Word Quota with Bec McNew

"How did it make you feel when your brother first wanted to protest?" My kids join me to share their own thoughts about attending peaceful protest demonstrations. I share the why behind our go, and the spiritual implications attached to our decision. "No justice, no peace. Some people mishear revenge in these words, but that's not what they are. They are a call for righteousness to abound. I cherish them because no matter whose mouth exudes them or what the person believes, they are succinctly expressing the essence of the gospel. We are collectively groaning for the same insatiable desire that only Christ can truly satisfy. Jesus is the embodiment of justice and love's collision. He's it!" -Bec McNew (Originally published in 2020)

"God is a God of stories." -Brett McNew Brett McNew: "As we create things, if everything is just squeaky clean, Teletubbies with Jesus in it, it's not real, and it has no lasting value... As a Christian it's hard to understand the realities of life, your emotions and your feelings, and to tell the truth about that while being afraid that you'll be judged by other people in the church for not making it Christlike enough..." -Brett McNew Bec McNew: "The trick of that is you can't get to Jesus's work, you can't get to the redemption, if there was never something to redeem." (Originally published 2019)

"One of the reasons God gives us callings that are bigger than we are is so that the triumph will always fall within the careful margins of faith." -Wes Willett (Originally published in 2018)

If you like to listen in on friends, join me and Nay as we talk about all. the. things! Chronic illness, divorce, loss... and hope! "He didn't have a plan B. He just had a plan." -Naomi Holder A conversation with her is actually what prompted the title for this podcast! (Originally published in 2018)

Rachel Anne Ridge is an author, speaker, and life coach who betters our lives with donkey-taught lessons, and always seems to leave peace in her wake. "There are so many things that pull us away from that settled-ness, or a place of peace where we can sense that God is with us, but it is good to be reminded that God hasn't forgotten us, that he loves you-- he loves you deeply." -Rachel Anne Ridge (Originally published in 2018)

Mental health, forgiveness, chronic illness, spiritual identity, ethnicity, storytelling through photography... this episode with Jasmine Lopez was originally released in 2018, when The Firehouse Dream was just a baby idea. It is now a full-blown non-profit organization, mentoring youth in her under-served community! "I'm now learning how to see God as my father, and how he won't abandon me." - Jasmine Lopez "I think here is lots of room for grace in these conversations if we are willing to sit down with a friend who is a different ethnicity. Ask them what their experience has been. Practice what it means to listen well--keep your mouth shut, and just ask." -Jasmine Lopez (Originally published in 2018)

Surupa Cuffman shares her her family's bold move to Orlando to serve Disney cast members as Off the Cuff. What does it look like when God's calling is clear, but the process seems uncertain? "I [God] have something for you, but you can't be distracted. If you're looking around for other opportunities, you're going to miss what I have for you." -Surupa Cuffman (Originally published 2018)

My kids join me for their own takes on a recent peaceful protest demonstration. I share the why behind the go, and the spiritual implications that it has.

In the wake of Ahmad Arbery, there are some things to expect, and ways to respond as believers. Initially, I had recorded this as a video, but I turned it into a slightly shortened podcast for listening convenience."If you never risk offending your "base" with your truth-telling but are always aimed at your ideological foes, you're not a prophet, but a panderer." -Jared C. WilsonAlso discussed are some reading recommendations.(not an add)White Awake: An Honest Look at What It Means to Be WhiteBe the Bridge: Pursuing God's Heart for Racial Reconciliation by Latasha Morrison The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church's Complicity in Racism by Jemar TisbyWhen Heaven and Earth Collide: Racism, Southern Evangelicals, and the Better Way of Jesus by Alan CrossOh Freedom!: A Conscious US History Curriculum by Delina Pryce McPhaullOf note that I failed to expand upon in the recording: the Justice for the McMichaels, at least the one I was referring to, was likely a trolling page. That doesn’t negate its being terribly problematic, & in fact, I would argue, makes it worse. Thousands upon thousands of people joined it either because they didn’t know they were being trolled or because they knew it was trolling and were in on the “joke.” Either circumstance is incredibly grievous and devaluing. For that reason, I chose to let its mention remain in the recording and am just tagging on the addendum here.

TheNewBecwordquota.com“Be hospitable to one another without complaining.” 1 Peter 4:9 CSB“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Hebrews 13:2 ESV“When God's people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.” Romans 12:13 NLT"I would be amiss to try to pawn off all responsibility in the matter as 'not my calling,' or 'not my gift,' when there is still clearly a mandate for participation." -Bec McNew"Hospitality doesn’t always have to be this grandiose thing. It can include the grand things, and it will likely require some sacrifice, but in itself, hospitality is not an event. It’s a way of being." -Bec McNew"Welcome doesn’t have to be a sign on a banner. It can simply mean receiving people into our space to live loved "-Bec McNew"Hospitality shares what there is; that's all. It's not entertainment. It's not supposed to be." - Rosaria Butterfield, The Gospel Comes with a House Key

"Well-meant intentions are not always beneficial, or even harmless." -Bec McNew "Something often unspoken in our goody-goody world resides, and that is our lust for the sweetness of the approval that comes sandwiched between good-deeds and humble-brags." -Bec McNew"It’s difficult to be intimate with Jesus, prophetically described in Isaiah as the 'Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief,' while doing everything in our power to distance ourselves from suffering." -Bec McNew"We can delight in God’s wonders and with-us-ness, possessing appreciative awe and trust in his ways, the person of love that he is, and the good of those who love him in accordance with his purposes while also feeling hurt, disappointment, regret, sorrow, and loss- while bearing witness to the same in another." -Bec McNew“It’s quite something…I am a person who wants to love by fixing things. I want to love people by doing practical things to make things better for them. And what I have learned with her, what she’s taught me, is there’s also a love called love only to witness. Only to witness. To bear faithful witness to what someone is going through with no possibility really of fixing very much. And that is a hard love. That is a very difficult love.” -Barbara Brown Taylor, via Kate Bowler's podcast Everything Happens“Christian tragedy looks outward, upward, and beyond for redemption.” -Karen Swallow Prior, On Reading WellScripture references: 1 Thesselonians 5:16, Psalm 67:4, Proverbs 15:13, Matthew 5:4, Psalm 119:50, Isaiah 49:13, Psalm 147:3, 2 Corinthians 1:4, Romans 12:15, Romans 8:35-39

TheNewBec wordquota.com The Lying Tree "Speak your truth," is sort of a buzz phrase lately, and "It's just how I am," is widely accepted. We explore the dangers and accuracy in these statements. "News-flash: I am not the source of life, neither am I the standard." -Bec McNew "Frequency and quantity of expression are not actually equivalent to wellness or truth." -Bec McNew "It’s a daily struggle not to elevate ourselves up as our own little gods, answerable to no-one." -Bec McNew "Is there a regular damage that is being endured because we’ve grown so used to its abuse that we no longer see it as a problem, unaware that we are only moments away from being unable to function? -Bec McNew" Matthe 7:4-5, John 8:31-32 NLT

Today on Word Quota you get to join me on a date with my husband, Brett McNew, as we discuss the importance of creativity and using the gifts God has given you, Brett's journey from a love a reading at a young age to publishing his YA novel The Lying Tree, and there's a little bit about enneagrams and Muppets thrown in there too.The Lying Tree by Brett McNew on AmazonTheNewBec on InstagramWord Quota

TheNewBecwordquota.com Evie and Alistair: Farmhouse Warriors Transitioning into the new year can be both exciting and overwhelming. Today on Word Quota we talk about how balancing our lives doesn't mean that everything gets the same amount of attention and energy. "Failure in completing an action well does not equate to being a failure, personified. Failed events in time do not equal ultimate defeat." -Bec McNew "What if, in all of our accomplishments, rather than only focusing on trying to achieve more, we also tried to achieve less?" -Bec McNew "Balance in our lives doesn’t mean having equal amounts in every space at all times, spreading ourselves equally thin in everything." -Bec McNew "Success isn’t just about the end result, it has a whole lot to do with what fills the middle." - Bec McNew Matthew 6:33, Colossians 3:17, Psalm 127:1, 1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV

Join me as Wes Willett gives us a peek into his beginnings in music career and ministry, lessons learned and what he wishes the masses knew about platform ministry, ambitions of what we think success is, why God might not give us the superpower of seeing the future, the importance of family, and more. Of course, we also discussed Wes’s fantasy/ historical fiction not-a-silent-night kind of Christmas novel, Anno Domini, and there’s also some comic book superhero discussion for good measure. theinkforge.comAnno Domini by Wes WillettTheNewBecwordquota.com“God, he really knows what we want and he’s so good he’ll give us what we didn’t know to even ask for.” -Wes Willett “When the scripture says that God will give you the desires of your heart, He’s placing the desires in there.” -Bec McNew “I think it’s a trick of the enemy to get us always focused on being… the next big name." -Wes Willett “Everything good in my life has come from God.” -Wes Willett “In our ambitions, if we put a picture in our own heads of what we think success is… it actually might be putting God in a box and limiting what he wants to really do. We’re so narrowly focused that we don’t see the other things.” -Bec McNew “One of the reasons God gives us callings that are bigger than we are is so that the triumph will always fall within the careful margins of faith.” -Wes Willett “Christianity, in an effort to keep our kids safe, to be palatable to everyone, we’ve sort of sterilized our books, our literature, when scripture is absolutely anything but that.” -Wes Willett “I wanted to show people, young Christians especially, that God, the things of scripture, are far more amazing than mythology… and it’s real. It’s not a myth.” -Wes Willett “I have a champion in the faith to raise- I need to be careful to enjoy the time God has given me there and invest in that.” -Wes Willett

Does our thankfulness extend beyond the feeling of relief? TheNewBec wordquota.com We must recognize the full capacity of our deliverance, if even from ourselves. Gratitude meets full realization that there is nothing innately greater within one of us that deserves more than another. . Thankfulness that goes beyond the feeling of relief turns into the activity growth of gratitude. Luke 6:45 Matthew 5:44 Luke 17 Luke 21 Luke 11

The supernatural. Is it real? Is it harmless? Is it dangerous? Is it okay to enjoy magically themed entertainment? TheNewBec wordquota.com "As with in the garden, the sinfulness, the threat to ourselves, comes when we are trying to seek anything other than God to be god to us- to usurp a power over God- to seek ourselves or other powers to give us a personal power trip or addiction to control." -Bec McNew "There lies a danger of diluting the magnificence of God’s supernatural existence, which in turn truncates the very source of our hope." -Bec McNew It’s in many stories about the magical miraculous that we see the parallel of Christ conquering death with life." -Bec McNew "Anything less than God himself is a danger when it’s elevated above Him." - Bec McNew "Creativity itself bears evidence to a designer God." "Stories of the magical miraculous can be used as innovative tools for some to behold the realization of God’s far-beyond-ourselves possibilities- his unfathomable awesomeness, his all-powerfulness- and invoke worship of HIM because of it." -Bec McNew "I honestly think we use the word magic because in our mortal vocabulary we are not equipped to talk about the glory, the awe, the majesty, the other-worldliness of God himself... it is our finite humanness trying to put into words the wonder and the responsibility and the greatness of things that we can't describe." -Lisa Jo Baker Romans 14, 2 Corinthians 10, Ephesians 6, Galatians 5, Galatians 4:10-11, Lisa Jo Baker IG Lisa Jo Baker Harry Potter, Jesus and Me Galatians For You Galatians For You

My dear friend Nay joins me for life conversation, and it's a full one! We discuss everything from home decor to physical illness, culottes to mental health, and the sweet places God has blessed us with in our sorrows and happiness as we use our all-the-wordiness. You don't want to miss this one! TheNewBecwordquota.comHappyHolderHome Enjoy the Journey © 2009 Naomi Carroll Becoming © 2009 Naomi Carroll

Often we feel as though we have no choice but to live exhausting lives. Rest requires a humility to trust that things can succeed outside of our overrun efforts. TheNewBec wordquota.com The Ink Forge “If busyness is currency, what exactly is the price that we are paying?” -Bec McNew “Rest is wealth.”-Bec McNew “Rest is where our strivings cease.” -Bec McNew “Rest requires humility. " -Bec McNew “Rest is given- it’s a gift of the Lord’s presence, and we will miss out on it if we aren’t obedient to receive it. " -Bec McNew “What functionality are we sacrificing to the false god of efficiency?" -Bec McNew “It can seem so difficult to make a space for receiving- we have exercised accomplishment for so long, resting at first appears to amplify the awareness of how sore we are." -Bec McNew "It takes a decided obedience to exercise our trust and receive the rest that is far beyond ourselves." -Bec McNew “All-night ministry time was sandwiched between two times of unhurried time with God.” -Wes Willett “What if the greatest accomplishment in life is to be in His presence; to look at His presence as an actual accomplishment—as the accomplishment?” -Wes Willett Psalm 37:7 NASB Exodus 33:14, Psalm 62:1, Matthew 11:28, Hebrews 4:11 “For the Christian, rest is the final place of God’s heavenly blessing, which they will receive if they hold fast their faith.” -Christian Standard Bible Commentary

The experience of adopting our son expanded my heart to more fully understand the heart of adoption in the gospel. TheNewBec wordquota.com “Adoption puts the exclamation mark on redemption!” -Bec McNew “God pours out his love generously, and we are able to accept it fully and pleasurably without false humility.” -Bec McNew “God isn’t passing out his benefits on the basis of what is merited, his bestowment of delightful love is not in our accomplishments- it’s on the basis of who we belong to.”-Bec McNew “God looks at those whom Christ’s blood covers and sees us as blood-kin.” “Adoption on Earth is a metaphor that reflects a glint of what takes place in the heavenlies!” John 1:12 (CSB), Ephesians 1:5 (NLT), Galatians 4:4-7 (NLT) Galatians for You by Timothy Keller No Orphans of God by Avalon

Why I still have faith when an answer to prayer doesn't turn out how I hoped. TheNewBec wordquota.com Evie & Alistair: Farmhouse Warriors Lipscomb LIFE Program “We tend to have a weak theology of suffering in our pews, and if one wants to learn to locate God’s work in suffering, hearing the narratives of others whose lives are different than mine is imperative.” -Kate Watkins "Fear dissipates with Proximity." -Bec McNew "Asking is an offering of humility." -Bec McNew "Shining your light doesn’t mean that the days are never cloudy. Sometimes God’s glory shines the brightest against the contrast of our darkest days." -Bec McNew "Lament is an aspect of our lives that knits us intimately in solidarity and surrender with the Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief." -Bec McNew "He is good through even our most horrific circumstances, not in spite of them." -Bec McNew "When we don’t get what we asked for, we rest in God’s working. -Bec McNew Matthew 5:14-16 CSB

Rachel Anne Ridge is such a joy, and I'm so happy to have her on Word Quota today. We discuss life interruptions, parenting, and of course those beloved donkeys, Flash & Henry! Rachel Anne Ridge Flash and Henry instagram Flash the Donkey Facebook Flash the Donkey TheNewBec wordquota.com

There is so much good that can come from the use of the tools we use in this modern era, but it can also consume us in unhealthy ways. In today's episode, we will touch on my social media journey, and parse out some positives and problems. TheNewBec wordquota.com "The enemy takes what is good and perpetrates it as poison wherever he can get a fang in. Inspiration turns to envy. Affirmation bends to addiction. Positivity seeks popular pride. And suddenly, or perhaps slowly, calculatedly, what was once a life enrichment and delight morphs into a parasite of the soul." "Little has exposed our societal addiction to outrage more effectively than the internet has." "Our silence can be more hurtful than our speech." "If the end goal is simply “I’m right, and you’re kind of an idiot,” that’s probably a good indication that tongue-holding may be a good idea." "Ultimately, our goal should be to honor God and to love our neighbor." Psalm 1:1-3, Psalm 77:12, Psalm 111:2, Psalm 145:5, Psalm 8:1-9, Luke 12:24-27 CSB

TheNewBec wordquota.com If you don’t catch it soon enough, the tinniest undoing can grow to be a huge, gaping hole. How often do we pick and pull at imperfections until all that is left for us is something completely unraveled? Daily renewal may often involve daily forgiveness. It’s a practice that produces strength over time. Unforgiveness is a glorified game of comparison in which we try to make ourselves the standard idol of righteousness and put the other party in positions in which they can never add up. Ephesians 4:22, 2 Corinthains 4:16, James 3:5-10 CSB

So often hot topics such as ethnic reconciliation are politicized into bullies that keep us silent for fear of guilt by association or for the sake of a sinful pseudo unity, when the Word of God on our conscience should compel us to speak. In Episode 8, we will parallel the healing of a broken foot to the healing of the broken Body, and visit some everyday relational challenges faced by multi-ethnic family. MLK50 Conference Keynotes TheNewBec wordquota.com "Convict us where we’ve missed the mark, and disarm our hostility toward your correction." -Bec McNew "When something in our body is sick or broken, we care for it so that it may be healed. When the pain is deep, we evaluate the situation. We look inside to find the source of the problem, and we take the steps necessary for repair." -Bec McNew "True healing on issues of reconciliation and justice requires awareness, acknowledgement, conversation, and action. Not silence." -Bec McNew "Acknowledging that there is a problem while refusing to own any responsibility for being complicit only keeps us weak and unhealed." -Bec McNew "If we stay quiet, things do go back to normal. It’s just that my normal is beneficial to me, but that’s not the case for everyone." -Bec McNew Christian Standard Bible: Leviticus 26:40,42; Mark 12:30-31; Proverbs 31:8-9; Isaiah 1:17 New International Version: Luke 6:45; Jeremiah 22:3; Micah 6:8 "Don't be divisive" often equals "Be unified in our sin." -Dr. Russell Moore" “Unity does NOT look like ignoring the impact of the past on the present.” -Dr. Eric Mason “People who have been impacted by a severe grace pursue a severe justice for our neighbors.” -Dr. Christina Edmonson “The church is not silent about injustice because her Lord is a God of righteousness… righteousness is the root of justice and justice is the offspring of righteousness.”-Dr. Charlie Dates

Mental health, chronic illness, forgiveness, storytelling through photography, faith, ethnicity, colorism, spiritual identity and more!

Surprise! On this 5th Wednesday of May, you get a bonus mini episode packed into 6 minutes. TheNewBec wordquota.com Isaiah 55:11 AWANA 2017 Scripture Memory Beth Moore LPM Memorizing Galatians

In this episode, we delve a little into my health journey, and the oft asked question, "What do you have?" and the implications when a definitive answer can't always be found. TheNewBec wordquota.com Psalm 139:14; 2 Corinthians 12:9 Galatians 2:20; 3:9; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Peter 2:9, Christian Standard Bible "Too often we tangle up our ability with our identity in all the wrong ways. We define who we are by how our weaknesses have been labelled." -Bec McNew "You’re not coming up with an accurately defining label because you’re testing for the wrong things—you’re not looking in the right places." -Bec McNew "No matter the extent of your weakness, if you belong to Christ, you are a vessel of perfection because His power is made perfect in weakness." -Bec McNew "You can be okay in the not-knowing when you know your identity is wrapped up in him, not tangled up in your own ability." -Bec McNew "If I have weakness, then in Christ I home His power." -Bec McNew

Homeschooling, public school, private school... as parents we wrack our brains on what is the best decision for our families. But our decision making processes don't only apply to schooling. Today we’re going to insightfully reflect on how such decisions give hints to our decision making patterns, our perceptions of adequacy, and what awaits us on the other side of obedience. TheNewBec wordquota.com "Don’t neglect the usability of the good on account of the bad." -Bec McNew "There is no one universally right decision when it comes to education. But there can be right and wrong reasons for decisions." -Bec McNew "Faith was the action of obedience, not the feeling of belief." -Bec McNew "You CAN change your mind. It doesn’t make you a failure. It makes you a human being with a free will to monitor and adjust, learn from your mistakes, and change. And if you need to, change again." -Bec McNew "Our earthly capacity is not large enough or strong enough to contain God’s heavenly abundance. " -Bec McNew John 17:13-18 CSB Luke 5:6-7 CSB Romans 8:28 CSB

Recalling the past can provide fuel for forward motion. It is in the remembering of what God has done in the past that we are able to build the trust, based on the unchanging character of God, that we need to have in order to operate in faith for the future. Faith is not at all blind. On the contrary, it is choosing to see. theinkforge.com Anno Domini by Wes Willett TheNewBec wordquota.com "What terrified me before obedience thrills me on the other side of faithfulness!" -Wes Willett "In your most depleted state, He will yet revive you. Free yourself from the notion of nothing by remembering the All in All." -Bec McNew "You may not know what. But you can know Him." -Bec McNew "Our innermost desires are here meant, not our casual wishes; there are many things which nature might desire which grace would never permit us to ask for; these deep, prayerful, asking desires are those to which the promise is made." -Charles Spurgeon" "It is in the remembering of what God has done in the past that we are able to build the trust, based on the unchanging character of God, that we need to have in order to operate in faith for the future. Faith is not at all blind. On the contrary, it is choosing to see." -Bec McNew "You don't know how much your unbelief could be limiting someone you love." -Rick Warren Exodus 12:18-28 CSB Psalm 37:4 CSB

You won't want to miss this episode as Surupa shares how her family took a step of faith into what seemed like an unlikely calling: leaving the security of the familiar to move to Orlando for an $8 an hour job with a vision to love people and to pursue their dreams. We discuss the challenges they've faced along the way, lessons they have learned, and what the ministry of WDW Off The Cuff looks like. The Cuffmans make dreaming a regular part of their life, and they also serve where they are in the waiting. It's a genuine example of being brave to live out the life that God has entrusted you with. WDW Off the Cuff TheNewBec wordquota.com "What you are doing is not always measurable, but the effects of it are exponential." -Bec McNew "Don't discount where God has you right now, and continue to allow yourselves to be used by Him where you are, and allow Him to take you somewhere else."- Bec McNew "I [God] have something for you, but you can't be distracted. If you are looking around for other opportunities, you're going to miss what I have for you." -Surupa Cuffman "God asks you to do crazy things, and when he asks you, don't waste time, say yes. Just do it. It's better and bigger than anything you could have planned for yourself." -Surupa Cuffman

Find out what blue velvet wing back chairs and color-coding have to do with being brave to live out the life God has entrusted you with! TheNewBec wordquota.com Jennifer Allwood via Episode 181 of The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey Jamie Ivey "Just because you're scared doesn't mean that you're free from that calling. I really feel like God gives us gifts that He fully expects us to use. He fully expect us to do something with those, and we have a responsibility to bring to the world what he's gifted us with." Lisa Whittle "A no takes nothing away from your calling." Ecclesiastes 11:4 Christian Standard Bible and The Living Bible

In this episode we introduce Word Quota podcast with information about where the name came from and the reason behind starting it. Bec addresses her long-standing tendency to self-shame on account of her many words and how she has come to embrace them as a gift to be leveraged to help others and not as a hindrance to be hidden. TheNewBec wordquota.com Upside Down Podcast HappyHolderHome Farmhouse.Creative Matthew 25:25-27 The Message, English Standard Version