Tag: encouragement (Page 1 of 5)

A Story of Thanksgiving and When the Holy Spirit Did a Happy Dance

November 19, 2022 /

A year ago, just before Easter, I had gathered a bunch of young moms from our church in California. I wanted to encourage them and asked them to share “Yay God” stories from the past year.

We talked about the blessing of technology during Covid to keep isolated moms with littles connected as they tried to persevere and follow Jesus during a difficult time.

One of the special stories that came up was about a mom named Brooke, married with 3 little kids, who had moved to Switzerland with her husband at the beginning of Covid. She hadn’t found fellowship and Zooming with our group in the states was her lifeline.

Since we lived and ministered in Switzerland for a short while, I asked the group where Brooke had moved.

“Oh, it’s a really tiny town in the Alps”, they responded.

I asked, “Which one? Would you recognize the name?”

I held my breath. “Is it Wengen?”

“YES!” they exclaimed in chorus. “How did you know??!”

I can’t be sure, this is what happened, but I pictured God just laughing with delight as His Holy Spirit danced around my patio where we were gathered.

Because I have a close friend, Jane, who just “happens” to live in Wengen with her husband, and they not only are Jesus followers, they also have the gift of hospitality out the wazoo.

We keep in touch through WhatsApp and I quickly texted her Brooke’s name and information. A few days later my heart soared when Jane sent pictures of Brooke’s family in Jane’s chalet half way around the world, decorating Easter eggs.

This week I got another text from Jane who has invited Brooke and her family to Thanksgiving dinner. I’m looking forward to getting a picture!

Has this solved all of Brook’s family needs for a faith community? No! But I pray that this mama I’ve never met feels seen and I’m grateful for my friend Jane, who welcomes holy interruptions like this.

May Brooke be able to say like Hagar:

“You’re the God who sees me!
“Yes! He saw me; and then I saw him!”

Genesis 16:13 msg

When you feel isolated or discouraged, remember you serve a God who sees you and cares about everything that concerns you.

And if you sense a little nudge from the Holy Spirit, act on it! You may be part of God’s loving reach around the world.

Soul Food For the New Normal

April 3, 2020 /

As I post this, we are adjusting to the reality that this crisis is going to stretch on much longer that we had thought – feeling more like global extended rehab than a quick trip to the Minute Clinic.

It has the potential to bring out the best in us, but also may reveal some issues in our relationships that we’ve been glossing over. My prayer continues to be that we won’t fill our time with just a different set of numbing distractions, but will come out on the other side of this kinder, humbler, stronger, more self-aware.

So, here are some resources that I pray won’t be distractions, but add value and joy to your physically distanced day!

I always recommend this podcast, but I love, love, loved this episode from the Transforming Center with Ruth Hayley Barton and Steve Wiens, called Listening and Responding to God Amidst the Covid_19 Crisis.

Thanks to my sister-in-law, Susan for passing along this song so appropriate for this season.

I was fascinated by this photo essay called The Great Empty, showing famous places around the world and what they look like during this time of isolation. This emphasizes for me that we are all in this together – it is a global challenge that connects us all.

I love this story about a restaurant in California that is giving people the option of paying for catered meals to be delivered the departments of local hospitals as well as offering regular take out!

Also I’m encouraged by so many creative ways we’re finding to stay connected!

Our friend, Derek posted this, brightening our day.

For our part, we’re decorating and driving in a birthday car parade tomorrow morning. Stay tuned for pictures on Instagram, and daily devotional thoughts on my Stories.

We’re also all retaining our ability to laugh with and at each other!

This season has been a great one to try new recipes since I have a captive guinea pig (John)! The other night I made this – super easy, few ingredients and yummy!

Shrimp Scampi Pasta with Asparagus (VIDEO)

How are you holding up? What’s bringing you joy?

The Power of Knowing You’re Seen

February 12, 2020 /

My car slides down the steep driveway through two inches of fresh snow as I back onto the street. Early morning darkness is the only thing that matches my surroundings of yesterday in Lucerne.

We’re home in Minneapolis for one day. We’ve missed a whole season. Christmas and New Years have come and gone without us. Valentines Day will pass before we’re back too.

The few houses with twinkle lights still shining make me both happy and sad. The carols have been sung, the candles have been lit and familiar Bible passages read. The hugs and laughter and catching up at parties in homes bright and welcoming have all happened without us.

I’m out of sync. Out of place. Our community has gone on without us. Has there been any sense of a hole left where we were?

I’m reminded this is not our “true” home. Will there be a kingdom shaped hole on earth when we die?

We’re human, so we all long to matter to someone, to be missed.

Today, maybe you need to be reminded of how “seen” you are by the God of the universe and, how much you matter. 

 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Psalm 32:8
 “You are the God who sees me,” Genesis 16:13
But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love. Psalm 34:18
Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Luke 12:7
You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
 You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
 You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
 Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me...
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:1-5,16

Maybe someone else needs to know they matter too. Send a text or note? If you haven’t signed up to get my freebie that has prompts for each month and reflections, called “A Year of Grace Notes” you can still get it by clicking here!

Mothers or Not Day

May 12, 2018 /

For most women the challenge of living through Mother’s Day joyfully each year is pretty much like getting out of Target without spending at least one hundred and seventy-nine dollars. It’s a unicorn. A pipe dream.

It tends to bring up ALL OF THE FEELS. Yes, joy, but also, lament, shame, longing, anger, fatigue…

There are single women who long to have a husband and kids, and married women trying desperately to get pregnant when each month, they cry in the bathroom with evidence that denies it.

There are kids of all ages who have lost their mothers, or have strained relationships with their moms.

There are moms with kids who are prodigals, far from home, and moms whose children have died, and mothers whose kids are struggling with emotional, physical, or intellectual challenges.

There are mamas who are overwhelmed with littles, who feel like every other mom is Mary Poppins, and they’re the only one without a magical carpet bag of tricks.

And others who feel guilty that they should feel more grateful, but Just. Feel. Tired.

These are legit.

Jesus says “Come to Me… with all of it. I am your safe place, your refuge, your cheerleader, your comforter. And like a loving parent holding us, He pats us gently and says “I’m here…I’m here…It’s gonna be ok. You’re doing great. Just hang on.”

Maybe we could find some way to say that to each other this Mother’s Day?

 

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Neighboring Challenge, Day 4 – Encourage

June 6, 2017 /

John and I both have a drawer where we save special notes that have been meaningful and encouraging. As I think about them, there are several characteristics they have in common.

  1. They are unexpected. They don’t come as an obligatory “thank you” note after you’ve given a gift or hosted a meal. They come as a delightful surprise when we least expect it.
  2. They are specific. They don’t contain general niceness, but often include personal examples.
  3. They require attention, intention, and forethought. Encouragers see the Imago Dei in others and call it out.

In the early church, Barnabas was an up-lifter, an encourager. He would be a “note-writing” kind of guy today I think.

Take a look…

Acts 4:34-37 And so it turned out that not a person among them was needy. Those who owned fields or houses sold them and brought the price of the sale to the apostles and made an offering of it. The apostles then distributed it according to each person’s need.

Joseph, called by the apostles “Barnabas” (which means “Son of Comfort”), a Levite born in Cyprus, sold a field that he owned, brought the money, and made an offering of it to the apostles.

Acts 9:26-27 Back in Jerusalem he (Paul, after his conversion) tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him. They didn’t trust him one bit. Then Barnabas took him under his wing. He introduced him to the apostles and stood up for him, told them how Saul had seen and spoken to the Master on the Damascus Road and how in Damascus itself he had laid his life on the line with his bold preaching in Jesus’ name.

Later, we see that when Paul is ready to ditch John Mark because he’s been irresponsible, Barnabas sticks by him and keeps investing, keeps encouraging. He sees the possibility of redemption! (See Acts 15:37-41)

You may not have the spiritual gift of encouragement and you may not think of it in terms of your neighborhood, but everyone can do something to notice and affirm another. Everyone loves applause. Give it a try!

Neighboring challenge:  Write a note of thanks or affirmation to one of your neighbors. Pop it in their mailbox.

Soul Food When Injustice Seems to Overwhelm

February 2, 2017 /

I think this from Bustle on Instagram sums up what many of us are feeling at the end of a long week of upheaval, anxiety, and unrest.

So I’m thinking we need some good news for the weekend. 

This is my favorite picture from the week. The world is really just a small village and we belong to each other.

If you’re like me, you may resonate with the question Chris Nye poses in his article titled “Does Knowing ‘God is Sovereign’ Really Help”?

“There are times when God allows the consequences of human error to play out. And sometimes we have to suffer through it to learn, once again, to trust Him, whose kingdom and dominion never end.”

Read the whole article here.

I was so heartened to hear of lawyers offering free legal help to those immigrants confused and stuck at airports.  

But many are asking, “What can I do?” My friend Dale Hanson Bourke wrote a fantastic article titled, 6 Things Your Church Can Do During the Refugee Ban. Take a look!

And then there’s this song from the Brilliance that I want to keep playing on repeat.

When I look into the face
Of my enemy
I see my brother
I see my brother

Lastly, who can’t use a little bunny inspiration?

 

Have a great weekend, friends! Remember you’re not alone!

Who’s Your Birthing Coach?

December 21, 2016 /

Last night the candles were lit, yummy bakey smells wafted room to room,  the twinkle lights were doing their twinkling, and my house was filled with girlfriends I love.

Read: it was lovely, loud, laughy, and there were lots of words!

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Studies say that women average 20,00 words a day – 13,000 more than men. Last night I think we skewed that average high.

Think about when you get together with your best friends – talking over each other, finishing each other’s sentences, laughing at shared experiences…

This is how I imagine the meeting between the newly pregnant Mary and the last trimester Elizabeth.

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Mary didn’t waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah’s house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly,

Picture the hills. The first time I visited I was surprised at how steep and hilly this area is, and I was surprised at the pine trees. Did Mary run? Was she out of breath? Sweaty? Did they hug and start talking immediately?

If I had written this next part of the Bible I’d put in a lot more exclamation points! 🙂

You’re so blessed among women,
    and the babe in your womb, also blessed!
And why am I so blessed that
    the mother of my Lord visits me?
The moment the sound of your
    greeting entered my ears,
The babe in my womb
    skipped like a lamb for sheer joy.
Blessed woman, who believed what God said,
    believed every word would come true! Luke 1;39-45

What an unlikely pair – an unwed pregnant teenager, carrying Jesus, and an old, post-menopausal woman carrying John the baptist!

I love it that these two women visited during what was probably the hardest trimester for each of them. I can hear them peppering each other with questions…

Can you even? You? Me? Us??!

Have you had morning sickness? Want to sleep all the time?

Have you felt him kick?

How has your family reacted? What about Joseph? How are you holding up?

(And just imagine Zacharias in the corner, unable to speak at all!)*

Here are two faithful, amazing women through whom God is birthing something new. Something beautiful for the world.  And He gives them to each other, almost like birthing coaches.

This is you too. Whether you’re a mom or not God is birthing something beautiful through you. The labor and delivery can be hard, but He gives us to each other.

As I looked around at the women last night I thought how often they have encouraged me to breathe,

or to hang on,

or have said “Me too” at just the right time.

Who are the women in your life who are birth coaches, affirming the beauty that God is growing in you?

*Luke 1:20

When You Need Encouragement For Your Race

October 10, 2016 /

Yesterday was the Twin Cities Marathon. This time I was on the sideline cheering for friends and relatives running, scuffling, wheel-chairing, limping, charging to their finish line.

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I’ve run (read: scuffled) races myself, and other times like yesterday, I’ve cheered and prayed like crazy, feeling like part of a team with all humankind who are doing the best they can to run a good race.

When daughter Katy ran the Marine Corps Marathon a couple years ago I had the opportunity to be a cheerer.

I anxiously kept scanning the crowds of runners and praying for Katy, like the father of the prodigal son, willing him to come into view from afar off.

And when she came into sight I went crazy: IMG_8597

Is this a tiny bit of what our Heavenly Father feels as He watches us running our race of faith?  Is He picking us out of the crowd, fully aware of the miles when it’s going to be harder to keep putting one foot in front of another?  

Sometimes proudly pointing, like “That’s my boy!  That’s my girl!”, and other times yelling, “You’ve got this because you’ve got Me!!  You’re not alone!”

We are all runners.  We are all cheerers.

We all have hard races to run and we need each other.

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As cheerers we get to be the megaphone of God for a world full of weary marathoners.

I knew that miles 19-22 would be the hardest for Katy and so I got to jump on the course and run with her for that stretch.  Just like the year when she ran alongside me, and John cheered, and friends prayed and supported.

Two years ago in D.C. when Katy came up that last tough hill into sight, approaching the Iwo Jima Memorial at the finish line I had no shame.  I went crazy jumping, screaming, crying, waving.

And somehow above the voices of thousands of others, she heard, she turned, and found me.  She smiled and waved and as she passed me and ran to the finish line there was this picture – the bright turquoise runner in the middle of the frame – tiny in the grand scheme of things, but unmistakeable to her earthly parents and her Heavenly Father.

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And this is you too. Know that you have a heavenly Father who is crazy about you, cheering you on today.

5 Characteristics of Healthy Community

March 20, 2016 /

Who are your people? Do you have a group of friends who are your tribe, or your “home team”? Those people you can tell the truth to and they won’t throw you out? They may kick you in the butt when that’s needed, but they’ll also hug you and say “It’s gonna be ok honey”.

My husband, John, has gotten a little bit sick of me raving about a community of young married couples I have the privilege of hanging out with. They are called Catalyst, and they inspire the socks off me.

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Right from the start, they have leaned into the sacrament of community. They are my heroes in this regard.

There are five vivid snapshots of our life-together that come to mind, highlighting characteristics of authentic, life-giving community. I thought they might be helpful to share: Continue reading

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