Heather Holleman's Blog, page 126

20 Years

Today is Ashley Holleman’s and my 20th wedding anniversary! Here’s a picture from our engagement on the left and one taken last year.

I’ve loved being married to Ashley! I think the greatest thing I’ve learned about marriage is the importance of building oneness. It’s work! You have to continually enter into one another’s lives. We’ve done this through rituals like drinking morning coffee, taking daily walks together, and sharing one another’s interests. I have learned to talk about woodworking and Star Wars, and he has learned to love all my television shows that involve singing and dancing.

We also have to build oneness professionally. Ashley will visit my classrooms, pray for my students with me at night, and ask about my lesson plans and goals. He’ll socialize with my colleagues and learn about my supervisors. Likewise, I’ve entered into every ministry conversation and learned about his daily meetings and responsibilities. When we’re given different opportunities professionally, the first question we’ve learned to ask is this: Will this help or harm our oneness?

Spiritually, we’ve learned to ask about what we’re each learning in our Bible reading and morning devotions. We often pray on our knees together at night by the bed.

And now? We’ve written a book together! God is so kind to blend Ashley’s ministry life with my writing life.

So if I were to give anyone the best advice on building a fun and rewarding marriage, it’s to ask God to help you build oneness.

Some Fun Images to Share

Good news! My new book Sent: Living a Life that Invites Others to Jesus releases August 4th! I’ve attached some fun quotes you can share on social media if you’d like! I’m so excited about this book. It’s a practical, joyful, easy to read and easy to apply book on talking to people about Jesus. I cannot wait for you to read it. Thank you!!

Hiding Away

This morning, I think about the number of times David asked God to “hide” him, especially in Psalm 17 where he writes to God, “hide me in the shadow of your wings.”

I love how David understands God as his hiding place, most notably in Psalm 32:7 where he states: “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.”

I think of David wanting to hide away from the pressure of his ministry as king, from the fear of his real and imagined enemies, and from the battles he would fight. I think of him as an ordinary man with an extraordinary calling that he had to grow into. After all, think about that moment when he tries on the king’s armor that doesn’t fit him and decides to use the smooth stones and a sling to defeat a giant (1 Samuel 17: 38). I think of his mistakes and sin (Psalm 32). I think of all his despair recounted in his psalms. He’s a writer trying to make sense of his life like so many of us.

But in the quiet moment when David writes to the Lord, he asks for a hiding place. It’s sweet. It’s innocent like a child. I wonder if, as a shepherd boy alone on the hillside, he enjoyed hiding away in the shade somewhere as he watched the sheep. Children love to hide (especially if they know someone is looking for them and will find them). In that hiding place, it’s quiet and cool and restful. It’s peaceful and solitary. You can breathe in the hiding place. You can feel safe and loved. You can feel unseen from the crowd. It’s a place to think, to write, to pray, and to worship.

Today, we can let God be our hiding place.

A Turtle for Your Day

This Time Next Year

In Genesis 18, the Lord appears to Abraham to tell him something impossible. We read this: The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” Sarah, of course, laughs to herself; she knows this is impossible. But the Lord insists: “Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

I thought about that idea of “this time next year.” I thought of impossible things I would also like to trust the Lord for as led by the Holy Spirit. It became a fun and powerful exercise to think of what I would like to be true of my life and ministry this time next year. I think of Sarah laughing in her tent. I think of her giggling with the impossible joy of it and the unbelief in her heart. What if I could believe? What if I would listen to the promises of God? I write down in my journal my largest and most impossible dreams for my two daughters, for my husband, and for my own life. This time next year. . .

What would you write? What seems impossible and too hard for the Lord? What kinds of promises would make you laugh if the Lord came to you and spoke this kind of blessing into your life–of fruitfulness and legacy like Sarah? What would you want to be true of your own walk with the Lord this time next year?

Put a little reminder in your phone or in your computer. Let’s check back with each other July 20, 2021 and rejoice in the impossible things the Lord has done for us and within us.

Cooling Off

It’s unusually hot for Pennsylvania. Thankfully, we now have air conditioning, so I’m not packing frozen water bottles around my body in bed. Thank the Lord for air conditioning! I remember the many years without it and the number of fans and various contraptions we used to cool ourselves down.

I don’t love the heat. It’s hard to enjoy the outdoors unless it’s early morning or evening. Nevertheless, we all still enjoy taking daily walks. With it so hot outside, we find fun ways to cool down that don’t involve going anywhere else.

Today, we made homemade water ice–that famous Philadelphia treat also known as Italian ice. We used a food processor to crush two cups of frozen cherries, a tablespoon of lime juice, a splash of agave nectar (or you could use maple syrup or another kind of sweetener), and two tablespoons of water. It was so good. You can also use a few ice cubes to make this really cold and icy– if your blender or food processor is strong enough.

It was so refreshing! I immediately went to the garden to pick a fresh bowl of raspberries to freeze overnight to make a raspberry Italian Ice instead of cherry.

I ate it up! I forgot to take a picture! Thankfully, here’s a website with photos and a similar recipe. https://www.tasteloveandnourish.com/fresh-cherry-italian-ice/. We liked using frozen cherries so we could enjoy our water ice immediately. We also preferred lime to lemon flavor. Enjoy a wonderful way to cool down!

A Fun Opportunity: Join the Launch Team of Sent

It’s time! I invite you to join the Launch Team to spread the word about Sent! This is my latest book–on a new favorite verb–that I co-wrote with my husband! You’ll receive a free book and enjoy some private Facebook events till the official Aug 4 release! Open to the first 150 registrants. Registration closes Monday. Join by requesting membership here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sentlaunchteam/

Spaghetti Squash Baked Ziti Boats

We’re so excited about a new family recipe. It involves cutting open two spaghetti squash, taking out the seeds, and roasting them for about an hour in 400 degree oven. This will obviously warm your kitchen on winter days, too, so keep this in mind for later!

Each family member puts their cooked half on a plate (serves 4) and then uses a fork to shred up the squash. Then, they fill their squash half with marinara sauce (or any jarred or fresh sauce), ricotta, Parmesan, fresh garden herbs (basil, oregano), and salt and pepper. Gently mix. Then you can place the squash boats back into the oven under the broiler for just a minute to melt all the cheeses and brown the top.

For plant-based or vegan friends, you can use nutritional yeasts as your cheese and add a splash of almond milk to make the ziti boat more creamy. It’s great with just the squash, sauce, and herbs!

Enjoy a fun and healthy dinner. Here’s a good recipe to follow if you want to make sure you’re on the right track. We just improvise ours: https://www.skinnytaste.com/spaghetti-squash-sausage-lasagna-boats/. You’ll find great pictures on that website, too!

Altar Activity

I’m reading Genesis and the account of the flood. It strikes me that Noah and his family lived inside this ark for months and months. I think about all this time living inside in the COVID-19 world with my own family and animals. The passage hits differently; I’m resonating with this story in a fresh way.

When it’s finally time to leave the ark (and I think about when we’ll all return to normal living outside of our homes), guess what Noah does? Guess what this unprecedented and vital thing is?

He builds an altar to the Lord. It’s the first altar recorded in scripture. Noah makes a sacrifice to the Lord. I haven’t paid much attention to the presence of altars in the Bible, but today, I read in a Bible dictionary that “altars were places where the divine and human worlds interacted. Altars were places of exchange, communication, and influence. God responded actively to altar activity.”

In the New Testament, our final altar is the cross. I read this: “The New Testament writer of Hebrews (13:10) implies that the ultimate altar is the cross. Here divine and human interchange is consummated. The cross becomes the sanctuary of the believer, providing protection from the penalties of sin.”

I can’t stop thinking of that phrase that God responds actively to altar activity. He responds because of Jesus. And He also responds to us as we offer our bodies as “living sacrifices” as our act of worship (Romans 12:1). God responds to altar activity.

How does God respond to Noah’s altar activity? With fresh promises (8:21) and abundant blessing (9:1). With Jesus as my altar activity, I enter into the always fresh promises of God and His abundant blessing. My altar activity of consecrating my life to Christ pleases God, just like Noah’s sacrifice pleased Him.

I’ll go into the world, but first I’ll build an altar in my heart. In fact, I think of doing so every new morning.

My Favorite Thing in the Garden