Recently I was introduced to the writing of Addie Zierman. Her post on the days after the resurrection is so encouraging. She notes, “Jesus gives us time and space to recognize resurrection.” Often I need that. How about you?

http://addiezierman.com/2018/04/03/recognizing-resurrection/

Choose, 2018

This sign, a gift from our kids, hangs outside the door of our cabin.

Hey Friends,

On January 18th, I published the above article. I’ve found that when I pick a word for the year, it’s in my mind a lot. And God often takes me deeper into its meaning as the year progresses. That is true with my 2018 word, choose. Let me suggest if you missed the above post in January, that you read it first and then come back here.

Emily Freeman writes a monthly letter around the topic of creating space for your soul to breathe. Her words often do that for me. Recently she suggested four practical ideas that are helping me choose this year, and creating space for my soul to breathe.

1. Choose your absence. For an extrovert who loves being with people, this one is hard. Bill and I have a small cabin in the Wet Mountains that we built for the purpose of going away and having a place to restore. We LOVE The Sanctuary! It definitely fills that purpose for us. But sometimes I drag my feet about getting there. It’s not the preparation that slows me down, it’s the missing what is happening at home that creates hesitation. Like last weekend, I needed to chose between a social event with our Sunday school class that I would totally enjoy but would leave me tired or going to The Sanctuary with Bill that I would also love and would leave me rested. In light of a two week ministry trip coming up, the absence I choose was the social event. It was a hard choice.
2. Ignore with intention. The application of this practical step refers to my computer and cell phone. I’ve made two decisions that are helping. I’m working at closing down my computer for the night before dinner. Yup, no computer work in the evenings and extending my wind-down time for the day. Its been good, although sometimes after dinner I look around and wonder what to do. Bubble baths and light reading are good choices. And my cell phone has found a new resting place for the night not on my bedside table. As I roll over in the morning, the first thing to grab my attention is not the emails or texts or the weather or the news, it is thinking about my identity and reviewing the scriptures I’ve memorized about who God says I am, greatly loved.
3. Find a ‘No’ mentor. That was an easy one. I needed to look no farther than my husband. Like you, there are many really good things that capture my attention. But really good things are not necessarily the best things. Earlier this spring we had three weeks at home between two ministry trips and had over-night guests nine of those days. The guests were gone, preparation for our next trip was happening, and I had an idea. I knew of a need. It sounded fairly easy to fill. I asked Bill what he thought. I didn’t need his words, his eyes communicated his wisdom. I remembered my own words, the need is not the call.
4. Embrace my limits. Or know my capacity. Again opportunity often smacks up against reality. This summer Bill and I are spending three weeks in Florida with a Navigator collegiate  program. We’ll live in a dorm (yes, you read correctly) with about 100 students. We’re there to be shepherds for the staff leading those students. We’ll love this time serving in our campus ministries. Three days after coming home, Bill will leave for Africa and a ministry assignment there. I have never been to Africa and it would be special to join him. But I know my capacity. I know it would not be a wise choice to join him on that trip. I’m embracing my limits.

One other practice I’m embracing is eliminating multi-tasking. Often touted as a way to expand time, for me multi-tasking compromises my best. Not good!

Because Bill and I are traveling the next two weeks, I decided to once again introduce you to  other bloggers on Echoes of Grace and not try to multi-task. Their words have ministered peace to my heart and I trust they will to yours as well. I’ll return to Echoes on May 3 and look forward to connecting with you then.

“Plans are established by counsel;
by wise guidance wage war.”
Proverbs 20:18

“… ‘We are unworthy servants;
we have only done what was our duty.'”
Luke 17:10

A dark green 1970 Chevy Nova was my college graduation gift from my parents. It had a 350 horse power engine; it could roar.

I named him Luke from the scripture above. The car was a gift to me to serve me, to get me back and forth to the school where I taught 3rd grade, to get me to the grocery store, to get me to church, and to all those other places a young 20 something needed to go. It was Luke’s duty to faithfully serve me. And he did. Even Bill confesses, he married me for my car.

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“The master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.
You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.
Enter into the joy of your master.'”
Matthew 25:21 and 23

Well done, good and faithful servant, a phrase from Jesus’ parable of the talents (another servant passage) is often spoken of a believer who has died. But in Jesus’ story, the faithful servant is quite alive. Recently I’ve been pondering this passage and asking, is its only purpose to give us words to say about the deceased? I don’t think so.

I’m noticing …

A servant has a master.
A good master knows the capabilities of the servant.
A servant has an appropriate responsibility.
Faithfulness is the key measure.
Serving well is rewarded equally.

The parable of the talents in Matthew 25 illustrate all the above principles.

“It will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property … each according to his ability.” Matthew 25:14 & 15 (italics mine).

I also have a master who has called me. Child of God, my identity, is lived out as a servant.
My master knows me well. He has not only called me, he has gifted me (given me talents).
These talents, determined by God’s gifting, have purpose in his kingdom.

It has taken several years for me to identify my gifts. Hospitality is something I enjoy. But when someone noticed that, my response was oh, that is so easy communicating that hospitality wasn’t important;  that is what I believed. Now I realize that hospitality is one of the gifts God has given me, and I need to be faithful with it.

‘Well done, good and faithful … you have been faithful …” Matthew 25:21 & 23 (italics mine).

Faithfulness is my most important responsibility. This keeps me from comparison. This allows me to honor and enjoy you and what you are doing. Our responsibilities are different; the way we carry out the responsibilities is the same, faithfully.

My serving (and your serving) is noticed and rewarded.  There is so much peace in embracing this truth. It protects me from wanting more, from wanting different.

As a young believer, I interpreted serving God as a duty, like my car. I never considered serving as living out who God created me to be or as creating a picture of the image-bearer that I am. The duty of serving was the end game. Being a servant was my lot in life, not filled with God-given purpose. And it never occurred to me that my lot was equally important as yours.  Or that faithfulness was the most important factor. And that our contributions, as different as they are, would be rewarded equally. But they are!

“For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand,
that we should walk in them.”
Ephesians 2:10 (italics mine)

Or, The Ministry of Vulnerability. 

Yes, the social media campaign ignited this message.

No, I was never sexually abused.

Yes, I’m raising my hands, but in a different way.

I have experienced the ministry of vulnerability.
And as Brene Brown says, “vulnerability is at the core of
meaningful human experiences”.

Vulnerability starts with transparency. The women raising their hands on social media are transparently sharing a piece of their story. But unless transparency moves beyond the telling of your story, vulnerability doesn’t happen and ministry is short-circuited.

Bill and I had a hard engagement story. That time that was supposed to be all joy and fun in the planning for our wedding and marriage wasn’t that way for us. Not everyone thought we should get married. There were other difficult relationships to deal with. There was the tension of long-distance planning. There were needed changes we didn’t anticipate or want. I was trying to protect God’s reputation. (I imagine God was laughing at that one, he doesn’t need my protection, I need his.)

We barrelled through. We were transparent about our hurts with a select few. We were vulnerable with one.

Time did not heal. But vulnerability took us on a journey that brought understanding and healing.

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

Being in campus ministry, we are privileged to be included on many budding love stories. We listen, we support, we encourage … but in the early years, we rarely shared our story, until … others began sharing transparently with us their difficult engagement stories. Really? Me too!!!

It was the me too, that opened the doors of ministry, that taught us about the wisdom and the power of transparency leading to vulnerability. Me too, is a powerful declaration in the hand of God.

Transparency lifts the weight of the hard. But if stops there, there is no value in the experience.

“And we know that for those who love God
all things work together for good,”
Romans 8:28

The working for good comes in the vulnerability.

Bill and I have discovered four statements that lead us from transparency to vulnerability, from the me too to experiencing the love and wisdom of God.

Four decisions of vulnerability:

1. I choose to reveal myself to you.

2. I choose to give permission to you to ask me anything.

3. I choose to allow you to teach me.

4. I choose to come under your influence.

It is the fourth decision that opens the door to vulnerability.

In the months leading up to our marriage, we chose to come under the influence of a godly older man. And that made all the difference. His counsel, love, wisdom, and support provided the needed courage to continue to follow God in the midst of the messiness. Thank you Alan.

Copyright@2018,Sue Tell

Guest Post by Ashlyn Tell, age 10

Jack in red; Ashlyn in green on beginner slope before graduating to the green and then the blue slopes all in one afternoon!

On March  twenty second , me and my brother Jack went with our grandparents to go skiing on Monarch Mountain.

Ashlyn at Snobahn

On Tuesday that week we had gone to Denver, CO to practice skiing  at a indoor place called Snobahn. There we learned how to turn and balance our selves on a moving carpet. There was a few big differences from real skiing and carpet skiing. One, carpet skiing was easier to turn on. Two, real skiing was easier to balance on. And three, real skiing was harder to stop.

When we were up on the mountain I was a little worried about going on the lifts. Luckily I had a nice  instructor named Jen who held my hand and encouraged me to not worry. But what I think really helped me was a verse I memorized:

Psalm 56: 3 “When I am afraid I put my trust in you”

It definitely helped me when I was afraid. So I encourage you to use Psalm 56: 3 when you’re afraid.

Ashlyn & Mana out to breakfast at R&R

;

A special treat this week,
a guest post by Marian Vischer.

The Incline, March 2017

Next Thursday, Echoes of Grace returns with my Me Too story! See ya’ then.

I have favorite verses and Zephaniah 3:17 is one of them.

My friend sat in my living room one Friday morning tears streaming down her face. We were discussing God’s love from Zephaniah 3:17. The phrase that states, “He (God) will take great delight in you,” caused her tears. She began questioning, how can God delight in me? I _______________. What delight do you see in me, God?  Why am I responding with such deep emotion? Her questions highlighted her insecurities and her deep desire–for her life to be delighting to God. But it was so hard for her to believe. My friend grew up in the church, she loves God, devotions are a regular habit, serving others is part of her reality. It seems like God should be delighted in her. That morning I had no answers other than, will you trust this is true?

A few weeks ago I sat in an overstuffed chair in a popular Starbucks. Although swirling with morning business, I zoned out the conversations and enjoyed the blue sky beyond the floor to ceiling windows. In the midst of all the noise, quietness enveloped me and God whispered Jeremiah 31:3. “I have loved you with an everlasting love …” I needed to hear it. I wasn’t feeling very worthy of love that morning.

Then the epiphany, “… man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” I Samuel 16:7. God looks at the real us. God looks on the heart he planted in us. He is not looking on the outside, on those days when we missed morning devotions, on those days when anger is more prevalent than loving my neighbor, or impatience is characterizing my relationship with my precious GRANDS. “For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” Psalm 103:14. He is always looking at my heart. God quieted me with his love.

A different phrase from the same scripture met another friend where she was living. “he will exult over you with loud singing.” This friend leads music in her church always pointing the congregation to God and glorifying him. But this clearly says that God exults over her with loud singing! This led her to questions as well, how can this be? How should I respond? How will this be manifested as I lead others?  How can I communicate to those I am leading that God is singing over them? These words awed her and led her to worship, God is singing over her! Amazing.

Three different situations and three different phrases from one verse, God meeting each of us uniquely. And my epiphany spoke to each different situation–God looks on our hearts; he quiets us with his love. Along with my friends, I can rest in that truth. God loves me.

“See how very much our Father loves us,
for he calls us his children,
and that is what we are!
I John 3:1, NLT

Copyright@2018,Suetell

Every funeral I attend, I learn things about the one being remembered that I never knew. Even at Mom’s memorial service last September that was true.

I knew Billy Graham as a world-renowned evangelist, a powerful speaker, a man of God. I knew Billy Graham as a public person, a spiritual confidant to  every president from Eisenhower in the 1950’s to President Obama, a man who enjoyed the friendship of Pope John Paul II.

But I didn’t know the Billy Graham I learned about this week.

Although I didn’t attend his service, like many of you I watched snippets of his story throughout the week. I heard Franklin Graham, Ann Graham Lotz, and Ruth Graham all speak of their father at his memorial service.

Two stories especially caught my attention and introduced me to the Billy Graham I never knew. Both speak of Billy Graham as a man of great humility, a man who loved in the way he lived among his family and among those he ministered to.

“I was in prison and you came to me.”
Matthew 25:36

“Let brotherly love continue …
Remember those in prison, as though in prison with them,”
Hebrews 13:1, 3

Billy Graham was invited to speak at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, the largest maximum security prison in the world, nick-named Angola after the plantation that originally occupied the land it is built on and the African country where the ancestors of many of the inmates  were born.

Mr. Graham learned that some of the hardened criminals, convicted murderers practiced the trade of crafting pine wood coffins and then lining them with Walmart mattress pads for fellow prisoners in need.

In 2006 Franklin Graham was visiting Angola, saw the coffins and decided to buy two of them for his parents. The cost was a little over $200.00 each. Billy and Ruth Graham were thrilled.

Both Billy and Franklin came to Angola not only with words of God’s love and the message of salvation, they also passed on the dignity God gives to each of his children by honoring their labor, their craftsmanship, and purchasing the coffins that the bodies of Billy and his wife Ruth would rest in.

His daughter Ruth shared one of her “Billy Graham” stories at her father’s  funeral.

Returning home in humiliation and shame knowing that her second marriage was a mistake and doomed to fail, Billy met her in the driveway. His first words to his very embarrassed daughter communicated the love and grace of God and his own love for his daughter. Click here to listen in Ruth’s own words. (4 minutes)

Welcome Home will forever have a deeper meaning for me.

“And he arose and came to his father.
But while he was still a long way off,
his father saw him and felt compassion,
and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”
Luke 15:20

I am thankful for my more complete knowing of Billy Graham.

Do you ever feel like your in a wrestling match with life? Or perhaps I should ask, how often do you find yourself in a wrestling match with life or perhaps dancing around each other? It doesn’t feel like child’s play!

Several years ago I memorized Exodus 14:14, “The Lord will fight for you; you have only to be still”.   I don’t remember the circumstances that led me to memorize it; I wish I did.  However, I went back to Exodus 14 to remind myself of the story.

Pharaoh released the Israelites from slavery and Moses led them through wilderness to the edge of the Red Sea.  But then Pharaoh changed his mind and came after the Israelites with the entire Egyptian army.  The Scriptures record three responses from the Israelites:

• They were totally afraid ~ understandable.
• They cried out in terror to God ~ they prayed in desperation.
• They complained to Moses ~ so human.

Moses had three responses for the Israelites:

• Don’t be afraid.
• Stand firm.
• Watch what God will do.

“The Lord will fight for you; you have only to be still”. 

This led me to pondering what it looks like to be still.  After all I Peter 3 tells me that a gentle and quiet (that seems to be a synonym for being still) in God’s sight is precious. I came up with these thoughts …

For me, being still means …

Remembering the faithfulness of God toward me in the past.  “… In returning and rest you will be saved; in quietness and trust shall be your strength”.  Isaiah 30:15

Recalling God’s love for me.  “…He will quiet you by His love…”.  Zephaniah 3:17

Being actively engaged in prayer and trusting.  “… and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever”.  Isaiah 32:17

Waiting on God.  “Be still and know that I am God …”.  Psalm 46:10

Not complaining.  “A fool gives full vent to his anger, a wise (wo)man quietly holds it back.  Proverbs 29:11

Sometimes I walk myself backwards through Psalm 46:10 pausing each time to consider what I’m hearing.

Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and Know.
Be still.
Be.

“And I’ll use Pharaoh and his army to put my Glory on display…”  Exodus 14:4 and 17, The Message.   I love that God uses the same words before and after verse 14.  Being still and allowing God to fight puts His Glory on display!

“But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.”
Habakkuk 2:20

My friend Linda shared with me a prayer she prayed a year ago, God, I want a closer relationship with you. Help! Amen.

God’s answer was almost immediate, Stop achieving, start receiving.

“But to all who received him,
who believed in his name,
he gave power to become children of God;”
John 1:12, RSV

John 1:12 was the first scripture that was personal for me. As long as I could remember I believed in God, but it was not until that Sunday evening at church that I received Jesus as my personal savior. I prayed and invited Jesus to take over the controls of my life. I received his life into mine.

God’s love–the most important thing to receive

Receiving is a BIG deal! Jesus speaks of his followers to God in his prayer recorded in John 17, “For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.” John 17:8. As they (his followers) received the words Jesus shared, their belief followed.

In the same prayer, Jesus prays twice about God’s love for his followers. “… that the love with which you have loved me may be in them …” John 17:26.  Amazing love, that God would love us (his followers) in the same way he loves Jesus. “… so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” John 17:23.

Receive, accept, trust–spiritual synonyms. I pray over these truths regularly. I want to receive and trust God’s love for me–the very same love he has for Jesus.

Why is receiving so important?

If Jesus could only love with the love he received from the Father, how much more important is it for me to receive the Father’s love, if I want to love well. John 15:9, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.”

How do I receive?

1. Review, review, review. Romans 15:15, “But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder …” My forget-er is in good condition, my remember-er not so much. Almost daily I remind myself of God’s love for me. I John 3:1 is one of my favorites.

2. For me, learning to receive is connected to asking questions, what is God really saying ___?

This morning I was pondering some scriptures on God healing the brokenhearted and how he is carrying our sorrows. I thought about my own reality in the midst of grieving Mom’s death. Those verses led to a lot of questions like how is Jesus carrying my sorrows? How do his stripes on the cross relate to my grief (not my sin, my grief)? I have no answers, but God’s promise of carrying my sorrows is burned in my heart.

3. And prayer. I often ask God to help me trust his words. Or, back to questions, what would it look like to trust, accept, receive his word today?

Every Sunday in church our pastor ends the service with a benediction. One pastor always asks us to hold out our hands as if we’re catching a baby he is tossing to us, this posture symbolizing receiving the benediction. It has caught on. No matter which pastor is offering the benediction, my hands are out to receive.