Heather Holleman's Blog, page 49

Better than Everything

I remember exactly where I sat in the Counselor Hut at Camp Greystone when one of the older counselors, Natalie, shared a devotion from her journal. Exhausted, immature, and confused about life, I let the wisdom of Christian staff at Greystone wash over me whenever I could. God was shaping my 18 year-old soul.

She read aloud from Psalm 63, and it was as if the words sounded off beautiful bells of truth in my soul. She read this about God: 

I have seen you in the sanctuary
    and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

New to reading such powerful words in the Bible, I remember feeling taken aback and literally sucking in my breath when she spoke the words, “your love is better than life” about God. And Natalie believed it. She knew it. Something about her life drew me into this truth. Would I ever become the type of woman who believed that knowing Jesus was better than life–meaning better than anything I would hold precious and dear and valuable like life itself? Was knowing Jesus even better than my life? Could I live a “crucified life” (Galatians 2:20)? Could I (or more appropriately would I) decide in my heart that Jesus was a prize far more wonderful than any earthly accolade, that He was better than anything, that He was the One who could fully satisfy?

What if it were true? That day, something changed in my heart. And I knew that if I had Jesus, I had everything. With singing lips, I went back to my cabin in the dark night, under the stars and pine trees, and I praised Him.

Courage and Abundance

In my professor prayer group, we’ve been talking about living courageously. To live courageously (and therefore even more abundantly), we do things that require faith and a new perspective on what to actually fear. We know courage must operate when fear rises. Otherwise, it’s not really courage. Courage, after all, is the ability to do something that makes us afraid.

One of the things people most fear involves the opinions of others. I woke up thinking about this Psalm I memorized years ago. In Psalm 56:11, we read this:

In God I trust and am not afraid.
    What can man do to me?

David wrote this while under attack. He certainly experienced many tangible reasons to live in fear. He feared for his life! We often fear for our reputation or position. We fear for the future and imagine scenarios where we won’t have what we need. We fear that someone could make a decision or do something that might harm us. What do we most fear today?

Nobody can do anything to us without God’s permission. Nobody can do anything to us that God cannot make right (even if it doesn’t happen until heaven) or turn towards our eventual blessing. Nobody can steal the joy and peace granted us by the Holy Spirit. Even if someone harms our body, our soul is kept safely in God’s hands. What can humans do to us when we have a God who rescues us from every evil attack and brings us safely home? (2 Tim 4:8).

Americana on Friday Night

My husband and I enjoyed the high school football game last night. Our city of State College only has one public high school. One! Friday night football, then, is a big deal. So when you go to a game, you see everyone. You find yourself eating popcorn and drinking Coke; you’ll sing along with the marching band; you’ll walk around downtown and wave to people. It’s a wonderful time of community connection. Ashley and I will most likely continue to attend State High football games long after our children have graduated. It’s just part of life here.

Memorization

Well, my journey in memorizing Psalm 119 stalled. I discovered the sad truth: I’m terrible at memorization now that I’m in my mid-forties. My brain isn’t as sharp as when I easily memorized long speeches and performed them. I used to recite Elizabeth Bishop poems from memory and then delighted in memorizing the first section of Milton’s Paradise Lost. Psalm 16. Sonnet 29. Colossians 1. I can still recite all of these! I used to memorize quickly and effortlessly. Now? It’s harder! I’ve tried singing. I’ve tried writing the words down. I’ve tried saying them over and over again. Nothing sticks the same way these days.

So I’ve only memorized the very first few verses, but I keep mixing up certain phrases. Ah! Maybe my brain fog from Covid is real!

I shall press on to hide God’s word in my heart. I hope it’s going better for you.

To Help the Conversation: What Have You Been Thinking About?

Today I shared with my students a technique to help move past the awkward first question, “How are you?” Sometimes in a new situation, like in an interview or when seeing someone you’re wanting to engage, this question can stall the conversation. If you answer, “Fine. You?” the conversation feels choppy and even boring. Instead, when someone asks you, “How are you doing?” don’t answer with an emotion. Answer with what you’ve been thinking about. 

So imagine: How are you?

Well, I’ve been thinking about how excited I am to see my family this weekend. You?

I’ve been thinking about my next steps in my thesis writing. What about you?

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how much I love autumn. You?

Putting things into the cognitive category of conversation often opens up new possibilities of connection. You’ll invite your conversation partner to answer in the same pattern of what they’ve been thinking about. In fact, I rarely ask someone, “How are you?” Instead, I’ll ask a cognitive question. “Hey! I haven’t seen you in a while. What have you been thinking about lately?”

With the Right Elements

I refreshed my birdbath by scrubbing it well and filling it back up with fresh water. My husband refilled the bird-feeders. Two simple acts created incredible results: creatures have descended!  It’s as if word spread around the neighborhood; we wake up to dozens of birds who act like they’ve found a luxury resort. And the bird seed that falls from the feeder now attracts so many squirrels, chipmunks, and rabbits. It’s like I’m in a Disney cartoon when I walk into the backyard.

I think about what we offer others and how it blesses them. I want God to fill me up so rivers of living water pour out like my overflowing birdbath. I want to contain so many spiritual seeds in me that others can’t help but feast on God’s word.

When others come near us, do we offer these elements that invite rest, nourishment, and cleansing?

Upping the Gratitude

As you know, I keep a gratitude journal where I record five specific things I’m thankful for at the beginning of each day (and sometimes I do this at night as a reflection practice). I do this not only because of God’s invitation to “give thanks in all circumstances” as “God’s will for me in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess 5:17), but also because of the neuroscience behind gratitude. It’s clear from numerous published research studies that gratitude changes your brain. One summary reports that “that gratitude causes synchronized activation in multiple brain regions, and lights up parts of the brain’s reward pathways and the hypothalamus. In short, gratitude can boost neurotransmitter serotonin and activate the brain stem to produce dopamine.” Dopamine is our brain’s pleasure chemical. The more we think positive, grateful thoughts, the healthier and happier we feel.”

But sometimes I want to support my brain even more than simply writing down what I’m thankful for. Today a friend told me how he took a picture every day of one thing he was thankful for and posted it on Instagram. He reported that this made a huge difference in his life. Motivated by his daily practice, I invited one of my friends to text me a daily picture of what she was thankful for, and I would do the same. My picture involved my new cozy cardigan for fall!

If you’re feeling down lately and want to boost your serotonin and dopamine–and more importantly accept God’s offer to live a grateful life–try the gratitude journal and the picture today.

Translucent

In Psalm 119:9, we read this: “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.” I wanted to learn more about this word pure, and I found something so useful. In the Hebrew, it pure also reads “clear” or “translucent.” Translucent objects allow light to shine through them. Nothing blocks that light.

The word translucent made me think of “transparent” as well. I think of a life that’s clear for others to see through. It’s about living a life where we don’t hide sin or act in manipulative ways. The public life matches the private life. While the word “translucent” isn’t the same as “transparent” (where you see through something to the other side), both words remind me of living a life of honesty, purity, and obedience so God shines through us.

We carefully guard our lives. We protect ourselves from giving the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:27). We ask God to lead us, and we follow Him. We read God’s word and ask for the Holy Spirit to apply it to our lives and give us the ability to obey it.

Schedule It Right Now. If That Doesn’t Work, Make It Fun.

Maybe this doesn’t work for all personality types, but my best advice for anything related to changing your behaviors or accomplishing a goal is to schedule it. I mean it! Make it so you don’t have to decide every day whether you will exercise, work on your novel, or clean your kitchen.

Write down the time you are going to do it. Then do it. Don’t think about it.

You are no longing deciding, based on your emotions, motivation, or inspiration to get moving. You’re simply obeying your schedule. Put the schedule in charge. Imagine your schedule as a personal coach or trainer who sits right beside you and says, “OK, now you’re going to write 3 pages. You’re going to write from 9:00-11:00 AM.” Imagine the schedule dragging you to your pilates workout. Of course you’d rather watch Gilmore Girls or eat chips and salsa, but too bad! The schedule is the schedule. Take out a piece of paper and write down every hour and half-hour of the day. Schedule your writing. Schedule your exercise. Schedule when you read your Bible. Schedule when you allow yourself to watch Gilmore Girls.

That’s how I’ve written 10 books. I schedule my writing. I don’t ever ask myself if I want to write. It’s just the schedule–like brushing my teeth or eating breakfast.

If this doesn’t give you hope because you’ve tried all this, my next best piece of advice is to make the hard thing fun. If you pair the unpleasant task with something pleasant, you can do it more easily. Exercise with a friend or with a new podcast. Clean the toilet with your favorite music on. Keep a bowl of special treats reserved by your writing desk. Whatever it takes to make it fun, do that thing. 

Fruit Tree Progress

I’ve transplanted my peach tree into the ground since it’s more likely to survive the winter than if I left it growing in a pot outside.

I’m not sure if my potted plum will come back to life next spring after a terrible frost stripped it bare. I placed it into a nice spot in the ground and watered and fertilized it. Only time will tell.

Meanwhile, I’ve pruned the plum tree into the exact shape I want. I’m hoping for fruit next summer!