Finding Jesus on the Upside Down Days

What do you get when you cross a love of animals with a love of Jesus? Well, if you’re Jill Miller, you get a wheelbarrow load of stories to help children know Jesus and live well. Her book, Finding Jesus on Upside Down Days, offers you a delightful way to create a family devotion time.

Jill began gathering the animal stories to help her grandchildren see Jesus, but as the compilation grew, her dream enlarged. She explains, “I want everyone to find Jesus in every day. The barnyard is a place to find peace in this nutty world. Jesus holds it altogether. He is in everything – in good days, crazy days, quiet days, sick days, joyful days. He’s everywhere. I hope this will help people be still and find Him.”

Jill’s awareness of God’s instruction through the animals comes from her own upside-down days. She has felt Jesus’ gentle touch through her pets as she faced her own deep-rooted fears, the challenges of a special needs child, and the grief of losing a daughter to cancer.

As a teacher, a mom of six, and grandmother to 19, Jill celebrates the power and potential of animals to teach Jesus-truths in understandable ways. She rejoices in the clarity and hope pets have brought to her in the midst of life’s storms. She wants readers to see the “radiance of God’s gift of animals and how He uses them to show such practical things.”

It all began with her son’s 4H goat project. The impact of simply spending time together in the barn with the animals stunned Jill. The routine – and the quiet – opened a path for God to speak into both of their hearts and allowed mother and son to develop a deep bond. As the years passed, God continued to reveal profound truths through the animals.

When I would go out into the barnyard, I didn’t have any ideas for stories. None. But when I got there, one thing or another would happen, and I would think, ‘Oh, my word!’ I learned that I needed to write it down as soon as I went in – or I lost it.

Over the years, as she gathered the God-messages from her animals, Jill realized the things she learned in the barnyard could help others find Jesus in their tough times. The idea of her family devotional, Finding Jesus on Upside Down Days, came into being.

The book uses the simple realities of owning animals to shine the hope of Jesus into the depths of every heart. Jill understands how easily the harsh realities of life can obscure the love of God – but she’s confident that He’s there and made visible through her animal friends.

The first animal-story she jotted down became the opening chapter of her book. Why? reveals both Jill’s heart and God’s – that all might know His love! The first week Jill humorously shares how puzzling her hobby farm has been to the next-door neighbor – a man who’s owned a working farm all his life.

The idea of having animals simply to “love and enjoy” confounds him. Though it’s been years since the Millers moved in, he still stops by to chat but always leaves shaking his head, saying, “I just don’t get it.” But for Jill, it’s clear. The pleasure she finds in the animals reflects God’s love for each of us – and she wants everyone to feel that love. As she tells her beloved neighbor, “It’s how God delights in us. There’s no reason – He just chooses us…enjoys us!”

The animals have helped Jill find and feel God’s love even in the darkest times. Donkey Hugs tells how Jill’s boys (a pair of mini-Jerusalem donkeys) brought hope to her broken heart. After receiving devastating news about her daughter’s cancer, Jill headed out to the barnyard. The donkeys moved in close to her, gently laying their large heads across her back – forming an “X.”

It gave me a moment of concern because I didn’t know what they could be doing, but as they inched closer, I remembered the verse from Psalm 34 that says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.” And I thought, ‘Wow, they get it. They know.’ – Jill Miller

Then with a child’s glee, Jill exclaimed, “And this is His fallen, broken creation! Can you imagine heaven? We’ll all be like Dr. Doolittle. It’s going to be fun!”

That joy in Jesus flows throughout the pages of this family devotional. You’ll find something different every week of the year – and together, you will laugh and cry while absorbing Bible truths that work even on upside-down days. For example:

• Jill’s humor bubbles over in Yikes, I’m Naked as she shares a fun account of her husband’s donation of a favorite Eddie Bauer shirt to a cold goat.
• But gentle comfort flows through Good-Bye, Hessid, where Jill shares the words she wrote to help her autistic daughter, Kim, cope with the death of a beloved pet.
• Other entries deal with fears and practical ways you can live out the love of God.

Pulling all the beautiful truths together are the delightful illustrations of the animals that live on the Miller Farm. The sweetness of the images softens your heart to feel the love of God even more fully.

Finding Jesus on Upside Down Days, is a book every family needs. Jill’s insights help parents and children see life in the light of God’s love and find joy in every day.

“I want families to love life and see that it all comes from God, the giver of life! I want them to discover the  power  and  presence  of  God for us.  And I want  whole  families — including  kids who learn differently — to be able to do this together.”  Jill Miller

Sample the sweetness of this book for yourself by following the link below.

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Order your copy of Finding Jesus on Upside Down Days: Family Devotions from the Barnyard by Jill Miller.