Stillness

Called “Precious”

Angels, Art, bravery, courage, Faith, family, grace, Motherhood, Peace, Prayer, rest, Stillness, Teaching, Trust, Uncategorized, Vulnerability

Y’all, I often minimize things or maybe it’s my pattern of not getting too excited about the way my life plays out. It’s not humility, the good kind of staying meek and quiet; it’s truly being joy-filled to the point of oh, my goodness can’t believe I’m seeing this stuff happening in my life.

It’s quiet confidence making itself embraceable, tangible.

And to think,  I’ve only just barely begun to surrender!

 

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“Do not fear, only believe.”  Jesus  

 

You might find it small. I consider it God showing me more clarity every day and that I am loved. Nan Jones found my blog through another blogger. She asked me to write. She first asked me about what is happening in my life now, what are my prayers, what is on my heart. I answered by telling of my prayers for my daughter’s healing and she asked me to write about it.

At first, it was all fluff then I decided to be truthful about fear and believing, the lessons I’ve been learning in my listening.

She’s sharing my words and my art here.  I am so very grateful for yet another person God in his infinite wisdom “enlarged my borders” with, people who I never knew might be my teachers, my guides, my spiritual pointers of the way to walk, to write, to be unafraid.

We’ve never met, yet she says she sees me as “precious” and all I can do is smile and cry just a little to know that I am called precious. Finding God in Quiet Confidence

 

Thank you, Nan! Thank you so!

Seeking

bravery, courage, Faith, Stillness, Trust, Uncategorized

After deciding it was the “seeking” part I am not always so intent on; but, the assurance that God had a purpose for my life, I was worried that seeking might not align with being still.

I was reassured by Webster’s defining of “seek”.

a : to go in search of : look for

b : to try to discover

Having decided to be still to know that no time should be considered wasted because of what had not been accomplished in the year or years before.

Still is what I’ll be seeking, still enough to truly see, to listen, to know as I go.

Face down towards the words of God and maybe no set guide or timeline or schedule, truly understanding what it is I am to know, this shall be what I see as seeking.

Why my “one word” makes more sense and gives more hope than I’d expected.

Just a week ago, I told someone my word would be “optimism” and she said well that’s a good one for us all and I just nodded.

Later realizing it wasn’t at all my word, too status quo, too vaguely overarching and one size fits all.

I read Psalm 46:10 and realized I’d probably never been still for very long at all, ever!

That being still simply means anticipating that God is God and I can be still knowing this more profoundly.

Still, He is on the throne.

There is still time and there are still great plans and a purpose I’ve still not fully caught a glimpse of so I must seek like a cat close to the ground waiting to discern when to move. Still like an ancient planner of charts and maps, I must consider carefully the best path.

I must be still.

I must be thoughtful. I must listen more than I speak and meditate more than I mediate.

Some verses we make almost cliche.

Or we cling to the good and positive and hopeful, yet never latch onto the rest of the story. We love God’s part, sometimes skim over the lines explaining ours.

Like a puzzle that is without a corner piece, we will never be complete, will never be able to display ourselves as fully God’s idea until we seek and we find and keep seeking all the pieces he designed to fit together, a display for His glory and purpose.

We might never fully know His plan if we’re content in only half heartedly believing that He has a plan and purpose; yet don’t seek with our whole heart to find, each of us one of God’s masterpieces.

Seeking is our part, not striving and submitting not struggling or manipulating.

The hope and the future, God’s.

#still18

Art and My Word

Art, bravery, courage, Faith, grace, New Years Day, rest, Stillness, Trust, Vulnerability, wonder

May we all have more of what feeds our soul. Find ourselves in that place that calls us back and we lose track of time.

May we have the love of those who love us and leave us there, alone.

Because they love so well the we we are when we’ve been in that place that causes us to be us, they’ve learned we are better from being there.

Happiest of New Years to all my followers as I’ve decided “still” is my word and my place.

And tonight, at midnight I’ll add some color and I’ll begin or complete some paragraphs.

And then I will pray before sleep.

I want to be doing what I want to be doin’ all year.

Because like greens and black eyed peas, cornbread and pork on tomorrow, I believe and am all in for tradition and I’m so very much anticipating what God will do when I finally get better at being still.

Crazy how exciting stillness can be.

Happy New Year, ya’ll!

May you surely know more clearly our God who loves us so.