Month: February 2024

cyber silence

Posted on by Grace Day

I am not an AT&T customer, but recently some who do use this cell provider experienced an “interruption” in their service. This lack of connection, although not unduly lengthy, caused great concern to the many people who use this carrier and who depend on their phones daily for communication, for business, for news, for directions, diversion, entertainment and updates of all sorts. According to individuals who were affected, with whom I spoke (in person) during this “service outage”, it was not a good experience to say the least. They could not conduct business as usual, could not contact family, friends, co-workers or others they needed to speak with, couldn’t make plans or let others know of plans that had changed. The people affected by this break in their cell service talked about having feelings of isolation and of anxiety during this period when they were without cell service.

For those of us who lived most of our lives (and quite successfully I might add) in a world without cell phones, it now comes as a surprise, (or maybe shock would be a better word?) just how dependent we have become on our phones in such a short time. Today, our phones keep us continuously connected to the world around us. We no longer have to wait for the evening paper to get the day’s news. We have it instantly. Conversations that used to take place in person or not at all, now take place online via text or twitter (X) or Facebook or some other social media platform. Life is now lived in a very public cyberspace rather than in the very personal face to face.

And that’s the thing about cyberspace – it doesn’t have a face. It can’t provide the personal touch that we all long for even if we won’t admit to it. We can’t gaze into Cyberspace’s eyes. We can’t see Cyberspace smile or scowl or frown at us during our conversation. Cyberspace doesn’t give hugs or high-fives. Emojis simply do not measure up to in person interactions which are filled with human emotion. Emojis are one dimensional. We humans are multi-dimensional beings created body, mind and spirit in God’s image. Emojis don’t actually have emotions or feelings of any kind. Ironic right?

Some nameless, faceless entity in cyberspace may know all about me – may have all my personal info, but this is not the same thing as actually knowing me personally. This is not a reciprocal relationship that Cyberspace and I have. Not even close. Cyberspace may have all the “goods” on me, but I know nothing about them, probably because “they” are not a person! Therefore, “they” are not knowable. (even though “they” claim to know me) I can’t have a real relationship with Cyberspace. But many of us have settled for a life lived in the one dimensional realm of cyberspace, rather than in the very real world of face to face, person to person human relationships.

And while I’m on the subject, let me just say that not only does Cyberspace not have a face, it also doesn’t have a heart. This is why cyberspace is such a poor substitute indeed for the infinitely more satisfying face to face, real time, shared experience of spending time with other people (who do have a heart) instead of with one’s phone. Today many of us continue spending time with our phones, even while we are physically (but not mentally or emotionally) present with other people. This overly close, may I say even co-dependent, relationship many of us have with our phones, may explain the angst, the fear, the unsettled uncertainty, the anxiety and the feelings of isolation and depression many people experienced when they were without their cell service during this recent, unexplained interruption in service.

We were created for connection. We ignore this truth at our own peril. We are designed for connection with our Creator, God, and for connection with each other. It is these connections with other human beings that allow us to form the bonds of community. We were created to live in community with others, not in isolation. Maybe that’s why not having cell service, even for only part of a day, brought on such strong reactions of anxiety and fear. People felt isolated and alone. We have neglected the power of the personal for so long in favor of the cyberspace experience, that when cyberspace fails to function, we are at a loss as to how to proceed.

Many worry that there will be more interruptions of cell phone service in the future, leaving us disconnected and anxious each time. We have no control over the nameless, faceless “they” that has the power to shut down our phones, thereby disconnecting us from everyone and everything we count on to get us through our day. But in these uncertain times, I have the assurance that there is one with whom I will never lose communication – my Heavenly Father. “He will never leave me nor forsake me.” (Deuteronomy 31:8) No cell service blackout can sever this connection!

The earthly powers that be, may be able to shut off human communication systems, BUT they can do nothing to shut off or to prevent communication between myself and God nor can they interfere with communication between God and His people. That’s you and I, dear readers. (“We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.”) This truth is the hope that sustains and drives out all fear.

I don’t need working cell service in order to talk to my Heavenly Father. He is not “just a phone call away.” God is already here with me. He is omnipresent. He abides in me and I in Him.

“For in Him (God) we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)

He “knows the way that I take.” He will not lose track of me even when I get “off track” for whatever reason.

My Heavenly Father hears me. “Before a word is on my tongue, He knows it already.”

Cyberspace may go silent, but the heavens never do, nor will they ever go silent. God is always speaking. I just need to listen.

“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

even when there is cyber silence, there will never be heavenly silence –

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” (Psalm 19:1-4)

sincerely, Grace Day

front porch people

Posted on by Grace Day

Are you a front porch person? Or are you a back deck dweller? My grandparents were front porch people. I remember spending time with them on their front porch. Grandpa reading the paper, Grandma reading a magazine or talking to whoever was with us on the porch. I liked the front porch because of the glider, that’s what we called it anyway. The glider was a piece of furniture kind of like a couch, but it moved back and forth like a swing, hence the name glider. This was my preferred seat on the front porch. While the grownups wiled away the hours in conversation, I spent the time moving back and forth on the glider. It was rhythmical, it was soothing. I could watch the world go by and dream my dreams, while my grandparents and mom talked over the events of the day and waved to neighbors and passersby, often engaging them in conversation.

That’s the thing about front porches – they are inviting. They are open to invitation and engagement with other people. Front porches are the places where people can hang out and catch up with each other on the day’s events. Or at least they used to do that. But as times changed, there was a trend toward building back decks and these became the places where family would go to spend time together outdoors. Now back decks are more secluded than front porches. They are not visible from the street, so they don’t provide the opportunity to interact with neighbors and other passersby that front porches provide.

There is an older neighborhood that I walk in often. The houses there are close together and they all have some type of a front porch. However, walking in newer neighborhoods, I notice the homes are further apart and the front porches tend to be small or nonexistent. There is no place to put rocking chairs, no room to sit, no space in which to people watch and visit with family and friends. Maybe that’s why front porch sitting is an activity of the past? All the front porches have vanished, forcing front porch people to become back deck dwellers.

Or did people first start adding back decks, which caused a migration to the back decks of our neighborhoods, leading people to abandon their front porches in favor of becoming back deck dwellers, thus rendering front porches unnecessary and obsolete? Who can say which came first? But the current reality is that front porches don’t seem as prevalent as they once were and by extension front porch people are a dying breed.

It would seem that back deck dwellers are more isolated from their neighbors and others, while front porch people tend to make the connections that allow them to create community where they live. “Setting a spell” on the front porch with your neighbors provides the perfect opportunity to get to know those that live around you and forge bonds of friendship. Who would have guessed that front porches have played such a pivotal role in creating community and combating isolation? Which is why it is too bad that front porches seem to be disappearing from our modern day houses.

Today isolation seems to be on the rise. We are more disconnected than ever before, even from those who live closest to us. Ironically, we are more connected via the internet, but less connected personally in the real world. Cyberspace is the new reality for many, taking the place of the person to person connection that has always been our truest reality. So bring back the front porches, I say! And with them bring back all the former front porch people! And let’s welcome in a whole new generation of front porch persons as well.

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of the times I spent on my grandparents’ front porch gliding on the glider, eating Grandma’s cookies and listening to all the various conversations swirling around me, teaching me about life even though I was totally unaware that was what was happening at the time. There are a lot of life lessons you can learn on the front porch if you are listening. (of course back then, there were no ear buds, no cell phones, no video games – so we actually looked each other in the eye and paid attention to the person speaking)

That’s how you got the latest local news of the day – in person on the front porch. Of course some would call this gossip, but either way, be it news or gossip, it was delivered in person, not on Instagram, or Facebook or Twitter, or some other social media platform. Today we look at our phones to see what’s scrolling and trending. Turns out it’s gossip disguised as news, just like on the front porch. I guess some things don’t change after all. Just method of delivery has changed from in-person to online.

Maybe that’s why front porches are no longer so important. We can get our news/gossip from the internet, so who needs real life neighbors anyway? We find ourselves attempting to build community with people we won’t necessarily ever meet, rather than building relationships with the people living around us that we could interact with personally if we made the choice to do so. And that’s where front porches come in handy, providing that perfect low-tech platform for human interaction and conversation to take place.

Whether it be the friendly front stoop or the spacious veranda with rocking chairs all lined up, a front porch by any name is a good place to pass the time with family, friends and neighbors. Jesus said the second greatest commandment is – “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Well, I can’t love my neighbor if I don’t know my neighbor, now can I? To this end, the front porch seems an invaluable asset in this pursuit of knowing and loving the people that live around me.

With loneliness born of isolation on the rise, maybe it’s time for back deck dwellers to become front porch people once again. The connections and community that come out of ordinary front porch conversations are often extraordinary. These grassroots relationships can carry a community forward in creating a place where neighbors are no longer strangers but friends who look out for one another. A change for the better. A way to alleviate the isolation people feel that is so prevalent today. And it all starts on our front porches! That’s reason enough to pull up a chair and set a spell – reason enough to become a front porch person. Because it’s front porch people who will change this world for the better, one conversation at a time, one listening ear at a time, one kind, encouraging word at a time.

sincerely, Grace Day

hope and faith

Posted on by Grace Day

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

These two things are inextricably linked – hope and faith. It is because of my faith in God that I have hope. And it is this hope that sustains. 

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.” (Hebrews 6:19)

Hope may be my anchor, but it is hope that gives me wings as well, allowing me to soar.

“but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

I need hope’s anchor during life’s many storms. The beauty of this anchor of hope is that it allows me to soar during the storm, through the storm, in the storm, (kind of like Daniel’s three friends walking around “unharmed and unbound” (free) while they were still in that overheated furnace of King Nebuchadnezzar) above the storm – an anchor with wings does that. An anchor with wings? – only hope born of faith in God gives such a gift as this – a winged anchor. It is hope and faith that make such a gift as this even possible. But then - 

“Everything is possible for him who believes.” Jesus said this to the father of a boy possessed since childhood of an evil spirit. The boy’s father asked Jesus to help his son, exclaiming, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Then Jesus healed the boy, casting the demonic spirit out of him for good. Hope and faith – believing for the impossible! This father dared to hope for the impossible – the healing of his son. He dared to believe that Jesus could accomplish this long desired restoration of his child to health. He asked Jesus for the gift of faith to believe – to believe Jesus for the impossible miracle he had waited so long to experience.

Hope believes against all odds. Faith stays the course until hope becomes reality.

Hope believes there is light, even when surrounded by darkness. Faith finds its way through the darkness to that light.

Hope believes what is broken can be mended. Faith finds a way to do the mending.

Hope believes the lost will be found. Faith finds the lost and brings them home.

Hope believes there is life after death. Faith holds on until that promised eternal life is entered into, eclipsing death permanently.

hope and faith – the psalmist says –

“No one whose hope is in You (God) will ever be put to shame,” (Psalm 25:3)

The writer of Hebrews tells us –

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6) 

I will hold onto hope and follow in faith where my Heavenly Father leads – after all –

“We walk by faith; not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7) 

my “hope” for you today, dear readers, as for myself, is this –

“May the God of hope fill you (and me) with all joy and peace as you (and I) trust in Him, so that we may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)

“For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” (Galatians 5:5)

living each day by faith with hope,

sincerely,  Grace Day 

 

 

waiting on a word

Posted on by Grace Day

Ever feel like God is silent and you’re stuck, afraid to make a move while waiting to hear a word from Him – any word, any word would do. You desire God’s guidance and direction, but you’re not receiving the clear message from Him that you are longing to hear. Elijah was desperate to hear God’s voice. Elijah was on the run, fearing for his life and he ended up hiding in a cave. It was then that –

“The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ “ (1 Kings 19:11) The story continues –

“Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ “ (1 Kings 19:11-13) 

In Elijah’s experience, God’s voice wasn’t loud. God didn’t shout above the howling of the wind or over the chaos of the earthquake or over the roaring of the fire. But in the quiet following those events, Elijah heard God’s gentle whisper speaking to him personally. Maybe that’s why I am told to –

“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

I need to come away from all the noise, busyness and chaos that often surround me during my days, in order to hear God’s voice. It’s not that He isn’t speaking, it’s that I’m not in a place where I can hear Him. Perhaps that’s why Psalm 23 says –

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:2)

God is calling me to come away to a quiet place where I can be alone with Him, a place where I can hear His voice, a place where His voice is the only voice. But ironically, surrounded by the din of everyday life, I don’t hear His call, so I don’t heed His call. I don’t respond to His kind invitation to come away to those green pastures and quiet waters where I can be still and know Him because I never received the invite in the first place.  

For me, it is not gale force winds, nor earthquakes, nor fires that prevent me from hearing God’s voice. No, it’s more likely to be the busyness surrounding me at work, or the chaos of the crowd’s multiple voices at whatever event I am attending, (including church sometimes?) that keep me from hearing God’s still, gentle yet urgent whisper. When I am alone, it is likely to be the conversations coming from my TV or the music from my radio that intrude upon what otherwise would be some solitude, providing me that much needed break from a constant barrage of voices. So why do I turn on the TV or the radio if it’s God’s voice I am longing to hear?

God is asking me to come away and to be still. But I am so busy complaining about His silence, that I’m not listening, so of course I don’t hear Him. At the same time, I am desperately desiring to receive a word from Him. Time to admit it’s me, not God, after all. Time for me to make some changes. God did say,

” ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 29:13-14)

“And those who diligently seek Me will find Me.” (Proverbs 8:17)

“This is what the Lord says, . . . ’Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ “ (Jeremiah 33:3)

And the Psalmist said this –

“I love the Lord, for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy. Because He turned His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.” (Psalm 116:1-2)

I have God’s promise. I have His Word that He hears me and that He will answer me. Maybe it’s time I turned off the TV, silenced my cell phone, shut off the radio and spent some time in His word or walking out in His world. God always hears my voice when I cry out to Him. But I don’t reciprocate by always listening for and hearing His voice. Too often, I let many other voices drown out the one voice I really want to hear and need to hear – the gentle whisper voice that Elijah heard after the wind, the earthquake and the fire. 

Sometimes it’s the voices in my head that are the loud ones. They can be louder than the voices that surround me in the world. There are a lot of voices competing for my attention, but the voice I want to hear and to follow is the voice of the Good Shepherd, because He’s the one who leads me into green pastures and beside still waters. Jesus said this –

“My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand.” (John 10:27-28)

Listening to the voice of my Shepherd and Savior – that’s the voice that leads me down the path to eternal life. Jesus said “they follow Me. I give them eternal life.” I can’t follow His voice if I don’t hear it. And I can’t hear His voice if I don’t listen for and to His voice above all the other voices vying for my attention and allegiance in this life. I have to choose to “be still and know” – I have to choose whose voice I will follow and obey. The voices in this world can be both loud and alluring. The voices in my head are often louder still. They can be more cajoling, more enticing, more deceptive, more damaging, more destructive, more accusatory even than the world’s voices because they originate with the enemy of my soul – the accuser of the brethren. Proverbs explains it this way - 

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 14:12 & 16:25)

That’s right. These words occur twice in the book of Proverbs. Must be a pretty important message and the Author, God, wants to be sure we are listening. Listening to other people’s voices will not lead me where I want to go. It is God’s voice alone that will lead me through the valley of the shadow of death, (preparing a feast for me right in front of my enemies) through the desert, (delivering fresh manna every morning) through the flood (Noah listened to God’s voice telling him to build a really big boat even though it had never rained) – through every circumstance, it is God’s guidance, by His voice alone, that will lead me along the path He has prepared for me. His voice will lead me into eternal life with Him.

So I had better learn to listen and to listen well. As I become still, a favorite hymn from childhood fills my mind. Its music becomes the voice I hear in my head, a voice singing – “This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears, all nature sings and round me rings, the music of the spheres. This is my Father’s world, in the rustling grass, I hear Him pass, He speaks to me everywhere.” I think I was a better listener when I was a child. Maybe there were not so many voices surrounding me then, including social media? 

At any rate, today and everyday, I will purpose to pray the prayer Samuel prayed as a child. Then I will endeavor to “be still.”

“Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:9) 

listening and longing to hear Your loving, leading, life-giving voice above all other voices,

sincerely,  Grace Day     

   

 

  

this is NOT a drill

Posted on by Grace Day

Actually, yesterday it was a drill. Today it was not. Today it was the real thing.  Yesterday, we all knew beforehand that this drill would take place and when it would happen. We were given specific written instructions detailing everything that needed to be done during this practice run we call “an armed intruder drill.” Today, the announcement coming over the loudspeaker into my classroom telling us we were in a lockdown situation caught me by surprise, completely off guard and unaware that there was a dangerous situation in our high school building at that very moment. How ironic it is that we had just done a pretend enactment of our response to just such a situation only twenty-four hours before this real life event.

I think that’s why it didn’t seem real at first. Yesterday, the students in my classroom and I had gone through all the required motions, complying with everything we were told to do. However, it was simply that – we were going through the motions – turning off lights, pulling window shades, locking classroom doors, moving against the wall in order not to be visible from the hallway through the windows in the classroom door, turning cell phones to silent and keeping quiet so as not to be detected. We did all these things but there was no sense of urgency in our actions. We were relaxed. What we did or didn’t do, did not seem to really matter. Our choices did not seem all that important to any of us at the time. After all, it was only a drill.

However, today it was NOT a drill. Our situation was very real. Our mistake would be to behave as if it were only a drill. We are used to drills. We have fire drills, tornado drills, (in some places earthquake drills?) and armed intruder drills. In these situations, our mistakes don’t matter because it’s just pretend. It is not real. But when things are real or true, mistakes matter. When it is not a drill, our decisions will mean the difference between life and death. 

So I’m thinking it’s important in life that I know the difference between a drill and the real thing. Because in a drill, it’s all pretend, so nothing I do matters and there are no real consequences. But in real life – everything I do matters and the consequences are very real. This brings to mind the parable of the servants whose master went away for awhile and entrusted them with some specific things to take care of while he was away. Their master’s return was a certainty, even though the servants didn’t know when that would happen. Nevertheless, this was not a drill. At some point their master would return and they would be called to account for what they had done or not done in his absence. The story is told in Matthew –

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. . . . After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. . . . ’Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’ His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! . . . Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “ (Matthew 25:14-21)

The servant with the two talents also doubled what he had been given to manage in his master’s absence. But the third servant did nothing with what he had been given. Perhaps he thought it was just a drill, so what he did didn’t really matter one way or the other, and maybe he even doubted his master’s eventual return? We are told he knew his master was a hard man, so he was afraid and did nothing but hide what he’d been given. Unlike the first two men, the third one received no reward. In fact, we are told this is what happened to him –

“And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 25:30) 

Today we sat in silence in our darkened third floor classroom for a little over an hour, not knowing what was happening in the rest of the building, nor specifically why we were in lockdown at all. Some may have begun to doubt that this situation was real as time wore on, perhaps deciding it was just a drill. After a while, we began to hear conversation and careless laughter from the classroom next door. It sounded like they were having a good time. I guess they had decided this was a drill, so how they chose to act didn’t matter. We received no further instructions or communication during the hour we waited, until at last we were dismissed from class to go home, as it was now the end of the school day. 

I realized today, my life is not a drill. It is the real thing. Every day is the real thing. So what I do matters. My Savior has redeemed me, restored me and given me many good gifts and talents that I am to put to good use while He is away. He is coming again! Many doubt His return and begin to think this life is only a drill – but this life is the real thing. It is NOT a drill! However, unlike lockdown protocol, I don’t have to sit in a darkened room waiting for His return. Jesus’s instructions to His disciples were pretty clear before He left them.

“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.’ . . . After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and He sat at the right hand of God.” (Mark 16:15 & 19)

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

Like the servants in the parable, entrusted with their master’s talents, I have been entrusted with the wonderful news of the gospel and the command not to keep it to myself (or bury it as the one servant did) but to freely share the good news with anyone and everyone who will listen. This life is NOT a drill – this is real! Jesus is coming again. In the meantime, what I choose to do with the days and the gifts (talents) God gives to me matters. How will I spend the treasure, the talents and the time on this earth that God has graciously granted just to me? My choices have consequences – eternal consequences. Like the servants in the story, when Jesus returns, I want Him to find that I have wisely used what He has entrusted to me. Like Luke 12:37 says,

“It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes.”

This life is NOT a drill – it is preparation for eternity. It is preparation for Jesus’s return. How you and I live each day matters to our Heavenly Father. I want to live each day with purpose, with passion and with the urgency that knowing this is NOT a drill demands of me. The return of my Lord and Savior, Jesus, may not seem imminent to me, but His promise to return is real – this is NOT a drill!  So the question is –

” . . . when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) 

I will live my God given life like it’s real – because it is. Jesus is coming back for His bride! (that’s you and me!) This is NOT a drill!

sincerely,  Grace Day