All in Quiet Time
What happens when you first have an awareness of waking up in the morning? To where or what does your mind turn? A dream you had? Your overfull to-do list? Your cell phone? Your current crisis? Your work commute in heavy traffic? Your health concern? I’d have to answer yes to all of these at one time or another.
Working my way through my garden the other day, pruning, picking, reveling in the care God took to create such beauty—how blessed we are! How little I know about the growth process, except that it begins with a seed.
Bits of my tattered prayer journal’s cover stick to my hands after holding it. The yellowed pages identify needs of those dearest to me. It also contains various prayers I turn to when my own words fail to express my heart.
Ecclesiastes 5:2 jumped off the page at me. I realized it referred to public prayer, but how often did my private prayer time consist of me doing all the talking? I determined I would spend time listening.
I sat behind a man whose hat displayed the phrase “dig down deep.” I thought, What would it look like for me to dig down deep into God’s Word?
Proverbs 2 enlightens us on how and where to start digging.
One night awake at 2 a.m., as I lay in bed, I tried to go back to sleep. I could hear a little bird chirping outside my bedroom window. I thought you cannot sleep either.
One reason I love our church is singing our praises together each Sunday. Whether we are on key or not, we have the privilege to vocalize our love for Jesus. Some enjoy quiet hymns others fast-moving praise songs. If we are truly showing the Lord how much we love Him, it’s worship!
What moves you?
I mean … moves you to action … compels you to do something.
Anger? Injustice? Anger can motivate.
As I longed to be out on the mountain trails this summer, the following quote by John Muir, writer and naturalist, caught my eye:
“People ought to saunter in the mountains, not hike! …people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, they would reply, ‘A la sainte terre, to the Holy Land.’ And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers.”
If Jesus took the time he needed to get on board and ready for the day, how much more do we need to do the same thing. Spiritual readiness does not happen by accident, we must be intentional about it.
“Mommie, my heart hurts. I think it’s Jesus kicking it because He wants in!” my granddaughter announced on the way to school. Did she feel preschool anxiety or had God created an opportunity for a spiritual conversation?
She listened to Jesus’ words, believed them, and embraced them. It was Mary who later acted in belief of Jesus’ words that He would be killed in Jerusalem and raised to life.
My first job as a journalist was working the night shift at a newspaper, so part of my job was to write obituaries. The reporter I was replacing gladly handed me the obit basket. He didn’t like writing obits and even created a standard template so you could fill in the blanks. I remember looking at the basket and flipping through the forms. Sure, they had basic information, but—call it the inquiring mind of a rookie reporter, or a nudge from God—I wanted to know more about each person’s story.
The sound of silence… Do you know it?
There are times with God though… when it is too quiet.
I enjoy the crazy ride of a roller coaster.
All the surprises of things that you cannot see ahead of you… twisting and turning… ups and downs.
But to ride them… it is a step of trust.
Wait… can I try that again?
The gift of second chances.
God was so kind to Jonah. Do you know his story?
Is there a situation that you are facing that seems hopeless right now?
I have been there.
I looked out the back door window enjoying the country view of pine trees.
Something blurred my vision… I could see fingerprints.
I had just cleaned the glass… but there they were… again.
I recognized the hand pattern.
Hmmm… I knew who the fingerprints were from.
God has fingerprints…
My heart broke when I heard her story.
Pain and difficulty caused by others and sometimes herself.
The struggle to forgive.
Then my heart jumped for joy when she shared the difference Jesus made in her life.
