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 become months and months become years all without taking the time to notice what is truly precious.

Peace and Grace,
Deb

identity

“You must see what great love the Father has lavished 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

Consider how you might enter into the rest God has waiting for you.

grace and 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 perspective? It definitely isn't easy but being able to see Jesus, next to you, in a painful situation can allow you to persevere and surrender to changes He wants to bring about in your life.

Peace,
Deb

integrity

"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

hospitals

“In time of sickness the soul collects itself anew.”

Latin Proverb

Today I sit in a hospital room. The day seems long, the hours crawl by. Time is measured by meals…breakfast, lunch and dinner. The time in between seems to float. There are doctors to listen to (all with a different angle on the situation, all with different solutions). There are nurses to interact with. Other patients to acknowledge. Bedpans to empty. Sheets to straighten. Pillows to adjust. Decisions to be made. One is thankful for a trip to the bathroom as it provides different scenery.

But, the hospital provides a remarkable backdrop for spiritual conversations. Deep questions. Where is God in the midst of pain? Is this punishment for things done earlier in life, she asks? And, how am I to respond to this situation – as a daughter observing her mom going through a process that is painful, frightening, uncertain and wrought with decisions, each with serious consequences? Even deep, meaningful questions like is this Saturday or Sunday?

This is the stuff life is made of – real, gritty, honest stuff. And God is here with me, with her, with us, right in the middle of blood transfusions and hospital beef stew, sock puppets (don’t ask) and heart monitors, fashionable hospital gowns and dangerous medications that she can’t live with and she can’t live without.
Yep – this is the stuff life is made and – He is here.

Grace and peace,
deb

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