LIGHT-BEARER

My valley's skyscape one day seemed  appropriate for a March 19 Facebook entry I'd just read by a longtime writer-speaker friend. She  quoted  Eighteenth century English poet and hymnwriter William Cowper: “Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take; The clouds you so much dread, Are big with mercy, and shall break in blessings on Thy head.” Soon after, on March 25, my friend, Lucinda ("Cindy") Secrest McDowell broke through those "much-dreaded" spiritual clouds to eternal life.

Not long before, as I read Cindy’s month-earlier (Feb. 21) Lenten blog, I had no clue how deeply its truths would test her. Referring to the “Ash Wednesday” tradition, she wrote:

“Sometime today, you might find yourself hearing these words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3.19), as an officiant traces ashes on your brow, made from burning last year’s palm branches. On Ash Wednesday, the church begins the 40-day season of Lent by reminding us of our mortality. While that may sound morbid, this holy practice can actually become a catalyst to pursue a deeper, more significant life…As Ash Wednesday launches the beginning of our journey towards Easter, I’m focusing on remembering the past, reflecting on the present, and relinquishing my future to a sovereign God.-- (From Feb. 21, 2023 blog at https://lucindasecrestmcdowell.com)

A month later, just weeks before her 70^th birthday, Lucinda (“Cindy”) Secrest McDowell died of just-discovered invasive cancer. Shocked in hearing that, I thought back to the 2023 life “focus word” she had chosen: the Hebrew word hineni (pronounced hee-nay-nee), meaning “Here I am.”  Used of responding fully to a divine call, its most memorable use is in Genesis 22. There, Abraham had traveled to a certain mountain to obey God’s command to sacrifice the miracle child of his old age, Isaac. But just before Abraham prepares to kill his bound son on an altar, God calls again. Abraham responds, “Hineni”—“Here I am.” At that crucial moment, God tells him to spare the son. He has passed the test of obedience.

A gifted, prolific writer, she and her retired-pastor-husband had  entered their golden years...but her writing and speaking continued. "Hineni"--"here I am."

What a resume she had! Growing up in south Georgia, she raced through high school and college, throwing in (like Catherine Marshall’s fictional “Christy”) a stint of ministry among impoverished Appalachians. She finished a master's at Gordon Seminary in Massachusetts while living (as a hired housemate-helper) with famed author Elisabeth Elliot. Editing and writing jobs, (including one with a world-wide evangelism conference), then a few classes at Wheaton Graduate School (where I met her) came next. From there, she served as a missions pastor for a California mega-church. And that’s where she encountered a widower serving a parachurch ministry in Seattle. His wife had died, leaving him with three young children.

Some of her books from my bookshelf

Fast-forward through a long-distance courtship and marriage, and they’d follow pastoral callings on the other side of the nation, have a child together, and finally settle in a historic New England church. Busy as a pastor’s wife and mom to four, she’d find the time to write 13 books, contribute to 30 others, do other writing, and speak at conferences.

An avid reader—fiction, devotionals, Bible study, classics—she recycled the lessons of great spiritual leaders into her own writing. She mentored other writers through support groups and conferences. Whew. A full life. But one ended just before age 70, mere weeks after cancer was diagnosed.

Several decades ago, on the East coast for a business trip, I took a bus to her home in Connecticut. Though she was ill with a bad cold, she was a gracious hostess. I visited her historic church “gathered” in the 1600s and where George Washington once visited and worshiped. Behind the church spread a huge historic cemetery—rows upon rows of gravestones. (See some old graves behind us.) A few, she admitted with a smile, marked the final resting place of other “Lucindas” from centuries earlier.

Her given name, Lucinda, means “light.” I was privileged to be a tiny part of her light-bearing life. I treasure her books. I will read them again this year, grateful for knowing a woman who lived out her name, “light,” by responding, “Hineni….here I am.”

Be blessed by checking out these links:

My Word for the Year is in Hebrew – Lucinda Secrest McDowell

What Elisabeth Elliot Told Me | Lucinda Secrest McDowell – "Encouraging Words" (wordpress.com)

BLUE...

Hydrangeas—especially the blue-hued blooms--are my favorite flower. But I am not their favorite gardener. The profuse bushes of decades earlier in this home have withered and died. Even healthy-looking transplants from greenhouses failed to thrive. Learning that insufficient soil acid might be the problem, I stirred concoctions into the dirt—to no avail. I was left with sticks and distant memories of the blue and purple pompom flowers that once ballooned on the shady side of our home. Disappointed, we planted some strawberries there, and I put a bouquet of fake hydrangea in the guest bedroom.

My horticultural ignorance brought to mind the advice I heard as a young adult, seeking to grow in my faith. I read my Bible, kept a journal, and had a prayer list. I later sat under some great expository preachers (two are still living in their late 80s--and still preaching!). But I wish I'd had more practical spiritual encouragement, like I found in a recent book by a longtime writer-speaker friend.

It's Lucinda Secrest McDowell's Soul Strong: 7 Keys to a Vibrant Life (New Hope Publishers). I met her long ago (okay, forty-plus years) at Wheaton Graduate School when we were both emerging into our early careers. Now she's a well-known speaker and author of many Christian non-fiction books which authentically and winsomely help scriptural truth bloom through practical examples. This book discusses seven character qualities of a vibrant faith journey: Live loved, be authentic, dwell deep, pray always, overcome pain, extend kindness, and share stories.

I hesitate to highlight even one of those qualities to the exclusion of others, but the one about overcoming pain spoke deeply to me. (Yes, me--who allowed beloved hydrangea plants to suffer!) Lucinda and I have learned, in our own ways, that pain is the unwelcome but necessary agent of growing deeper in faith. She admitted once telling a friend, “I don't really trust someone without a limp” (p. 105). By that she meant:….those who have been broken or wounded live differently from those for whom life is a constant picnic. We don't offer pat answers. We listen for what is going on behind the spoken words. We move forward each day even if our healing process is not yet complete. Our limp serves as a metaphor to show that we are real, imperfect people who have learned hard things by following God through suffering.

Lucinda took her book title from Psalm 138:3 (ESV): “On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.” Written with blank spaces for personal or group contemplation, it's a fresh look at growing in Christ and serving Him. Or, to borrow the title from a devotional book by Eugene Peterson (of The Message paraphrase fame): “a long obedience in the same direction.”

By the way, Lucinda also enjoys hydrangeas. She has a plant at her home in New England, and wrote about it here: Maybe It’s Time to Sit in the Shade – Lucinda Secrest McDowell

A 'DON'T QUIT' QUILT

Every year or so, when a really hot day comes our way, I wash the “Log Cabin” quilt I made for our bed. After the hour-long wash cycle has removed its dust and grime, I hang it up on my retractable clothesline—with PVC pipe to keep it from dragging--for its all-day drying. That's when I realize how amateur it is. Real quilters do “Log Cabin” the right way: with each block made of dark fabric strips on one half, and light the other side. They're anchored by a red center block, symbolizing the hearth of the home. As this picture shows, I did my own thing. Still, I hope it's a treasure my adult children will appreciate when I am gone.

I chose the pattern because it seemed an easy one for someone with medium sewing skills, but I veered from tradition by making the anchoring block a floral yellow, not red as for fire. Later, reading about the origin of this pattern, realized how important fire was. In her book Quilts from Heaven (B&H, 1999, 2007), my talented author-speaker friend Lucinda Secrest McDowell explained how this quilt pattern represented the pioneer history of its era—around 1810-1830. Pioneer women endured rustic homes, with those homesteading often starting with a house of sod. (Lucinda's fun remark: “How do you clean house when it's mud to begin with?”). Later came a log cabin of trees felled on the land, not sawn to precision in a computer-supervised mill. Thus, unique quilts of shaded colors and graded fabric strips.

But a deeper symbolism of the quilts is this, Lucinda noted. Those who consider themselves “home-makers” (and men are as much a part of the team as women) “also become builders of a sort: We build atmosphere; we build belonging; we build lives” (p. 63).

Life isn't perfect. And maybe that makes my amateur quilt more true to life. My circle of influence include families broken in health and spirit. Those who care about them try to prop up a sagging relational wall or patch a leaky reality roof. But only Jesus can renovate or repair in the ways that really matter. “Unless the Lord builds the house,” the psalmist said (127:1), “they labor in vain that build it.”

My internet home page recently featured photos of multi-million-dollar mansions that stand today in disrepair, so run down the most cost-efficient “repair” would be to bulldoze them and start over. Perhaps with something more affordable! And maybe that's a picture of common pipe dreams of how life should “be.” We imagine the perfect spouse, children or house—but those dreams fall apart because we live in a fallen world.

There's only one Builder who can repair and reconstruct in things that matter. And it's not Bob the Builder. It's the One who was born in a barn, and now lives in heavenly grandeur we can't even imagine. But He also lives in and among us, ready to help us shape the scraps of our lives into something unique...and truly splendid.

A "Word for the Year"

I have a wise and seasoned writer-friend who has exposed me, through her latest books, to the spiritual practice of focusing on a single word of Scripture. I had several “bless-my-socks-off” moments as I read her just-released Ordinary Graces, published by Abingdon Press. One chapter that I put my emotional pause button on was “Kindness.” 

Before I say more, let me introduce my friend Lucinda Secrest McDowell (I call her “Cindy”).  We met in the early 1980s as students at Wheaton Graduate School. I was working on my master’s in communications and she, who already had a master’s from seminary and had served with international evangelism conferences, was picking up a few extra courses. My first “wow” moment with her was learning that, as a Gordon seminary student, she lived with Elisabeth Elliot, well-known Christian author whose credits included The Shadow of the Almighty, the biography of her late husband and missionary martyr Jim Elliot. That book had been pivotal in my spiritual journey.

As our friendship continued, mostly by mail, Cindy pursued mentors’ admonition that she develop her gifts of speaking and writing. From her home in Connecticut she now sustains a world-wide speaking and writing ministry.  She’s also in touch with the real world, with her “day job” as a substitute teacher at the local high school.

Widely read, a deep thinker, Cindy’s writings reveal depth and compassion.  I dog-eared several chapters to reconsider later, but “kindness” grabbed me the hardest this time through. She cited a Parade magazine article that said half the people in a recent survey said the simple virtue of kindness had deteriorated in recent years.

For Christians, whose ultimate model of kindness is Jesus Christ, that’s a call to introspection and to inspiration. 

Cindy recalled an impulse purchase of a little sign that said “Be Kinder Than Necessary.” The more she looked at it and thought about it, she decided to make it her focus word of the year. She wrote, “I determined to explore every aspect of the word and incorporate every dimension into my soul” (p.120).

That resonated in my heart because of an unexpected affirming line in an E-mail I received from someone whose emotional issues regularly muddied her outlook: “I believe you are a kind person.”

 Still (as Cindy points out about herself) I am a person in progress by the grace of Jesus Christ.  And reading books like this one (and her similar previous word-focus book, Dwelling Places) is part of the Lord’s unique curriculum for my spiritual grooming.

If you need a two-page-a-day boost and challenge in your spiritual  walk, I commend her book. And if you have decided on a “word of the year,” would you consider sharing it in the comments section?

Snug in Papa's lap



"Over all,"  we'd call it a successful  "snuggle" of "Papa" and granddaughter Eleanor (photo by Eleanor's mother)

When our new out-of-town granddaughter arrived for her first visit to Papa and Nana’s home, she wore—as promised—her little girl “overalls.”  And Papa was prepared with his, which he wears when he gets into really grubby work.  We hadn’t seen her since she was three weeks old (and now she was four months), so that “reunion photo” was a special occasion!

Babies are such snugglers. My grandsons, now 2 and 3 ½, “cuddle” with “Nana” from time to time, wrapped in a favorite blanket for songs and small talk. And every time that happens, a little part of my heart goes back to memories of me, at 31, “snuggling” with my Heavenly Father. My parents had died just months apart, and this grieving “orphan” had to empty their home and settle their affairs. In that house of hard memories, I’d often curl up in my dad’s old rocker, Bible open as God wrapped me with His comfort and wisdom. 

Coincidentally (which is how God arranges things!) I’d recently felt a nudge to re-read a book that’s among my personal treasures, Amazed by Grace, by Lucinda Secrest McDowell. We met at Wheaton Graduate School about 1980, and in subsequent years I watched her grow into an internationally-known author and speaker. In this, one of her earlier books, she shared teaching about “sonship” that she received from missionary speakers. Instead of sons and daughters of God, the missionaries said, we live defeated lives—like orphans--when we act as though believing these:

*I am all alone and therefore it is all up to me.

*I am full of felt needs but want help from no one.

*I live on a success/fail basis.

*I am full of fears and have little faith.

*I am defensive and a poor listener.

*I have a complaining and thankless attitude toward God and others.

*I feel trapped by circumstances and that no one cares.

In contrast, McDowell related, living in freedom as a son or daughter of God is marked by displaying these characteristics:

*I have a growing assurance of God as my Father because of a true understanding of the cross.

*I am building a life partnership with God based on the gospel and not self-effort.

*I’m more forgiving, less judgmental and condemning.

*I rely on the Holy Spirit to help me use my tongue for praise and not complaint or gossip.

*By faith I see God’s sovereign plan over my life as wise and good.

*I learn to pray, claiming the promises of God.

*I seek daily forgiveness and cleansing from my sins.*

Such are the insights that can only come from those deep “snuggle times” with God: Bible open, heart listening.  He also has a way of reinforcing His truths through people who care about us and are praying for us.

Do you know a spiritual orphan? That status has nothing to do with whether parents are still living. It has everything to do with our willingness to be embraced by our Heavenly Father, and to do what He asks us to do to grow spiritually. Baby overalls are cute, but they’re not to fit us all our lives. Heaven’s closets have “robes of righteousness” waiting!

 *Quoted by Lucinda Secrest McDowell in Amazed by Grace (Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1996, pp. 55-56.  McDowell cited her notes from “Sonship Week” Bible Course, Jack and Rose Marie Miller, lecturers. Used by permission of the author.

"Dwelling Places"--a taste. PLUS contest for free book

You'll want to read my friend's newest book
alongside your Bible.

Yesterday I shared the background of a new book by my writer/speaker friend Lucinda Secrest McDowell, titled Dwelling Places. Here's a taste from her book, a chapter called "That Time a Nest was my Refuge."

I awaken to the sound of heavy rain encompassing me. This second floor sleeping porch contains one piece of furniture – a King sized bed surrounded on three sides by floor to ceiling windows, setting me high amongst the trees.

Sliding down into the soft sheets, I pull up the covers, thankful for my cozy refuge from the outside world. Nothing, it seems, can touch me here.

For the first time in my life, I have the sensation of being in a nest, dwelling in the shelter of God’s wings.

And I remember that in the original language of the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for “to dwell” is sometimes translated as “to nest.”

“He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge.” (Psalm 91.3-4) I recall how baby chicks rush under the mother hen at the first sign or sound of danger. Because she holds them tightly, they can nestle into a sense of safety and security.

I believe this is exactly how God wants me to feel about Him — my true Refuge.

Nesting in my bed, I recall reading a favorite book to my precious grandgirl- “Are You My Mother?” by P.D. Eastman. The story is simple but it cleverly reinforces the sheltering refuge of the home nest to those who are lost and wandering. In that story, after asking every creature she encounters, “Are you my mother?” the baby bird finally ends up safely back in the nest only to realize that her mother is the one who nourishes her and shelters her.

So often I relate to the psalmist’s yearnings, “I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.”  (Psalm 61:4) David wants God to be his forever nest. He’s had enough of running and hiding and maneuvering and outwitting. He just wants to snuggle under those wings and be safe.

Is this the longing of your soul as well?

If so, all you have to do is call upon the name of the Lord. And that’s pretty simple. It can even sound something like “God, are you there?” or “Dear God, help me.” Or you could just groan and He will understand.

Hannah Whitall Smith discovered this the hard way when tragedy came. “The secret of His presence is a more secure refuge than a thousand Gibraltars. I do not mean that no trials come. They may come in abundance, but they cannot penetrate into that sanctuary of the soul, and we may dwell in perfect peace even in the midst of life’s fiercest storms.”

It’s time to stop asking everyone you meet some version of “Are you my refuge?”

And start dwelling –nesting – under the shelter of the One who knows you best and loves you most.

©2016 Lucinda Secrest McDowell Excerpted from “Dwelling Places” by Lucinda Secrest McDowell (Abingdon Press)

 

CONTEST FOR FREE BOOK!

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Where a friend has "dwelled"

We live on opposite ends of the nation, but have known and prayed for each other for half our lives. I’d like to introduce my friend Lucinda Secrest McDowell, author of many outstanding Christian living books, including the newest, Dwelling Places. We met in the early 1980s when students at Wheaton (Ill.) Graduate School, studying communications. As I walked its halls and paths, I often thought of the college’s role in shaping missionary martyrs, like Jim Elliot, killed in 1956 along with four others by Ecuadorian tribesmen they sought to reach with the Gospel.

There’s an interesting word, “serendipity,” which can be loosely defined as “wow!”  And that was my reaction when she connected with a group of graduate women who decided to meet weekly to study the book of Daniel and pray for one another.  We learned Cindy (I know her by that nickname) had recently lived with Jim’s widow, esteemed author Elisabeth Elliot, when Cindy was a student at a nearby seminary. Cindy’s role was to help Mrs. Elliot with correspondence and shuttle her to the airport for speaking engagements.  After I earned my master’s degree at Wheaton, and Cindy moved on in her role with an international evangelism conference, we kept in touch.  She later married a widower with three children, birthed a daughter, and moved back to the East coast where her writer and speaking gifts bloomed as she raised her family and fulfilled a role as a pastor’s wife. 

Cindy describes herself as a “story-teller,” and she is that and more.  She’s also well-read in classic and contemporary Christian literature, a deep thinker of scripture, a lover of hymns, and able to turn the phrase that opens up Biblical truth.  Her most recent book is one you’ll want by your thinking/praying chair to read during your devotional times.  In two brief pages, each based on a word or phrase, she provides thought-provoking devotional thoughts and an uplifting God-conversation.  I'll let her speak for herself in the following interview.

 

How did you come to write this book?

 LSM: So…. how did I come to write a book called “Dwelling Places?”  Honestly, this one-word-a-day devotion (meant to both inspire and teach) came out of my own need to know. And to grow. Every year I choose a “word from the Lord” and find myself marinating in what it means to my life on all levels — spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Last year the word was DWELL and as I explored the many facets of DWELL, I recognized my own desire to learn how to dwell in peace and serenity and joy and hope; rather than spend my time in exhaustion and hurry, chaos and confusion.

 

 Turns out God’s Word is full of dwelling places – those sanctuaries of refuge and abiding. In my new book “Dwelling Places” I offer 130 of those words and unwrap their meaning through storytelling, biblical teaching and hundreds of quotes from hymns and godly people who are my own teachers. 

There are actually four sections which can be read at any time, but they include 30 days for Advent and 40 days for Lent if you’re interested in trying out that special discipline during the church year. DWELL (Fall) SHINE (Advent) RENEW (Lent) GROW (Summer). OR just read any word, any page at any time.

I loved writing this book and felt each word and verse were truly given to me. I absolutely know the benedictions at the end came straight from God through my pen. I am humbled and grateful to be able to share these words. 

Which word in “Dwelling Places” was the hardest for you to unpack and write about?

LSM: There were several but “unseen” was one of them (day 31 in Renew/Lent) using Paul’s words found in 2 Corinthians 4.18 “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” Our culture lifts up the seen, the prominent, the successful. But here Paul is reminding us of what truly matters – that which, though unseen, lasts forever. Those kinds of qualities and endeavors. I began to pray and ask God to show me what that might mean in my own life. I discovered a story about a once-famous worship leader who had a stroke and now serves in the stock room of Trader Joe’s. His interview about a huge paradigm shift from highly visible to literally unseen helped me understand a bit of why Paul calls us to treasure the unseen characteristics and efforts. Because our Heavenly Father always sees…

Why should people read “Dwelling Places” ?

LSM: My observation is that people everywhere are hungering for refuge. A safe place. A true home where they can live authentically. Ask the hard questions, and receive all the grace and mercy needed after devastation. In my speaking and writing I long to help show that all throughout God’s Word the precious concept of “dwelling in His constant presence” is lifted up. In the Old Testament we are directed to sanctuary, refuge, and called to Be Still. In the New Testament we are encouraged that Christ wants to make His home in our hearts.

So I decided to write a devotional that lifted up these concepts – each day based on One Word in a key verse. My goal is that throughout the stories that are shared, the biblical and historical profiles mentioned, the hymns, poetry, and even children’s books will all work together to help teach the reader how to live the deeper “with God” life. But at the same time enjoy the process of knowing where to find hope, grace and mercy. In other words, these are words that touch a hurting world. Everything I do must have a practical aspect so I hope there is a takeaway each day on how to live the word you have just been reading about. Also, I felt compelled to offer a short benediction, as though God were now giving His blessing and charge on your going forth, now strengthened with His Word in your heart and mind.

What is the main message of your “Dwelling Places”?

LSM: The triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – offers His presence, power, purpose and provision for a full life if only you will trust Him in faith and obedience. Allow Him to be your Refuge, your Guide, your Healer, your Teacher, your Inspiration and your Hope. Soak up all His words offered to you – at least once each day – thus making spiritual deposits that will reap a lifetime of fruit.

What was the hardest part about writing nonfiction?

LSM: Sharing vulnerably true stories of parts of my life which illustrate the word for the day. But because that flows out of the unique Story God has called me to live and to share, it also becomes the most empowering and joyful part of writing (and speaking) non-fiction.

What is one thing you learned while writing “Dwelling Places”?

LSM: I assure you, I always learn far more than my readers ever do. When I write a book, it literally becomes a tutorial in life for me on that subject. Honestly, focusing on how all the ancient spiritual disciplines (quietness, solitude, worship, journaling, prayer, Bible study, etc) has widened my world in ways that are helping to transform me into a person who seeks to listen more, take risks, trust God’s sovereignty and embrace my limitations. I also learned about embers, Native American busking ceremony, the Wesleys’ struggles in Georgia, homeless choir in Dallas, David Brooks Dartmouth graduation speech, the original meaning of many, many biblical words, taproot system of Kudzu, what ‘konmariing’ is, angels in Siberia, trapeze artists, how dumb sheep really are, the consequences of aphasia and lots more!

Tomorrow, a taste of "Dwelling Places."