Be Still ...

by Jenny Long and Carolyn Bira

You’ve probably seen the commissioning of ships in old movies. As the ship prepared to take its maiden voyage, flowery speeches were given, after which a bottle of champagne was broken across the side of the ship. In a similar way, Visual Faith Ministry is eager to “launch” a new resource into our Shoppe and bookstore. Rather than giving speeches and smashing bottles, however, we would like to tell you a little about this new resource, the heart behind it, AND then invite you to our next Shoppe Talk session on June 5th. First off, the nitty gritty details:

“Be Still: A Journal for Times of Struggle” is the title of this new resource. It is currently available in the Shoppe as a digital download ($10) and in the VFM bookstore for $15. You can choose from one of three covers – the pages within are identical. As the title implies, this journal is intended for times of struggle, which extends far beyond the struggle of grief due to loss. Struggles come in many forms – an imposed relocation far from friends and family, a child/grandchild who has wandered from the faith, a health crisis, a life-altering accident. In our broken world, we find an endless list of examples.  Within this 31-day journal, you’ll find daily Scripture to scribe, a given prayer to pray, spaces to pray-and-color (or simply doodle & color), “parking lots” to jot down notes-to-self, areas to capture snatches of conversations with medical professionals, spots to record prayer requests and to-do-list items, a section for a daily “anchor word,” as well as a place to note instances of HOPE each day. Those are the components of this resource. Now, what is the heart behind this project?

During my dad’s last three years of life, I [Jenny] had occasion to sit beside his bed in several hospitals, rehab facilities, and long-term care facilities. Medical professionals streamed in and out, used vocabulary that was completely unknown to me, and presented options that needed to be communicated by me to my brothers. I desperately needed a place to record these facts. In addition to facts, there were Yankee baseball stats that Dad wanted me to track down, appointments to schedule with specialists, and insurance questions to research. UGH! I needed a place to park all of the to-do-list items. But there was also my soul’s craving – I needed a daily journaling space that would connect me to Scripture, prompt me to pray, and remind me of the certain hope I have in Jesus.

Three needs became apparent:

• record the facts,

• park the to-do-list items,

• anchor daily in The Word.

You can see from the photos below that I attempted to create my own bedside journal. Since the leadership team at Visual Faith® Ministry walk closely together in the faith, sharing our lives, which includes the great and the difficult, we took those initial attempts and fashioned them into this beautiful new project entitled “Be Still: A Journal for Times of Struggle.” 

As Jenny helped her father through the rough times, I [Carolyn] was heavily engaged in walking with my parents through numerous situations and struggles. Falls, stitches, COVID, broken hips, and rampant dementia from both of them colored every single day. I wish I could say I kept a faithful journal over those 3 years of daily visits, trips to doctors, dentists … you name it. But I didn’t. It would have helped. Just a space to shed my stress and be able to focus on the Word of the Lord, rather than the latest drama would have been wonderful.

As the Creative Team at VFM saw the need for this journal, we quickly discovered that many of our coaches and leaders were in similar circumstances of struggle. As such, we reached out to a few and asked them to write their stories for this journal, so you will find entries from Laurel Livingstone, Denise Miller, and the two of us. (Jenny and Carolyn) Our stories are different, but the experience is the same. We all had/have to rely on the Lord each and every day to get us through it all.

This project was a labor of love. We know two things for certain: every single person on earth faces times that are so, so difficult, and our Loving God walks beside us no matter how tough life becomes. You may not need this book right now, but I’ll bet you know someone who does. My pastor has already asked me for several copies that he intends to use in his own ministry and is encouraging his Elders to make this journal available as well. Any church with a Stephen Ministry program will find them extremely helpful for your care-givers to share with the people they are walking alongside.

Register to join us for the Shoppe Talk on June 5 on our event page, where we will expand your knowledge of this resource and share what's inside the book. You can look at a sample of this book at the link below. We look forward to seeing you on June 5th.

View the Sample of the Book