by Elizabeth | Jul 6, 2012 | Learning Story
Am I the only one who missed the San Diego ‘Fireworks Bust’? What words would you use to describe this? Mine are ‘stunning,’ ‘apocalyptic,’ ‘Oh, shoooooooo-tt. Your fireworks went blast.”
Wanta write? Tell a story to entertain youngsters. (Yes, you will need to hide all technical devices and perhaps offer anti-anxiety meds to get them to sit still and listen.) I never knew before the story of the creation of Alice in Wonderland.
Finally, for those who caught the the quote from Spurgeon’s fascinating sermon on Matthew 26, and Jesus’ anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane and want to take 15 (longer if you stop to think about it:-) to read the whole thing, “The Garden of the Soul”
by Elizabeth | Jul 3, 2012 | Learning Story
“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.”
Who said that? And what happened next? You can (dare I say, ‘should’?) read the rest here. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2026:36-46&version=NIV
Strange as it may sound, I am deeply encouraged that Jesus spoke these words, the intensity and emotion of which English words apparently fail to fully grasp, in the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew that the time had come for him to drink the cup, and he asked his Father if it be possible, to let it pass from him. So very human, yet so very submitted to the will of the Father.
What cup? What’s in this cup he doesn’t want to drInk? Some say death, others point to Ezekiel 23:32 and say ‘wrath,’ others say the emotional separation from the Trinity, all agree on ‘suffering.’
All well and true, but today I discovered a new (to me) thought on the passage which gospel-girded me with new hope. I want to post a super-long quote here, but so-called blog ‘best-practice’ suggests I’ve already asked you to read too much, so I’ll just post a paragraph (okay,two) with the link to the entire sermon for all interested:-)! I’d love to know your response to this close-up on Jesus’ despondency. How does reading this story affect your hope in God?
Comment here or on the Living Story Facebook Page?
“Thus it appears to me that what He feared was that dreadful depression of mind which had suddenly come upon Him so that His soul was very heavy. He prayed His Father that that cup might pass away—and so it did—for I do not see in all the Savior’s griefs afterwards that singular overwhelming depression He endured when in the garden.”
Now, perhaps some of you may think that if this cup only meant depression of the spirits and dismay of the soul it was nothing of much significance, or at least it weakens the spell of those words and deeds which twine around Gethsemane. Permit me to beg your pardon. I know personally that there is nothing on earth that the human frame can suffer to be compared with despondency and prostration of mind. Such is the dolefulness and gloom of a heavy soul, yes, a soul exceedingly heavy even unto death that I could imagine the pangs of dissolution to be lighter!
In our last hour joy may lighten up the heart, and the sunshine of Heaven within may bear up the soul when all outside is dark. But when the iron enters into a man’s soul he is unmanned, indeed! In the cheerlessness of such exhausted spirits the mind is confused. Well can I understand the saying that is written, “I am a worm and no man,” of one that is a prey to such melancholy. Oh that cup! When there is not a promise that can give you comfort. When everything in the world looks dark. When your very mercies frighten you and rise like hideous specters and portents of evil before your view.” Spurgeon, sermon on Matt 26 http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols10-12/chs693.pdf
by Elizabeth | Jun 29, 2012 | Learning Story
One of the hazards of blogs for readers is that we stop reading full stories of any kind. So today I’m sharing just two Friday Faves; both are short stories.
The first, called “Dos Palabras,” by Isabel Allende, is a delightful Latin American literary piece about the transformational power of words. I had to read it for Spanish class this week, but I leaned heavily in the English translation. I’m including links to both versions, because I’m pretty sure the Spanish version is better:-).
Dos Palabras
Two Words
The second story is a Raymond Carver classic, a redemption story about tragedy, hatred, reconciliation and love. (A caution – some strong language used for literary purposes.)
A Small Good Thing
Why not take twenty to thirty minutes to read some good literature today? If you do, please post comments on what you thought of the story or stories. The only thing better than reading is sharing our responses to it. To share comments on the Living Story Facebook page, click
by Elizabeth | Jun 28, 2012 | Learning Story
“35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Matthew 25:31-46
When I’m at my best (by which I don’t mean my performance but rather the way of life that brings the wholeness of shalom – like eating Greek yogurt and peaches for breakfast but better- I enter the day by reading Scripture. Before checking news, email, Facebook, or Twitter (I cringe to write that it seems so ridiculous onscreen), I open the Bible to a book and soak in a passage. When I am at my super-best, I record at least one observation about the words read.
Today I came to a passage likely familiar to Scripture and non-Scripture readers alike – Matthew 26:31-46It’s not really surprising that the next chapter tells us that the chief priests definitively decided to kill Jesus, because his words are downright offensive to those who believe themselves to be righteous on the basis of keeping the law and intimidating for those who think they might be true followers of Christ.
It is here that Jesus raises the standard of the law to the high tight rope of love, where the truly jaw-dropping wonders take place. As he did with the inquisitive rich man in…., he narrows down the way to enter eternal clothes a few basics: clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, filling the thirsty, visiting the sick and imprisoned. And he declares that doing these things is equal to clothing, feeding, filling, and visiting HIM, the man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.
Reading this list always intimidates me as well it should. I’d be shirking the Spirit if I didn’t read these words and ask myself, “How well have I loved Jesus then?” Well, we’ve engaged with the homeless, given lots of clothes to Waterfront Mission, bought Angel Tree gifts most years…but really? From this description, I’m not sure I’m much of a lover. I’m decent, but far from truly self-sacrificial.
Caveat to self as I write the next sentence-
Don’t use this as an excuse not to focus on caring for the broken!!
And yet, because of the One who calls me to love him, I do have hope to love him. I too can be separated as a sheep! One, because I’m stubborn and wayward. And two, because I am clothed in the righteousness of the only One who has perfectly fulfilled the law of love! And in that righteousness, I relax, confess my love-failure, and move again in faith, hope, and love to live the call of the gospel.
May our lives truly reflect the caring, broken heart of our restoring and redeeming God.
by Elizabeth | Jun 25, 2012 | Learning Story
Alert listeners at this past weekend’s Gospel Coalition Conference for Women may have noticed that both Tim Keller and John Piper quoted a woman named Virginia Stem Owens. I don’t know how many poor souls like myself have somehow missed this writer and teacher extraordinaire along the way, but I am happy to share a gem I discovered in the treasure trove of her blog. Here she is writing about the human need to tell story…
“Say you go on a trip – an Alaskan cruise or a visit to a previously estranged relative. If you return and no one asks you to tell them about it, don’t you feel that the experience was somehow incomplete? If no one listens to the tale of our travels or trials, we feel a little, sometimes a lot, frustrated. The human race seems to have a deep seated need to narrate our lives to one another.
Again, why?
Because, I believe, we have an inborn need to give a shape to our lives instead of experiencing life as only a jumble of sensations — just one darn thing after another, a string of unrelated occurrences. We do this by identifying ups and downs, what was good and what was bad about the day or trip or lifetime. We want to figure out what caused certain actions. Did we get fired because we were incompetent or because the boss was paranoid? Was the high score on the history test a result of hard study or pure luck?”
And as we shape our story, we shape ourselves. We come to know, or at least think we know, ourselves. We all live inside some story. We have to. What, we want to know, does it all mean? And somehow we have settled on stories as the best tool with which to make meaning of our lives.” Virginia Stem Owens in Remembering Your Life at Virginia Stem Owens blog
by Elizabeth | Jun 22, 2012 | Learning Story
Not much time today, but I thought I’d share from a few of the women I look forward to hearing from at TGCWC12
Paige Benton Brown on Singleness
Kathleen Nielson on Gospel and Gender
Elyse Fitzpatrick on being the ‘odd woman out’
