Podcasts about ebenezers

Pastor Taylor Shippy - 1 Samuel 7:7-13What is an Ebenezer—and should we have one?In this sermon, we journey to a moment when the prophet Samuel sets up a stone and names it Ebenezer, declaring, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.” But this isn't just ancient history—it's an invitation. Pastor Taylor explores how Ebenezers—both shared and personal—help us remember where God has shown up in our lives and renew our trust that He's not done yet. We reflect on the power of spiritual memory, the danger of forgetting, and the grace of a God who meets us again and again.

Is there really any difference between reading a book on your phone, Kindle, or in print? And does it even matter?In this episode, Laurie grills Jonathan on why he's such a strong advocate for physical books, discussing everything from passing forward books in discipleship to the ways digital intake can subtly change how (and whether) we retain truth. They explore the distractions that come with screens, how physical books can serve as spiritual Ebenezers, and why flipping pages might just better help shape who we're becoming. Whether you're a Kindle devotee or a full-time book hoarder, this conversation will give you something to think about next time you reach for your next read.If you enjoyed this episode be sure to leave us a review on wherever you listen!  Also remember to share with friends and family; both of those actions will help us spread the word about the show.For resources and books on the Christian life (in physical and digital formats!), please visit either our US, UK or CA based sites.

Glad tidings of great joy! As millions join in the familiar refrains of classic carols, what are these songs actually teaching us? We explore the surprisingly deep theology of Christmas carols, and how to reach the hearts of even the Ebenezers with Dan Hudson.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/faith-works-live-with-rebekah-haynie--5411714/support.

Við hittumst kl. 11:00 á sunnudögum við Fagraþing 2a ... We meet at 11:00 on Sundays at Fagraþing 2a, about 7 miles (12 km) southeast of downtown Reykjavik. If you live in Iceland, or plan on visiting soon, make plans to worship with us in person!

Are you ready to make a declaration? Welcome to the Daily Devo. I am Vince Miller. This week, we are reading 1 Samuel 7. I've titled this chapter "Stand Up And Make A Declaration." For me, this chapter underscores the importance of personal commitments that are publicly declared to God. In the early 1800s, a preacher named Charles Finney revolutionized the way we publicly declare our faith with what he dubbed the "Altar Call." This call, absent from many churches today, was an invitation to step forward in a service and. proclaim Jesus as our Savior and Lord. Influential figures like Billy Graham and ministries like Promise Keepers adopted it as a. The narrative in 1 Samuel 7 will read and feel like this. It's an "Altar Call" given by Samuel to the entire nation of Israel. It's a monumental day in their history, with interesting details and occurrences that I will let unfold naturally. But at the conclusion of the day, Samuel sets up a monument. They stand up a stone to commemorate and remember the commitments that they have publicly made to God. This leads us to the key verse of this chapter. 1 Samuel 7:12 reads: Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.” — 1 Samuel 7:12 Of course, some of you know this verse because it was popularized by a well-known Hymn, "Come Thou Fount." One of the verses sings: Here I raise my Ebenezer; Hither by thy help I've come; This moment of this song recalls this moment in Israel's history. It's a song that calls us to reflect on a great day of repentance in Israel's history. All believers need moments like this. We need standing-stone moments to remind us. There is nothing special about the markers or the monuments—all they are meant to do is remind us of the commitments and covenants we have made personally and publicly with God. Today, look back on some of those moments when you stood up a stone in your relationship with God. Reflect on two questions. Where were you when you stood up a stone, and what change did you commit to make with God? Share them in the comments below, and let's celebrate the Ebenezers we have stood up in our lives. And if you are ready to make a declaration to God, you can take this moment to stand up a new stone. #DailyDevo, #DeclareYourFaith, #StandUpForGod Ask This: When was the last time you publicly declared your faith in God, either through words or actions? How did that moment impact your relationship with Him?   Reflecting on your spiritual journey, what "stones" or markers can you identify where God has shown His faithfulness and helped you overcome challenges? How can these reminders encourage you to continue growing in your faith today? Do This: Share a standing stone moment below. Pray This: Father, thank you for moments of declaration and commitment in my journey with You. Help me to continually raise my Ebenezer, acknowledging Your faithfulness and seeking deeper intimacy with You each day. Amen. Play This: Come Thou Fount.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a curio is "something considered novel, rare, or bizarre."  A memento is "something that serves to warn or remind."   Today's light hearted episode encourages you to look around; go on a treasure hunt and search for curios, mementos, and everyday Ebenezers.  Don't know what an Ebenezer is?  We're glad you asked.   Today's podcast also includes two special guest cameos - my brother Dwight Kidd and one of my best friends, Jeff Gore.  And hopefully, after coming to today's Table, your souvenirs will start speaking to you every time you look their way.    Featuring "Look For Miracles" by JJ Heller (Used by Permission through Musicbed).

“Here I Raise My Ebenezer” – Part 2. Elder Bryce Lowrance This week we will hear part 2 of the message “Here I Raise My Ebenezer.” This look back at the blessings of God motivated the children of Israel to trust God as they went forward. We too should have Ebenezers in our lives that we make look at them and declare “Thus far the Lord has led my on.” This message was preached on Sunday, December 31, 2023.

"Here I Raise My Ebenezer" - Part 2. Elder Bryce Lowrance This week we will hear part 2 of the message "Here I Raise My Ebenezer." This look back at the blessings of God motivated the children of Israel to trust God as they went forward. We too should have Ebenezers in our lives that we make look at them and declare "Thus far the Lord has led my on." This message was preached on Sunday, December 31, 2023.

After a brief bout of illness, we're back. As well as catching up with each other, we talk about leaving and returning, and ponder on whether everything is the incarnation. Also, Nick has written a new Christmas story and we talk way too much about our Ebenezers. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: Herod's Secret Policeman Advent 2023: In the Midst! Crown Him with Many Crowns Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing Ebenezer Christmas: Tradition, Truth and Total Baubles New Year's Day 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture

1 Samuel 4-7 is held together by the story of the two Ebenezers. Ebenezer means -stone of help- - as Samuel will say in chapter 7, verse 12 - -Till now the LORD has helped us.---Israel had encamped at the first Ebenezer in chapter 4. The first Ebenezer was in the coastal plain near the foothills of Ephraim. That was the place where Israel was defeated, where the ark was captured, and where the two sons of Eli were killed.--That does not sound much like a stone of help---And in chapter 7, Samuel will set up a stone in Benjamin, near Mizpah, and call its name -Ebenezer.- -stone of help- -Till now the LORD has helped us.---Samuel is teaching his people that God's triumph comes through our weakness. The LORD brought judgment upon his priests and upon his people at Ebenezer.--What kind of help is that----- If God helps us by turning us over to our foes - what kind of help is that-----But his purpose is to bring Israel through suffering to glory...

The world around us moves so fast that it's easy to forget to pause and consider just how profoundly God has blessed us. In the United States, somewhere tucked in between the massive Halloween parties and the exhilaration of Christmas, Santa Claus, presents and fun, is a holiday called Thanksgiving. While we won't take the time to discuss how it came to be, we do want to remember why. Thanksgiving's origin was actually simple. It was proclaimed to pause and consider just how profoundly blessed those settlers were to have lived through a hard winter and now experience a harvest in preparation for the next hard winter. In short, the thanksgiving they gave was to God above, period. Today we'll talk about a similar thanksgiving to God but under the biblical name of Ebenezers.

“Displaying our Ebenezers” from www.vopwc.org by Pastor N. R. Taylor, Jr.. Released: 2023. Genre: Vocal. The post Displaying our Ebenezers appeared first on Voice Of Praise Worship Center.

1 Samuel 4-7 is held together by the story of the two Ebenezers. Ebenezer means "stone of help" – as Samuel will say in chapter 7, verse 12 – "Till now the LORD has helped us."Israel had encamped at the first Ebenezer in chapter 4. The first Ebenezer was in the coastal plain near the foothills of Ephraim. That was the place where Israel was defeated, where the ark was captured, and where the two sons of Eli were killed.That does not sound much like a stone of help!And in chapter 7, Samuel will set up a stone in Benjamin, near Mizpah, and call its name "Ebenezer." "stone of help" "Till now the LORD has helped us."Samuel is teaching his people that God's triumph comes through our weakness. The LORD brought judgment upon his priests and upon his people at Ebenezer.What kind of help is that!?? If God helps us by turning us over to our foes – what kind of help is that?!But his purpose is to bring Israel through suffering to glory...

This is the first of special episodes called Circling Back. In this format, we address a few points from recent sermons that our people have asked for further clarity or concepts we think need a deeper dive.In this episode, we address: How do we maintain the balance between divine sovereignty and human responsibility? How does dying to self make us unkillable? What is the common desire to be God and how is not getting to be God a good thing? 

As we enter the season of Advent, it's appropriate to look forward to Christ's return. However, as Pastor Kevin reminds us, it's also important to look to the Ebenezers in our past and allow God to deal with the hidden places in our past, so we can have a different future.Scriptures Referenced1 Samuel 7:12; Romans 10:10; Hebrews 4:14-16, 13:8; James 1:17About SpringhouseIf you're looking for a church in Smyrna, TN that is focused on Loving Big, Living Truth, and Healthy Family, we'd love to connect with you. We are home to a vibrant children's ministry, powerful middle school and youth ministries, and incredible ministries for men and women of all ages. Our local and global outreaches include partnerships with missionaries in the US and abroad, Isaiah 117 House, local retirement communities, and more. Additionally, we are home to Springhouse Theatre, an award-winning theatre in the Nashville area. Through the theatre, we serve both the greater Nashville theatre community, and thousands of patrons each year, and we are expanding our vision to impact the culture through the arts into additional mediums and through an expanding network of relationships.We would love it if you would consider joining us in person for one of our Sunday gatherings.Additional ResourcesListen to Springhouse Church Sermons Tithes & OfferingsJoin our livestreamChurch websiteChurch appConnect cardDownload the appGathering TimesSundays, 10:30 AMSundays, 6:00 PMContact InfoSpringhouse Church14119 Old Nashville HighwaySmyrna TN 37167615-459-3421 CCLI License 2070006

What is it going to take for us to cry out to God? We need to realize that even in the depths, God is still in control! When we encounter ourselves in the depths, this can be the result of two things: the reality of living in a broken world or a consequence of our sin. In the depths, we realize we are helpless and hopeless without God. Just like Jonah realized that in the past and cried out to God, the same truth is for us today. Without the Lord we are nothing. Sometimes, God allows us to get into hopeless situations so we will realize how much we need Him, and so He will get the credit if we are delivered.Finally, in the depths, we should realize that salvation belongs to the Lord. Like Jonah, we need to be desperate for God. We need Ebenezers in our lives to remind us of what God has done!

A thunder destroyed the Philistines.1 Samuel 7:10  And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel.The context of this miracle In 1 Samuel 7, during the end of the time of the judges, Israel experiences revival under the leadership of Samuel. The nation repents of their sin, destroys their idols, and begins to seek the Lord (1 Samuel 7:2–4). Samuel gathered the people at Mizpah where they confessed their sin, and Samuel offered a sacrifice on their behalf (verses 5–9).It was during this time of repentance and renewal that the enemy attacked: “While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle” A great victoryIsrael's victory over the Philistines was decisive. Several cities the Philistines had captured were restored to Israel, and it was a long time before the Philistines tried to invade Israel again.To commemorate the divine victory, “Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the LORD has helped us'” (verse 12).Ebenezer means “stone of help.” From then on, every time an Israelite saw the stone erected by Samuel, he would have a tangible reminder of the Lord's power and protection. The “stone of help” marked the spot where the enemy had been routed and God's promise to bless His repentant people had been honored. The Lord had helped them, all the way to Ebenezer.Ebenezer – the Lord is our HelpThroughout the Bible, stones have had great significance.Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.The victory was the Lord's and the people were preserved.  The help that the Lord had given them was memorialized when “… Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.” 1 Samuel 7:12. The Lord is our Ebenezer Stone.  He is our ever-present help in times of trouble.Hebrews 13:6  So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.What Are Some Modern Examples of "Ebenezers"?We all have different ways in which we remember God's faithfulness. Although the list below is not comprehensive, they can give some ideas of how Christians memorialize God's good acts in their past.Many Christians will keep a prayer journal or a catalog of events that happened within the day.Some people use literal stones as Ebenezers.Some also may use photobooks as a reminder of how God moved faithfully in the past.Other people share memories on Facebook as a way to recall all those Ebenezer momentsThere is no one right way to remember God and how he has moved in your life. But today I would like to encourage you on creating a physical reminder of God's victories. . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit myeveningdevotional.substack.com

Sermon - May 29, 2022

In this episode, author and speaker, Alexandra Hoover, shares about how God showed her places in her past where there was an Ebenezer stone (a memorial stone) of where God had been faithful even through hard circumstances. In her book, Eyes Up, she walks readers through how to discover their own Ebenezer stones in their lives so they can remember God's faithfulness even when they can't feel Him or see Him moving. This episode helps us discover those Ebenezers in our life as well as how we can be Ebenezers (reminders) for other people, too. Alexandra Hoover is a wife, mother of three, daughter, sought-out speaker, Bible teacher, and Author of "Eyes Up" How To Trust God's Heart by Tracing His Hand. She's passionate about communicating the gospel's beauty and hope, whether through writing or speaking, online or in person. Her words spur people on to hope, healing, and their mission. She has the privilege of serving on staff at Transformation Church and spends her days loving on her family, dancing with her kids, and living on mission right where God has her. Connect with her at alexandravhoover.com or on social media @alexandravhoover, and pre-order her book, "Eyes Up: How to Trust God's Heart by Tracing His Hand". Resources: Daily Office (explaination) The Daily Office I would love to hear from you! You can always find me in my DM's on Instagram @laurendelyn. Or you can shoot me an email at rootedandestablishedpodcast@gmail.com. To help spread the word about the R+E Podcast, please leave a positive star rating and review and tag me in your stories on the Gram! I'd be so grateful!

Listen to our Sunday messages here. Learn more about Crossroads Church at www.ccmonline.org

Listen to our Sunday messages here. Learn more about Crossroads Church at www.ccmonline.org

Listen to our Sunday messages here. Learn more about Crossroads Church at www.ccmonline.org

Listen to our Sunday messages here. Learn more about Crossroads Church at www.ccmonline.org

Listen to our Sunday messages here. Learn more about Crossroads Church at www.ccmonline.org

Listen to our Sunday messages here. Learn more about Crossroads Church at www.ccmonline.org

< Back to 1 Samuel IndexTALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANSIsrael Returns to the Lord Under Samuel's Leadership Printed Version BACKGROUND NOTESDOCTRINAL POINT(S)God gives victory to His people when they return to Him.God restores losses to His people when they return to Him.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONLet's follow Samuel's Ebenezer example.QUESTIONSWhere was the Ark of the Covenant taken after it returned from the Land of the Philistines?What was Samuel's role in the nation of Israel at this time?What does verse 2 mean when it says Israel lamented after the Lord?What did the people of Israel have to do before revival could come?What happened when the Philistines attacked the Israelites while they were gathered at Mizpah?What does “Ebenezer” mean?ANSWERSIt was taken to the town of Kiriath Jearim and remained there for at least 100 years in the house of Abinadab.He was a circuit riding judge who traveled to various cities judging the people.They sought after the Lord for blessing and mourned the fact that they were not being blessed.They had to rid themselves of their idols.The Lord answered with a great thunder that confused the Philistines, and God gave Israel a great victory.Stone of helpDISCUSS/CONSIDERThe people of Israel lamented after the Lord, but revival could not come until they rid themselves of their idols. Is this possible in our lives as well? Idols are anything that comes between us and our full commitment and worship of the Lord.Territory that had been lost to the Philistines was restored to Israel when they returned to the Lord. For us as believers, when we're not walking with the Lord we lose ground. But when we return to the Lord we can recover spiritual blessings that were lost. Can you give examples of this?CHALLENGEAs we see the Lord at work in our lives, we should set up “Ebenezers” to honor Him for His help.KEY VERSES“Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the LORD has helped us.'” 1 Samuel 7:12“Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel.” 1 Samuel 7:14

Today we are doing something a little different in order to raise an Ebenezer because of what God has done over the last 100 episodes. One of my dearest friends and I sat down at her kitchen table and just… talked. As someone who has walked with me through all of the life that's happened since we began the podcast, April McKinney was the perfect person to talk about where we've been and where we're going.   We talk about things like the effect of covid on us personally, the world, our communities, the Church, and what that has taught us, and I answer some questions friends and listeners have sent in, and man, they did not hold back! All of the stories we've encountered on the podcast have revealed in some measure how the stories of those around us can inform our compassion, broaden our perspective, and give us a more intentional glimpse into God's vision of His upside down Kingdom if we let them.  Our longing for resolution, the need for perseverance, and living in a season where we are all desperately seeking hope has postured us to either give into the fight or flight that wrecks our struggle for control or it helps us see how much we need to surrender to the One that holds all things together. The digging deeper into our faith, into the Word, seeking repentance, holding on to a teachable spirit, and learning more about who God is so we can trust Him more is hard, holy, and necessary work. Thank you for all the time you've spent with me over the last 3 seasons and all the episodes that have led us here, friend. I'm excited about what's coming next and where God is leading, and how He's growing me as well. If there's an episode you've really liked or maybe learned something from the guest, I'd love to hear about it! Feel free to send me a message any time, or share about it through a review! I'm grateful for all of these stories and I want you to know you matter, friend. Your story matters. References: -my Dad on the podcast episode 12 -”The Morning Show”  -Ashley Abercrombie - episode 2 and episode 96 The Promised Land The Babylonian Captivity  The last time April was on the podcast episode 49 Jackie Hill Perry “Is He Worthy” - Andrew Peterson  “No One's Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus” -  What is an “Ebenezer” “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” Dorena Williamson - Episodes 10 and 11  Dr. Michael Heiser - Episode 41 Todd Nettleton- VOM Radio- Episode 71 Tessa Afshar - Episode 94 Marian Jordan Ellis -  Episode 100  Kayla Craig aka Liturgies for Parents (episode coming soon!) - her amazing new book “To Light Their Way” Jennifer Greenberg (abuse survivor)- Episode 4  20,000 Words with April McKinney  “Colorfull” by Dorena Williamson Dr. Chris Williamson- Episode 64 Lindsey Krinks- Episode 87  / IGTV Discussion Kristi McLelland Rachelle Dekker - Episode 56 Sarah and Beth of Pantsuit Politics-  Episode 6 “Every story whispers His name” - Jesus Storybook Bible - Sally Lloyd Jones   Scripture References: The Book of Ruth The Book of Esther Hebrews 4:12- The Bible is alive and active  Philippians 4:8- Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is lovely Romans 5:3-5-Perseverance that produces hope  John 11- Jesus wept outside of Lazarus' tomb Hebrews 4:15- High Priest who can sympathize  Matthew 27:46- Jesus feeling Fatherless on the cross Matthew 12:22-32, Luke 11:14-23, Mark 11:27-12:17, John 8:1-11 (just to name a few)- Jesus knows what it looks like for people to struggle with religious leaders Mark 12:13-17- Jesus knows what it looks like for people to struggle with the government (also, GREAT article here) John 3:1-9, Matthew 11, Mark 4:35-41 , Mark 10:17-27,  Jesus knows what it looks like for people to question everything  Matthew 8, Matthew 9:36, Matthew 9:20-22,Mark 5:25-34,Luke 8:43-48 -Jesus knows what it looks like for people to long for resolution to their pain  Isaiah 53- Jesus wasn't the type of Messiah people were looking for  1 Samuel 2:2 (to start, and then here's a whole list!) God is holy  2 Corinthians 5:21- There is no sin in God (great article here) Psalm 34:18 - God is close to the brokenhearted  Genesis 35, 1 Samuel 7:12, Joshua 4- Ebenezer examples Joel 2:25-32, Isaiah 30:18-26, Romans 8:18-24- God's longing to restore  Matthew 11:28-30 /  1 Peter 5:7- God cares about what hurts us Romans 12:15- Mourn with those who mourn  Revelation 21:4- Heaven is the place that does not have pain  John 2:23-25- Jesus doesn't reveal who He is bc He knew their hearts  Luke 2:21-38- Simeon coming to the Temple (not when he was born but when he came to be circumcised- sorry!)  Deuteronomy 18:11 / Numbers 18:21- The Levites were not given land, their inheritance was serving the Lord. Their provision came from the offerings of the people Exodus 16- The manna that each family receives is unique Matthew 25:14-30- The Parable of the Talents   Connecting with Emily and Simply Stories Podcast:Instagram (Em life // Podcast Life)FacebookTwitterBlog  *Intro and Outro music is from audionautix.com

Today is our 100th episode!!!!! How in the world did that happen?!?! I can hardly believe it. My guest today feels like such a perfect person to celebrate the great things God has done with. I'm chatting today with speaker, author, and powerhouse Bible Study teacher, Marian Jordan Ellis. Marian's ministry and podcast lives under the umbrella of This Redeemed Life. That's the banner over her life, and today she shares with us how far God has brought her from a story story immersed in trauma, chasing after the darkness, trying to drown her emptiness in success, sex, money, and lifestyle that looked amazing to the world, but left her feeling empty al the time. After a desperate prayer one night in a bar, she was radically transformed and redeemed by Christ, and now is called to share that life changing gift with women around the world.  I hope that today's conversation leaves you hungry and thirsty for more of Jesus. I know that we feel surrounded by a lot of hard and confusing things right now, but God's ability to transform lives has not changed.  The lies that we believe about our bodies, our pasts, our identities, our failures, whatever it is we have allowed to define us and declare our worth is not up for debate in Jesus' eyes. You are His beloved one that He treasures. You are His masterpiece. There is no place you've gone too that's too far gone for Him.  Take it from a woman who used to believe her life meant nothing and could never be used by God, looked for love in toxic places, you matter to Him. This, wherever you are today, this is not how the story ends, friend. And if you are living in a place that testifies God's redemption in your life, praise Him! Tell Him how grateful you are again today and then tell someone what God has done for you. You have no idea who may need to hear that because their hope is gone and the Holy Spirit may use your story to breathe life into their hope again.  This is why we do this, friends. These are why the redeemed of the Lord are called to tell their story. It's an incredibly beautiful gift to share this space with y'all and raise Ebenezers with people like Marian, The truth is there are no simple stories. But God can and will use ANY story to simply make Himself known to His creation over and over and over again. Thank you for being here with me. Thank you for YOUR story. Thank you for sharing these stories here on the podcast. Thank you to everyone who has come and shared their story so far, and the many more to come. You matter, and your story matters. For His glory.    Connecting with Marian: Bible Studies and Books Facebook Instagram Podcast This Redeemed Life   Episode Sponsor: His Kids Company Use the Code: SIMPLY20 for 20% off Shop Here Follow them on: Facebook, Instagram References: “Sex and the City” “Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For”- U2There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made know through Jesus Christ.”- Blaise Pascal “Reckless Love” C.S. Lewis quote about God making His home in us Shalom  Spiritual Gift Inventory The Great Awakening The London Bombings  Her “For His Glory” Bible Study Wilderness Skills for Women  Acts of the Apostles “Clean” by Natalie Grant Scripture References: Proverbs 14:12- There's a way that seems right to man that, but it leads to death  Jeremiah 2:13, 17:13, Zechariah 14:8-9, John 4:7-15, 7:3-8 , Revelation 21:6-8- Living water 2 Chronicles 7:14, Psalm 65:3, Isaiah 43:25, Ephesians 2:8, Hebrews 8:12 , 1 John 2:2 He forgave me Matthew 11: 28-30, Mark 2:17, John 13:34, Colossians 1:11-14- He healed me John 4- The woman at the well  Psalm 34:8- Taste and see that He is good  Matthew 18:12- Leave the 99  Gomer in Hosea John 13 John 1:14- The Word became flesh Matthew 9:35-38- The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few   2 Corinthians 5:11-21 - Ambassadors of Christ  Ruth 1 - Ruth was from Moab  John 8:32- You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free  Romans 12:2- Be transformed by the renewal of your mind John 8:44, John 10:10,Luke 22:31,1 Peter 5:8 - The father of lies vs. the voice of Truth The book of Ephesians Ephesians 1:1-18 Ephesians 2:10- You're God's masterpiece John 8:1-11- The adulterous woman Matthew 4:1-11- Jesus in the wilderness  Job 23:10, Proverbs 17:3, Psalm 66:10, Isaiah 48:10, Zechariah 13:9, 1 Peter 1:7,  The Refiner's Fire  Psalm 37 Psalm 34:18- God is close to the brokenhearted and near to those who are crushed in Spirit  Philippians 1:6- This is not how the story ends Psalm 107:2-The redeemed of the Lord tell their story  Matthew 16:18-19, Revelation 19-22- The Church is not going anywhere  Isaiah 14:27, Matthew 19:26-  Nothing and no one can stop the Lord  Joel 2:25-32- He will restore the years the locusts have eaten  Connecting with Emily and Simply Stories Podcast:Instagram (Em life // Podcast Life)FacebookTwitterBlog  *Intro and Outro music is from audionautix.com

We often forget the wondrous things God has done for us. We need reminders. The Israelites built Ebenezers out of stones. Do you have an Ebenezer? Guest minister, Rev. Emily VandenHeuvel, leads our service. The Scripture passage is 1 Samuel 7:3-12.

In this episode, Devin and Lauren discuss the “Burned Over District,” and how upstate New York became a “cauldron” of emergent religions and alternative communities during the 19th century. How did the Burned Over District collide with state and national history? And what role did the Erie Canal play in establishing it? Devin and Lauren also discuss how these new religions contributed to the creation of alternative communities, such as the Ebenezers and the Oneida Community, and how this predication for communal living was revisited in New York during the 1960s. (more…)

Ebenezers Coffeehouse in Washington DC opened on March 15, 2006. Two years later it was named Best Coffeehouse in the city. This is even more remarkable when you know the backstory of Ebenezers!  In this episode, you'll relive the incredible story with Mark Batterson, the founder of Ebenezers. After listening, you may think twice about giving up on your dream. 

It’s almost unbelievable that we’re down to our last two weeks of praying through the 2020–2021 prayer journal. As we’re beginning to wrap it up, I’m just so thankful that you’ve been doing this together with me.    As we pray this week for our kids to be marked by “remembering,” we’re praying they will trust God’s faithfulness in their present circumstances because they have seen his goodness in the past.    I love the reference to an Ebenezer stone in 1 Samuel 7. After experiencing a huge battle victory, Samuel grabbed a stone as a memorial and named it Ebenezer, translated as “the Lord has helped us to this point.” Samuel knew the Israelites’ battle win was significant from a tactical perspective, but he also knew the more significant win was the reminder that God had protected them in the past and he’d just done it again.    Our kids need the same reminder today that Samuel gave way back then: The God who has taken care of us up to this point will do it again. He is faithful and trustworthy.     What are the Ebenezers in your family? Let’s talk about it on today’s podcast and pray together that our kids are marked by remembering that God will protect all of their days when they are surrendered to him. 

In episode 146 we have the Quarenteam talking about the days of Christmas past, present and future like three Ebenezers. We cast into 2021 and reminisce to 1981 on all four decades of holiday cheer. Green straws bad, local coffee good: Rise and Grind Coffee 7301 S 900 E #18, Midvale, UT 84047 Follow us on social media! Or don't, we're just happy you're listening. Voicemail/Text: 801-252-6069 Website: http://www.messinwithmormons.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MessinWithMormons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/messinwithmormons Twitter: https://twitter.com/messinwmormons

A new MP3 sermon from Pastor Nick Holden is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Learning, Living, Leaving — Ebenezers Subtitle: Matthew Speaker: Nick Holden Broadcaster: Pastor Nick Holden Event: Sunday Afternoon Date: 11/17/2020 Bible: Matthew 13; Matthew 13:51 Length: 16 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Pastor Nick Holden is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Learning, Living, Leaving — Ebenezers Subtitle: Matthew Speaker: Nick Holden Broadcaster: Pastor Nick Holden Event: Sunday Afternoon Date: 11/17/2020 Bible: Matthew 13; Matthew 13:51 Length: 16 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Pastor Nick Holden is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Learning, Living, Leaving — Ebenezers Subtitle: Matthew Speaker: Nick Holden Broadcaster: Pastor Nick Holden Event: Sunday Afternoon Date: 11/17/2020 Bible: Matthew 13; Matthew 13:51 Length: 16 min.

Neil talks about the importance of mental Ebenezers (reminders of what God has done in our lives). He shares several stories of things that God has done in his life and the way that those have impacted his faith. February 22, 2018 

Today InPerspective with Dr. Harry Reeder August 14, 2020

Today InPerspective with Dr. Harry Reeder August 14, 2020

Why should we remember the works of the Lord? How can we raise our Ebenezers?

Sunday Morning Worship service by Greg Mullis ************************************** Music Director: Moriah Bias ************************************** Message: 1ST Samuel Chapter 4 ************************************** www.goodwill-baptist.com ***************************************** Live video of our service can be found online @ www.facebook.com/GBCKernersville ************************************** Check out Pastor Greg Mullis' weekly podcast: ************************************** Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/greg-mullis-podcast/id1482776444 ************************************** Google:https://play.google.com/music/m/Itg2lrcc463yenb2hvmxjyijbf4?t=Greg_Mullis_Podcast ************************************** Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/7gKp9lHA2UFWGVgQfOukKx

Raising Expectations A sermon preached by Rev. Ginger Gaines-Cirelli for Foundry UMC April 12, 2020, Easter Sunday. Text: John 20:1-18 I don’t know what I expected. It was my first trip to the Holy Land and I’d seen pictures and heard others share some of what had been most powerful for them, but I didn’t really know what things would be like. Over the years, I’ve seen all sorts of artistic renditions of the holy places, the Jordan River, Jacob’s Well, the Mount of Olives, the garden of Gethsemane, the Sea of Galilee, Calvary, and Jesus’ tomb—so I had all sorts of ideas floating around in my interior image files.  But somehow it never occurred to me that most of these places are no longer really as they once were. Even though I surely knew better, I think some part of me still imagined that pilgrimage to the place where the first Easter happened would mean walking into an ancient Jewish cemetery to a traditional cave tomb in a garden space outside the walls of Jerusalem. But what you will find instead is that the stone slab where, according to archaeologists and historians, it is highly likely Jesus’ body was laid is now incased in several layers of marble, which is in the highly decorated original cave tomb over which is built an intricate shrine called an “Edicule,” which is encased in the ginormous Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is found within the walls of the expanded city of Jerusalem. Something that was so basic and simple and small is now something ornate and big and complicated.  I understand some of why this is so. Precious moments and places are important to return to, to remember, to celebrate, to adorn. We humans raise our Ebenezers, our monuments, and remembrance stones at all sorts of places that mark thin places in our experience, turning points, and spaces where we crossed over into new life. What we should know by now is how easy it is to make idols of our monuments, how easy it is to get to wrapped up with guarding the thing or the place or the memory as we picture it to the point that we believe we are in control of all of it, that we know how things should be and be done. Something that began as beautiful and life-giving can so easily sprout division and judgment and exclusion and hatred.  The place where Jesus laid in the tomb for three days, the place where Jesus and Mary had their Easter encounter, is now guarded by a certain brotherhood of Greek Orthodox priests and the church that surrounds it tenuously “controlled” by three major Christian denominations whose shared history has its high points but has been marked by conflict and division. And what else would we expect to find? That is our history. That is our world. That is the way things are.  But can we not—should we not—expect something different? What would we want to find at the place where Easter happens? “Whom are you looking for?” Perhaps we yearn to find someone or something that will mend the torn fabric of human mutuality and cooperation in our world, release our hearts and communities from the bonds of fear and greed and prejudice, restore our capacity for trust and deep commitment to a common good instead of a good that always favors the privileged and wealthy. Perhaps we yearn to receive the capacity to believe that things in the world can really change, that the much-lauded arc of the moral universe will at some point really bend toward justice. Perhaps we yearn to discover at the place of Easter one who offers what we need to fill the empty places within our own souls and what we need to be able to dwell in the empty rooms we inhabit these days without sliding into unhealthy ways, that will give us courage to cling to hope right now when the challenges and bad news and suffering exponentially grow; someone who can assure and console, guide and renew, who will shine a light into this present moment of darkness. Perhaps we yearn for these things… but can we expect them? Do we really expect them? Mary Magdalene certainly didn’t. “While it was still dark,” the scriptures say, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb grieving, having lost the one person who, according to tradition, had given her life back to her in more ways than one. She had journeyed with Jesus who embodied and offered a truly different way of life marked by love and liberation, compassion and justice. And then she had witnessed the powers of fear and jealousy and control and greed destroy him. If Jesus, so full of love and life and power and hope, Jesus, so wise and brave and strong, Jesus whose intimacy with God granted him extraordinary life-giving power couldn’t overcome the death-dealing ways of the world, then all hope is gone. Mary Magdalene comes to the garden with this expectation: The bullies will always win. Injustice will remain our daily bread. Death and fear of death will continue to paralyze and terrorize and devour. Mary comes expecting death, expecting to find the tomb firmly sealed, as it was when she’d left, because that’s the way things work.  So when all seems hopeless, with no expectation for anything but death, Mary, alone, simply shows up in the garden with her love and faithfulness and care for Jesus. But things do not meet her expectations on this morning. On this morning, Jesus, alive, shows up with his love and faithfulness and care for her, calling her by name and commissioning her to go and share what has happened. It is just the two of them in this moment…a pretty quiet, simple, intimate encounter…a pretty unexpected Easter. But simple, intimate, unexpected Easters can change everything.  Mary Magdalene had watched the Lord of Life humbly buckle, break and fall under the weight of the world’s brutality, humiliation, and injustice. And now sees the Lord Jesus rise, alive…scarred, but standing. What had been dashed hopes and shattered expectations for her life and for the life of the world are raised right along with Jesus. She now knows that even in the midst of the worst the world can do, God has the power to bring unexpected, unimaginable newness and life. Mary comes to the garden expecting to find the dull familiarity of death and is met by a whole new life, a whole new world, a world where Christ is alive. Even now, even when we forget, can’t believe it, don’t expect it, we live in this world where the living Christ wanders through the grocery aisles and loading docks in the middle of the night checking on the stockers and delivery drivers breathing encouragement, where Jesus moves among the frantic field hospitals and overrun ICUs to touch nurses and doctors and anesthesiologists and all medics with grace, among all those on the front lines of public safety and public care infusing them with courage, into the alleys and entryways where unhoused folk sleep to cover them with presence and to shield their social workers with protection, to all the places where vulnerability and fear and exhaustion and the weight of responsibility cry out for God…at every bedside of those close to death, where a family member is not able in this time to dwell, the living Christ shows up, scarred and standing, to proclaim that we are never alone and not even death gets to have the last word. Of course we know that powers and principalities continue to rage and roar. We know that empires and those seduced by the power of worldly idols regroup and reassert themselves with a vengeance at any sign of a loosening of their stranglehold of comfort and control. They use all the considerable resources at their disposal to lower our expectations, to convince us that we are powerless, that the best we can do is muddle through and put up with things as they are, to believe that infighting and manipulation and unnecessary violence and injustice are inevitable, and that Easter is a great excuse for a party but doesn’t matter in the big picture, that there is no evidence for hope, that expecting the worst is the wisest option. //   I’m choosing to side with Mary Magdalene on this one—gonna believe her— because all that other garbage is literally no way to live. Lord knows I struggle to really believe that things in this world will be different, I struggle to expect that we will allow this present moment of suffering and all the things it is revealing to motivate real change in our ways of living together. But, y’all, Jesus has gone through hell to show us the life that is possible—the life that is possible for us and the life that is possible for the world. And today Jesus meets us in all the simple spaces we are with love, faithfulness, and care, calls us by name, and promises that we, like him, can endure the pains of this world and emerge… scarred, but standing. Jesus meets us in all the places we are to raise our expectations for a world that is more gentle and just. And then commissions us to do our part to make it so.  By the power of God loving us to life in this present moment, we may, from the relative smallness of our spaces, be given a big new vision for how things can and should be. By the power of God loving us to life right now, the better angels of our nature can rise up and reassert our common humanity, the dignity, reciprocity, justice, mercy, and compassion our shared vulnerability requires to survive; can not only show us who and what are essential, but how to reorder values accordingly; can give us the courage to work with instead of against one another; can concretely show us the healing that happens when we walk more gently upon the planet. By the power of God loving us to life, we may learn just how strong we are—and how much stronger we are when we are together.  These Easter promises have been the same forever. Though it seems that for a very long time thousands upon thousands make their familiar, annual pilgrimages to the holy places to gather for the grand rites of Easter… and then go to their brunches and dinners with no expectation that anything is, can, or should be different in the world or in their lives. It’s almost like what began as a small, intimate, life-changing, purpose-giving, world-shaking, encounter with the living Christ has gotten overshadowed by the monuments we have built around it.  If that is at all the case, then this is the moment of all moments to shake ourselves loose of anything unessential, to clear away anything that keeps our feet from standing directly on the solid rock of the living Christ, the one through whom and in whom and by whom we are given strength to stand and serve, scarred, but shining, sent into the world to raise expectations and, by the power of God, to meet them. http://foundryumc.org/

As we began recording talk three about his story, George told us that sitting and recalling the events of his life was good. “It's helped me see all of these Ebenezers in my life,” he said, “those markers where you can look back and see that the Lord really HAS brought you to where you are…” In this chapter of his story we move into some twists and turns… We talk about big dreams that sometimes came up, well, somewhat differently than what was expected. Yet, though all of it, the Lord continued weaving a tapestry of grace and completing the story.   _________________ Links for this episode Download the Keystones PDF free at www.GeorgeGrant.net/keystones  

Mark Batterson is the lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C., and founder of Ebenezers, the largest coffeehouse on Capitol Hill. On this podcast, Batterson shares his experiences as an entrepreneur and pastor, and how to bridge the gap between the church and the marketplace. Listen to his unique take on authenticity, politics and the modern-day church.    To connect with Kent Ingle: www.kentingle.com Twitter: @kentingle Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kent.ingle/

Mark Batterson is the lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C., and founder of Ebenezers, the largest coffeehouse on Capitol Hill. On this podcast, Batterson shares his experiences as an entrepreneur and pastor, and how to bridge the gap between the church and the marketplace. Listen to his unique take on authenticity, politics and the modern-day church.    To connect with Kent Ingle: www.kentingle.com Twitter: @kentingle Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kent.ingle/

FULL EPISODE EPISODE SUMMARY Conversation with Dr. Mardi Steere about Mission, Leadership, Emergency Medicine and Ebenezer Moments from her 8+ years at Kijabe Hospital. EPISODE NOTES David - So today, I'm talking with Mardi Steere. This is a conversation that I don't want to have. It's about leaving about memories, and about Kijabe.And I don't want to have it because I don't want you guys ever to leave. That is the hardest part of life in Kijabe. But amazing people come and amazing people go and you're gonna do amazing things and stay in touch. First, why don't you give the introduction you gave at the medical team the other day. Mardi - So this is bittersweet for me as well. We came to Kijabe in 2011 and planned to stay for two years and here we are eight and a half years later, taking our leave. And in some ways, it's inevitable. You can't stay in a place forever. It's been a real opportunity for me to reflect. David - Let me pause you real quick there. So when you first came, who is we? And then what did you come to do? Mardi - In 2011, I was a young pediatric emergency physician with an engineering husband looking for a place where we felt like God had said "To whom much is given, much is required," and we knew our next step was to go in somewhere with the gifts and the passions and the exposure and education that we've been given. And so I came as a Pediatrician, and the hospital hadn't had a long-term pediatrician in quite a while. Jennifer Myhre had just joined the team in 2010 and my husband Andy is a civil engineer and project manager, and now, theological educator as well.We moved here with our then two-year-old and four-year-old to do whatever seemed to be next. David - That's amazing. So give the theological introduction to the Ebenezer. Mardi - It comes from first Samuel Chapter 7 verse 7-12, where there's a battle between the Philistines and the Israelites and Samuel lays a stone to God for being faithful and to remember what God has done. When Andy and I got married in 1998, actually, it was a scripture that was read at our wedding. And we were encouraged when these Ebenezer moments come, take stock of them, step back, and acknowledge what God has done . Those moments will be key moments in your marriage. As I was talking to the medical division the other day, I felt like it was just another reminder that, as we have our professional lives and we work in a place like Kijabe and we serve, it's really easy to get caught up day-to-day in the daily struggles that we all have - with life and death and bureaucracy and not enough money and not enough equipment and team dynamics and conflict. But there are these moments when we take a step back and we see what God has done. This hospital has been around for 100 years, and I've only been here for a little over eight of them, but there are so many moments where I look back on where we've come from - and the journey that we've been on - and I see these landmark moments of God intervening. David - How do you see the balance here between medical excellence and spiritual - I don't know if excellence is the right word - between medical excellence and spiritual excellence. I think the origins of medicine were very intertwined with the spiritual, but at least in Western medicine, it's very divorced and I feel like in some ways, what I see happening here is not taught in classrooms anywhere else. Mardi - This is one of those things that I am going to be taking with me for the rest of my life. I don't know who's listening to this, but Americans have a cultural Christianity where it's acceptable in medicine, I think, to ask medical questions and maybe you ask a spiritual question and saying God bless you and bless her heart, and praying for people is somewhat accepted but still it's a parallel track to medicine. In Australia, it's completely divorced. There's almost a cultural fear of discussing the spiritual in Australia, a very agnostic country. So to be a Christian in Australia, you have to make a choice. But then when you go to medical school, it's taught to you almost don't bring that in. This is a science, and one of the things that I love about Kijabe is that they are inextricably intertwined. There isn't a meeting that we start here without prayer. When I'm covering pediatrics, as a clinician, we start with team prayer and depending how busy things are, if you're trying to see 30 patients on rounds, you might pray for the room, as you start. We ask the parents how they're doing, and then we pray for the mom with her permission, and for the baby or the dad or whichever caregiver is there. We ask God to intervene, we ask God to give us wisdom, we ask him to be a part of the science. We ask him to be a part of the conversations. When it comes to the even bigger picture, when it comes to strategically planning the hospital, and our core values again - they're inextricably intertwined, and it's a gift. One thing that I'm gonna take with me as a leader and as a clinician, is that it is not difficult to ask anyone, "What is your world view and what is your spiritual worldview? Because all of us have one in Australia. That world view might be... "I don't believe there's a spiritual realm." That's so important to know. But what if the answer to that question is," I believe in God, but I don't see him doing anything." What an opportunity we miss. What if we have immigrants in our population in our community, and we don't ask them "What is your spiritual and cultural world view? What do you think is happening beneath the surface?" and we don't give someone an opportunity to say without derision, "I think I've been cursed" or "There is a generational problem in my family," and we don't open up the opportunity to intervene in a way that's holistic, much we miss by not intertwining the spiritual and the physical? The fact is every one of our communities has a spiritual world view, and shame on us if we don't explore it with them. David - Amen. It's fascinating here because before coming here, I thought of missions as giving. The longer I'm here, the more I think of it as receiving. When you stop and pray for a family, the encouragement received from those family members is huge. The trust and the love, and you do see people who come in the halls and you ask, "Why are you here?" "Because my doctor will pray for me." Mardi - So what's interesting to me is there are some conversations going on in medicine around the world right now about this "innovative new concept of Compassionomics." And really it's exactly what you're saying, it's not new and it's not innovative. I think that Compassionomics is our fearful way of re-exploring the spiritual. It's taking the time on rounds to say, "How are you doing as a family, how are we doing as a team," and to take the opportunity to draw comfort from each other. It comes from a spiritual foundation, that I think that we've lost, and I think a lot of it comes from burnout and from the way that medicine has become a business and a commodity. We're starting to re-explore through Compassionomics, and I pray through exploring the spiritual, the deeper side of medicine that around the world I think people really miss. David - Right on. Mardi - And if that's not reverse innovation, I don't know what is. David - It's fascinating, this space that Kijabe fills and how we think about it and how we talk about it. I use a phrase - World class healthcare in the developing world - but when I use that, I don't mean that I want Kijabe to be the big hospital in the big city in the West, because there are certain aspects that we don't want to lose. Yes, absolutely, it would be super-cool to be doing robotic surgery, and some of these wild technological things, but really I feel like what Kijabe excels at is not fancy and not glamorous. It fundamentals of medicine. I remember Evelyn Mbugua telling me this one time. I asked her, "What do you think about medicine in general?" "When I have a challenge or when I'm stuck on a patient, I go back to their history." It's fascinating that that's fascinating! Some of the basic fundamentals of medicine are practiced here, just looking at your patient and laying your hands on them and touching them and talking to them. A conversation is both a diagnostic tool and it's actually medicine. If the numbers are true, I know it's different from orthopedic surgery than for outpatient, but, if half of medicine is actually placebo, this stuff is really important to healing. And it's not anti-science. It actually is science to care about people. Mardi - It's interesting when you mentioned the placebo effect. I think that the placebo effect is considered as nothing, but it's not the placebo effect, is actually a real effect. It's that time and conversation and compassion, truly do bring healing and the point of a control trial is to see in a drug-do better than that. But the thing we're doing, already makes sense. It's interesting to me that medicine around the world is getting faster and faster and more and more advanced. Time is money. I think that around the world, we wanna save money in medicine, we wanna do more with what we have, but we're willing to sacrifice time, to make that happen. And why is that the first thing that goes? Burned-out physicians in high income countries, the thing that they love, is when they have to see more and more patients in less and less time because they know what they have to offer is beyond a drug, and beyond a diagnosis and beyond a referral and beyond a surgery. The one of my favorite phrases in medicine that I truly don't understand but want to spend the rest of my life working on it, is a "value-based care." I think to define value you have to define what we're offering. If value is time, then one of the things I think that Kijabe and mission hospitals can continue to pioneer the way in is, "how do we cut costs in other areas but refuse to sacrifice the cost of time and make sure that our impact is helpful for our patients but that also helps our team members and our clinicians receive the value that comes from being a part of a meaningful conversation. I think that's what patients want too. They don't want the robotics, they come to us because they're helpless vulnerable and afraid, and those are the things that we're treating. They trust what we tell them and if we don't have the time to build up that trust, we've lost a lot of the value that we offer. David - What have you seen change about team? You guys have been part of this big culture change process, but I think it's something that's started long before long before either of us. What do you see is the arc of Kijabe and the archive teamwork and the arc of culture? Mardi - So, Kenya is an incredibly multicultural and diverse country and Nairobi is high-powered and it's fast and it's a lot of white-collar and highly educated people and Kijabe is not so far from that. I think we operate more in a Nairobi mindset than a rural, small town mindset, but that's actually been a huge transition, I think, is going from presenting ourselves as a rural distant place to a part of a busy growing rapidly advancing system, and so that comes with leadership styles that become more open and more I guess, more modern in style. And so that's been the first big thing that I've just seen a huge jar over the part of the decade that I have been here is that leadership is no longer just top-down, enforced. It's participational leadership and I'm a massive fan of that. Leaders do have to make hard decisions and make things happen, but the input of the team has become a much, much higher priority in the last decade. And that's huge because our young highly-educated, highly-aspirational team members have got some great ideas and shame on us as leaders, if we don't take the time to listen to their approach to things. So that inclusive style of leadership has has been a huge arc. And then I think the other thing is just our changing generations, millennials are not confined to high-income countries. We have a young generation of people here who aren't gonna stay in the same job for 40 years like their parents or their grandparents did, and that's the same globally. And so we've had to question, over the last decade, how do you approach team members who are only gonna be here for a little while? Do you see that is, they're just gonna go, or do you get the maximum investment into them and benefit out of them in the time that they're gonna be here and then release them with your blessing? And so that's been something that's been huge for me is when we've got these new graduate nurses or lab staff radiographers, to not be on the fact that three years after they come to us, they go it's to say, "You know what, we've got these guys for three years, let's sow into them, let's get the most we can out of their recent education... Let's do what we can to up skill them with the people that we've got here and then let's release them all over Kenya to be great resources for health care across the country and across the region. David - I would say, for healthcare and for the gospel. I've been wrestling a lot with what does it mean for Kijabe is to be a mission hospital. I think the classic definition - I don't know if we define it as such, I don't often hear people say it out loud, but I think it's an unwritten thing - that what makes a Mission hospital a Mission Hospital, is that it cares for the poor. Hopefully on some level, or on a lot of levels, that will always be true at Kijabe. But I'm really excited about the possibility of what you just described, that if these guys are here for three or four years and we are to training them with the attitude that they are going out as Christian leaders and as missionaries to these parts of Kenya that honestly, you and I will never touch. And a lot of the places I've never even heard of. But if we're equipping them to be the light that's the huge opportunity that Kijabe has to be missional. Mardi - This is a much, much longer podcast, but defining mission is really really important, isn't it? I think that there's a couple of things that stick out to me as you're talking and one is that, I think mission has a history that can be associated with colonialism. And one thing I love about my time in Kenya is seeing that we are a globe of missionaries. The church that we attended in Nairobi, Mamlaka Hill Chapel, these guys would send mission teams to New Zealand, which is fabulous. It's not that lower middle income countries are receiving missionaries anymore. All of us need the gospel, all of us need the full word of Jesus and when you're spreading the gospel, what are you spreading? I think that this is a much longer conversation, but I believe that we are called to go and make disciples we are called to serve the sick, we are called to serve the poor, we are called to serve those in prison. I focus on the parable of the sheep and the goats, it is one of my life scriptures, "when you are poor and sick and needy whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me." And what I hope for Kijabe does is that for whoever passes through our doors, whether it be patient, whether it be staff member, this is who we are, we love Jesus and we want you to know this incredible King who gave so much for us and who has an eternal life for us that starts now. And eternal life starting now means making an impact and restoring that which is broken, and it means restoring it now, wherever you are. As our team members go out to work in other hospitals, I would hope that one of the indicators of success for us would be a lack of brain drain, because it would show that we've shown people, "You know what there are people here that need you in healthcare. And this is why I'm here." If I had wanted to be an evangelist rather than a health care missionary, I should have stayed in Australia, for less people in Australia know Jesus that in Kenya. But I felt like my call in mission was to serve the sick in a place where I could help other people do the same. That's been my passion here, but I'm called to go back to Australia now. Does that mean my mission life is over? Absolutely not. It means that I'm going back to Australia to love Jesus and serve sick there and to do it in a different way. And I think that understanding that all of us, whoever is listening to this podcast right now, wherever you you have a call to mission, it's that sphere of influence that God's put you in. It's to take care of the poor or the sick, or to love the wealthy, who are lost around you that are never gonna step foot in a church but need a love of Jesus every bit as much as one of our nursing students here in the college. David - Amen again, that's fantastic. So back to Ebenezers, back to the the stones. What are things come to mind as you look back over on your time at Kijabe that were hallmarks or turning points? Mardi - There's a few of them. One evening sticks out to me because it's so indicative of the bigger picture and what we've been working towards. I'd been here for about nine months or so. . . One of the things that Jennifer Myhre and I noticed is we started out on pediatrics was that our nursing staff were incredibly passionate about their kids, but no one had really had the time to teach them about sick kids and how to resuscitate them, just basic life support, because they were so overwhelmed. You know, there was one nurse who was taking care of 12-15 patients at a time. That ratio is now one to eight, so it's much easier. But they just hadn't had the opportunity to learn some of the basic life-saving assessment in resuscitation skills, and so we started doing just weekly mock resuscitations with the nurses and as we got to know each other and they got to trust me and to know that I wasn't there to, to judge them, but to try and help them, we would do mock recesses every week, and people would stop being scared of coming and would come with by interested and actually came to test their knowledge. When I started in 2011, about once a week I would get called in, in the middle of the night to find a baby blue and not breathing, who was dead, and there was nothing that I could do. But what we worked together on was setting up a resuscitation room, and setting up the right equipment. And so after about nine months of this, I was called in for yet another resuscitation in the middle of the night, and by the time I got there, the baby was just screaming and pink, and I asked the nurse is what had happened and it was the same story as always, this baby choked on milk, they had turned on the oxygen given the baby oxygen done some CPR and they resuscitated that baby before I got there, they didn't need me at all. And the Ebenezer for me was the was the pride on their faces. "We are experts at this and we know what we're doing." That has just escalated leaps and bounds. Now we've got outstanding nursing leadership and they're being equipped and taught and up-skilled every day. But that was an Ebenezer moment for me that the time taken to build relationship and team and invest doesn't just bring a resuscitated baby and life is important, but it builds team and it builds ownership and pride in "this is what I've been called to do, and I'm good at it." It's interesting because it's what you would do is individual doctors with your teams and doing the mock code. But it's also very much a systems process for Kijabe hospital, right? A big part of solving that challenge was getting the right nursing ratios, but also setting up high dependency units to where children you're concerned about could be escalated. Did that happened during your time here? Mardi - So when we started here in 2011, children weren't really admitted to the ICU at all unless they were surgical patients who just had an operation, and then the surgeons would take care of them and transfer them down to the ward. So the pediatrics team wasn't really involved in any ICU care, extremely rarely. We didn't have a high dependency unit. And our definition of high dependency unit, here, is a baby that can be monitored on a machine 24-7. This is something that shows you how reliant we are on partnerships, David. So for example, the nursing and the medical team together decided, "Look, we think we need a three-bed unit, where at least the babies who were the more sick ones can be monitored on machines." And so, Bethany kids were the ones who equipped... We turned one of our words into a three-bed HDU in the old Bethany kids wing, and that was the first time we could put some higher risk babies on monitoring so that if they deteriorated we knew about it sooner. And we saw deaths start to drop, just with that simple thing. The other thing was that pediatricians who worked here in the past weren't necessarily equipped in how to do... ICU care. And so Jennifer and I said, "Well I'm a Peds-emergency physician, and she is an expert in resource-poor medicine, between the two of us, we can probably figure this out." We started putting some babies in ICU who we knew had a condition that would be reversible if we could just hook them up for 24 hours to ventilator. So we started ventilating babies with just pneumonia or bronchiolitis. Or sepsis, that was the other big one, something that if you can help their heart beats more strongly for a day or two, you can turn the tide. And so we just started working with the ICU team to say, "Look, can we choose some babies to start bringing up here? And four years later we were overtaking the ICU at the time and that's why we had to build a new Pediatric ICU, which opened in 2016. All of these things are incremental, and we stand on the shoulders of giants. The Paeds ward existed because a surgeon said "I don't want babies with hydrocephalus and spina bifida to not get care." And then we came along and said "We think that's great, but we think that babies with hydrocephalus spina bifida, who also have kidney problems and malnutrition, should probably have a pediatrician care for them." And over time, that degree of care, that we've been able to offer has just grown and grown. And we had Dr. Sara Muma as a pediatrician join us in 2012 then Dr. Ima Barasa - she was sponsored into pediatric residency long before I got here. That was the foresight of the medical director back then, to say "We are gonna need some better pediatric care". And then I stepped into the medical director role and people like Ima and Ariana came along and they've just pushed it further and further and further. None of us are satisfied with what we walk into, and we keep saying we can do better because these kids deserve more. David - That's fantastic, I think that's another way when you think about the influence and the impact of Kijabe, it's that refusing to settle. It's to say, "Yeah this is possible. Let's figure it out." And for all the team members to say that and commit to it, and for the leadership to support that I think that's what makes Kijabe special. I read something that the other day, it was just an interesting take, someone said [to a visiting doctor] "Why are you going to that place? It has so much." But Kijabe only has “so much” because the immense sacrifice of so many people over so much time. None of this showed up without the hours and the donations and years and years and years of work. I remember you saying that about Patrick with his ophthalmology laser? How did you phrase that? Mardi - Patrick, he's such a wonderful example of the kind of person that doesn't look for reward, but sees a need and just walks to the finish line. He started out, I believe, on the housekeeping team in the hospital. He's been here for 20 years at least, I think, and then went through clinical office or training, which is a physician assistant level training, and then received higher training in cataract surgery. He started our ophthalmology service in 2012. Since then he had nurses trained around him. He's been doing cataract surgery, and then he said, "We've got these diabetic patients and the care we offer isn't good enough, we need a laser." He went to Tanzania, and got laser training, and now he's going to start doing laser surgery on patients with diabetic retinopathy. He refuses to be satisfied with the status quo. And that's the heritage that we have here. You know, talking about even a moment I feel them enormously privileged to have been here in 2015 as we as a hospital celebrated our centennial. It took us a year to prepare for that, and I know you were a part of that process, David. David's job was find all of the stories and all of the photos and interview all of the people and make sure to document everything that might be lost if we lose these stories now. Being a part of that process... I was in tears so many times when we would hear one more story about somebody's commitment and sacrifice. We've been able to write down that story from 2015, with the Theodora Hospital as we were known then. The stories of not just these missionaries but these extraordinary early nurses, like Wairegi and Salome who worked here for decades, who were initially trained informally, because we didn't even have accreditation for the nursing program. David - We didn't even exist as a country. Mardi - That's a really good point! To hear those stories and to see our very first lab technician was just amazing. And then when these 80 and 90-year-olds came over and saw the scope of the hospital as it exists now, it just gave me a glimpse into whatever we do today, we have no concept of 100 years from now, the fruit that that will bear. And I think a missional life, is like that, isn't it? It's being okay with not seeing fruit. There's foundations positive and negative, that all of us lay in the interactions and the work that we do and I think all of us, our prayer is that those seeds that we plant would bear fruit. We have to be okay with not seeing the fruit with saying this has been my contribution. I've stood on the shoulders of giants and now I hand over the baton to you, who will come after me. Make of it what you will. It's not my dream and it's not my goal, I've done my part, and let's see where God takes it through you. David - And so, very shortly, you're about to become a giant. [laughter] I really appreciate you, I appreciate you bringing that up. That was one of the most important things that could have ever happened. It was in the 2015. It was before we started Friends of Kijabe. The realization for me I always come back to how long life is. It's both amazingly short and amazingly long. Watching Dr. Barnett and realizing that he worked here for 30 years, and then went back to the states, so now he's... I think he just hit 102 years old. It really does bring in a clear view what is legacy, what does it mean and what are we building? But also that this is very much outside of us. We get to pour everything we have into it for a time, but then others will take up that work. And it's both humbling, and amazing and... Mardi - And I think it's helpful to as many of us have a sense of calling on our lives, I think that this is what God has for me now. But we have to hold that with open hands because our view and our understanding of what God is doing is so small and what he is doing is so large. I think sometimes in this kind of setting, you come in with a dream and a passion and a goal, but you see that path shift and change during the time that you're here and that is good and that is okay. I think a danger is when we come in and think that we have the answers or we know exactly where God is going, and then things don't work out, and we burn out or are bitter or disappointed. To come into a sense of mission and calling... Saying "not my will but yours be done," and to just obey in the day-to-day and to see where it goes and to be okay with the direction being different at the end than it was at the beginning - I think that's how we lead a life led by the Spirit. We hold these things with open hands and say, "God take it where you will" and if it's a different place, let me just play my part in that. David - Okay, I gotta dig into that cause. How do you balance that? I would frame it as vision. I feel like a good example to look at, I don't know if it's the right one, so, you can choose a different one if you want to, but the balance between vision and practicality and reality. Because you say that, and you are walking in the day-to-day, but I just think of the Organogram that has been on your wall, which was on Rich's, wall, which is now your's again, which is about to be Evelyn's wall. And you had this vision back in, "this is how I think the organization should work to function well." But there's a four-year process in making that come to pass. How do the day-to-day and the long-term balance? Mardi - I think we're talking about spiritual and practical things combined aren't we? I think that anyone who's in organizational leadership knows that you, your organization as a whole needs a trajectory and a long-term plan. We make these five-year strategic plans which are based on the assumptions of today and every strategic plan. You need to go back every couple of years and say, Were those assumptions right? And just to be a super business nerd for a minute, you base things on SWOT analyses and you base things on the current politics and economics. David - What does SWOT stand for? Mardi - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Then you do a PESTLE analysis, you look at the politics, you look at the economy, you look at the social environment of the day, etcetera etcetera. In technology everything is changing quicker than we can keep up with. And so I think that when you're looking at a place like a happy, which is large and complex, you set yourself some goals, and you work with them, but, you know, so something's going to change. Politics are gonna change, the economy's gonna tank, maybe there's gonna be a war on the other side of the world and we’re the only source of this, that, or the other?Maybe India falls into the sea and we start doing all of the surgeries that India was doing? I just don't even know. One thing for me, I've been enormously privileged to have been the medical director for two different terms that were separated by two years. And so I think I have a slightly unique perspective because from 2013 to 2016, I set the way I thought that our division would work and I came back into the role, two years later and already it had changed, but Rich had made it a better. It's funny, I when I came into the role, my predecessor. Steve Letchford said, "Look, you're gonna need a deputy, you can't do this by yourself." And I looked at my team and said "Um, No, I need four deputies, four sub-divisional heads because this is too much for one or two people and I can't keep my ear to the ground without it. I came back after two years away and there were five deputies and my initial gut reaction was, "You changed my structure!" And then I realized that Rich and Ken had made a really wise call. It did have to be five deputies for lots of really good reasons and that team of five has been my absolute rock this year. David - Who is the team of five? So the team of five, I've got a head of inpatient medicine and pediatrics, and specialties and this George Otieno. There's a head of Outpatient Department, and Community Health and Satellite clinics, and that's Miriam Miima. I've got ahead of Surgery and Anesthesia, and that's Jack Barasa. There's a head of Pharmacy, and that's Elizabeth Irungu. Then there's a head of what we call Allied and Diagnostic that incorporates the Lab and Pathology, Radiology, Physiotherapy, Nutrition and Audiology, and the head of that, it is Jeffrey Mashiya who is a radiographer. What's amazing to me about that is when I instituted this framework in 2014, there were four people and they were all missionaries. And I've come back in 2018 and there are five people and they're all our Kenyan senior staff and they're extraordinarily talented and any one of them can stand in for the medical director, when the medical director is away. What a gift that has been. David - I can't imagine how important this is for continuity. Because you think right now, you're handing off your responsibilities to Evelyn, but she has five people that...those are the executors and they actually get to groom her in leadership. That's amazing and for the strength of Kijabe and the stability, it's indispensable. I don't think there's another way to build a strong, stable system other than to build that. Mardi - Yeah, that's actually one of the things that brings me so much joy as I leave is the team isn't going to notice too much the change in senior leadership because that level of day-to-day practical strategic and operational leadership is just so strong. I think it made Ken as my CEO, I think it made his job easier to say, "Look, who should fill the position that Mardi is vacating?" He was able to say, "Who's got institutional memory and who's got leadership expertise and wisdom, and who knows how the senior leadership team works?" Whoever that person is, they're gonna have a team around them that will mean that no voices get lost in the transition. When I took the job in 2013, hearing the voices of specifically missionaries and surgeons can be really noisy and you hear their voices, but who's listening to the head of palliative care and who's listening to the head of laboratory who's listening to the head of nutrition, which is a tiny team of four people, those voices are well represented by wise people who all listen to each other and make the system work around them. It's a tremendous gift and there's no way to do this job without a team of people like that around you. And you know what, that's one of my other Ebenezers, David. Thursday, we installed Evelyn as the incoming medical director. Seeing those five sub-divisional heads praying for Evelyn and as that took off, I will never forget that. David - Absolutely. I wasn't here the first time, but I remember I should print out a series of those [pictures] because I remember you handing the hat to Rich and I remember it going back to you and then watching you give Evelyn the hat and stethoscope. There's this legacy of people that care. It's interesting to think about... 'cause you are, I mean you’re building this remarkable team and your system and things that operate independently of you. But at the same time, you're unbelievably special, and have given a ton over the past years and you. As Rich phrased it, you walked in shoes that not many other people will get to walk in. It's special. I imagine is what it's like when the former presidents get together for their picture. There's things that only only you guys will know and only you guys will have experienced. Mardi - You know, one thing that is really special is I think a lot of leadership transitions come through pain, brutality and war. And one thing that I noticed on Thursday, is that in the room as I handed over leadership to evil and were Steve Letchford and Peter Bird, who have both been here for decades and who've previously been the medical directors. I think there's a beauty about the transition of leadership here in the clinical division that it hasn't come through attrition, war and burnout. I'm leaving with a lot of sadness, and I'm not cutting ties with this place to see. . . there has been a cost. Rich. I know, I would still love to be here in this position as the person who is my predecessor…but to see such strength of leadership that is here and sowing into the next generation rather than leaving when they died. They've stepped down and gone into leading other areas to ensure that the team that follows them is strong, I think that's a tremendous gift and something unique about Kijabe. People love this place and they love this team and they wanna be a part of its ongoing success in its broader mission. David - And they love and they love that above their own glory and their own desires. I think it's what makes an organization great, it’s what makes a country great. I think it's probably gonna be easier in a place of faith, honestly, that this is God's ministry, not our own, not any one persons's. FPECC What is FPECC? I think it's important for people to know a little bit about how hard is it to create a training program or anything new in Kenya? Mardi - So FPECC is the fellowship program in pediatric emergency and critical care. Ariana [Shirk] and I are pediatric emergency physicians, we trained in pediatrics, and then we did specially training in how to take care of emergencies and resuscitation. And were the only two formally trained pediatric emergency doctors in Kenya. Critical Care is taking care of kids in ICUs and currently in the country, there are four pediatric ICU doctors for 55 million people. I don't have the stats that my finger tips, but it's extraordinarily low. I think of the city where you live and how many ICU beds there are, and how many children's hospitals you have just in your own city if you're based in a high income country. For 55 million people, there's kids just can’t access that care. David - Recently, I'm sure it's gone up, but two years ago, it was 100 beds for the country. Mardi - For adults and kids. . . In the country, there are a 12 pediatric ICU beds. Actually no, that's not true, there are 16 and eight of them came into existence, when we opened up our Peds ICU here three years ago. David - And keep in mind, this is East Africa, of the 56 million people. . .33 million of those are under age 18. So 16 beds. Mardi - That's right. Think of anything that can cause a critical illness. Trauma, illness, cancer, you name it, that's not enough beds. So when I came to Kenyo, I had no dream of starting a training program that wasn't even remotely on my radar. But sometimes things just come together at the right time. It was actually University of Nairobi, where they have the only other Peds ICU, they had been working with University of Washington in Seattle to say, “Look, can you help us start some training?” This is really important, because in East Africa there is nowhere that a pediatrician can learn how to run an ICU. Think of the US, where every state has got multiple training programs, where pediatricians will spend three years to learn to be an ICU doctor. There is nowhere for 360 million people in this region to learn how to do ICU care for children. Just think about that for a second. 360 million people... No training program. There's one in Cairo, and there's one in Cape Town, but that's for 600 million people. So I'm just taking a few of them where there's nowhere to go. University of Nairobi was talking to Seattle. They've got two Peds ICU doctors in Nairobi and they were thinking of starting a program. Then just through several contacts, actually through the Christian mission network, one of University of Washington's ICU doctors grew up in Nigeria but she's involved with the Christian Medical and Dental Association, and so she knew about Kijabe. The University of Washington team came out to Kenya for a visit, and they said, "Hey we heard you doing some ICU care caring Kijabe. Can we come out and see what's happening?" That was in 2013. They came out and said "Hey what are you guys doing here?" And we showed them around, and their minds were blown, they didn't know there was any peds ICU happening outside of Nairobi at all. And so, we rapidly started some conversations and said "Look, why don't we start a training program in Pediatric Emergency Care and Critical Care and our trainees can train at both Kijabe hospital and Kenyatta hospital in Nairobi and they can get an exposure to two different types of ICUs. They can also take advantage of the fact that Ariana and I are here as Peds Emergency faculty, and we can split the training load. Training programs in the US have dozens of faculty for something like this, to rely on just two doctors in Nairobi was an incredible risk even though University of Washington is supporting with visiting faculty. So we said, "Look, we've got all these people in the country at the same time, let's just try and do it." So we started that process in 2013. We took our first fellows at the beginning of this year. It's taken us six years. That's how things work here. You've got to form relationships. University of Nairobi didn't know us real well when it came to our pediatric care. We had to get to know each other, we had to develop a curriculum. We had to let the Ministry of Health know. We had to get the Kenya pediatrics Association on side. The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board, had to approve the program. The University Senate had to approve the program. We had to try and get some funding in place. None of that happens quickly. It's all relationship that's all a lot of chai. That's all a lot of back and forth and making sure that you don't try and skip anything to get through the hoops, any quicker than you need to, because if you try to go to quick it falls apart. And if University of Nairobi and Kenya doesn't own this program, it's not gonna last. And I think that's probably the first thing to take away for me is this program exists because University of Nairobi and Kenya wanted it I didn't come in here and say, "We need this.” University of Nairobi wanted it, and we said, "How can we support it?" And so Arianna showing up here for a short-term visit - which we rapidly recruited you guys as long-term - it was God's timing because Ariana and I couldn't have done this independently from each other. It's taken both of us to build those relationships over the last six years. Arianna and I are so proud of this program. Our first two graduates will finish this training at end of December 2020, and we hope and pray that we can recruit them to stay at Kijabe and University of Nairobi as our first home-grown faculty. What's been lovely about that, too, is that we've connected with people all over the world who want to support this kind of thing, they just didn't know how. David - Not did they not know how, there wasn’t a way. It literally did not exist until February 2019. Mardi - So now, we're actually talking to colleagues in Uganda and Tanzania, and colleagues in Sudan and other places about... “Hey, is this a good model for you?” I've got some contacts in Nigeria, they've got how many million people, 30 million people or something ridiculous? And there's no way to get this training there either. And people all over the world want to be able to support what a country wants to start in its own strategy. So that's something that I'm just thrilled to be leaving. Even as we leave next month, I'm hoping and planning to come back at least once a year to teach in the program for the forseeable future and to support Arianna from a distance in continuing to connect people all over the world to say, "Here's a way that your global health desires can interface with a local country's needs." David - You two are the only Peds Emergency Medicine doctors in the country and there's a realization. . .What actually is Emergency Medicine here and what is the difference between what it looks like here versus America? Mardi - Yeah, it's a really great question. First of all, Ariana and I trained in a country where there are multiple children's hospitals per city. So, Pediatric Emergency Medicine is the Emergency Department attached to a children's hospital. There are less than 10 children's hospitals on this entire continent, I think. So there are no Pediatric Emergency departments. What is really great is that Emergency Medicine combined adult and pediatric is a growing specialty here. There's been so much great work that's going on in so many countries around the region. Rwanda last year, just graduated their first class of emergency residents. Uganda just on the cusp, the great advocate there, Annette Allenyo is leading the charge for emergency medicine. Ben Wachira is an Emergency Medicine trained doctor here at Agha University, and they're on the cusp of starting an emergency medicine residency training program. You know Emergency Medicine's a funny thing. Emergency medicine in a high-income country, is a part of a functioning system. Emergency medicine in the US means that you've got ambulances that get your people to you and you've got an ICU at the other end that you send sick people to. Emergency medicine here is. . . people showing up on our door step, we don't know how to get them here and then where do we send them? I think that Emergency Medicine training here is so much more broad. We're training people not only how to provide Emergency Medicine, but how to be advocates in a broader system. And I think if you live in a high income country, you can't understand how much medical training is not about medical training. It's about advocacy and building access to care for people, no matter where they're at. What I see emerging here is…from the start, it's collaborative. Emergency Medicine training here isn't just training a doctor in a specialty to give you a certificate and leave you there. It's connecting you with people who are trying to get paramedic systems going and people trying to build ICU care. That's one of the reasons we realized that our Pediatric Emergency and Critical Care program had to be both. There's not enough places to work where you've got the luxury of staying in the ICU. Our graduates are gonna go out and work in hospitals where they will be expert trainers for the pediatricians running the ICU and the family medicine doctors running the emergency department and the surgeons who are doing pediatric surgery with just general training. Our graduates are gonna be those advocates drawing teams together asking "How can we improve the system from arrival at our doorstep till the day we send them home." It's a different focus in our training. Yes, the skills are necessary. You need to know how to run a ventilator and keep a heart pumping when it's not. But it's about building a team and being a part of solving systems issues and hopefully in a way that is affordable and sustainable. David - I love that word, systems. For me, this is the year of systems. Thinking broadly about each of these individual parts because it’s another way that healthcare here is very different from healthcare in the US. The US is just sub-specialization, that's what it's all about. And here, there's not a fine line between. . .for an Emergency Medicine doctor, you're not sitting out in casualty waiting for a kid to come in, right? If you want to find the emergency, you just walk around and lay eyes on every kid and there's gonna be one out of 70 children in that building, who is in trouble. So it really is a bigger and broader way of thinking about things. Mardi - I think another thing that's interesting to me just as we come back to the missional aspect of who we are... I think 00 years ago, a missionary was someone who would go into deepest, darkest wherever and be whoever they wanted to be. I think as we consider what is global mission, our question needs to be, “What is that country looking for, what systems are they trying to develop and how do we help them in it?" And that comes down to health…if you're a missionary, what does the local church want to do? What is their mission and how can we assist them? I think we need to ask better, what system is someone trying to build and how can we be a part of it. Because that's the key, isn't it? We're here to serve God who is restoring creation and he's doing it in lots of different ways already. We don't need to necessarily think we've got the answer, but to say "God, where are you working and how can I be a part of it, and what does it look like?" I think Mary Adam in her community health project, is a really lovely example of that. Community Health growth is a priority of Kenya. So she's gotten grant funding and she is just sowing in it, she knows every county Governor in the country, I'm suspecting. She knows how to get into the system, but how to be salt and light, and how to be the love of Jesus in making things functional and making all things new. I think that's one thing that I think Kijabe is doing well. We are looking at health strategy and saying How can we be a part of it and love that our FPECC program is in partnership with University of Nairobi. I love that our clinical offices have a program that we got accredited for called the Emergency Critical Care Clinical Officer program, that actually wasn't a part of hell strategy, but we did see a gap, and as soon as we trained people in that we went to the Clinical Officer of Council and said, "Hey you want to accredit this? This is a really good program. And they did, and now the Kenya Medical training training college has taken that program and they're doing their own program. I think those are lovely examples of saying “We're here to bring restoration but we don't want to be separate from the system. Where are you going and how can we help” David - What does that mean for friends of Kijabe? How do you see that working with Friends of Kijabe as an organization? Mardi - What's been really lovely, about Friends of Kijabe in the last year, and I know you're excited about this, David, is in what the core the Friends of Kijabe vision and mission. I think a core part of Friends of Kijabe that we've got the CEO, the CFO and the Director of Clinical Services on the Friends of Kijabe board. One question that I've heard you ask so many times in the last year is "Where are you going and how can we help, what are your priorities? Friends of Kijabe exists to help the hospital further its strategy, but also exists as a bit of a connector between people in high-income countries who really want to contribute and who have passions. Where does that intersect with the hospital strategy? So Friends of Kijabe is not going to take the whole hospital strategy and try and piecemeal help every part of it. They're gonna say, "Hey you're a part of your strategy that are happy resonates with and that's become very clear. A lot of Friends of Kijabe funding currently goes towards whatever the hospital thinks is important. The hospital has prioritized the theater expansion project this year and that's great. But, at its core, Friends of Kijabe also says, "We support the needy. We support education. We support sustainability. How can we get there?" And so [FoK] has prioritized putting money towards each of those areas which happened to align with the core values of Kijabe Hospital. So a large proportion of what Friends of Kijabe hospital is doing this year is helping us with an infrastructure project. But every year we're going re-ask "What are your priorities, and how can we help that?" But we're also going to say, "Here is where our heart beats. Can we help with this too?" I think one of the things about Friends of Kijabe is the trust that's developed since its inception. As Friends of Kijabe, we trust that the hospital leadership is following a strategy that is meaningful, that is sustainable, and that is in line with where Kenya is going and where the African Inland Church is going because that's who we're owned and operated by. As long as our missions intersect, I think Friends of Kijabe can trust that at the hospital is taking us in a good direction. David - Awesome, anything else I should ask you? Anything you'd like to add? Mardi - No. It's been an extraordinary eight years and it's been such a privilege to be here, and it's lovely to leave with joy, even as there's associated sadness. I really can't wait to see what the next few decades bring, and I'm gonna be watching both from a distance and also up close, when I come back to visit. David - Thank you Mardi.

As a 26 year old newlywed, Katie Forsythe found that the trajectory she had planned for her life was about to take a very different path when she was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma a childhood cancer, rarely found in adults. Katie's story is filled with wisdom and powerful insights into God's love and faithfulness. During this journey with her husband Zane by her side, Katie mentioned the Ebenezers – remembers of the ways in which the Lord had helped them even before they knew they were in need. We all need Ebenezer stones in our lives, to remind us of God’s faithfulness. Our hope is that the stories we bring you through our podcast will be Ebenezers for you all, continual reminders of God’s ever present help and reminders of all the wonders God has and is continuing to perform.To see photos of Katie and her husband Zane, please visit our website at https://www.wonderfultotell.com/ Music: Summer Rain by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Every believer should have several Ebenezers in his life. Do you need to build another one today? You have the stones in your hand to build one now! God is waiting for your acknowledgment, He has paid your sin debt!

In this episode of Hope for Restless Hearts, hosts John and Shannon Newton talk about the importance of keeping physical reminders of times when God has helped you. Often called “Ebenezers,” stones, notes, cards and other items can be very helpful during times of restlessness.

We often talk about “mountain top” experiences as we refer to times when we've had a deep sense of faith and are overcome with emotion. In these moments, we're overcome with a sense of peace, comfort, certainty, or even love. For some of us, these moments happened at a summer camp, during a particularly moving worship service, or an epic sunset. As we read the Bible, we learn how people created altars as a reminder of the place where they experienced God in mountain top moments. Sometimes, those altars were rocks (like the Ebenezer rock of remembrance in 1 Samuel) that commemorated when God helped the Israelites overcome the Philistines. As Israel went through all of its trials, the nation made altars and Ebenezers to remind them that God had not left them alone. (This is where we get the term "Ebenezer" that we often sing about in the hymn known as Come Thou Font.) In our own life, maintaining those mountain top feelings can be difficult. As these powerful moments turn into memories, they can become an Ebenezer to remind us that God’s presence is still just close - even when God might feel distant. We’ve been talking about the post-Christmas season as a chance for us to ask, “What’s next?” After scripture's telling of Jesus' birth, we don’t have a lot of information about what’s next until Jesus' baptism. His baptism was one of those mountain top moments that will help us as we ask our own “what’s next” questions. 

On her journey to maturity, Emmaus Road must reach 3 mile markers of maturity: self-governing, self-sustaining, self-replicating. Today, we install our 3rd Elder, reaching our first marker, and that's cause for celebration!

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Clint Wilcke - ! Samuel 7:3-17

Building community takes work, compassion, and time. Ebenezers Coffeehouse has been intentionally building community since 2006 in DC and abroad. General Manager Heather Corsi and I run the gamut of coffee talk as it relates to the Coffeehouse and its community.Ebenezerscoffeehouse.comTwitter | Facebook | InstagramOrganizations Discussed:One Village CoffeeCompassion TeaDC Dream CenterJust HaitiNational Community Church

Numbers 6v1-6 ntcballynahinch.org

We need to build Ebenezers in our life. They are constant reminders that God has helped us!

In this episode, I talk about the importance of looking back through your life to examine all of the miracles that have happened in your life. By looking at what you have come through, you will find strength and encouragement to face current and future obstacles. Do you believe in miracles? You should because you are one! Listen as I unpack this important mindset. Quotes from the show: There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. — Albert Einstein If your life were a book and you were the author, how would you want your story to go? — Amy Purdy Don't let the miracles that haven't happened yet blind you to the ones that already have! — Bruce Van Horn Show Outline: Are you in a rough place right now where you think only a miracle can save you? Dr. James Dobson shared one my articles with his audience Don't let the miracles that haven't happened yet blind you to the ones that already have! Are you letting your emotions rule your choices? It is so easy to let our emotions, particularly our fears, to dominate our thoughts and choices. Our "negative" emotions, like anger, anxiety, fear, stress, betrayal, worry create a kind of "mental myopia" Nearsightedness We can't remember our past and the previous low points we've overcome We can't see a future where all of what's happening now has been resolved favorably We only see the present and a life filled with more of the same In the midst of crisis, all we can see is the immediate, insurmountable need We need to focus on the problem, but as calmly and rationally as possible What we really need is a new perspective a different way of seeing things there are more options than we think! The myopia of crisis often turns usintoparanoids We think the world, God, universe is out to get us or punish us We can only think of ourselves, our pain and struggle We forget we are part of a much bigger plan; that we are loved by many and we have come so far, though so much already! Emotional, spiritual endurance is so important! It's what this show is all about When the hard times come, you'll have the strength, the resources, techniques to get through them It gives you the ability to detach, in a healthy way, from the "now is all that exists" pattern of thinking Allows you to see that the tree in front of you is part of much larger forest Allows you to see more options, ponder and choose the best one Can turn us into "reverseparanoids" God, the universe, people, want us to succeed and are here to help us This is just a challenge, a test, not a punishment Replay the past to find your "Ebenezers" Ebenezer means "Stone of help" Monuments, reminders of having come through a hard time, or remind you of a place you never what to go back to Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing - Here I raise my Ebenezer; Hither by Thy help I've come; And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, Safely to arrive at home. If you have been alive for very long, you have experienced miracles in your life So many things are unexplainable by rational thought Bags of groceries, envelopes containing cash Missed or changed flights So many amazing 911 stories Miracles/Accomplishments: You were born You learned to walk and talk You've lived as long as you have in this fragile, dangerous world Sometimesweare blinded to the miracles in our lives because we think we've produced them Cynical: why give thanks for something I did by myself Question: just because we did it ourselves, does that make it any less of a miracle? Perspective: "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle" — Albert Einstein Sometimes the miracle is simply our decision to make the best of a hard circumstance

In this episode, I talk about the importance of looking back through your life to examine all of the miracles that have happened in your life. By looking at what you have come through, you will find strength and encouragement to face current and future obstacles. Do you believe in miracles? You should because you are one! Listen as I unpack this important mindset. Quotes from the show: There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. — Albert Einstein If your life were a book and you were the author, how would you want your story to go? — Amy Purdy Don’t let the miracles that haven’t happened yet blind you to the ones that already have! — Bruce Van Horn Show Outline: Are you in a rough place right now where you think only a miracle can save you? Dr. James Dobson shared one my articles with his audience Don’t let the miracles that haven’t happened yet blind you to the ones that already have! Are you letting your emotions rule your choices? It is so easy to let our emotions, particularly our fears, to dominate our thoughts and choices. Our "negative" emotions, like anger, anxiety, fear, stress, betrayal, worry create a kind of "mental myopia" Nearsightedness We can't remember our past and the previous low points we've overcome We can't see a future where all of what's happening now has been resolved favorably We only see the present and a life filled with more of the same In the midst of crisis, all we can see is the immediate, insurmountable need We need to focus on the problem, but as calmly and rationally as possible What we really need is a new perspective a different way of seeing things there are more options than we think! The myopia of crisis often turns usintoparanoids We think the world, God, universe is out to get us or punish us We can only think of ourselves, our pain and struggle We forget we are part of a much bigger plan; that we are loved by many and we have come so far, though so much already! Emotional, spiritual endurance is so important! It's what this show is all about When the hard times come, you'll have the strength, the resources, techniques to get through them It gives you the ability to detach, in a healthy way, from the "now is all that exists" pattern of thinking Allows you to see that the tree in front of you is part of much larger forest Allows you to see more options, ponder and choose the best one Can turn us into "reverseparanoids" God, the universe, people, want us to succeed and are here to help us This is just a challenge, a test, not a punishment Replay the past to find your "Ebenezers" Ebenezer means "Stone of help" Monuments, reminders of having come through a hard time, or remind you of a place you never what to go back to Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing - Here I raise my Ebenezer; Hither by Thy help I’ve come; And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, Safely to arrive at home. If you have been alive for very long, you have experienced miracles in your life So many things are unexplainable by rational thought Bags of groceries, envelopes containing cash Missed or changed flights So many amazing 911 stories Miracles/Accomplishments: You were born You learned to walk and talk You've lived as long as you have in this fragile, dangerous world Sometimesweare blinded to the miracles in our lives because we think we've produced them Cynical: why give thanks for something I did by myself Question: just because we did it ourselves, does that make it any less of a miracle? Perspective: "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle" — Albert Einstein Sometimes the miracle is simply our decision to make the best of a hard circumstance

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“Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.'” —1 Samuel 7:12The Israelites were in desperate need of a victory against the Philistines. Just as they were convincing themselves it was a lost cause, Samuel cried out to God and received an answer in the form of deafening thunder that scared away the enemy and secured an Israelite victory.Orthodox battle move? No. God protecting his people? Absolutely.No sooner than they finished their victory lap, Samuel stopped everyone in their tracks to make a critical point. He grabbed a stone as a memorial and named it Ebenezer, translated as “the Lord has helped us to this point.”Samuel knew their battle win was significant from a tactical perspective, but he also knew the more significant win was the reminder that God had protected them in the past and he'd just done it again.Our kids need the same reminder today that Samuel gave way back then: The God who has taken care of us up to this point will do it again. He is faithful and trustworthy. What are the Ebenezers in your family? Where do you need to start laying down stones as reminders to your family that God's faithfulness in the past shows he's trustworthy for the future? Lord, remind us to always pass down the stories of your faithfulness. Mark [name] with a good memory of your provision, giving them confidence to trust your heart when they can't see your hand. Help us to celebrate the places where you've given us victory, making a lasting memorial of your faithfulness for generations to come. God's word speaks: Deuteronomy 7:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:3; Lamentations 3:22–23; Psalm 86:15Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy