Jalene and I recently moved back to the city after having lived in the much smaller town of Three Hills. There are many differences between city and town, and perhaps my least favourite of them is the traffic. In the past several months I have found myself sitting in a line up of vehicles staring into the distance, able to see my destination, and being struck with the thought that it would be faster to walk than drive to my destination! My second consideration is that if I just pulled out of the line of traffic, if I just stopped following the masses, I could forge my own way ahead and reach my destination sooner (apparently I need to grow in patience), can you relate?

We are often forced into following. We wait our turns in traffic, line ups, or follow the mechanical voice of Siri guiding us along freeways and boulevards so we can get to where we need to go. It is also common for us to follow without giving much or any  consideration to the fact that we are following.

In my observation, we live in a culture where we are constantly asked to follow. This invitation is often subtle, yet makes significant effects on how we live our lives. We are invited to follow the masses into obtaining what our culture calls, “the good life”: the realization of perfect outcomes. The perfect job with the perfect income; the perfect career highlighted by achieving perfect and significant results;  the perfect spouse and perfect children; the perfect house, and possessions; the perfect body and perfect health. And all of these are to be realized in a perfect state of bliss, happiness and contentment. The “good life”.

Have you realized this, “good life” yet? Have you found yourself following after it?

Following our North American culture’s idea of this “good life” can lead to fatigue, frustration, hurt, envy, strife… the list goes on (and includes depression, anxiety, and burn out), because one of many problems with this idea of the “good life”, is that it is inviting people to follow and to chase after something that can never be realized. This “good life” is built upon the reality that it is unachievable. There will always be more, there will always be an imperfection, a blemish, a relational conflict, a failure. Yet we run and follow after this as if it will somehow soon be realized and our hearts then satisfied. 

I was stuck this week as I studied Ephesians to read that the Apostle Paul characterizes the Christian walk as being one which is no longer following the culture. He writes in Ephesians 2, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world…” The invitation made in Ephesians, and throughout Scripture, is for us, all of us, to “unfollow” this world, and instead follow Christ. The invitation is to walk in a different way, and for the way of the world to be one in which we once walked but do not currently walk. 

Not a week goes by that I don’t hear the subtle invitation of culture, that I don’t feel in my heart a pull follow after “the good life”. But Jesus is also calling, Jesus is inviting me to to follow His way, to walk his way. Friends, if we believe that God is the author of life, if we believe that Jesus came to give us life and life to the full, we must realize that the longings inside of us can only be satisfied by the one who designed us to have them, that they can only be satisfied by God.

Our lives then become a journeying with God and following in HIS ways. Ephesians 2 goes on to say these familiar words,

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

When we follow his ways we recognize that we are his work (that he has designed us and has a plan and purpose for our existence, and has worked salvation for and in us), and that we get to participate in HIS GOOD WORK. This good work is the context by which we are to go to work, spend time with our families, shop at the grocery store, attend church, and rush about the endless to-do list. The work is no longer an end to the unachievable means of cultures “good life”, rather the work becomes (when engaging in it with God), participation in His good work. No matter our context we engage in our work as working for God, and in doing so we work with him, extending his grace, mercy, love, kindness, and character towards those around us.

So let us consider the way we are walking, let us consider what or who we are following. I pray that you will join with me in seeking to be one who has unfollowed this culture, and is following Jesus, participating in His good work.

-Adam Foster

She throws wide the door in our office, with bags on her shoulders and a big arrangement of flowers all wrapped in plastic to keep them safe from the bitter cold outside.
… This woman with the beautiful smile and courageous spirit that I’ve had the privilege of working alongside for only mere weeks – and she thrusts the flowers and their sweet fragrance of spring that is still coming towards me with a grin. I catch a glimpse of the name on the card. My name.
“I thought you might need a little ‘pick-me-up’ this week,” she says and continues unloading her things.

…I stand there quiet holding the arrangement of purple’s and yellows, gently unwrapping the plastic that has kept them safe on their way to me. My heart is quiet, and full, and uncomfortable, and delighted all at the same time… someone with whom I have only rubbed shoulders with for such a brief time thought of me? I thank her for the third or fourth time and my words seem flat compared to the emotion in my soul. I didn’t realize that a simple gesture of kindness could stir such deep places within me.

It is only a few nights later that I sit with my broken-legged husband, snuggled close watching ‘Hacksaw Ridge.’ Silent tears stream down my cheeks as I watch in all its raw horror and glory the bond between men at war…none is there for his own gain…all for the brother beside him, and them for him. And this film based on the true life events of one Desmond T. Doss, a pacifist who refused to take life, but who willingly risked his own in order to save others… his story presses on something deep within me. In the midst of enemy territory, fighting exhaustion, fear, and trauma – he continues to push himself to the frontline of battle praying ‘Please Lord, help me get one more.’

And with my sweet husbands arms around me and holding me close, my eyes look to the arrangement of flowers in the kitchen, and my mind is ushered back a few years before when I cried out in prayer before God. I can still taste the bitter tears that came in the midst of pain and uncertainty… when anxiety and depression threatened to close in on me, and I remember between sobs uttering a deep fear that masked a holy longing.

I don’t want to be alone.

… Because even when we are surrounded we can feel utterly desolate. Pain and fear and brokenness all tempt us to build walls around our hearts like a fortress that enables us to engage with life only from the watch tower but never to enter in.

And isn’t that the one thing that all of our hearts are desperately searching for?
… to belong?

Isn’t this the very longing that Christ fulfills absolutely? He cried out in intercession on our behalf before He laid down His life for us saying,

“…I pray for those who will believe in me through [the disciples] message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent Me… may they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.”
-John 17:20b-21,23NIV-

Beloved, you belong.
(I speak this to myself today too…  Lord knows this weary soul needs to hear it)
Because this life in Christ isn’t lived out individually. He is the head, and we are His body. And everyone searching for ‘something’ in this life, is really just searching to know that they belong… to feel the arms of Christ wrap round, His hands reach out, His voice whisper love, and His feet guide the way. And friends … we are those arms and hands and voices and feet.
… and sometimes we live like we are all alone in need of no one, yet desperately longing for someone.

The gift of flowers? … a simple gesture of kindness that has the power to tear down walls built up round our hearts. The kind of gesture that stirs deep longing and whispers the Truth that is often forgotten but one desperately needs to cling to.
you are seen.
you are loved.
you belong.

And the prayers of that courageous soldier? … an invitation to enter in… to walk beside… to lay down our lives for the brother that walks beside and to receive the laying down of another life for us… We are not our own… but part of His glorious body. Isn’t it the same blood that pumps life through our veins?
We belong to Him.
We belong to one another.

And those who are still searching? … home is where He is, and where He is, is where we are. And His arms, hands, voice, and feet… they look an awfully lot like yours and mine.
We are the Beloved of Christ that we might Be Love to those in this world.
I pray that today you would remember that you are a member of the body of Jesus.
Go therefore and give yourself away today in love to the brother next to you… and may we echo the prayer of Desmond T. Doss… “Please Lord, help me get [help me love… help me give grace… help me reach] one more.” …. that we might all know what it is like to truly be home.

— Jalene Elsa

What if we weren’t afraid to be broken?
What if we stopped hiding, stopped pretending, stopped averting our gaze from the brokenness all around us… the brokenness within us?

These questions whisper in the depths of my own broken heart and I wonder if this is even possible…

… To tear down the white washed walls that I have built up around my broken heart, that shield my eyes and deaden cries that testify of my being worn, and torn… apart.

I place the guitar in my lap and scribble these words on a blank page… and the rawness of them feels like a bright light in the eyes of my soul that has grown accustomed to hiding in the dark.

We war against the imperfections, the disappointments, the losses… all the chards of brokenness that mar these hearts in which eternity was set… and yet we forget that our King is both Lion & Lamb… that His risen hands still bear the scars that offer life and life abundantly… and we turn our eyes from following steadfastly in the footsteps of the Servant and Master that we follow… as if to say that because He is Risen, we no longer have to die.

Yet His voice beckons us to follow… through the narrow gate… the road that is narrow and difficult, the Way that calls us to lay down our lives again and again, that we might be raised again with Him. We cannot rise if we do not die. And death no longer has the final say.

I have lived white knuckled holding on to my life; fearing the brokenness of my own wayward mind, body, and soul and trying desperately to grasp for some bit of control.

But if we cling to our lives… we. will. lose. them.
Yet, if we let go of our lives for the sake of Christ… we will find them. We will find Him.
and those nail scarred hands are big enough for all of our brokenness put together and able to form a cistern that is filled with living water.

And those cracks within our hearts?
… maybe their jagged edges will allow water to trickle down like rain on those who are thirsting for the life to the full that was promised and draw them to the One who is whispering to their own broken hearts to come and cast themselves fully upon Him.

— Jalene Elsa

Three Hills was quiet this new years eve, and knowing our tendency not to make it until midnight to welcome in the coming year, we decided to follow suit and have a quiet night in.
… While we would be quick to admit that we aren’t necessarily the life of the party, we would scoff at the accusation of not being any fun just because we can’t make it to midnight. (Hence our turning our dining room into a dance floor and spinning vinyl to welcome in 2017!… even if it was at 10 o’clock )

In-between dancing to the musical brilliance of Ray Charles, Norah Jones, Emmy-Lou Harris, and Taylor Swift (yes – guilty pleasure for us both!) we, like many of you, took some time to reflect on the year past and dream about the one ahead.

It has been a very full 2016, and 2017 only seems to be gaining speed. This past year, Jalene graduated from Prairie College with her music & worship arts diploma after 2 intense years of writing, learning, growing, and healing. Adam is now entering his last semester of his undergraduate degree in Pastoral Ministry and beginning to start the journey of seeking out what is ahead for our family as we move towards vocational ministry.

2016 was also the beginning of ‘Elsa & Foster,’ the re-branding of our music & speaking ministry to which we have felt God calling us into. (Want to know more about the heart behind Elsa & Foster? click here)  As we look back over the past few years, we have felt a continual call to be faithful with the gifting of music that God has given us. This birthed our first album, ‘Only One Thing is Needed,’ in 2013, and prompted Jalene to begin formal education in music & songwriting in 2014. In the past few years we have had few opportunities to share our music with others, and in the midst of a difficult season for us a few years ago we had little reserves and energy to try to ‘push’ making something happen with music. Yet, as we have continued to be faithful to God’s leading & stewarding our gifts in each season, this past year we have seen doors begin to open before us with music that we are excited to walk through.

In this past year, we have had the privilege of recording Jalene’s solo EP, ‘Still’, which has been playing on Shine FM in Calgary, Edmonton, and Red Deer AB, as well as having the opportunity to speak & share our music in various settings. Adam was able to spend a few weeks out at Camp Caroline this summer, teaching God’s word to Grade 4/5/6 campers, high school students, and staff, as well as preaching in multiple rural churches near our home in Three Hills and Steele Heights Church in Edmonton. Jalene was thrilled to be able share her heart and music from a difficult season with a group of women from Calgary, as well as with women recovering from addiction at Hope Mission in Edmonton. Elsa & Foster have been able to lead worship in camp & conference settings and meet some really amazing people this year.

As we look ahead to 2017 we are so excited for doors that have been opening with music & pray that we can continue to be diligent and faithful in stewarding music & writing well in this season as we anticipate the changes that will come with Adam finishing his schooling.
See some of our upcoming events in the new year here.

We want to thank all of you for your support and love as we have walked this journey in music & teaching. Our heart is that we would authentically be able to minister the hope and promise that we have in Jesus to hearts that need refreshing in this wilderness of life that we walk through. Christ has been our sustainer and our joy in the valley, and the glory that we bask in when our feet stand firmly atop the mountains in this life.

We pray that alongside all of you that we would know…

‘…the hope of His calling, the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ…For it is by grace [we] have been saved through faith, and that not of [ourselves]; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.’ 
   — Ephesians 1:18-20,2:8-9 NKJV

All our love,

— Jalene Elsa & Adam Foster

 

Recently I was reading Psalm 46, carefully and slowly. It has come to be a familiar Psalm, not nearly as famous as Psalm 13 or Psalm 23. Yet one of its verses has obtained stardom and been placed on many living room walls, Facebook posts, and in our Christian songs. “Be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10. I am sure you have heard this or read this before. It has become a pretext to times of mediation and silence and is often read out as an instruction to groups of people who all too often have trouble being still; me being one of them.

Normally I read this Psalm skimming for its celebrity verse, scanning the stanzas looking for verse 10 so that I may feel comfort by its beckoning and familiarity. Yet during this particular reading I was struck (as many of us often are struck with scripture) by the verses context. Here is why:

I am guilty of placing stillness in the context of retreat and vacation or, in its most accessible form, a Sunday morning worship service. I view stillness as a privilege within specific time which has made it a commodity. I feel that many can relate to me as I look at a culture which defines success in terms of busyness. This observation of stillness only being found in retreat led me to ask, “what if I cannot retreat?” It is the day to day busyness, the demands, the chaos of getting out the door in the morning that often lead us to ache for retreat, for stillness. But lets get back to Psalm 46.

 

God’s instruction to us to be still (verse 10) comes in the most unstill of contexts. We have times of  trouble mentioned (1), mountains being tossed into the sea (2), roaring waters, and trembling mountains (3). Each of these a metaphor for the uncontrollable chaos we encounter in our lives, a chaos that we can not simply get away from. How often do we find ourselves facing such situations where things we thought couldn’t change, changed? Health disappearing from you or a loved one, finances which were always there somehow depleted, family which was always there to rely on being a source of deep hurt and frustration, a stable career being threatened… the list goes on and on. Each of these leaving us longing for rest, retreat, stillness, but feeling as though we can not even visit these until the dust of the crashing mountains have settled. Stillness has become a privilege.

Notice though that there is no call in this Psalm to retreat or run away from the surrounding chaos. There is no instruction to seek an all-inclusive resort nor to escape for the Majestic Rockies for a personal retreat. There is very simply an instruction to be still. God instructs us to take whatever sliver of time we can find in the midst of chaos, and to be still and know that He is God. These slivers of time are times of reorientation, times of taking ones focus off of chaos and placing it on God. It is the sliver of time which God is pointing out in this Psalm. When mountains are crashing into the sea, when trouble is closing in, God has allowed for slivers, moments in which to be still. It is these moments which he commands us to enter into, “Be still and know that I am God.”

My prayer is that God will help me to see these slivers of time, these opportunities to be still, if only for a moment, and to engage with them. If sitting in traffic, by a hospital bed, running to the bathroom between terrible business meetings, these slivers of time beckon us to stop thinking that keeping the mountains from crashing into the seas is somehow all our responsibility.

Retreat or holiday is not always an option, though I wish it were! This Psalm invites to see that our stillness is not dependent on retreating, but rather on taking moments, moments surrounded by chaos, to be still and know that God is God. God’s invitation in this Psalm is an invitation we need to hear within the chaos of our lives. If we cannot do that, we will continue to reserve stillness for specific contexts and consequently miss out on stillness in the midst of chaos.

This Psalm ends with a joyful cry. There is no indication that trouble has gone, or that the mountain’s devastating dust has settled. No. The only indication of change we read about is that the Psalmist has heeded God’s command and chosen stillness. From this place of reorientation he cries out, “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” Perhaps such an assurance is one which you need today.

-Adam Foster

I sit in the light of the morning autumn sun, mesmerized by the steam of my coffee dancing like the leaves out my window.

Fall captures my senses like no other season; leaves turn vibrant colours, the cool air feels crisp on my skin and fresh in my lungs, and all gets quiet in preparation for winter. It is a season of hot beverages, crunching leaves, and giving thanks for the flutter of activity in farmers fields as the harvest comes in.

… It is both a season of great beauty & a season of preparation to be covered up by the cold of winter. Can it be that a season marked by the perishing of all that summer sustained can be so beautiful?

I can’t help but parallel our lives to this Autumn season; characterized by both beauty & brevity.

We often live in one of two extremes when it comes to the reality of the brevity of this life.

We ignore it.
Or
We fear it.

Both of these perspectives rob us of the beauty in this brief season, enslave us to fear, and render us ineffective to walk in the destiny that God has for us right here and now. Is there another way?

Beloved One – consider how the leaves loosen their grip on the branches they once clung too, dance to the ground upon a breeze, and are covered by the white of winter.

Likewise, the Spirit of Truth whispers like the wind and invites us to continually ‘let go’ to all that we desperately cling to, to trust that God will gently carry us, and cover us in His Grace & Promise.

The world around us shouts the message that right now is all that we have. (Y.O.L.O sound familiar?) But there is another voice of greater consequence that whispers another message.

Right now is a gift; a season of preparation that is of great importance.
… but it is only Autumn.
Indeed, Spring is still on its way.

‘Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.’
[1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT]

Lord Jesus – My prayer for us today is that You will open our eyes to glimpse what You see. Our perspective is so finite & limited. We fear so easily…and You know that there is much to be afraid of when our focus is on the things of this world. Remind us today of the story that each of us is apart of – the story You have been writing since the beginning of time. Remind us that we do not walk alone, but in the footsteps of so many who have gone before us – and for thousands of years! ‘We know that we [belong to You], and that the whole world lies under the sway of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is TRUE; and we ARE IN Him who is True, in His Son Jesus Christ.’
(1 John 5:20 NKJV)
– Amen

May you walk with me today, like a leaf among the breeze, trusting in the care of our Heavenly Father and letting go of all else that we cling to that we might hold tightly to the Truth of who God is & the hope that is ours who have put our trust in Him.

Spring is Coming.

— Jalene Elsa

For your further study:

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
— Revelations 21:3-5

“Because God’s children are human beings-  made of flesh and blood- the Son [Jesus] also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could He die, and only by dying could He break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could He set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.”
— Hebrews 2:14-15 (NLT)

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me [Jesus]. There is more than enough room in my Father’s house. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going….I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
— John 14:1-6 (NLT)

“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are Mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you…You have been chosen to know me, believe in Me, and understand that I alone am God…For I am about to do something new. See I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland…so my people can be refreshed”
— Isaiah 43:1-2,10,18-20 (NLT)