Monday, January 8, 2018

New Word--Old Word



She seemed to be smiling all the time . . .





By the time I knew my Great Grandma Roth, she had lived a lifetime already. I heard all the stories from my Mom: how she felt that she was the Grandma who used to love pretty things, the Grandma who used to play the piano, until a conversion to a stricter way of life changed her. I heard about the hurtful memories of money not shared for a desperately needed surgery.  


But by the time I knew her, all of those things were part of a distant past.  What I remember is a Grandma who never had a harsh word to say to anyone. I can see in my mind's eye the Grandma whose eyes would light up when we walked into the room of her nursing home, and the largest smile you could imagine would cover her wrinkly, sweet face.


And I am sorry to say that I remember the inside joking that would happen between my siblings and myself when we had to sit at the table before and after every meal for the Mennonite way of silent prayers.  My mind, that was used to loud Pentecostal praying, somehow could not comprehend her old-fashion way of praying silently.


Until this past year, when God spoke an old-fashion word over me for my #Oneword last year:



 "He says, 'Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.'”


If you have been following me this past year, then you might remember some of the lessons that God walked me through,
here, or here,
on this journey of learning to be still. At the beginning of the year I felt a sense of being crushed, when I thought about being still.  You see, I was continuing to grieve my past life, Pre-RA, of being strong, and busy, and full of movement.

But God's convictions always come with such a sweet
intimacy when we will stop and listen.

He has had beautiful times in mind for me in the days of forced stillness.

And He has had beautiful love-notes to speak to me
only heard when I would slow and wait on Him.


And, so while I was reluctant to begin this past year of stillness, now I have found myself reluctant to move onto a different word.

Am I the only one who faces change in that way?

Do you ever find yourself in a similar situation?


But as I have heard the whispers of the Lord moving me ahead into the new #Oneword for this year, I have only begun to realize that the stillness of last year has prepared the way for the fullness of this year's word to be possible. Unless I had allowed Him to teach me the blessing in the still place, I would not have been ready to learn now that my own self-sufficiency had gotten me nowhere during all of those "strong" years.  It has always been only 
Christ-sufficiency
that has given my life any true value.


And so, I pray that my heart 
will be opened
to see
to hear
to learn
a deeper beauty 
than I've known before:

My Jesus is sufficient for all I need.


#Oneword 365~~2018




Is God calling you to journey forward
with Him this year?

Will you join me in prayer
for a willing heart to walk with Him?


Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank you that your shed blood
is sufficient
for everything we need.
Thank You that you gave 
everything
so that we could live.
May we open our hearts to receive
from You what we cannot
earn or strive on our own
to complete.
May we swing wide the gates
and allow Your Spirit
full access
to the deepest caverns
inside our souls.
You are all that we need.
In Your Sweet Name we pray,
Amen.



I think that my Grandma Roth must have learned
the secret of finding Christ's Sufficiency
as she shone with such a deep and inner 
sparkle of love.



Join me back here each week this month for a series on 
The Legacy of Faith that I can see when I look back. Thank you to Jaime Wiebel for her inspiration last month as she shared her own story, and then asked us to think about our own history.

And perhaps Jesus will show us more about what it means to find Him as all-sufficient as we travel together.



Are you hearing a #Oneword for this new year? I would love to hear your comments below! 




I am linking with:

 




 


  
 

28 comments:

  1. Bettie, I love this. I do remember reading this past year how God has used stillness to bring you close to Him. Your word for this year is great. He is really all we need. Thanks for sharing that prayer, and I pray it, too. My word last year was wait, and sometimes it was hard. Some things I'm still waiting for, but I know I can trust God to work in His timing. Things might not turn out like I think, but I know that He knows best and I can rest in that.
    My 2018 word is hygge, and I'm looking forward to the ways God enables me to find rest and contentment and to make my house more cozy and welcoming.

    Blessings to you, dear sister! Much love! xo

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    1. Dear Gayl,
      I am so glad that you and I have felt the Lord this past year in our seasons of waiting and being still! I know that He will continue to teach us more about them, even as we move forward with Him this year. And He does know how to bring fullness to our waiting and resting, doesn't He? I love your new word for this year! What a beautiful thought to bring His comfort into our homes through the ways that we seek to allow comfort and coziness there. Blessings and Love to you as we both pray for God's leading this year! xoxo

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  2. so fun that your Grandma's memories are blessing you still and now. i love how stillness and sufficient go together so beautifully - I'll share w/ a friend w/ RA. thank you, bettie.

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    1. Dear Sue,
      Isn't that amazing how they do fit together? When I first heard the word sufficient I wasn't seeing how it fit with stillness. I guess I can be a little slow sometimes! ha. But I am so thankful that the Lord started to fit it all together for me. I will be praying for your friend! May the Lord bless her with comfort and strength.

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  3. Thank you for sharing with us about your grandma. I never knew my grandmas so I missed out on some of the tradition and legacy that I could have been part of.'

    I believe God never makes a mistake in choosing a word for us each year. Suficient will serve you well and I am looking forward to seeing how God leads you this year. It's good to be back here reading your words. Happy New Year!

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    1. Dear Mary,
      Thank you so much for always being an encouragement! You bring such blessings to me as you share here, and over at your own site too. I know that I have been so blessed with a heritage of faith, and recently I was convicted about the "much that I had been given" there. He asked me to share those gifts and not just hoard them away in my own memories. I pray that He will bless these crumbs as I scatter them around! Happy New Year to you also, my friend!

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  4. This is a great post, Bettie! I loved reading about your memories of your Grandma. I also liked how your word for the year is the next step from all that you learned last year. My word for this year is "focus"- focusing on God, and also focusing on what I should be doing/ what he is calling me to do instead of trying to do too much.

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    1. Thank you Lesley! I love how God so gently leads us along His path. Your word of "focus" sounds like such a good one, with so many facets to it. It will be so interesting to watch where he takes you with it. What a joy when we can cheer each other on! Blessings to you this New Year!

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  5. This post resonates so much in my heart that it brought tears to my eyes, Bettie. I am learning, too, how this "forced stillness" of chronic illness is helping me to be closer to God. I still sometimes grieve over the limitations, but like you, I'm learning God has all along had beautiful times for me in mind. I loved also hearing about your great grandma. May we both learn ever deeper about Christ-sufficiency! Love and hugs to you!

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    1. Oh, Trudy I found this original comment! It did not just disappear into thin air, like I had originally thought: I forgot to check my spam folder! Oh Dear!! Thank the Lord that He keeps helping me learn through all of my mistakes. Love you dear friend! xoxo

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  6. Bettie, I am always inspired and blessed by your surrender. His ways are always best, but even knowing that, I often try to make my own way, with my own strength. Your example slows me down. Be still. Be still. I keep hearing Him say lately. But it isn't the way of the world. You sweet grandma knew a different world than the one we are trying to navigate. How I wish we could go back to a simpler time. But none of this surprises God. He is the same. And His Grace is always sufficient. I am feeling so gratefull for my own faithful mother and ancestors. Not everyone was so blessed. God bless you dear Sister.

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    1. Dear Debbie,
      And I am so encouraged by your obedience and following after the Lord! I am so thankful that we can keep pointing each other to Jesus, and to listen to what He is saying. And yes, you are so right that our Grandmas lived in much simpler times! Oh, but our hearts are still the same, down deep we all need to hear the voice of our Savior calling to us. May we slow down to hear Him and to find that His sufficient Grace is what we truly need. And may we both be joyful to share the blessings we've been given! Hugs and Love to you dear Sister!

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  7. I so love hearing your family stories, Bettie. What a rich gift - not just for you, but us also as you share the encouragement God has given you.

    I too have been so blessed by God's pressing to be still before Him - and your posts this year have so encouraged me. Sitting here wide awake in the middle of the night I have felt so very thankful to God for using this illness to keep me up and speak His Word in such a sweet way to me. Yes- stillness and sufficiency go together. As the Holy Spirit leads us to be still - using what is meant to harm us for good 😊 - Christ's sufficiency pours in grace, hope, strength, faith, life and more hope into all those places we doubt, we fail, we weep, we cry. Oh how good He is to us.

    Thank You Jesus for the gift of Bettie this past year. Pour out Your continued anointing upon her as she rests upon Your sufficiency this coming year. Fill her with joy each step of the way, as You press her even more deeply into Your Word. In Jesus' Mighty Name, Amen. Love you xxx

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    1. Dear Anna, Oh thank you for all of your encouragement and prayers over this past year. Our Lord truly has taken what the enemy meant for harm, and transformed those very places into sweet oases of His life-giving living water. And even today, when you are now in a place of forced stillness yourself, Jesus is so near and bringing His Word to life in you. I pray that we both will continue to walk in His will, and find fresh anointing as HE opens doors that in the past seemed closed so tight. Amen my friend! HE is our all-sufficiency! Love and Hugs! xoxo

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  8. This post resonates so much in my heart that it brought tears to my eyes, Bettie. I am learning, too, how this "forced stillness" of chronic illness is helping me to be closer to God. I still sometimes grieve over the limitations, but like you, I'm learning God has all along had beautiful times for me in mind. I loved also hearing about your great grandma. May we both learn ever deeper about Christ-sufficiency! Love and hugs to you!

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    1. Dear Trudy,
      I am so blessed that the Lord brought such encouragement to you my friend! How amazing that He would let us pray for each other as we walk these similar paths. The words that the Lord has brought forth from your still places have brought such strength and peace to me too. What a faithful God we have, ever leading us further to see more of how sufficient He is for us! And thank you so much for re-sending your comment over these flighty interwebs! I am trying to learn more about these technological systems that we must work with! Even more of His sufficiency there, right? :) Love and Hugs to you too! xoxo

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  9. I love honoring our elders and I LOVE YOUR WORD. Sufficient. He is more than sufficient. Amen!

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    1. Dear Susan,
      Yes, I feel that God is wanting to show me the blessing that is to be had as I share my honoring of those who have gone before me! And, yes, I am so happy to keep remembering that you walked through this word last year, right before me! I am trusting that He will bring me to a greater trust in His all-sufficiency. xoxo

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  10. Replies
    1. Isn't it? So many facets of His great Lordship for us! Blessings to you!

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  11. I just love this, Bettie. Your grandma looks so sweet, I just want to reach over and give her a hug. I love your story how God moved you from stillness, which like you said can feel like it is crushing us but is oh so necessary. Especially to see that all sufficient grace that Jesus has for us. I noticed you changed your background. Thanks for that sweet mention and visiting us at Sitting Among Friends. Blessings to you as you continue through the New Year resting in Christ's sufficiency.

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    1. Thank you so much Jaime! I am so glad for your post on FB that inspired this thought process in me. I really am being surprised at the sweetness that the Lord is showing me in those who have gone before me. And I know that the Lord has used this time of being still in so many ways! Thank you for noticing the change in the background here. I just felt like a New Year was a time for a new look, if even just a small change! Blessings to you!

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  12. Oh, I love your new word! And, your dear grandma sounds like a wonderful, sweet saint of God. She looks so kind in the picture. I admire the quietness of the Mennonites and find them so interesting, along with the Amish, too. I think they have much to teach about how to be still and quiet and restful before God. I am so thankful for the many precious truths God taught you last year, and you were so faithful to share with us here. I trust this year will hold much better health for you, sweet friend. Sending love and hugs your way!

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    1. Dear Cheryl,
      Yes, I have developed an appreciation for the Mennonite and Amish quiet ways over the last few years, much more than I had before, I'm sorry to say. But isn't the conviction of the Lord such a gift to us? He draws us further into Himself when He shows us a better way. I am so thankful for all of your prayers and thoughts too my friend. May the Lord give us both a fresh dose of His Grace and Faithfulness! Love and Hugs to you too! xo

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  13. Hi Bettie,

    We may be on similar paths...my word for this year is Enough. God's grace is enough. My 'not enough' in Jesus' hands is more than enough. My word last year was Called, and there were lessons I had not expected. (Which I should have expected. lol)

    Blessings,
    Laura

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    1. Hi Laura,
      Oh yes, that word of "enough" is so akin to "sufficient." I heard the Lord start speaking about the need to let go of my self-sufficiency last year, so that I can truly find how "enough" and MORE than sufficient He will be! I also get surprised when His lessons lead me in a different way than I thought, and wonder why I am surprised! His ways are so much higher than ours, aren't they? Blessings to you on this journey!

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  14. May God gives us what we need rather than what we think we want. Praying for you.

    God bless.

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    1. Amen! Our Lord knows and sees what is best! Thank you so much for your prayers brother! Blessings to you!

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