Come, beloved,
I know you’re tired.
I know you’re weary.
I know you’re burdened.
Come. I’ll give you rest.
Here’s my yoke—
take it and learn from me.
You know I’m gentle,
caring, and humble.
You’ll find rest;
Rest for your soul.
My yoke is easy—
you’re constrained under it
but I bear the load.
My burden is light—
I do the heavy lifting.
© Amy Boucher Pye; after Matthew 11:28–30
I recently came across a document filed away in Evernote entitled, “Dream schedule for book writing and publishing,” which I penned initially in late 2016. I had set myself a course of the books I wanted to write—along with the MA in Christian spirituality I was in the thick of then in 2016.
My dreams haven’t been realized according to that schedule. Although I released a small-group guide last year, I haven’t published a “proper” book for all these five years. I also thought that I wasn’t ready to write my “big” book—that’s the “Nudges of Grace” at the end of the list. I thought I needed to turn to the other books, on what I saw as more niche topics, before I could handle the book on prayer.
I’ve not kept to my schedule, but I see the grace in those years—the time to think and develop through my master’s degree, the opportunity to recover after spending myself in that academic pursuit along with the other stuff going on in our lives at that time, the other speaking and writing I was able to do. We aren’t machines and we can trust in God’s grace when things don’t go to (our) plan.
I like to say that God is my Publishing Director, in the phraseology of Psalm 23 (as I write in this blog). I can understand now how I’ve needed that time to develop and grow as a person and as a writer. Now I am ready to release the “Nudges of Grace” book, which will be published as the far better title of 7 Ways to Pray this autumn by NavPress in the States and SPCK/Form in the UK. It incorporates so much of what I learned in the MA, along with my years of leading retreats and prayer exercises.
I also get to partner with my dad in what I’m seeing as a bonus book, Celebrating Christmas, which is a combo of his fantastic art and my reflections in a beautiful four-color book (also coming this autumn, published here in the UK by BRF). The book was an idea of the lovely people at BRF, and that we can publish a four-colour in the tough times of retail I see as a gift.*
You might feel anxious, if you’re a writer, to be making progress on your dream publishing schedule. Substitute writer for lots of other situations—for when you can see your far-flung friends and family, when you get that promotion, when you recover from the latest health concern, when you can reopen, and so on. The challenge for us all is to stay present in the moment. For Christians, to abide with Christ right here and right now, practicing his presence and trusting him for the hard stuff while rejoicing with him over the good stuff.
May you know God’s love and care—wherever you find yourself on your schedule.
* I’d better use the British spelling to honour my publisher!
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?
How can I hear God?
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
My heart warmed when I saw that today’s prompt for Five-Minute Friday was “hospitality.” I’ve written a few posts on the topic in the past, which you can find here.
Being an American in London, I’ve been able to host many a traveler passing through our wonderful capital city. Until some things happened in my family, and we had to pull up the drawbridge for a time. I felt bad when I could tell people were gently inquiring – without asking formally – if they could come and stay, and I didn’t respond with an invitation. And a couple of times I had to flat-out say “no” to the request.
But that was the right answer for that season, and after the tough thing of saying no, I felt relief. After all, exercising boundaries is healthy and good, even if hard. And when I intimated some of the challenges we faced, the people understood.
That season reinforced the notion of loving oneself as well as one’s neighbor, in Jesus’ great commandment. We often focus so much on the latter part of that command that we forget we need to extend hospitality to ourselves too. And, if we have them, to our children – a point that Leslie Verner makes in her lovely book Invited. After all, parents are only really hosting their children for a couple of decades before launching them out into the world.
What’s your approach to hospitality? Have you experienced seasons of openness and seasons of huddling together?
I am taking part in the #fiveminutefriday community. To write your own and link up with the other writers, you can do so here.
In May 2013 I posted my first blog here, fearful that having a website would be a “hungry monster” that would require constant feeding. I suppose there’s some truth to that fear, but over the years I’ve found the regular practice of posting to be more of a source of joy rather than a burden. Here I can write what I want, when I want. Here I can try out new ideas. Here my devotional writing was seen by a wonderful worldwide devotional publisher who asked me to pitch a few articles. Here I have hosted some fantastic writers in several blog series. Here I share with you my dad’s wonderful artwork.
One of my projects at the beginning of 2019 is to ponder what’s working with the website and what I should tweak. In doing so, I’ve come across some of the fantastic statistics that my website provides. Yes, I know; I should have explored this earlier.
I’ve made a list of the all-time top ten articles below. I should explain that other parts of my website have received more hits than these, such as the landing page or the pages about my books, but these are the top ten articles. Skip ahead, or read on for some of my musings about them.
My most-read post ever… discussion questions for Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. Not surprising when this book is so widely popular, years after its publication (and deservedly so). I wrote the questions as part of a book-club retreat I led in Spain, and was happy to share with the many other book clubs and small groups who have read her wonderful fictional retelling of the book of Hosea.
Second place goes to “Sleeping with the vicar,” which I find rather amusing. Is this a case of a great title catching attention? The article outlines my feelings about being a VW (vicar’s wife) while giving advice to clergy spouses and those who want to support their ministers and families.
A selection of my many devotional series take third, fourth, and seventh places, which cheers me as I enjoy sharing these articles based on the Bible.
I write occasional articles about relationships and people I love, one of which takes fifth place. It celebrates the short life of my friend Sue Weavers, who died when we were only 19. Just out of the top ten, but worth a special mention, is the article I wrote celebrating my parents’ fiftieth anniversary. Their quiet love inspires me.
I’m thrilled that the “Forgiveness Fridays” series rates so highly in the top ten as well, with places six, eight, and nine. For instance, Claire Musters was so vulnerable in her article, sharing how her own past betrayal had required her humble confession and her husband’s generous forgiveness. I know many were touched and moved by her article, and those by Carol Bostock and Penelope Swithinbank (among others).
In tenth place, I’m glad to see the list of what I read in 2017. That was a Very Long List indeed, with some good picks (and a few “meh” selections too). I still intend to write my 2018 list, but think I’ll go for a top ten or twelve…
Thank you for being part of this journey with me over the past five or so years! Looking forward to the next five.
Top Ten Posts on amyboucherpye.com
Do you have a favorite article or series? What would you like to see more or less of?
We have reached the final day of 2018. Many people will be grateful to leave behind this year with its acrimony, fear, tragedy, disappointment, and divisiveness. May we find greater unity and joy in 2019.
In the middle of this Christmas season of celebration, and battling a head cold, I lost track of the days and realized with a jolt that today was New Year’s Eve – and the end of 2018. In my blocked-up state I’ve been pondering a bit about my word for 2019 (#myoneword).
Some years ago I joined this movement that embraces a word for the year instead of making a lot of resolutions that are forgotten after a few weeks. Keeping one word before us – through a visual representation or a reminder on our phone – can help us to stay focused on a word that helps us to live as we wish with God. I usually choose a verse from Scripture to accompany the word as well.
I’ve blogged about #myoneword previously – you can find all of the posts here. One post that might be helpful is how to hear God on your word for the year. My review of the book that started it all off, My One Word, is here.
The first year I tried out this practice I chose flourish, with Isaiah 55:10–11 as the verses:
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
I loved the idea of this word and all of its richness, but for many months forgot about the practice. But in the late spring I remembered it, and printed out some reminders of the word to keep it before me. As I was more intentional about praying about how with God I could flourish, I started to get excited about the possibilities. I saw the word as a promise from God – one that I could forget and ignore, or one that I could embrace as I joined my hands in his.
Other words have been train, with the accompanying verse 2 Timothy 3:16 (about Scripture being God-breathed and useful for training in righteousness); breathe, which spoke to me about rest and breathing in the Spirit of God; present, with the lovely meanings of God’s presence, receiving the present of God’s presence, and the need for me to stay present and in the moment; and in 2018, replenish, with the emphasis on resting and rejuvenating after a very busy couple of years.
As I mentioned above, I haven’t yet discerned what my word will be for 2019. I need to set aside some time to think and pray about this – including going for a walk, which I find is a wonderful way to ponder and pray and enjoy creation.
How about you? Do you choose a word for the year? If so, how has the practice helped you? Do you have a word for 2019?
My word for the year (#myoneword) has been replenish, which I chose following the exhaustion of writing books and completing an MA in Christian spirituality over a compressed period of time. This year has been for rest, but as we reach the end of it I wonder if I’ve fulfilled my creative hopes that bring life to my soul and refill the well. I’m not sure that I have, but perhaps I started at a very low deficit, being so tired that at times I felt that all I could do was binge-watch a television series. I would cycle between this kind of collapse and then scurrying to finish off my regular deadlines, such as my monthly articles for OurDaily Bread and running the Woman Alive book club, as well as writing other Bible reading notes, such as Inspiring Women Every Day.
But finally, in this last month of the year, I feel I have more energy for the creative projects that I love pursuing. To make way for them, however, I seem to need to declutter some of the gathered stuff that I didn’t sort out when I was so focused on writing and academic study. I have many more areas of the house to attack, but I’m pleased when I can attend to one, such as the weekend’s job of sorting through the computer table.
I really should have taken a “before” photo, for this large wooden-box-on-stilts was filled to the brim with stuff—Christmas boxes, papers galore, and an old computer that needed dumping. I’m thrilled to have it cleaned out. Now the working computer has a new home, releasing the dining-room table from its temporary captivity under said computer, and our daughter has a new workplace for the increased amount of homework she has with secondary school. Do you need to clear out before you can create?
I still have a long list of books to read, creative projects to make, and even Christmas cookies to start baking. But instead of seeing all of the things undone, I can rest in what I have been able to do, giving thanks for that clean dining-room table and tidy home for the computer. In a small way, this approach echoes the way we can embrace the incomplete nature the #myoneword experience over a year. I’m guessing that we probably will not have reached a perfect state of contentment with our progress on the particular word, but we may be farther along than we anticipated.
And so as you come to the end of 2018, might you take some time to consider how you’ve grown or where you’ve stagnated, particularly in the area related to your word for the year, if you’ve chosen one? As we reflect on how God has moved in and through us, we can give thanks for his grace in our lives.
Over to you: Did you choose a word for 2018? If so, what was it, and how did having that word before you shape you over the months?
On my first trip to Asia, I got to visit Singapore while enjoying the company of 250 people from 52 nations at LittWorld, the triennial gathering of Christian writers and publishers hosted by Media Associates International (MAI). Having traveled some twelve hours to Singapore, and only sleeping an hour of it, I was feeling a bit ill and sick when I got on the elevator to go up to my room – that is, my new room, as the hotel had given me a smoking room the first time round, making me feel even more queasy. On the lift I joined Dan Elliott, publishing doyen from Tyndale House, who uttered, “These are some of my favorite people.” I knew I was in for a treat.
Now that I’ve been home over a week from Singapore, what stands out in my memory is the gift of seeing the worldwide church in action. I’m aware that sounds vague; when I say the “worldwide church,” I mean its people. For when I think of LittWorld, a host of smiling faces appear before me. Here are a few (and see the photo gallery at the end):
Perhaps the best way to highlight some of the richness of this conference is to share a few gems from the speakers.
Pusonnam Yiri, Nigeria, “Thinking Locally, Writing Globally”Pusonnam spoke on one of the defining themes of MAI, the desire to empower local writers around the world for global impact. I love this emphasis, for it’s so rooted in God’s love for all people, and how we’re made in his image and have something to share. And although those writing within their culture will speak powerfully to their own contexts, as Pusonnam said:
“Ideas are travelers… they can’t be caged.” (Pusonnam Yiri) Share on X
Great ideas will travel; they aren’t limited to one culture or one land. They are for global sharing – yes, please!
I love, in today’s climate of suspicion, his next point:
“Ideas are criminals… they break immigration laws.” (Pusonnam Yiri) Share on X
No walls can contain them. And, he continued, who knows where the next great idea will come from? As we cannot see into the future, we should foster an openness to welcoming great ideas from anywhere.
And finally:
“Ideas are visitors. Welcome one, and others will come.” (Pusonnam Yiri) Share on X
I loved Simon’s sessions on screenwriting. I’ll probably never write a screenplay, nor will I ever direct a film, but I gained so much from his talks. How do we write content – not only fiction, but I apply this to nonfiction as well – that will reach audiences? How do we tell the grand story of faith in ways that touch hearts and minds?
In terms of films, he contends that audiences want a good story, well told, that engages the emotions. And good stories are all about one thing – character. Where do we get good characters? We observe. We note from real life. Some might even call this stealing…
How can our writing be a means of extending God’s grace? I appreciated Bishop Robert Solomon’s talk, for he exuded grace and hope as he spoke. A medical doctor as well as an ordained minister, he told of the power of the scalpel to bring healing – yes, pain, too, but it cuts out the infection that would spread and eventually kill. And as he said, Jesus heals through words. We aren’t Jesus, of course, but God can bring about his healing even through our words.
I also loved his point about tsundoku, the Japanese word for the piling up of books to read. I know many of us can relate! I certainly can with my heaving shelves. What he observed about tsundoku is that the keeping of many books keeps us humble, for we know that we don’t know everything.
I left Singapore profoundly grateful to have met so many fascinating people, humbled by the way God is using them around the world.
The next gathering is LittWorld 2021 – might you join fellow writers and publishers from so many different countries to be encouraged in your faith?
To find out more about MAI, click here. To watch the video about LittWorld and learn more about the conference, it’s here.
