Archives for January 2020

A Dry and Weary Land Where There Is no Water

January 31, 2020 by Elizabeth 2 Comments

We are living in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

All around us are people who are dying of thirst.

In our neighborhoods.

In our workplaces.

In our schools.

We are in desperate need of springs of living water.

One of the beautiful things about our God is the way He allows us to be the ones to bring His kingdom into being on this earth.

Perhaps allows is not a strong enough word.

Part of our calling, our mission, as Jesus followers is to proclaim God’s kingdom rule in every corner of the piece of earth in which He has placed us.

For me, this begins in my home.

I want every person who enters my home to experience the love and peace of Christ. I want the love and peace of Jesus to radiate out from our home. I want our home to be a sacred place that draws others to Him.

Space matters, whether that space is a sprawling farmhouse in the country or a tiny apartment in the city, and what we do with the space we are given matters.

Let Thy kingdom come, let Thy will be done, in my home as it is in heaven.

We are called to fill our spaces with truth, goodness, and beauty.

We are called to fill our spaces with water.

We who have chosen this God-life have been promised that the living water given to us will become springs of living water.

A spring is an opening in the surface of the ground where water from deep under the ground comes bubbling out.

This is what we are given and this is what we are called to.

We who will never be thirsty again, we who have been satisfied in our deepest places, we who have been filled up with Him,

we are not to hoard this gift.

We are to be springs, not stagnant ponds.

Our land is a desert land.

Our neighborhoods, our workplaces, our schools are all parched and dusty places.

We are surrounded by people who are in desperate search for a true water that can quench their thirst once and for all.

They need springs that are not stopped up but are flowing freely.

We do not need to fear running out, do not need to fear not having enough. Our spring will never run dry because it comes from a place that is deeper than ourselves.

We only must ourselves continue to drink from the source. We must continue to fill ourselves up so that we can continue to overflow.

We live in a dry and weary land, and God has asked us to water the desert.

He has made us into springs of water for this very purpose.

To hear my blog post read aloud, just click the play button. If you’re reading this in an email, you may have to click here to hear the post on my site.

Art credits: photograph of Cleopatra spring of water in Siwa by Sara Nabih; photograph of mountain spring by Kirk Sewell; photograph of sand by Made Sacred

Filed Under: daily life, Scripture, theology

Nothing Is Wasted

January 24, 2020 by Elizabeth 1 Comment

What is the point?

What is the point of all that we do in this life?

We struggle to become like Jesus, make a small gain and then fall right back into our old behavior.

We work to serve others, to love them and help them, only to have our service rejected and misunderstood.

We strive with all our being to live as a witness, a light, to those we love, yet no one will listen.

We labor to create beauty in our own little piece of the world, then watch it all descend back into chaos.

Why do we bother? Why should we continue to persevere when there is so little to show for our travail?

Take heart, dear one.

Nothing done for our Father is ever wasted.

Nothing.

Every choice made to do the right thing, every resistance of the wrong,

every kind word to a stranger, every meal cooked for a friend,

every flower planted, every toilet cleaned,

every word written, every note sung,

all of it is used by our King to bring His kingdom more fully to this earth.

God sees it all, the outward action and the inner thought, and none of it is wasted.

What is the point?

We pray for it every time we say the Lord’s Prayer: we pray that His name will be holy, that His kingdom will come, and that His will shall be done, and all of this to be done on earth exactly as it is done in heaven.

The point is heaven and earth becoming one, the whole of creation becoming new again, the point is nothing less than God Himself dwelling with His restored and remade people.

That is the point.

So do not be discouraged when you see no result from all of your effort. Do not lose hope when all seems for nothing.

Our Father has promised. Nothing that we do for Him will be wasted.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. ~ I Corinthians 15.58

Take courage and press on. The Holy Spirit is working within our most feeble efforts and will bring the most astounding beauty out of it all.

To hear my blog post read aloud, just click the play button. If you’re reading this in an email, you may have to click here to hear the post on my site.

Art credit: all photographs are copyright Made Sacred 2020

Filed Under: daily life, sacred

Made Sacred

January 17, 2020 by Elizabeth Leave a Comment

Mopping the floors, baking the bread.
Changing the diapers, making the bed.
Cleaning toilets, these things we dread.

We are told in Colossians that Christ is before all things and that in Him all things hold together, but it is difficult to believe that God could be a part of something as ordinary as cleaning toilets, as tedious as reading yet one more rendition of Good Night, Moon. It is difficult to understand how we could possibly involve Jesus in these dreary tasks. How in the world, how in the middle of this mundane world, could a holy Christ possibly relate to the filth of toilets?

I had the honor this week to have my essay published over at Foundling House. I would love for you to click over and read the rest of my essay. While you’re there, you should explore a little. There is much to be discovered.

Art credit: drawing of Brother Lawrence is from a book published by Fleming Revell Co. in 1900.

Filed Under: sacred

I Need His Silence

January 10, 2020 by Elizabeth 2 Comments

Sometimes the silence is daunting.

I sit and I sit and I sit and I wonder where God is.

I want the Voice, the delight, the spiritual moment, and when it is not there I wonder what went wrong.

Yet if I only experienced bliss, I might only trust in bliss. If I only experienced delight, I might only trust in delight.

I might never trust in the infallible character of God.

It is easier to make a lot of noise.

It is easier to keep up a steady stream of words and song.

By filling my space with words it is easier to convince myself that all in my world is as it should be.

By making a lot of religious din we assure our faltering hearts that everything is well. ~ A. W. Tozer

The silence, therefore, however daunting, is necessary.

I must be taught to rely on the Everlasting Father rather than on His comfort.

I must be taught to put my faith in the promise of His presence rather than on my experience of that presence.

I must be taught to trust in Christ the Rock regardless of any corroboration.

I need to sit in the silence.

God often withdraws His inward comforts. Sometimes for long periods.

I need to sit in His silence. And be okay with it.

The silence is still daunting.

I sit and I sit and I sit and I know that He is here.

I will put my trust in Him.

To hear my blog post read aloud, just click the play button. If you’re reading this in an email, you may have to click here to hear the post on my site.

Filed Under: daily life, theology

This Magic is Real

January 3, 2020 by Elizabeth 1 Comment

There is a magic making whole again that which was broken.

There is a magic transforming the wrecked into what it was before it was hurt.

This is not a magic of tricks and illusion. It is not a magic that pretends or puts up a shiny veneer. It is not a magic that pushes things to be something other than what they are.

It is, rather, a magic that honors what is real, what is true. It restores.

Sometimes this magic takes a long time to work.

Sometimes this magic takes effect right away.

It changes with each person. What is needed is what is done.

What is needed.

Not what is desired.

You must be willing to change. This magic will not force itself.

Yet as far as you are willing, this magic will nurture you to grow into what you truly are. It will refine you into what you were intended to be.

It sounds too good to be true. It sounds like a fairytale.

Yet this fairytale is real.

The King came to earth and sacrificed Himself so that His beloved can hold this magic and become worthy of the King.

The fairytale is true and this magic is yours.

All you have to do is reach out your hands and believe.

To hear my blog post read aloud, just click the play button. If you’re reading this in an email, you may have to click here to hear the post on my site.

Art credits: The Fairy Tale by Walther Firle; Fairy Tales by Jesse Willcox Smith; Fairy Tale by Barnstar; Fairy King and Queen by unknown

Filed Under: sacred

Archives for January 2020

A Dry and Weary Land Where There Is no Water

We are living in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

All around us are people who are dying of thirst.

In our neighborhoods.

In our workplaces.

In our schools.

We are in desperate need of springs of living water.

One of the beautiful things about our God is the way He allows us to be the ones to bring His kingdom into being on this earth.

Perhaps allows is not a strong enough word.

Part of our calling, our mission, as Jesus followers is to proclaim God’s kingdom rule in every corner of the piece of earth in which He has placed us.

For me, this begins in my home.

I want every person who enters my home to experience the love and peace of Christ. I want the love and peace of Jesus to radiate out from our home. I want our home to be a sacred place that draws others to Him.

Space matters, whether that space is a sprawling farmhouse in the country or a tiny apartment in the city, and what we do with the space we are given matters.

Let Thy kingdom come, let Thy will be done, in my home as it is in heaven.

We are called to fill our spaces with truth, goodness, and beauty.

We are called to fill our spaces with water.

We who have chosen this God-life have been promised that the living water given to us will become springs of living water.

A spring is an opening in the surface of the ground where water from deep under the ground comes bubbling out.

This is what we are given and this is what we are called to.

We who will never be thirsty again, we who have been satisfied in our deepest places, we who have been filled up with Him,

we are not to hoard this gift.

We are to be springs, not stagnant ponds.

Our land is a desert land.

Our neighborhoods, our workplaces, our schools are all parched and dusty places.

We are surrounded by people who are in desperate search for a true water that can quench their thirst once and for all.

They need springs that are not stopped up but are flowing freely.

We do not need to fear running out, do not need to fear not having enough. Our spring will never run dry because it comes from a place that is deeper than ourselves.

We only must ourselves continue to drink from the source. We must continue to fill ourselves up so that we can continue to overflow.

We live in a dry and weary land, and God has asked us to water the desert.

He has made us into springs of water for this very purpose.

To hear my blog post read aloud, just click the play button. If you’re reading this in an email, you may have to click here to hear the post on my site.

Art credits: photograph of Cleopatra spring of water in Siwa by Sara Nabih; photograph of mountain spring by Kirk Sewell; photograph of sand by Made Sacred

Nothing Is Wasted

What is the point?

What is the point of all that we do in this life?

We struggle to become like Jesus, make a small gain and then fall right back into our old behavior.

We work to serve others, to love them and help them, only to have our service rejected and misunderstood.

We strive with all our being to live as a witness, a light, to those we love, yet no one will listen.

We labor to create beauty in our own little piece of the world, then watch it all descend back into chaos.

Why do we bother? Why should we continue to persevere when there is so little to show for our travail?

Take heart, dear one.

Nothing done for our Father is ever wasted.

Nothing.

Every choice made to do the right thing, every resistance of the wrong,

every kind word to a stranger, every meal cooked for a friend,

every flower planted, every toilet cleaned,

every word written, every note sung,

all of it is used by our King to bring His kingdom more fully to this earth.

God sees it all, the outward action and the inner thought, and none of it is wasted.

What is the point?

We pray for it every time we say the Lord’s Prayer: we pray that His name will be holy, that His kingdom will come, and that His will shall be done, and all of this to be done on earth exactly as it is done in heaven.

The point is heaven and earth becoming one, the whole of creation becoming new again, the point is nothing less than God Himself dwelling with His restored and remade people.

That is the point.

So do not be discouraged when you see no result from all of your effort. Do not lose hope when all seems for nothing.

Our Father has promised. Nothing that we do for Him will be wasted.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. ~ I Corinthians 15.58

Take courage and press on. The Holy Spirit is working within our most feeble efforts and will bring the most astounding beauty out of it all.

To hear my blog post read aloud, just click the play button. If you’re reading this in an email, you may have to click here to hear the post on my site.

Made Sacred

Mopping the floors, baking the bread. Changing the diapers, making the bed. Cleaning toilets, these things we dread.

I had the honor this week to have my essay published over at Foundling House. I would love for you to click over and read the rest of my essay. While you’re there, you should explore a little. There is much to be discovered.

I Need His Silence

Sometimes the silence is daunting.

I sit and I sit and I sit and I wonder where God is.

I want the Voice, the delight, the spiritual moment, and when it is not there I wonder what went wrong.

Yet if I only experienced bliss, I might only trust in bliss. If I only experienced delight, I might only trust in delight.

I might never trust in the infallible character of God.

It is easier to make a lot of noise.

It is easier to keep up a steady stream of words and song.

By filling my space with words it is easier to convince myself that all in my world is as it should be.

By making a lot of religious din we assure our faltering hearts that everything is well. ~ A. W. Tozer

The silence, therefore, however daunting, is necessary.

I must be taught to rely on the Everlasting Father rather than on His comfort.

I must be taught to put my faith in the promise of His presence rather than on my experience of that presence.

I must be taught to trust in Christ the Rock regardless of any corroboration.

I need to sit in the silence.

God often withdraws His inward comforts. Sometimes for long periods.

I need to sit in His silence. And be okay with it.

The silence is still daunting.

Mopping the floors, baking the bread.
Changing the diapers, making the bed.
Cleaning toilets, these things we dread.