Well, welcome to the messy table, an ordinary space for real women, imperfect stories,

and the God who's constantly at work in our mess.

I'm your host, Jen Jewel, and I also have a returning co-host joining me today, my friend Amy Groshell.

And guys, if you don't know, the Messy Table is partnered with our church, Life Church, and our women's ministry called Sisters.

A new episode airs every other Tuesday from all the usual places like iTunes, Google Play,

and Stitcher.

And honestly, our goal during this time is simply to take a step back from the overwhelming, busy and crazy of this world, take a deep breath, and instead give ourselves over to intentional

conversations about just how God has met us in the trenches

and how he's still showing up and doing work in our everyday real lives.

These chats encourage us, spur us on, and remind us of the truth, and we just hope and pray

that they'll give you a boost as well.

So I've always been fascinated with people who are able to find joy in unlikely places.

I want to learn from

people whose lives have been wrung out and yet they're still trusting God. Like Job in the Bible,

who might have lost everything we put value in, relationships, possessions, his reputation,

but still he praised God. Or like Paul, who is shipwrecked and put in prison many times. Yet he said, I've learned the

secret to being content in any and every situation. And he continued to preach and share about the

scandalous grace and hope we have in Jesus with confidence and passion. And of course, Jesus himself,

who showed us there's a connection between suffering and the spread of the gospel. Jesus was

actually always going against the grain, and I can just imagine him sitting down on that grassy hill

overlooking the sea of Galilee when he preached the greatest sermon ever, the sermon on the Mount.

I bet his disciples thought he might tell them how to make more money or how to be more powerful

...