Amy Boucher Pye

Author: Amy Boucher Pye

  • Watercolor Wednesday: The Thunder of the Cross

    Today’s watercolor comes from my daughter’s brush! She created this while at the clergy family holiday at Sheldon, a community in Exeter that provides care for people in Christian ministry. They have a new art shed that she loved, kitted out with all kinds of materials to use for her creations.

    Here’s one she made for me. The cross with thunder booming out of it and a halo to signify Jesus’ holiness. I wondered if the halo was the crown of thorns, but she said no. One could view it that way I dare venture!

    The new art shed at Sheldon.

  • Weekly Devotional: Love Births Unity (13 in Sabbath and Rest series)

    May God “give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify … God.” Romans 14—15:13 (NIV)

    The Apostle Paul’s letters should be read as conversations between two parties. Often we may read them statically, not thinking about what those who received the missives would be saying or doing. As Conrad Gempf shows us in How to Like Paul Again (Authentic, 2013), Paul encourages the freewheeling Corinthians to embrace a stronger sense of rules but wants the rule-bound Galatians to enjoy more freedom.

    Here in his letter to the church at Rome, he instructs the newly formed group of Jewish and Gentile believers. Their different backgrounds and the new covenant brought about by Jesus’ death and resurrection – with its impact on how the believers interpret the Old Testament laws – result in conflict and disagreement. Paul asks for grace and love on both sides; for the unity that flows from Christ living in them to pervade their actions and relationships. He reiterates how all are one in Christ, for Christ serves the Jewish people and brings hope for the Gentiles.

    And so however we interpret the shades of Sabbath, we can do so loving and supporting one another. We might yearn for new believers in the faith to see joining us at church not as a leisure option that can be easily cast off for family get-togethers or days out, but as a key faith-building exercise. We can hold our tongues, not spewing forth judgmental words on our friends but praying for them. And we can receive the Lord’s grace and affirmation when we’ve too strongly interpreted the laws, when our actions become restrictive to the point of closing off the Holy Spirit. As often we might move from one extreme to the other, we seek God’s guidance and wisdom as our corrective and joy.

    For reflection: “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:5).

  • Forgiveness Fridays: Forgiveness is Freeing by Lynne Cole

    When it comes to forgiveness, everyone is different. I love Lynne’s story for her honesty and how she tells the gradual nature of her becoming free from carrying someone else’s sins, as she puts it so aptly. I continue to be humbled and grateful for the bravery displayed by the contributors to this series, such as Lynne.

    There I was, standing in a spot where his grave might have been, and I’m griping tightly onto an A4 piece of paper. A piece of paper that held the truth of what actually happened to me during four years when I grew up too quickly.

    Looking around, all I see is green grass with very few markings of where graves could be. I expected to see at least a head stone with his name etched into it… something that would make it real. But there was nothing. Only little numbered markers dotted around declaring where each person is buried. With there being no grave stone or a recognisable grave, I concluded that he had no meaning to his life.

    Standing there, I remember clearly when my mother told me, 21 years earlier, that he had passed away. It was four months after he was arrested. He hadn’t even reached the first hearing of his trial.

    My memories of that day are vivid. I was so angry that he had “escaped” his prison sentence, and I felt betrayed because he was now “free”. I also remember feeling relieved. He was dead… and I was glad. I hoped that he had met God at the pearly gates of heaven and that he was sent straight to rot in hell.

    I know, I know and I know. This sounds very unchristian. I am fully aware of that. However, this was how I felt towards the man who had sexually abused me for four years. After all, he took away my childhood.

    I wanted him to suffer so much for the pain and hurt that he caused me. I wanted him to feel the pain that I felt…Not just in those four years, but the years afterwards that I had to endure I as tried to come to terms with what I went through.

    When I stood at the graveside with my mum on one side and my husband on the other, I held on to that piece of paper as though it was part of me. This piece of paper held all the truth of every single detail that he did to me.

    Every. Single. Detail.

    You see, when I was 11 I was too scared and too ashamed to voice what truly happened to me. No-one EVER got the full truth, and that truth had been inside me for 21 years. At the graveside, I finally let it all out… And then I burnt it. In that moment, the spirit of condemnation left my body and I was free.

    Four years later, I look back and I question myself if I have still forgiven my abuser – just in case my time at the grave was a passing moment. The honest answer is yes! I wouldn’t wish what I went through on anyone, but I wouldn’t change what I went through either. I no longer feel shame over what I had endured and I can honestly say, with my hand on my heart, that I have no regrets about my past.

    I am proud of who I am today.

    Forgiving my abuser did not mean what he did to me was right. It also does not mean that I would get my childhood back. Instead, forgiving him meant that I could move forward with my life. I have learnt that unforgiveness keeps us locked in to anger, resentment, bitterness and hurt. It keeps us apart from Jesus.

    I didn’t get to the point of forgiveness lightly and reaching it wasn’t one of these “aha” moments when something clicked into place. Rather it took me 21 years that lead to the moment at his grave, of sorting through a mountain of emotional mess, through counselling and reading various books, to reach the point where I wanted to be free from the chains of unforgiveness. I no longer wanted to carry the burden of someone else’s sin.

    Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)

    I believe that forgiveness is necessary in order to move forward, but it can only be done when you are ready to do so. No-one should be forced to forgive someone else if they are not ready. It doesn’t matter how long it takes either… 2 years or 21 years… but when it happens? Forgiveness is freeing.

    Lynne Cole is a full-time working, married mother to 3 gorgeous children…two girls (aged 8 and 7) and a little man (aged 5). She blogs in the free time that she has, which is very little! She believes that a broken past does not mean a broken future and that we are all beautiful despite what we have been through. Her desire is that she is able to give people a little encouragement and hope through what she writes. She writes from the heart, honestly, about anything… things that have happened in the past, what she is going through right now and what she hopes for the future.

    Come visit her at:
    Blog: www.beautifullybroke.org
    Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/beautifullybroke.org/
    Instagram: lynne.cole

     

     

  • Watercolor Wednesday: Majestic Mountain

    By Leo Boucher.

    Fresh off the canvas – a watercolor my dad created today for one of the art classes he leads for seniors. To me this picture speaks of rest and beauty; of solitude and God’s presence.

    What do you see?

  • Weekly Devotional: Sabbath Feast (12 in Sabbath and Rest series)

    “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” Luke 14:1–23 (NIV)

    When I was speaking at a women’s day a couple of years ago, I led the group in an imaginative prayer exercise about how God is the architect of our homes. In our mind’s eye we moved from room to room in the homes we pictured, each one beautifully different and unique – just like those assembled. For one of the women, the room that stood out most strongly to her was the dining room. In it she saw a massive table, heaving with good food for a feast. She said through tears how this image spoke to her deeply, for she holds a great sense of love for those who do not know the Lord.

    I love this week’s reading, because although Jesus has again to put the Pharisees right about healing on the Sabbath, correcting their desire for rules over compassion, he also moves into two discussions of banquets. In the first he tells the guests how to behave – not to choose the best seats to later avoid suffering embarrassment when someone more important arrives. In the second, he shares the parable about how even though people are invited to the greatest feast of all, they find reasons not to attend – things more important than sharing his table.

    For me, the banqueting table on earth can be a foretaste of heaven. There we will enjoy the richest of food without suffering indigestion or unwanted weight gain; there we will enjoy fulfilling conversations with people who know us deeply and completely; there we will bask in the never-changing love of the God who made us and loves us. May our exercise of the Sabbath, and those we welcome to our table, be a means of ushering in the kingdom of heaven here on earth.

    For reflection: “Let him lead me to the banquet hall, and let his banner over me be love” (Song of Solomon 2:4).

  • Forgiveness Fridays: The Sacrifice and Rewards of Forgiveness by Maureen Chapman

    Childhood wounds can be devastating, as we see in Maureen Chapman’s story. But we don’t have to be defined by them, as she shows.

    I have spent most of my 7 decades of life learning about forgiveness. I was born on the morning of the first day of World War 2 in North London, England. My mother, who was pregnant with me and had to get married to my father, was terrified and angry. She wanted to have me adopted but changed her mind.

    When, at the late age of 37, I was pregnant for the first time, I broke a long silence, maintained by her, to inform her by phone that she was to become a grandmother. She was cold, told me I was too old and that anyway, lots of women had babies every day, so what? A few weeks later I miscarried.

    Photo: Ross Griff, flickr

    I hated her. I am a Christian, and knew the Lord’s Prayer about forgiving and receiving forgiveness from God, but I was bitter, angry and hated her. It didn’t take me too long to discover that my relationships were being soured by these negative reactions.

    Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love. (Colossians 3 v13)

    I knew I had to forgive, but I did not want to be exposed to any more malice. Reluctantly, I handed my hate and unforgiving attitude to God.

    Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger…… Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ, God forgave us. (Ephesians 4 v 31)

    There is always a price to pay for forgiveness. Jesus paid the price for us on the cross.

    The relationship with my mother never improved, but I learnt to understand something of her nature. Her own mother died when she was 9 months old. Her father had been gassed in World War 1, suffering poor health and widowed with eight young children to care for. She was brought up by her eldest sister and a succession of housekeepers.

    Having never received love, she was neither able to give love nor receive it. Moreover, after my birth she had suffered a severe postnatal depression, complicated by shingles. She struggled to care for a young baby, not least through the London Blitz and the later bombing raids. She had no emotional support from anyone except my father. He was very deaf, not accepted by any of the armed forces, so worked in a bomb factory by day, and fire watching in the City of London by night.

    My own bitterness and unforgiving attitude had blinded me to her needs. I was demanding love when she had none to give. In turn, she tried to make me her scapegoat to atone for her sins.

    God found a way to forgive us all by sacrificing His own son Jesus to take away our sins. He took this enormous step because He loves us.

    This is how God showed His love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice. (1 John 4 v 9)

    We obey Him by extending that loving forgiveness to those who hurt us. The rewards are joy and peace. We live in harmony.

    When I visited my mother just before her death, although she refused to speak to me, except for three short sentences, I was able to pray that God would show her mercy, for He had made her and knew her better I did.

    Since my mother’s death, my husband and I are at last reunited with members of my family. It’s not been easy, unravelling the many lies, misconceptions and misunderstandings that divided us. It is happening and brings joy to all.

    Forgiveness is the very heart of the gospel and love the very heart of God.

    Maureen Chapman, born into a deaf family, is a retired nurse/midwife, missionary to Nepal, hotelier and mini-market owner. She is owned by a bossy Border collie called Honey and loves gardening, walking, meeting people as well as writing, especially for children. She is learning to blog at maureenmusing.wordpress.com

  • Watercolor Wednesday: Desert Sunset

    By Leo Boucher.

    Maybe this painting appeals to me today because it’s another soggy and cool day in Londontown. August weather this is.

    My dad’s painting is of a desert sunset, where the days are hot with a dry heat, which warms you right up when you inhale it. I know heat is heat, however, and that many people in the Western part of the States are suffering with extreme temperatures. I’ll give you a few degrees of our cool for some of your warmth.

    What sort of weather and landscape are you dreaming about today?

  • Weekly Devotional: Lord of the Sabbath (11 in Sabbath and Rest series)

    “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” Mark 2:23—3:6 (NIV)

    The Sabbath stories we read this week reveal how Jesus bursts through the rules and regulations of the teachers of the law. Over generations they had added layer upon layer of commands to those revealed by the Lord, so much so that their laws kept them from recognizing the needs of people. While they view Sabbath as a negative space – the time not to do things – Jesus sees it as a time for life and living.

    Jesus smashes their restrictive, self-imposed rules. Citing the Old Testament, he says how King David ate the consecrated bread when there was a need – so the disciples picking the grains on the holy day are not doing wrong. And he renders his critics silent with his question about whether it is lawful to do evil or good on the Sabbath.

    In this discussion of law and freedom, I’m not advocating we chuck out the commandments given to God’s people in the Old Testament. Rather, that we ask the Lord to shine his light on how we hold fast to his rules – are we, out of fear, being too rigid and literal in our interpretation? Or out of sloth or indifference are we not keeping to God’s way of living?

    A personal example to consider: I try not to shop on Sunday, especially because my husband feels strongly about this topic. But one Sunday I was back in America with my family, and my sister and I wanted to find one more perfect gift to bless my mother on her birthday. After church we dashed into a nearby department store and found just the ring to give to her. I felt conflicted, but was grateful for the grace of the Lord who loves us and helps us to share his love.

    Prayer: Father God, you made the Sabbath for us, and you are Lord over it. May you help me to embody your life and love each day. Amen.

  • Forgiveness Fridays: If we had just one day… by Debbie Duncan

    Debbie Duncan asks some searching questions, all brought to her mind when her daughter spotted a dragonfly over the water. What would you do if you had just one day to live?

    Recently on one of our recent hot, summery days we decided to escape the heat of the house and head to a place by water.[1] As we walked by the river we stopped and saw a colourful shimmering dragonfly. My daughter said, “Adult dragonflies only live one day. What would you do if you just had one day”?

    Her question got me thinking. What would you do if you had just one day? Most of us would you want to tell our nearest and dearest that we love them. What else would you do? I think we would want to know we are forgiven and we’d want to forgive others.

    The famous French sceptic and key thinker of the enlightenment age, Francois-Marie Arouet (aka Voltaire) was a deist. He did not believe in the Bible or that we have a God who intervened in the world. In contrast, his view of God was one of a distant figure.

    Voltaire died a terrible death. His nurse is said to have said of him: “For all the money in Europe I wouldn’t want to see another unbeliever die! All night long he cried for forgiveness.”

    Thankfully I know the forgiveness that God can bring. I asked Jesus to be at the centre of my life quite a few years ago now – 34 years recently! I know however that I am not as loving and forgiving as I should be. When Peter asked Jesus how many times should he forgive his brother or sister Jesus answered, “seventy times seven” (Matthew 6:21-35). Perhaps he was reminding the Jewish people of the 490 years they spent in captivity, in slavery. We are reminded that even during the most difficult of times we need to forgive. He wasn’t tell us to forgive 490 times but reminding us there is no end to forgiveness after all; He gave His life so we can know God’s forgiveness. It is really a challenge to forgive and not allow bitterness take hold.

    Edith Louisa Cavell was a Christian and a nurse who is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers on both sides during the First World War. She is also known for helping 200 soldiers escape German-occupied Belgian. She was arrested for helping soldiers escape and charged with treason and sentenced to death. Despite international pressure she was brought before a German firing squad in 1915 as a spy. Her last words are said to be, “Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.” Her Christian beliefs led her to help those who needed it – German or British and even her firing squad.

    I don’t want you to think I have a fascination with death! The challenge is to live each day as if it is your last, living as Jesus would live. Loving and forgiving others – even facing a firing squad or a painful death, even forgiving the thief beside you on a cross.

    Debbie Duncan is a senior lecturer in nursing, a church leader and minister’s wife. She is married to Malcolm and is mother to their four grown-up children. She is author of over 40 professional articles, is writing her second textbook and is co-author to Life Lines with Cathy Le Feuvre. Her first solo book The art of daily resilience was published by Lion Monarch in February and she is currently writing her next book. Connect with her at twitter: @dduncan42; her website: debbielduncan.wordpress.com and via email: debbielduncan@yahoo.co.uk.

    [1] We ended up walking along the Thames river at Runnymede which is a beautiful and historical site where the Magna Carta was sealed in 1215.

  • Watercolor Wednesday: City Life

    “Prague Walkers” by Leo Boucher

    Some can’t imagine living in a city, but I love the buzz of conversation, cultural happenings, and the mixture of people from scores of different nationalities living together. Of course major cities can be terrorist targets, as we’ve seen in London this year. But we also see in the book of Revelation that God will gather his people together in his city. We’ll live in peace, enjoying life to the full. Come, Lord Jesus.