Archives for November 2019

Important Team Announcement

11.22.2019 by Tracy Stella //

We have an important team announcement we want to share with our FACETS readers. Our team is changing, and Kim will be stepping away from regularly posting.

We are thankful for the time we got to spend with our friend and sister. When she and her family transferred out east, we all talked about how the FACETS dynamic would look. Because we valued the relationship, we wanted the partnership to remain intact. We were willing to navigate new waters with remote collaboration because we treasured our friendship and loved what God was doing in and through our writing together.

Over time it became apparent it’s much more difficult to collaborate half a country apart. Let’s face it, technology doesn’t fill all the gaps as much as we wanted it to. The three of us had to admit it was more challenging than we thought. We did try to make it work. Eventually, though, we had to wonder if God might be doing something new. Through prayer, we paused and reflected with God. It was an important decision, and we welcomed Him into the process.

After several months, we all agreed it was a new season. We cried (because that’s what happens when good friends walk through change together).

We have so many memories to treasure up in our hearts. It took bold (naïve) courage to take the plunge and write together. Kim and Tracy may have pushed Jen off the ledge, but that’s what good friends do … they challenge each other to grow. We did a lot of that. God brought us together through laughter, conflict, and shared inside jokes that would have us in stitches. Tracy remembers heckling Kim incessantly about one inside joke (still to remain inside, but it has to do with bicycles). Jen fondly recalls her amusement as she realized once again she’d be the middle child. We remember the uproarious outbursts at Panera that may have caused a few eyebrows to raise around the restaurant. Almost. Every. Meeting.

That’s what made the decision so hard.

Our beloved friend is still doing what God made her to do. She’s writing because God has given her words that must be shared. You can find Kim at A Big Umbrella.

We love you, Kim!

Thanks for sharing in our journey!

Serving From the Overflow

11.19.2019 by Megan Abbott //

Welcome to FACETS, friend. We’re excited to welcome back a guest you may have met before. Megan will be sharing on our question this month, Out of thankfulness, how do we serve? We think you’ll love what she has to share about overflow, so please give her a warm welcome! Don’t forget that you can find Tracy’s most recent post here, and you can find Jennifer’s here. Thanks for stopping by!

When I (Megan) see something that needs to be done, or someone is asking for help, part of me immediately says, “Oh, I can do that.” No questions, just an immediate response to do what needs to be done. Need someone to help rearrange all the chairs? Okay. Someone needs a meal made while their family is having a hard time? I can cook! Even while writing this post, I got a text from a friend wanting help, and my response was, “Yeah, I’m writing, but I could after that.” Meanwhile, my to-do list is 20 items deep of things I have put off all week, and it is already after noon. This desire to help can be such a wonderful thing, but as you can imagine, time eventually runs out.

“When does my serving honor God?”

This is a question I have been wrestling with for a while. Honestly, most of my adult life. As I confessed above, I might jump to “always!” but part of me is learning maybe it isn’t really as true as I believe. Sure, God can be glorified through any act of service, but does His grace, mercy, and love shine through me brilliantly no matter the circumstances? Maybe? I have to think His reflection in me is a bit fuzzy at times.

The Recipe for Service

Let’s imagine you and I are coordinating a meal for that family above going through a difficult time. We decide on a tomato soup recipe that you absolutely love. They are going to have quite a bit of family in town visiting, so we realize it is probably best we each make a batch of soup then meet up to combine and deliver together.

You are attentive to the recipe. You take your time finely dicing the onion into equally sized pieces, checking the recipe before measuring the salt, pepper, and thyme, and combining them just as the recipe instructs. Your soup produces a beautiful fragrant aroma in your household. Meanwhile, I am at home making tomato soup from the same recipe. I read the recipe once and gather all the ingredients on the counter. I dice the onions and sauté them. I add a few spices. I notice a zucchini that has been on my counter long enough it really should get cooked, and think “Ooo, that would go great with this tomato soup!” So I chop it up and toss it in. I see a little rosemary and add a sprig. The smell is wonderful.

When you arrive to my house to combine the soups before we deliver, you notice they look nothing alike. They both smell great and look delicious, but that is about all they have in common. Yours looks like the recipe because you continued to check in and confirm you were on the right track. Mine looks delicious, but clearly shows my disdain for following recipes. I have this love for adding and substituting at random. Who needs measuring cups? Both are soup, but only one reflects the fullness of the original recipe.

Serving and the Goodness of the Lord

So back to my question “When does my serving honor God?”. I think, like the soups, serving can always reflect the goodness of the Lord, but when we don’t have the time, or emotional or mental capacity, to check in regularly through our prayer life, we become like the second soup. A beautiful, aromatic fragrance, but either not fully pointing to our Creator, or not fully showing His greatness. Either way, there is a feast. In one case the soup has a glimmer of what the Creator intended, maybe a few items missing, or a few extras thrown in for dramatic effect. In the other, there is a soup that more fully reflects the glory of the masterful Creator.

Reflecting the Goodness of the Lord

In Exodus 34 we find Moses meeting with God on Mount Sinai, where God asks him to chisel out the second pair of stone tablets containing God’s Ten Commandments. At the end of their meeting, Moses leaves with two tablets containing God’s Ten Commandments. Look at what Exodus 34:29 says about Moses after this meeting:

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.” (NIV)

Moses was radiant. There was no denying where he had been, or who he had been with. God’s glory shone on his face. When he came down the mountain, those he encountered immediately knew Moses had been in the presence of the Lord. He shined His creator. Throughout Exodus 34, Moses repeatedly entered into God’s presence, and each time he came away with his face shining. I think the same happens when we regularly spend time with the Lord. The closer we are to God, the more we resemble Him. We overflow what we have taken in . When we take in time with the Lord, we overflow with His grace, love, truth, and mercy.

The Overflow

What would happen if I learned to follow God’s recipe for my life? Service, rest, prayer, laughter, hard work, fellowship—all the ingredients in balance. This may mean I need to make space for rest, space to say yes, and to acknowledge it is okay to say no. For me right now, it looks like regularly asking: “God, is this a place I can serve You from overflow, or am I at capacity?”

I want to believe God’s glory shines more brilliantly when I follow His recipe.

I have to imagine my thankfulness would overflow. I can’t be around God for any significant amount of time and not end up thankful. Thankfulness for His provision leads to generosity. Thankfulness for His grace produces patience. Thankfulness for His unconditional love transforms the way I love others. Thankfulness for His compassion produces an overflow of compassion for others.

Rather than immediately jumping at every opportunity, assuming God requires our participation in order for His plan to be successful, maybe we check in with the Creator and see where He may be guiding us to serve. If we stay rooted in the word and prayerful, the aroma of our service will fully glorify the Lord, and He will shine through us.

Thanks for reading along. We’d love for you to join the conversation below in the comments or at the Facebook page!

A Thankful Heart Serves: the Whys and 6 Ways to Serve

11.12.2019 by Jennifer Howe //

Welcome to Facets, friend. Cinnamon and spice is giving way to peppermint too soon. In a couple weeks many of us will gather with family and friends to count blessings and feast together. Our team adds to the thankful list when you visit and take time to connect here, on Facebook, or face-to-face. This month we remember a thankful heart serves. We’re honored when you engage in the conversation. Thank you!

This November we’re writing about thankfulness and the heart of service that flows from gratitude. You can find Tracy’s post here. And we are over-the-moon-excited to welcome our friend, Megan, this month.

“All you need is love…”¹

“You serve out of who you are,” he said. I (Jennifer, who recently changed my post color from pink to blue) realized my brain cells shifted focus to turn that idea over and over while the radio program faded and continued on in the background. I can’t serve out of who I’m not, I suppose. But serving out of who I am? Normally, this thinking would begin a spiral of introspection toward shame, but not this time. I chose to be compassionate toward me and become more curious than condemning, a new thing I hope to see blossom in my thought life.

I need a fresh reminder of what my God has to say about serving.

My first random act of kindness was in response to the Live Aid telecast in 1985. People in a country I knew nothing about were dying. I was only in high school, but I had to give. Years later I experienced a prompt to be generous for another cause, but it felt different—now I knew the guilt trip thing. Serving others doesn’t always feel the same, I thought. What’s the difference?

We have the opportunity to serve, but how will it look and feel? Is it the cause, the real person representing the need, or something else? I need more than Beatles lyrics to motivate me.

Shiny shoulds, wooden woulds, and tinny cans…

Sometimes I’m disappointed with my insensitivity. When I serve for all the wrong reasons I end up with sickening service or something worse. I easily make a list of reasons I should serve; they’re shiny and make me look good. When I struggle to serve, I have a list of woulds lined up, and I walk down that list teetering on a rickety picket fence. If I want to get over myself, I make a list of cans—but there’s a tinny echo to “I can do this.”

Honest reasons for every season…

How does a woman who loves God serve, and who does she serve?

Serve the LORD with reverential awe
and rejoice with trembling. Psalm 2:11 CSB

Serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs. Psalm 100:2 CSB

It all starts in one place: relationship to the Lord. Why do anything of significance anyway? If it’s all about me, I have the power to make up my own mind and set my own agenda. Sometimes that may come across as kind or even genuine, but deep love comes from the deepest places.

But be sure to fear the LORD and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you. 1 Samuel 12:24 NLT

I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Psalm 116:1 ESV

We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19 ESV

When I pause to reflect on my God’s loving heart—mercy and grace at the cross—I should be affected. If I’m not, I wonder where my heart is focused. Jesus came, lived, died, and rose—to pay for sin, reconcile us to Holy God, and graciously gift us freedom in this life. If I’m cold toward Him or others, I haven’t thought about the rough-hewn crossbeam and nails. Awe and reverence, trembling joy, gladness, and love are found at the crucifixion, the empty tomb, and the torn curtain (Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23). Humility and worship flow out of meditation like that!

Choosing…

Choosing between loving God in serving others and my ugly, self-serving ways is a real struggle. It’s a fight to choose selflessness over self-protection. Knowing the problem is half the battle. Choosing thankfulness and letting my service flow from that is the other half.

Why would I make that choice? Sometimes I choose because it’s the right thing, even if I’m waiting for my feelings to catch up. Sometimes the feelings amplify the calling I know is right.

For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. Galatians 5:13 CSB

We have freedom of choice. No one forces anything, even God (I like to think the shoulds are outta here!). He knows freely-given love is the only real love there is. Commands in the Bible, not suggestions, are always for our good. The truth is, Plan A for our lives is that we love and glorify Him. If we begin to grasp what He has done for us, what other emotion can we have but thankfulness? Our choosing process changes at that point, doesn’t it?

We are free to choose, but two opportunities fight against serving others in love: self-serving and self-protection.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. ²

Friend, I’m on the choosing road every day. I want this for me, you, and the world:

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 1 Peter 4:10 NLT

Out of thankfulness, how will you serve someone today? Will it require specific talent or giftedness, or will you need to grow in thankfulness and engage your heart?

What to do? What to do?

Some ideas for serving in this season might be—

Volunteer with or support your local homeless shelter (PADS is one in this directory)
Carry an “essentials bag” to give away (Homeless Backpack Network)
Find a coat drive in your area to help people stay warm (One Warm Coat is one)
Organizations collect new toys for Christmas (Toys for Tots is one)
Support an organization caring for children (CAFO, Safe Families, or others)
Serve your church’s mission through ministry

These aren’t the only opportunities. I would love for our readers to start a list below or at our Facebook Page. Let’s help each other be creative in our service in this season and every season. We need ideas for spring, summer, fall, and winter, friends!

¹ “All You Need is Love.” Lennon-McCartney. 1967.
² “The Road Not Taken.” Robert Frost. 1916.