For the last five or six Memorial Day weekends, the women's ministry, at my church, has hosted a one night/two day prayer retreat. It is located at a private home that sits right on the ocean (!) and is about 50 minutes away. Being that it is at someone's house, the attendance has to be kept fairly small, approximately 25 ladies.
This year marks the third year I will be attending.
Every year tends to go the same way for me. About a month or so in advance, I'm really looking forward to it. Time alone to pray, on the ocean front, silence, fellowship, and worship....sign me up, baby! But then days before, even up to the day of, I suddenly don't want to go. I'm tired...I want to stay home...I really don't want to be around 25 other ladies, even for one night and two days. But because I paid and said I'd go (and because my sister has overseen last year's and this year's retreat and would give me grief for backing out), I go.
Then somewhere during the time, God meets me there and I meet God there.
And the weekend is just what I need.
For you who have never heard of a prayer retreat, here's what my church does:
It goes from Friday dinner to Saturday dinner. On Friday, there is a devotional to prepare the ladies for the weekend and a time of singing praises to God. On Saturday, there is usually a devotional of sorts in the morning and then the afternoon is ours. There are several stations that you can work through, if you choose, that deal with various topics like adoration, identity in God, who God is, forgiveness, hindrances, working through the Lord's prayer, etc. The entire afternoon is a time of silence. If you want to sit on the beach the entire afternoon and forget the stations, no problem...it's your time to spend with God. They also encourage fasting, if you desire to do so...although it's not required. The fast and the silence is broken before dinner when we have a time of communion and sharing. Then after dinner, we all go home to enjoy the rest of the weekend as we wish.
Last year, I went really wanting to hear from God in regards to the areas of future ministry/career and my future husband. It occurs to me that not too much has changed since last year, although I have personally, a bit. I would love to hear from God again in those areas of my life but am open to hearing whatever He has to share. Even if I just spend the weekend praising God for who He is, it will be a good time.
Okay...so just typing this has made me once again excited to go. Too often we allow life to just carry us down the road. We try to keep God the focus of who are we and what we're doing...sometimes we succeed and other times we don't. It's a learning process. But this weekend is a chance to step away from the crazy lives we lead and to expectantly be with God. I hope that when I move away from my church, that I will continue this yearly practice, either for myself or including others, because I need it. We all need it!
Have a good weekend, my friends!
Friday, May 27
Thursday, May 26
The Place of Nothingness
**Okay a week ago I shared that a friend of mine got me the book Reckless Faith. So after finishing the book and typing yesterday's post, I sent her a note thanking her for buying this unknown book (she "randomly" found it). And I shared the two blog posts I've written about it. Right after that, she check hers next email, which I'm sure made her laugh out loud, and she KNEW she had to send it on to me...it was a daily devotional that she gets. It is so good, I knew I had to post it on here as a follow up. Happy reading.**
"Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10) .
Do you find yourself in a place of nothingness? There is a time and place in our walk with God in which He sets us in a place of isolation and waiting. It is a place in which all past experiences are of no value. It is a time of such stillness that it can disturb the most faithful if we do not understand that He is the one who has brought us to this place for only a season. It is as if God has placed a wall around us. No new opportunities - simply inactivity.
During these times, God is calling us aside to fashion something new in us. It is a place of nothingness designed to call us to deeper roots of prayer and faith. It is not a comfortable place, especially for a task-driven workplace believer. Our nature cries out, "You must do something" while God is saying, "Be still and know that I am God." You know the signs that you have been brought into this place when He has removed many things from your life and you can't seem to change anything. Perhaps you are unemployed. Perhaps you are laid up with an illness.
Many people live a very planned and orchestrated life where they know almost everything that will happen. But for people in whom God is performing a deeper work, He brings them into a time of quietness that seems almost eerie. They cannot see what God is doing. They just know that He is doing a work that cannot be explained to themselves or to others.
Has God brought you to a place of nothingness? Be still and know that He really is God. When this happens, your nothingness will be turned into something you will value for the rest of your life.
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2, by Os Hillman
05-25-2011
"Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10) .
Do you find yourself in a place of nothingness? There is a time and place in our walk with God in which He sets us in a place of isolation and waiting. It is a place in which all past experiences are of no value. It is a time of such stillness that it can disturb the most faithful if we do not understand that He is the one who has brought us to this place for only a season. It is as if God has placed a wall around us. No new opportunities - simply inactivity.
During these times, God is calling us aside to fashion something new in us. It is a place of nothingness designed to call us to deeper roots of prayer and faith. It is not a comfortable place, especially for a task-driven workplace believer. Our nature cries out, "You must do something" while God is saying, "Be still and know that I am God." You know the signs that you have been brought into this place when He has removed many things from your life and you can't seem to change anything. Perhaps you are unemployed. Perhaps you are laid up with an illness.
Many people live a very planned and orchestrated life where they know almost everything that will happen. But for people in whom God is performing a deeper work, He brings them into a time of quietness that seems almost eerie. They cannot see what God is doing. They just know that He is doing a work that cannot be explained to themselves or to others.
Has God brought you to a place of nothingness? Be still and know that He really is God. When this happens, your nothingness will be turned into something you will value for the rest of your life.
Wednesday, May 25
Let Go and Be Led, Part 2
(First things first, the book that I am referring to is titled "Reckless Faith" by Beth Guckenberger. "Let Go and Be Led" is the tagline which I think should be my mantra in the year ahead. Per my opinion, this book is a two thumbs up...way up!)
Beth shares this story about a time when she participated in a disabilities lesson, specifically dealing with blindness. She went to this room with no windows, lights turned off, and there was only way to get from one edge of the room to the other: "The only saving grace is the voice of the guide." At times we feel lost in the thick darkness around us, whether by sharing in the pain of others or muddling through our own pains. The darkness can be stifling and overwhelming...I've been there. It helps to remember that you are not alone. However, maybe you've had times, like I've had, where the Guide is silent. I've heard it said that if you get lost, the best thing to do is stay put...sit down and don't keep wandering. Maybe it's the same spiritually...when in darkness or feeling lost, when the Guide is present but silent, that is the time to calm your spirit and settle in...perhaps the Guide has a lesson to teach.
Beth shares this story about a time when she participated in a disabilities lesson, specifically dealing with blindness. She went to this room with no windows, lights turned off, and there was only way to get from one edge of the room to the other: "The only saving grace is the voice of the guide." At times we feel lost in the thick darkness around us, whether by sharing in the pain of others or muddling through our own pains. The darkness can be stifling and overwhelming...I've been there. It helps to remember that you are not alone. However, maybe you've had times, like I've had, where the Guide is silent. I've heard it said that if you get lost, the best thing to do is stay put...sit down and don't keep wandering. Maybe it's the same spiritually...when in darkness or feeling lost, when the Guide is present but silent, that is the time to calm your spirit and settle in...perhaps the Guide has a lesson to teach.
I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. Isaiah 42:6-7I don't have all the answers...I'm just working through my own experiences and trying to see God and hear God myself. But maybe the darkness or the solitude is a time of preparation. "Having vision, listening to God, and stepping out in faith all mean that my life experiences are building within me principles that I need for God's next call." Times of darkness or bondages, and the struggles and learning that occur in those times, can provide opportunities for ministry in the future, in addition to strengthening your relationship with God. Naturally the process isn't easy...in fact, when in the midst, I sure wouldn't mind skipping the struggle. I pray for a spiritual "clapper" (you know that old commercial, "clap on, clap off, the clapper"...google it, if you don't know what I'm talking about...an advertising gem, although it apparently works.) I start to feel uncomfortable or get weary of the darkness. I want to clap my hand and have a light to show me the way out. But I've yet to ever receive a clapper light. Usually the way it goes is that I wait and wait and wait and then one day, a little spot of light brighten the floor right in front of me. So I take a step and wait again. A slow refining process. "He's much more interested in the development of my dependence on him and my relationship with him than he is in impressing me with his plans." Okay, I'm starting to ramble...let me wrap this up by saying that I'm confident there will be continual struggles and periods of darkness, off and on, in my life until I go to be with the Lord. Some moments will be harder or last longer than others but looking back to the verse, the promise remains the same that God promises light and freedom. He has not forsaken me. He has not forsaken you.
Monday, May 23
Talking it up!
The "average" woman talks anywhere from 20,000-50,000 words a day, depending on what article you read.
The "average" man talks anywhere from 12,000-25,000 words a day, according to the same sources.
I think it is safe to say that I am below average. Every once in a while, I get chatty, especially if it's a topic that I really passionate about. But for the most part, I'm a listener more than a talker.
That's probably why I'm always drawn towards talkers. Many of my closest friends over the years are the extroverted chatty types who talk way more than I do and get way more excited than I do. But I find they are the yin to my yang...how's that for a cheesy line? Their chattiness and extroverted-ness draws me out, gets me involved, and engages more of me. I've had so many great experiences by having them as my friends.
That's all...there's no point to this post other than to share what I just wrote.
Does this count as part of my daily 20,000-50,000 words?
The "average" man talks anywhere from 12,000-25,000 words a day, according to the same sources.
I think it is safe to say that I am below average. Every once in a while, I get chatty, especially if it's a topic that I really passionate about. But for the most part, I'm a listener more than a talker.
That's probably why I'm always drawn towards talkers. Many of my closest friends over the years are the extroverted chatty types who talk way more than I do and get way more excited than I do. But I find they are the yin to my yang...how's that for a cheesy line? Their chattiness and extroverted-ness draws me out, gets me involved, and engages more of me. I've had so many great experiences by having them as my friends.
That's all...there's no point to this post other than to share what I just wrote.
Does this count as part of my daily 20,000-50,000 words?
Friday, May 20
Remembering the scars
Today is one of those work days where starting around 9am, I was thinking...come on 5pm. There is tension in the office for reasons I won't explain. But having been on the receiving end of some of the reasons, I am sitting at my desk quietly, try to keep a pure mind through prayer and streaming music.
My boss' wife even came in today and commented, "boy is it sure quiet in here." My reaction was to roll my eyes...mainly in response to how quiet it has NOT been in here.
It's amazing how one little action, the rolling of my eyes, caused me to have a flashback to another point in my life where there was conflict and tension. The scars from that time, for the most part, are healed. But scars, though they may heal physically, still leave a mark...a reminder of the pain, of the time, of the hurt. Inward scars work the same way, I suppose, although I suppose those can be easier to "re-open" if you allow them to.
This flashback immediately caused me to get angry and defensive when the situation happened approximately 5 years ago, and the characters in my life have all changed, as well as myself. While I've received healing for those scars in my life, my reaction reminds me just how much I really REALLY need God in my life. If it weren't for God, it would be oh-so-easy to fixate on my past scars and allow the wounds to fester. To see harm instead of good. Moreover it would be way easy to lash out at the tension in my current situation.
Praise God for silent tongues and refining hearts. I'll take scars any day if that means that God will continue to do a good work in me.
My boss' wife even came in today and commented, "boy is it sure quiet in here." My reaction was to roll my eyes...mainly in response to how quiet it has NOT been in here.
It's amazing how one little action, the rolling of my eyes, caused me to have a flashback to another point in my life where there was conflict and tension. The scars from that time, for the most part, are healed. But scars, though they may heal physically, still leave a mark...a reminder of the pain, of the time, of the hurt. Inward scars work the same way, I suppose, although I suppose those can be easier to "re-open" if you allow them to.
This flashback immediately caused me to get angry and defensive when the situation happened approximately 5 years ago, and the characters in my life have all changed, as well as myself. While I've received healing for those scars in my life, my reaction reminds me just how much I really REALLY need God in my life. If it weren't for God, it would be oh-so-easy to fixate on my past scars and allow the wounds to fester. To see harm instead of good. Moreover it would be way easy to lash out at the tension in my current situation.
Praise God for silent tongues and refining hearts. I'll take scars any day if that means that God will continue to do a good work in me.
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