May God give us all His perspective on the people and events in our lives.
Love,
P.S. And if you’d like to listen to some beautiful Christmas music, here are two full albums of piano music recorded by my sister, Marilyn Byrnes. Just use the links below or search any streaming music service for “Marilyn Byrnes, Christmas.” Enjoy!
My brother Craig is a rocket scientist—a real rocket scientist! He’s worked on missions you may have heard about in the news: the James Webb Space Telescope, the LCROSS lunar mission to look for water on the moon, or the launch of the Milstar military communication satellites. Cool stuff!
But what’s NOT COOL is that he had to keep certain things “TOP SECRET.” While that’s essential for protecting our country and the people involved, if not done right, it can lead to isolation, loneliness and despair.
Craig’s not alone in this. Doctors, lawyers, pastors, teachers, counselors and sometimes just close friends or family have to keep secrets for good reasons. As Proverbs says:
“A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret” (Proverbs 11:13).
So it’s not wrong to keep secrets when needed. But it can be difficult… and sometimes even tragic. As Psalms says:
“When I kept silent, my bones wasted away” (Psalm 32:3a).
A few weeks ago, Craig shared with me about a time of despair he went through starting ten years ago… despair so deep he contemplated giving up on life itself.
I’m thankful to say he’s now 100% back to Craig, the brother I know. He’s laughing, playing games, talking, interacting. Life is good.I can’t imagine if he had given up.
But what got him through? And what can help you through when you feel like giving up?
That’s what we talk about in our conversation below. In it, Craig shares what he did wrong, what he did right, and what you can do to help you through, too. I hope you’ll watch or read the whole conversation!
If there’s one takeaway I want you to know today, know this:
There is hope! There is another side! Keep pressing on, even if you feel like giving up!
Love,
Here’s the link to watch our whole conversation, or read the transcript below the video.
TRANSCRIPT (not word-for-word, but cleaned up for clarity and flow)
Eric: This is Eric Elder and I’m with my brother, Craig Elder. This is a rare opportunity to get together in our yard here in Illinois. He’s normally from California—been there for a long time—and it’s nice that he’s here this weekend. We’re just talking about pressing on when you feel like giving up.
And I wonder if he could say a prayer to open us. We’re going to talk about dealing with secrets, and he’s in a unique role dealing with secrets in his life. We’ll start with a prayer. This is one of his favorite scriptures.
Craig: Dear Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer. That’s Psalm 19. It starts out with “The heavens declare the glory of God,” and “the heavens display the work of his hands.” And in aerospace that means a lot to me. It always motivated me to follow my passion for space—everything space.
Eric: And Craig is a literal rocket scientist. So my brother is a rocket scientist and he’s been doing this for how many years?
Craig: I had 43 years of aerospace. I recently retired after 43 years. It’s good to have all my days be Saturdays from here on out—except for Sundays. Sundays are still Sundays. But all those weekdays, it’s kind of nice. I’ll come back to this point—that there is a reason to keep going on, because when you get to the point where all your days are Saturdays and Sundays, and then you look forward to an afterlife full of endless weekends and joy, you don’t want to miss out on that.
Eric: I know. And tell people what you did and what role secrets played in your life.
Craig: Over the course of my career I had various levels of government security clearances that required me not only to keep my mouth shut but also to actively protect secrets. I wasn’t alone in that. There are medical doctors who need confidentiality, or lawyers—attorney-client privilege—pastors, police officers, teachers. But my role as a government contractor meant that to do my job correctly, I had to absolutely not talk about certain things. Absolutely not leave a social media footprint. Don’t give the bad guys anything to go off of.
If not done correctly, that lifestyle can lead to loneliness and despair, and it can quickly spiral down.
About 10 years ago, I went through a real period of despair and fatigue. To give some context: in 2015 I had 30 years in building spacecraft—flying things like the James Webb Space Telescope, the LCROSS lunar impactor, and the Milstar nuclear-hardened, World-War-III-surviving communication satellites that kept all of our subs and bombers connected back to the United States. It had to survive a near nuclear burst of an anti-satellite weapon and come back with secure communication. My equipment had to come back within 10 seconds. We had to have the warfighters back in communication within a minute. All of this is unclassified now. But those satellites are still up there. They will far outlive me.
After many of those projects, I was asked to change companies to run a project that was six months behind schedule and had an insufficient budget. Some of my friends were retiring and would get 80% of their pension in cash at age 55. I was 54. I was approached by customers to run this program. After talking with my wife—and not talking with the financial advisors I should have—I said, “I’ll pass on the 80% pension at 55 and hold out for 100% at 65. I’ll work the 10 years.”
Four months before my 55th birthday, I switched companies. In the first two months, we recovered that six months of schedule and held a design review. Everyone was pleased. But there was a lot of churn and chaos at this company. In the 10 months I was there, I had five different bosses. One boss would be replaced, then we changed from one management structure to another. That construct lasted about a month.
Then one Monday morning, of the three contracts our company had, two were halted because of government funding restrictions. Keep in mind, I couldn’t talk to other employees about what we were doing. These were smart people asking good questions they needed for their jobs, but I couldn’t tell them. If I told one thing to one person, someone else might figure out what we were doing, and that would be very bad for America. People can be compromised.
Security clearances require not just no arrests—your finances are reviewed, your psychological profiles, your polygraphs every two years or more. They want to know if anyone in your circle could be blackmailed by anything. And I couldn’t divulge anything that people put on their security clearances that I had to approve.
Another issue was that I found myself working really long hours. There were only a handful of us who could open the secure vault. I lived near the factory, so I’d go in every morning at 5:30, fully dressed for the day. And in the evenings, people needed to work late, so I’d close up at midnight. They would’ve worked longer, but I said, “I can’t. I have to get up at 5:30 to open.”
In my isolation I became fatigued, and that spirals when you’re dealing with unsolvable problems. We were over-budget and understaffed. We didn’t have the right people cleared. I was getting fatigued. My wife is a teacher and had school-related problems. I got to a point where I absolutely felt I didn’t have time for friends. I barely had time for family. I was fatigued and started feeling despair. And I couldn’t talk to anyone, because if I talked to a counselor it would show up on my security records, and I didn’t want the hassle of explaining why I was talking to a psychiatrist.
I also knew I had given up that 80% pension bonus. I could have stepped away from it all and had enough to retire, had I stayed four months longer. And now I didn’t have that opportunity. I’d have to work 10 years in this unsustainable position. There was a lot of regret. A lot of regret about my decisions and my future. I didn’t see any value for life because I felt I had made bad decisions and couldn’t talk to anybody.
Sorry for so much context, but it gets to these points: What did I do wrong, and what did I do right? Because here I am on the other side. I’m wonderfully retired. I’ve got a wonderful family with a granddaughter and another on the way. They make life worth living. I’ve got great relationships with my kids, my wife, my friends who rallied around me in spite of myself. I thoroughly enjoy my life at this stage. I had no idea what I would have been throwing away when I was at my low.
Eric: We weren’t able to talk about this during the time. We saw the change in your personality and your silence. You were unable to talk.
Craig: We have a joke: with each program you’re briefed into, you become stupider at cocktail parties because people come up to you and say, “Hey, what’s the real story about aliens?” You can’t give any hint.
Eric: And so we’re watching you, not knowing how to help. It’s hard on the people around you. It’s hard on you. So I’m really curious—what you felt you did wrong and what you did right.
Craig: What I did wrong: first, I buried it. There’s a new Marvel movie out called Thunderbolts. A character has a dark side and says, “It’s hopeless. Why do we go on?” The young Russian girl says, “Shut up. Do what we do: bury it. Bury it deeper.” That was one thing I did wrong.
Another thing I did wrong was dwelling on past mistakes—thinking my career had been perfect until I changed companies. “I should have pushed back. I should have delayed. I should have…” That was wasted time. Dwelling on regret was a catalyst for the spiral down.
The third thing I did wrong was contemplating giving up. The biggest waste of time in my life was trying to figure out how to kill myself so my family could collect insurance money and be set. As an engineer I processed it, and there was no good way that wouldn’t impact my family. And if I searched online, that would trigger security flags and a polygraph: “Are you having suicidal thoughts?” And I’d bury it deeper.
What I did right was figuring out how to bury what needed to be buried without betraying the trust of the secrets I had to keep.
Eric: This weekend you shared some of these things I hadn’t heard before. You’re opening up here, and that’s why I asked if you’d share it—because people struggle with hope in very dark places. I didn’t realize the depth of what you went through. And I’m so sorry you were there. I’m so glad you’re here on the other side—100% back to Craig, the brother I know. You’re laughing, playing games, talking, interacting. Life is good. I can’t imagine if you had given that up. And I’m hopeful for people watching—including those who can’t see what’s on the other side. All they see is darkness.
Craig: Absolutely. Some people are dealing with the darkness of a terminal diagnosis. You see the darkness, but you need faith that something better is out there.
Eric: Let me affirm that keeping secrets is not wrong. Proverbs 11:13 says, “A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.” A teacher, pastor, spouse, police officer—there are times to keep a secret. But how you deal with what you also bury along with it matters. Psalm 32 says, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away.” Silence can feel crushing. And Ecclesiastes says there’s a time to be silent and a time to speak. When I asked you this morning if you’d film this, I took a risk. Your trained muscle memory was, “I can neither confirm nor deny.” But you’re able to speak about hope, health, healing, and what helped you. So I think that’s huge. I’ll save the last verse for the end of the show. But yeah—how did you get out? What did you do?
Craig: Right. This sounds hokey, but I started going back to my company Bible study. Every Wednesday morning before work, a number of believers would meet for a Bible study. Just hearing God’s Word and seeing it in the faces and lives of my colleagues—many of whom worked in the closed area also, but on other projects—helped me. I couldn’t go in their vault, they couldn’t go in mine, but we could kind of knowingly wink. We had that shared experience of keeping secrets. I didn’t know what they were working on; I wanted plausible deniability. I didn’t want to know what they were working on because if I knew, I’d have to get breathed in, and then I’d become stupider at cocktail parties. I’d rather not know.
So just going back to God. Honestly, as I look back, I didn’t think of it much at the time as “God.” I just thought, “I’ve got to get away. I’m going to go meet with Howie and Lance and the guys at my old company for breakfast.” It was almost taboo showing up at another company. But it got me re-grounded and helped stop the spiral. It really did, those weeks.
I ended up, in talking with them, realizing that I could go back to work in my old job. I didn’t need the money. I didn’t want a salary increase. I didn’t want a new boss. I didn’t want a new title. Just get me into a safe space. But that wouldn’t have happened had God not called me—or had I not gone back to Bible study and kept those connections.
The second thing I did right was I just spent time with a friend. He was the dad of one of my son’s friends. We had a lot in common, but we weren’t super close. But he was willing to spend every Tuesday night with me. Usually Mondays were hell, Tuesdays were more hell, and by Tuesday night I was not looking forward to the rest of the week. But Serge knew I was going through some tough times. When a movie came out that our wives would never want to see—it was a blood-and-guts action movie—I wanted to see it, he wanted to see it. Tuesday nights were discount movie nights in our LA theater. So we established Tuesday as a dad date night.
Our wives would see a trailer and say, “Nope. Tuesday night—dad date. I’m not coming.” So Serge and I would go see it. We saw some stinkers over the years, but if there wasn’t a movie going on, Serge was willing to just get together and watch a hockey game, Disney Plus, or Hulu. We had some common science fiction background. Just spending time with him—not even talking about words or anything necessarily—helped. We’d go for a 20-minute hockey period not saying a word, and yet just being in the presence of someone else helped me through.
So I encourage you: it doesn’t have to be a good friend. It doesn’t have to be someone who knows your deepest, darkest secrets. Sometimes that’s better. I know some people in therapy or counseling have their therapist fill that role, but it doesn’t have to be a paid professional. Just somebody willing to sit with you. And to have a friend, you need to be a friend. Sometimes that person is going through something and they need you there, and you lean on each other.
How long have I done this with him? This has been five years now.
The last thing is: don’t bury your despair. Don’t bury the secrets. Don’t bury your badness. Bury your ego. That should be the first thing you bury. And take advantage of the resources. If someone is offering you a hand, take it. There are so many resources tailored for you. I was honestly blind to them. But now in hindsight, the company had a classified psychiatrist who was used to dealing with polygraphs. It was advertised on page three of the small print: “If you’re having problems, contact help.” But I was unaware of it—and maybe my pride kept me from seeking it. I thought, “I can do it. I’m going to buck up and do it. All the Cold Warriors before me, those rocket scientists in the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s—they had to do it. They did it. I can do it.” But it was hard. Many of them didn’t survive. And there’s too much good to live for.
So there are resources out there. Bury your ego. That’s half the battle. If you can reach out for help, you don’t even have to reach that far—there are people reaching to you.
Eric: At church I went through Celebrate Recovery. You can bury the secrets you have to keep, but you don’t have to bury the feelings.
Craig: You don’t have to bury the “I’m feeling really stressed.” You can talk to someone about the stress you’re feeling. Moms and dads don’t have to provide the details of what they’re burying, but they need to deal with it. So definitely take advantage of the help that’s reaching out to you.
Eric: That leads into this verse that I want to close with. And if you have some other thoughts, great. But we’ll close and pray if you don’t. Galatians 6:2: “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
Just like Serge was there—you didn’t even have to say anything. He knew you needed help. He was local, he was right there, and he was willing to sit next to you. I see this all the time when someone dies and people say, “I don’t want to go. I don’t want to bother them. I don’t know what to say.” Just go sit in their driveway. You don’t have to say a word. In fact, it’s better if you don’t. Don’t open your mouth. Just go there.
Craig: You’ve got two ears and one mouth for a reason.
Eric: Say, “I just want to sit with you.” You don’t have to solve their problem. You can’t solve their problem. But you can sit with them, and that’s huge.
So carry each other’s burdens and reach out for help. Share the burden, but not necessarily the details—share them with trusted people. And trust that God can walk you through. There are a lot of people who have gone before us—believers who trusted in God—and they came through. Jonah and the whale—pick a Bible hero. They went through a crucible and then they delivered Israel or did whatever they did. Paul was beaten numerous times, and he kept getting up and doing it again.
Somehow we have this faith in God, hope in God, and there is always hope. I am convinced of this: there is always hope. The best is yet to come. And it’s not necessarily in the form you want. I planted some trees in the yard. They were these little sticks, and the company sent me the wrong trees. I thought I planted hazelnuts. Five years later, the first fruit comes—and it’s a peach. I wasn’t expecting peaches. But this year we had so many peaches that we couldn’t eat them all. We were calling people to come eat peaches. It was fruitful, but not in the way I expected or planted.
So there’s hope. It may not show up in the way you expect or plant, but I can promise you—not because it’s my promise, but because the Word of God tells you—that there is hope. Keep pressing on for the prize set before you. That’s what Jesus did. He pressed on through all the trials for the prize set before Him, and now He is seated at the right hand of God. That is for each of us. Your story encourages me; I pray it encourages those watching.
Any final thoughts, Craig, before we pray?
Craig: Yeah. You are stronger than you think you are—but why push it? Many hands make light work. Don’t go it alone. Many hearts can turn a lonely trial into an incredible journey.
Eric: I love that. Would you close us in prayer? I’m so thankful. I’ll start: Thank you, God, for Craig, for bringing him through these trials and deep dark times, and for the things he shared this weekend and here on camera. Lord, I pray it would help others like it has helped me already this weekend. I pray, too, that You would continue to bless him from here on out and let him know the best is still yet to come. Amen.
Craig: And praying for everybody out there who has secrets that God needs them to keep—their friends, family, nation need them to keep those secrets—but they don’t need them to come at the price of despair. Amen.
Eric: Love that. Thanks, Craig, for being my friend, my brother, and for sharing this today.
Eric Elder writes for page, stage & screen to glorify God’s name so Christ may be seen! Use this link to subscribe or unsubscribe.
Do you ever have days where you don’t know what’s next? Where something big in your life has come to an end, and you can’t see what’s around the corner?
Those are the “Saturdays” that I want to talk about today… like the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. For the disciples, that had to be one of the lowest points in their lives. All their hopes and dreams had seemingly come crashing to a violent end. They had no idea what was ahead.
How do you navigate those Saturdays?
That’s what I talked about recently with my friend Kay Helm. Kay helped me a few years ago when I was trying to get back on track with the funding for my ministry. I had reached the end of what I could do, and Kay helped me create a plan to move forward.
What I didn’t know was that Kay had some of those “Saturdays” in her personal life as well, such as the day her husband left and all she could do was lay face-down on her kitchen floor and cry out to God.
Maybe you’ve had days like that? Maybe you’re going through one right now and you have no idea what’s next.
What did Kay do? She did what I’ve done, and what I’d encourage you to do. She reached out to Jesus. Kay said:
“I didn’t want surface Jesus. I wanted the miraculous, inexplicable, all-powerful-God Jesus.”
That kind of prayer is an invitation for God to do the miraculous. And the answer may not be like anything you’ve ever expected or experienced. Kay continued:
“God doesn’t operate from a template. He never changes, but He always invites us to walk with Him.”
It makes me think of the Israelites in the desert when they ran out of food. God’s next step was to provide manna from heaven, something they’d never seen before. “Manna” literally means “What is it?” Something they had never known before became their bread from that point on… for forty more years.
But then the manna ended. It just stopped showing up one day. What were they going to do?
It turned out that God had something else in mind. He had brought them to the end of that season and into a new one, into a land flowing with milk and honey, a land where just one bunch of grapes was so heavy that it took two men to carry it on a pole between them! (see Numbers 13:23).
What lay ahead was beyond anything they could have ever imagined. As I talked with Kay, I thought about my own situation:
“What if the manna stops because God has a new kind of provision ahead?”
And that thought helps give me strength to press on. God is always inviting me to take hold of His hand and walk it out with Him.
As the Bible says:
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…” (Hebrews 12:2).
The same God who saved you by sending His Son to earth will keep on saving you as you walk out your faith in Him. Take hold of His hand today!
I hope you’ll watch my whole conversation with Kay. Here’s the link:
I’ve been asking my friends how they keep pressing on when they might feel like giving up. Why? Because I need the encouragement to keep pressing on when I feel like giving up! Maybe you do, too?
If so, I hope you’ll listen in on my conversation with my neighbor and friend, Cammie Quinn.
After working with a high-profile publishing house for three years on a novel that felt like it took a lifetime to write, she got a rejection letter at the end of the whole process. It was just three sentences, which she summed up like this:
“In this world of so many people trying to get books published, yours was just not extraordinary enough.”
But that wasn’t the worst. That came the same week when she got a lab report back from her doctor. Her eye had a cancerous tumor. They would have to take it out. Cammie says:
“I felt like I lost my health and my dream in the same week.”
Her fears magnified when she thought of her husband and two young kids. “Is the cancer going to spread? Am I going to die from it?”
That night, she walked out to pray in a field near her house. “I was just broken,” she said. “I was asking God ‘Why?’ I thought You wanted me to be a writer. I’ve thought this my whole life from childhood. I don’t understand. And now, I might even die from this cancer. I was thinking, ‘Where are You, Lord?’
“All of a sudden, this meteor came across the sky. It was a big one that just lobbed over. It was as if God had drawn his finger across the sky and said, ‘I’m here. Just trust me.’ It affected me so deeply. When things like this happen, you can say it was a coincidence. You can try to explain it away. But to the person it happens to, they know deep down. They know it’s God speaking. It just changes you, and you can never really completely explain it to somebody else because it’s so personal.”
Cammie felt God’s peace. She pressed on. She said:
“I started praying that God would allow me to see Him better with one eye than I did with two.”
She also asked God what He wanted her to write about and began writing articles for newspapers and newsletters, as well as co-authoring a book with her pastor.
Last year, after fifteen more years of pouring her heart and soul into a new novel, she was able to finish AND publish it for the world to read. It’s called Follow the Wind Home, an epic Civil War novel about grief and loss and moving on when you find yourself loving too much.
And THIS year (THIS weekend!), she’s publishing her second book called Going Home, a collection of real and fictional short stories about small-town life in Central Illinois written especially for those in the autumn of their lives.
If you’ve ever faced disappointment or felt like your dreams have been derailed, I want to encourage you to take some tips from Cammie. Watch our whole podcast episode and/or read or listen to her novel and short stories. You’ll be glad you did! As Cammie says:
“It’s not about making a big splash on the bestseller list—it’s about being faithful with the talent God gave you. I don’t know what He’s going to do with that book. I have to stay humble. Whatever He decides to do, it’s up to Him. But having seen His promises afar off, like those who are mentioned in Hebrews 11:13, I think He gives us glimpses to keep us going.”
I recently sat down with my friend Cathy Vincent to talk about listening to God. Cathy wrote a book of her experiences with God called Never-Ending God Stories, so I wanted to hear how she listens to God. She said three things:
1) Surrender Your Day Cathy starts her mornings with a simple prayer:
“Every morning before I even get out of bed, I say, ‘God, I love You and I just want to serve You today. My day is Yours. Do whatever You want with it.’”
I do the same — asking God to lead and guide me opens my heart to notice His presence, even in the smallest moments.
2) Be Thankful at Night Every night, Cathy writes down three things for which she’s thankful:
“I always write in my journal three things for which I’m thankful.”
This practice helps her focus on God’s goodness instead of life’s problems — which we’ll always have.
3) Ask One Question She also asks God one question before going to sleep:
“I ask Him one question. Sometimes it’s answered that night. Sometimes it’s answered later, but it’s like Jesus said, ‘You have not because you ask not,’ so I just ask Him what I want to know.’”
The truth is, God has a vested interest in your life and how you live it! He wants you to know His will even more than you want to know it. So ask!
Life Lessons from Faithful Practice These three practices — morning surrender, nightly gratitude, and asking one question — have created for Cathy a rhythm of intimacy with God. As Cathy said,
“With every problem, there’s a promise and a provision — if we just keep our eyes on Jesus.”
I’d love for you to listen in on the rest of our conversation. I’ve posted it below. Just click the link to enjoy this conversation with Cathy, and to start your own conversations with God.
And if you’d like a copy of her book filled with never-ending God stories from her life, you can get it in paperback, ebook, or audiobook at this link:
It sounds backward, doesn’t it? Surrendering to win? In most areas of life, surrender means defeat. But when we surrender to God, we win!
When we finally stop trying to control everything—our jobs, our relationships, our pain—and put it into God’s hands, that’s when we can find peace, strength, and wisdom like we may have never found before.
As the Bible 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 direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
I recently talked to my friend, Kirk Billiter, about surrender. I met Kirk and his wife Rebecca while we were each leading various “care groups” at our church. We had the opportunity to walk with many people who were hurting, whether from divorce, addiction, cancer, or veterans’ issues.
But just because we were helping others didn’t mean we weren’t hurting ourselves. As Kirk said,
“In that setting, we found so many people who came forward and talked to us personally, ministering to us while we were trying to minister to them. That was such a help at the time, because we were having our own struggles.
“My wife and I were both suffering—she had just lost her parents in 2017 and 2018, and then in 2020 I lost mine. Then there was the loss of a job, starting another job, and losing that within eight months. It all compounded. But during that time, I found purpose again. Much of that time was spent writing—doing a lot of personal writing—as well as creating through my art.”
From his experiences, Kirk says:
“You can’t go around something like grief or divorce or suffering—you have to go through it. And in order to go through it, you have to feel the pain. We do anything we can to avoid that pain, but the whole idea of surrendering is one that I continue to come back to.
Surrender, in a worldly sense, is the worst thing you can do. You don’t surrender to anything. Surrendering would be losing. But in this case, you’re surrendering to God’s call on your life, allowing Him to heal you from whatever you’re dealing with. To do that, you have to surrender your heart and soul to that calling and to God’s plan for your life.”
Maybe you’ve found yourself struggling to hold things together? Maybe today’s the day to loosen your grip, to let God take over?
Letting go doesn’t mean losing. Letting go means you might finally find what you were looking for all along. As Jesus said,
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:25).
I hope you’ll watch our whole conversation about surrendering to God in practical ways. I believe it will give hope to keep pressing on… even when you may feel like giving up.
Lord, thank You for giving us the ultimate example of what it means to raise the white flag of surrender, not to give up, but to give in to our Father’s plan for our lives. Lord, help us to surrender today, to give up control so that You can take the reins of our lives. Guide us, direct us, fill us with Your wisdom. We’re coming to You, running to You, and kneeling before You… putting our whole faith and trust in You. Please walk us through this next season of our lives in a way that thoroughly honors and glorifies and magnifies You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Have a great week!
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.
I travelled to India recently and stood on the top of some mountains in the Himalayas. During the day, I could see snowcapped peaks all around me. But at nighttime, when the clouds rolled in, I could only see what was directly in front of me. The peaks that had been so clear the day before were now completely invisible.
Sometimes my life is like that. Even though I KNOW there are mountaintops all around me, and even though I may be STANDING on top of one, my vision is limited to what I can see directly ahead.
And it’s in those times, when the clouds are SO IMMERSIVE, that I tend to falter in my faith. I lose sight of what’s next. Even though I’m convinced deep down of the mountains around me, not being able to see them STIFLES me from moving forward.
That’s where people like Nicki Green come in! Nicki has been a long-time friend who has been able to see my mountaintops on my cloudy days, and to remind me of them when I need help pressing on… even though I feel like giving up.
I sat down with Nicki to ask how she’s able to do this for me and for others. We talked about:
the value of speaking into each other’s lives when all we see are clouds,
the value of giving ourself space to NOT make important decisions on those cloudy days,
and the value of knowing we STILL have options, even when we feel there’s no way forward.
As Nicki says:
“One of the greatest gifts we can give someone is to see their mountain on a cloudy day.”
In this way, we can:
“…encourage one another and build each other up…” (1 Thessalonians 5:11a).
I hope you’ll watch the whole conversation—then forward it to a friend who might be going through their own cloudy day!
I hate pain! Maybe you do, too? But I’ve learned that pain has a purpose. Without pain, we wouldn’t know that something is amiss.
I recently sat down with my good friend and doctor, Eric Farinas, to talk about finding purpose in pain. Eric has walked me through heart surgery, diabetes, COVID, grief, and relationship upheaval. I always love his calming presence, his careful listening, and his help in finding a way forward.
I used to dread getting a bad report from my doctor (and sometimes I still do!) But as Eric says:
“You can’t work on it if you don’t have a diagnosis.”
He adds, “Even bad news can be relieving—at least now we know what we’re facing.”
While pain can be difficult, it’s not without purpose. As Paul said in Romans 5:3-5:
“We rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
If you need hope today, I encourage you to watch our conversation! I believe it will give you peace and a new perspective on whatever you’re facing.
It’s hard to ask for help. But it’s also hard to suffer in silence. I want to encourage you today to let your friends into your struggles… and to be a friend in the midst of theirs.
I’ve heard it said, “If you don’t make time for friends, you won’t have any.”Now’s the time to reach out to a friend. And now’s the time to be a friend. The dividends will pay off for a lifetime.
One of my good friends, Brian Osmond, sat down and talked with me about “Letting Friends In” on this week’s episode of my new podcast series, Pressing On… When You Feel Like Giving Up.
I’ve leaned on Brian more times than I can count, and he on me. You can watch our conversation here:
I ran into Brian when I was moving my family and belongings to a new town. Brian asked if I had anyone to help me move, and I said I had help on the packing end, but not on the unpacking end. He showed up with his two sons and helped us carry beds and couches and dressers from the truck to the house on one of the windiest days I’ve experienced.
The move was hard not only physically, but also emotionally, as it was precipitated by some deeply broken relationships. Brian and his sons were just doing what they could, reaching out to help, and I desperately needed the help. I didn’t know him well, but I swallowed my pride and let him in, also sharing what had happened to precipitate our move.
I didn’t want to burden anyone, but it turned out he was glad to help. I learned that just because I don’t want to do something doesn’t mean others don’t want to do that thing, too. In fact, Brian and his boys were happy to do it, connecting with us and serving in this way.
How many times have I carried burdens (including beds and couches and dressers) all by myself, not wanting to burden others, not realizing that others would often be happy to help—overjoyed, even!—if I would just reach out and let them in?
And how many times have I not reached out to help others, thinking I had so little to offer that it couldn’t possibly help? As another friend has told me:
“We need so little, but we need that little so much.”
Maybe you have a need this week. Maybe you’re trying to “move your whole house on your own,” when God has others who would be glad to help. And maybe God has others who could use a helping hand from you.
I hope you’ll watch today’s podcast and be encouraged to let others into your struggles, and to reach out to others in theirs. As the Bible says:
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).
I’m starting a new series this week called Pressing On… When You Feel Like Giving Up.
Today’s message is on “Keeping Your Eyes on the Prize.”
I’ve faced many setbacks in life: job loss, miscarriages, deaths of family and friends, sickness and surgery, broken relationships, and unmet expectations. Each setback has threatened to take me out… out of my life, out of my ministry, and sometimes out of my will to go on.
But each setback has also been a setup for some of my greatest ministry! God can turn our greatest miseries into our greatest ministries.
We all face losses all the time… whether in our jobs, our relationships, our health, our finances or hundreds of other “little” losses we experience along the way.
Thankfully, God also provides what we need in the face of those losses, whether it’s a friend, a family member, a counselor, or a special Word spoken directly from Him.
God wants us to press on. He’s given each of us special works 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 hope with this series is that it will help you carry on with the work God has called YOU to do. I’ll share ways that God has helped get me back on my feet… and more than that, to keep you moving forward, with purpose in spite of pain. And sometimes His purpose is revealed in our pain!
God really can turn our greatest tests into our greatest testimonies.
In this series, I’ll be interviewing people who have helped me through difficult times.
I’m starting today with an interview with a long-time friend, Al Lowry, who has come alongside me as a friend, a partner in ministry, and a member of my board of directors. You can watch our conversation here.
Al hails from Michigan, then ended up in Orange County, California, after riding his bike across the country when he was 21. He stopped when he hit the Pacific Ocean. Soon after he went to a startup church called Saddleback, came to Christ, and volunteered to help lead worship in their earliest days.
Al joins me today to talk about keeping our eyes on the real prize. This may be the most helpful video you watch all day!
We’re back! My son Bo and I have just finished a whirlwind summer. I’ve been touring the Midwest and Canada with an Italian puppet opera, and Bo has been working at a special needs camp in Texas.
We chatted on our porch this weekend about being salt and light, as Bo has been making sourdough bread lately but keeps forgetting to add the salt! A pinch of salt makes a world of difference.
There’s a story about a young man who was hired to be an usher at a big theater. He was supposed to attend a special training session before working his first shift, but he said he didn’t need it. The man who hired him said, “But what if there’s a fire and you don’t know what to do?” The young man replied, “Oh, don’t worry about me, I’ll find a way out.”
The young man missed the point! He was hired to help others find their way!
God cares deeply about your walk with Him. But He also wants you to share that joy with others. The Bible says:
“He has called you out of darkness to experience His marvelous light, and now He claims you as His very own. He did this so that you would broadcast His glorious wonders throughout the world. For at one time you were not God’s people, but now you are. At one time you knew nothing of God’s mercy, because you hadn’t received it yet, but now you are drenched with it!”(1 Peter 2:9-10).
Let me encourage you today in two things:
Lean into your relationship with Jesus like never before. Listen to Bo’s worship song at the end of our video and let God “remind you of your love for Him.”
Lean into sharing about your walk with Jesus with others. You can be the salt and light they need to experience the full life that God has in mind for them, too.
Keep pointing people to Jesus! We ALL need Him… more and more each day.
When Mr. Rogers was trying to decide between going into the ministry or going into children’s television, he realized he could do both! He went to seminary and got a degree, but he also started working at a television station, using puppets as his pulpits!
I’m now doing the same thing, getting ready to launch our North American tour of an Italian Puppet Opera to tell the true story of Saint Nicholas and his great faith in Jesus Christ. My Italian puppeteers have just arrived in the US this week, and we’re launching our tour this weekend, right here at the Chenoa Public Library! If you’re in the Illinois area, come see us!
We’ll also be touring the next 5 weeks around Central Illinois, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Toronto. If you’d like to host us at your church, in your community center, or at your local home or theater, PLEASE let us know! We want to reach as many as we can with the HOPE of Jesus Christ.
Here are a few shots and a video of our team at work this week.
Eric, Girolamo, Alessandra, and Diletta at the Chenoa Public Library
Girolamo setting up the puppet booth for rehearsals in my living room.
Eric, Girolamo, and Alessandra
Girolamo and Eric painting and building the puppet theater. Link to watch 40-second video: https://youtu.be/7wvGWEfWGcU
Here’s the listing of our first 2 shows at the Chenoa Library at 230 S Green St, Chenoa, IL 61726:
Saturday, July 19 | 1-3 PM — “Saint Nicholas: The Extraordinary Journey of His Life”
Tuesday, July 22 | 7–9 PM — “The Great Duel Between Orlando and Rinaldo”
Bring your friends and family — we’d love to see you! Entry is free, donations are welcomed!
I’m traveling this week, but I was able to catch up with my son Bo this weekend on FaceTime for our “Breakfast on the Beach.”
He’s writing a new song, and he sang a bit of it for me. It’s beautiful. The lyrics go like this:
Someday I will see Your face When I am remade It will be beautiful
If Your shadow says it’s so Then I already know I can hardly wait
It reminds me of the verse in the Bible:
“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Here’s a snippet you can watch of him singing it for me, from a long way away!
I love this idea that NOT ONLY will we see JESUS face-to-face, but we will ALSO SEE those who have gone before us into heaven, like my beloved Lana, who have put their faith in Him.
You see, I’m traveling right now in part to celebrate our wedding anniversary from many, many years ago. Since Lana’s gone to heaven, I’ve continued to take trips on our anniversary. It’ a great way to me to reclaim a day that could otherwise be filled with unbearable grief. These trips continue to turn my grief into joy.
And because Jesus has been raised from the dead, I am confident that Lana will raised from the dead, too, just as will I be.
If you need hope today that Jesus can raise YOU from the dead, listen closely to the words of the Apostle Paul, written to the believers in the city of Corinth nearly 2,000 years ago:
“But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for THIS LIFE we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Corinthians 15:12-19).
Take heart, Jesus WAS raised to new life, and we can be too, when we put our faith in Him.
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord WILL BE saved” (Romans 10:13).
Have a great week! 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.
A year ago, just before I got up to speak at an event, a friend handed me a pocket-sized figurine of Jesus. My friend said, “Everybody needs a little Jesus!”
I thought, “Oh, that’s cute.” I stuck it in my pocket and went onstage.
The next day, my world sort of blew up—things happened that affected me deeply, even up to today. I realized it wasn’t just cute. It’s true! We all need a little Jesus.
Actually, we need a lot of Jesus. All the time! The truth is:
“Everyone, everywhere, at all times, has needs.”
I pray as you celebrate the conclusion of this Holy Week that it will be the beginning of a new season in your life… a season where you rely on Jesus, fully, every day, every hour, every moment.
None of us are immune from life’s troubles. As Jesus said:
“In this world you will have trouble.”
But He said MORE than that. Here’s His full quote, in context:
“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).
And THAT changes EVERYTHING! In Him we can have peace. We can have forgiveness. We can have wholeness. We can be made new, cleansed, restored, washed whiter than snow. We can become fully alive as He is fully alive.
If you need more encouragement today, I hope you’ll watch this podcast my son Bo and I recorded this weekend. It’s full of breaths of fresh air, plus some personal challenges, as you walk forward into your new season ahead.
And if you’d like a “Little Jesus,” I’m glad to share! Just send me a note with your name and mailing address, and I’ll put one in the mail. No strings attached, just glad to send you one!
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.
I’m heading overseas on Easter Sunday to speak to the graduates of a Bible program. I’m looking forward to sharing their delight as they celebrate this milestone. In preparing my talk—in which I want to encourage them in their calling—I recalled a quote often attributed to Mark Twain:
The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.
I’ve thought about that quote in the context of my own birth and calling. I share more about this in my podcast this week with my son Bo.
During our chat, Bo mentioned the THIRD most important day in your life: TODAY! And he’s right!
So, I’ve modified my talk to share the THREE most important days in your life: the day you were born, the day you find out why, and TODAY!
Every day is a gift from God. Every day God gives us reasons to live. Every day, we can wake up and say, “Thank You, Lord, for the gift of today. Help me to use it in a special way.”
I pray for YOUR day ahead, that God will speak to you about how you can use it to glorify and enjoy Him.
He is so glad you were born. He is so glad you are here. And He is so glad to walk you through THIS day, TODAY.
You can watch the rest of our podcast at this link.
And if you need encouragement that YOU were born for a purpose, here are three Bible verses I’d love for you to read and even commit to memory. They can bring life to your soul.
As God said to Jeremiah:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).
As Paul said to the Ephesians:
“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).
And as David sang in the Psalms:
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb… all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalms 139:13-16).
Before I go, I wanted to show you a painting I made this week, capturing an image of my puppet carver friend from Italy, Girolamo Botta, with one of his “babies,” as he calls them. This one is Rinaldo. You can click the link or the picture to watch how I painted it. :)
There’s a story in Luke 24 where two disciples of Jesus are walking on the road to Emmaus after Jesus’ death. They didn’t know He had risen. A man walks up and starts talking to them and explaining the scriptures to them.
When they reach their destination, they ask him to stay. In verse 30, it says:
“Joining them at the table for supper, Jesus took bread and blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them. All at once, their eyes were opened and they realized it was Jesus.”
And then—just like that—He vanished! But knowing He was with them changed everything.
This week I had a similar experience. I was at a restaurant out of town having dinner with a friend. I had had a disappointing lunch meeting earlier in the day, but at dinner that night with my friend, I heard a song come on the sound system in the restaurant. It was a song that God had used to speak to me before, called “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You.”
Just hearing that melody put a smile on my face, and I knew God was smiling down at me, too, regardless of whatever was going on in my life. I knew He was there.
Knowing Jesus is with you changes everything! He didn’t give me any instructions. He didn’t tell me what to do next. He just told me He was there. I went on to enjoy the rest of the night and the rest of this week.
I was chatting with my son Bo as we had our weekly “Breakfast on the Beach.” Bo said:
“That’s good stuff. There’s not a peace in the world that compares to just knowing Jesus is with you. It’s the best feeling—when you can actually feel His presence. And I love that you took that moment. You could’ve missed it—just kept talking with your friend and not heard the song. But every moment is a moment that you can meet with the Lord.”
I’d love for you to hear the rest of our conversation! You can listen in at this link:
Also, we talk about Bo’s LATEST piano album—released just this weekend—called For Your Glory, Part 2. It features 8 of Bo’s original songs for God’s glory and your enjoyment. I hope you’ll listen on ANY streaming platform.
And lastly, I shared my testimony this week at a local Celebrate Recovery group. If you haven’t heard my story, or haven’t heard it lately, this one focuses in particular on how God has helped me deal with unhealthy attractions. You can click this link to listen.
God has given you unique gifts, and He wants you to use them—whether it’s through music, art, or simple acts of love! 🎨🎶
In our latest podcast, my son Bo and I talk about embracing creativity with “less fear.”
We also talk about his new worship song (out now!) called Purify. Here’s a link to listen to his song. Let us know what you think! (He’d really love your feedback… but be gentle, he says!… it’s his first worship song he’s released to the world.)
Here’s the link to watch our full podcast. You can also read the highlights in the text below the video. https://youtu.be/6QSEcW2hs0Y
And here’s the Bible passage we were talking about today… if you read nothing else, read this!
Jesus said, “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.” (Matthew 25:14-18).
But if you want to read more, here’s a summary of our chat. But I suggest watching the whole podcast just for fun! Enjoy our “Breakfast on the Beach”… with us and Jesus! (And if you like it, like and subscribe so you’ll get more!)
Discovering Your Unique Talents God has placed talents and gifts inside each of us. When we recognize them and put them into action, not only are we blessed, but so are those around us. For Bo, that means writing and releasing worship songs. For me, it has meant leaning into painting in a way I never expected. Bo recently released his first vocal and piano song, Purify, and we’d love for you to listen and let him know what you think. Honest feedback is welcome—but be kind! It’s a learning process, just as it is for anyone stepping out in faith with their gifts.
The Joy of Creating This past year, I’ve rekindled my love for painting. It started with an art retreat where I learned about “priming the pump” in creativity—pouring into your gifts to generate more from them. It’s been a joyful experience, one that has surprised me with how freely I’ve been able to create. I used to worry about perfection, but now I’m embracing the process, enjoying the act of painting itself rather than stressing over every detail.
Fear Less, Create More One thing I’ve been learning is to be fearless—or at least to fear less. Fear of making mistakes can hold us back from using our gifts. But as I’ve taken more risks in painting, I’ve realized that even the imperfections contribute to something beautiful. That same principle applies to life, to faith, and to stepping out in our callings.
The Call to Missions In a few weeks, I’ll be heading to India to speak at a graduation for students who have undergone intense Bible training. My encouragement to them will be the same encouragement I offer you: be who God created you to be and share what He has placed in your heart. Personal experience with God’s Word brings it to life in a way that simply repeating scripture never could.
Imperfection Can Be Powerful As I’ve embraced painting in a looser, more impressionistic style, I’ve realized how this applies to sharing our faith. Trying too hard to be perfect can actually highlight imperfections. But when we embrace the beauty of imperfection, we create something more authentic and impactful.
Your Gifts Are Meant to Be Used Jesus told the parable of the talents—where servants were given different amounts of money and expected to invest them. We each have talents and gifts, and God calls us to use them for His glory. For me, those gifts include playing piano, reading the Bible, teaching, and creating art. What are your five gifts? What has God placed in your hands?
Aligning Your Gifts with God’s Plan It’s simple: 1) Look at your gifts. 2) Look at God’s plan. 3) Use your gifts to fulfill God’s plan. Whether you’re an artist, musician, teacher, or something else entirely, your talents have a purpose in God’s plan.
Small Acts, Big Impact We often think ministry has to be something grand, but sometimes, it’s as simple as sharing what you love. Playing music, creating art, mentoring someone—these small acts, when done with God’s love, can have a ripple effect beyond what we imagine.
Micro and Macro Evangelism There are two ways we share our faith: micro and macro. Micro evangelism happens in one-on-one relationships, while macro evangelism reaches larger groups. Both are important. Even Bo, who writes original worship music, also plays well-known worship songs, joining with others in corporate worship. Sharing faith can happen both personally and publicly.
Take the First Step What has God put in you? What can you offer today? It doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be faithful. Like priming a pump, when you pour into your gifts, you create the suction needed for more to flow. Step out, fear less, and trust that God will use what He’s placed in you to bless others.
Your Life is a Canvas Whether through music, painting, or simply spending time with others, you have something valuable to share. Don’t let fear hold you back. Embrace your talents, align them with God’s plan, and watch how He uses them to impact the world.
Eric Elder writes for page, stage & screen to glorify God’s name so Christ may be seen! Use this link to subscribe or unsubscribe.
(Fan art “for appreciation only,” painted by Eric Elder)
I have a confession to make. I cry every time I watch When Calls the Heart. If you’ve seen it, you understand. If you haven’t, I can explain.
In every episode, there’s at least one moment where I am deeply moved… deeply touched… way down in my heart. It’s not just the scene or the drama. It’s the Holy Spirit, speaking into those places in my heart where I need a touch, a healing, or a new perspective on similar situations I’ve faced in my life.
Last week, I cried through the whole show. I had to stop and restart the show half a dozen times to catch my breath and let God do the work He was doing down inside of me.
At the end, I stopped the show on the final shot. It was a tender moment between the two main characters, and I wanted to capture it.
I took out my painting journal and began to paint. You can see the process and my final painting here in this 1-minute clip. (I added some music from my son Bo’s upcoming piano album, For Your Glory Pt. 2.)
A couple months ago, I wrote to one of the co-creators of the show, as we’ve become friends over the years. I told him how much the episodes meant to me this season, particularly in light of some tumultuous times I’ve recently been through.
I said I wished he could script my life like he scripts the show! He wrote back and said:
“Thanks for sharing that, Eric. Although life takes us all through painful chapters, and you have had your fair share, friend, it’s always been my prayer that this is where the show and real life intersect. For it to be universally meaningful to everyone who watches in one way or another. Blessings to you.”
We’ve all been through painful chapters. Thank God we don’t go through them alone. As the Bible says,
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
On a happier note, I also want to share with you the latest episode of my son Bo and me having “Breakfast on the Beach.” We talk about some more beautiful piano music he’s releasing this week, plus how God spoke to me through a check I needed that morning and an upcoming trip I’m taking to Northern India to encourage the believers there.
Grab some breakfast (or whatever mealtime it is for you) and sit with us a while!
I wanted to share a picture I painted of the opera house in Italy where we premiered the “puppet opera” of our St Nicholas story at Christmastime just over a year ago.
It was a fantastic show, created by the puppeteers of Pupi Italici (Italian Puppets), and it was a fantastic opera house.
But this year, we’re doing something special… we’re bringing the show here to the US! I’ve just booked the flights and a rental van for 3 weeks to take our puppet carver and his family on tour. We’ll be doing shows from June 17-July 8 here Central Illinois at my farmhouse, then on to Chicago and Milwaukee, then head east to Boston and New Hampshire. If you live anywhere in that corridor, we’d love to see you… on the road!
We’ll nail down dates and locations soon, but for now, I’d love your prayers that with this show we would be able to bring hope and faith to many along the way.
My desire with this show and everything we create—whether through music, film, or live performances—is that people will see God’s hand at work and be drawn closer to Him. As Psalm 40:3 says, in part:
“Many will see… and put their trust in Him.”
Would you pray with us that this would be so with this show? I’d really appreciate it. Even if you just send me a note to say you said a prayer, that would encourage me and them!
If you’d like to hear a wonderful casual conversation I had this week with my son Bo, we covered a number of topics including the miracle of bringing this show to the US, seeing God at work in our lives this week, being intentional with friendships, the balance of work and rest, and trusting God for provision.
We call these chats “Breakfast on the Beach,” and you can watch them on my YouTube Channel. Here’s the link for this week’s episode:
And here’s a 1-minute behind-the-scenes look at how I painted the Italian opera house on a refrigerator magnet. One of my dear friends asked if I would paint something for her and said, “Surprise me!” Since she and her son were at the opera house in Italy with us, I decided to paint that scene. You can see them in the second balcony just to the right of center, in the white and black outfits. Haha… :) The soundtrack is from the show.
Join my son Bo and me for a heartfelt “breakfast on the beach” as we talk about faith, creativity, and trusting God in the unknown.
From a special painting inspired by Matthew 16:19 (about “whatever you bind in heaven will be bound on earth, and whatever you loose in heaven will be loosed on earth”) to an incredible answer to prayer about my St. Nicholas musical, we share stories of God’s provision and the power of stepping out in faith.
Plus, Bo plays a beautiful new worship song he wrote called “Purify”—don’t miss it!
You can watch the whole episode here…
And here’s a timelapse of me making the painting I made this week for Bo’s album cover for his new song, “Purify,” along with him playing and singing a portion of his song in the background.
By the way, I saw last night that I have 777 YouTube subscribers who watch my videos on a regular basis! Would you join them? Just watch any of the videos in this email, then click like and subscribe! You’ll get notified by YouTube whenever I upload new videos.
Love you all! Have a great week!
Eric Elder writes for page, stage & screen to glorify God’s name so Christ may be seen! Use this link to subscribe or unsubscribe.
I had the joy of sitting down with my son Bo for a special breakfast conversation—fresh from a morning swim—to talk about his new piano album, Still Seasons. What started as a simple idea turned into a beautiful collection of peaceful, reflective music. He even experimented with blending piano and guitar in a way you don’t often hear.
I call this special time “Breakfast on the Beach” based on the biblical passage when Jesus had breakfast on the beach with His disciples after His resurrection. It’s a quiet time to reflect and share with each other and the Lord about things goin on in our life. This week, that includes Bo’s special music, a special painting I’ve just finished, and talking about using our gifts—whether music, painting, writing, or everyday work—for God’s glory.
We close our time together with a prayer for each of us and for anyone who is looking for God’s peace today.
Here’s the link to watch the episode…
And here are some highlights from the transcript…
Good morning! This is Eric Elder, and I’m here with my son, Bo Elder. We’re just having breakfast on the beach—or at least, it feels like the beach since we both went for a swim this morning. We’re also listening to some of Bo’s beautiful piano music, which he just released last Thursday.
His album is called Still Seasons, and he wrote it to bring peace to troubled minds. Why did you write these songs, Bo?
Bo: I’m doing it to glorify God with my gifts—writing music. But actually, this album started with something you asked me to do. You asked if I could put my piano music to ocean waves, so I thought, “Okay, I’ll try it out.” Then, three songs came to me in one day, and I thought, “I should make an album out of this.” So I just kept adding more songs, incorporating ocean waves, rain sounds, and even crowd sounds. The project developed pretty quickly.
Eric: And it’s beautiful. We’re listening to it now, and you can listen to it on all streaming services. Just look for Bo Elder—B-O E-L-D-E-R—and Still Seasons wherever you listen to music, on Pandora, YouTube, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Spotify.
(The album has background nature sounds in the first half, and then it repeats all of the songs without the background sounds, so you can enjoy it either way.)
Lately, I’ve been using my artistic gifts, too, in the form of painting small prayer magnets. This week I painted one for a longtime subscriber from Addis Ababa who asked me to capture Nahum 1:3 in a picture. That verse says:
“The Lord is slow to get angry, but His power is great, and He never lets the guilty go unpunished. He displays His power in the whirlwind and the storm. The billowing clouds are the dust beneath His feet.”
The contrast between God’s peace and power captivated me. An image came to mind, so I sketched it out and began to paint.
We also played a song this week during our prayer time from a friend who helped create Bo’s album cover. Ethan Bliese is also a composer of ethereal music that’s calming and peaceful. Take a listen to his album Summertide at this link.
Father, thank You for this day. I pray that each of us would take time this week to spend some time with You. Thank You for the gifts You’ve given us, even if we don’t realize how powerful they may be to ourselves and others. May the work of our hands and minds bless You, bring joy to our hearts, and serve those around us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Hope you have a great week!
Eric Elder writes for page, stage & screen to glorify God’s name so Christ may be seen! Use this link to subscribe or unsubscribe.
I love having breakfast with friends… just to sit, chat, eat, drink, laugh, cry, and spend precious time together. It’s a great way to start my day.
And I also love spending time with Jesus…doing all of the same things! It’s ALSO a great way to start my day!
So recently I thought I’d try something new: have breakfast with you AND with Jesus at the same time!
I began a few weeks ago recording a few episodes of what I’m calling “Breakfast on the Beach.” The idea is to just have breakfast together (or coffee or lunch or dinner, whatever time and meal it may be for you when you watch it as I know this message goes all around the world).
You can watch the first episode at the link below, or read the transcript of the episode below that. It’s just an unscripted, casual time where I share stories, read the Bible, listen to music, and pray for you and me.
Today, I’m having avocado toast with poached eggs and turkey sausage. What’ll you have? I’d love for you to join me! Pull up a chair, and let’s eat!
You’ll also learn why I’m calling this “Breakfast on the Beach.” Hint: it’s scriptural!
And if you’d like to share your thoughts with me and with others, just click the “Comment” button at the end. You’ll be able to post your comments where I and others can read them. I’d love to hear from you!
Here’s the link to the episode…
And here’s the transcript…
Hi guys, good morning! This is Eric Elder, and I’m calling this “Breakfast on the Beach.” I’m not actually on the beach, and there’s snow on the ground outside here, but I’m on my porch and just having a little breakfast—two eggs, a little avocado toast, and some turkey sausage. I enjoy having friends for breakfast, I enjoy just hanging out with friends, and so I would love to just spend some time with you here, sharing a little about what’s going on with my week and encouraging you in yours.
I’m up early, and I’m going to take a bite or two because I haven’t eaten anything yet. One of the reasons I’m calling it “Breakfast on the Beach” is because Jesus had an encounter where He met His disciples on the beach as well.
If you remember, they were fishing all night. They had seen Jesus before, risen from the dead, but now they were on their own, trying to catch some fish. They couldn’t catch anything. They had been out all night, and then a man on the shore yelled to them and said, “Have you caught anything?”
They said, “No.”
And the man said, “Throw your net on the other side of the boat.”
They threw it on the other side, and all of a sudden, the net was filled with so many fish!
One of them said, “It’s the Lord!” as they had seen Jesus do this when they had first met Him. Peter, hearing it was the Lord, jumped out of the boat and ran to Jesus.
Jesus was there on the beach, cooking fish for them. He said, “Bring some of the fish that you’ve got too.” But Jesus was already there on the beach, making breakfast for them. He had breakfast prepared– even though they’d been out all night and hadn’t caught a thing.
I just love that idea of having breakfast on the beach with Jesus and how wonderful that would be.
Here’s the passage as it’s recorded in the Bible in John, chapter 21:
Later, Jesus appeared once again to a group of His disciples by Lake Galilee. It happened one day while Peter, Thomas (the twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Jacob and John, and two other disciples were all together. Peter told them, “I’m going fishing.” They all replied, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and fished through the night but caught nothing.
Then at dawn, Jesus was standing there on the shore, but the disciples didn’t realize it was Him. He called out to them, saying, “Hey guys, did you catch any fish?” “Not a thing,” they replied.
Jesus shouted to them, “Throw your net over the starboard side, and you’ll catch some.” So they did as He said, and they caught so many fish they couldn’t even pull in the net.
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Peter heard him say that, he quickly wrapped his outer garment around him, and because he was athletic, he dove right into the lake to go to Jesus. The other disciples then brought the boat to shore, dragging their catch of fish. They weren’t far from land, only about 100 meters.
When they got to shore, they noticed a charcoal fire with some roasted fish and bread. Then Jesus said, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” So Peter waded into the water and helped pull the net to shore. It was full of many large fish—exactly 153—but even with so many, the net was not torn.
“Come, let’s have some breakfast,” Jesus said to them. And not one of the disciples needed to ask who it was because every one of them knew it was the Lord.
Then Jesus came close to them and served them the bread and the fish. This was the third time Jesus appeared to His disciples after the resurrection.
I love this story because it talks about that time when their beloved Savior had left, was gone, but He said, “I will come again.” He also said, “I’ll send my Holy Spirit to be with you.” And then He even appeared to them there on the beach, served them some bread and fish, and they had a rich time.
It was not long before this that Peter was at another charcoal fire and had denied Jesus three times. This time, they’re at a different charcoal fire, and Jesus restores him three times. It’s a beautiful contrast and beautiful story of redemption for any of us.
As I eat some and have my coffee, you can also enjoy the music that’s playing in the background. This is from my son, Bo Elder’s, beautiful, new piano album called For Your Glory—featuring relaxing instrumental piano. I’d love for you to check that out too! Just look him up on any streaming service—Pandora, YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music—wherever you listen to music. You can look for Bo Elder.
You can watch the rest of the podcast where I talk about some prayer magnets I’ve been painting and how special that has been both for me and for those who are receiving them. I’ve shared those stories in my emails a couple weeks ago, but you can hear more about the stories behind the stories in the podcast.
I pray this new podcast encourages you. I want to give you confidence and strength to go on with your day too. Here’s the link again in case you want to watch.
And if there’s anything you want me and others to pray for you, just post it in the comments! I’d love to hear from you and see how God is working in your life as well.
Thanks for spending this time with me. Enjoy the music, the sunshine, and the simple joys God gives you. May God bless you!
Eric Elder writes for page, stage & screen to glorify God’s name so Christ may be seen! Use this link to subscribe or unsubscribe.
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