Learning Along The Way

What’s Keeping Your Head Down, Girlfriend?

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Saturday I created a writer’s retreat for myself.

The Hubster was in Chicago visiting our son, so instead of being Eeyore and saying ‘Woe is me I am all alone” I planned to use the day for writing and reading.

I went to the store ahead of time, got some healthy and not so healthy snacks, veggies for soup, and came home for the weekend.

Intentional alone time to be quiet, to listen, and to capture the thoughts that percolated to the top.

I have to say it was a successful day!

But like so many things I do, I was focused with my head down, and I almost missed this:

I was stunned that I had been so consumed with what I was doing, my head down, focused on what I thought was most important at the time, that this almost escaped my view.

So I watched. He got my attention.

It was a glorious sunset. God painted the sky and I watched the colors shift with the changing light.

My perspective remained the same; He shifted the world as if to remind me that what I can see is not all there is.

I wonder, what else might I be missing when my head is down, focused on what I deem important in the moment? When daily routines require attention, do I miss the wave of a neighbor while I sweep? Or the flutter of a butterfly around the flowers?

There have been times when I’ve been “too busy” to reach out to a friend when the Spirit prompts me, only later to learn she was grieving and feeling alone at the time when I didn’t lift my head from my work.

This begs the question: Whose time is it anyway? My time? My way? My work?

I sigh, realizing I missed an opportunity to be God’s gift of encouragement to another.

I share this to help us both remember our time isn’t really ours; time is gift God gives us to steward for His glory and others’ good.

Teach us to number our days that we might present to You a heart of wisdom. 

Daily we have opportunities to be about the Father’s business. There is a lot of need for good to be done. But the question is, are we doing instead of being? Are we so focused on the work that we forget the relational components?

I know there are seasons when quiet moments to simply be still are few and far between. I know it can feel like the noise from all the needs is making you feel under so much pressure that your ears might bleed. I’ve been in that place. But God. My two favorite words in scripture. But God invites us to be still and know that He is God. We are not.

If we listen to the invitation, take the risk and press pause, tune our ears to His voice of love, acceptance, Presence, we just might be renewed. We just might be filled up to be poured out for the good of others. We can’t keep pouring out without being filled up again.

What’s keeping your head down, girlfriend?

Does lifting your head sound impossible? Do you see only obstacles instead of opportunities? Do you need options?

I’m a trained listener, a person who journeys with others who need and want a guide as they learn along the Way.

Curious to know more? I’d love to hear from you.

 

Why is Faith Such a Mystery?

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The sun is shining, birds are twittering in the yard, taking baths in the bubbler. It’s peaceful here. Quiet. Room for my soul to breathe. Life is good.

Why am I sad?

The sadness isn’t a bad thing. It’s not something I need to push away, cover up, muscle through. I’m learning to be brave and feel the sadness.

There isn’t anything wrong with my faith. This is something God is teaching me. Some days we have more heavy feelings than others. Perhaps like the tides, there is an ebb and flow in the expression of feelings.

God made us with feelings. Feelings are amoral. I’ve learned that the value of my feelings is in taking them to God.

Learning to brave the uncomfortable feelings, the ones that can overwhelm me sometimes; to have courage to sit in the sadness for a time, letting the tears flow; crying and praying for others whose lives are hard right now; feeling the feelings, connects me with what God is doing in their lives.

My feelings are not a waste of time, or a weakness, or shameful. They are a good gift from a good, good Father.

He invites me to be with Him no matter the circumstance and that includes when I don’t understand why I am sad on such a beautiful day. He invites me to learn from Him, to watch how He walked through His time here and how He wants to show me the unforced rhythms of grace. 

This life of faith is a mystery to me. I don’t always understand and I often can’t see what is really happening. I don’t know why faith is such a mystery but I ask anyway. I’ve learned to ask for eyes to see. I’ve learned to ask for ears to hear.

And I’m amazed when He gifts me with evidence of things not seen: His Presence, His work in the lives of others, His Word coming alive to me as I ponder.

God wants to grow your faith too. 

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen

If you’re struggling with feelings like me today, take a brave step and ask for more faith. Ask expectantly and keep on the look out for how He grows your faith.

I can assure you of two mysterious things: He will and it will not be as you expect.

What Is Your Brave Step?

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It’s Monday. 

What does this day hold for you? What are you looking forward to being a part of? What are you dreading?

Asking these questions can be prayerful moments if we invite God into the questions.

I was so struck by seeing this planter in the garden of the chapel where I had privilege to encourage women in the Way as they walk with Jesus.

 

Chosen Women, Choosing Wisely

I’ve seen their faces daily in my mind’s eye; reminded of their stories, their prayer requests. Seeing and hearing them has spurred me on in my own brave steps.

How about you?

Whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

What is your brave step today?

It doesn’t have to be a huge leap, unless that is what God is calling you to. Your brave step may simply be making breakfast for others who don’t see that Jesus is making that meal through you.

Or maybe your brave step is speaking Truth to power at work. Or perhaps your brave step is writing a letter, the old-fashioned way, to bless and encourage someone you’ve not spoken to in awhile.

Whatever your brave step is, know this

Whatever God has asked, He will accompany you to complete. You can move forward in confidence since His ability will equip you. The time is now to pursue all that the Lord has for you! Priscilla Shirer

I’m honored to pray for you in your next brave step. Let me know how it goes!

Being Brave in the Little Things

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It’s Monday evening and this is what I’m up to:

(shout out to iBloom planner)

I struggle with structure. Don’t get me wrong, I like a certain amount of structure. It creates the frame around my days. But sometimes I feel too constrained by structure so I reject it; I act as if I don’t have limits of time or energy or focus and just do what I feel like doing. I go back and forth from detailed planning to simply having appointments on the calendar. I like to tell people I am a recovering Type A personality.

Anybody else?

  I lived rigidly structured for quite a few years of my life. I took it upon myself to be the organizer within our family; somebody had to bring order out of chaos! But I learned along the Way that rigidity isn’t actually a  life style that leaves room for God’s plans. I began to be challenged in my rigidity when I read the book Life Management for Busy Women by Elizabeth George. 

I read the book the year it was published, 2002. Both our sons were school age: Matt was 14 and a freshman in high school and Mark was 7 and in second grade. I was a full time SAHM, not homeschooling either of them at that point, and so, in an effort to establish my worth, (I didn’t believe I had inherent worth at that time; more on that brave change later) I created an action plan for my life that was scheduled down to the minute; filled with good things like teaching Bible study, volunteering at both schools, helping with AWANA at church, making meals for new moms & for end of life needs, leading children’s worship on Sunday mornings, early morning walks for exercise and prayer with a different friend each morning of the week. In those days I was getting 6 – 7 hours of sleep in order to fit it all in. If anything unusual happened, like an invitation for a spontaneous coffee with a friend or anything else out of the ordinary (which of course wasn’t on the schedule), I might be known to have a meltdown. Can you say hair trigger emotion? My poor family! I have no idea how they still speak to me! 

The book had lots of practical ideas to help people create structure in their lives; which I didn’t need help with. There was one mind blowing take away that has stuck with me: the principle of “leaving room for God”. Her point was, if we are so committed to our plans, our schedules, we often say ‘no’ or ‘I don’t have time’ when an out of the ordinary opportunity comes. 

Sometimes it’s in the unplanned, off the schedule opportunities where God wants us to be His hands and feet in the world. If our lives are too full, too scheduled, we don’t have time for God’s Plan B for our day. Click To Tweet

It took several big, brave steps in my life before I made the shift from my rigid, over scheduled plan to leaving room in my days for God’s plan. I have learned that being brave in the little things, like not over scheduling my day, saying no to too many commitments, and leaving time margin between one thing and the next has given me courage to say Yes to God’s plan for my day. 

How do you handle the need for structure? Is the whole idea overwhelming? Or do you have so much structure you don’t have time for spontaneous, out of the ordinary events? Let’s share how we are brave in the little things like bringing order out of chaos. We need to hear how others are brave because it encourages us to be brave, too.

How Do We Learn to Speak Truth to Lies?

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There’s a joke told among musicians and performers who aspired to the stage of the world renown venue Carnegie Hall:

“ How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, Practice, Practice.”

This is no joke when we consider how we learn to speak Truth to lies.

We must know what the Truth is. And then we practice, practice, practice.

In today’s entry in 100 Days to Brave, Annie recounts Jesus’ 40 Days in the wilderness and the temptations by the enemy. You may know this portion of scripture: Jesus is tempted three different times by Satan and in each temptation, of body, of power and of worship, Jesus speaks Truth to the lies presented Him.

Simple enough right? 

Know what the Truth is. Speak Truth to the lies we hear whispered in our ears. Repeat.

But wait! How do we know the Truth? 

This reminds me of what I was doing last weekend. Encouraging a group of women to search the scriptures to know if what they heard me saying to them was true. Like the people of Berea who were commended by Dr. Luke in Acts 17, we are to be “Berean” in the way we handle God’s Word. When Paul had to flee Thessalonica, he, Timothy and Silas came to the town of Berea and began teaching in the synagogue. The people of Berea began searching the scriptures to see if what they heard was True.

As Christ-followers it is our personal responsibility to know what scripture says. There are any number of teachers running around saying partial truths and claiming it is all truth. How do we know who to believe?

Search the scriptures. 

Where do you start? What tools are most helpful? What voices do you listen to? Isn’t there someone who can do all the work for me, so I can just do the things I want to do? What difference does it make anyway?

You may ask any of those questions. I’ve asked all of them at least one time in my faith walk. Asking questions is one of the best ways to learn! If someone tells you to stop asking questions, I’ll just say that person is either annoyed that you’re asking questions, or they’re trying to control you. Sorry that they’re annoyed. Don’t stop asking questions!

In this post-modern era, there are many people who choose to believe many different things about the Bible. I’m not a Bible scholar. I’m a Christ-follower who wants to learn from Jesus. For me to learn from Jesus, I need to read the Bible. So I do. A little every day. I read it a lot when I’m studying and preparing to encourage women from the Word.

A good place to start is to read the recount of Jesus’ life and ministry found in one of the first four books in what is called the New Testament. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the names of the gospels. Pick one and start reading a little every day.

If you use your smart phone, YouVersion is an app that has many versions of the Bible and also has a lot of Bible reading plans if that is something you’d like to do.

this is the image you’ll find in your App Store

What tools are the best ones out there? I now use online resources to study. I used to have physical copies of Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, Matthew Henry’s Commentary, and a copy of Nelson’s Bible Dictionary, but when we moved I donated a ton of books, hoping they would be a blessing to someone else. Blue Letter Bible is one of my favorite online resources for study and word origin references.

Bible reading and study isn’t something to offload. Here’s why: your soul is wired for connection with the One Who created you. Getting out into Creation and reading His Word are two tried and proven methods for learning what is True and being able to connect your soul with God.

How do all these things tie into being brave? Glad you asked!

It takes courage to realize you have a need. In this case the need is know the Truth. 

It takes courage to take a step to meet that need.

It takes courage to carve out the time to meet that need.

It takes courage to guard that time as a priority.

It takes courage to ask the questions of God; what do I need today? How can I grow more Christ-like?

It takes courage to begin to hide God’s Word in your heart. (Scripture memory is work people)

It takes courage to speak God’s Word to the lies that we hear whispered in our thoughts by the enemy of our soul.

Those are seven ways that learning what Truth is has impact on being brave.

Annie wisely suggests we combat lies with Truth through prayer. I’ll leave you with hers:

God, tell me the truth of who I am. I’m listening. I want to be free from the lies—do that for me. Rescue me. Bring truth like a waterfall.

What Does it Mean to Learn from Jesus?

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If you’ve visited before, you’re used to me musing on passages of Scripture and trying to see how these sacred words apply to life today. I’ve been unpacking Matthew 11:28-30 going phrase by phrase.

This week’s phrase is the crux of discipleship.

“…learn from Me…”

What does it mean to learn from Jesus?  How does one do that exactly?

It’s simple and hard at the same time.  Remember the yoke? Getting in step with Jesus, leaning in and going along the Way that He has started for you, staying in step, getting back in step when you stumble (not IF…WHEN…)

It's guaranteed that we will get out of step with Jesus. He is mindful of our frame. Jesus doesn't want to leave you behind, or walk away from you. He has promised never to leave you or forget you, so when you get out of step He patiently… Click To Tweet

This act of learning from Jesus is a life long process and an integral part of our journey here. Don’t expect to do it perfectly. But do expect Him love and encourage you along the Way.

Out of curiosity I googled that very phrase: learn from Jesus.  As I expected, the results were fascinating and diverse.

I’m including three links for you to explore as you consider how to learn from Jesus.

10 Bible Verses About Learning From Jesus

5 Life Lessons I Learned from Jesus 

These first two are written from Christ followers. This next doesn’t name Jesus as part of the Godhead but references scripture so Truth is being told.

21 Life Lessons Even Non-Christians Can Learn From Jesus

Clearly there is a lot we can learn from Jesus.  He offers Himself to us moment by moment by the empowering Presence of God in the person of the Holy Spirit.  He does the work.

Our one job is to stay close.

 

What Does Showing Up Look Like?

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I don’t know you noticed, but summer is slipping away. It’s August. I used to be a classroom teacher and this is the month it all starts up again. Just look at the Dollar bins at Target. School supplies are everywhere. I want to squeeze more fun out of summer before the seasons change again.

Ever feel that desperate feeling? That frantic ‘I’ve got to make the most of this time’ kind of feeling?

I tried an experiment this summer.

I challenged myself every day in July to

 

I asked myself the question: What does Showing Up look like?

I realized a few things. To show up during the lazy days of summer is different than what it looks like to show up during the work week (or school year as it were).

Less routine is beautiful…for awhile.

Parents start longing for school to start, kids get tired of seeing the same few faces every day. Teachers never have enough time at the end of the summer to prep for all their new ideas.

Routine helps everyone. There is comfort in predictable but not suffocating schedules. How do routines and schedules affect the idea of what it means to show up?

Glad you asked.

In my July experiment to Show Up I had great plans for what I would put in my days. I planned to write and be creative everyday. I planned to read three books, plus make time to garden and attend to all my responsibilities. I’ve been blessed with lots of discretionary time; flexible work schedule and opportunities for creativity or reading or beach/pool time, whatever. Wow! What a gift!

I started well, doing all the things a little every day. Then, a change in pattern happened, and it threw me off balance.  I didn’t make the shift back to a daily checklist. I had created a stressful scenario that wasn’t what fit with my reality. I told myself I had failed. Where did that come from?

It was the story I told myself. I hadn’t stopped showing up; I was showing up differently. I recognized my temptation to have a mean-spirited internal dialogue running. I made some choices. Instead of hating on myself I decided to pay attention to what I was choosing to do.

Instead I began to notice my actions.

I sat quietly to listen to the birds longer in the morning. I lingered over coffee with my husband before he left for work. I slowed my rhythm to a pace that matched my soul.

What if showing up for yourself means paying attention to how your soul wants to move and breathe?

What if learning to live in the unforced rhythms of grace means leaving room for a last minute invitation? Or adjusting plans to be able to help a friend? Or simply sitting still to notice the activity of Creation?

What I’m learning about what it means to show up in my life is a lot less driven and a lot more grace-filled.

How about you?

 

Why Would I Wear a Yoke?!

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How is meditating and memorizing this passage from the gospel of Matthew going?  I am so appreciative of those who have encouraged us with what they have gleaned from the passage so far; praying that others of you are deepening your faith and trust in our great triune God!

This week let’s take a look at the beginning of Matthew 11:29 “Take My yoke upon you…”

Not growing up a farm girl (although I have longed for that focused lifestyle many times!) I needed to get a good picture in my mind of what a yoke is.

An interesting thing to know: when a young ox is being trained to wear the yoke and pull its weight, it is yoked with a stronger ox that actually carries the burden while the young one is learning to simply wear the yoke.

The yoke was a very common, visible word picture for those listening to Jesus. Not only was it common but it also held religious significance to those in first century Palestine.

* A yoke was a symbol of a Master-Servant relationship

* A yoke was referenced within the early teaching of the Mosaic Law. There are two yokes: the Yoke of the Kingdom of God, and the Yoke of the Commandments (Law).

How can this background information influence our understanding of what Jesus is talking about? We have to dig a little deeper…

From a rabbinical teaching about the Yoke of the Kingdom of God:

If we believe all *this to be true, then the opportunity to show our allegiance to the will of God— accepting the yoke of God’s kingdom—may be understood as a gracious gift.

If we accept the mitzvah (command) of making this God our God, not just symbolically or rhetorically, then we must also accept the rule of this Sovereign. 

  However, to be in this harness, to take upon ourselves this yoke, is not to be enslaved, but to be enabled, given the opportunity to make all life flourish. 

*(all this- is referring to the belief in God as He reveals Himself in Scripture)

From Matthew Henry’s Commentary regarding taking on Jesus’ yoke:

It requires self-denial, and exposes to difficulties, but this is abundantly repaid, even in this world, by inward peace and joy. It is a yoke that is lined with love. So powerful are the assistances he gives us, so suitable the encouragements, and so strong the consolations to be found in the way of duty, that we may truly say, it is a yoke of pleasantness. 

So we are back to Jesus’ telling us to “take My yoke upon you…”

Am I willing to be in a harness with Jesus? To walk with Him at His pace, doing the things He has in mind for the day? What does this cost me? What do I gain? Click To Tweet

Are you?

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What is Filling Your Thoughts?

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How is the memorizing going so far? 3 short phrases that can be fit together now:

Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

I’ve spent some time investigating rest, learning about it and, dare I say, practicing it. I’ve learned to appreciate the gift that rest is. I’m not talking about a weekend away from the routine; that’s more like a retreat. This verse is meant to take place in the everyday busy-ness we encounter.

There isn’t a mystery of interpretation to this phrase. But it is pregnant with meaning.

The word I is a personal pronoun attributed to the speaker, who in this case is Jesus.

Rest means what it says. Rest. Ceasing from activity.

Photo by Marko Kovic on Unsplash

 

Jesus will give you rest.  He sees how busy we are. He knows how physically tired we can get. He knows what it feels like to be thirsty, in pain, lonely; whatever you are dealing with today. He knows.

And He will give you rest.

How you might ask? Is He going to come babysit? Or take care of my ailing parent? Or, or, or,…

You know by now that I am a context girl so stopping at this phrase without putting it together within the context is hard. I don’t want to run ahead to the weeks to come but I do want you to know, to become aware of, the comfort this sentence can bring.

Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.

It is an invitation.

If we slow our racing thoughts; if we slow our frantic pace; if we actively pause and look in His direction, He is waiting in the wings of our lives to give us that comfort & rest. A sigh. A deep breath. A slow exhale. Click To Tweet

Maybe you need to hide in the bathroom to make that rest happen. Perhaps it’s simply a pause of thought and action even as you read this post.

Jesus knows. He sees. He cares. He comforts.

He gives rest.

Let us know how you practice pushing the pause button in your days. We all need encouragement to find ways of practicing. Using that word is a reminder that we are all learners.

I highly recommend pushing pause daily.

Are You Weary? Burned out? The #1 Way to find Relief

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I hope you’ve been pondering the invitation Jesus spoke that is recorded in the gospel of Matthew chapter 11 verses 28-30. Looking back: Come to Me…

This week’s phrase is “…all who are weary and burdened…”

The invitation is comprehensive. ALL. There are none who are excluded from this invitation to Come. Every.Single. Human. Being. Throughout. History and in the Present and Yet to be born. ALL.

This reminds me of a concert verse ( a verse that speaks of this topic in another way, enriching the meaning and reinforcing the message)

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The concert term? Whoever. It’s another way of saying ALL.

(on a side note: a search for the word ALL in scripture is time consuming but has had a lasting impact on my understanding of the character of God)

Weary and burdened may seem redundant but they actually emphasize different aspects of tired and weighed down.  Weary is a present tense verb, which can also be translated exhausted. Exhausted with trying hard to live up to expectations. Exhausted with trying to solve problems, do good work, be the best version of ourselves…all in our own strength.

Photo by Yolanda Leyva on Unsplash

 

Anyone?

Burdened in this context is the word for putting something on the back of an animal to carry the weight. Jesus was speaking specifically about the religious rules that the Pharisees had added to the Law; these burdens were unnecessary to say the least. Here Jesus is telling the people He sees they’re exhausted from trying to deal with all the brokenness in their lives and He sees the unnecessary performance rules put on top of them by the Pharisees.

What about us today? Where are you weary of the try-hard-life?  What unnecessary burdens from a broken understanding of Christianity do you bear?

Jesus sees. He cares.

Come to Me All who are weary and burdened…

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Follow Me…

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