What You Think Of You

I've been thinking on these things in prayer and silence lately.  It takes time to change how we view ourselves or others. As give time to sit with God and be in His life words, our lens gets wiped cleaned. We begin to see clearer. We start to see how God sees us.

When you look in the mirror what do you see?
God's word is our true mirror ~ Let it shine truth into your heart. He will refresh your reflection.

What do you believe about yourself?
It's time to give yourself a break. You are more than "just" and "only".  In Him you are enough.

What value do you place on the words others say about you?
If it's not in line with what God's word says about you, let it crumble and fall to the ground. Let His life words wrap around your heart and fill your soul until your spirit agrees with His.

You're a giver, helper, encourager, provider. You love, care, comfort.

You are growing, becoming, healing.

You mean so much to at least one person and that's huge.

The best part...

You mean the world to God.

Jesus is proof of His amazing love for you. 

With You in Mind:

John 10:10 ~ Get to know His voice of truth.

Habakkuk 2:20 and Zechariah 2:12 ~ Listen in the stillness for His whispers. 

Psalm 48:18 ~ He is and will be guiding you forever and ever, until the end.

Psalm 77:12 ~ Ponder and give a long, loving look at all He's already done in and through you.

Soul Refreshment:


Jeremiah 1:6-7 ~ But I said, "Hold it, Master God! Look at me.
                            I don't know anything. I'm only a boy!"
                            God told me, "Don't say, 'I'm only a boy.'

Will you give time to sitting with God on a daily basis and let Him clean up your lens?

You are much more than you think.

Quieting and Refreshing

Proverbs 1:33 First pay attention to me, and then relax. 
   Now you can take it easy—you're in good hands.

Just a few moments every day or one sweet part of my day to quiet my mind and refresh my soul. In the past, I never welcomed the privilege of this beautiful practice. 

Quieting:

Mindfully, I acknowledge the noise of busyness and the world’s pressures. In prayer, I find God’s tender voice, reminding me of who I really am and what matters most. His Word comforts my spirit.

I just be....I remember because He reminds me...

“I am a child of God...I am loved...I’ve been saved from the ‘stress and anxiety’ traps...I am beautiful...I love all people...I am an encourager and uplifter...Speaking, singing, writing life-words is my passion...I belong...I am safe and secure in Him.”

It all comes flooding back warming my heart, soothing my soul, filling my mind with peace and confident strength.

Refreshing:

I can’t wait to write all that’s happened in my “quieting”. My gratitude journal becomes filled with life-words to sustain me and refresh me often.

I am so full by this time, I can’t wait to share the warmth and joy so others can be refreshed.

I remember the activities that refresh me and I choose one, maybe a few. I can’t give what I don’t have. I can only refresh, if I take time to be refreshed.

The Process:

Sometimes I’m quieted and refreshed quickly and deeply. Other times, it takes awhile. Knowing what the outcome will be, now that I’ve practiced, is worth the process.

Refreshing Faves:

• Praying and reading my bible
• Hiking or long slow walks
• Our back deck in the a.m.
• A mindful pause of thanks in the middle of family get togethers. I love to watch everyone enjoying, hugging, and laughing :D
• Photography
• Warm tub soak, essential oils, instrumental music or no music
• A 2-5 minute session of breathing deeply in and out, keeping a soft smile.
• Gentle breathe and stretch session, short or long. I simply listen to my body.
• Off-the-grid: no tech, no social network, no t.v., no cell phone...yay!!! just rest

And you... 

What’s your whitespace like? 

It’ll surely bring someone refreshing as you share. 

Thank you for doing so.

Today is the last jam in the soul rest series - What a refreshing month :D

You can read more jams by clicking on the banner

To Rest is To Heal

Waiting. It’s been the absolutely most difficult thing to do. I wait for physical healing. I wait to see the day I live completely free of ailments, aches, pains, and fatigue.

God has promised that He is with me in the waiting. I was reminded of that during the Tsunami warning last week. That promise brings such a peace that washes over me and I find rest that would have never been possible.

I’m a type A, give it my all, and do it with gusto kind of woman. These years of allowing rest into my life so my body can heal is teaching me beautiful balance. I can only give it my all, if at first I’m rested up. I can only do with gusto, if I’m rejuvenated from resting. I'm proactive. Need I say more? :D

The unexpected adventure I’ve been on since I became ill, is learning all about health, nutrition, spirit, stress, and myself. I've learned that I’d really rather not strive against or grasp at. I’d rather find God’s perfect rhythm for my breath, words, steps, and relationships. I’d rather rest and heal.

I still give it my all and do it with gusto. I’m learning to do it rhythmically, melodically in time with my Maestro. I can hear him tapping as if to say, “get ready”. I can see Him raise His baton and wink at me signaling “here we go”. His orchestrating creates indescribable sounds that resonate my life with peaceful soul rest. 

You are a note in my life’s melodies and harmonies. Even if this is the first time you’ve come here, whether you post your life words or pass through, you’ve played your note for me. Some of you have solos in my songs. Some of you one note. Together we make sweet, beautiful living music. This is a huge part of my physical rest. 

I’m enjoying this adventurous journey toward healing. I’m finding deep rest in learning, connecting, and creating. I’m breathing in sweet balance and breathing out life. I rest and I heal a little more each time.

Have you found physical rest? What was your journey to get there like?

~ or ~

Are you still on your journey and finding hints of rest here and there, like me? 

Life words:

Psalms 3:5 I lie down and sleep;
   I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. 

Proverbs 27:9 Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight, 

   a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.

I'm joining Bonnie & the Faith Jammers
sharing our journey to restore soul rest in our lives.
Join in anytime :D

Refreshing Myself - Refreshing Others

Refresh. What a selfless and replenishing word it is. 

The last few months one verse has been standing out for me. Proverbs 11:25 in the NIV Bible reads, “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” 

In this season of our lives we know God is asking us to be generous with our time, home, skills and refresh by focusing on family.

finding old toys and capturing memories

Refresh my mother-in-law while my father-in-law is rehabilitating in the hospital. The blessing of 6 weeks of daily physical and speech rehab for Dad. He is now in his second week! If he goes home, he’ll only receive 2-3 days of rehab a week. We can refresh Mom by rotating with other family members to hang out with her while Dad “works out”. The first 2 weeks we refreshed her by relieving her to go home, shower, and run errands. Now, she gets to go home every night.

I have the best in-laws ever! I'm truly blessed.

Dad finding out he's going to be a great-grandfather!

Refresh our 26-year-old and his fiancee as they expect their first baby. We’re going to be grandparents!!! Opening our home for regular family meals and hangouts has been a treat. Our grandparent nicknames are going to be “Yaya” for myself and “Dabee” for David. I can hear the little one saying, “I’m going to Dabee and Yaya’s house today”. So fun to imagine.

Proud parents-to-be.

Refresh our 24-year-old in his new serious dating relationship. It just so happens she was in our wedding party when she was 7 and her Mom was my maid-of-honor. So very cool! They took it slow and just hung out for two months. Then, on Christmas Eve, after our family dinner, they officially decided to date. 

His band is almost done recording their album and has a mainland and possible European tour coming up.

15 years later :D

Refreshing ourselves comes in so many forms:

Our time alone with God is so vital and so wonderful. Letting His love pour into us so it can flow through us is beyond words. 

Photography - my new camera and lenses arrived! I’m having so much fun! Creating memories in pictures stories helps me see so much wonder and beauty in my everyday.

Taking time to be together and recall the events of each day and be grateful and drink in all the joy. Also, going through whatever challenges might arise with an open heart. Make sure we get enough rest as well.

Music - we’ve set up our guitars once again and are making sure to enjoy them daily! I can’t explain how freeing it is to play, sing, and write. Jamming together only takes it to an even high level of freedom.

In sharing all of this, we wanted to let you know the blog will be random and sporadic over the next two months as we take time for all of this excitement and family times. 

We’ll share as much as we can in pictures and words. 

It may be only a paragraph and a photo, but we’ll be sure to share our times of refreshing with you.

What/who are you focusing on in your life right now? What/who stands out?

Faith topic1/6-1/10: One word God is putting on your heart for 2011
January series: Soul Resolutions
Join in anytime, link up your relevant post, and just be you.