being

Practicing sitting in silence and solitude, journaling, and lectio divina, all have moved me into a more contemplative relationship with God. These spiritual disciplines have helped me reflect on how I see God moving in my life. They help me deepen my relationship with Him, enjoying the intimate fellowship. But…that is not where it ends. If it stays an inner journey and there is no outward evidence of this time spent with God, then what is it for?

Although this time with God is very meaningful to me and I love the solitude, I am called, by God to take what I am learning about myself and about Him and move in the world in a different way. The beauty of spending time with Him, ‘being’, is learning to listen to His voice and discern what He may want me to be ‘doing’.

I invite you to spend time with Him today in solitude and listen to see how He wants you to ‘be’ with others and ‘be’ in the world.

Grace and peace,
Deb

prayer

“It is of course possible to dance a prayer.”

~Glade Byron Addams

Have you ever considered that prayer could be expressed in a dance? Or in a drawing? Or in a painting? A poem? A sculpture? A collage? Or any other artistic form? I know I didn’t. Until recently, I only thought of prayer as something you did with you hands folded, eyes closed and body still.

But, it makes sense to me that the creativity God gave us can be offered back to Him as prayer. There are those who are wired in such a way that their art is an expression of who they are or what they are thinking or feeling. And what better way to ‘speak’ with God.

Consider using your creativity to speak to Him today. Offer it as a prayer...as an expression of your love to Him. Enjoy.

Blessings,
Deb

sabbath

no post today ~ enjoy the sabbath

friends

Bless them who wait with us,
Who labor with us,
who cry with us.

Bless them who know our limits,
Who push us beyond them,
Who see us through.

Bless them who call us to our strengths
Who tend us in our weaknesses,
Who dress each ragged wound.

Bless them who laugh in the face of convention,
Who weep for our own pain,
Who bind us to come and live.

Jan Richardson




This poem reminds me of the incredible women God has placed in my life……bless you and thank you for everything you add to my life.

I encourage you to take some time today to reflect on the women God has put in your life to make the journey easier. Thank Him for their presence and consider letting them know, in some small way, that they have made a difference.

Grace and Peace,
Deb

r e s t

The last couple of days, I have had conversations with women who are just plain tired. They are so busy…taking care of their families, doing ministry, working, trying to make time for friends. They feel overwhelmed, stressed and sometimes, even ill.

This is not the way it was meant to be. God didn’t design us to ‘just keep going” like the Energizer bunny. He means for us to rest, to slow down, so we can listen to Him.

Often we confuse ‘doing’ with ‘being’. All the things we are busy doing are good things. It’s just too much. We don’t have any energy left for truly being present to God. Spending time with Him seems like just one more thing to do.

As women, we (and I include myself in this) need to purposely slow down. We need to allow our ‘doing’ to emerge from our ‘being’. What do we hear God saying to us? What does he want us to be involved in? What does He want us to say no to?

Take some time today….yes… take some time …to spend with God and just ‘be’. Know that the world won’t fall off its axis if you slow down. Try it…sit down, close your eyes and offer up five minutes to God.

Breathe s l o w l y and r e s t.

Peacefully,
Deb

spoons

Ok…confession time. This past spring, I went to my church’s women’s retreat. It is a huge event. I was there to learn but also to teach an afternoon workshop.

There was a Starbucks close to our hotel. I walked over there to get a hot chocolate. Simple enough, right? I need to tell you something. I don’t order the hot chocolate for the hot chocolate. I order it for the whipped cream…seriously. I ask them to please put whipped cream on and to leave the lid off, because anyone knows that if you put the lid on, the whipped cream begins to melt into the hot chocolate. And I like whipped cream in its natural state (which to me is how it comes on a hot chocolate)…not melted down. Guess what? They put the lid on. Ok…stressor #1. As soon as I got it, I pulled the lid off. Underneath the surface, I was frustrated but I think I was able to conceal it. But the stage had been set. I politely asked for a spoon…because if you like whipped cream the way I do, you need to have a spoon to eat it before it melts into the hot chocolate…which is like eating your dessert before you eat the vegetables. Ok…back to my tale of woe. I asked for a spoon and you will never believe what the gal said to me. “We don’t have any spoons.” That’s it. She didn’t apologize, she didn’t offer to go look in the back room. She just said, “We don’t have any spoons.”

How is it possible for Starbucks to not have spoons? That’s like McDonald’s not having fries. It just doesn’t happen. My whipped cream was melting in to the hot chocolate. Time was of the essence. I turned and looked at the stirring sticks. Poor excuse for a spoon…can’t fit much whipped cream on the end of one of those.

I lost it. Ok…I didn’t throw any tables or let loose with any expletives, but I grumbled, louder than I should have, about how can it be possible for Starbucks to not have spoons?!! I pouted and didn’t enjoy that hot chocolate… not one little bit.

About 15 minutes after it happened, I thought to myself “Have you lost your mind?!” Why would I ever think that was ok? In what world is it ok for someone to get that upset over the lack of a spoon or a missed opportunity to eat whipped cream?

Now some of you may say…come on…it wasn’t that bad. But it was. What a reveal of the junk in my heart. If I cannot be faithful in such a little thing, how will I ever be faithful in a really tough situation?

The world is dying to see something different they can put their hope in. I so want to be a part of showing them that hope through what they see in my life. But…I need to get out of the way. I need to know what is of importance and what is not. I need to die to myself and embrace what God is doing in my heart. May I yield more and more to the leading of the Holy Spirit and may it show in my life.

Grace and Peace,
Deb

difference

I came across this quote a couple of days ago:

“Can people look at my life and say “That life would not make sense if God didn’t exist.”…”

Let that sink in for a few minutes. If we are believers, shouldn’t our lives reflect that? Shouldn’t something look different? If people can’t tell the difference, what is the point?

I cannot tell you how many times I have gotten a soda out of a machine and the machine has given me too much change back. I always take it into the store and give it to them. They are shocked. Or, if I notice that a clerk charged me too little, I tell them. Again, they look at me as if I’ve grown two heads.

Don’t be misled. I have more than my share of times of falling way short of the person I want to be. I just pray that I recognize it and I work to redeem it. Because if people can’t say that there is something different about me, than I am not living fully into this life in God.

Peace,
Deb