Nourishment and Sacrifice

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**

    Nourishment takes sacrifice. Nourishment might mean practicing the discipline of waking early rather than sleeping in. It might mean practicing the discipline of eating well rather than indulging. Nourishment might mean practicing the discipline of silence and solitude when you have a list to get done.

    Choosing nourishment often means that some comfort will be sacrificed. Sleep, food, productivity, etc. Choosing nourishment requires sacrifice and that is often not fun.

    How is God calling you to nourishment? Is there something you are unwilling to sacrifice?

    Spend some time with God today asking what needs nourishment in your life. Ask Him to help you choose to sacrifice whatever it will take for this nourishment.

**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

The Present "Me"

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**

    Who are you today? Who are you, in your successes, your failures, your strengths, your weaknesses?

    You are not who you were and you are not who you will be.

    As you grow more and more into the likeness of Christ, may you be gracious to your present “me”. Yes, we are growing, we are learning and being sharpened and yet we beat ourselves up for not being “there” yet. We beat ourselves up and reject our present selves because we are not who we will be.

    There is grace in the present, there is grace in the moments you sin and you look nothing like Christ. There is grace to grow and there is the grace to be, who you are, now.

    Live in the freedom of this grace. Live in the freedom that grace meets your imperfection in the present. Live in the freedom that God accepts you because of the grace of Jesus.

    Give yourself grace today.

**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

Line of Sight

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**

    As I drive I come to a stop sign. I am good about looking both ways for oncoming traffic, runners, dogs, etc. I look far down to my left and far down to my right. I look far but a few times I find myself missing something near. Maybe it is a runner or a walker and they are right by the stop sign. One time, there was a woman on a bike who screamed as she was a afraid I might hit her.

    As I reflect on my consistency in looking far left and far right I realize that I sometimes miss what is near. In some ways it is like looking far into the past and learning from it or making sure I don’t make the same mistake again. It is like looking far into the future and planning, making sure that nothing catches me off guard. As I focus on the past and future, I miss the present. I miss what is right in front of me.

    How about you? Do you see what is in front of you or are you missing it?

    Maybe it is a moment with a child? Maybe it is a moment with a friend? Maybe it is an opportunity to serve those near you? Maybe it is a moment that God is inviting you nearer yet you are too focused on the past or the future, to the left and to the right.

    How will you look for what is nearest to you today?

**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

Gracious Waiting

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**

    Impatient dominates. I get so frustrated as I wait for my children to do something I have asked them to. I ask them again and again and yet they need more time than I have allotted and need more time than I expect. Possessing a pretty strong internal time clock I have expectations of how long something should take. Wait a minute … these expectations are of how long it takes ME. Shoot … I have got to slow. it. down. They need a break, they need for me to have real expectations and they need me to graciously wait.
  
    My children, and others, need me to graciously wait. To wait as they climb into the car, as they brush their teeth, as they eat, as they speak, as they pull out of a parking space, as they walk, as they learn and as they grow.

    I have grown accustomed to quick service and immediate results to my requests and sometimes I am just mean. Yet God calls me to slow down, to wait, to watch and maybe even enjoy another’s pace. I miss out on so much as my unrealistic expectations lead and I withhold grace.

    How will you offer someone grace today? How will you go at their pace rather than your own? 

**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

Convenience

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**

    I love convenience. There's my confession. I would love everything to come easily, to not work at anything and it appear or disappear according to my desires. Frustration and annoyance grow as I am required to work for something.

    I want a drive thru for every store. I want to know that something is in stock before I make a drive. I want the outside temperature to stay consistently at 65° F.

    Convenience is a high priority and because of it, I demand. And when I demean, I demean.

    As I want something to come with no effort, I cannot see someone else’s great effort. When I expect a great outcome with no effort I am saying that another’s work is not worthy. When I raise convenience to the level of an idol I have just put myself above everyone else and am willing to crush another for my convenience.

    I need Jesus to change my heart. I need the Spirit’s discernment to see when I demean and crush. It is not pretty, but this idol is real.   

    What does Jesus need to change in your heart? How do you need to hear the Spirit’s voice today? Spend some time in prayer, asking God to show you what needs to change.

**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

Paying Attention

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**
 

“The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention.” 2 Chronicles 33:10

    One of my greatest fears is not paying attention when God speaks. Yet I do it all the time. This Scripture verse hit me a few days ago as I read it. It saddened me greatly and it convicted me all the same.

    God often speaks and I miss it. I miss it because I am trying to fix something with my own strength. Sometimes I am working hard for God but in reality I just want to look good. When overwhelmed by life I depend on what I can see rather than trust God for what I cannot see. When I miss God it is often because I am paying more attention to myself than to Him.

    Paying attention is a choice and it requires work. It requires more than I am willing to give and somewhere along the way I learned I could still “succeed” in life with partial attention. I can make it “okay” without too much attention on God.

    Yet God calls for our attention. And even when I miss it He calls out to us again. In His grace, He repeats Himself. I am so grateful for the repetition!

    He repeats Himself and I finally hear it, I have paid attention.

    How about you? Is God trying to tell you something? Have you been paying attention? What can you do today to attune yourself to God’s voice?
 
**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

Continual Communion

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**

“The call to live in continual communion with God means that every person’s life, no matter how mundane, is elevated to sacred heights.”
                                                                              - With by Skye Jethani

    Whether rich or poor, whether educated or uneducated, whether mobile or not, your life is sacred. When you are in relationship with God, your life is sacred.

    Whether you are changing the world or changing diapers, your life is sacred when lived in continual communion with God. Whether you are working on your doctorate or working with those with disabilities, your life is sacred when lived in continual communion with God.

    The point is not what you are doing but Who you are doing it with.

    Whatever the day holds forth today, when it is lived with God, it is sacred and of great value and worth. It is about Who you are with, not what you are doing.

    Do you see Him with you?

**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

Harmful Help

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**

    “Let me help you with that.” I find myself saying this to others when they never asked or needed the help. Sometimes my desire to help actually gets in the way, makes things harder or messier. My help has become harmful.

    I do the same thing with God. “Let me help you with that”, I find myself saying. He never asked.

    So I take on too much. I take on burdens God never expected me to and find myself overloaded. I get overwhelmed by the emotional care needed or the physical requirements to carry burdens. I am bearing burdens I was never meant to bear.

    Carrying more than God asks I find myself weary, bitter and buried. Taking on more than God asks means that I do not trust that the “extra” burdens I have taken on will be taken care of. I say to God, “Let me help you with that.”

    Again, He never asked.

    As I take on too much, I offer help that actually harms. I harm myself, my family, others and the body of Christ.

    Has your help ever been harmful? Have you taken on more than God has asked? Will you pray and ask God to help you discern what burdens He is asking you to take and which ones He is not?

**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

Hearts of Compassion

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**

A prayer for us today:

    “God, grow in us a heart of compassion rather than a heart of competition. Help us to see others as you see them. Help us to grow in love for them rather than love for ourselves and for our reputation. Give us hearts meet people where they are in mercy and grace. Thank you for the compassion you show to us, your mercy and your grace. Amen.”

**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

Burdening Alone

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**

    We were never meant to carry burdens alone and yet we do it all the time.

    I often find myself trying to do it all … alone. I find myself exhausted, frustrated and depleted. The load is too much. Taking on burdens alone means that I cannot do well what I said I would do. Well maybe I can for a while, but not long. Something suffers.

    Taking on burdens alone also means I deny someone else the opportunity to serve God how He has called and gifted them. I rob the community from the gifts and offerings of another.

    As I take burdens on alone I harm myself, my family, others and the body of Christ.

    Are you carrying burdens alone? Which burdens can you share with others? Would you ask God to help you see and know who to ask?

**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

Choosing Patience

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**

“But true patience is the opposite of a passive waiting in which we let things happen and allow others to make decisions. Patience means to enter actively into the thick of life and to fully bear the suffering within and around us … It is to enter our live with open eyes, ears, and hands so that we really know what is happening. Patience is an extremely difficult discipline precisely because it counteracts our unreflective impulse to flee or to fight.”
                                Compassion by Nouwen, McNeill and Morrison

    Through this rich perspective on patience I am challenged. Patience is not just getting through something; it is choosing to actively engage life. It is not just surviving; it is choosing to live in reality.

    Patience is a choice that goes against what is natural within us. Naturally we want to scream, to yell, to control, to assert physical power. Naturally we want to ignore, pretend, just get through the day. Patience requires trust. Patience requires discomfort. Patience requires supernatural help because in and of myself I do not trust and I want to be comfortable.

    Patience requires help from the God of greatest patience and the God who choose to enter actively into the thick of life and fully bear the suffering within and around us. Patience requires Jesus and our great Helper – the Holy Spirit.

    How will you choose to enter into live fully, trusting and depending on our God who entered fully into our lives?

 
**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

The Need to Perform

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**

“Voices of culture and expectations of others will always lead you to a feeling of inadequacy or a need to perform.”
                                                       Desperate by Mae and Clarkson

    How do you feel you need to perform? What pressures do you put on yourself?

    Why do you feel inadequate? Who are you unnecessarily comparing yourself to? Competing with?

    Will you talk to God today? Will you ask God to help you discern between the voice of culture and His voice? Between the voice of others and His voice? 

**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

New Names

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**
 
“Often we cling to our old names because our new names, our new identities, may point us in directions we would rather not go.”
                         Compassion by Nouwen, McNeill, Morrison

    New names come at various times and new names can be both expected and unexpected. Living into a new name and identity requires great faith, trust and dependence.

    Faith is involved as we step forward in our new names because we have no idea what we are doing. God has called us into a new identity yet we have no idea what it feels like or who we are to be. We are used to our old name and the old name seems safer, predictable, we are familiar with it. This new name is unknown and we are not quite sure we are up for the task of living up to this new name.

    Trust is also involved in accepting and moving forward with our new name. To accept an identity requires that we trust God. We trust that through this new name is not a mistake. We trust that this new name is a greater reflection of who we are and a part of who God is calling us to be.

    Dependence is also required as we step into this new name. Dependence on the Holy Spirit to direct us in our new identity and trust the He knows what He is doing.

    What new name is pointing you in a direction you would rather not know? What old name are you clinging to? How will you step into your new name in faith, trust and dependence?
 
**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

Escape or Engage

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**
 
    We all have our escapes. Daydreaming, self-pity, chocolate, wine, shopping, etc. We have coping mechanisms to escape our present reality. Maybe our present reality is really challenging or maybe it is boring. Maybe our present reality is not what we had hoped so we dream of another. Maybe we are afraid to face the present reality.

    We all struggle with the present from time to time and we look for our escapes. Sometimes we even physically escape. Other times we distance our hearts or our minds.

    Escaping is our way of dishonoring the present. It is our way of saying that the present is not worth it. Or it could be our way of saying the present is too much to face. Sometimes escapes are healthy and helpful. Yet I find myself escaping when I need to be engaging. I dishonor the gift of the present by escaping.

    How about you? Do you find yourself escaping more than find yourself engaging? What do you escape to? How can choosing to be these triggers help you to recognize when your escape is healthy or not? My prayer is that you would be able to engage when God is calling you to engage the present fully.
 
**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

Wrestling With or Wrestling Against?

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**

    A natural wrestler (think non-physical here), when an instructor of mine directed me to consider whether I was wrestling with or against God, I paused. I had never considered there might be a difference between wrestling with and wrestling against.

    As a natural question asker, critical thinker, challenger of authority and question asker, God and I have had a few wrestling matches in our relationship. It was not until I was asked about wrestling with or against that I considered the difference in my posture and heart towards God.

    Wrestling with implies I want to learn, grow and am coming to the match with humility. Wrestling against implies I am here to compete, win and am coming to the match with pride.

    Wrestling with implies a vulnerability, an openness and courage to hear what I may not want to hear. Wrestling against implies self-protection, being closed off and unwilling to hear.

    As I reflect on these differences I am not so sure that most of my wrestling matches were not matches against God.

    How about you? Are you wrestling with God today? Are you wrestling with or against?

    Whether with or against my prayer is God’s grace would take over and lead you deeper into His heart.

**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

Grace to Grieve

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**

    “A dream of mine had just checked into hospice, and Randy was sensitive enough to know I needed some margin to think.”
                                                                    – Bob Goff, Love Does

    We all grieve and need to grieve. Some of us have lost a dream; some of us have lost a relationship, an identity or a position. We all have had losses, are grieving a loss and will have losses to come. All of these things are a part of life along with the good things too.

    When we experience loss we also experience grief and for some reason we have expectations tied to our grief. We expect it to look a certain way, last a particular period of time. We put pressure on ourselves when we are there “again” and thought we had already gotten over it.

    Why can we not give ourselves the grace to grieve?

    I love the line above from a book I have only looked at in a bookstore. As Goff describes the death of a dream, he talks about his friend who gave him the space and grace to grieve.

   Is a dream of yours dying? How will you give yourself grace? How can you give another grace as they watch a dream die?

**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

Too Busy for Beauty

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**

    Beauty requires us to slow down. Beauty requires being seen, heard, felt and experienced. Beauty requires time. It requires time to listen fully and deeply to a piece of music. It requires time to take in the natural beauty of water, mountains, flowers and forests. It requires time to look at a piece of art, understand its story and consider what it means for you. It requires time to see the person standing before you, sitting next to you.

    God has given us beauty in so many forms and in our hurried world filled with superficial extras we miss beauty. We miss God.

    How will you take time for beauty today?

**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

Remembering and Re-Engaging Your Calling

A treat from a guest blogger today!
 
   As I type this, my little sister is having her second baby and I am traveling to see her. I am so excited for her! A mother having a baby always makes me remember. It makes me remember how badly I was ready to give birth when the time came. I remember the awe of seeing that little one that was mine and yet all together completely their own person--seeing that face, giving that name, counting those fingers, unswaddling them just to touch their sweet skin. I remember being filled with wonder that children are a reward from the Lord, they are His best gift. Why was He so generous with me? (Ps. 127:3) I remember all my hopes and dreams as a mom. I remember in a fresh way God’s calling on my life to be a mommy to these babies.

    Then there's real life. You know, look around you. Diapers, teething, tantrums, shouts of "mine!”, the budding artist’s crayon creations on your drywall, being their personal napkin-Kleenex-trashcan, and heaven forbid the independent will that comes with one unmistakable word, "no." There's also the peanut butter and jelly kisses, gifts of peach pits from the playground because he knows you like walnuts, her clip-clopping around in my heels, their mouths that still look like baby mouths when they sleep, little kid laughter at silly little kid things. Somehow in the midst of real life I think our God-given calling gets a little hazy. Our God-authored hopes and dreams that made up the horizon of a glorious sunrise of new life, are not often in sight when we have our faces down, working in the dirt of raising a family. It happens to all of us. It’s just real.

    Will you take two minutes with me as a mommy and remember your calling? How did God open your heart to motherhood? What was the big dream or the important work that was tied to motherhood? What did you hope and dream for your baby and for yourself? Lift your face and look at the bigger picture of your life right now. How is God using you right here, right now?

    When we remember His calling on us, suddenly our real life as a mommy takes on a refreshed, real meaning. All the small stuff of regular life becomes important again because it all unfolds into the big dream! Recalling our calling refocuses our eyes on God. It gets our faces out of the dirt and back onto the horizon of Hope. Remembering and then re-engaging your calling allows you to experience His best gift lived out, with more reward to come when you keep pressing ahead in His calling.

    Inhale the life-giving words of Ps. 62:5. "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him."

- Ginny Fowler
http://www.aseedofmyfaith.blogspot.com/

Foretaste of Heaven

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**

     There are so many things in this world that are a foretaste of Heaven. A friend wrote on her daughter’s birthday,

“My God has given me a foretaste of heaven’s sweetness.”

    Her words, rich in beauty, struck me to the core. We have all been given foretastes of heaven’s sweetness. What foretaste(s) has He given you?

**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

Rest Notes

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**

     Talking with a friend, I was telling her of my time of rest and the things I was saying “no” to. God is calling me to rest right now. Her response to me was “even music has rest”. I loved the picture she gave me of music and how our lives are similar to a beautiful composition.

    I often think of crescendos, decrescendos, bridges, choruses, verses, different instruments as paralleling our life stories but forgot about the rest notes.

    How about you? Are you on a rest note? Is a rest note coming?

    How will you be attentive to God in His call to rest?

**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**