sabbath

no post today ~ enjoy the sabbath

the coming sabbath

“There have been evenings when the light has turned everything silver, and like you, I have stopped at a corner and suddenly staggered with the grace of it all.”

William Stafford

This is how I want to live my life...staggered with the grace of it all.

What staggers you with its beauty? What moves you to celebration...to gratitude....to awe?

Reflect on these things as you move into your sabbath.

grace and peace,
Deb

creation

God, brilliant Lord,
yours is household name.

Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you,
toddlers shout the songs
That drown out enemy talk
and silence atheist babble.

I look at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
your handmade sky-jewelry,
Moon and stars mounted in their settings
Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us?
Why take a second look our way?

Yet we’ve so narrowly missed being gods,
bright with Eden’s dawn light.
You put us in charge of your handcrafted world,
repeated to us your Genesis-charge.
Made us lords of sheep and cattle.,
Even animals out in the wild,
Birds flying and fish swimming,
whales singing in the ocean deeps.

God, brilliant Lord
Your name echoes around the world.

Psalm 8
The Message


I invite you to spend some time with this portion of scripture today. Read it through two times, slowly. Pay attention to what God might be saying to you…just to you, in these words. What draws your heart? Allow yourself some time and space to allow the Spirit to move within you.

Peace,
Deb

listening

Sometimes God speaks to me in a way I can best describe as a gentle nagging. I mean that in the best way. One example was several years ago when I was away. I was in a program that required me to do a 12 day residency. The schedule allowed for us to spend time alone with God. I had asked Him, before I left for the residency, to speak to me. I asked specifically for Him to use this time to speak to me about something I might need to change.

While at dinner one night, I thought about going back for seconds. As I went to move out of my chair, I sensed a word being impressed on my spirit. The word was ‘enough’. It would have been easy for me to dismiss that, but I had asked God to speak to me and I was not going to miss it. I listened. I sat back down. And…you know…it was enough. As I took some time to notice, I was comfortably full.

God didn’t only want to speak to me about my eating. The other time I heard the word ‘enough’ was when I was talking. I am an extrovert, by nature. And…I can be talkative. For the past year or so, I have been noticing that I have not felt the need to talk as much. I think the journey into a more contemplative Christianity has calmed me, changed my way of being in the world.

But, what I heard at the residency was ‘Enough…stop talking unless you are talked to’. My first thought was, “ Wow…are you kidding?” But as that thought passed, I again, remembered that I had asked God to speak and I wanted to listen. I resolved to be quiet. I sat through meals quietly, I didn’t share in the groups, I withheld opinions and thoughts. And you know what? The world didn’t come to an end. Through the silent times, God continued to speak to me about other things. While journaling, truths were revealed that I hadn’t recognized before. Growth was also evident. It was a rich experience for me.

It still amazes me to realize that God is always speaking….I just need to stop and listen.

Grace and Peace,
Deb

awareness

“The world is charged with the grandeur of God”

Gerald Manley


Today, pay attention to the world around you….the beauty of nature, the warmth of summer, the joy of relationships and the ultimate wonder of being loved by Jesus. The grandeur of God is intimately held in all of those things.

Peace,
Deb

trust

trust

When Brooke, my daughter, was in high school, she had a bumper sticker on her car that said:

“Protect me from what I want.”

I don’t know if the person who came up with that saying was a believer or not but I have thought, many times, how that needs to be a constant prayer for me. I seem to have tunnel vision when it comes to my ‘wants’. I also think I know best.

So I’d have these plans and I’d take them to God but what I really was looking for was His stamp of approval. I’d be pretty disappointed if He didn’t quite see it my way.

But, with the perspective of distance and the benefit of hindsight, I can see all the times, when I thought He was withholding things from me, He was protecting me….from what I wanted. I think about how different some things in my life might be and it’s frightening.

God sees the whole picture. I can only see one slice of it. Why, if I know that He loves me more than anyone else ever could…He loves me in a way I cannot even comprehend, why, why, why, can’t I easily trust Him with whatever He allows to come into my life? I ponder how different my life would be if I would live into that reality everyday and not just the hit and miss way that seems to be more the norm for me.


My prayer for today:


God,

Please let me trust you fully today. Let me abandon myself to you and to your plans for my life. Bring to my memory all the times you saved me from what I wanted. Help me to want what you want. Thank you for your love.

Deb

worry

“Worry is praying for what you don’t want.”

Hmmm. Think about that. Worry; something you do that produces nothing but anxiety. I thought back to other times I have worried about something. Did it change the outcome? No. If things turned out badly, my worrying did nothing to change that. And, if they turned out well, I wasted all that energy on something that never came to pass. A huge expenditure of energy with no return, maybe even negative effects when we think about what stress does to us.

And returning to the quote….does ‘worry’ become my prayer? I give more time and attention to what I don’t want to happen than to what I do want to happen. Or another option is going to the extreme of actually leaving the outcome in God’s hands. I know….easier said than done.

But, what a freeing place to camp. Consider what it is that you are choosing to worry about today. Sit quietly, take some deep breaths and release it to God. When you realize that you have picked it back up during the course of the day….breath and release it again. Keep choosing to release.

Grace and peace,
Deb

sabbath

no post today. enjoy the sabbath.

yielding

“…Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you'll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want.”

I Peter 4:1&2


Recently, I read this verse and it caused me to stop and think. I still expect to get my own way. And, when I don’t…..well, let’s say it this way….I may be ‘sitting on the outside but I’m standing on the inside’. In other words, I may be able to semi-hide my frustration to others but I’m feeling it inside. As I continued to think about this, it is a sign of my immaturity.

When you have a child, you know that it’s not good for them to always get their own way. That’s the best way to create a little human being who thinks the world revolves around them and they should always get their way.

Think a moment about Helen Keller. What a small world she lived in until Annie Sullivan came along. Not looking so much at her disability as at her behaviors – acting wild, taking food off other’s plates, having tantrums, Annie puts a stop to it. Helen went through immense suffering during those first few days as her world was turned upside down. The immediate pain was deep and confusing for both she and her family, but Annie had a plan “to prosper her and not to harm”.

The immediate suffering gave birth to a new world for Helen. She opened up to the world of words, symbols and language. She was finally able to give and receive love from her parents…and also Annie. She went on to graduate from college and become a well-known author. That would never have happened without the suffering of letting go of the old self-centered behaviors.

I don’t want to continue to live with the tyranny of being focused on ‘what I want’. I want to be willing to let go of ‘getting my way’ and allow God to mold me, through the disappointments, into someone who is more attuned to what God wants than what I want.

Is this a struggle for you? Do you ever fall victim to the tyranny of needing to get your own way? If so, I invite you to offer that struggle to God and allow the Holy Spirit to begin that work in you.

Grace and peace,
Deb

space

O God, I am seeking
for ways to be,
less encumbered
ways to
simplify my life:
ways to build
s p a c e s and silences
into a full life
of busyness
and noise.

Teach me to find that
quiet center of self
that you have
hidden within me,
a resting in
your presence.

~Jamie Watkins

Over the past two days, I have had conversations with two different women. Each of them spoke of having a recent intimate experience with Jesus. They each had a very different experience, suited to who they were and how God speaks in their lives. They both had tears in their eyes when they reflected on their experiences.

Each of these women has spent time over the last year creating space in their lives for God. They have practiced ‘being’ with him and nurturing their ability to listen to him in silence. Out of this fertile place comes a deeper, richer relationship with Jesus and the increased ability to discern his voice and movements in their lives.

Learning to be silent before God is not easy but it leads us in to a deeper place with Him.

Grace and Peace,
Deb

presence

I Simply Come to be with You

God of earthquake, wind and fire,
and of the still small voice
and of the silence of the silence,
I bring my presence
to your presence
as a gift to you ~
the only gift that I in fact can give~
for all the other gifts
are gifts you have given
which I can but return to you.

I do not come to speak or hear,
I do not come to think or do,
But Lord of Lords, and very God,
I simply come to be with you.

~Anne Shotwell
Why is one of the simplest things God wants from me so hard to do? Give me a task, a job to do and I know how to do that. I know how to start and I know when it’s done. I can measure it. But just ‘being’ with God…how do I measure that? How do I know if it’s been long enough or been of sufficient quality?

When I start to ask questions like this, I know that I am totally missing the point. Once again, I fall back on how I measure His love for me, His approval of me. I forget, all too quickly, that He loves me…period. And that to have me just sit in His presence, no matter how long, no matter how it may feel to me, is, in itself, pleasing to Him. To go to Him and not ask for anything must be very refreshing to Him. Not that He doesn’t teach us to ask; He does want us to ask Him for what we need.

It reminds me of when my children were little. So many times they would come to me to ask me something…”Mom, can I have this…?” "Mom, can I do…?.”…”Mom….” I also remember very sweet times when they would come and sit next to me on the couch. I would get ready for the next question….and there wasn’t one. They just wanted to be next to me. I think that’s what it may be like for God when I just want to get close to him, sit near Him and be in His company….a very sweet time.

If you have never tried just ‘being’ with Him, crawl up in His lap tonight and just sit with Him. Create a sweet time.

Grace and peace,
Deb

being

I would ask that you sit with the words and allow God to speak to you in the way He wants.


Peace,
Deb

O my God,
whom I adore,
help me to become
wholly forgetful of self,
that I may be immovably rooted in you
and calm as though I was already in eternity.

May nothing disturb my peace
or draw me forth from you,
O my unchanging Holy One,
but may I at every moment penetrate more deeply
into the depths of your mystery.

~Elizabeth of the Trinity

serving

This is a theme I will write about often. Why? Because we need it so desperately and so few of us know how to achieve it. Why is it important? Because without it, we lose perspective. We are driven by the things that are urgent but not important and miss what is important. Without it, we are more likely to miss God’s movement in our lives.

As women we spend large amounts of our time taking care of others. We are usually the last ones on the list and when we take time for ourselves, we feel guilty about it. Perhaps you can think of it like this…taking some time for yourself is creating space for God. Creating space for God allows us to deepen our relationship with Him and become more of who He intended us to be.

Consider this quote by Anne Morrow Lindberg:

“For it is only framed in space that beauty blossoms. Only in space are events and objects and people unique and significant – and therefore beautiful. A tree has significance if one sees it against the empty face of sky. A note in music gains significance from the silences on either side. A candle flowers in the space of night. Even small and casual things take on significance if they are washed in space….”

How much space do you have in your life? Can you appreciate the little things, the simplicity of life, the beauty in the small things, the movement of God in your life, the incredible simplicity and complexity of the creation around us? Do you have the space to grow in intimacy with Jesus? To listen to Him speaking into your life?

Invite God to show you how to create some space in your life so that days do not become weeks, weeks, months and months, years all without taking the time to notice what is truly precious.

Peace and Grace,
Deb

space

This is a theme I will write about often. Why? Because we need it so desperately and so few of us know how to achieve it. Why is it important? Because without it, we lose perspective. We are driven by the things that are urgent but not important and miss what is important. Without it, we are more likely to miss God’s movement in our lives.

As women we spend large amounts of our time taking care of others. We are usually the last ones on the list and when we take time for ourselves, we feel guilty about it. Perhaps you can think of it like this…taking some time for yourself is creating space for God. Creating space for God allows us to deepen our relationship with Him and become more of who He intended us to be.

Consider this quote by Anne Morrow Lindberg:

“For it is only framed in space that beauty blossoms. Only in space are events and objects and people unique and significant – and therefore beautiful. A tree has significance if one sees it against the empty face of sky. A note in music gains significance from the silences on either side. A candle flowers in the space of night. Even small and casual things take on significance if they are washed in space….”

How much space do you have in your life? Can you appreciate the little things, the simplicity of life, the beauty in the small things, the movement of God in your life, the incredible simplicity and complexity of the creation around us? Do you have the space to grow in intimacy with Jesus? To listen to Him speaking into your life?

Invite God to show you how to create some space in your life so that days do not become weeks, weeks, months and months, years all without taking the time to notice what is truly precious.

Peace and Grace,
Deb

sabbath

no post today ~ enjoy your sabbath

identity

“You must see what great love the Father has lavi

shed on us by letting us be called God’s children – which is what we are.”

1 John 3:1

Re-read this scripture, slowly. Let the truth of it sink in. The God of the universe has chosen you. He is calling you His own. What can be better than that? I love thinking about this and considering how I might be changing because this reality is more than just an intellectual thought…it is a truth beginning to take hold in my heart.

I wanted to find a way to hold this in a deeper way so I re-wrote it for myself:


“Look and see the great love my Father has lavished on me…by letting me be called ‘His beloved daughter’ – which is what I am.”

Each of us can say this. Take some time today to ponder this treasure from God’s word. Re-write it and make it your own. Let it be one of those truths that moves from your head down into your heart.

Peace from one of His children,
Deb

rest

rest

And so, let me let you hold me
when I have come to the place
beyond the willingness to labor,
beyond anything but the longing for rest.
Let my emptiness be emptiness
till it reveals to me your face
and let my weariness be weariness
till it prompts me to your rest.
Then may I know the healing of the possibility
of dreams and take up my work again.

Jan Richardson

Allow yourself to consider how you might enter into the rest God intends for you.

scripture

I used to read the Bible and sometimes I was moved but more often than not I read it for information. Reading the Bible for information isn’t necessarily bad…it just isn’t the only way and it generally isn’t the way that brings about transformation.

I have had the privilege of sitting with a group of women and teaching them a different method of interacting with scripture. It was a beautiful time as I was able to witness each of them encounter God in a different way. We took a short portion of scripture and allowed God to speak personally and intimately to us. Each heard something different, but each woman heard something profound, just for her. It was a moving experience.

I invite you to read a short Psalm today….read it slowly, a couple of times. Savor it, and allow God to speak to your heart. Pay attention to what He is stirring in you through a word or phrase you are reading. Sit with it for a while and let it sink in. Then, offer it back to Him in prayer. Let Him meet you there in the words.

Peace
Deb

pain

Pain is part of life. There is no way around it. I was talking with someone today and I said, “Tough times are coming.” Not “if’ but “when”….because that is the reality we live with. Sometimes, it seems harder to hold onto God during those painful times. I think how I choose to look at it…what perspective I bring, can either help me or hurt me when I face difficulties. The following quote brings me a beautiful glimpse of God’s love for me in the center of my pain:

In all those dark moments, O God, grant that I may understand that it is you who are painfully parting the fibers of my being in order to be able to penetrate to the very marrow of my being.

Teilhard de Chardin

This prayer rose in my heart as I reflected on this quote.


Lord,
Help me to understand that in the midst of my pain, you are so present. Help me to grasp that my pain is not wasted…that it will be used by You to mold my heart and my being to become more like You. Help me to be content in the midst of the pain and to look for You there. Please change my perspective. Allow me to embrace the place I find myself and may my response always reflect You.Thank you for Your love and care.

Love,
me

How do you look at pain in your life? Do you think you can look at it with this persepctive? It definitely isn't easy but being able to see Jesus, next to you, in a painful sitution can allow you to persevere and surrender to changes He wants to bring about in your life.

Peace,
Deb

intergrity

intergrity

"For when we ask how good a person is we do not ask what they believe or what they hope for but what they live."

Augustine

Everyone has blind spots. We all have those areas of our lives that we are not aware of but others certainly are. One of my concerns is that this quote may speak to one of mine. Do I live what I say I believe?? What if I only think I do?

Haven’t we all met people who speak about what they believe but it is clearly evident to everyone around them that it doesn’t match how they are living…or at least what we can see of it?

How I don’t want this to be true of me! One of my prayers is asking God to reveal the truth that lies deep within my heart that I may not be privy to. I certainly don’t enjoy seeing these things but whenever God opens up one of those dark closets, He does it with gentleness and love…and always for my own good.

May we all strive to be people who live what we say we believe. May the actions of our lives match the words we speak….or don’t speak. I love this quote by St. Francis of Assisi:

“Preach the Gospel and if necessary, use words.”

I think it really can be that simple. People are not so attracted to what we say but by how we walk through life. Today, let your life speak.

Blessings,
Deb

silence

What do you think of when I say the word, “silence’? Does it strike fear into you? Does the idea of not having a radio or tv on, even as background noise, make your palms sweat?

I use to run from silence. I love the sounds that could fill my ears….radio, tv, cd’s, my own voice. It’s not that sound is bad. It's just that in the presence of sound there is the absence of silence….and in the absence of silence, it is nearly impossible to hear God’s still small voice. And I really want to hear His voice.

About four years ago, I began to practice a daily time of silence and solitude. It was so hard in the beginning. My mind would not shut off. I cannot tell you how many times I thought about giving up and just going back to the noise. The noise was known. I felt more in control. But, I stuck with it. Someone told me that God was pleased with my desire to just ‘be’ with Him, without asking for anything, even if I was struggling with the distractions. That was enough to keep me going. The longer I practice it, the better it gets.

Distractions will always be a part of my time in silence but I’ve sensed the Holy Spirit working deep inside and have begun to see some changes. I am convinced it is because I am giving the time to God and surrendering to whatever He wants to do in my life.

If you’ve never tried being silent, I encourage you to try. If you are practicing but have been discouraged, share your struggle with God and keep at it. It is one of the core spiritual disciplines. It allows the Holy Spirit to work within us on a deeper level. Don’t judge your time by what you are experiencing during it but just continue to offer it to God and let Him help you learn to listen to His still small voice.

Peace,
Deb

sabbath

No post today ~ delight in your sabbath

entering sabbath

"The only parameter that is to guide our Sabbath is delight. Will this be merely a break or a joy? Will this lead my heart to wonder or routine? Will I be more grateful or just happy that I got something done?"

Dan Allender ~ Sabbath

I am reading

Sabbath

by Dan Allender. I need it. The book, I mean. Of course I need Sabbath...we all do but I need the book to help me learn how to do a Sabbath. I've always thought of the Sabbath as a list of do's and don't's and I don't remember delight being on the list. If delight is the focus of our Sabbath time, why do you think so many of us, myself included, avoid it?

Food for thought. Please feel free to share why you don't practice Sabbath...or why you do.

grace and peace,
Deb

intimacy

"The biggest challenge I face in my longing to become who I am is to know and enjoy each member of the Trinity to such an extent that I can remain centered in them when I'm with others. When I'm centered in God, alive to the spirit's rhythm, aware of the Son's grace, and basking in the Father's love, I no longer fear another’s judgment. It can hurt, but it cannot destroy. It is then that I more fully discover my true self, and I'm empowered to enter relationships with true love."
Larry Crabb

This quote speaks to the truth that we need to be completely surrendered to God and His desire for our lives to be fully who we are and to be in true relationship with others. When grounded in God’s love we are able to enter into relationships with more honesty, vulnerability and integrity.

Is God speaking to you about being centered in Him…in sensing the movement of the Spirit, in experiencing the grace Jesus offers, and feeling, on a personal and intimate level God’s love for you? Perhaps you could spend some time today pondering these three aspects of God’s work in your life. If God leads, consider writing down what He shows you. Where do you sense the Spirit’s movement? How are you experiencing the grace of Jesus? How do you feel God loving you today? These questions may help you move into a deeper intimacy with the Trinity. Enjoy that closeness.

Grace,
Deb

delight

"The deepest delight is to participate with another in a delight that we have had a small hand in bringing to pass. To create opportunity for another to know joy is regenerating both for the giver and for the one who receives, and the combined joy is a gift we return to the Creator for offering us such bounty in his creation."
Dan Allender ~ Sabbath

Occasionally I sit to reflect on those who have had a significant impact in my life. There are those people who have invested in me. And I, in turn, have invested in others. Allender is right that the participating in allowing others to know joy, is one of the deepest delights known. When I see those I have poured into fly, well it just doesn't get much better than that.

Who has poured into you? Do they know they have impacted you or how their influence has changed your life? And who are you pouring into? Who has experienced joy because you took the time to give of yourself? Consider spending some time today reflecting on these things. Then thank God for the part others have played for you and for the part you are playing for others.

grace and peace,
Deb

just....let go

I have friends who are going through some tough times with their children. The more they try to control the situation the more it becomes confused. I came across this poem this week and it speaks words of truth.

To Let Go Takes Love

To let go does not mean to stop caring
it means I can't do it for someone else.

To let go is not to enable,
but to allow learning from natural consequences.

To let go is not to cut myself off,
it is the realization I can't control others.

To let go is not to try to change and blame another,
it is to make the most of myself.

To let go is to admit powerlessness,
which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To let go is not to judge,
but to allow another to be a human being.

To let go is not to care for,
but to care about.

To let go is not to be protective,
it is to permit another to face reality.

To let go is not to fix,
but to be supportive.

To let go is not to be in the middle of arranging all the outcomes,
but to allow others to affect their destinies.

To let go is not to deny,
but to accept.

To let go is not to nag, scold or argue,
but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.

To let go is not to criticize and regulate anybody,
but to try to become what I dream I can be.

To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires,
but to take each day as it comes and to cherish myself in it.

To let go is not to regret the past,
but to grow and live for the future.

To let go is to fear less,
and to love more.

~author unknown~

quiet

Now
Oh Lord
Calm me into quietness
that heals
and listens
and molds my longings
and passions
my wounds
and wondering
into a more holy
and human shape.

Ted Loder

rhythm

I did something this weekend I have not done before. I went on retreat. I often lead retreats and I have been on retreats before but never alone. Solitary. I was not sure what to expect but I was looking forward to it.

There was a lovely rhythm to the days. Sleeping, reading, journaling, listening to classical music. Being in simple but beautiful surroundings. Being alone. Being in nature. Being with God. Just being.

It wasn't all easy but it was beautiful. I had some tough moments...tears come easily when you create some space....but it was good.

If you've never taken the time to do a weekend away, consider it. Or you might want to start with an hour or two...or maybe even half a day. In any case, take some time away from your normal pace of life...slow down....rest....read...take a walk....listen to the still small voice of God.

Create a new rhythm in your life.

grace and peace,
Deb

sabbath

no post today ~ enjoy your sabbath

prayer

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is jury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy;

O, Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled,
as to console;
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love

For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is dying to the self that we are born into eternal life.

I am struck by the simplicity of this prayer and how profound it is.

I invite you to read it through, slowly, at least two times and pay attention to what draws you. Meditate on that part of the prayer, throughout the day and let God speak to your heart about it.

Peace,
Deb

identity

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin said:

“We are not human beings on a spiritual journey.
We are spiritual beings on a human journey.”

I love this quote. It helps me gain perspective on my life and my role. At the core of who I am, I am spiritual. I am made in the image of God. This is so easy for me to forget. I get so caught up in my life…my things…my plans. I can be upset about something that won’t mean anything two weeks from now, let alone be important in the grand scheme of things.

I can tend to live as if this is all there is. Fear sets in as I think of the years swiftly moving by and the knowledge that my days are numbered. I get so caught up in my earthly existence that I don’t give a thought to eternity.

Imagine what it would be like if we began every morning reflecting on the truth that we are spiritual beings on a human journey. If we constantly carried this thought with us through our day, how would it change the way we act…or react? What would look different? Be different?

I encourage you to think about this today. Live this day with the full knowledge that you are a spiritual being on a human journey. Look at all today holds for you through that lens and see how it changes you. And, consider offering today’s part of your spiritual journey to God, asking Him to allow that spirituality to shine through your human-ness.

Blessings,
Deb