“Buy the pie.” Those are the words that continued to repeat in my mind as I prayed for the right words to write as well as for peace of mind and the awareness of God’s presence during this busy season. I know, those words don’t seem like something God might say, and no, they’re obviously not a Bible verse. Instead, they’re words that a wonderful friend said during a recent Bible study time together.
We were talking about our upcoming plans for Thanksgiving and how we’re trying to not feel too stressed about things. My friend explained that the words “Don’t do it. Buy the pie!” were written by her grandmother on the other side of her much loved pecan pie recipe. We got a good laugh out of that! I’m pretty sure my friend will read this post and laugh when she realizes she was the inspiration for my writing this week. But in all seriousness, I hope she and all those who read this will find inspiration and peace from God in my explanation of those three simple words to “Buy the pie.”
First, I’ll start by saying that for the past several weeks, feeling the busyness and pressures that can come with the coming holiday season, I’ve prayed repeatedly for God to help me remember to focus on the ONE THING that matters, which is HIM. This prayer stems from one of my favorite Bible stories that I often remember and re-read during busy times, found in Luke 10:38-42. In this passage, Martha is busily preparing dinner for Jesus and the disciples while Mary simply sits at Jesus’s feet and listens to him. Martha gets irritated with Mary for not helping and complains about this to Jesus. His response?
“My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42 (NLT)
I read this and pray for God to help me have a Mary heart during busy times because I know how easy it is to get distracted by all the things that pile up and distract me when I’m busy. At Thanksgiving and Christmas, I know I’m not the only one with a lot of things on my plate. On top of our normal, everyday lives, we also have holiday plans and holiday gifting to think about, and I know that if I’m not careful, I’ll let the whole season go by without spending enough time simply soaking in the true meaning and awe of it all. And even as I say that, I realize that carving out time to do the meaningful moments can become a stressor if I overthink or overcomplicate things.
So, those words, “Buy the Pie,” to me, remind me not to overcomplicate or overthink things. They remind me to let some things go that aren’t really that important, to surrender and relish in God’s love and care.
If you read my intro to this series of posts on “Falling into God’s Love” you might know that the focus for this week is on Psalm 8 and Ephesians 3, under the theme “Stars and Moonbeams Shine Tonight” from the words in my recent children’s book. These passages and words actually fit perfectly with the idea of keeping things simple because they remind us to remember who God is.
To explain more, Psalm 8:3-5 says, “When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers– the moon and the stars you set in place– what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.”
What an incredible truth to absorb. God crowns us with glory and honor! We, who often go around feeling like things are too hard in a world that certainly can be hard, are created and crowned by the same one who created the sky, the moon, the stars, the sun, the trees, the mountains, ALL OF IT! That is why I don’t need to overcomplicate things. That is why the phrase “Just buy the pie” means more to me. It somehow reminds me that God is already doing the hard stuff and so then, why am I so often thinking I need to?
Yesterday I read Psalm 50, and what really caught my attention was this:
“Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God.” Psalm 50:14 (NLT)
That’s it. Another simple yet maybe too often overlooked act – saying thanks. This verse reminded me that any striving I might get caught up in can stop. All God wants is my thankfulness, and like it says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (NLT)
So if I’m ever wondering what God might want me to do next, I know it’s always in his will for me to thank him.
Today as I was running errands, I listened to a song by Mission House titled “The Whole Earth is Full of Your Glory.” Some of the lyrics say:
The whole earth is full of your glory
Sure as the stars shine above
Sure as the river winds through the valley
The whole earth is full of your love
The whole earth is full of your goodness
There’s good in each glimmer of light
The secrets you paint into every sunset
The song you sing every night
Oh I don’t want to miss it
Oh open my eyes
I know if I go looking
I’ll find you every time
I played this song over and over, and felt so much peace and gratitude as I looked around me and saw all of God’s creation – the trees showing off fall colors, streaks of the sun’s light beaming through my windshield, people as they walked by. Everything showed his beauty and it’s because I was looking for it that I saw it. The words “I don’t want to miss it, open my eyes” were the perfect prayer. I don’t want to miss all God has for me because I get too busy and distracted. I want him to open my eyes to Him. It makes everything so much better when I do.
Later in the song, the chorus adds these words:
Cause oh, everything’s singing
OH, I’m singing along
I know it must be what I’m made for
To join the ancient song
Singing along with creation, with everything he has made - that is all I need to do. He is the ONE THING that can do ALL THINGS. He loves us all unconditionally, more than we can imagine, and he’s got us in the palm of his hands, even when we feel wobbly or weak or unsure. He’s got this. When I wrote the phrase in my book “Stars and moonbeams shine tonight” it was to remind anyone who reads it that all will be well. All is taken care of by Him, so we can rest easy, day and night.
Ephesians 3:14-21 also reminds us to remember who God is and that we can fully trust in his love. It says:
“When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
And may you have the power to understand, as all of God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.”
I can’t say it any better than that. These words are a constant prayer I like to say for myself, for my children, my husband, my friends, all who I love. They are so incredibly powerful and remind us so perfectly that we don’t need to worry or fear, no matter what we have going on, because his love covers it.
As we enter into Thanksgiving week, I hope these words remind you to surrender and fall into his love. Just buy the pie (or make it if you want!) , just look at the stars and moonbeams tonight, look at the sky and all he has created, and find him there, watching over you, and holding you in his arms.
Some journaling and destressing ideas:
· Read Ephesians 3:14-21 and personalize it for you and/or others with their names. So you can say, for example, “I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources hew will empower ___________ (put a name in the blank) with inner strength through his Spirit……” and continue in that way throughout the passage.
· It’s been windy a lot where I live, and coincidentally, my next novel in progress is titled What the Wind Blew In. The other day, I wrote “What the Wind Blew In Today” at the top of a journal page and then listed some of the things the morning had brought me that I could thank God for. For example, as I was writing, a friend came and dropped off a sweet gift at my door. How perfect. I wrote her down in my list of thanks. I was also thankful for a text from my daughter, for answered prayer to see him and hear him that day. I also thanked him for things that were challenging me, thanking God for handling them. I’m planning to continue the list, as it reminds me that things will blow in and out of my days, good and hard things, but with each of them God is there with me. Maybe try a list like this and see how it refocuses your thoughts.
· Go for a walk and notice the beauty God gives us, or do this when out and about in the car or on errands. Listening to songs that remind you of God is helpful when doing this too.
· I can’t say that I’m perfectly relaxed about things, but when I find myself feeling stressed, I repeat any of these words: “He’s got this,” or “What’s the ONE THING that matters, Dianne?” or “Look at the sky” and yes, I keep saying “JUST BUY THE PIE!”
· Probably because I spent so much time on the writing and creating of my children’s book, I have found myself saying an adaptation of this verse from the book: “Stars and Moonbeams shine tonight, hugs and kisses hold me tight, close my eyes, think good things, remember I’m loved, dream sweet dreams.” Yes, I wrote these words for children, but I think it’s surprisingly comforting for us big people too. Again, these words remind me who’s in charge and who we are in Him.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving week all, Falling and surrendering into His love.
(My next post in the "Falling into God's Love" series is planned to come out the week after Thanksgiving).
Comments