Category: Boundless

• What’s Right with Men

  Usually my articles come from questions I’m asking, and experiences I’m living, but this one is different. It was inspired by several requests I encountered over at the Boundless Line.

  ZD asked:

  Please…give us tangible, practical, grab-it-with-your-hands experience on what [we] are doing CORRECTLY. Have the lady writers of Boundless tell of times when the men in their lives got it RIGHT. Some of us men out here are not just role-modeless, we are wounded in this area. If a man has a broken leg, you don’t tell him to ‘man up’ and walk. You get that bone set, then give him physical therapy. And then you delight when he walks again.

  Later he added:

  What ways did God design men which make you think about how amazing our creator is? What are some of the sterling points of masculinity which stand out to you? We guys hear a lot of criticism about us (quite a bit of it justified), and we hear a lot about our faults and how we need to fight them. It would be EXTREMELY refreshing to hear some plain encouragement or small bit of admiration from a woman’s point of view.

  Kelly felt the same way:

  I’d like to see an article that builds men up. Often, with all of the “drama” that builds up around finding-a-spouse, and the sometimes-nasty debates that spring up in the comments, it causes me to focus more on the bad qualities of both men and women rather than the good. And so I would like some reminding of why men are wonderful creations of God!

  This article was long in coming. I thought, pondered, noticed. I asked other women. I asked men.  I prayed, rewrote, and rewrote again. I sent a draft of this article to one man: it made him cry. I mentioned to another what I appreciated about him: he stood visibly taller. As I examined my own attitude and focused on what God had wrought, I was chastened and encouraged.

  What is right with men?  Oh so much! I’m really, really glad you asked.

  Of course, I’m not the only woman who sees God’s handiwork in His sons. (more…)

  Elisabeth

  May 18, 2011

  Boundless

  6 comments on What’s Right with Men

• Pass It On

  Luton Airport wasn’t supposed to be my home for the day.

  I’d just spent a delightful week with friends in England, and after a long bus ride, check-in, and security, I was within minutes of boarding the plane when my flight was canceled.

  The next flight? A week later.

  My friends, a young couple with their first baby due in another month, had been hosting me in their tiny cottage, and I’m sure my presence, though welcome, was cramping their style. But when I called to let them know what was up, their immediate response was an enthusiastic “Come back!”

  Is it any wonder I feel so warm about hospitality? Considering the great wealth of welcome I’ve experienced in a variety of different cultures, I’ve got a king’s ransom to pass on to others.

  I’m so glad these welcoming friends of mine also taught me that hospitality doesn’t have to look like the cover of Southern Living. Tea under a nearby fig tree, for instance, is just fine.

  

  

  If giving hospitality is ultimately the gift of ourselves, then each person’s style of hospitality will be just as unique as his individual personality, circumstance and season of life.

  Read more over at Boundless.

  Elisabeth

  April 13, 2011

  Boundless

  5 comments on Pass It On

• Cross Culture Marriage

  Mixed-culture marriage has been a part of my extended family and circle of friends since I was a teenager, normal enough that it never made much of an impression on me — until I visited Jerusalem. Then I couldn’t help noticing! In such an international city, Africa, Europe, the lands Down Under, North and South America, the Far East and the Middle East constantly meet and mingle — and inevitably, fall in love and marry.

  Case in point: it was in Jerusalem that I attended a wedding  involving an Armenian bagpiper, a Jewish wedding canopy, a blonde bride, and a kilted bridegroom with a New Zealand accent.

  Seriously.

  Of course, all this kaleidoscopic variety made me intensely curious.  What is mixed-culture marriage like, from the inside? How does it work? Does it work, period? And what role (if any) does our common faith play in uniting partners from opposite sides of the world?

  Thankfully, I had friends who were willing to answer my questions. Not surprisingly, cross-cultural marriage looks different from couple to couple, but still, their stories have a common theme: It’s the cross that matters when cultures meet.

  

  PS Whether or not you’ve read the article, feel free to hop on over to the extended version of Lawrance and Amanda’s delightful story, which begins here.

  Elisabeth

  October 20, 2010

  Boundless

  1 comment on Cross Culture Marriage

• Reprove Me

  A good critic is like solid gold.

  As a writer, it’s not often I find someone who has the enthusiasm, the know-how, and the concentrated attention necessary to give me the feedback so essential to successful written communication.  Bottom line: I cannot succeed on my own. Like my friend Clyde said when I interviewed him for this article, a blind spot means I can’t see it! Someone else has to tell me that it is there.

  

  Reproof. Who loves it? Mostly, it’s a word to send shivers down your back. It can be a terrifying prospect to lay yourself wide open to comment. But it can also be a great benefit, a great joy, and a great relief. (Ah, so that’s what I can change to make this work!)

  I wrote this article because I felt like somebody needed to stick up for criticism. It was like a challenging but good friend whom everybody says bad things about…without ever getting to know what he’s really like.

  Honestly? I’m still not always a fan of reproof.

  But in recent years, I’ve been discovering that God loves to give me praise. In fact, He promises that a woman who fears Him will be praised.  I never know how or through whom He’ll do it next! I just know that He’s endlessly creative and utterly faithful in carrying it out.  And it’s this assurance, I think, that makes me able to hear, accept, and actually love His reproof.

  Elisabeth

  June 30, 2010

  Boundless

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• Six Impossible Things

  

  Okay, I’ll admit it: I’m pretty sure I didn’t pick up this quote from its original source, but from a rollicking British novel by Elizabeth Cadell. But however it got there, it lodged in my mind and surfaced several years later as a rather whimsical reminder to enlarge my faith.

  It sounds so bold and spiritual, this practicing audacious prayer. But uncomfortably often, the impossible things that face me are not of my choosing.

  That’s when I’m forced to pray about troubles:  my own and others’. Sometimes I’m just anxious, but sometimes I’m anxious for a good reason! Whether I’m reading an urgent email, or talking with a friend, or just jammed in by one of life’s sticky situations, I know anxiety is my call to pray – now.

  Fumblingly, quietly, I believe — and He helps my unbelief.

  “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?”

  “Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”

  Elisabeth

  June 4, 2010

  Boundless

  4 comments on Six Impossible Things

• Impossible on Purpose

  It bothered me.

  As I began writing “Impossible on Purpose,” I was deeply convinced that God provides. That’s as simple as Jesus’ prayer for our daily bread on one hand, and my own experience on the other. Yes, He provides; yes, He transforms; yes, He gets His children out of tight spots. These things crop up all over the Bible.

  But I wasn’t so sure of my main theme. To launch out into the frankly impossible — and perhaps even foolhardy — on purpose? Certainly it worked for all two thousand orphans in George Muller’s care. But could I honestly say it was a Biblical principle?

  It kept nagging at me.

  I kept writing.

  And I kept praying for baby Isaiah: when his mother’s water broke so early; when he was born so very tiny; and when it was time for him to go home to Jesus.

  In the end, the conclusion of his story shaped the end of my article. I was challenged by the magnitude of his parents’ faith in such a terrifying situation, and awed by the worship Isaiah’s life generated in so many. It was at his memorial reception, as I was explaining this article to a friend, that I realized the solution to my dilemma.

  What could be more impossible than Peter’s stroll on the (very stormy) surface of the Sea of Galilee? Not only that, but he initiated the adventure.

  I’m beginning to wonder: does Jesus ever wait for me to do something? Does He get excited, perhaps, when I’m just audacious enough to think He can do miracles through me?

  Here’s what I do know: Peter had a wild idea. He checked his idea with Jesus. And when Jesus called him to do it, he went.

  Hmm.

  

  As long as I’ve got my eyes on Him, I’ll be safe.

  Elisabeth

  May 14, 2010

  Boundless

  1 comment on Impossible on Purpose

• Tonight in Bethlehem

  I love Christmas.

  I love the excuse to talk about my Savior. I love the fact that the entire Western world is thinking about Him — or at least knows they ought to be thinking about Him, because it’s supposed to be His birthday.

  I don’t know about you, but the more commercialized Christmas gets, and the busier my life becomes, the closer I want to get to the original story. If I could, I would get right inside it! Time travel would be really nice.

  But one of the very best things about living and studying in the Holy Land was this: it gave more fuel to my imagination.

  This story was a Christmas present.

  It was my first holiday at home after a year in Israel, and I spent late Christmas afternoon in my room, listening to Handel’s “Messiah” and writing, writing, writing. I was closer than ever to getting inside the actual tale, and I wanted to share that with my friends.

  There’s still a lot I don’t know about Jesus’ birth. Was it in December? If so, did it fall on the 25th, or Hanukkah? Or was it during the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall? What were the folks in Joseph’s hometown thinking?  Was his family there when Mary’s baby was born? Did they really know what  was happening?

  After I’ve stretched to the limits of my knowledge and imagination, I’m still not satisfied. I need something more.

  When I’m at home, I sit in our darkened living room (in fact, I’m doing it right this minute) and look at the lights on our tree. Somehow, it helps my heart to be quiet. Hanukkah lights do the same thing for me, when I’m in Jerusalem. They remind me that God’s work, while quiet, is powerful. And miraculous. And life-changing.

  And honestly, that’s the best way to get inside the Christmas story: let the Author do His work inside of me.

  Emmanuel: God with us.

  Is here.

  Right now.

  

  Elisabeth

  December 24, 2009

  Boundless, Life in the Land

  2 comments on Tonight in Bethlehem

• Thanks

  Writing for people I may never meet is not too different from sending out a message in a bottle.

  I do it with trepidation, a dash of deliberate faith, and some real contentment to leave the results in God’s hands.

  That doesn’t stop me, however, from looking forward to comparing notes with all of you once we get to heaven.

  And then, sometimes, I get to hear from you in the here and now!

  It’s not too late for thanks-giving, is it?

  Good.

  Because I’m thankful for you!

  For Clara, who was the very first Boundless reader to write me a note.

  For the many folks who simply sent along unselfish encouragement, including Alex, Christina, John,  Mark, Hannah, Esther, Courtney, Talitha, Andrea-Elena, Jeanne, Sheree, Alice, Rael, Emma, Genevieve, Judith, Kristen, Emily, and Lyssa.

  You encourage me to write authors who have served me.

  I’m thankful for those who took the time to tell me how my writing affected them: Katherine, Dorcas, Jessica, Marie, Melanie, Nathanael, Jeremy, Elizabeth, Becky, Diana, Jen, Laura, Jason, Theresa, and Dan.

  It was music to my ears.

  I’m thankful for my fellow writers, who reminded me that I’m not alone: Suzanne, George, Anita, Kristyn, Danielle, and Natalie — and for Rachel, who was even willing to give me advice!

  I’m thankful for Al, who suggested I read Desiring God — which not only refreshed me, but helped form the foundation for the joy and confidence in which I concluded “One Single Day.”

  I’m thankful for Callie, who is praying for me.

  I’m thankful for John and Mike, who are faithfully serving our country, and for Becky, Jennifer, and Johanna, who share my love of Israel.

  I’m thankful for the many who willingly shared their stories, including:  Dennis & Kristi, Dan & Pari, Don & Ellie, Mark & Liz, Shigeko, Bria, Anna, Sarah, James, Ariana, Kayla, Brandon, Joseph, Emma, David & Jonne, Kate, Gretchen, Chad, Blake, Peter, Kendra, Rachel & Gabe, Jason & Heather, Jeremy & Trina, Anthony & Tracy, Marie, Melissa, Dave & Pat.

  Of course, there are many more to whom I’m indebted.

  Most of all, I’m thankful for my Abba, who does all the creating, teaching, transforming, loving, and leading around here.

  He’s good, isn’t He?

  Elisabeth

  December 2, 2009

  Boundless

  1 comment on Thanks

• Nurturing the Creative Life

  Writing an article about writer’s block, while struggling with (you guessed it) writer’s block was deliciously ironic.

  I actually took some of my own advice: I delved into G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, George MacDonald, and the book of Ecclesiastes. I prayed. I showed up and began typing.

  But one of the best things I did never even made it into my article: I asked friends to brainstorm with me.

  I wanted to know: What practical things do you do and what  lifestyle do you lead in order to write/draw/compose/paint and otherwise be creative?

  Marie has a passion for outcasts and orphans, whether in Russia, Thailand, and or New York City. She also has a passion to create: earrings, hats,  t-shirts, photography, and paintings all find their way her Etsy shop. Here’s part of what she had to say:

  I know God is a creator.  And that is part of Himself that He has placed in me, a way that I was made in his image. We are His workmanship in Christ Jesus, created for good works… He made me this way. It is part of who I am. And I glorify God by creating and doing what He made me to do.

  One of my creative outlets I don’t delve into as much is the fine art, painting, drawing side.  It’s a bit more overwhelming.  There’s actually a bit of fear that I feel before starting a piece… I’m not sure why. Maybe fearful that I won’t get it right… that it will be too hard.

  One thing I learned in my drawing classes is that there is a point where your brain switches over to your more artistic, emotional side…where you see spatially and more clearly as an artist. Where your critic, the more “logical” side is shut up… and you just flow. When you are at this point you lose track of time (which is more logical) and you see more clearly to create…  Putting on music and warming up will help an artist more quickly get to that point.

  Kendra says her “personal creativity probably has more to do with idea-generating than with painting, drawing, or even writing.” Whether it’s designing curriculum, planning conventions, or creating magazine layout, she’s one of the most creative thinkers I know. Here’s how she nurtures the creative life:

  *Walking is good for me because it creates space for my mind to ponder and imagine and brainstorm.
  *Working with my hands (gardening, etc.), which somehow frees my mind to fly
  *Taking time to take a class or do a seminar or conference or whatever. (Some of my best ideas have been generated while sitting through another long conference session or class. I got the best of both worlds: absorbing the good teaching and creating at the same time. But I wouldn’t have been free to create if I hadn’t been forced to sit still.)
  *Keeping Sabbath (being diligent to enter that rest–it takes work to create truly quiet space. Heb. 4:11)
  *Reading–great for the imagination! And not just fiction–my favorite magazine to read is “Entrepreneur,” which is chock-full of interesting business ideas!
  *Praying–yes, really. God has given so many ideas when I talk to Him about puzzles or problems.

  Peter delights in proclaiming God’s work in his life, whether with spoken or written word. Contrary to the right/left brain stereotypes, he is also involved in designing advanced math curriculum. Here’s what he recommends:

  *Have conversations with the Creator
  *Accept the presence of the Creator within
  *Remove “static” which stifles creativity… this could be anything that dilutes our relationship with God
  *Allow the Creator to use our bodies and lives on a daily basis to express HIMSELF
  *For writing specifically, I am engaging in a form of communication. To be most effective, I find that I cannot be carrying on a monologue. Talking to others, especially others who reflect HIS creativity, helps me to find mine.

  Elisabeth

  November 24, 2009

  Boundless

  2 comments on Nurturing the Creative Life

• (Don’t) Mind the Gap: Part 2

  A radio. A sleepless night. A game of Rook.

  God uses a lot of catalysts when He writes our stories.

  

  A Bible study program. A nursing home.

  He also comes up with some pretty creative locations!

  Once again, I’m just the reporter for some fascinating love stories that include differences in age. Hope you get a glimpse of the trustworthiness of God in every situation!

  Elisabeth

  November 4, 2009

  Boundless

  1 comment on (Don’t) Mind the Gap: Part 2