Quiet Waters

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks at our house.  Finishing up work projects, last-minute Christmas shopping, and three separate rounds of company from family members over the holidays.  It’s all good, but I’m feeling more than a little tapped out. 

It’s a constant struggle for me to remember that I need to take time for myself.  I can only give from what I have.  And if I haven’t been connected to God lately, I’m probably not going to be acting very much in His image. 

For 2012, I’m committing to being more intentional in my resting.  I’m taking one morning every week to spend with Jesus.  (Just to shake things up a bit, my “Sabbath” is going to be on Thursday J).  I’ll spend some time in prayer, both for myself, and my clients – but I’ll spend an even larger time just listening and waiting to hear from God. 

I believe that God gives each one of us a unique way of connecting to Him.  Often it’s a form of creative expression – painting, sculpting, writing.  It’s not just limited to the arts – one of my friends swears that he is closest to God when he is running.  For me, though, it’s time at the piano.  Doesn’t really matter what I sit down to play; inevitably I began playing what’s on my heart, and God meets me there.  We’ve been doing this for years now, and it never ceases to amaze me.  I’ve fought battles, nursed wounds, confessed sin, and found healing – all at my piano.  It’s rare that I ever remember what I play, but the notes aren’t really that important.  I just know that neither one of us will be leaving until I am once again at peace, beautifully refreshed, and ready to go do my job again.

Such a precious gift from my gentle Shepherd, who patiently waits for me to remember that 

he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. (Psalm 23:2-3)

Where are your quiet waters?
Have you been there with Him lately???

The Present

God has a PRESENT for you this Christmas.

You probably think you already know what it is – but I wonder if you’re right. (No fair skipping ahead to see what it is.)

Most of us would guess that the present contains eternal life. Christmas, after all, is the unfolding of God’s plan to bring salvation. God’s gift to us was Jesus, and in accepting this gift we have eternal life. And you are partly right – but that’s not all of your present from him.

Don’t get me wrong here – eternal life is an awesome gift. But it’s focused only on the future – what about the here and now? Eternal life is not immediately comforting to the homeless man on the street, wondering where he’ll sleep tonight. Or the child in Africa, now an orphan because of AIDS.

In his infinite ability to meet our needs, God’s Christmas gift not only takes care of our future, He focuses on our PRESENT. The everyday life and struggles that are around us – big and small.

Think about it: when Jesus first spoke in the temple, the “kick off” of his ministry, His first words were focused on immediate needs:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free. (Luke 4:17-19)

This is the full gift of Christmas – the freedom from our pain, our fears, our struggles. Yes, we have the future hope of eternal life, but we can also claim present victory from whatever has enslaved us. We’ve all got our issues, because let’s face it: life is hard. Messy, exhausting, and yes, sometimes it seems unbearable.

The moment we accept Christ, we have the present gift of freedom. It may be immediate victory over your sin, instant deliverance from sin or pain that you’ve struggled with for years. More likely, though, your freedom comes to you in stages, because it takes you a while to recognize and claim this precious gift.

But you are free.

If you’re in ministry (and as I discussed in an earlier post, we all are), your job is to share this gift of freedom with the poor. How you define who is poor, and what freedom means will vary – but your gift to the world this season is freedom.

The gift has already been given to you, wrapped up, and delivered to your front door. If you haven’t already, it is time for you to unwrap this precious gift. Claim your freedom – and then determine how you will minister to others so that they can do the same.

"Come thou long expected Jesus,
Born to set thy people free
From our fears and sins release us
Let us find our rest in Thee."  --Charles Wesley

Scattered Seed

I’ve been working with Christian ministries in some form for more than ten years.  (If you want to read more about my professional journey, click here).  In that time, I’ve come to realize two truths:

1) Everyone has a ministry calling from God. 

                Yes, you read that right – YOU are a minister.  Doesn’t matter if you are a stay-at-home mom whose only contact with an adult is the mailman (and I’ve been there!), a cubicle-dwelling businessman,  or a card-carrying, licensed minister – God desires to use you right where we are, right at this moment.  We all have an impact on someone – the question is what kind of impact is it?  This brings me to my next point:

2)  It is up to each of us to recognize and develop our ministry callings, so that God may use them (and us) as He chooses.

Can’t claim authorship of this – it’s straight from Jesus' parable of the scattered seed.  God gave each person a calling, a seed of an idea.  Some people never recognize their calling – and the seed never gets planted.   Sometimes we don’t fully understand what God wants us to do before we go charging ahead – and we try to plant the seed in rocky soil, where it can’t take root. Sometimes we make a bit of headway in our calling, only to be distracted by other “weeds” – pressures from society, temptations, or just the general “busy”ness of life.  Our seed sprouts, grows a little, but the weeds choke us.

Sometimes, though, we get it right.  And that ministry opportunity blossoms, and we experience the joy of doing what we were asked to do, and the subsequent approval from our Father.

As for me, I love to garden (both literally, and figuratively).  I’m constantly amazed by all the variety I see in the plants around me – so many beautiful sizes, textures, and colors.  But nothing pleases me more than seeing a plant that is struggling become established and begin bearing fruit. 

For me, this blog is an extension of my calling to nurture ministry.  It’s a place to write down what God reveals, process what I’ve seen and heard, and share the wisdom of others who are in the garden with me.  I hope you’ll find it helpful!