Debbie Csutoros

This summer, my husband Bob and I had the wonderful blessing of being able to take our 12-year-old granddaughter Emily to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, on a Road Scholar intergenerational trip.  Nine grandparents, eight kids, and two leaders spent a week hiking, white water rafting, horseback riding, and (the highlight of the week) an amazing hot air balloon ride.

In recent months, I have been very intentional about being aware of Jesus’ presence throughout my days.  So, while at our highest elevation, I turned my attention inward to seek Him.  I was greeted with His beautiful face, bright with sunlight, wind in His hair, and He was laughing! I was delighted and laughed with Him, treasuring this beautiful moment of being fully alive and present with Jesus, Bob, and Emily.

After we landed, the balloon operator presented each of the kids with a certificate, which included the date and location of their balloon ride.  Included in the certificate was the following poem, which I believe God gave me as a confirmation that He really was there.

The winds have welcomed you with softness.

The sun has blessed you with warm hands.

You have flown so high and so well,

that God has joined you in your laughter

and set you gently back again

into the loving arms of Mother Earth.

Thank you, dear Father!!!

Christine Davis, YadaFactor Coach, with granddaughter Emily

Adventure is about risky, unknown pathways outside the usual. Adventures can be exciting, exhilarating, even scary.

Peter’s adventure was in the midst of a storm, daring to step out of his boat to join Jesus, walking on the water! How do you think he told the story of what happened that night? I’m guessing it was about walking on the water, not sinking.  Or maybe it was.  Regardless, it was likely a story he told with excitement in his voice because Jesus did the impossible through him!  God was teaching him a faith that can exceed human boundaries.

In 2007, Steve and I found ourselves in a cancer storm. While camping that summer, we received a call from the doctor that Steve had advanced prostate cancer.  Shortly after this, Steve’s dear father passed away. Like the disciples, we were in a storm, and we were “terrified.” (Matthew 14:26).

Then 2008 rolled around and the economy crashed. We found ourselves crying out like Peter, “Lord, save me (us)!” (v. 30). As if that were not enough, a dream investment became a nightmare. But God was teaching us like he taught Peter, to walk by faith not by sight.

By 2014, when this picture was taken, our faith was forced to grow or die. We had to choose faith every day at even greater levels, because another storm came up suddenly in a mountainous legal battle that threatened to sink us. But God was taking us on a soul refining adventure to learn to walk with Him on the water of faith.

When the disciples were terrified, Jesus immediately said three things: “Take courage! “It is I. Don’t be afraid.”  Then Peter said, “Lord if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Jesus said, “Come.”

Jesus uses our storms to draw us closer to himself.  Whatever storm is blowing in your life, you can KNOW (yada) that Jesus is there and says, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

Storms can be painful and scary, but Jesus can answer our prayers in unimaginable ways. Dare we step out of the boat and join Him to transform our fears and worries into purposeful adventure?

Debbie Csutoros

The main character in Iron Man is Tony Stark. In the movie he has a changed heart that redirects his mission to build super-powered armored suits that defend against threatened peace around the world.

So, what does the Marvel movie, Iron Man, have to do with Jesus?

The apostle Paul reminds us that we too have a super-powered, spiritual armored suit for our redirected mission. Ephesians 6:10-20 begins with these words, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and his mighty power.” Our superpower is the mighty power of Jesus that raises the dead and lives in us through the Holy Spirit. In him, we too have been given a new heart, which brings a change of direction.

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8:11 Amen!

Tony Stark is a fictional character, but Jesus is REAL and brings life.  We are called to simply believe who he is with a faith that understands he can do the impossible against enemy foes like doubt and fear. We are responsible for suiting up with the armor, but God is responsible to provide the power once we activate our faith in this way. So, get ready, suit up, our mission has just begun.

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31

Dear God, you are infinite, eternal, and deeper than I can ever understand.  Thank you for graciously revealing yourself to me in Jesus Christ by your Spirit.  I marvel that my relationship with you will continually be full of discovery for the rest of my life.  Please give me the assurance and knowledge of this mystery, which is Christ in me, the hope of eternal glory.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

(From Brand New:  A 40-Day Guide to Life in Christ, page 89, from Colossians 1:27.)

Reflection can be described as an act; like a mirror that returns an image.  It can also be defined as “fixing thoughts on something with careful consideration.”

For me, intentionality and courage are required to look back and reflect on my thoughts and behaviors. Often, I’d rather run away and not deal with them.  However, I have discovered that making time for purposeful reflection can bring wonder to each day.

The story of Joseph found in Genesis is a wonderful example. Joseph’s journey didn’t start off so great. He was thrown into a pit then sold into slavery by his brothers, who hated him. He was falsely accused of a felony that would’ve brought shame to most. As he remained in prison, he was passed over by those he had blessed. I think Joseph must have practiced the behavior of reflection, because no matter what happened, he stayed focused vertically on God and his promises. It paid off for Joseph and for many who went before him and after him. I believe Joseph must have just been determined to believe God.  He had a dream, and he knew it was given to him by God. And he knew God was with him, no matter what.

David Kolb’s experiential learning theory is a powerful model to help us understand the wonder that reflection can bring from the things we experience in life, whether joyous or painful. Allow me to paraphrase the big thought around this theory. If we don’t take time for reflection, we simply move from one experience to another without learning from those experiences. Here’s a simplistic diagram of his theory.

I believe YadaFactor is a tool that God is using to transform us through these four steps as we take time to reflect on His Word, write something down, then re-read it in our small triad groups. As I reflect on my life while reading scripture, writing enables me to think about life and truth together. Then I can act on this truth by obeying God and my behaviors change. For example, when a lie is exposed, my ability to stand on truth increases, helping me to take a step of action based on that truth.  As I move into more faith to believe God’s truth despite my circumstances, I begin to experience God in new ways every day, and the cycle continues.

By taking time to reflect, you will discover the wonder of God’s love for you and become more of the person He created you to be.

It was 3:00 am.  I woke up with these words repeating in my head:

“If you’re looking for renewed hope, you will find it. If you’re looking to go deeper to know, you will find that too.”

I was compelled to write it down, so I did, then went back to bed. It was a Sunday, so off to church I went. The sermon focused on the disciples at Pentecost in Acts 1. His three points were about a new power, a new mission, and a new HOPE!! In that moment I remembered my 3:00 am notetaking! The power of the Holy Spirit was being poured out on the disciples to fulfill the commission Jesus had given them. The story of Jesus was to continue, but in a new way. The words “new hope” stood out to me for obvious reasons. The sermon concluded with these two scriptures:

…we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, (disappoint us) because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.  Romans 5:3-5

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After this, we who are still alive and left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so, we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

Covid was not going away and people were losing hope. Fear was, and continues to, pour out into this world. Fear is not from God and fosters hopelessness. But with God, we can face the real thing we all fear most: death. The real elephant in the room is death, and death is painfully real, as so many have tragically experienced. It feels as though a new level of fear has been unleashed and many have lost so much. We grieve with you in your loss.  But could our greatest loss be diminishing hope and hopelessness?

God’s inoculation to fear is hope, not wishful thinking. We can know real hope when we seek to know God Himself. He has solved the problem of death by sending Jesus, who died in our place on a cross. God has declared all who trust in him, “not guilty!” God suffered like many of you with own Son’s death. But Jesus did something new; he broke through the grave and rose, alive. He is still alive! This is our hope and Covid cannot mask that. This truth overcomes the fear this pandemic has brought upon our world. I realized as the day progressed that God was speaking the word “hope.” We who know this hope can help people face the elephant in the room. I read somewhere that “hopelessness sets the stage for the moving of God’s hand, and the impossible sets the stage for a miracle.”

This quarter, through YadaFactor newsletters, we will be sharing messages of hope that renews. Let’s share this hope intentionally and sacrificially. People are hurting, and we have the same power, mission and hope that was poured into the world so long ago.

As the day ended, my rendezvous with hope in the middle of the night made a little more sense:

“If you’re looking for renewed hope, you will find it. If you’re looking to go deeper to know, you will find that too.”