So last night, my husband and I finally, for the first time since the beginning of March or maybe even the end of February, we ventured out of our house just the two of us went to a secluded place and had a date night. However, something stood out to me during the course of that entire date If you want a strong relationship, you have to fight for it. I woke up yesterday morning and realized that the same is true with God.


In fact, I got a Facebook message from someone about two weeks ago because of our fundraiser, I was not able to get back to them in a timely manner so I couldn't respond until today. The gist of what they were saying was, "I don't feel close to God, I just don't feel close, and I don't know how to get back to that place." So I was thinking of fighting for intimacy in my marriage and how we also have to fight for that intimacy with God. Here's what I told our friend:


Just keep showing up. A lot of people cite Jeremiah 29:11 as their favorite verse. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful verse:


"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11


Although, we stop too soon when reading this passage because then verses 12 & 13 say:


"Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29:12-13

Just keep showing up even and especially when you don't feel like it. Even especially when you have no words to pray. Just remember these three words: Keep Showing Up.

Jon Steingard, lead singer of the popular Christian band “Hawk Nelson,” recently announced that he no longer believes in God. He cited deep theological issues, like the problem of evil and whether or not we can trust the Bible. Dr. Glenn Kreider of Dallas Theological Seminary joins Rebecca Carrell and Liz Rodriguez on this week's episode of the Honest Conversations podcast to discuss faith, doubt, and the tough questions we all ask.

Listen to the full episode here: https://www.heartstrongfaith.com/podcasts/

Dear Rebecca and Burns,

When I was born my parents paid my tuition to go to Texas Tech. I am already enrolled, but I do not want go. They don't have the program I want to major in. But if I don't go to Tech they won't give me money for college.

What should I do?

It's as simple as opening up social media or turning on the TV if you want to hear bad news about the Coronavirus. However, despite COVID-19 being an absolute tragedy on our planet, there are good things that are surrounding this virus that we can celebrate as we watch people step up like never before.

Dear Rebecca and Burns,

My older sister is a new mom and we are all thrilled. I'm not a parent, but I'm really worried about the way they are trying to get their daughter on a sleep schedule. Five weeks old feels way too young to make the baby sleep through the night. Over the weekend I stayed with them and I got up at one point with the baby because I couldn't bear to hear her cry.

I know you two are parents. What do you think?

This edition of Welcome To The Future is very cool to Rebecca & Jay Allen specifically because of their fascination with space. Now as of Dec. 20th, 2019, the United States has launched a new division of the military, the U.S. Space Force.

In a culture where people get married later and later, statistics show that 40% of Christians between the ages of 30 and 64 are single. Lauree Meza (aka Lauree Austin on 90.9 KCBI-FM) sat down with Rebecca Carrell and Liz-Rod-on-the-Pod (Rodriguez) to talk about the beauty and opportunity found in singleness.

Listen to the full episode here: https://www.kcbi.org/honest-conversations/

Tim Keller is one of my favorite authors and he is actually a pastor/theologian in New York City. I've been assigned a couple of his books for my seminary reading and I'm so grateful every time I get to read what he has to say because number one, he's so wise. He loves the Lord so much and number two, he's very readable as opposed to a really high academic kind of book. One of his famous sayings from his book, 'The Reason for God' is:

"The God of the Bible takes our misery and our suffering so seriously that he was willing to take it on himself." - Tim Keller

I think that we forget sometimes that we love and serve a God who allows his heart to be broken over and over and over for his people. There's a passage in the book of Matthew where Jesus stands outside of the city of Jerusalem looking at it the crown jewel of Israel, the city of David, and he weeps. That word for weep isn't just sadness, it's a gut-wrenching cloak rending grief. That grief drove him to the cross with a mighty force.

The love of Christ is so powerful. It's like a tidal wave in the sense that nothing can stand on its path, not even, and especially death. So as we are in this season of uncertainty and suffering, we must accept that God may or may not just deliver us from it. However, we can be certain that He is passing through it with us.

Dear Rebecca and Burns,

I am a single mom and considered an essential employee, so I am still going to work. My mother helps me with the kids two days a week and let it slip that she is still getting together with her bridge group. I'm horrified, but I don't know what to do, because she is my only option for childcare. She refuses to take this seriously.

What should I do?

In an age where TikTok, Instagram, and other networks are taking over and kids seem to be speaking a different language than us, it's crucial that we take the time to learn how we can best help our kids. Especially during this pandemic, lots of kids contrary to popular belief aren't seeing this as an 'extended summer' but rather as their worst nightmare which is leading them down a path that many parents fear. That's why if you are monitoring your kid's phones or social media feeds, keep an eye out for these hashtags as they could be vital to your child's health and safety.