Heather Holleman's Blog, page 8

Just For Fun

I’ve been reading about helping your children enjoy life rather than only achieve things. I took this to heart. I’m learning to enjoy life more and more as I age. And I love the Bible verses related to enjoyment. I’ve been on a journey to live out the truth of 1 Timothy 6:17: Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.

God gives us things to enjoy. He does! He gives “good things” so that our youth is renewed (Psalm 103). I think also about Psalm 37 and how those who trust in the Lord will “dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture” and “enjoy peace and prosperity.”

Sometimes I think we forget how much God wants us to enjoy life.

Tonight, just for fun, Ashley and I will attend the first Penn State basketball game of the season. It’s something we do just for fun. I want to add in more things just for fun, just to enjoy.

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Savoring and More Savoring

Ashley and I traveled this weekend for two different events. We are learning our “capacity” for travel and speaking events, so it’s been fun to talk about. We spoke in Harrisburg for pastors on Thursday and Friday, and then we hopped on a plane to Atlanta to speak for parents on having better conversations in the home. On that same day, we flew back home to Harrisburg and then drove the two hours to State College. I would have never been able to do this even a few years ago. Remember all my blogs about travel anxiety and how much I’d have to trust God moment by moment? I never felt victorious or flourishing in those moments. I dreaded it.

But the verse I clung to in the past few years has been Psalm 32:8: I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

Isn’t that wonderful? I asked God to instruct me and teach me how to live out His calling on my life in a way that manifested His peace and goodness. It took a while. It didn’t happen over night. But it did happen.

I enjoyed being with God and Ash. I enjoyed the flights, the hotels, the events. I savored everything. I learned how God made me and what delights me when I’m feeling overwhelmed. I even learned that when you arrive somewhere after midnight, your body will find ways to rest later. God instructed me to surrender, to trust, and to look for His care.

I remember God always makes a way for His people to experience His love and provision. But you have to look. You have to look with the eyes of faith. It’s like putting on tinted glasses where the whole world turns a different color.

Finally, you get to live a “sent life.” I decided to learn to be helpful wherever I was. Last night, I noticed a woman struggling with her heavy suitcase, and I tugged on Ash’s sleeve so he could assist her. He helped her lift this massively heavy carry-on suitcase up into the overhead compartment. This, of course, led to a great conversation about what was in that suitcase. It was all her favorite southern foods from Georgia that she couldn’t find in Philadelphia. We laughed and talked about her life, and she leaned over to me and said, “I never travel alone. I didn’t know how I would do this.” I assured her we would be there to help with her suitcase on her journey. It’s a simple thing, but maybe Ash was an answer to her simple prayer that God seat her next to someone who could help her.

Sent people live helpful lives. And when you travel, you can look around and be that source of help, sent right from God. And then you savor that moment.

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A Month of Seeking Wisdom

I recently asked a seminary professor who taught both Old and New Testament what his favorite book of the Bible is. Without hesitating even for a moment, he said, “Proverbs.”

I thought about this choice for a long time. Why Proverbs? His response led me to think seriously about devoting November to a careful study of Proverbs. Today, I read these beautiful words in Proverbs 2:

For the Lord gives wisdom;
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He holds success in store for the upright,
    he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
for he guards the course of the just
    and protects the way of his faithful ones.

I think about asking God for more and wisdom. I read His word for more knowledge and more understanding. And here, I love His promise of success and protection.

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Three November Intentions

I love a fresh, new month. I woke up to a dusting of snow on the ground, and it looked like powdered sugar on a waffle as it clung to autumn leaves and brown branches. I love setting new intentions for a new month, and since today is also my birthday, the activity seems all the more significant for a new year of my life. My three November Intentions:

Reading daily psalms and proverbs. I love that you finish both books in the month if you read 5 psalms a day and one proverb (add on an extra for the 31st). Writing every day for National Novel Writing Month. Savoring.

Reading, writing, and savoring. It’s a great way to live!

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Resting Anywhere

I’m learning to rest anywhere: on airplanes, on stages, in hotel rooms, and in any stressful situation. I think about abiding in Jesus, and I check in with God through simple conversation. I thank Him for whatever environment I’m in. I notice where I am, and I ask why I’m there. Is there someone who needs a word of encouragement or help? Is there someone who needs prayer? I take deep breaths. I savor. If I’m tired, I know there’s a way to sleep somewhere, sometime. If I’m hungry, I know God will provide something, sometime. It’s taken me over 15 years to learn to rest.

Resting, I’m learning, is all about trust. It’s all about surrendering to the situation and trusting God’s goodness and provision. It’s all about holding plans and a schedule loosely. It’s all about Matthew 11:28-30. If I’m not resting, I’m taking on a yoke and a burden that Jesus wants to bear instead of me. He says this:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

I’ve started reading Andrew Murray’s Humility (Ash’s favorite book), and it’s a book that teaches us about reality (as Ash says). When I realize my absolute dependence on a Creator, I can relax into His care. I can rest anywhere.

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Conversations About Morning Routines

Last night, Ashley and I enjoyed a great conversation with dear friends that started off with someone asking about our new morning routines now that we are empty nesters. What’s the morning like for you now? Even a question as simple as your morning routine sparks fascinating discussion about values, productivity, spirituality, joy, and meaning in life. We had the best time listening to everyone share what they do and why as they start a fresh day. As the hours passed, we found ourselves learning so much about each other. Of course, then we just had to learn about bedtime rituals. On and on. When the evening ended, we had talked and talked with great friends about our lives. We enjoyed warm connection, rich fellowship, and laughter.

And it started with a simple question.

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The Acorn People Craft

I’m still enjoying fun autumn crafts, even if my own daughters are off in college. Today, I wanted to perfect my “acorn people,” so I invited the neighbors over. For an hour and a half, we each made our own creations. As long as you help with the glue gun, a small child can enjoy thinking up an acorn scene and making the people. The children at my house decided on a berry picking and picnic theme. And of course, Taylor Swift appeared at her microphone.

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Poetic Moment from a Child

This morning, I sat in my Adirondack chair while a little neighbor perched on the tree swing. The oak tree stood, tall and burnt orange, rising up into the rosy blue morning sky. When the wind picked up, the whole landscape turned into a downpour of swirling leaves. I told the little girl that if you catch a falling leaf, you can make a wish. (When I was little, my sister and I would catch falling leaves and make our wishes. I ran into the yard and caught falling leaves with my own daughters, now grown.)

I scurried around the yard with leaves falling everywhere but into my hands. I jump and grasped. I chased them down. Nothing. I came up empty every time. But the little girl? She caught an oak leaf right away!

“How did you catch that leaf so quickly?” I asked. “It’s so hard to do! You did it!”

“Well,” she said, “I just danced with the leaves. I did what they did. I twirled and moved with the leaves.”

I had been grasping and chasing; she had been dancing.

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When You Sit

When you sit in your Adirondack chairs in the front yard, you’ll find you can’t move because of the beauty of blue autumn skies with golden leaves falling like party confetti all around you. You stay in that seat, sipping coffee and talking to all the neighbors and their dogs as they pass by. You let a little girl swing in the tree swing while you sit, and then you both collect acorns and sticks to make acorn people on the wide arms of your chairs. And then you watch the leaves some more.

There’s lots to finish in a day. There’s lots to do every hour. But when you sit and savor the falling leaves and inhale deeply of all the fall scents, you’ll realize it’s good to make this the work of the moment.

Later, I kept the autumn feeling going by putting a pot of water on the stove and adding in a chopped apple, some clove, cinnamon, and orange. I let this simmer all afternoon till the whole house smelled glorious.

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Frame It As a Question

I find that asking great questions matters most of all when beginning a writing project in particular. This method applies to other areas, but in writing, asking this question helps so much:

What question will this writing answer for the reader?

Sometimes, in service areas, I wonder, “What question is my audience asking about God, their lives, their purpose, or their work? How does my writing and speaking answer this question?”

Or, think about your business model. What question are your clients asking, and how does your business answer this question?

When students or writing clients get stuck in their projects, I encourage them to write down the question they want to answer in their work. This focuses the thesis and the themes. I’ve used the question method to finish an undergraduate thesis, a dissertation, and ten books. Always frame it as a question, and often after that, the writing (or work) flows.

You can also use the negative form: What question am I NOT answering? I know my areas of expertise and experience; I know what I cannot contribute to a conversation.

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