Guest Perspectives Archives – Facets of Faith

A Weary World Rejoices: Pondering and Remembering

12.23.2020 by Jennifer Howe //

Hello, friends! It’s the final share of 2020, and we’re excited to reintroduce our lovely friend, Hyacynth. She’s blessed us with her words before, but you may find this topic very real: a weary world rejoices. That’s much of this year for everyone, we know. Our team hopes to encourage you with words to meet your heart where it is, if it is, in the weariness. Quiet pondering. This idea is nothing less than sweet and encouraging to the soul in the busy, harsh environment some of us endure. Add your thoughts in the comments below, share, or visit the Facebook Page.

Merry Christmas, friends! We love you, and we hope you are blessed in this Christmas week.

During a normal December, there is much noise to navigate, and this December 2020 I (Hyacynth) recognize my need for noise reduction more than in years past. My spirit is weary, and it cannot take any more self-help plans or spiritual revitalization how-tos or sermons about how I can fix the weariness that has settled over me this year. I don’t want to add to the noise for you either, and so I will be brief in sharing what I’m learning this year about rejoicing in the midst of a wearing year like 2020.

Maybe you’ve asked yourself the same questions I’ve thought about this Advent season: what if I don’t feel like rejoicing amid the weariness that’s stretched out over my heart, my body, and my spirit? What if a celebration isn’t something I can muster right now?

When Jesus was born, there was quite an exclamation mark lingering around his birth and dedication — the Star, the angels, the heavenly hosts, the shepherds coming to rejoice in the birth of the savior. There was much rejoicing in a loud joyous way.

This year, one marked with weariness, my heart in this moment doesn’t quite resonate with the shepherds’ reaction; it lingers with Mary in her response amid the great exclamations of joy.

“All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.” Luke‬ ‭2:18-19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Mary pondered these thoughts, these circumstances, these joy-filled reactions in her heart; Mary doesn’t cry out in loud celebration. Her celebration is quiet—a marveling as she ponders. Some translations say she treasured these things in her heart—a young mother picking up gemstones of remembrance as events unfolded in front of her eyes, gathering them together in a collection of marvelous unfoldings.

As I reflect on Mary’s posture, I’ve come to believe Mary’s ponderings were part of her rejoicing. Rejoicing comes at the deliverance of the promise of very good news comes true. To really be able to rejoice, we first must deeply understand what is happening, which requires time to process. And then we must remember and linger long over the promises of God manifesting before our eyes. Maybe tour first response isn’t always a loud celebration or tears of joy. Maybe part of rejoicing first comes in the quiet ponderings of the heart, as we remember what God has said and realize God has done what He said He would do.

Maybe the precursor to rejoicing is first processing and then remembering. And maybe remembering requires us to ponder in the quiet of moments during the day and amid the silence of dark nights. Maybe rejoicing cannot be mustered up or turned on and off like Christmas tree lights. Maybe rejoicing needs time to linger in the wonder of it all. Maybe the prelude of rejoicing in a weary world is to first ponder and remember and wonder at Gods goodness and faithfulness in quiet cover of darkness. And then, it time, like a seed buried below ground, shoots of joy will spring forth from the soul rejoicing amid a weary land.

Do not fear if your rejoicing begins in the darkness. Settle there in quiet ponderings of remembering His faithfulness; a shoot of hope and cry of joy will be born from pondering His goodness in the hushed darkness just below the surface. In time the seed will spring forth glorious praise.

The Beauty of Gathering

11.24.2020 by Alaina Bennetts //

Welcome! Happy Thanksgiving Week! This week is my (Megan’s) favorite. I get to introduce you to my dear friend, Alaina! When we decided to write on gathering, I couldn’t think of anyone better to share with you. She really knows how to love her community, and point them back to Jesus. With all that is up in the air right now with traveling and gathering restrictions, the pandemic, and everything else, we know that the holidays may be feeling really different. Whether everything feels the same or you find yourself in a place of mourning or rejoicing, I pray that you will be reminded of the presence of God with you and that you will be drawn in by the comfort only He can provide.

I’m 33 years old. When I was 31, I started dating Kyle, and 8 months later I married him. Before that, I was pretty single — Like hadn’t gone on a date in over a year and people were highly encouraging to join e-Harmony kind of single. But here’s the thing, even though I was dateless for a while, I learned the art of doing life with people that kept my mind (mostly) off what I didn’t have. What was one of my secrets, you ask? Sharing a meal with others. Sometimes I’d even reason that communion, Jesus style, was intended to be a whole meal. So it didn’t matter how busy I was, I loved pausing long enough to enjoy dinner with someone else across the table from me.

There was something about being with another person face to face and hearing them say what was going on that allowed me to be fully present with them. It gave me permission to be in their world and them in mine for that time. Sharing a meal brought us together. There was a sense of unity in our breaking of the bread. It almost felt like, for that time, we were family, even if we weren’t. All those conversations allowed me to hear at a deeper level what was going on past the quick, “How are you?” exchanges.

In a lot of ways I can see how God shaped those talks to grow me as His daughter, so I would be about His business. As I would step into the lives of those around me, I’d get a better idea of how to live out what the Bible says about loving my neighbor. It gave me a chance to exercise my faith; to pray with people who were hurting; to listen to those who were mourning, and to rejoice with those who were celebrating. It also gave me a chance, more than once, to say, “I’m sorry,” or “I forgive you.” Gathering together wasn’t about the perfect Instagram post to show off later, it was about doing life with people, even when it got messy. Getting close to people can show all our imperfections, but it also shows so much more of the beauty the life God gave us has to offer.

And then 2020 came, and we all experienced the pandemic of Covid-19. Where staying home was mandated, and gathering was prohibited. What was only going to be 2 weeks of slowing down turned into a whole year getting turned upside down as schools adjusted, concerts and sports were canceled, and churches shut the doors of their buildings for the first time in the history of my lifetime and yours. Gatherings weren’t allowed. Even families’ social distanced to keep each other safe, and slow down the spread of the virus.

Screens were the only way we connected as spring started to come into season, but then people started getting creative. Why? Because they realized, gathering together is a key ingredient when you are intentional about living like Jesus did. People started going for walks – no matter the weather. They dropped off meals. They were showing up to talk to their friends and family on the lawn. Or talking to their neighbors from their porch.

Churches changed up how they worshiped Jesus & looked for ways to be intentional about serving one another.

John 13:34-35 reads:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Have you ever noticed, people don’t accidentally love someone? They have to deliberately plan to put someone else before their own wants. You can’t love other people if you’re doing life alone. In fact, you can’t live out the Bible if you are doing life alone.

2020 is coming to end and the coming holidays are going to look different than the traditions we are used to, but we still have a choice for how we handle them.

We have a choice to look for ways to love others, and make room for it in schedules – even if it’s different.

A choice to go slow with our day so we can be intentional with those God has put in our life.

A choice to respect how others feel safe, and accommodate them. You can show them some Jesus-love in person or from afar.

Yes, gathering is going to look different, but if we don’t prioritize it, we lose the chance to live out the example of the Rescuer that the world desperately needs right now, Jesus Christ. He is the reason our hope is never lost, no matter the current affairs. Jesus is the reason we can sit across the table and share a meal, even if it’s outside and we’re 6 feet apart. We’re just looking for a chance to live out the love Jesus first showed us so many years ago; the love that changed the world, and it continues to change mine.

Reawakening the Invitation to Dream

10.27.2020 by Jennifer Howe //

This month we’re exploring our relationships to the Persons of the Trinity. While not an easy idea to put into words, we know there is solid biblical evidence for our one God existing in three Persons. Tracy, Jennifer, and Megan shared earlier this month, and you might like to check out what they posted by clicking on their names. The FACETS are excited to introduce our guest this month, Lauren Hansen. We think you’ll enjoy her post.

What did you do this week? I (Lauren) spent the majority of my week participating in Zoomtopia 2020. What’s Zoomtopia, you ask? No, it’s not a giant music festival (although the name kind of sounds like Lollapalooza, doesn’t it?) It’s not dozens of famous musicians on stages with flashing lights and sounds. It’s not a gathering of thousands of screaming fans with their arms up swaying to the music, singing the lyrics to their favorite songs. Zoomtopia 2020 was just me, staring at my computer, watching conference sessions about a product we’ve all come to know and love (love-hate?) over the past seven months — Zoom. Yep, that’s right. Did you know the technology platform, Zoom, hosts an annual virtual conference? I didn’t either until a colleague forwarded me an invite. I decided to hop on because I thought maybe some of these thought leaders could tell me something about what is going on with the world, the workforce, and the future.

And you know what? I left the conference inspired and full of wonder. As CEOs and executives shared different ideas, ways of thinking and new technology, there was a stir in my spirit. “What’s coming, Lord?” I asked, like a kid on Christmas morning. “What are you birthing?”

I believe we’re in an “Industrial Revolution” style time period where things are shifting and innovation is about to blossom like it never has before. Products are being developed as we speak that will change the way we live and work and leaders are at the same time understanding the value of human connection and relationships. I can’t wait to see what is created and cherished in this next decade.

Yet as I think about the future, I can’t help but think about the past.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light, and there was light. (Genesis 1:1-3 NIV)

God and the Holy Spirit were there in the beginning, and you know who else was there? Jesus. The writer of John says,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men (John 1:1-4 NIV).

So God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are there in creation, and together they create. They create light and water and land and sky and animals and us. As the Holy Spirit hovers, God speaks the Word, and something is birthed out of nothing. I never realized this before, but all three were present, and they all had a part in creation. And that’s still how it works today.

Yes, that’s right. Things are still being created today and they happen just like they did in Genesis. If you could see me right now, I am jumping out of my seat with excitement. I wish my words could adequately express what this means for us. I’ll try my best. Ready to go on an adventure?!

So you and I are created in God’s image, and when we decide to follow Jesus, the Bible says that he dwells in us. In 2 Corinthians 13:5, Paul asks the Corinthian believers a question, “Or do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?” Colossians says that “Christ in you is the hope of glory” (1:27 NIV). When we decide to follow Jesus, we are also given the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is like winning the lottery on steroids because he connects us to Jesus, connects us to the Father, AND gives us all these special gifts just because the Father loves us.

As we grow in our relationship with the Holy Spirit, he transforms us from the inside out. He helps us realize how loved we are, and he helps us understand our identity and how the Father specifically wired us and he reveals our purpose. An aspect of our purpose is to partner with the Holy Spirit to create and to bring God’s Kingdom to the earth. One of the ways he does this is by partnering with our imagination, our hopes, and our dreams.

The chair you’re sitting on or the phone you’re reading from or the pretzels that you’re snacking on were all a part of someone’s imagination at one point. Someone thought, “You know, it would be helpful to create something out of wood that could hold my body so I could rest.” Someone else thought, “It would be nice to be able to communicate 24/7.” Even in this season, neighborhoods came together and thought, “How can we be sure that kids who are not physically in school still get lunch?” and created bus-stop feeding programs and food pantries.

There is a beautiful invitation in this season to dream again. What gives you hope? What angers you? What do you wish were different? How would you like education to look? How would you like family to look? What would you change? What sets your heart ablaze? I bet there are some things on God’s heart in this season, too. What does it look like for his Kingdom to come on earth? What does he care about most? What solutions does he have for the challenges we’re facing?

I’ve been fascinated in this season with God’s ways — why he does things the way he does them and how he set things up to work. In Genesis 1 and all throughout the Gospels, he shows us the way to create. The Holy Spirit hovers, God speaks the Word, and something is created out of nothing. Today, as we grow in our relationship with God and invite the Holy Spirit in our hearts; he hovers over us. As he hovers, Jesus (the Word) is inside of us, and when we speak things are created out of nothing. That is how broken arms are healed and blind eyes see. That is how the dreams in our imagination are birthed. That is how Zoomtopia is created (haha).

In all seriousness, our words combined with the Holy Spirit’s presence as we speak the heart of God have the capacity to create the impossible. In the tenderness of God’s nature, instead of creating everything himself, he invites us into the process. He always wants to do life with us.

This is going to be a marvelous season in your life. Right now, I ask the Holy Spirit to flood your heart and soul with hope for the future. I ask him to fill your mind with pictures and dreams — even dreams that were once lost. I ask him to give you a tangible sense of his presence with you and ask him to remind you that you will go forward together. You will create together. And it will be fun. Ephesians 3:20 says,

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever!” [Emphasis added.]

Welcome to the season of more than all you can ask or imagine. It’s here. It’s for you, and it’s going to be beautiful.

Visit Lauren’s blog HERE.