Category: Summer

The High Places

Carolyn

The photo above was taken by my daughter at the end of our recent trip to Switzerland. She texted it to me, I think to capture the hotel at night. I almost deleted it because it was so dark and hard to see. However, upon a closer look, unbeknownst to her, I could see the photo captured three very meaningful themes in my life from the last couple of years. I’m hoping to recount each theme in a series of posts in the coming days. This is Part 1 of 3.

My husband led student trips to Switzerland (and Italy) for about 15 years (around 2003-2018), so it’s very near to his heart. In 2010, I met him at the end of one of those trips, but it rained the whole time, and I couldn’t see the mountains! He also had an injury, which was challenging, that I wrote about here. So it was great to return to these beloved places and visit them again, this time with our daughter. (Our son, who wasn’t able to go with us, had been many years ago with the students, but she had never been.)

Because my husband loves to travel and has done so extensively, he is our planner. He knows the areas and prepares thorough itineraries. In this case, when we first started talking about Switzerland, I looked online to a town he had mentioned, saw a hotel that captured my attention, and thought it was pretty. He said, “Let’s go there.” And just like that, it was settled. We would stay in one place and go out from there on day trips in Switzerland and France.

In the weeks leading up to our trip, I was studying Habakkuk with a Bible study by Dannah Gresh. It concluded in the days leading up to our trip with Habakkuk 3:19:

God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.

Many years ago, the Lord had revealed Himself to me as my strength, so that’s always a special reminder.

Simultaneously, we had deer visit our backyard. We would watch them leap through the barbed wire fence at the back of the yard with great agility. They were out in the street when cars came, and they leapt through the yard running from the danger. With these visuals, I could understand more about “feet like the deer’s”!

I shared in our family text that the deer matched my Bible reading, and my mom said it reminded her of the book Hinds’ Feet on High Places. I considered buying the book for the trip, but I decided against it. However, the day before, my mom brought me a copy she had, so I took it along.

To reach our hotel, we had to travel up a mountain on a narrow, winding road, often without visibility of what was coming around the corner. It was a stressful drive. Upon arriving at the hotel, my fears came into play. What was the altitude? Could we manage that road up to it over and over again? Where were we?! How had we not realized its location on such a high place? Why did I ever suggest this place?! How could we have missed doing proper research?! You could say that I was “Much-Afraid.”

I began reading Hinds‘ Feet on High Places as part of my morning devotional time while we were there. It was unbelievable how precisely it felt written for this exact moment in my life and all of its circumstances. The book, based on Habakkuk 3:19, is about the transformation of the main character, “Much-Afraid,” who learns to live with strength in the Lord (rather than fears), is taken to the High Places with the Lord, and is given a new name.

When she sets out, leaving the Valley of Humiliation for the High Places, the Shepherd provides her with two companions, Suffering and Sorrow. Much-Afraid gasps:

“I can’t go with them! I can’t! I can’t! O my Lord Shepherd, why do you do this to me? How can I travel in their company? It is more than I can bear… Couldn’t you have given Joy and Peace to go with me, to strengthen me and encourage me and help me on the difficult way? I never thought you would do this to me!”

After her tears and outburst, the Shepherd asks gently:

“Joy and Peace. Are those the companions you would choose for yourself? You remember your promise, to accept the helpers that I would give, because you believed that I would choose the very best possible guides for you. Will you trust me, Much-Afraid? Will you go with them, or do you wish to turn back to the Valley…?”

Much-Afraid looks into the face of the Shepherd and knows she cannot doubt him or refuse. She will go with Sorrow and Suffering. The Shepherd adds:

“Fear not, Much-Afraid, only believe. I promise that you shall not be put to shame. Go with Sorrow and Suffering, and if you cannot welcome them now, when you come to the difficult places where you cannot manage alone, put your hand in theirs confidently and they will take you exactly where I want you to go.”

Along the journey to the High Places, Much-Afraid learns lessons of “Acceptance-with-Joy,” “Bearing-in-Love,” of humility, forgiveness, and love. She is transformed from limping to leaping. She is renamed “Glory and Grace.” She is able to return to the Valley to do the Lord’s work, now strengthened by Him.

These are only a few highlights of this beautiful book, without giving away too much such that you couldn’t read and enjoy it too!

Returning to Habakkuk 3:19, I remembered the Lord God is my strength, He makes my feet like the deer’s to tread on my high places, and I return to the last sentence, “To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.” If you study Habakkuk, you also see him go from questions and wrestling to embracing the God he can trust. It seems to end with a hymn that he has written to be sung, with instruments.

As I thought of transformation in my own life, I was reminded that my name means “Joyful Song” or “Joyful Spirit.” In fact, it’s a diminutive form or feminine counterpart to the name Charles, meaning “Strength” or free-man. Though I often live as “Much-Afraid,” the Lord calls me to live in His Strength, to sing His song, to be full of Joy. Could I be transformed as well, as I go with Him to the High Places?

I have stood in awe of the Lord, how He gave me the visual of the deer in advance, how He unexpectedly took us literally up on high place where my fears were exposed, how He gave me a book that was written precisely for me in that moment.

And to my further amazement, at the end of Hinds’ Feet on High Places, when reading the author’s personal story and background, I discovered the author Hannah Hurnard had written it during a 3-week visit to Switzerland in 1949! She shared how the story came about, about the Alps, even small things like her fears of riding the gondola, which I also had to conquer that week! On and on, I felt like my very life was being written about and spoken to in such particular ways!

Some deer statues on our hotel property

Though it’s hard to see in the photo at the top of this post, this deer statue is in the foreground, in the middle, right in front of the white outdoor furniture. This is the first theme then of the photo: how the Lord enables us to tread on our high places.

We came back down to the valley after the trip. Life with all its ups and downs resumed. A few minor medical things and sickness. Sometimes after beauty in a high place, we do feel as though we hit the ground again with a thud! And yet, through it all, I praise and love the Lord, my Strength, who is so personal and loving, who teaches us how to tread on our high places as we trust in Him! Praise Him!

Summer Wrap-up and Fall Launch

Summer Wrap-up and Fall Launch

Carolyn

September may be my favorite month. The heat of summer begins to give way to the cooler weather of fall. Everything launches again, whether schools and academic schedules or various activities and groups. A more typical routine resumes. It almost feels like the start of a new year when we make our resolutions as we set our fall schedule, our new goals and ways to grow. I can feel life regulating again, moving away from some of the free and unformed days of summer to days that are more planned and possibly even more productive.

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Where Does My Hope Come From?

Where Does My Hope Come From?

Carolyn

For the last 14 years, my husband has been leading college student groups around parts of Europe each summer. While they get class credit, he shows them the wonders of the Swiss Alps or the history of the church at places like the Colosseum in Rome. He is a tour guide extraordinaire, and he loves to travel. He’s good at it. He’s flexible, organized, and energetic. He loves teaching and spending time with the students.

I, on the other hand, am a homebody, a creature of routine. I like to travel once I’m there, seeing amazing new places and learning more about the world, but I tend to dread it for the months leading up to it. It takes me outside of my comfort zone.

This summer, while my son was on a separate trip to Italy with a group of students, my husband finally had the chance to take my daughter and me to Italy to see a country that he loves. It was beautiful, and we now love it, too. I didn’t realize there were Italian Alps or an Italian Riviera. I love art, but had never given much thought to what you could see in Florence. The leaning tower of Pisa really does lean, and it’s absolutely beautiful! The waterways of Venice were a favorite. The food was delicious.

Through this wonderful trip, though, I had my eyes focused on July 11. That was the day we would travel home, the day we would meet up with our son’s group in the UK and all fly home together. That was the day the trip would be completed and I would know all had gone well and be able to enter back into my much-loved routine with my much-loved family.

But things don’t always go according to plan. Our flight was delayed. We missed the connection. My son would travel on with his group, catch a ride home with someone to our empty house, spend his first night home alone with us overseas (he is old enough and capable—no concern there), and we would enjoy London and return the next day. That all sounds pretty sweet, really. But when your eyes have been fixed on one moment for six months, when you’ve had this one big expectation, when you’re tired now from several days of travel, there’s a big letdown.

Riding the London Underground into the city, I could finally grab my Bible during which time I was able to refocus on what was true. God is in control, not me. And when I exited the Tube and looked up, my eyes met Big Ben, and I realized this could actually be viewed as a special addition to an already wonderful trip. (We even saw the excitement and activity surrounding their choice of a new prime minister that day.)

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When I returned home, I read one of the last things I had written in my journal before leaving, as I had prayed about the trip: “God doesn’t want me to control my circumstances and environment. He by His Spirit wants to control me in them, to help me be self-disciplined and have self-control over emotions, yes, but also to be Spirit-controlled and Spirit-filled—not just to be managed, but to go forward in His will, way, and calling.”

This story is a small example that serves as a reminder: when I fix my eyes and set my hope on anything other than God, I am sure to be disappointed. But when I fix my eyes on God and His perfect plan, I will adjust more easily to the challenges that enter my day.

Since returning home, I’ve had other opportunities to notice how easy it is for me to be led by my emotions, to react and respond with what I feel instead of what I know, to do things quickly then without prayer, using my common sense, instead of looking to God for what He would desire—and it’s never good that way!

When our ultimate hope is God (not British Airways) and we’re looking forward to a destination like heaven (not our earthly home), there will be less room for disappointment, and great cause to rejoice and be glad in all circumstances. When we put our hope and trust in Him, we will see just how much God loves us and is working for our good, transforming us and making us more like Himself.

Psalm 121:

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
    From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
    nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all evil;
    he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
    your going out and your coming in
    from this time forth and forevermore.

Progress, Not Perfection

Carolyn

This summer has provided more free time than I can ever remember, and it’s been a wonderful blessing. I’ve been able to make progress in several ways.

  • We’ve been eating better — more eating at home, less eating out.
  • I’ve been exercising, trying to walk every other day.
  • I’ve been enjoying time reading and updating the blog, writing a little more here or just in my journal.
  • Along with my mom, we’ve hosted a summer Bible study and daily benefited from studying the life of Gideon (Judges 6-8) together with a group of women of all ages.
  • I’ve been working less and doing a lot to prepare for a busy fall when school begins later this month.
  • We’ve taken care of dental visits and well checks for the kids.
  • We’ve started college visits!
  • We’ve done some traveling, seen extended family, and celebrated the life of my beloved uncle who went to be with the Lord.
  • We also celebrated birthdays and life in meaningful ways.

All in all, it’s been not only a good summer, but one in which I can see progress. You know the defeating saying, “two steps forward, three steps back”? I feel like for us, it’s been “three steps forward, two steps back” or some variation on that where we’ve moved forward and made progress, not perfectly, sometimes going back a little, but then surging ahead again. For this, I am thankful.

The ongoing process of sanctification (our ongoing growth in the Lord, being set apart for His use) is a good one, where the Lord is continuing His good work in us until its completion at the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).

But it’s sometimes also a hard process! It seems to require our active participation, that we continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, trusting and waiting on God to do all that He has planned (Philippians 2:12-13). We don’t trust in the seen, but the unseen. We hope in God, resting in His promises revealed to us in His Word.  Sometimes we must wait to see how it will all work itself out.

So we trust Him, walk by faith, without sight, hoping and waiting in confident expectation that God will act on our behalf and finish the good work.

All of this, this sanctification is ongoing. We won’t be perfect here on earth, but we can make progress. And I am filled with hope that God will finish what He has started, and I look to him and find Him near on the journey as we walk by faith.

Weeks Nine and Ten of Summer!

Carolyn

The summer is coming to a swift conclusion! It’s been a wonderful summer, but we are ready for the new things the fall has in store!

Most of our last two weeks of summer were spent in Florida! It was a last minute trip that fit perfectly in all of our schedules, so we did it. This is probably my favorite place on earth. I’m a Floridian by birth, so perhaps it stuck with me!

This is the single picture I got of my kids on this trip!
They have grown a lot since our trip last year over spring break.

Unlike our England trip, where I gave up my time in the Word while we traveled around so much (not a good idea! It was a loss!), I thankfully had time every day to read my Bible and pray each morning in Florida, and the Lord met me in very specific and needed ways. I returned with a heart overflowing with praise to God and awe of His personal care for us.

Here’s a verse from my Scripture reading one day that really ministered to me in what we were going through and that I prayed through:

Isaiah 43:18-21:

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.

“A new thing!” He provides and gives “that they may proclaim my praise” (note my blog name!).

A friend from Virginia who was praying for us that week wrote me that same day and shared this same verse from Isaiah 43! I told her I had prayed it that morning, and she wrote me that she had asked God what to share, and that was the verse He gave her.

My last night in Florida, I stood on the shore with the waves lapping over my feet, praying and asking God to “redeem this,” to redeem the hard things of the week. My friend wrote me the next morning, “I am praying God will redeem this.” I got in the car to travel home, and my Bible study lesson was on “Full Redemption.” (I love Psalm 130:7, with the Lord there is unfailing love and plentiful and abundant redemption!) I praise the Lord for this needed encouragement.

There were hard parts to the week as our car was wrecked by an uninsured motorist, we had brought some friends along for the kids, and just other circumstances that were good, but that revealed hard things. So I pray God uses it all for His glory.

I love this time of year when the academic year begins. My whole family lives by it, so this is always fun to get started again.

We have the school picnic today for my daughter. In my Bible reading this morning, it was in Jeremiah 17 which is where the school verses are:

Jeremiah 17:7-8:

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.

This is contrasted with the person who trusts in man (Jer. 17:5-6) who is like a bush in the wastelands, dwelling in the desert. It sounds like a person who could use the provision of the Lord described in Isaiah 43 above: water, streams, drink! He is the spring of living water (Jer. 17:13)!

Oh, may we put our trust in Him for the coming year and each new day! I praise the Lord for the summer rest and provision and look to Him for the new school year!