Personalizing Psalm 23 is a gift that keeps on giving. You can see my other renditions here. I love how we can take these ancient words and adapt them to where we’re at.
This morning I wrote the above take on it as I prepare to lead an online retreat, as I feel tired and needing God’s help and reassurance. I had the image of him being my producer, speaking in my earpiece as a news presenter would have the producer in the backroom giving guidance. How amazing to have the Holy Spirit being the one to give us prompts!
How would you adapt Psalm 23 for your needs today?
By Leo Boucher. Used with permission; all rights reserved.
Snow on Sunday, a new painting on Wednesday! I love my dad’s rendition of the snowy brook, the photo of which I took at the weekend, with its stark and vibrant colors.
Take a moment to walk along the gurgling waters as you feel glops of snow dropping off the trees while carefully picking your way along the icy path.
Looking for resources for Lent? Looking for someone to give a talk on the prayers of Jesus during Lent?
I’ve written an interactive small-group resource for Lent called The Prayers of Jesus, published by CWR (Waverley Resources) in which we explore 6 of the 7 prayers of Jesus in the gospels. It gives you the tools for leading the session, such as prayers, activities, background on the particular prayer of Jesus, discussion questions, and a prayer activity for the group.
I’m really excited about it because I’m excited about the prayers of Jesus! I’m especially thrilled that I was able to add the prayer activities to this format, for when we make time to pray together, we find that God responds in amazing ways.
Would you like me to zoom into your meeting/service during Lent to give a talk? I have a limited number of spaces available. I’m not charging a fee to come but I’d be grateful if I could supply the booklets to your small groups. Contact me if you’re interested.
The resource goes for £6 each. Here’s my discount plan:
1-6 copies, 16% discount, £5 each plus postage
7-9 copies, 21% discount £4.75 each plus postage
10 or more, 25% discount, £4.50 each plus postage
With postage to the UK:
1 = £6.53
2 = £11.99
3 = £16.99
4 = £22.70
5 = £27.70
6 = £33
7 = £36.25
8 = £41
9 = £45.75
10 = £48
(above 10 contact me)
If you’re not in the UK, I am happy to explore options, but postage might be prohibitive.
It’s a perennial question, and one that I explore in 7 Ways to Pray, my book coming out this autumn. Yesterday I had a delightful little experience of hearing God that helps in pondering how God speaks to his children.
Yesterday was a bit of a mess—and today will be too, I fear. I woke this morning and looked over to the clock but it wasn’t lit up, meaning that half of the house is without electricity. Including the hot water and heat (please do pray that we can get an electrician in to sort it out today!). Yesterday the electrics went out yesterday twice, and both times the desktop computer I was using died (but thankfully I didn’t lose too much work). Of course the wifi router is plugged into the half of the house shrouded in darkness. Then last night one of the kids’ beds broke, so we had to disassemble it and put the guest bed in there until we can get another one.
The hassles of life, right? We all know and experience them. But the timing for these hassles isn’t great as I need to submit the rewrites on my two books this week and next.
So in the backdrop of these distractions and the kids trying to stream online school with wifi that was going out and me being on a couple of video calls and also trying to make lots of progress on the rewriting, I wasn’t anticipating receiving from God my word for the year (a spiritual practice I write about here). But that’s what happened, to my delight. Hearing God can take us by surprise—we don’t control the experience but when we keep our ears and hearts open to God, we put ourselves in a position to receive.
I had an article published with Our Daily Bread yesterday, and thus was interacting on their website with the comments about the article. One of the comments was this:
My daughter felt God leading her to get a tattoo of the word ABIDE. The woman doing the tattoo asked what that meant and she was able to tell her redemption story! May Your children all abide in You, Lord. Let us tell Your story of love and grace! Amen.
As I replied I had a flash of insight:
Abide is such a good word. We abide in Christ; we abide in His word. Hmmm… thank you! Maybe this is to be my word for the year! I’m going to pray about that!
I asked God for confirmation, but I also sensed within a quick yes, abide is my word for 2021. It was a deep feeling of knowing that this was God’s answer. I hadn’t set out to hear God on this yesterday; it was his gift of love. But since the beginning of the year I have been expectant, wondering when God might answer my desire.
How do you communicate with God? Does my experience resonate with you?
One of the chapters in 7 Ways to Pray explores hearing God. I will be sharing more about the release of this book in my monthly newsletter. To receive it, click here.
I love personalizing Psalm 23 according to what I’m going through. You can see various examples in this post about the Lord as my Teacher, with links to other examples too.
This rendition is perhaps the most personal as I get my hip replaced! Thank you to all those who have sent encouraging comments and who are praying for me and my family. I’m so grateful.
The Lord is my surgeon, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in a hospital bed,
he leads me to a clean environment,
he repairs my body.
He guides me to just the right medical care
for his name’s sake.
Even though I enter
the scary sterile theatre,
I will fear no complications,
for you are with me;
your scalpel and your saw,
they comfort me.
You prepare a tray of nourishing food
in the presence of my medical team.
You wrap me in bandages;
my body is safe.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days in my life,
and I will dwell in the healing house of the Lord
forever.
After Psalm 23
(c) 2020 Amy Boucher Pye
By Leo Boucher. Used with permission; all rights reserved.
Churches are going through a strange and different time during the coronavirus pandemic, aren’t they. Services moved to Zoom, Facebook live, and YouTube during lockdown, and then over the summer we got to meet again in person – spread out, masked, keeping distant. But still meeting together.
This second lockdown in England has been tough with the church closed. Services can be broadcast from there, but no congregation. Yes, the church is still open in the sense that we’re meeting together virtually. But meeting in-person really is better, isn’t it.
How has your view of church (or Church) morphed and changed during the pandemic?
By Leo Boucher. Used with permission; all rights reserved.
My dad has entitled this painting, “Finding Peace with Jesus through Prayer.” We so often find peace when we’re out in nature, don’t we. There’s something about being able to exhale in God’s creation that helps take us out of ourselves and our concerns as we look up to God and ponder the needs of others.
We might feel as though we’re in a tough time – the deciduous tree might be in hibernation, as in this picture. But God will meet us through his Son and bring color into our lives. He will spring forth with new life after the time of being fallow.
Know that God is on your side, whether you’re in a time of celebration and rejoicing or you are slogging ahead, one step after the other. If you can, dedicate some moments to finding Jesus through prayer.
By Leo Boucher. Used with permission; all rights reserved.
This painting no longer exists – my dad painted it over, saying it was such a nice big canvas (it’s rather large). I rather like it, but I always enjoy his more abstract works and love a nice cityscape.
So is this still art? What is art if it’s disposable? A friend posed a provocative question along these lines in a writers group I’m part of, along with this fascinating video: “Is art meant to be consumed or preserved? (Or is it/can it be both? How?)”
My dad’s been out in his art studio lots these days as he’s creating paintings for our Christmas book (Celebrating Christmas, coming autumn 2021). This is one of his more abstract ones that we’re not including, but I love it all the same.
The theme is the Incarnation, God with us, and the mystery of how we receive what’s known as the Real Presence when we receive Holy Communion (or Eucharist). Christ’s body, broken for you; Christ’s blood, shed for you. We receive the gifts of God to be equipped, bolstered, strengthened, and encouraged for our daily lives.
