Delighting in the Divine
Yes to freedom, yes to play and yes to celebrating the moment!
Delighting in the Divine
Yes to freedom, yes to play and yes to celebrating the moment!
All tagged walking with God
What would be your two top anti-stress tips? I bet they are not the same as Jesus’ observations on what will bring true rest in Him!
My top two ideas would probably be stopping and breathing deeply and counting to three, and thankfulness...
...but Jesus’ top two are:
I love words. I love how they wrap up a feeling and spring-board an idea. I love how words can paint the tumultuous storms of life in lightning-strike clarity. I love how emotions can be soothed by words, like the calm of an unhurried afternoon tea in the garden where the gentle breeze blows through the bushes; or emotions can be hair-raised and roller-coastered with violent passion that makes us bold and pushy...
Could God possibly desire brokenness above seeming fixed-ness?
Could God possibly prefer me broken and weak and at the end of me over held-together-all-by-myself me, because that is where He is? ...
I have found that in the Western world, even amongst Christians, dreams are not taking very seriously, and the assumption is that a weird dream is just a result of a bit of funny cheese. Here in Peru I find that people dream a lot, and the assumption is that God is trying to say something, even if they have no idea what (or even if it is a result of a bit of funny cheese!). So where is the balance? God definitely uses dreams to speak to us today, so here are some things I have found helpful when trying to discern God’s voice in dreams...
Last week I wrote about how much I feel paralyzed by the inability to do big things or things I feel I should. Yesterday I was not feeling great, Mark was sick in bed and I was preaching in the morning. I find it hard doing ministry when Mark is not around as the boys still needed walking through social situations (one of our children still struggles with having so many people around in our house and interacting in socially appropriate ways around them - a lot of fun in community living!). In the afternoon it was the first birthday party of our friends' child. I was there at little David’s birth, so it was a significant birthday for me to be at and to celebrate and I wanted to be there. But by the time 5 o’clock came round, the party had started and I was asleep and wiped out! I wanted to attend the party but I also knew that I needed to make the children some food first or else they would just fill up on party food and that would not be helpful for anyone. Believe me...
Would you take a moment to close your eyes and imagine Jesus washing your feet. He has everything ready - he has prepared a towel and a bowl and jug of water. He kneels down before you and begins. Stop a moment to receive this imaginary foot washing. Go on, I’ll wait! ...
How is your new year going? Does it feel like a new season? It is Summer right now in Peru and we are abiding as a community - spending lots of time resting, spending time together socially, sorting through things and preparing for the new school year which starts in March here. Having spent time resting over Christmas I feel excited and expectant about what God is going to do this year. Right now I am in a season of preparation and deepening roots...
I have applied the vine and branches passage in John 15:4-5, every time I have read it, to my own personal walk with God. 100% of the time I have viewed the passage like this: If I, Anna, abide in Christ, and I, Anna, seek God and have communion with Him at all times, then I, Anna, will bear much fruit...
I am a missionary and I hate going up and talking to strangers. Does anyone see an irony there?
One of the callings that I know is on my life is to share with others about Jesus. To let people know that there is a Beautiful One who invites them to have relationship with Him and saves them out of all the nastiness of life without Him.
If others initiate conversation, if there is even just a glimmer of relationship, I am able to chat freely and openly with them. But if some one is going about their business, I do not want to interrupt. Anyone else here an introvert with similar feelings?!
There has been a voice in my head recently that has been saying this:...
Good morning, Jesus, what are your plans for today?!
My spirit was alive and ready to engage with Emmanuel and yet my body was still shaking off the night’s sleep. I closed my eyes as my mind focused on Him and a vision appeared of a woman praying for me. Beginning to ask Jesus what it meant, the thought came that He wanted me to ask this woman at the conference I was attending to pray for me and pray a mother’s blessing over me.
The day before at the conference, Isabel Allum had talked about waking up every morning and greeting Jesus and asking Him about His plans, and now I had, and now He had shown me, and now I was scared stiff...
I am really excited about this new series because I am really excited about being in relationship with Emmanuel! It is what breathes life into my life! Without Him, everything I do is pointless, worthless, depressing, overwhelming, stressful and just hard and yucky. Sometimes, when I forget I am in relationship with the Creator of the Universe it is still those things. When I find myself in those moments, I find myself wondering how I can cultivate a walk with God throughout my whole day, throughout my whole thought-life and throughout all my actions.
What relationship-breathed habits and rhythms can I put into my day so I don’t forget the most important relationship I have, for even a moment? Yep, just a small task! Actually, so often my life has become about tasks which I complete, trying to do them in joy and so often not knowing if I am in God’s will. Sometimes I wonder whether God’s will actually exists in what I am doing (does God have a preference here or is He totally content to inhabit what I am doing just as a father joins in a child's play?). Other times I find myself living in a spirit of striving: striving so hard to be and do right, but failing to actually acknowledge Him and ask His opinion on things.
