Joanne Ellison

Tell Your Heart to Beat Again Joanne Ellison

It is time for the church to wake up, rise up, and grow up in His Word. We have flat lined, and our hearts have lost hope and become discouraged. We've been lulled to sleep, but it's now timeto hear a new song in our hearts. I liken what has happened to the church to a loaded potato. Over the years the baked potato has undergone quite a transition, from a simple baked tuber to whatis now known as the "fully loaded potato." To be "fully loaded" requires adding ingredients to the potato-sour cream, chives, cheese, bacon, and anything else you can think of that would enhance the flavor... As I pondered writing this book, I realized that our Christian lives could become like the overloaded potato. The original flavor or authenticity of the life of Christ in us becomes lost in the muddle of activity and pressure of life. If you were to order a loaded potato and say, "Loaded potato, please-but hold the potato?" We would be left with the accessories but not the coreingredient. We can make the same mistake in the Christian life: "Give me Jesus plus-perfect relationships, more money, more time, more joy, less fear and anxiety." What happened to simply "Give me Jesus"? He is the main ingredient, the One who is the Source of life, hope, peace, and joy.