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- SHERYL & STEVE FROEHLICH - LIVING THE STORY THAT GOD'S GRACE IS ENOUGH
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Fridays with Froehlichs #7 |
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Let the games begin. Yes, the Olympics |
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But also our Froehlich adventure to Albuquerque and South Africa. A newly discovered Swedish word captures perfectly how we are feeling in this moment, Resfeber. |
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Steve arrived safely in ABQ on Aug 1 – he is now officially the interim (part-time) pastor of Mosaic Church. He’ll fly back to Ithaca on Aug 26 to then turn around and drive back out to ABQ with Sheryl and Luci. 1,922 miles (per Google Maps). We then fly to Stellenbosch on Sept 12 and return to ABQ Oct 4 to continue our service at Mosaic until sometime in the Spring of 2025. So, as Sherlock would say, “the game’s afoot.”
The Olympics, and actually all competition, is marked by unexpected triumph and heart-breaking defeat. The athletes have trained and sacrificed for the opportunity to win, to conquer, to wear the laurels atop the victory stand. The goal of each participant is to triumph, to succeed.
When the Apostle Paul uses the games as a metaphor for our lives, he picks up on the virtues of discipline and courage. But his underlying question is: does winning matter? That question is answered differently by the 2 feature characters in the film Chariots of Fire. |
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For Harold Abrams, the self-focused, mechanical, technically-disciplined runner, the winning is all:
“And now in one hour's time, I will be out there again. I will raise my eyes and look down that corridor; 4 feet wide, with 10 lonely seconds to justify my existence. But will I?”
By contrast, for the flailing, unorthodox Scotsman, Eric Liddell, the running is all.
“God has made me fast, and when I run, I feel his pleasure.”
For those of us who try to live our lives as followers of Jesus, this contrast is critical. All of us are bent to want to win, to meet our expectations… or worse yet, the expectations of others.
As we set out on this latest adventure, those nagging voices inside are chirping away: “Are you good enough, will you succeed, will people be happy with the service you offer, do you still have what it takes (if you ever did)?”
We suspect you are familiar with those voices.
It's not that we are half-hearted about preparing to serve well. But we are answering those internal critics by saying, “We want to run well more than prove how good we are.”
Michael Chang, the tenacious, indefatigable US tennis player was once asked about his sense of accomplishment as a professional athlete. He replied (this is a paraphrase), “Of course I enjoy winning. But your question implies that tennis and my success in tennis define who I am. They don’t. Who I am has been defined by what Jesus has accomplished for me.”
God tells us that Jesus has accomplished all that he has asked of us – Jesus is the only person who has perfectly kept the covenant between God and humans. Our performance or success cannot add anything to his righteous perfection that robes us by his grace and mercy. Jesus has won the war against all that is evil in the world, and we can add nothing to that victory by our effort, anger, or self-determination even as we are committed to living courageously and sacrificially with righteousness, justice, and peace. The prize
Of course we don’t want to do a faceplant in the desert or in Stellenbosch. But we are eager to run with joy and hope in the footsteps of the greatest of all Champions. |
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Pain has been on our mind these past months. Migraines. Recovery from shoulder surgery. Poison Ivy. Bug bites. Neuropathy. Our pain is real, and so is yours. Some of the discomforts we face come and go. Others persist in a way that seems to compound the anguish. Sometimes we are reduced to tears and despair. In spite of advertising promises, the unavoidable truth is that humans lack the power or ingenuity to make all our troubles go away. We are stuck with many uncomfortable things that will not change in this life. But, we may endure with hope. We have found encouragement in these words, and perhaps you will, too. |
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Chris Hutchinson is a pastoral colleague of Steve’s. He serves a church in VA. We’ve previously pointed you to his book on Humility and to his sermon, “Praying for the Peace of Jerusalem.” Both are excellent. Recently Chris posted this self-reflection on living faithfully with hardship.
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I'm entering my 6th year of chronic pain from post-Lyme. Here are some things I try to do when my pain is especially bad:
1) ask for extra prayer
2) pray more for others who suffer
3) talk to my MD
4) fight envy & bitterness
5) pray for attending angels w/o embarrassment
6) hold out hope for eventual healing
7) think about heaven. pain will not get the final word
8) take extra meds, as needed, with care
9) take it easy. try not to let the sounds of my own wheels drive me crazy
10) live for another day
11) find ONE thing a day to try to help someone else. Even if it is just one thing. That is enough.
12) One more. I pray for my wife. Remember spouses and the primary care givers of the chronically ill. Theirs is a special sort of silent suffering and service. |
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“This is the most important election in American history.” |
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This claim is almost certainly trotted out in every American political cycle, this year being no exception.
It’s not true. Or, we have no informed way of knowing whether history in 50 years will prove it to be true or not.
Sensationalized claims like this gin up false anxiety and obscure important ideas we should be considering. Headline claims like this, usually in pointing to extremes, often distract us from appreciating what actually is going on in the world. Or, from appreciating how our everyday lives matter both in loving God and in loving our neighbors.
We’d like to point you to three resources for your consideration.
 John Inazu,
Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law & Religion and Professor of Political Science at Washington University in St Louis, is the author of three non-academic books for lay readers: Confident Pluralism (2016), Uncommon Ground (2021 with Tim Keller), and Learning to Disagree (2024).
 Learning to Disagree
Given our wildly polarized culture (in churches and communities), few topics could be more timely for our relationships and sanctification than recovering the principled discipline of learning how to disagree.
In conjunction with the release of Learning to Disagree, The Trinity Forum hosted Inazu for a conversation about his new book. We think it’s a good investment of an hour especially if you don’t have time to read the book.
 Richard Mouw,
professor of faith and public life at Fuller Theological Seminary, is a seasoned voice in the Church, a theologian with a pastor’s heart that we respect immensely. Like Inazu, he has called Christians to recover the Christ-like practice of civil discourse. The Trinity Forum invited him recently to speak on the topic, "How to Be a Patriotic Christian." We are in a moment in which political and spiritual loyalties are being confused, much to the detriment of our faithful witness for Christ. We believe listening to this conversation will challenge you (as it did us) and offer some wisdom and encouragement (as it did us).
 Michael Bird,
professor of Theology and New Testament at Ridley College in Brisbane, Australia. Bird is a first rate biblical scholar with a great sense of humor (with a dash of Aussie irreverence) and a keen awareness of what’s important in our moment. We’d commend his short Substack essay, “Christianity All the Way Down.” He’s responding to and disagreeing with an historian who asserts that Christianity is the root of what’s wrong with the world. In replying Bird applauds the magisterial work of historian, Tom Holland, who documents in his recent work, Dominion, how Christianity continues to inform the breadth of Western culture. Bird does a nice job of suggesting answers to some of the objections being made about Christianity. He also offers a window into what the Spirit of God is doing in unexpected places (more examples of the wind blowing where it will). One reason his essay is helpful is that he touches on some issues that are being exploited in the Church and culture to polarize us.
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JONATHAN & LIZ GET MARRIED
On July 7, our son, Jonathan, married Liz Fogarty in the beautiful Adirondacks of NY. Liz is a senior researcher at Cornell. Her long-time work with mRNA contributed significantly to the mobilization of the COVID vaccine. Liz's son, Ollie, is beginning his second year at Clark College in NY. Jonathan is associate director of alumni engagement for the College of Engineering at Cornell. Hayden will begin his college studies this fall at Tompkins Cortland Community College. We are happy for Jonathan & Liz and we love having Liz & Ollie as part of our family.
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PONYTAIL
Yes, a ponytail is a big deal. It means that Sheryl has regained enough range of motion after her shoulder surgery to be able to put both hands behind her head. Woo hoo! Thanks be to God
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ALBUQUERQUE
The adventure has begun! While we are feeling a bit resfeberish, we are also grateful for some amazing provision. Our dear and remarkably gifted college friend, Gene, is planning to arrive around Aug 22 to pick up and load the trailer so that it's ready to roll when Steve returns on Aug 26. Gene will then housesit for the month of September to care for the house and yard. Then, George & Ro arrive Oct 1 to stay until our adventure concludes. George is a retired pastor, and they were praying for a place to stay so they could have extended time with their grandkids in Ithaca. They will also manage our AirBnB turnovers. We are giving thanks to God for this remarkable provision. Here are more details about our time in ABQ.
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July 30
“The people who have taught me the most didn’t think they were my teachers; they just thought they were my friends.”
Bob Goff |
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Lynda called. She has called every year for the past 25 years. On my birthday.
I first met Lynda when Steve started seminary over 35 years ago. She wanted to host a women’s Bible study in her home in Jackson, MS using Kay Arthur’s Precept Bible study materials. Steve & I were on staff with Precept for three years prior to moving to MS, and I was certified by Precept to both lead their Bible studies and to train others nationally to lead. So, at Precept’s recommendation, Lynda called me. (click to keep reading) |
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 For the Life of the World
For the Life of the World: Letters to the Exiles is a 6-part video series (each segment is about 20 minutes) organized to answer the question posed by Orthodox pastoral theologian, Alexander Schmemann: What is salvation for? Contributors include Mako Fujimura, Amy Sherman, Andy Crouch, Anthony Bradley, Frederica Matthews-Green. The series is now available on YouTube is a great tool for small group discussion.
 Strings & Sonnets
Strings & Sonnets is a beautiful collaboration of guitarist, Phil Keaggy, and poet, Malcolm Guite. |
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Benediction
Now may Yahweh, the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth,
who never faints or grows weary,
may this God increase and renew your strength
so that you can go on walking faithfully,
whether in the light or in the darkness.
Amen
From Grace Be With You
by Dale Ralph Davis
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Please take a few moments to browse the website
Grace Unscripted.
Please prayerfully consider supporting our work through Grace Unscripted.
Visit the Support page.
Thank you. |
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Condoleezza Rice, 
