Day 26 Season of Quiet - God's House Isn't Quiet

My church family loves to sing. In fact, we are musically blessed in a variety of instruments. From the choir, to the Praise and Worship band, to the member in the pew...if you want a concert on the Lord's Day, you just come visit my church. I love it!

Sometimes I close my eyes and just listen. It's far from silent, but I can sit still in that pew and imagine that I'm in a much quieter place than I could find here on earth. A place where this music is not just something that fills the air once per week, but every minute of every day. It's almost impossible not to be spiritually moved by the noise of Godly praise.

Do I go to God's House to find quiet? Not in the external sense. However, Sabbath worship and fellowship help me re-focus and start my week out on a peaceful note.

I've been in some churches where it is so quiet, you wonder if the congregation is there for worship or a funeral. I appreciate the joyful lifting up of voice and hands in our church. It reminds me that I serve a living God, unlike many religions. And He is not just in heaven, but right here with us!

Going to church is one of my most anticipated and joyful times of the week. Sharing the Word in study with the Body of Christ is the culmination of my daily quiet time.

I look forward to worshipping God for eternity in his REAL house. I can't help but think of those words from the Christmas story:

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Luke 2:13-14 NIV

I hope you find some quiet time to tune into God this week. Maybe you do that by cranking the volume on some inspirational music. I totally get that! Just carve out some time for silent meditation as well. That's the "balance" knob on the stereo of our Season of Quiet.

It's Spring Break week here, so I probably won't be posting for a few days. I hope the signs of new growth are popping up outside as well as inside where you are. We are over half way through Lent, which means the holiday we call Easter is coming! I hope you are looking forward to that and find new meaning in Resurrection Sunday. I'll leave you with the following quote for meditation. Enjoy!

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."
— C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity)

Day 22 Season of Quiet - Update

Ah - the rain! It washes the pollen away and makes all things bright and beautiful again! We've had continuous rain for several days now here in my little corner of the world. I've been thankful for it as we are all battling sinus junk in my house and it has provided us time to start mending before the pollen particle count jumps again.

On the other hand, the clouds can lower on my countenance. Too many days of darkness and puddles can damper my spirit. I've been seeking inspiration for the blog these few days, but I'm afraid that I may not have been where I needed to be in order to share something uplifting. Maybe I've needed the time to recharge and renew. I'll continue to look for fresh and encouraging ideas to share.

The sun is still not shining as of the time I'm writing this, but some hope has been building within my heart. I'm at a place, personally, where a lot of things could be dragging me under. Life has been raining down, at times pouring, on my head for a couple of years now. I keep wondering what these trials are preparing me to do. I tend to keep my struggles close to my heart. It's a control thing. Smiling through the tears, through the rain. I'm learning to let go, to accept help. God's not finished with me yet. After all, I'm incredibly blessed compared to many in this world. And I claim 1 Corinthians 10:13:

13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Lately I'm reminded to put up the protection of my heavenly umbrella, called prayer. I'm balancing that umbrella on my shoulder as I lift my face and hands toward the rain, toward the sky, toward the Father who sees me and knows my name.

My big kid often wonders out loud how our God can see, and hear, and know each and every human that has been, is, and is to come. Powerful stuff, indeed. She believes it though. And so do I (see today's quote at the end of this post). I see His hand molding the clay that is my life. He has always been right there, as I've climbed the slippery wet rocks...taking my hand and placing it on the next ledge...hoisting my foot as I pushed upward to the safe places. There have been peaks and valleys. Strongholds where I shined my light, and caverns where my light was flickering out. The light of Jesus leads me through the lonely spots. I have victory over the darkness, only through the strength of Jesus. This gives me hope for the present and the future.

The rain is easier to bear, knowing it is temporary. The sun will shine on my face, and yours, again. The thunder is loud, and the lightning can be blinding. But when the clouds part, the light peeks through, and all of creation lifts up their voice in praise.

Today's quote for meditation is from The Message. I don't often use this translation, but it does inspire. Referencing Ephesians 1:3-6, emphasis mine:

How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He's the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.

Enjoy the quiet moments (and hopefully, sunny ones)!

Day 15 Season of Quiet - Just receive it

Seeking quiet time is this noisy place is a struggle. The rest that is offered me when I seek the quiet is F-R-E-E. All I have to do is just receive it.

I love it when my kids sleep. I love the noise that we can create when we are making memories and enjoying family time, too. Oh, how I love the quiet though. When their little peepers shut, their breathing slows, and they drift off to dreamland.

I have a friend whose two kiddos are the same age as mine (under 6). She told me once that they take three-hour naps on Sunday afternoons. That would be heaven to me! My oldest doesn't take a nap unless we let her stay up late the night before, which is almost never because we pay dearly for that the next day (hence the need for a nap). My youngest takes two-hour naps at daycare during the week...I'm still trying to get them to give me their secret.

Most days (if I don't really wear them out for a couple hours at the park), they fight sleep. I'm not talking about a bedtime routine struggle. They fight letting go and receiving the rest their little bodies require. I've got a couple of prize-fighters, too. Sometimes it seems they literally "pass out" as they wiggle under the sheets up until the last bit of energy is expended. Then, my quiet time starts.

28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT)

It gets wearisome looking for ways to squeeze quiet out of the hectic world. When the kids fall asleep at night, I am also exhausted. It would be so easy to roll over and turn out the light. I used to do that. And then I would lay there. For hours. Carrying my burdens to bed, fretting and not getting any rest at all really.

Now, in my evening quiet time, I give those burdens to Jesus. He teaches me how to let go of the heavy yoke and just receive the One that is easy to bear. He gives me rest for my soul when I just receive it. Sometimes I wake up in the night and there is a sick child, or a telephone ringing, or a storm outside my window. And Jesus is right there at the edge of my bed. Offering gentleness and a heart of love that has taught me how to respond to life the way I was designed to respond - peacefully.

Will you receive this rest today? When you have a break in the business of the day, before you mark off that next thing on your "To Do" list...just stop and take a moment to bow your head and close your eyes. Pray and ask the Lord to take your burdens and cast them into the sea. That is what He promises to do. Believe it, receive it, and claim it each day. Then you will find rest and the next time you seek quiet, you may just find it a whole lot easier.

Enjoy the quiet moments where you find them today - I'd love to hear how you are doing!

Days 12 & 13 Season of Quiet - Personal Quiet Time (Part 2)

Sorry if you came by looking for a post yesterday. I am on the mend from my weekend cold/hay fever (the pollen count is high already here in GA). Also, lots of personal distractions prevented me from sitting long enough at the computer to post. So, here are my thoughts for days 12 and 13 of my Season of Quiet.

You may be feeling the stress of the world creeping in, too. Earthquakes, tsunamis, wars and rumors of wars, all of these and more remind me of 1 Peter 5:8 which says, Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.(NLT) Also, Matthew 24:42, Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

We press on through each new day, in the middle of the devil's warfare. He does anything he can to keep us from finding Truth and Peace. His demons know they are running out of time to turn humans away from God. They swoop in when we are vulnerable, when we take our eyes off the heavens where the Master Designer is pulling His plan together with or without our submission. We so easily pluck the lies from the world when we do not have the Truth hidden in our hearts. (See Psalm 119:11. This is a great first scripture for memorization!)

Can you feel the Spirit tugging on your heart strings? Do you hear Someone knocking on the door of your heart? You can't put your finger on it, but you know there is something more than what you are living. I felt that way for years, not understanding that I didn't have to be in a church building to find what I was seeking. We are all separated from God by our sin, since God is perfect and can not be in the presence of sin. However, Jesus is our High Priest, and brings us closer to our Heavenly Father through his intercession. He intercedes night and day on our behalf even while we are still sinning. We simply need to humbly accept and trust His redemptive Grace to come to the Father and receive our inheritance in Heaven.

Recently, I did trust and accept Jesus as my Savior in the presence of my pastor. (I promise to present my full testimony before this journey is over.) Now, I seek God's face every day by meditating on His word (The Bible), and lifting my prayers up to Him in my daily quiet time. As I've said before, this makes a huge difference as I go about the business of my day. Anxiety lessens, peace settles in, I feel more than a conqueror! This is why we are intentionally looking for quiet in the days leading up to Easter.

I have been reading through the Bible since January of this year. In my Old Testament reading, I began to envy the children of Israel, with their visible direction of the Lord in a cloud by day or fire by night. We have something more than they had though. We have the life, teachings, and testimony of Jesus. Not only does that give us direction, but allows us to more fully understand the character of God. This is what we are intentionally meditating on in our personal quiet time.

How do we do this? I have given you a few suggestions so far in my Season of Quiet for beginning to focus on where and when you can start finding quiet in your day. These are different for everyone. You may be a morning person and get up early each day with your journal and a cup of tea before heading out into the world. You may be a night owl and like to relax after a long day in your easy chair with a good book. Maybe both morning and evening meditation sound appealing. If you can start and end the day with quiet meditation, kudos to you! If you are just starting out this habit though, a consistent and set aside quality time each day is most important.

Our model for quality time with God comes from Jesus. We find that Jesus prayed in "solitary" and "lonely" places (Mark 1:35 and Luke 5:16). He prayed in a posture of reverence and submission (Matthew 26:39). He gave us an outline for the words we should use when we pray in what we refer to as "The Lord's Prayer" (Matthew 6:9-13). In addition to meditating and memorizing scripture, prayer is how we seek God in our quiet time.

So, Part 2 of this theme on finding your personal quiet time has given you some ideas for What, When, Where, and How. We also reviewed Why intentionally seeking quiet in our daily life is important. The most important question is Who are we doing this for in the first place? Is it for ourselves? Not when you think about it. In quiet prayer and meditation, we recognize the Source of our strength, the Power behind our purpose, and the need to relinquish our plans to His plans. The resulting blessing to us is that He is an ever present help, our strong tower, a fortress when we're weak. And He came to redeem us and offer us an eternal life beyond this mortal one! A life where we will fully commune with Him face to face. Without "street noise". In quiet adoration and triumphant worship. Can I get an AMEN?!

As I seek out my own quiet times, I can't promise to post every day here at Life Beyond PBJ. I am doing all of this without an outline, only as I am moved to write. So, I hope you continue to follow along and anticipate what we will share together here for the next several weeks. I'd love to hear from you in the comments.
Take care and enjoy the quiet moments you find today!