PORCH
a soft place to land
a calm weekend haven
a gentle pause from life's busyness
so we may experience
the tender lovingkindness of Jesus
as we do life together
in community
Oh I can't begin to tell you how good it is to be back with you again! Three weeks seems so long ... yet it was just right.
A great big welcome to dear old friends and precious new-to-me ones, too. I'm hoping that when my name pops up in your inbox it'll bring a smile and whatever's on the agenda will always be worth your valuable time.
And if a special someone was good enough to forward this to you, you can subscribe right here. I'd love that.
There's nothing linear about the changeover from one year to the next, is there. Whether you've been quietly keeping the home fires burning or running hither and yon, these weeks of transition find us in a beehive of activity. Cleaning up Christmas. Corralling, sorting, reorganizing all the things. Finding the perfect home for a new possession or two. Restocking the fridge, keeping the washer and dryer spinning, wading through accumulated bills, cards, and stacks of stuff on countertop and desk.
Getting back to work and school and routine and ministry again. I'm embracing this kind of gentle bustle that ramps us up to new attitudes and fresh starts ... and surprising opportunities we never dreamed would be ours.
2023 has arrived, she's settling in, and she's making herself at home. I can't wait to see what she looks like as her days unfurl.
I'm all about quiet. Stillness. Serenity. I feel healthier, more authentically present to others, and more available to the Lord when both my soul and my environment are uncluttered and at peace.
The older I get, the truer this becomes.
There's no point galloping ahead at full speed into this new year without carving out the time and energy to take care of old business. Decisions left unmade hang like an albatross around our necks. Resentments that haven't been dealt with and forgiveness not offered isolates us in a miserable prison of our own making. And grief that's somehow been compartmentalized and tucked back into far-off corners renders us incapable of moving toward a spirit of hopefulness.
We're talking about any unwholesome, unsettling, or ungodly situation that's been gathering dust, taking up time and space and energy that could better be used in more productive ways.
We clear away the old, the tired, the messy so we can breathe deeply again. Have a clearer vision of who we are in this season. Understand what we're really craving. For God is always inviting us to something deeper, holier, stronger, and wiser. But first we have to roll up ours sleeves, wade in deep, and take care of business.
Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
Hebrews 12:1-2
QUIETING RESOURCES
I quieted my mantle and dining room this week and it was like a breath of fresh air swept into the house. As ever, Myquillyn inspired me.
This has long been a favorite read - Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain. And this, for our kids and grandkids - Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts. So excellent, more needed and urgent than ever. Click here to read my reviews and find more quiet resources.
Emma Churchman
Bringing Solitude Into Our Lives
Henri Nouwen
Henri Nouwen
5 minute prayer meditations anchored to biblical truth, love, and peace
O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
Psalm 131
May you be courageous enough to walk into the stillness despite confusion, shame, or fear. May the choices you make open your life to a quiet peace that only the Spirit of Jesus can provide. And may you be kind and gracious to yourself in the process, even as God has been kind and gracious to you. Amen.
Linda
visiting
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