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About Kirsten Holmberg

Kirsten Holmberg is a speaker, author, and coach based in Colorado. She speaks regularly at business, church, and community events, encouraging others to step closer to Jesus and better know His love for them through the Scriptures. When she's not immersed in studying the Bible or crafting a message of her own, Kirsten enjoys helping others learn to communicate effectively as a public speaking coach and trainer. Find her online at www.kirstenholmberg.com or Facebook and Instagram (@kirholmberg).

Colors of Hope

By |2024-09-11T02:33:19-04:00September 11th, 2024|

On September 11, 2023—the twenty-second anniversary of the attacks against the United States—a stunning double rainbow graced the skies above New York City. Home to the Twin Towers, this city suffered the greatest losses in the attacks. More than two decades later, the double rainbow brought a sense of hope and healing to those who were there to see it. NYC resident Meg Wall’s video clip of the moment seemed to capture the rainbows emanating from the site of the World Trade Center itself.

Rainbows have been an assurance of God’s faithfulness since the days of Noah. In the wake of unimaginable destruction, He set the colorful beacon in the sky as a visual reminder of “the everlasting covenant between [Himself] and all living creatures of every kind on the earth” (Genesis 9:16). After forty dark days of rain and months of flooding, one can only imagine how welcome “the sign of the covenant” must have been to Noah and his family (7:17, 24; 9:13).

When we face dark days and tragic losses in this life—whether due to natural disaster, physical or emotional pain, or the plight of disease—let’s look to God for hope in the midst of it. Even if we don’t catch a glimpse of His rainbow in those moments, we can be assured of His promise and presence. 

Being Finishers in Christ

By |2024-08-03T02:33:08-04:00August 3rd, 2024|

Barbara passed away before she could finish a sweater she was knitting for her great-grandson, Ethan. The sweater was entrusted to the hands of another avid knitter to be completed thanks to an organization that connects volunteer crafters—“finishers”—with those whose loved ones have departed this life before finishing their projects. The “finishers” lovingly invest their time and skill to bring closure to a task that provides comfort to those who are grieving.

God appointed a “finisher” for the prophet Elijah’s work too. Elijah was lonely and discouraged at how the Israelites were rejecting God’s covenant and killing prophets. In response, God instructed Elijah to “anoint Elisha . . . to succeed [him] as prophet” (1 Kings 19:16). This ensured that the labor of proclaiming God’s truth would continue long past Elijah’s death.

To show Elisha that God had called him to succeed Elijah as God’s prophet, Elijah “threw his cloak around [Elisha]” (v. 19). Since a prophet’s cloak was used to indicate one’s authority as God’s chosen spokesman (see 2 Kings 2:8), this act made Elisha’s prophetic call clear.

As believers in Jesus, we’ve been called to share God’s love with others and “declare [His] praises” (1 Peter 2:9). Though the task may outlive us too, we can be assured that He’ll sustain the work and will continue to call other “finishers” to the sacred work of making Him known.

Trapped in Chocolate

By |2024-07-07T02:33:05-04:00July 7th, 2024|

Two workers at a Mars candy factory in Pennsylvania fell into a large vat of chocolate. This might sound like the beginning of a joke—and perhaps a lovely predicament to chocolate lovers! But the men—though unhurt—were waist-deep in the confection and couldn’t get out on their own. Firefighters ultimately had to cut a hole in the side of the vat to deliver them to safety.

When the prophet Jeremiah found himself at the bottom of a mud-filled cistern, the story was anything but sweet. As a messenger to God’s people in Jerusalem, he’d proclaimed the urgency for them to leave the city because it would soon “be given into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon” (Jeremiah 38:3). Some of King Zedekiah’s officials demanded Jeremiah be “put to death” because they claimed his words were “discouraging the soldiers” (v. 4). The king consented and they “lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the cistern” where he “sank down into the mud” (v. 6).

When another of the king’s officials—a foreigner, no less—advocated for Jeremiah’s well-being, saying the others had “acted wickedly,” Zedekiah realized he’d made a mistake and empowered Ebed-Melek to lift Jeremiah “out of the cistern” (vv. 9, 13).

Even when we're doing the right thing--as Jeremiah was--we might sometimes feel like we’re stuck in the mud. Let’s ask Him to lift our spirits as we wait for His help in the troubles we face.

Hope of Healing

By |2024-06-16T02:33:09-04:00June 16th, 2024|

In his first home game after the death of his father, National Football League running back Aaron Jones wore something special: a football-shaped pendant necklace that contained some of his dad’s ashes. At some point during the game, the necklace fell off and was lost in the vastness of the turf. One of the team’s athletic trainers searched the field for hours—into the early morning—until he found Aaron’s treasured pendant.

The irreplaceable value of the pendant is what prompted the trainer to persist in the search on Aaron’s behalf. His persistence reminds us of the earnest care God shows for people who are “lost” to Him. Jesus describes God’s pursuit of His children through two parables: one about a lost sheep, another about a lost coin. In both stories, the person who has lost something of great worth to them will “go after the lost sheep until he finds it” or will “light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it” (Luke 15:4, 8).

We’ve each been that lost coin or sheep. God seeks us persistently, sometimes using a person as His agent. Though we’re one of many people, we’re irreplaceable in His eyes; He’s unwilling to abandon the search. When we’re willing to be found by Him and accept His gift of forgiveness from our sin, there’s great “rejoicing in heaven” (v. 7). On this Father’s Day, may we realize how important each of us is to our heavenly Father.

Joy and Wisdom

By |2024-05-14T02:33:06-04:00May 14th, 2024|

Sweetly fragrant cherry tree blossoms flood Japan with exquisite pale and vibrant pinks every spring, delighting the senses of residents and tourists alike. The short-lived nature of the blossoms cultivates a keen awareness in the Japanese to savor the beauty and scent while they linger: the very brevity of the experience heightens the poignancy of it. They call this deliberate enjoyment of something that will change quickly “mono-no-aware.”

As humans, it’s understandable that we’d want to seek and prolong feelings of joy. Yet the reality that life is riddled with hardship means we must cultivate the ability to view both pain and pleasure through a lens of faith in a loving God. We needn’t be overly pessimistic, nor should we fashion ourselves an unrealistically sunny outlook on life.

The book of Ecclesiastes offers a helpful model for us. Though this book is sometimes thought to be a catalog of negative statements, the same King Solomon who wrote that “everything is meaningless” (1:2) also encouraged his readers to find joy in the simple things in life saying, “There is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad” (8:15).

Joy comes when we ask God to help us “know wisdom” and learn to observe “all that [He] has done” (vv. 16–17) in both beautiful seasons and in difficult ones, knowing that neither is permanent on this side of heaven.

Singing Meadows

By |2024-04-11T02:33:05-04:00April 11th, 2024|

I’ve often affectionately joked with my mother-in-law about her ability to talk to her dogs. She responds to their barks with loving understanding. Perhaps now she and dog owners everywhere will also listen for their canine pals to laugh. Scientists have discovered that many animals, including dogs, cows, foxes, seals, and parakeets all have “vocal play signals”—otherwise known as laughter. Identifying these accompanying sounds helps distinguish an animal’s play behaviors from what might otherwise look like fighting to a human observer.

That animals express laughter and joy gives us a delightful glimmer of what it might look like for other parts of creation to praise God in their own way. As King David looked over his surroundings, it seemed to him “the hills [were] clothed with gladness” and the meadows and valleys were “[shouting] for joy” (Psalm 65:12-13). David recognized that God had cared for and enriched the land, providing both beauty and sustenance.

Even though our physical surroundings don’t “sing” in a literal way, they bear witness to God’s active work in His creation and, in turn, invite us to give praise to Him with our voices. May we—as part of the “whole earth”—be “filled with awe at [His] wonders” and respond to Him with “songs of joy” (v. 8). We can trust that He’ll hear and understand them.

The Right Focus

By |2024-01-22T01:33:05-05:00January 22nd, 2024|

We’d known Kha for more than a year. He was part of our small group from church who met weekly to discuss what we’d been learning about God. One evening during our regular meeting, he made a reference to having competed at the Olympics. The mention was so casual that it almost escaped my notice. Almost. Lo and behold, I learned I knew an Olympian who had competed in the bronze medal match! I couldn’t fathom that he’d not mentioned it before, but, for Kha, while his athletic achievement was a special part of his story, more important things were central to his identity: his family, his community, and his faith.

wThe story in Luke 10:1–23 describes what should be central to our identity. When the seventy-two people Jesus sent out to tell others about the kingdom of God returned from their journeys, they reported to Him that “even the demons submit to us in your name” (v. 17). While Jesus acknowledged that He’d equipped them with tremendous power and protection, He said they were focused on the wrong thing. He insisted that their cause for rejoicing should be because their “names are written in heaven” (v. 20).

Whatever achievements or abilities God has granted us, our greatest cause for rejoicing is that if we’ve entrusted ourselves to Jesus our names are written in heaven and we enjoy His daily presence in our lives.

Meeting the Needs of Others

By |2023-12-28T01:33:21-05:00December 28th, 2023|

Phillip’s father suffered from severe mental illness and had left home to live on the streets. After Cyndi and her young son Phillip spent a day searching for him, Phillip was rightly concerned for his well-being. He asked his mother whether his father and other people without homes were warm. In response, they launched an effort to collect and distribute blankets and cold-weather gear to homeless people in the area. For more than a decade, Cyndi has considered it her life’s work, crediting her son and her deep faith in God for awakening her to the hardship of being without a warm place to sleep.

The Bible has long taught us to respond to the needs of others. In the book of Exodus, Moses records a set of principles to guide our interaction with those who lack plentiful resources. When we’re moved to supply the needs of another, we’re to “not treat it like a business deal” and should make no gain or profit from it (Exodus 22:25). If a person’s cloak was taken as collateral, it was to be returned by sunset “because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in?” (v. 27).

Let’s ask God to open our eyes and hearts to see how we can ease the pain of those who are suffering. Whether we seek to meet the needs of many—as Cyndi and Phillip have—or those of a single person, we honor Him by treating them with dignity and care.  

Who Am I?

By |2023-11-26T01:33:28-05:00November 26th, 2023|

As a member of the leadership team for a local ministry, part of my job was to invite others to join us as group discussion leaders. My invitations described the time commitment required and outlined the ways leaders would need to engage with their small group participants, both in meetings and during regular phone calls. I was often reluctant to impose on other people, being aware of the sacrifice they’d be making to become a leader. And yet sometimes their reply would completely overwhelm me: “I’d be honored.” Instead of citing legitimate reasons to decline, they described their gratitude to God for all He’d done in their lives as their reason for being eager to give back.

When the time came to give resources toward building a temple for the Lord, David had a similar response: “Who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this?” (1 Chronicles 29:14) David’s generosity was driven by gratitude for God’s involvement in his life and that of the people of Israel. His response speaks of his humility and his acknowledgment of God’s goodness toward “foreigners and strangers” (v. 15).

Our giving to God’s work—whether in time, talent, or treasure—reflects our gratitude to the One who gave to us to begin with. All that we have comes from His hand (v. 14); in response we can give gratefully to Him.

An Impossible Gift

By |2023-10-14T02:33:15-04:00October 14th, 2023|

I was elated to find the “perfect” gift for my mother-in-law’s birthday: the bracelet even contained her birthstone! Finding that perfect gift for someone is always an utter delight. But what if the gift the individual needs is beyond our power to give. Many of us wish we could give someone peace of mind, rest, or even patience. If only those could be purchased and wrapped with a bow!

These types of gifts are impossible for one person to give to another. Yet Jesus—God in human flesh—does give those who believe in Him one such “impossible” gift: the gift of peace. Before ascending to heaven and leaving the disciples, Jesus comforted them with the promise of the Holy Spirit who would “remind [them] of everything [He had] said to them” (John 14:26). He offered them peace—His peace—as an enduring, unfailing gift for when their hearts were troubled or when they were experiencing fear. He, Himself, is our peace with God, with others, and within.

We may not have the ability to give our loved ones the extra measure of patience or improved health they desire. Nor is it within our power to give them the peace we all desperately need to bear up under the struggles of life. But we can be led by the Spirit to speak to them about Jesus, the giver and embodiment of true and lasting peace.

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