between the lines - summer 2012 volume 2, issue 3

7/31/2019 Between The Lines - Summer 2012 Volume 2, Issue 3

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Between the Lines is a magazine of the Journey, a ministry of Christ Church

Fairview Heights, IL. 2012, Christ Church. mychristchurch.com

Graphic Design by Michelle Sweeten

For since the creation of the world Gods invisible qualitieshis eternal

power and divine naturehave been clearly seen, being understood from

what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Romans 1:20

My children and I would return

home after a long school day to

responsibilities on the home front.

I thank God that the shouts of lifesdemands were often silenced by

a dearer melodythe sounds of

my childrens voices calling, Mom!

Look! You have to come see this.

I learned from my children to stop,

to pause, to feast my eyes on the

gentleness of a sunset, the utterof a buttery wing, or the depend-

able, comforting presence of the

moon. I would have missed so

much had they not beckoned me

to come and see.

Like little shepherds they led thisstraying sheep to the still waters

of Gods creation . . . to restore my

soul.

Hes calling you, too, to look with

a childs eyes, to come and see.

Like all men and women, when we

see Gods creation, we are without

excuse. We cannot deny Gods

presence and power. He is the one

we worship. He is the Lord of all

creation, and he is forever praised.

We, the writers, are so thankfulfor the fun that God allows us in

creativity with words. We desire to

connect you, our readers, to Christ

with words that reveal Gods truth.

Thank you for joining us on this

journey.

May still waters restore your souland mine,

PS: We appreciate hearing from our

readers. Please let us know how this

magazine has touched your life. You

may send your e-mails to:

[email protected]

Dear Reader,

Mary Ann


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Between the Lines Summer 2012 Volume 2, Issue 3

'Like' us on Facebook: facebook.com/christchurchjourney

In the next issue: Forgiveness

This Issues Theme: Creativity

Verse of the Season: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth

(Genesis 1:1).

Meet the Contributors

Mary Ann Turneris the leader of the Journey Team at Christ

Church. A former elementary school teacher, she is the wife of Mark,

mother of two grown children, and grandmother to two precious little

boys. She enjoys great conversations, hiking with her family, and

encouraging others to grow in their Christian faith.

Gina McIsaac is married to Jim, and they have four daughters (ages

7, 9, 11, 16) who are home-schooled. She has played violin and

piano since the age of 7 and currently has a private studio of about

30 students. She spends lots of time in a minivan on Frank Scott

Parkway.

Lindsay Tallman is a freelance writer who writes about family and

faith. Her work has been featured in Thriving Familyand Family Fun

magazines. When shes not busy writing or tripping over toys, she

enjoys reading, traveling, and playing with her quirky kids. She andher family live in OFallon, Illinois, and worship at Christ Church.

www.lindsayntallman.com

Emily Climaco, Ph.D., is a Journey Team member and the volunteer

editor ofBetween the Lines. The wife of Phil and mom of Caroline, she

spends her time reading, bike riding, drinking green tea, and laughing

with her three-year-old daughter.

If youve been encouraged by Between the Lines, please help us to

spread the message of Gods hope to women far and wide. New readers

can subscribe to the free quarterly magazine at www.mychristchurch.

com/thejourney.

Mim Phillips thanks God for giving her many years of creativity. As a

little girl shed create her own paper dolls, design clothes for her Bar-bies, write plays, and paint murals on her walls. For the last 18 years

she's owned an interior design rm and teaches a small fashion de-

sign class at the Christian Activity Center. In her off time she likes jog-

ging, guitar, hiking, and being with her two grown sons and husband.


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Parenting 101:Think Outside of the Boxby Lindsay Tallman

4

When my daughters were little we took a

trip to visit a dear friend. The visit was won-

derful except for one problem. My friends

infant son and my oldest daughter had to sit

next to each other in the car and, while my

daughter had a very large personal bubble,

my friends son was obsessed with con-stantly laying his hand on her. This small in-

fraction resulted in her screaming her head

off everywhere we went. We tried to think of

any possible way to resolve the issue, but

came up blank. We couldnt switch the car

seats around for safety reasons, and we

could not convince an 8 month-old to stop

touching my distressed daughter. We were

at a loss until my friends mother suggestedthat we tear apart a cardboard box and put

a piece of the cardboard in between the

kids. It was so simple, but would it work?

Before our next outing, we placed the card-

board between the seats, loaded the kids

up and prayed for a scream-free ride. I

watched as his little infant hand made its

way over and stopped right at the card-

board as my daughter was oblivious of his

intentions from the other side. Ive never

seen anything look so ridiculous and mar-

velous at the same time. Im pretty surethe Hallelujah chorus may have broken

out spontaneously in the light of that Texas

morning as we enjoyed a quiet ride and a

pleasant conversation.

The very rst words of Genesis tell us that

God is creative. And just as he created the

wonders of the heavens and earth, he also

chose to create us in his image. WhenGod began creating the heavens and the

earth, the earth was a shapeless, chaotic

mass, with the Spirit of God brooding over

the dark vapors(Gen. 1:2). I love how it

refers to the earth as a shapeless, chaotic

mass. I dont know about you, but some-


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5

times my life as a mother feels like a shape-

less, chaotic mess! But his Word tells us

that we are not here by accident. Likewise,

he has given us our specic children to par-

ent for a purpose.

As a writer my job is creative by nature.But Ive never used my creativity more than

when it comes to parenting my kids. There

isnt a single day when Im not looking for

creative solutions to inspire, educate, dis-

cipline, and manage life with my children.

And kids are the ultimate game changers.

Just when you get one stage gured out,

they are on to the next stage. Proverbs 22:6

tells us we should, Train a child in the wayhe should go, and when he is old he will not

turn from it.This verse was so helpful to

me as a young mother surrounded by the

advice of well-meaning books and friends.

It helped me to understand that there is no

one-size-ts-all style of parenting, and that

each child is unique and should be raised

according to his or her individual needs and

leanings.

So what does that mean to me on a prac-

tical level? It means that Ive got to think

outside of the box when it comes to raising

my three unique children. Here are some

guidelines that help me to parent my kids

creatively:

1.Do what works. I take advice,but then use my discernment inall things. If I nd something thatproduces good fruit in my childrenthen I do it even if it seems uncon-ventional or ridiculous. I walkedour rst daughter in a front packevery day for six months becauseits the only way she would sleep.She stayed happy and I stayed t

and, no, I dont carry her anymore.

2. Roll with it. Our second daughterinsisted on wearing a Tigger cos-tume every day for six months.Which was replaced with a swim-suit (in the dead of winter), fol-

lowed by various crazy outts.Whenever I felt the urge to controlher choices, I had to remind my-self that she was simply express-ing her personal taste and it wasNOT a reection on me.

3. If you resent it, change it. Thismay seem contrary to #2, but thisis all about picking my battles.Some battles arent worth battlingand some absolutely are. When itcomes to sleep, I am militant aboutmy no-kids-in-our-bed policy. Forme, sleep is a deal-breaker, and Iwould be a very unhappy mommain the morning. Instead of allowingresentment to grow in my heart, Ipray and ask God to help me nda creative solution. For our daugh-ters that meant putting them in thesame room at night.

4. Steal a moment. With three kidsand a husband who travels fre-

quently, it can be extremely dif-cult to nd one-on-one time withmy kids. So I have to get creativeand steal moments with them,whether that means taking onewho needs some extra love on anerrand and sneaking in ice creamor chatting with one in the car. Italso means giving them all of myattention when a little one comes

to me with a question or wants todiscuss something.

When I feel overwhelmed, I remem-

ber that God has entrusted me with

these precious children and they are

gifts from him. Only a cruel God would

give me a child without giving me the

tools that I need to raise her. But our

God is good, and he has given me ev-erything I need to love these children

well. Through his Word, prayer, and

the power of the Holy Spirit, I am free

to raise them one crazy, creative day

at a time.g


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On a bulletin board next to the re-frigerator in my childhood home in

Smithtown, Long Island, she pinned

the Love Chapter. It was etched on

a piece of loose-leaf paper, penned

in ink. It beckoned me to pause.

Elbows on counter, chin in hand, I

read the words almost daily.

Love is patient, love is kind. . . (1

Cor. 13).

Words on a page, pinned to the

wall, came alive in simple, no-cost,

creative ways during my childhood

days.

My annel nightgown, tossed in

our electric dryer for a few minutes

and then laid neatly at the foot of

my bed, hugged me warmly after a

long night of babysitting. I can stillrecall being wrapped in toasty an-

nel love as I crawled into bed starv-

ing for sleep.

There were love notes in my

brown bag lunch, tucked inside the

waxed paper that was neatly foldedaround my cream cheese and jel-

ly sandwich. The sandwich was a

bit soggy in the middle, but I didnt

mind. The cupcakes in my friends

lunchbox were no match for the

words that still echo in the archives

of my mind.

She always put on lipstick and xed

her hair just before Dad walked in

the door. I watched quietly, soaking

it in. I felt secure when I saw how

she loved our dad.

1Corinthians13:4-8Loveispatient,loveiskind.Itdoesnotenvy,itdoes

notboast,itisnotproud. Itdoesnotdishonorothers,

itisnotself-seeking,itisnoteasilyangered,itkeeps

norecordofwrongs.Lovedoesnotdelightinevilbut

rejoiceswiththetruth.Italwaysprotects,always

trusts,alwayshopes,alwaysperseveres.

Love in an Envelopeby Mary Ann Turner


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Our home was an art classroom.

She was the artist, love was the

paint, and our hearts were the can-

vas.

I am all grown up now. I open my

mailbox. I catch a glimpse of her fa-

miliar ourish on one of the lettersand suddenly I am 12 again. I tear

open the envelope, and it is lled

with coupons for the brands I buy

and for the foods my husband en-

joys. She pays attention to the little

things. There are sticky notes on

some of the coupons: Yum! De-licious cookies with a cup of tea! I

cant help but smile. I call this my

love in an envelope.

Paul, in writing to the Corinthians,

condently states that the believ-

ers themselves were letters about

Christ, not written with pen and inkor on tablets of stone but, rather,

written on tablets of human hearts

(2 Cor. 3:2-3).

Love is patient, love is kind . . .

was written with pen and ink and

pinned to the bulletin board in mychildhood home. These are life-

giving words expressed creatively

to me by what comes from the tab-

let of my mothers unselsh, loving

heart.

Elbows on counter, chin in hand,

I pause and thank God for Christs

love creatively etched across the

pages of my life.

Is your life a letter aboutChrist?In what ways have youchosen to love creatively?

A good and powerfulprayer is to ask God to

give you creative ideas forways to love the people inyour life.

Read 1 Cor. 13: 4-8 and putyour name in place of theword love and it. AskGod to show you the ar-

eas that are going well foryou and what areas needsome attention.

Last, thank God for thecreative lovers in your lifeand then thank those indi-viduals with a phone call,e-mail, or note sent in themail.

Have fun with lovingcreatively!

g


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Gods Grandeur

Te world is charged with the grandeur o God.

It will ame out, like shining rom shook oil;

It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze o oilCrushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?

Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;

And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;

And wears mans smudge and shares mans smell: the soil

Is bare now, nor can oot eel, being shod.

And or all this, nature is never spent;Tere lives the dearest reshness deep down things;

And though the last lights of the black West went

Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs

Because the Holy Ghost over the bent

World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

By Gerard Manle y Hopkin s (18441889)


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Photo by: Julie Crask

www.works4water.blogspot.com


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g

10

So God created people in his own im-age;

God patterned them after himself;

male and female he created them.

~ Gen.1:27

Its some awesome irony that this verse

o creation is creatively written. Its the

rst occurrence o poetry in the Bible.

While we sometimes judge and become

jealous o those we consider more cre-ative than ourselves, everyone can culti-

vate their own creativity.

Creativity is such a un godly character-

istic. He spoke the world into existence

in all its glorious color. Most artists at-

tempt to capture or imitate Gods work.

Think o your avorites, enjoyed by anyo the senses. Maybe its a sunrise in the

mountains or a Beethoven symphony,

but there is beauty in creation.

As a proessional musician, Im in a eld

that demands constant creativity. Some

days its assisting an engaged couple to

design their perect wedding ceremonyor another day it may simply be teach-

ing a student the same musical con-

cept weve been practicing or the past

month. Every day it is taking the little

blots o ink on paper and transorming

them into expressive music. Another

outlet or my personal creativity comes

through the church orchestra. (Shhh!

Dont tell Don Frazure, our pastor o wor-

ship arts, but sometimes I make up notes

that arent on the page.)

One reason people struggle with creativ-

ity is none o their time is dedicated to it.

All energy is ocused on an activity with

some direct payo. The drive or perec-

tion oten leads to anxiety, stifing cre-

ativity. For example, Im stressing right

now about the deadline or this article,

leading to writers block!

Creativity involves play, digression, ex-

ploration, experimentation; it doesnt al-

ways look productive. Have you recently

allowed time or these things? Results

will come in both tangible and con-

cealed orms.

Maybe some moments rom my day will

inspire you. A disappointed child, realiz-

ing theres no milk or her breakast ce-

real, is allowed to eat a letover bowl o

mac and cheese. Another daughter is al-

lowed to dress in her nest and perorm

a ballet. Mamas Creation has been thetitle o some winner dinnersand some

never to be repeated. Negotiations with

strong-willed amily members oten re-

quire creativity to remain positive, yet

its so worth it.

Admire creativity in others and humbly

appreciate your own creative outcomes.Then God looked over all he had made,

and he saw that it was excellent in every

way (Gen 1:31). The Creator took time

each day to acknowledge it was good.

Remember that you are part o the re-

markable creation that he declared as

good.

rebmuNegaPdraobpilC

rebmuNegaPdraobpilC

It Is Goodby Gina McIsaac

10

g


11/16

For more information visit:

mychristchurch.com/thejourney

11

Saturday, October 209:30am - 3:30pm

Featuring :Cynthia Heald

Author, Speaker, & Bible Teacher

Early Registration: $20

Humble and approachable, down to earth, yet able to teach

with gentle authority, Cynthia Heald has enjoyed a relationship

with Jesus Christ since she was twelve years old. A trusted Bible

teacher, writer, and speaker both nationally and internationally,Cynthia says,

My ministry is simply being an older woman who does take joy

in teaching younger women. If you have been through one of my

Bible studies, I am honored to be a small part of your life. If you

have not, welcome to becoming a woman who desires Him more

than anything on earth.

Your day will include:Continental breakfast and lunch

Outstanding worship musicTwo sessions with Cynthia Heald and a Q&ABreakout sessions for women in every season of life


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When I was pregnant, I was unable

to imagine this creature growing in

my bellyeven with the help of ultra-sound images. My pre-mom notion of

babies was quite simple: large, bald

head on a tiny body, which the ultra-

sound basically conrmed. But my

daughter in the esh was so much

more complex. Her newborn head

was covered in silky black hair, and

her tan, shriveled skin had a soft,downy layer like a just-hatched chick

whose feathers hadnt come in. She

was the most astonishing little per-

son. Talk about a failure of imagina-

tion!

The older I get, the more I realize

how lacking I am in imagination. Awhile back, I started a book club with

friends and have been reading books

chosen by others. Branching out has

been fun and sometimes challenging,

since I generally read nonction, and

Ive been astonished by the unique

imagination of ction writers. I cant

fathom conceiving the world of The

Hunger Games or the characters of

The Help. Years ago I gave ction

writing a shot, but my stories were

too autobiographical and derivative.

To a certain degree, all human sto-

ries are recycled and recyclable:

What has been will be again, what

has been done will be done again;

there is nothing new under the sun

(Eccl. 1:9, NIV). But the work of God,

maker of the sun, is utterly original. I

love the opening passages of Gen-

esis, wherein God begins with two in-

gredientsa vast, formless void and

his spoken Wordand sets our uni-

verse in motion (Gen. 1-2). I marvel

at Gods imagination manifest in the

vast Milky Way of stars, trees, rocks,

cells, molecules, atoms, subatomicparticles. I marvel at Gods imagi-

nation manifest in things we cant

necessarily perceive with senses:

thoughts, truth, time, longing, love.

How astonishing that God calleth

those things which be not as though

they were (Rom. 4:17b, KJV).

On creation day six, God created

man in his own image, in the image

of God he created him; male and fe-

male he created them (Gen. 1:27,

NIV). This part of the creation ac-

count gives me chills: that the Cre-

ator, whose ways and thoughts are

innitely higher than ours (Is. 55:9),nonetheless made people in his own

creative image. The human impulse

to create, whether one is prepared to

acknowledge it, reects our Creators

imaginative idea of making us in his

image.

As

ThoughTheyWereby Emily Climaco


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People who do creative work of-

ten sense the creative impulse as

something outside themsome va-

por that moves through them. They

might wait on a muse or spark of

imagination (or drugs or alcohol) to

offer a new idea to sculpt, compose,

cook, or design. D. H. Lawrence en-

capsulated this well: Not I, not I, but

the wind that blows through me. In

studying lots of writers and poets,

many of whom are atheists, Ive yet

to come across one who claims to

create within the vacuum of his or

her own mind. Although they may not

believe in unseen inuences around

them, they sense creative inspiration

as something mysteriously exterior.

An essential portion of any artists

labor is not creation so much as in-

vocation. Part of the work cannot be

made, it must be received . . . LewisHyde explains (see The Gift).

What a gift that artists who serve

Christ have the original source of in-

spiration at their disposal: the very

breath of heaven, the Holy Spirit,

not merely passing by for a time

but inside them. Abolitionist HarrietBeecher Stowe said of her best-sell-

ing novel, Uncle Toms Cabin, I did

not write it. God wrote it. I merely did

his dictation. In spite of the novels

complicated nature (regardingprob-

lematic views of race), I appreciate

the succinct and unassuming way

Stowe deects the authorship fromherself. Perhaps the creative inspi-

ration was felt so powerfully that she

was unable to take fair credit for the

work. In any case, some would argue

her novel precipitated the American

Civil War, which put an end to slav-

ery in our country, which made the

idea of achieving racial equality not

only possible but alsoto put it in

practical termsno longer illegal. A

pretty big cultural impact for a work

of imagination!

All of this leads me to wonder: what

would Christians accomplish if we all

used our creativity to imagine Gods

will be done, his kingdom come, on

earth as it is in heaven? As Bran-

don OBrien states, From beginning

to end, the Bible calls us to adopt a

sanctied imagination that helps us

look beyond our own experience

(see Scandal of the Evangelical

Imagination). The challenge inher-

ent in being created in the image of

our Creator is not just to see things

through the lens of godly creativity

but to dream of the kingdom of God

as within [our] midst (Luke 17:21b).

No doubt God is able to do immea-

surably more than all we ask or imag-

ine (Eph. 3:20-21). While we can

never out-imagine God, I believe we

would move mountains if we allowed

faith to permeate our imaginationand infused more godly imagination

into our faith, calling things that arent

as though they were.g


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God of All Creation Water, Earth, and SkyWe asked members of the Journey Team at Christ Church, what is your

favorite part of Gods creation? Heres what they said:

I love to see the beauty of the trees andowers each morning on my walk.

-Betty Nelson, seamstress, mom, and grandmother

Sunrises and sunsets!-Marcy Bitner, homeschooling mom, wife, health nut

The moon and starsand the rainbow!

-Barbara Givens, mom, grandmother, quilter andfabric lover

And God created the animals: how awe-some that God knew what we were to nameeach one, and that they would provide foodand comfort!

-Chris Phillips, grandmother with a gratefulheart

Sunsetsa glimpse of God at the end ofthe day reminding us we have his peace andall is well.

-Marsha Heffner, mom, volunteer, just an average Jo!

I love the morning as the sun rises andtheres dew on the ground. Its like God issaying its a brand new day and I can expectgood things in my day. The steadfast love ofthe Lord is new every morning!

-Linda Jones, Journey Conference Coordinator


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Creativity Happensby Mim Phillips

[T]ake a good hard look atJesus. Hes the centerpiece

of everything we believe,

faithful in everything God

gave him to do. Moses was

also faithful, but Jesus gets

far more honor. A builder is

more valuable than a build-

ing any day. Every house has

a builder, but the Builder be-

hind them all is God.

Heb. 3:1-4, The Message

g

15

I cant imagine a world without creativ-

ity, without possibilities and dreams. In

my world, creative people dont sleepvery much. They listen, they think,

and they get out of the way. By set-

ting aside ego and letting God work

through hearts, hands, and minds,

amazing things happen.

I like hanging around creative people

when creativity is happeningand

even when it isnt. Dont get me wrong,

but they really are more interesting to

be around. Hang around a small child

and listen to his or her stories, or, for

that matter, spend an afternoon with a

couple of artists and youll get inspired

too.

When I work, I ask God to ll me andgive me creativity. When it happens,

its like a spark plug. It just ignites.

Sometimes its when Im running or

when I put pen to paper or just begin

doing it. In college I was trained, and

as a professional interior designer for

the last 18 years, Ive been given

opportunities to create and design in

commercial and residential projects.

But my real job is to listen. Then cre-

ate. Then listen more.

What happens amidst all the messis time and detail, but really creative

people love the process, the time

and the detail. And we build on it and

build on it until the nal outcome is

delivered. And it becomes what was

dreamed of, or at least hoped for.

And sometimes its inspiring or given

the ahh moment.

Someone asked me how I instilled

creativity into our now-grown sons. I

dont think I did. Ok, minimalmay-

be. Other than laying large sheets

of paper all over my kitchen oor,

handing them crayon and pencil,

and encouraging them, the rest was

up to them. My husband reminded

me that I did oppose the kids school

assignments that required them to

color within the lines on pre-drawn

handouts. My thought was, Just let

the child draw the object and then

color it! Did I facilitate creativity?

Perhaps, and then it just persever-

ates.

If you think about it, God allows us to

create. Giving us an amazing world

of inspiration, he offers our whole life

to create. I hope your life gives way

to creativity.

{{


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339FrankS

cottParkwayEast

FairviewHeights,IL62208

between the lines - summer 2012 volume 2, issue 3

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