My friend Ashley pointed me to Philemon in early August and I’ve been captivated by God’s wisdom through Paul in this short letter ever since. My ESV and NLT Bibles together have led me on a journey.

Paul’s letter to Philemon, his family, and the church that meets in their home is motivated by a request, a hard request. Really an invitation to live out the theology they have embraced.

I think I know the memories and the emotions that Paul’s request aroused.

 

 

The letter asks Philemon, his family and church to live out forgiveness.

FORGIVENESS!!!

That’s a big ask.

“And I am praying, that you will put into action
the generosity that comes from your faith
as you understand and experience
all the good thing we have in Christ Jesus.”
Philemon 6, NLT

Paul’s request is couched in affirmations.

I am praying … Paul is not assuming.
He is asking God to lead.
He is trusting his friends to hear from God.
He is trusting their mature faith.
the generosity … Paul knows this is no small request.
generosity that comes from their faith … This is not a people-pleasing request.
Again, he is acknowledging the maturity of their faith.
put into action … Paul is trusting their theology will lead to application.
as you understand & experience … understanding leads to theology
experience leads to trust
all the good things we have in Christ Jesus … Paul offers a framework.
He asks them to consider Jesus.
He points them to the power to obey.

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones…
if one has a complaint against another,
forgiving each other;
as the Lord has forgiven you …”
Colossians 3:12 & 13, ESV

Their emotions may still have been raw. I’m sure they hadn’t forgotten.

Paul is praying that they will not respond according to their emotions, rather according to putting their theology into action.

A few sentences later toward the end of his letter, Paul adds this affirmation,

“I am confident as I write this letter,
that you will do even more.”
Philemon 21, NLT

It’s been many, many years. I still remember. Forgiveness had been offered and received. I practiced what my theology required. But the obedience of forgiveness doesn’t cancel memory.

That’s okay. When something triggers memory, I have the truth of forgiveness counseling my heart. The memory is real. So is the truth of forgiveness.

“… forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
Luke 6:37, ESV

God is trusting me that I’ll allow the memory to lead me to practice the truth of forgiveness, again.

Because we live across the US from each other, we rarely cross paths. That was about to change.

Because of a mutual friend, we were going to be in the same place, at the same time, in the same room.

Like for Philemon, the forgiven person was long-distance. And Paul is asking Philemon to close the gap … to welcome the person (Onesimus) face to face. There was a choice.

I too had a choice. I could avoid the face to face meeting. Honestly, that was my desire.

But was that putting my theology into action?
Was that remembering what Christ had done for me?

I chose to be present.
I chose to trust.

Zooming out a little more on Paul’s letter, there are two sets of bookends surrounding his request. One is in the word, refresh. Paul notes in verse 7, that the “hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.” The you is Philemon. Verse 20 asks, “Refresh my heart in Christ.” The my is Paul.

“… those who refresh others
will themselves be refreshed.”
Proverbs 11:25, NLT

The second bookend is the grace of God. Paul begins his letter offering the grace of God. Philemon 3. His very last words highlight grace as well. Philemon 25.

God’s grace is the fuel that will lead Philemon’s response.

“… My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
II Corinthians 12:9, ESV

As I drove away that afternoon in Colorado rush hour traffic, my heart was at peace; truly my heart was refreshed. God’s grace was sufficient.

No wonder, Paul’s letter to Philemon captivated me.

Copyright, Sue Tell, September 2025

I’ve shared the backstory in the book, Praying Through Loneliness, compiled by Kristen Strong.

 

 

 

I was out to breakfast last December with my 12 year old GRAND-daughter, Naomi Ruth. Can you guess what her favorite book of the Bible is? The narrative of Ruth recorded for us in the Old Testament is one of my favorites as well.

And there is so much I’ve missed!

In the Ruth narrative, Naomi is a good illustration of identity, rather mis-understood identity.

The Biblical Naomi and her family lived in Bethlehem during the time of the judges. “In those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25 (underline mine). That phrase occurs four times in the Judges narrative: 17:6, 18:1, 19:1, and 21:25. Besides the great political upheaval, there was a severe famine happening. Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, decides to protect and provide for his family by moving them to Moab, a gentile nation, where he heard there was food.

In the course of time, Elimelech dies and Naomi is left a widow in this foreign land. Their two sons take Moabite women to be their wives. Then both sons also died. A childless widow is in a very precarious position lacking long-term financial support. (ESV study Bible) Sorrow upon sorrow.

But hope was real. Naomi heard that the famine had ended and there was once again a long-anticipated harvest and food in Bethlehem. She returned to her own country, to the land of her faith. One of her daughters-in-law, Ruth, returns with her. 

It seems that Naomi’s understanding of God’s character was wobbling. She was thankful for God ending the famine. She acknowledges His sovereignty. But in her mind, God’s goodness is called into question. “… the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.” Ruth 1:20. “Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” Ruth 1:21.

The name, Naomi, means pleasantness or delight. This was not describing Biblical Naomi at this point. As she returns to Bethlehem, and her friends recognize her, “… Is this Naomi?” Ruth 1:19, Naomi reacts. “She said to them, ‘Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara’ …” Ruth 1 20.

Mara means bitterness.

Naomi gave herself an identity based on her circumstances.

Have you ever done that? I know I have.

For many years I looked around me and didn’t like my circumstances. Yes, I was a born-again believer, and I was believing God should be dealing differently with me. I compared. I based my identity on my circumstances. On some level I knew God loved me, but it wasn’t affecting my beliefs. It was not good.

Although I didn’t communicate a different name to my friends, I felt the distance, the bitterness that Naomi felt. Life shouldn’t be that way!

These words from John Mark Comer’s book, Being An Apprentice of Jesus, ring true. “It’s about being a person who not only is loved by God, but also is pervaded by the love of God.” To be pervaded, to be permeated, to be saturated by.

Naomi’s reality intersected with mine. We knew God’s love theoretically. We were not experiencing his love, being pervaded by His love. Our perceived identities spoke more loudly.

Naomi’s story invites me to trust, to trust all of God’s character, not just the pieces I understand.

My meditations have morphed over the years. I now start most days reminding myself of my God-given identity. I John 3:1 is a favorite passage for me,

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called the children of God. And that is exactly who we are!”

And then I pray, God, what would it look like for me to trust who you say I am today?

I want to be pervaded by the great love of God. I also pray it for my GRAND-daughter, Naomi Ruth. I want my Naomi to enter her teen-age years knowing her identity as God’s beloved child.

 

Copyright: Sue Tell, May 2025

 

 

 

 

 

 

On this ordinary Tuesday as I glanced through Facebook, this phrase stopped me, saturated with the sacred.

My thoughts went back to when my sisters and I gathered around Mom’s bed. Her eyes were closed, her breathing shallow, our hands holding hers. We prayed, we sang, we told stories, we whispered scriptures into her still-hearing ears. It was a holy moment. We were saturated with the sacred.

Then my mind traveled back farther to the summer of 2015. Our precious grandson spent 12 weeks in four different hospitals. As I spent time walking the halls with him cuddled in the front pack, or many nights feeding him a bottle and rocking him to sleep before falling asleep myself on the hospital cot, God’s presence was very real.

Those were holy moments, saturated with the sacred.

But what about today on this very ordinary day? I’ll go to the dentist; buy yarn for a new project; walk the dog; and squeeze in some laundry and computer time. Is today saturated with the sacred?

YES it is! The question becomes, am I aware? Am I experiencing the sacredness of today?

Oswald Chambers puts it this way in My Utmost for His Highest,
“It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God–but we do not.
We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life,
and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people–
and this is not learned in five minutes.”

In Exodus 3, Moses is having a conversation with the Lord. Part of God’s words to him are, “… the place of which you are standing is holy ground.” Exodus 3:5. The notes in my ESV Bible help me understand. “The instructions to Moses are followed by a reason that emphasizes the place where he is standing. The very ordinariness of the location helps make the point that it is holy ground, not because of any special properties of the place but only because of God’s presence.”

Today is an ordinary day for me. And the place where I am standing is holy too. God has promised his presence to me as well. It is saturated with the sacred.

“… I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5

“… I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:20

And so I prayed: Father, today, I thank you for your presence with me. I thank you for your love and trusting me with your purposes. I thank you that all of today is saturated with the sacred, that I am standing on holy ground. God, I so want to live that reality on this ordinary day. Amen.

“Nowhere” is not the conjunction of no and where but,
rather, the conjunction of Now and Here, which is actually
Everywhere and is the only spot that we can truly experience God.”
Ruthless Trust, Brennan Manning

“Incline your ear (listen diligently), and come to me:
hear, that your soul may live;”
Isaiah 55:3

Copyright, sue tell, February 2023, updated June 2025

Capacity-–that word, that concept has been much on my mind the last few years.

I became more aware when my friend Carol commented on the phone one afternoon, Sue, you use that word a lot. Hmmmm, I tend to talk about what I’ve been thinking about.

Okay, true confession. I’ve thought of my capacity as it relates to age and diminished physical capacity. Well diminished from what it used to be … a year ago or five years ago. Capacity was a negative, a sad thought for me.

 

Well, that’s my excuse!

Then Ruth Haley Barton in her excellent book, Invitation to Retreat, challenged me with this question, “How are your sacred rhythms resulting in an increasing capacity to be available TO God FOR others?” page 102 (underline, mine)

“For this reason I Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus
on behalf of you Gentiles–
assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace
that was given to me for you,“
Ephesians 3:1, 2

“As each has received a gift,
use it to serve one another,
as good stewards of God’s varied grace:”
I Peter 4:10

My underlines highlight God’s desire for me and my desire. They are cross-references of Colossians 1:25 that I’ve mentioned before.

Suddenly capacity wasn’t a word that communicated less. Capacity was lining up with many of my desires from the last 25 years. It could communicate more.
Capacity was not a threat; it was an affirmation of my current reality.
Capacity didn’t diminish; capacity could grow.
Capacity didn’t change my calling; capacity clarified my calling.
Capacity wasn’t connected to my calendar or age; capacity was connected to my time with God!

All this led me to ponder these questions … and others:

Is there sufficient space in my day so my desires are an overflow of my listening to God?
Are there decisions I need to make to bring that desire to reality?
Are my mornings a reflection of what will grow my capacity?

I want my answers to be YES!

“So we do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away,
our inner self is being renewed day by day.“
II Corinthians 4:16 (underline, mine)

“For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father …
that according to the riches of his glory
he may grant you to be strengthened with power
through his Spirit
in your inner being.“
Ephesians 4:14 and 16 (underline, mine)

My heart is that my inner self, my soul is renewed day by day. My heart is that my capacity reflects God’s heart for me … and for you.

What helps you feed your capacity? Let’s help each other.

 

Copyright: Sue Tell, August 2025

 

 

Echoes of Grace plans to return September 4, 2025

In the meantime, did you have an opportunity to read the July posts on “rest”.  This has been such a good summer for me meditating on this concept. All the July posts were repeats. I found it so good to remember. New words coming in the fall. 

However, if you weren’t able to read them and have time now, my personal favorite two posts are Rest Secure which posted July 31 and Soul Rest in Restless Days which posted on July 10. Just scroll down from this post and you’ll find both of them.

Rest – an important, very common concept.
For the remainder of July, Echoes of Grace is highlighting rest,
from my writing in previous blogs.
But not just rest, SOUL REST is taking the forefront.
As you journey through July,
you’ll see similar concepts, different stories, and different scriptures all
associated with SOUL REST, the engine that drives all real rest.
At the end of each piece, I’ll highlight a book that has ministered deeply
to me in this area.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Significance, purpose, knowing the reality of rest – these words, these concepts were far from my thoughts that awful, fateful evening at our quadrennial mission’s conference in Florida.  I was hurting. It would be years before I would really experience the significance and purpose that God had for me and learn to rest in it.  That night I only knew my right now – and that hurt, a lot.

Comparison and jealousy reared their angry heads. I let them have their way. And I sank deeper and deeper into the pit of despair. I just wasn’t good enough!

Not being good enough had deep roots. Stories from my childhood, the turbulent teens, into college, our marriage and ministry. The illustrations were numerous and found their life in comparison.

Looking back, I called that evening the low point of my spiritual journey.

Returning to the same venue with many of the same people four years later, it wasn’t comparison and jealousy that ruled, it was insecurity. Questions proliferated. Were my steps of the past four years real? Did healing happen? Was it strong enough to let me rest in my new found truths? Am I maturing?

Perhaps that first time wasn’t the low point, but rather a turning point, the beginning of a new foundation; a place I would find myself returning to over and over.

I was aware and unaware that night. Aware of the symptoms; unaware of the disease.

At first I treated what I knew – the outward manifestations, the symptoms. I turned to my Bible to study comparison. I memorized, “Those who compare themselves among themselves are not wise.” II Corinthians 10:12. I spoke transparently on the topic watching heads bob up and down. Others, many others understood. It was comforting at first. I was not the only one.

But nothing changed. I needed the disease diagnosed, the why of the symptoms. When talking with a practitioner was suggested, I balked.

Was I really that bad?

I was!

There was a parallel story, my husband’s story. Although he too experienced bumps along his journey, he had climbed the occupational ladder consecutively leading larger and larger teams with greater and greater responsibility. He was currently serving as one of the vice-presidents of the mission we are associated with. It was his role that offered me identity. Not good.

Then he crashed. Physical symptoms led to emotional realities and depression soon followed. A hard reality, a rocky path. A path we both needed.

A wise friend, a friend we had known for several years, noticed and risked reaching out. He directed us to a practitioner, a counselor who accurately diagnosed.

Nothing had changed inside me. I was still leery of counselors and had no desire to meet one up close and personal. But this was my husband’s issue. I’d go along for the ride.

Hesitantly at first I accompanied Bill still holding the practitioner at arm’s length. But that didn’t take long to change.

The next two weeks were life-transforming as an accurate diagnosis became obvious, both for Bill and me. We heard truth. We began to learn how to embrace truth. We experienced hope. The disease was exposed and attacked. It was the beginning of my rest journey and it was good.

There were still rocky patches. But comparison was dissipating.

It would be many years before I would understand and embrace more fully the concept of rest and its connection with all I had been experiencing. There have been many steps along the way. And they will continue.

“Let the beloved of the Lord
rest secure in him…”
Deuteronomy 33:12

I’m learning what it means to rest secure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What God cares about, and deeply, is our needs. And it’s this simple: you and I have an inescapable need for rest.”  The Rest of God, Mark Buchanan

Copyright, Sue Tell, March 2021, July 2025

Echoes of Grace is on vacation for the month of August.
It will return on September 4, 2025.
See ya’ then.

 

Rest – an important, very common concept.
For the remainder of July, Echoes of Grace is highlighting rest,
from my writing in previous blogs.
But not just rest, SOUL REST is taking the forefront.
As you journey through July,
you’ll see similar concepts, different stories, and different scriptures all
associated with SOUL REST, the engine that drives all real rest.
At the end of each piece, I’ll highlight a book that has ministered deeply
to me in this area.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trust, the hinge between Listening and Rest.

I was weary … weariness stemming from busyness that was physically and emotionally taxing. In my spiritual life an opportunity more than ever to apply what I’ve been learning about rest and resiliency this year. It felt like diving into deep water.

 

“Come to me, all who labor and are 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 (italics mine)

This scripture is a life-line. As I’m learning to trust its truth, I’m experiencing rest because

Listening and Trust and Rest are first cousins!
Trust – the hinge between Listening & Rest!

As building my ark (a safe haven for rest) continues, I’m learning that listening to God Leads to trusting God which leads to experiencing rest.

• Noah demonstrated that for me in the words recorded in Genesis.  Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9); Noah found favor with God (Genesis 6:8); Noah listened to God and obeyed (trusted) (Genesis 6:22, 7:5); Noah experienced God’s faithfulness (Genesis 8:1); Noah worshiped God (Genesis 8:20). Noah lived out his name, the one who brings relief or rest (Genesis 5:29).

I want to be like Noah,
a woman who walks with God,
listens to God,
obeys (trusts) God,
worships God,
and experiences God’s faithfulness and rest.

Trusting the truth of Matthew 11:28-30 is the diving board for me, the key to living as Noah and experiencing rest.

Here are a few of the lessons that are leading me to rest.

1. Rest is an invitation. Jesus invites me to come to him in the midst of my weariness. He asks me to learn from him … not learn of him or about him. Jesus is able to rest in the midst of the storms of his life. When I learn from that, I can respond to (trust in) his invitation for rest is for me too in the midst of the storms of my life.
2. Circumstances don’t invite me to rest; circumstances invite me to trust which leads to rest. When life is especially hard I begin to pray, God, your yoke doesn’t seem easy or light at the moment, it seems HEAVY. But I want to trust that what you are allowing as I walk with you is light. So will you take the heavy and leave me with the easy and light. Amen.
3. Rest is a choice. Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, a Silicon valley strategist says, “You have to resist the lure of busyness, make time for rest, take it seriously, and protect it from a world that is intent on stealing it.” His words seem true to me. In the midst of our travels there were times when I had the opportunity to trust that rest was important and to opt out of certain good activities and choose rest. One afternoon in North Carolina, I slipped out from the conference to wander through the shops of Black Mountain. For me that was so restful. (And I even purchased a couple of Christmas gifts.)
4. Trusting Ephesians 2:4-6, I have been affirmed in my spiritual practice of sitting and staring. “But God … made us alive … raised us up … seated us with him …” It is very restful for me to start each morning with a cup of coffee, sitting in my favorite comfy chair, and enjoy God’s creation outside my windows. Or, if the weather co-operates, sitting outside on our deck. The quietness of this time leads me naturally to listen for his voice. It is good. After several days of sitting on airplanes, sitting in meetings, or even sitting with friends enjoying a good meal, sitting with God leads to rest.
5. To rest is to practice humility. I won’t respond in trust to Jesus’ invitation or Noah’s example, unless humility leads the way. I was challenged with Hannah Anderson’s words in her book, Humble Roots, “As long as we refuse to accept our pride is the source of our unrest, we will continue to wither on the vine.” And, “When Jesus calls us to take his yoke, when he invites us to find rest through submission … He is calling us to safety.” (chapter 2)

Rest flows from Trust. Trust flows from Listening. Listening, trust and rest are first cousins; trust is the hinge.

Thinking through these questions from Matthew 11:28-30 has led me to trust and to rest.

Where are my places of heavy laden-ness today?
Do I want rest in those places?
What would it look like to respond to Jesus’ invitation to come to him today?
How can I learn from him today?
Do I believe that he is gentle and humble? How does that relate to me?
Am I willing to give him those things that are heavy and trust him with his light burden for me?

” … in returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”
Isaiah 30:15

Building my ark of rest has been a several year journey and I suspect God will continue to teach me.  You can follow this journey by reading through these past blogs:
https://suetell.com/reflecting-on-the-gallop/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My Ark

My Ark, An Update

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“… contemplation … opens the soul to view the heart of God. … True contemplation has no agenda other than learning to rest in God.”   When the Soul Listens, Jan Johnson

Copyright: Sue Tell, March 2022, July 2025

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rest – an important, very common concept.
For the remainder of July, Echoes of Grace is highlighting rest,
from my writing in previous blogs.
But not just rest, SOUL REST is taking the forefront.
As you journey through July,
you’ll see similar concepts, different stories, and different scriptures all
associated with SOUL REST, the engine that drives all real rest.
At the end of each piece, I’ll highlight a book that has ministered deeply
to me in this area.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

God, what does it look like for me to trust you today?
Amen.

That is the prayer I offer to God almost every morning.

I’m trusting God FOR his answer.
I’m also trusting God WITH his answer.

Two little words — two BIG different realities.

And those realities are often beyond my human imaginings.

Philippians 3 talks about the SURPASSING WORTH of knowing Jesus. (verse 8).

The fruit of knowing Jesus invites me to experience the fruit of the Spirit, those qualities described in Galatians 5:22 and 23 and to rest in God’s character. Each of those qualities can be defined in big, surpassing terms. Truly, the fruit of the Spirit surpasses my human understanding. I’m learning that God’s answers to my daily prayer offer big surprises. My prayer life is challenged!

LOVE – Ephesians 3:19 says that God’s love SURPASSES knowledge.  So the only way I can know if I’m resting in and trusting his love is if I experience it. That leads me to a new request, God please let me be aware of your love. What in my experience is showing me your love today?

JOY – Gabriel announcing the gospel in the familiar scripture, Luke 2:10, calls it GREAT joy. Almost daily I pray for 10 different friends who are battling cancer.  Can I rest in and trust that God’s answer  is providing great joy for them and me with his will.

PEACE – “And the peace of God, which SURPASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7. Again that word “surpassing”. Trusting God and resting with his answers is trusting that in my humanity I’m not going to get it.

KINDNESS – Titus 3:4 & 5 shed light on God’s kindness.  It is LOVING kindness and it is a result of his mercy. Mercy, God has no obligation to offer it.  He shares his loving kindness because he is sharing his character. When I pray,  God what would it look like to trust you today, I am humbled. He is answering because of loving kindness motivated by his mercy.

PATIENCE – Paul speaks of God’s patience displayed in Jesus as PERFECT patience.                            I Timothy 1:16. As I type, I’m sitting on an airplane soaring home to Colorado. I should have prayed this morning to rest in and trust God with patience as I connected with different air travel realities. My patience was far from perfect.

GOODNESS – Zechariah 9:17 also calls God’s goodness GREAT, “For how great is his goodness…” I often struggle with understanding God’s goodness. Is it good that two of my friend’s children are struggling with Epilepsy? It sure doesn’t seem so.  But as I pray for Luke and Anna, I’m asking God to show his great goodness.

FAITHFULNESS – Psalm 91:4 describes God’s faithfulness as a SHIELD. A shield offers protection.  In praying to trust God FOR his answers and WITH his answers,  I’m praying for his faithful protection. And I’m learning to rest. I need to be reminded.

GENTLENESS – Jesus describes himself GENTLE. “I am gentle”, Matthew 11:29. The root of Jesus’s gentleness is his inherited nature.  In being gentle, he is being himself. And his gentleness leads to rest. Trusting leads to rest.

SELF-CONTROL – Throughout the gospels, Jesus demonstrates self-control. Or possibly another way to say it is, he is trusting and resting in God’s control. Matthew 4 is the best example. Jesus is in the wilderness. Satan is testing; Jesus is trusting. His trust led to angels ministering to him.  He rested in God’s truth.

Trust is resting in God’s character which always surpasses my human comprehension.

“Let us then with confidence
draw near to the throne of grace,
that we may receive mercy
and find grace to help, in time of need.”
Hebrews 4:16

My prayer life is changing. What about yours?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“When we are settled in God’s love at the core of our being, the waters of the soul become much clearer.” Invitation to Solitude and Silence, Ruth Haley Barton

 

Copyright: Sue Tell, January 2024; July 2025

 

Rest – an important, very common concept.
For the remainder of July, Echoes of Grace is highlighting rest,
from my writing in previous blogs.
But not just rest, SOUL REST is taking the forefront.
As you journey through July,
you’ll see similar concepts, different stories, and different scriptures all
associated with SOUL REST, the engine that drives all real rest.
At the end of each piece, I’ll highlight a book that has ministered deeply
to me in this area.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Covid-19 continues its march across our globe, through our land, into our homes, conforming our lives to its harsh realities, I’m learning to allow my mind to rest on the ancient paths and walk on them. In the process I’m discovering soul rest.

Like the Israelites, we’re standing at a crossroad. We have choices. What is the good way?

God is offering an opportunity for transformative resetting. The prophet Jeremiah is offering wise counsel.

Be still; quiet my heart; what might God want me to hear today? All this before I open my Bible or journal. It’s been my key to listening to God, my standing and looking.

“The secret of living in a busy world is not at the circumference (merely reducing our activities), but at the center (refocusing our hearts).” Leighton Ford.

God took care of reducing our activities; for me it is refocusing my heart.

In March when stay-@-home became the new reality, we received a letter referencing that popular phrase from a few years ago, What would Jesus do? The writer suggested changing it to, What is Jesus doing – in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Caring and kindnesses that were happening in March — and still are.

And my question, though still the same – What should I be doing? — has a different tone.

In March, God led me to five answers. As the restrictions of stay-@-home were relaxed (in Colorado, our governor is now saying safer-@-home), God continues to define how I think about my question. My answers this month, although similar, are not the same. I’m finding these answers not only tell me what to do, but how to live leading to soul rest as well. Ahhhh, a good thing.

1. Stay engaged with God. I’m yielding to God to lead the discussion as I spend time with him in the mornings. Each day, I quote from memory Psalm 23, and then ask, What would it look like to trust him with these truths today? God, how are you showing yourself as my shepherd today? God, in the midst of this pandemic, how are you restoring my soul? God, how can I trust you with my anxieties (my fears)? Proverbs 12:25 says, “Anxiety in a man’s heart weights him down, but a good word makes him glad.” Last week God’s good word came to me from Philippians 4. In the first nine verses there is only one do not (have no anxiety). There are seven dos. And two wonderful promises: God is near; he is with us (verses five and nine). And God’s promise of peace is repeated in verses seven and nine. Trusting God’s nearness and his offer of peace lead me to soul rest.
2. Stay informed, but not over-informed. The abundance of news available can lead down a path of depression and fear. Trying to understand all the confusing statistics leaves my mind spinning. Yes, I scan the news, both local and national, almost every day; it is a scan not an in-depth reading. My husband, Bill, stays more on top of the news and I ask him about once a day, “Is there anything new I need to know?” Trying to understand all the news does not lead me to soul rest.
3. Both limit and use technology. Communicating is greatly dependent on my cell phone and my computer these days. I am thankful for this technology. I also realize that if I take advantage of every invitation coming my way, screen time will dominate my life and I will squander the opportunities and purposes of God for that day. Soul rest will suffer. More than ever, I need to discern the good from the best. Or as C.H. Spurgeon said, “Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong, it is the difference between right and almost right.”
4. My ministry in the “cracks”. We live on a dead-end street with 11 residences, each surrounded by five acres of Ponderosa pines. We don’t naturally run into our neighbors. I have a different relationship with each. My extroverted personality makes it easy to reach out.  But what is the best way to reach out to each individual neighbor? So I ask, This week, where are the cracks in their front doors? I’m praying to be sensitive.

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap,
but by the seeds you plant.”
Robert Louis Stevenson

5. Masks, blueberries, and wine. Several weeks ago I resurrected my sewing machine to sew masks for our family. I emailed the neighbors and asked if I could make them masks as well. I was surprised and thrilled when I received five orders for masks.

I’m learning that my neighbors want to help me too. One called to say she was on her way to buy groceries and asked if she could pick up anything for me. “Yes, blueberries”, I responded. Blueberries are certainly not essential, but we enjoy them. When my mask-wearing neighbor dropped the blueberries on our front porch, she also left a bottle of wine. Community is a two-way street. I too need to practice the humility of receiving. We have each other to lean on.

Allowing community to do its good work, invites me to exhale. It offers soul rest.

What offers you soul rest in these restless days?

As I’m practice these habits, I experience the reality of Jesus’s words …

“Come to me, all who labor and are 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 (underlines mine)

 

“The gospel is the invitation to let the heart of Christ calm us into joy,”  Gentle and Lowly, Dane Ortlund.

Copyright, Sue Tell, May 2020, Updated July 2025

These two pictures from Google Images remind me of the 4th of July when I was a child. Dad always went to town on the 3rd of July with chairs to reserve our places at the parade in the morning. It was a BIG deal. LOTS of fun. GREAT memories.

Not pictured is the family picnic in our backyard that came next. Dad would fire up the grill and burgers and dogs were always the menu for the day.  What could be better?!

Our day concluded with fireworks at the baseball field. We spread out our blankets, got comfortable on our backs, and kept our eyes trained on the sky. The show always awed!

I’m thankful for these memories. Our 4th will be a bit quieter this year. Bill and I will enjoy the day at our cabin in the mountains.

However you enjoy your day, may it be a blessing and exactly what you desire!

 

Some other special memories from Echoes of Grace return next Thursday. See ya’ then.

 

Copyright: Sue Tell, June 2025