Heather Holleman's Blog, page 158

Some Encouraging Words From Exodus

I loved reading these words about the Lord in Exodus this morning. I hope they bless you as well. In Exodus 14:13-14, we see such discouragement and fear as a vast army comes against the Israelites. We read this: Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Do not be afraid. Stand firm. The Lord will fight for you. Be still.

Then, I loved reading the Song of Moses and Miriam in Exodus 15. In particular, these words remind me of who God is: “The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. . . Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? . . . In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.” How beautiful!

All this, and I haven’t yet reached the part about the quail and the manna and God’s miraculous provision. This unchanging God still fights for us, still delivers us, still leads us, still performs miracles of provision, and still displays His strength on our behalf.

A Good Problem to Have

Twice in a meeting today, I hear (and use) the expression, “It’s a good problem to have.” Sometimes, the problems in an organization aren’t bad. They’re good. For example, too many people or too much money to manage means growth. Those are good problems.

But could I say that of other problems or even all problems? I wonder about the phrase all day. Could I say of any given problem that it’s a “good problem to have” since it represents God growing me, disciplining me, inviting dependence, or allowing me to experience His presence? It’s encouraging to think about how our problems are all good problems to have because, no matter what, God is working.

So I thought about that expression. I kept thinking about it.

As I turned to Exodus to complete my Bible reading plan, I think about all the problems associated with the birth of Moses, in particular from the perspective of Moses’s mother. I’ve read the account over a hundred times, yet each time, I pause in wonder. If you remember, Pharaoh instructs in Exodus 1:22 that “every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile. . .” in order to stop the spreading of the Hebrew people. Moses’s mother hides him for three months and then places him in a basket along the bank of the Nile. Pharaoh’s daughter finds Moses and is filled with compassion for him. At just the right time, Moses’s sister who had been watching nearby asks Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”

And, as you know, Moses’s sister returns with Moses’s mother. And then, Pharaoh’s daughter says the most ironic and beautiful words in Exodus 2:9: “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.”

I always stop right here. I think of Moses’s mother surrendering that baby only to receive him back with the double blessing of receiving payment for what she was already will to do freely. I think of Moses’s mother laughing about this. I bet she shook her head in unbelief and then joy.

I think about how God has a way about Him that He can give back to you what you give up but in a better, more blessed, more fruitful way. I wonder if that mother thought that having to send Moses off the way she did was a good problem to have. No. There’s no way she did at the time. It would have been an impossible and ridiculous thought. But later? I think of how she must have praised God.

So my problems right now just might be good problems to have because they represent what God is doing either right now or in the future.

Allow Yourself

I love a tall, fat stack of books as autumn approaches. It’s the season of reading for me. The Goldfinch, Gideon, Deep Creek, and the Bible. I like reading in either morning or late afternoon light–outside or by a window. I love the transport of it and how you get into a different place, but I hardly allow myself the pleasure until recently. I used to be all about efficiency, hard work, and productive days. So who has time to read?

But as I accumulate more simple pleasures that sustain hard work long term, I realize that, like just roaming around in nature, reading is such a gift from the Lord.

How Faint the Whisper

This morning I read in Job 26:14 his description of God’s power. He concludes by saying, “And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him!”

I consider how we only know the outer fringe, the faint whisper. God is unfathomably great, supremely marvelous, unsearchably good. We only know the faint whisper: there is so much more of Him.

Try, Try Again

I love teaching. I love the challenge of engaging students to make them feel the way I do about verbs and semicolons. I truly want them to come alive in class. So I try everything to create those moments when a student might suddenly, for once, feel curious and excited to write. I try everything I can to make that spark happen. If a lecture doesn’t work, I’ll bring in a video. If a video bores them, I’ll plan a hands-on class activity. If this doesn’t work, I’ll use a better question next time, a better example, a better lesson plan. Too tired? I’ve brought in a coffee cart before. Too lonely? I’ll do a name game every time till you feel like you belong here and that we miss you when you’re not here. Too unsure of why it matters? I’ll bring in every real-world scenario I can to show you why this assignment makes all the difference to your very real life right now.

I try, try again.

It makes me think of how God must feel about bored, detached me. Is He trying to engage me like this? Does He use whatever it takes to get me back to where I’m passionately engaged. I think He must. Maybe that’s why I do what I do like this. It’s because I know a God who does (and did) whatever it takes.

A New Goal: Reading the Bible in 90 Days

This summer, I discovered an awesome little book called Every Word: A Reader’s 90-Day Guide to the Bible by Susan Goodwin, Jennifer Peterson, and Molly Sawyer. What I love about this book is that you read the Bible chronologically and enjoy what the authors call “[soaring] over the entire story in all its splendor.”

So I started on September 1st with their reading plan (it’s hefty but worth it). What I’ve most noticed so far is this theme: God answers us and is with His people.

This morning I read Jacob’s description of God is Genesis 35: 3 when he builds an altar to God. He says that God is the One “who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.” Yes! That’s who God is!

God is the One who answered me in my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone. (Jacob in Genesis 35:3) #encouragement #praise
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Enjoying Life

A few days ago, I decided to write down a few moments I truly enjoyed from the day before. I figured that after a good night’s sleep, certain memories would have stayed or not. What would I want to reflect on 24 hours after the fact?

Not only did the activity remind me of how much I delighted in certain moments, but it also helped foster and reinforce that enjoyment. So I continued the practice for the next day and the next. What did I love about yesterday? What brought joy and delight and pleasure? What did I enjoy that surprised me?

Then I wrote down what my mind wanted to remember.

I learned some things: I loved allowing myself to get lost in a novel or memoir. I loved talking with people and truly connecting with them. I loved an organized closet with clothes freshly folded for the autumn season. I loved walking near the creek.

Sometimes people move so fast and become so lost in work that they forget what they enjoy. They simply cannot remember or pay attention long enough. I often feel this way. But when I let myself reflect on the day after a good night’s sleep, the memories my brain chose to keep have something to do with delight.

Bracket Fungi, Conks, and Other Things I’ve Never Heard Of

I wander the yard more carefully after nearly colliding with a garden groundhog who seems to brag in my face that he’s fattened himself on my berries and basil. I gingerly step around a spotted frog the size of my palm. It’s a day after a heavy rain, so I notice the mushrooms and fungi, in particular the beautiful cluster of what I learn goes by the name Bracket Fungi. Who knew? And who knew their bodies were called “conks?”

Oh, what a wonderful, strange world.

As Though For the First Time

In college, I read Frederick Buechner’s Longing for Home and underlined these words he uses to describe a wonderful preacher: “His passion was in his oddly ragged eloquence and in the way he could take words you had heard your whole life and make you hear them and the holiness in them as though for the first time.” I thought of teachers and writers and preachers who made me feel this way.

What a gift! I am so thankful for those people the Lord used to make the Bible come alive. I pray my own words could do this for others.

Back to the School Routine and the Bittersweet Truth

The first week of school ended, and we found ourselves at the high school football game to cheer on the Marching Band. And then, we slept well. We survived the week!

What a week! We purchased the correct school supplies; we made pasta salad for their lunch boxes; we ushered everyone out the door on time; we arranged the ritual after-school snack platters; we celebrated and prayed and realized that while every day is a “first” for the freshman, every day is a “last” for the senior. For her, this is a year of savoring, of paying attention, and of truly enjoying the little moments left of a childhood nearly over.

We’ll learn a new term by heart: bittersweet.