As our nation slowly unfolds into a new normality, we’re all navigating what it means to go to church, to gather with friends, and to eat out {thanks to Chick-fil-A, I conquered this one early on.} But here’s one truth we know:
We can help others draw closer to Christ from behind our doors or in person. That’s the beauty of the show-up.
Every season offers unique opportunities to share the gospel. With daylight stretching long into the night, open pools of water, and enough iced tea to serve the south, summer is definitely no exception. And aren’t we blessed? Regardless of where we find ourselves during these trying times, we can joyfully love and serve in small but meaningful ways.
God specializes in multiplying our meager offerings for glory’s gain.
A poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.” Mark 12:42, 43
A couple of years ago, I created Ten Ways to Show Up for Others This Summer, an exclusive download for the {a-mazing!} subscribers of this community. And now it’s available here. So put your own God-given creative spin on these ideas and let’s redeem the days of summer! Some ideas have been tweaked in light of our nation’s current situation but there’s enough space for us all, masked and unmasked.
What’s your favorite part of summer? Is there a particular way you minister during this season? Do share!
We’d love for you to join our Creative Pauses community! Simply type your e-address in the righthand sidebar. >>>> (You can unsubscribe at any time.) Bi-weekly posts offer a pause of goodness to your busy days. And once a month, you’ll also receive a newsletter chock-full of the latest happenings in the Tiny House on the Hill. It includes ideas for drawing near to God and how to love others well. So, come on over and sit a spell. I’d love to get to know you!
A man is a very small thing, and the night is very large and full of wonders. – Lord Dusany
In the city, the night sky felt like a backdrop. I knew it was there but I couldn’t see it for the street lights and gnarly oak trees growing nearby.
But here⎯in the country⎯a wide-open sky spreads out like a picnic blanket offering up its finest for all to see and enjoy. Smatterings of stars, planets, the big pizza pie-in-the-sky, and sometimes even meteor showers await. When I look up I can’t help but stand in awe of God’s majestic feast that He displays every night without fail.
The sky is obviously the same in both places but one is obscured by trees and city lights. Or was it just the trees and city lights obscuring my view? Rushing to get inside the house to unpack groceries, start projects, binge-watch the latest series on Netflix, and of course, perusing the internet can hinder the clearest of views.
Clearing the mental clutter and physical calendar makes way for wonder⎯being awestruck by the One who was struck for me, and for you.
Wonder
May we never lose our wonder May we never lose our wonder
Wide-eyed and mystified May we be just like a child Staring at the beauty of our King.
[first stanza]
Talk about a hymn of praise! Perhaps I gravitate to this song by Bethel Music because I know how easy it is for me to get distracted to the point that I forget to look up and all around me. “May we be just like a child, staring at the beauty of our King”. Oh, the power of child-like wonder. These simple lyrics reflect my heart cry, and maybe yours too.
How can our heart⎯the one that longs to be known⎯not be drawn closer to our heavenly Father when we read how He calls forth each starry host by name?
“Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.”Isaiah 40:26 NIV
Be intentional.
Wake up every morning with the intention to see the wonders of God at every turn. Watch for it in nature, in other people, and in the eyes of those we love. Set aside a few minutes each day to stop and see the wonder of God.
Keep a journal of wonder.
We’ve benefited from gratitude journals so what if we start journaling those moments when we’re awestruck by God?
Rub shoulders with other wonder-women.
Show me a grateful person rescued from the clutches of sin and I’ll show you a fellow wonder-woman. The woman at the well in John 4 came face-to-face with the One who knew her better than she knew herself. Her sin was confronted, but done so in love. She was offered Living Water that would flow new life through her veins for an eternity. I know how she felt in that moment when she saw love instead of condemnation in His eyes, except my setting was inside a duplex instead of beside a desert well. Our outcome was also similar for neither of our lives would ever be the same. The wonder of salvation spurred us on to share this love with others and to rub shoulders with other wonder-women, like you.
Physical sight is not necessary in order to grasp the beauty of God’s wonder (one need only know my friend Jamie to testify to this truth), but if we do have sight, look up, sweet friend! The sky testifies to His wonder tonight.
What has left you in awe of God this week?(Can I start? Hummingbirds. I could watch them for hours. God’s creative touch is awe-inspiring!)
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Pauses for the Vacationing Soulrepresents three years of questions, doubt, fleece-throwing, putting-it-off-till-perfect kind of excuses. And yet, this book also reflects those times I leaned hard into God’s goodness, invited His “with-ness” into the process, and listened well with imperfect but willing ears.
And so the story begins…
Once upon a time, the idea of creating a devotion guide for beach vacations sparked while sitting beneath an umbrella in Garden City, SC. I spent the remainder of the vacation struggling in my spirit to believe God had given me such an idea. Surely there were more qualified, with-it kind of writers to bring this idea to fruition. So I went home and tucked the idea away for safe keeping. The following summer, the same idea surfaced but this time with more details. In a split second, past bible studies I’d led using sensory items, like beach sand, scurried across my mind.
And then I returned home.
Within a few days after arriving home from the beach, my path crossed a friend who’d attended one of the studies (over ten years ago). As we were saying our goodbyes she mentioned she still had her small bag of sand I’d handed out during the study. She shared how she keeps it on her bedside table to serve as a constant reminder of God’s love. That was the confirmation I needed. So one might think I’d simply sit down, write it out, and upload it to Amazon, right? Wrong.
Life happened.
Two unexpected surgeries in one year, selling a home, buying a “new” one, and all the in-between. But this January, while mumbling to myself before God about my writing goals, or lack thereof, He hushed my words with His wisdom.
“You treat writing like a hobby, not a calling.”
Wait, what? I continue to process the words I heard in my spirit that morning but that moment held a turning point that has yet to loosen its grip.
I immediately hopped up and began writing down disciplines required for me to get back on track. You can read more about those in this post. Almost four months later, the idea that emerged on a sandy beach comes to fruition on an Amazon virtual shelf on Tuesday, May 2nd. God is good.
I’ll share more about Pauses for the Vacationing Soul release later this month but in the meantime, your prayers are appreciated. If you would like to consider being on the launch team, please click the email icon in the sidebar and let me know. I’d love to have you on the God-lovin’ Beach-going Book Launch Team!
Can I count on your prayers? I welcome the opportunity to pray for you as well. Please leave any request you might have in the comment section or feel free to email me.
Cathy Baker
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