GCD Weekly Newsletter - 6/13/22

Find the Landmarks

Pop—my Grandfather—taught me these instructions:

First, find the landmarks.
Second, figure out where you are.
Third, find out where you’re going.
Finally, mark out a path between the two.

Long after the advent of Google Maps, this still forms the basis of how I process new places and circumstances. Walking around London again recently, almost twenty years since I first navigated the city alone as a child, I found that maps which had formed in my mind in those days—though not as crisp as they once were—were still more than serviceable. The London in my mind will never disappear, because more than anywhere else in the world, I’ve never felt more inspired, and I’ve never been more terrified. London taught me that some places weren’t safe, and so I began to distinguish between the beautiful landmarks and the dangerous ones.

The writers of this week’s articles all know what it is like to find themselves in places or on paths they’d rather not be on. Whether in physical danger from those who should have been safe, or on a spiritual foundation they’d mistakenly thought to be solid. As you read these articles, why not take a look at your own mental maps, reassess how you choose to navigate them, and be reminded to trust again that the Shepherd knows where he’s leading you and why.

This Week at GCDiscipleship.com

Loving Fearlessly
— by Joshua Sheriff (@joshsherif)
”If anyone thinks they have reason to be afraid of Muslims, I likely have more. After I moved to America with my mother and younger sister, …my mother became the target of an honor killing that forced us into hiding for ten years. …She had dishonored the family by converting to Christianity and leading her two children “astray.””

Embodied Discernment: Learning to Discern with our Minds, Hearts, and Actions
— by Lara D’entremont (laradentremont.com)
“My discernment muscles operated only within my mind, so engaging my emotions wasn’t a viable option. Instead, I suppressed my emotions because I believed the truly mature believer lived their life from a place of intellect. I thought emotions were a flaw, so I suppressed them—until they overflowed into anxiety, depression, and anger.”

Jesus is our Good Shepherd and What That Means for Us
— by Blake Long (theology-and-life.com)
“Wherever you are in your walk with Jesus—whether it’s been a month, a couple years, or decades—I imagine you feel the same way. We all get discouraged with our progress. We all are prone to frustration when we realize we are not as godly as we should be. But sanctification, like the growing of trees and plants—as John Owen puts it—takes time. It’s slow, boring, and not easily seen.”

Letters to the Editor

If you were particularly stirred by any of the articles this week, so much so that you would like to send us a response, we’d love you to reach out. Letters to the Editor were common long before likes and comments, and encouraged thoughtful discourse rather than snap judgements. Whether you agree or disagree with something we’ve published, we’d love to hear your thoughts. If you’d like to share something with us, reply to this email or leave a ‘letter’ in the comments section.

The Guild

Here at GCD, we run a small social network catered to Christian writers. As a writer myself, I know that it can often feel like a thankless and solitary task, and it sometimes leads me to believe the lie I must be the only one experiencing that. If you’re a writer and you feel like that too, the GCD Writer’s Guild is for you. We provide regular writing prompts, we help to provide each other helpful critique, and we champion and cheer on the work of other writers in the Guild. We welcome writers of every level, from communicators who are just getting started to published authors. Our aim is to encourage and help each other along in saying what is good, true, and beautiful and to create a culture that glorifies Christ.

If you’d like to join, or you simply want to know more, click here for more details:

Grace and Peace,

Adsum Try Ravenhill is married to Anna and together they are passionate about seeing young men and women discipled within the context of the local church. You can find Adsum through his writing at The Raven’s Writing Desk and alongside Anna as the co-host of the Consider the Ravens Podcast. You can also find Adsum’s articles for GCD here.