by Elizabeth | May 23, 2011 | Learning Story
But you'll have to wait to find out who these characters are...:)
“Each of us is called to be a character in and a carrier of this amazing story. Indeed, the gospel runs to us and through us, to the glory of God.” Scotty Smith, in the Foreword of Learning God’s Story of Grace
Pastor Scotty Smith has taught me and many much about God’s story. One of my favorite expressions he uses is the phrasee: “character in and carrier of this amazing story.” We don’t live this life in a vacuum. I love to think about the characters and carriers God has used in my story to reveal his transforming grace. If you’ve ever been to a Living Story conference, you’ve probably heard me ask the basic question:
“Why are you here?”
This question reveals so much about our stories in so many ways. One of the great joys of writing Learning God’s Story was acknowledging the characters and carriers of grace in my life. Try it:
If you were writing a book about your life, whom would you want to acknowledge as playing some crucial role? How did God use this person (even if, as Joseph said about the brothers who harmed him, “they meant it for evil” Genesis 50:19-20).
by Elizabeth | May 20, 2011 | Learning Story
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It’s HERE! The FIRST of hopefully many Living Story podcasts.
- Something short enough to listen to on a drive/walk to the grocery store.
- Something to make you think.
- Something to make you hope.
- Something to make you pray.
- Something to help you learn, live, and love in the gospel story.
If all goes well, you should be able to right-click on the link and download to your I-tunes. If it doesn’t, stay tuned — all of life is a work in progress:)!
Living Story 1_ Luke 7_36-50
by Elizabeth | May 18, 2011 | Learning Story
It’s coming. Learning God’s Story of Grace. Probably about two weeks past due date (originally May 15) just like my four human children. Waiting expectantly reminds me of an important question: what do we do while we wait for the culmination of weeks, months, years, of hard work?
One really good thing to do is to remember. Remember the stories of
- “How it all began.”
- “The day we were assigned the task/given the job/discovered we were pregnant.”
- “When we thought we weren’t going to make it.”
- “God’s provision along the way.”
One of the great things about Learning God’s Story of Grace is that it gets you thinking in terms of story. And as one woman who tested the “beta” version in manuscript form said, “My eyes are retrained so that now I see God working in every story of daily life.”
For Reflection: What about you? What are some of your stories of dreams conceived and completed? What stories do the above questions lead you to? I’d love to know them. Really. Use the contact form if you want to share a story.
For You: Win a copy of Learning God’s Story of Grace. Use the contact form and write, “Contest” in the subject line. I will enter you in a weekly drawing for a signed copy of the Bible study. Entries must be made by May 20 for this week’s drawing. Good luck!
If you are reading this on the Facebook Living Story page, message me with your name and email to enter.
by Elizabeth | May 17, 2011 | Learning Story
Jimmy and Christine (not pictured -- their three precious children:)
“We must endure — and by grace we can and will endure — whatever means God may choose in order to do us good through discipline. Part of the wonder of our salvation is that for each of us there is a unique and fore-ordained plan (the farthest possible thing from a series of random or pointless circumstances) by which God is committed to seeing us live a cross-shaped life (Hebrews 12:3-7a).” Jimmy Davis, Cruciform: Living the Cross-Shaped Life
Jimmy and Christine Davis are the real deal. I first observed their authenticity, courage, and deep faith when they were yet a young couple, dreaming of having a baby, and ministering to our church’s youth while they waited. Even though my kids weren’t youth pastor age, we knew Jimmy and Christine, because they recognized that all of the church’s children would be theirs someday.
And then they underwent a tragedy that could have floored a couple seasoned in many years of walking with Christ. That’s where I first witnessed that their love for Jesus was real, their faith in him was true, and their hope in him indestructible. With their kind permission, I include my perspective on part of their story in Learning God’s Story of Grace.
But, better yet, Jimmy has now written a book. I love this book, because it’s about what I am passionate about —LIVING THE CROSS-SHAPED LIFE. Even if I didn’t know Jimmy and Christine I would love this book, but knowing their story (which they tell in part of the book) makes me love it even more because I know it’s true. As Jimmy tells us that we were created and redeemed to be cruciform, shows us how that plays out in being sons and servants of God, and encourages us to take in and take up our crosses, I know this is something he truly believes.
6.45. 103 short pages. An afternoon read. A forever blessing. I am biased, yes, but you should read it. Today.
by Elizabeth | May 16, 2011 | Learning Story
Learning God's Story of Grace is coming May 27
What do you know?
5-8 He planted a witness in Jacob,
set his Word firmly in Israel,
Then commanded our parents
to teach it to their children
So the next generation would know,
and all the generations to come—
Know the truth and tell the stories
so their children can trust in God,
Never forget the works of God
but keep his commands to the letter. Psalm 78:5-8, The Message Translation
Learning leads to living — I know that because “the Bible tells me so”:
We need to learn God’s story of grace in order to live it. Learning doesn’t mean simply studying hard or pounding information into our minds. Learning means knowing. When the Bible speaks of knowing, it refers to a deep connection involving heart and mind. To know God is to be intimately connected with him. As we consider both the big story God has written in Scripture and the particular stories he is writing in our lives, we come to know God more deeply and love him more fully.” Learning God’s Story of Grace
How about you? What struggles do you have with knowing something and living it? How do you think the gospel addresses that struggle for Christians?
Learning God’s Story of Grace, available May 27, will take you and your community into a deeper conversation about questions like these.
by Elizabeth | May 13, 2011 | Learning Story
This is what a woman wants...
Continuing some thoughts on “A Woman’s Story,” I’m bringing Rose-Marie Miller, author of From Fear to Freedom, and great teller of the good news of “Sonship” with her husband Jack Miller. Early in her book, she talks about the hope and the struggle offered by the women’s liberation movement of the 70’s:
Liv Ullman, quoted by Rose-Marie:
“But after choice there was a new set of rules, not necessarily tied to women’s liberation, because after liberation from authority followed pressure: all the new ideas crashing in on women who were not sure how to direct their new found independence. The liberated woman followed in the stream of others, who, equally liberated, said what everybody else was saying, read what everybody else was reading, conformed to that which everybody else conformed to.” (Liv Ullman, Choices)
Rose-Marie:
“Liv Ullman describes the frustrating consequences [of women’s liberation]. You become free from what and for what? For pressure? For a new set of rules laid down by dominating women who say they are liberated from dominating men? No, modern woman started out wanting to be free from pressure, and that freedom is what she must have. But it cannot come from inventing herself all over again. No one of us has that power. We are not God, and only God can make or remake that person.
“My sense is that most women today often unconsciously long for the kind of life that God wishes to give them.” [my emphasis] Rose-Marie Miller, From Fear to Freedom
