In Tune

“Come thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace.”

For some time I thought the lyric was “tune my heart to sing thy praise” which is a reasonable thought but the line actually is “tune my heart to sing thy grace”.

I have been pondering this phrase…tune my heart…like the strings of a guitar, my heart gets out of tune from time to time…and when I say from time to time, I really mean all the time.

I asked a guitar playing friend why guitars go out of tune. He told me that the strings stretch as they are played. Then they need to be tuned again. Hmm…

Tune my heart to sing thy grace…when I am stretched…tune me again to sing thy grace…

My default setting is not grace. It’s just not. Whether it is receiving grace or extending grace, I wander from it. Sometimes just a bit – so that the song from my heart sort of sounds okay. The words may still be right but if you listen closely something sounds a little off…a little out of tune.

I forget to remember that God loves me… completely…unconditionally…unfailingly. Period.

I forget that my busyness, my activities, my accomplishments, though all good and supposedly all for Him, do not change a thing. That is, they do not change His love for me. They do not change how He has forgiven me. They do not change the grace extended to me.

And the anger that I justify feeling towards another…my desire for justice when I have been wronged…my unwillingness to forgive…that is not my heart singing his grace either.

Later in the song it says, “Oh to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be.”

When I think of the grace I have received…grace and mercy so freely given…I am in debt infinitely beyond my ability to repay and yet so often I am like the ungrateful servant who demands a debt to be repaid even though it is a pittance compared to what he has been forgiven. (Matt.18:21-35)

We know it – don’t we – that we are lost without grace…completely without hope….

And we also know – don’t we – of the need to forgive as we have been forgiven?

“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievance you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Col.3:13)

Grace and forgiveness…oh that that would always be my response…that my heart would be tuned to sing His grace.

Ruth U.

Strength in Weakness

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, 

for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, 

so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, 

I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. 

For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:9-11

Ughhh. My face still burns when I think about it. Those stunned faces as I lurched toward them with a full tray of sparkling beverages in fancy glasses. The chaos that ensued after I hit the floor and said beverages splattered and drenched formal clothes and carefully styled hair. Ughh. Just, ughhh.

I was an RA in college, there was a formal opening of a new building on campus, lots of important guests, and the student leaders were serving. Whoever decided it was a good idea to put me in formal shoes and hand me a tray of liquid in fragile containers really should have spoken with my mother. She would have told them it wasn’t a good idea. But there I was, eager to do well in my leadership role and telling myself, “You’ve got this.” And then that wretched half-step. You know the one that catches you off guard and sends you stumbling.

For a moment or two after I scrambled to my feet, I stood totally frozen in place, unable to move, just watching the scene unfold in front of me like an out-of-body experience. People were rushing around, grabbing napkins, moving people out of the way of broken glass, probably toweling off (just saying some folks got wet)…

I totally could have stayed cool. I could’ve apologized profusely, made a little self-deprecating joke, helped clean up, and served some new drinks. I could have done that. Or… I could have done what I actually did.

I turned around and ran out of the room. Through the hallways, out of the building and fully across campus to my dorm where I could sneak quietly into my room and be alone with my shame and berate myself in peace.

This would have been a fine plan, if three of my girls were not sitting in the lounge when I rushed in. They saw my wet clothes and stricken face and rushed to me. “What’s wrong???  What happened??  Are you okay??”

And I burst into tears. Me, the older, mature leader, appointed to mentor and guide these young women. In tears. And not delicate tears slipping gently down my cheeks. No. Huge, snotty, gasping, sobbing, ugly-cry tears. Accompanied by angry embarrassment. I distinctly remember saying, “I’m SUCH a clumsy idiot!! Why did I even think I could do it?!”

What’s worse than spilling a tray of drinks on couples in fancy clothes? Bawling like a baby about it and being held and consoled by kids, KIDS, who were supposed to respect me and look up to me and believe I had it all together!! I eventually collected myself, apologized, and slipped to the shower to clean up and cry some more. I was pretty sure I had totally blown the entire year – and it was only the first week…

But somehow, to my utter amazement and astonishment, the year wasn’t “blown” at all. Somehow, seeing me at a moment of total weakness humanized me to these young women. They had seen their leader humiliated and awkward and sad. And in ways I cannot fully comprehend, this opened the way for trust and relationship that would have taken much longer to build if I’d just had it all together. This very humbling experience actually paved the way for much deeper, authentic, and often raw communication in our dorm.

It’s another paradox. With God, we live and we lead most effectively from our places of weakness. This is so upside-down from the culture that we live in, and we resist it all the time. We hold on tight to what we can control. We guard our hearts and build walls to prevent others from seeing our imperfections. We spend an enormous amount of energy managing the image we present to the world. And in so doing, we move further and further from the place of vulnerability and openness where God can shape us and use us.

The reason it is true, that “when I am weak, then I am strong,” is because we give God space to work when we acknowledge that we are not in control. When we are weak and just can’t get it together on our own and everyone around us knows it… we are in the perfect position to allow God to move through us in ways we could NEVER do in our own strength.

May we unburden ourselves from the pressure to have it all together. May we release the need to project and maintain our image. May we be willing to be exposed in our weakness, in order to experience God’s grace and strength in new and unexpected ways.

Arlene M.

JUMP, JUMPER!

What would you DO, if you could do ANYTHING in the world? What would you BE if you could be ANYTHING in the world? What would it take for you to live with sacred joy? What would it mean if we shut out all of the lies that paralyzed us in fear? What would it mean for us to take a flying leap into the unknown, but KNOW that Jesus was right there, right beside us? What would it take for you to know the TRUTH, and have it set you FREE?

“You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31,32 TLB 

“If you hold to my teachings, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31,32 NIV 

“If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.”  

John 8:31,32 The Message 

I love the last version of this verse! If you “STICK WITH THIS”. Doesn't it feel like that sometimes? Doesn't it feel like, in certain seasons, that we are just sticking with it, holding on, barely breathing?

The word "hold" actually means: to abide, live in accordance with, dwell within, adhere to, are faithful to...

Most of us could quote John 8: 32 by memory. “Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (NIV). It's quoted in movies, songs, on TV and in our churches! But vs 31 is often left out and yet it is the hinge to our freedom. In order to be free, we must abide in, live in accordance with, dwell within, adhere to, be faithful to, HIS WORD!  HOLDING = FREEDOM!! If you want to know truth and want to be free, then we MUST begin to live a certain way. We must begin to stay, remain, give our life. Stay WITH Him. Remain IN Him. Give your life TO Him.  

Sometimes it takes every ounce of strength to HOLD. Sometimes it takes every ounce of patience to remain, to STAY. Sometimes it takes a flying LEAP, to give your life fully to Him. And every. single. time it results in freedom. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Stay - when you feel like running from Him. Hold - when it feels like everything around you is letting go. Jump - because you were born to jump, Jumper!!! When we stick with it, when we stay in His word & in His ways when things get hard (because we KNOW they will), the reward is a beautiful life of FREEDOM! Fight it out. Don't give up. Don't let your guard down for even ONE minute because at the end of this season there is triumph and freedom. This pain you're experiencing will end and with it will come freedom from the lies you've believed, from the weight you've been carrying, from the condemnation you've been feeling. Remain in HIM, in HIS Word, in HIS ways. HOLD to His teachings. Keep your eyes on him.  

So, I ask again. What would you DO if you could do ANYTHING? What would you BE if you could be anything? Often we confuse "DO ANYTHING" with an occupation. Maybe it's teaching that Sunday School class, taking over the Christmas Musical, taking piano lessons for the first time, doing a 5km run for Cancer, maybe it's walking into a church for the first time in YEARS. Maybe 'BEING' is being kind to the person that wounded you, maybe it's loving the unlovable in our cities, maybe it's being honest with ourselves and our brokenness and holding tight to His word because, really, it's all we've got. If holding onto His word results in freedom, then JUMP. If you are a follower of Jesus you are a jumper. YOU. ARE. A. JUMPER.   

JUMP, JUMPER!

Tara W.

Thankful

"Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting." Psalm 147:1 ESV

Wishing each of you a lovely Thanksgiving weekend as you enjoy spending time with family and friends and pausing to take time to be thankful for the many blessings we have each day.

Jo-Ann P

Scarves, sweaters, the sound of new sneakers

Backpacks and books hurry to bleachers

Nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin, and cream

Fill the air with sugary steam

Jack Frost is back and in full swing

Leaves crackle in the breeze, cheeks begin to sting

Hearts overflow with warm festive cheer

But tell me, why doesn't this last through the year?

Kate P