“Chasing Life, Longing for Rest” retreat update

/ Heather Davis Nelson / Leave a comment

Thanks to so many of you who were praying for me as I prepared and especially to the helpful feedback from my last post. It went really well this weekend – much better than I expected actually. I’ve enjoyed having today as a true Sabbath – day of rest – after what’s been such an exhausting schedule. And I feel energized from being part of God’s work in a new way this past weekend.

I started on Friday night with being a bit nervous, and when I took the last few minutes to pray/journal it was the following: “God – it’s minutes away from my first big talk to women at Trinity’s retreat. I’m nervous – as you know – and excited at how you will be strong in my weakness – my “fear and trembling.” Lord – come – settle my heart. Speak to these women your words to their hearts.”

And God certainly did just that. He calmed me so that I wasn’t nervous when being introduced and when I stepped up to take the mike – and looked out at the faces of 80+ women. Once I started speaking, I really sensed that God took over. Thoughts and illustrations came to me that I had not been able to think of during the preparation time. He gave me grace to connect with these women and speak the sweet invitation of the gospel (to come to Jesus for true life and rest) to their hearts.

I was both more exhausted and exhilarated than I thought I would be. It was a very worshipful experience for me, more than I could have imagined. The words to the worship songs really fit perfectly with the talks – songs like “Jesus I come” which was a perfect intro for my talk on Friday night.

I’m going to post part of my talks in increments. After all the time that went into the preparation, I want others to be able to benefit as well … and it’s a good reminder to me of how much I continue to need the rest only Jesus offers.

women’s poll on busyness/rest

/ Heather Davis Nelson / 4 Comments

I’m preparing to speak at a women’s retreat this weekend. The theme: “Chasing Life – Longing for Rest.” My questions for the women who read this blog (please post if you have a minute): (1) would you say you’re “too busy”? (2) if so, why do you think you’re so busy? (3) what do you do to find rest?

Answer any or all … if you have time (ha, ha).

how the book of Proverbs could change the/your world

/ Heather Davis Nelson / Leave a comment

I have been studying the book of Proverbs with women at my church. And I must say, this book has immense practical wisdom that is so appealing to my pragmatic way of viewing life. It’s full of pithy comments about life that resonate with our experience. No question of “what does this mean?” or “how does it apply?” More like “oh darn! this verse nailed me” and “so true!!”

Here are a few I read this week on the topic of neighbors and friends – imagine how different our communities could be if each of us took them to heart. Let me know what you think of them. And add your own!

“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them. If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, ‘Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll pay you.'” (Proverbs 3:27-28)

“Don’t plot harm against your neighbor, for those who live nearby trust you.” (Proverbs 3:29)

“Singing cheerful songs to a person with a heavy heart is like taking someone’s coat in cold weather or pouring vinegar in a wound.” (Prov. 25:20)

And my personal favorite, as one who doesn’t consider myself a morning person:

“A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning will be taken as a curse!” (Prov. 27:14)

what Google says I need

/ Heather Davis Nelson / 2 Comments

I’ve seen this quiz/activity a couple times now – on facebook, and my friend Jill’s post and I had to follow suit. You google your first name and “needs” and list the first 10 things that come up. Here’s mine — for some laughs! 

What I need (acc. to Google): 

1. Two therapists – definitely! As a counselor myself, I do think that there are benefits to “talking it out” … though TWO therapists could be confusing, since each counselor/therapist inevitably approaches counseling from their own bent. 

2. A childhood – umm, no – I like mine pretty well and wouldn’t trade it for anyone else’s. 

3. Something more to be satisfied – of course! yet I think that’s found in a relationship with Christ – and it’s what I’m awaiting in the hope of resurrection and a new creation

4. Two therapists – ok, I get the point …

5. to grow up – some moments, I’m sure I do need to (no comment, please)

6. a childhood – again, I like mine ok …

7. men now – not at all! I’m very glad to be married to Seth – he is much more than what I want and exactly who I need

8. help – probably … 

9. facebook – too often, sad but true

10. an eccentric beauty parlor owner as her ‘official spokesperson’ – only if this meant I got free beauty treatments whenever I wanted to! 

a cure for February blues: God’s faithfulness

/ Heather Davis Nelson / 2 Comments

I will admit that I have a bit of the February blues. And it’s not the first time (see a post from February 18, 2007). The fun wintry holidays (Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day) are over. I’ve already experienced the magic of the first snowfall (or two or ten …). The “cozy winter image” of curling up beside a fireplace with a good book and cup of tea has lost its appeal. I want warmth. Sunshine you can feel. Enjoying the great outdoors without bundling up in my coat, scarf, and gloves. The 50+ degree days we had a couple weeks ago left me longing for spring, imagining that winter could truly be over (maybe the groundhog didn’t see his shadow after all?). But it’s only mid-February. Spring won’t be here for awhile.

All of that to say, my restlessness/blues led me back to an old journal to see what I wrote and how God met me in another February. And what I found was quite encouraging. I prayed two years ago today: “Lead us [Seth and I] to a place [church] of vibrant worship, service we can both enter into, and sweet fellowship with like-minded couples.” God has answered that request abundantly through our church home, Cresheim Valley Church, that found us a few short weeks after that prayer. John and Christy Leonard took us out to lunch and asked us to consider the possibility of coming on staff with the church plant in Chestnut Hill that had just begun meeting in January 2007. We joined the church as charter members in the summer of 2007. It has been all of what I prayed for two years ago, and more. We’ve enjoyed vibrant worship, an unimaginable array of service opportunities that have included a mission trip to New Orleans and late night chats with people in need, and fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ who have truly become like family to us.

It’s this reminder of God’s faithfulness (1) to hear my request (2) to answer abundantly and clearly and (3) to provide for His people that has lifted my eyes above the mundane experience of February. It spurs me on to pray and to pour out the desires of my heart to a God who is there. Two questions for you: (1) what lifts your “February blues”? and (2) how have you seen God answer prayers?

Rest

/ Heather Davis Nelson / 1 Comment

Rest … an elusive concept unless you’re experiencing it. I’ve been studying it a lot lately (which can, ironically, take away from the experience OF rest) in a few different places: learning about its role in the self-care of a counselor, meditating on what it means in preparation for a retreat I’m speaking at in March on “Chasing life/longing for rest,” discussing it with my best friend, Katherine, who’s blogging about it now. (see my links for her blog)

There are many different angles of rest and what is referred to as rest. There’s rest in the sense of a Sabbath rest — a deliberate ceasing of accomplishments/activities for one day out of the week. Marva Dawn writes of it in her book I’m reading now – “A Sense of the Call: a Sabbath way of life for those who serve God, the Church, and the world.”  Listen to this invitation, and feel your heart leap in hope:

“The Sabbath offers the magnificent gift of an entire day to ponder God’s truth instead of our work, to notice God’s creations of beauty, and to relish God’s goodness in our closest relationships. After a beautiful Sabbath of intellectual rest, we will know ourselves more truly and can pursue paths more closely attuned to God’s own righteousness. … this is the goal of the Sabbath: that we can cease our worrying about time and be released from its constrictions into this weekly experience of eternity.”

Of course, as much as you want this, there are likely 100 reasons that come to your mind of why you can’t possibly afford to do this. I’m challenged by the author’s own story of when she began deliberately resting for one day of the week: when she began working on her doctorate! I don’t want to become legalistic about this, but I think it’s a goal I’m aiming for in my life. I have rested more intentionally in other seasons of my life, and I think I need this reminder to do so again. Marva Dawn points out that what underlies my reluctance to rest is often an over-inflated sense of my importance:

“…our Sabbath ceasing has to begin with an honest assessment of how much we keep depending upon ourselves instead of God — so that we can give up and let everything go for a day. But we have such expectations of ourselves. Sometimes it is quite scary to imagine our disillusionment if we were thoroughly to face the genuine reality of our own lives.”

There is also the sense of rest that should be part of our daily rhythm. This requires me to live within my limits — not to rush from one activity to another — and to be content with what I can and cannot do. The old cliche rings true here that we are not human “do-ings” but human “be-ings.” What is my do-ing to be-ing ratio these days?

And of course, there is the broader sense of the term rest that applies to a way of life in Christ. We are called to come to Jesus, to take His yoke upon us, and to find rest for our weary souls (Matthew 11:28-30). This invitation speaks to souls weary because they continually strive to work for what is already given: salvation found in Christ. I can rest because Christ’s work on the cross is sufficient, and I can rest because I am already loved by my Creator God. I can rest because grace is at work, and my work is the overflow of another Life at work within me. My Redeemer’s words call out to me: “It is finished.”  And so I rest.

This moment is for lingering …

/ Heather Davis Nelson / Leave a comment

It’s 5:07 pm. The sunset lingers on a crisp winter day (and quite cold – high of 20!). It’s my favorite time of day actually. And instead of asking “what do I have time to do in the next hour?” I am asking, “what is this moment for?” A question prompted by Katherine’s blog, which you can read here: http://belovedandsoareyou.blogspot.com/2009/01/what-is-this-moment-for.html

There are a thousand ways I could answer that right now. Dishes have piled up in our kitchen from a week busy with concerns more weighty than dinner clean-up. I am preparing to speak at a women’s retreat in March, and after meeting with a mentor to talk this over, I’m aware of the next stage of work needed. Textbooks for a January term class on “Professional Orientation” call out to me. And I haven’t yet finished the book for book club tomorrow (“Joy in the Morning” by Betty Smith).

But now is a time to linger. It’s been a long week. Many burdens to bear, much praying, asking for wisdom. It is good to rest in this moment. To remember how beautiful creation can be and how good the Creator is.

What kinds of moments do you take time to savor? What distracts you from lingering?

out with ’08, in with ’09

/ Heather Davis Nelson / 1 Comment

I was chatting with a friend over tea this afternoon, and she’s had one heck of a 2008. Many different layers of difficulties and trials. She said that she’s ready for 2008 to go. And then we were imagining together what it would be like if truly every bad part of the old year really did go out with the flip of the calendar. Old wounds instantly healed; chronic health problems solved; broken families put back together; destructive consequences of our sin and brokenness erased. Imagine … isn’t that an almost too-good-to-be-true thought?

And it is too good to be true while we yet remain on the earth. Tomorrow might actually feel new for a few minutes, hours, perhaps even days (certainly when my gym is crowded again with the “new year’s resolution crowd”). The calendar will display a new set of pictures. I’ll still be enjoying my new computer (I’m a big fan of MacBooks now). Reflecting on 2008 will bring new insights for 2009. And dreaming/wishing/hoping about 2009 will bring new energy to my focus, goals, and endeavors.

But I’ll still be struggling with how to love the unlovable, how to worry less about what I can’t control anyway, how to be more balanced in work and rest, how to be content with what wears on me.

And I think that might be part of why Revelation was written in the Bible. For when I open these pages, I find promises that seem too good to be true — yet they come from the God who never lies. And they tell about a world to come for those who believe in Christ who is bringing it into being. I hope you’ll be in awe with me, and that this gives you real hope for what’s new in 2009 … and beyond.

“They shall hunger no more; neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:15-17)

home for Christmas

/ Heather Davis Nelson / 1 Comment

As I write this post, the fire is crackling in the fireplace at my parents’ home in SC, I’ve got my comfortable LLBean img_3111slippers on (thanks, Mom & Dad Nelson!), and I am finally relaxed. Our “Christmas break” is well underway, which began wiimg_31181th a wonderful three days spent with the Nelsons in New Jersey. We went to NYC to see the “Rockettes” at Radio City Music Hall, ate at Seth’s favorite Italian family-style restaurant, Carmine’s, and then had “Christmas” on Friday. Snow came down all day — it truly felt like we were in a winter wonderland. We ate, opened presents, ate, slept, and ate some more … truly a relaxing and celebratory day!

There is really nothing quite like home for Christmas — whether it’s Millington, NJ (for Seth) or Greenville, SC, for me. It was great last night to be greeted by the “Davis family elves” last night at the airport (a.k.a. my brothers and sister-in-law); to attend church at the place that’s nurtured my faith in Christ since I was a child; and to be surrounded by the family I love so much and who lives so far away. There’s just something so comforting about knowing you belong and that you’re known. I loved that when Seth, Bryan, and I walked in just before Sunday evening’s church service, the usher at the back immediately directed us to the pew where the Davis family was sitting. I didn’t have to ask or explain — he just knew us. As much as I love new places and exploration, I equally love the comfort of the familiar. Of the rest that comes from this … like an inward sigh of relief.img_3140

And the complication of our journey to get here last night only makes us appreciate it all the more. Bear with me as a I recount another of my traveling adventures (I’ve had more than my share — in my opinion — but the others will be for another post). We were scheduled to fly out with Northwest Airlines through Memphis, TN, to arrive into Greenville (GSP from this point forward) at 9:30 p.m. However, they oversold our flight from Philly to Memphis, and they asked us if we would volunteer to move to a different flight for travel vouchers. Perhaps we’re mercenaries, but we figured it would be worth it and wouldn’t be that inconvenient. It even promised to be better than the original one since the flight they re-booked us for was a direct flight into GSP arriving around the same time. However, it was with USAirways (and my litany of bad travel has been with them historically). And each time we checked the board over the next few hours, the flight was delayed more and more …. until it was canceled at 7:00 pm. So we stood in line and waited … and waited … and waited … and were able to be rebooked … for a flight going into Charlotte, NC (1.5 hours away from GSP). We were thrilled to be arriving last night. And my family was willing to make the trek in their “sleigh” to pick us up. So a very happy and very tired Seth and Heather were greeted by “elves” around 11:00 pm last night — and finally made our way to home sweet home by 1:00 a.m.! (of course, our luggage wasn’t so fortunate to make the trip with us — but it did follow only a day later and we now have it in our possession — again, not unusual since my bags have not made it with me over the past several flights to GSP I’ve taken over the past few years)

Isn’t Christmas and being home better because of the journey? And isn’t it much better because of the journey that img_31222God made, coming to earth as a baby to be born in a manger, to be called Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer? The journey that God took which would guarantee that one day all of those who believe in Christ would be able to journey Home to the place where we are fully known … that is worth dreaming of, hoping in, and celebrating this Christmas. A home that makes the best earthly homes pale in comparison and which gives hope to those who have had homes which were a far cry from any place lovely or familiar or comfortable. May the One whose birth we celebrate be the One whose Home we long for and anticipate this Christmas!