Fragility. Death. Lack of control. In moments like this—the global pandemic of coronavirus—these rise to the surface.

Parents we want you to be equipped through teaching, modeling, and resourcing to shepherd your children’s hearts in everyday life—time, moments, and milestones. We're starting a monthly series to highlight a children's book we recommend. This month a member, Laurel West, is highlighting The Biggest Story: How the Snake Crusher Brings Us Back to the Garden by Kevin DeYoung.

In practice, how can I disciple other Christians?

1. Join a church.

2. Arrive early at church gatherings and stay late.

3. Practice hospitality with members of your church…

We will all suffer, of that there is no doubt. It is strange, then, that we are often unprepared for it. With that in mind, a useful exercise is to summarize Scripture and identify what words of God can guide us when things are hard.

In just a couple of weeks, our family will observe the Advent season.  Celebrating Advent has become a dear and rich tradition for us over the past several years.  Traditionally, Advent is observed during the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, but many resources make this heart-preparing observation a daily activity.

I cannot count the number of times friends have spoken difficult truths to me in love. Honestly, I don’t think I want to know the version of myself that would exist without those faithful wounds. I don’t think that version of Kelly would be very nice to be around. Each person who sailed into the tumultuous waters of conflict with me has rendered me an invaluable service. They were friends to me in the truest sense: sacrificing their own comfort with the risk of an unknown outcome, to help me grow into maturity.

I have a tendency to not know quite how to tell my story because there was not just this one aha moment, but rather a million different moments that show God’s sovereign and loving hand on my life and how He has and continues to capture my heart.