New Song's 5-Gen Podcast Billie Jo Lukes

Not all families are biological. Some families or familial ties are birthed out of painful, tragic and stressful events. But when love is freely given in these situations, family bonds form and lives are changed forever. Just like a drop of water in a lake, the ripple effect of fostering love to broken families reaches dark places and shines light in the lives of others. 

We speak plenty of words every day. But how many of those words we speak have a negative impact on our selves, others or situations? Being aware of how we choose our words is a daily struggle for many of us, but thank God that His mercies are new every morning. We have a new opportunity every day to become aware of our words and change our way of speaking to ourselves, to others, and to our situations.

Sometimes we're dealt with unfortunate lots growing up; but there comes a point in time where we are required to make a choice: to continue living the way we are, or to grow out of the dysfunction and experience the good things that God has for us. 

Even in families of faith, some topics are hard and sometimes scary to approach. But one of the gifts that God created for us was to have a family that we can feel safe learning about topics that can be delicate, like explaining to a North Dakota girl the reality of race. Thank you Marcus for taking the time and extending the grace for me to understand a little bit more about race. 

Reconciliation may be one of the hardest things we have to walk through in life. It's easier to hold on to the pain, the anguish, the fear, whatever it is that caused a wedge between us and another person. But learning to walk conflict out in a healthy way, leading to reconciliation is such a freeing experience, and once you start doing it, you realize just how much easier it is to have those difficult conversations that lead to a deeper relationship with the other person. 

Change happens all the time in our lives. Sometimes we choose the change, and sometimes the change chooses us. One our own, we build walls and try to save ourselves from future hurts. With God, we walk through healing with Him and face the world with love and joy.