2020 was a strange and wonderful year in so many ways! The Next Step Community shared 135,572 words in 186 posts, encouraged 13,625 people who viewed our next step content a total of 27,351 times (and counting)!
Fifteen different blog authors and contributors helped make that engagement possible. Of those fifteen, five in particular created an amazing amount of content geared toward helping you take a next step. As we head into 2021, take a look back at some of your favorite blogs. Find an author you like and explore more of their content. Share something meaningful with a friend. Look for ways Jesus is speaking into your life through the people He has placed around you. We follow Jesus better when we follow Him together.
Kristeen Bruun
Kristeen Bruun takes an honest and faithful look at her own life and the lives of the people around her. She often challenges herself to see things differently, and in so doing, transforms our ordinary experiences into invitations to follow Jesus. From pedicures to ponderous tomes, from price tags to children’s rhymes, Kristeen opens us up to seeing the Spirit at work all around. See All Blogs from Kristeen Bruun.
In Case You missed it
Adding Color
Kris leans into the adult coloring craze and end up thinking about Jesus.
Living With the Laughing God
Kris Bruun reflects on her transition to a small town in Texas where she eventually found a sense of belonging through community involvement, but now faces the challenge of relocating to Pueblo, Colorado. Despite the unexpected change, she sees it as an adventure and finds comfort in Jeremiah 29:11.
Rosemary
Kris remembers her friend, Rosemary.
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Katie Helmreich
Katie Helmreich’s writing combines her faith and her family life. You’ll find practical tips for leading family devotions. You’ll catch a glimpse of the weariness and frustration that seems to hound motherhood. But you will most clearly see dependence on Jesus shining through the ups and downs of common, ordinary, everyday life. From fireworks to burnt cookies, from growing pains to treasure hunts, Katie invites us into a vibrant attitude of exploration and discovery. See All Blogs from Katie Helmreich.
In Case You missed it
How are You Today?
The daily question “How are you?” often leads to surface-level responses. But acknowledging and naming our emotions can be a powerful tool for processing and seeking support. The experience of exploring emotions with Jesus, in community, brings profound relief and healing, offering a secure space to acknowledge and embrace what you are feeling.
That Time I Lost My Christmas Planner
The pages in my planner had lists of to-do lists, so I could delegate when the time came. I had written down which appetizers I’d bring to which party so that I wouldn’t have to make a million last minute grocery trips. I had a basic meal plan for the three days we’re hosting my…
Holiday Prep with Lüthla and Güthla
Take a few moments and think through your holiday to-do list before you get caught up in all the *doing.*
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Kim Longden
Kim Longden approaches following Jesus as an adventure of discovery. You’ll see her experiment with something new, and invite you to do the same. You’ll see her try and take a small next step and then look for what Jesus is inviting her into next. Kim’s attitude of excitement and experimentation is contagious. From little things, like adding some music to family devotions, to big things, like preparing for your child’s surgery, Kim opens us up to a way of living that looks for the Spirit’s work and leans into dependence on Jesus. See All Blogs from Kim Longden.
In Case You missed it
Christmas Traditions
As family Christmas traditions grow and shift over time, one thing remains certain. The truth of Jesus as God with us is a permanent promise, even in the midst of change.
Souvenirs of God’s Faithfulness
Looking back at her hymn journal, Kim discovers a souvenir of God’s faithfulness.
Ozymandias
Everything is subjected to the power of time and decay. I am dust, and to dust I will return. But I face the desolation of inevitable decay not with lonely despair or mocking defiance, but with confidence in the One who holds time and eternity in his hands.
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Valerie Matyas
Valerie Matyas shares her faith walk and her family life often through the lens of Visual Faith™ Ministry where she serves as a Visual Faith Coach and Educational Development Consultant. Not surprisingly, many of Valerie’s blogs included video tutorials to help people engage the three hymn journals from Next Step Press. See All Blogs from Valerie Matyas.
In Case You missed it
Authentic Imitators
Visual Faith® Coach Valerie Matyas shares the last in a series of devotions on our relationship to God and to creativity.
Concrete or Abstract?
Visual Faith® Coach Valerie Matyas shares the second of a series of devotions on our relationship to God and to creativity.
Reflecting Beauty
Visual Faith® Coach Valerie Matyas shares the first of a series of devotions on our relationship to God and to creativity.
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Justin Rossow
Justin Rossow, founder of Next Step Press and The Next Step Community, also made significant contributions to our blog this year. Though the topics very from cultural studies to help for pastors, all of his blogs are designed to help you delight in taking a small next step following Jesus. See All Blogs from Justin Rossow.
In Case You Missed It
Postures and Experiments for Following Jesus
Justin Rossow, Chelsea Chapin, and Jess Knoll share stories and insight from life and ministry together at Trinity, Arcadia.
Law and Gospel
We all know the words “Law and Gospel.” So why is it so easy to get them confused? The difference really does matter.
What is the Word of God?
We typically think of the Bible first and foremost when we’re talking about God’s Word. And while that knee-jerk reaction isn’t wrong, it’s also not complete. The Bible is God’s Word, but that’s not the end, or even the most important part, of the story.
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Special thanks to these authors! They helped make The Next Step Community a vibrant place to follow Jesus in 2020.
If you would like to see more from these and other Next Step contributors, check out Jesus at the Center of My Messy Life: Tales from the Next Step Community, Year One.
