January 2024

Many people, especially writers, chose a one-word theme each year. Do you do this? I do occasionally. But this year, a word chose me—hidden. God whispered it in my ear twice in December. First, through a devotional by Elyse Fitzpatrick. Then again, through a conversation with my mentor and friend, author Heather Holleman.

The Apostal Paul reminds us of our hiding place, “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

We tend to fragment life into the sacred and secular, worship and work, when in reality, God made all of nature supernatural. The spiritual and material coexist in creation. We should never undervalue even the most menial tasks. When done with the right attitude for God’s glory, these are sacred trusts and acts of worship. Here’s an acrostic the Lord gave me for the word hidden:

Held

In
Divine

Dedication

Even

Now

Through my eight-year journey to bring you Choose Now to Grow Grand, Not Old, I’ve buried my basement. It’s the catch-all space in my house where we toss stuff because we aren’t using it and don’t know who needs it. Certainly, we don’t; if we did, we wouldn’t have put it there to begin with. Can you relate? My save-it-for-a-rainy-day storage plan devolved into a deluge.

Since my first book discusses the blessings of downsizing, instead of burdening children with junk, I’m going into hiding to practice what I preach. Abba is sending me to my room until it’s clean, lol! I’ve been meditating on this verse from Ecclesiastes, “a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together,” Ecclesiastes 3:5.

I’d like to think I’m the one wise woman King Salomon never met, but, in truth, I just teri-phrase things. My version goes a time to clutter and a time to clean. Another Terri, Terri Lynn Schump, a sister in the Wellspring Writers group I’m part of, says, “A time to expand and a time to contract.” So, I’m cleaning, contracting, and casting away stones in my basement.

If you study the context of the word hidden in Colossians 3, you will see Paul is calling us to progressive sanctification—learning to live Christ-like. The Lord entrusts all of us with material possessions. The stuff in my basement belongs to Him, and I need to manage His property better. If Bill and I aren’t using it, I must pass it on to someone who will.

So, as an obedient child, I descend the stairs to hide, not in my basement; I’m hiding in Christ.

Therefore, I will not be blogging for a while.

Since my blah, blah blogging won’t be cluttering your inbox, you have a few extra moments a month to join me and clean out something in your home, if you want, or read something by those incredible Christian women I mentioned at the beginning of this epistle. Follow the links and see what these ladies have written.  

Until my basement is tidy, Happy New Year! And Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter . . . you get the idea. I trust you’ll keep steeping in truth with me by daily reading God’s Word.

Blessings!

teri