a word to practice...

Do everything without complaining or arguing...

Philippians 2:14

This word comes to mind to practice...

as I go about a task I don't really want to do...

The Word convicts...

so I practice...

I seek out the Word to share it here...

and find the benefits... of the practice...

the need for conviction...

Do everything without complaining or arguing,

so that you may become blameless and pure,

children of God without fault in a crooked

and depraved generation, in which you

shine like stars in the universe as you hold out

the word of life...

Philippians 2:15-16

The practice of denying the desire to complain...?

Blamelessness... purity...

faultlessness... among a crooked generation...

the opportunity to shine like a star...

holding out the word of life... for others to receive...

Good reason to hold my tongue...

take captive my thoughts...

quiet my heart...

Thank You... Lord... for this reminder today...

I so want to be pure... a light in the dark...

one who offers life...

Is there a Word you need to practice today...? 

you're welcome to share mine... :)

lessons... from advent... part 2...

It started yesterday...
the explaining of the one big Advent lesson...
and continues today...

Advent is a state of heart...

The songs of Behold the Lamb of God...
specifically... A Labor of Love...
and the personal practice of daily communion...
brought me to this understanding of Advent...

The kind we do at Christmas...
just four-ish weeks out of the year...
preparing for a thing already done...
is no preparation at all...

The call to daily communion...
led to inviting those in my home to the table...

The few days around Christmas...
at times... found all five of us sharing the meal...
remembering Him...

In one of these times...
the invitation given...
my three children gathered...
the Word read...
bread blessed and passed...
the beautiful young woman...
the one I call Baby Girl...
she yawns... as she takes the bread to her mouth...

And that's when I saw it...
I wish I could've captured the moment...

I saw the early church...
the one described in Acts...
gathering daily...
for prayers...
lessons from the apostles...
fellowship...
and the meal...

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching

and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

...

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking

bread in their homes, they received their food with glad

and generous hearts, praising God...

Acts 2:42, 46-47 ESV

Daily they came...no matter how tired...
daily... to share... and remember...
daily... to gather as the church...

It came to me a few years ago...
every believing marriage... the basic building block of the church...
every believing family... a church in and of itself...

And here in my kitchen...
gathered around the island...
makings of dinner...
a single votive...
a single cracker...
a single glass of wine...
we remember Him...
we are the church...

I remember His life...
His death...
His resurrection...

I remember we are currently in a time of waiting...
a time of advent...

We are waiting for Him to return...

No one knew the date or time of His first coming...
No one knows the date or time of His second coming...

Like those who were prepared for His first arrival...
we are to prepare for His second...

To truly practice advent...
is to practice it in the everyday...
in the ordinary moments of life...

In the practice of weekly worship...
in daily communion...
in hopeful waiting...
in obedience...
in righteous living...
daily...
daily...
daily...
moment...
by...
moment...
remembering...
waiting...

Advent is a state of heart...

Father God... help me hold on to the lesson of Advent...

keep me looking forward not back...

keep my heart... in a state  of advent...

Blessed are all who wait for him!

Isaiah 30:18

practicing waiting...

After yesterday's revelation... of unbelief...
today I practiced... waiting...

In problems...
and fixes...
in disappointments...
and encouragements...
in joys...
and sorrows...
I looked to Him...

Waiting to see...
what He has in store...

Waiting to see...
what good He will bring...

Practicing waiting...
on Him...
stills a heart...

Our soul waits for the Lord;

he is our help and our shield.

For our heart is glad in him

because we trust in his holy name.

Psalm 33:20-21 ESV

leaning into Him and His promises...

Watching a loved one struggle... tempted to be pulled under with him... offers opportunities... to lean into Him... and His promises...

So far... finding Him trustworthy and sure... with the testing... and practice... of His Word...

Finding peace... in response to giving thanks...

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation,

by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,

present your requests to God. And the peace of God,

which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts

and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

...leads me to trust the surety... of His other promises...

God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond 

your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide 

the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV

And we know that for those who love God all things

work together for good, for those who are called

according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28 ESV

"I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Hebrews 13:5 ESV

Lord... thank You... for the opportunity to lean into You...

and Your promises... Thank You for Your faithfulness...

practicing... Psalm 62...

This morning I awoke all stirred up... for the one who appears stumped...

Feeling the need to act... take control of the situation... help... fix... as if I could...

Seeking guidance before acting... I bowed low... before the only One who has control... can help... fix...

Reminded... to cling to a psalm... one being set to memory...

For God alone my soul waits in silence; 

from him comes my salvation.

He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress;

I shall not be greatly shaken.

Psalm 62:1-2 ESV

This verse... became prayer... 

For You alone... my soul waits in silence... at rest... still...

From You... comes my salvation...

You only... are my Rock and my salvation... my defense...

I shall not be greatly shaken...

Peace descended... the need to act set to rest... before the One who will act...

Trusting Him... with the one so loved... the one for whom a heart aches...

A prayer returned to... multiple times today... 

One that will  be repeated... again... and... again... as needed...

Thank-full for the opportunities... to practice silence... be still... rest in Him...

practice casting...

Cast all your anxiety on him

because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7

cast... to cause to move or send forth by throwing... to throw off or away... to get rid of: discard...

Life provides plenty of opportunities... to practice... casting...
difficult relationships...
illness...
children...
unknowns...
finances...
the nightly news...

There is no shortage of anxiety-stimulating circumstances...

I've practiced casting quite a bit lately...

Each time anxiety tries to rise... I cast... throw... send forth... the unwanted... emotion... on Him...

Practice fishing for peace... casting... all your anxiety... on Him...

Do not be anxious about anything,

but in everything, by prayer and petition,

with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

And the peace of God, which transcends

all understanding, will guard your hearts and

minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

feeling wrong

What do you do... when everything you do... feels wrong...?
Find a reason to rejoice...!

Rejoice in the Lord always.

I will say it again: Rejoice!

Philippians 4:4

help in taking Spirit steps

The redefining... of do... and breath... the breathing in... and out... brought to mind a great book on spiritual disciplines... one that helps explain the why... what... and how...

 Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth

by Richard J. Foster

Foster divides the Disciplines into three categories...

Inward Disciplines

Meditation

Prayer

Fasting

Study

Outward Disciplines

Simplicity

Solitude

Submission

Service

Corporate Disciplines

Confession

Worship

Guidance

Celebration

Perhaps you've already practiced some... maybe your favorite isn't found on his list... the main purpose is seeking God... following the leading of the Spirit... cultivating a heart attitude... to truly know Him...

 

We must not be led to believe that the Disciplines are only for spiritual giants and hence beyond our reach, or only for contemplatives who devote all their time to prayer and meditation. Far from it. God intends the Disciplines of the spiritual life to be for ordinary human beings: people who have jobs, who care for children, who wash dishes and mow lawns. In fact, the Disciplines are best exercised in the midst of our relationships with our husband or wife, our brothers and sisters, our friends and neighbors.

--- Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline

Carving out time for the doing of God... walking with the Spirit... is something we won't be able to do later... it's one of those Today things... only in this world do we have the opportunity to exercise our faith... and take steps with the unseen...

Lord Jesus... Today... help me to carve out time... for You... pursuing You... in the realm of the unseen... taking steps with the Spirit... Increase my desire to know You... grow me to love You... with all my heart... soul... mind... and strength...

breathe in... breathe out...

It amazes me how God brings things together... the redefining... of do... and breath... built on one another... connected through His leading... in my reading...

The spiritual practices... exercises... that God calls us to... that seem like nothing to many... are essential to our walk of faith... our walk with the Spirit...

It is through these exercises of meditating on God's Word... eating it... praying it... listening with expectation... submitting... that we grow... in relationship with our Savior... and become forces for God... in a broken world...

As I read over lunch yesterday... wondering what God was telling me about breath... a heading caught my attention... Spiritual Breathing...

The teaching of Bill Bright helped me learn to become a follower who is filled with the Spirit. He teaches a spiritual exercise called "Spiritual Breathing." The basic idea is that you live with a moment by moment awareness of the Spirit until walking in the Spirit becomes as natural --- as habitual --- as breathing. It's just part of who you are. Here's how it works: the moment you become aware of sin in your life you exhale. When you exhale, you breathe out and repent of your sin. Repentance becomes a natural response and clears out space in our hearts for the Spirit to fill us. So the moment you are prideful, jealous, lustful, harsh, selfish, impatient, you exhale and repent of your sin. ... And then you inhale. When you inhale you breathe in and pray to be filled with the Spirit and you surrender control over to him. As you practice this spiritual breathing it teaches you to keep in step with the Spirit. Followers live with a continual awareness of the Spirit's presence and a constant prayer to be filled with his power.

---Kyle Idleman, not a fan.

When we surrender to God's Sovereignty... we no longer just have our breath to attest to His rule over us... we receive His Spirit... the Holy Spirit... who empowers us to do all He calls us to... things we are incapable of on our own... through Him we bear real fruit...

...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23

The only way to live a godly life... is by the power of the Spirit...

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

Galatians 5:25

ESV

Keep in step with the Spirit... one breath at a time... breathe in... breathe out...

redefining do

In the study with sisters... I was reminded that God has a different definition of do...

We... in American society... with countless resources at our fingertips... and a heritage of can do culture... do not often see the spiritual practices God calls us to as doing... if it's not something we can physically do... something we can see... feel... and touch... then it's nothing...

This is not true... it is a lie...

Being still and knowing He is God is a long shot from nothing. Trusting in a God you cannot see is a long shot from nothing. Holding your tongue is a long shot from nothing. Being patient is a long shot from nothing. Counting it all joy is a long shot from nothing. Submitting is a long shot from nothing. Confessing sin is a long shot from nothing. Resting in Christ is a long shot from nothing. and hear this one really loudly: praying is a long shot from nothing.

---Beth Moore, James: Mercy Triumphs

We serve a God that is Spirit... Who calls us to live by faith... exercising the unseen... in order to overcome the seen...

It's what we trust in but don't yet see that keeps us going.

2Corinthians 5:7

Msg

The most important things... the things of God... are the things we need to tend to most... but sadly... busyness gets in the way... the deception that unless we do... all we have to do... in this world... in our world... we are doing nothing... wasting time...

Take time today... to be still... know that He is God... pray... seek... wait... before you do... one more thing...

more opportunities to trust

The last few weeks... and the move-in of the elder-in-law... have offered opportunities to practice rolling my way onto the Lord... and trust...

Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him, and he will act.

Psalm 37:5

ESV

Two desires planned... or in the hoped-to-be-planned stage... before the impromptu blessing of the move-in occurred...

1) The eight week study with sisters... in my home... something desired for years... but this was the first time the elements seemed to fall into place for it to happen...

2) The hope of having a few days away with my husband... an anniversary trip... somewhere new for both of us...

The needs of the elder-in-law made each seem questionable... yet the study was already advertised... and by faith... I acknowledged that God knew all this was coming when He made the way... I went with it... commited my way to Him... trusted... and waited for Him to act...

Within two weeks of the study... help was in place to be present with my father-in-law during the study... but the week before... the help's son had chest pain that led to open heart surgery... the sure help seemed unsure... still I did not cancel... did not reschedule... I waited for Him to act...

He did... help in place... and the study joy-full...

The trip... however... still not settled... no reservations... some help in place... less than a week to ETD... but... I'm choosing to trust... other times I would have rather canceled then withstood the uncertainty... I would have driven my husband crazy with prodding to choose... manipulated myself into a tizzy...

Yet today... I see another opportunity for Him to act... the signs are in place... joy and excitement in my heart... instead of frustration and anxiety... prompts from God on how to deal with the daily posts of the menu... surely He is at work... so I continue to roll and trust...

The doing of this exercise... the implanting of this word... has begun to grow a peace and trust that has been absent most of my adult life...

For the word of the Lord is right and true;

he is faithful in all he does.

Psalm 33:4

What word have you implanted lately... in your heart... in your life?
Have you seen the fruit of implanted word... experienced transformation?