Sarah L. Frantz's Blog, page 4

Monday Morning Washing in His Word

Psalm 88

Monday Morning Washing in His Word

Psalm 88

O Lord

Hear me

My night 

Cries and

My sighs

O Lord

Troubled Soul

Forsaken one

You placed

Me here

In these 

Dark depths

In these 

Deep pits

Heavy wrath

Overwhelming waves

Companions shun

My horror

Dimmed eyes

Through sorrow

Hands outspread

I cry

O Lord

O Lord

Work wonders

For me

Shadowed shades

Abaddon’s grave

Darkness hides

Your help

O Lord

I cry

Each morning

I pray

O Lord

Lift me

Reveal Your

Good face

Terror driven

I’m desperate

Your dread

Assaults me

O Lord

O Lord

FROM THE SWING FICTION FEATURE FRIDAY: A Time to Keep Silent

by Sammy Beuker

Mary didn’t care. A middle aged Karen of the most Karen of sorts waltzes through life deeming her judgment best… until… a series of unsettling visions reveal her small love for others. Unmasked before God Mary comes face to face with herself and is forever altered.

You may learn more about Sammy Beuker’s work here, here or here.

Ben Avery edited this diverse, edgy, eclectic, thrilling, masterful anthology inspired by Ecclesiastes 3.

If you love an anthology and want to add ours to your library, you may purchase your copy here!

It is available in Kindle, paperback, or hardcover!

Or you can visit my Etsy, Somebody’s Luggage to find single signature author prints by me in hardcover and paperback.

(And please consider following our anthology authors on Amazon and/or Goodreads if this is your jam.)

A Time to Keep Silent

by Sammy Beuker

Mary didn’t care. A middle aged Karen of the most Karen of sorts waltzes through life deeming her judgment best… until… a series of unsettling visions reveal her small love for others. Unmasked before God Mary comes face to face with herself and is forever altered.

You may learn more about Sammy Beuker’s work here, here or here.

Ben Avery edited this diverse, edgy, eclectic, thrilling, masterful anthology inspired by Ecclesiastes 3.

If you love an anthology and want to add ours to your library, you may purchase your copy here!

It is available in Kindle, paperback, or hardcover!

Or you can visit my Etsy, Somebody’s Luggage to find single signature author prints by me in hardcover and paperback.

(And please consider following our anthology authors on Amazon and/or Goodreads if this is your jam.)

When grief knocks…

The helmet of salvation — the knowledge He is near, all the time.

Philippians 4:7

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, 

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Just the week before I’d begun to miscarry on Valentine’s Day, 2007.

I was teaching chemistry co-op to high school students, a necessary class for high school transcripts, plus we were in the middle of preparation for the chem-e-car competition hosted by the University of Tulsa’s engineering department.

To say the show must go on would be an understatement. 

I sobbed on Sunday in the solitude of a hot bath, it was the year my personal tears became more public and though uncomfortable, it marked the beginning of learning to embrace Beatitude weakness — His “blessed are” statements are true.

For reasons unknown even to me, I chose not to tell everyone at co-op. My homeschool group knew and my church knew. Meals were brought accordingly as awkward silences punctuated the grief-stained atmosphere around us. This was loss but it was also the communion of the saints. And while their caring presence was a precious balm, it was all the sympathy I felt I could handle.

There was one friend I’d walked this road with in the past during her miscarriages. We’d sung hymns in her sorrow, praising the God who said we were to give thanks in all things. 

In all things.

This time it was her turn. She brought a meal, a prayer, and a framed quote:

A Friend is Someone Who Knows

 the Song in Your Heart & Can Sing it Back to You 

When You have Forgotten the Words

In the overcast, ash-coated valley of death, her words penetrated doubt-filled clouds as a shaft of light. I clung feebly to its message, like a thin tether it pulled me slowly forward. I dully placed the small frame in my kitchen windowsill to remind me every time I rinsed a cup or prepared a meal.

There was another friend who’d suffered a full-term loss, she drew near and wrapped her arms around my trembling shoulders and never let go.

And I found that in all things I could give thanks when such tender and dear friends were present, His arms and love incarnate.

My faith, which I had always feared might falter during personal calamity, flickered but stayed alight as I walked through my own Job-like crises. 

I worshipped with our congregation, singing Matt Redman’s Blessed Be Your Name, with my heart flayed wide open I surrendered the longed for baby. 

He gives and takes away, blessed be His name.

I begged like Jacob for the blessing of His presence and clung tightly with a death grip. And somehow He uncovered a precious truth He’d known all along but which had been hidden from me. My faith would remain through refining fire.

To say it blazed would be untruthful. But the steady ember assured me, no matter what, I was His. And He was near.

Simplifying Rest

by Lisa Rowell

Lisa Rowell’s Simplifying Rest is a refreshing 28-day devotional encouraging us to Stop Living Exhausted & Start Living Restored.

This is a lovely resource for any season of life but is particularly encouraging for the weary heart whose days don’t seem to slow down.

I am one such heart. Full days of caretaking my dad, our home, along with loving my family often leaves small margin for anything else. But I have learned quiet time reading His word and praying in the morning leaves me fueled and refreshed prepared for the day.

Your time talking to the Lord may look radically different from mine, but Lisa’s encouragement begins with looking to Him as your example of rest, looking to Him in every situation, trusting Him, concluding with making the beneficial choice to rest in Him.

I found the daily readings refreshing and encouraging. Well done, Lisa!

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You may find her book on Amazon here and learn more about Lisa here.

Monday Morning Washing in His Word

Psalm 83

You alone

Oh Lord

Reign over

The earth.

FROM THE SWING FICTION FEATURE FRIDAY: A Time to Mend

by S.M. Schuster

S. M. Schuster’s A Time to Mend is set in post-apocalypse Indiana, USA. In the not too distant past, Anne and Lois survived a world wide desolation and surfaced on the other side resilient but wary.

As the story unfolds, Anne’s confessions bring deep healing and unity. With empathy and in a “Spirit of ’76” and the Holy Spirit, the once divided factions join in celebration.

You can learn more about Shawn here, on Facebook here, or on instagram here.

Ben Avery edited this diverse, edgy, eclectic, thrilling, masterful anthology inspired by Ecclesiastes 3.

If you love an anthology and want to add ours to your library, you may purchase your copy here!

It is available in Kindle, paperback, or hardcover!

Or you can visit my Etsy, Somebody’s Luggage to find single signature author prints by me in hardcover and paperback.

(And please consider following our anthology authors on Amazon and/or Goodreads if this is your jam.)

Monday Morning Washing in His Word

Psalm 79

Oh God,

Guard me

From defilement

And ruin

Preserve my

Bones from

Birds and

Wild animals

Your wrath

Was satisfied

Through Christ

I am

Sealed by

Your Holy

Spirit and 

Kept by

Your good,

Refining presence

My sins

Are hid

You avenge

Your children,

Abraham’s offspring

By faith

Your flock

Rests secure

I recount

Your praise

Today we launched a book!

More tomorrow!

These Are the Good Old Days

I saw this pennant and claimed it for my home.

We have been blessed with five children and as of this writing, a ninth grandchild joined us last week, with another due in December.

And as I carve time for them I find it not only fleeting but scarce these days as I caretake my dad…

But then I remember, as I honor my dad, I am honoring God’s written word.

And I am reminded of a truth my friend Julie often says, “We are giving our children gifts they may not unwrap for 20-30 years.” And I know that deep in my bones, where my spirit resides. But still…

I ask myself, “How can I be more intentional with my family….”

Phrasing I gleaned from a discussion with our consuegros, our son’s in-laws, the day before our children’s wedding.

The six of us sat around a table discussing marriage, friendship, our individual walks with God. It was a rich and precious time our children carved out from all the busy-ness to thank both sets of parents.

Intentional. Thoughtful.

Gleaning in the fields. This is what I am learning.

In the in-between times as life makes room, I can have a grandchild spend the night. We can “homesChOOL” a variety of projects, read devotionals, cook a meal, spend time doing life together.

I can ask my daughter to join her at an upcoming church fair where handmade items will be sold. Precious time with a never-sit-still daughter in the busy days of tending four children with another on the way.

I can snuggle my other daughter’s two year old who has just welcomed her new baby sister.

These are the good old days and I want to be prayerful and intentional in my relationships with each one of them knowing these days are fleeting.