by Elizabeth | Sep 29, 2014 | Learning Story
Have you ever been lost and really needed a sign? Here’s one of my favorite “lost” stories.
I like my GPS friend, except when I don’t. Yesterday was one of the “don’t” days. All I wanted to do was find the Florida Turnpike so I could get the heck out of Central Florida via I – 75…
Homeward bound, I was, and I still had time to make our Sunday evening traditional meal of Hamburgers and French Fries (Yes, that is capitalized – good beef, grilled burgers, and homemade fries, family tradition from my mother’s side that stayed steady even in uncertain times….). Every Sunday night, and it tastes so much better when you’re coming off road food (which for me, on a retreat or conference weekend, often means subsisting mostly on Think Thin bars and coffee for about 72 hours because I’m too rushed for the real meals.)
Even if I hadn’t been on a deadline to make dinner, I would have been in a hurry. I am, shall we say, an “efficient traveler.” Ask anyone who has ever had the dubious joy of being a passenger in a vehicle I was commandeering on a road trip. Don’t drink much, because there won’t be many potty breaks. I am single-minded and focused in my goal of making it there. We will stop for lunch at the regular time but we will eat it in the car, so bring a towel to catch all the drippings from that greasy fast food!
All that to say, yesterday, my GPS friend failed me. But knowing she was going to do so, I had even asked directions from the bell”boy” at the hotel – “How do I get to the Florida Turnpike from here?” I should have noticed the telltale frown of uncertainty on his baby face (I had, after all, been teaching on “uncertainty” this weekend:-), but I was in a hurry and I wasn’t going to ask someone else.
So I turned back to my trusty friend who had gotten me out of many a jam in the past – Ms Gips, as I call her. No matter how much I argued with her, she insisted on taking me on the highway – I wanted the byway!
Finally, after wasting an hour or so driving around Orlando, I gave in and went her way, the high way, but not without a rant. (Yes, my children and husband are thanking God now that they weren’t along for this ride!) And then.
And then, I said to myself, or should I say the Holy Spirit said to me, “It’s been such a beautiful weekend – lovely women representing not all, but many, of the tribes, tongues, nations, and people groups of this cosmos, along with a handful of very gracious men; deep engagement with the Word and lovely new friendships formed…
ARE YOU GOING TO LET LOSING YOUR WAY LET YOU LOSE YOUR WAY?” Truly. Will I let all the grace drain out of this glorious weekend?
So I began to thank God, aloud, for every wonderful moment of the weekend, and I tell you, there were many.
Then I saw it. I had seen the practice circle the skywriter had scrawled in the sky. But then I noticed a word…I said to myself, “Does that say…?”
But I knew. I didn’t need to ask. I knew exactly what it said, even before I could read all the words…”Jesus l…” I didn’t need to wait for the skywriter to finish his message in the sky. I had spoken the words with conviction less than 24 hours before: “Jesus loves you.” (Actually, the sky eventually said, “Jesus loves u.”
Being the efficient road warrior that I am, I waited for one of the many stoplights that had interrupted my flow so that I could take a photo. But now I kept getting green lights. Finally, I did a wasteful thing. I pulled to the side of the road and took this picture…
Thanks be to the God who speaks to me in the sky when I lose my way on the road!
Do you have any lost stories? Sign stories? “Jesus loves you” stories? Please share them in the comments!
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by Elizabeth | Sep 18, 2014 | Learning Story
“…choose this day whom you will serve…as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14-15
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45
“What people revere, they resemble, either for ruin or for restoration.” G.K. Beale
On September 8, 93-year-old Truett Cathy, founder and servant leader of the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain, passed away. As I read about Mr. Cathy’s life, I thought how he is a man who resembled what he revered — Jesus Christ, who came not to be served but to serve.
By word and deed, Mr. Cathy lived what he believed:
- teaching that Christian principles made the best business ethics.
- closing his restaurants on Sundays so that his employees could rest.
- leading his foundation in donating over 68 million dollars for leadership development, foster care, and college scholarships.
My favorite story of Mr. Cathy’s servant heart comes from an interaction with my son, who is now employed by Chick-fil-A in their corporate office. (And yes, I’m a mom, so of course my favorite involves my son:-)!
He was invited to visit by a colleague he had met while working on an initiative to bring CFA to his college campus (College kids need their Chick-fil-A biscuits to get them going every morning:-)!
Mr. Cathy happened to be in his office, the place he fondly called the “Tree House,” because it sits high among the trees and has floor to ceiling glass windows.
I never got to meet Mr. Cathy personally, but I enjoyed some great milkshakes sitting next to his statue!
My son’s colleague introduced them, and said, “Kirby has applied for a job here.”
Mr. Cathy, much to my son’s surprise, warmly responded, “That’s wonderful! I look forward to working for you!”
Kirby did a double-take for two reasons — first — he knew the Chairman and CEO of the corporation would not be involved in his hiring…
And second, what an oddly wonderful thing to say — “working for you” — not “with you,” but “for.” Truett Cathy’s humility and devotion to service was reflected even in his language.
I don’t want to glorify Mr. Cathy, and I doubt he would want me to either. But stories like his encourage me in my faith, and we all need to hear such stories.
By all accounts, he was a man who resembled what he revered. He worshipped Christ, the Son of Man who came not to be served, but to serve. He chose each day whom he would serve, and the gospel transformed him. What he believed permeated his life, in thought, word, and deed. The gospel (not to mention those yummy sandwiches:-) perfumed the air with a fragrant aroma that compels me and others to live a life of worship that spills over into service.
by Elizabeth | Sep 16, 2014 | Learning Story
1. Eugene Peterson
Stories are verbal acts of hospitality.
— Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology
2. Flannery O’Connor
There is something in us, as storytellers and as listeners to stories, that demands the redemptive act, that demands that what falls at least be offered the chance to be restored. The reader of today looks for this motion, and rightly so, but what he has forgotten is the cost of it. His sense of evil is diluted or lacking altogether, and so he has forgotten the price of restoration. When he reads a novel, he wants either his sense tormented or his spirits raised. He wants to be transported, instantly, either to mock damnation or a mock innocence. — Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose
3. Dan Allender
You are a story. You are not merely the possessor and teller of a number of stories; you are a well-written, intentional story that is authored by the greatest Writer of all time, and even before time and after time. — To Be Told
4. Scotty Smith & Steven Curtis Chapman
God is telling an authentic, non-spin story of selfish, broken people, who are in the process of being made new by Jesus. That’s why Jesus has the lead role in God’s Story. But He’s not the only character. He’s making us characters too. We are carriers of God’s Story – targets for hope who’ll serve as agents of hope, and candidates of mercy who’ll live as conduits of mercy. Jesus is bringing restoration to broken individuals as a means of bringing healing to other individuals, families, communities, and ultimately, to the whole universe. — Restoring Broken Things
5. Christopher J.H. Wright
. . . the whole Bible renders to us the story of God’s mission through God’s people in their engagement with God’s world for the sake of God’s whole creation. — The Mission of God
6. Rachel Remen
Real stories take time. We stopped telling stories when we started to lose that sort of time, pausing time, reflecting time, wondering time. — Kitchen Table Wisdom
7. Madeleine L’Engle
We turn to stories and pictures and music because they show us who and what and why we are. — Walking on Water
And a free bonus:
“Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness.” Psalm 145:7 NLT
by Elizabeth | Sep 8, 2014 | Learning Story
“He who began a good work in you…
will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6
This is a reprinted story with an update — because the gospel never changes…
When I was a younger mom of younger kids, I used to think if I got them to 18, I was done.
Pause for huge guffaws of laughter from other parents who always knew differently. Even before my oldest son turned 18, it had become apparent to me that the knotted tangle of love, hope, admiration, sometimes-fury, and occasional pain that describes my mother’s heart will be with me for life.
Today, my eldest son turns 21. By now no doubt lingers about how long I will be a Mom. Even though yesterday as he was packing to return to college he casually mentioned, “This may be my last summer living at home.” (Wait, how did that happen? He’s only a rising junior — yes, senior by hours, but I thought he was going to prolong it for at least another football season?)
Clearly, I could ramble along in my ambivalence for too many paragraphs, but let me reach the point.
The verse that began this post was my son’s verse. It became his verse when I was going on two weeks overdue in a hot Atlanta August, turgidly, miserably, pregnant, thinking I would lose my mind if one more person called me to see “if the baby had come yet.” At that time, a Steve Green song was popular in Christian circles: “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it…” I began to listen to it over and over, and took it quite literally. I “psalmed” it, that is, I screamed out to God, “Okay, Lord, you began this GOOD WORK in me, and you said you would be faithful to complete it!” Any time now would be fine with me.
It was a few more days, fully two weeks late before the doctors agreed to do a pitocin induction. And then another 33 hours. But my son doesn’t want me to get into my travails in bringing him into the world. He’s heard it all.
That verse has served us BOTH well over the years. Since he is the firstborn son, I am pretty sure my chief sinner status has chiefly landed on him in my parenting. How many times over the years have I needed to recall, “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus?” I used to think it was just about him — “Yes, God will grow my son up…” Then I realized the verse was for ME. Or perhaps both of us. Or, more likely, for all of us.
Addendum: That son is now 25. I can now see that the good work God began was not simply his conception, and its completion was not his long-awaited appearance in flesh:-)!
God had great works for my son’s good and His glory to do. He is a young man complete in Christ, at peace in the knowledge of who he is. He is a young man restless and determined, being constantly refined and matured by the sanctifying work of the Spirit.
We have four children now, aged 25-19. Now I can see how God has faithfully redeemed me, liberating me by his grace to offer good gifts to our children:
After 25 years of motherhood,
- I am slightly more likely to clean up the kitchen alone without killing the atmosphere with malodorous martyrdom.
- I now hold the reins of control over my children’s lives a little more loosely (that’s a little easier when you don’t have much choice:-).
- And I am entirely free from flying into a rage over lost cleats 🙂 (true, only b/c we don’t fight that battle anymore:-) – but I’m hopeful for not doing that with grandchildren!)
Parenting is a long journey — a lifelong one as it turns out. I’d love to hear from you. In what ways does Philippians 1:6 encourage you? What stories do you have of the maturing work God has done in you or your children along the way?
by Elizabeth | Sep 1, 2014 | Learning Story
“Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Every year, I have to look up the meaning of Labor Day — it turns out it’s a day set aside as a tribute to American workers and the work they/we do.
Long before the America government decided to set aside a day of rest, Jesus beckoned his people to come to him and receive rest. Today is a good day to re-think this call.
The first part of the verse is straightforward, but I get hung up on the yoke. A yoke is literally a bar or frame used to join two animals to pull a load. In the Bible, the imagery implies subjection (that’s not a bad thing!) and joining. As followers of Christ, we are yoked to him. As kingdom servants, we join Christ and serve his kingdom.
According to Matthew 11:28-30, Christ’s yoke is easy and his burden is light. If this is true, why do so many of us experience our lives as a burden of burnout?
Maybe it’s because we too often take on the yokes of other demi-gods who promise us great reward for pleasing them.
Ephesians 6 tells us to put on armor because our battle is not against flesh and blood. In other words, we are constantly in a war for our hearts. Satan, the accuser, lays all sorts of heavy loads on us, some subtle, some blatantly cruel. And we bow before them. Before we know it, we look and sound like a mean old octogenarian stooped over with osteoporosis, crabby-faced and claw-tongued, aching under the heavy yoke we wear.
But Jesus has offered us rest. Let’s listen to his invitation:
- Oh dear sinner saint – are you a slave to the law? Are you trying to perform well enough to please the Lord who already delights in you? Hear the lesson of rest Jesus wants you to learn:
“Let me put this question to you? How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God’s Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren’t smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it?” (Galatians 3:2-4, The Message).
Jesus beckons, “Yank off that yoke of the law, and join with me in free praise and glory to the King.”
- Oh dear sinner saint – are you a slave to Satan’s accusations? Do you hear his angry voice condemning you over every failure, small and large, sinful and mistaken, as you walk through your day? Hear the lesson Jesus wants you to learn,
“So sing, Daughter Zion!/ Raise the rafters, Israel!/Daughter Jerusalem, /be happy! celebrate!/God has reversed his judgments against you/ and sent your enemies off chasing their tails./From now on, God is Israel’s king,/ in charge at the center./There’s nothing to fear from evil ever again!” (Zephaniah 3:14-15, The Message)
Jesus beckons, “Yank off that yoke of Satan, and hear me singing over you.”
- Oh dear sinner saint – are you a slave to the cycle of addiction? You say you will not work 14 hours today and miss another volleyball game, you say you will not have that ‘one more glass of wine, just so I can relax’, you say you will follow the doctor’s orders and walk for 20 minutes today. And then you do it again. Hear the lesson of rest Jesus wants you to learn:
“I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.” (Romans 7:24-25, The Message)
Jesus beckons, “Yank off that yoke of the flesh, and receive my grace to help in time of need.”
Today, this Labor Day, let’s hear Jesus’ free offer of rest and take on this yoke. When we do, we will laugh in wonder, thinking “this can’t be a yoke, it’s way too easy.” Light and free, our bodies straighten and our chins rise; we run, we sing, we dance, free to live as God created us to live. We go forth in service and subjection, plowing Kingdom ground for his honor and glory, discovering that this work provides rest for our souls.
Join the discussion — what “Dear Sinner Saint messages do you think it is important to hear in order to rest?”
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