Heather Holleman's Blog, page 231

What We Need

Truth: God knows what we need. We think we know what we need, but we often misunderstand what we truly need.

So we can pray and ask God to provide what we need, not what we think we need.

 

Some Grow Fast; Others Grow Slowly

I love watching things grow. I love learning how plants grow best, under which conditions, and why. Our avocado seed has grown so slowly. You barely notice what’s happening. Meanwhile, in the pumpkin patch after just a few days, we see incredible growth.

I remember that everything in the world keeps its own pace. Everything–and everyone–grows at a different rate. No need to rush or worry; this pumpkin will ripen, and the avocado will indeed grow.

A Question for Students: What is Your Philosophy of Work?

I ask students this question as they build their professional portfolios:

What is your philosophy of work? 

And I don’t mean how you work. I mean why you work. Imagine if someone asked you this in an interview setting. I’m interested in what motivates you in life. I’m interested in what sustains a persevering work ethic for a lifetime. I meet too many talented students who simply don’t do the work. They don’t value work. They value leisure. So we talk about work, and we try to figure out what work is.

Consider: What do you enjoy about work? Can work be leisurely? Is leisure satisfying the same way work satisfies? What makes you avoid work? If life only involved leisure, what would you miss about work?

I love work. I love creating order out of chaos. I find great meaning in serving others and blessing them through work. It’s a means of worship. It connects me to a purpose beyond myself.

Never Not Writing

Today I realized how, when you’re a writer, you’re never not writing. Your mind puts words together all day long, as automatically as breathing. It’s just how you live. And when certain sentences linger, and you see how you might fill out an entire paragraph with that one thought, you text it to yourself or write it in your notes or put it down in your journal. Sometimes, you silence everything, stop the whole parade, and burrow away somewhere to write. You’d rather write than anything else.

In the spaces between writing, you’re still writing. When you’re sleeping, you’re still writing, and you wake up to sentences to put down on the page. When you’re cooking, you’re describing it in your mind with vivid verbs and semicolons. When you meet someone new, you’re thinking about them as a new character and their life as something someone should really make into a novel. When you visit your garden to see the ripening blackberries that fall when you touch them and the audacious pumpkin that snuck into your life, you’re mostly wondering how to capture the joy and wonder you feel in words.

Writing is a craft of arrangement and patterns, of connections and rhythms. It’s how you see the world. It’s a craft of turning raw material over in your mind all day long whether you want to or not. It’s a craft of distilling something down like your brain is a factory that only works like this. And you have this urge to show it all off; it’s a tether from your unseen mind to the seen world that you want others to experience, too.

People ask, “How do you make time to write?” I always answer, “How do you make time to eat? To breathe? To sleep?” But what I really mean is that the writing always happens. Like a heart pumping vital blood, a writer’s mind pumps words.

So we’re never not writing.

A Dad Connecting with Pre-teen and Teen Daughters

This past month, my husband, Ash, and our two daughters (12 and 15 years old), found great ways to connect and spend joyful time with one another. I read somewhere that teen girls tend to spend less and less time with their fathers as they grow––despite longing for these times. I asked Ash if I could write about their activities with the hope it might inspire other families.

To engage our crafty and artistic older daughter, Ash ordered cross-stitch supplies just for the two of them. Together, Sarah and Ash watched instructional videos, ordered immensely complicated patterns, and began a special ritual of handcrafts together.

As I saw Ash spreading out all the supplies and embarking on this activity so far outside of his preference and skill, he said, “It’s amazing what a man can do when he no longer cares what people think about him.”

Ash and my younger daughter decided to train for a 10K race, and they go on runs together every other night. It’s such a special time to talk and work on physical fitness skills. So these days, he’s off running down the street with one daughter and cross-stitching impressionist paintings with another.

They love this time. They feel special and delighted in. And I feel so filled with joy for a father’s heart for his daughters.

All Day Long

Today, I read this from Psalm 89:

Blesses are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord. They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness. For you are their glory and strength. . . ” 

All day long, I want to rejoice in God. I want to walk in the light of His presence all day long.

A New Family Motto: “He Knows You; He Chose You; He Grows You”

I explain to my daughters that, in the midst of any insecurity in social settings or in school, they can trust in God’s enduring presence and care for them.

He knows you; He chose you; He grows you. He’s growing you into a worshiper first and then someone sent out to do good works in a hurting world. You are His treasured possession, and He delights in your wellbeing. He knows you; He chose you; He grows you. 

We add our motto to our list of these tried and true statements:

We are seated at the Greatest Table with the Greatest King.

Every rejection is God’s protection.

Every delay is God’s way. 

With every change of plans, we are still in His hands.

Overwhelmed by Him More Than By Troubles

Today I find a quote by the worship leader Matt Redman who says, “The heart of God loves a persevering worshipper who, though overwhelmed by many troubles, is overwhelmed even more by the beauty of God.”

May we find ourselves overwhelmed by the beauty of God.

 

Pumpkin Patch Hello

In Any Condition

It’s been so humid, with a day of rain, so I know what’s coming: mushrooms!  

I think whimsical thoughts of fairy seats, gnomes, and the mysteries of the forest floor. I love the overnight secret work of these mushrooms. And I love how we can still find something wonderful in any condition.