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.

This isn't the end of our time together. Hopefully, it's the beginning of a friendship that continues. Keep in touch. Sending a hug, Amber

Do not waste a second of what you've been through. Once you've been through something hard (hell), you get to help the people who are still in the thick of it.

You don't think you want to go back? You'd rather stay far, far from the pain? Those people who came alongside you when you were in the madness were your lifeline. You get to be that for someone else who is trying to get through each day.

You get to kneel beside wounded warriors and help them to their feet so they can get back in the battle.

Now that we've been through the yuck, we want to learn to be stronger, so we don't easily break again. That means being teachable, and learning the lessons the hard times taught us. It also means choosing different paths the next time, so we don't get hurt again.

And while life in this sinful world guarantees we will get hurt, we can minimize the damage, and utilize the tools we have to heal quicker next time. We can also get smarter about recognizing the devil's schemes. He's out to hurt us and to steal our faith. But warriors use the weapons they have to defend against the attacks of the enemy. We can do the same.

It's hard to heal when we can't put a finger on what is wrong. All too often we are labeling everything depression, instead of what we're really feeling: worthless, overlooked, judged. Once we name what we're really feeling, and the way they made us feel, we can go to God's Word and replace the enemy's lie with truth.

Then, using the apostle Paul's words in Philippians 4:8, we'll come up with a new plan; to only let in what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy.