Amy Boucher Pye

Author: Amy Boucher Pye

  • Weekly Devotional: My soul magnifies the Lord by Amy Robinson

    Advent is a time of waiting and welcome. Waiting for the coming King, not only to celebrate his coming as a baby but for him to come again. Welcoming as we make room for him in our lives, a laughable thought for many as we juggle carol services, baking tasks, shopping for gifts… But some days we need snow days, like many in the UK have experienced, to make us slow down and ponder what this season is all about.

    I am delighted to share another acrostic poem, following yesterday’s offering. This one is by another Amy, she a gifted storyteller and writer (Amy Robinson). You can view her wonderful poem that is a Christian take on the Santa story, inspired by the famous poem by Clement C. Moore, on her Facebook page – don’t miss it!

    Here’s Amy’s acrostic poem as inspired by Mary’s song of praise to God, known as the Magnificat. Mary visits Elizabeth who is also pregnant, and when Elizabeth praises her for her great faith, Mary responds with her wonderful song. You can read the whole story in Luke 1.

    My soul magnifies the Lord,
    And my spirit rejoices in my saviour!
    Generations will call me blessed,
    Naming God as holy and mighty.
    In strength he has scattered the proud,
    Fed the hungry and left the rich empty.
    Israel will see his mercy again.
    Children of Israel, you know what he promised our fathers,
    Abraham and his offspring for ever?
    This is happening now.

    © 2017 by Amy Robinson

    Could you pen an acrostic poem today? Whether you do or not, may you be blessed in your waiting during this season of Advent.

  • Praising God with All the Letters: An Acrostic Poem

    The view from where I sit. Many I know will have to miss church today because of this lovely snow.

    I had to miss church this morning as our daughter isn’t well, so I spent some time writing an acrostic poem, inspired by Psalm 145. David used all of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, in order, to sing his praises to God. I’m no King David, but I enjoyed the challenge.

    Amazing are you, Lord!
    Because of your great love, you’ve given me life.
    Can I ever exhaust the wonders of who you are?
    Day by day I will sing your praises;
    Everything within me gives you thanks,
    For you are worthy of praise.
    Great are you, Lord; so great are you!
    Holy are you; all the earth worships you in wonder,
    I will sing and shout from the rooftops!
    Joy reverberates throughout me, for you are good.
    Keep me as the apple of your eye;
    Light my path, that I may forever follow you;
    Make my way straight, that I will not veer off course.
    No longer do I despair, for you will love me forever;
    Oh worship God always and without end!
    Praise to you, King of Kings,
    Quite how I will restrain myself, I do not know!
    Rejoicing I will be as I ponder your greatness,
    Singing songs of gladness and praise,
    Thanking you for rescuing me from the muck of sin.
    Upon you I set my mind that I will not be swayed,
    Voicing my worries and anxious thoughts
    While wondering at your great mercies.
    Xenial you are, welcoming me to your table,
    You set a place for me to come and eat and be satisfied.
    Zealous will be I about your name; I praise you forever!

    © 2017 by Amy Boucher Pye

  • Watercolor Wednesday: A Study in Abstract Art

    By Leo Boucher.

    I like my dad’s abstract art, such as this oil painting (sorry; not a watercolor!) that hung in various places in our home when I was growing up. Art, I know, can be subjective, and probably abstract art even more so.

    To me this painting says home and familiarity, but also conversational groupings, time with a friend on the water, buildings and structures. Actually, however, when I look at it, I don’t think so much about the individual parts but rather I like to soak it up as a whole.

    Over to you – what do you think about abstract art? Like it, loathe it, or somewhere in between?

  • Weekly devotional: An Advent reflection

    How do you mark the season leading up to Christmas? It can be a mad and crazy time of parties, shopping, church services and baking. So much so, that we lose the reason for the season, to use that slightly cringey American phrase.

    One Advent, in my quest to consider the season’s true meaning, I followed a Bible reading plan that moved from the Old Testament to the New as it revealed God’s greatest gift, his Son Jesus. As I played around with the biblical text, moving words here and there, some poems emerged. If you like to write, maybe you could do something similar this year for an Advent practice. Of course, you may not like writing at all – in which case, I trust you’ll find just the right thing to keep the gift of Jesus before you.

    Read the rest at Eden.co.uk…

  • Five Minute Friday: The God who is Near

    I love teaching about prayer, and a favorite session is practicing the presence of God. You may be familiar with Brother Lawrence, he the seventeenth-century French monk who intentionally kept God near throughout the day as he prayed, worked in the kitchen, and so on.

    To emphasize how God is near to his people, I start off the session with a series of Bible verses, from the Old Testament and the New:

    Solomon said in 1 Kings 8:27, “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less the temple I have built!”

    Isaiah 57:15: For this is what the high and exalted One says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.

    Jeremiah 23:23-24: “Am I only a God nearby,” declares the Lord, “and not a God far away? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord.

    Psalm 23 says “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.”

    Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.”

    Jesus to his disciples, last words in Matthew: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

    In Acts 17:27-28, Paul, speaking to the Greeks on Mars Hill in Athens, said, “God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’”

    All of these passages reverberate with the same truth: God loves to be near to his people. We only need to call to mind his presence within to be assured of this truth.

    As we enter the Advent season, a time to celebrate the God who became Man, we can remember that he did so not only to save us, but to be near to us.

    Do you sense God’s presence near to – and within you – today?

    This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up. You can find today’s prompt here.

    Want to join me when I speak sometime? Check out upcoming events here. (I have a break until March!)

  • Watercolor Wednesday: Castle in the Mist

    By Leo Boucher

    As the news has been filled with fairytale stories of a commoner from the former Colonies marrying a prince, it seemed fitting this week to showcase my dad’s abstract of a castle by the water. You can picture this as Windsor, where the wedding will be next May, or perhaps a fortress in the North of England, a haven of safety against marauding invaders.

    What does this picture say to you?

  • Watercolor Wednesday: An autumnal farm scene

    By Leo Boucher.

    Growing up in Minnesota, I’d often go with my family to visit my grandparents, both sets of which lived on farms. I took for granted the beauty of the fall colors and the picturesque farms dotted along the way as we drove to Southern Minnesota or Iowa. Now, however, I can bring forth those memories with thanks, also grateful for my dad’s artistry in capturing the moments.

    For those who are celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow, may your celebrations be marked with joy and abundance.

  • Devotional of the week: Give thanks

    Embarkation of the Pilgrims, by Robert W. Weir; photograph courtesy Architect of the Capitol

    So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6–7 (NIV)

    The Pilgrims, devout in their faith, left England in 1608 for Amsterdam in search of religious freedom. They lived there twelve years before the foreign culture wore them down and they decided to head for the New World. Their journey on the Mayflower was desperate. The ship was designed for carrying cargo, not passengers. And the cabin where they slept was intended for thirty people, not eighty. Their food rotted and was infested with insects; they nearly drowned when the ship’s main beam cracked; they endured ridicule from the sailors.

    When they arrived in the New World, the Pilgrims still faced challenges – building dwelling places, growing food, caring for the sick and dying. But in all things they gave thanks, and observed a full day of Sabbath each week. And they decided to have a Thanksgiving feast. During this three-day celebration, they gave thanks for their food, seven houses built, a peace treaty with the Native Americans and most importantly the freedom to worship God. The women cooked, the men played games and they all shared stories and gave thanks.

    And so the heritage of Americans, who for one holiday at least eschew commercialism and come together on this day to enjoy good food and one another. Many Christians keep up the tradition of sharing stories of thankfulness around the table. And with the telling and the listening, they become strengthened in their faith, as we see in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Colossians.

    The challenges we face will differ from those of the Pilgrims. But we can follow their example of devotion to God, taking risks, reaching out to different people and taking time to celebrate and give thanks. We may not be eating turkey today, but we all can take a moment to “give thanks to the Lord for he is good” (Psalm 107:1).

    For reflection: “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them” (Luke 24:30).

  • Five Minute Friday: Pointing the Finger

    You know that spine-shrinking feeling you have when you’ve been caught out at something? They have seen your wrongdoing, named it, and there’s no place to run and no place to hide. You feel exposed, ashamed. You have no excuse. I’ve experienced that sensation, and also the great gift of forgiveness extended to me afterward. The feeling of being washed clean of the rags of shame is freeing and liberating.

    But too often, I’m the one pointing the finger. I’m the one naming – in my family – the list of shortcomings and failures before them. They don’t reach my high standards, and I’m disappointed. Or I place my frustration in one, such as my husband, on a child, like I did this very morning: “Mom,” she said, looking up at me from the half-landing, “You’re mad at Dad for not getting up and getting ready but you’re taking it out on me.” Yes, she was right – and I had to confess that and ask her to forgive me. She walked up the stairs and gave me a hug before going to school. I was glad.

    So what’s our excuse? Pride, self-determination, fear, anger… a whole host of negative and self-focused emotions can lie behind our actions of blaming others or being overly cross when they fail us. But we’re not God; nor does he want us to be taking that rightful place from him. He wants us to extend grace and love with humble hearts. Yes, there’s an added layer of complication when we’re parents and we want to teach our children. But God through his Spirit is the best teacher of all.

    That’s a thought that Oswald and Biddy Chambers held onto in their work with the Bible college they set up, and then later with their work with soldiers in Egypt during the First World War. They would seek not to guilt someone into making a decision for God, or to try to convict them about a specific course of action. They fully believed that God would do the work; they would pray and commit the matter to him and to the person. (This week marks the hundred-year anniversary of his death. You can read my short account of his life here.)

    How can you trust God with your loved ones today?

    This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up. You can find today’s prompt here.

    Want more? My book The Living Cross shares stories from the Old Testament and the New on the freeing nature of forgiveness in a forty-day devotional format (for Lent, but it can be read at any time).

  • Weekly devotional: A joy and an ache

    Photo: Faith Globe, flickr

    How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young – a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. Psalm 84:1–5 (NIV)

    Living as an American in the UK, for me high days and holy days bring not only joy but a corresponding ache as I’m away from family and friends. But I experience the most profound longing on Thanksgiving, which this year is next week on Thursday. I feel the loss of the nation gathered to feast around a table heaving with turkey, stuffing and gravy and of enjoying the friendship and lively conversation that ensues. Of course I understand why my now-countrypeople don’t celebrate this holiday – after all, the Pilgrims were giving thanks for escaping religious persecution in England. And such is the friendship between the countries now that we attend a service at St Paul’s Cathedral each year. And yet the longing remains.

    Living today, I enjoy a mobility never imagined by the Pilgrims. My seven-hour airplane ride is a blip compared with their five-month journey across the choppy Atlantic in 1620. After they survived their first harsh winter, they invited the Native Americans who had helped them acclimate to join in a three-day feast of Thanksgiving. And so the tradition began, being solidified when in 1863 President Abraham Lincoln declared a national day of Thanksgiving each November.

    Psalm 84 reflects the greater ache that all pilgrims harbor – for sweet fellowship with God. Our experiences of love, community, belonging, and celebration are rooted in his character. And our longings for these experiences are a harbinger of what is to come when we are reunited with God in heaven.

    For reflection: “He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22).

     

    I write about these longings and how I found God, and myself, in Britain in Finding Myself in Britain: Our Search for Faith, Home & True Identity.