Heather Holleman's Blog, page 104

Trying It Ourselves

My hubby has a birthday on Monday! He LOVES carrot cake, and this year, we wanted to order him a famous Daisy Cakes Carrot Cake (as seen on Shark Tank). 

But it was way to expensive–almost 80$ with shipping. We checked the website again, and we found out that on her journal, Kim from Daisy Cakes provides the recipe for her bestselling Daisy Cakes Carrot Cake. 

What if we spent our Saturday trying to make the famous carrot cake ourselves? Yes! My daughter and I were so excited! We decided to make our own carrot cake cupcakes from the recipe. We even made little vanilla carrots from fondant. We added a little crushed almond to the tops. Living with flair means to try it out yourself to save money and also to enjoy the process! We had so much fun, and these truly taste outstanding!

The recipe made quite a few, so we’re excited to freeze some and give some to neighbors. Thank you, Daisy Cakes!

Sometimes You Just Stand There

I notice something interesting as I read about the Israelites crossing the Jordan. If you read Joshua 3-4, you’ll experience a profound miracle: God parts the waters of the Jordan so all the people can pass on dry ground. But observe the leaders–the priests who carry the ark of the covenant. They stand there. They stand right there in the middle of the riverbed until everyone else has passed safely to the other side.

God says to these leaders: “When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.”

You shall stand still. 

I think about this. I think about leaders who stand still, who stay where they are in the midst of some precarious (although wonderful) moment. They stand in faith, in intercession, in leadership. They stand. They stand so everyone else can find their place of rest and safety.

Someone has to stand in the middle of the river. We read this: “Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan. . . For the priests bearing the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to tell the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. . .The people passed over in haste. And when all the people had finished passing over, the ark of the Lord and the priests passed over before the people.”

I think about those leaders as the thousands of people rushed by them. It reminded me of people who serve tirelessly so others can heal. It reminded me of leaders who don’t falter or seek other things but just stay put to serve in hidden and unrecognized ways.

It also reminded me of that feeling that some of us get that so many others are rushing on ahead to their dreams and wonderful lives while we stay put where God has us–in motherhood, in prayer, in our ordinary lives.

We’re standing still right here so others can get to their Promised Land.

A Picture to Ponder: Legacy and Rebirth

Two People Coming Into the Room

I woke up this morning thinking about a quote I read in an AW Tozer book. He discussed certain godly people and said, “Think of Frances Havergal, of whom it was said that when she came into a room, there was a consciousness of two people coming into the room–Frances Havergal and the Holy Spirit.”

(Frances Havergal was the hymn writer of Take My Life and Let It Be as well religious booklets and children’s literature.)

Think of it: When you enter a room, you bring two people: you and Jesus. Think of it: Could someone say of us that when we entered a room, there was a consciousness of Someone Else coming along?

When she came into the room, two people came. 

I thought of the “rooms” I enter: my living room with my family members, my classroom, and my neighborhood. I remember there’s two, and my whole perspective changes.

Surround and Crown

I’m reading the Psalms in a new translation, and I’m amazed at little words that catch my eye. In the English Standard Version (ESV), I read Psalm 5 with fresh insight. David says this in verse 12:

For you bless the righteous, O Lord;
    you cover him with favor as with a shield.

In the NIV, you’d read “you surround him with favor.” Other translations replace the verb “cover” and “surround” with “compass” and even “crown.” In the Hebrew, the verb actually means both encircle and crown. It’s beautiful! God covers us (protecting us with His encircling care, while also blessing us, honoring us, crowning us).

We are surrounded and crowned. We are encircled and honored.

I love picturing the encircling presence of God around us. And then I remember He also crowns us with all the dignity, honor, and favor of one who wears the royal crown.

 

Little Treats

It’s March! We’ve made it a year through a pandemic!

I think it’s a month for treats. What if you treated yourself to something small each day in March? Something to show you’re still here, that you’re making it, that you’ve survived?

A special coffee? A song you buy on iTunes? A novel you allow yourself the time to read? If I told you you must treat yourself today, what would you do?

I’m making March a month of little treats.

What Requires Strength and Courage?

I love the repetition in Joshua 1 as God commissions Joshua to take over the Promised Land. I imagine the Lord’s words stand for anyone moving into unknown, new territory as they follow Him with obedience.

What does God repeat in verses 6, 7, and 9?

This:

Be strong and courageous.

Be strong and very courageous.

Be strong and courageous. 

When we look at our own lives, I think about us doing marvelous things that require fresh strength and courage. Of course, God gives the true reasons why we’re able to find this strength and courage: Him.

Joshua can find strength and courage because God already sees what He’s going to accomplish through him. Why worry?

Joshua can find strength and courage as he obeys God because God  promises good success. 

Finally, we know Joshua can find strength and courage for the ultimate reason: because God is with Him wherever he goes. 

What marvelous thing is on the horizon in your life that requires strength and courage?

 

The More Complicated, The More Simple

I’ve lately felt more overwhelmed with fresh work assignments, new problems to solve, and future writing plans. I stay awake at night trying to solve certain problems related to curriculum or books I’m thinking about writing. Am I making the right decisions? Am I missing anything? Is there something else I should be doing?

Ah!

This morning, I felt so relieved to read this verse in Psalm 138:8: The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. 

It’s so simple and beautiful. What a joy to embrace this truth and choose to believe it. God is working now to make come about what He intends for our lives. Yes!

A Tribute to That One Teacher

Last night I learned that my high school typing teacher passed away. Pat Renner taught a business class at West Potomac High School where I attended in the 90’s.

I’ve hardly thought of Mrs. Renner since I took her typing class, but not a day goes by that her class doesn’t impact my life. I type every single day. I didn’t know at 15 years old that I’d become a writer. I didn’t know that this class would serve as the foundation and the scaffolding for everything I do professionally.

There I sat, positioning my teenage fingers on the typewriter: asdfjkl; asdfjkl; asdfjkl;. Nobody talked. We just typed. I remember. I see her short blond hair and smart wardrobe. The room erupted each day with the sounds of clicking and carriage returns. The first day, I felt the keys respond to my fingers. Day after day, my fingers found the keys. Day after day, I learned and began typing so quickly I felt like a master musician playing Rachmaninoff. I remember I sat next to Casey who always typed faster than I could.

How could anyone know that Mrs. Renner’s lessons would become the foundation of that essay I typed on my first word processor for the University of Virginia–probably the first official document I ever typed? Every essay, every book, every blog–it all stemmed from that one class I never think about but use every single day of my life.

I wish I would have taken the time to reach out to her and thank her for sitting in that classroom 30 years ago and enduring the sounds of kids learning to type. I’m typing this now without looking at the keys–all because of Pat Renner. I think she’d be proud of how quickly I typed this for her.

Slow Transformation

Things take time. I’m not a patient person, so I’m fascinated by what it takes emotionally to invest in something without immediate returns. It’s good to grow into this kind of patient person who takes the long view of things–physically, socially, financially, and even spiritually.

Take weight training, for example. I’ve heard this quote: It takes 2 weeks to feel it, 4 weeks to see it, and 6 weeks to hear it. In other words, you’ll feel different (stronger, better) in 2 weeks; you’ll begin to see results in 4 weeks (weight loss, toning, etc); and in 6 weeks, other people will notice. I’ve also heard this: 6 weeks to be it; 12 weeks to see it (meaning you establish a habit in 6 weeks and then you see results in 12 weeks).

Things take time when you’re trying to transform something, especially in the category of personal fitness. It’s the same for any area of improvement if you think about it. But I’m learning how important a mindset shift is here: consider a 12 week waiting period till you see results. In the meantime, plug along, day by day.

One day, the transformation will happen. Whether you’re building financial health or working towards maturity in any area, you won’t see the new you overnight.