Thank you to Eric for taking this selfie and sacrificing himself. This was snapped after their family hike at the Grand Canyon over Christmas.
Impressive!

Tom and Susan own and operate a dairy farm in southern Minnesota. Susan is my niece.

Last month we enjoyed a delightful dinner with Tom and Susan. Both boys, now college graduates, work in other cities.

I asked, how do you like the empty nest? Tom responded first. He is struggling. I love being a parent. And now that parenting days are over I’m struggling with purpose. Anyone can milk cows;  Susan and I were chosen to be Mike and Eric’s parents.

I identified; I was right there with Tom. I’ve been pondering my purpose in this stage of my life. Like Tom and Susan, the melody my life sings is changing.

Change is hard!
Learning new rhythms requires change.
Sometimes I just don’t want to leave the familiar. And I need to; the rhythm is shifting.

God’s path, His purposes for me are NOT shifting.
The rhythm of living out that purpose is.

My word for 2020 is rhythm.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1. The notes in my ESV Bible referencing this verse say, “There is an appropriate occasion for every human event or activity; life is endlessly complex.”

There is indeed a rhythm to our complex lives.

There is a rhythm and God’s unchanging purposes bow to new rhythms.
And so the questions … what does stewarding the new rhythm look like now? What is the new rhythm I need to embrace?

As I’ve prayed over those questions, I’ve made the hard decision affecting Echoes of Grace.
Yes, Echoes will continue, but possibly not every Thursday.

A new melody is controlling my rhythm. I’m wanting to bring together the many things I’ve been learning about rest. The things I’ve been pondering, speaking on, and in many cases writing about.

Like Dr. Luke in his opening words of his gospel, ” … it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account …” Luke 1:3.

I want to write a manuscript, an orderly account, on the topic of rest. This is my melody for 2020 defining my rhythm.

Echoes of Grace will continue to pop up on Thursdays, just not every Thursday. It will have a sporadic rhythm. To make sure you know when a new post is live, if you have not already done so, click the link, Follow Echoes of Grace. That way I’ll keep you in the loop and you’ll know when a new post appears.

Tom and Susan will continue to milk cows.
I’ll continue to write.
God’s purposes for us have not changed. The living out of those purposes, the rhythm, and how to steward them is changing.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated [gave you an unchanging purpose];”
Jeremiah 1:5 [brackets mine]

 

 

 

 

 

Reflecting as the fire glows orange

The present now past …
Remembered,
Recorded,
Rehearsed.
It was good.

The present now present …
Quiet, yet new voices,
Still, but actively restoring,
Needed, yes very needed.
It is good.

I’m excited to tell you about this wonderful volume, a Christmas gift.

This beautiful book is a collection of liturgies to use in the midst of your everyday moments.

As I have sat in front of our fire each morning, my cup of coffee at hand, I’ve turned to page 135, A Liturgy for the Ritual of Morning Coffee . As I read the words, my heart turns to prayer and each phrase reminds me of my every moment and my desire to know God in them, to recognize the holy.

Perhaps you too would like to use this liturgy for your morning.

Shared with permission:

Meet me, O Christ,
in this stillness of morning.
Move me, O Spirit,
to quiet my heart.
Mend me, O Father,
from yesterday’s harms.

From the discords of yesterday,
resurrect my peace.
From the discouragements of yesterday,
resurrect my hope.
From the weariness of yesterday,
resurrect my strength.
From the doubts of yesterday,
resurrect my faith.
From the wounds of yesterday,
resurrect my love.

Let me enter this new day,
aware of my need,
and awake

to your grace,
o Lord.

Amen.

With the beginning of the new year, perhaps it is appropriate to change yesterday to this past year. And in the next stanza, change new day to new year.

I wonder what you’ll hear from God?

“Be still … know”, from Psalm 46:10

Did you recognize the words at the beginning??? I originally shared them a year ago. In my reviewing how God has been speaking, I realized how perfect it was for this year as well. And the morning liturgy matched so well.

God’s richest far more abundant blessings to you in this new year, this new decade!

Next week (and back to Thursday posts, so January 9) a brand spanking-new post on Echoes of Grace. I’ll be sharing my word for 2020 and some of the applications I’m thinking it will require.

If you haven’t signed up to follow Echoes of Grace and receive the short devotional note I send out to those who have, please join in. Click follow Echoes of Grace and you’re included. Perhaps a good habit for the new year.

 

“The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shined.
For to us a child in born,
to us a son is given;”
Isaiah 9:2 and 6

“The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John 1:5

“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying,
“I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life.””
John 8:12

Rise, happy morn, rise, holy morn,
Draw forth the cheerful day from night;
O Father, touch the East, and light
The light that shone when Hope was born.
Alfred Lord Tennyson

 

Overwhelmingly thankful for the light of the world!
Merry, merry Christmas!

Listening to God through the life of Mary

Mary was personally promised the gift of advent. With that promised gift, she also received the gift of waiting.

Waiting was familiar to this young Jewish girl. For many years the Messiah had been promised. For years the people of God waited, and waited, and waited.

Then the message of the angel Gabriel came to Mary …

“Don’t be afraid, Mary … you have found favor with God!
You will conceive and give birth to a son,
and you will name him Jesus.
He will be very great … the Son of the Most High.”
excerpts from Luke 1:30-32, NLT

The waiting moved to the next chapter. Nine months of fear-filled waiting. Gabriel was wise to say, don’t be afraid. How would she tell her mother? Her mother who was busy helping her be ready for the consummation of her marriage to Joseph. How would she tell Joseph? Would he divorce her? And oh the anticipated shame the community would heap on her.

I imagine that Mary’s response to Gabriel, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true” didn’t cancel her fears. Luke 1:38. Even her song of praise recorded a few verses later didn’t negate fear as she waited. Mary was human.

The climax of the waiting, Jesus is born.

The shepherds leave their sheep and run to Bethlehem to meet the promised Messiah.

Eight days later the baby was circumcised and publicly named Jesus. Simeon, a devout older man who had been eagerly waiting for the Messiah  came to the Temple and took Jesus in his arms and proclaimed, “I have seen your salvation,” Luke 2:30.

Anna was there also. “and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.” Luke 2:38.

Wise men came to pay homage to the newborn king. Matthew 2:1 and 2.

And Mary pondered, wondered about, and treasured all these things in her heart.  And waited.

In the waiting there was confusion and scary hard times. Twelve years later at the Passover festival in Jerusalem, unbeknownst to his parents, Jesus didn’t immediately return to Nazareth with them. He stayed behind in the temple to listen to the rabbis, to ask questions. His parents didn’t know what to think. “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic searching for you everywhere.” Luke 2:48.

The waiting continued. It was a full 30 years before Jesus performed his first miracle.

Mary was familiar with waiting. Did her faith falter in those years? How did she pray? Did she doubt? She knew the holy scriptures. God’s love is everlasting (Jeremiah 31:3); God does not withhold good (Psalm 84:11); God’s presence is promised (Isaiah 41:10); God’s peace is available (Isaiah 26:3). And Mary was human. Waiting is hard!

I too am waiting; praying; wondering; living with confusion and hard things. I too know the promises of the scriptures, not just the old testament, but the new testament as well. Yet still, waiting is hard, very hard.

The words of Peter Salmon, pastor of Trinity Church in Cedar Falls, Iowa put waiting in perspective for me earlier this month. In his sermon, Waiting for Christmas, he said,

“God will make our waiting worth it:
By overshadowing our waiting with His glory.
By using it to bring hope to others.
By accomplishing the impossible in us and through us.”

Also he noted, “What we are waiting for changes our willingness to wait.” Thank you Peter for your hope filled waiting words.

Merry Christmas!

Echoes of Grace will return January 2, 2020.

 

 

 

 

 

Melissa’s Story of Listening to God through the life of Mary.

My friend Melissa graciously offered to share her story of experiencing the power of God in her own life.  The narrative of Mary and Elizabeth and Sarah was not just ancient history for Melissa. It was the piece of God’s story that Melissa needed, which brought hope to her heart. And  eventually God filled Melissa’s womb too as He did for Mary, Elizabeth, and Sarah.

In her words …

“Mary is my people. Mary, Elizabeth, Sarah …

God has long chosen the abnormal for His ongoing story of redemption and hope and powerful glory. More often than not scriptures tell of the barren and broken and small being used in mighty ways by God. And their pain is part of the glory. Without Elizabeth being old and barren, John’s story is normal, everyday. Without Mary being a virgin Jesus’s conception would not have been the holy one described to us.

As I read of these stories, these women, I am suddenly struck by the fact that these are my women, my people. I can relate to them. To their waiting, their confusion, their pain. Their stories are ugly, frustrating, hopeless at times. I feel comfortable around them.

This feeling of comfort as I sit and imagine their realities is new, but so is a sense of my story being bigger than I usually accept. If their smallness has been celebrated for centuries, if their pain was made beautiful by God, if their stories are remembered because of God’s power, than maybe me story is significant too. It is the same God that was near them that is near me. It is the same Father who called them as the One who has called me. The unchanging nature of God’s purposes are as true for me as it was for them. So my story is their story. Their story mine. We are small and weak. Yet our story is painted with tender brush strokes from a tender Lord. His power is made perfect in our weakness and He is kind enough to take us along for the adventure of seeing His power at work in us.

So I am thankful for the realization that my story is good, significant, chosen, and I can relate to my sisters of scripture more than I could have imagined.”

“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God …
And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived …
her who was called barren.
For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Luke 1

Thank you Melissa for recognizing that the stories God has allowed to be preserved for us, are the very stories that God wants to encourage us with today.

“… if their stories are remembered because of God’s power, then maybe my story is significant too.”

Yes, Melissa, your story IS significant! And the powerful God that Mary knew, that Elizabeth knew, is the same powerful God who is at work in your life … in our lives.

 

Journeying to Christmas, 2019

Listening to God through the life of Mary

Luke 1:29 — “Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think …” NLT
Luke 1:34 — “… But how can this happen? ” NLT
Luke 1:35 — “…the power of the Most High will overshadow you…” NLT
Luke 1:37 — “For the word of God will never fail.” NLT or “Nothing is impossible with God.” ESV

Is this just history that leaves me with a choice to believe or not?
Is this just history that I can learn from?
Is this history that I get; that I identify with?
Is this history with transformative power?
Is this history that was recorded for me in 2019?
Is this history that delivers the power and the balm of the gospel?

No; No; Yes; Yes; Yes; Yes!

As I walk with my sister this fall, we’re experiencing a Mary-esque scenario. Like Mary, the mother of Jesus, we’re both living the reality of the transformative power of God and the balm of the gospel.

One of the earliest truths that captured my attention when my faith first became real is           John 1:12.

“But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the power to become children of God;” RSV

As children of God, we know there is power. We are personally and intimately connected with the source of all power, with the God of the universe, who is with us, who listens, who responds, who chose a virgin to bear a child; the God who delivers peace in the midst of COPD, our very powerful God.

Barbara and I have been praying over the phone the Lord’s Prayer ending with, “Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.” Matthew 6:13, KJV. God’s power is FOREVER!

God’s power depends on God, not on the desires of my heart, or the words of my prayers. The power comes from God who hears and responds to those prayers.

Often God demonstrates his power with the balm of belief, of peace, and of rest in the midst of the hard.

As Barbara and I pray, a calmness, a peace descends that wasn’t evident even minutes before; the power of God, the balm of the gospel.

Luke 1:37, “Nothing is impossible with God.” echoes God’s words to Abraham many years before Mary was born.

The LORD appears to Abraham, an old man (“advanced in years” Genesis 18:11 ) delivering the message that his wife Sarah was going to have a son. Sarah who was eavesdropping laughed. (“The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.” Genesis 18:11) The LORD replied, “Is anything to hard for the LORD?” Genesis 18:14.

The rhetorical question in Genesis leads to the declaration in Luke, and continues its journey to our hearts. We too can experience God’s power at work in our lives and all around us.

Even when life seems impossible, we have the power of God, and can personally know the balm of the gospel. Just like Mary did who responded many years ago, ” … let it be to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38. All is okay.

“Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory, and the majesty … In your hand are power and might …
And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.”
I Chronicles 29:11-13 (emphasis, mine)

“and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power
toward us who believe,
according to the working of his great might”
Ephesians 1:19

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blessings to you on this Thanksgiving day!
Love, sue

PS. If you haven’t had an opportunity to read “A Mustard Seed Thanksgiving” (posted 11/21/19), scroll down to read one of my biggest Thanksgiving blessings this year.

Next Thursday begins this year’s Advent posts.

The talk show host posed the question, What is something you lost and then found that you are really thankful for? (Jill Tracey, KGBI, Omaha, Nebraska)

The answer came immediately — my sister.

I recently returned from spending four days with Barbara in Virginia. She is living with severe COPD. We were treading on holy ground.

There were years when our relationship was very strained; we had lost our connection as sisters. As I look back, I think we were both too insecure to deal with it. Fight or flight — we flew and the issue exasperated.

But our relationship has changed the past few years. We’ve learned how to support and how to love each other.

It returned gently aided by those expected occasions. Barbara and her husband celebrated with us at the weddings of both of our sons. Then I attended the weddings of her two sons and her daughter. All beautiful affairs. Those weddings were the beginning of the return of our sister-love.

Even so, I would not have imagined that we would be in the place we are today. I am so thankful.

As a result of her COPD, Barbara is living with confusion and anxiety. We’re both experiencing the power of the gospel to calm her heart and deliver peace to her soul. These moments of clarity are a gift to us both. It’s in those times that I see the reality of Barbara’s faith.

The parable of the mustard seed in Matthew and Luke is ministering to her, and through her to me.

A mustard seed, one of the tiniest and most insignificant seeds has the ability to grow into a tree that could be 20 – 30 feet tall and have a 20′ span. It can grow in hot and dry climates or in cool and wet climates. It will push through rocks. It will grow back even if pruned to only its trunk remaining.

Unlike a grain of sand, a seed is a life-giving force that leads to bearing fruit. In the Luke narrative, Jesus compares the faith of a mustard seed to a mulberry tree that is told ‘be uprooted and planted in the sea’ (Luke 17:6). Planted in the SEA? How can something be planted in a sea? I’m thinking Jesus was exaggerating to make his point of the power of mustard-seed faith.

According to my ESV study notes on Luke 17, “The issue is not the size of our faith, but its presence.”

My faith could often be described as mustard-seedish. How about you? But its not the size of our faith, its the presence of our faith.

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly [with our mustard seed faith],
according to the power at work within us,”
Ephesians 3:20, emphasis mine

 

 

I don’t remember when I first wrote those words in my journal. Although as I’ve continued my journey and can now claim older status, I know for sure that God whispered an important truth to me that day and it has resonated ever since.

Discipleship, or encouraging others in their walks with God, is not only something I offer, it is something I need. Older woman still need older woman! Age is not a factor.

Recently, having decided to write a manuscript on rest, I knew I wanted … no, I needed … help. Might it turn into a book? I don’t know. However with that thought floating in the background, I began reaching out to others who have gone before me, other authors, others I thought might help. My hour-long phone call with Jean reaffirmed to me, older woman still need older woman.

I initiated. Jean, I’m thinking about … what are your thoughts? Will you share your wisdom with me? Jean immediately went into question mode, her wisdom pouring out. I could hardly write fast enough.

Building on my desire to write, she encouraged me to be a Mary (the mother of Jesus). The word ponder immediately came to mind.

Jean encouraged me to think about my ah-ha moments. What was I doing when they came? Was I at home sitting with my open Bible, or perhaps on a walk with my dog, or???

She encouraged me to not rush through the process.

She shared her writing journey. I was amazed by how her desires overlapped with mine.

Jean is an affirm-er. Each time I’m with her or have talked on the phone, she has verbalized the God-given gifted-ness she sees in my life. I have always left knowing she believes in me.

Jean used the project God has given me to continue to help me mature in my faith. Her questions led me behind the project, to my friendship with God, and propelled me in ways I hadn’t previously connected. Her wisdom influenced my writing process. I knew she was vested in our friendship. Thank you, Jean!

I have other older women in my life as well. Each is a precious gift. Each has encouraged me with their unique contributions. Older women still need older women.

Who are the older women in your life?
How can you create opportunities to connect with them?
Is God asking you to be an older woman to another woman?

“Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior…
They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women…
that the word of God may not be reviled.”
Titus 2:3-5

PS. If you haven’t read Jean’s book, Pursue the Intentional Life, I highly recommend it. It has all 5-star ratings and on Amazon the audio format is currently free.

It all began in June 2002: sitting under the canopy of a very old Oak Tree in the front yard of an old home-turned-coffee shop.

The lessons poured forth from my heart through my pen to my ever-present journal.

Life lesson #3, I don’t need to create ministry or accept all that comes my way (sometimes I want to); I need to allow God to lead in ministry. AKA, I need to live INSIDE THE BOX. I’ve been pondering that last sentence ever since. Currently it sounds like, what does stewardship look like at this point in my journey? (Check out the first three Echoes posts from last month.)

For someone who loves ministry and who used to have a very narrow definition of ministry, at first this was not a very welcoming thought. It seemed so … well, constraining, so impossible until God began unpacking it for me.

Life lesson #1 (remember, Sue), My identity rests in who God created me to be. Although I didn’t often utter the thought, floating below the surface was the fear that my identity is defined by your picture of me; or at least what I thought your picture of me was. WRONG!!!

But I have a picture too. If you read between the brush strokes, you’ll glimpse my heart, the real me.

You  might see a lady in front of a group of women teaching from the Bible. She has on a new outfit, her nails are done, and she captivates her audience helping them in their spiritual lives.

As the digital frame phased that picture out, the next came into view. This picture is a bit clearer.  I’m sitting in a comfortable living room or perhaps around a kitchen table with my friends sipping mulled apple cider. (The flavors of fall are some of my favorites.) I’m leading a small group Bible study. The questions are engaging and the conversation lively. Together we’re hearing from God.

The digital pictures continue to scroll. Now Bill and I are at our dining room table shared with four other couples savoring dessert after a satisfying meal. I get up to re-fill  coffee cups encouraging the conversation to continue. I enjoy hospitality.

Fast forward a few years and you’ll see Echoes of Grace added to my ministry picture pushing on the top of my box.

Echoes of Grace will turn 10 years old this year. Writing publicly began 10 years ago.

What does stewardship look like now?

I’m sensing that living inside the box God created in 2002 can no longer contain his purpose for me. Once again the box is expanding. Stay tuned.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD,”
Jeremiah 29:11