DEEP - an outline for Blessed Quietness reflection

    Quietness, what is it, really? It's generally described as free or comparatively free from noise. I think of quiet as the base to which everything with sound and motion is added in our days, the place where stillness resides but gets buried by chaos.

    This base is a foundation, and the foundation is Jesus.

For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Cor 3:11

    Chaos cannot successfully bury our foundation. Jesus was buried and rose on the third day. Jesus uncovered as our base and foundation of stillness is Blessed Quietness.

 

  Blessed Quietness is shutting the door on chaos, like locking a fit-throwing child outside the bathroom door. You know it won't last forever, but you plan to make the best of it while you have it.

    One way to make the best of it is to use a framework for your time, a routine. Like other repetitious acts, before long, you're using it automatically and have established a habit upon which you can build for the rest of your life. 

    DEEP is the framework I have used in my personal quiet time for more than two decades. Whether I have only a few minutes to escape or time for a mini-retreat, it has served me well and allowed me to draw closer to Jesus day by day. It's not a box I have to check, and failing to make it one day does nothing to diminish my longing for the next stolen moments. It's become a way of life, one that has encouraged and strengthened me in the harder seasons of life while helping me to see His Presence in everyday places.

    It consists of devotional reading, exploring what I've read, expressing my thoughts and prayers by journaling, and closing with prayer--listening prayer.

    The next posts will outline each step of my process. I'm excited to share it with you!

"Thou hast created us for Thyself, and our heart is not quiet until it rests in Thee." -- Saint Augustine

If you'd like to go DEEP in your quiet time, contact me (Contact Me button in drop-down menu above) to receive a free Blessed Quietness Journal printable that you can start using right away in your devotional moments.

LAUGH - Five Minute Friday

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. - Ephesians 3:30-21

 I'd have laughed out loud if you’d told me a year ago that I’d be writing today. My journal writings from a year ago are filled with honest cries for help and relief from my job’s stress and vision struggles. This time last year, I was at the end of recovery from COVID and the pain related to the pressure in my eye was beginning to skyrocket, leading to the removal of part of my eye. That procedure stopped the pain immediately and gave me the courage to say “yes” when God opened the door to my dreams. Dreams I’d given to him over and over for almost 20 years.

I never fully grasped abundant exceedingly more prayers. I had mustard-seed faith in them, though, and God showed His faithfulness to that tiny faith and answered my prayers, bringing to fruition my heart’s dreams of writing full-time.

I hope you’ll prayerfully dream with God and wait expectantly for Him to answer. Write down your dreams, date them, and return to them in your quiet time with God. Assume there are no limitations to what you can do together because it’s the truth. Nothing is impossible with God!

New Year, New Blog

New things are coming January 1, 2023. 

 

How about starting the new year seeking to deepen our quiet time with the One who know us best and loves us most?  

 

Follow the blog for ways to bring more quiet moments to your noisy days--because the world is loud.

Looking forward to having you back!

Three Unexpected Ways to Add Quiet Moments to Chaotic Days

Better a dry crust eaten in peace than a house filled with feasting--and conflict.

  - Proverbs 17:1

Ahhhh . . .Chaos. It's the uninvited guest, the one that kicked down the door to the day, snatched the to-do list from our hand, and ripped it right in front of us.

Much of it is out of our control, and yet we hold the potential to refocus and refuel to take back the upper hand. 

Making room for quiet moments may take a bit of practice, but the payout is soul-nourishing.

Here are three unexpected ways to add quiet moments to chaotic days:

1.    MAKE IT YOUR LUNCH DATE

More likely than not, you've got to eat, right? Even if it's on the road or while standing up, you have to slow your roll enough to grab a bite. Why not pick up something at a drive-thru and pull into the first uncluttered spot you pass. While you eat, put your phone out of sight and create a mental list of three positive things in your life. Even better, keep a notebook in the car and write them down. Over time, you'll have a blessing counting book to inspire you and remind you of God's faithfulness on chaotic days.

2.    SET A TIMER

Think of it as a grown-up time out. We lose track of time spent scrolling through social media and checking emails. Set a timer on your phone for 5 to 15 minutes. Use the time to read a short devotional, your Bible, or write in your journal. When the timer ends, you can reset it or move back into your day a little more settled.

3. GRAB A HYMN BOOK

Quiet isn't always silent. Hymn books are easily found in thrift stores and are a priceless quiet-time tool. Flip to your favorite hymn, and sing your heart out. You can't do that and anything else at the same time. Consider it a joyful noise and a praise offering to God. Bet you can't stop with just one!

There you have it--three little invitations to flip the switch on chaos.

Which will you try today?

Extreme - Five Minute Friday

Dictionary.com defines extreme as of a character or kind farthest removed from the ordinary or average. What pictures of extreme come to mind first for you? It may depend on what you’ve most recently seen or heard. Local and national news offer many examples, and social media contributes more than its fair share. 

But this morning, I read again about Peter’s water-walking encounter with Jesus in Matthew. There’s extreme wind and waves, extreme fear, and extreme momentary faith. But central to it all is the ultimate one, the one most farthest removed from the ordinary or average-- Jesus. 

Extreme faith in Jesus is life-changing. 

Like Peter, we often become distracted by everything around us, but, thank God, refocusing again and again on Jesus keeps us afloat. 

All things are possible for the one who believes. Mark 9:23

Dare to Dream

Give what you have; to someone, it may be better than you dare to think. - Longfellow

Image by Alexa from Pixabay 

Give what you have...

What do I have to give? I have words--a love of words, The Word, reading, and writing.

I wrestle with feelings of unworthiness, yet I have dreamed for years of living more fully with words. I even dared to dream that my work would somehow include them. I'd allow myself to daydream of a workday that incorporated the things that inspire me, and I dreamed little dreams. I'd imagine a timetable that incorporated freelance writing into my days. I really thought I was dreaming big.

I'd framed my dreams in what I thought I knew to be possible, although barely. I mapped out plans to add a little more each week/month/year into my days. The ultimate dream was to work from home, writing and crafting journals and other giftables, all of which I hoped would encourage someone having a hard day or season of life; to remind them they're not alone, that God sees them and has not abandoned them.

Oddly enough, those seasons are the very place God shaped my dreams and gave me the courage to say "yes" to the biggest invitation my dreams have received.  

My dreams began with three words on a blank page in 2003, "Lord, give me a dream." In August 2021, I accepted my first freelance assignment. On February 1, 2022, I began a full-time job as a story writer for Good News magazine. God wasn't limited to my timetable. While the preparation was over many years and will never stop, when the offer came, it was so much better and greater than anything I had imagined. Answering was a leap of faith. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God will always provide for us, even when our budgets become tighter as we say "yes" to our dreams. 

Do you dare to dream? 

I beg you to dream with God. Start with listening to your heart's deepest desire and offer it to Him. Give yourself permission to dream. 

On a fresh page (paper or digital), ask yourself what you long to do. Next, write out whatever it is without any limitations--not your circumstances, your resources, or your budget. Dream big and in detail. 

Save the dream, the date, and the process.  Repeat it and return to it in prayer often, allowing God to shape it and bring it to pass.

It's a roadmap to the threshold of abundantly, exceedingly greater than you can ask or think.

Be patient and enjoy the journey.

He sees you; He loves you; and He loves when you dream with Him.

Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us,to Hi m be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21 AMP