Q & A with author and friend, Christine Hoover
As a church leader in your community, how are you leading during this time?
I’m primarily seeking to support my husband as he pastors our church by being a sounding board for ideas, helping him implement some of those ideas that I have expertise in, and keeping our home and boys running so that he can focus primarily on his work.
The Lord has led me to study Philippians, because Paul knew a thing or two about joy in confinement. Right away, in Chapter 1, I saw Paul’s concern for, prayer for, and communication with his fellow saints. So I’ve taken a cue from him and am praying for and mailing letters to men and women in our church in order to encourage and support them.
Your boys are doing school at home. How does this affect your work and ministry?
My boys are my work and ministry, but I’m also working and ministering outside the home through writing. I’m working on a Bible study for Lifeway and am also seeking to intentionally serve others through writing on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. I find that I can give about two focused hours of my day to work, which is much less than pre-COVID days. At first, this left me frustrated at the end of each day, but when I realized the unexpected opportunity I have with my boys, I saw how my work with them is far more important than writing. I’ve had so many fruitful conversations with them in this time, helping them learn themselves, deal with setbacks and frustrations, and process what they’re feeling.
Your new book released last month! How does your book speak to this season we find ourselves in?
Yes, I released a new book, With All Your Heart: Living Joyfully Through Allegiance to King Jesus, right before quarantine set in. Many people who have read it have commented to me about how uncannily the message of the book fits with the uncertainty of this time and what is surfacing in our minds and hearts.
In the past few years, I’ve experienced what I would call a wilderness period. Much like God took the Israelites into the wilderness for a time, he’s taken me through an extended time of uncertainty. And just as the wilderness exposed the hearts of the Israelites, God used that period to expose my heart. Specifically, he uncovered the people and things I was, in my uncertainty, turning toward for help and provision instead of him. I saw that my heart was divided in ways I’d never recognized before.
At the same time, in my personal Bible study I was reading through the book of Matthew and began noticing how much Jesus referenced the kingdom of God. It’s actually what he talked about more than any other subject. I took careful notice of what he said this kingdom is like and puzzled over what exactly he meant by his famous words, “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
My imagination was stirred as I connected the kingdom of God to my own circumstances, because I began asking myself, “If Jesus is my king, and he is, what kind of king is he and how am I meant to respond to him?” Knowing I have a king and am a part of a kingdom led me to the language of allegiance and challenged me to consider all the subtle allegiances vying for my heart and mind, things like control and comfort.
I wrote With All Your Heart because I wanted to bring the kingdom of God to the heart level and challenge readers to consider where their hearts are divided in allegiance.
These uncertain times are revealing to us what we look to for security and peace apart from Christ. I’m thankful to get to come alongside readers as they navigate this experience and point them to Jesus—a King who gives.
What do you do when you have an overwhelming or sad day?
Just this morning, I awoke with a sense of dread. I wasn’t sure I could make it through another day of isolation and quarantine. I’m learning, however, to be honest with myself and God about my emotions. If I feel sad, I tell God about it. If I feel fear rising up in me, I tell God what I’m fearful about. Most of the time, it’s the same feeling as the previous days, but I’m learning not to be impatient with myself and where I’m at emotionally, because God is not impatient with me.
I’ve been experiencing so much uncertainty, as has everyone. God is teaching me to do three things in my uncertainty:
Remember and meditate on what I know for sure to be true about God. For example, He is a fountain of living waters. He does not run out of resources or energy or love or joy. I can ask of him what I need.
Move forward wholeheartedly doing what I know for sure and understand for sure that God has given me to do. I am to be a disciple, no matter the circumstances. I am to serve my husband and my boys. I am to write and be a blessing to those in my orbit.
Negate the “what ifs” and live instead in the “what is.” In other words, there is no need for me to try calculating the future or deciphering what certain things will look like months from now. I have my daily bread for today, which is all I need.
What is your prayer for your home and for the church right now?
My prayer is that God would speak to us, grow us, use us as his vessels in our community, and find us faithful.
Visit Christine at www.christinehoover.net