I didn’t recognize the name of the lady who sent the email. The subject line Well-Versed Kids, I recognized. It is not uncommon for me to receive requests for the Bible memory program I created with three others in 1987.

“Do you have any more Well-Versed Kids sets?  I used your Bible memory program with my daughters years ago and now I have three grand-daughters.”

Yes and no. I have a limited number of the parent-teacher manuals available; but no verse cards, verse holders, or verse boxes. (For more information on W-VK, click on the tab at the top of the page.)

Always curious when I don’t recognize a name, I asked how she knew about Well-Versed Kids. “I was at the Sunday School convention in Peoria and attended your presentation.” That convention was almost 40 years ago!

Memories flooded back. Hard memories.

Horrible – is how I felt after that presentation. I felt I came across proud and arrogant.
I probably did.
Avoiding eye contact, I left the presentation with my head down, very unhappy with myself.

I don’t remember if I asked God for forgiveness then. I hope I did. But for sure I asked for his forgiveness after reading that email.

“I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover up my iniquity;
I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”
Psalm 32:4

David’s words instructed me and encouraged me.

“You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance.”
Psalm 32:7

“Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.”
Psalm 32:10

Forgiveness – another gift of God’s steadfast love.

The email led me to ask forgiveness – in case I hadn’t years ago.
The email was a gift of God to me.
The email showered me in God’s grace.
The email offered new freedom. I exhaled; I rested.

Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” As I review the teachings in the scriptures on forgiveness, I don’t see a time limitation. For me the gift, the grace, the freedom, the rest was an almost 40 year journey.

I’m so thankful for that email!

Copyright: Sue Tell, February 2022

These words below are penned by my friend Janet Newberry.

I originally wrote this to say goodbye to 2020. Little did we know that a new year would bring as many new trials and sorrows as it did mercy to live gracefully with them.

I’m not so sure I lived as gracefully as I could have this year and I am sure I am loved … and healing…and growing in a healthy direction. There is great hope.

“In a few days, we will say goodbye to 2021. Maybe today is a good day to deal with forgiveness.

I’m not even sure how to type a sentence that speaks of “forgiving a year,” but I do have experience dragging around bitterness … and it’s not the way I want to walk into a relationship with a new year.

Forgiveness doesn’t mean bad things didn’t happen.
Forgiveness doesn’t mean the pain wasn’t real.
Forgiveness doesn’t mean the changes that happened in our lives were all good.

Forgiveness means that we take our hands off the faucet of blame and bitterness and give God permission to deal with both.

I remember one night when I was arguing with God about forgiveness. When I finally decided to step across the line, it wasn’t without emotion and ache.

I felt the real risk of living life unsupported by the energy hate offers when I said, “Ok, fine! I don’t feel like forgiving. He doesn’t deserve my forgiveness! I don’t even know how to forgive him, God … so I’m just going to say — You do it in me, Father. I choose to forgive because I trust You…not him.”

I promise it was like that scene in the movie “Hook” when the lost boys were trying to convince Robin Williams that he wasn’t Peter Pan … but one little boy pushed up the side of Robin Williams’ face so that it began to take the shape of a supported grin.

And the boy said, “Oh, there you are!”

Without a scowl, the little boy recognized his old friend.

And God said the same thing to me when uttered my trust. “Oh, there you are!”

Without all that baggage, my countenance must’ve changed. My scowl probably took a little while to relax, but the rock in my hand was gone.

Deep sigh.

If we’re going to take any souvenirs into the new year, let’s gather our trust instead of our stones.

Let’s believe that God can take what has not been good and redeem it in a way that requires His supernatural touch.

Together, there is great hope.

You’ve met Janet Newberry before on Echoes. I always appreciate how she articulates grace through her story in a way that makes so much sense.

Next Thursday, February 24, 2022 – Forgiving Myself – Years Later

Full disclosure: I have not read these books on forgiveness but my friends highly recommend them. And I will for sure read them.

Forgiving Our Fathers and Mothers, by Leslie Leyland Fields:  “This book addresses forgiving the shortcomings and sins of a mentally ill parent. It is helpful not only for those of us who have experienced childhood trauma from one or both parents, but also the rest of us who struggle to empathize with the damage this kind of experience has wrecked upon our loved ones. The author shares wonderful examples of what biblical forgiveness looked like in her family and how it healed relationships with her siblings as well.” Thank you to Nancy Holesapple.

“If you have ever suffered a major, life-changing hurt by someone you trusted, forgiveness and normalcy can feel like they will never be possible again. However, forgiveness is not optional but mandatory for true healing. In her book, Forgiving What You Can’t Forget, Lysa Terkeurst addresses this difficult issue with deep compassion from personal experience. It has been a valuable tool in restoring normalcy to my life. I highly recommend it if deep wounds have stolen your ability to trust.” Thank you to Carolyn Eden.

It was a perfect January afternoon in St. John, Virgin Islands. The sky a brilliant blue, the temperatures in the low 80’s, and we’re sitting on the pool deck – our private pool deck, that is, overlooking the Caribbean filled with white sailboats; the British Virgin Islands on the other side of Dreetket Bay. Our novels and tall glasses of lemonade our only companions – we thought.

The chapter ended. I looked up and stretched. And there it was! A huge Iguana sunning itself on the corner of our pool. He (I’m sure it was a he) staring at us with equal curiosity, and perhaps as much fear as I was experiencing staring at him. I knew there were Iguanas on the island; I never saw one before on the property we were renting for our escape winter vacation.

No need for binoculars, I grabbed my camera just in time before he turned and crawled into the foliage surrounding the pool. I was glad he was gone.

We didn’t see him again for the next eight days – thankfully. I faithfully checked that corner of the pool. Even though I didn’t see him, in my mind, he kept getting bigger and bigger. Then he returned.

I wasn’t surprised. Perhaps he wasn’t quite as surprised to see me, a visitor to his pool.  I was surprised to see that he was not as big as I remembered. Again we stared at each other; and again he slithered off the side of the pool into the foliage. Will these people ever leave?

We hadn’t seen him for over a week. But in that week, in my mind, he grew.

And God reminded me …

When I stop reviewing truth, Satan whispers lies. And those lies grow. He knows which I’m susceptible to.

The word remember and its synonyms is mentioned 115 times in the Bible. God knows I have a good forgetter!

“Remember the wondrous works that he has done …”
Psalm 115:5
“Therefore I intend always to remind you …
to stir you up by way of reminder …
you may be able to recall …”
II Peter 1:12-15
“To write the same things to you is no trouble to me
and is safe for you.”
Philippians 3:1

So I review the importants almost every day. Jerry Bridge’s words instruct me, preach the gospel to yourself every day! Allow the truth of the Word of God grow, not the lies of the evil one.

The biggest truth I review is that my identity is based on God’s steadfast love for me.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.
Abide in my love.”
John 15:9

Two years ago my sister died. God had given us a special relationship her last six months reminding each other of God’s everlasting love for us. Jeremiah 31:3 was our favorite. I miss her lots.

Erika and I also remind each other regularly of God’s steadfast love. Because of our friendship, my heart is attuned to that phrase. Yesterday God pointed me to … and I texted Erika … Psalm 52:8, “I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.”

Lies are snuffed out in an environment of focusing on truth. Iguanas really don’t grow in a week.

In his sermon, Rich pointed to Psalm 34:3, “Oh, magnify the LORD with me, let us exalt his name together!”

With me … together! Friends keep me focused on truth. We desperately need each other, both to help us identify lies and to remind us of truth.

Not only did Iguanas have free reign on the island, donkeys, goats, sheep, chickens, and pigs did as well. This donkey at the side of the road is peering into the open window of our Jeep. No, we did not feed him. Momma goat and her babies are walking down our driveway.

Copyright, Sue Tell, February 2022

I penned these words seven years ago, and they are so appropriate this week.

The same Aspen this week. Our view quite different from last! Both Colorado and St. John invite me to embrace God’s ways. Both showcase God’s amazing creativity. Both, a wonderful gift.

“O LORD, our LORD,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!”
Psalm 8:1 & 9

Copyright, Sue Tell, February 2022

It’s one of those beautiful Colorado winter mornings. The bright blue sky and no wind invites me outside to our deck to enjoy God’s creation, to enjoy God.

I’m wearing my hooded Alaska sweatshirt. My weighted blanket, our deck heater, and the brilliant Colorado sun make up for the cool-ish temperature. Snow blankets the ground and the branches of the trees. I slowly sip my coffee, kept warm in my Yeti mug, as I revel in this hour.

I just refilled our bird feeders and turned on our triple fountain. I love the sound of the water cascading from the small top dish, to the middle-sized one, and onto the largest bottom dish.

The birds haven’t converged on the feeders to eat their breakfast yet. But I hear them in the nearby Ponderosa Pines. I bet they’re passing the news – breakfast is served. Even the sounds of the morning invite. It’s a new day and a new year.

I’m reminded of Jesus’ invitation in John 21 for his disciples, “Come and have breakfast.” (verse 12) In the beauty of my environment, I too hear his invitation. My Bible and my journal offer their invitations as well. Expectancy.

I’m sensing a new day for Bill and me too; a new level of trust.

Much hasn’t changed. We still love investing through writing, teaching, and mentoring the next generation. Our calendar rings true with our hearts.

And much is changing. We’re thinking about the finish line. Although still a ways off, the fuzzy picture is clarifying. Acts 20:24 communicates our hearts.

“But I do not account my life of  any value nor as precious to myself,
if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus,
to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

For years I’ve prayed over Psalm 78:72. Describing David, Asaph says, “With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.” My prayer has been that God would bring together our heart and our skill, the heart and the skill he created us with. Recently I’ve added a third quality, our capacity.

Sometimes I don’t like how I’m experiencing that playing out. Change is hard. I both like where I am and I want to be where I was. What a conundrum!

And then I remember the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus my Lord.

“Indeed, I count everything as loss
because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
Philippians 3:8

The surpassing worth of knowing Jesus – his heart has not changed. He knows my heart; he knows my skill; he knows my current capacity. His love for me is everlasting!

So I look forward with hope, with contentment, with joy, with expectancy as this new chapter, this new year unfolds. I will remind myself of the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus.

The birds have found their breakfast. And the squirrels too who are waiting under the feeder for a stray sunflower seed to fall to the ground. Expectancy.

“May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God
and to the steadfastness of Christ.”
II Thessalonians 3:5

Copyright, Sue Tell, January 2022

Blessings to YOU in this New Year!

My good friend Rosalyn penned these words a few months ago. Her title was One Point At A Time.

As I read it, I thought this is a perfect post for the new year. I know I want to become better at staying in the moment and receiving the grace Jesus has to offer. I hope you to are blessed, encouraged, and motivated by Rosalyn’s story and how she heard from God in the midst.

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I’m not sure if any of you are tennis fans, but even if you’re not, you may well have heard of the British teenager who recently made sporting history by winning the US Open.

I’ve loved following Emma Raducanu’s story, and enjoyed watching some of the post-match interviews. In one of them she shared a trade secret: as far as she is able, Emma tries to take each point at a time. She doesn’t allow herself to become overawed by the potential consequences of winning or losing that particular point. It’s just one point at a time: she stays in the moment.

This Sunday past, as I started to put the house to bed and prepare for the new week, I thought over her comments. Stay in the moment. A point at a time. I was finding that tricky, you see. My physical body was in a Sunday evening, but my mind, and consequently my emotions, were in Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday… I felt the hackles of anxiety rise up as I imagined the early starts, the logistics, the emails that are long-overdue a reply to. Urgghh..

What is it, about us as humans, that struggles to stay in the moment?

‘Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow has enough worries of its own’ Jesus says in Matthew 6:34, suggesting that this is not just a tendency of the modern day. We find it so hard just to be present in the now..

A number of years ago I heard someone discussing the verse 1 Peter 1:13b, which says this:

‘…set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.‘

The person remarked that usually this verse is interpreted in the context of the hope of Jesus returning sometime in the future. But, this person went on to comment, there is no reason not to also relate this verse to the grace brought to us in the immediate moment, in the very present revelation of Jesus’s continuing and unending presence, right there in the midst of the place we find ourselves in.

Over the years, I’ve found myself using this verse as somewhat of a challenge:

Go on then, show me. Show me how you’re going to reveal yourself to me in the midst of this messy, frustrating, situation.

Show me.

Show me the grace that is to be brought to me.

Right here, right now, when all of life is going belly-up, when I’m stuck in the middle of tensions that seem to overwhelm. I’m tired, all I want to do is lose my rag. Right here, show me. Show me.

And over the years, whenever this particular gauntlet is laid down, I have found that grace is indeed given. The flickering of my eyes heavenward, the desire to see Jesus with me in the mire, has an immediate affect.

I won’t lie and say that this affect is always what I want. I don’t always receive supernatural wisdom, supernatural diplomacy. Sticky situations don’t immediately resolve themselves. But something of the framing of all this inelegance is altered.

It’s hope, of course. Hope.

Hope then allows for us to be pliable with our goals. I take my goals for whatever situation I find myself, and in that eyes-flickering-to-heaven moment, I submit them, in hope, to Jesus. Released from my own determined drive towards compliance/harmony/respect (or all those things and more), my only goal becomes squinting my eyes to see Jesus revealing himself. My only goal is to become a recipient of his grace.

But how, you may ask, does this all tie in with Emma Raducanu?

It all ties in, because we only receive grace in that moment, for that moment.

I don’t need to worry about tomorrow, not because tomorrow won’t have anything to worry about, but because I will only receive the grace for tomorrow’s worries, tomorrow. Today I receive the grace for today. Jesus is relentlessly present in our lives with an grace-filled immediacy that transforms everything of our experience of that moment. It’s not that we need to go anywhere to find him, we just need to get more practiced at recognising the fact he’s already here.

Of course, all of this is easier said than done. But, as you might imagine Emma Raducanu has had to mentally train herself to stay in the moment, so too we need to train the muscles of our soul, not to look towards tonight, or tomorrow, or next week, and the troubles they may very well bring, but, in the only moment that we are actually able to inhabit – the present moment – to turn and look to Jesus.

To look with expectancy – Jesus is going to reveal himself! Grace is going to be given!.

To look with curiosity – Jesus is going to reveal himself! Grace is going to be given!

And to look with hope– Jesus is going to reveal himself! Grace is going to be given!

After all, as Matthew 6:25-27 says –

 ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?’

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Rosalyn Boydell

Thank you again, Ros, for letting me share your words on Echoes. We are blessed!

Owen, almost 17 months old discovering the wide open desert, those innumerable grains of sand (Hebrews 11:12); for me a picture of vast.

“How precious to me are your thoughts O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.”
Psalm 139:17, 18

I wonder what is going through Owen’s mind as he stands on this vast sea of sand. Is he overwhelmed?

I imagine at 17 months his thoughts aren’t so deep as to compare this desert with God’s thoughts for him. But we, with a few more years to our names can be overwhelmed with not only the vastness of God’s thoughts about us, also overwhelmed with the vastness of God’s love toward us.

Eugene Peterson’s rendition of verses 17 and 18 reads, “Your thoughts – how rare, how beautiful! God, I’ll never comprehend them! I couldn’t even begin to count them – any more than I could count the sand of the sea.”

I agree. I’ll never comprehend them. I don’t even want to! God is so much bigger than my thoughts.

God invites us to live with expectancy; to live with trust. My desire is that will characterize our lives trusting the vastness of his wisdom; trusting the vastness of his grace; trusting the vastness of his kindness; trusting the vastness of his love.

The virgin birth or the resurrection will never make sense apart from trusting the vastness of God’s love. Or how we have experienced God’s vast work in our own lives.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.”
Proverbs 3:5

God, I pray, would you help us to live in expectancy today; live with trust today; live focusing on the vastness of your love. Amen.

Stuart Townend penned these words, taking us from the cradle to the resurrection, testifying to the vastness of God’s love. Let’s live with expectancy in 2022, the expectancy of experiencing God’s love. You can listen here.

How deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure,
That He should give His only Son …

Copyright, Sue Tell, December 2021

Traveling to the wilderness of Alaska was a daunting thought. I’d never been to Alaska, let alone a small island without cell service or wi-fi, or even flush toilets! There was no Walmart for those last minute whatevers. I experienced the last frontier.

It was an expensive venture. After the 737s to Anchorage and then Kodiak Island, Beaver float planes, Cessna’s carrying no more than 9 of us, or a metal skiff (think large row boat) with an outboard motor transported us to Harvester Island.

Looking back over 2021, my Alaska trip to the small writer’s retreat was a BIG highlight.

“And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
‘This is the way, walk in it,'”
Isaiah 30:21

Long before those 737s winged me north last September, the process began, the way started. It was a long walk before stepping on that big bird.

A year ago, on another island in a very different climate, I sat for two weeks overlooking the

Our Writing Studio with Fin whales bones at the entrance.

Caribbean pondering the story of Jonah and his Fin whale experience. Never did I expect that it would be the first step in my own Fin whale story.

But it was.

Last month during Advent, I thought again about those names for the child recorded for us in Isaiah 9 … Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. It was an ah-ha time for me. As I walked the journey culminating on Harvester Island, God was indeed all those for me.

In considering this opportunity, I reached out to eight trusted friends asking for their wisdom. Their encouragements, questions, and even concerns were so helpful. Through them I experienced God as my counselor.

Mighty God refers to the title for the LORD himself. I was reminded of Psalm 37:5, “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.” This potential adventure was so far beyond my experience, I needed my Mighty God, the LORD to work on my behalf. From finances, to Covid tests, to new friends, the many details to trust God with sometimes overwhelmed.

Everlasting Father describes a benevolent protector. We boarded the plane in Anchorage to go to Kodiak Island. Luggage stowed, seat-belts fastened, and then the pilot’s welcoming message, “We are taking off, but the weather is not good. We will make one attempt to land in Kodiak. If that one attempt fails, we’ll return to Anchorage.” Many prayers were sent off on that short flight. About 30 minutes later, “The weather hasn’t changed. I’ll make our one attempt to land. It doesn’t look good.” I tugged on my seat-belt tighter. More prayers. Then, “Flight attendants, prepare for landing.” My breath stuck in my throat. On how my benevolent protector was needed! He was faithful.

There were many opportunities to trust God’s gift of peace over those nine days. I prayed a lot. Peace was sometimes elusive … like when the small barge I was on steered so very close to those huge Fin whales swimming on Uyak Bay! Again, I held my breath. Those whales could have toppled our barge. Remembering back, my Prince of Peace held me tight!

photo courtesy of Mary Hargrave

Looking ahead to 2022, I don’t know the circumstances that God will orchestrate asking me to trust Him as my Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Alaska taught me about expectancy, the expectancy of God showing up in those moments I needed Him.

It’s not so much a new year’s resolution as it helps define who I want to continue to be, a woman of expectancy.

God, please grow my knowing.
Help me to listen for your whispers.
Help me to look for your love.
Help me to lean into your truth.
Help me to live with expectancy,
the expectancy of knowing you …
my Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Amen.

Expectancy is my word for 2022. What is your word?

Copyright, Sue Tell, January 2022

Thank you to my friends for sharing some of their prayers as we walk together into 2022. May you be encouraged and blessed as you pray them for yourself as well.

Each of these ladies represent a geographic milestone in my spiritual journey. Bill and I started our married life in Illinois, moved to California, and then to Colorado. And although Alaska was only a 9 day trip, it was a life-transforming time for me. Friendship is a wonderful gift.

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Lord, may the Holy Spirit overshadow me, just as it did Mary. May I consent to it too and always be ready to be covered and upheld by You. I cannot comprehend Your power, but in my unknowing, grow me and challenge me to trust You. Thank you Lord that I am Yours. Help me to look ahead and know You will remain faithful.
Amen.

Susan Brammer, one of my friends from our California days.

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Dear Lord – I offer you my complete faith, deepest love and unending gratitude. Each and every day, though to my imperfect vision the world seems to be spinning out of control, You assure me that you have everything in hand, and all is unfolding according to Your will. 

Help me see in the people I meet, the places I walk, the circumstances that fill my days, Your gracious blessings. Let me feel within my breast the steady, warm glow of Your Spirit, gifted to guide me and comfort me until the day I come to live with You in Heaven.

Let each prayer I lift to you begin with thanks, but also keep me ever mindful of those in need, for You hear our hearts always. Help me understand You always respond to prayer, but sometimes not in the way I might expect. Give me faith to accept Your will is always perfect.

Send me into the world as a light shining in the darkness. While my influence may be small, it is not meaningless or ineffectual, for You are present in my efforts.  Let it be with me as it was with Mary: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (Luke 1:46-47) 

Dearest Lord, let me always remember: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) Amen.

Janet Taillie Kowalski, a new friend. We met in Alaska

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Being expectant is hard Lord, but l’m leaning in to my expectancy that you will fulfill your promises towards me and my family in 2022.  Luke 1:45 says, “Blessed is she who believed that the Lord would fulfill His promises to her.”  Lord, believing your promises is what has been most difficult for me in the last two years. Promises that say that You will never stop working in me to fulfill your good purposes [Phil 2:13].  The struggles of the last two years have worn me down and caused me to doubt, but Lord in Psalm 42 you reminded me to “hope in You”.  Thank you Lord that even when I wasn’t leaning in to You your Spirit was doing it for me; your Spirit had searched my mind and heart and uttered “groans too deep for words [Romans 8]” on my behalf. This year, I pray that I will not lose heart and I will be renewed daily as I pursue things that are unseen and eternal [1 Cor. 4:16-18]. Help me believe and trust in your steadfast love which endures forever giving thanks to You because You are good! [Psalm 118] Amen and Amen!

Denise Grace is a Colorado friend. She and I have been walking this spiritual journey together for many years.

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I love this picture of worship, especially in the posture of the child playing Mary. Thank you to  Kodiak Baptist Church in Alaska. She seems to know; she is expectant; she is wondering; she is worshiping.

I am so excited about worship! For me, this is new.

Worshiping is living expectancy. Worship is trusting God to show up.

Worship is being captivated all over again by the awe of Christmas, like the shepherds.

“And suddenly
there was with the angel
a multitude of heavenly host
praising God and saying,
‘Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those wit whom he is pleased!'”
Luke 2:13 and 14

The multitude was thousands of angels. Thousands sent by God (Luke 2:9 and 15) to communicate to the shepherds. God communicates in BIG ways!

The shepherds responded,  “And they went with haste …” (Luke 2:16) “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God [worshiping] for all they had heard and seen …” (Luke 2:20)

Coming and going, the shepherds responded to God.

“Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and into his courts!
Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!”
(Psalm 96:7-9)

What a wonderful definition of worship – ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name.
Look and notice. Listen to the familiar and once again be in awe. Be amazed by God’s creation.
Expect to see God in his words.

Twenty of us walked through the water in our knee boots to the barge that took us and our 50 pound suitcases from Harvester Island across Uyak Bay to the 9-passenger Cessna that would fly us back to civilization. The Doxology happened. We lifted our voices to God. We lifted our voices in thanksgiving. We lifted our voices in worship. We lifted our voices in awe of all we experienced of God’s creation.

“Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him, all creatures here below
Praise Him above the Heavenly host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.”

For me worship has been a journey.  And I’m quite sure the journey will continue. Being on Harvester Island in Alaska for a week was a key chapter. God taught me worship through his amazing animal creation. The Orcas, the seals, the whales, the deer, even the tiny Ermines spoke of God’s amazing creation; and I worshiped.

“The basic reality of God is plain enough.
Open your eyes and there it is!
By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created,
people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see:
eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being”
(Romans 1:19 and 20, The Message; bolding mine.)

As a college student, in the church I attended the large choir processed every Sunday singing the hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy”. It was a previous chapter in my worship journey. I’ve taken the freedom to add another verse to Reginald Heber’s words.

Holy, holy, holy, my creator, redeemer
Jesus came, I praise your name
This Christmas-tide, amen.
Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God, my Father
Rescuer, my shepherd, forevermore, Amen.

My friend Carolyn texted about her worship journey “… grasping worship in a new depth. …. It can take so many forms, songs of praise, a quiet hush of pure awe with a heart that feels like it’s bursting … at the amazement of God, overwhelmed by creation or acts of love … I don’t think we will really grasp it this side of heaven, but someday … an amazing thought.”

Worship is mystery. It will take as many forms as people who ascribe to God the glory due his name.

Worship is a growing experience.

Worship is being captivated by God.

Worship is expectancy – expecting to see God in his creation.

May your worship this Christmas offer you many way to experience God.

Do you have children in your life? I read this book to our GRANDS via Zoom last night for the second Christmas in a row. It will keep them spell-bound and teach them about expectancy.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!  And may your Christmas celebration be filled with the same awe, the same wonder, the same expectancy that the shepherds experienced when they heard about the birth of Jesus.

Copyright: Sue Tell, December 2021

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