28 | Be Steady

Happy Tuesday!  

I've always felt like Tuesday is a bit like the neglected stepchild of the week. Mondays are notoriously awful, but at least they have a recognizable reputation.  Wednesdays are Hump Days. Thursdays are almost-the-weekend excitement builders.  We "Thank God for Fridays."  (Really, aren't we thanking God for every day we get?).  Saturdays we celebrate for the opportunity to play, and Sunday is our blessed day of rest.

Feeling sorry for Tuesdays, I started celebrating them when I was teaching high school English.  By "celebrating" I mean welcoming students with a cheery "Happy Tuesday!" and a high five as they entered my classroom.  They thought I was weird. (They were right.)  It didn't catch on.  

But I didn't give up.  While I may not have changed Tuesdays into days of joy and jubilation, it certainly put me in a good mood.  Sometimes that's all we need to do a world of good in our little corner of the world.

What does all this have to do with taking time to be still?

It is my prayer that we don't give up this time to be still with our Lord.  May God ensure that it catches on in our lives and does a world of good in our faith journeys.

We are 28 days into this stillness series, and you're probably realizing: 1) It's not easy to be still on a daily basis, and 2) When you can find time to be still, it's a worthwhile investment.

With Day 31 on the horizon, let me give you a little encouragement for holding on to this habit of stopping and soaking up God's presence.  Let's be steady in pursuing God's stillness, well beyond October, into the gratitude of November and the celebration of December and the resolutions of January. 

via Pinterest

There are going to be things that will knock us off this straight and narrow path of quietly, slowly talking with and listening to God.  Busy days.  Sick days.  Days of travel.  Days of neglect.  Days with joy so full we forget we need our God.  Days with despair so deep we feel distant from God.  

Knowing we are imperfect, knowing we don't have to do this perfectly, knowing God's grace is sufficient to make this habit holy and whole, let us patiently pledge to make our best effort to meet with our Savior every day.

quote22.com

Because days that harbor pockets of God's peace are a key piece in keeping our sanity, tending to our resilience, and nurturing our faith.  And with our steady persistence, with God's divine intervention, we will find it easier and easier to discover these pockets of peace.

One step at a time.

What is your first step going to be?  

I've got news for you.  You've already taken your first step.  You are here today, devoting time to thinking about your relationship with God.  You are contemplating how you can be still in his presence.  Whether this is your first time stopping by or your 28th visit, you are on the right track.

What is your next step going to be?

Stop back tomorrow.  I'll have another post for you Wednesday, and Thursday, and Friday. After October, my aim is to post twice a week.  (Will you say a quick prayer for me that I can deliver?)

Or if you don't stop here (I am weird, after all), stop somewhere with God and your Bible and a prayer.  Keep it simple.  God will meet you wherever you are.

And after that?  

Pledge to persevere.  Maybe you dig the daily devotion.  Maybe weekly is more your thing.  Maybe two or three times a week is what you can manage.  Pray about your time of sweet stillness with God.  Ask him to help you discern whether it is better to start with a doable goal to build momentum, or if you need to serious challenge to kick your faith up a notch.  As for me, I'm pledging for truly daily devotions and stillness.  I've held this as a loose-y goose-y goal for too long now.  It's time to be steady in my followthrough.   

Whatever you decide about the frequency, make a specific plan to Be Still with God. Put it in your calendar.  But beware of the abbreviation: BS w/ G.  Unless that puts a smile on your face and makes for a Happy Tuesday.  Then go for it.  As I've said before, I'm convinced God has a sense of humor. 

 

After that, it's time to take action and see what God does in your quiet time.  I love how this bit of inspiration from Hazelden Publishing's book Twenty Four Hours a Day describes the transformation like water against stone.

Spiritual development is achieved by daily persistence in living the way you believe God wants you to live. Like the wearing away of a stone by steady drops of water, so will your daily persistence wear away all the difficulties and gain spiritual success for you... God will help and strengthen you, as long as you are trying to do His will.  

Being still, stopping all the doing to rest and rejuvenate in God, leads to spiritual development.  (If only physical development worked like that!)  Steady drop by steady drop of drinking up God's word will quench our thirst and help our roots grow deep.  It will wear away the rocky, stony places in our lives.  Steady persistence in being still and knowing God allows us unfettered access to his strength and peace. I don't know about you, but I can use all the strength and peace I can get!

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.  1 Corinthians 15:58

Let's give ourselves fully to this work of focusing on our Lord's word and will and way.  Life's storms and distractions will try to push us off our peaceful path. But when things try to move us, we can pray to God to help us to stand steady and firm. Every effort we make to this end will be rewarded in full in our relationship with our Heavenly Creator.

handmadeho.me

And if you ever doubt or despair you ability to be steady in your devotion to God, remember that you can do hard things, because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13).  

kikicomin.com | click on this pic for a free printable!

Lord,

As I have traveled down this path of being still with you this month, it is all the more clear to me that I need your stillness.  Your peace and grace sustain me and uplift me.  The more time I spend with you, the more serene I feel.  The more you bless me, the more I can a blessing to others.  

As these 31 Days to Be Still wind down, help me to reflect on how to best stay steady and on track in making time for you.  Show me the spaces in my days where we can be together in faith — both the doable, easy opportunities and the challenging points where I will most benefit from our quiet time.  Lead me in building this habit even further, so that I may continue to grow in your love.

In the weeks to come, I ask for your strength and steadfastness.  On my own I'm prone to wander.  Bind my wandering heart to you, Lord.  When I'm distracted or lazy, nudge me gently and push me persistently into eager anticipation of sitting at your feet, soaking up your goodness and your glory.  I pray that this daily habit continues and grows.  I pray that being still in your presence is as necessary and automatic for me as sleeping, eating, and breathing.  You are my blessed sustenance, and for that I am so very grateful.

Amen.



As you are thinking about how you might continue your time to be still with God, here are some resources and ideas.  

SOAP Bible study for more meaningful engagement with God's word (via allourdays.com)

Feeling too busy to read the Bible?  Glamorouslymommy.com has a Bible recommendation for you.

Dedicate a month to daily prayers for you children, using this printable from www.familymatters.net.

17 | Patient Perseverance

How is your patience-o-meter these days? Lately I've had more days in the red zone than I'd like to admit.  Care to join me in a prayer for patience?

Dear Lord,

You know I am a patient person when it comes to some things.  Tutoring and teaching.  Sewing and crafting.  Gardening.  You know I am not so patient when it comes to other things.  Coaching my own kids through homework hurdles.  Traffic.  Grocery check out lines.  Healing.  

I know you want me to be patient.  In all things.  Not begrudgingly, but with your loving patience.

God, one question:  are you the one who circulated the rumor that has been rolling around for a few centuries?  You know the one.  Good things come to those who wait.

Really?  Isn't technology pushing this kind of thinking into an archaic past?  In these days of instant messaging and constant contact, there is a cultural contagion of immediate gratification.  I certainly have been infected.  (When are you going to get off the computer, darling hubby?  I've got to check my emails right now!)  How gross.  Lord, insert your forgiveness here, please.

Okay, the relatively mature side of me recognizes that good things do happen to those who wait.  If I slow down and appreciate, I can count a few...

• Gazpacho chills on a hot summer day.
• Tempers calm.
• Bone marrow donors are discovered.
• Coffee brews.  Tea steeps.
• Tulips thaw, emerge, and bloom.
• Prayers get answered.
• God works wonders.

Thanks, Lord, for these slow blessings that force a patient wait.  Thanks especially for coffee in the morning, and the rich aroma that tickles my nose awake while I wake.  Thanks for that moment of pause and potency as I pour the first mug.  When I know that hot, steamy, strong and roasty caffeine is coming.  I know all will be right. 

Okay, God.  I know that the wait for a cup of coffee is not a very long exercise patience, even for this not-a-morning-mama.  But I want to have that same kind of caffeine-happy, hopeful, assured patience with the big stuff.  The limbo stuff that makes me loopy.  The hard stuff that hurts my heart.  The slow stuff that my soul suffers.  Because that is when something really good happens in the wait.  And that something is you.

If I can wait — calm and patient, positive and trusting — I know my faith will grow.  If I can release control and put my whole trust in you, you will make the waiting easier.  If I can step aside and let you work — in your time, your way — I can witness your wonders.  Lord, please form in me this calm and confident character, steeped in your strength.

And when that kind of patience seems too unattainable, remind me of your patience.  In your loving mercy, you wait for me.  To learn (so slow).  To grow (millimeter by millimeter).  To see in myself what you see in me (glimpse by hazy glimpse).  You wait and forgive, forgive and wait, and love the whole while through with your truly amazing grace. 

I'm going to hang on to your patient love when frustrated impatience tries to drag me down.  When the healing is too slow, the results too hard to see.  When the map for life's crossroads seems smeared and torn.  When the going gets tough.  Help me to endure the rough patches.  Help me to persevere.  To pursue through the severe.  Yes, that's it.  God, please give me the strength to pursue YOU through severe trials.

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.  You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

Hebrews 10:35-36 (NIV)

When I get anxious about the wait, I'm going to try and catch myself before I throw my crumpled confidence away.  I'm going to smooth it out, and read between the lines, focusing on your reward: peace, grace, walking with you into eternity. 

{ looky!  a free printable... for YOU!  from me! }

That is a blessed promise worth waiting for.  I'm going to frame it and focus on it until your answers come through loud and clear, which they always do, in your perfect timing.  Thank you, God, for your promise, for your answers.

Amen.

May you have the patience to wait for God's answers to the trials in your life, today and every day.

Learning Peace

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Matthew 11:29 (NIV)

Aaaaaahhhh.

Rest for our souls.  

Doesn't that sound utterly delicious?  I'm so craving rest for my soul after a whole month of crashing  into the school year.  As a family we've been coercing teaching the kids to take on a bit more responsibility for getting ready for school, practicing piano, taking care of the house.  We've been trying (desperately, unsuccessfully) to train the dog out of his digging and into a reliable, consistent response to our "come" command.  We've been adapting to increased work demands for both the Mr. and myself.  And, just for fun, I've been painting the exterior of the house.

I am worn.  I am weary.  My heart doesn't feel so gentle or humble.  My soul feels rather ragged.

That is, until I tune in to God.  When I pause my day and look to my Lord for some eternal learning, I find rest.  Sweet, glorious rest.

Did you get a chance to do that today?  I hope and pray that is the case.

We all need that peace, that dose of the heavenly to restore our humanity.  But finding a piece of time—a shred, a mere morsel—for a good dose of God... that is so terribly difficult.

I've learned that I need frequent visual reminders that point me to God.  So I wedge Bible verses in my wallet.  I cram crumbs of Corinthians on the calendar.  I tape tidbits from Timothy near the toilet (yes, it's embarrassing where a fondness for alliteration will lead me...).

This is my quest to subdue all the noise and distraction of this earthly world with God's wisdom, word, and will.

Here is a morsel for you.  Print, post, and ponder.

And as we turn to God's word, we need to give ourselves permission to pause and let his peace wash over us.

Relax.  

Breathe.  Let's release the worries of distractions of this world before we enter the Bible.

Read.  

Slowly.  A little bit at a time.  Studying one verse carefully can be more powerful than skimming a whole chapter.  Reread and let it soak in.  I  like to mull over words that resonate with me.  Sometimes I memorize bits that give me guidance for guidance and sustenance. 

Reflect.  

We all know the saying: in one ear and out the other.  With reading it's in one eye and out the other.  To make it stick, let's revisit our good study habits from our youth.  That might mean writing or thinking or talking through what we've read.  Consider a) where God is in the passage, and b) where this passage fits into our daily lives.  What is the deeper message God has for you (yes, He's talking to you personally!) in this bit of the Bible?

Respond.  

This one is hardest for me.  For years I studied the Bible like a textbook and analyzed it academically.  But I missed a ton.  Then someone encouraged me to read the Bible like a love letter from God, an invitation into a relationship.  I was floored.  God wanted to talk to me about this stuff?  He wanted to help me through it and work on it together?  What a difference it makes to pray to God about what we read in the Bible!  When we pose questions, thank God for insights, pray about how to put his words into our lives—when we do these things something wondrous occurs.  The Living Word lives in us.  It takes root in our hearts and branches out through our actions.  It bears glorious fruit.

Lord,

It seems only fitting—in this autumn season—to turn over a new leaf and harvest the fruit of your Living Word.  As we open our Bibles, let us open our minds and our hearts to your teaching and your everlasting peace.  Let us find rest for our weary souls in your word.

Aaaaaahhhhmen. 

P.S.  Looking for more Bible verses?  Check out the well VERSEd page of this blog.  Feel free to add your favorites!