Tag: Mark Batterson

Holding My Breath and 3 Selah Prompts

June 2, 2022 /

It’s summertime, which for me conjures up memories of being at the “Lake House” with my cousins, perpetually in a wet swim suit, rarely out of the lake.  One of the many games we would play was “who-can-hold-their-breath-longest-without-dying”.

Ok, it wasn’t a real active game, but you know…simple pleasures.  And nobody actually died so our parents considered it a win.

Sometimes, as adults, without even thinking about it, we play life like the  “who-can-hold-their-breath-longest-without-dying” game.

When I started running, I became much more aware of the importance of rhythm and rest, and basics. Like breathing.  And not holding our breath til we, you know, pass out.

This is not about Sabbath, but Selah. Selah is a term used mostly in the Psalms and a few times in Habbakuk that is a bit of a mystery.  Scholars aren’t positive what it means, but they think it means “rest” or “pause”.

Mark Batterson says, like in music, if Sabbath is a full rest, maybe Selah is a sixteenth rest.  A chance to catch your breath.

Or maybe Selah is the life jacket that helps us pop up above the water of everyday stress.

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If, as Eugene Peterson says, Sabbath is a day of “shutting down and shutting up.” maybe Selah moments are those in your day where you stop to think about breathing.  Reorient, and remember that you’re not in control, but you know the One who is.

Maybe Selah is a chance to:

  • Let go.  Unclench your hands and surrender to the one who is God since we are not.  I have to pray the Welcoming Prayer as a reminder to myself:  “Holy Spirit, I let go of my need for approval.  Welcome.  I let go of my need for power and control.  Welcome.  I let go of my need to change any person, circumstance or emotion.  Welcome.”
  • Look. “Look at the birds of the air…” Pay attention to the miracles all around.   I’m trying to be disciplined in stopping, standing still outside and looking around, praying:  “Creator God, thank you for…”

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  • Listen.  Our speaking comes out of our listening.  What we say comes out of what we hear.  We can pray: “Lord, what do you have to say to me about Yourself and myself today?”  Listen to words about God’s character in Psalm 46 where Selah is written in the margin in most translations after verse 3.

Mark Buchanan put it this way: When we don’t rest we’re in danger of letting ourselves be “consumed by the things that feed the ego but starve the soul.”

Stopping to breathe in the goodness and sufficiency of God gives oxygen to our souls.

Selah.

You don’t have to hold your breath all day.  Consider setting an alarm on your phone to remind you to stop and breathe. (Isn’t it crazy how natural that is for kids?  And puppies?  They delight in the breaths of each moment.)

What does Selah look like for you?

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This is an edited repost from the past.  Because I need to remind myself to breathe 🙂

The Third Way of Prayer

March 11, 2018 /

Seems like lately everyone around me has been experiencing loss, deep pain, or unexpected trauma.  As I walk along a wooded path my shoulders feel heavy. My spirit matches the damp gray afternoon and I dodge icy patches and sooty piles of snow. My prayers are more like a litany of lament, and it’s appropriate. There is a time for that. Absolutely. You may be lamenting, and God welcomes that.

There is also time for thanksgiving, for focusing not on what has been lost, but on all that we have to be grateful for…a kind of perspective corrective. We list one thousand gifts in a journal. We pay attention to our blessings.  We try to “think lovely thoughts”. Thanksgiving is always right and good.

But there’s a third way of praying  that has been most important to me in this heavy season.

Continue reading

Soul Food on a Bad Day

October 16, 2015 /

Awhile ago I wrote that I read and really liked Jen Hatmaker’s new book, For the Love. Full disclosure, there are a couple of chapters I didn’t care for, but mostly I think Jen’s hysterical and brilliant, and I read anything she writes. So this week when John asked if we could host a working dinner at our house with a consultant from out of town, I said “Sure.” and I decided I’d try THREE new recipes, including Jen’s recipe for Beef Bourguignon included in the book.

Big. Mistake.

I was also trying to squeeze in making soup for a friend with sick kids.

No, I’m not the brightest bulb on the string.

Add to this the fact that I’ve been sick and the number of guests John said were coming kept changing. I set the table three different times.

Let’s just say I was not my usual delightful self on Tuesday.

And then John showed up with these from my FAVORITE flower shop that I’ve ruthlessly trained him to go to gently hinted that I like. 🙂

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A picture of GRACE!!!  Soul food, sister!

And then a call from daughter #1 in D.C. at the exact moment I couldn’t do anything more. Grace upon Grace! More soul food that filled me up with joy.

These graces made me want to be gracier towards others too. Especially cranky pants who might be having a bad day. The next day I read this in Mark Batterson’s IF:

Goethe said, “Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can be and should be, and he will become as he can be and should be.” 

No one modeled that better than Jesus.

The Pharisees treated people as they were. Jesus treated people as they could be.

Anyway, in addition to sharing some pictures of grace I want to share a couple of other things. That Beef Bourguignon from Jen? Well, in addition to being impossible to spell, it was a BUCKETLOAD of work and I really didn’t think it was worth it. I actually think my go-to 4 Hour Stew recipe is better and soooooo much easier! So in case you don’t have it, here you go and you’re welcome!

In a large baking dish (preferably with a tight lid) put:

2 lb. beef stew meat cut in chunks

1 medium onion in chunks

1 stalk celery sliced

6 carrots cubed

Blend together: 1 t. salt, 2 Tb. sugar, 2 Tb. tapioca

Sprinkle this over your meat and veggies.

Add 1 can of peas and spread on can of tomato soup over all.

Cover and bake @250 for 4 hours. Serve over biscuits or potatoes or whatever you want. Ta da! Serves 6

While you’re enjoying your stew, here’s some more soul food for when it seems like peace is elusive and you want to be hopeful, but also honest about your feelings…After hearing them in D.C. last week I downloaded The Brilliance new album, Brother which I love, love, love. The title track, Brother, is powerful, but this is my favorite.

Lastly, one more picture of soul food or grace or whatever you want to call it…Several years ago we got a puppy that we loved, but had to give away because of our travel schedule. The great thing is that she went to an awesome family who asks us to take care of her when they are out of town – WIN-WIN!!

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The joy of her this week made me think of an old video that most of you have probably seen, but if you haven’t you need to.  Happy Friday! 🙂

Holding My Breath

July 2, 2014 /

It’s summertime, which for me conjures up memories of being at the “Lake House” with my cousins, perpetually in a wet swim suit, rarely out of the lake.  One of the many games we would play was “who-can-hold-their-breath-longest-without-dying”.

Ok, it wasn’t a real active game, but you know…simple pleasures.  And nobody actually died so our parents considered it a win.

Sometimes, as adults, without even thinking about it, we play life like the  “who-can-hold-their-breath-longest-without-dying” game.

When I started running, I became much more aware of the importance of rhythm and rest, and basics. Like breathing.  And not holding our breath til we, you know, pass out.

This is not about Sabbath, but Selah. Selah is a term used mostly in the Psalms and a few times in Habbakuk that is a bit of a mystery.  Scholars aren’t positive what it means, but they think it means “rest” or “pause”.

Mark Batterson says, like in music, if Sabbath is a full rest, maybe Selah is a sixteenth rest.  A chance to catch your breath.

Or maybe Selah is the life jacket that helps us pop up above the water of everyday stress.

lake2

If, as Eugene Peterson says, Sabbath is a day of “shutting down and shutting up.” maybe Selah moments are those in your day where you stop to think about breathing.  Reorient, and remember that you’re not in control, but you know the One who is. Continue reading

Life-giving Links and Likes

February 21, 2014 /

We had another 8″ of snow dumped on us last night and it’s tempting to think that spring and little green shoots will forever be smooshed down and hidden under heaps of this white stuff.

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Even before the most recent snow, this guy was looking longingly for any sign of life!

Maybe we’ll never ever see the lavender of lilac bushes or the pink of tulips again!  Maybe we’ll never smell the enticing aroma of burgers on the grill, or feel the warm pavement under bare feet!  ARRGH!  Stop the madness!!  Before we despair, a couple of life-giving links on this One Word Friday. Continue reading

What I Learned About Being “Fearless” in 2013

December 27, 2013 /

The week between Christmas and New Year has always been a good time for reflection. So I’ve been thinking about my “One Word” for 2013 – Fearless.

Not that I saw myself as fearless, but I believed God wanted to grow me in that direction.  It didn’t feel like it was “mine”.  It was an aspirational word.  Kind of like “thin” will be an aspirational word my whole life.

There was the acknowledgement that “Fear not.” is the most common command in the Bible and that other command, “Follow me.” which usually involves risk and the F word, at least in my life.

Living with this “One Word” in 2013 helped me to pay attention.  Henry James, a novelist, writes “Try to be one of the people on whom nothing is lost.” This was my goal.

Not that it’s been a smooth ride.  I had a panic attack for the first time in my life.  And that’s not “me”.  At least that’s how my pride responds.

But I also took risks, and went public with a big goal that I felt was beyond my ability.

I think the biggest “fearless” lesson I learned came while I was running. And running.  And, you know… trying not to die. Continue reading

Missing Church?

November 20, 2013 /

Mark Batterson recently tweeted: One of my driving motivations as a pastor is this – do people actually MISS church when they MISS church?

A couple of weeks ago on Sunday I was away from home.  We knew there was going to be an opening worship service for the conference we were at so no morning worship was planned.  But then some folks got together and said, “There’s just something about the Body gathered for Sunday morning worship that seems…holy…honoring…right. Like we’re missing something without it.”

They weren’t being legalistic, but they decided to put together a Sunday morning time of worship for anyone who wanted to come.  Lazily I almost didn’t go, but at the last minute slipped into the back and was treated to voices from every continent raised together in praise, a corporate exercise in adoration using the Psalms, and a simple Bible message.  Reminders all of the love of Jesus and the power of the Body joined in community.

This discipline of gathering as the church, weekly, has been something I’ve been pondering a lot recently. Continue reading

What’s on your reading list?

November 7, 2011 /

It’s totally unfair.  My husband reads fast and retains everything.  AND actually applies what he learns.  I, on the other hand, read at the speed of an endless Minnesota winter and struggle to retain a fraction of what I read, never mind actually applying it.  I’m in the loser bluebird reading group.  However, there are some books that I’ve read recently that have been impactful and so relevant that it’s been hard NOT to apply what I’m reading.  Here are a few.

I highly recommend all of them, but today I want to write about another one that’s not in that pile.  I received an advance copy of Mark Batterson’s new book, The Circle Maker, which will be out December 12th.  I’ve found this book to be challenging, encouraging, and uncomfortable in the best way possible.

If I had to name one thing I struggle with the most in living out my faith, it would be landing on the “right” way to view prayer.  I am inspired by those who dream big dreams and pray audacious prayers, but I am repulsed by those who seem to have more confidence in their specific prayer, than in the God they are praying to.  I’m paranoid about my prayers being more about me than God.  This book is both challenging and encouraging in that regard.  Batterson, using Joshua’s march around Jericho (in addition to a legend and other biblical accounts), writes about “praying circles around your biggest dreams and greatest fears.”  Mark himself prays huge petitions of faith, but is authentic in sharing the lessons he’s learned when God hasn’t responded as he might have liked.

This book is chock full of insights and examples that are catalytic. One of the images I love in Circle Maker is that of the hyperlink.                                                                          “Our most powerful prayers are hyperlinked to the promises of God.  When you know you are praying the promises of God, you can pray with holy confidence.  It’s the difference between praying on thin ice and praying on solid ground.  It’s the difference  between praying tentatively and praying tenaciously.”

A few other quotes to whet your appetite:

“Prayer is the alpha and omega of planning.  Don’t just brainstorm; praystorm.”

“If you seek answers you won’t find them, but if you seek God, the answers will find you.  There comes a point after you have prayed through that you need to let go…by resisting the temptation to manufacture your own answer to your own prayer.”

“We allow our circumstances to get between God and us instead of putting God between us and our circumstances.”

Batterson is NOT writing about a “name it and claim it” theology, but he challenges me through these words: “Nothing honors God more than a big dream that is way beyond our ability to accomplish.  Why?  Because there is no way we can take credit for it.  And nothing is better for our spiritual development than a big dream because it keeps us on our knees in raw dependence on God.  Drawing prayer circles around our dreams isn’t just a mechanism whereby we accomplish great things for God; it’s a mechanism whereby God accomplishes great things in us.”

In reading this book I am convicted that too often I pray safe prayers that allow me to “help” God out in case He doesn’t come through.  So, I’m reflecting on the riskier prayer circles God might have me draw.

I think this book is so good that I’m going to do a drawing for a free copy of The Circle Maker.  The names of everyone who posts a comment on this post before Tuesday night at midnight will be put in a hat for a random drawing.

How does this land on you?  Is prayer a challenge for you?  What’s one word that represents what you would like to circle in prayer?

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