by Elizabeth | Mar 27, 2012 | Learning Story
all of creation cries out -- he is faithful
“I will sing of the steadfast love of the lord for ever.
With my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.” Psalm 89:1
As I begin the daily, even hourly plod toward shoulder health after this fifth shoulder surgery, I am trying out a dictation app that magically transforms spoken words into written ones. To familiarize myself with the app, I decided to read certain Psalms aloud. (This practice comes with the lovely side effect of soul-calm). I confess that when I began this process, I initially turned to Psalm 88, because it felt like the unyielding and somewhat angry content best suited my heart’s mood. However, when I opened my Bible, the Spirit steered me toward Psalm 89, a lament admitting slightly more hope than the Psalmist of 88 is ready to acknowledge.
Now for the really cool part…
This morning, as I read the first couple of verses of Psalm 89, I began to realize the sweet irony of the words my lips were forming:
“With my MOUTH I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.”
With the ongoing struggles, I’ve been fearful about the functional loss of shoulder, arm, hand and fingers to write out of my innards this fire within my bones. And now, partly through 21st century cyberscience, and completely because of the Lord’s unfailing faithfulness, the antidote to my fear has appeared onscreen.
The Word breaks down my poison-fear with its fundamental deconstructing truth: capacity to type words may diminish, and next week my voice could falter, but as Jesus once said, nothing can silence the insistent cosmological cry of praise (Luke 19:40). His love is unshakeable, his redemption irreversible, and his faithfulness immovable. Nothing new here – what the labor of my hands has never been able to accomplish, the zeal of the Lord has already done and continues to do until the day of Christ’s return (Isaiah 9:6). Shout it with me now,
“With my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.”
What about you? Do you struggle with fears of limitation or inability to carry out your calling? How do you hear God’s faithfulness shouting (or whispering) from – words or The Word; a rock or a rock-climber; trial or triumph?
(This post was composed over several hours time using the free app for old Ipad, Dagon Dictate, and lots of one-handed typing:-)
by Elizabeth | Mar 22, 2012 | Learning Story
Our son Robert just shared this beautiful video with me, and I couldn’t wait to share it with you!
It reminds me of something Dan Allender once said, “Live with greater curiosity about people’s stories than they have themselves.”
by Elizabeth | Mar 21, 2012 | Learning Story
Last night, my dear husband asked me, “Well, are you ready?” — meaning for the 5th shoiulder surgery in 6 years, this one on the right after a hard fall I suffered 10 days after having surgery on the left. I thought about what it means to be ready to go through the long process of shoulder rehab again. And I realized I am at peace. Some days I have felt like losing my mind, but now that the day has come, I am ready. The readiness comes from praying people — friends, acquaintances, even, I hope, some enemies. The readiness comes from the history of our Lord, who has already suffered the deepest afflictions that we may be completely made new in our hearts, and one day in our bodies. The readiness comes from the story of Paul, a man who labored on behalf of the gospel and suffered many afflictions — he said — for the sake of the gospel — so people wouldn’t think he’s just this super-strong saint, but a real guy who had real problems. As we head to the hospital, here are some of the many words I take with me.
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” 2 Corinthians 4:1
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ’s power may rest on me. “ 2 Corinthians 12:9
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but things that are unseen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
by Elizabeth | Mar 20, 2012 | Learning Story
In view of March Madness, the zany season of college basketball upsets, in view of the fact that I am an avid Tarheel fan for this short season, and in view of the fact that I’m a little weary of doing edits for the manuscript of the latest Living Story Bible study,
I thought I’d write some true confessions about my relationship with college basketball.
1. I attended UNC for one special year, transferring home with the intention of returning, but instead meeting my husband, for whom I learned to wear red and black and cheer “Go Dawgs.” My special Carolina year was 1980-1981, the year of Worthy, Perkins, Doherty, and Jordan (confession again — those are the only ones I remember. I’m sure I’m leaving out someone important). I like to tell my kids I had a class with Michael Jordan. I did – but it was one of those large lecture classes, and everyone would point to him when he was there, and I’d see his massive figure from afar.
2. Gulp…I never once attended a basketball game when I was there. That involved camping out in long lines outdoors, at night, when all good students should be in bed. Plus, I didn’t really appreciate the great opportunity until after it was gone.
3. I become a UNC Tarheels fan during basketball season but save most of my efforts for March Madness. I don’t fill out a bracket, but I do watch the unfolding stories of wild upsets and heightened tension of injured teams (our sky guys this year) with fascinated interest.
4. When I first turn a game on, I look to the bottom of the screen. I want to know the rankings of the team, the score. I sometimes read about certain players. I occasionally notice the artistry of how the players move.
5. I know little about the game itself other than what I learned playing three on three and multiple games of horse as a kid. Because our daughter played, I tried to learn the names of the positions and understand that the short one is usually the point guard, but don’t know why.
The truth is, March Madness for me, is yet another unfolding story, with poor little David’s (Lehigh) beating up on rich giants (Duke). It is a story of unlikely heroes and one shining moments; it is a story of unexpected defeats and ordinary wins. It’s a story that engages a large community for a season. Even an amateur and wayward fan can enjoy a story like this.
What about you — even if you hate March Madness, what stories draw you in? What stories do you get excited about with others?
by Elizabeth | Mar 19, 2012 | Learning Story
“We travel w/ preconceived notions of the world, derived from our cultural tradition. In a very curious sense we travel knowing in advance what we are on the verge of discovering, because past reading has told us what we are supposed to discover.” Umberto Eco, “From Marco Polo to Leibnitz,” Serendipities
Frail Heart
As an example, Eco describes how Marco Polo went searching for unicorns and actually discovered some! (Well, of course you know he did NOT discover unicorns, for science has long since proven that unicorns are ‘merely’ fantastical creatures, found only in little (and older) girls’ dreamy minds.) What he had found were creatures that fit the current culture’s description of unicorns – they had four legs and they had horns. However, they were grey, not white, low to the ground and very heavy (suggesting that it might be hard to fly), and their skin most resembled an elephant’s. Yes, Marco Polo had discovered – the rhinoceros!
In this remarkable essay, called “Serendipities,” Umberto Eco challenges us to read and travel beyond our preconceived notions of the world, opening our minds to the possibility of discovering something mysterious and unknown. I think Umberto Eco might not mind that his premise reminds me of two essential realities:
"His blood shed for thee"
1 – I read with a background book that is so deep in my heart and written so broadly in this cosmos, there is no way I can divest myself of it. This “book” is the text of the gospel, written in all of creation and signed with profound significance by the Author and Creator God.
2 – I absolutely look into the “it just so happened” moments of my life and the “found hearts” that appear in shells or rug patterns or clouds – as signifiers of something much deeper, much richer, an author who does have an intended meaning, and whose main meaning is that he has created this cosmos with rich significance and great joy.
"Sea a penny, pick it up..."
In this blog, I’ve strewn a few serendipities I noticed as I walked along a beach last week praying and seeking to see God’s good plan in a difficult story. What about you – what serendipities have you seen? (I’d love to see pictures and hear the stories. Email me at “e-t-story-at-earthlink-dot-net if you’d like to share).
by Elizabeth | Mar 12, 2012 | Learning Story
Anyone need some Monday “hope”? Here’s a great reminder from Eugene Peterson:
“Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!” Romans 15:133, The Message
and this devotional from Peterson:
“Hope on the Line”
“Every day I put hope on the line. I don’t know one thing about the future. I don’t know what the next hour will hold. There may be sickness, personal, or world catastrophe. Before this day is over I may have to deal with death, pain, loss, rejection. I don’t know what the future holds for me, for those whom I love, for my nation, for this world. Still, despite my ignorance and surrounded by tinny optimists and cowardly pessimists, I say that God will accomplish his will and cheerfully persist in living in the hope that nothing separates me from Christ’s love.
God’s strong name is our help, the same God who made heaven and earth. Psalm 124:8“
From Eugene Peterson, Living the Message
