by Elizabeth | Oct 29, 2010 | Learning Story
“If you run away,” said his mother, “I will run after you, for you are my little bunny…”
Do you know the great children’s classic Runaway Bunny? It is based on the idea of little bunny getting her freedom. It could certainly be a twisted tale of overprotective parenting. But as it is told, it is a beautiful tale of a mother’s faithful and unending commitment to care for and protect her little bunny:
The bunny foolishly believes he can escape her mother and names all the ways he will evade her pursuit. For each suggestion, she has a kind counter that reveals her creative love: “If you become a bird and fly away from me,” said his mother, “I will be a tree that you come home to.”
We are not unlike the runaway bunny. We think we can dodge God, avoid God, hide from God, run faster than God. And yet, the Bible tells us that after the first sin, the first Adam tried to hide in shame and fear. And God, the omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God, asks a question: “Where are you, Adam?”
The Runaway Bunny gives us a glimpse into the good news of redemption: God pursues and loves with a mother’s love: compassionate, nurturing, protective, and blunt. For God’s children, there is no great escape from God!
by Elizabeth | Oct 28, 2010 | Learning Story
Two sisters who do LOVE sisterhood!
I never had a sister, and I can’t honestly say I really wanted one when I was growing up. But I can and will say that now I long for them and am thankful for women I am in community with who have become “soul sisters.” I’ve been thinking lots about what a community focused around Christian “sisterhood” might look like, so I was very interested when I found this article on www.kyria.com today:
The Power and Importance of Sisterhood, by Ashley Moore. Here’s an excerpt. Read it and tell me what you think about Christian sisterhood. Do you want it? Do you have it? What does it look like?
“We all have sisterhood, or at least potential sisterhood, in our lives. Some of these women are blood-related, and some are by chance or choice, but we have them. However, sometimes as women, we can get so busy, and so perfectionistic, and well, let’s face it, so competitive with other women, that we forget how to build those relationships. We forget how to know one another and how to build up one another. And maybe sometimes, we forget to care.
Sisterhood isn’t just about having a nice friend to go shopping with—it’s about having women in your life who will tell you, to your face, whatever it is that you need to hear. These are the women in our lives who are honest. These women are golden.
Sisterhood has some serious spiritual growth applications. James says that we must “confess [our] sins to each other and pray for each other so that [we] may be healed” (James 5:16, NIV). The Bible commands us to develop the kinds of friendships in which we can confess our sins to one another, and trust that those with whom we are confessing will not judge us, but instead, will lift us up and pray for healing from our sins. God gave us friendships and told us to live in community with one another, not simply so that we won’t get lonely, but so we can help one another grow, and get one another through the rocky places we all face on our spiritual paths.” Ashley Moore
by Elizabeth | Oct 27, 2010 | Learning Story
THINKING ABOUT A WOMAN’S STORY for Wellspring Community Church, Ohio:
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
by Elizabeth | Oct 26, 2010 | Learning Story
“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11)
“The Holy Spirit is the Comforter, the Helper, the Guide, the very presence of God living in you.
This is the great promise of God in prayer. We ask God for gifts in prayer, and he gives us the Giver. We ask God for supply, and He gives us the Source. We ask God for money, and He doesn’t give us cash; instead, so to speak, He gives us the bank!”
David Platt, Radical
Ever tried sleeping in a recliner for an entire night? People in the “shoulder” club know what I’m talking about — the part where the doc tells you to properly support your shoulder and prevent the possibility of re-tearing, you must sleep in a recliner for anywhere from 3 – 5 weeks, depending on your physician. Do you know what that, accompanied by night-time pain and swelling, lead to?
That’s right. Insomnia. Or, if you’re lucky, sometimes just restless sleep. Two nights ago I had one of the worst cases of insomnia I had had in months, possibly years, and I’m a lifelong ‘troubled sleeper.’ I sat awake and alone in the dark and asked God for sleep. But since we’ve been studying David Platt’s book in Sunday school, I remembered what David said. I said, “God, you might not choose to give me sleep, but I know you’ll give me some good gift instead. Like comfort. Like company.” And that was the case. It took another hour or more for sleep to come. But comfort came with the prayer.
Yesterday, I asked several people to pray for my sleep. Right before I went to bed, I asked my 15-year-old son to pray for sleep. He surprised me with this response: “How much do you want?” I looked at him. (I was sort-of low-balling my prayer, just hoping for some sleep. He wanted to know how many hours. I said, “How about 9. With only one break for pain pill and potty trip.” I went to bed at 9, slept like a baby till 1:45, made my one trip to the bathroom, took my one pill, and went right back to sleep. I slept till 6, when I heard my husband’s alarm.”
Hmmm…makes me think more about prayer. As we said before, it’s not all about asking for things from God. But that’s part of the life of someone who claims radical dependence on Christ.
What good gift do we think God might give us when we pray?
by Elizabeth | Oct 25, 2010 | Learning Story
Got a text from my son last night:
Auburn #1
I thought that was great news. I called him mostly because I wanted to hear how his weekend was and to rejoice with him, to enjoy the moment. (Read Saturday’s post if you want the lead-in story.)
When I said, “That’s great about Auburn,” he sounded dubious. “I don’t know, Mom…Now we’ve got a target on our backs. I mean, we’re on the road against Ol’ Miss (I think he said) next week and they’re going to want to take us down.”
My mom, who like me, has become an Auburn fan on behalf of her eldest grandson, emailed me earlier and said, “I just hope they can keep it up.” Earlier in the season, another Auburn fan told me, “We don’t have a good record historically of doing well when we’re highly ranked.”
Now don’t hear me ragging on Auburn fans or on those who get worried when their team’s on top. I’d probably say my son had heard me say many sentences like the one he spoke about various situations.
I’m bringing this up because recently we’ve been talking about “Considering it joy when you encounter various sufferings…” and other encouragements to rejoice in sufferings. I think it’s a good time to mention that we may struggle more with REJOICING IN SWEET MOMENTS than rejoicing in suffering. Or at least as much.
The chief end of woman (and man) according to the Westminster Catechism is to “Worship God and enjoy Him forever.” And yes, it is true that means more than rejoicing when your team’s #1 or you have a date with a wonderful woman or get to go hear your favorite band. But it certainly doesn’t mean less.
Here’s my question for the day:
Why do we have such a hard time “rejoicing” in the “good and simple gifts God sends from above”?
by Elizabeth | Oct 22, 2010 | Learning Story
“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12
“Blessed or Happy is more a declaration of a state than an expression of a feeling.” Scotty Smith.
I’ve been listening to Scotty’s teaching of James to the Women’s Bible Study at Christ Community Church these last weeks, and I’m learning more than I ever forgot about the book! I heard him say this yesterday, and I thought it important to mention this here.
Being the recovering Stoic that I am, I want to make sure that no one hears what I’m not saying. When we talk about joy in our tribulations, it doesn’t mean, “Just buck up and plow through” (which may not be what you hear but is what I heard for many years as a young Christian.) It refers to the great gospel paradox that God is up to something different in our lives through the difficulties. We have come to expect that trial, tribulation, sorrow, hard seasons, harm can be understood only negatively. The Cross of Christ turns all that on its head.
More on this another time, but I also wanted to post the song that’s been stuck in my head the last 24 hours.
“All Must Be Well” by Matthew Smith (which is really different than “All Is Well” when you think about it.)
Through the love of God our Savior, all will be well
Free and changeless is His favor, all is well
Precious is the blood that healed us
Perfect is the grace that sealed us
Strong the hand stretched forth to shield us
All must be well
Though we pass through tribulation, all will be well
Ours is such a full salvation, all is well
Happy still in God confiding
Fruitful if in Christ abiding
Steadfast through the Spirit’s guiding
All must be well
We expect a bright tomorrow; all will be well
Faith can sing through days of sorrow, all is well
On our Father’s love relying
Jesus every need supplying
Yes in living or in dying
All must be well
“If you run away,” said his mother, “I will run after you, for you are my little bunny…”
