by Elizabeth | Feb 5, 2015 | Learning Story
In my ongoing study of Ephesians, I continue to be happily confronted with God’s story of grace. Join me today for a quick look into the gospel call of Ephesians 4.
Gospel realities:
Through Christ we are made right with God.
We can’t do anything to make God love us anymore than he already does.
Also, gospel reality:
We are called to “walk in a manner worthy of our calling” (Eph. 4:1).
My son and I recently helped my 81-year-old dad select and acquire a new cell phone. His current phone is a beige cordless with an antenna sticking out of the top. He has an answering machine, which he checks to see if he wants to take a call. He does not own a computer; he’s never even used one. Learning how to use an iPhone was going to be a learning challenge, to say the least.
A retired English professor, my Dad knows how to teach – and learn. After we gave him a brief but somewhat chaotic lesson, he took the iPhone for Seniors tome we provided and scheduled self-study sessions. Each day he devotes one hour to reading the book and practicing technique. He’s catching on.
The time eventually came when my Dad had to apply the knowledge in real-life situations. (You should hear how surprised he is when he phones me and I say “hello”!) As he uses the phone, he discovers what he knows and what he doesn’t know. He returns to his book and his weekly lessons to answer these questions, then he attempts some more real-life situations.
(Have I mentioned how proud I am of him?!:-)!
In Ephesians, Paul talks about the process of learning and living the gospel. For the first three chapters, he lays out their new story, telling them who they are as a grace-renewed people. Once cursed in sin, believers are now grace-soaked in spiritual blessings (Eph. 1:3). Once the walking dead; they are now spiritually alive (Eph. 2:1-5). Once alienated and alone; they are now joined together as a kingdom, a family, and a church(Eph. 2:19-22). By God’s grace, they have been saved through faith (Eph.2:8).
In Chapter 4, Paul urges them to do something far more profound and challenging than using a new iPhone. Here’s how Eugene Peterson puts it in The Message:
In light of all this, here’s what I want you to do. While I’m locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel.
We can’t simply soak in the warm heat of God’s lavish spiritual blessings (Eph. 1); we must live as humble, gentle, patient, forbearing, loving people (Eph. 4). We can’t take the gifts Christ gave for the sake of the body and play with them in a corner; we must share them with others. We noses can’t desert the face — it would look ridiculous!
Yes, we will fail to live in the manner worthy of the calling. We will constantly need to back to the story that tells us who God is and what he’s done and who we are because of it. We will need the Spirit to teach us the lessons of humility and forgiveness, and we’ll need to feast regularly at the table that reminds us Christ’s body was broken for us. And as we continue to learn and live in love, we will be walking in a manner worthy of our calling.
This is part of the Ephesians Bible study I am writing. Once it is complete, I will make it available as an e-book. Please sign up to receive newsletters in order to know when you can get your free copy!
by Elizabeth | Feb 2, 2015 | Learning Story
Every now and then, I go back to the archives and find something really fascinating that’s worth sharing again. This story from 2012 surprised me, and I’ll explain why at the end.
At about 7:15 this morning, I prayed a very specific prayer. I asked God for a productive two and a half hours before a slew of appointments began. In my mind, this productivity would include trashing old files consuming space on my computer and trying to make my Dragon dictation program work. Once I did those things, I planned to compose my Friday blog.
You may guess what’s coming. It seemed that God had a different productivity plan for me. Around 7:30, our youngest son sat down with me at the breakfast table and showed me this wonderful Keynote presentation he had composed on his iPad. Various group members had sent articles, media, statistics, and cartoons to show that happiness level does not depend on material wealth. The presentation was intriguing and beautifully displayed.
But then — IT DISAPPEARED! I must have touched something that closed the file, but the problem was it wouldn’t open again. Being the responsible student he is, Robert had saved the file to iCloud, and indeed the copy was there. However, in the maddening manner of the “Imonster,” neither copy would open. As tension escalated, I sent him off to school, promising to research and try to resolve the problem. Two hours and many deep breaths later, the cover photo of the file still beckons, welcoming the viewer, but refusing to deliver.
I have some questions: is this God’s idea of productivity? Is parenting productive? What will be the yield of these two hours?
I’ve been a parent long enough to know the answers to these questions. Lost/corrupted-file-experiences have a way of sticking like a bright yellow post-it note in the mind’s eye. People who feverishly labor to help recover those files are agents of hope partnering with us in the search and destroy mission against decay.
Let productivity perish; I believe this’ll make a really good story one day.
And that is where the story I wrote in 2012 ends. Obviously, I was running short on time. And in those days, with four children, two still at home, especially in the month of May, following up on blog posts was not my strong point.
But now, three years later, I can add a little ending, which might encourage parents and others interrupted in their plans for productivity.
I don’t remember what happened. Honestly, I didn’t remember the story at all until I read it. But on May 25, 2012, it seemed to me like a really terrible, horrible no-good, very bad parenting day.
So now, in 2015, I texted my son (who did, by the way, get in to college, despite his crashed Keynote presentation:-)! to see if he remembers the incident:
Thankfully, he didn’t even remember it the same way!
Please note: I thought it was my fault. He did not. That should also be instructive to me regarding some of my parenting guilt! Neither of us can remember if the file was recovered, but my instinct is that he just re-did it.
Finally, the coach in me needs to point something out. Has your plan for productivity ever been superseded by God’s plan for growth? Productivity is important and good. But have you ever noticed how God’s plans so often supersede ours? I’m just not always sure about the value he places on productivity:-)! Or, could it just be, that his idea of what is productive has more to do with our growing in grace than our growing in accomplishments?
What do you think? How have you seen growth in days or times when you were seemingly most unproductive?
What does this story suggest to you about some of your apparent parenting “fails”?
by Elizabeth | Jan 23, 2015 | Learning Story
For years, I have been writing, teaching, and coaching about the importance of sharing story in community. It is my calling; it is my work; it is my passion. But years ago, when I was training to pursue this mission, there were times I struggled with the process. I doubted my calling; I wanted to give up. On one of these nights, I was meeting with the women in my Bible study for a story feast. Our topic was “The Death of a Dream.” I shared my story, and they responded. This story demonstrates how a community can strengthen faith, restore hope, and compel love.
“Death of a Dream” Story
“As most of you know, this summer I took a seminary class that caused me to question my foolish dream of finishing my degree. I was well on my way to reaching this impossible dream, having already completed one-third of the coursework. Each course had changed my heart profoundly and stirred a new passion for God, his calling to me, and my community. But this class was different. The professor seemed cynical and mocking, and over the four days of class, I began to wonder if I belonged. I felt like a stranger in a strange land, as others seemed to question everything I placed my hope in. I don’t know that I want to continue my studies there.”
When I finished, the group, many of whom had walked with me from the beginning of the story of pursuing the degree, had questions and comments for me.
One woman reminded me that we tell our children that they won’t always get along with a teacher. She asked me whether I really thought that God wanted me to give up so quickly just because I had a negative experience with a professor.
Another woman observed, “It sounds like you did something you never would have done in the past. You voiced your beliefs. Even if you weren’t heard by the professor or your classmates, you spoke up for what you believed, and that’s very important.”
“It sounds like you did something you never would have done in the past. You voiced your beliefs.”
The last to speak, a young woman relatively new to the group, gave me reason to continue in faith: “I haven’t been in this group for very long, but since the beginning, the idea that God would call you to such a strange dream has encouraged me to consider that my calling too might be from God. Now I am seeing that moving into this mission may be fraught with trials, and that without a community that knows who God is and what he’s done in my life, I’m sunk.”
Touché. Our new friend summed up the whole purpose of story feasts – to help one another continue in faith by remembering the marvelous deeds God had done and to encourage one another to wait in hope for God to do the impossible again.
Linking up with The High Calling today.
Get your Living Story Blog in your inbox once or twice a week. Sign up here!
by Elizabeth | Jan 13, 2015 | Learning Story
Last week, I mentioned that I’m not much of a resolution-maker because I’m so aware that I’m a vow-breaker.
That doesn’t mean I don’t think in terms of where I want to go or how I hope to grow in the coming year. (I mean, I am a gospel coach, after all).
The gospel is about what God has already done through Christ. But clearly He is calling us to continue to mature in our knowledge of Him, and to tell his story in His kingdom.
Freed by God’s redeeming love in Christ, being transformed by the Holy Spirit, we learn to live more fully and freely in His story.
One way we can do that is by making goals and plans. We just have to recognize that God is the Master of the plans and not be too surprised when He changes them or does things His way, not ours.
Last year, I really wanted to grow in my prayer life. Praying without ceasing — as in, talking with God throughout the day or “Oh, Lord, please help me find my keys…” That seems to come naturally to me. But I really wanted more of that deeper prayer, that intimate conversation with God.
So here’s what happened, in steps and story form, with the side benefit of how to make a prayer journal…
1. I prayed. (It may seem pretty obvious, but yes, we can ask God to grow us in our prayer life).
2. I bought a planner. Please note: I did not intentionally buy the planner as any part of my attempt to have a richer prayer life.
I searched and searched, because I have very particular (some would say “picky”) qualifications: luscious paper, soft cover, not too heavy, and a format that works. (I know – it’s exhausting – just ask my husband:-)!
I finally found one that matched most of my requirements, but it was in a different format than I had previously used — all the days were on one side, with a “notes” area on the other.
I tried it for a couple of weeks, and it was NOT working for me. My brain isn’t configured that way.
But, since I had searched for so long, and since it had such lovely paper, I couldn’t just toss it aside.
3. So, I turned that planner into a prayer journal. Actually, I didn’t call it a prayer journal at first. What happened was…I realized how scattered my mind was when I prayed prayers in my head, and I decided to write them down.
4. I was also using a devotional book as a prayer tool — Seeking God’s Face: Praying with the Bible through the Year. Looking for a place to copy “keepers,” verses, prayers I wanted to remember, I realized the “Notes” section was perfect!
Seeking God’s Face by Phillip F. Reinders is a great tool for focusing prayer.
5. And I kept doing it. Not every day. Not even every week. But most weeks and many days.
As I flip back through last year’s prayer journal, I see what God did there (“I see what you did there!”) —
I think I learned (I am nowhere near finished learning this) a little more about conversing with God.
I learned to listen — to His Scripture, to the story He has told and is telling. I learned to respond — with praise and adoration, not just a long list of petitions, with thanksgiving for who God is, not just what He’s done…with confession about my sin-wrecked heart and pleas for God to change me…prayer…and enjoying it!
Another thing happened, too….I have stories written in my prayers. Of family and friends healed and not, of relationships broken and restored and broken again, of how God’s mercy and love and power and will are working through it all.
Have you made any goals or plans for 2015? What will need to happen for you to reach them?
What tools have you used that help you to have a more intimate conversation with God?
by Elizabeth | Jan 5, 2015 | Learning Story
Tomorrow is the last day of Christmas, so I guess we can move on to the New Year, right?:-)!
Yes, I know, many of us already toasted with champagne or fizzy grape juice, watched a ball or bird drop somewhere, and cheered (or yelled) ourselves hoarse over now-nearly-forgotten football games. We’ve eaten our collards, pork, and black-eyed peas, made our resolutions, and already broken many, if not all of them.
I resist making resolutions, because for me, they usually mean “things I will accomplish through MY determined will and human effort,” and that’s a complete setup for disaster. Instead, I think about stories.
This time of year is a great one for marking our stories, remembering where we have been, thinking about where we are now, and considering where we are going. As we view what God has done in our lives through the year(s), some general themes start to emerge. We remember our purpose and calling, one of which is as The Message puts it, “Go after love as if your life depended on it, because it does.” (I Cor. 14:1).
Here are five questions I am asking myself as this chapter of a new year begins.
- What events have happened in my life and in my heart in the last year? What tragedy and/or redemption do I see?
- Where am I now? Think emotionally, spiritually, circumstantially.
- What might God have for me in the coming year or years? What new freedoms in Christ might I experience?
- Who are the people who will support and encourage me as I step into these hopes and dreams?
- How must I depend on the Holy Spirit to act in grace? How may God be glorified?
I’d love to hear how you answer some of these questions. Please share them in the comments.
In the next post, I’ll share an idea I stumbled upon about keeping a prayer journal as a way to see what God has been working in your life. If you want to receive posts by email, you can sign up here.
by Elizabeth | Dec 30, 2014 | Learning Story
Why We Should Still Be Celebrating Christmas
Celebrating Christmas after the Big Day
Wow, it’s already two days before New Year’s Day. By this time, many of us can barely remember Christmas.
In recent years, I made a discovery — Christmas Day is the beginning of a 12-day season in the liturgical calendar — called — you guessed it — Christmas!
Phillip Reinders, in his wonderful devotional, Seeking God’s Face: Praying with the Bible Through the Year, Compact Edition
“The twelve-day Christmas season, beginning on Christmas Day, may be the healing remedy needed to reclaim this holiday from merchants and marketers. After all the annoying ads and repetitive jingles fade, when everyone else is burned out on Christmas or has moved on to year-end reviews or gym memberships, now the follower of Jesus can focus on the Christmas miracle.
It’s a season of light in darkness, where we are taken deeper into the growing light of the Word made flesh. Reflecting on the birth of Jesus, we have time to delight in the how of incarnation as we’re also led into deeper wonder of its meaning for our world.
At the heart of the Christmas season is the mystery of the incarnation, of God becoming human…The Christmas season grounds our faith in space and time — this world that is broken, this body that bleeds. Materiality is not an embarrassment to God; he created it and revels in it.”
I pray you will find some time to rest and remember the true story at the heart of Christmas in the coming days. May we all continue celebrating Christmas all year long.
Get inspirational devotionals, helpful Bible studies, and encouraging stories in your inbox once or twice a week. Subscribe to the Living Story blog today!
