Welcome Spring!
Join Me in a Summer Book Study!
If you missed the invitation to join me for a Summer Book Study, visit my homepage for more information and a link to sign up!
We will be studying Women and Worship at Corinth: Paul’s Rhetorical Arguments in 1 Corinthians by Lucy Peppiatt, principal of Westminster Theological Centre.
Come Join Us!
Great Books for Summer!
I often have people ask, “What are you reading right now?” or “Have you read any good books lately?” Reading is as much a part of my life as writing, and I am usually reading two or three books of different genres.
So, some favorites I’ve either read or listened to on audible this year include:
- Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, this is an excellent book for anyone who wants to grow in compassion and love for those less privileged.
- Walking on Water by Madeleine L’Engle, a great book for writers, and anyone who wants to combine faith and art.
- When the Heart Waits by Sue Monk Kidd, I love beautifully written books and this one is a beauty! An excellent read for anyone entering mid-life, this is a moving story of her own spiritual journey and what it means to ‘actively wait’.
- Dandelion Summer another great novel by Lisa Wingate. Lisa Wingate is a brilliant writer, and I would recommend any of her novels for a fun and interesting book that also leaves you feeling satisfied and enriched by the experience.
- Women and Worship at Corinth by Lucy Peppiatt the book for our summer book study.
All of these are available on Amazon.
Spring Reflections
Spring Cleaning - Thinning good things to make space for better things.
It is a beautiful spring day, too pretty to spend indoors, so with a shovel in hand, I start working in one of my flower beds. These beds have been neglected, and it is time for an overhaul.
I began by clearing the debris and spading up the bed. I needed to thin the bulbs which have spread beyond their borders. That is the hard part – digging up the bulbs outside of the sections I want to keep and thinning those that remain. As I dig, some of the bulbs I save for transplant, but many of them end up in the discard pile with the debris.
While I am working, I am reminded of how hard it is to discard good things, to set up boundaries and borders, and to thin within these boundaries to allow growing room for what remains. But this has been my work for 2024.
I started this year asking myself, “What am I seeking this year? What do I want 2024 to hold for me?” I’m not sure we truly know what to thin out, discard, or keep until we know what we seek. You can read more about my New Year’s ponderings by clicking on the link below.
Naming the unknown
Perhaps like me, this thinning of good things to make space for better things has been a continual labor of hard choices in your life too. In this season, I must continually say ‘no’ to good things to make space for deeply rooted dreams to finally grow. It is hard to say ‘no’ when I want to say ‘yes’. Are there good things that you are reluctantly trimming to allow growing room for better things?
It has been hard to make room for the unseen work of writing that will not bloom forth for quite some time. However, this spring I have taken the courageous step to name this work, or more specifically, to assign it the name that I believe was prepared for it before the work began. If you missed my post More Than Mended – A Book Title? You can read more at the link below.
Learning to do what is best.
For most of my life, I have tried to squeeze more into my day than was humanly possible. I’m afraid that hasn’t changed much as the years roll by, in fact, I think I try to do more now than I ever have. There was a time in my life when I thought Psalm 90:12 admonished us to be aware of the passing days and not waste a moment. The subliminal message I learned as a child was, “I must be good, helpful, and productive to earn love.”
However, during a hard season of my life, I learned a life-changing practice and I realized this verse isn’t about how much we accomplish. And so, as I think about the brevity of life, I pray I give my best efforts to those things that are most important. How about you? What have you learned in your journey that has helped you remember how to do the best things and let other, less important things slip by undone? To read more about my thoughts on Psalm 90:12, click the link below.
Leaving Space for Grace
As I worked on this pretty spring day, I thought about my New Year’s prayer and my desire to love my neighbor well. The thought reminded me of a video I received a few months ago. The message of the video, which was intended for good, discouraged me because it seemed to leave little room in God’s kingdom for those who had not received complete healing or deliverance in this life.
It reminded me that to love well I need to leave space in my life for those who are different and the complexities of suffering. Loving isn’t always easy; it doesn’t come with easy answers, and it requires room. But just as I want to find there is space at the table for me, I want to help make space for others. This year as we thin out good things to make room for better things, I pray we carefully consider how we can love well and leave room for those who are wounded, grieving, or simply different. I pray we don’t forget to leave space for grace.
Making Space for Delight
As I was weeding and mulching to help minimize the regrowth of unwanted plants, I discovered a small treasure, a clump of cone flowers in between two beds. Although it didn’t look like there would be space in my newly cleaned beds for these perennials, these flowers bring me such delight, that I wanted to make space for them. In fact, I added a few more.
Sometimes when we are ruthlessly trimming out good things to make space for the best things, we may find our desires and delights directing us to keep something we had thought to discard – at least for a season. But when a good thing brings great pleasure, it may be one of the best things to keep. In this year of intense thinning to make space for writing, I have found a new church to be one of those little pleasures for which I needed to make space. As you carefully prioritize, I hope you have discovered a place of worship and fellowship that brings you delight. Read more.
A Look Back
As I look back at my work, I think about all the changes the years have brought to this flower bed. I remember the bare caliche and rocky blobs of concrete left after the house was built. I remember the profuse display of annuals I grew from seed and painstakingly weeded each spring. Now, perhaps like my life, this flower bed is tidier and more mature. I am reminded that I have lived here for over twenty-four years, and much has changed in the landscape of my place. And a recent conversation has reminded me how much has changed in the landscape of my heart. Today there is less maintenance in this flower bed and more space for what remains, and I think the same is true of my heart, there is less anxiety and worry and more space for grace. It is my prayer that each of us continue to grow in grace. Read more about this conversation that has me looking back.
Preparing for Summer
As the weather warms and spring arrives, what do you hope to see blooming in this season? What borders and boundaries do you need to repair or establish to protect those things you admire and treasure? What good things do you need to keep and where do you need to make space for growth? What brings you delight?
What is the prayer of your heart that you hear echoed in God’s word or in the great commission to your spirit? As the year matures into summer, I pray we pause to praise and live each day more than mended giving space for God’s grace and goodness in our lives and the lives of those around us.