It's so much easier to sweep it under the rug or pretend it's not an issue; to endure the flare up then go back to status quo until it becomes an issue again. 

God wasn't messing around. When Achan took some of the sacred things dedicated to God, God brought the campaign to conquer Canaan to a halt and told Joshua to deal with it. 

Generational sins would be non-existent If only we would learn to do the same. 

When sins arise, stop. Acknowledge it. Get to the bottom of it. Then you are prepared to move on.  

Tracy Tulle felt the fire in her belly every two to three years, and each time she did, she took another job, learned something new and took on new challenges. But not all challenges come as opportunities. Some challenges force new growth, a new location, and some even require you to pull back and re-evaluate where you are and where you're going to go. 

And sometimes the biggest challenge is stepping away from it all and waiting on the Lord to show you what is next.

When it came to taking the land, the Israelites would see it was all God. God brought them to this point, God made the fortified walls fall down. God would give them the land. 

Sometimes the hardest part is obeying God when it doesn't make sense. Why stay in a marriage that is subpar? Why not throw caution to the wind and seek pleasure when obedience feels like drudgery? God blesses obedience. He sees the effort you put in. 

Jericho was the first place Israel conquered and it was to be set apart for God. They could take the plunder from the rest of the land, but Jericho was God's. God's kingdom works as his children support kingdom efforts. Are you setting aside some of what God has given you for the work of the church? God tells us to test him. Give to him and he assures us he will bless us. In all the years we've given, I've never missed what we've given to God. I think you'll find the same. 

Accused, charged, sent to jail, and finally, when her day in court came, exonerated. How do you rebuild a life that's been shattered? That's what Rachel Goodle is in the process of doing. 

Hear the second part of this two part series about this remarkable woman, what she's been through and how God continued to show up through the whole ordeal and even now. (If you missed the first episode go back and listen to part 1). In this episode I get a chance to go a little deeper into what happened and how she's still processing and healing from what she went through. 

Please join me in prayer for Rachel as she navigates life after this experience. She's an amazing woman of God. I have no doubt he has big plans for her. 

Rachel Goodle loved being a teacher at Oak Creek High School. An act of kindness-allowing a student to wait in her classroom for the basketball game to start-ended up having devastating consequences and started a chain of events she never imagined. What ensued was HR meetings, supervised classroom visits and ultimately three days in a Milwaukee jail while the news reported an inappropriate relationship with a student.

The Get Moving Series is all about courageously moving forward, and sometimes that means just surviving another day. Listen in as I get to know Rachel, her story and her courageous faith. 

This is the fifth episode in the Get Moving Series. The people are about to take the land, but first, Joshua and the people paused as the men were circumcised as a physical sign of God's covenant with Abraham. 

We, too would do well to pause before embarking on important life changes, to rededicate ourselves and our lives to the Lord. 

Each time that God carries us through a difficult situation, we can be sure he will be with us in whatever we face in days ahead. The Israelites erected a monument to remind them of the miracle they experienced in crossing the Jordan River. 

It's easy to put off reading the Bible; or to get distracted during the Christmas or Easter season and go through the motions, rather than taking the time to remember why we set aside time to remember what God has done for us. 

The Israelites that crossed the Jordan were not the same as their forefathers. This generation was obedient. Joshua, too, held fast to the directions Moses gave him. They remembered the error of the former generation, learned the lessons and did it different. 

Finally, after 40 long years, the Israelites are ready to cross the Jordan River and enter the land that God promised to give to Abraham. This was an act of faith, because the Jordan River was at flood stage. God was going to have to do something miraculous if the people were able to cross. 

And he did. When the feet of the priests hit the water, the water parted. The people would learn once again that God was with them, and he would open ways where there weren't ways. 

Joshua chapter two takes us to the home of Rahab the prostitute. Joshua sent to spies to Jericho. They would certainly have been captured except that Rahab hid the men and saved their lives. And because she was sure that the spies served the one true God, she asked that they spare her life when they took the land. 

Her courage saved her and her entire family. And she would go on to marry an Israelite and become part of the genealogy of Christ. Imagine that! She might have shrunk back or got stuck in who she had been. But courage and unyielding faith that God was a God worthy of her trust motivated her to shoot her shot. 

What's been holding you back? If God forgives you, and he does, why have you let shame keep you from doing the kingdom work he would have you do?

Are you feeling stuck, paralyzed by the challenges of the future or weighed down by the baggage of the past? When we look back at our history, we see things we can't change--hurt, grief, addictions, and shame. When we look forward, we see overwhelming responsibilities and relationships that seem impossible to handle. The result is that we often do nothing at all. 

In this episode Amber dives into the book of Joshua to explore what it looks like to trust God and "get moving!" Just as god told Joshua after the death of Moses, He is telling us today: it is time to face the facts, recognize what we cannot change, and move forward into the future He has planned for us. Discover how to trade your fear for courage and embrace the abundance that comes from total surrender to God. 

Welcome to There's More to the Story. Life rarely plays out exactly how we expect, but when we look closely, we find God is always working behind the scenes Hosted by author and speaker Amber Albee Swenson, this podcast is a space for women to find spiritual depth, practical truth and the encouragement needed to take the next step in their faith journey.