Heather Holleman's Blog, page 149

If You Need the Best Rolled Sugar Cookie Recipe

Here it is! It’s “The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies” from AllRecipes.com. And for the icing? I love the taste of almond, so I use the Sugar Cookie Icing recipe from that same website.

The most important part of the recipe? You make the cookies for eating. They will not be works of art. Save that task for the experts. Save that for the Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest talent. Save that for the people who God gave a special gift of cookie decorating.

Google “Christmas Cookie Designs” and marvel at the talent. You don’t have that talent. Do not try.

Your cookies? Nobody wants to display these cookies. They will eat them. They won’t have time to take a picture anyway because they are too busy eating. You sit so secure in your life that you don’t need to impress anyone. You just spread on the icing with a knife, sprinkle those sprinkles on, and pass a bunch around to neighbors and coworkers.

So if your terrible artistic skills keep you from making decorated Christmas cookies, remember the story of the woman who made horribly decorated Christmas cookies that everyone loved and begged for each year.

Little By Little

This week I remembered something a wise woman told me. She talked about the Lord’s work in our lives as being “little by little.” God often doesn’t heal or deliver us all at once. He may work “little by little” in our lives. In Exodus 23:29-30, we read this about God’s settling of the Israelites into the promised land. When God talks about defeating the enemies around them, He says, “But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.”

Little by little.

God couldn’t defeat the enemies all at once. The Israelites had to grow first. They had to mature slowly until they were ready for their promised land. Timing and preparation were everything.

We see this account repeated in Deuteronomy 7:22: “The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you.”

I think of the “wild animals” that might multiply if we experience deliverance all at once. I think of pride and foolishness. I think of inexperience in spiritual battle. I think of a lack of dependence on the Lord. How thankful I am that God grew me little by little and not all at once.

I take great comfort in God’s promise to work little by little, especially as a parent. I also see the principle at work in good teaching and good discipleship. We work little by little.

If we’re discouraged that God is too slow or not thorough in our deliverance, consider the principle of little by little. And consider how God trains us for what will come. We grow little by little to train us for bigger things. In Psalm 144:1 we read, “Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.” Or think about Psalm 18:34: “He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.”

I couldn’t bend a bow of bronze last year, but maybe now I can because of God’s training that happened little by little.

God often works little by little (Exodus 23) when healing and delivering. Consider how, if it happened all at once, we wouldn't be ready (Deut. 7:22). This grows my patience and maturity.
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The “Dangerous Prayer”

This morning, I listen to my acquisitions editor, Judy Dunagan, on her interview on the podcast Living with Power. The episode contains so many nuggets of wisdom, but I especially love when Judy talks about prayer. In one part, she mentions a “Dangerous Prayer.”

The Dangerous Prayer: “God, do whatever it takes to fully capture my heart.”

I pray this for my family because I know how great God is. I know how important this is. I know the vital truth that a fully surrendered heart is what we’re made for.

“You Cannot Light Yourself”

The simplicity of the image amazes me: a candle cannot light itself. The pastor speaks this line on Sunday, and the image won’t leave me for days. I love exploring light in the Bible. Most notably, we hear this around Christmastime from Isaiah 9:2, in reference to the coming savior: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”

The reality stands: Isaiah proclaims that “justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.”

We need this light.

We want to be like David in Psalm 27:1 who cries, “The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?

The Hebrew translation of “light” expands to include everything from life to happiness; it means everything we need to truly live. Light is truth, wisdom, and meaning. It is salvation. When Jesus now says, ““I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” in John 8:12, we understand this was the light we’ve been waiting for.

We cannot light ourselves.

During this beautiful season, we look at the lights twinkling on trees and outlining homes. We know they testify to the Light of the World.

Blather On

Today the Italian Mama reminded me of a great verb and a precious gift: to blather.

Blather!

To blather means to talk in a long-winded way nonsensical way. You’ll normally hear the verb in an apology, as in, “I’m so sorry I blathered on.”

I love how close the verb approximates “lather” as in talking so much that you work the conversation into a fluffy lather. I picture frothy bubbles rising up around someone who blathers.

It’s not a bad thing. Blathering is a precious gift to both give and receive. When you allow someone to blather on, you give them the freedom to speak whatever they need to talk about. You let them empty their mind. It doesn’t have to make sense. In fact, someone listening to a blatherer might simply pick up the golden threads of conversation left here and there; they can help the other person organize their thoughts. What a gift. Already today, I’ve blathered on to two friends. I just talked and talked.

But when I’m on the receiving end of blathering, I feel so honored that a person would want to share their unfiltered, unprocessed, raw thoughts with me. Can you imagine being the kind of friend who sits down, looks intently at your friend and say, “Blather on! I’m here to listen! I will help make sense of it all.”

When you blather or listen to blather, it’s a place of blessing. It’s a gift to pour out words, and it’s a gift to sit as the listener. But either way, blather on.

Friendship means we allow others to blather on, and we help them make sense of their thoughts. And we also entrust our unfiltered and raw thoughts to others. To blather is a gift to give and receive.
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A Psalm to Sustain You

I memorized Psalm 16 to survive my first year of graduate school at the University of Michigan. I recited it in rhythm to sound of my snow boots crunching the snow as I walked to the English Department. David writes this as his own sustaining covering from the Lord:

Keep me safe, my God,
    for in you I take refuge.

2  I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
    apart from you I have no good thing.”
3  I say of the holy people who are in the land,
    “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”
4  Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.
    I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
    or take up their names on my lips.

5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
    you make my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    surely I have a delightful inheritance.
7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
    even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
    With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

9  Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest secure,
10  because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
    nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
11  You make known to me the path of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence,
    with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

In eleven verses, I knew so many things about the Lord that would carry me through a lifetime: We have nothing good apart from God; we will indeed suffer as we run after other gods; God makes us secure; He counsels us; with Him, we will not be shaken; He brings gladness and joy; He makes known to us the path of life.

In Psalm 16, I discovered a God who steadies me and fills me with unmatched joy.
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Some Cyber Monday Deals

Hello! Enjoy these great deals from Moody Publishers. Chosen for Christ http://bit.ly/35clHCQ and Included in Christ http://bit.ly/2r8rLNY both 50% off!

Consecrating December: “Let Us Fall Into the Hands of the Lord, For His Mercy Is Great.”

All weekend, I consider the great mercy of God. We need His mercy. We appeal to His mercy most of all. He cannot change from His merciful character. I love how David cries out to allow himself to fall into the hands of God, not men, because God’s mercy is great (1 Chronicles 21:13). Mercy: God’s gracious favor to give us what we do not deserve.

Throughout the Psalms, we read cries of mercy. The writers knew to appeal to God’s mercy as what we perhaps need more than anything else. In the New Testament, we read of this mercy as “tender mercy” (Luke 1:78). In translation, I get the sense that this mercy is tender because it flows from the inner heart of God. This mercy is God’s wonderful blessing on those who do not deserve it. It expresses itself most profoundly as the mercy we see in the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When we recognizes God’s mercy, we think about Jesus. When we need God’s mercy, we approach God because of Jesus.

When people see Jesus, they often cry out, “Have mercy on me, a sinner!” I spend a great deal of time considering Ephesians 2:6 which prompted my book Seated with Christ, but verse 4 and 5 carry their own power: “But because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy made us alive in Christ.” Our God is rich in mercy; it’s this mercy we find when we approach His throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). This mercy gives us “a new birth into a living hope” (1 Peter 1:3). Every good thing happening to you–and every bad thing from which you’ve been spared–originates in mercy. God’s ability to make beauty from sorrow flows from His mercy on our lives. It’s His mercy that sustains this day and this very moment. I pray we see it and experience it more and more. God have mercy on us!

Because of God’s mercy shown to us, we show mercy to others who do not deserve it–just as we are undeserving. We pray blessing over enemies and those who harm us. We pray that mercy would rest on not just our household (2 Timothy 1:16), but also on the homes of those around us.

This December, I rejoice in God’s mercy. When I think of the birth of Christ, I think of mercy. I pray for a deeper understanding of this mercy, and I pray that God’s mercy covers us. We need it more and more and most of all.

Because of God's mercy shown to us, we show mercy to others who do not deserve it--just as we are undeserving. We pray blessing over enemies and those who harm us.
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Ahead of the Snow

We leave early to drive back north to Pennsylvania. We learn the snow and ice will come this evening. We wish to get ahead of the storm. As we near home, the landscape changes. I see the beautiful deer dotting the edge of the forest. It’s hunting season now. I look out ahead down the road to check for leaping deer. When you drive in Pennsylvania near the woods, you’re always scanning up ahead of you. We settle into the warm house and gather groceries in case the ice keeps us inside. Pennsylvania, more than anywhere else, teaches me to get ahead of nature.

Card Games

The nephews teach me two new card games: Mafia and James Bond. We also play Spoons. When they ask me if I’ve ever played Spoons, I tell them that it’s a classic game of childhood—right up there with Spit, War, and Egyptian Ratscrew.

I love gathering to play cards. So many things have changed since I was a child in the 80’s, but when I play cards with these teens, I remember that some things stay the same.