Heather Holleman's Blog, page 22

Nearness

As I continue meditating on Psalm 34, I look at verse 18:

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

What a beautiful verse. When we are hurting, God is near. Can you believe it? How wonderful to imagine God near you as you feel crushed in spirit. How wonderful to think of Him saving you. I think of Him coming for you, drawing near, and comforting.

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Mercies All the Same

I pause at Psalm 34:10b: “But they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.” What a verse! What a promise!

I’m realizing what we must believe in order for this verse to make sense to us. We have to believe that what God withholds from us is for our good. We have to believe that the thing we want but don’t have wasn’t good for us or wasn’t good for us right now. We have to believe that we have Jesus as our Good Thing and, with Him, we have everything we really need.

I think of Elisabeth Elliot and her words on “severe mercies.” She writes this:

“God never withholds from His child that which His love and wisdom call good. God’s refusals are always merciful—’severe mercies’ at times but mercies all the same. God never denies us our heart’s desire except to give us something better.”

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For Every Fear You Have

I absolutely love Psalm 34. It hits me differently every time I read it. It’s astonishing how living and active God’s word is; it contains fresh application every new morning. Today, I focus on verse 4:

I sought the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

David, remember, legitimately had reason to fear many things. He feared for his very life. While we might not fear for our lives at this moment (although someone reading might), we all, if we’re honest, hold onto many fears. What if we listed them? What if we drilled down into the real fear, too. What is it, ultimately, that we fear? And do we believe that God will answer and deliver us from our fears?

I find that no matter what fear I write in my journal, the answer is God is there for me.

Am I afraid of loneliness? God will be there.
Am I afraid of something bad happening? God will be there.

In Psalm 112, likely this same David wrote this about people who trust God: “He has no fear of bad news; his heart is strong, trusting in the Lord.”

I wish for us to become this strong.

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You Hope, But You Never Know

I’ve been bursting with joy because of two young readers and their responses to This Seat’s Saved. When you publish a book, you never really know what readers will think. Since this is my first time writing fiction for this age group, I’m eagerly awaiting the reviews from actual children.

Last night, I received this review from a teen reader who runs the review website called Fantastic Books and Where to Find Them. I love the part where she writes, “There is nothing that I would change about this book. It was amazing and I loved every minute of it!” and “This book taught an amazing lesson and had an amazing story. It was really impactful to me as a young teen and I don’t think that you can walk away from this book without being changed. It teaches you the ultimate lesson: It doesn’t matter what other people think of you because God sees you as His beautiful child!”

Then, early this morning, I saw the first amazon.com review from a mom who wrote about her daughter’s experience with reading This Seat’s Saved. She titled the review “Got my daughter to read!” and wrote this: “My 12 year old, who hates reading, was gifted this book. She loves it so much, she skipped movie night with friends to read! She asked me to order another copy to keep at home so she can pass on her copy. I am in tears and can’t wait to read it. To give a 12 year old the gift of reading, AND the love of Christ, is a MIRACLE. THANK YOU HEATHER!”

Now, if no more reviews come in, or if I received some negative ones, it doesn’t matter. At least two girls were encouraged by this book, and in the end, that’s enough for me. I’m thanking God for the opportunity to write for young people. It’s not only helping them know Jesus better, but it’s also helping them love to read and connect with their parents over tough middle school issues. Praise God for that!

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Book Release Day!

It’s the official “book release day” for This Seat’s Saved! It’s nice having a single day to celebrate, even though nothing particularly special happens on this day. It just means it’s officially available for purchase.

I like thinking of book release day like book release month. June means people start to order the book, receive the book, and comment on the book. I love hearing what readers think. I’ll receive Facebook or Instagram messages, often with photos of children reading the book. I’ll receive emails and texts. The best part of writing books involves this interaction with readers. It completes the circuit: I write, you read.

I wrote Seated with Christ in 2015, and I still receive messages about the book’s impact. That’s eight years of special notes. I pray that This Seat’s Saved impacts young readers like this for years and years and years.

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Warm Connections Through Great Conversation Questions

I spent all weekend at graduation parties. I met new people, spent time with old friends, and lounged in backyards as we all celebrated our graduating seniors. I loved the joy of applying all I learned while researching and writing The Six Conversations book. I’m never afraid to talk to someone and form a warm connection. I’m rarely at a loss for where to go next. Whether it’s a young child or a grandparent, I’m delighted to ask good questions to start a great conversation in motion.

I discovered a new question in the emotional pathway of conversation. You’ll love it! I sat with a retired couple, and after introducing myself and asking where they lived in town, I learned they had just moved to a retirement community after living on several acres where they managed an extensive garden. What would I ask next? Since the older man mentioned his land and garden, I thought of the emotional category.

I asked, “Of all the plants you’ve ever grown on your land, what were you most proud of?”

I loved watching his face go deep into thought as he smiled. I imagined he was recalling a lifetime of gardening, perhaps going back as far as boyhood. He looked up, nodded in agreement with his wife, and they both cried, “The purple asparagus!”

I had to learn more. Asparagus? How could anyone be so proud of asparagus?

The conversation now flowed. Why asparagus? What’s purple asparagus? What did you decide to do with all your asparagus? (volitional) How do you cook it? (physical) Did you give much of it away to friends? (social)

I learned so much about asparagus. I heard stories that made us all laugh about this enormous asparagus crop. Then, I shared my own life. I talked about my own pride in my plumcot and peach tree, and the wise man gave me timely advice for pruning and protecting my orchard. On and on we talked. I even talked about all God was teaching me from John 15 and my pruning tasks. I found out about their church at that point. Before the end of the evening, Ash was exchanging contact information and agreeing to see how our church might help their church on an upcoming mission trip. We parted ways as friends.

Warm connection. Rich belonging. Learning. Laughing. It all starts with a great question.

And it can be any kind of conversation. Even about asparagus.

Try asking people what they’re most proud of about something you learn about them: What part of your home decorating are you most proud of? At the end of the day, what are you usually most proud of yourself for doing? When you look back on your time in school, what are you most proud of? I love this new question!

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A Great Verse for Grads

I loved meditating on Deuteronomy 31:6 today. It’s a perfect Bible verse for anyone embarking on something new in life:

“Be strong and courageous, for the Lord your God goes with you. He will not fail or forsake you.”

A perfect promise from a perfect God!

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Back Where You Started

I’m starting to feel like soon, I’ll be back to where I started with just my husband and me, no kids. Back to the days before it all.

I turn to Psalm 16, a psalm that in many ways started it all for me with the Lord. It was one of the first psalms I ever memorized, and I’d recite it as my snow boots crunched the icy sidewalk as I walked to class as a graduate student at the University of Michigan. Reading it now, 25 years (and a husband and two children and three cats) later, I find it remarkable. I go back to where I started. Back then, I was hoping in these things. But now? I see the fulfillment.

God was faithful. God kept His promises. I underline this again:

You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Psalm 16:11

God taught me where to find abundant life, the life that is truly life.

God taught me how to find joy.

God showed me pleasures beyond anything I could imagine.

I’m back to where I started with Jesus.

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Past the Prime

I arose early to decorate the kitchen with a graduation banner and balloons, make almond pastries, and begin this day of celebration of all the high school graduates. Notably, I found myself in the book of Isaiah this morning. The words hit deep: “Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth!” The graduation decorations I chose mention the future: a new adventure, a new time of life, a new, fresh future. It’s time for the new!

As I then took a rather poignant look around the garden, it’s like God sent a message in wilted, dying things. The peonies finished blooming and bowed their heads in rest; the lilac tree now sits faded with withered lilacs; the daffodil stalks rest brown on the garden bed. Even the rhododendron’s bright pink blossoms are past their prime.

But look! Just as these blooming moments have ended, a new thing springs up. Right beside the lilac, the goatsbeard rises with creamy blossoms. Right around the corner from the dead daffodils, the tomato blossoms emerge. Just as the peony exits the spotlight, the blackberry and raspberry shine. In sight of the withering peony, the astilbe grows tall. And just as I missed that bright pink peony and rhodedendron, I notice it: the pink climbing roses, with the sweetest smell of all, have bloomed. Do not dwell on the past; I am doing a new thing.

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The End of an Era

Welp. Graduation looms. My youngest will walk the stage tomorrow, receive her diploma, and then it’s off to Penn State in the fall. I felt that twinge of sadness on her last day of school. Then I felt overwhelming nostalgia when she marched down the elementary school hallway in the traditional parade of seniors as all the children clapped for them. I suddenly pictured her as the very kindergartner who stood in front of me, clapping and cheering for her future self. The seniors swished by in burgundy gowns, and then it was over. Parents hugged, took pictures, and gave each other knowing looks. It’s over. This time in our lives is over. The era of rushed mornings, packed lunches, homework help, after school snacks, school performances, family dinners—all of it, over 6,000 days of ordinary family life—is now gone.

There’s a grand new adventure ahead. I look back and then look forward. I’ll still blog, but I’ll think back to all I won’t do anymore (even though I haven’t for a while anyway): I won’t paint acorns, walk to school, prepare the Warm Welcome Snack Platter, or check the nests with a girl’s hand in mine. I won’t fold laundry in neat stacks, return library books, call for bath time or pull on Halloween costumes. I won’t clean up sprinkles and frosting from at least a thousand cookies made over the years. I won’t hang up swimsuits to dry, pop the popcorn for family movie night, or watch Ashley flip the Saturday morning pancakes. I won’t plan birthday parties with balloons and favors and favorite flavors of icing. I won’t tuck anyone in. It’s been a wonderful life raising children. You raise them, and then they leave.

Just as they should.

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